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Back to Sermons Index Back to Home Page 25th March 2007 AMLEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE Pastor Linton Smith Readers of a Christian Magazine were asked about the things that most challenged their spiritual life. They ranked them in this order.
[Discipleship Journal, November / December, 1992] When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, Our Father in heaven.. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, He had these kind of things in mind.. the temptations to greed.. to pride.. selfishness.. laziness.. bitterness.. sexual lust.. envy.. gluttony.. lying. He knew that most of these temptations do not come to us in an obvious way.. but sneak up on us.. and take us unawares.. and He knew.. behind every temptation was the evil one.. the devil.. Satan. So He urges us to pray.. every time we pray.. daily.. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. We often struggle with the way He words this prayer - Lead us not into temptation. Does God ever lead us into temptation? No. God does not tempt anyone to do evil. Many interpreters understand it as an example of emphasising something by putting it in a negative way. We might say, This is not unimportant.. and what we mean is.. This is very, very important. So when we say, Lead us not into temptation.. we are putting emphasis on the request.. Please, keep us away from temptation. Help us to win over temptation. A very strong request. Added to that, Hebrew and Aramaic speakers often said the same thing twice for emphasis. It seems to me that this is what is happening in this prayer.. Deliver us from the evil one is another way of saying, Lead us not into temptation. Putting all this together.. we can translate the prayer like this: Father, Keep us safe.. give us the strength to resist temptation.. deliver us from the evil one! When we pray like this we remind ourselves that..
Jesus faced this enemy Himself. At the very beginning of his work as a teacher and healer He spent 40 days in the barren hills near Jericho. Luke 4:1,2,13.. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert.. When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. The enemy.. Satan, the Devil, the Evil One.. tried to divert Him from His life's work.. he tempted Him with food, fame, and fortune. And the struggle did not end there! At one time he even tried to divert Jesus through something Peter said. Matthew 16:23.. Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Jesus warned Peter that he, too would be hounded by this enemy: Luke 22:31,32.. Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. About 30 years later Peter himself wrote: 1 Peter 5:8,9.. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.. And the Apostle Paul reminds us.. Ephesians 6:12.. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Many Aussies think the devil is a fiction.. a joke. Satan is no joke. He is very real Billy Graham: I believe in the devil for three reasons: The Bible plainly says he exists. I see his work everywhere. Great scholars have recognized his presence. D.L. Moody: I believe Satan to exist for two reasons: first, the Bible says so; and second, I’ve done business with him. The truth is - there are very real evil forces at work in this world.. and Satan is their chief. We have a powerful enemy.
Just before He was crucified Jesus said: John 12:31.. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. Who was He talking about? Satan. The devil. He went on to speak of being lifted up from the earth and John explains He was indicating the kind of death he would suffer. When Jesus died and rose again the evil one was defeated. In Hebrews 2:14,15 we read.. Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. When Jesus died and then rose again the ruler of this world.. Satan, Evil One, Devil.. was overthrown. And as a result.. we can be free! Paul was one who was set free. He reflects on how it was for him.. and us.. before we were set free.. 2 Corinthians 4:4.. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.. Ephesians 2:1,2.. You were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.. That is how it was for Paul. He could well have written these words.. Lord, I was blind, I could not see.. Lord, I was deaf, I could not hear.. Lord, I was dead, I could not stir my lifeless soul to come to You.. [BHB 445] But the Lord opened his eyes and ears.. made Him alive.. set him free from the Evil one.. He wrote.. Ephesians 2:4-6.. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.. Jesus set him free.. and gave him a job to do.. Acts 26:18.. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God The truth is we have a powerful enemy but Jesus has defeated him and we are free. Believe that and be free. Make it known and set others free.
Jesus has set us free from the clutches of the evil one, but he is still a foe to be reckoned with. He has been defeated.. but he has not been eliminated. He is still about the place.. And he refuses to lie down. He prowls like a roaring lion.. but he roars because he is fatally wounded.. That is why Jesus prayed.. John 17:15.. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. And the Apostle Paul says: 2 Thessalonians 3:3.. The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. He will protect us from the evil one! Jesus prayed that the Father would protect His disciples from the evil one.. so let’s pray it for ourselves.. and believe.. that whatever may come our way.. He will protect us. Believe that.. and be quietly confident!
When we pray this prayer we remind ourselves that we have a powerful enemy.. that we have been freed from his clutches.. that God will keep us safe from him.. and we remind ourselves that we are unable to fight him by ourselves.. that we need God’s help. Paul warns us: 1 Corinthians 10:12.. If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! Then adds.. 1 Corinthians 10:13.. No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. What a promise that is. Take it to heart.. but let's also take to heart the warning.. and place our confidence in God, not in ourselves! Let’s pray this prayer.. Keep me safe.. protect me.. deliver me from the evil one.. and then go on to remind ourselves how powerful God is with these words.. For Your’s is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory! And take to heart the words of James.. James 4:6,7.. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Submit to God.. and resist the devil. As I ponder this a picture comes to mind.. a scene from the schoolyard.. a group of boys has ganged up on Johnny.. and are chasing him. In terror, he runs to his big brother.. throws himself around his legs.. turns.. faces the gang.. and shakes his fist at the gang.. go away.. leave me alone. We can do that every time we are tempted. Run to God like that! We are weak.. but God is strong!
I cannot see how we can possibly pray.. Lead us not into temptation.. or keep me safe from temptation.. if we do not do our part.. if we do not cooperate with God. Here are some of the ways we can cooperate with God.. # Stay away from tempting situations. James writes.. James 1:13-15.. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death Stay away from things that arouse desire. You will know what they are! Charles Spurgeon said, What settings are you in when you fall? Avoid them. # Stay away from bad company. Paul writes.. 1 Corinthians 15:33,34.. Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning.. These people had got right off the track.. had given up believing in the resurrection.. the life after this one.. why? Because of bad company.. they had been misled! But aren’t we supposed to mix with unbelievers.. in order to make Jesus known to them.. Yes.. but there comes a tipping point.. when they are influencing us more than we are influencing them.. when that happens.. run! Charles Spurgeon said, What props do you have that support your sin? Eliminate them. What people are you usually with? Avoid them. # Memorise the word of God. In Psalm 119:11 we read.. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. At the very outset of His ministry Jesus was tempted.. tempted by food.. turn these stones into bread.. by fame.. throw yourself down from pinnacle of the temple.. the greatest publicity stunt ever.. by fortune.. the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world.. worship me.. and all these kingdoms will be yours. And how did He win? He quoted scripture! He knew what His Father thought.. what His Father valued. Be like Him! # Fix your eyes on Jesus. The letter to the Hebrews was written to people who were being tempted to give up following Christ.. because of the hardship involved.. the criticism.. the suffering.. the opportunities they were being denied.. The writer said to them.. Hebrews 12:2.. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. A few years ago.. Leslie Duncan recalled that when he was a boy.. his father would put some meat on the floor to test his dog’s obedience.. and say No! Duncan wrote, ‘The dog never looked at the meat.. but looked steadily at my father’s face’ [Our Daily Bread (RBC) 25/7/03]. Do you want to resist temptation? Keep your eyes on Jesus!
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