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THE DIRTY HANDS DETECTOR

A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#3747 - "The Dirty Hands Detector"
II Chronicles 30:15

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It's a battle every mother has fought in every generation. It's that
three word charge that can mean the difference between getting sick or being well - "Wash your hands." Of course, it would be OK with most kids if washing their hands was a monthly thing, or at most, you know, like once a week. Our kids did it. I suppose you know at least one other who has done it. See, they come in from doing who knows what with those hands and say, "They're not dirty." 

Now, there may not be any brown slime dripping from those little hands, but you can be sure they're carrying plenty of nasty little critters. And it's amazing what happens when you get some
soap and water on those hands - the sink is suddenly covered with some pretty yucky-looking stuff coming off those hands! Surprise, kid - you couldn't see it, but your hands were dirty, man. You just didn't realize how dirty!

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "The Dirty Hands Detector."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Chronicles 30:15, where some folks who thought they were clean found out about some dirt they didn't know they were carrying. It's the time of King Hezekiah, one of the greatest of Judah's rulers. When he takes the throne, the nation is a moral and spiritual sewer, with idolatrous altars literally on every street comer. But Hezekiah turns his entire culture around and leads the people
into a powerful, national revival.

But it started with the spiritual leaders. It still does today. After
cleaning out the neglected and defiled temple of God, Hezekiah calls the people together for a national Passover celebration. It's been a long time since the people of God have observed this holy remembrance of God's deliverance. Listen to what happens to the spiritual leaders, the priests and the Levites, as they begin to prepare for this holy moment. Here's what it says: "They slaughtered the Passover lamb ... The priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings
to the temple of the Lord. Then they took up their regular positions." Here the leaders are, in the middle of preparing for a
service, and suddenly they stop what they're doing. They're
ashamed. Suddenly, they are deeply aware of their own sin, their own compromise, their own failures. What do they do to get over the
shame? They consecrate themselves to God ... they get rid of their garbage.

There's something very powerful here - something that any of us who have
been given any spiritual leadership needs to absorb. Like these priests
and Levites, you may have been entrusted with some spiritual responsibility
- teaching, leading, broadcasting, parenting, preaching, counseling,
organizing or administering God's work. Look what happened to the
spiritual leaders in Hezekiah's day. As they began to handle the holy,
they realized they were not holy enough to handle it. They didn't realize
what dirt there was on their hands until they began to handle holy things.
That's exactly what should be happening to you and me as we do the work
God has given us - seeing the dirt we need to deal with before we handle
the holy. First, we need to always remember we are handling the very
things of God - our holy, holy, holy God. Do not ever let your work for
Him become careless, mechanical, self-serving. It's a solemn - even
dangerous - mistake to handle the holy without clean hands. That's why God
says in Isaiah 52:11, "Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be
pure, you who carry the vessels of the Lord."

Serving Christ is not fun an games, or just a little spiritual
exercise. It requires a holy life. It produces a holy life, if you let it
sink in what an incredible honor it is to be asked by God to handle what is
His. Like a child, you may look at what people can see of you and say, "My
hands aren't dirty." But let your Savior begin to show you what you're
doing that He can't bless - let Him cleanse your hands before you touch the
sacred.

No child should handle food without clean hands ... no child of God should
handle the holy work of God without hands, without a heart, that God would
call clean.


Copyright (c) 2001, Ron Hutchcraft. Permission to distribute this
material via email, or individual copies, is automatically granted on
the condition it will be used for non-commercial purposes, and will not
be sold. To reproduce "A Word With You" transcripts in any other
format, including Internet websites, written permission is needed from
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.

Copyright (c) 2001, Ron Hutchcraft. Reprinted with permission. "A
Word With You" is a radio outreach of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
 

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JUNE is Domestic Violence Against Men Awareness Month