God Undeniably Cares Deeply

God Undeniably Cares Deeply Isaiah 35:1–10 (NIV84) 1 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. 3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. 7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. 8 And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. 9 No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, 10 and the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Psalm 146:1–10 (NIV84) 1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. 2 I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— the Lord, who remains faithful forever.7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, 8 the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. 10 The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord. James 2:1–5 (NIV84) 1 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favouritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? Mark 7:31–37 (NIV84) 31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man. 33 After he 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. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (Which means, “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. 36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more [zealously] they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” How do you see yourself: Are you predominantly a positive person or a negative person? What do you remember the longest: The good things that happened in your life or the bad things? What do you linger on most: Negative thoughts or events, or positive ones? Come to think about it: What causes you to be positive? What makes you negative? Adjustment or changes to our circumstances often have a direct effect on our emotions, on how we feel, how we think and how we act. I remember learning about the Hawthorne Effect. Low morale among workers at Hawthorne Works, a General Electric plant in the USA affected both their productivity and the quality of their work. Management decided to address these issues. They commissioned a study to see if they could motivate the workers to become more productive. One of the things they trialled was participation in decision-making. For instance: The factory walls were scheduled for repainting; the workers were invited to choose the colours. Inspired by the invitation to participate in the decision, they chose new and bright colours for the walls. The workers' productivity seemed to improve when these changes were made. Their spirits were lifted with measurable gains in both quality and productivity. However, these increases in quality and productivity were short-lived. Once management adopted the changes and it became normal practice productivity and quality slumped again. They were stunned. Why? On verifying this with other tests they realised that changing a variable usually increased productivity only temporarily. On closer investigation it became clear that productivity gain occurred as a result of the motivational effect on the workers of the interest being shown in them. They found that workers worked harder because they thought that they were being monitored while change is implemented. Once the implementation of the changes was completed they assumed that they were not monitored anymore and they consequently returned back to their old practices. Did you know that people are naturally more inclined to be negative than positive? In Behavioural Psychology we are taught about negativity bias. Negativity bias is this predisposition to have greater sensitivity to negative than to positive events. Some researchers theorise that, psychologically speaking, negative events weigh close to three times more than positive events! Psychologists who believe in Darwinist evolution argue that negativity bias is our automatic survival instinct. They argue that negativity bias cause us to act in ways that enable us to stand a better chance to survive in life-threatening situation. In other words, following this theory to the extreme it would mean that negative people survive better than positive people? But is this true? Think about it logically: Who survive the longest – people who are depressed, stressed, sad, angry, and anxious or people who are happy, joyful, affectionate and relaxed? I’d suggest to you that Scripture argues a case that is diametrically opposed to that of Darwinian Psychology: It is not negativity bias that causes us to survive or live longer, it is a positive understanding of who we are, where we come from, why we are here and how we should live to get where we should go that cause us to experience joy, contentment, satisfaction, resilience, love and affection! The Bible is full of surprises! Some may be gentle; others may be jarring. Some may make us smile in amusement; others may wrinkle our brows with amazement. Friends, this morning we have listened to 4 passages from Scripture, passages I’d like to suggest that help us to understand that we should not allow negativity to be the defining element of who we are because we have more than enough reason to be positive. So let’s consider what our passages are telling us: Firstly then, let us look at Isaiah. Isaiah 35 is a long hymn of praise of God, the joy of the redeemed, offered as thanksgiving for deliverance from the slavery of exile. Isaiah 35 highlights the healing aspect of God’s deeds of deliverance. Exile brings feelings of despair and hopelessness, a negative darkness over all positive dreams of freedom. Exiles interpret their situation negative because to them it seems as if God have deserted his people. Isaiah 35 address three consequences of low morale problems in the transformation of negative attitudes to positive ones among the children of Israel. “Feeble hands” is the symbol of powerlessness and the inability to get things done. “Knee that give way” suggests the inability to move forward with a sense of direction. As we remember, the drunken leaders of Israel had misled the people so that they no longer trusted their leaders or themselves. The “fearful-hearted” are the people who have been traumatized again and again by threats of attack and destruction so that they lived emotionally on the raw edge of frenzy. To live constantly in fear drains the body, mind, and soul of its vitality, creativity, and faith. Put yourself in the place of a person who has no hope, or confidence, and lives in constant fear. To you the Lord says, “Be strong, do not fear … He will come and save you!” (Verse 4) Your weak hands feel the strength to get things done again, your feeble knees are steadied for a forward step, and your fearful heart is calmed in the confidence that the Lord will dispel your enemies and save you. The change of the environment from a desert to a garden might have been miraculous, but it is nothing compared to the transformation of the human spirit. To speak of the deaf hearing and the blind seeing is common biblical language for God freeing people from slavery or exile so that new hope and vision will be theirs. And then, using the same type of imagery, Isaiah declares that the exiles will go forth and rejoice, just as the lame and the dumb of speech would do when they were healed. This brings us to Psalm 146. Like Isaiah 35 Psalm 146 is a song of praise where the Psalmist calls believers to praise God and where he declares that he will praise God his whole life. Why? The Psalmist recognises two opposing interpretations of human existence: one winds up negatively in disappointment and regret (verses 3–4); the other leads to positive dedication and exuberance (verses 5–9). Both interpretations acknowledge that people are vulnerable to dilemmas. Both offer scenarios for safety and security. People can take refuge “in princes, in humans” or look to “the God of Jacob” for help. Both interpretations are valid. However, their outcomes are diametrically opposed. The first set you up for failure and the second for success. Friends, I would like to focus on the second interpretation because it makes a very fitting response to the reading from Isaiah 35. Like Isaiah it mentions the freeing of captives as well as the healing of the blind. It highlights other characteristics of God’s justice as well: God’s care for the weak, the poor, the defenceless, and those who are persecuted. It is one of the strongest expressions of God’s concern for those who are without power and a voice. In other words, in Psalm 146 the Psalmist reminds us that when we realise that our well-being, our salvation, our lives, past, present and future are secured by this God who cares about the weak, the defenceless, the persecuted, the blind, the poor our emotional state will change. Correct focus leads to positive outcomes. When we put our trust where it rightly belongs negativity is overturned and positivity grows exponentially. Let’s briefly focus on James. Friends, all of us know that people’s behaviour towards one another impacts people. The ways we treat people impact their emotional well-being. The way people treat us impact our well-being. In other words we all play a role in how people feel. James 2:1-5 however, reminds us that we should consider the roles that we play seriously. Do our attitudes, our behaviours, our actions, our words, or the lack thereof, help or harm people? Are we an uplifting or a depressing influence on people? James explains what is at stake with an example – the issue of favouritism. This was common practice in James’ day. Jewish synagogues favoured the rich. Roman courts favoured the rich. People of means were always taken care of better that those of no means. This caused people the people of James’ day to become negative because they believed that God acts the same way as humans do. Here James argues that there should be no favouritism on behalf of sophisticated or influential or smart or rich or popular or good people, because God doesn’t practice favouritism. Christian should follow the example of their Saviour. Let’s take the case of the least acceptable kind of person, James says. What if a social outcast [in his day the prostitute, the leper, the tax-collector, the Samaritan] walks into your party to sit down among all your guests? What would you do? The Jews had a practice of seating the most important people nearest the sacred scrolls. People of lesser importance would be seated in the back. And those of no means would often be banned altogether. This unhealthy practice was still carried on by some Christians in James’ day. Those with the most important jobs or roles would get preferred seating. James speaks out against this. He reminds us that it is our relationship with Christ that gives us dignity, not our profession or possessions. In verse 5 James answers this with a reference back to the commands of scripture that God specially watches over the lowly and the weak, just like Isaiah and the Psalmist argued. So should we. We should make sure that we are not contributing to negativity bias. We must make sure that we enable people to grow positively the way God wants them to. Friends, we should always remember that Jesus’ first followers were common people. We should remember that Christianity has a special message for the poor, the downtrodden who have caught up in the spiral of negativity. Jesus often spoke of his mission to the poor: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20). In a social system that gave the poor very little, Jesus’ message to them was certainly good news. We must make sure that we are harbingers of the same good news. Our words and our actions should witness that no one is unworthy of God’s care or presence. One of the greatest barriers to salvation for the rich is pride. For the poor, bitterness can often bar the way. Don’t allow plenty or poverty to keep you from God’s gift of eternal life. This brings us to our last passage – Mark 7. In order to fulfil Isaiah 35 and Psalm 146 Jesus in Mark 7:31-37 makes a point in the healing of the deaf man by physically touching his damaged ears and tongue. This man was both deaf and partially mute, which means he was cut off from communication on both ends. He could not hear, and so people would have difficulty communicating with him. And he could hardly talk, which means he would have a hard time communicating back. As we mentioned before, he would not have had the many advantages that deaf people have in our own day, and so this man would have been extremely isolated and lonely. I find it interesting that Jesus took the man away from the crowd before he healed him. Why? Did Jesus lead the deaf man apart and gives him a new start? Isaiah, the Psalmist, Mark and James agree that “God of Jacob … the LORD their God,” the Maker of heaven and earth and Promise Keeper is One who: Accomplishes justice for the oppressed, Gives food to the hungry, Sets free the prisoners, Opens the eyes of the blind, Lifts up those who are bowed down, Watches over the strangers, Upholds the orphan and the widow, Brings to ruin the wicked. Whatever separates God’s creation and God’s people from God’s purpose must come under the divine judgment. Obstacles will be removed and the covenant restored as people and the created order enter the sphere of salvation. Friends, the message you heard this morning is that God undeniable cares deeply about all people. God’s divine presence means deliverance from sin, separation, and all its consequences. God’s divine presence is the reason why we can overcome negativity bias. God’s divine presence cause us to experience joy, contentment, satisfaction, resilience, love and affection! God’s divine presence causes us to care about the well-being of others too. Isaiah, the Psalmist, Mark and James point to the symbols of salvation in the new future that awaits God’s people. Therefore, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.” (Isaiah 35:4–6). All creation will witness to the glory of God that shall cover the earth “as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). You and I are reminded today of the time of salvation ushered in by the one who is expected. Jesus witnesses to this to John the Baptist’s disciples: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them” (Matthew 11:4–5). Although people might be in a place of negative desolation, God will prepare a highway of positivity for them to heaven. There is a way from the negative barren and dry places of this world to this new positive space and place that God has prepared for his people. It will be a highway, indeed a holy way, in the desert for them to travel into God’s new future for them. God excels “in making a way out of no way.” Like the barren and dry places, God’s people shall burst out in singing and praises to God as they return home to Zion. Behold your God! God shall be your guide. Hear today that God is our most loyal ally as we journey through the hardships of life. He has made positive promises to us. He has proven himself already. He deserves to be trusted. Negativity bias tells us that we can barely trust God. But Scripture positively reinforces the truth that God is faithful. Make up our mind. Are you going to live positively by faith in God or by negative faith in yourself? This morning I’m saying to you “Ephphatha! – Be opened!” Let Jesus open up your life for God’s positive grace so that you can overcome negativity bias and experience the amazing, miraculous, joyful positivity of knowing that God cares about you deeply.