Severe allergies within the American Christianity scene are at epidemic levels. Those with itchy eyes and itchy ears seem out-of-control.
The answer to the question, “Why do people who claim to be Christians, have itchy ears?” was foretold in Scripture over 2,000 years ago. Very simply—–>they no longer want to listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They make themselves allergic to it. They want something new and exciting:
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT)
Read very carefully the above Scripture again and again. Notice that it clearly says, “They will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.” I used to think to myself, “Why does the Lord allow these false teachers to grow and prosper?” Then I realized that scripture gives us a very clear answer—–> the Lord allows these ‘false teachers’ to be raised up as ‘instruments of judgment’ upon people with ‘itchy ears’. How ironic that Jesus even foretold the pending judgment of these ‘instruments of judgment’:
Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:22-23 NKJV)
‘Prosperity’ is a large part of what the false teachers appeal to. This is what the natural unsaved man craves. But when we truly accept Jesus Christ as LORD, that all drastically changes:
At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know Him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him. (2 Corinthians 5:16-18 NLT)
In a nutshell, we are no longer to chase prosperity—–>we are to chase after lost souls. That doesn’t mean that God will not bless us with good things——>it just means that ‘prosperity’ no longer becomes our pursuit in life. But these false teachers love appealing to the ‘old man’ in people that have never really crucified it to become the ‘new man’ in Jesus Christ.
Did you ever wonder why God gave ‘discerning of spirits’ as one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit to the Church?
He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:10 NLT)
He gives that gift because the message from other spirits through these false teachers can be so good at counterfeiting the Spirit of God, a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit is necessary to discern the difference.
Here is a question to chew on—–>Do you run from or condemn any teaching that convicts you, rather than soothes you? If yes, this article was definitely for you.
And when He (the Holy Spirit) comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. (John 16:8 NLT)
As I bring this straight forward article to a close, I have good news to tell you—–>there is a cure for spiritually itchy eyes and ears! It is actually a quite simple remedy. All one has to do is turn off the TV and Internet and stop watching and listening to the false teachers that proliferate them. Instead, you need to dedicate that time to hide yourself daily in a prayer closet where you devote yourself to the pure Word of God and to prayer. Then you need to find yourself a good wholesome church where you can fellowship with believers who dedicate themselves to the pure Word of God.
Annointing 