A smile. A scripture. A shout. Your best life is now! A smile. A scripture. A shout. You are the righteousness of God! A smile. A scripture. A shout. It is the year of your destiny! Depending on who you see, you may hear that it’s the year of plenty, or the year of power, or something else. Which year is it? Anyway, these are just a few of the more popular mantras heard nowadays from various preachers and teachers.
Look, no one wants to hear a ‘hard’ word. We could do without all the, what most call ‘negativity.’ Preaching about things like sin, judgment, and the like is not considered a good day in God’s house. Most prefer to be told that everything is alright, or how good they are and definitely how good God is. Only there is a problem. What about the difficult times? How do I deal with temptation or the more weightier issues of life? You can’t deal with these types of things with just a simple smile, a scripture (usually out of context), and a nice sounding slogan. Tell me how to deal with real life. Don’t give me candy, or sweet sounding remedies. Please, tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear!
Our scripture above from 2 Timothy says that the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. We are there. I believe that now, more than any time in history there has been an inundation of false doctrine that has entered the church. The devil knows his time is short. Anyone who is willing to step into his world of doctrinal deception will be welcomed with open arms. The verse then says that at that time they will not endure sound doctrine. Who are the ‘they’ in this verse? Believers. It says that believers will not be able to endure or bear or even put up with truth. Many believers these days are hungering for something fresh, new and different. Don’t give me the same old messages recycled. Tell me something that will excite me. Look, if the Word doesn’t excite you as it is, you’ve already fallen off. No one needs to add a little spice or sugar to it to make you feel better. The scripture goes on to say that in order to fulfill this lust for more, believers will seek out preachers and teachers who will tell them what they want to hear. The itching ears referred to here is their desire to be audibly tickled. As we said, ‘Tell me what I want to hear; make me feel good.’ What immediately happens when anyone desires to have their ears tickled? They automatically turn their ears away from the truth. They choose poison over medicine. Notice that final phrase in verse 4, ‘and shall be turned unto fables.’ If one turns away from what is true, they have only one recourse, that is to turn to lies, fables and myths.
The Apostle Peter tells us what we should be desiring. In 1 Peter 2:2 he says: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. Once again I say, don’t tickle my ears-tell me the truth! It’s what we need.
That’s the Word! Take it with you. God bless you.