“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”?
It’s b/c we recognize our weaknesses & our desire to avoid any dangerous situation that would possibly lead us to fall into sin. Many times, when we find ourselves in a tough trial or time of testing, instead of trusting in the Lord to help us, we take matters into our own hands & end up falling into sin as we try to get out of the painful situation. That’s why writer of Proverbs said in Proverbs 4:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”
- The trial may be a financial struggle – Resort to some kind of sinful decision to get out of it: embezzle some funds from work – get involved in a shady business deal to make some quick money – stop giving to the church.
- The trial may be a marriage problem – Instead of turning to the Lord, we turn to someone other than our spouse & end up giving in to temptation & get involved in a sinful relationship.
- The trial may be an emotional problem or a time of depression. Instead of turning to the Lord, we resort to alcohol or drugs or food. Or we lash out at our family, even to the point of neglect or abuse.
This is why we need to cry out to the Lord to deliver us from our trials, to draw us out of these dangerous situations before we fall into Satan’s traps & into sin.
HE DELIVERS US FROM TEMPTATION
“Opportunity only knocks once, but temptation knocks the door down!”
How are you tempted?
- Maybe experience “minor” temptations:
o Vicki’s chocolate chip pound cake at bedtime or eating too much pizza.
? “6 pieces of pizza”
o Hit the snooze button too many times
o Lying about how big the fish you caught was
o How many steps you’ve walked (even though we could check your FitBit)
- Maybe experience “major” temptations – things that could wreck your life:
o Temptation to harm someone
o Temptation to have an affair
o Temptation to get involved in some type of criminal behavior or activity
Whether minor or major, temptation is a part of the Christian life & our Father will deliver us from those temptations. We have to know how to deal w/ them when they come.
1 Corinthians 10:13 – “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” (NLT) Listen to what this verse tells us:
- God allows temptations. Everyone experiences them.
- God is faithful to make sure that you never go through a temptation that is too much for you to handle.
- God delivers us by providing a way out – a divine escape hatch
o Holy Spirit in you will bring conviction or Scripture verse to mind
o God will orchestrate circumstances to change to provide a way out
o A friend will call or stop by for a visit
You & I never HAVE to give in to temptation!
- No such thing as “The devil made me do it” or “I just couldn’t help myself.”
- It’s our choice to give in to temptation or to resist it when God provides our deliverance.
Little boy standing in front of a store eyeing a basket full of apples. Storeowner: “What are you doing, son? Trying to steal one of those apples?” Little boy: “No sir, I’m trying NOT to.”
- God will ALWAYS give us the opportunity NOT to give in to temptation & sin.
- He will ALWAYS provide deliverance from evil & the evil one, but we have to accept His deliverance.
HE DELIVERS US FROM TRUSTING IN OURSELVES
Psalm 20:7 – memory verse few months ago – “Some trust in horses, & some in chariots; but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Trusting in ourselves & in our human abilities & resources is a recipe for disaster.
- Flesh constantly screaming to be satisfied
- Mind constantly being bombarded by the world’s messages
- People around us constantly beckoning us to compromise & do what they’re doing, live like they’re living, think like they’re thinking
- Satan is constantly trying to convince us that we don’t need to live such a seriously committed Christian life. Constantly tempting us to trust in ourselves instead of God.
- Eve in Garden of Eden: “Did God really say…?” Sowing those seeds of doubt in the goodness of God, the wisdom of God, the plans of God, the Word of God.
When we trust in ourselves, we think WE are smart enough, WE are strong enough, WE are good enough. But ONLY GOD is able to deliver us from evil & the evil one. And that’s why Jesus taught us to cry out to Him for our deliverance. So…
- Saturate your mind in HIS Word
- Surround yourself w/ HIS people
- Submit your life to HIS Spirit
- And if you’ve never been saved, then surrender your life to HIS Son, Jesus!
CONCLUSION/TAKEAWAY
Temptation is for real, & maybe you’ve given in to some temptation & really blown it. Now that Satan has beaten you down, he is beating you up w/ guilt.
GOOD NEWS! Come to Jesus today & be set free! Right now, HE will deliver you from evil & the evil one! Come to Him!
