Itching Ears
Filed under Revolution & Justice on November 2nd, 2008 by Michael L. Brown
Over 1900 years ago Paul warned Timothy that, “the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Tim. 4:3). That time has come. We are witnessing it in our day. So few want to hear the truth anymore!
The Church of today is like Israel of old: “They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!’” (Isa. 30:10-11).
“We’ve heard enough of this judgment message” — but the judgment is now at the door! “We’re tired of hearing so much preaching on repentance” — but you still have not truly repented! “We’ve had it with this holiness emphasis” — but the holy God dwells in our midst!
So many of us in leadership today are guilty of telling the people what they want to hear. We feed them what they think they need. What parent in their right mind would ever do such a thing with their child? Yet many leaders do it with their flocks and faithful supporters. “We don’t want to lose any of our members, do we?” Or, “This message will never bring in the bucks. It will hurt our ministry income!” Or, “If I tell the truth the people will get offended!” Yet we are willing to offend the Lord!
Remember, it was the people of Israel — not Babylon, not Assyria, not Canaan, not Egypt — but God’s own chosen nation that “made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy” (Amos 2:12). They told those who were set apart as holy to the Lord to lower their standards, to quit being extremists, to give up their separation to God. “Just be one of the gang! All of us are children of the Lord. You’ve taken consecration too far!” They told the prophets to shut up. They didn’t want to hear from heaven. “Give us good news and blessings. Tell us the future is bright.” But the prophets had bad news and curses. The future was dark and bleak. Israel wouldn’t repent. How could God shower them with grace?
King Ahab had itching ears. His “prophets” were yes-men and liars. They told him to go and make war against Ramoth Gilead, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand” (1 Kin. 22:6). Four hundred prophets agreed. But Jehoshaphat wasn’t satisfied. “‘Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?’ The king answered Jehoshaphat, ‘There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah’” (1 Kin. 22:6-7). He had the word of the Lord!
The king’s messenger went to get Micaiah: “Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably” (1 Kin. 22:13). What an incredible line! “Micaiah, tell us we’ll win! Tell us we’ll be victorious!” — even if God knows we’re doomed! How deceived itching ears really are! The four hundred prophets were wrong. The king and his court were wrong. The armies of Israel were wrong. Micaiah alone knew the truth: “So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you. . . . Mark my words, all you people” (1 Kin. 22:23, 28). Hours later, Ahab was dead, an enemy’s arrow lodged in his chest, and Israel was defeated and fled.
Sooner or later — by God’s grace may it be sooner! — we are going to have to learn that “where all approve, few profit” (John Wesley). The preaching of the cross does not always please the crowds. They reject a God who has standards and laws. They cast off His yoke as a burden. “He’s an old-fashioned kill-joy,” they say.
And some even fall further than this. They hear and agree but do not take heed. They ask for God’s message and ignore what it says. “My people come to you [Ezekiel], as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice” (Ezek. 33:31-32). Those with itching ears really don’t want to hear. Never cater to them.
The road to destruction is still broad and wide, and the highway to life is as straight as it ever has been. Our big-hearted God has a very narrow mind when it comes to righteousness. We must tell our people the truth! “Ministers are not cooks, but physicians and therefore should not study to delight the palate, but to recover the patient” (Jean Daille). Compromise is cowardice. Flattery is foolishness. Man-pleasers are God-insulters. When will we get our priorities straight?
We have many who tickle the ear, few who prick the heart; many who soothe the grieving mind, few who search the guilty conscience; many who put the people to sleep, few who make them mourn and weep. Where are the prophets of God? We are strong on comforting the sorrowing sheep but weak on confronting the sinning saints; strong on building up what God has not established and weak on tearing down what man has embellished. Our hearts are caught up in this world. We need a blast from heaven.
How many of today’s radio and TV preachers are bringing a challenging, convicting, life-shaking message from the Throne? How many preach the cross and make the flesh uncomfortable? Who is waking up the slumbering church? Who is warning our nation?
Someone is going to have to tell America that she is sick and dying. Someone is going to have to tell her that the party is over. Someone is going to have to prepare her — including the church within her — for radical surgery. The time of pruning is now!
Enough with our feel-good gospel. Enough with our self-serving message. It’s time for the fire to fall — and wherever it falls it will scorch. Do our people smell the smoke in the air, or like Nero, will they fiddle their lives away while America (today’s Rome?) burns to the ground? The collapse of our society looms near. Will we be watchmen — or will we be wimps?
What an indictment it will be against countless pastors, prophets and preachers when their people stand up and say, “But you didn’t tell us the truth! You didn’t give us warning in advance! And we thought you were watching for our souls. You must not have really cared.”
Will that be the charge against us?
Tags: holiness, judgment, prophecy, prophets, repentance, seers, visions
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What a crucial word for us all to heed!
Good word… Thanks for sharing!
It’s so sad that many men behind pulpits today are just motivational speakers. They just speak the good things, the positive things in the word. The “Full Gospel” – The “Full Counsel” of Gods Word is rarely heard today.
~Igy
I think it goes far beyond worrying about offending people, or losing income. I believe that too many in the “prophetic movement” have bought into two lies, lies that support each other. The first lie is that all we have to do is marinate in the presence of God and we will be changed. The second is that we can “prophetically speak things” and cause them to happen. As with any error, there is much truth in these statements. They have been taken to extremes and have brought the church to where it is today.
When we imagine that we can be holy without making a move towards holiness we fool ourselves. In fact, I think that for many people the sensual atmosphere of “soaking” transfers into sensuality in other areas of our lives- particularly if we have relegated holiness to the basement and the fear of God is non-existant.
Coupled with the “speaking things into being” this has gone on a slippery slope to ruin. We have passed what is proper have have moved into presumption – thinking we can force God hand.
Recently we had the example of a so-called revivalist where many of the movers and shakers of the “prophetic movement” gathered and laid hands on him suddenly. Word were spoken about his “Kingly anointing” and about people bringing “money, money, money” to him. What should have been spoken was a warning to drink water from his own cistern alone.
Quoting Dutch Sheets:
We, the leaders of the charismatic community, have operated in
an extremely low level of discernment. Frankly, we often don’t even
try to discern….
Our procedures and standards of accountability are incredibly
inadequate. We have provided camaraderie, not biblical
accountability. For those on (the) board who had
previous knowledge of his marriage problems and said nothing, it
was more than a mistake—it was reckless, foolish, and
irresponsible. For those on the stage the night of his aligning and
commissioning who knew and said nothing—ditto. For those there
who didn’t know, my question is, “why didn’t you?”
end quote
My point being that God (and many others ) knew. When we get up a spew fluff, while saying “thus saith the Lord” we certainly are not fooling God. Where is the fear of God in the prophets who speak words that God hasn’t spoke (Ezekial 13) ?
-Bill
Wow- I need spel chek.
Take 2.
I think it goes far beyond worrying about offending people, or losing income. I believe that too many in the “prophetic movement” have bought into two lies, lies that support each other. The first lie is that all we have to do is marinate in the presence of God and we will be changed. The second is that we can “prophetically speak things” and cause them to happen. As with any error, there is much truth in these statements. They have been taken to extremes and have brought the church to where it is today.
When we imagine that we can be holy without making a move towards holiness we fool ourselves. In fact, I think that for many people the sensual atmosphere of “soaking” transfers into sensuality in other areas of our lives- particularly if we have relegated holiness to the basement and the fear of God is non-existaent.
Coupled with the “speaking things into being” this has gone on a slippery slope to ruin. We have passed what is proper and have moved into presumption – thinking we can force God’s hand.
Recently we had the example of a so-called revivalist where many of the movers and shakers of the “prophetic movement” gathered and laid hands on him suddenly. Word were spoken about his “Kingly anointing” and about people bringing “money, money, money” to him. What should have been spoken was a biblical warning to drink water from his own cistern alone.
Quoting Dutch Sheets:
We, the leaders of the charismatic community, have operated in
an extremely low level of discernment. Frankly, we often don’t even
try to discern….
Our procedures and standards of accountability are incredibly
inadequate. We have provided camaraderie, not biblical
accountability. For those on (the) board who had
previous knowledge of his marriage problems and said nothing, it
was more than a mistake—it was reckless, foolish, and
irresponsible. For those on the stage the night of his aligning and
commissioning who knew and said nothing—ditto. For those there
who didn’t know, my question is, “why didn’t you?”
end quote
My point being that God (and many others ) knew. When we get up and spew fluff, while saying “thus saith the Lord” we certainly are not fooling God. Where is the fear of God in the prophets who speak words that God hasn’t spoke (Ezekial 13) ?
-Bill
The twin towers assault certainly had sober God talk in public confession for several months. But then New York let them in to build an Islamic center near ground zero. Will it take economic collapse to sober all the others, including New York’s city council, in time? Where the preoccupation of America is the marketplace–of business and ideas–it may take such perilous times to switch back on our light and switch off all other lights competing for our attention.
Dear Jabez, in a word, yes! Sadly, suffering is exactly what it will take to open the eyes of people.
Back when the girl who had been missing for 19 years was found to be living in the backyard of the man who had taken her, I began to pray about why we, as God’s people, didn’t have the eyes to see that. God said it was because of our preoccupation with our idols. I saw images of shopping, vacationing, playing, preaching, teaching, eating, and celebrating. It went over and over in my mind much like a power point presentation. Being ‘overfed’ seems to go hand in hand with being unconcerned.
I got your email today and wrote you back. I was not at all put off by your recommendations, and I have ordered them all. One of them is so similar to something that God had already led me to! I thank God for your guidance as it is something that has been greatly lacking in my life.
Also-You and Eva have been blessed with beautiful children!
Being ‘overfed’ seems to go hand in hand with being unconcerned.–Wanda wrote.
Solveig Leithaug, (see www.solveigmusic.com/ ), the Norsk Christian singer married to Amy Grant’s boom years manager, wrote of recently being in a country poor by western standards, yet filled with children of joy! These kids with the Kingom walked in and respected God’s presence as sufficient to meaningful life! Does the USA need to find less covetness in its own understanding of true wealth? “Bleesed are the Poor, for their’s is the Kingdom of God”–Yeshua in Luke.