PART 1 of 3 from Isaiah 6:1-8 - What can Isaiah’s experience with God teach us about Holiness?

'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 the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar. Then 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 grey-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loosened strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet,
As a caroling angel sings.

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; 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?" Swift came the reply:
"The touch of the Master's hand."
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd
Much like the old violin.

A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine,
A game -- and he travels on.
He is "going" once, and "going" twice,
He's "going" and almost "gone."
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the touch of the Master's hand.

I got to thinking that many of us in our spiritual lives are just like that old violin – dusty, worn out, cracked, faded, put up on the shelf and out of use – tired, weary, as if we were old spiritual yard sale material. We wonder if we’ll ever make sweet music again.

I hope you came this morning wanting a touch from the Master’s hand – I hope you came this morning wanting a real experience that will make you sing because Christianity isn’t just about getting saved from your sins – It’s about getting set free from them with joy and increasing love for God and others. It’s also about life that when touched by God makes beautiful music. If you are feeling out of tune – this talk is for you.

How do I know? Isaiah might have been one of the Bible’s greatest Prophets but before he was touched by the Master’s Hand – he had a crisis. He was depressed, discouraged, and down!

Background: In R.C. Sproul’s The Holiness of God, the author describes the gloom that was a part of the community of Israel immediately following the death of King Uzziah. His kingship can be described as great on the one hand, but very much a failure on the other. He began well as a king and the spiritual leader over his people, one of the longest ruling kings. In the end however, pride led him to burn incense - a job reserved for the descendants of Aaron only (2 Chronicles 26). God struck King Uzziah down with leprosy for his presumption and was therefore excluded from the worshipping community for the reminder of his life. The whole community mourned for many days for King Uzziah, as was the custom. However, Isaiah knew the impact on the people when God’s appointed leaders disobeyed the will of God – a truth that would be proven over and again the ministry of Isaiah. Perhaps Isaiah was discouraged by the summation of Uzziah’s life and its impact on the spiritual well being of the people – ‘he had leprosy’ said the people secretly with distain.

It was with a heavy heart that Isaiah entered the Temple area on the fateful day in Isaiah chapter 6 – On this day, his nobility and privileged life did not prepare him for service for God nor could it take him above the circumstances that discourage him. Pain and sorrow discouragement and distress puts us all on level playing fields. The outward can never deal with the inward.

Brother and sisters, people need hope. People want to know that there is more than just constant struggle – the “If you can’t Him might as well join him” life. This motto seems to be the foundation of many Christian lives today. Is there a place of victory? Is there something more for the Christian – is it possible to be truly touched by the Master and sing again?

It is my prayer to God that today Isaiah’s story becomes our story – let’s read the text:

Isaiah 6:1-8 - Isaiah's Commission

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

WHEN YOU’VE BEEN TOUCHED BY GOD:

1. YOU WILL REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE TOUCHED VS. 1

A touch from God will create an instantaneous turning point in your life that you will remember – the time, the place, and your surroundings. That turning point will etch an imprint in your mind. Why? It will be a touch that creates a real change that is obvious. The Bible says that Isaiah’s touch happened at a particular point in time. When?

“In the year that King Uzziah Died”

Illustration: Key Events In History

1. Where were you when you heard about 9/11?
2. What about when you were engaged?
3. The assassination of JFK?
4. Space shuttle Columbia exploded?

Great events are not remembered just because they change things dramatically in the world, but because they change your spiritual life also. God wants to, as Dr. Steve Deneff says, give you more than the forgiveness of your sins. God wants to touch your life in such a positive, powerful, way that you will remember God’s touch for the rest of your life.

1. John Wesley was touched and changed at a New Year prayer meeting at Fetters Lane in 1739;
   
   John wrote of the incident that followed in his Journal. He wrote,
   
   “At about three in the morning, as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy and many fell down to the ground. As soon as we were recovered a little from that awe and amazement at the presence of His majesty, we broke out with one voice, ‘We praise Thee, O God, we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.’” – from Basil Miller’s biography on John Wesley.
    
2. Charles Finney and D. L. Moody were touched after coming to Christ.
    
3. The Christians at Pentecost were touched and changed - Acts 2:1-2, see 1:8
    
4. This is normative and commanded in Ephesians 5:18. We are to keep being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Paul prays that Christians, as heaven bound as they were a believers in Christ, would be touched by the love of God through the Holy Spirit. As promised from my first sermon to you during my candidacy last May 2004, I would keep returning to this Ephesians 3:14-19 text – called Paul’s Prayer for the Ephesians. The effect of a genuine love experience is no different than the experience of Isaiah in the 6th chapter.

The Scriptures do not settle for anything less than His touch – the testimonies of godly men and women do not settle for anything less. Dr. Steve Deneff (Beulah Camp speaker in 2004) said in his book that Jesus is about more than forgiveness – Christ will not settle for less – I will not settle for less that a touch from God. Why then should you? When you’ve been touched by God, you will remember. In PART II next month, we will discuss the second principle of holiness – the truth encounter of Isaiah.

Blessings to you all,
Rev. Dr. Neville Gosman,
Sussex Wesleyan Church
Passion Week - 2005-03-22