“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: 2 proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. 5 As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.” 2 Timothy 4:1-5

“When it comes to gossip and idle tales and foolish conversation and things of that sort, we ought to let such go “in at one ear and out at the other”; we should be very careful that they find no lodging-place in our hearts. That is the only safe way for our souls. But too often these things are given a place in the heart and mind: there is too good a connection, and many times there is only too ready a response in the heart for such things. That is why some people can never keep spiritual, and are always lagging behind others. People who have such a good connection and responsiveness in their hearts on these lines usually have very poor connection between their ears and their hearts when it comes to the teachings of the Word of God. They can hear the Word preached on almost any subject, and not seem to think it means them. They go along in their lives just as they had been doing before. They feel no particular responsibility to obey. They can go on just as if they had never heard, and still profess, and possibly shout occasionally. The Bible warns us to take heed how we hear. If we do not treat the preaching of God’s Word reverently, and listen with reverent hearts to his messages, it is because we do not reverence him. It is because in our hearts we are lifted up against him.” (C.W. Naylor, “Heart Talks”, p. 151-153)

We have a cat that is always scratching her ears. If you pet her head, she will shake her head violently and scratch her ears. If you let her sit on your lap, after a few minutes she will get up and scratch her ears. We have had her looked at, and she just has itchy ears. Having itchy ears for humans has mostly been a metaphor for wanting to hear a doctrine or an idea that only fits your worldview, or ideas, or your views of G-d. I am sure you have known someone in your life who just was never satisfied with an explanation about something – whether it is the fact that the moon landing was real, or in regards to who shot JFK, or whether Jesus actually rose from the tomb. And, I am also sure that you knew or actually know someone whom seems to live their life taking information “in one ear and letting it go out the other.” This is how too many people approach their faith lives: they come to services and the sermon goes in one ear and out the other. They talk to their friends who are suffering, and the information goes in one ear and out the other. In other words, nothing goes into their ears and straight to their heart.

So, how is it with you? Are you one of those who have the connection broken between the ears and the heart? Or do you have listening ears and a feeling heart? When you hear the Word of G-d preached, does it stick, or does it exit stage left? When you read the Word or listen to the plight of your neighbors, do their pleas sink deep into your conscience and take hold there, setting for a spell and actually beginning to produce fruit in your life?

We should always strive to allow the Word of G-d to not only enter our ears, but also enter our hearts as well. When we do, we have a better change of that same Word transforming our hearts, and our actions.

Pastor Dave

“Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. ¹³ And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.” ¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem, ¹⁵ and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” ¹⁶ “I am seeking my brothers,” he said; “tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” ¹⁷ The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. ¹⁸ They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. ¹⁹ They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. ²⁰ Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” ²¹ But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” ²² Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. ²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into a pit.” Genesis 37:12-24

“My desires are pictured in the Bible just as I find them working in my heart. Whatever picture it draws of the human soul I find within myself, and whatever I find within myself I find within its pages, and thus I know that it is true. No man can know me as the Bible knows me nor picture out my inner self as the Bible pictures me; and since no work of man could correspond with my inner self as the Bible corresponds with me, I know that it did not come from man.” (C.W. Naylor, “Heart Talks”, p. 30)

Many people believe that the Bible has nothing to do with them – that it is an outdated book about old superstitions and prejudices. However, as I have had the time to read and study this book for some twenty years now, what I have found is that the Bible does have a lot to say about humanity, and particularly how I feel emotions in my life. The life of Joseph is one of those stories–in fact it is one of the best stories ever written. He was favored by his father–and hated by his brothers, who sold him into slavery. The rest of his life is one of betrayal, commitment, and future success.

Let me share with you just three lessons of many from the story of Joseph.

1. Jealousy can ruin family relationships

Children fighting with one another, parents who seem to favor one child over another, and sibling rivalry. These can lead to dysfunction within a family.

2. Joseph’s coat had been stripped, but not his character

The gift of a singular coat did not endear Joseph to his brothers – which led to their betrayal and eventually the brothers giving this coat back to their father exclaiming Joseph was dead. Interestingly, although his coat had been taken off from him, he was able to keep up his character and integrity.

3. G-d protected him in the midst of troubles

Joseph was cast into a pit and then sold into slavery — he was accused of indiscretion with Potiphar’s wife – he was eventually lifted out of prison to be second in command second only to Pharaoh. In the midst of dangers and adversities, G-d protected him because of his faithfulness.

We may not see the overall picture of G-d’s plan and even G-d’s activities in our lives every day, yet remaining faithful to G-d instead of complaining is an overarching lesson from the story of Joseph. The Bible is a good source for teaching us about humanity, about forgiveness, about love and about perseverance.

Pastor Dave