Width & Depth

Grow in Width and Depth

• Review
  • Is church membership biblical? 
    • Gospel, position, placement, growth
    • The invisible becomes visible
      • Community, serving, worship 
  • The invisible becomes visible in discipleship. 
    • “Make disciples that make disciples that make disciples…”

Members grow in width and depth

• Are disciples members of the body of Christ? 
  • How do disciples “visibly” make disciples? 
    • In the local church. 
  • What do we disciple people into? Jesus, who’s body is? Lead someone through the sinners prayer, give them a gospel of John, and that’s it. 
    • Anything else I need to do? Be baptized! And then? 
    • There is no such thing as an invisible Christian!
  • ADDRESS local church membership vs salvation. 
    • Do I need to sign a paper to be saved? 
  • Discipleship- Make non-disciples disciples and make disciples mature members of the body of Christ.  
• Grow in Width and Depth
  • Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (Width)
  • teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 (Depth)
  • Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” Matthew 13:8 & 23

#1. Create mentor relationships 

• Paul and Timothy’s relationship. As Paul went out and grew in depth he identified and invested in others, width. 
  • Titus 2, Older men and women are to invest, teach, lead by example.  
  • Can you start now? 
  • Of course, because it strength in GRACE
  • vs. 2 GRACE
    • Timothy’s story, probably very young, way to much ministry weight on shoulders
    • Hoping Paul’s letter might say something like, go ahead and quit.
    • The answer is never quit. It’s find your strength in the Grace of the LORD Jesus CHrist.  
    • Success, failure, fruitfulness, fruitlessness, etc.
  • Grace isn’t just what saves us, it sustains us.  
  • Timothy, with the pressures of ministry, *Remember Jesus
    • START NOW, remember Jesus.  
    • Members grow in width in depth

#2. Teach others to teach others (vs. 2)

• Faithfulness, some need to start here! Just show up every week
• This can start day one! 
  • Just got saved, share testimony, guy gets saved… What could he tell him to go and do? Share his testimony! 
• This assumes you are learning & growing yourself. 
• Members grow in width in depth

#3. Grow in width and depth (vs. 3-7)

• Paul “charges” Timothy
  • Soldier
    • Depth. It’s gonna be hard
    • Single focused—> width
  • Athlete
    • Depth
    • Honestly, while we can’t condone cheating, what Rosie Ruiz pulled off at the 1980 Boston Marathon was one of the more incredible feats in recent memory. These were the days before the police escorts and video monitoring of the course, which enabled Ruiz to ride the T all the way to a half mile from the finish line before she popped onto the course and seemingly “won” the race. While it didn’t take long for her ruse to be discovered, Ruiz had (however briefly) set the women’s record for fastest marathon time ever. 
      • Biblical perimeters to experience freedom and fruitfulness
  • Farmer
    • Width
• Members grow in width in depth
• Vs. 7, Let God speak into this- “How do you train a horse?”

#4. Remember Jesus  Vs 8

• Benediction
• May God grow you and others through you in width and depth!