Deliverance Series

“DELIVERANCE” Matthew 6:13

FBCF – 3/21/21

Jon Daniels

INTRO – Ben Franklin nearing end of his life in 1790, “Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes,”

I would disagree w/ Mr. Franklin as there is 1 more thing that is certain in this world – Temptation is certain. It’s a universal problem. Every person in the world has experienced it including Jesus Christ Himself.

EXPLANATION – Matthew 6:13

As we continue to walk through the Lord’s Prayer, we need to understand just how important this prayer is in spiritual warfare. I probably don’t have to tell you, but we are in a spiritual war. It’s a matter of life & death. We have a very real enemy who despises Jesus, despises those of us who belong to Jesus, & wants to devastate our lives in any way that he can. He wants to stop our worship of the Lord, stop the spread of the Gospel, & stop our spiritual growth, & he’ll stop at nothing to do these things.

- God’s got a plan for your life & Satan does, too!

- John 10:10 – “The thief comes to steal, kill, & destroy…”

o Steal your joy & your zeal for the Lord

o Kill your commitment & your dedication to the Gospel

o Destroy your witness & willingness to serve the Lord & serve others

APPLICATION – We must rely on God for deliverance.

First, let’s be clear about one thing: God does not tempt us to sin or lead us toward sin in any way.

- James 1:13 – “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, & He Himself does not tempt anyone.” (NASB)

When we pray this portion of the Lord’s Prayer, we are asking the Lord to do 2 things:

1. We are asking Him to guard us & keep us from the dangers of temptation.

2. We are asking Him to guard us & keep us from the deception of the evil one.

Simply put: We are asking our Father in heaven for deliverance.

- Gk word for “deliver” means to “rescue us, preserve us; to draw us out of danger.”

Most translations of the Bible say, “deliver us from the evil one.” Greek literally says, “deliver us from THE evil.” But whether we pray “deliver us from evil” or “from the evil one,” we all know who is behind all evil – Satan. And the Lord’s Prayer is one of the weapons we use in our battle against him.

Every soldier goes through some kind of basic training – “boot camp.” Learn how to fight the enemy. First 3 petitions in Lord’s Prayer are similar to basics of boot camp b/c they focus on basic foundational truths of Christian life.

- First, we learn who God is – “Our Father who is heaven”

- Second, we learn to worship Him – “Hallowed by your name”

- Third, we learn to obey His principles – “Your Kingdom come”

- Fourth, we learn to submit to His orders – “Your will be done”

Then, we ask for the resources we need for the battles that lie ahead – “Give us this day…”

The final 3 petitions bring us into conflict w/ the enemy:

o We receive forgiveness of our sins, those times when he tempted & we gave in to him

o “Lead us not into temptation” gives us victory over being defeated by him

o “Deliver us from evil [evil one]” brings us the protection we need when he attacks

(taken from Elmer Towns, Praying the Lord’s Prayer for Spiritual Breakthrough, p. 185-186)

When we pray this prayer, we need to remember: God is in the deliverance business. Listen to these verses:

- 2 Samuel 22:2 – “The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, & my Deliverer.”

- Psalm 40:17 – “But as for me, I am poor & needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help & my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay.”

- Psalm 144:2 – “He is my loving God & my fortress; my stronghold & my deliverer, my shield in whom I take refuge…”

- Galatians 5:1 – “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free…”

3 ways God delivers us:

HE DELIVERS US FROM TRIALS

Here’s an interesting twist on the word “temptation.” It can also be translated “trial.” The word translated “temptation” in Matthew 6:13 is the same word translated “trial” in James 1:2 – “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of various kinds.”

We know that God does not tempt us to sin in any way. And we also know that He allows times of trials & testing to come into our lives, & that we should even welcome those times as opportunities for us to grow deeper in our faith. So, why pray “Lead us not into temptation/trials”?