Bloody Hands
&
DUSTY FEET
Let me begin here with these verses of scripture and then we will move on to what needs to be said.
Ezekiel 33:7-9 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Luke 10:10, 11 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
Luke 9:5 And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
Genesis 6:3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man,…
1 Samuel 4:21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel:
We know what “his blood will I require at thine hand”means. You can’t soft-soap it to mean anything else. Yet some find it hard to understand what the words of Luke 9:5 may mean, though it would be connected to the scripture in Ezekiel 33. There are places God has sent us and we have been rejected; turned away; called liars; even called workers for satan. In these instances, we know we will never return to the places where we “were received not.” Shaking the dust off our feet was the only option left. God forbids us to go back to those places. We have made a testimony against them. They, of their own free will, rejected God and His messengers. Yet they seem to carry on as if nothing has happened. But their spirit knows the truth, just as in 1 Samuel, “the glory is departed”. We were in a church we had visited often and we felt the Holy Spirit there many times. God had given us a message for the pastor; we went to him three times and he rejected what God had told him through us. We can tell you the exact time we felt the Holy Spirit depart from that church. It was as though God had written Ichabod over the door. Needless to say it was a “dust shaking” event. We have never gone back. While the other incidents differ, the end result is the same. We have been in churches, scheduled for concerts and after arriving; setting up the equipment; and awaiting our time of ministry; the pastor had others take up enough time that we only were able to give a very few minutes of what we had been asked to do, with the words, “I guess I better let them get up here and sing; I have to be someplace else shortly.” Another incident very similar, but the pastor told the music minister, “I SAID THEY ARE ONLY DOING 15 MINUTES!?!?!” An argument resulted between the two and later led to some members leaving the church. Rejection??? I’d say so. God sent; we went; they rejected. The dust is off our feet, and they have to answer for their rejection of God’s messengers; ministers if you will. We have had comments made by pastors whom God has sent us to such as: “God wouldn’t say that!!!”; “God didn’t talk to me, come back next week!!!”.
We have been in churches where we knew the Holy Spirit was “checked at the door” so to speak. You can not minister without the Holy Spirit of God in the assembly; a case of God being “muted”. I’m not saying this in arrogance at all; just making you aware of the seriousness of God’s business; the importance of being obedient to the Father regardless of the reception you may receive from those He’s sending you to.
The scripture is very plain as you can see. One of the most important statements that has ever been spoken to us was from a man in a high position in the theology realm. “You are not responsible for the response, you are responsible for obeying God.” This statement has kept us going for a very long time. Each time we are turned away; rejected; or whatever word you choose to use; we remember these words and they are a tremendous comfort; and we remember the scripture inEzekiel 33:31, 32 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.
I wonder how many of us will have bloody hands; how many of us will have dusty feet. How many of us will remember the words of God which I believe were spoken by the theologian to us, “You are not responsible for the response.” If we don’t go, there is no response. I heard the testimony of a nationally recognized southern gospel group once who had gone to a church for a concert. Upon arriving, before getting off the bus, they were told by the pastor they would not be allowed to sing songs about the blood. I am proud of these folk as they went ahead with their concert as planned and sang songs about the blood, but have not been back to that church to sing. I would tend to believe they “shook the dust off” when they left. They will not have to look back and say, “We didn’t tell them about the blood because we would have been rejected.” I also wonder what happens when we shake the dust off, yet return. Would we be participating in the wickedness of those who rejected?
It is often easy to see this in the lives of those in the pastoral position; or even those who fill the pulpit as an evangelist or missionary. What we don’t see so readily is the ‘common’ person and the effect this has on them.
We can and have in the past relayed stories of those who told us that God had told them to go to certain places; even move to a new town. There was no question in their minds that it was God directing them. But…the tool of satan called FEAR crept in and attacked their flesh instincts and told them they couldn’t do it. “You’d have no job, no home; the children would have to change schools, you’d leave all your friends and family behind; etc. etc. etc…” Scary thoughts I assure you; I know because we’ve been there.
Sadly though the fear seems to win out. These are those left with bloody hands.
We also know of some who were rejected because of the message they were sent to give. Another tool of satan came in called COMPROMISE. If you look around, you will see many who have compromised the message in an effort to be accepted.
Thus far we have looked at the most obvious of situations: those in what one might call “spiritual authority”. It’s easy to see on this level how these persons could be held accountable; but what about on a day to day basis?
We, you and I, are often sent by God to go…whether it be down the street to a neighbor; to a fellow employee in the workplace; even go to the store at a specific time for an encounter with someone who needs you and needs to hear what God has sent you to say. You may not even know why. We often think of the salvation message in these situations and even in this FEAR will raise it’s ugly head. What if…? What if…? What if…? My question is, “What if you don’t?” Look back at the verse in Ezekiel 33…if thou dost not speak…
One of the “ifs” will be, “What if they don’t listen; what if they don’t receive the message?” Then you look at the rest of that scripture and move on to the verse in Luke “if they receive you not…”. Then you remember the most important thing…YOU WERE OBEDIENT TO JEHOVAH GOD, and thankfully remember what we were told years ago… “you are not responsible for the response, you are responsible for obeying God”.
Bloody hands? Dusty feet?
Your words and actions may very well be the encouragement, or even the acknowledgment someone will need when facing the various trials; temptations; and tribulation coming in the near future. I say acknowledgment because some people aren’t even aware of the situation they are in until someone points it out.
Are your hands and feet clean?
Have you refused to go out of fear or have you compromised the message to be accepted? Stayed when even in this you were “sent”?
Sent to; sent away from. It still goes back to “If I send you and you go not…”. When God’s message is rejected, He sends you out. Both are equally important. It’s time to take a stand.
Which weapon is satan using against you…FEAR or COMPROMISE? BLOODY HANDSor DUSTY FEET?
We must remember too, it is God they are rejecting.
Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.
Hebrews 11:16 …wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God:
1 John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.
These last few verses are talking about “being ashamed”. They bring back an occurrence from my childhood, which you may find comical to a point but it still makes us aware, I believe, of the significance of them.
I was always embarrassed and still am, when visitors show up unexpectedly and I’m not “cleaned up”. Of course the joy at seeing them takes the edge off, but if I’ve been working around the house and my hands are dirty or my clothes have stains on them from the work I’ve been doing, it bothers me. I remember when, as a child, I had cut my hand and needed to go to the hospital for stitches. I wanted to get “cleaned up” first. My dress was dirty and I was ashamed to go looking like that.
BLOODY HANDS………….DUSTY FEET………..ASHAMED???
© March 2, 2009 Maxine Branthoover
