Itching Ears

2 Timothy 4:3 (NIV)

For 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.

Some preachers are well known because they are gifted as great orators. Their message is hard hitting and biblically sound. My Pastor, Adrian Rogers, is such a preacher. His popularity is not with the world however; it is amongst Christians and primarily within our own denomination. In fact, I know a number of people who are really turned off by him, not because of they think he is a poor preacher, but because his message is uncomfortable. I know, I have been there myself, squirming in my seat as the Holy Spirit was convicting me through Dr. Rogers' preaching. I did not come to hear him because I had heard he was a great preacher, I actually stumbled upon him while flipping through the channels on television. I was drawn to the message of the good news of Christ and eventually surrendered my heart to the Lord.

There are preachers in large churches who are popular not because of the wooing power of the Holy Spirit, but because of the "wonderful" way they make people feel good about themselves. I am not saying that it is bad to feel good about yourself, but that it ought lo be based on the dignity you have as a born again, child of God. If we can be good without the life-changing salvation of Jesus Christ as Lord, then it may as well be a club as a church. It is the stark, convicting truth of our sinfulness that opens our eyes to our need for a savior. But that message doesn't feel good until it is acted upon. May God give you the grace to act upon it.