Sermon Preached by Pastor Larry C. Brincefield on June 6th.
Title: The Touchstone (or, “Ain’t Nothin’ like the real thing, baby”
Text: Mark 7:31-37
Introduction
1. A touchstone is a hard, black stone,…
• It is used to test the quality of gold or silver…
• When gold or silver is rubbed on the stone…
• It leaves a certain kind of streak behind…
• But when it is not gold or silver…
• The streak will indicate that.
• Over time, the word touchstone has come to mean anything that is genuine or real.
2. The word was mainly a mining term…
• And we don’t use it as much today…
• But perhaps it is a word that should be brought back to more common use.
Read Text: Mark 7:31-37
1. Touchstone illustrated
The story is told that when the great library of Alexandria
burned,
• Only one book was saved. …
• Unfortunately, it wasn’t a particularly a valuable book;
• It wasn’t very interesting…
• Just sort of dull and boring.
• and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a few small coins…
• the man found that, while The book wasn’t very interesting, …
• but between its pages there was something very interesting.
• On the inside of the back cover was written the secret of the "Touchstone"!
• This touchstone, unlike the one in our definition…
• It didn’t tell whether something was truly gold or not…
• This stone could turn any common metal into pure gold.
• The writing explained that this special touchstone was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles beside the Black Sea.
• But the secret was this: The touchstone would feel warm to the touch,…
• while ordinary stones would be cold.
• So the man was excited about his good fortune…
• So he sold everything he had…
• And borrowed all the money he could…
• In order to pay for his journey to the Black Sea and find the touchstone.
• When he arrived there, he began testing stones.
• When he picked it up and it was cold to the touch…
• He knew it was an ordinary stone and so he would throw it into the sea…
• To prevent him from checking the same stone more than once.
• And so he continued…day after day…
• Picking up stones and throwing them into the sea.
• Week after week…
• Year after year…
• Picking up a stone and throwing it into the sea.
• One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a stone and it was warm.
• But by the sheer force of habit…
• He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done.
2. Here we see a story that mirrors true life…
A. We get involved in the daily routine of living…
• Day after day…
• Doing the same kinds of things…
• Week after week…
• Developing the habit that life is cold to the touch…
• It is unexciting…
• No warmth…
• Nothing real or genuine…
• And so we just go through life…
• Tossing stone after stone aside…
B. And the danger is…
• When we finally come into contact with something real…
• Something genuine…
• Out of the force of habit…
• We will just toss it aside.
C. You see, Jesus is that Touchstone…
• He is the genuine article…
• He is Something Real…
• But far too often, people come to church…
• Week after week after week…
• Living out their life day after day after day…
• And then, finally, they come face to face with Jesus…
• They come face to face with something genuine…
• The come face to face with something real…
• And they just toss it aside…
• And go on about their habit of living.
3. In our text…
A. Some people brought someone who was deaf and mute to Jesus…
• Jesus didn’t want to draw undue attention to Himself…
• And so He pulled the man aside…
• Jesus obviously wanted this man to focus on Him…
• To really see Him…
• To realize the genuineness of Jesus…
• Jesus touched his ears and his tongue…
• And healed the man.
B. This man came face to face with the Touchstone…
• And he recognized it…
• He didn’t just walk away from this plain looking Galilean…
• He allowed Him to touch him…
• He even allowed Him to spit upon him…
• And when he embraced the Genuine Article…
• When he embraced the Touchstone…
• His life was forever changed.
4. My hope is that we will be like this man…
A. that when we come face to face with Jesus…
• we will recognize the genuine article…
• We will recognize the Touchstone…
• We will allow the warmth of Jesus to fill us…
• To change our lives…
B. But my fear is…
• That we will finally come into contact with something warm…
• And we will simply toss it aside…
• Just like that man on the shore of the Black Sea.
• Not because we don’t want our life to be changed…
• Not because we don’t want something real and genuine…
• But because, out of the force of habit…
• We come to church and we leave…
• We go home…
• We eat dinner…
• We take a nap…
• We watch some television…
• We do all the things that we always do as a part of living…
• And we never respond to the One True Thing in life!...
• We never respond to the Touchstone..,.
• We never allow Jesus to infuse us with His warmth…
• And His love…
• We never allow Jesus to touch us and change us…
• And so our lives become a constant search for something real…
• For something genuine…
• And we miss out on the only True and Genuine thing that there is!
Conclusion
1. Marvin Gaye sings a song called, “Ain’t nothing like the real thing” (Written by: Nickolas Ashford/Valerie Simpson)
• The song basically says, “I’ve got a picture of you on my wall, but it’s not the same as having you here with me”…
• “I enjoy getting your love letters, but it’s not the same as having you here and hearing your voice in person”
• And the chorus says, “Ain’t nothing like the real thing”
2. When it comes to Jesus…
• There ain’t nothing like the real thing!...
• There is nothing else that will satisfy…
• We spend our lives looking for the real thing…
• We look for something warm and genuine…
• But, we pick up so much in life that is cold…
• And we just toss it back.
3. I realize that some of you here this morning have already found the Touchstone…
• You have allowed Jesus to touch your life…
• And you can sing that song from the top of your lungs…
• “He touched me…o, He touched me…
• And o, the joy, that floods my soul”
• If that describes you this morning…
• Then your job is to be a touchstone to others…
• Be warm…
• Touch people’s lives…
• In our text, Jesus asked the people not to broadcast everything about what He had done…
• But they refused to be silent!
• Our text says, “Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. Mark 7:36 (NIV)
• Today, we have the opposite problem, Jesus is asking us to tell everyone about Him…
• We mostly, we don’t tell anyone.
• Jesus, the Touchstone…has warmed our likes with His touch…
• Now, we in turn, must introduce others to the warmth of Jesus.
4. But I also realize that there are other people here this morning…
• People who are looking for something real…
• Picking up this…
• Picking up that…
• Hoping to find the genuine article…
• But you aren’t finding it…
• And you just toss it away.
• Jesus is real!!
• He is the Touchstone!!!
• He is the Genuine Article!!
• Don’t toss Him back!
• Allow Him to touch your life…
• There isn’t anything that can compare with the Real Thing.
