Itching Ears

 ‎"For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths."  

~ 2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT

We live in a world today that is driven by "hype" and "glam" rather what is real. Just look at popular culture. We can't present the truth of what a person looks like, we have to photo"chop" them and create a false illusion to the public, in order to keep the public interested and hooked, and we have to keep pushing the limits to be on the "cutting edge" of what is expected. Hype rules the world we live in, it drives it and that same mentality has, sadly, entered into the church world. The church can no longer preach the truth because it is the "same old, same old" and there is nothing exciting about it. Church people want something new and exciting that "no one else has" and this most often leads to error and, in some cases, destruction. 

I know we christians don't like to talk about our flesh or even admit that it does dictate our perceptions of the Word, if we allow it to. But the truth is that if you open the door, your flesh can cause you to chase after teaching and doctrine that satisfies your flesh or itching ears, rather than strengthening your Spirit. Paul himself said, "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." (1 Cor. 9:27). Even Paul felt pressure from his flesh, but he made a decision NOT to let his flesh rule or have the loudest voice in his life. I feel that too many christians are not following Paul's example, rather than renewing their mind to the Word and allowing the Spirit to be the loudest voice in them, they are allowing their flesh to dictate their beliefs, doctrine, and perception of the scripture. 

There is always going to be a "new" message that starts out of a biblical truth that will hook people and lead them outside of the sound truth of the Word of God. Satan knows that he cannot lead believers astray by starting out telling them, "Go commit adultery, you'll be ok." But he does know if he can use enough of a biblical truth (He did this with Jesus in Matt. 4 & Luke 4) to lead people in a certain direction, then he can get them caught up in it and start twisting the truth small amounts at a time to where he will eventually have a group of people who are outside of the Truth, but don't even see it. When this happens, the door has be swung wide open to him and he can push them over the edge and into a place of darkness and sin.  

How can this happen to believers? 

Well, look at the three temptations that Jesus faced in the wilderness (Luke 4).  He was faced with the Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life. When Satan realizes that he can't get you with one temptation he will move on to the next. So, if he can't immediately tempt you to get into a lifestyle that is not pleasing to God, he WILL use other methods to get you outside of the will of God, and he will be very crafty and clever in his execution of this because his goal in life is to destroy your life and make christianity a mockery. 

I believe there is a definite connection to the temptations listed above and trendy, faddish doctrines. First, they capture your attention. They captivate you because they're new and exciting and so different than the "boring" message you're getting at your church, right? So, they appeal to your fleshly or soulish desires. Second, they appeal to your pride, "no one else has the truth, like us!" When you get to the point that you are so focused on a doctrine that you believe everyone else in the world is just not with the whole truth, or that everyone out there preaching isn't preaching it as good as you or minister so and so, you have entered into a place of pride, a place of boasting in what you have and comparing it to what others lack. "For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world." (1 Jn 2:16) This is an extremely dangerous place to be. It moves you outside of the will of God and because you have allowed pride, rather than the Word, to reign supreme in your life. And now that you're here you have to keep on developing new and exciting "revelation for God" to keep people hooked. This is where Satan comes in to play, he's got you hooked and now he can lead you, and everyone following you, even further down a slippery slope, without you even realizing or seeing what is taking place because you are blinded by your own pride. And you end up with a classic case of the blind leading the blind into destruction. 

In my lifetime I have seen so many people lead astray by "changing winds of doctrine" (Eph. 4:14). It just breaks your heart to watch people, who once walked in a place with God that was admirable and precious, turn and become bitter and full of hatred towards those who are trying to help them out of the trap they fell into so they don't throw their life away. But, as 2 Timothy 4:3-4 says, "For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths." Sadly, that time is now and we as believers must be on guard as never before! There are too many doctrines floating around out there leading believers astray right and left, we need to be grounded in the Word! We don't want to be "...children, tossed [like ships] to and fro between chance gusts of teaching and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, [the prey of] the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, [gamblers engaged] in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to mislead." (Eph. 4:14 AMP). Rather, we should be full of the Word, fully convinced of what the Word says and ready to help guide anyone who is going astray back to the Truth found in the Word. And as Jude say, "Guard and keep yourselves in the love of God; expect and patiently wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)--[which will bring you] unto life eternal. And refute [so as to] convict some who dispute with you, and on some have mercy who waver and doubt." (Jude 1:21-22). 

It is fine to have a updated, modernized service and delivery, as long as it is FULL of the Word! We should never compromise the Word to meet the demands of itching ears, because the power that the Word possesses is the ONLY thing that is going to save this world! We need to come to a point where we don't allow the cry for something new, spectacular, or exciting to dictate the message we proclaim, but instead we should be in a place where, as Kenneth E. Hagin always said, "God said it. I believe it. That settles it." And, a place where we boldly and unapologetically proclaim only that which the Bible clearly states in view of the full counsel of the Word of God (Acts 20:27). 

 "Too many times people chase after the SPECTACULAR and miss the SUPERNATURAL!" ~ Kenneth E. Hagin

Study the Word, 

JRT 

"Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." ~ 2 Timothy 2:15 AKJV