The above photograph of mine, which is of a sleeping, tiny Fennec Fox, shows a good view of its extremely large ears, which are from 5 to 6 inches long. These adorable creatures are found in the deserts of North Africa and Saudi Arabia. Their large ears help to dissipate the heat.
This photo is not a good example of "itching ears", but I will rectify that soon with the following information. It is the only photo I have depicting ears as the primary focus. Well, I also have other photographs of this tiny desert fox.
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." - 2 Timothy 4:3
Itching, as we all realize, causes us to scratch, and then to scratch some more to get relief. Recently, I ran across a quote by A. W. Tozer in which he said that he had come across a commentator that remarked that in the apostle Paul's day (Paul wrote 2 Timothy)
the pigs had a disease which they called "itching ears". It seems the pigs ears got inflamed and the only way the pigs could get relief was by going to a pile of rocks to rub their ears against them, as the stones gave them temporary relief from the itching."
Tozer goes on to say: "I am running into Christians here and there who are just like that. They love pleasure more than God and will not endure sound doctrine. They have itching ears so they will be eager for something else beside the sound doctrine and holy ways. They will pile up teachers everywhere and rub their ears for dear life."
Another commentator says that these people are "suffering mentally which is soothed by external applications of fantastic myths and high-flown phrases."
Also, these people will have ears that want to hear a "soft and watered-down message", one that does not prick their conscience or remind them of their secret sins. They have "pet" lusts and sins that they do not want to give up.
Granted, it is not always the people, as they cannot control what comes to them from the pulpit. Many churches today are seeker-friendly and do not want to offend anyone by hard doctrine and the need to repent from your sins or suffer the consequences in hell.
Many see church as a "social club" of sorts. Actually, in some cases that is very true. Numerous churches, in an effort not to offend anyone, abandon sound doctrine and some churches even become very worldly, especially in the music and entertainment department; but in other ways as well.
But back to "itching ears" . Many people could be cured of this "disease" if they would only develop a close, personal, and intimate relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. We don't need to be enthralled by charismatic personalities who preach watered-down messages to please the people. We need instead a strong relationship with God and Jesus. We develop this relationship by frequent prayer and by pouring daily over God's Holy Word. You cannot develop a relationship unless you communicate with a Person. Much prayer !
All of this is important, but unless a person is born again (John 3:3) he will not have the Holy Spirit to guide him in a walk with the good Lord; he will not completely understand the Bible unless the Holy Spirit resides within him. So how do you become "born again"?
Repent of your sins. That means more than just feeling bad about our sins. It means to completely give them up and do not go back to a life of sin. It means a change of mind and heart. It means to be sincere in asking the good Lord for forgiveness. But you cannot truly be saved unless you have faith and believe that Jesus is the Savior and that only He can save you. He took your place at the cross! He died for you and me, so that if we but believe in Him we can have eternal life.
If you are truly saved - truly born again - the Holy Spirit will come and reside with you. He will help you to live a godly life and to not cling to your old life of sin. He will give you hope and a purpose. A purpose to live totally for the Lord and to spread the Gospel. You will no longer desire your past lusts and you will be a new creation. You need to then find a Bible based church, one that preaches the Gospel and focuses on Christ and not on social concerns.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are past away; behold, all things are become new." - 2 Corinthians 5:17
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." - John 3:3
Romans 10: 9, 10, 13 tells us: "(9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16
Time is short before the Rapture of true believers.
Turn to Jesus now before it is too late !
Jesus loves you !
He will welcome you with open arms of forgiveness and love when you turn to Him in belief and heartfelt repentance!
Following is a 38 minute audio video sermon by Puritan Jonathan Edwards. In the beginning few minutes he discusses "itching ears".
One thing brought out in this sermon is, "Truth is a straight line that never bends - it won't bend in the least degree to suit the lust of men." Another quote from the above sermon: "You cannot conform the truth to your inclinations. Let your inclinations be conformed to the truth." He speaks much of the lust of men and how men attempt to change principles to suit their lusts. It is a good sermon and therefore I included it here, but it only gives a few minutes to the subject of "itching ears."
Ephesians 3:16-19 says: (16) That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; (17) That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, (18) May be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; (19) And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God."
Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend.... and life !!
