7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,

‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.  10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.  12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
 
13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

Please read Judges 19:22-20:48. In this passage of Scripture we read how Israel went to war against Benjamin because some Benjamites had sexually abused a Levite's concubine who later died as a result of their abuse.

I would like us to consider and reflect upon the perseverance of the Israelites in battle and what we can learn from their example, and then turn those things into prayers for perseverance for ourselves, so we might keep God's command to us to persevere. Because there are three things I would like to draw your attention to in the Judges passage, Lord willing, I would eventually like to post three separate prayers based on this passage of Scripture; today's post is focused on holiness. (I will add links below as I am able to post the prayers.)

I. A prayer for holiness. First, the children of Israel were clear about what sin was. So too ought to be praying for a clear vision of God's holiness and an increasing desire to be holy and to live holy lives. (This post.)

II. A prayer for unity. Second, the children of Israel were united in their efforts. So too we ought to be praying for God to protect the unity we have in Him and that we would endeavor to uphold the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

III. A prayer for continuing obedience. Third, despite defeat, the children of Israel continued to seek and prepare themselves to do God's will and followed through in obedience. So too we ought to be praying God would keep us seeking His face, that we might be diligent and vigilant and follow through in obedience to His revealed will for us.

Holy and righteous Father, spotless Lamb of God, and Holy Spirit,

Restore to us a vision of Your holiness and perfection. Like Isaiah, help us to see You as high and lifted up and on the throne. Take us to Your feet once more, humble us once more, so we might heart the angels calling out, "Holy, Holy, Holy." Help us to see we are vile and sinful from the top of our heads to the tips of our toes. Help us to have Your view of sin. You are holy and will not abide sin in Your presence. We have no right to even speak Your Name or come to You except through the blood of Jesus Christ. We are wholly unworthy. You alone make us holy.

Help us not to compromise on what sin is. We do not define what sin is; You do. Sin is not defined by our culture but by Your Holy Word. May we never call evil good and good evil. Help us be discerning and wise. Give us Your mind in these things for our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. Even though You have known us and called us by Your holy name, even though You have delivered us from the power of sin, yet sin still dwells within us, our flesh continues to battle Your Spirit.

May we continue to call sin wicked and vile just as the Israelites did here in the account in Judges 20:

Anytime Your people fall into sin, You lament that, but since You are a merciful and gracious God as well as a just God, for Jesus' sake, You give us warnings. You were grieved that Israel, Your vineyard, did not yield good grapes but wild grapes. We too continue to yield wild grapes, both as individuals as well as in our congregations and denominations. O, may we heed the warning You gave the nation of Israel in Isaiah 5:

Yes, praise be to You, O God, there is no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus. However, though Your wrath has been appeased by the blood of Jesus, may we never take our sin lightly. There is no small sin in Your sight. There is no insignificant or trivial sin in Your sight. You are holy through and through. Jesus Christ went to the cross and had His body torn and shed His blood all so we might approach You with humble boldness. We first came to You empty-handed, in fact, all we wore were our vile rags of self-righteousness. So too we continue to come to You empty-handed, with nothing whatsoever to commend us to You. We are unworthy like the tax collector; we can only look down and beat our breasts. Only as You have clothed us with Christ and only as we continue to clothe ourselves with Him can we be acceptable in Your sight. We were saved by Your grace alone through faith in His blood. He was the propitiation for our sin. And He continues to save us from Your just wrath today. May we never show contempt or despise His sacrifice for us by saying our sin doesn't really matter. You do not turn a blind eye to our sin and neither should we. You sent Your Son to die for our sin. God forbid that we cheapen Your gift of forgiveness, Your lavish grace and Your manifold mercies. May we never quench or grieve Your Spirit or grow hard hearted as the author of Hebrews warns us in Hebrews 3:

Sin can deceive us. Satan comes as an angel of light. He is wily and a liar and the father of lies. Holy Spirit, guard our hearts and minds. May we guard our own hearts and minds and be ever watching in prayer. May we keep ourselves separate from the world's way and not put ourselves in temptation's way. May we purify ourselves as You are pure. Keep us from the evil one and lead us not into temptation.

Hosea reminds us the people perished because of lack of knowledge, because they forgot Your law. We cannot forget Your law in quite the same way they could, for Your law is now written on our hearts, but yet we can harden our hearts to Your voice and quench and grieve Your Spirit. God forbid that our consciences become seared so Your words to us become but a faint, distant whisper. Forgive us for hardening our hearts. Break our hard hearts. Soften our hearts so we might be ready to always receive Your Word to us. May we always have ears to hear what You have to say to us.

May we have no tolerance for sin in our own individual lives and in the corporate life of Your Church. Give us a love for holiness and a hatred for sin. You have called us out to be a holy and blameless people. You have purchased us with the blood of Christ. We are no longer to live to ourselves. We are not our own. You have placed within us Your Holy Spirit so we might no longer live for the lusts of the flesh but delight to do Your will. We confess we often live for ourselves and not for You. We confess we often live no differently than the world. Forgive us, O holy God. When we walk in sin, we bring disgrace to Your holy name. May Your kindness lead us to repentance so we might confess our sin to you and receive Your forgiveness through the blood of Christ. He died to make us holy. You gave us Your Spirit to sanctify us. May we not take Your name in vain or show contempt for Your name, by continuing to nurture and feed our own sin, but by Your grace, may we depart from iniquity, mortify and put off sin and purify ourselves as You are pure and put on the Lord Jesus Christ so we might not fulfill the lust of the flesh but be holy as You are holy.

Judgment must begin in Your house, O Lord. We are the temple of God. We cannot continue to remain in sin and entertain sin and say we have fellowship with You. When we do so, we are liars. We are to be holy as You are holy. We need You to come and search us through Your flaming Spirit and Your cutting Word. Our hearts are deceitful. May You shine in those dark place and cut us deeply and show us the wicked ways that are within us, and then lead us in Your everlasting and holy ways so we might be a praise to You and a honor to Your holy Name. And once we have considered and addressed the planks of sin in our own eyes, then fill us with Your Spirit that we may gently and humbly point to the specks in our brothers' and sisters' eyes. We must speak the truth in love. It is neither truthful nor loving for us to avoid speaking of sin when we see it in the Body of Christ. Then may You lead us to restore one another in a spirit of gentleness and humility. Give us boldness to uphold the purity of Your tabernacle like Phinehas did (Numbers 25). We can never expect You to come down again and revive us or expect spiritual renewal in our nations until we begin to be serious about our own sin and the sin in the midst of Your people, the Body of Christ. James writes of the blessedness of the ministry of restoration in the Church:

Write on our hearts the high calling we have to be holy and godly people as we read Peter's words:

Come, Lord Jesus! You loved the Church. You gave Yourself up for us not only to save us from hell but to make us holy. Come, Lord Jesus! Wash us anew and purify us, so we might shine as lights in the world and bring glory to You and not be a reproach to Your holy Name!

Make us holy as Your are holy! May we be a praise in the earth! May we be ready for your coming!

After commending the church in Smyrna and encouraging them to remain faithful through persecution, Jesus brings rebukes to the churches in Pergamum and Thyatira:

And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.

18 And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

In the third chapter of his second epistle Peter warns us of that false teachers similar to those in Pergamum and Thyatira will come into our midst:

But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the daytime. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. (KJV)

Holy Father,

We can leave no room for compromise or corrupt teaching in Your Holy Church. You have set apart the bride of Christ to be pure and blameless. You have made it clear to us Your call to us is a call to holiness. You call us to be pure in our doctrine and practice. We are to have no other gods but You. You sent Your only Son Jesus. We can only know You through Him. He has said He is the way, the truth and the life. We are to follow no other way but Your way. We are to hold to no other truth but Your truth. We have no life apart from Your life. We cannot live the life You call us to live apart from Your life. We are to hold to no other gospels but Your Gospel for there is no good news for sinful men apart from Your Gospel.

Forgive us for allowing natural brute beasts in our midst!

Thank You that You have warned us about false teachers, so we might not be surprised when we see them in our midst. Today You are giving us opportunity to confess and repent of our sin of permitting these false teachers to go unchecked and have free reign among Your flock, those sheep You have purchased with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. O, Holy Father, forgive us for turning a blind eye to these false teachers, these wolves in sheep's clothing, who have come among the flock to attempt to deceive and manipulate and to steal, kill and destroy those sheep Your Son died for.

Forgive us for allowing natural brute beasts in our midst!

We confess for the sake of outward unity and for the sake of keeping the peace, we have often allowed these false teachers, which Peter calls  "natural brute beasts" or "irrational animals, creatures of instinct" (ESV) to have their way in the church rather than keeping rooted in Your way, which is the way of holiness. Forgive us, Holy God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who teach any gospel contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ are "accursed" and yet how often do we welcome them into our midst! Forgive us, Holy God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Forgive us for allowing natural brute beasts in our midst!

These false teachers have forsaken the right way; they have gone astray. Father, have mercy on them. May You bring them back to Your way. May You make it clear to Your children those teachers who have Your anointing. Just because men and women teach in Your Name doesn't meant they are sent from You. For the sake of Your Name, for the sake of Your Church, show these teachers for who they really are. There has been too much compromise. The truth slides into error. A little leaven is mixed in and soon no one really takes notice. Give us eyes to see those who are Yours and those who are opposed to Your Gospel.

Forgive us for allowing natural brute beasts in our midst!

Forgive us for allowing these false shepherds in our midst. Help us to put on Your whole armor to fight them and to remain in vigilant in prayer. Help us to continue to look to You and lift up praise to You as a weapon against Your enemies. We are grieved for the souls of these men and women but we cannot extend fellowship to those who teach error, falsehood and lies, we cannot have fellowship with any who seek to corrupt and distort and tear down the sufficiency of Christ, because those who do so have removed themselves from fellowship with You so we have no basis for fellowship with them in and through Your Son.

Forgive us for allowing natural brute beasts in our midst!

As we have allowed sheep to be enticed and deceived by these false shepherds, many unsteady sheep have also gone astray. Holy Father, forgive us. Merciful God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on these souls. Good Shepherd, bring them back to Your good and right way, the only way, which is through the Lord Jesus Christ. By Your grace, as it so pleases You to do so, may You use to lead them back.

Forgive us for allowing natural brute beasts in our midst!

Forgive us for allowing unsteady sheep to be enticed and lead astray by these false teachers. Help us call them back to You with a clear proclamation of Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life. Give them ears to hear Your voice and bring them back into Your flock. Help them to run from the voice of strangers and to hear only Your voice.

Forgive us as we have allowed these natural brute beasts to come in as blots and blemishes upon Your Holy Name and Your Bride.

Forgive us as we have allowed these natural brute beasts to serve their leaven to us and many of us have eaten it without checking their teaching against Your Holy Word. Give us discernment, Holy Spirit; lead us into all truth.

Forgive us as we have allowed these natural brute beasts to serve their leaven to us and many of us have eaten it and grieved Your Spirit as we have done so. Give us discernment to know the true bread from the false leaven and to spit out the false. Lead us to Your true bread.

Forgive us as we have not continued to feed the sheep with Your living bread. How can we do so when we continue to eat leaven?

Forgive us as we have allowed these natural brute beasts to be wells without water to us and many of us have drank there without checking their teaching against Your Holy Word. Give us discernment, Holy Spirit; lead us into all truth.

Forgive us as we have allowed these natural brute beasts to be wells without water to us and many of us have drank there and grieved Your Holy Spirit as we have done so. Give us discernment to know the living water from the strange waters. Lead us to Your living waters.

Forgive us as we have not continued to feed the sheep with Your living water. How can we do so when we continue to drink from wells without water?

Forgive us as we have not lifted up Jesus Christ and Him crucified as we have ought. Give us boldness to do so.

Forgive us for not caring for and guarding Your sheep as we ought. Each one is precious to You.

Forgive us for allowing natural brute beasts in our midst!

There are false gospels of licentiousness as well as legalism preached in churches today. Those teachings are not of You. Your Gospel is a Gospel of freedom leading to holy living. We confess we have been apathetic and lethargic and have sat back and allowed this to happen. Forgive us, O Lord God. Have mercy on us and on Your Church for Jesus' sake. You have set us apart for You. You have chosen us that we might be holy and without blame before You in love. You have done these things to the praise of Your glorious grace. But so long as false teachers continue to have their way, Your glory in us is obscured. Give us a zeal for You and Your Gospel and Your Holy Word and Your truth. Deliver us from these false teachers. Restore us to the glory that You have intended for us. We are Your people, the sheep of Your pasture. You are our Shepherd. Come to us, Good Shepherd, deliver us from these false shepherds. We ask this for Your Holy Name's sake, that You might receive all the praise, honor and glory due Your Name, for Yours in the Name that is above all other names. Be glorified in us, in Your Church, in Your bride. You are able to do exceedingly above all that we can ask or imagine. O, we know that what we ask today is exceedingly above all we can ask or imagine, but we know You are able do it and we know that You want to do it. Restore us, revive us, return us to the glory You have intended for us. Wash us with water so we might be without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish and be the pure, chaste Holy bride of Christ, a glorious Church to You, our Redeemer and Lord. Amen.

Forgive us for allowing natural brute beasts in our midst!

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

At tent of meeting we're continuing to reflect on and pray over Jesus' words to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3.

Last week I shared how I've asked many of the friends and subscribers of tent of meeting to pray about writing a prayer related to Revelation 2-3 that I might post here. Today I'm including a prayer of my own, but am posting it here under my other screen name, naphtali_deer, because this prayer reflects the passion and calling God has given me to pray to uphold the purity of the Church, specifically regarding false teachers who are infiltrating the Church and bringing with them false gospels.

I originally posted this prayer here along with the following introduction:

God continues to impress on me the need for us to pray for shepherds to care for the flock as Christ cared for the Church. There are too many false shepherds and hirelings out there, too many wolves in sheep's clothing. Too many teachers who are corrupting and compromising the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we pray for workers to go into the harvest, we must be praying for God to send good and faithful shepherds to care for His flock.

Would you please pray along with me that our Good Shepherd would send us good shepherd to shepherd us?

From Revelation 2:

And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans...

And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols...

Lord Jesus Christ,

Here we see two churches which were compromising on doctrine and teaching. Their works were good in many ways, and you even commended them for that, but you called them out for false teaching.

The apostle Paul tells us that you have given gifts to the Church, particularly the gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher in part

And Paul tells the Ephesian elders to

Father, we are so in need men and women who will pay careful attention to themselves and to all the flock. Guard and protect us. You gave Your Son's precious blood as a ransom to redeem us. We are the sheep of Your pasture. Here our cries. We are sheep, helpless and too easily swayed, too easily deceived. You have intended the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to help keep us rooted in right doctrine, so we would not be tossed to and fro. There are false teachers everywhere we turn, particularly as the communication is so wide open now on the internet. The thieves continue to infiltrate the flock, appearing as angels of light. Yet all they intend to do is to rip apart Your sheep. They come to steal, kill and destroy. Many appoint themselves teachers and act like teachers but they have not received the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are not Your appointed and anointed teachers. Yes, it is true that they are teaching, but they are not teaching the Truth, the pure Word of God, they are not teaching the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ. And one day You will hold them accountable. Right now they are being deceived. May You open their eyes so they might be true shepherds who lift up Christ to Your glory. Send us shepherd who bring your message of life and life abundantly. May You protect our eyes and ears and hearts and minds from false shepherds and false doctrine. Though it is true that in the end each one of Your precious sheep will not hear the voice of the hirelings or strangers, yet there are times we can be drawn away and deceived for a time. Give us ears to hear Your voice and not the voices of the hirelings. We thank You that You have given us eternal life and we shall never perish. None of these false shepherds can snatch us out of Your hand, O good Shepherd, and no one can snatch us out of Your Father's hand, the great Shepherd of the sheep. Amen.

Great Shepherd of the sheep,
You bought us with Your own precious blood.
We are Your precious sheep.
Many who are yet not of Your flock are vulnerable and confused.
They are in bondage.
They are in turmoil.
They are in torment.
They believe they are already saved and eternally secure.
They are deceived.
They believe external conformity to the religion of men is all they need to be saved.
They do not understand they must be born again because they never hear the teaching of regeneration.
Send us shepherds who will guard the flock and guard the Gospel.
We are Your people, the sheep of Your pasture.
Good Shepherd, come shepherd us.
Good Shepherd, send us good shepherds to shepherd us.
Good Shepherd, hear our prayer.

Great Shepherd of the sheep,
You bought us with Your own precious blood.
We are Your precious sheep.
Many of Your flock are vulnerable and confused.
They are in bondage.
They are in turmoil.
They are in torment.
They have no assurance and no peace.
They are deceived.
They keep condemning themselves even though You have freely justified them by grace through faith.
They do not clearly understand Your teaching of grace because they keep hearing false gospels of legalism and works.
Send us shepherds who will guard the flock and guard the Gospel.
We are Your people, the sheep of Your pasture.
Good Shepherd, come shepherd us.
Good Shepherd, send us good shepherds to shepherd us.
Good Shepherd, hear our prayer.

Great Shepherd of the sheep,
You bought us with Your own precious blood.
We are Your precious sheep.
Many of Your flock are vulnerable and confused.
They are in bondage.
They are in turmoil.
They are in torment.
They have no hope, no rest and no freedom because they keep trying to atone for their sin.
They are deceived.
They keep relying on their own works to save.
They do not clearly understand Christ's work was sufficient to save because they keep hearing they must work to earn their salvation.
Send us shepherds who will guard the flock and guard the Gospel.
We are Your people, the sheep of Your pasture.
Good Shepherd, come shepherd us.
Good Shepherd, send us good shepherds to shepherd us.
Good Shepherd, hear our prayer.

Great Shepherd of the sheep,
You bought us with Your own precious blood.
We are Your precious sheep.
Many of Your flock are vulnerable and confused.
They are in bondage.
They are in turmoil.
They are in torment.
They think they can be good and make society good in their own power, through morality.
They are deceived.
They try and try to make themselves and society holy apart Your Holy Spirit's power.
They do not clearly understand how the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit renews and transforms because they do not hear of Him or His work.
Send us shepherds who will guard the flock and guard the Gospel.
We are Your people, the sheep of Your pasture.
Good Shepherd, come shepherd us.
Good Shepherd, send us good shepherds to shepherd us.
Good Shepherd, hear our prayer.

Great Shepherd of the sheep,
You bought us with Your own precious blood.
We are Your precious sheep.
Many of Your flock are vulnerable and confused.
They are in bondage.
They are in turmoil.
They are in torment.
They persist in living an ungodly life without blinking an eye to their sin.
They are deceived.
They have made grace cheap and corrupted grace and turned it into a license to sin.
They do not clearly understand salvation includes a life of sanctification by the Spirit because they do not hear You have called us to be a holy people.
Send us shepherds who will guard the flock and guard the Gospel.
We are Your people, the sheep of Your pasture.
Good Shepherd, come shepherd us.
Good Shepherd, send us good shepherds to shepherd us.
Good Shepherd, hear our prayer.

Father, we grieve that there are so many who are leaders in the Church who do not love the flock. There are so many irresponsible and false shepherds just as we read of in Ezekiel 34 and II Peter. You have seen them. They do not care for the flock. We are grieving.

Should not the shepherds feed the flock? Indeed, should they not?

Should not the shepherds give living water to the flock? Indeed, should they not?

Yet the false shepherds continue to feed themselves and not the flock. They continue to be wells without water. They do not strengthen the weak or bind up the broken. They do not bring back what is driven away. They do not seek what is lost. They rule with force and cruelty. They makes promises of liberty but actually bring the sheep in the bondage. They deceive and beguile unstable and weak souls. As a result, many sheep are left scattered and made food for the beasts of the field. They are wandering and straying because the shepherds have forsaken the right way.

Father, look down upon Your sheep. Your sheep are scattered and wandering. Protect us from false shepherds. Shine Your light on those false shepherds to show them for who they are. Father, we pray for You to have mercy on these false shepherds. Would You draw them to Yourself? May Your kindness lead them to repentance.

Yet even as we ask this, so long as these false shepherds persist in teaching false doctrine and corrupting and compromising the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must separate ourselves from them. Open our eyes to see truth from error. Deliver Your sheep from these false shepherds and then raise up responsible and true shepherds over Your flock.

Father, You are a jealous God. Please raise up men and women like the apostle Paul who had a godly jealousy for the flock:

I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2 I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Father, You have made it clear there is one Gospel. Please raise up men and women who will guard against those trying to corrupt or compromise the gospel in any way:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. 11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.