The Enemy Is Working
The Lord’s Prayer • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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This morning we will complete our look into Jesus words about how we should pray. These verses in Matthew 6 are part of his Sermon on the Mount. He had taken his disciples up on the side of a hill and began to teach them what they would need to know after the time that he would leave earth and go back to heaven.
At this time they didn’t understand that in about three years he would go to the cross and be put to death. Then three days later he would rise again. Then about 40 days after his resurrection he would leave, ascending to heaven, promising to go prepare a place for them and one day he would return. At the time of the Sermon on the Mount they didn’t know any of that. They didn’t know that what he was teaching them, they would teach others. They didn’t know that one day he would give his life, and and they didn’t know that one day, they would give their lives for the things he would teach them.
But before all the miracles, and before the times he would met by the Pharisees and their unbelief, he would tell them how they could connect with the heavenly father. This is what we know as prayer. He is waiting, he listens, and he wants us to take the time to have that intimacy through our times of prayer.
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Open yoru Bibles to Matthew 6.
Lets look at Jesus’ words. Matthew 6:5-14
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
About six years ago I went to Lagos to buy the truck, and David and I drove the truck from Lago
Back here. And on the way, we passed through Anambra. At that time the way was trying to be re-elected and his adverts were everywhere. This is what his adverts said…WILLIE IS WORKING.” Willie is working. He wanted the people to know he was doing all of these projects for them and the state of Anambra. So, because he was wanting to be re-elected he was reminding them of the good job he was doing.
Over the last 5 weeks we have looked at most of this model prayer, but one remains…verse 13. And as we see verse 13, we are reminded that the enemy is working. The enemy…Satan, the Devil…is working…always.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
This is the final piece of the model prayer that Jesus has given us, and it is very important. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Every since Adam and Eve brought sin into the world through their pride and disobedience, evil has been part of this world. This is a fallen world. You don’t have to look far to see that the natural way for man is evil. Even the most moral man you can think of, can fall to sin. Our natural person, pulls us towards sin. That’s why God sent his Son Jesus, to redeem us, to buy us back from the sin that leads to death.
But even in our new life as a follower of Jesus Christ, the world, and Satan, still influence us. The evil of the Devil wants to take your eyes off of Jesus, and put in on your own desires. That is his only play. That is all he’s got. He knows he does not win. He knows, even now, how it all ends for him.
Revelation 20:1–10 (ESV)
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. 7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Satan knows what will become of him. He knows! So the only thing he can do now, is try to bring you down…deceive you, and try to take your eyes off of Jesus. He doesn’t want you to follow Jesus, he want you to follow him! The enemy is working.
Listen…the Devil is real, and hell is real. And if you don’t recognize that, if you don’t understand that, then you will be separated from God forever.
There is a battle for your soul, so when Jesus talk about the importance of his children looking to God and asking for help from the evil one, we need to understand that the devil is real and hell is real…
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
When Jesus tells us that we should pray for God deliver us from evil, it’s because the devil and his demons are at work.
But can I tell you…the enemy is working. Satan is working, and he is working to tempt you, deceive you, and to get your eyes, mind, and heart off of God.
But the good news is, that for the follower of Jesus Christ….Paul tell us that greater is he who is in me, than he who is in the world. The Holy Spirit that is in you as a follower of Christ is greater than Satan. And you have the power, through God and the Holy Spirit to resist him.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
When we see this verse, we might think that God can lead us into temptation. But its not true.
Look what James says, James 1:13-14
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
God will not tempt you. That’s not his character to tempt someone. He will allow Satan to do this. Think about the account of Job. It was Satan who brought all of these things against Job, but still he remained faithful to God.
Remember what I said about living in this fallen world. That natural, sinful man is always there, and when we allow ourselves to be “LURED AND ENTICED BY OWN OWN DESIRE” we sin.
It’s the devils work, but when we give it to that temptation, it’s us, it’s our sin.
That is why it’s important for us to come to him daily in prayer, and ask for a daily deliverance from the evil one. Because he is waiting to tempt you. He is waiting for you to take your eyes off of Jesus.
Did you know that the Devil doesn’t know everything? He only knows what he has seen and what he hears. There is a word called omniscient.
Omniscient means “all knowing”
Know we know there is only one who is omniscient, God. He knows everything, even our thoughts
11 the Lord—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.
The devil does not know you thoughts. So when we are tempted in our minds, he doesn’t know, but the moment we speak of it or we act on those temptation…he knows…and he will began to work on you in those areas. If the devil knows you are not tempted by alcohol, he won’t tempt you that way. If he knows you don’t like to steal, he will not put that temptation in front of you. But if he knows you like to gossip, he will place opportunities in front of you to sin with gossip.
So what should we do? How can we withstand the attacks of the enemy. On our own,We can’t, but he can help us. That is what this prayer is all about. We need his help! Why?
1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
That’s why Jesus included this part in our daily prayer’s, we need his power! We need to begin our day by asking God to help us fight off the enemy. To resist him. The Holy Spirit wants to help us to this. BUt we play a part as well.
Yes, it is by his power, but we need to recognize the attacks from the enemy, use his power and a little bit our our mind to withstand him.
James 4:7 (ESV)
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
You will have no chance of resisting the devil, unless you have first submitted your life, your day to God.
Temptations will come before you everyday. Are you going to be ready to resist? Are you depending on his power to help you resist the devil? Because we can’t do it alone. We were never meant to do it alone.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
The power to resist and be delivered from temptation can happen only when we daily seek his assistance and his power.
This is the Lord’s Prayer. A model that Jesus gave us on how we should come to him. So how to we apply these parts of the model prayer in our own lives? How do we move from the model Jesus gave us to real world prayer today, tomorrow, and the next day?
I read a book a few years ago from a Pastor in America, and he took this Lord’s prayer and made it apply to his own prayers. So as I end these five weeks on the Lord’s prayer, I wrote out this morning how I would pray the parts of this model prayer.
Matthew 6.9
Heavenly Father, thank you so much for one more day. Thank you for creating this world and loving me so much that you would send you Son for me, to die for me and give me a chance to be called your own. You are holy, your are the beginning and the end, the creator of all things, and this morning I want to give you the glory you deserve as Jehovah God.
Matthew 6.10
Lord today I want your will to be done in my life, in my family, my ministry, in this nation, and all around the world… I want your will to be done. If that means you want something else for my life than I want, it’s ok. Your will be done. Even when I don’t understand, I want your will to be done.
Matthew 6.11
Lord today I ask that you provide for my needs. Those things which I need to live and serve you today. I ask that you continue to provide for A Place of Hope and all the food and provisions that are needed. Also God, thank you for providing so that Mom and I can live and minister her in Nigeria. I ask that you would bless those who make it possible.
Matthew 6.12
God I ask that wherever I have failed you, wherever I have done something that disappoints you, please forgive me and remove my sins as far as from the east to the west. Lord also, remind me to show forgiveness towards those who have sinned against me. Help me to understand that just as I have been forgiven, I need to forgive.
Matthew 6.13
And Father, today as go about, Lord help me to resist the temptation of Satan. God I ask that you hold back his influence on my life. I can’t do this on my own, I need the power of your Holy Spirit. Lord please keep me focus on you and not myself.
Thank you Father. It’s in Jesus name I pray. Amen.
This is just a small sample of how you can use Jesus’ model prayer and apply it to yoru everyday life…your own prayer life.
If Jesus were standing here today, I believe he would say, take this model and apply it to your specific life. Make it your prayer, not just words you repeat.
Bow your heads. Let’s pray.