Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
When we first moved out in the woods 25 years ago, we were surrounded by all kinds of different plants that we needed to be able to identify. Some of them had to be learned quickly because if you happened to walk into a few of them, they could cause a severe itch. Perhaps you have heard of some of these well-known plants such as poison ivy or poison sumac which contain an oil that can result in an itchy and painful rash. There is also another plant that is called the stinging nettle, and it is an extremely common plant that is found in gardens, fields and woodlands. It has slender, square and hairy stems that can grow up to 8 ft tall. They too will cause an itchy rash when you brush against them and their tiny hairs penetrate your skin. In order to prevent receiving irritation from these plants, people avoid contact with them completely!
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
An itch is defined as an uneasy, unsettling and an irritating sensation, which is something that will be felt in the ears of many people who refuse to listen to the teachings of Holy Scripture. Biblical truth does not sit well in the ears of the impenitent, so rather than dealing with the stinging sensation of God’s Word, they will turn their ears away from it, so they don’t have to deal with the aggravation anymore.
2 Timothy 4:1-4 (KJB) I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 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; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Certain passages of scripture will become a vexing irritation in someone’s soul, insomuch that it will cause them to turn their ears away from the teachings of God’s Holy Word. Rather than receiving biblical Truth, they will reject it unto themselves and then believe the lies of false prophets and teachers instead. They don’t want to repent of their own lusts, so they will get up and walk off on the teachings of our faith.
John 3:20 (KJB) For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
This is why you have so many forms of false Christianity in the world today, many of which have departed from a conservative viewpoint of God’s Word. They have become so incredulous that rather than accepting the truth of their own disobedient and sinful condition, they will join up with others who tell them exactly what they want to hear. The teachings of scripture are given to us for our correction and discipline, and at times they are going to sting if you are not walking according to the will of God. But like a proud and rebellious wife who refuses to hearken to her husband, some people will refuse to hearken to biblical truth, and run into the arms of another lover instead. To obtain eternal life will require opening up our ears to the chastening of God’s Word, and although it might not feel very good at the moment, we must humbly endure them in order to move on to the person that God wants us to become.
Hebrews 12:5-11 (KJB) And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Many people will run away from correction, rather than coming to grips with the error of their own way. It’s amazing how some of them will cling to certain verses to the complete neglect and exemption of the rest. When this happens they never go through a complete transformation from start to finish. Can you imagine taking off your pajamas in the morning, putting on a three-piece suit and then walking out to your car without your pants on? That’s a pretty simple analogy but that’s exactly what false Christianity is doing today. They might believe 75% of scripture, but then reject the rest, which normally happens because they don’t want to repent of certain lusts in their lives. You can have a lot of Christianity but still not make it to heaven, the Bible is clear on that. What matters most of all is repentance from dead works, and overcoming all of the sins and temptations of this world.
James 1:12 (KJB) Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
In these latter days, there are numerous false prophets who claim that holding dogmatic opinions of scriptural doctrine is not really that important for salvation, but they are not only liars but frauds. In those statements they call the teachings of the Apostle Paul a lie. People will lose their own salvation simply because they refuse to endure sound doctrine, an issue that was so important that the Apostle warned Timothy about it.
1 Timothy 4:16 (KJB) Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
Preaching the truth is certainly going to thin out the crowd, but this is all a work of God. When they reject scripture, they will join up with other large groups who tell them the ear- tickling things that they want to hear. This is the reason why you have huge forms of false Christianity, and at the same time, the depleting number of genuine Christians. But you can be assured that the Sword of God’s Word is doing exactly what it’s supposed to be doing!
Matthew 10:34 (KJB) Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Luke 12:51 (KJB) Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
So remember today that the teachings of Holy Scripture do not sit well in the ears of the impenitent, and because of this, they will turn their ears away from the Truth. Rather than deal with the irritating itch, they will do whatever they need to do in order to avoid it, just like keeping away from…..
……..The Stinging Nettle
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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