Beware of Blind Dogs
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: My wife and I have a little Chitsu named Allie. Allie is 12 years old now and that is 94 in dog years. She is blind in one eye and can’t hardly see out of the other. When we take her out in the backyard we literally can be 4 or 5 feet in front of her and she can’t see, she will look but can’t see us right in front of her. Allie doesn’t bark much anymore, there use to be a time if someone came over knocked on the door or if she saw a cat or another dog through the window she would bark like she was about to tear that animal or person to pieces. Allie is literally fat no because all she does is sleep and eat. She is greedy always sniffing for food and will sit there staring towards the kitchen whenever my wife is cooking thinking she is going to get something to eat. It is sad now because we know that we don’t have a long time before she is gone so my wife really pampers her.
Although that is sad, I want to talk to you today about a different type of blind dog, a dangerous, lazy, good for nothing, greedy dog. That’s not Bishop Maughmer calling the dogs that is the Word of God.
PRAYER:
It is my desire going forward as I said on last week “Teach me thy ways of Lord. I want to be able to and make sure that I am giving a clarion call to the people of God.
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 56:9-12 says “All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant”.
One of the disappointing and damaging with what is called church today is the plague of the spirit of assimilation, accommodation, and association.
Let me break this down a little bit.
Assimilation has to do with changing the sound of something to be more like something else. The church has a distinct sound, when on the Day of Pentecost there was a sound of a Mighty Rushing wind Acts 2:2, Exodus 19: 9 says, “And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice”. Now before someone wants to jump on and say “Oh here he goes talking about music” I’m not that is another lesson in and off itself. I am talking about the church not sounding like the church. It doesn’t talk like the church used to talk, it doesn’t call wrong wrong like it used to do, it’s not crying out Repent, Be Ye Holy, Holiness without no man shall see the Lord. It has begun to assimilate and sound more lie the world thinking they are winning the world. God just wants you to be happy, He approves of you just the way you are, You don’t have to Repent that’s for those other Christians, just try to treat everybody nice and pay your tithes and you are on you way to heaven.
Accommodation is a lot like assimilation they offer sugar coated candy pop sermons that tickle the ears and make you feel good in the midst of sin but brings no conviction and definitely no conversion. They are sermons that sound like Richard Simmons Sweating to the Eighties saying “Come on you can do it” God just wants you to have the best life now. You don’t have to change. We don’t preach or teach about Hell here because we just and God just wants you to be happy. No God said Be Ye Holy for I Am Holy. Come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord.
Then there is Association if I can get Kanye to come a lead a praise service then we can fill the church up. If I can be seen backing this political figure or stand for or against this cause then I will have made it, my name will be known and then my church will grow. They are to busy trying to associate with the world instead of trying to pull people out of the world who are lost in the world and headed for Hell’s damnation.
It is my desire to warn you today to Beware of Blind dogs.
Isaiah 56:9-12 says “All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant”.
In our text vs 9 says “All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.”. The devil desires to destroy the church and he has sent his demons to attack the sanctity of the church. He has sent lies, hypocrisies, false prophets, entertainment, sugar coated sermons, false doctrines, and interpretations in the church. Understand this is not in the Body of Christ but in the organized religious structure we call church. The Body of Christ, the ecclesia is Holy. You can’t be in the Body of Christ – His church without being Holy. However, the organized religious structure that we have been so indoctrinated into believing that this is how I am going to get to heaven and it will help us on that straight and narrow way if it does not deviate from the Word of God, has been infiltrated by the beast of the field.
Vs 10 says “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber”. His Watchmen – Now this ust be understood.
What is a Watchman? The Hebrew word for watchmen "Tzsphah," means one who looks or observes or spies or waits for any impending problem or danger, one who is on the lookout for! The root of this verb means to lean forward, peering into the distance!
In the Old Testament they were often called seers. A seer by definition is one who sees something, thus a see-er. The Hebrew word for seer is Chozen and means to "gaze" at or to "perceive" something. One who looks out for. So often the watchmen that is supposed to be looking out for the people get stuck on 1 Peter 2:9 which says “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”. They hear chosen and think they are God’s 1st cousin and get stuck on see I am special, and I deserve all this stuff because I am chosen but they fail to understand they are chosen for a purpose and that is to be watchmen. 2 Corinthians 5:18 says “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation”.
The duty and responsibility of the watchmen is to see, and danger approaching and warn the people. So, they can defend themselves from danger or run. We all have been given the ministry of reconciliation which means to bring back into agreement and relationship.
THE PROBLEM is the watchmen are blind. WATCH THIS: - this blindness is not caused by a physical disease diabetes or glaucoma but is an intentional desire not to see. In the Hebrew the word for blind is ivver and means to cover or to hide, indicating apparently a veil over one's eyes. So you see these watchmen chose not to see, believing that if they don’t see it then it's not there.
Listen if a watchman chooses not to see danger approaching because of whatever reason they are good for nothing, useless, and guilty punishable by death. WOW Bishop that is hard, but hear me and God forbid but if a woman (in Biblical Prophecy a woman represents the church or a nation) is being attacked and a man sees it happening and doesn’t do anything to stop it then he is as guilty as the one that did the attack in the first place because they decided to cover their eyes. People may say well you don’t want to get involved because you don’t know what will happen and that is true but I know what will happen f they don’t.
A blind watchman is good for nothing I don’t care how good they preach, how big their church is, how many books they write, or how popular they are if they are covering their eyes and making themselves blind to sin then God will require the lost blood on their hands. As for me Psalm 24: 3-4 says “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands”.
Not only are they blind but they are ignorant. The Hebrew expression ignorant ignorant is composed of two Hebrew words: lo & yada. The word lo means not or no or none" It is a definite absolute nothing.
The word yada which is a verb means to know for sure and with certainty. Understanding that ignorant here clearly translates as not knowing with a surety and certainty.
I don’t like to call out the name of so-called preachers to much because I am not attacking the person, but I will attack their Theology when it goes contrary to the Word of God. The questions are How do I get to God? And What do I have to do to get to Him? Ignorant watchmen with ignorant theology will say there are many paths to God and God approves of you just the way you are! The Bible says in John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”. Buddha can’t do it. Mohammed can’t do it, being good can’t do it, paying your tithes can’t do it, shaking the preacher's hand can’t do it, repeating these word can’t do it. Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life. John 10:1 says “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber”.
So, Bishop what must I do without ignorance – Acts 2:38 says “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost”. You must repent, that’s more than just sorry that is to turn away from head in the opposite direction and be baptized. John 3:5 says, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”. You must be Holy - Hebrews 12:14 says “Follow peace with all men holiness without n man shall see the Lord”. Don’t let know ignorant so-called preacher tell you anything other than that for that is the Word of God. Galatians 1:8 says, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed”.
Let me finish Vs 10 - they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
The Hebrew word for dog is Keleb. Now I like this because several years ago I preached a message entitled A Caleb Spirit and I brought out how Caleb means dog because a dog is tenacious and very protective. It was Caleb and Joshua who went with the 10 others to spy out the land and when they brought the report back to Moses the 10 said there were giants in the land and we look like grassshopper in our own sight, but Caleb who said in Numbers 13:30 “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it “. That’s that tenacious and ferocious attitude. A Caleb spirit. A good watch dog will bark at people passing by, will give their life to protect the family and have you ever tried to get something out of a dogs mouth that they want to hold on to. You can have the dog in the air swinging it around and it will not let go.
However, here look at this Isaiah brings out the character the spirit of these watchmen. They are dumb dogs. The Hebrew word “illem” translated dumb means speechless or to tie like tongue tied.
These dumb dog watchmen are just like the idols mentioned in Psalm 115:5 which says “They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not”. They arr supposed to have a Caleb spirit and be tenacious against sin and anything not Holy yet they refuse to open their mouths.
They cannot bark – according to the Hebrew the words used for they cannot bark “lo yakol nabac.” means they don’t have the power or the strength to do something. They don’t have the power to warn of coming danger, they don’t have the strength to warn you because they themselves are in danger.
Listen there are different kinds of preachers, some hoot and holler, some teach, some stand behind the lectern and never move, some after they have read the scripture are all over the church and there is nothing wrong with any of those but let me give you 3 preachers to look for. 3 being the number of fullness.
There’s the Right Kind of Preacher – they preach the unadulterated Word of God. They call for Holiness for they know Holiness without no man shall see the Lord. They preach Repentance and Baptism in Jesus name. They warn you of danger and watch for you souls. They have the backbone to give the word without compromise and apology. They do as Isaiah 58:1 says, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins”.
There’s the Wrong Kind of Preacher – they tell the people only what the people want to hear. John10:12 says,“seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep vs 13 and careth not for the sheep”. They don’t truly care about you they only care about greed and prosperity at any cost. We will get into that soon. They are lazy, sleeping all the time a watchman must remain alert while they are on the watch tower.
The Silent Kind of Preacher – they refuse or cannot open their mouths. They don’t want to call sin sin because they don’t want to offend someone. They are silent and don’t want to get involved. But it is just like the man that didn’t say or do anything to help the woman being attacked. God forbid something would happen to my wife and I found out there was a man that seen what was happening, but he didn’t do something to help her. I would be look for him just like I would be looking for the one that attacked her. WHY because he could have prevented it. A silent watchmen is useless that’s why God said in Ezekiel 33:6 “But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand”. WATCH THIS: Luke 17:2 says “It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones”.
Let’s close out verse 10 - sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. When I started, I told you about how our dog is always sleeping and lying down on her bed. Well let’s look at these 3 phrases.
Sleeping here means to gaze at something or to dream about it! 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”. It is impossible to be vigilant and sleep at the same time.
Then it says Lying down this is different than sleeping and means to rest or to recline. To be comfortable and at ease with what is going on and the surroundings. Amos 6:4-6 says, “That LIE upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; that chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph”. The last part of these verses is this cream of the crop – are not grieved for the affliction of – the really don’t care about souls, they are more concerned about building the big Mega church, buying a new car, house or plan, they are more concerned about the color of a robe or the description of a title then the affliction of sin on the people. They are so concerned about sending in your tithes so they can pay for whatever they desire and say it is in the name of the Lord but will not help a child starving around the corner, will not help a family that is about to be evicted. I am talking about Beware of Blind Dogs
Loving to slumber Loving in Hebrew is "ahab" and means anything from a fondness to a passionate affinity! It is used here to express or suggest an on-going habitual action. These men, these so-called watchmen / preachers, are not aggressive effective and proficient workers in the Kingdom of God.
Slumber, in Hebrew num, and means to rest from drowsiness, tired, listless. These so-called watchmen are listless and numb. They offer syrup soggy sermons that don’t convict or convert but make you feel numb like Nova Cane at the dentist office you don’t feel the pain but there is a whole in your mouth. Beware of Blind Dogs.
Verse 11 says, “Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter."
In Hebrew greed is az and means several things, it's strong, fierce mighty, power greedy, roughly and "stronger.
Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
Enough not having fullness or satisfaction. They have never enjoyed the feeling of contentedness. 1 Timothy 6:10 says “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”.
They are shepherds that cannot understand. Listen of all the critical needs a watchman must have understanding of the Word of God is paramount. Proverbs 4:7 says “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding”
They don’t have the ability to decern what is going on. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.". They are not spiritual but natural men operating out of flesh and selfish desires. We have so-called watchmen who are more concerned with writing books denying the Deity of Christ, the Virgin Birth, the inerrancy of Scripture, the creation of man, Blood Atonement, salvation by Grace, and the Second Coming of Jesus, and a cornucopia of other nonsense living super extravagantly while people are dying and going to hell.
Beware of Blind Dogs.
Blind Dogs can’t lead.
Dumb blind dogs can’t warn you of danger.
Blind dogs are lazy, greedy, and only concerned about themselves.
Come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord.
Beware of Blind Dogs.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
