Scary Bible IV // Itchy Ears

Psalm 119:160, 2 Timothy 4:1-5, John 6:60-69, Ephesians 4:20-25

Last Week: None Other Than God

• Our corrupted culture wants to pull you away from Godly values
• God shows up for you in the hot and hard times

Today: Itchy Ears – a message about truth

Psalm 119:160 (ESV) | The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (NLT) | ¹ I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: ² Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. ³ 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. ⁴ They will reject the truth and chase after myths. ⁵ But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

Itching Ears: also to tickle, as in to tickle one’s fancy

• REMEMBER: passionate desire for forbidden pleasure
• To desire massages rather than messages, sermons that charm rather than challenge, entertain rather than edify, and please rather than preach.
• Paul’s warning is that the church would one day contain those who only opened their ears to those who would scratch their “itch.”

So what is the myth? That there is no absolute truth.

• Postmodernism: no absolute truth
• Deny long-held beliefs and conventions
• Maintain that all viewpoints are equally valid

How do we live with itchy ears today?

• Confirmation bias: interpreting new evidence as support for one’s existing beliefs or theories.
• We look for echo chambers: An environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions like their own, so existing views are reinforced, and alternative ideas are not considered.

Sometimes the truth hurts…

• John 6:60-69 (NLT) | ⁶⁰ Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” ⁶¹ Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? ⁶³ The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴ But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) ⁶⁵ Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.” ⁶⁶ At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. ⁶⁷ Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. ⁶⁹ We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

God’s truth is for you and others

• Ephesians 4:20-25 (ESV) | ²⁰ But that is not the way you learned Christ! — ²¹ assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²² to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³ and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. ²⁵ Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Let’s remember Paul’s instructions to Timothy:

1. Share the good news
2. Be prepared
3. Correct and direct
4. Encourage
5. Stay patient

Hope and Help

• Remember that Jesus is truth (John 14:6)
• Recognize deception (John 8:44)
• Live in truth and watch Spirit work (Ephesians 4:25)

Reflection Questions

1. What comes to mind when you think of God’s word being the sum total of truth? How does this align with your experience in the world?
2. The Apostle Paul was worried about the time when people’s desire for comfort would overwhelm the need for truth. Do you think we are there? Why or why not?
3. What is postmodernism? How do you experience it in this day and age?
4. How did Jesus manage when He saw some of His own disciples leaving Him because the truth was hard for them?
5. Review the five instruction items the Apostle Paul shared from our passage in 2 Timothy 4:1-5. In which ones do you feel you are successful? Which one(s) need attention?