Please open your bibles with me to matthew chapter 6 We have looked throughout this semester at um the prayer that jesus taught his disciples and uh I want us to focus this morning, especially on verse 13 the sixth petition And we're going to read this prayer together from verse 9 to 13. But before we read, let us pray together. Our Lord and heavenly Father, as we join this morning in prayer, we want to bring glory and praises before your mercy. We thank you that we may know that our lives Are not in our hands our times are not in our hands Nor is it in the hands of men or governments? But our times are set before you and you are the one That are in control And so we we humble ourselves in this morning before you we seek your guidance as we listen to your word and We pray that you may illuminate our minds and search our hearts as we gather together for this time of devotion. We thank you for your mercy that we have experienced throughout this semester. And as we are now also preparing for this last phase, we pray that you may guide us. As we pray in Christ's name, Amen. Matthew chapter six, we're reading from verse nine. Pray then in this way. Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. Do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil for yours is the kingdom the power and the glory forever amen the apostle paul writes in ephesians chapter 6 regarding a very real battle against a very real enemy He writes in chapter 6 verse 11 the following Put on the full armor of god so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil Likewise peter when he writes in 1 peter 5 verse 8 refers to satan being a lion on the prowl looking for someone to devour And often when we think and when we talk about the devil, a lot of conversations, a lot of theology today in the church, move between one of two extremes. On the one side, you have the extreme of denying the existence of the devil and the spiritual realm as a whole. like a theological lecturer a few years back at one of the main universities said, the devil is like the hole in the cheese. He's there but he's not there really. It's just old wives tales that we made up to scare our children. That's the one extreme, and there is a lot of this bad theology going about in churches today. Ah, the devil doesn't really exist. This is myths, this is legends. On the other side, you have the pull of over-exaggerating the devil and his power. where the devil is acknowledged and his existence is acknowledged and the spiritual realm is acknowledged yet there is such an exaggeration when it comes to his work and power that he is portrayed as a some kind of omnipotent being almost on par with God himself and therefore everything that goes wrong in your life, well that is blamed on the devil. Yet Christ, when he talks about Satan, and the demons, and the spiritual realm, does not step into one of these extremes. Yes, he does acknowledge the existence of the spiritual realm. And he does acknowledge the existence of our chief enemy, which is called the devil or Satan or by other names, Lucifer, Abaddon and so forth. Yet he teaches quite clearly that this being and the demons alike is not omnipotent. Yes, they are a very real danger, but Christ himself has overcome them. The devil is not on equal footing with Christ, nor the Father or the Spirit. The triune God is the chief authority over all. in both the visible and the invisible realms. And so when Christ teaches his disciples to pray, he also takes into account the battle we have on a daily basis against this enemy. And so he comes to the sixth petition and he teaches us to pray, do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil, or as some translations would have it, the evil one. Regarding this petition, I want us to focus our attention this morning on a few things. Firstly, the petition lead us not into temptation. Secondly, some devices or ways by which Satan do tempt. And then thirdly, the petition for deliverance. What does Christ mean when he teaches us to pray, lead us not into temptation? On first glance, it almost seems as if we think God is the one that tempts. Yet this is not the case. It does not mean that God is the tempter. This expression, lead us not, goes back to the idea of a guide leading a group of people in the desert. So if you are part of this party going on a journey through the desert and you tell the guide, do not get us lost. It doesn't mean that you do not trust the guide. Because let's face it, if you didn't trust the guide, you wouldn't have ventured off into the desert with him in the first place, right? When you say don't get us lost, you mean that you do trust him and you do trust his knowledge of the desert to bring you safely to the next well or oasis and that he would know the most direct and best route to that. And so, in asking him, do not get us lost, you basically tell him, listen, plot out the best route for us. With that, at the same time, there is a dual idea of causative and permissive expression here. When you think of this, lead us not into temptation, within causative focus, we basically pray, do not cause us to go into temptation ourselves. And permissive, do not allow us, do not permit us to go into temptation. That is the idea of this verb to not lead us into temptation. In other words, you would tell a guide in the desert to basically do not allow us to leave your sight. Do not allow us to wander off into the desert because that will be our certain death. And in the same sense, when we pray, do not lead us into temptation, we are praying, God, please do not allow us to wander off away from you into the deserts of temptation. Therefore, this prayer is not just a prayer to protect us against the onslaughts of Satan. But in its essence, it is a prayer to protect us against ourselves. Because let's face it, how many times do we wander off into temptations ourselves? It doesn't take much for Satan to tempt us. We deliberately, with eyes wide open, walk into it. And so we beseech God, keep us away from these things where we know this is where we are going to follow our hearts instead of directing it in his ways. And why is this so important? Why is it a necessity for us to pray this prayer for deliverance from evil or the evil one? It is because of the malice and the subtlety with which the devil thinks. I mean, if the devil comes to you in the form of a dragon, or a roaring lion, everybody is going to know you run the other way. But often, that is not the way Satan tempts. Satan often comes in the form of an angel of delight. He often comes with the subtlety and the sleuthness of a serpent. So because he is often very subtle, in his temptations, we need to be on the guard when it comes to his temptations, when it comes to his stratagems, and when it comes to his onslaughts. And they are numerous. We can have this whole day just listing one after the other. but for the sake of limited time, I just quickly want to run through about 10 without giving too much attention to each, but just to get our minds going and perhaps broaden our view of how do I look at temptations. Number one, often Satan comes with subtlety by observing our natural tendencies, our natural temper, and our natural behavior in order to fashion a temptation that will connect to that. It's like a fisherman. When he knows, you know what, in this river, this is the bait. that most fish are being caught on is going to fashion a rook and a lure on that premise for the sake of catching a fish. And so often Satan is a great observer of our habits. And so he fashions the temptations where he knows our weaknesses lay. Secondly, He chooses the best suited season to tempt us, usually in times where we are neglectful in our prayer and study of the word, or when our strength is at a low. Think for a moment, when did he tempt Job? He did not tempt Job when he was healthy and at the peak of his faith. No, he first took away everything, and then he came through his wife. Then he came through his friends while he was sitting there on the rubbish dumps. At his lowest point, Satan came with his fiercest temptations. So also often we are tempted when we are idle, when we are sick, when we are tired. Remember, Satan does not fight fear. He does not allow you to recuperate. He will kick you when you are down. That's his strategy. Thirdly, It tempts in a gradual manner. Drawing you into temptation and into sin by degrees. Starting off with, with so-called lesser sins. And as soon as you have stepped into that quicksand, it draws you into greater ones. Think of Judas. He was drawn into sin by covetousness and greediness. And finally, he sold the Lord for 30 coins. Number four, he tempts us when we least expect it. Like a lion pouncing on his prey when that prey is not expecting an attack. So also, when we are not on our guard, spiritually speaking, these are the times that Satan will attempt to tempt us the fiercest. Perhaps when we are on a high point in our spiritual life and think, you know what? I'm on top of the world And we lower our God that is when he will strike Or even unexpectedly through a friend like he did with Peter Just after the confession you are a son of the Living God And a few moments later Christ had to told tell Peter go away from me Satan because you do not think about things of the kingdom and Even through a friend. Number five, he tempts us when we withdraw. He will tempt us and then he will withdraw for a while in order to prepare a greater attack. Just like in the case with Joshua, when they attacked Ai the second time. They withdrew in order to draw the men out of the city to weaken its defenses. So also Satan will often attack, withdraw to weaken our resolve and then will come with the full army. Number six, he gives sins a likable name. so uncontrolled spirit is not sin it is spiritual zeal or pride is not a sin it is just to carry oneself in front of other people and so we can go down a long list of things which the scriptures calls sin for which Satan came up with nice names. Number seven, he draws men away from the truth and teaches them to embrace error as if it was truth. Isn't this our problem we have today? Why is there so many churches, if you can call them that, that embraces falsehood as if it is true gospel. Didn't Paul warn against this, that in the last days people will go along following the teachings of demons as if it is the teachings of the gospel? 1 Timothy 4. Likewise, in 2 Timothy 4, he says that people will want to hear a message that tickles them in the ear rather than listening to the truth. Lies and falsehood are amongst the chief weapons of Satan. Number eight, he disguises temptation and sin in the cloak of necessity. He turns niceties into necessities. He takes that things which is nice to have, and he turns it into a need to have. And as soon as it has been turned into a need to have, it mutates into an idol, with which I cannot live without. Number nine, he often aims for the foundations of our faith more than other areas. Because if the foundations crumble, the whole building comes tumbling down. And he knows that. Why do you think he often aims at chief doctrines like the physical, bodily, and visible resurrection of Christ? or the virgin conception of Christ or even the return of Christ. These are foundational doctrines without which the gospel do not make sense. Or number 10, he assaults holy duties either by hindering us to do them or by or even by convincing us that it is out of our reach. So, for instance, he tends us to neglect our prayer life by keeping us busy. Or he convinces us that, well, it doesn't help to pray in many ways. It is, we don't get to receive, in any case, what we pray for. Or, when we are in prayer, He convinces us, do you really think God will accept this prayer just in what He's done for you a few minutes ago? Either by hindrance, or even via our holy duties, or by way of, you cannot attain it. And so we can have a lot more to say about the vices, and manners, and strategies of Satan. Now, I really want to encourage you to be aware of these things. I think two great books that stand out when it comes to the strategies of Satan and how to prepare to go to battle against him is in the Hierarchical Virtues. In Thomas Watson's discussion of this petition, He made a quite a large number, 27 strategies to be precise. That is not even to mention all the ways we can go against these and prepare for this war. Or Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, I think he's a chief manual for spiritual If you come to a bit more modern age, I think there is something, even though it must be read with caution, in the Screwtape Letters of C.S. Lewis. Do not take everything as truth, for the one that advises is also mean. But there is something we need to be said, to notice from our perspective the way that Satan often thinks. Which brings us to the idea of the petition of deliverance. How then are we delivered? Consider the following. Firstly, we have already been delivered from the slavery and the bondage of slavery and of slavery. And also from the bondage that we are under the curse and judgment of God. That had already happened, that had already taken place in the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ. He is our justification and therefore in Him we have been delivered. The bondage of sin had been broken. Therefore, we can, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, live a God-glorifying life. We are not slaves to sin anymore. Sin can conquer. We are not slaves of the devil, for we are taken out of the kingdom of darkness and implanted into the kingdom of life. And so, Christ is salvation. And so, also, if we are delivered by Christ, we need to look at sin correctly. We must see sin as sin for its definition, for its vulgarity. and as for its testability. Often we pray, deliver us from the evil one, but we think deliverance isn't really necessary because the evil is not that bad. But if we realize what sin is, and what snare sin is, By looking at it through the eyes of God, we will pray very earnestly for deliverance. And so, if we want to pray for deliverance, we first need to look correctly at sin. Also, we ought to prepare for war. A lot of Christians pray, oh, deliver us from the evil one and then sit back and do nothing. Does not Paul tell us, put on the whole armor of God? He does not say, Jesus has saved you from your sin, therefore now you can go back into debt. No, prepare for war. Here is the full armor of God. The helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness. Take it out, put it on, prepare for war. The writing to the Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 12 says, you have not wrought against sin until you saw blood. You have become complacent in sin. If we want to be delivered from sin, We need to prepare the way that God says we need to prepare. We cannot war against it, we cannot be delivered from it if we are not prepared for it. One of the ways that we prepare for it is firstly by knowing the battlefield and therefore avoiding the places of temptation. Often, a lot of Christians pray, protect me against this temptation, but I'm going to walk into the carnival of sin. God protect me in the carnival. No, that's not how it works. If we pray, deliver us from the evil one, it also means to help us to avoid the places of danger in the first place. If you know you struggle with the sin of alcohol, drunkenness, you avoid the places where you can get alcohol. If you know you have a temptation when it comes to lottery, you avoid places like Caesar's Palace in Constantinople. With that, pray constantly. No temptation can be withstood in your own strength. Therefore pray. What did Jesus tell Peter? Satan wants to sift you, but I have prayed for you. And then in Gethsemane, what does Jesus tell him? Pray so that you do not come into temptation. How often are we walking into temptation because we do not pray? We do not ask God to open our eyes for the quicksand of temptation, and therefore we wander into it. Finally, by also finding comfort in the fact that our High Priest, Christ, has and is praying for us, against Satan and his devices. Like he told Peter, I have prayed for you, that your faith do not fail. And in his High Priestly Prayer, John 17, he also prays for his church, those who come to faith And so the one who is standing with us is greater than the one that is in the world. Let us stay to heart. We are in a very real battle. A battle which can only be fought firstly on our knees, and secondly, in our hearts, long from when it becomes something external. This is a battle that we cannot fight in our own strength. We are not able to. Therefore, it can only be fought in dependence upon the Spirit who leads us, and in Christ, our Savior, and who has loosened the bondage of sin by his death and resurrection. Let us stand together. Lord, our Heavenly Father, we thank you for your loving kindness also in showing us and guiding us to pray against the temptations of life, against the strategies of satan, and His armies. And yet we have to acknowledge that so often we do not give them a lot of work, for we are often our own worst enemies, walking into temptations while our eyes are wide open. Forgive us our sin. Forgive us our weakness. Forgive us the fact that we often wander off. And as Christ taught us, we pray, guide us. Do not allow us to wander off into temptations. Do not lead us into strange ways. But guide us safely through this journey called life. Guide us to the wellsprings of life, and deliver us from the onslaughts of Satan and his armies. This we pray in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.