Spiritual Deafness Series

EPHPHATHA

“And they bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, EPHPHATHA, that is, BE OPENED.

And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plain” (Mark 7:32 - 35)

When one of the senses fails, it causes great deprivation and exposes the person suffering from it to the pity of his fellows; but what wretchedness must ensue if all fail?

This man lived in isolation—in seclusion. He lived entirely in his own world—a soundless world. He was both deaf and partially mute, which means he was cut off from communication on both ends. He had heard nothing. He could say nothing. His world was a world of silence.

In his world of silence, he must have made up his own ideas about everything in life. He could not understand the ideas of the world. And he interpreted everything according to his own inner way of thinking—a way of thinking entirely based on his own understanding of life and the world.

He must have also understood God in his own way, which may be vague and skewed. Even if he wanted to talk to God, he did not know what to say and couldn’t ask for spiritual help. He was helpless. No one could help him except God.

DOWNLOAD FREE PDF COPY OF THIS SERMON - https://mountzionblog.org/spiritual-deafness/

The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18); this is God’s desire for him and for all that are in this condition. "He sits alone and keeps silence" (Lamentations 3:28). But "for Zion’s sake, God will not keep silent, nor keep quiet for Jerusalem’s sake, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning" (Isaiah 62:1). What a great hope! Jesus sighed and said to him, "EPHPHATHA." Immediately, he was rescued from the soundless state and brought to a world of beautiful sound. "And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plain." (Mark 7:35)

We shall study this theme—"EPHPHATHA"—extensively in a series of five topics:

1. SPIRITUAL DEAFNESS.

2. SPIRITUAL DUMBNESS.

3. OPEN ALL GATES.

4. LOOSENED.

5. SPEAK PLAINLY.

1. SPIRITUAL DEAFNESS.

" Who is blind but my servant? Or who is as deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is as blind as he who is at peace and as blind as the LORD's servant? " (Isaiah 42:19)

The man's deafness was absolute; he could hear nothing. This greatly limited him, especially in those days when sign language and other communication aids did not exist as prominently as they do today. Which technology will aid the spiritually deaf messenger of God? (Isaiah 42:19); who has been sent to the people, rather he is engulfed in debauchery and sin. He had seen the light of the gospel and was supposed to reflect this light unto others, but he was deaf-darkened and couldn’t hear from God, thereby leading the pasture astray and causing chaos in the church. "Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah 23:1). God will bring relief to His church by raising shepherds whose ears are already open. They will hear from Him and feed the sheep with the truth till they lead them to the promised land (Jeremiah 23:4).

Hearing and balance are the two major functions of the ear.

BALANCE

Do you know that the organ of balance (the vestibular system) is found inside the inner ear? It detects acceleration and is responsible for a specific direction of head movement. Information coming from the vestibular system is processed in the brain and then sent on to other organs that need this information, such as the eyes, joints, or muscles. This allows us to keep our balance and know what position our body is in. (Source: IQWiG (Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care)).

When we listen to God’s voice, He orders our steps (Psalm 37:23) and makes us walk on our high places (Habakkuk 3:19). Our spiritual ears keep our balance and help us not fall into the trap set by the evil ones. Spiritually deaf and wicked people usually fall into snares and traps because there is no divine voice guiding them, "For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare" (Job 18:8).

When we hear God’s voice, our song will be, "Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity." Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst I withal escape. " (Psalm 141:9–10)