Rev. David Holwick Q Lord's Prayer, #6
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
May 19, 2013
Matthew 6:13
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I. What tempts you?
A. Many will reply with the standard answers.
1) Money, sex, chocolate.
2) Temptation is more serious that this.
a) Certainly, these things can ruin your life.
b) Sometimes you even know it while you do it.
Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced former governor of
New York, was asked by a reporter why he was so
reckless with a young prostitute.
Spitzer replied, "The human mind ... permits people to
do things that they rationally know are wrong,
outrageous...
We succumb to temptations that we know are wrong and
foolish when we do it and then in hindsight we say,
'How could I have?'"
#35997
c) More importantly, temptation can lead you away from God.
1> We choose things that replace God, or defy him.
B. The most perplexing part of the Lord's Prayer.
1) It is the only part that is in the negative -- we are
asking God NOT to do something.
2) Zillah Salmon brought up the real issue at a recent Bible
study --
"Why are we asking God to do something he isn't supposed
to do to begin with?"
3) Even ancient Christians puzzled over it.
Tertullian, who lived in the second century, bristled at
the suggestion that God has anything to do with
temptation:
"Far be the thought that the Lord should seem to tempt, as
if He were either ignorant of the limits of someone's
faith, or else eager to overthrow that faith."
#3897
II. The vocabulary gives a clue.
A. Temptations can also be trials.
1) Matthew uses the Greek word "peirasmos" here. Matt 6:13
a) Sometimes it means an enticement to sin - what we
normally associate with temptation.
b) Other times it means a test or trial.
2) A trial can be a positive thing - it affirms your faith,
as long as you pass the test.
a) Trials are negative only when you fail.
b) Most scholars agree that what Jesus is saying here, is
we are asking God to not let us fail the test,
to not succumb to sin.
B. The first chapter of James highlights the tension.
1) In verses 13 to 14, the emphasis is on enticement to sin.
a) James says this never comes from God - he doesn't tempt.
"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."
b) Enticement is either due to us, or Satan.
2) But the same word is also used in verses 2 and 12.
James 1:2-3, 1:12
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face
trials of many kinds,
because you know that the TESTING of your faith
develops perseverance."
"Blessed is the man who perseveres under TRIAL, because
when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown
of life that God has promised to those who love him."
1> Here, it means a trial that makes us stronger when
we overcome it.
2> The emphasis is not on avoiding it, but persevering
through it.
C. God permits us to be tested, and initiates it himself.
1) It is a key theme in the Old Testament.
a) Throughout the book of Exodus, God tests the people
to see if they will obey him.
1> They go hungry and thirsty and have armies pursuing
them.
2> God provides miraculous food and water and
protection, to prove he can take care of them.
b) Generally, they fail the test.
1> They lack faith that God can provide for them.
2> They forget God at the drop of a hat.
2) Jesus may be the ultimate example.
a) God's Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. Matt 4:1
1> There was no "lead me not" in this one!
b) There, Satan tempted him.
1> So God allowed the trial, but Satan did the tempting.
2> Unlike the Israelites, Jesus passes with flying
colors.
3) God allows us to be tested and does not entice us to sin.
a) Pastor Ray Pritchard: "A trial becomes a temptation
only when we respond wrongly."
b) Evidently temptation - whether testing or enticement -
can be used redemptively by God for his glory and
for our good.
c) God can protect us from failing the test. John 17:15
"My prayer is not that you take them out of the world
but that you protect them from the evil one."
III. How God can use temptation.
A. It reveals what is in our hearts.
1) Temptation is a test of character.
a) Abraham & Isaac.
1> He overcame temptation to disobey.
2> God gave him a commendation and a promise.
b) David & Bathsheba.
1> Showed extent to which lust ruled his heart.
2> He repented, and so showed that he also desired
to please God.
3> He failed his test, but God used it to correct
him, as shown in Psalm 51.
B. It clarifies significant issues.
1) The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
a) The enticement to worship Satan and preserve his life
pinpointed the ultimate issues involved in Jesus'
mission on earth.
2) Martin Luther - "My temptations have been my masters
in divinity."
C. It fortifies our will.
1) Our commitment is strengthened each time we overcome.
2) This can give us a new perspective on trials.
Norman Vincent Peale once said:
"I would go so far as to say that the more problems you have,
the more alive you are.
Whoever has, let us say, ten good old tough problems is twice
as alive as the poor, miserable, apathetic character who
has only five problems.
And if you have no problems at all, I warn you.
You are in great jeopardy.
You're on the way out and you don't know it.
What you had better do... is say to the Lord, 'Look, what's
the matter?
Don't you trust me anymore?
Give me some problems to tackle!'"
#62894
D. We can provide an example for others.
1) We can be a witness of God's grace to outsiders.
a) Job's stubborn faith was a witness to Satan.
b) When we maintain faith despite suffering, we present
unbelievers with something to think about.
2) We can become an encouragement to other Christians.
a) Actions of someone who has overcome is more powerful
than a thousand sermons.
b) (Note popularity of "out of the gutter" testimonies.)
IV. Respect temptation.
A. Humans are more depraved than we realize.
1) Jeremiah - heart is desperately wicked, who can fathom it?
2) Paul - all have sinned, fall short of God's glory. Rom 3:23
3) Everyone has areas of weakness that can be exploited.
B. Nevertheless, we CAN overcome temptation.
1) No temptation is too powerful for us. 1 Cor 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."
a) God has set a limit on the intensity of every temptation.
b) Alongside every temptation, God has designed a way out.
c) God provides us with the power to overcome. #878
1> That power may be in the form of other Christians.
2) "The will of God will never lead you where the grace of
God cannot keep you." (Minnesota Bible Fellowship)
#1756
V. This petition protects us from pride.
A. Lord's Prayer teaches us about relation of God and ourselves.
1) Daily bread shows we have physical needs.
2) Forgive our trespasses assumes we are sinful.
3) Lead us not into temptation says we are weak.
We need God's help to survive.
B. We tend to make ourselves the focus of our prayers.
1) Lord's Prayer keeps the focus on God.
2) Our most subtle temptation is to put ourselves in God's
place.
C. Maybe you're already trapped in a temptation and want OUT.
1) If you haven’t avoided temptation, remember that God can
lead you out of sin, too.
2) Our “flesh is weak” but our God is strong.
3) Ask him to help you in spite of yourself.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
Rev. Dr. Ray Pritchard’s sermon “Does God Lead His Children Into
Temptation?” (Kerux Sermon #64029) was very helpful in Section II.
# 878 “Temptation,” Charles Stanley, The Christian Reader magazine,
May 1989, page 67; condensed from Stanley’s book “Temptation.”
# 1756 “Where God's Will Leads,” Minnesota Bible Fellowship, Pulpit
Helps, February 1992.
# 3897 “Lead Us Not Into Temptation,” Paul Thigpen, Discipleship
Journal, #62, March/April 1991, page 39.
#35997 “How Could I Have?” Jonathan Darman, Newsweek Magazine, March 27,
2009, page 23.
#62894 “Lord, Give Me More Problems!” Norman Vincent Peale, quoted by
Rev. Dan Warkentin in Kerux Sermon #16980. Original source is
Norman Vincent Peale’s article, ‘What Thanksgiving Means,’
Creative Help for Daily Living, New York: Foundation for
Christian Living, November-December, 1980, p.7.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
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