The Savior who does everything well! 09-12-2021

Thought he was going deaf

Fed up with people telling him he was going deaf, a man went to get his hearing tested.

After examining the man, the audiologist place a clock on a desk and asked the man if he could hear it ticking.

The man replied; "Yes I can."

The audiologist then placed the clock at the far end of the room and again asked the man if he could hear it ticking.

Once again the man replied; "Yes I can."

The audiologist then opened the door and walked out of the office, placing the clock in a corridor and asking the man if he could hear it ticking.

For a third time, the man replied; "Yes I can."

The audiologist then told the man,

"There is nothing wrong with your hearing. You just don't listen to people!"

There is of course a big difference between hearing and listening!

Most of us were born hearing well,

but listening is something you have to work on!

I think I have slowly become a worse listener, and I need to work on giving my full attention other people I am talking with

Perhaps you too have become

not as good of a listener?

And what about our listening to God?

are you getting better at hearing His still small voice

or learning to ignore it?

Review of recent Mark 7 sermons

Washing hand tradition vs obeying God

What defiles a person Food or The words of an unguarded heart/ tongue

Jesus takes a break at the coast

The healing of the Syro-Phoenician women’s daughter

Persistent asking God, is important

Today we are going to look another healing.

We are in Mark chapter 7 taking up the story at verse 31

Mark 7:31 NIV

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.

So Jesus leaves the area of Tyre and Sidon, but he is not quite ready to return to the Jews

So where does he go?

One way or another,

Jesus makes his way back to the Decapolis territory

the South East corner of the Sea of Galilee

This is now his 3rd trip in this region

The first time ofter the drowning of the herd of pigs

they asked Him to leave

The second time they were very excited to see him and

brought many sick folks near him

This time, Mark only highlights this one healing

Mark 7:32 NIV

32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

What was the man’s physical need?

He was deaf!

That limits him, what he can do

It limits him, and his whole awareness of

the community issues

and interest

Imagine how your life would be effected if you woke up tomorrow without any hearing.

You wouldn’t hear your alarm

You wouldn’t hear the phone

You wouldn’t hear instructions

or anything else.

Your self esteem might go down because

your can’t do your work any more

you might get depressed

Dr.s say hearing loss and mess up your digestions and

cognitive decline.

Profound deafness

will effect your speech.

If you have no feedback on what your voice

sounds like.

TV movie

lawyer going deaf and loosing the ability to speak clearly,

they estimated that within 3 years without hearing his speech would be so bad

he would not be effective arguing before a judge, he needed to wrap up his practice and find

something else to do.

That might be why the man had dificulty speaking.

There could be other reasons.

You have heart the phrase tongue tied?

When we use it we mean someone who due to nervousness, or bashfulness, has trouble getting their words out but

a couple years ago we heard about a baby being born with his tongue tied

there was to much connective tissue on the under side of his tongue and until it was cut loose,

his tongue was fixed to his lower jaw.

You can imagine then being deaf

and having difficulty speaking

would limit and frustrate

this man they brought to Jesus.

Then Jesus healed the man

Mark 7:33 NIV

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.

We have seen Jesus heal with his touch, or by being touched.

We have seen Jesus heal or raise the dead by his command

We have seen that Jesus can just give his word and the healing can happen

even at a distance,

that happened with the Centurion

that happened with the Cyro-Phenecian women’s daughter

But now Jesus healed,

by thrusting his hands in the deaf man’s ears

by spitting and then touching the man’s tongue

Natives somewhere, I think Papa New-Ginny the natives got real excited when they heard one of the stories where Jesus spit and healed someone

They call Jesus the Great Spitter.

And where impressed by the power in HIS spit.

Not a side show

Did you notice, Jesus took the man aside,

He was meeting a need

Jesus was not trying to increase His healing ministry

he wanted people to hear

and learn from His teaching ministry.

So he tries to keep people from announcing everywhere his miracles.

What else happend before the man was healed?

Jesus prayed!

Even the Lord Jesus felt the need to pray, before he healed.

Mark 7:34 NIV

34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”).

and guess what happend,

at his command?

Mark 7:35 NIV

35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

Wow

His ears could hear

His tongue was loose

and he could speak plainly.

He didn’t even have to go to a speak therapist

to re-learn how to talk

The man was completely healed and restored to wholeness

Hearing

Talking

Laughing

What a joy!!!!!

It’s no wonder

Jesus had a hard time

trying to convince them to keep quiet!!!

Mark 7:36 NIV

36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.

What did these astonished people

who got exactly what they asked for

What did they have to say about Jesus,

and about this healing

Mark 7:37 NIV

37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Who did you come to worship today?

I hope you came to worship Jesus Christ, because he has done everything well

That is what these gentiles had to say about him

Their praise covers some of the things in Israels future.

Isaiah 35:5–6 NIV

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.

We may not have anyone in the congregation today that is physically

profoundly deaf.

But some of us may be spiritually deaf this morning!

Some of us may have nothing wrong with us

Like the man who went to the hearing Dr.

the audiologist, to check his hearing

When his hearing was fine, he had just become a poor listener.

IS THAT YOU TODAY!

A POOR LISTENER?

ARE YOU?

WON’T YOU REPENT OF THAT THIS MORNING AND ASK THE FATHER TO MAKE YOU ATTENTIVE

SO YOU CAN AGAIN

OR SO YOU CAN FOR THE FIRST TIME

START TO HEAR

START TO FOLLOW

THAT STILL SMALL VOICE, LIKE ELIJAH HEARD.

LET’S DRAW NEAR TO GOD IN PRAYER.

IF GOT SPOKE WITH THE STILL SMALL VOICE THAT n we have forgotten how to listen and how to pay attention

TO GOD’S VOICE.