Clay Jars

CLAY JARS

JEREMIAH 18:1-11

SUNDAY PM SERVICE OCTOBER 7, 2003

INTRODUCTION: “Touch Of The Master’s Hand”

Well it was battered and scared, And the auctioneer felt it was hardly worth his while, To waste much time on the old violin but he held it up with a smile,

Well it sure ain’t much but its all we got left I guess we aught to sell it to,

Oh, now who’ll start the bid on this old violin? Just one more and we’ll be through.

And then he cried one give me one dollar, Who’ll make it two only two dollars who’ll make it three, Three dollars twice now that’s a good price,

Now who’s gonna bid for me? Raise up your hand now don’t wait any longer the auctions about to end, Who’s got four Just one dollar more to bid on this old violin?

Well the air was hot and the people stood around as the sun was setting low,

From the back of the crowd a gray haired man, Came forward and picked up the bow, He wiped the dust from the old violin then he tightened up the strings,

Then he played out a melody pure and sweet, sweeter than the Angels sing,

And then the music stopped and the auctioneer, With a voice that was quiet and low he said now what am I bid, For this old violin and he held it up with a bow.

And then he cried out one give me one thousand, Who’ll make it two only two thousand who’ll make it three, Three thousand twice you know that’s a good price,

Common who’s gonna to bid for me? And the people cried out what made the change we don’t understand, Then the auctioneer stopped and he said with a smile,

It was the touch of the Master’s hand. You know there’s many a man with his life out of tune, Battered and scared with sin and he’s auctioned cheap,

To a thankless world much like that old violin, Oh, but then the Master comes,

And that old foolish crowd they never understand, The worth of a soul and the change that is rought, Just by one touch of the Masters hand. And then he cried out one give me one thousand, Who’ll make it two only two thousand who’ll make it three, Three thousand twice you know that’s a good price, Common who’s gonna bid for me? And the people cried out what made the change we don’t understand,

Then the auctioneer stopped and he said with a smile, It was the touch, that’s all it was; it was the touch of the Master’s hand,…

It was the touch of the Master’s hand; oh, it was the touch of the Master’s hand.

Wayne: I had denied the listening public that song for a little while, too, because the guy that gave me this song gave it to me on a handwritten page, and I looked at it and I thought pretty highly of myself at the time, and so, I stuck it in a piano bench, you know, and I didn’t play it for almost two years. During those two years, I was trying to say all the right things to all the right people and really make it, you know. And, it was one of the most stressful, unpleasant times of my life. And, I remember many sleepless nights, and "why don’t they like me," and "why don’t they pay attention", and I really, really got low. I remember pulling out Touch of the Master’s Hand and I began to play it at church camps and the things I was doing, and it got the attention of some people over in Mississippi; and they took it to Bob McKinsey by way of through Nashville.

And he heard it....he didn’t think much about my presentation of the song, but he knew it was a great song, and he knew it had great potential as a message song and called me and asked me if I would like to go to Nashville and talk about a recording contract and a publishing contract. I think at the time they thought I wrote the song, and I didn’t. It was an old, old literary piece, and the song was put to music by a guy by the name of John Kramp, a youth minister in the Dallas area. And, when I got the call, I thought somebody was pulling my leg....that’s how far out I was at that point...I thought somebody was joking with me..."who is this?"...you know. And, I went to Nashville and that was the beginning. But, it was just a beginning.... it was not a big deal at that time. It was a very slow start; and although Touch of the Master’s Hand did very well on the radio, it still was a lot of work and just slow plugging at trying to make some headway as far doing concerts and sharing things that were on my heart. And it was a slow process.