Well, we come to our final message in this series on 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, expanded over the whole section. from 3.10, now today, into 4.5. So if you would please turn to 2 Timothy 4, I'm going to read verses one through five, one through five. Listen carefully to the holy, infallible, inerrant word of God. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching. But having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. Let's come together in prayer. Our Lord and our God, we are so thankful that thou hast ordained the preaching of the word as the center of the proclamation of the gospel in the church of the living Christ. We ask, O Lord, that our hearts would always be faithful to what thou does place before us in scripture. Bless, bless the preaching of the word that goes out faithfully into the world this day. For many, many are hurting. And we ask, oh Lord, that you would strengthen them by the truth of thy word. In Christ's name, amen. What is it that people want to hear? Do Christians really want to hear the clear teaching of Scripture? Immediately, I want you to see that Paul is talking about the listener, the listener here in verses three and four of our text. Remember the context of last week's message. Paul has told Timothy that as he is entering into the post-apostolic age, he must hold fast to the preaching of God's word. He must continue to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember also that Paul has warned Timothy that the preaching of the Word will be received faithfully at times, and there are going to be times when the preaching of the Word is not going to be faithfully received. Why? Why are there going to be times when people will not faithfully receive the preaching of God's Word? Because there are always people who are within the doors of the church, who are tuned into only the things they wish to hear. They do not want to hear sound, practical, doctrinal teaching concerning God's will from the Word of God. Nor do they want to hear the three final imperatives that appear there in chapter four, verse two. Reproof, meaning repentance and faith in Christ. Rebuke, meaning the necessity of censoring evil in the lives of the church. Exhort, meaning to lift up, lift up the children of God with comfort, encouragement, edification, by placing them, the congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the presence of Christ. In contrast to Paul's meaning here, many Christians want the Lord to make them comfortable, make them happy. Please, Lord, I do not want to do as Paul preaches, directing our comfort in life and death to Christ alone and our inheritance in Christ alone. Please, unlike Paul, I do not want to be heavenly minded, that I am losing out on all the earthly pleasures which I can easily add to my Christian life. After all, Paul's life ends behind bars in prison. His end is not relevant to me and how I view the gospel. I am not into that kind of suffering for Christ and the gospel. My gospel is pain free in which I expect Christ to make my life a bed of roses. After all, the Christian life has to be really relevant to me. Congregation, this type of preaching and version of the Christian life is in abundance today, in abundance today. It is easy to find, if I may put it even in this way, there are 57 varieties of Heinz to choose from. in terms of the churches today. You see, many desire that their sinful, itching ears want to hear. Such people want their passions, as the texts say, stimulated each Sunday. They do not want sound doctrinal teaching. They yearn for fables and myths, a world constructed by their own minds and their own understandings. and experience of make-believe. Sadly, Paul here in verses 3 and 4 of our text is giving Timothy and the post-apostolic age, which includes all of us here this morning, a sincere and honest response to the faithful preaching of God's Word by many who will listen. Do you remember chapter 3 verse 13? We hit it time and time again in this series when Paul told Timothy that all those who desire to live godly lives will suffer for the gospel. that evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. Well, Timothy, if you thought it was bad at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, you just wait. You just wait, Timothy, and see what some people in your pews want you to preach. Even in the church, imposters and deceivers will stand before you and demand that you preach a different, a watered-down gospel than the gospel found in our Lord Jesus Christ. They do not want the sound doctrinal teaching that is found in God's Word. Do you remember, congregation, what the term teaching means? Do you? The same Greek word here appears here in our text this morning in chapter four, verse three, that appears as the leading description of the practical use of scripture in chapter three, verse 16. For Paul, the term means the clear teaching of God's will as found in the entire canon of Holy Scripture. Indeed, you cannot get around it. Paul's conception of doctrinal teaching is qualified by the historical revelation of God. After all, how is any true believer going to comprehend what the will of God actually is without grasping the revelation of our triune God from the beginning to the end of the canon of Scripture? Simply, Paul is telling Timothy that there are going to be people showing up at church in the era between the death of the apostles and Christ's second coming who will not want or be bound to God's will. revealed in biblical revelation, that is, what precisely they are to believe concerning God and what precisely God requires for them. Hopefully, you've just noticed the question and answer of the entire structure of the Shorter Catechism. Herein is the candid and direct. Herein Paul is candid and direct, such imposters of the faith. will not put up with, they will not tolerate, they will not truly listen to sound, practical, biblical, doctrinal teaching about God's will. Rather, such individuals want instruction that tickles their ears. The Greek is even more descriptive. of the message they desire to hear. Note the word passion in verse 3 of our text, which has the connotation in the Greek of lusting after teaching that undercuts the will of God. Now get this, Timothy. Guess what? because you will not give them what their ears are itching to hear. Do you know what they are going to do? They will find someone else to tell them what they want to hear. They will find teachers, as the text points out. They will find preachers who will stroke their wayward hearts and pave their minds with their conscious desires. In Romans 1, Paul says that such people exchange the truth for a lie. Here, he tells Timothy that they exchange the truth for a myth. for a myth. Rudolf Bultmann, the high profile critical theologian of the 20th century, distinguished himself by maintaining that the entire Bible is myth. He held that the only way you could get at the truth of the Bible was to get at the teaching behind the myth. For example, he believed that Christ's resurrection cannot be believed in this great scientific age, and thus the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is a myth. But for him, the truth that was behind the myth of the resurrection that the church needs to believe is that in the final analysis, there is victory over death. Although this is hopefully bizarre to your ears, Bultmann had many followers in Germany. It infiltrated American churches, especially mainline churches and denominations. and also it influenced the churches throughout the world from the 1940s into the 1970s. Those who had itchy ears to hear that the Bible was a myth were in line to listen anything he said. But in reality, Paul's use of the term myth has an even broader, broader application than Bultmann's use of the term. Look carefully at verse four in our text. The contrast is clear. Hall draws this broad antithesis between two simple and distinct entities. On the one hand, there is truth, and on the other hand, there is myth. That's it. That's it. Let me put it this way. If religion is not biblical, it is essentially mythical. If religion is not in compliance to the revelation of God's will found in Scripture, it is mythology. If religion is not the true gospel message that is focused in Jesus Christ. It is mythology. Even in the church, people will leave the sound proclamation of God's will for their own creative mythical form of Christianity determined by their own mind and their own feelings. It's interesting. Paul gives you two examples. You think he's just talking here? He's just fabricating? He's gonna give you two solid examples. within the context of the flow of the fourth chapter. Go ahead, look down, check out Demas, who appears in verses 9 and 10. You can see him in other books of the Paul's epistles as a faithful follower of Paul, most likely perhaps an ordained officer. Paul points out here that he deserted Paul. Why? Because of his love for the present world. A world that can be understood as mythology. And if that isn't enough, there's always the layman who knows more about the word of God. And in this case, more than the word of God, of the one who is the chosen apostle by God himself. Look down in your text and look at Alexander. Look at Alexander, the coppersmith. Verses 14 and 15. Paul points out that he caused great harm to Paul's ministry, strongly opposed to the gospel message that Paul delivered. We have to get rid of the fantasies in our mind, in terms of Paul being the chosen apostle of the Lord, and thus everyone that he came in contact with, everyone that hung around with him, so to speak. followed everything he said, was encapsulated into his ministry. No. Do you remember the first message in this series? He points out that only Luke in this text at the end is still with him. Even Paul, the great communicator of the gospel, had those who found themselves offended by his message. Indeed, the message that Alexander embraced was mythology. when compared to the message of supernatural interpretation of the gospel in Christ. Congregation for Paul, the bottom line is this, anything outside the biblical interpretation of religion, the world, and ourselves is mythology. Do not forget the Holy Bible records the activity of God in history, in historical context. Biblical revelation is alone, please hear this, is alone counter-cultural to the mythologies of the ancient world all around it and all the continuing mythologies that are embedded in our culture today. All the mythologies in which itchy ears want to hear. So what did you come to hear this morning? Did you come to hear a sincere attempt to present a microcosm of the full counsel of God, of true supernatural religion revealed to the Apostle Paul, or is the religion you seek a blend of Christian ideas, a blend of Christian concepts with the cultural mythologies that surround you. I ask all of us, including myself, to look into your own heart. Are you honest with the Lord? Sadly, many attend church today are wishing to satisfy their itchy ears. Where is our hearts with respect to Christ's first pronounced beatitude of blessedness, hunger, and thirsting after righteousness? there and there alone you will find your satisfaction. Oh yes, a few examples to place before you this morning in terms of what itchy ears want to hear Some are going to hear today, even in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, believe it or not, that Jesus is not the only mediator between God and sinful humanity. All religions who love others and live peaceful lives will be included in the so-called afterlife. How about another paradigm that is really captured? has captured the broad spectrum of Christianity in our day. That Christianity needs to be more relevant to the political tone of our era. Many want to hear the politicalization of the gospel intensified in their pulpits. For example, they want to hear an egalitarian community gospel in which we would never talk about the sovereign doctrine of divine election. Or though we would never talk about the distinct gender identity that the scriptures maintains that is only male and female, preaching needs to focus upon the liberating message of social justice for so-called oppressed people under the multiple cultural and social structures of governments, economics, and ethnic relationships. And perhaps the one that really, really invades the church is another example. God gives me free control to worship and honor His name in a manner that I wish as long as my intentions are in the right frame of mind. Worship is really neat when the music relates to me, sounding like modern pop music that stimulates my feelings of affections like sacred love to Jesus and other believers. The preaching addresses the daily tempo of my feelings inside my heart. I need that stimulation to feel good about myself in light of all my mood changes that I go through each day. And I need the everyday experiences of others who love to share their own mood changes in support and accountability. I need a pastor who is really in tune with the culture, so hip that he wears casual clothes while preaching to connect with the lifestyle of those present. He needs to be able to tell great stories and really connect like an on-stage TV comedian. And most of all, give me the moral platitudes from the biblical text that makes me conscious of trying to be a better Christian. Yes, I am going to fail, most likely in this case. but so are most everybody else attending will fail. And thus, we will all have sympathy with each other's shortcomings because all of us are really trying to do our best to be like Jesus. And as we together share our struggles to be like Christ, we can recommend the vast recipe of how-to Christian literature to reach the elevated plateau of imitating Jesus. After all, each week we come back to church for another injection to try to be. like our Lord and Savior. This kind of church, this kind of preaching is just so personal. It is so aspirational. It is like wonderful, it's like a wonderful group therapy session. in which we share our own Christian experiences. What is really neat, what is really neat in this construction of the so-called body of Christ is that it is without accountability to a body of so-called elders. Yes, there is an explosion in the Christian world today of people gathering together without church membership and without elders. Sadly, congregation, what is really being said here is that I do not have or wish to have any accountability over my life before Christ, who has appointed elders like Paul and Timothy over the visible body of Christ as Christ's church presently appears before Judge Jesus, verse one of chapter four. like the secular culture of community building. These people are only accountable to each other, not a higher authority of guidance, encouragement, and responsible living before God's throne. Congregation, you have to be candid here. throw out. These churches are essentially throwing out the text we are reading this morning. Take it out of the canon. Paul, as an elder, is speaking to an elder. That's the structure. And most troubling, the central message of Paul's preaching is much too abstract. It's not personally relevant enough. Now, you may be asking, so what is that central message? which Paul understands as the foundational power of the gospel of the Christian life. You can't have a better summary, as I have informed you before, of looking at Colossians 3, 1 through 17 of the entire scope of Paul's understanding of the gospel, and you can include in that Ephesians chapter 2, 1 through 10. What is that central message? It is union. with the death and resurrection of Christ in the heavenly places whose accomplished redemption is powerfully applied by the gracious and merciful work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of God's people. Are we listening? Are we listening? Even the church can be invaded with distorted myths. The church is in serious need to open their eyes and ears to the living word of our God. Come Come into the text and capture the full weight of the apostolic ministry. Hear from the Apostle Paul that the Spirit has laid upon his heart. Paul is pouring his entire soul into the life of Timothy in this text before you. His fellow elder, not only for the restoration of Timothy, but for the life of the church. In this, Paul is sober-minded. He knows that there are people out there, because of their sinful hearts, have itchy ears to follow the teaching of their own lustful passions. As we participate in Paul's communication to Timothy, Permit the Holy Spirit to drive home into your heart this morning. Paul's letter, Paul's message in this specific letter at the center of your life is not a mythical document, but a document that is the actual breath of God. This document, the holy, infallible, and errant Word of God, records the will of God, His holy will. It is the document that records the acts of God and provides an infallible interpretation of those acts. It is a document that provides your ultimate starting point, your point of reference in terms of understanding and interpretation of fact and reality. To start at any other point of reference other than God's word is to interpret fact and reality in the context of mythology. You would be living in the fables of a human imagination. And what is central to the will of God found in the Holy Scripture? It is the message of salvation. from Genesis through Revelation in Jesus Christ for those who truly understand the depth of their sin. It is a simple message. Those who believe in Christ and heed to his word will be equipped, equipped to see Jesus. But those who deceive themselves following their own lusts will fall into the hands of Judge Jesus. Now do not forget, do not forget the two institutions in which mythology is to be attacked destroyed in the Christian life. It's the church and the home. How? Through the preaching of the word, in terms of the church. Chapter 4, verse 2, that is the central task of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and being trained in the word from childhood by godly parents. Chapter 3, verse 15, which we have accented again and again in this context. Oh, Oh, parents, please be encouraged. Please be encouraged to train your children in the Word of the Lord so that they will never, never depart from it. Furthermore, The ministry of the ordained office of the pastor and the journey of Christ's church is clearly laid out in the last verse, chapter 4, verse 5, by Paul to Timothy, his fellow elder. Be sober-minded, Timothy. Be sober-minded. have a clear, solid commitment to the proclamation of God's Word. Endure suffering, because suffering is going to come. He's encouraging him. In that preached Word, endure suffering. Do the work of an evangelist. Preach the gospel, Timothy. Preach the gospel, the good news to all that come before you. And Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, embrace, embrace that good news that comes to you through the faithful preaching of the word. And fulfill the ministry. Fulfill the ministry. Serve one another in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Live the cross to one another. Meaning, in terms of our lives, our daily sacrifice, we die for each other in the church. That's living the cross. That's the pattern of Christ. There is where the moral platitudes of the Christian life must be placed. most of the books you will read to be like are moral platitudes in terms of your own works. The moral platitudes of Paul and the New Testament and of Christ himself is under the subject of the cross, self-sacrifice to one another. Let that be the life of our congregation. Indeed, this gospel is counter-cultural. It is. And let it be as the place where we will stand. There are hundreds, there are thousands meeting in churches with people who have itchy ears. Be thankful by the grace of God that you want the strength of the gospel to secure you each day, the death and resurrection. of your Savior. Let's pray. Our Lord and our God, we ask, O Lord, that you would bless our walk in the humbleness of thy Spirit. Help us to be faithful and not faithless. Strengthen us each day by virtue of our resurrection glory, which by faith union we have even entered into right now. Let us be secure in that faith. in the name of Christ and his blessedness unto us. In Christ's name.