Untitled Sermon (2)
Notes
Transcript
I. Introduction
A. Matrix movie
B. Red Pill vs Blue Pill
C. Free Will in the framework (Not to sin vs sin)
D. FCF: Why do we have difficulty during testing
E. Main Idea: God’s grace is in abundance; he has bestowed upon the believers to triumph over testing and temptation through His Son, Jesus
II. Context to verse 13
A. This is the last “section” of the Lord’s Prayer.
B. Jesus instructs his disciples to end their prayer with this method.
C. This concluding part is not just a general guideline but a personal mission for each of us, serving as a bridge connecting prayer to our daily lives.
D. This final part concludes with the reality of spiritual warfare.
E. How is prayer connected to this battle?
III. Verse 13a
A. “Lead us not into temptation.”
B. What does this mean?
C. Does God indeed lead us to temptation?
D. This can confuse us since we are not reading it in the original language.
E. The original Greek word for temptation (Peirasmos) could be better translated.
F. A more dynamic translation could be, “Lead us not to testing” or “Don’t let us be tested.”
IV. Does God lead people to testing?
A. O.T References
a. We see God Test Israel during the wilderness.
b. Deuteronomy 8:2-3 and 13:1-3. (Read Both)
c. This passage shows that the Lord has tested his people before.
d. God tested Israel to see if they were faithful, But Israel fell countless times.
B. N.T References
a. The best reference for this is the temptation of Jesus.
b. In Matthew 4, We see Jesus is tested
c. During this testing, Satan was the tempter
d. Atlas, though, Jesus conquered the temptations.
e. Jesus always remained strong during his testing period.
f. This is not like us, however.
g. We usually need to catch up.
C. Theological
a. Either during times of testing or temptations, we are weak.
b. These testing periods are brutal.
c. During testing or temptation, we often put ourselves into it
d. Let’s heed Martin Luther's comments on this verse in the Lord’s Prayer
e. “Not that we are not to be tempted but that when temptation comes, we are to remain steadfast in faith and not let temptation get the upper hand.”
V. Verse 13b
A. The first action we pray for is deliverance
a. God (Subject) Deliver Us (Verb) from Satan (Object)
b. Quarles, deliver = “saving someone from something they cannot save themselves from.”
c. The word for Deliver can also mean to rescue.
d. We cannot defend ourselves during times of temptation
e. Look at Adam & Eve: they fell like we will fall.
B. Evil one
a. Evil one = The Evil (I prefer the Evil one)
b. While God does test, He DOESN’T tempt.
c. Satan or Fallen Angels (Demons) Tempt.
d. God allows us to be tempted.
e. This evil one is a reference to Satan in Matthew 4:1-11
f. What does the Evil one do to tempt us?
1. Initiating false worship (Lev 17:7; Duet. 32:17)
2. Inflicting physical suffering (Job 2:1-10; 2 Corinth. 12:17)
3. Enslaving in sin (John 8:34, 44; Acts 26:18)
Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.
You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
4. Lying (John 8:44)
5. Scheming Evil (2 Corinth. 2:11; 2 Tim 2:26)
6. Blinding unbelievers (2 Corinth. 4:4)
7. Disguising Evil (2 Corinth 11:14)
8. Opposing the progress of Saints (Eph 6:10-20)
9. Hindering Godly ministry (1 Thess. 2:18)
10. Spreading false doctrine (1 Tim 4:1)
11. Seeking to destroy (1 Pet. 5:8)
12. Inspiring false teachers (1 John 4:1-4)
13. Inciting persecution (Rev 2:10)
14. Deceiving the world (Rev. 12:9)
VI. “Missing Verse”
A. “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
B. KJV or NKJV have this verse
C. But most modern translations don’t have it.
D. Some people ask why this wasn’t included in our sermon today or how other verses are not in the Bible.
E. It isn’t that they were not deleted from our modern translation; they were never in the Bible to begin with.
F. Evidence from early translation shows that this verse is not in our earliest documents.
G. Our Bibles are reliable insofar as we treat them carefully and correctly.
H. This is the difficult task of translators.
I. “Surely it is more important to know what the Bible contains and means than to cling to something not really in the Bible, merely because it gratifies our taste, or even because it has for us some precious associations.”
VII. Application
A. What do we do when we face these times of testing and temptation
B. Christians can prevail.
C. When facing temptation, only the person who has the Holy Spirit in them can resist
D. Now let me clarify some things
E. It is not temptation or testing when you intentionally put yourself in a bad situation.
F. Example: Boyfriend and Girlfriend struggle with premarital sex when they live with one another.
G. Putting yourself in the situation is, frankly, dumb.
H. There are two ways to fight temptation
a. The Word
1. Armor of God (Eph. 6)
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, because this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land. Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as you would Christ. Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart. Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people, knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord. And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threatening them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.
Tychicus, our dearly loved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me so that you may be informed. I am sending him to you for this very reason, to let you know how we are and to encourage your hearts.
Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who have undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. God’s Word is our weapon
3. We need to be saturated with God’s Word
b. Prayer
1. The whole purpose of the sermon is Prayer!
2. We need to pray to God
3. The Lord instructs us to pray.
4. Augustine has a helpful statement.
5. “if he (the believer) prays for that he is not brought into temptation, is then granted to him, then certainly, in sanctification, which by the gifts of God he has to obtain, the gift of God that he (the believer) also persists.”