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TIMOTHY’S LONG-TERM ASSIGNMENT!

These past few weeks President Bush as well as other members of his administration have spent a lot of time in the Gulf Coast region, the region ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Then, on Thursday of this past week the President stood in the heart of the French Quarter and reassured the residents of New Orleans, those who have stayed and those who have fled or been evacuated, that New Orleans would be rebuilt. He underlined this resolve by exclaiming, “There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again.”
Then a bit later in the speech he promised better days to the entire region when he said, “The streets of Biloxi and Gulfport will again be filled with lovely homes and the sound of children playing. The churches of Alabama will have their broken steeples mended and their congregations whole.” In short, he reassured everyone in the Gulf Coast area that the region was important to the nation. In fact, it was so important that the Federal Government would do everything within its power to reconstruct its shattered dreams.
Paul, perhaps for different reasons, felt the same way about Ephesus. It was an important city to him. During his Third Missionary Journey, he and others stayed and preached the gospel in Ephesus longer than in any other city. As the capital of the Roman province of Asia (now Turkey) it was the commercial center for the entire region. For its seaport was one of the largest and busiest of its time.
It was also the hub for all the communication taking place within the region. When people came to Ephesus for business and/or pleasure they took a little bit of Ephesus back to the villages, towns, and cities from which they came. This included everything they saw and heard in Ephesus. So if they heard the gospel, if they heard that Christ Jesus died so that they might have eternal life and they accepted the message they in turn would share the message with their neighbors - using words if necessary.
But communication is a two way street. The believers in Ephesus, as well as everyone else, would be subject to the flow of various ideas. Many of the ideas floating around Ephesus would be purely pagan, semi-christian, or simply so weird that the only way to categorize them would be to say that they were - well “different.” And Paul knew that some of these ideas, even the weird ones, could be attractive enough to lure Christians away from the truth. It was for this reason, and some others, that Paul assigned Ephesus to Timothy.
Handing Ephesus over to Timothy is analogous to President Bush asking his most trusted aide to oversee the rebuilding of New Orleans. Yes, Biloxi, Baton Rouge, and other cities in the hurricane-ravaged region are important but no city in that area is as important as New Orleans. For New Orleans is the commercial and communication hub for the entire Gulf Coast region.
In like manner, Ephesus, even more so than Corinth, had been ravaged by the spiritual forces of darkness prior to Paul coming to this populous city. We know this for it was in Ephesus that the Lord performed extraordinary miracles through Paul. For in Acts 19:11 - 20 we read:
God gave Paul the power to do unusual miracles, 12 so that even when handkerchiefs or cloths that had touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and any evil spirits within them came out.
A team of Jews who were traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus. The incantation they used was this: “I command you by Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. 15 But when they tried it on a man possessed by an evil spirit, the spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul. But who are you?” 16 And he leaped on them and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and badly injured.
The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored. 18 Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices. 19 A number of them who had been practicing magic brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars. 20 So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect.
You see, whenever you see this level of demonic activity it means that this is enemy-held territory. It is territory under the realm of Satan. He holds it, and in his own way he values it, so much so that he is unwilling to give it up without strong resistance. So when Paul and the others first entered Ephesus they were entering territory ravaged by the enemy.
Three years later, when Paul bade the elders of the church in Ephesus farewell he warned them that the church would be desolated from the inside out. For in Acts 20:25 - 38 we read:
And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Let me say plainly that I have been faithful. No one’s damnation can be blamed on me, 27 for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants for you.
“And now beware! Be sure that you feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his blood—over whom the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. 29 I know full well that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. 30 Even some of you will distort the truth in order to draw a following. 31 Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.
“And now I entrust you to God and the word of his grace—his message that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.
“I have never coveted anyone’s money or fine clothing. 34 You know that these hands of mine have worked to pay my own way, and I have even supplied the needs of those who were with me. 35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help the poor by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them. 37 They wept aloud as they embraced him in farewell, 38 sad most of all because he had said that they would never see him again. Then they accompanied him down to the ship.
Now whether Paul ever saw them again or not is open to debate. After leaving them he and others traveled to Jerusalem to deliver the relief funds that had so generously been given by the churches in Macedonia, Greece, and Asia. In Jerusalem he was arrested and spent the next four to five years under house arrest - first in Caesarea and then in Rome.
What we do know is that after being released from prison Paul traveled throughout Macedonia and urged Timothy to stay in Ephesus. We also know that events unfolded in Ephesus just as Paul had predicted when he bade the elders farewell. For in I Timothy 1:1 - 11 we read:
This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and by Christ Jesus our hope.
It is written to Timothy, my true child in the faith. May God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.
When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those who are teaching wrong doctrine. 4 Don’t let people waste time in endless speculation over myths and spiritual pedigrees. For these things only cause arguments; they don’t help people live a life of faith in God. 5 The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith.
But some teachers have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time arguing and talking foolishness. 7 They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they seem so confident. 8 We know these laws are good when they are used as God intended. 9 But they were not made for people who do what is right. They are for people who are disobedient and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who murder their father or mother or other people. 10 These laws are for people who are sexually immoral, for homosexuals and slave traders, for liars and oath breakers, and for those who do anything else that contradicts the right teaching 11 that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God.
Wow! Years earlier Paul had told the elders to be on their guard lest wolves crawled in and ravaged the flock. Well, evidently some if not all of the elders had let down their guard for in a mere four-to-five years wolves in sheep clothing had crept their way into the church.
Clearly, Paul was aware that some “sheep” or so called “sheep” had gone astray. Perhaps he had received a report from someone within the church while he was still in prison. If so, at that time he may have sent Timothy to Ephesus to deal with the matter. But as I see it, judging from v. 3, Paul must have returned to Ephesus long enough to assess the condition of the church and had enough confidence in Timothy to hand responsibility for the region over to him while he traveled into Macedonia.
While this book is the first of what are called the “pastoral epistles” Timothy wasn’t the pastor of the church, not in the way we use that word today. According to Acts 20 the congregation had its own organization of elders long before Timothy was given this tough assignment. He was Paul’s personal representative. He assisted all the churches in and around Ephesus. He directed, organized, and supervised the work of these different congregations. He was also charged with correcting, and possibly dejecting, false teachers who threatened to destroy the church from within.
Timothy, as you know, was probably in his early thirties when he began the work. He was young, had some health problems, and by nature did not have the forceful personality of Paul. The older members of the church at Ephesus, those who had sat under Paul’s ministry, would have been tempted to look down their noses at the younger man. So Paul wrote to Timothy for two reasons.
First, he wanted to encourage the young man personally. Both this letter as well as II Timothy are filled with tenderness and affection as well as tact and direction. They were designed to give Timothy meaningful support - both practically and psychologically.
Second, the two letters were also intended to assist Timothy in carrying out the various aspects of the assignment that had been entrusted to him. These letters that Paul wrote gave Timothy explicit authority to carry out his responsibilities. If anyone questioned Timothy’s right to be directing the affairs of the church in and around Ephesus they could see in writing that Timothy had Paul’s full support.
In addition to correcting and/or dejecting false teachers Timothy was to also guide the church in its public worship. He was to see to it that the churches selected good leaders and was to oversee the every day affairs of the church. In short, he was to see that the church became a “healthy” church.
It was an immense task carried out in a threatening environment and Timothy needed all the help he could get. And while it is not usually considered polite to read someone else's mail we’d do well to look over Timothy’s shoulder while he is reading the two letters addressed to him. Others looked over his shoulder and concluded that this was good stuff. So good that it ought to be shared with all the churches.
After all, we live in a world where false teachers abound outside of the church and could easily sneak their way into the church. We still engage in public worship and continue to need guidelines for selecting effective leaders. So we will undoubtedly profit from looking over his shoulder. Others did and despite what Miss Manners would say about the practice it evidently never bothered Timothy.

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