Are we in touch with the Master?

January 19, 2003am “Are we in touch with the Master?”     Psalm 118:14-26

By Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church

Our Mission is to live our lives every day,

so that others can see Christ living in us.

To fulfill our mission as children of the eternal Father, we must be in continuous touch with the master. The purpose of this message is to invite you to experience the touch of the Master’s Hand on your life.

The Touch of the Master’s Hand

Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer

          Thought it scarcely worth his while

     To waste much time on the old violin,

          But held it up with a smile.

     'What am I bidden, good folks, he cried,

          'Who'll start bidding for me?

     A dollar, a dollar now two, only two

          Two dollars and who'll make it three?

     'Three dollars, once, three dollars, twice,

          Going for three' but no

     From the room far back a gray haired man

          Came forward and picked up the bow;

     Then wiping the dust from the old violin,

          And tightening up all the strings,

     He played a melody pure and sweet,

          As sweet as the angels sing.

      "The music ceased, and the auctioneer,

          With a voice that was quiet and low,

     Said: 'What am I bid for the old violin?'

          And he held it up with the bow,

     'A thousand dollars and who'll make it two?

          Two thousand, and who'll make it three?

     Three thousand once, and three thousand twice

          And going, and gone,' said he.

     "The people cheered, but some of them cried,

          'We do not quite understand

     What changed its worth?' The man replied,

          'The touch of the master's hand.'

Scripture Text: Psalm 118:14 The LORD [is] my strength and song, and is become my salvation. 15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation [is] in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. 16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. 17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. 18 The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death. 19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, [and] I will praise the LORD: 20 This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. 21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. 22 The stone [which] the builders refused is become the head [stone] of the corner. 23 This is the LORD'S doing; it [is] marvellous in our eyes. 24 This [is] the day [which] the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. 26 Blessed [be] he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.

1. Reach up:   Recognize our need. We are weak but He is strong. Rom. 3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of the Lord

“REACH!-meaning "to stretch." It implies an inconvenience. It involves movement. You can't lean back, relax, get comfortable-and then reach, without giving up some of the comfort (at least for a moment). Reaching involves a little extra effort to get to something you want. How much extra energy you are willing to spend depends on how badly you want what you're reaching for. The more it means to you, the farther you are willing to stretch (even if it hurts). It's not convenient to "reach" up to God to find the hand He lovingly extends to us; or to reach out to other people who so desperately need to know someone cares. It's not even easy to reach within ourselves to find our true feelings and values. But there is no more important way for us to spend our energy than to reach for a life that is pure, clean, and faithful to God. It may seem like a lot of trouble-but it's worth it!” from Bible Illustrator.

Take the hand of the Lord: He is become our salvation. You want to be his today. Then will you take Him into your life and let Him be your God and your salvation?

Go in through the gate. We have gone through his gates. We have gone into His House and into His presence. Here with His people we have found the Lord is alive and well.

Take the gift of the Lord. Which is life in the presence of the Lord and in the presence of the Lord’s “righteous” people. As we once choosing to sin and live apart from God brought death Rom. 6:23, now choosing to live with God brings the gift of life. Some have chosen to reject God who is the corner stone of life. We have chosen to make the Lord the corner stone of all our lives. He is our life. Without Him we cannot live. But with Him we can live life to the fullest.

2. Reach out and help someone: Realize that we have some help and that our help is from the Lord. V. 14 He is our strength and song So now we can reach out. We want to help and give a helping hand. We have received our help and now we will help others in His name. If we are in touch with the Lord then we will be in touch with others.

Take the day. 23 This is the LORD'S doing; it [is] marvellous in our eyes. 24 This [is] the day [which] the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Go out in the name of the Lord. Today if we will go out in the name of the Lord then others will know and see that there is truly and living God.

Will we Reach out and Reach up?