Episode 1237: The Spirit of Itchy Ears

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Thanks for joining me on episode 1,237 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:00:06] April Ebeling: Hi, I'm April Ebeling. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talent, and your treasures to live out your calling. Having the ability to find a connection with mindfulness, faith and peace is.

[00:00:28] And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this the Inspired Stewardship Podcast with my friend Scott Maderer.

[00:00:37] Scott Maderer: Oftentimes I think we feel like we're earning our way, we're working our way in, when in reality we aren't grasping the outpouring of brace and the fact that what we're doing is in response to that grace, not to earn our way in, but as an answer to the giftings that we. [00:01:00] Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:01:05] If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, who will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that. Can impact the world.

[00:01:26] In today's spiritual foundation episode about investing in yourself, I talk with you about second Timothy chapter three versus 14 through chapter four, verse five. I share why we need to study in community, and I also talk with you about what it means to have itchy ears. Second Timothy chapter three, verse 14 through chapter four, verse five says, But as for you, continuing what you have learned and firmly believe, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have known [00:02:00] the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

[00:02:06] All scriptures inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for rep proof, for correction, and for training. Ande. So that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living in the dead and in view of his appearing and his kingdom.

[00:02:27] I solemnly urge you proclaim the message. Be persistent. Whether the time is favorable or unfavorable. Convince, rebuke, and encourage with the utmost patience in teaching for the time is coming when people will not put up with sound. Doct. But having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves, teachers to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to miss.

[00:02:55] As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the [00:03:00] work of an evangelist, and carry out your ministry fully. Now, this is another one of those passages from Timothy where Paul is instructing Timothy. His job and kind of what he's calling him to do in ministry now that Paul is locked up as well. And this is about our faith journey and our journey in discipleship.

[00:03:27] Oftentimes I think we feel like we're earning our way, we're working our way in, when in reality we aren't grasping the outpouring of grace and the fact that what we're doing is in response to that grace, not to earn our way in, but as an answer to the giftings that we have, because that is really what's powerful for what we.

[00:03:56] To keep proclaiming, to keep offering, to keep pointing to, [00:04:00] to keep saying, this is what it is, and that's easier said than done. It, it's hard to keep speaking when no one wants to listen, but Instead, when people have what is described in this passage as itchy ears, this feeling of just wanting to be told what they already know or what they want to be told, they want to hear the message that they want, not the truth that it's even harder to keep speaking the truth.

[00:04:34] This beginning of this passage is sort. An instruction in Bible reading. It's saying we need to keep reading the Bible. We need to keep working on these human stories. We. Need to keep sharing the message. We need to remember the hope and the spirit that it came to us in. And we need to do that in community because [00:05:00] this is about not doing more than just understanding it.

[00:05:03] It's about living it. And we only do that with mentorship and with community around us. The parts. We wrestle with the parts that are confusing. The parts that are challenging to us are just as surely parts of the Bible as the parts that say the things that we want to hear. And we've gotta keep asking ourself what is it that we need to hear from this message today.

[00:05:30] And this isn't just for preachers, this is for all of us. This is for all of us who are charged with sharing. Our relationships with sharing, our understanding, with sharing what message we get from it, because this is, despite the feeling, sometimes not wasted effort. It is effort that we need to keep doing it.

[00:05:56] It's messages that we need to keep [00:06:00] passing even when they don't feel like they're being heard. You know that itching ears isn't really a condemnation. It's not really bad news. It's not really about failure. It's about the idea that we need to keep sharing the good news because that's the message that keeps us from going astray.

[00:06:25] That's the message that keeps us from going somewhere else. That's the message that keeps pointing us back to the relationship with God. Thanks for listening.

[00:06:36] Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode, do me a favor. Go over to [00:07:00] facebook.com/inspired stewardship and like our Facebook page and market that you'd like to get notifications from us so that we can connect with you on Facebook and make sure that we're serving you to the best of our abilities with time and tips there.

[00:07:19] Until next time, invest your. Your talent and your treasures. Develop your influence and impact the world.