The Itch

Show video of Braydon:

What is happening here? Braydon here is experiencing an uncotrollable desire to itch his butt. In this video we were reproving him to stop scratching it and it made him upset. Scratching his butt satisfied a desire that he had and it felt good. Not scratching left him irritated and upset. Letting him experience that satisfaction even for a moment because we thought it was funny lead to him bleading on both cheeks! How this is relevant will make sense in a moment, the title for tonight is “the itch” lets dive into our passage.

2 Timothy 4:2–4 ESV preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 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, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

3 For there will be a time when they will not put up with sound teaching, but in accordance with their own desires, they will accumulate for themselves teachers, ⌊because they have an insatiable curiosity⌋, 4 and they will turn away from the hearing of the truth, but will turn to myths.

W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), 2 Ti 4:3–4.

While Timothy is instructed to preach, this is the reasoning for him to do so. Because there is coming a time when people will not listen so use the time that we have now. It will not be any easier if you wait!

We have seen times like these in history and will continue to see times like this today. We are at a time when our society is turning its back not just on this truth but on the entire idea of a possible truth in general.

Let’s dive in and take a look at a few key words in this passage and at the end we will hear paul’s warning to Timothy and apply it to our selves.

The character that receives God’s word

Sound Teaching

Luke 5:31–32 ESV

And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Sound in our passage is really the word for healthy or correct. The same word is used by Jesus. We could say that people will not put up with teaching that makes them healthy. Jesus teaches this same idea saying that he did not come for those that would assume they are already healthy. They assume they have no need of him and there fore he does not come for them.

We must recognize that we are unhealthy and in need of healthy teaching to reorient us. We must take our daily medication from Jesus until our disease is fully healed. We are all diseased with sin and must not reject this idea

The next sentence in the passage tells what leads us away from this simple idea

Desires/Passions

We live in a time where desire and passion is the glorified guiding principle in our lives.

If we recognize that we are sick, then we would recognize that our desires are sick as well. Here is other passages of scripture where this same word is used, all in the negative sense

Mark 4:19 ESV

but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

Romans 6:12 ESV

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.

James 1:15 ESV

Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

This is a very different picture here to how passions are portrayed around us.

When we think we are healthy and lead by our desires, we will find teachers that will tell us that we are healthy and should follow our desires.

Why do we look for teachers? we have an insatiable curiosity, an itch..

to itch: to have or perceive an irritating sensation with a desire to scratch it

We have a unsatisfied itch for be affirmed,and there is no shortage of affirming in the wrong direction. This is how James says desire gives birth to sin and sin brings forth death.

We don’t want to change but rather hear that “we are good, we don’t need to change, to change would be evil because that would mean you are no longer how you were created to be”

This is the itch that feels great while itching it but it will never go away if you don’t stop itching it! Even though you know the truth, you refuse to stop itching so it doesn't bleed and it will heal, we keep reaching down opening the wound further.

No matter what the actual truth is we will find someone online or in person that suit these desires and passions and encourages us to remain as we are.

We essentially want to be our own authority over who should teach and what teaching is acceptable.

Paul is warning Timothy not to fall into this trap, not to vary from the truth, not to scratch his own itch and not to scratch other peoples itch. The itch will be there but going down that path will lead to myths, made up lies, and eventually the death that desire leads towards.

As you listened to tonight and we read piece by piece what Paul is saying, I hope that you have opened your heart to the spirit to expose what your itch is.

What desire is tugging at your heart, feels right but doesn’t align with truth, doesn’t align with (Jesus) the one who is the truth.

What places or people do you know that lead you to scratch the itch

Let me pause there for a moment, I am going to give you 2 minutes to think of your itch.

Now

As for you

2 Timothy 4:5 ESV

As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Be in control of yourself, don’t scratch the itch, teach others not to scratch the itch, fulfill your purpose help others be healthy in submission to the truth of Jesus.