Over the last five weeks, we have been in a series on prayer called “Lord, Teach Us to Pray.” We have been focusing on the Lord’s Prayer as Jesus’ primary teaching for us on how to model our prayers, not to be legalistic saying this is how you must pray, but to enhance our prayer life. Perhaps we could say, to have a more complete prayer life. So far we have looked at five areas of prayer: relationship, honoring, yielding, petition, forgiveness. In fact repeat these after me [say them again]. Prayer is about a relationship with God, “our Father who art in heaven.” Prayer is talking with God our Father. We begin our prayers by honoring God, “hallowed be thy name.” We honor God by praising him, telling God how great he is, we appreciate God for what he has done in our life. Then we are invited to pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we are asking God to bring his kingdom on earth just as it is in heaven. One of the primary ways God brings his kingdom is by using us, his people. So we are asking God to use us to accomplish his purposes on earth. Therefore we yield or submit ourselves to God so that he will work through us until our life, our family, and our community begin to reflect God’s kingdom in heaven. After focusing on God, his plan, his will, then Jesus invites us to petition or to ask God for our own personal needs and the needs of others, “give us this day our daily bread.” It could be a need for food, healing, employment. By praying this we are also recognizing God is the provider for all of our needs both physical and spiritual. Last week we looked at forgiveness, “forgive us our debts (trespasses) as we forgive our debtors (those who trespass against us).” Without having forgiveness as a regular part of our prayer life, our prayers cease to be powerful and effective because our sin distances us from God. By regularly seeking God’s forgiveness and offering forgiveness to those who have wronged us, we renew a right relationship with God and with others and our prayers become more effective.
In this last week on the Lord’s Prayer we are looking at Jesus’ concluding line, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Our focus today is on protection. The last part of our prayer should focus on asking God to protect us. Once we have renewed a right relationship with God, and we are forgiven, we are righteous, we want to keep it that way. We don’t want to fall away. We want to stay close with God, and be doing his will. But there are forces working within us and outside of us which are working against God. If we try to follow God on our own strength, we will fail. We need God’s strength and protection to help us from falling in the future. We need protection from temptation and evil, or as our newer translations more accurately translate this, the evil one.
I. Deliver Us from the Evil One
I believe this is an important distinction to make. The difference between deliver us from evil and deliver us from the evil one. Barna Research Group tells us, 6 out of 10 Americans believe Satan “is not a living being but only a symbol for evil.” I realize some of you here this morning may not believe in a being called Satan. I’m not talking about a guy in red tights with horns carrying a pitchfork, I am talking about the being which was once defined in the Bible as the most beautiful of angels who was cast out of heaven because of his rebellion against God, and who is now the Prince of this World.
I think it is a big mistake to ignore the Bible’s teaching about Satan and believe he is just a representative for evil. Why? Because we first ignore what the Bible says, and second because we stick our head in the sand and pretend there isn’t a spiritual battle being waged when Scripture clearly indicates there is. That there is a being working against God, his plans, and against his people. If Satan is just a representative for evil, we don’t really need to worry about it because we won’t necessarily be a target. But if Satan and evil spirits are real then we must not only be careful, because you are in the Satan’s crosshairs as a follower of Jesus Christ.
The Bible tells us that there is a spiritual battle going on. God is on one side, and Satan with the rest of his fallen angels (we call demons) on the other side. Satan himself is only a fallen angel and God has given him only limited amounts of power, but he is able to wreak havoc upon our world.
Just because you don’t see the battle doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist or that you aren’t in danger.
Illustration (demonstrate how vulnerable we are even though we may not see):
A few years ago we received our credit card statement and I noticed there was an additional charge on it which I didn’t recognize. Amy didn’t recognize it either. We called on the number provided on the statement and it was for an internet service which we had never used before. Our credit card number had been stolen. We were fortunate it was only one purchase for a $100 and not thousands of dollars. I knew credit card theft was a real thing, but I never thought we would be someone’s target. Why would anyone target me, don’t they know I am a pastor. I figured our number had been stolen when I made a purchase on the internet. It’s scary to think about, but there are people out there looking to snatch your credit card number, your social security number, and sometimes even your entire identity so they can . You’ve probably seen the humorous credit card commercials where a person is talking but the voices coming out of their mouth is not theirs because they have been a victim of identity theft.
Just by pretending there isn’t a Satan, or by ignoring him doesn’t mean you won’t be the target of his attack. In fact you will probably be a bigger target because you chose not to be protected.
Satan’s Plan of Attack
How does Satan attack us and make us fall? Looking at his names in the Bible are helpful. He is called liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). He lies by telling us we don’t need God that we can be self-sufficient (half lie Adam and Eve in the Garden). He is the accuser (example Rev. 12:10). He tries to accuse us of our sin, make us feel guilty over forgiven sin. Tries to convince us that God could never love a sinner like us. He tries to get us angry causing us to sin against our brother or sister (Eph. 4:27). He is called the tempter (Matt. 4:3; 1 Thess. 3:5), he tempts us, he tries to get us to sin. He finds our weakness then he tries to take advantage of it. We’ll talk more about this in minute. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10), while Jesus comes to give us life in all its fullness.
In our passage from Ephesians, Paul reminds us that God wants to protect us from Satan’s attacks and God answers our prayers for protection by giving us spiritual armor. Paul says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We are in a spiritual battle against spiritual beings and we need the protection of God’s spiritual armor and weapons.
What spiritual armor does God protect us with?
Paul uses common imagery, the armor worn by a Roman soldier. Paul himself may have been in prison when he wrote the letter to the church at Ephesus, watching the soldiers guard him daily.
1. Belt of truth – God gives us absolute truth to believe to counter Satan’s deceptions.
The belt holds everything together. Satan is the father of lies (Jn. 8:44) God gives us his absolute truth to counter Satan’s deceptions. What we believe about God, ourselves, is important. Truth helps us see through false beliefs and values presented by Satan and by our culture. Are we believing the truth as God has revealed it to us, or are we believing the “truth” of those around us?
Unfortunately, we live in a day and age where people make up their own truth. People seem to fall for almost anything. Apparently that is the basis behind all of these political ads. Rather we must be people who are formed from the truth of God’s Word. Our response shouldn’t be, “what do you think?” It should be, “what has God said.”
Examples: We are lied to all the time. When I watch sports the commercials tell me I am not good looking enough, I need some rogaine, Or women you need the latest greatest makeup, and we believe it. There is more serious issues though, like is it okay to have sex before marriage? Our culture says “Yes.” Is gay marriage acceptable? Many in our culture say “yes.” If we live according to the truth of our culture we will eventually cause brokenness because we have not looked at the truth of God’s Word.
2. Breastplate of righteousness – God imputes us with righteousness to battle
The breastplate was the most important piece since it protected the vital organs of a soldier. Righteousness is one of the most important pieces in our spiritual armor.
If you were here last week we talked about righteousness as a gift that God gives us. A righteous person is not someone who does good deeds, but a person who is in right relationship with God, who has been forgiven by God through Jesus Christ. Sometimes Satan tries to take us out of the picture by making us feel guilty and convince us that we aren’t forgiven, even though we have asked for God’s forgiveness. Satan tries to convince us that perhaps our sin was too great, or that God couldn’t possibly love and save a poor wretch like me. He tries to drive that wedge between us and God.
NIV 2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
3. Shoes of the gospel of peace
Satan tries to rile us up and get us angry, but we have the good news of peace. Peace with God through Jesus Christ, and his peace which passes all understanding dwells in our hearts. Satan wants to rob us of that peace.
NIV Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Remind ourselves of our testimony of what God has done in overcoming Satan’s accusations.
4. Shield of faith
When everything around you appears to be falling apart and that little voice is whispering in your ear, “I told you so, nothing good happens when you follow God.” The only thing that can keep us going sometimes in the valley of the shadow of death is our faith. Believing God will come through even when we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Job trusted in faith that he would be justified and restored even though he faced a terrible situation.
1 Pet. 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
5. Helmet of salvation
We can laugh in the face of death because we can be assured that nothing will separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ not even death.
6. Sword of the Spirit – the word of God
This is the only offensive weapon Paul mentions here. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness he used God’s Word to parry and thrust against Satan’s. When Satan tempted him to make stones into bread, Jesus replies from the OT book of Deut. “man does not live on bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
7. Praying for the Spirit for all the Saints
When? On all occasions. So I only need to pray when I am at church? So I should pray only in the morning when I get up, or when I go to bed, or the standard meal time prayer? No, I should pray when? On all occasions.
For who? All the saints. The saints by the way are you and me.
How do we stay protected? By praying for each other.
II. Protect us from Temptation - Lead Us Not Into Temptation
Does this suggest God does intentionally lead us into temptation? The Biblical answer is no. Jesus’ brother James writes,
"When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed (James 1:13-14)."
God will never tempt anyone into doing evil, however God will test our faithfulness by allowing us to face difficult situations. The Greek word for temptation is the same word for testing. The same word can be used in a positive or negative sense. In a positive sense God puts our character to the test through various trials and tribulations. But in a negative sense, we are tempted by Satan and our own desires into doing something we should not do.
In either case whether we look at it as tempting or testing, Jesus invites us to pray that God would lead us away from these tempting or testing situations.
Our prayer is that God would not even let us get into these situations however God doesn’t make any guarantees .
If we pray this prayer, what does God do to help us in facing our temptation?
NLT 1 Corinthians 10:13 But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.
A. God will reduce the severity of temptation.
“He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it.”
Perhaps you have heard the comment, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.”
NLT Hebrews 2:18 Since he [Christ] himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted.
B. God will provide a way out of temptation.
“When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.”
Even if God does allow you to face temptation, he will provide a way out. This does not mean God will take the temptation or testing away.
We can ask God for the power and protection of his Spirit so that we do not fall for
Conclusion
People of God, we need a prayer shield. I know of too many casualties in the war. Pastors have fallen due to moral failures (my parents best friend was a pastor who ended up cheating on his wife’s best friend and ending up marrying her), church leaders have fallen, churches have split over relatively insignificant issues. That’s what Satan does and we have to be prepared to fight the enemy with spiritual weapons, and our greatest spiritual weapon is prayer. I remind those of you who have signed up to pray for me on my prayer calendar to be praying for me, if you have not signed up please do. On one day I commit to praying for you, and you in turn commit to praying for me. We are covering each other in prayer create a prayer shield around me. I encourage you to have a prayer partner and pray God’s protection upon them.
