Timothy: Rooted In Discipleship | HEROES OF THE FAITH

Ordinary people. Men and women whose lives are not defined by perfection, but by being deeply rooted in Him. Through promise and trial, through courage and calling, their stories remind us that faith doesn't fade in the storm, it grows deeper. And now their stories become our invitation to stand strong and remain rooted in Christ. Heroes of the Faith, Rooted Edition. Any Christians brought your Bibles to church? I want to know if there's Christians who love God's Word, who believe in God's Word, who actually read it, amen? If you have your Bibles open, you can go to 2nd Timothy chapter 3. Most of passages today will be between 2nd Timothy and 1st Timothy, so that's that's kind of the the area where you can be. Quick question, anybody know 1st Timothy, 2nd Timothy, is it the Old Testament or the New Testament? It's the New Testament, it's the New Testament. This is one of the letters that Paul writes to Timothy. So we'll be in 2nd Timothy 3 to begin in a few moments. The only other verse will be outside of the Timothy's is Acts 16. So I want to talk a little bit about this series. We're beginning a brand new series and we're calling it Heroes of the Faith, Rooted Edition. And over these next eight weeks we're gonna journey through the lives of some incredible men and women in the Bible that stand out as examples of what it means to be deeply rooted in God and deeply rooted in His Word. And this is important. Everybody say important. It's important. Roots matter because when you look at a healthy tree, what you see above the ground is determined by what exists beneath the ground that you cannot see. And so strong roots produce strong growth and deep roots produce lasting fruit. And it's the same thing spiritually in our lives. This is what we're aiming for. This is what we're what our heart is. And in a world that is constantly changing, in a world that is constantly shifting and pulling us in different directions, I believe God is looking for people who are firmly rooted, firmly rooted in His Word, firmly rooted in His promises, firmly rooted in His ways. And this naturally connects to our theme for the year. If anybody remembers, our theme this year is firmly rooted, faithfully growing. So throughout this series we're gonna discover that a lot of these heroes of the faith weren't heroes because they were perfect. In fact,

all of them had some issues. All of them had flaws and fears and doubts and weaknesses. By the way, all of us have issues too. Can I get an amen? I have issues. You got issues. And if you think you don't have any issues, that's one of your issues. And we learn in the Word from the heroes of the faith that they had their issues. Yet despite the challenges and the issues that they faced, they remained anchored. They remained rooted. When opposition came, they stayed rooted. When difficulties came up, they stayed rooted. When circumstances changed, they stayed rooted. When they didn't understand completely why God was allowing some things to happen, they stayed rooted. And because they remained rooted, God used their lives to impact generations. And so we're gonna learn a little bit about Abraham, who was rooted in God's promise. We're gonna learn about Joseph, who remained rooted through trials. Moses, who was rooted in God's presence. We're gonna talk about Ruth, who was rooted in loyalty. David was rooted in worship. That's gonna be a great message. Esther was rooted in courage. Paul was rooted in mission. My prayer for this series is that we're not gonna just simply admire some of these biblical heroes, but we'll actually learn from them. Be challenged by them. Take steps like they took. And most importantly, that we'll allow the Lord to develop the same kind of deep spiritual roots in our own lives as we learn and study in theirs. Because the goal isn't just to study the heroes of the faith. The goal is to become men and women who are firmly rooted and faithfully growing in every season of life. So get ready to take notes. Get ready to grow. Get ready to learn as we dig deeper. Today's message is Timothy rooted in discipleship. Can you say it with me? Timothy rooted in discipleship. Let's pray. Lord, we come before you asking you to speak to our hearts. I pray, Lord, that the good seeds from your word would land in fertile soil in every one of our hearts. May we understand your word. May we hear it. And may we put your principles into action in our lives. I pray that we may see great fruit from obedience to your word. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. The big idea today is that true discipleship is intentionally following Jesus with others so that we can become more like Christ and help

others do the same. This is what discipleship in essence is all about. And I want to start with a Bible passage, 2 Timothy chapter 3 verses 14 to 17. I think it encompasses kind of the heart of discipleship. So 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 14 and it says, but you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. Everybody say faithful. You know they are true for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. Now, this is a powerful passage, if we can go to verse 16. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. Verse 17, it corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. Can I get an amen? All right, so I think this is a good idea of why God's word is important in this concept of discipleship. Before I unpack a few points for you today, I want to talk a little bit about this man, Timothy, who was Timothy. When we think about heroes in the Bible, we often think about the big names, like Abraham, who was the father of the faith, right? Or we think of Moses, who led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt after confronting Pharaoh. We think of David, who defeated Goliath. We think of Esther, who saved her people, right? Timothy is a little bit different, because Timothy wasn't a king.

He wasn't a prophet. He didn't part any seas or slay any giants. He didn't even write a gospel or a book in the Bible, and yet Timothy became one of the most influential leaders in the first church. Ask me why. Ask me why. Because Timothy shows us that God doesn't just use exceptionally gifted people. God uses faithful disciples. Timothy lived during the first century A.D., shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus. He was from the city of Lystra, located in what is modern day Turkey. We first meet him in the book of Acts, chapter 16, where Paul is having his second missionary journey. The Bible tells us that Timothy had a unique family background. Something interesting about Timothy is that his mother, Eunice, was a Jewish believer. His grandmother, Lois, also had passed down that sincere faith. But interestingly, his father was Greek. Interesting little combination there in Timothy's family. Now, Timothy is a beautiful example of what we've been talking about, that faith is often passed from one generation to the next. His spiritual roots were planted long before he ever stepped into any kind of ministry or mission or church. Now, interesting, when Paul arrived in Lystra, he noticed something special about Timothy, because it tells us in the book of Acts that the believers in that area, they spoke highly of

Timothy. They spoke highly of his character. Timothy immediately notices the potential in this young man and invited him to join the missionary team and go do some work for the kingdom. And that invitation that Paul made to Timothy ended up changing his life forever. Now, for the next several years, Timothy traveled alongside Paul. He learned from him. Because when you're on a mission, you're learning. Timothy served with Paul. Timothy prayed with Paul. Timothy endured some hardships with Paul. Timothy watched Paul preach. Timothy asked questions. Timothy watched Paul suffer. He watched him lead. In many ways, we can say that Paul became a spiritual father to Timothy. In fact, often, Paul refers to Timothy in his writings as my true son or my spiritual son. Now, it's interesting that what makes Timothy remarkable wasn't that he was such a bold and fearless leader. In fact, Paul actually writes to Timothy in an interesting moment which helps us understand that A, Timothy was probably very young, and B, Timothy might have struggled a little bit with insecurity, maybe a little bit of fear. Why do we come to that conclusion? Well, 2 Timothy. If you have it open still, 2 Timothy.

Chapter 1. Go back to Chapter 1. Verse 7. Look what Paul writes to the young Timothy. He writes, Timothy, for God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. Now, interesting, despite these challenges, we could conclude that maybe along the process, Timothy was struggling with some insecurity. Maybe he was struggling with leading boldly because of the challenges or the situations. But despite those challenges, what we do know is that Timothy remained faithful. Paul eventually entrusted Timothy with significant leadership responsibilities, including helping him oversee the church in Ephesus, which was one of the most important churches in the New Testament. Two entire books of the New Testament in the Bible, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy, were literally written directly from Paul to Timothy. Now, think about that for a moment. Timothy wasn't famous or known. because of his extraordinary talent. He actually became influential because of his extraordinary faithfulness. That's a key word with discipleship, faithfulness. That's why I think we can talk about Timothy as a hero of the faith. Not because he was perfect, not because he was fearless, not because he was the most gifted,

but because he was extremely teachable, he was always available, he proved to be faithful, and his life shows that he was firmly rooted in the Lord. Timothy reminds us that spiritual maturity doesn't happen accidentally, it happens through intentional discipleship, it happens through relationships, it happens through spiritual community, it happens through mentoring, it happens through people helping other people follow Jesus. And this is why I think Timothy's story matters to us. And if Timothy's life teaches us anything, it's that you don't have to be extraordinary for God to do extraordinary things in you and with you and through you. I'm a living testimony of that, and I see it over and over and over. He doesn't need you or me to be extraordinary to use us in extraordinary ways. We need to have willing hearts, we need to have teachable hearts, we need to be available, and we need to live with faithfulness to the Lord. Can I get an amen? All right, four keys about true discipleship. Four keys about true discipleship. Number one, true discipleship is relational. Help me out, true discipleship is what? Relational. One of the first things we learn about Timothy

is that he didn't come to faith in isolation, he didn't come to faith alone by himself. Before Paul ever mentored Timothy, God was already using other people in his life. So now let's go to the verse that shows us that. Second Timothy, second Timothy chapter one, verse five. Second Timothy chapter one, verse five. And it says, Paul says, "'I remember your genuine faith, "'for you share the faith that first filled "'your grandmother, Lois.'" Can everybody give it up for grandmothers who love Jesus? "'And your mother, Eunice.'" And I know that same faith continues strong in you. In this one verse, we can see the concept of multi-generational faith. We can see the concept of the faith being passed on from one generation to the next generation. I love this. God uses relationships to build Timothy's foundation. Before Timothy ever had any kind of ministry responsibility, before Timothy even had officially any mentors, before he had any kind of influence or leadership, he had examples at home. Before Timothy taught others, he was taught by others. That's what discipleship is all about. Discipleship isn't just about information coming into your mind and your brain, it's about sharing life, it's living life, it's walking in it with others,

and it's walking towards Christ together. Here's a line, people help people follow Jesus. People help people follow Jesus. Whenever you find a person who is a faithful disciple, I guarantee you there have been people in that person's life. There are some things that I will never be able to do. And faithful discipleship comes in the context of relationships. Here's what I love. Timothy wasn't raised by perfect people, he was raised by faithful people, and that's encouraging, because God doesn't need perfect disciples to make disciples. He simply needs willing disciples to make disciples. If I'm honest, now I'm not talking about you, but all the people out there, you know those people out there that are sometimes waiting for a dove to come and whisper in their ear, do something for the Lord. You and I don't have to do that, we can start taking steps. If perfect people were required for discipleship, then none of us would qualify. And so God uses ordinary people, faithful people, to do extraordinary things. Think about this. If you're a Christian, you've been walking with Jesus, who has helped shape your life? I mean, think back to the beginning of your walk in faith. Who taught you how to pray? Who encouraged you when you were most discouraged in life?

Who helped you understand scriptures when you began to read the Bible? Who pointed you towards Christ? I think it's wise and healthy to sometimes pause and say, thank you, Lord, for that person. Thank you for those people. Whether they're family, our own parents, or friends, or people that maybe aren't even in your life anymore, but praise God that at one point they were there. Can I get an amen? Point number two today. True discipleship is intentional. What is it? So not only is true discipleship relational, it is intentional. Relationships alone do not automatically produce discipleship, okay? You can sit next to someone in church for 10 years and never truly know them. You could work next to the same person at work for years and never. Have influence on their life or them have influence on your life. You can have hundreds of contacts in your phone and still lack meaningful discipleship. The reason is because discipleship requires intentionality. This is what we see in Paul. Paul didn't accidentally decide. Like, oh my gosh, how did this happen with Timothy? It wasn't accidental. It was very, very intentional. Paul intentionally invested in him. Let's go now the only passage out of Timothy's. Let's go to Acts chapter 16.

Now I want you to see this passage in Acts chapter 16, which gives us a little bit of an idea of when and where that relationship began between Paul and Timothy. Acts chapter 16, starting in verse 1. And it says, Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy. Check it out. So he was already, we know he was a disciple, he was a follower of Jesus. And we know that he was young. And it says, his mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek. Let's go to the next. Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and in Iconium. Pause. Timothy was what? He was well thought of. In other words, he had a reputation, and the reputation was a good reputation. In other words, when people mention Timothy's name, people's thoughts were, that's a good guy. There's a good example there. And it says, so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. So this is where Paul meets Timothy. This is where Paul kind of connects with him. He hears about Timothy, and he says, Timothy, he taps him on the shoulder, Timothy, let's go. Come with me. Let's go on this missions trip together. Now, it's interesting. Paul saw the potential in Timothy. Paul heard about and eventually discovered the faithfulness in Timothy. Paul began to see the character qualities in Timothy. Paul, in this example we see here, he invites Timothy into a relationship, eventually into ministry. He invites him into a process of growth, what we call today discipleship. And Timothy didn't just attend Paul's sermons. Timothy actually connected to Paul. In this case, he specifically traveled with him. He began to learn from him. He began to observe Paul. He began to serve alongside him. Timothy began to watch how Paul handled pressure.

He began to identify, how does Paul deal with conflict? He began to see how Paul treated people, how he spoke to people. He began to listen and understand and learn from how Paul prayed. Timothy was being discipled. He watched, he observed, and he practiced. Discipleship is often more caught than taught. Children know this. Parents know this. Any parents ever notice your little children imitating you? And it's so funny to see this. Any parents, you know, you remember when your kids were little, especially when they were little, when your kids were all of a sudden imitating you or copying you. And sometimes it's so cute and wonderful when they imitate you. But sometimes it's a little scary. What they might do and what they might say, right, depending on what the home is like. Now, I remember going up. My dad was a carpenter as I was growing up. So before he was in full-time ministry as a pastor, he was a carpenter. He worked with wood all day long. I remember sometimes there were days off of school where my mom had work and I had to go to work with dad. And I remember I wanted to be like my dad, so I would have my Fisher-Price tools, you remember? You remember, like, the toy tools, hammering things. And I was probably maybe four years old. And I remember going and he would give me a belt. I would put on a belt, like if it was my work belt, and I would be in the corner in his little office. And I would pretend like I was doing the carpentry and the work

because I was imitating. And on that one, my dad was like, yeah, that's my boy, right? But let me tell you about another imitation that my dad learned something and it shocked him, okay? I was probably about three and a half, four years old. And this was when my family had just, we had just come to really faith in Jesus in that season. And my dad tells a story. He says that he went to the fridge. He grabbed the, you know, the brown bottle of beer, went to sit down and watch the baseball game. And literally a minute later, I went to the refrigerator. I grabbed the bottle and I went and I sat right next to him and I would look at him and do everything he did. And my dad says that in that moment, in that moment, he realized that he was modeling everything. And you can ask him about the story. On that day was the last day he ever had a drop of alcohol in his entire life or that we ever had alcohol again of any kind in our home. From that day forward, I have never, I have never, this is just testimony in our story and our family. I have never tasted a drop of alcohol. I've never missed it. I've never wanted it. In fact, I want it as far from my life and as far from my family and as far from my home as possible. Because I am constantly counseling and shepherding people that alcohol has destroyed their life from beer to all the hard liquor. Destroyed their marriage.

Destroyed their lives and destroyed their kids. And so my dad tells that story and I see the importance of modeling. Of catching. So here's something cool about discipleship. Not only do I need to model what's the right thing to do but I need to also model when I should stop doing things that I shouldn't be doing. And it's such a vivid example. A vivid example of how stories repeat themselves and patterns in families. Whether you call them generational curses or blessings. Whether you call them learned behaviors. If we don't cut the wrong things and add the right things we will see from generation to generation a lot of things being impacted. True discipleship. People are watching how we live. Not just what we say. Not just what we say we believe. Not just everything. How we live. How we interact. How we speak. What we post. How we follow Jesus. Paul understood this. So listen to what Paul tells Timothy, 2 Timothy 3.10. 2 Timothy 3.10. You can highlight these and underline these in your Bible.

But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach and how I live and what my purpose in life is. Paul is saying, you know me. You have been with me. You know my faith. My patience. My love. And my endurance. Let's go to the next one. You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, Lystra. But the Lord rescued me from all of it. Paul is reminding Timothy. He's essentially saying, Timothy, you've seen my life. I have hid nothing from you. You haven't seen just my preaching. You haven't seen me just when I'm on stage and the good moments and when people are, you know, thanking me. You've seen my life. You've seen the good times and the bad times. You've seen the victories. And you've seen the difficulties. Church, true discipleship is not just learning the lessons. It's living the lifestyle. It's walking it. It's not just hearing truth. It's living out the truth. It's not just studying scripture. It's applying it in our lives.

By the way, this is why small groups matter to us here at Vertical Church. Every season. I know summer is a little lower, a little less groups. But no matter how many, it's so important to connect in groups. Coming to church on Sundays is beautiful. Big worship. Serving the Lord together. There's something beautiful about that. But connecting in groups, in smaller groups, in circles. Here we're in rows. But in groups we're in circles. We're connecting. We're growing. We're taking masks off. We're growing spiritually. We're sharpening each other like Proverbs says. This happens in the context of relationships. True life transformation happens in the context of relationships. It happens around tables. It happens in conversations. It happens when we share victories and when we share our tough moments, our failures. It happens when we ask questions. It happens when we fight through struggles. It happens when we pray for each other. It happens when we share our testimonies of what God is doing, of what he's done, of who he is. This is part of not only the Christian walk, but it's part of discipleship. This is why we love and we encourage. Come to church on Sundays.

There's something beautiful about sitting in a row but together worshiping the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. There's something beautiful about that, but there's something so important about getting in circles and groups in the community throughout the week, about connecting with other believers, walking. Here's a line. Discipleship doesn't happen accidentally. It happens intentionally. It's intentional. And so here's a couple questions to ask yourself. Who am I intentionally learning from right now? Who am I allowing to speak into my life? Who have I given permission to check me? Who have I given a green light to let me know when I got some spinach in my teeth or when my zipper's open? We all need people who can speak into us, who can pour into us. And equally as important, who am I intentionally investing in? Who am I encouraging? Who am I helping take some next steps in their walk with the Lord? Because discipleship is never just about receiving. It is also about reproducing. Number three. Number three or four. Number three. True discipleship produces spiritual maturity. True discipleship produces spiritual maturity. One of the greatest evidences of discipleship is transformation. The cool thing about Timothy is Timothy did not remain the same person, he grew. He matured.

He developed. He became stronger. I think I mentioned this before that what makes you mature is not how long you've been coming to church. We've said it before here at Vertical Church. There are Christians who have been coming to church for 20 years but they're not 20-year-old Christians. They're one-year-old Christians 20 times over. And so the idea of maturity comes from I'm taking steps. I have people discipling me and eventually there is a dichotomy of I am a disciple but I am also a disciple maker. That's where the Lord wants us to get to. But that requires maturity, spiritual maturity. Like Timothy, he became stronger. That's God's desire. He doesn't want to just forgive us and save us, he wants to transform us. Look what Paul tells Timothy, 1 Timothy 4. Going back to 1 Timothy. Chapter 4, verse 12. Remember Timothy was a young person. And some people might not have been happy with the responsibilities and influence and leadership that Timothy got. But here's Paul's encouragement once again. Paul says, Timothy, don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers. Pause. Be an example to who? Even if you're young.

Listen to this young people. Be an example to all believers in what you say. In the way you live. In your love. In your faith. And in your purity. Be an example. Notice that Paul doesn't focus on Timothy's talent. He focuses on Timothy's character. That's huge. Because discipleship isn't primarily about your gifting. It's about becoming more like Jesus. That's why we're disciples of Jesus. That's why we're disciples of Jesus. And often, culture asks the question, what can you do when God asks the question, who are you becoming? So here at Vertical Church, we want to get eventually to the question, what can you do to serve the Lord? What can you do to make a difference? But more important than that is, who are you becoming? Because what you do will be birthed out of who you're becoming. And so it's an identity issue. It's an identity issue. Here's a good line. Discipleship is not information transfer. It's life transformation. That's what discipleship is all about. Timothy became a man of character. He stepped up as a man of faith and integrity. Timothy became a leader who could be trusted.

Ask me why. Ask me why. Because discipleship shapes your character. Your character sustains your calling. Many people want influence. God wants to form you so that you can handle that influence. Many people want platforms, but God wants you to mature because if you have the platform before you mature, it can get messy. Many people want promotion. God wants transformation. And so it's important to think about this as I'm walking. The goal of discipleship is Christ-likeness. The goal of discipleship is that in my life, I can be more like, look more like, act more like, speak more like, and live more like Christ. That's what it says. The Book of Romans tells us that God's purpose is to conform us to the image of his son, Jesus. That's our destination. Not just knowledge in the head, transformation in the heart. Discipleship in the life. Becoming more like Jesus. Imagine joining a gym and you walk into the gym every week and you take pictures of all the treadmills. And you know exactly where every exercise equipment is and you know all the terminology. You just never get on them. You never exercise. You know it all. You know it all.

You just, you know a lot, but no muscles. You remain unchanged by the equipment. Likewise, spiritual maturity is not measured by what we know. It is measured by how is God changing and transforming us. Discipleship is where biblical truth moves out of our heads and into our hearts and out of our hands, out of our legs, out of our mouths, out of how we live. So important question, are you becoming more like Jesus? More loving? More patient? More forgiving? More generous? More faithful? More humble? These are the fruits of discipleship. All right. Let's close it off. Point four. Point four. True discipleship reproduces. True discipleship reproduces. I love that as we study the life of Timothy, we notice that Timothy did not reproduce. remained merely a disciple. He eventually became a disciple-maker. I don't think he ever stopped being a disciple, but he then added on this aspect. I call it the Christian dichotomy, where we are called to be both. I am called to be a disciple, but I am called at some point to take this step and also be a disciple-maker. The investment that Paul made in Timothy did not stop with Timothy. It actually multiplied through Timothy. That's God's design. The goal of discipleship is not just my own personal growth,

it's actually multiplication in my life to others. Healthy disciples make disciples. So I want you to listen. 2 Timothy, I want you to listen to one of the most important discipleship verses in all of Scripture, because Timothy paints a picture for us. Paul paints a picture to us here as he's writing to Timothy. 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 2, and it says, You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now, look what Paul says to Timothy. Now Timothy, you teach these truths to other trustworthy people. To who? Other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. So in this one verse, we see something interesting. I call it the discipleship chain from 2 Timothy 2, verse 2. It mentions Paul. Who is Paul? Paul is a disciple and a disciple-maker. Paul pours into who? Timothy. That's level 2. So level 1, Paul. Level 2, Timothy. Paul pours himself into Timothy. Level 3, reliable people. Timothy pours himself into, it says, they're reliable, trustworthy people. So level 1, Paul. Level 2, Timothy. Level 3, reliable, trustworthy people. Timothy pours himself into them. And then level 4, others. Those reliable people, those trustworthy people now pour themselves into other people. This is the discipleship chain. This is the heart of the Lord. You can literally see what could be before generations. This is the calling. This is the heart of discipleship. It's multiplication. It's how the gospel has spread throughout history. Not because a few people became famous, but because ordinary people, ordinary believers and disciples intentionally invested into other ordinary believers. Think about it. We're sitting here, 2000 and change years after that, still bringing the message, bringing faithfully the message of the gospel. Why? Because somebody discipled somebody who discipled somebody who discipled somebody who discipled us. And we have the calling to continue discipling others. The gospel reached us through generations of faithful disciples. And now it's our turn. We're not called to just consume.

We're called to contribute. We're not called to just receive. We're called to reproduce. This is fascinating. I was reading about this last week. One of the most fascinating places in Israel is the Dead Sea, because the Dead Sea receives water, but it has no outlet. So water flows in, but nothing flows out. And because nothing flows out, everything dies. It's the Dead Sea. However, by contrast, the Sea of Galilee is very different. Water flows in and water flows out. And because it flows outward, it's full of life, fish, vegetation, growth, abundance, Sea of Galilee. The same principle applies spiritually. If all we do is receive, eventually we become stagnant. But when we receive and then we give, when we learn and then we teach, God produces life through us. Discipleship is not meant to stop with us. It is meant to flow through us. I shared the story about the watermelons in India a couple of weeks ago. And the wise farmer would have the kids in the watermelon eating contest save all the best seeds for the best watermelons, and those would go to the harvest for the next year. But then the son of that farmer was unwise, and he would sell the big watermelons, and then he would use the small seeds from the small, weak watermelons for the contest, and he would plant those. And what happens is, after seven generations of watermelons, the beautiful watermelons of Para-India were gone. Our faith is one generation away from extinction. And so we have the responsibility not to hoard the best seeds of today for ourselves, but to invest and pour the best seeds for the future. Discipleship. It's the heart of discipleship. Some people hear a message like this and say, Pastor, I'm not qualified to disciple anybody. I don't know so much word. I've only been a Christian for a couple of years. I don't have all the answers. Nobody has all the answers.

Timothy didn't have all the answers, but he was willing. You don't have to know everything, you simply have to have a willing heart, a faithful disposition. Maybe for somebody it's saying, I'm going to help mentor some of these students or these young people in my life or in our church. Maybe for some it's I'm going to lead a group, small group. For others maybe it's I'm going to open my home to host a small group. For somebody it's inviting someone to coffee and talk to them about your faith and testimony. Maybe it's sharing your testimony with a friend you have known for a while. You don't need a microphone or stage, you need to be available and willing. And I get an amen. That's why we have such a heart for groups here at Vertical. I think in the spring season we had close to 85, 90 groups, maybe close to 100 groups. And every season when we offer them, it's not just to say we have groups, it's to say, hey, we want you to connect and plug in. Because you never know when that key relationship in your life is going to spark something special. Whether you are on the receiving end or on the giving end or on both. I can't help, this is the final thought. I can't help but think as I look back on my life, I can't help but think of moments where I was tapped on the shoulder. I remember growing up in church and my parents were the pastors

and you know, hey, we have to do things with the youth and set up the room and pick up chairs and stack the chairs. Verge, tap on the shoulder, let's go stack some chairs. I don't know if anyone was a professional chair stacker like me in church. That was the opportunity I was given. Let's do it. And then I remember at one point my dad tapped me on the shoulder and said, you need to learn guitar. My dad started teaching me guitar. Tap on the shoulder. Hey, we need some worship for the youth. Verge, let's go, let's do it. Little did I know, little did I know that the tap on the shoulder to learn guitar would one day lead me to take music to the nations. Tap on the shoulder. There's an opportunity to tap on the shoulder. I remember when I was 15 years old. I was 15. My mom tapped me on the shoulder. She said, Verge, you're going on a missions trip to Paraguay. Parents, lesson. She didn't ask me, do you want to go on a mission? I said, yes, ma'am. Tap on the shoulder. I went to my first mission trip, 15 years old to Paraguay. I learned a little bit of Guarani, which is the indigenous language. God bless you in Guarani.

Whenever I meet anybody from Paraguay, they are amazed that I know some Guarani. We learned a whole song in Guarani. Well, we did contagious concerts. Later we went back after my 15-year-old mission trip, 15 years after that went back to do concerts in different cities in Paraguay. And in Bombay, and in Bombay, hey, hey. Tap on the shoulder. People tapped me on the shoulder. Thank you, Lord, for people who tapped me on the shoulder. To lead a group, tap me on the shoulder. To go to the beach, do a drama. Minister, share the gospel. Tap me on the shoulder. I am so thankful for people who tap me on the shoulder. And I find myself tapping people on the shoulder ever since then. Pastor Juan was up here preaching a few weeks ago and shared about one time we were on a mission trip in Colombia, Barranquilla with our daughter church. He didn't know at the time, this was 10 years ago, he wasn't Pastor Juan back then. And I said, hey, Juan, right at the end when we finish this, we will do dramas and after this, about 300 people there, you will do the altar call and the prayer of faith. And he looked at me like this, me? And I said, yeah, you are ready. You have been doing this and watching and hearing. You have been in the middle of it. It's your turn.

Tap him on the shoulder. And now you see him every week ministering the gospel and seeing young people get saved. Every single week. Because he was tapped on the shoulder. I can look at our church and see people tapped on the shoulder. But it's a one of the reasons we called our band Contagious. Because there is something contagious about the gospel. There is something contagious about receiving good news and sharing good news about getting tapped and tapping on the shoulder. And so my question is, who can you tap on the shoulder? Who in your family? Young people. Who in your class in school? On your team? Who at work? Who in your neighborhood? You never know when to tap on the shoulder. Timothy had no idea when Paul tapped him on the shoulder. He said, hey, let's go on a mission trip. Timothy had no idea what was ahead for him. And I wonder, I wonder if some people in our lives, if we just tapped on the shoulder. And invited them to something. What that could result in. In my life, my mom tapped on my shoulder, my dad tapped on my shoulder, my two sisters tapped on my shoulder, my youth pastors tapped on my shoulder. Coaches tapped on my shoulder. I had mentors who tapped on my shoulder. I imagine if you look back on your life, you can find in your memory some people who tapped on your shoulder.

I'm so thankful. They didn't have to tap me on the shoulder. I might not have been certain places in my life if I wasn't tapped on the shoulder. I might not be standing here right now if I wasn't tapped on the shoulder. And so, I think there's a lot to think about and pray about there. I can say that about a lot of people. And so the question is, who's going to say that about you and me? Who's going to say that about you and me? He tapped me on the shoulder when I was 15. She tapped me on the shoulder when I was 12. He tapped me on the shoulder when I was 35. She tapped me on the shoulder when I was 50. May we be a shoulder-tapping church. If you're currently not investing in someone else, ask the Lord for courage and start with one person. Tap him on the shoulder. Pray with him. See where that may lead. Big idea today, true discipleship is intentionally following Jesus with others so we can become more like Christ and help others do the same. Let's pray. Lord, I thank you for this opportunity to get into your word, learn from the example of Timothy. Thank you for showing us that spiritual growth was never meant to happen alone or in isolation. Thank you, Lord, for people that you've placed in our lives that have tapped us on the shoulder, encouraged us, challenged us, prayed for us, helped us. And Lord, help us become the people who are also committed to pour into others, to tap on their shoulders, to disciple other believers. Give us humility to learn from those who are ahead and courage to pour out to those who are coming behind. Give us faith to invest in the lives of others. Help us move beyond simply attending church to authentic biblical community like you teach in your word, Lord. I pray that as we begin summer group season, people would get connected like never before. Relationships would flourish and thrive and spiritual growth and maturity would be abundant. I pray that Vertical Church would be a place where people experience true community, find freedom, grow spiritually, and get tapped on the shoulder to serve you, Lord.

Help us be rooted, firmly, and faithfully growing. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.