<![CDATA[Old Paths Revival Ministries - The Watchman\'s Cry]]>

<![CDATA[Old Paths Revival Ministries - The Watchman\'s Cry]]>Thu, 09 Jul 2026 21:29:34 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[The CANCER of COMPROMISE]]>Mon, 02 Feb 2026 20:28:22 GMThttps://www.oldpathsdzingre.org/the-watchmans-cry/the-cancer-of-compromise“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap
to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (II Timothy 4:3,4)

My friend, compromise is a cancer of the worst sort. To turn away from sound bible doctrine and truth may not lead to death, but it deadens, deceives, and deforms every believer who gives themselves over to it. The lust for compromise lies dormant in every believer’s heart, and we must constantly be on guard to defeat it at every turn. Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. identifies the pattern of compromise with the following: “Compromise is not going as far as you can on the right road. Compromise is going any distance on the wrong road.” My desire is that the following reprint by A.W. Tozer will raise our awareness to the prevailing lust for compromise in the professing church today among both preacher and people alike.

       All unannounced and mostly undetected there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.
       From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique-a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. The is new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before
       The old cross would have no dealings with the world. For Adam’s proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of signing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.
      The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand renunciation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.
      The new cross does not slay the sinner it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, “Come and assert yourself for Christ.” To the egotist it says, “Come and do your boasting in the Lord.” To the thrill-seeker it says, “Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship.” The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.
      The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere, but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.
      The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said goodbye to his friends. He was not going out to have his life redirected; he was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.
      The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.
      That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.
      We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, or the world of sports, or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.
      God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life he offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God’s just sentence against him.
      What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God’s stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.
      Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts and end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to new life along with Christ.
      To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul’s day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to God’s approval.
      Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power.

      Beloved, let us take heed to I Corinthians 3:18; “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.”]]><![CDATA[The pharisee in all of us]]>Wed, 06 Aug 2025 15:21:36 GMThttps://www.oldpathsdzingre.org/the-watchmans-cry/the-pharisee-in-all-of-us An all-too-common thread runs within all of us in fundamentalism today. It is tied to our carnal, selfish natures, which when left unpurged by our personal yielding to both the Word of God and Spirit of God, can manifest itself in some wicked ways. The thread I’m identifying here is the pharisaical spirit. The “pharisee in all of us” often leads to self-justification and condemnation of others. Like the Pharisee in Luke 18:10-14, we have the tendency to think too highly of ourselves and too little of others, thus worshiping in vain the God we say we believe in. In the following paragraphs, let me suggest three areas in which this pharisaical spirit is often manifested.

  First, it is often manifested in our approach to outsiders. By outsiders, I’m speaking of those either known or unknown to us who in their search for God attempt to enter into our local church assemblies or circles of Christian fellowship. It is our tendency to examine them outwardly and to cast a suspicious look on their motives. We seem to withdraw from the outsider until such time as they demonstrate conformity to our perceived notion of worship and practice. This was the case in Matthew 9:9-13 when the Pharisees said unto the disciples at the calling of Matthew by Jesus, “Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?” Jesus responded to the Pharisees by saying in part that, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” And Jesus concluded in this passage by saying to the Pharisees, “for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” It behooves us all when this pharisaical monster rises up within us to yield to the Apostle Paul’s admonition in Romans 12:16, wherein he exhorts the Roman believers to, “Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.”

  Additionally, this pharisaical spirit within us surfaces in our attitude toward others. In Luke 7:36, one of the Pharisees desires that Jesus would eat with him, and Jesus complies by entering into the Pharisee’s house. Shortly thereafter, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, enters in the Pharisee’s house with an alabaster box of ointment. She begins to minister to Jesus with weeping and washes His feet with her tears, anointing them with the ointment. In verse 39, the Pharisee responds to the woman’s actions by saying within his heart, “This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.” Both Jesus and the woman were held in contempt by the Pharisee, because of self-righteousness dominating his heart. Likewise, this is often the case with us. May we be reminded that the Apostle Paul in that great love chapter of I Corinthians 13 was fully aware that all of his accomplishments for the Lord would profit him nothing and be judged as nothing.”…if he had not charity.”

  Finally, the Pharisee in all of us gains momentum through our appraisal of ourselves. In Luke 18:11, the Pharisee asserts his high view of himself with these words, “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even as this publican.” Let us be sure when putting down this scoundrel within us to give heed to Romans 12:3 which states, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

  I’m at war with this Pharisee in my own life constantly. Would you join me? We can begin now by entreating God as David did in Psalm 139:23-24 when he prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”]]><![CDATA[isaiah 21: 11 A Sore evil]]>Thu, 16 Jan 2025 23:09:26 GMThttps://www.oldpathsdzingre.org/the-watchmans-cry/isaiah-21-11-a-sore-evil "There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their own hurt. " (Ecclesiastes 5:13) These are the thoughts of King Solomon as he is dealing with his own heart and the lusts thereof Solomon goes on to say in Ecclesiastes 6:9 that, "Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this also is vanity and vexation of spirit." This sore evil is self-generated and personally experienced when a child of God allows selfishness and covetousness to prevail and dominate the thoughts of his or her heart. This is why the admonition found in Proverbs 4:23 warns the believer to "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."
Dear reader, the "sore evil" which has reached morally epidemic proportions in our nation, churches, and among believers today is none other than GREED, and greed is the progenitor to just about every sin imaginable. I'm personally astounded by the amount of greed being demonstrated among God's people today. Simply put, greed is an "insatiable appetite to have for ourselves." And greed is nothing new! A strong case can be made that greed was a motivation in the lives of Adam and Eve, Cain, Aachan, Gideon, King Saul, King Solomon, and the list can go on and on throughout the pages of scripture. Truly, the human disposition to be greedy produces the sore evil of emptiness and eventually of troubled conscience.
We, as God's children, must overcome greed! Greed hinders the cause of Christ, thwarts the work of God, corrupts the church, wreaks havoc upon society, and sends nations to Hell! You and I must face up to it as a real part of our lives! Sure, we can try and balance it out in our lives by giving more money, time, and service to the Lord in our local churches, but the lust to have the "latest" for ourselves or the craving to satisfy our inner desires is simply a trade-off God will not accept. God does not plea bargain nor does He want our trade-offs. If we are truly sincere in our longings for personal, corporate, and national revival we must account GREED to be "among the slain" in this day of battle.
Please study carefully Romans 13:13-14; Philippians 4:11-13; Hebrews 13:5; I John 2:15-17; and I John 5:4. The Apostle Paul while sharing a personal testimony in I Corinthians 9:27 said the following, "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." And remember the exhortation of I Timothy 6:6 which states, "But godliness with contentment is great gain."
In conclusion, A. W. Tozer is quoted as saying, "It is part of my belief that God wants to get us to a place where we would still be happy, if we had only Him! We don't need God and something else. God does give us Himself and lets us have other things, too, but there is that inner loneliness until we reach the place where it is only God that we desire."
]]><![CDATA[Maintaining or moving forward?]]>Sat, 13 Jan 2024 04:44:12 GMThttps://www.oldpathsdzingre.org/the-watchmans-cry/maintaining-or-moving-forwardAs a local church evangelist, I have the privilege and and opportunity to be in many churches. Over the years, my heart has become increasingly burdened regarding the overall state of affairs among pastor and people in our churches. I have witnessed in many churches a condition that I call "maintenance ministry" rather than "moving forward ministry" among many pastors and their people. I offer this assessment not as a criticism but rather as a concern that must be addressed or else this dangerous and unscriptural pattern will become the norm and accepted in our local churches. From my observations, this "maintenance ministry" rut has befallen many a pastor in our local churches today, and therefore, many a church member has been infected with the same virus. As a former pastor of three churches over a twenty year period, I know the temptation is real to grow comfortable, complacent, and even cold regarding the vision of what Almighty God can do through my life and ministry.
I describe this "maintenance ministry" as a view on the part of many a pastor to minister the Word, maintain the programs, and manage the problems in their local churches to the neglect of instigating and instilling a vision in both themselves and their people to reach their communities for Christ and to experience lost souls added to the kingdom of God. I don't believe we are commanded to perform the Great Commission, but rather, we are called to accomplish it! Matthew 28:18-20 starts with Jesus saying to His disciples, "All power is given unto me in heaven and earth" and ends with Him saying, "and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." To me, the words of our Lord in this passage negate our unwillingness to perform the Great Commission and challenge us to accomplish it with passion and vision.
In Malachi 1:1 we find, "The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi." To me, true pastoral ministry must start and end with "the burden of the word of the LORD." From my viewpoint, this burden of the Word of the Lord consists of the call to preach, a compelling desire, and the command to obey. We preachers readily yield to the call to preach and the command to obey. But we often fail to fan the flame of compelling desire in our hearts to reach the lost and disciple new believers. Didn't the Apostle Paul emphasize his compelling desire in the ministry of the Word when testifying in II Corinthians 5:13-15 with the following words, "For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but him which died for them, and rose again?" The burden of the Word of the Lord should create a compelling desire in both pastor and people to not live unto themselves, but unto Christ with a passion and vision to reach lost souls.
Duncan Campbell, in his book, The Price and Power of Revival, makes the following assertion, "There is a place beyond consecration, there is a place beyond sanctification, and that is the place of implicit confidence in God." Dear pastor and people, could it not be that we have reached a plateau in our own sanctification and settle for a "maintenance ministry" in our local churches and failed to "move forward" for the cause of Christ in our community? Let's allow the promises as recorded in Ephesians 3:20-21 to cause us to repent and "move forward" in the reaching of lost souls. "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen"
]]><![CDATA[WHO OWNS YOUR BODY?]]>Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:12:41 GMThttps://www.oldpathsdzingre.org/the-watchmans-cry/who-owns-your-body"Behold, all souls are mine; (Ezekiel 18:4)

God lays claim to the title rights of every human body. No person, neither one who has trusted Jesus Christ as personal Savior, nor one who has rejected Him, can lay claim to his or her own body. God is the owner of every human being as demonstrated in Genesis 2:7; “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life: and man became a living soul.” God further claims ownership of every person when He states in Isaiah 57:16, “and the souls which I have made.” Additionally, God declares in Ezekiel 18:4 that, “Behold, all souls are mine.”
    To trespass against, violate, or usurp God’s right to our bodies brings the just condemnation of God. Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” In Hebrews 2:2, God says that those who disobeyed His Word, “received a just recompence of reward.” The height of human foolishness and arrogance is to say, it’s my body; I can live in it, and do with it as I please. As stewards of the bodies which Almighty God has given us, He holds us accountable to bear His image and glorify Him in all matters of human sexuality. Fraudulent use of the bodies which He has given us is warned against in Galatians 6:7-8, “Be not deceived’ God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth of the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
    Therefore, the high court of our land, the liberal media, infidel politicians, and the apostate church have all trespassed against God’s right to ownership of the human body when espousing the sexual perversion and individual licentiousness sweeping our land. It has been said, that what one generation will tolerate, the next one will embrace. In America, it appears that we have crossed that threshold. No true believer should compromise on God’s ownership of the human body and the honorable deportment of such. We, of all people know we are not our own. Having been bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, we are to glorify God in body and spirit, which are God’s. Our biblical mandate from God is found in Ephesians 5:11-13, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.”
   May both preachers ordained of God and saints of the Lord Jesus Christ resist the social pressure to tolerate the evil of self-ownership in these last days. We preachers, must live above reproach in our moral conduct, and all saints must zealously surrender to the admonition found in Ephesians 5:3 “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you.” The god of compromise and apostasy lies hidden in self and our own rights. Let us stand for the truth with our testimony being “We are not our own” for the honor and glory of God!

]]><![CDATA[Professional Pulpiteerism]]>Sat, 09 Oct 2021 02:48:21 GMThttps://www.oldpathsdzingre.org/the-watchmans-cry/professional-pulpiteerism“For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness; God is witness.” (I Thessalonians 2:5)

I have seen over the past several years a professional pulpiteerism that is both nauseating and disgusting to endure. This type of preaching has not Christ and the gospel at the center, but rather self,
achievement, and money. The Independent Baptist churches are not exempt; instead they seem to be birthing the growing ranks of preachers given over to it. Preaching of this sort exalts self either
consciously or subconsciously and is adept at making appeals for the necessity of money for ministry purposes. This professional pulpiteerism sheds a negative light on the character and ministry of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible’s model preacher. It brings defilement to those who practice and accept it, inoculating the church against any intervention of the Holy Spirit both individually and corporately. Dearly
beloved, beware of it and run from it, using the Apostle Paul’s letters to identify it and “all the counsel of God” as the only standard of measurement for godly preaching. This type of preaching may be sound doctrinally, dynamic in delivery, and true to the gospel message, yet it subtly adapts to the arena in
which it gets opportunity with financial means as an underlying motive. The preacher who either makes or allows the pulpit to be his profession can be a pastor, an evangelist, or a missionary. God help us to escape
from our ranks and to find preaching in the fashion of Christ and his pulpit ministry. The man called to preach by God, and to stand in the pulpit in the house of God, is just that ---Called of God! God has
ownership of him; God will take care of him, and provide for him. God wants him to be a man that cannot be bought, and money cannot dictate his theology or be the motive for his ministry. Paul, as stated in the verse above, said, “For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness; God is witness.” Paul and Silas had gone into Macedonia on his second missionary journey preaching the gospel in Thessalonica with folks getting saved and baptized, and a local church being established. Notice carefully that in expressing his pure motives for preaching, Paul vehemently repudiates the use of flattering words and a cloak of covetousness. He made no attempt to take the Word of God and
deceitfully appeal to his hearers nor did he use material gain as his ambition. Paul openly declared that “God is witness” with a clear conscience and utter transparency. The godly preacher who exalts Christ in his own heart and denies self with no affection for material gain will do the same.
James N. Spurgeon’s poem titled “Job or Ministry” is a good template for identifying the preacher who is sold out for Christ and Him alone.

A job is your choice;
a ministry is at Christ’s call.
In a job you expect to receive;
in a ministry you expect to give.
In a job you give something to get something;
in a ministry you return something
That has already been given to you.
a job depends on your abilities;
A ministry depends on your availability to God.
A job well done brings you praise;
a ministry done well brings
honor to God.

The Preacher of preachers, Jesus Christ, offered the greatest example of a godly preacher with the following attributes:
1. “For your sakes he became poor…” (II Corth 8:9) 2. “[He] made himself of no reputation…” (Phil 2:7) 3. “…yet learned He obedience by the things which he suffered; (Heb 5:8)” The pulpit ministry should always
be an honorable representation of Him in manner, message, and motive.]]><![CDATA[Let god be god!]]>Thu, 25 Mar 2021 23:57:01 GMThttps://www.oldpathsdzingre.org/the-watchmans-cry/let-god-be-god In I Kings 18:24, Elijah the prophet of God challenges the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the grove, to call on the name of their gods. Then, Elijah proclaims that he "will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God." There is a pandemic today among preacher and people alike in our churches representative of Elijah's reproof to all the people gathered on Mount Carmel of "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him." This reproof of God's people, Israel, found in I Kings 18:21 ends in sad commentary, "And the people answered him not a word."
Thank God, the prophet of God didn't settle for silence and inactions. Thank God, and I say many times over that Elijah took the bullock by the horns', pun intended, and challenged all assembled there with an indictment of their indifference by thundering "the God that answereth by fire, let him be God." It is my observation that many a preacher and the people in churches where I preach have dwarfed God into a midget of their own making, with unbelief, self-sufficiency, and blatant indifference. Consequently, revival tarries and apathy grows among believers, advancing the church to a showdown with the devil in which God seems to be relegated to a mere bystander. The outcome is frightening to consider, for the church and America as a whole, should this spiritual malady continue.
There is hope with God, however, and He is ever merciful toward those who truly repent and return unto Him. A solemn and sincere surrender to the edicts of God as found in Jeremiah 6:16 justifies this appraisal of hope and mercy with God. "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein." But, the pastors and leadership in our churches must stand up and be counted with God. Dr. Lee Roberson is quoted as saying, "Everything rises and falls upon leadership." Throughout my 39 years of both pastoring and local church evangelism, I've learned and exercised a conviction that leadership makes all the adjustments. Thank God Elijah did not consider his own neck when confronted by the wicked King Ahab, but brought the apostasy and apathy of God's people to a conflict on Mount Carmel.
Tacked on the wall of the home of a young African pastor was a sheet of paper that reads:

My Commitment as a Christian
I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed.
I have Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast.
I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made.
I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back,
let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,
and my future is secure. I'm finished and done
with low living, sight-walking, small planning,
smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions,
mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.

Dear preacher and people in our churches, may we share the same commitment as this African pastor. Let us not be guilty of "when all is said and done, more is said than done!" May we get out of the way and let Almighty God be God!

]]><![CDATA[CANDIDATE FOR REVIVAL]]>Thu, 19 Nov 2020 15:46:06 GMThttps://www.oldpathsdzingre.org/the-watchmans-cry/candidate-for-revival"Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
Thou will revive me:" (Psalm 138:7a)

The word of God predetermines the candidate or the one who is eligible for personal revival. To 'revive' means to nourish up, preserve, quicken, or restore. A person in need of revival finds himself or herself in a fallen state due to unconfessed sin, excessively heavy burdens, or a prolonged period of unbelief concerning the will of God. Although a person can pray, confess sin, and seek God's face, they may not yet be a candidate for revival.
So many of us, preachers included, put up a stiff barrier against God's intervention in our lives and expect Him to meet with us on our terms. Pride or self-consumption either puts us above the need for personal revival, or our close examination of others causes us to view them as better candidates for God's intervention.
For others, the effort is made to pacify ourselves with a week of special meetings intended to give us an emotional boost or spiritual jolt for the work of God. We would do well to take heed to the edict of God proclaimed in Isaiah 55:7-9, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
The person who is a sincere candidate for revival understands and submits to the qualification set forth in Isaiah 57:15 "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and revive the heart of the contrite ones." Let us be careful to note that God promises to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
My friend, God blesses and uses 'broken things' but not partially broken things. He intends to break us into 'pieces', so that when we allow Him to put us back together He might get all the glory. Please be reminded that in Isaiah 48:11 God gives the following warning to Israel, "I will not give my glory to another." The renowned evangelist Charles Finney proclaimed revival to be a "renewed conviction of sin and repentance, followed by an intense desire in obedience to God. It is giving up one's will to God in deep humility."
The real candidate for revival finds themself in the crucible of testing and the furnace of fire by the hand of Almighty God. If we submit to God's purging we can experience the truth of Proverbs 25:4, "Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer."

Do you really want revival?
Do you really want God's power?
Do you really want His Spirit to control your life this hour?
Oh, repent and turn to Jesus,
Seek His face and humbly pray;
Do you really want revival?
Are you willing to obey?

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart,
O God, though will not despise" (Psalm 51:17)

]]><![CDATA[In This Election Year]]>Thu, 27 Aug 2020 23:39:00 GMThttps://www.oldpathsdzingre.org/the-watchmans-cry/in-this-election-year"In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." (Isaiah 6:1)

In this election year, a dim and dark forecast hangs over the future of America. As we consider the moral breakdown and the spirit of anarchy permeating every aspect of our society, we can empathize with David when he asked in Psalm 11:3, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Additionally, David proclaimed in Psalm 119:126, "It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law."
In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw also the Lord. The death of King Uzziah was a national calamity. He had been a good king. He had sought the Lord, and the Lord had prospered him. He had defeated the enemies of Judah, improved living conditions, and built up national defense. Undoubtedly, his untimely death overwhelmed many in Judah and created a sense of trepidation concerning the future of the nation. However, Isaiah saw also the Lord! The crucial point here is that the man of God was captivated by a vision of the Lord, and it changed his perspective of the Lord, himself, and the nation. Isaiah allowed the Lord to deal with his heart in light of the national calamity confronting Judah when King Uzziah died.
As Americans, we're facing the apparent death of many of our liberties and rights afforded us by our founding forefathers when they drafted the United States Constitution. During this election year, we believers as a whole are definitely facing a national crisis. We must allow ourselves to be confronted by the Lord. Instead of centralizing our focus on the election, concentrating on the candidates, and contemplating the outcome we must see also the Lord. The key is that Isaiah saw also, the Lord, meaning the Lord Jesus Christ wants, demands, and deserves first place in our lives in view of the present day condition and circumstances we're facing in America during this election year. The word also better describes the pre-eminence of the Lord in our lives, rather than a national crisis in leadership confronted by a nation. After all, Daniel 2:21 states the following concerning our great Sovereign God: "And he changeth the times and seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding."
So therefore, as we consider the crisis we're facing during this election year and beyond, may I ask, "Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid, does your all the Spirit control", as the songwriter so aptly puts it? The also of Isaiah 6:1 must point us toward the Lord and not toward the crisis, candidates, or the election. May we not fall into the characterization later proclaimed in Isaiah 64:7, "And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and consumed us because of our iniquities." Let us identify with the petition of the Psalmist in 115:1, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake." In the year 2020, may we long to see also the Lord!

]]><![CDATA[LACK OF KNOWLEDGE]]>Fri, 29 May 2020 00:54:18 GMThttps://www.oldpathsdzingre.org/the-watchmans-cry/lack-of-knowledge

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:"
(Hosea 4:6a)

The fault for the lack of victorious Christian living experienced by many a professing believer today lies at the door of their unwillingness to "grow in grace", and in the knowledge of or Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," as referenced by II Peter 3:18. Please notice and understand that Peter exhorts the believer first of all, "to grow in grace," and secondarily; "in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Whereas the believer is to simultaneously pursue these each one carries a distinct, yet harmonious benefit. It is the second exhortation of Peter to grow "in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" that is especially deficient among believers today.
God proclaims through his prophet and mouthpiece, Hosea that "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." Obviously, these are not words of comfort, but rather condemnation, yet God cares without measure for His people in pronouncing this indictment and warning. The religion of Israel had become totally corrupt in Hosea's day; officially they served God but everywhere their worship was mixed up with idolatry and Baalism. In short, God's people were in a state of decay and were wasting away, because of their lack of knowledge of Him! The emphasis here is not on the acquisition of facts concerning God, but rather, on the appetite to personally know and desire the character of God in our daily lives, thus experiencing victorious Christian living.
Let me share with you a most vital and crucial truth regarding growing in your knowledge of Him. You must give yourself to reading! Read the word of God daily with a fervent appetite to know God, but also consistently read biographies and autobiographies of those who have gone on before us who came to a place of confrontation and crisis in their Christian life, but who also came to a place of consecration whereby they wholly gave themselves to the Lord and His cause. Without apology, I say get off the phone, the computer, tablet, and away from the television! Stimulate and develop an appetite for reading books of those who learned how to "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called," (Eph 4:1). Years ago, I came across a classic book in a dusty, old attic entitled, Deeper Experiences of Famous Christians, and I read it avidly desiring to know God in a greater way in my personal life. That book helped to revolutionize my daily walk with God, and I presently look and search for any book of good repute to read, that will whet my appetite to know my Saviour in a greater and more intimate way.
The Apostle Paul, himself, called for "the books" while in prison and exhorted Timothy to "give attendance to reading," (II Tim 3:13 and I Tim 4:13). Paul charged Timothy to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God," and Peter exhorted believers to "add to your faith virtue" and virtue knowledge," (II Tim 2:15 and II Pet 1:5). Revelation 1:3 states, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." Charles Spurgeon is quoted as saying, "The man who never reads will never be read: he who never quotes will never be quoted, and he who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains, proves he has no brains of his own."
In our walk with God, let us pursue the goal of the Apostle Paul wherein he states, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death;" (Phil 3:10).

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