Key Passage
From that time Jesus began to tell people what God wanted. This is what he said: "Change your hearts and lives, because the kingdom of heaven is coming soon." Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee. He saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Simon's brother Andrew. The two brothers were fishermen and they were fishing in the lake with a net. Jesus said, "Come follow me. I will make you a different kind of fishermen. You will work to gather people, not fish." Simon and Andrew left their nets and followed Jesus.
— Matthew 4:17-20 ERV (Read Full Text)
Key Thought
We have a tendency to think of kingdoms in terms of property or geography. For Jesus, the Kingdom of God (or "Kingdom of Heaven" as Matthew often puts it) is not about property or geography. Jesus taught that the Kingdom was about submission to his reign in his disciples’ hearts and lives. His goal for them was to be like him in character and obedience. They had to be ready to surrender to him anything that might get in the way of his leadership in their lives. This kind of kingdom requires conquest, but not a conquest of nations or territory. Instead, it is the conquest of hearts. Peter and Andrew left all to follow him. They wanted Jesus to rule their hearts. For us, there are still some fundamental questions regarding the Kingdom and following Christ: "What do I find most difficult to surrender to the Lordship of Christ? Where do I start? What is that one thing that is most difficult?" I must let him have rule over that one area—and ultimately over every area. If I will do this, he may very well give it back to me to use, only now it will be for him, through us, by his power.
Prayer
O Lord God, I want Jesus to be Lord of my life. I want to follow him and honor him in every way. Please gently show me the areas of my life that I have not surrendered to his Lordship. I want you and your Kingdom to be the consuming passion of my life. I want to live for you so that I may be used by you to bless others. In the name of the Lord Jesus I pray. Amen.
Related Scriptures
These two men followed Jesus after they heard about Jesus from John. One of these two men was named Andrew. Andrew was Simon Peter's brother. The first thing Andrew did was to go find his brother, Simon. Andrew said to Simon, "We have found the Messiah." ("Messiah" means "Christ. ") Then Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at Simon and said, "You are Simon, the son of John. You will be called Cephas." ("Cephas" means "Peter. ")
— John 1:40-42
These are the names of the twelve apostles : Simon (also called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James, son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot. Judas is the one that gave Jesus to his enemies.
— Matthew 10:2-4
The Lord is not being slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. God doesn't want any person to be lost. God wants every person to change his heart and stop sinning.
— 2 Peter 3:9
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