Lord, Teach Us To Pray Series:PRAYER IS ABOUT RELYING
Sermon # 7
PRAYER IS ABOUT RELYING
Date May 19, 2013
Scripture Reference: Matthew 6:13
from the series Lord Teach Us to Pray
Introduction
We are in a section
of The
Model Prayer where we are praying about our daily needs. We have called on the Father seeking the
supplies we have need of day by day. We
have prayed for His forgiveness of those sins that are part of our daily lives
as well. Here, we address another need
that arises on a daily basis. Here, we
seek help in our battle with sin and temptation. The first word of our verses is “And.” This word ties this request in with our
requests for bread, for forgiveness and for grace to forgive others.
As
we have moved through the phrases that make up this great Model Prayer, we
began at the feet of our Father in heaven, praising Him and professing our
desire to see His kingdom come and His will done on this earth just as it is in
heaven. We have also descended from the
mountains of glory into the valley of our daily experience. We have confessed our great dependence upon
Him for the necessities of the body and the soul. Now, we descend even further as we consider
the possibility that, just as sin has blighted our past, even greater sins may
lie upon the horizon of our lives.
This verse is all about trusting the Lord in the greatest battle
we face in life. This is not
the battle to put food on our tables or clothes on our backs.
This is not the battle to approach God for forgiveness or even
the battle to forgive those who have treated us so wrongly. Rather, it is the battle we face every day as
we fight the temptations of the flesh and the attacks of the devil. This phrase teaches us that Prayer
Is About Relying. May
the Lord teach us this evening, that in the greatest battle of life,
we need to learn to rely on Him, for therein lies the secret of our
victory!
Sermon
I. THE PROBLEM OF TEMPTATION
(Ill. The Lord Jesus tells us to pray “And,
lead us not into temptation.”
This simple request literally brims over with meaning. A few minutes spent looking into these words
will offer us help in our own battle with temptation.)
A.
This statement presupposes the leadership of the Lord in our lives. I think we would all agree this evening that
our Heavenly Father is a sovereign God.
He controls all of life and He leads His dear children along, as the
writer of the old hymn says. Since this is true, does this also mean that God
leads us into places where we are tempted to sin?
The
answer to that question is a resounding “NO!”
James addresses this problem in James
1:13. When Adam was tempted and fell
into sin in the Garden of Eden, he tried to lay the blame at the feet of the
Lord, Gen. 3:12. But, the fault did
not lie with the Lord. The fault was with
Adam and Adam alone!
God
never leads us into direct contact with sin, but as we travel the path of life,
every cross roads along the way brings with it the option to take a path which
leads us away from the Lord’s will for our lives. Every trial we face comes complete with the
potential to fail. We may sin, but when
we do, the fault lies with us and not with God.
So,
what is the Lord telling us to pray?
Here is what I think this petition requests: “Lord, please do not lead us into a
trial which will present a temptation stronger than our power to resist it.”
B.
Since this is true, then where does temptation come from? Again, James tells us very clearly that temptation
arises from within the human heart, James
1:14-15. You see, this flesh is hopelessly
flawed and given over to sin, Eph. 4:22;
Mark 7:21-22. When temptation comes
our way, it is not the devil’s fault; it is not the Lord’s fault; it is not the
world’s fault; it is our fault! We have
a flawed and fallen nature that craves sin in all its vileness. That is hard to swallow, but it is true
nonetheless.
Temptation
in and of itself is not a sin. But, the
very instant that temptation is embraced and pursued sin is the result. Ill.
David in 2 Sam. 11. Just seeing Bathsheba on that rooftop bathing
in the nude was not a sin. But, when she
was desired and pursued, sin had been born and the end of that sin was death
and destruction!
(Ill. Once, two monks
were journeying along a path, when they came to a crossing. There, attempting to cross the same river was
a young woman. She was frightened and
unable to make the crossing. One of the
monks picked her up, carried her across the stream and sat her down on the other
side, and the two monks continued on their journey. After some time, the other monk turned to the
first monk and said, “My brother, I am troubled by something. As you know, our
order prohibits us from even looking upon a woman, much less touching one. Yet, you picked that woman up and carried her
across that stream and you do not seem to be bothered by your
transgression.” The second monk merely
smiled and said, “My brother, I put that woman down back by the river’s bank,
but you still carry her in your heart.”
That, folks, is the essence of temptation!
It is a problem within man. You
see, the heart of the problem is a problem in the heart, Matt. 15:17-20.)
C.
Now, when I pray as I should, I am calling on my Heavenly Father. I am praising Him, seeking His will and
confessing my dependence upon Him for every need of life. When I pray, “Forgive my debts;” I am
looking back to the past. When I pray, “Give
me this day my daily bread;” I am looking to the present. But, when I pray “Lead me not into temptation,”
I am looking to the future.
Having just dealt with the issue of my past sins before the
Lord, the saint who prays this prayer is declaring an awareness that
sin may happen again. It also expresses the fear that an even greater
sin may occur. Those who have
been forgiven at the throne of grace, live in fear of sinning against
the Lord Who so graciously forgave them.
The essence of this prayer is for protection from the sins
of the flesh so that God is not dishonored again.
No man should face the future without a clear past.
But, when sin has been dealt with, the cleansed soul has a
deep fear of falling again. Ill. Paul - 1 Cor. 9:27
- Because I love Him, I do not want to hurt Him!)
(Ill. How many of us have
been there? We sin and we go to God,
confessing it and vowing to leave that sin behind us forever. Yet, before we know it, we have committed the
same sin all over again. We have all been there! This prayer is a prayer for protection along
the way of life. My friends, we carry
sinful flesh with us every minute we live, Rom.
7:18. We need help! We need a helper Who is greater than we
are. We need One Who can strengthen us
in the times of temptation, Heb. 2:18.)
I. THE PROBLEM OF TEMPTATION
II.THE POWER OF TEMPTATION
A.
The need for us to pray for the Lord’s protection from temptation is so
great because we are so prone to failure.
We have already discovered that our drive for sin; our hunger for sin;
our capacity for sin dwells within our own heart. Temptation is merely an outgrowth of who we
are by nature, and that is why it is so often so hard for us to resist.
We often say things like, “Man, the devil really knows what to put in
front of me!” The truth
is, it is we and not so much the devil that is the problem. We are only tempted by the things that our own
fallen natures desire. That
is why temptation has such a strong pull in our lives.
You see, what tempts you might not even phase me, and what
tempts me might not even be a blip on your radar screen.
We are drawn away of our “own lusts and enticed,” James 1:14. The word “enticed” comes from a word
that means “to bait.” When we
are tempted, the old man is baiting the new man to go back to the
old way of life. Of course,
when the devil knows what tempts our flesh, he will see to it that
those things are constantly placed before us, in the hopes that we
will sin and disgrace the name of the Lord.
B.
Temptation is a powerful opponent, but most Christians have no idea as
to its real power. Sometimes you hear
people say, “The temptation was so powerful, I just couldn’t resist.” But,
in truth, the person who gives in to temptation’s allure knows nothing at all of
its power! Only the person who stands
against it and wins the victory over it can testify to the great power
temptation can wield!
(Ill. This year,
when we were at the seashore taking a little sabbatical, I noticed just how
powerful the undertow in the ocean was.
When you yielded to its power, it took you where it wanted you to go,
and the going was easy. But, when you
tried to go against its pull, only then could you feel the real power of the
ocean as it tried to force you to go its way.
So
it is with temptation and sin. When we
yield to the attractions of the flesh and the world, we find the going easy as
temptation takes us where it pleases.
But, when we stand our ground and refuse to yield to its siren call, we
find out just how much of a pull the flesh and sin has on our lives.)
C.
But, thank God, the power of temptation has no more force in
our lives than we allow it to have! If we wish to stand against it,
we can! Our Lord has given us some precious promises
that serve to strengthen us in the midst of our temptations and guarantees
us the victory over them all, if we yield to His will and not to the
temptation! What are those
promises? Isa. 43:2; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Pet. 2:9.
(Ill. What we need is a revival of Romans 6:6-18
living!)
Temptation
may be a powerful foe, but it is not in the same league as our Savior! He gives the victory to all those who trust
Him for it! What am I saying? You do not have to fall into sin! You do not have to be overcome by
temptation. You really can have victory
over those besetting sins and you can have victory over the enemy in this
battle day by day!
I. THE PROBLEM OF TEMPTATION
II.THE POWER OF TEMPTATION
III. THE PLEA IN TEMPTATION
A.
This verse closes with the words, “but deliver us from evil.” This phrase carries this idea, “but
deliver us from the evil one.” You
see, every Christian has an enemy who hates you and wants nothing more than to
see you fall and fail. The ultimate goal
of this enemy is to use you to bring disgrace and dishonor to the name of the
Lord Jesus and God the Father. This
enemy if the devil and he desires to see you fail! That is why the Bible tells is that “For
we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places,” Ephesians
6:12.
Our
enemy this morning is not the person who disagrees with is. Our enemy is not the church that has
abandoned the old paths to embrace a new Bible and new music. Our enemy is not the charismatic church down
the road. Our enemy does not wear a body
of flesh and blood. Our enemy is
spiritual in nature and he must be battled with spiritual weapons, 2 Cor. 10:3-5.
B.
This phrase is a plea for God’s help in the battle with this enemy. When we pray this prayer, we recognize the
fact that we are unable to wage this war on our own. Therefore, we call on the name of the Lord,
employing His power to stand against the devil in the battle with temptation
and sin.
(Ill. This was the tactic used by the Lord Jesus
during His Own time of temptation – Matt.
4:1-11. When Jesus was tempted, He
turned to the spiritual resources of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God and He
made His victorious stand against evil.
C.
Our success lies in doing the very same thing. We are to appropriate the resources we have
been given in the Person of the Holy Spirit and in the power of the
Word of God. We are to dress
up in the “whole
armor” of God and take our stand, Eph. 6:10-18. By the way, the phrase “having done all to stand”
has the idea of “fighting to a standstill.”
We are to take our stand against the flesh and the devil and
when we have fought to a standstill, that is, when we have exhausted
all our strength, we will find that the Lord is by our side to give
us the victory over temptation, sin and Satan!
He will not fail us in the day of battle, but He will give
us absolute victory for His great glory!
After all, He is ever near us, Heb.
13:5. He is our helper in the battles, John 14:16. And, He has more at stake in our battles that
we do!
Invitation and The Final Challenge
Friends, victory is ours in the
battle with temptation! We are
challenged to pray about our need in this battle and we are to trust the Lord
to deliver us in the hour of temptation.
He will do His part.
But, let me caution you about something.
Do not pray this prayer if you plan on placing yourself in
places and situations where you will be tempted.
For instance, do not pray for the Lord to deliver you from
the temptation of lust if you plan on going home and turning on an
explicit video. Do not pray
for the Lord to deliver you from the temptation to commit sexual sin,
if you are going to engage in flirtation and sexual activity outside
of marriage. Don’t pray
for the Lord to deliver you from the temptation to drink, if you insist
on eating your meals in a bar. Don’t
waste your time praying this prayer if your feet constantly lead you
toward evil.
Do
you get the picture? Victory is
available, but only those who are serious about waging war on the lust that
dwells within them will experience the Lord’s victory.
--
The Rev. Lenin Kumar
The Potter's Home International Church
The Christian Living
Preparing the Bride...For Christ's Coming!
www.pottershomeinternational.
www.pottershomeinternational.
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