Are We Deaf and Dumb? - Mark 7:31-37
Are We Deaf and Dumb? - Mark 7:31-37
By Pastor Lee Hemen
April 11, 2010 AM
When I was younger, I used to think that my folks suffered from a kind of a parental tone-deafness that all adults suffer from when they have children. Not only did they not hear me but also they did not understand me. Many of Christians tacitly believe this about God as well, that he does not hear or understand. In fact, we think it is so true that it has become ingrained in our spiritual psych and in how we relate to the gospel. Let me explain: The Israelites suffered from this malady during Isaiah’s time. They felt God was not listening to their constant cries and did not understand their particular predicament. Isaiah would remind them, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” (Isaiah 40:28) God was not the one who was deaf and dumb, they were!
Deafness and muteness to the gospel message often begins with the believer. Why would I say that? Christians are supposed to be about loving God totally and others as themselves. We have forgotten that it is a matter of proclaiming the good news of the Lord! Christians have become deaf, not only to its message, but to also to what it means for a sin-fallen world. After looking at what Mark relates concerning Jesus we must ask ourselves: Are we deaf and dumb? Let’s find out the answer to this…
READ: Mark 7:31-37
I remember times when going for a ride in the car with my siblings. Dad would direly warn us that under no certain terms that we were not to be so noisy in the backseat that it distracted him. We would get the time-honored threat, “If I have to stop this car!” Silence may be golden when it refers to a carload of kids, but it is horrendous when it refers to the believer sharing the gospel. We discover here in Mark that…
I. There is none so deaf, as those who cannot hear!
1. We should ask ourselves, “Am I willing to touch people when it is inconvenient or repulsive for me?” People will only hear the gospel, when we are willing to touch their ears! The reason many in our neighborhood, community, and world do not listen to the gospel is because they have not heard the gospel from our lips. Christians have become deliberately mute in proclaiming the good news. God did not use megaphones, mega churches, or mega campaigns to spread his simple message. He used individuals, beginning with Jesus. And notice that Jesus still has not found the respite he needed. He had tried to get away from the crowds, but they followed him to a hillside, he had tried to get away by himself, but they still followed him around the lake. He even went to the beach, but they came inside his seaside retreat and begged at his dinner table, and now they confront him as he is journeying “through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis,” a surreptitious route at best. Ministry is inconvenient. It demands our time and requires we become God’s servants on his time schedule. But then again we are reminded of Jesus’ own words when he taught that, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) The problem is not with a deaf hard of hearing world. The problem is there are too many Christians who want a Sunday morning ministry, while the world gropes in sinful silence. Let me ask you, “Are you listening to what this story is telling you or are you still deaf to the cries of the lost?” Brothers and sisters in Christ, there are those outside these doors that need to hear the message of Jesus and you alone are the only means by which they will hear it. There is none so deaf, as those who do not hear – are you listening?
EXAMPLE: My nephew is an exceptional musician. He used to play in a hard rock band, and when I say “hard rock,” I mean screamer. He jokingly told me, “Uncle Lee, you probably do not understand my kind of music.” I replied, “It is not that I do not understand it, it is so loud I cannot hear it.” At first, he was perplexed by my answer, but then he smiled in understanding. Christianity today suffers from the same kind of volume. There are too many Christians in our day and age that continually want a personal message from God. They are bombarded with Christian radio, books, seminars, and Sunday morning experiences. Daily they seek some kind of spiritual euphoria, a miracle moment, a radio message, a special delivery from the Lord all the while ignoring the blaring message right in front of them. If your quiet time has not moved you to move your lips to speak the good news to others around you, then you are completely deaf to the words of God. You need a hearing aid, a miracle ear! You heed the words of the Lord as you hear the words of the Lord. The sin-deaf world cannot hear a message of hope from the lips of those who are spiritually tone deaf. God has not called his church, his people, each of us to a life of seeking after personal godly moments. He has called us to share the good news, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.
The other night on a TV show “In Plain Sight,” the main character Mary, a US Marshall who works for Witness Protection, told an annoying detainee, “Shut up now, shut up later, and shut up forever!” Of course, we are all told not to say, “Shut up,” but it was appropriate in this circumstance. However, far too often Christians practice a self-imposed muteness. A friend, family member, or neighbor can be going to eternal damnation but we “Shut up now, shut up later, and shut up forever.” We learn from Jesus here in Mark that…
II. There is none so silent, as those who do not speak!
1. We should ask ourselves, “Am I willing to be worthless as spit?” Why would I say that? Notice that Jesus often used the “common” things of the world to heal people’s lives. Common things like the dirt from the ground, water from a well, and even his spit. And, like these common things of the earth, he wants to use us common folk to heal the lives of others with his message. Some Christians want God to use others instead of themselves to minister. Mark relates that Jesus “took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue.” Again, it was a one-on-one experience. Jesus does not pull a “Benny Hinn” moment here. Ministry requires that we be willing to be used of God anytime and anywhere away from the crowds. Far too many Christians want recognition for the ministry God has called them to do. Ministry is not about the crowds, it is not about personal recognition, and it is not about you. It is totally about God and sharing his good news! Notice too that Jesus did not need to roll in the dirt of the world in order to heal the man. He did not join in people’s sin, but was willing to go where they were. And, icky, he was willing to put his fingers in the man’s ears and touch his tongue with his spit! Jesus was willing to be as worthless as spit for the gospel message. He was willing to be used of God! Notice also what happens after Jesus heals the man’s speaking problem: he cannot shut up! In fact, the whole region cannot keep quiet about it. “Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.” Why, why in the world would they not shut up after being warned to do so by Jesus? Mark tells us that it was because “People were overwhelmed with amazement!” They knew it was Jesus who “makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” When the good news is spoken and lives are changed, people cannot shut up about it.
EXAMPLE: Don’t you hate it when politicians say one thing, and yet do another? Don’t you hate it when they are so wishy-washy they do not stand for anything and will never give you a straight answer for what they believe or do? I know I do. Yet, much of Christianity has become just like that. The world disdains Christianity today not because of its proclamation of the gospel message, but because of its witness. The world has become deaf and the church has become mute! The church is resoundingly silent. The reason the church, the individual believer, and so many Christians are silent in speaking the gospel is because they are willfully mute and spiritually lazy. Jesus is called “the Word” in John’s gospel for a reason. Jesus was the total embodiment of God’s message to mankind. He was the actual physical representation of the spoken Word of God for us! We, as his followers, are the actual representation of the Word of God in our world today. I fear that the message of the cross has become a seminar for the saints. The word of God is more than a book for personal devotions; it should move us to ministry and mission. If we try to sooth the world with a soft-spoken message of the moment, rather than confront it with the heart wrenching life-changing, sound-restoring message of the cross it will not give us an ear! It will not listen.
Conclusion:
There is none so deaf, as they cannot hear and that there is none so silent, as those who do not speak! Put your spiritual finger in someone’s ear this week. Tell them the good news of Jesus Christ. Stop being deaf and dumb about the gospel message.
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2010 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission...
By Pastor Lee Hemen
April 11, 2010 AM
When I was younger, I used to think that my folks suffered from a kind of a parental tone-deafness that all adults suffer from when they have children. Not only did they not hear me but also they did not understand me. Many of Christians tacitly believe this about God as well, that he does not hear or understand. In fact, we think it is so true that it has become ingrained in our spiritual psych and in how we relate to the gospel. Let me explain: The Israelites suffered from this malady during Isaiah’s time. They felt God was not listening to their constant cries and did not understand their particular predicament. Isaiah would remind them, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” (Isaiah 40:28) God was not the one who was deaf and dumb, they were!
Deafness and muteness to the gospel message often begins with the believer. Why would I say that? Christians are supposed to be about loving God totally and others as themselves. We have forgotten that it is a matter of proclaiming the good news of the Lord! Christians have become deaf, not only to its message, but to also to what it means for a sin-fallen world. After looking at what Mark relates concerning Jesus we must ask ourselves: Are we deaf and dumb? Let’s find out the answer to this…
READ: Mark 7:31-37
I remember times when going for a ride in the car with my siblings. Dad would direly warn us that under no certain terms that we were not to be so noisy in the backseat that it distracted him. We would get the time-honored threat, “If I have to stop this car!” Silence may be golden when it refers to a carload of kids, but it is horrendous when it refers to the believer sharing the gospel. We discover here in Mark that…
I. There is none so deaf, as those who cannot hear!
1. We should ask ourselves, “Am I willing to touch people when it is inconvenient or repulsive for me?” People will only hear the gospel, when we are willing to touch their ears! The reason many in our neighborhood, community, and world do not listen to the gospel is because they have not heard the gospel from our lips. Christians have become deliberately mute in proclaiming the good news. God did not use megaphones, mega churches, or mega campaigns to spread his simple message. He used individuals, beginning with Jesus. And notice that Jesus still has not found the respite he needed. He had tried to get away from the crowds, but they followed him to a hillside, he had tried to get away by himself, but they still followed him around the lake. He even went to the beach, but they came inside his seaside retreat and begged at his dinner table, and now they confront him as he is journeying “through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis,” a surreptitious route at best. Ministry is inconvenient. It demands our time and requires we become God’s servants on his time schedule. But then again we are reminded of Jesus’ own words when he taught that, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) The problem is not with a deaf hard of hearing world. The problem is there are too many Christians who want a Sunday morning ministry, while the world gropes in sinful silence. Let me ask you, “Are you listening to what this story is telling you or are you still deaf to the cries of the lost?” Brothers and sisters in Christ, there are those outside these doors that need to hear the message of Jesus and you alone are the only means by which they will hear it. There is none so deaf, as those who do not hear – are you listening?
EXAMPLE: My nephew is an exceptional musician. He used to play in a hard rock band, and when I say “hard rock,” I mean screamer. He jokingly told me, “Uncle Lee, you probably do not understand my kind of music.” I replied, “It is not that I do not understand it, it is so loud I cannot hear it.” At first, he was perplexed by my answer, but then he smiled in understanding. Christianity today suffers from the same kind of volume. There are too many Christians in our day and age that continually want a personal message from God. They are bombarded with Christian radio, books, seminars, and Sunday morning experiences. Daily they seek some kind of spiritual euphoria, a miracle moment, a radio message, a special delivery from the Lord all the while ignoring the blaring message right in front of them. If your quiet time has not moved you to move your lips to speak the good news to others around you, then you are completely deaf to the words of God. You need a hearing aid, a miracle ear! You heed the words of the Lord as you hear the words of the Lord. The sin-deaf world cannot hear a message of hope from the lips of those who are spiritually tone deaf. God has not called his church, his people, each of us to a life of seeking after personal godly moments. He has called us to share the good news, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.
The other night on a TV show “In Plain Sight,” the main character Mary, a US Marshall who works for Witness Protection, told an annoying detainee, “Shut up now, shut up later, and shut up forever!” Of course, we are all told not to say, “Shut up,” but it was appropriate in this circumstance. However, far too often Christians practice a self-imposed muteness. A friend, family member, or neighbor can be going to eternal damnation but we “Shut up now, shut up later, and shut up forever.” We learn from Jesus here in Mark that…
II. There is none so silent, as those who do not speak!
1. We should ask ourselves, “Am I willing to be worthless as spit?” Why would I say that? Notice that Jesus often used the “common” things of the world to heal people’s lives. Common things like the dirt from the ground, water from a well, and even his spit. And, like these common things of the earth, he wants to use us common folk to heal the lives of others with his message. Some Christians want God to use others instead of themselves to minister. Mark relates that Jesus “took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue.” Again, it was a one-on-one experience. Jesus does not pull a “Benny Hinn” moment here. Ministry requires that we be willing to be used of God anytime and anywhere away from the crowds. Far too many Christians want recognition for the ministry God has called them to do. Ministry is not about the crowds, it is not about personal recognition, and it is not about you. It is totally about God and sharing his good news! Notice too that Jesus did not need to roll in the dirt of the world in order to heal the man. He did not join in people’s sin, but was willing to go where they were. And, icky, he was willing to put his fingers in the man’s ears and touch his tongue with his spit! Jesus was willing to be as worthless as spit for the gospel message. He was willing to be used of God! Notice also what happens after Jesus heals the man’s speaking problem: he cannot shut up! In fact, the whole region cannot keep quiet about it. “Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.” Why, why in the world would they not shut up after being warned to do so by Jesus? Mark tells us that it was because “People were overwhelmed with amazement!” They knew it was Jesus who “makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” When the good news is spoken and lives are changed, people cannot shut up about it.
EXAMPLE: Don’t you hate it when politicians say one thing, and yet do another? Don’t you hate it when they are so wishy-washy they do not stand for anything and will never give you a straight answer for what they believe or do? I know I do. Yet, much of Christianity has become just like that. The world disdains Christianity today not because of its proclamation of the gospel message, but because of its witness. The world has become deaf and the church has become mute! The church is resoundingly silent. The reason the church, the individual believer, and so many Christians are silent in speaking the gospel is because they are willfully mute and spiritually lazy. Jesus is called “the Word” in John’s gospel for a reason. Jesus was the total embodiment of God’s message to mankind. He was the actual physical representation of the spoken Word of God for us! We, as his followers, are the actual representation of the Word of God in our world today. I fear that the message of the cross has become a seminar for the saints. The word of God is more than a book for personal devotions; it should move us to ministry and mission. If we try to sooth the world with a soft-spoken message of the moment, rather than confront it with the heart wrenching life-changing, sound-restoring message of the cross it will not give us an ear! It will not listen.
Conclusion:
There is none so deaf, as they cannot hear and that there is none so silent, as those who do not speak! Put your spiritual finger in someone’s ear this week. Tell them the good news of Jesus Christ. Stop being deaf and dumb about the gospel message.
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2010 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission...
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