
The Sin and the Cause of Prayerlessness by Andrew Murray
From the book The Prayer Life by Andrew Murray
Chapter 1
If conscience is to do its work, and the contrite heart is to feel its misery, it is necessary that each individual should mention his sin by name. The confession must be severely personal. In a meeting of ministers there is probably no single sin which each one of us ought to acknowledge with deeper shame – ‘Guilty, verily guilty’ – than the sin of prayerlessness.
What is it, then, that makes prayerlessness such a great sin? At first it is looked upon merely as a weakness. There is so much talk about lack of time and all sorts of distractions that the deep guilt of the situation is not recognised. Let it be our honest desire that, for the future, the sin of prayerlessness may be to us truly sinful. Consider
1. What a reproach it is to God
There is the holy and most glorious God who invites us to come to him, to hold converse with him, to ask from him such things as we need, and to experience what a blessing there is in fellowship with him. He has created him we might find our highest glory and salvation.
What use do we make of this heavenly privilege? How many there are who take only five minutes for prayer! They say that they have no time and that the heart desire for prayer is lacking; they do not know how to spend half an hour with God! It is not that they absolutely do not pray; they pray every day – but they have no joy in prayer, as a token of communion with God which shows that God is everything to them.
If a friend comes to visit them, they have time, they make time, even at the cost of sacrifice, for the sake of enjoying converse with him. Yes, they have time for everything that really interests them, but no time to practise fellowship with God and delight themselves in him! They find time for a creature who can be of service to them; but day after day, month after month passes, and there is no time to spend one hour with God.
Do not our hearts begin to acknowledge what a dishonour, what a despite of God this is, that I dare to say I cannot find time for fellowship with him? If this sin begins to appear plain to us, shall we not with deep shame cry out: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone, 0 God; be merciful to me, and forgive this awful sin of prayerlessness.’ Consider further
2. It is the cause of a deficient spiritual life
It is a proof that, for the most part, our life is still under the power of ‘the flesh’. Prayer is the pulse of life; by it the doctor can tell what is the condition of the heart. The sin of prayerlessness is a proof for the ordinary Christian or minister that the life of God in the soul is in deadly sickness and weakness.
Much is said and many complaints are made about the feebleness of the Church to fulfill her calling, to exercise an influence over her members, to deliver them from the power of the world, and to bring them to a life of holy consecration to God. Much is also spoken about her indifference to the millions of heathen whom Christ entrusted to her that she might make known to them his love and salvation. What is the reason that many thousands of Christian workers in the world have not a greater influence? Nothing save this – the prayerlessness of their service. In the midst of all their zeal in the study and in the work of the Church, of all their faithfulness in preaching and conversation with the people, they lack that ceaseless prayer which has attached to it the sure promise of the Spirit and the power from on high. It is nothing but the sin of prayerlessness which is the cause of the lack of a powerful spiritual life! Consider further
3. The dreadful loss which the Church suffers as a result of the prayerlessness of the minister
It is the business of a minister to train believers up to a life of prayer; but how can a leader do this if he himself understands little the art of conversing with God and of receiving from the Holy Spirit, every day, out of heaven, abundant grace for himself and for his work? A minister cannot lead a congregation higher than he is himself. He cannot with enthusiasm point out a way, or explain a work, in which he is not himself walking or living.
How many thousands of Christians there are who know next to nothing of the blessedness of prayer fellowship with God! How many there are who know something of it and long for a further increase of this knowledge, but in the preaching of the Word they are not persistently urged to keep on till they obtain the blessing! The reason is simply and only that the minister understands so little about the secret of powerful prayer and does not give prayer the place in his service which, in the nature of the case and in the will of God, is indispensably necessary. Oh, what a difference we should notice in our congregations if ministers could be brought to see in its right light the sin of prayerlessness and were delivered from it! Once more consider:
4. The impossibility of preaching the gospel to all men-as we are commanded by Christ to do -so long as this sin is not overcome and cast out.
Many feel that the great need of missions is the obtaining of men and women who will give themselves to the Lord to strive in prayer for the salvation of souls. It has also been said that God is eager and able to deliver and bless the world he has redeemed, if his people were but willing, if they were but ready, to cry to him day and night But how can congregations be brought to that unless there comes first an entire change in ministers and that they begin to see that the indispensable thing is not preaching, not pastoral visitation, not church work, but fellowship with God in prayer till they are clothed with power from on high?
Oh, that all thought and work and expectation concerning the kingdom might drive us to the acknowledgement of the sin of prayerlessness! God help us to root it out! God deliver us from it through the blood and power of Christ Jesus! God teach every minister of the Word to see what a glorious place he may occupy if he first of all is delivered from this root of evils; so that with courage and joy, in faith and perseverance, he can go on with his God!
The sin of prayerlessness! The Lord lay the burden of it so heavy on our hearts that we may not rest till it is taken far from us through the name and power of Jesus He will make this possible for us.
A witness from America
In 1898, there were two members of the Presbytery in New York who attended the Northfield Conference for the deepening of the spiritual life. They returned to their work with the fire of a new enthusiasm. They endeavoured to bring about a revival in the entire Pres bytery. In a meeting which they held, the chairman was guided to ask the brethren a question concerning their prayer life: ‘Brethren,’ said he, ‘let us today make confession before God and each other. It will do us good. Will everyone who spends half an hour every day with God in connection with his work hold up a hand?’ One hand was held up. He made a further request: ‘All who thus spend fifteen minutes hold up a hand.’ Not half of the hands were held up. Then he said: ‘Prayer, the working power of the Church of Christ, and half of the workers make hardly any use of it! All who spend five minutes hold up hands.’ All hands went up. But one man came later with the confession that he was not quite sure if he spent five minutes in prayer every day. ‘It is,’ said he, ‘a terrible revelation of how little time I spend with God.’
The cause of prayerlessness.
In an elder’s prayer meeting, a brother put the question: ‘What, then, is the cause of so much prayerlessness? Is it not unbelief?’
The answer was: ‘Certainly; but then comes the question what is the cause of that unbelief?’ When the disciples asked the Lord Jesus: ‘Why could not we cast the devil out?’ His answer was: ‘Because of your unbelief.’ He went further and said: ‘Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting’ (Matt. 17.19-21). If the life is not one of self-denial – of fasting – that is, letting the world go; of prayer – that is, laying hold of heaven, faith cannot be exercised. A life lived according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit – it is in this that we find the origin of the prayerlessness of which we complain. As we came out of the meeting a brother said to me: ‘That is the whole difficulty; we wish to pray in the Spirit and at the same time walk after the flesh, and this is impossible.’
If one is sick and desires healing, it is of prime importance that the true cause of the sickness be discovered. This is always the first step toward recovery. If the particular cause is not recognised, and attention is directed to subordinate causes, or to supposed but not real causes, healing is out of the question. In like manner, it is of the utmost importance for us to obtain a correct insight into the cause of the sad condition of deadness and failure in prayer in the inner chamber, which should be such a blessed place for us. Let us seek to realise fully what is the root of this evil.
Scripture teaches us that there are but two conditions possible for the Christian. One is a walk according to the Spirit, the other a walk according to ‘the flesh’. These two powers are in irreconcilable conflict with each other. So it comes to pass, in the case of the majority of Christians, that, while we thank God that they are born again through the Spirit and have received the life of God – yet their ordinary daily life is not lived according to the Spirit but according to ‘the flesh’. Paul writes to the Galatians: ‘Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?’ (Gal. 3.3). Their service lay in fleshly outward performances. They did not understand that where ‘the flesh’ is permitted to influence their service of God, it soon results in open sin.
So he mentions not only grave sins as the work of ‘the flesh’, such as adultery, murder, drunkenness; but also the more ordinary sins of daily life – wrath, strife, variance; and he gives the exhortation: ‘Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh… If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit’ (Gal. 5.16, 25). The Spirit must be honoured not only as the author of a new life but also as the leader and director of our entire walk. Otherwise we are what the apostle calls ‘carnal’.
The majority of Christians have little understanding of this matter. They have no real knowledge of the deep sinfulness and godlessness of that carnal nature which belongs to them and to which unconsciously they yield. ‘God… condemned sin in the flesh’ (Rom. 8.3) – in the cross of Christ. ‘They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts’ (Gal. 5.24). ‘The flesh’ cannot be improved or sanctified. ‘The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be’ (Rom. 8.7). There is no means of dealing with ‘the flesh’ save as Christ dealt with it, bearing it to the cross. ‘Our old man is crucified with him’ (Rom. 6.6); so we by faith also crucify it, and regard and treat it daily as an accursed thing that finds its rightful place on the accursed cross.
It is saddening to consider how many Christians there are who seldom think or speak earnestly about the deep and immeasurable sinfulness of ‘the flesh’-‘In me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing'(Rom. 7.18). The man who truly believes this may well cry out: ‘I see another law in my members … bringing me into captivity to the law of sin… 0 wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?’ (Rom. 7.23, 24). Happy is he who can go further and say: ‘I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord… For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death’ (Rom. 7.25; 8.2).
Would that we might understand God’s counsels of grace for us! ‘The flesh’ on the cross – the Spirit in the heart and controlling the life.
This spiritual life is too little understood or sought after; yet it is literally what God has promised and will accomplish in those who unconditionally surrender themselves to him for this purpose.
Here then we have the deep root of evil as the cause of a prayerless life. ‘The flesh’ can say prayers well enough, calling itself religious for so doing and thus satisfying conscience. But ‘the flesh’ has no desire or strength for the prayer that strives after an intimate knowledge of God; that rejoices in fellowship with him; and that continues to lay hold of his strength. So, finally, it comes to this, ‘the flesh’ must be denied and crucified.
The Christian who is still carnal has neither disposition nor strength to follow after God. He rests satisfied with the prayer of habit or custom; but the glory, the blessedness of secret prayer is a hidden thing to him, till some day his eyes are opened, and he begins to see that ‘the flesh’, in its disposition to turn away from God, is the archenemy which makes powerful prayer impossible for him.
I had once, at a conference, spoken on the subject of prayer and made use of strong expressions about the enmity of ‘the flesh’ as a cause of prayerlessness. After the address, the minister’s wife said that she thought 1 had spoken too strongly. She also had to mourn over too little desire for prayer, but she knew her heart was sincerely set on seeking God. 1 showed her what the word of God said about ‘the flesh’, and that everything which prevents the reception of the Spirit is nothing else than a secret work of ‘the flesh’. Adam was created to have fellowship with God and enjoyed it before his fall. After the fall, however, there came immediately, a deep- seated aversion to God, and he fled from him. This incurable aversion is the characteristic of the unregenerate nature and the chief cause of our unwillingness to surrender ourselves to fellowship with God in prayer. The following day she told me that God had opened her eyes; she confessed that the enmity and unwillingness of ‘the flesh’ was the hidden hindrance in her defective prayer life.
0 my brethren, do not seek to find in circumstances the explanation of this prayerlessness over which we mourn; seek it where God’s word declares it to be, in the hidden aversion of the heart to a holy God.
When a Christian does not yield entirely to the leading of the Spirit – and this is certainly the will of God and the work of his grace – he lives, without knowing it, under the power of ‘the flesh’. This life of ‘the flesh’ manifests itself in many different ways. It appears in the hastiness of spirit, or the anger which so unexpectedly arises in you, in the lack of love for which you have so often blamed yourself; in the pleasure found in eating and drinking, about which at times your conscience has chidden you; in that seeking for your own will and honour, that confidence in your own wisdom and power, that pleasure in the world, of which you are sometimes ashamed before God. All this is life ‘after the flesh’. ‘Ye are yet carnal’ (1 Con 3.3) that text, perhaps, disturbs you at times; you have not full peace and joy in God.
I pray you take time and give an answer to the question: Have 1 not found here the cause of my prayerlessness, of my powerlessness to effect any change in the matter? I live in the Spirit, 1 have been born again, but 1 do not walk after the Spirit -‘the flesh’ lords it over me. The carnal life cannot possibly pray in the spirit and power. God forgive me. The carnal life is evidently the cause of my sad and shameful prayerlessness.
The storm centre on the battlefield
Mention was made in conference of the expression ‘strategic position’ used so often in reference to the great strife between the kingdom of heaven and the powers of darkness.
When a general chooses the place from which he intends to strike the enemy, he pays most attention to those points which he thinks most important in the fight. Thus there was on the battlefield of Waterloo a farmhouse which Wellington immediately saw was the key to the situation. He did not spare his troops in his endeavours to hold that point: the victory depended on it. So it actually happened. It is the same in the conflict between the believer and the powers of darkness. The inner chamber is the place where the decisive victory is obtained.
The enemy uses all his power to lead the Christian and above all the minister, to neglect prayer. He knows that however admirable the sermon may be, however attractive the service, however faithful the pastoral visitation, none of these things can damage him or his kingdom if prayer is neglected. When the Church shuts herself up to the power of the inner chamber, and the soldiers of the Lord have received on their knees ‘power from on high’, then the powers of darkness will be shaken and souls will be delivered. In the Church, on the mission field, with the minister and his congregation, everything depends on the faithful exercise of the power of prayer.
In the week of conference I found the following in The Christian:
Two persons quarrel over a certain point. We call them Christian and Apollyon. Apollyon notices that Christian has a certain weapon which would give him a sure victory. They meet in deadly strife, and Apollyon resolves to take away the weapon from his opponent and destroy it. For the moment the main cause of the strife has become subordinate; the great point now is who shall get possession of the weapon on which everything depends? It is of vital importance to get hold of that.
So it is in the conflict between Satan and the believer. God’s child can conquer everything by prayer. Is it any wonder that Satan does his utmost to snatch that weapon from the Christian, or to hinder him in the use of it?
How now does Satan hinder prayer? By temptation to postpone or curtail it, by bringing in wandering thoughts and all sorts of distractions; through unbelief and hopelessness. Happy is the prayer hero who, through it all, takes care to hold fast and use his weapon. Like our Lord in Gethsemane, the more violently the enemy attacked the more earnestly he prayed and ceased not till he had obtained the victory. After all the other parts of the armour had been named, Paul adds: ‘with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit’ (Eph. 6.18). Without prayer, the helmet of salvation, and the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit which is God’s word, have no power. All depends on prayer. God teach us to believe and hold this fast!
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“Lord, Teach us to Pray” [podcast]

“Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3
Prayer is simply communing with God.
“One of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1
“Lord, teach us to pray.” Christ’s disciples today should ask the LORD to “teach us to pray.” The disciples called on Jesus to teach them to pray—to have a prayer life, to live a life of prayer, to commune with Him and the Father perpetually. Christ answered them and us by giving the whole Church a model prayer to be followed in spontaneous and joyful relationship. Here it is:
“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a
certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples
said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also
taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them,
When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in
heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3
Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive
us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is
indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.” Luke 11:1-4
When addressing the remove of the words “Our” and “which art in heaven” by the fake, the corrupted “bibles,” one writes asks:
“Is your Bible geared to glorify antichrist? Is your Bible going to be used by antichrist to convince you he is Jesus?” unknown
Jesus is coming—ready or not.
“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41
Prayer is to spiritual life what breathing is to the natural life. If you stop breathing, you die. If we don’t “pray without ceasing” we will not be in the will of God, will not be obeying God, and will fall into temptation, into sin.
“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
You cannot and will not overcome sin and Satan, the world, and the flesh, without living a life of prayer.
Prayer: Father in Heaven, in the name of Jesus Christ, I ask You
to teach me to pray. Here and now, I lay my life into Your holy
hands afresh. You must increase, and I must decrease. In the
name of Jesus, please bless this life to be dead and buried and
raised up by You, LORD. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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The Danger of Joining a Modern Church [podcast]

Fruit. Fruit. Fruit.
“Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.” Matthew 12:33
Speaking of the pattern of one’s life, Jesus taught that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know (discern) them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Matthew 7:15-20
Jesus commanded His people to “know” which is to discern all “by their fruits”—to be fruit inspectors—first in their own lives and then in all others (1 Corinthians 11:31-32; 2 Corinthians 13:5).
Personally, I fail to find anywhere that Jesus or His apostles instructed any saints to “go find a local church and plug in.” Hebrews 10:25 is peddled by pastors today who seek a loyal following instead of seeking to fulfill their God-given duties to establish their hearers in the faith, to ground them in God’s Word, to equip them for the work of the ministry, etc.
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25
Read that again please. Does it say to find a church? No. Those who are born again ARE already God’s “church” which simply means His called out people. More biblically, should we not simply be His church—His people, daily? This seems to be the pattern we see among the earliest followers of Jesus (Acts 2:42-47; 5:42; Colossians 3:16, etc.).
The authentic remnant elect of Christ do not patronize or bid Godspeed to false leaders (2 John 9-11; Revelation 2:2).
Refusing to sit under, condone, bid Godspeed to the false gospel, false doctrines, false teachers and wolves of the modern church … is not forsaking the assembly! Instead, it’s obedience to God who mandates that we “mark them,” that we “earnestly contend” against them, and warns us that anyone who bids Godspeed to them will be punished with them (Romans 16:17-18; Jude 3; 2 John 10-11).
If you are prone to cite Hebrews 10:25 to advocate for going to church weekly, consider where you learned that. In churches, right? Funny you probably don’t even have 10 Bible verses memorized and yet, to the benefit of the pastor, you know that one. What does this tell us? What does this reveal? What’s wrong with this picture?
What happens when people get loyal to a local church especially in this late hour where great apostasy was foretold? Here are a few obvious things that happen when someone “joins a church.”
- Most people who join churches today are not even born again, are not told they must repent and believe on Jesus to be born again. They become proud of their pastor and friends at that gathering (Zechariah 11:17).
- Church members are not learning the Word of God itself because they are simply being led by a wolf who is fostering their allegiance toward himself, not Christ (Colossians 2:8-10, 18-19; 3:1-4).
- They are not becoming soul winners (Proverbs 11:30; Luke 19:10).
- Attenders of modern churches are seldom if ever taught, established with personal knowledge of the Scriptures, the paramount truth that God’s Word itself is the final divine authority on all matters of the Christian faith and the practice of it (Deuteronomy 4:10; Psalms 119; 138:2; Isaiah 40:8; Mark 13:31; John 10:35; Romans 3:4; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
- The Bible message, warning to “love not the world” is seldom or never heard. Those who live worldly are separated from God (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17).
- Fake pastor do not teach people to get into God’s Word for themselves and so church attenders today are not in the Word daily for themselves which is by satanic design and therefore have no biblical foundation (Psalms 11:3; Matthew 7:19-29; 2 Timothy 2:15).
- When do we hear in modern churches that Jesus Christ is the Grand Subject of all of Holy Scripture? We don’t (Psalms 40:7-8; Luke 24:25-27, 44-46; John 5:39-40; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
- They are never taught the value God places upon good works in those He saves by His grace (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 1:16; 3:8; 1 John 2:4).
- The Great Commission Jesus gave to His people is never mentioned and when it is, they’ve turned it into just another way of promoting themselves, their own brand, ministry (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:47; Book of Acts).
- They are not being equipped “for the work of the ministry” which is the duty being carried out by every authentic overseer of Christ’s church (Ephesians 4:11-12; 1 Peter 5:1-6).
- Never taught in the modern churches is the fact that God holds each person He saves personally responsible, personally accountable for following Jesus daily (Deuteronomy 24:16; Joshua 24:14-15; Luke 21:34-36; 2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 3:6, 12-14; 10:26-39; 12:14; Revelation 2-3, etc.).
- Modern day church members are not in the Word for themselves and the pastors have led them to this biblical illiteracy because they are building a church busine$$ and dumb people are easy prey/targets to rob (Isaiah 9:16; 56:8-12; Jeremiah 23; Ezekiel 34; Matthew 23; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12; 2 Timothy 4:2-4, etc.).
- Church goers are barely or never heard the essential cross message which Jesus requires to follow Him (Matthew 16:24-25; Luke 9:23-24; Romans 6; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12; Galatians 2:20; 5:24; Colossians 3:3, etc.).
- They are never warned of going to hell if they die in sin (Ezekiel 33:12-13; Matthew 10:22; 24:13; Hebrews 3:6; 10:26-39; Revelation 21:8, 27).
- They are never taught that God is “Holy, holy, holy” and that He requires that those who are His be holy as He is holy (Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Revelation 4:8).
- Those who attend a church are never informed that only those who overcome sin and Satan will be with Jesus eternally which is exactly what Christ told each and every one of the seven churches of Asia minor (Revelation 2-3).
- They are never taught that saving grace without exception results in the saved living according to the Scripture: “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (Titus 2:11-12).
- Members are taught the demonic lie of eternal security/once saved always saved , which is Satan’s first teaching and irrefutably led to the fall of mankind in the Garden (Genesis 2:17; 3:4).
- The mountains of warnings in Scripture are intentionally hidden from the congregational dupes who are willingly biblically ignorant, having rejected the knowledge/Word of God (Ezekiel 3:7; Hosea 4:6; 2 Corinthians 5:11; Colossians 1:28; Jude 3-4, etc.).
- Most church members are not taught that only those who remain in Christ after being saved will be with Him eternally (Matthew 25:1-13; John 15:6; Romans 11:20-22, etc.).
- Modern church attenders are seldom if ever warned to come out from this sinful world in the way they live (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1).
- They are lukewarm which means hell bound if they don’t repent (Luke 3:15-16).
- The original Gospel essential, the command to “repent” is never heard, even though it was the very first word spoken by John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostle Peter in their ministries (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30).
- Modern church members are merely a participant of a “Christian” social club seen nowhere in Scripture (Cp. Acts 2:42-47).
- Their loyalty and allegiance is toward the pastor, singing group, and fellow congregants (Proverbs 21:16).
- They are never taken through the volumes of Holy Scripture where God judged His very own people who backslid (Numbers 16; 25; Romans 11:20-22; 1 Corinthians 10:1-12; Hebrews 3-4; Jude 1).
- Church members are taught to become dependent on their church affiliation, connection, and attendance and not the LORD (Matthew 15:8).
- They are not daily seeking the face of the LORD (1 Chronicles 16:11; Psalms 27:4, 8; 57:7; 63:8; Matthew 6:33; Luke 9:23-24).
- Seminarian led church members are seldom if ever taught that for eternal glory with Him Jesus requires the decisive cutting off of the hand and plucking out of the eye of any sin that defiles them in the eyes of a holy God (Mark 9:43-49).
- When the Bible is literally read, 99% of the time it’s from a vatican corrupted fake “bible.”
- Most are barely if at all different from any lost soul around them in their daily life (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).
- Due to their own refusal to truly repent and walk with Jesus daily, they were sent strong delusion, are in darkness and deception, and therefore “remain in the congregation of the dead” (Proverbs 21:16).
“God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.” Psalms 89:7

The words “leader” and “leaders” appear 6 times (total) in God’s Word. It is always to be in context of servant leading (Matthew 20:20-28; 23:8-12; 1 Peter 5:1-6). In the following and most popular times “leaders” is used, it’s in the negative, as in false “leaders.”
“For the LEADERS of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.” Isaiah 9:16
“Let them alone: they be blind LEADERS of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” Matthew 15:14
They love their darkness rather than the light of His truth and therefore craft, they erect the image of a false god in their wicked unrepentant hearts.
“Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
“Jeremiah 7. The people were wicked and evil, placing their trust in the temple, instead of God, and believing their religious activities would be pleasing to the Lord. But they were committing all kinds of sins, deluding themselves into thinking that they were secure. God said, I will cast you out of my sight! And instructed Jeremiah not to pray for them. They refused to obey the Lord God nor receive correction, and the truth had perished, so God said, I will cut them off from my mouth! Wow! Isn’t this exactly what we are seeing in this late hour? There comes a time when the Lord has had enough and cuts them off! And judgment falls upon those who don’t want the truth.” Karen Cochran
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Abiding
Jesus Conquered Sin, Satan, and Death by Dying [podcast]

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews 2:14-15
Through death Jesus conquered sin, death, and Satan and made His people free, washing away their sins in His precious blood and putting His Holy Spirit in them, empowering them to live fruit-filled victorious lives to His eternal glory!
Christ’s resurrection guarantees our resurrection – both now and for eternnity. Those raised up with Christ now are those who are crucified with Him. This is His holy “remnant.” (Isaiah 37:31; Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 15, etc.).
Jesus conquered sin and death (separation) by dying on His cross. Because of this, we need never live outside of an abiding relationship with Christ. His grace is sufficient to provide everything He died to purchase for us – and all these blessings are appropriated via our faith, our abiding in Him (John 15; Romans 6:14; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10; Hebrews 4:14-16; 7:24-26, etc.).
In order to be raised up, to walk in His resurrection power and grace, we must first be dead and buried with Christ.
“For he that is dead is freed from sin.” Romans 6:7
***ALL Heaven’s going to break out when this hits you in the heart, when your heart perceives this cross economy divine revelation.
Finishing Strong mean Finishing Crucified and Resurrected
HOW will you finish? It’s really how you finish that matters most! (2 Timothy 4:7-8) Finish strong beloved – lay down your life, death and burial, so that the strength of your life is Christ’s resurrection grace! (See 2 Corinthians 12:9-10) Go down deep.
“And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:” Isaiah 37:31
Read the verse above again, looking for the death, the burial, and raising up!
The context Isaiah 37:31 concerns Assyria seeking to seize Judah and yet out of that evil attempt to conquer God’s people came a “remnant.” Yet it’s those who submitted to the LORD in death, those who took root downward (death and burial) who were reciprocally raised up out of that snare and destruction. Resurrection grace wins every time, with no exception! The cross is the divine prescription for absolute victory in every situation.
God counteracts death by the promise of resurrection – now and in eternity! (1 Corinthians 15; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12).
“Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.” 2 Corinthians 4:10-12
The depth you allow God to bury you determines the height of His resurrection, His raising up in your life! (See 2 Corinthians 4:10-12)
“Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. 18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. 19 That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. 20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, 21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?” Proverbs 22:17-21
“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.” 1 Peter 4:1-2
“And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” 1 John 3:5-6
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Learning the Cross, the Crucified Life Where Jesus Reigns
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