{"id":18221,"date":"2016-05-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-22T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/2-timothy-031-itching-ears-of-the-last-days\/"},"modified":"2016-05-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-05-22T05:00:00","slug":"2-timothy-031-itching-ears-of-the-last-days","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/2-timothy-031-itching-ears-of-the-last-days\/","title":{"rendered":"2 Timothy 031 – Itching Ears of the Last Days"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[100],"series_event":[454],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18221","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-2-timothy","series_event-2-timothy","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"2 Timothy 031 - Itching Ears of the Last Days","sermon_date":"20160522","sermon_month":"5","sermon_year":"2016","sermon_notes":3634,"sermon_slides":3636,"sermon_mp3":3637,"sermon_id":"522161029481","series_or_event":454,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":100,"chapter_and_verse":"4:3-4","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nItching Ears of the Last Days\n\n5-22-16\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2 Timothy 4:3-4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 32\n\nGood morning everybody.\u00a0 If we could take our Bibles and open them to the book of 2 Timothy, chapter 4:3-4.\u00a0 The title of our message this morning is Itching Ears of the Last Days, probably Part 1.\u00a0 And I want to thank Dr. Jim McGowan for filling in last week, I trust you enjoyed his ministry as he dealt with an important topic of the distinction between Law and Grace.\u00a0\u00a0 We had a great congregational meeting, a lot of ministries that never got acknowledged in that meeting, unfortunately, or a lot of behind the scenes people, like our AV guys up there that do all their hard work [clapping].\u00a0 And not to mention our worship team that you just saw up here [clapping] and of course you got a chance to take a look at what the Lord\u2019s doing to our children\u2019s ministry.\n\nAnd if you\u2019re not really in the habit of Sunday School attendance then you may not be a Christian\u2026 no, I\u2019m kidding!\u00a0\u00a0 I invite you to come June 5th<\/sup>, Bob is going to continue his class for a couple of weeks and I\u2019m going to be teaching here in the Sunday School hour on the doctrine of eternal security.\u00a0 We are in the middle of a salvation study but we\u2019re starting fresh with a new topic so if you haven\u2019t been following that series don\u2019t feel like you can\u2019t come; that is going to start June 5.\n\nYou know, eternal security is something that people struggle with their whole lives, and we\u2019re going to try to get right to the heart of the matter in this study.\n\n2 Timothy 4:3-4 reads as follows: \u201cFor the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, [4] and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Sorry that I don\u2019t have more of an uplifting sermon for you today but this is the passage we find ourselves in.\u00a0 It occurs in a book called 2 Timothy where Paul is encouraging a young man named Timothy to complete his task in ministry.\n\nAnd he tells Timothy in this book that the task of ministry is not always easy and cheer up, it\u2019s about to get worse because he makes a prediction about the last days.\u00a0\u00a0 He makes a prediction about what the fickle and ever-changing human mind will start to demand from their spiritual leaders in the last days.\u00a0 If you\u2019re kind of an outline person verse 3 is what people in the last days will turn away from\u2014sound doctrine.\u00a0 Verse 4 is a description of what they will turn towards\u2014false doctrine, and as we\u2019ll see as we get into this they\u2019ll \u201cturn aside to myths.\u201d\n\nBut taking a look, first of all, at verse 3; notice what he says, \u201cFor the time will come\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 The Greek word for \u201ctime\u201d is very interesting; it\u2019s the word kairos<\/em>.\u00a0 In fact, if you back up to verse 2 it says, \u201cpreach the word; be ready in season and out of season,\u201d when he uses this expression \u201cin season and out of season\u201d it\u2019s the word kairos<\/em> again; \u201cin season\u201d is eukairos<\/em>, the eu<\/em> prefix meaning good, \u201cgood season,\u201d and then \u201cout of season\u201d is akairos, a<\/em> being a negation, or \u201cout of season.\u201d\n\nAnd so he\u2019s warned Timothy that he is to fulfill his calling as a preacher and a teacher of the Word of God \u201cin season,\u201d when it\u2019s in vogue to do this kind of ministry and \u201cout of season\u201d when it\u2019s unpopular to do it.\n\nAnd that flows very nicely into verse 3, where he begins to describe the time in history where the teaching of the Word of God will fall out of popularity.\u00a0 It will fall \u201cout of season.\u201d\u00a0 I think I\u2019ve shared the analogy of my mom when I was living at their house as a teenager and went shopping for her; I wanted to get strawberries, now today my wife tells me you can get strawberries anywhere at certain stores, but way back in the prehistoric days when I was growing up and we used to walk up hill to school both ways and fight Indians the whole way and all that stuff, you couldn\u2019t get strawberries any time you wanted them.\u00a0 And to my dismay I would say mom, I couldn\u2019t get strawberries; and she\u2019s like well of course you can\u2019t them, they\u2019re out of season right now.\n\nSo things in the natural world come into season and they go out of season.\u00a0 And that is what Paul is describing here with the Word of God.\u00a0 There\u2019s coming a time in history where the Word of God actually will fall out of favor and popularity and \u201cout of season.\u201d\u00a0 And one of the reasons I wanted to go through these verses so slowly, particularly verses 3-4, is you see there\u2019s so much here we may not even get through all of it today; that\u2019s why there might be a part 2.\n\nBut I believe that these verses, and the reason I wanted to look at them carefully is it\u2019s largely describing the season that we find ourselves in today, where the Word of God simply falls out of favor; it becomes \u201cout of season.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s no longer eukairos<\/em>, it\u2019s akairos<\/em>.\n\nNow you\u2019ll notice the way the New American Standard Bible translates this; it says: \u201cFor the time will come,\u201d what does \u201cthe\u201d mean?\u00a0 He\u2019s speaking here about a specific season, a specific time.\u00a0 He\u2019s no longer talking in generalities; he\u2019s talking about a time in history.\u00a0 And I believe that this time in history will begin to exist as the church moves into the last days as the Lord is getting ready to wrap up His unfinished business with the church just prior to the rapture. \u00a0It\u2019s a time period sometimes called \u201cthe last days\u201d in the Bible and sometimes it\u2019s called \u201cthe latter days.\u201d\u00a0 And this is in Paul\u2019s two letters to Timothy, this will be the third time that Paul has addressed these latter times.\n\nBack in 1 Timothy 4:1 Paul said that \u201cthe Spirit expressly says that in the later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019s talking about a specific time period.\n\nIn 1 Timothy 3:1, you\u2019ll recall, it says, \u201cBut realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.\u201d\u00a0 So he\u2019s dealing with a specific epoch or era, or kairos<\/em>, or time when the Word of God loses its traction in the minds of men and women.\u00a0 Now you\u2019ll notice this expression here in verse 3, \u201cFor the time will come,\u201d this is a promise.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t say Timothy, it might come, it could come.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t say here\u2019s three or four ways you can stop this time from coming.\u00a0 He just matter-of- fact lays it out on the line for Timothy and for us as readers in our time period that this time period is coming; it\u2019s not optional.\u00a0 The only thing that\u2019s really optional is how we react to this time period.\u00a0 That you can control but the time period itself cannot be controlled nor altered.\n\nNow notice he says this three other times.\u00a0 He says, \u201cthey will not endure sound doctrine,\u201d \u201cthey will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,\u201d they \u201cwill turn aside their ears from the truth,\u201d they \u201cwill turn aside to myths.\u201d\u00a0 So four times within a couple of verses he\u2019s saying this time period is coming.\u00a0 And it\u2019s not just Paul that warns of this time period; Peter warns of it as well.\u00a0 2 Timothy and 2 Peter are sort of companion pieces.\n\nAnd the reason I say that is both books were written by two key men of God just before they died.\u00a0 So 2 Timothy is largely the last will and testament, if you will, of Paul.\u00a0 2 Peter is largely that last will and testament of Peter.\u00a0 2 Peter, Peter\u2019s last will and testament; 2 Timothy, Paul\u2019s last will and testament.\u00a0 Peter says the exact same thing in his book.\u00a0 2 Peter 2:1 he says, \u201cBut false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 2 Peter 3:3, Peter says, \u201cKnow this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0So these are future tense promises at the time these were written and these are actual promises from God.\u00a0 I might, if I were so bold as to come up with my own translation of the Bible I might translate it this way:\u00a0 \u201cFor the time will come\u201d parenthesis, \u201c(and now is)\u201d close parenthesis, \u201cwhen they will not endure sound doctrine.\u201d\n\nNow notice also this word \u201cdoctrine.\u201d\u00a0 Doctrine, for whatever reason, has become sort of a dirty word within the body of Christ.\u00a0 Doctrine is looked at unfavorably.\u00a0 In fact, there\u2019s one prominent preacher, if I called out his name you all would know who I\u2019m talking about, but there have been multiple interviews this individual has done and on multiple occasions what he says is this:\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t teach doctrine in my church.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Now some of my students have come to me at the College of Biblical Studies and they ask what I think about that and my response is always the same: he just taught a doctrine.\u00a0 His doctrine is I don\u2019t teach doctrine.\u00a0 So what he has done is he has exchanged one absolute statement for another.\u00a0 To make a decision not to teach doctrine is, in essence, a doctrine or a teaching.\u00a0 And the way that this particular preacher rants and raves about doctrine you would think that doctrine is some sort of terrible thing, dirty word, it sort of divides people from each other, (which by the way it can).\n\nBut what do we mean by doctrine anyway?\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at this for a minute.\u00a0 The word \u201cdoctrine\u201d is the Greek word \u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c3\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03af\u03b1 (<\/strong>didaskalia<\/em><\/em>), <\/strong>you\u2019ll recognize in that word didactic, in terms of teaching, and that\u2019s all doctrine is.\u00a0 Doctrine is simply teaching.\u00a0 It\u2019s teaching provided by the Scripture that you can build your life on; that\u2019s all doctrine is.\u00a0 It\u2019s not some sort of dirty word, it\u2019s actually something that\u2019s quite positive as I\u2019ll show you in a minute.\n\nAnd doctrine is something that Paul emphasizes over and over again.\u00a0 For example, in 2 Timothy 3:16 he says, a verse we\u2019ve already gone over, \u201cAll scripture is inspired by God, and profitable for teaching,\u201d now that\u2019s the related word didach\u0113<\/em>, very similar to didaskalia<\/em><\/em>.\u00a0 And then as you go down to 2 Timothy 4:2, the immediately preceding verse it says, \u201cpreach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove,\u00a0 rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction,\u201d that\u2019s again <\/em>didach\u0113<\/em>, \u201cinstruction\u201d related to didaskalia<\/em><\/em>.\u00a0 In fact, the early church that came into existence in the book of Acts, chapter 2, of all of the things that the early church gave themselves to, the first item they ever gave themselves to wholeheartedly was doctrine.\u00a0 Acts 2:42 says, \u201c<\/em>They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles\u2019 teaching\u2026\u201d \u201cteaching\u201d there is didach\u0113 <\/em>again, related to didaskalia. <\/em><\/em>\n\nSo what is doctrine?\u00a0 Doctrine is simply truth that comes from the Word of God that you can construct your life upon.\u00a0 It is truth that is reliable and verifiable, it is truth that you can \u201ctake to the bank.\u201d\u00a0 In fact, the truth is so certain and reliable that you can actually use it to build your life upon and begin to use it as a grid through which you view all of life.\u00a0 And it\u2019s this very thing called \u201cdoctrine\u201d that Paul is predicting here is going to fall out of favor with people.\u00a0 Now you\u2019ll notice the modifier in front of doctrine, didaskalia<\/em><\/em>, it\u2019s the modifier \u201csound,\u201d \u201csound doctrine\u201d because not all doctrine, if it\u2019s not found in the Scripture is good.\u00a0 In fact, doctrine, if it comes from the wrong source can be something very negative.\u00a0 Paul, in a verse I quoted a little earlier, 1 Timothy 4:1, talks about \u201cdoctrines of demons.\u201d\u00a0 As Christians we have doctrines that we believe in from the Bible but the satanic realm, the demonic realm, they have doctrines as well.\u00a0 In fact, I would argue this, that when the angel, Gabriel, which Muslims call <\/em>Jibreel, \u00a0gave to Mohammed a set of teachings that we call the doctrines of Islam\u2026, and by the way, I don\u2019t think the Gabriel that Mohammed supposedly had contact with is the Gabriel of the Bible.\u00a0 I believe it was an angel of light, an angel of light masquerading as a demon or perhaps Satan himself.\u00a0 <\/em>\n\n\u00a0But at any rate, this man, Mohammed, received these teachings and they are a set of teachings, you can read about all of them in the Quran, the Hadith, they\u2019re very actual teachings that are absolute just like teachings from the Bible.\u00a0 I would say those are doctrines of demons that he received, although he probably wouldn\u2019t understand that, although originally it is interesting when you look at Mohammed\u2019s testimony he did believe that initially, before his wife talked him out of it, that it was the devil or a demon contacting him.\u00a0 <\/em>\n\n\u00a0So my point is simply this; not all doctrines are necessarily good.\u00a0 So Paul is very clear here, the type of doctrine that is going to be rejected in the last days is \u201csound doctrine,\u201d biblical doctrine., correct doctrine.\u00a0 In fact, the word translated \u201csound\u201d is <\/em>hugia\u00edn\u014d<\/em>, and think for a minute, what English word comes from hugia\u00edn\u014d<\/em>?\u00a0 It\u2019s the word hygiene; hygiene simply means health.\u00a0 It\u2019s something that is healthy, it\u2019s something that is good for you.\u00a0 It\u2019s something is necessary to ingest into one\u2019s system to mature properly.\u00a0 That\u2019s what he means here by \u201csound doctrine.\u201d\n\nAnd I remember growing up in my parents\u2019 house, you know, my mom would always say eat the broccoli, eat the squash, eat your spinach.\u00a0 I had no interest in that, quite frankly; I wanted to move right into dessert.\u00a0 If I had my choice I would eat dessert all the time.\u00a0 But obviously if someone just eats dessert, ice cream, cherry pie, popsicles, it feels good going down but it\u2019s not the type of nutrients that the body needs to develop correctly or properly.\n\nIn the same way, in the spiritual world there are basic doctrines that are healthy that God wants us to understand and God wants us to know about.\u00a0 And if we don\u2019t ingest these doctrines, while at times they\u2019re not palatable always to absorb, like squash or broccoli or spinach, and you may like all those three things and that\u2019s fine (I\u2019ll pray for you).\u00a0 But most of us normal people don\u2019t like all these things.\u00a0 And so there\u2019s things that are kind of painful going down but it\u2019s necessary for health.\u00a0 You see, that is the type of doctrine that people in the last days will start to reject.\n\nThis word, hugia\u00edn\u014d<\/em>, where we get the word hygiene, is a very interesting word when you start tracking it through the Bible.\u00a0 Remember the\u00a0 parable of the prodigal son, Luke 15:27 says, \u201cAnd he said to him, \u2018Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 The lost son was returned \u201cback safe and sound,\u201d that expression \u201cback safe and sound\u201d is the word hugia\u00edn\u014d<\/em>.\u00a0 3 John 2 says, \u201cBeloved, I pray that in all respects\u00a0 you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.\u201d\u00a0 The word there for \u201cgood health\u201d is hugia\u00edn\u014d<\/em>, healthy.\n\nIt\u2019s obviously a subject that\u2019s on Paul\u2019s mind because in these letters that he writes to pastors he keeps emphasizing it.\u00a0 1 Timothy 1:10, sound teaching, that\u2019s hugia\u00edn\u014d<\/em>.\u00a0 1 Timothy 6:3, \u201csound words,\u201d telling Timothy to advocate \u201csound words,\u201d hugia\u00edn\u014d<\/em>.\u00a0 2 Timothy 1:13, retain the sound words,\u201d hugia\u00edn\u014d<\/em>.\n\n[1 Timothy 1:10, \u201cand immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a01 Timothy 6:3, \u201cIf anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness,\u201d\u00a0 2 Timothy 1:13, \u201cRetain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.\u201d]\n\nTitus 1:9, an elder, now we just voted on elders so hopefully this verse was in your mind as you voted, \u201cholding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.\u201d\u00a0 \u201csound doctrine\u201d or \u201csound\u201d there is hugia\u00edn\u014d<\/em> as well.\u00a0 Titus 1:13, \u201csound in the faith\u201d\u00a0 Titus 2:1 mentions again \u201csound doctrine.\u201d\u00a0 [Titus 2:1, \u201cBut as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.\u201d\u00a0 [Titus 1:13, \u201cThis testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith.\u201d ]\n\nWhat is going to happen in the last days as the church\u2019s mission is getting ready to wrap up is people will begin to sit in judgment and begin to reject not just doctrine, but doctrine that they need; doctrine which is healthy, doctrine which they need to mature.\u00a0 Now here\u2019s an interesting question: who is the \u201cthey?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cFor the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine\u2026\u201d\n\n[2 Timothy 4:3]\u00a0\u00a0 I want to know who \u201cthey\u201d are.\u00a0 And when you look at a lot of commentaries that come from a very strong Calvinist persuasion, a very strong Calvinist, not all Calvinists but many, believe that if you are really a Christian you will always persevere in good works, so that theology controls how they interpret the word \u201cthey\u201d and so many of them interpret the word \u201cthey\u201d as unbelievers coming into the church.\u00a0 But I do not believe that that is what he is talking about here.\u00a0 There is no hint here that he is dealing with unbelievers of any sort.\u00a0 This is a pastoral letter; it is written to address church related issues.\u00a0 It is talking about something that is going to arise internally within God\u2019s church.\n\nBy the way, \u201cfor they will not endure sound doctrine\u201d when have unbelievers ever endured sound doctrine?\u00a0 The world has never endured sound doctrine because the world has no doctrine by which they can depart from.\u00a0 Jesus was very clear on this in John 15:18-19, He says, \u201cIf the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated<\/em> you.\u00a0 [19] If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.\u201d\u00a0 The world already hates truth.\u00a0 So when he says they will depart from truth it can\u2019t be talking about the world; they have no truth to depart from.\n\nRather what this is speaking of is within the church in the last days the church itself, God\u2019s very own church that\u2019s blood-bought, God\u2019s very own people will start to in increasing numbers reject the vegetables and the squash and the spinach.\u00a0 It is interesting that it says here, \u201cFor the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;\u201d I looked at that when I first started studying this and I said how is it possible to \u201cendure sound doctrine\u201d?\u00a0 The word translated \u201cendure\u201d is anechomai<\/em>, and that word simply means to put up with, to bear with, to endure.\n\nJesus, in Matthew 17:17 became frustrated with the disciples that could not cast out a demon and Jesus said how long shall I put up with you, that\u2019s anechomai<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 [Matthew 17:17, \u00a0\u201cAnd Jesus answered and said, \u2018how long shall I be with you?\u2019\u201d]\u00a0 Ephesians 4:2 says, \u201cwith all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love.\" \u201c\u2026showing tolerance for\u201d is anechomai<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See, as Christians part of our calling it to put up with each other, because I can get on your nerves and you can get on my nerves and we can all get on each other\u2019s nerves and we get irritated with each other but the walk of love that we\u2019re called to is to endure one another,\u00a0 that\u2019s anechomai<\/em>.\n\nSo there\u2019s coming a generation in the history of the church that simply will not put up with, endure any longer, sound doctrine.\u00a0 Now how do you endure sound doctrine?\u00a0 Well, [can't understand word] ways, enduring in sound doctrine means expending energy.\u00a0 For example, in Jude 3 we are called to earnestly contend for the faith.\u201d\u00a0 [Jude 3, \u201cBeloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.\u201d]\u00a0 Defend sound doctrine; does that not require effort and energy?\n\nGalatians 6:6 says, \u201cThe one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s financially supporting sound doctrine.\u00a0 You financially get behind ministries that are continuing on in sound doctrine.\u00a0 That requires sacrifice, effort and energy.\u00a0 It requires sacrifice, effort and energy simply to study sound doctrine.\u00a0 2 Timothy 2:15 says, \u201cBe diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.\u201d\u00a0 A \u201cworkman\u201d is someone that is doing work?\u00a0 A work, effort, energy.\n\nIn fact, some of you may be able to identify with this: it takes a lot of effort just to listen to sound doctrine.\u00a0 James 1:21 says, \u201cTherefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.\u201d\u00a0 It takes effort to listen to sound doctrine.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because a lot of times the Scripture cuts\u00a0 us, exposes things in our lives that need to be changed.\n\nProclaiming sound doctrine is a task in and of itself, 2 Timothy 4:2, \u201cpreach the word;\u201d think of all of the energy that it takes to study and to proclaim.\u00a0 [2 Timothy 4:2, \u201cpreach the word, be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.\u201d]\n\nSo what Paul is saying is there will come a generation within the church, and by the way, let me backtrack for a minutes, church is not free.\u00a0 We have no major financial crisis here so I\u2019m not saying this as some kind of plea to get money, but there\u2019s this mindset in the body of Christ that church is free.\u00a0 There is no New Testament support for that at all.\u00a0 Church is not free; the gospel is free, but if a church is going to endure in sound doctrine it requires the effort, the energy, the mobilization, the sacrifice of God\u2019s people to sustain any type of church.\n\nAnd what Paul is saying is there\u2019s coming a generation in church history that\u2019s simply going to say we\u2019re not going to do that anymore.\u00a0 We\u2019re not going to put up with it, we\u2019re not going to endure it, we\u2019re not going to labor to sustain it.\u00a0 And so it\u2019s a tragic thing.\u00a0 Well, what are they going to do instead.\u00a0 I\u2019m glad you asked.\u00a0 They will accumulate for themselves,\u201d this is in lieu or as a substitute for sound doctrine, \u201cThey will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires.\u201d\u00a0 [2 Timothy 4:3]\u00a0 Now this word \u201cdesire\u201d is an interesting one.\u00a0 There is nothing wrong with desires; God can give us desires that He wants to fulfill in our lives.\u00a0 Psalm 37:4 says, \u201cDelight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the\u201d what? \u201cdesires of your heart.\u201d\u00a0 So it\u2019s not talking about God-planted desires because Paul modifies the word \u201cdesires\u201d with the word \u201cidios<\/em>,\u201d which is speaking here of their own desires.\n\nThere is going to arise within the life of the church a generation that will not be motivated by the desires of God, they will not be motivated by fulfilling God-planted desires inside of them, rather it will be their own desires.\u00a0 By the way, that word idios<\/em>, what word do you think we get from that?\u00a0\u00a0 You guessed it, idiot.\u00a0 Because when we become preoccupied with our own fleshly lusts we become spiritual idiots.\n\nProverbs 1:7 says, \u201cThe fear of the LORD is the\u201d what? \u201cbeginning of knowledge.\u201d\u00a0 Psalm 14:1 says, \u201cThe fool has said in his heart, there is no GOD.\u201d\u00a0 When I reject the knowledge of God and pursue my own fleshly lusts my intelligence decreases , what the Scripture teaches.\u00a0 If you want an example of that think of Lucifer who thought he could overthrow God.\u00a0 How exactly do you\u00a0 overthrow God.\u00a0 Ezekiel 28:17 of Lucifer says, \u201c\u2026You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor.\u201d\u00a0 Romans 1:21-23 when it talks about mankind rejecting God says, \u201cthey became futile in their speculations.\u201d\u00a0 [Romans 1:21-23, \u201cFor even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. [22] Professing to be wise, they became fools, [23] and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.\u201d]\n\nHere\u2019s a chart I like to use to prove this, you see that line there, these are SAT scores in public schools, see that line there, that\u2019s 1963.\u00a0 You say what in the world happened in 1963 that caused a precipitous decline in SAT scores?\u00a0 Did a meteor hit the planet?\u00a0 What happened?\u00a0 Well, that was the year the Supreme Court threw out of the public schools prayer and Bible reading.\u00a0 And it was the moment in time when America began to educate people without a biblical framework for doing so.\u00a0 And you see how the SAT scores began to crash at that particular point in time.\u00a0 \u201cThe fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.\u201d\u00a0 If you\u2019re going to involve yourself in an educational philosophy that excludes God and His viewpoint and you won\u2019t read the owner\u2019s manual, which I\u2019ve done that before, I\u2019ve tried to assemble presents on Christmas morning without reading the owner\u2019s manual.\u00a0 The only thing it does is frustrate me because I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing, I have to consult the owner\u2019s manual to put the gizmo together.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I call my wife to help me.\n\nBy the way, this is a test that was given in 1862 to fourth graders.\u00a0 How many degrees of longitude are there?\u00a0 How many degrees wide are the temperate zones?\u00a0 What is water-shed?\u00a0 Name the principle animals of the frigid zones.\u00a0 How are you doing on the test so far?\u00a0 Name the different races into which mankind is divided.\u00a0 What is a monarchy?\u00a0 Now I can get that one right, I think.\u00a0 What portion of the globe are Pagans?\u00a0 What portion are Christians?\u00a0 Are you as smart as a fourth grader?\u00a0 See, this was standard in 1862.\u00a0 This was when God was the center of American education and how idiotic, idios,<\/em> we became when we rejected the viewpoint of the Creator.\n\nPaul says there\u2019s coming a generation in church history that is going to be spiritual idiots within the church because their focus will not be God any longer, it will be their own lusts and desires.\u00a0 Now this word \u201clust\u201d is an interesting one, it\u2019s the Greek word episthymia<\/em>.\u00a0 When that word is\u00a0 used as a verb, it\u2019s used in a lot of different passages, Jesus says, \u201cI say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has committed already adultery with her in his own heart.\u201d\u00a0 [Matthew 5:28]\u00a0 The word \u201clust\u201d is the same verbal form of this root here, translated lust.\n\nPaul, in Acts 20:33 says, \u201cI have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cCoveted\u201d there is the verb form of episthymia<\/em>. \u00a0\u00a0In the noun form, John 8:44, it says this of episthymia<\/em>: \u201cYou are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.\u201d\u00a0 The word \u201cdesires\u201d there is the same one used here, satanic desires. Galatians 5:16 and Galatians 5:24, the same noun, talks about the desires of the sin nature. [Galatians 5:16 \u201cYou are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.\u201d Galatians 5:24, \u201cNow those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.\u201d]\n\nPaul, in 1 Timothy 6:9 says, \u201cBut those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires\u2026.\u201d same word.\u00a0 2 Timothy 2:22 says, \u201cNow flee from youthful lusts\u201d same word.\u00a0\u00a0 1 Peter 1:14, \u201cAs obedient children do not be conformed to the former lusts,\u201d same word, \u201cwhich were\u00a0 yours in your ignorance.\u201d\u00a0 What is he talking about here?\u00a0 There\u2019s coming a generation within the life of the church which will no longer be satisfied with God-planted desires; their whole focus is their own desire.\u00a0 And specifically here he\u2019s speaking of the desires that emanate from the sin nature.\u00a0 And as this mindset grows within the body of Christ it will change the curriculum, curricula of the church is what he\u2019s talking about.\u00a0 He\u2019s warning Timothy about this because you, as a man of God, are going to be fighting uphill against it.\n\nThe church, another way of saying it, will no longer be Theocentric, focused on God, but it will become anthropocentric.\u00a0 The Greek word for man is the Greek word anthropos<\/em>.\u00a0 The church will become anthropocentric, it will become man-centered.\u00a0 It will demand things and items and teachings and topics that appeal to man-centered lusts.\u00a0 And the verse that I think of constantly when I read this passage is Revelation 3:20 which says, \u201cBehold, I stand at the door and knock.\u00a0 If anyone hears My voice and opens the door I will come in and will dine with him and he with Me.\u201d\u00a0 And everybody uses this verse to lead people to Christ.\u00a0 Not that being led to Christ is a bad thing, right?\u00a0 But that\u2019s not what the verse is talking about.\u00a0 When Jesus is standing outside the door He is not standing outside the door of the heart of the unbeliever; He is standing the door of His own church.\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0 Because the prior verse, which people don\u2019t connect context but if you just go back in the context you\u2019ll read the prior verse, which says, \u201c'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline;\u201d [Revelation 3:19].\n\nWho does the Lord discipline?\u00a0 His own; \u201cwhom the LORD loves\u201d the Lord does what?\u00a0 Chastises!\u00a0 I\u2019ve never disciplined the neighbor\u2019s kid, although I\u2019ve thought about it many times.\u00a0 You discipline your own children; that\u2019s the context of Revelation 3.\u00a0 This is not a salvation passage at all; this is a passage dealing with Jesus outside the door of His own church.\u00a0 This is a church called Laodicea.\n\nA church, when you study it in the book of Revelation that had become quite prosperous; money was rolling in, the offering looked good, the budget was being met and prospering.\u00a0 The pews were filled with worshippers.\u00a0\u00a0 And outside that church is Jesus knocking on the door wanting to come in, not to save them but to have fellowship with them.\u00a0 That\u2019s why he says in the prior verse I want to dine with you.\u00a0 Dine, we don\u2019t understand this in the 21st<\/sup> century because we\u2019re always eating on the run but in biblical times dining with someone meant intimate fellowship.\u00a0 Jesus had with His disciples the last what?\u00a0 Supper.\u00a0 Fellowship!\u00a0 I want to have fellowship with you.\n\nIn fact, the word Laodicea is a fascinating word; it comes from two Greek words, laos<\/em>, which means people, and dike<\/em>\u014d<\/em> which means to rule.\u00a0 Laodicea literally means the people ruling.\u00a0 What is governing the church at Laodicea is not a Theocentric God-centered agenda; it is the desires of man.\u00a0 And this was what is predicted to come into the church in the last days.\u00a0 So what are people going to do?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,\u201d which we have defined as lusts.\u00a0 [1 Timothy 4:3]\n\nNow who\u2019s doing the accumulating here?\u00a0 It\u2019s the \u201cthey.\u201d\u00a0 Who\u2019s the \u201cthey\u201d?\u00a0 It\u2019s the people within the church; it\u2019s God\u2019s people.\u00a0 People say how come we see so many false teachers today in spirituality?\u00a0 How come we see so many false teachers today within Christendom or Christianity, within God\u2019s church?\u00a0\u00a0 The answer is a basic law of economics where supply is dictated by what?\u00a0 Demand.\u00a0 The reason false teaching is in ascendency is because that\u2019s what the people want.\u00a0 When you stop supporting healthy doctrine and truth and you begin to promote false teaching,\u00a0 you begin to clamor for that, people begin to provide it.\n\nIn fact, Marvin Vincent, in his scholarly commentary called Word Studies says this:\u00a0 \u201cIf people desire a calf to worship, a ministerial calf-maker is readily found.\u201d\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that an astounding statement.\u00a0 Let me read that again: \u201cIf people desire to worship a golden calf, a ministerial calf-maker is readily found.\u201d\u00a0 You know, we want to blame everything on the false teachers and they deserve a lot of the blame, but the fact of the matter is there wouldn\u2019t be false teachers if people didn\u2019t want the ear-tickling messages that false teachers provide.\n\nThere\u2019s a lot of ministries out there, they call themselves discernment ministries, and I think some of them do a lot of good but when\u00a0 you look into these discernment ministries they are always critiquing the false teachers.\u00a0 The false teacher said this wrong; the false teacher said that wrong.\u00a0 You know what breaks my heart?\u00a0 It\u2019s not so much what the false teacher is doing or saying; what would be bad enough; it\u2019s when the camera pans the crowd and I see stadiums full of people listening to this false teacher.\u00a0 That\u2019s the heartbreaking part of it, because the false teacher wouldn\u2019t even be in business if there wasn\u2019t some sort of demand within the church for his or her services.\n\nThe book of Jeremiah, chapter 5, verses 30-31, says this: \u201cAn appalling and horrible thing Has happened in the land [31] The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority;\u201d and then the verse doesn\u2019t stop there, it gets to the root of the problem and it says, \u201cAnd My people love it so!\u201d\u00a0 The reason that these prophets are prophesying falsely and the priests are ruling by their own authority is because that is what these people, in fact, this text says \u201cMy people\u201d want, in fact, they \u201clove it\u201d this way.\n\nWe\u2019re living in a generation today that\u2019s telling us that the majority is always right.\u00a0 We are inundated with election results that say the people have spoken; the majority has spoken.\u00a0 You can\u2019t even get through the day without being inundated by some survey, created by somebody, telling you what people want.\u00a0 And we think that because people want it a certain way that makes it right.\u00a0 After all, that\u2019s majority opinion; right?\u00a0\u00a0 If I\u2019m understanding this passage correctly, \u201cthey will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,\u201d this is talking about the majority.\u00a0\u00a0 This is talking about the majority of Christians wanted this.\u00a0 And here the majority is wrong.\u00a0 You don\u2019t determine what is true by the majority opinion.\n\nMatthew 7:13-14 if anything makes this crystal clear, it says, \u201cEnter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. [14] For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.\u201d\u00a0 The path to destruction is the five-lane highway; the path to life is the narrow access road on the side of the freeway.\n\nThis is a logical fallacy called ad populum<\/em>. An ad<\/em> populum<\/em> argument says something is right if it\u2019s what the majority wants.\u00a0 I could give you many examples in the Bible and in history where the majority had it wrong.\u00a0 In fact, Joshua and Caleb, in the book of Numbers, 13 and 14, wanted to enter the land and the majority of the people out-voted them.\u00a0 Only two wanted to enter the land.\u00a0 And guess what?\u00a0 Those who guys, Joshua and Caleb, were right; the majority was wrong.\u00a0 In fact, they were so wrong that God says all right,\u00a0 you all, you\u2019re just going to wander around out here in the desert for 40 years and I\u2019m going to wait for you to all drop dead and I\u2019m going to start working with your kids.\u00a0 Joshua and Caleb, because you searched Me and followed Me with your whole heart, you will enter with the kids in the next generation; I\u2019m finished with an entire generation.\n\nThe majority is right?\u00a0 The majority is just flat out wrong here.\u00a0 And this is what the majority are going to want; they will\u2026 notice this word choice, \u201caccumulate,\u201d stack up, demand, this abundance of false teaching.\u00a0 Why are they doing it?\u00a0 \u201cBut wanting to have their ears tickled.\u201d [2 Timothy 4:3, \u201cFor the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,\u201d ]\n\nOne of the things to understand about the Bible is it\u2019s a sharp two-edged sword.\u00a0 Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 6:17.\u00a0 Hebrews 4:12, [\u201cFor the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.\u201d\u00a0 Ephesians 6:17,\u201cAnd take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.\u201d]\u00a0 And consequently when it\u2019s unleashed it has a tendency to pierce us.\u00a0 2 Timothy 3:16 talks about reproof.\u00a0 [2 Timothy 3:16, \u201cAll Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;\u201d]\n\nActs 2:37 says, \u201cNow when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart.\u201d\u00a0 That is the function of the Word.\u00a0 Beloved, the Word is not here to be corrected by us; the Word is here to correct us.\u00a0 We are not here to sit in judgment on the Bible; the Bible is her to sit in judgment on us.\u00a0 And you see, there arises a generation that they don\u2019t want to be exposed anymore, so they begin to push the Bible out of God\u2019s church.\u00a0 You know, we get all upset about they\u2019re taking the Ten Command\u00adments off public school walls and things, courthouses, and I think that\u2019s something to be upset about, but Paul is saying there\u2019s going to arise a time period where God\u2019s truth is going to be kicked out of His church.\u00a0 Forget the crumby manger scene on the courthouse steps, that\u2019s bad enough, kicking that off, what about when it happens in the church?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that the greater outrage, when the church becomes Laodicean and Jesus is outside the door of His church, knocking politely, like a gentleman, wanting to re-enter for purposes of fellowship.\n\nWhy are people getting like this?\u00a0 Because the squash and the spinach and the broccoli is not fun to be ingested over and over again.\u00a0 I want a different menu.\u00a0 The problem is, moving to dessert may not be in your best interest in terms of health. \u00a0It may not give you, and it won\u2019t give you the hugia\u00edn\u014d<\/em> or the hygiene that you need to develop properly at a spiritual level.\u00a0 And so what will become the norm is people will flock to assemblies that tell them what they want to hear.\u00a0 Could you imagine going to a medical doctor or an attorney and that professional didn\u2019t tell you what you need to hear, he told you what you wanted to hear.\u00a0 I mean, would not such a professional properly lose their license to practice medicine or law?\n\nWhat Paul is saying is this will become normal in the church.\u00a0\u00a0 You see, in the realm of spirituality this is normal.\u00a0 You gravitate towards places that tell you or reaffirm our pre-existing ideas.\u00a0 What you discover, particularly when you pastor a local church is a lot of people want their ideas reinforced.\u00a0 And if you\u2019re committed to the Scripture what you discover is that the Word of God doesn\u2019t reinforce any human viewpoint, it tears it down.\u00a0 The Bible is a\u00a0 wrecking ball that is going after, not the building itself but the foundation.\u00a0 It\u2019s called renewing your mind.\u00a0 And yet if you\u2019re married to a false idea you simply say well, that spiritual leader is not telling me what I want to hear, I\u2019m going to go down the street and I\u2019m going to find my own ministerial calf maker and they are in surplus and abundance.\n\nWhat\u2019s running the church of Jesus Christ today?\u00a0 It\u2019s Abraham Maslow\u2019s hierarchy of needs.\u00a0 One of my majors in college was business and I even taught Business Marketing and Management at the Community College level for a few years.\u00a0 So I\u2019m well familiar with the theory.\u00a0 It\u2019s this idea that human behavior can be defined as people pursue their own needs, wants and desires.\u00a0 Abraham Maslow articulated that there are various levels of need.\u00a0 First people want their physical needs met.\u00a0 Then they want their safety needs met.\u00a0 Then they want their social and esteem needs met.\u00a0 And then finally, when they reach the top of the pyramid they\u2019re called self-actualized.\n\nIn fact, it\u2019s a very accurate description of what drives people, marketing itself is built around Abraham Maslow\u2019s hierarchy of needs, because what the marketer does is he comes up with the right marketing mix to appeal to people\u2019s felt needs.\u00a0 You don\u2019t want to be burglarized in the middle of the night do you?\u00a0 You need this new security system.\u00a0 That\u2019s an appeal to a safety need.\u00a0 You want to feel important, don\u2019t you; you need this new car.\u00a0 That\u2019s an appeal to an esteem need.\u00a0 And this is what drives Madison Avenue.\n\nAnd the tragedy of it is Paul is predicting that in the last days this is what will drive the church.\u00a0 It\u2019s called Felt Needs Preaching, where the Bible is used in a very selective way and there are verses you can use to appeal to people\u2019s physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs.\n\nThe problem is you run out of verses after a while because the Bible goes beyond our basic needs and it begins to deal with subjects and topics that are outside Abraham Maslow\u2019s pyramid, like repentance, hell, sin, that doesn\u2019t fit within this structure.\u00a0\u00a0 So if you\u2019re a good marketer what do you do?\u00a0\u00a0 You just leave that part of the Bible out.\u00a0 And what you have after a while is what I call a cannon within the Canon.\u00a0 Certain Bible verses are used.\u00a0 That\u2019s why so many of these sermons, they start sounding the same over and over again; certain verses are used and other verses are ignored.\u00a0 Basic marketing!\n\nAnd because you see, in marketing the customer is always right.\u00a0 How in the world can you teach the Bible to a group of people that think the customer is always right when the Bible is revealing things that are unholy in it, that need to be changed.\u00a0 And so consequently what happens?\u00a0 Amos 8:11-12, \u201c\u2018Behold, days are coming,\u2019 declares the Lord GOD, \u2018When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD. [12] People will stagger from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it.<\/em>\u201d\n\nThe reason that touches me is because that\u2019s what I see all the time, in inquiries and e-mails from people, from all parts of the country and in some cases different parts of the world saying we can\u2019t find a church that teaches the Word of God.\u00a0 I\u2019m giving you the reason why, because the church, to a very large extent, has sold out to a marketing paradigm.\n\nWell, what are they going to turn to in lieu of sound doctrine?\u00a0 Notice verse 4, \u201c They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.\u201d\u00a0 Notice that word \u201ctruth.\u201d\u00a0 Let me tell you something about truth.\u00a0 Truth is not always easy to ingest but it is your best friend at the end of the day, because Jesus said in John 8:32, \u201cYou will know the truth, and the truth will set you\u201d what?\u00a0 \u201cfree.\u201d\u00a0 I had some issues with internal pain issues a year or two ago, somewhere around those lines and I didn\u2019t want to go to the doctor because I knew what the doctor was going to say, he was going to give me some bad news.\u00a0 He was going to say you need to be cut open, you need to have surgery.\u00a0 So I finally went to the doctor, he said\u00a0 your gall bladder needs to be removed, I didn\u2019t want to hear that, who wants to have that happen.\u00a0 Who wants to have their insides ripped open?\u00a0\u00a0 Who wants to go through the soreness that you go through when you recover from a surgery.\u00a0 But guess what?\u00a0 I don\u2019t have any more pain today because I submitted to the knife of the physician.\n\nThe truth is not here to exasperate you, it is designed to liberate you; it\u2019s designed to help us.\u00a0 I remember when I was a high school basketball player, and our coach put us on a weight training regime.\u00a0 I was in 9th<\/sup> grade at the time, I was skinny as a rail, believe it or not.\u00a0 And I remember looking at those weights and being intimidated by the weights because there were kids in the 12th<\/sup> grade that were far more equipped, stronger than I was and I felt inadequate.\u00a0 And the coach wisely could see the intimidation in my eyes and he said you know what?\u00a0 These weights are not here to be your enemy; these weights are your friend because these weights will develop your body in the way it needs to be developed for you to reach your potential.\u00a0 That\u2019s truth.\n\nTruth is not the enemy, it\u2019s easy to perceive it that way because it\u2019s difficult to ingest, but it is your friend.\u00a0 It is your best friend.\u00a0 There isn\u2019t anything that will liberate\u00a0 you\u00a0 more than the truth.\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice the definite article in front of truth, \u201cthe truth.\u201d\u00a0 A lot of people today are saying truth can\u2019t be known.\u00a0 Nonsense!\u00a0 God has revealed Himself.\u00a0 \u201cThe truth,\u201d 66 books, are given to us to help us.\u00a0 And they [2 Timothy 4:4] \u00a0\u201cwill turn their ears from the truth,\u201d that\u2019s apostasy. The Greek verb is apostreph<\/em>\u014d<\/em>, it\u2019s used earlier in this book,, 2 Timothy 1:15, \u201cYou are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.\u201d\n\nWhy are people turning away from the truth?\u00a0 To quote that great theologian, Jack Nicholson in the moves, A Few Good Men<\/em>, what did he say?\u00a0 You can\u2019t handle the truth.\u00a0 That\u2019s why people are turning from it, even though the truth is there it\u2019s there to liberate them.\n\n1 Kings 22:8 says,\u00a0 \u201cThe king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, \u2018There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Of all of these prophets that give these warm glowing ear-tickling messages there\u2019s one prophet in this country that I hate because he never has anything nice to say about me.\u00a0\u00a0 And yet the king needed to hear Micaiah.\u00a0 I would say we need more Micaiah\u2019s today.\u00a0 They are in dwindling supply.\n\nJesus, in John 3:19-21 said, \u201cThis is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.\u00a0 [20] For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.\u201d [21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.\u201d]\u00a0 Jesus Christ, the light of the world, shows up and you would think the world would stand up and applaud, but they don\u2019t like the light because light, by its very definition exposes.\n\n[2 Timothy 4:4b, and they \u201cwill turn aside to\u201d you see the substitution going on here?\u00a0 Nature abhors a vacuum.\u00a0 If you reject the truth of God\u2019s Word you will find a substitute.\u00a0 The children of Israel rejected a true knowledge of Yahweh and they found a substitute in the golden calf.\u00a0 Romans 1:23 says, they \u201cexchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man [and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.]\u201d\u00a0 They switched, they changed.\u00a0 One of the things I hope you learn from all this is neutrality is a myth.\u00a0 People are not neutral.\u00a0 If you\u2019re not pursuing God you\u2019re pursuing something else.\n\nAnd then the last word we have here is what they\u2019re going to turn to.\u00a0 They\u2019re going to turn aside to myths, the Greek noun for myths is mythos<\/em>, it means a legend, a tale, a story, a fable, which is untrue.\u00a0 It\u2019s used in the New Testament almost always with a negative connotation.\u00a0 It\u2019s astounding the things people will believe in and they reject the truth.\n\nPeter writes, \u201cFor we did not follow cleverly devised tales,\u201d that\u2019s mythos<\/em>.\u00a0 1 Timothy 1:4 says, \u201cpay no attention to myths and endless genealogies,\u201d mythos<\/em>.\u00a0 1 Timothy 4:7, \u201chave nothing to do with worldly fables,\u201d mythos<\/em>.\u00a0 1 Timothy 1:14, \u201cdon\u2019t pay attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men, mythos<\/em>.\u00a0 \u00a0You know the thing that\u2019s interesting to me about people in the last days is they never get tired of learning.\u00a0 The desire to learn is always there.\u00a0 It\u2019s just they\u2019re devoting themselves to myths.\n\n2 Timothy 3:7 says, \u201calways learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.\u201d\u00a0 Paul, in Acts 17:21 talks about a modern-day Starbucks where you have these arm chair theologians and philosophers; some of them are there all day long. \u00a0[Acts 17:21, \u201c(Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.] \u00a0They \u201cspend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new,\u201d mythos<\/em>.\n\nBeloved, let me let you in on a secret; if it\u2019s true it\u2019s not new, if it\u2019s new it probably isn\u2019t true.\u00a0 We don\u2019t need anything new.\u00a0 What we need is the truth of the Word of God.\u00a0 So here we are in the 21st<\/sup> century devoted to myths.\u00a0 What are the smartest people saying, that reject God?\u00a0 The smartest people on planet earth are telling us that everything assembled itself accidentally.\u00a0 How smart is that?\u00a0 Have\u00a0 you ever seen a hurricane or a tornado go through a junkyard and assemble a 747?\u00a0 You do not get design from accidents,\u00a0 you get it from a designer.\u00a0 And yet this is what happens to people.\n\nSo Timothy, your job is going to get tough.\u00a0 Isaiah 6:8-10 says, \u201cThen I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, \u2018Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?\u2019 Then I said, \u2018Here am I. Send me!\u2019 [9] He said, \u2018Go, and tell this people: \u2018Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.\u2019 \u00a0[10] \u201cRender the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.\u201d\u00a0 Isaiah, you\u2019re going to have a tough job because you\u2019re going to be prophesying to people that aren\u2019t going to want to hear what you have to say.\u00a0 The same with you Timothy.\n\nAnd today as I speak this is what your average pastor is seeing in his congregation.\u00a0 He is looking out at a sea of people with their desires, one person has a sign that says don\u2019t mention hell, that makes me feel uncomfortable.\u00a0 Another person says please refer to sin as bad choices.\u00a0 Another person says tell me again how much God wants to bless me.\u00a0 Another person says make sure there are enough programs here for my kids.\u00a0 Another person says remember how much money I give to this church every week.\u00a0 Another person says tell me how to get rich, tickle my years, if you don\u2019t do things my way I\u2019m leaving.\u00a0 What can Jesus do for me?\u00a0 Only good news please.\u00a0 And my personal favorite, be relevant.\n\nIt\u2019s tragic, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 And may we at Sugar Land Bible Church resist the tide, spit into the wind, go in the opposite direction, as we endure sound doctrine.\u00a0 Shall we pray.\n\nFather, we are grateful for this warning; we see it happening all around us.\u00a0 Make us people of courage in these last days.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name and God\u2019s people said, Amen.\n\n \n\n \n\n ","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t