Matthew 6:5-16
Beginning Prayer:
Father God, in the name of Jesus please help us not to be tempted above we are able, if we are tempted, please deliver us from that temptation before we dishonor You. We trust You to keep us from all evil in this world. We acknowledge that trials will come that test our faith. We need You, Lord. This we pray in Jesus' name. AMEN.
Subject: "The Lord's Prayer" And Do Not Lead Us Into Temptation; but deliver us from evil
… Now let us look at the next petition: "And do not lead us into temptation." This word "lead" gives us the wrong impression, because James says God does not tempt any man (see James 1:13). A better translation here would be, "Do not leave us in temptation." It does not mean to keep us out of it, but when we are in it, do not leave us there. In a church in the South some years ago, the preacher called on the membership to stand and give a favorite verse. One deacon got up and said his favorite verse in the Scripture was, "It came to pass." Everyone looked puzzled. Finally the preacher said, "Now look here, brother what do you mean?" He answered, I'll tell you. When I get into trouble, or I get into temptation, I always turn to that verse in the Bible where it says, it came to pass and I say, Hallelujah! It came to pass—it didn't come to stay—and God will deliver me out of it. My friend, that may be misusing Scripture, but I want to say that he was absolutely accurate. That is exactly what the Scripture says: "…the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations…" (2 Peter 2:9). And again: No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13) If you have ever noticed a freight train as it was passing, you saw that each boxcar has on it, "Net weight." That means that each boxcar has a certain capacity, and they never let it get overloaded. Now God knows what your capacity is—He knows how much weight you can carry—and He will not let you be tempted above what you are able to handle. …But Deliver Us From the Evil One Finally, "But deliver us from the evil one." Satan is an awful reality. The world laughed at Martin Luther who threw an inkwell at him. But recently we have had a turn in events. I suppose that one of the greatest brains of the world was C. S. Lewis, and in his book, The Screw tape Letters, he took apart the liberal who denies the reality of Satan. Any man who stands for God knows the awful reality of Satan. As we work in any sort of Christian service, we become conscious of the presence of God and also dreadfully conscious of the presence of Satan. But we have this petition: "But deliver us from the evil one." The reason most of us fall today is because we are in the wrong place. We are like the little boy sitting in the pantry and looking at the cookie jar. His mother called out, "Willie, where are you?" He said, "I'm in the pantry." Then she asked, "What are you doing in there?" He replied, "I'm fighting temptation." That is the distance most people choose in fighting temptation today! If a fast train passes through a station, those who aren't paying attention and are too close to the tracks run the risk of being sucked by the air current into the path of the train. That is the reason some of us fall—we have gotten too close! "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." This is a prayer that comes down to us where we rub shoulders with men. It is a prayer that ascends to God from the child of God. There is forgiveness for us today; there is deliverance from temptation and from the evil one. These are three words to look at very closely: forgiveness, temptation, and deliverance. There is forgiveness with God. The world is hard, cruel, unforgiving, and that spirit has crept into the church, but God can forgive and does forgive on the basis of the blood of Christ. He can make you and me triumphant over our temptations. And He is able to deliver us through the merit, strength, and power of Jesus Christ when you and I take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and pray in the Holy Spirit, He can and will deliver us. …While God tempts no one, sometimes He may lead us into trials that test our faith and that can lead to our being tempted. Though trials can make us stronger, when we understand the nature of temptation, we discover why we should pray that God would keep us from them. I like to think of the Lord's Prayer as signposts on the highway. I pass the first one that reminds me to praise my Father in heaven. The next one reminds me to pray for my priorities-His rule and reign in my life. Next I come to a reminder to pray for my daily provision, and the rest contentedly in His plans for me that day. And then comes a sign that says "Personal Relationships, "So I am reminded to extend forgiveness to anyone who has hurt me. The next signpost I come to is prayer for protection in times of temptation. Of all of the requests in the Lord' Prayer, on the surface this is the most perplexing one. We know God wants to guide us and provide for us, but is it ever His nature to lead us into temptation? Do we have to ask God in our prayer not to do something that we are not sure He would ever do in the first place? Can a holy, righteous, pure, undefiled, blameless, unblemished, virtuous God ever lead anyone into temptation? This question has been pondered by great minds throughout the history of the Church. And the best place to start our investigation into the meaning of Jesus' words is in James 1. There, James, says, "Let no one say when is tempted,' I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, not does He Himself tempt anyone" (James 1:13). Does this seem like a contradiction to you? On the one hand, we read in James that God never tempts anybody to sin. But then in Matthew, Jesus tells us that we are to pray, "God, don't lead me into temptation." How do you put those two things together? The word for temptation in both Matthew and James is peirasmos, it is used frequently in the New Testament, and it means "test or trial." When we use the word temptation in English, it always has a negative connotation, but in Greek, it is a neutral word-"test or trial." In James 1:2, 12, the word means "test or
trial," but in verse 13, it is used to mean a temptation as we normally think of it: There is more to this, but we can safely conclude that God will not tempt us-but He will allow us to be tested. We wish that upon becoming Christians, we would hear God say that there would be no more tests or trials from that moment on that might become a temptation for us, but those are words we do not hear.
Week # 12
Weekly Pattern: Protection
Prayers from the Bible:
Questions:
1). Do God tempt His children?
2). What do this statement means "it came to pass"?
3). Read 2 Peter 2:9
4). Read 1 Corinthians 10:13
5). What od the reason most of us fall?
6). Who is the evil one?
7). Give the definition of forgiveness, temptation, deliverance.
8). What spirit that has crept into the Church?
9). Why is God able to deliver us through Christ?
10). Read James 1:2, and explain.
11). Read James 1:12-13 and explain.
12). What have you learn about forgiveness?
Weekly Reading Assignment: (Acts 23-24)
Weekly Song: (Matthew 26:30)
Weekly Praise: You Deserve the Glory
Let's Hallow His name by rehearsing Who He is:
Ending Prayer:
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