Teachers, stop tickling people’s ears.
So, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
We are freed by knowing the truth, and that comes from abiding in the truth of His word. I think Jesus is very clear.
It does not come from abiding in the teachings of men, the sermons of men, the doctrines of men, the interpretations of men, the latest revelations of our favorite bible teachers, or any other way that seems right to man.(Proverbs 14:12)
We MUST pursue Him primarily through His word for ourselves, not by listening to other men’s teachings and opinions. These teachings of men have value, but when we elevate their teachings above the Word, or lean on them more than on the Holy Spirit and the scriptures.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
The time isn’t coming, folks, the time is NOW!
We have become the church with the itchy ears. Over 200 Christian denominations in the U.S. alone, and we ALL are arrogant enough to believe we have it right. The lack of humility is appalling.
We become what we hear and what we behold, then we model what we have become and impart what we model. To our friends, our co-workers, our family, and the world.
If we constantly hear and behold wrong doctrine, we partner with the adversary and become builders of our own strongholds of unbelief. Our itchy ears and the lust for leavened bread (Men’s opinions about the Bible) blinds us from the truth. “Let not many be teachers.”(James 3:1)
To be truly free, we must be very selective about what we are hearing and what we are beholding, who we are listening to, and how much we are doing it. Without the filter of our own personal relationship with God and His Word, we cannot discern truth. Truth becomes obscured because we have placed a higher value on men’s interpretation of scripture than on the scriptures themselves. James explains this further.
James 1:21-22 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
When we primarily listen to the opinions of men instead of putting God’s Word first and trusting in the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us we find ourselves not having the grace needed to obey. So, we hear and hear and hear and never become a doer of the Word. Verse 22 says that when we hear the Word and don’t DO the Word, we deceive ourselves.
Here is what that deception looks like: We hear it so much that we think we actually know it. We may be able to quote multiple passages and even talk intelligently about them, but if we are not doing what the Bible says, WE DON’T KNOW THE WORD!
You could study and even memorize every piece of literature on the planet about Brain Surgery. You can watch all the videos on surgeries and even consult with the leading Brain Surgeons on the planet.
Does that make you a Brain Surgeon? NO!
Just because you read and hear the word doesn’t mean you know it or Him. Until you put God’s Word into practice, you don’t know it. And if you teach what you are not practicing and growing in, you are robbing others of the impartation and the grace to follow what you teach.
Ministers, Pastors, Teachers, all leaders that teach in some capacity, I want to encourage you to ONLY teach what you are living and growing in.
JESUS IS COMING!
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