Lead us not into Temptation

I want to thank Marcus for taking us to the scriptures last week. It was a good word from 1st. Samuel chapter 1, Let's show him our appreciation and

1 take away. I guess my main takeaway from that message was when he was talking about Hannah and peninnah. And peninah was the was the one wife of Oh forgetting, the husband's name elkanah. Who was hassling Hannah and Marcus said, who is who or what are the poninas in your life that are distracting you from being devoted to the Lord. And so that that's drop me. I had to think about that. I should think about that. Continue to think about that. That was a good point. And also I appreciate how you walked us through the text Marcus and I might my preaching professor in seminary dr. Greg schirf, he now lives outside of Charlottesville Virginia, but he had a phrase that he would always say, keep your finger on the text. You know, if you're preaching from the Bible make sure that your finger is somewhere near what you're preaching from because you want to show people that what you're saying is in God's word. And what you're saying is in line with God's word and until he would always say, keep your finger on the text and that was good that how you walked us through the texts, verse by verse, thank you for that.

So today we're going to look at lead us not into temptation. The final sentence in the Lord's Prayer lead us not into temptation, but Deliver Us from Evil or Deliver Us from the evil one. It actually says they're the evil one so that would be an appropriate translation as well, but we started the Lord's Prayer back in January, in the Deep Freeze. And so now that we've come out of the Deep Freeze, so to speak with a few Sundays away, we need to refresh our minds. So what is prayer? Well, this is my simple, hopefully. Memorable definition of prayer, prayer is conversation with our heavenly father. If you're teaching children, how to pray, you say, prayers is talking to God, not only talking, but also listening. How do we listen to God? Well, first, we read his word and we think about what he has said and so as we read his word, we listen to What God Says and we respond in prayer Perry's conversation with our heavenly father. It is a response of Faith to the knowledge of God revealed in Christ. We pray to the father Through the sun, in the name, of the son, in the spirit, we communicate with God through prayer. It doesn't matter when we pray. The important thing is that we do pray and so we go to God and Faith regularly speaking to him and listening to him. And, you know, it's there's a lots of as Steve mentioned, you know, he's got books on evangelism and discipleship you can go to a Christian bookstore or on Amazon and you can look at you can think about, you know, 50 books on prayer. And those books will help you but unless you actually pray that you won't learn what the books have told you, right? So what's the best way to learn how to pray is to actually pray? Start praying and keep praying. Our prayers, don't have to be complicated. They need to be sincere and thoughtful. Even if we are upset, we talked in the Sunday School lesson today about Psalm 89 and God Covenant, faithfulness to David and promising him. That, that a ruler would be on his the Throne of his house forever and the end, the person who wrote that song was was struggling with bull. Got it seems like you have forgotten us how long? Oh Lord. Will your face be against us? How long were you forget us? And so when we pray, we go to God with our emotions, we process our emotions, we lay them before him. We present our thoughts and our feelings, and our desires to God. And, and we then submit to his will his way. Hey, his truth, his way of thinking, And so, for me, it helps to verbalize my prayers out loud. So sometimes I'll pray, while I'm walking taking a walk somewhere and I'll pray out loud or I'll pray in the car out loud. And just say, Lord, this is what I'm upset about. This is what I'm thinking, this is what I'm feeling, and I'm bringing this to you and inevitably God, will either correct me silently in my mind, I have a thought that that where it where God will put a thought on my mind that goes, oh, you're not thinking about that the right way, you need to remember this. And so it. So the best way to learn how to pray is to just start praying and be sincere. And so even if we are upset, even if we are struggling, God still wants us to come to him. Now the Lord's Prayer involves two halves. So this is just by way of review, the first half of the Lord's Prayer is speaking to God. Our Father, Who Art in Heaven, who is in heaven, Hallowed Be Your Name, Your Kingdom Come your will be done. So the first half the Lord's Prayer is acknowledging. God speaking to him, recognizing his position, his kingdom and his will The second half of the Lord's. Prayer is speaking about ourselves and others, so we're asking for God's provision. Give us our daily bread. Pardon forgive us. Our debts, forgive us our sins, as we forgive our debtors, and for God's protection, lead us not into temptation, but Deliver Us from Evil.

So provision, pardon and protection would be a simple way of remembering. What we're asking of God, when we pray the Lord's Prayer. Now here's a side point, some translations, probably the new King James in the King James, have the additional sentence for yours is the kingdom, or for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen. That is probably a later addition of the earliest manuscripts that we have of the New Testament. Do not have that that sentence in it. But many of the later manuscript do and so you likely have a note in your Bible indicating there that phrase, I was not in the oldest manuscripts, it's not wrong to pray that phrase just recognized that it is likely not original to Jesus. It shows up in the document called the didache a, how many of you have ever heard the word, the Decay before the Decay and that's it. That's a word that refers to the teaching of the Apostles. so later on in the first century, the apostles there's there was a collection of teachings Decay, meaning instruction Or teaching that that is has a summary of the Apostles teaching. And so it shows up very early this that sentence that benediction or doxology of the Lord's Prayer, shows up very early in church history. So it's a helpful phrase because it echoes other prayers and scripture and redirects the focus back to God. So the two halves of the Lord's Prayer, the first half in the second half. What is Jesus? And teaching the Lord's Prayer? Well, his disciples asked a question and this is one of those times where Jesus actually answers the question directly. You know, a lot of times people, ask Jesus a question and then he'll answer a question with a question or hear. His disciples said, Lord, teach us how to pray and he says pray like this to show his disciples how to relate to their Heavenly Father. This is a prayer for those who are followers of Jesus.

To show his disciples how to relate to their heavenly father. And then secondly, to teach them that they are dependent upon God for everything and that they can go to God with everything. That we are dependent upon God for everything and that we can go to God with everything. Isn't that a good reminder? That, that the Lord's Prayer reminds us to ask for our daily bread and it says earlier, Matthew chapter 64, your father, your heavenly father knows what you need even before you ask him. Then why does he ask us to go to him? If he already knows what we need. Because God wants relationship with his children. God wants us to come to him and trust and in faith and he desires us to come to him. Not out of any insufficiency in his being but because he has purposed from all eternity to call people, to himself, to redeem, a people for himself and he wants to shape us and mold us into the image of Christ as we learn to trust him. And we learned that we can go to God with everything. Might one of my favorite definitions of prayer was just the short title of a Blog that was written about prayer and it said, prayer is learned helplessness. Prayer is learned helplessness. Meaning, we learn how to depend upon God In Prayer. Now, there's other kinds of intercessory prayer. Where were were interceding for someone. We're we're praying for someone. We're bringing that person to God, and we're interceding for them asking for a particular request or God forgot to do a particular thing in their lives. Through prayers of Praise. There's different kinds of prayers. Prayers of thankfulness are very important a but essentially in the Lord's Prayer, what he's what he's teaching his disciples is depend on your heavenly father and go to your heavenly father regularly. All right, so now I'm going to turn the question back around. so what is Jesus than teaching Us in regards to if I if we could use that phrase depending upon him in regards to temptation, What is Jesus teaching us about depending upon him in regards to Temptation? So, if the Lord's Prayer is about recognizing, who got is, depending upon him and going to him with our daily needs with her daily Burns, confessing our sins asking his forgiveness, what is he teaching us about in regards to Temptation while we're going to look at three details in the text and look at 3 applications related to Temptation. So you could say that the sermon has six points but I tried to make it look like three really. Okay. So we're going to look at three preliminary details in the text, but and then we're going to look at 3 applications. The first detail in the text is that the prayer is stated as a negative and a positive lead us not into temptation, but Deliver Us from Evil, or from the evil one. An important aspect of our battle with temptation is not the Temptation itself, but remembering the goal of emerging Victorious over Satan following Temptation. That's the goal. So we don't want to get hung up on. What is the exact Temptation out there or what are the exact circumstances or, or how might I be led astray? The goal is coming out of that Temptation, Deliver Us from Evil. It stated as a negative and a positive. There's a literary term for that. I don't remember what it is, but there's lots of biblical instructions that are stated as a negative and a positive.

And I can't think of them right now. There's probably a dozen of them but but it stated as a negative and a positive with the emphasis, being the goal of the believer is to come through the temptation victoriously. The final talk at the theology conference that I went to in Chicago last week was the final talk was on the doxology of our statement of faith of the Evangelical Free Church. And the last line of the statement of faith is to the praise of his glorious Grace men to the praise of his glorious Grace men. And so, you know, it's the ology conference, you get, you get long talks about you, no small small statements. So there was a 45-minute talk on to the praise of his glorious Grace. And the main reminder from that talk, I thought it was very good. The main reminder was the speaker was saying, everything in our lives is done in order to thank praise honor and glorify. God, that is our purpose to the praise of his glorious Grace. So think about this prayer as we pray, Lord lead us, not into temptation, but Deliver Us from Evil. Think about it. As the end goal is the praise and the honor and the thankfulness and the glory that we are to give to God. Amen. That's that's the goal. So noticed that first detail. The second detail is this it seems odd to us because why would God lead us into temptation? Does God tempt us or are we? Are we asking here for God to not do something that God could not do or would not do? I mean that that question is a little bit that freezes a little bit confused. Lead us not into temptation will think about it this way God in his sovereignty leads us in all of our lives. Sovereign Lee leads us in all of our Lives yet, he is not the temperature. He is not the temperature. God's sovereignty leads us in all of our lives but he is not the temper. Look at Matthew 4:1, then Jesus was led up by the spirit Into the Wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Well obviously, God the spirit is leading Jesus Into the Wilderness to be tempted by the devil, but God is not the tempter. In The Book of Mark. It says, in chapter 1, the spirit immediately drove him out into the Wilderness, and that's one of Mark's favorite words in his account of Jesus's life is immediately. I call Mark, the NASCAR gospel, because everything happened so fast. You know, the first 8 chapters Jesus is doing miracle after Miracle after Miracle immediately juice and some went and did this immediately Jesus went and did this. That's one of his favorite words that he uses over and over the spirit immediately drove him out into the Wilderness. Oh God, Sovereign, leader X, all of the tests. All of the circumstances, we may face all of the decisions, all of the events in our lives. In order to bring us into more maturity and him but God is not the temperature. Amen. We do not attribute evil to God. James chapter 1 verses 2 through 4. Says this very clearly actually will get to it and James later and James chapter 1, but notice of this, the for the word testing and Temptation, count it all joy. My brothers, when you meet what's that were there when you meet Trials of various kinds Or, you know, that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. Notice, the goal there of the testing is that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. The word trials, their inverse to is the same word that is used for temptation. Erasmus. This is the same word in Greek pay, Rozmus can mean trial testing or Temptation, depending on the context. And James is making clear here that if we are to consider it a joy, when we Face various trials, various testings That God is ordained that for our good but God is not the temperature. We think of Abraham being tested by God to offer up his son, Isaac.

And I think Marcus is good point last week about, you know, are we offering up the Ishmael instead of the Isaac? Is God telling us to do one thing and we said no no, this is a little more convenient, way of doing things for me.

We think of Abraham being tested God's goal in testing Abraham. Was he now that I know you fear, God, now that I know that you fear God He was testing his face so the point is God tests. Yes, but God is not the tempter. God does not solicit evil in Us in that way. So James, 113, 11, 12 and 13 says, this very clearly. Blessed is the man who remain steadfast under trial for when he has stood the test, he will receive the Crown of Life, which God has promised to those who love him. 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. That's a whole nother sermon their whole nother. Theology books can be written on. What, why does God allow evil God? Created the, the Heavenly beings and the end and Satan and the Fallen Angels they rebelled and were cast out of Heaven. Why did God allow that doesn't? That's a big question, but let's be clear. That God is not the tempter. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. Isn't that our tendency to blame God? Especially when we fall in Temptation. Oh God, why did you put me there?

I remember one classmate. I had in college, he is there. He, he lived about an hour away from school and he said, we were in a men's group and bible study and accountability. And he said, pray for me, because I know there's certain places on my way home that I could stop, that are tempting.

And we said, well, let's take a different way home. First of all, and then second, you know what, and this is in the days before cell phones. We said, you know, tell us when you're leaving school and one of us, one of the four of us will call you an hour. And 10 minutes later, At home to make sure that you got home without succumbing to that temptation. God is not the temperature. We must not blame him for placing Temptation in front of us. I mean temptation is all around us a man. I mean temptation is always around us.

So that's the set the the 3rd. That's actually the third detail. The second detail was good, so does God lead us into temptation? Well in this in his sovereignty, he leads us but he is not the temperature. The third detail is that trials and testing and temptation is the same word in Greek. So God is not the temperature. Satan is the tempter, we must be clear now.

So remember God is not leading us into situations with malicious purposes. God, your heavenly father is not trying to set you up in order to have you fail. His goal is for us to relate more closely to him so that we are depending on him daily

You know what? Like I said I mean temptation is all around us. I chuckled to myself as I was thinking about the message lead us not into temptation because I thought will temptation all the time. I have this Smartphone thing. You know, that is Temptation. Is there all the time? What are we really praying for? When we pray lead us not into temptation. Where were saying, Lord? I'm depending on you so that when I'm in those situations, the Temptation will not overtake me and I'm trusting your strength to deliver me. So here's three applications I want to draw from that. From that prayer. Again, do not lead us into temptation but Deliver Us from Evil three applications. What are we really asking what are we really praying for it? When we when we pray that we ask God to grant us a humble and heightened awareness of the solicitations of evil we contact daily.

I was reading some notes on this and somebody said, we'll what is what is Temptation. It is a solicitation to evil. You know, the solicitor is right? Someone who comes to your door, knocking the trying to try to sell you something tried to give you something, try to convince you of something. And we have businesses right over here. That's a no solicitors. On the door. That's what we need to say to Satan. No solicitors. Sorry.

A temptation is a solicitation to evil from Satan. The adversary the accuser of God's brother and so we pray. Lord by your Holy Spirit, make me aware of Satan's solicitations to sin, to do evil to think, evil to think maliciously. Make me give me a holy spirit. Heightened awareness of the solicitation to evil that is around me. and, of course, now all of us, all of us, No matter who we are. Have particular Temptations, don't we? We are more susceptible to the scripture talks about besetting, sins are sins that we struggle with as individuals more or less than others. Certain sins are more common in our lives, though, the three enemies that we have as Christians are the World, the Flesh and the devil. Those are, those are the three General opposing forces against us. That are mentioned in the New Testament. You have pleasurable Temptations. How many commercials have the phrase guilty pleasures? Right. And you know I mean it's Valentine's Day weekend right? I ate a lot of chocolate yesterday. Thank you. Thank you for the chocolates. Was that a guilty pleasure? I don't think so. I mean it there's freedom to to do these things but we refer to things as guilty pleasures. Why? Because they're sinful pleasure, there's such a thing as Godly pleasure and there's such a thing as sinful pleasure, right?

The lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life John talks about in The Book of 1st, John, Then there's malicious Temptations. We get upset about something, so there's gossip, there's divisiveness. There's anger, there's temptations, that are that are malicious in nature. Oh, I really want to get revenge. I really want it. Want to get back at someone or you know, something, there's disbelieving Temptations. The temptation to complain, the temptation to take self-pity, the temptation to worry, incessantly the temptation to doubt, God's goodness. The temptation to give in to Despair and say all, there's no hope I can't change a God. God can't do this. You know, how arrogant that is from a believing standpoint? It's an unbelieving Temptation. Because we're saying, I don't believe that God can do something that I can't see happening.

There's always hope because God can do what we cannot do God, Specializes in doing what we cannot do. Amen. Then there's worldly temptation. Worldly Temptation. Might be spiritual apathy because of just concerns of the world around us. We get involved in or busyness or idolizing The Good Life. Idolizing The Good Life. It was a Super Bowl commercial. You remember the one, I think it started out with the lot of during the Super Bowl, had a commercial of a child playing with toys. And it said he who has the most And it goes through all these things, about your worldly toys and different things. And then at the end, it turned it around. And it was, it was an advertisement for the, he gets us campaign, turned it around. 2 to, you know, being alone with the Lord the emphasis was being with the Lord is ultimately the best prize. So there's worldly Temptation, spiritual apathy idolizing, the good life self-promotion, and self-righteousness that we see on social media, political idolatry. Of a worldly Temptation temptation to View, Church as unnecessary. Or temptation to View Church, a certain way where I have to get my needs met for this particular thing.

There's worldly, Temptations. J. I Packer put it this way. Temptation is not sin for Christ was tempted. As we are yet remain sinless, Temptation becomes sin. Only when the suggestion of evil is then yielded to So, the Temptation itself isn't sin, but when we yield to Temptation that is sin. So we asked for a heightened awareness of being aware of solicitations to evil. Secondly, we ask God for the strength to take the way of Escape.

Take the way of Escape. In the midst of Temptation, we turn to Christ and the Holy Spirit to bring us through. Okay, so Satan's goal is this the accuser of the Brethren Haitian. You got yourself into this situation now you are stuck or the Darth Vader, you know. Satan you know kind of think resistance is futile, you know you know your only way out is to do what I say but it will just cost you a little bit.

What does God tell us? He has provided a way of Escape. Write, the scripture says 1st Corinthians 10:13. No temptation has overtaken. You that is not common to man. God is faithful. That's the truth. We need to hold on to God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the Temptation, he will also provide the way of Escape that you may be able to endure it. That word their endure means to Bear up under a weight. So, think of think of of of, you know, God providing this this way, out this door out, and he's holding that door up for you. He's holding that wait up for you, but you've got it. You got to go through it. I mean, some of us are like Dory in Finding Nemo. You know, Escabeche, what's that escape. We need to take the exit sign when we see it. Escape is like the large exit sign in the quarter. At Midway Airport, I got off the plane in Chicago, walk down a Long Hall and they were doing some renovations to one part of the airport and they had at the end of the hall. They had a huge sign maybe to Ft High by Buena 4. Ft wide mounted on the side of the wall, Big Red Letters exit with an arrow. That's the way out because I didn't want to be at Midway Airport for ever and ever.

But you couldn't miss it, unless you were intent on. Oh, I'm going to hang out here at the airport for hours and hours. You couldn't miss it. God never fails to clearly label the exit route. We go up to Ohio and on I-77. I think there's two tunnels right around the Virginia line and maybe just after you go past the Virginia line, there's two tunnels we have to go through the mountain and think of those tunnels, you know, as as you're in the midst of Temptation because you can't you can't see it you can see an escape but it's pretty far off and you're surrounded by other cars or surrounded, you know, it's dark in the tunnel or what not. But even in the tunnel, That are, what am I little over a mile long, maybe even in the tunnel. They have those signs on the side. They have a little walkway along the side of the tunnel, right? And there's a sign or light. I think that says Exit.

And so if there's workers in the tunnel or whatever, they have a little Pathway to get out of the tunnel and I'm assuming go out to the outside. I have never gone through that door, but but that's the idea that God has provided a way of escape. And we asked him for the strength to take it and the willpower to take it from his holy spirit, Hebrews chapter 4, verses 15 and 16. What is Our Hope in the midst of Temptation. Hebrews chapter 4. The next think we have the next slide there for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one, who in, every respect has been tempted. As we are, yet without sin, let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace. That we may receive mercy and find Grace to help in time of need. In the midst of Temptation, we have one who is going through in on our behalf. Who is with us in the midst of that temptation. and Jesus face even greater Temptation than we did, because he never gave in he expressed a greater force of Temptation when we experience Temptation, there's a limit to that Temptation because often we give in but he experienced that Temptation and never gave in

He is the one who goes to God on our behalf. As we mentioned earlier, perfect, savior. And so even if we give into temptation, he is still holding us up to more scriptures. I think that we have the illustrate this From Luke chapter 22. Jesus tells Peter Simon Simon Simon. Peter behold. Satan has demanded to have you that he might sift, you like wheat? But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers

Now, what is Peter do right after that?

He denies, Jesus. He fails in one sense. But Jesus I think he was telling him I prayed for you that your faith may not ultimately, finally fail even though you will stumble even though you will fall down even though you will be flat on your face. Sometimes I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail and when you have turned again, strengthen your brother's. So Mark 1438 watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. So we we pray for a heightened awareness of evil around us solicitations to evil. We pray for the strength of Christ and God's strength to take the way of Escape, when we need to. And thirdly, we admit our weakness knowing the devil is too strong for us. And we ask our father to deliver us.

We admit our weaknesses. Knowing the devil is too strong for us and we asked our father to deliver us. Will you say will you, will you at the Holy Spirit? The holy spirit is stronger than the devil, right? Well, yes, but we have to we have to consciously allow the Holy Spirit to give us that strength. It doesn't it doesn't happen by osmosis. It doesn't happen by a by just just saying to yourself oh I'm going to face Temptation today and and you know being presumptuous and saying all I know the holy spirit will get me. Get me past that. Temptation know if anyone thinks he is something, let him take heed, lest he fall? The scripture says in 1st Corinthians, Pride goes before the fall, so we admit or weakness knowing that the devil is too strong for us and we ask the father and we ask the Holy Spirit to deliver us.

Someone put it this way.

If you flee Temptation, make sure that you don't leave a forwarding address.

We asked God, for his help because we are depend upon him for everything. Let's pray.