Acts 13: 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
Psalms 119: 25 My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.
Here Paul and Barnabas are at Antioch in Pisidia. This Antioch was a rough place. There was lots of opposition. Many believed and came to the Lord, but the Jews kept finding fault with Paul and Barnabas. So many were against them that they felt the need to dust off their feet when they left. It was a sign to the people that they’d better turn to the Lord. The people wanted to dust Paul and Barnabas with their sinful ways but they decided to leave their dirt behind.
Psalms 119: 25 My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word. This brings to mind how comparable what Paul and Barnabas went through was with what David went through and what we go through today.
Dusting is necessary to house cleaning, but in a week’s time the dust is back. Mansions get dusty just like campers. Howard Hughes took extreme measures for germs, but this house still had dust. You can’t avoid it. The properties of dust are unusual. It will cling to just about anything. It finds its way in. It’s the finest form of dirt and dead skin. Put dry conditions surrounding it and you have dust.
The world is dirty—sinful and dusty. Evil is everywhere. As dust is everywhere so is sin. The world has been polluted. Sin kills. It causes the soul to die a spiritual death. Paul and Barnabas saw how lost the people were, but the people were used to it. Kids like dirt; they don’t like baths. As Christians we’ve been dusted off by the power of the cross. Pollen gets in our homes through open windows. We have inlets—our eyes, ears, feelings and mind. We have to be careful about what we hear and see so that we don’t let the dust of the world get into our lives.
We have to deal with this dust just like we have to deal with house dust. Routine maintenance of sweeping and mopping are necessary along with the dusting. We must be careful as Christians to keep up our maintenance of dying daily to sin and repentance. Use what God has given us to keep ourselves clean. He has given us the right tools to keep ourselves dusted off. David knew if he left himself alone sin would cling to him. He said his soul cleaved to the dust. It’s like a kid not wanting that bath.
People fall out with the Lord and blame this and that, but the fact is they have neglected to clean their spiritual house. If we’re not careful we’ll begin to like the dust and dirt. David asked to be quickened. We can do a lot for ourselves, but we need help. We need a higher power. David knew what God would use—the Word. Do your best to keep dusted off but remember to call on the Lord for help. We call professional cleaners in when needed for our homes. That’s what we do when we call on the Lord. We go to the right source. The Bible says if we confess our sins that God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Do you need a good dusting off? Do like Paul and Barnabas and turn it over to the Lord and shake off the dust!
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 