Evening. Again, good to be with you. Returning, as usual, in our Bibles to Matthew's Gospel and chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6, again reading verses 9 to 13. The words of our Lord Jesus in teaching the disciples to pray. After this manner, therefore, pray ye, our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. And God will bless and always does bless the public reading of his inspired, infallible, inerrant word. After what manner are we to pray We are to pray about the fatherhood of God. We are to pray of the exaltation of God. We are to pray of the holiness of God, the kingdom of God, the will of God. We are to pray asking for the provision of God, daily bread. we're to pray concerning the forgiveness of God, to forgive us our debts as we forgive those who are debtors to us. And then Jesus teaches us to pray, and just following on from forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. the deliverance of God. There are two parts to the phrase we're looking at tonight. Number one, lead us not into temptation. That is the negative, lead us not into temptation. And the second point is, deliver us from evil. That's the positive deliverance. But firstly, Number one, lead us not into temptation. What do the words mean? The word and means also, in addition to the previous things that we're told to pray, and also in addition to that, lead us not into temptation. The word lead means bring. It's an active, subjunctive, subjective, sorry. in the Greek, and the word not is a qualified negative. In certain circumstances, not. We'll see why in a minute. Lead us not into temptation. The word can be translated in a number of ways, because it means a number of things. Temptation, trial, or proving experiment. And when you put all those words together, the phrase says this, also, don't normally bring me into temptation, trial, or proving. Now that doesn't help very much, sure it doesn't. So what's the teaching of the first phrase in this verse 13? To get the teaching, we must understand how the same word Like in our language, how the same word can be used in a few different ways with different meanings. That's the same in the Bible, same in our language, same in the Bible. This word translated temptation can mean a number of things depending on the context. And we must understand this And because if we don't understand this, we will read and think that the Bible is contradicting itself in some places, which is, of course, nonsense. So temptation can mean a number of things. Number one, sometimes the word is used in the Bible and it means a test, a trial, or to prove something. And when it's used in this way, this is something that God does to us as his people. For example, we see it in James chapter one, and I'm turning it over for you and I'll read in verses two and three. Listen to what it says here. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers' temptation. knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience." See, the word temptation there means a trial. to strengthen our faith, and it works patience. Maybe I told you this before. Before I went to Bible college, I visited a wee old man in Lisburn Congregational Church. He was from Scotland, and his name was Jim. And I used to go to him, because he knew the Bible, and he was praying for me before I went to Bible college. And he said, what do you want me to pray for? I said, you pray that I will have patience, because I was not a very patient person. And in his prayer, he says, Lord, give him much trials and temptation. for tribulation worketh patience." But anyway, in this context, count it all joy when you fall into different kinds of temptations, knowing that the trying of your faith works patience. Sometimes temptation or trials come from God. And he puts his people through trials in order to grow our faith, to make us steadfast. Like it says also in 1 Peter 1.7, faith that is tried by fire, same word tried, tempted, tried, comes out like gold, it's proven to be real and valuable, only when it's tried. and all the dross is burnt away. So temptation, or better translated probably trial, can mean in the Bible a test or a trial or proving grounds that we must go through and God puts us through them to make us stronger. Like God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice Isaac, his son, It was a trial of his faith. Genesis 20, 2, 1. So God did test or tempt Abraham in that way. But in our English word, tempt can mean trial or prove. Secondly, the word temptation, or translated in English into temptation, can also mean, many times it means this in the Bible, when we are tempted by our own lust or sinful nature, tempted to sin. James 1 again, verse 13 and 14, let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed." See, they're in the same chapter, it's the same word, used in two different ways. This is not a test. This is just sinful, this type of temptation. Our own sinful nature, even after we're Christians, can tempt us. And this is the way this word is used here, and it is not God testing us in this case. It's just our love of sin tempting and oppressing us. So temptation in this sense, in which it's also used in the Bible then, is not a test, but is a weakness in us which is exposed. And another third way that the word temptation or tempted is used in the Bible is when people are tempted off the devil. The tempter is one of his names. When the devil tempts people, whether it's himself or through his minions, he came himself and he tempted Eve, didn't he? In the Garden of Eden, he came and he tempted Eve. He tempted Judas. He tempted Peter. Didn't Jesus say to Peter, Peter, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you." The tempter. This happens in the Bible too. The tempter comes to people sometimes. He even came and tempted the only begotten Son of God. The tempter. He came to Jesus in the wilderness and tempted him in this way. This wasn't Jesus' sinful nature. He didn't have any. It wasn't a trial sent from God. It was the temptation of the devil. And Jesus in the wilderness, the devil came to him, Satan, and tempted Jesus. Note the three areas. I'm not resisting getting into the three areas, but temptation comes to us as human beings in three areas. He tempted Jesus, first of all, with the natural desire for food, things that we naturally desire the devil will use to tempt us. There's nothing wrong with food. but he tempted us to go further to the sin of gluttony and so on. So he tempted Jesus with a natural human desire, then he tempted Jesus with presumption. Presumption of safety by taking the psalm out of context. He's given us angels charged to keep you safe in all your ways, so go and jump off mountains and temples. Nonsense. So he tempts us through our natural desires, as he tempted Christ. He tempted Christ through presumption of safety. He tempted Christ through position and power in this world. And Christ, of course, refuted all those things, was not tempted, because he resisted using the word of God every time, verbally. He quoted Scripture, the rhema, the spoken word of God, the sword of the Spirit. The temptation of Satan is entrapment, and as he tempted Christ in those areas, so he tempts us. With natural desires, presumption of doing silly things, God'll keep us safe. On the temptation of oh so many in our day, do this, and you'll have a good position. Oh, how many have fallen for that. In 1 Timothy chapter 3, talking about the qualifications of an elder for a church, one of the qualifications says this, not a novice. Why? Not like many churches say. I remember a church was going to call me, and it was a big church, many, many years ago. And the elders, or there weren't any elders, the deacons, they said, we'll not call Paul because we want someone with experience. That's what the church, we want someone with experience. And they ended up, they called somebody who went straight from school to Bible college and into there who had no experience of anything in the church. is about an eighth of the size it used to be now. But that's what churches go. Don't pick a novice, the churches would say, because we want someone with experience. No, that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says, not a novice lest he be tempted of the devil. That's what it says. Lest he fall into the temptation of the devil. Now, it is these latter two types of, or uses of the word temptation, that we are to pray to be delivered from. Let me go back to Matthew. And lead us not into temptation. These two latter types. We are to pray that the Lord would deliver us, or let us not be led into temptation. in the area of tempted by our own sinful nature and tempted by the wicked one. Listen to William Perkins, the Puritan. He says in his great commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, First, there is good and holy temptation, an action of God, whereby he, God, tries a man, to make manifest, which means to reveal, both to himself and to others what is in his heart truly. To reveal the strength and reality and genuineness of our faith, in other words. Perkins goes on, he says, secondly, there is evil temptation. that wicked motion, allurement, or persuasion whereby a man is provoked to sin against God in transgressing his commandments. When we pray, lead us not into temptation, we ask God to keep us from the second type of temptation, not the first." End of quote. So when we pray, lead us not into temptation, We're not praying that, Lord, make me immune from all temptation, never try my faith, and let me sail through life under a clear blue sky without a cloud. We're not praying that. Sure we're not. But we're saying, Lord, Let us not be led into temptation." We're saying this wicked, evil seduction that we can be tempted with by our sin nature or by the wicked one and his minions. Lord, do not let me fall to my own lust and make shipwreck of my life. That's what we're praying. Lord, may I not fall into that type of temptation, nor the temptation of the wicked one. Listen to Thomas Manton. When we say, lead us not into temptation, Christ doth not mean that we should pray for absolute exemption from temptation, because that is the lot of all the saints, but that we may not fall under the weight of a temptation. that he would not, as a judge by spiritual excommunication, put us into the hands of Satan to be crushed by him, as explained in the next phrase in the verse, but deliver us from evil." End of quote. So, that's the first point. first phrase in verse 12, lead us not into temptation. We're asking God—Jesus is teaching us to ask God—not to let us fall to our own sinful desires, our sinful nature, the temptations of our sinful nature, or to fall and be tempted by the wicked one. Now, I ask the question at this point, why do you think that Jesus Christ taught his disciples to pray thus. Do you think he would teach his disciples to pray thus if Christians can here on earth get to a point when they aren't even tempted to sin and don't sin ever? Of course not. Makes a nonsense of it, doesn't it? Jesus Christ teaches His disciples and us through reading the Word as His disciples to pray because of this phrase, because it is quite possible, in fact it's more than likely, that a true Christian can be tempted and is tempted by their own sinful desires. Of course they are. We are tempted by the allurements of sin. And anyone denies that denies what Christ is teaching. Yeah, and we can even be tempted by the enemy of our souls, ho diabolos, the devil. And that brings us to the other half of the phrase that Christ teaches in this verse. Second point, but deliver us from evil. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. The Greek word deliver means rescue or save. Us, who's the us? Not everyone in the world. Who's he speaking to on the Sermon on the Mount? His followers, his disciples. Deliver us, the Christians. It's we who are being taught to pray, Christians that are being taught to pray this way. That's who the us is. and rescue or save us as believers from evil." Deliver us from evil. Do you know in the Greek the word is the evil? It's a nominative case word, which means it is a title in the Greek in which the New Testament was written. and to translate it directly, it says this, and deliver us from the evil one. That's exactly what it says. Deliver us from the evil one. The devil, the tempter, because it's all about temptation. And when we put those words together, it is obvious. We are to ask God in the area of temptation, to save or to rescue us from the evil one, to deliver us from the evil one. That old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. Revelation chapter 12 and verse 9. What is the teaching? this second phrase, this positive phrase, deliver us from the evil one in the prayer. Now, we know, of course, when we are saved that we are, as Jesus says in the Gospels, we are brought out of the strong man's house in the parable. strong man keeps his goods in peace, that's the devil. And when we get saved, we get brought out of his kingdom and placed into God's kingdom. Or we are brought out from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God. That's what happens when we get saved, from the power of Satan to God. The gospel delivers us when we're saved from the power of Satan and Satan's kingdom, from that and into God's kingdom and under God's power. But that is not what is being talked about here in the Lord's Prayer of salvation, because Christ is now teaching His followers who are already following Him, and we still need to pray, deliver us from the evil one. daily, following the daily bread and so on, deliver us from the evil one, because we as believers can still be tempted and caught by him, caught out. Didn't God permit Job to be tempted of the devil? Doesn't it say in Zechariah chapter 3 verse 1 that Satan stood at the high priest Joshua's right hand to resist him? We are to pray and ask continually to be delivered from the evil one. The New Testament teaches the devil goeth about." Now, it says this after Christ's ascension, long after Christ's ascension to heaven. The devil goeth about, present active participle, is going around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith." Isn't that right? Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Isn't that right? Funny saying that if he's already locked up in the abyss, isn't it? Nonsense. Nonsense. These epistles are written to the New Testament church, and the devil is going around like a roaring lion, seeking, and we're to fight him. We're to put on the whole armor of God and resist the devil, because he's still around tempting people. We're to take up the armor of God, the equipment, the armor, the weapons, and we're to fight spiritual war. Lord, deliver us from the evil one. The Christian life is a spiritual war, you see. And in spiritual war, a Christian may be tempted. We may be tempted by our sinful natures. We may be tempted by the evil one and his minions. And we are to pray as taught by Jesus Christ, Lord, let me not fall to my sinful nature. Lord, deliver me from the evil one. In other words, because we're saved, we're not home free just automatically. We don't just live our lives under a cloudless sky, this side of eternity. No, no, no. But there's temptation. There's the evil one. And we are to pray to God about both of those things. as taught by Jesus. I conclude and apply a little of what we've been looking at tonight. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Let's not cut and paste bits out of the Sermon on the Mount. Oh, that doesn't apply to us today. Oh, does it not? Does it not? That's just the same as liberals. If it didn't apply to us, it would tell us so. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. I've given you two points. We are to pray, number one, lead us not into temptation. Temptation can sometimes be a test or a proving ground. We're not praying against that. God will test us, and we need that. We are sometimes tempted or tested by our sinful nature and our lusts. We are praying against that. And we're sometimes tempted by the devil and his minions. And yes, we are to pray against that. Secondly, deliver us from evil. Deliver us from the evil one. Help us to resist him and stand against him and pray, Lord, deliver us from him. Three lessons, very simple. Number one, The Christian life is no leisure cruise, sure it's not. It's not like going on a big cruise ship for our own leisure, for a nice relaxing break. Some evangelists present the Christian life in that way, don't they? Come to Jesus. He's the great self-help expert. He'll meet all your needs. He'll make your life more fulfilling, and of course he will. He will. He'll free you from sin. Oh, and you'll just sail every day under a cloudless sky, just like as if you're on a big luxury cruise ship where you can just come and eat and drink and sail around the world entertaining yourself. No, no, no. The Bible teaches when you become a Christian, you're not going on a leisure cruise. There's testing and proving There's faith that goes through a trial by fire to see if it's real and to see if it trusts God in the darkness as well as the light like Job. Yea, though he slay me, yet will I trust him. God tries our faith that others may look on and that he may look on and we may see. I am trusting him no matter what. There's testing and proving in the Christian life. There's a sinful nature that we're never rid off this side of eternity, which we're to keep on killing and putting to death every day, as it says in Romans, but it's still alive. And we're susceptible to temptation in the Christian life, being tempted by our sinful natures. And then there's the evil one, the devil, who lures and tries to entrap and lays his traps. whom we, if the Bible says, we're not ignorant of his devices and we're to resist him. So the first thing we learn is that the Christian life is not a holiday cruise, from the phrase, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Secondly, we see from this phrase, or these two phrases, it's really one, I suppose, that we are in prayer to confess our own weaknesses to the Lord and our own lack of ability to stand against temptation without God. Lord, deliver us. Lord, lead us not into temptation. We are confessing our own inability, aren't we? These phrases in this prayer are confessions of our own inability and weakness to resist. It takes humility. These phrases are basically saying, Lord, I can't do it myself. Lord, deliver me, lead me. And what is that? It's humility. It's meekness from the beatitude, truly. Where a Christian is someone who's humble enough always to admit, I can't do it on my own, Lord. I need you. Lead us not into temptation. That's an individual, obviously, application, isn't it? But I must confess that Deliver us from the evil one. Many churches and denominations in our land couldn't pray that, could they? In many churches and pulpits and denominations in our land, the evil one speaks from the pulpit. and his dictates are taught. Isn't that right? Church of England, Church of Ireland, officially sanctioning, and this is from the pulpits, to bless so-called gay marriage. It's the opposite of what God's That is Satan's voice, brethren. And the gender identity and personal pronouns, what nonsense! It's Satan that's speaking on behalf of the Church of England, is it not? How could it possibly be anyone else? to call that blessed which God calls an abomination? The opposite, it's absolute perversion, and it's from the lips of Satan. Any minister that says those things is off the devil himself. Listen to what it says in the book of Revelation in chapter three. I would just look this up when I was sitting in the van outside. Yes, Revelation 3, 9, it's to the church in Philadelphia, the letter of the church in Philadelphia, that was a good church, was faithful and true, and was faithful to the Word. And Jesus says, I know your works, I've set before you an open door, and no man can shut it, for thou hast little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. A wee weak church, but it was faithful. What does Jesus say next? Who do you think it's talking about here? Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan. I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. What does Matthew Henry say about that? This is the Matthew Henry study Bible. One of the greatest Puritan commentators ever. You know what he says? The synagogue of Satan. What's a synagogue of Satan? Tells you in the Westminster Confession, which many churches profess to adhere to, and very few actually do adhere to and believe. The synagogue of Satan assemblies that either worship false gods or the true God in a false manner are the synagogues of Satan. They may profess to be the people of God, but their profession is a lie." End of quote. That's just his exposition, and he's right. There are many churches and denominations, and they profess to be God's people, and they're lying, and how do you know? Well, whenever an adomination and ministers stand up and bless that which God calls the most perverse abomination, you can be sure it's the synagogue of Satan. So don't you tell me it's the church of England or the church of Ireland. It's not. It's the synagogue of Satan of England and the synagogue of Satan of Ireland. That's what it is. and they can't pray, deliver us from the evil one, because the evil one is right in there dictating to the whole church, his satanic morality. Thousands and thousands of so-called Christians don't even see it, because they're blind and they are ignorant of Satan's devices and temptations in this our day. Thirdly, These phrases in this prayer show that we are in prayer. It shows our dependence on God in prayer for deliverance from temptation and Satan's wiles. We are dependent on God. And to pray, Lord, lead me not into temptation, or let me not be led into temptation, and deliver me from the evil one, It shows absolute dependence on God, and it shows no self-sufficiency. See, in our modern day, oh, it's self-sufficient. I'm autonomous. I can do it myself. I don't need any help. Isn't that the attitude of the world? And of many Christians, self-confidence in my own abilities. That's the world's mind. No, no. When we pray this phrase, Lord, lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one, it shows an absolute dependence on our omnipotent, all-powerful God that we can't deliver ourselves. And it's just as well But we're depending on God for deliverance, isn't it? From our temptation and the powers and the evil one, because when it comes to deliverance from the power of Satan, the evil one, we have no hope in and of ourselves. Sure, we can hardly deliver ourselves from a fish supper. Never name a fallen angel. I have trouble delivering myself, trying not to eat supper every night before I go to bed. Never in a year I'm resisting a fallen angel. Dear me. You can't resist a fish supper. You're never gonna resist the anointed cherub that covers the dragon that was cast from heaven and his teal drew a third of the stars of heaven. The book of Revelation, stars in Revelation mean angels that fell. We're not able to resist temptation or the devil's power in and of ourselves, which is why we pray, Lord, deliver me from the evil one. Let me not be tempted, lead me not into the path of temptation. Let us depend upon our all-powerful God. And as we pray that, we are depending on the all-powerful God. I say something just as I close to anyone listening who's not a Christian. If you're not trusting in Jesus Christ, if you're not a Christian, your sins are not forgiven, you're not in the kingdom of God, even if you can sit in a church, you're in the kingdom of this world, the kingdom of the devil. Because it says in 1 John, the whole world lieth in wickedness. And that's the same Greek words again. The whole world lies in the wicked one. And everyone outside Christ is in the kingdom of the wicked one. Martin Lloyd-Jones says it actually is in the embrace, the Greek word means, in the clutches of the evil one. And if you're not a Christian, that's where you are, in the clutches of the devil, in his kingdom. It says that the God, small g, of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest they should believe and let glorious gospel and be saved. But it's Satan, the God, small g, blinds the minds of everyone not in God's kingdom. And it's only by God's grace that he comes in and breaks through and saves people from Satan's kingdom. And if you're not saved, that's you, you're in the kingdom of Satan. And you're blind and dead in sin, you're unforgiven, and you've no power to resist temptation, your own sinful nature, or the temptation of the devil. And the only person that can set you free is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the bondage breaker. And that's why it says in the book of Acts, when people trust in Jesus Christ, they are delivered, they're brought from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God. True salvation is found in Jesus Christ and in faith in Him alone. And if you're not a Christian, I would urge you tonight to turn from your sin and cry out to Jesus, because whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And then you also will depend on God the rest of your life to deliver you from temptation. I close with the words of John Calvin, probably one of the most famous reformers on this subject. Temptation, here's what he says. All temptations from whatever quarter were forged in the workshop of the enemy. Who is there that will be exempt from Satan's bite? when even Christ himself was not spared it? Satan never ceases diligently to suggest those things which may incite us to sin. To flee unto God, the only armor which renders us invincible, nothing is more powerful to overcome temptation than the fear of God. Fear God, beginning of wisdom. Pray to God and resist the devil, and he'll flee from you. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Thank you for your attention, brothers and sisters.