"God, please don't let me be a failure!"
Purpose: To alarm believers about the danger Satan poses.
Aim: I want the listener to humbly seek God's protection.
INTRODUCTION: After we pray for God to be lifted up and glorified, and that we will obey Him, then Jesus instructs us to ask Him for our daily needs, our daily forgiveness, and finally that we would avoid falling into sin as we go through trials and that we would be safe from the traps that sin and Satan lay out for us.
No one wants to feel like a failure in life. Because of that we use several tactics in life in order to avoid feeling like a failure. Sometimes we can try to just forget our failures quickly. You know, move on and expect that the future will be better. Other times we can avoid feeling like a failure by comparing ourselves to those who appear to be worse failures than we are: "I'm glad that I'm not a jerk like that person." It's like the fat person who wants to feel skinny so he hangs around people who are even fatter.
Another way to keep from feeling like a failure is keep our expectations low: "Nobody tells the truth ALL the time" or "I can't help worrying, my mother was always like that." If none of those things work then we can just wallow in self-pity and hope that others will feel sorry for us.
Jesus just finished teaching us that we should humble ourselves and ask forgiveness for past failures, and now He wants us to eagerly ask God for help in avoiding future failures.
That is what the last request in the Lord's Prayer is all about.
REVIEW:
I. An Overview of this Prayer
A. We must avoid fake prayers
1. Don't let your prayers be hypocritical
2. Don't let your prayers be repetitious
B. We must remember the purpose for prayer
1. Real prayer exalts God
2. Real prayer humbles us
C. We must remember to pray God's way
1. Ask for what God has already promised
2. Ask believing God can answer
II. The Request for Protection
A. Ask God to guide you away from sin "do not lead us into temptation"
LESSON:
► B. Ask God to guard you from sin and Satan "deliver us from [the]evil [one]"
We have already learned that we need God to cleanse us from our past sin, now we need to see the need to avoid future sin.
The word EVIL can also be translated to mean THE EVIL ONE referring to SATAN. Either way, we are asking God to deliver us from sin and/or Satan who always wants us to sin.
Before we will really ask God to guard us from sin and Satan there are five things we must believe.
► 1. You must believe that you desperately need help "deliver us"
"Deliver (4506) (rhuomai [word study] from rhúo = to draw, drag along the ground)means to draw or snatch to oneself and invariably refers to a snatching from danger, evil or an enemy. This basic idea of rescuing from danger is pictured by the use describing a soldier's going to a wounded comrade on the battlefield and carrying him to safety (he runs to the cry of his comrade to rescue him from the hands of the enemy).Rhuomai emphasizes greatness of peril from which deliverance is given by a mighty act of power." J. C. Ryle
► "...a genuine expression of saving faith includes a desire for deliverance from future sin." Dr. John MacArthur
The word DELIVER is a call for urgent help. Hebrews 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (NAU)
Listen to how David talked to God when he was in a time of need: Psalm 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears. (NAU)
Psalm 69:1--3 Save me, O God, For the waters have threatened my life. I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; My eyes fail while I wait for my God. (NAU)
If (1) we are truly humble, and we will be humble if (2) we are aware of God's presence, and if we ask God for help then (4) God's peace will protect our minds. Philippians 4:5--7(1) Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.(2) The Lord is near. (3) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And (4) the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NAU)
► 2. You must believe that God can help you "deliver us"
John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (NAU)
Jesus tells us to pray about the nature of evil. But notice what He doesn't tell us to pray. He doesn't tell us to ask God to let us understand it. Our challenge is to trust that God can and will take care of us even when we can't see HOW He is going to do that.
We must decide if we are going to believe God just because He says that He will do what He promises to do.
First we must be convinced that God CAN do anything. Romans 4:21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. (NAU)
Then we must also believe that God always has our best interests at heart. Romans 8:31--32 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (NAU)
►When we worry we are not believing what God has told us.
One trap we MUST avoid is the temptation to give Satan too much credit. Satan is NOT sovereign. You might hear someone say, "you lost your job because Satan made it happen" or "you are sick because Satan made it happen" or "you lost your loved one because Satan made it happen."
The truth is that Satan doesn't make anything happen. Because Satan is not in control. Satan's main power lies in his ability to deceive and intimidate. His biggest deception is that he is in control of anything.
Only God is in control which means that anything Satan does God controls it. This means that ultimately Satan serves God's purposes.
For example, Satan wanted to afflict Job, but he could not do anything to Job without God's permission.
Satan is even ignorant of God's plans. 1 Corinthians 2:7--11 but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. (NAU)
► 3. You must believe that God loves you
1 John 5:18 We know that no one who is born of God sins[or continues on sinning] but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. (NAU)
2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. (NAU)
2 Timothy 4:18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (NAU)
2 Peter 2:9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, (NAU)
So, why does God allow trials and why does He allow Satan to trouble us? Because He loves us!
Thomas Manton, a Puritan, explains it very simply: "As when the sheep wander, the shepherd lets loose his dog upon them; not to worry them, but to bring them back to the fold again: so God let loose Satan to drive us to Himself." [1]
The writer of Hebrews explains that because God loves His own He disciplines them.
Hebrews 12:4--6 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." (NAU)
Hebrews 12:11--12 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, (NAU)
► 4. You must believe that sin is deadly "from evil"
Thomas Watson: "[Sin] is compared to the vomit of dogs (2Pe 2:22); to a menstruous cloth (Isa 30:22); which, as Jerome says, was the most unclean thing under the law; it is compared to the plague (1Ki 8:38); and to a gangrene (2Ti 2:17). ...Sin is an act of high INGRATITUDE to God...a FOOLISH thing...a POLLUTING thing...a DEBASING thing...a PAINFUL thing...a DISTURBING thing....►There is more evil in a drop of sin--than in a sea of affliction...."
Satan is always hunting for victims. 1 Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (NAU)
Even when Satan stopped tempting Jesus, who hadn't eaten in forty days, he was only taking a breather. Luke 4:13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time. (NAU)
Apart from God's protection Satan can enslave his victims. 2 Timothy 2:24--26 The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. (NAU)
► 5. You must believe that sin and Satan can be defeated
Satan is the one who tempts us to sin, but good always and only comes from God. James 1:13--14 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. (NAU)
It is hard to overcome sin, but if you see yourself as vulnerable to sin, that God is able and willing to help you not sin, and that sin will always bring disaster, THEN you will want to fight sin, no matter what it takes.
We must be willing to put up a fight. James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (NAU) You may feel like you are a failure at fighting sin, but you are NOT a failure until you stop fighting.
We should NEVER answer Satan softly. Eve spoke softly to Satan in the Garden of Eden and Adam remained silent. The result was disaster. It is OK to get mad at Satan! 1 Peter 5:8--9 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. (NAU)
Our main defense against our spiritual failures is to repent of our sin. Revelation 2:5 'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent. (NAU)
John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (NAU)
CONCLUSION: It is not easy to be a soldier in God's army. The world system hates your Savior, the Devil will oppose your efforts to serve God, and your old sinful nature will rise up and try to be in control. 2 Timothy 2:3--4 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. (NAU)
If you love Jesus then you will not give up fighting sin, no matter how hard it gets. Remember two things:
#1 the fight will not be long: Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. (NAU) and
#2 the eternal joys of fighting the good fight will make it all worth it: 2 Corinthians 4:17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, (NAU)
► Victory belongs to those who continue to fight temptation.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (NAU)
[1]The Works of Thomas Manton Vol. 1 Page 213
