Praying for Deliverance

If you have your Bibles with you, then turn to the Gospel of Matthew with me.

! We have two readings tonight.

We have the Lord's Prayer in Matthew chapter 6, and then afterwards we will turn to Matthew

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

! Matthew chapter 26.

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

Matthew 6, verses 9 to 13.

Matthew 6:9–13

Pray then like this,

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

And then Matthew chapter 26,

Matthew 26:36

verse 36.

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane,

and he said to his disciples,

Sit here while I go over there and pray.

And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,

he began to be sorrowful and troubled.

Then he said to them,

My soul is very sorrowful,

even to death.

Remain here and watch with me.

And going a little further,

he fell on his face and prayed,

saying,

My Father,

if it be possible,

let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless,

not as I will,

but as you will.

And he came to the disciples

and found them sleeping.

And he said to Peter,

So could you not watch with me one hour?

Watch and pray

that you may not enter into temptation.

The spirit indeed is willing,

but the flesh is weak.

This is the Word of God.

We are continuing tonight

looking at the Lord's Prayer.

Jesus is on the mountaintop

preaching to the crowds,

and the last few weeks we've been thinking

about what he's had to say about prayer.

And prayer, Jesus says,

is something that should be so natural

for the Christian.

We should be people who pray ready.

We should be praying often and simply.

And we pray to our Father

who is always ready and able to help us.

And Jesus has been saying

that prayer is a matter.

It's about the attitude of your heart.

At the same time, he says,

Here is a guide.

Here is something that is going to help you

give a meaningful shape to your prayers.

That's one way it's been put.

So let's just get right into this,

this last petition.

Pray then like this.

Lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Three things.

What is temptation?

What is the nature of it?

Secondly, where does it come from?

And thirdly, what can you do about it?

So firstly, what is temptation?

And what is its nature?

Christians speak a lot about temptation.

The world speaks a lot about temptation.

And one thing that we all agree on

most of the time

is that temptation

is the idea that there is something

that will bring us

some sort of pleasure for a moment.

And yet it will hurt us in the long term.

And it will be so appealing briefly,

but it will destroy us in the long term.

So wrong desires,

long-term pain,

brief joy,

harmful effects.

And that's the way most of us talk about it.

If that's the case,

then we have to come to the Lord's Prayer

and ask,

what do we do with this last petition?

Because if Jesus is saying,

Lord, lead us not into temptation,

as lead me not into doing wrong,

James says in his letter

that the Lord cannot be tempted to do evil,

and He Himself tempts no one.

And so it will make no sense to pray,

Lord, lead me not into temptation,

as if He is the one

who tempts you to do evil.

Another way we think about temptation,

and this is the way it's usually used

in the New Testament in this word,

it's used mostly to describe a test or a trial,

a situation that we go through.

And in that test,

there is either going to be a good,

it's going to be a test of your character,

a test of your heart,

and there's going to be a good outcome

or a bad outcome.

And the test,

or temptation is presented in that test,

the bad outcome.

So an example of this is the nation of Israel.

In Deuteronomy,

Moses says to them,

you were brought out of slavery

into the wilderness for 40 years.

That's the test,

that's the situation,

40 years of wilderness.

And he says,

you were brought out to be tested.

God tested them

to see what the nature of their heart was,

what their attitude was towards Him.

Will they love Him?

Will they obey Him?

Will they worship Him as they should?

Or will they disobey Him?

Will they not trust Him?

Will they not follow the way

that they're supposed to be living?

And what do they do?

They wish they were back in Egypt.

They break the second commandment,

they build a golden calf,

and they disobey God

in so many ways in those 40 years.

So the word in Matthew 6

is taken in that sort of way.

It's a test or a trial.

Again, we're getting closer,

but that's probably not what Jesus is referring to

because if He says,

if you take

lead us not into temptation

as

lead me not into tests and trials,

then what again

do we do with James who says,

count to all joy,

my brothers,

when you meet trials

of various kinds.

Why pray against something

that James is telling us to count

as a joy?

The most helpful way

of thinking about this petition

in the Lord's Prayer,

the way that

most of the commentators agree on,

it fixes this tension.

We don't pray

lead us not into temptation

as if God is the one who tempts us.

We don't pray

lead us not into these tests

as if these tests are evil

because James says

there are reasons for joy.

They will reveal to you

who you really are.

A helpful way of thinking about this

in a way that a lot of writers suggest

would be to say something like this,

Lord, in this test,

in this situation,

please do not let me sinning

be the outcome

of this test.

Do not let me be brought

into doing what is evil.

So you see the difference.

What is the temptation

that Jesus is talking about?

It's beginning to believe

that the best option

in any test,

any situation

that comes into your life

is to do what is actually

the most harmful for you.

Quick side note.

We'll have a couple of these

kind of side notes.

One that I think most of us

take for granted.

We know that temptation

does not equal sin.

And that's why we have two petitions.

He says,

forgive us our debts,

forgive us for our sins,

and then following that,

he says,

and lead us not into temptation.

Deliver us

from the temptation

to do sin.

Temptation

is not sin.

If you

have been tempted,

even today,

it doesn't mean you've sinned.

It becomes a sin

when we stop wrestling

and allow it

to become an action

in our minds,

in how we act,

in even how we speak.

That's why it's so important

to pray this simple prayer.

Please help me not to sin

when it seems so appealing.

Please do not let sin,

please do not let my sin

be the outcome

of this test

that I'm facing.

So,

a bit more precisely,

we can go further in on this.

We face tests every day,

face trials every day.

A friend can come up

to you tomorrow,

or someone in your family,

or someone that you work with,

and they can say,

they can come to you

and talk about someone,

a mutual friend,

a mutual work colleague,

or whatever,

and they can come up to you

and say,

man,

let me tell you

about this person,

what they've done to me

and how stupid they are.

And that's the test.

And in that,

you can either

not entertain that

and say nothing

and change the topic,

or you can say,

well,

man,

let me tell you

about what they've said to me.

And what are you doing there?

You're coming to that test,

and you're heaping up slander

about this person.

And either in that test,

you learn to love your neighbor,

you learn to bear with them,

or you hurt them

and your own trustworthiness

in the process.

What about,

that's one example,

what about stress relief?

That's a whole other topic.

But,

you know,

when work

and social life

and just living in the city

and feeling

a lot of the time

like we're lacking something,

when that becomes

too much,

we find it easy

to look

in places

that we shouldn't be looking

for relief.

And from that test,

the outcome

can either be

growing in your faith,

growing in your trust in God,

or choosing

some sort of relief

that you should never choose,

something that will be

really harmful for you.

So,

tests,

life,

circumstances,

difficulties

can lead to humbleness,

spiritual strength,

loving God

like you should,

being the person

that you should be,

or the complete opposite.

Entertaining

and giving into

what is actually

so harmful for you.

Jesus says to pray,

pray tomorrow morning,

Lord,

let my sin

not be the outcome

of whatever tests

I face

in this new week.

What about the nature

of temptation?

If,

you know,

if you find,

if you find

that when things

are so difficult

and the relief

or pleasure of sin

is so great,

then it will increasingly

become the easier option

for you.

and I think

that's really difficult.

It becomes

the easier option

to the point

that it becomes habitual

and your conscience

is no longer,

no longer seared.

So,

an example that we probably

all have in our minds

already,

and we looked at it

a few weeks ago

when Jesus talks

about sexual lust

and temptation

and desires

which actually

break us.

Now,

if you're growing

in your spiritual disciplines

and you're learning

to fight that

and fight it

more and more

and more

and someday

the temptation

gets so great

that in a moment

you give in

then maybe your conscience

is seared

and that's a great thing.

But the nature

of temptation

is to come back

again and again

and again.

It's not

once and done,

it's that it will

come back the next day

and the next day

and the next day.

John Owen,

a 17th century preacher,

he writes a serious amount

about temptation

and sin

and he says

in some instance

temptation

in some instance

temptation

can arise

to such a height

and

it can press

so heavily

on the soul

and

in your fight

with it

it will fight back.

It will fight back

more

and more

and more

and you might

wrestle with it

and

you might

be growing

as a Christian

and the moment

you give in

your conscience

is

seared.

That's

not the end

usually.

Actually

by the nature

of temptation

it will definitely

come back

and it will

convince you

John Owen says

that evil

is not that bad.

That evil

is not that bad.

you might

wrestle

you might be

wrestling

with certain

temptations

tonight

or this week

or this period

in your life

and

initially

you know

you could be

getting unwell

and soon

soon

John Owen

says

it will drag

you away

without much

noise

without much

fighting

and

it's obvious

I think

we can all

say that's

obvious

from the

temptations

we face

you know

think again

of gossip

if

you're

with your

work colleague

or your

friend

and you

say something

harmful

about another

person

and you

come away

from that

situation

and you

say

I should

not have

said that

about that

person

by the

nature

of temptation

if you

don't fight

that

then it's

going to

come back

again

and again

and again

and soon

you won't

even question

it

and maybe

tonight

you can

think about

your

friendships

your

conversations

and you

can ask

is speaking

critically

or negatively

such a

usual part

of my

conversation

and if

it's

something

that you've

not even

questioned

then it's

maybe a

sign

that this

temptation

has been

growing and

growing and

growing and

it drags

you away

without much

noise

one more

thing

on this

looking at

tests and

situations

and struggles

and being

won over

by sin

it's

likely that

it will

not end

with one

but it

will breed

to

more sin

temptations

come in

packages

we could

say

an extreme

example

very

extreme

example

would be

King

David

on his

rooftop

and he

sees

Bathsheba

and he

has

lust

for her

and he

has an

affair

with her

and it

doesn't end

there

does it

because

what's the

next thing

he does

he sends

her husband

off to the

front lines

of war

to be

murdered

so he'll

never come

after David

you see

what starts

with one

temptation

with one

evil

brings

immediately

another one

this week

almost all

of us

will be

working

studying

we will

pick up

our

Bibles

we will

be coming

to pray

and the

greatest

temptation

will be

to pick

up your

phone

and scroll

for an

hour

and if

not for

an hour

then you'll

be pulling

it out of

your pocket

every five

minutes

to look

at it

probably

you know

well

firstly

if you do

that

and if

that becomes

such a

habit

that it

takes away

from

reading your

Bible

if it

takes away

from

the work

that you

should be

doing

or the

studying

that you

should be

doing

the long

term

effects

are what

laziness

idleness

prayerlessness

doesn't end

doesn't end

there

you might

open

you might

open social

media

and be

tempted

into

jealousy

okay

if you

see someone

who's got

everything in

the world

that you

could want

then it

doesn't end

with idleness

and laziness

but it

could turn

into jealousy

you have

the whole

of the

internet

to look

and to be

tempted

into things

that you

shouldn't be

tempted

and you

you might

be tempted

into spending

and spending

and spending

and not

using your

money well

and now

obviously

you know

we can

have phones

we can

have social

media

I'm not

saying

bend your

phones

and come

off social

media

and there's

nothing wrong

with that

in self

but this is

just to say

that in

temptation

it doesn't

just end

with one

thing

but it

will turn

into another

temptation

sin

comes

in a

package

and one

struggle

that we

deal with

will lead

to so

many more

what is

temptation

what is

its nature

it's to

come to

a test

it's to

come to

a situation

we face

them all

the time

we face

them every

single day

and it's

to come

to them

and be

enticed

into doing

what is

actually

the most

harmful

for you

even if

it promises

satisfaction

in the

moment

and though

you might

despair

once over

it

though you

might

in the

moment

say

I should

not have

said that

I should

not have

done that

it will

keep coming

back until

you don't

even question

it and it

will open

the door

to so

many more

struggles

Jesus

says

to pray

then

if you're

a Christian

will you

pray

tomorrow

morning

will you

pray

throughout

this

week

Lord

help me

in the

tests

that you

bring to

me

the tests

that can

produce

good

and produce

more

godliness

will you

help me

not to

choose

sin

and not

to do

what is

evil

in the

tests

will you

Lord

protect

me

from

doing

wrong

secondly

secondly

where does

temptation

come

from

Jesus

says

it

comes

from

the

evil

one

the

one

who

tempts

us

the

Bible

says

is

the

devil

Satan

who

Jesus

calls

the

evil

one

and it's

not clear

right away

in this

verse

but

the

word

deliver us

from

evil

that's

usually

translated

as

evil

one

it

can

be

taken

either

way

largely

agreed

that

this

is

describing

a

particular

person

and so

this

whole

phrase

lead us

not into

temptation

but deliver

us

from

the

evil

one

Jesus

is

saying

you

have

a

very

real

enemy

who

wants

the

absolute

worst

for

you

and he

will

tempt

you

into

doing

what

is

the

most

harmful

for

you

while

convincing

you

that

you're

going

to

love

it

the

Bible

doesn't

reveal

everything

to us

about

this

enemy

but

we

see

enough

about

him

we

see

in

Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3

that

what's

the

first

thing

he

does

when

we

meet

him

he

tempts

Adam

and

Eve

he

tempts

Eve

into

eating

of

the

tree

that

they're

told

not

to

eat

from

why

won't

God

let

you

eat

from

this

tree

it's

not

going

to

change

anything

live

how

you

want

to

live

be

who

you

want

to

be

there

will

be

no

consequence

that's

what

he

says

later

on

in

the

book

of

Job

he

wanted

to

prove

that

Job

only

obeyed

God

because

of

his

wealth

and

great

family

and

he

says

if

we

take

away

his

wealth

and

his

family

then

we'll

really

see

that

Job

does

not

really

love

God

and

trust

him

in

Matthew

4

Jesus

is

taken

into

the

wilderness

to

be

tempted

he's

taken

by

God

he's

taken

by

the

spirit

but

it's

Satan

who

tempts

him

here

are

all

the

kingdoms

of

the

world

you

can

have

them

all

if

you

just

give

up

on

your

mission

whatever

it

is

you're

!

your

adversary

the

devil

prowls

around

like a

roaring

lion

seeking

someone

to

devour

with

the

many

small

tests

and

trials

that

we

will

face

this

week

God

presents

them

as

opportunities

to

grow

into

the

whole

person

that

we

are

meant

to

be

the

enemy

wants

the

worst

for

you

in

every

single

one

of

those

tests

we

can

build

on

that

yes

you

have

an

enemy

he's

not

the

only

one

who

tempts

you

it

doesn't

end

there

what

does

James

say

again

James

in

his

letter

each

person

is

tempted

when

he

is

lured

and

enticed

by

his

own

desire

by

his

own

desire

Paul

in

Ephesians

you

were

following

the

course

of

this

world

we

don't

have

to

think

hard

I

don't

think

about

the

struggles

that

we

fight

through

and

we

at

some

point

have

to

say

I

gave

in

to

temptation

I

did

what

was

wrong

because

I

wanted

to

because

I

wanted

it

and

you

can

point

the

finger

at

no

one

else

but

you

have

to

say

it

was

me

who

wanted

to

do

this

what

about

the

world

outside

the

trends

that

we

are

surrounded

by

the

culture

that

we

are

in

the

world

is

trying to

convince

us

that

true

meaning

is

found

in the

material

and

being

whoever

we

want

to be

and

not

living

as if

there

is

some

heavenly

maker

above

us

if

you

are

a

Christian

living

life

is

so

hard

when

the

world

the

flesh

and

the

devil

are

out

to

get

you

J.I.

Packer

says

life

is

a

spiritual

minefield

question

that

this

brings

out

just

a

quick

point

some

people

ask

is

Satan

is

the

evil

one

the

cause

of

all

evil

we

don't

want

to

under

or

over

emphasize

his

hand

in

this

so

the

evil

that

I

experience

in

my

life

the

shame

that

I

feel

when

I

give

into

temptation

how

do

I

know

if

that

was

me

or

the

culture

around

me

or

the

evil

one

am

I

being

targeted

have

I

got

a

target

on

my

back

and

he

is

out

to

get

me

we

can

undermine

or

overstate

the

influence

that

the

enemy

has

and

the

safest

answer

to

this

is

to

say

that

evil

giving

into

temptation

doing

what

is

wrong

wherever

that

temptation

comes

from

it

serves

his

ends

that's

one

way

it's

been

put

so

we

don't

want

to

hyper

spiritualize

things

but

I

can

say

when

I

fall

into

temptation

when

I

give

in

when

I

sin

when

I

say

that

God

is

not

enough

that's

exactly

what

he

wants

that's

exactly

what

he

wants

if

you're

not

a

Christian

tonight

you

might

be

saying

what's

the

big

deal

these

kind

of

issues

that we

face

in

our

lives

you

could

be

saying

these

are

not

issues

these

are

not

troubles

speaking

about

people

and

whatever

we've

mentioned

live

life

as

you

want

that

might

be

your

idea

be

the

person

you

want

to

be

forget

this

idea

that

you

are

a

creature

dependent

on

God

and

just

do

whatever

you

want

and

if

you

ask

what's

the

big

deal

if

that's

your

question

tonight

then

all

we

want

to

say

is

that

this

evil

one

that

we

talk

about

who

we

find

in

the

Bible

he

hates

you

too

and

he

wants

the

worst

for

you

as

well

his

biggest

wish

is

for

you

to

leave

here

and

think

nothing

else

about

what

God

says

in

his

word

and

instead

he

wants

you

to

keep

on

thinking

you

can

do

whatever

you

want

in

complete

freedom

and

accepting

this

will

be

devastating

for

you

we

can

you

know

we

can

all

look

out

at

the

world

and

this

is

contested

this

is

debated

a lot

but

I

think

can

we

not

all

look

out

at

the

world

and

say

evil

is

real

evil

exists

gossip

hatred

lust

it

cuts

so

deeply

into

society

on

every

level

that

we

have

to

say

leadership

right

down

to

friendship

in

all

areas

of

our

world

has

been

damaged

what

is

the

source

of that

at the

heart

of all

is

the

lie

that

we

don't

need

to

depend

on

our

maker

and

we

can

be

who

we

want

to

be

and

we

can

do

what

we

want

with

no

consequence

whatsoever

that

is

the

lie

that

Satan

tempts

you

into

believing

because

he

wants

the

worst

for

you

he

wants

the

worst

for

you

and

we

might

feel

the

brief

joy

in

a

moment

you

know

we

might

get

that

rush

or

excitement

or

pleasure

out of

speaking

or doing

or thinking

whatever

what does

Paul say

the

wages

of sin

is

death

that's

exactly

what the

evil

one

wants

for

you

Jesus

Christ

Jesus

Christ

the only

true

and

good