“Deaf Church or Deaf Ministry”
Exodus 4:10-12

“10) And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. 11) And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? 12) Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.”

Introduction

A) Some deaf statistics

• In the U.S. alone there are 21 million deaf people, and world wide there are over 250 million.
• Statistics show that 8% to 10% of our world’s population are deaf.
• 98% of deaf individuals do not attend church.
• Causes for deafness;
  1. Heredity (receiving it from your ancestry)
  2. Illness- Meningitis, Polio, Measles, Whooping cough, etc.
  3. Accidents
  4. Harsh environments- drug abuse, loud noises
• (According to a Data based report dated OCT. 2005) In the U.S. alone there are about 222 deaf ministries or churches. Of these 222 there are only 63 Baptist churches and of those Baptist churches only 2 of those are Independent Baptist churches and they both are in the state of Kansas and The Silent Bible Baptist Church is one of those two.
• Of the 52 states, only 29 have at least one Baptist Church
• We as Independent Baptist hearing people should be ashamed of ourselves! Why? Because we are here on earth for the same reason that Jesus came to the earth… “…to seek and to save that which was lost.”

B) What some pastors think about deaf

• They are perfectly fine being interpreted to. Nothing could be further from the truth than that ridiculous statement. In my recent question to deaf and why they don’t like church interpretation, I found that
  1) The hearing people talk over their heads
  2) The interpreter is not near adequate and cannot keep up with the speaker leaving much of the message or sermon out.
  3) They are left out of the actual service and participation to their Lord. Page One
• Of all the deaf works I have seen or heard of, there are few that accept Christ. To that statement originated from Satan himself I say nonsense! My father started the Silent Bible Baptist Church on May 9, 1969 and we had the awesome privilege of seeing over 75 deaf people come to know Christ as their personal Savior!
• The deaf cannot support a pastor full time. In the state of Kansas alone, how many hearing pastors are not supported by their hearing parish? And since when is money the issue for an Independent Baptist Church?

I. I Am Not Eloquent (speaking or writing with ease)

A) God called Moses

• · He can call the deaf also.
• · Leviticus 19:14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
• · “Curse” what does it mean? (Mock, or speak against.)

B) God uses the impaired

• If you as pastors have read your bible through and through you should already know that God never uses those in the forefront, but He uses those in the back, those that we think are not qualified!
• The deaf should not be limited to their service for God!
• Moses thought he was limited but God asked him…”Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?”

II. Who Will God Send to Teach Them?

A) Only those who are qualified?

• According to Moses, He did not qualify to be the leader of God’s people.
• Of those who are qualified to preach or teach to the deaf, how many are Baptist?
• Are we going to stand back and let the Catholic, Lutheren, and Church of Christ teach these deaf the wrong way to get to heaven?
• There is now a new movement through all the denominations that have deaf works or ministries that focus on receiving the spirit through “vibrations” of the music to reach the deaf.

B) God will send the least likely

• Look back at verse 12… “Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.”
• Because He (God)…is the one who will enable us to do the work!
• All we must do is …Go!

III. When Is It The Right Time

A) Do the deaf wait?

• There is one thing that deaf people always say… “Wait and see” I hate that phrase. We cannot postpone our salvation, our service to God, our day of reckoning.
• Do the deaf have to wait until they reach heaven to understand completely what God was talking about in His word? Isaiah 29:18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.

B) Now, is the day they need to hear God’s word

• We have an awesome responsibility to God to reach the deaf.
• Are you ready for the challenge?