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TIMOTHY MAKES HIS FIRST BIG DECISION!

A reporter investigating the citrus industry here in the valley went into a shed where he saw a man sorting oranges. As the oranges came tumbling down the conveyer belt, the man went to work putting the large oranges in the large holes, the small oranges in the small holes, and the bruised oranges in another hole.
The reporter watched this man perform his incredibly boring job until he couldn’t stand it any longer. Finally, he asked the man, “Doesn’t it get to you? I mean, how can you stand putting those oranges into those holes all day long?”
“You don’t know the half of it,” said the man. “From the time I come in until the time I leave, its decisions, decisions, decisions!”
That man with his oranges illustrates an important point: Life is made up of decisions. Some decisions are small, some are large. But from beginning to end, it seems that life is nothing but decisions, decisions, decisions.
We have to decide to get up in the morning, for the alarm has been pestering us to make that decision and eventually we need to comply with its demands. Next, we need to decide what we are going to wear. Having made that difficult decision we then need to decide what we are going to have for breakfast. And so the day begins with one minor decision after another.
Most of us handle these routine decisions with relative ease. But life tends to confront us with the need to make major decisions from time to time. After graduating from high school we may decide to join the marines, get married, or go to college. These are the major decisions in life which, when we make them, turn around and make us.
This is the juncture in which we first meet Timothy in Scripture. Paul and Silas, on what is now known as Paul’s second missionary journey, made their way to Lystra where a disciple by the name of Timothy lived. As they learned of his good reputation from other believers both in Lystra and Iconium they actively recruited him to be part of the team.
Paul saw in Timothy a young man who was well-grounded in Scripture. A young man who had benefited from the blessings of a rich godly heritage. The only drawback, as far as Paul could see, was that Timothy was not circumcised. If Timothy was willing to do whatever was necessary to become part of the team, however, that obstacle could easily be overcome.
But it was Timothy’s decision, and it was probably the first big decision of his life. It meant packing his bag and leaving the comforts of home for an unknown length of time. It meant saying goodbye to his family; his mother and grandmother. It meant leaving his childhood friends behind him. It meant stepping into an unknown future where he would need to support himself.
Furthermore, it meant running the risk of being harmed, possibly killed, by a hostile world. After all, Timothy had seen the beating Paul had taken the last time he had traveled through the area. While some had responded to the gospel in a favorable manner, others had seen it as heresy and/or as a threat to the status quo. It was this latter group that had decided to solve the problem by dragging Paul outside of the city and stoning him.
So why did Timothy decide to join the team? Why did he decide to join up with someone who had already incurred the wrath of those who wished to maintain the status quo? Why did he choose to be circumcised when the elders in Jerusalem had already decided that it wasn’t necessary for salvation? Why borrow trouble?
I think Timothy decided to join the team for the same reason Christ chose to endure the cross. He looked beyond the cost and saw the joy of rescuing others from the dominion of darkness. He looked beyond what he would have to leave behind and saw the joy of others coming to know Christ as their Savior. He looked beyond the difficulties, the potential dangers, and saw the joy of others being well-grounded in the Word of God.
Then too, as he read the Word he was reminded of his childhood heroes. He was reminded of how God used Moses to usher the Israelites out of Egypt. He thought of how David was a mere shepherd boy and yet God used him to silence that big-mouth called Goliath. And as he reviewed some verses he had memorized he came across Isaiah 52:7, or some other verses, which spoke to his heart. In Isaiah 52:7 we read:
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
So he signed up for a minimum of four years and allowed himself to be circumcised on the same day. He then went home and told his mother. Or maybe, he had already talked to his mother about it and although he hadn’t made a decision, she knew he was leaning toward joining up with Paul and Silas. So when he went home and told her what he had done, she wasn’t surprised by the decision. She knew, from her understanding of the Old Testament, that it was a good one and supported him in what would turn out to be a life-changing decision.
The next week, she saw the three of them (Paul, Silas, and her only child) head toward Iconium knowing that they would then turn west toward Antioch. As she watched them head out of town, as she watched her son leave the home of his childhood, she silently prayed for them.
She prayed that they’d be a blessing wherever God took them, she prayed that the good news would be received by many, she prayed that the Lord would protect them from all harm, she prayed that this would be a growing experience for her son, and she prayed that the Lord would bring her son back to her. She then stepped indoors, away from the scrutiny of her neighbors, and wept.
We now pick up the story in vv. 4 and 5 of Acts 16. We read:
Then they went from town to town, explaining the decision regarding the commandments that were to be obeyed, as decided by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew daily in numbers.
One of Paul’s goals for this trip was to share the decision of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem that salvation was by grace alone. They had been commissioned to deliver this message to the churches and that is exactly what they were doing. The message was well-received and the believers were strengthened, made firm in their faith that Christ had died on their behalf and that his sacrifice was all-sufficient for their salvation.
Now whatever Timothy’s expectations were in regards to this new adventure, they were probably being met at this point. In the first few weeks believers were strengthened and Paul was able to preach the Word without being hindered by violence. The teams was riding high on the crest of a wave of enthusiasm. So much so that Timothy dropped his mom a note telling her of all the exciting things that had happened in first month.
Suddenly, everything changed. In vv. 6 - 8 we read:
Next Paul and Silas (with Timothy tagging along) traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had told them not to go into the province of Asia at that time. 7 Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not let them go. 8 So instead, they went on through Mysia to the city of Troas.
Suddenly, nothing. They weren’t doing anything different than what they had been doing and yet nothing was happening. They weren’t invited to speak, few gave an enthusiastic response to their report, and when they provided free coffee and donuts so as to attract a crowd no one showed up. It was as if they had made the mistake of announcing in advance that a “love offering” would be taken to meet expenses.
In v. 6 where we read that the Spirit “had told them not to go into the province of Asia” what literally happened is that they were “restrained” from going into the province of Asia. That is, the Spirit “restrained” them from speaking the Word.
Evidently, the team attempted to go to the western province of Asia whose leading city was Ephesus. But they were prevented, restrained, from doing so by the Holy Spirit. They then tried to turn north into Bithynia but they were also restrained from heading in that direction. Exactly how they were restrained is not stated. It may have been circumstances, a word of prophecy, a vision, or some other phenomenon. But what is clear is that they were literally funneled, by the Spirit, toward Troas.
Timothy’s letters home no longer contained glowing reports, instead they told of one closed door after another. They hinted at the fact that the team was experiencing a good deal of frustration. At first the frustration had simply been the result of not knowing which way the Lord wanted them to turn. The team was confused and they didn’t hesitate to admit it.
But confusion only last so long before it is replaced by its darker cousin - doubt. The team began doubting themselves, doubting whether they were instep with the Spirit. They began second-guessing their previous decisions and it didn’t take too long for Timothy to start thinking that he had made a big mistake. He didn’t say it out loud, but he began thinking that his uncle was right – he should have stayed home and opened up a delicatessen.
But he wasn’t a quitter and surely, or so he thought, there must be some lessons that can be learned when nothing seems to be going your way. Indeed, there were some lessons to be learned. In fact, it was during this time that he learned one of the biggest lessons of all. We find it in Proverbs 3:5-6. We read:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.
Refusing to quit, the team turned to prayer and sought the Lord during this time. And when they got up each morning and headed out they chose to trust him. I think it is for this reason that years later Paul could say to the Philippians, in 2:22:
But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has helped me in preaching the Good News.
To paraphrase:
“ You know how, early on, Timothy has proved himself by not quitting when the going got tough both in Philippi and in the weeks prior to us first preaching in Philippi.”
To Timothy’s credit he stuck with it and learned to trust God in everything!

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