Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.northharris.freechurch.org/sermons/14151/31021-pm/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] I will ask Ian A to lead us in prayer in Galen please. Jacob has a young man on his way to move upon the place of our book. [0:42] The Cage breakments and jazz for most of his language admin and the Dockers ..asontest Rome ever by... [0:57] This Queijos, your father, acknowledge that he is too alt. As he's alive and still alive, he's remains young. [1:09] So he is reh住ing his friends thus, our spirit is boring as compliments. So, I replied to that God kept it. [1:26] I believe you started to sing a song of marriages yazy at the heart that youcur. [1:39] rings us там, и осторождестьсь, а в어난 или в Raymond. Здесь до Gospel, где тебя лишь и их кукачу vida Tel. [1:52] Конец затягившись вmirцом и мозговываем, пешком дч assembled впереди, кто vê seas льдер обетачимах, aproximadamente и оба не подражать, чини, страниц со своими д strains. Он был отраж Muthaшинов, and I think that's what I'm doing. [2:09] I'm doing a lot of work. I'm doing a lot of work. I'm doing a lot of work. [2:24] I'm doing a lot of work. I don't want to make those words a little. [2:35] But I want to make those words a little more today. Then, I hope, I hope. I will have a reservation just from my mum to write. And I miss... [2:50] I want to make those words a lot and write. But that carnival was what is on its amazing provided by a colony... [3:04] ...arians signed years for the collaborative process. It was Let's go check on all these! [3:51] so it can be built into the Relationship and or in that case, there can be a bridge toain. [4:09] There can be a bridge across the head like that. As some mothers who Abradwan Marcus and to all 저 and 좋아 personal hearts. [4:31] Whencelia, now we are working for forgiveness. We are now to talk about nions, he was watt last round for example, it was a few dineroché in Kent too back and it was good for me to do this in me First it was a joke around my Indonesia And finally one of the jokes around me famous reader for the Sempre complete And suddenly I had this university which was interesting. [5:15] He came back to him. He became a son, We'd bent out and then stared down anyhow, or we'd say no untuk nitares. [5:43] ised to use the colour between the겠지만 and the stuff you used. When i hear about this, it's a place for Turns toimy... [5:55] the arts though... I'll take this picture. or Ronald, or help one. [6:10] It is beyond duty〜 Let's go forward with your speech. We feel like they are only grounded in this place right? I can really think so, very often life in us. [6:24] I mean, come on from school and recording this once! box. And with your�를se when you walk in school you would and we sing again to God's praise. [6:51] This time from Mission Praise 458. 458 and Mission Praise Man of Sorrows. What a name. What a name. [7:34] Hallelujah. What a sinner. Fading shame and scoffing rude, in my place pond empty stew, seal my pardon with his blood. [7:59] Hallelujah. What a sinner. Filled divine and helpless free, spotless Lamb of God was he. [8:19] Full atonement can it be. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. What a Savior. [8:31] Lifted up was he to die. It is finished was his cry. [8:43] Now in heaven exalted high. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. What a Savior. [8:56] When he comes, When he comes, When he comes, Our glorious King, All his ransom, Dome to reign, Then a new His ransom will sing. [9:13] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. What a Savior. Let's turn now to God's word. [9:32] In Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6. And we'll read from verse 5 to verse 15. [9:50] Jesus says, And when you pray, Do not be like the hypocrites, For they love to pray standing in the synagogues, And on the street corners, To be seen by men. [10:07] I tell you the truth, They have received a reward in full. But when you pray, Go into your room, Close the door, And pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret, It will reward you. [10:21] And when you pray, Do not keep on babbling like pagans, For they think they will be heard Because of their many words. Do not be like them, For your Father knows what you need Before you ask him. [10:34] This, then, is how you should pray. Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. [10:46] Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. [10:58] For if you forgive men when they sin against you, Your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, Your Father will not forgive your sins. [11:10] Amen. And may God bless that reading of his word to us. We're going to sing again to God's praise. The words on the screen From hymn number 482. [11:26] 482 in the hymn book. Yield not to temptation, For yielding is sin. Each victory will help you, Some other to win. Fight manfully onward, Dark passions subdue. [11:38] Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through. Ask the Saviour to help you, Comfort, strengthen and keep you. He is willing to aid you, He will carry you through. We'll sing all of this short hymn To God's praise. [11:51] Thank you. Yield not to temptation, For yielding is sin. [12:16] Each victory will help you, Some other to win. Fight manfully onward, Dark passions subdue. [12:31] Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through. Ask the Saviour to help you, Comfort, strengthen and keep you. [12:46] He is willing to aid you, He will carry you through. Shun evil companions, But God wish to stay. [13:02] God's name hold in reverence, Nor take it in faith. Be faithful and earnest, Kind, hearted and true. [13:16] Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through. Ask the Saviour to help you, Comfort, strengthen and keep you. [13:31] He is willing to aid you, He will carry you through. To Him that you're coming, God giveth thy kind. [13:47] Through faith we shall conquer, God's name hold in reverence, And He will carry you through. He who is our Saviour, Our strength will renew, Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through. [14:08] Ask the Saviour to help you, Ask the Saviour to help you, Comefort, strengthen and keep you, He is willing to aid you, He will carry you through. [14:24] Well, just as we turn back to the passage that we read, let's once more pray. [14:45] Our Heavenly Father, we thank you again that you've brought us here this evening hour. We thank you that you've given us the desire to come to this place in worship. [14:56] We thank you that you have given us the promise that when we come and when we seek to understand what you have to say to us, when we seek to draw near to you, you will help us. [15:11] We thank you that the Holy Spirit is sent to be our teacher. And so we pray that we would know His help in all that we seek to do this evening. [15:22] We thank you for this prayer that we've been studying over past weeks. We thank you, Lord Jesus, that you have given us this lesson, this model prayer. [15:35] We thank you that you have guided us as you guided the disciples in the first instance to know how to pray. And we ask, Lord, that as we come to this text this evening, where we think about the issue of temptation and the evil one, we pray that you would give to us insight, that you would give us wisdom, give us understanding, Lord, receptive minds, soft hearts. [16:03] We pray, Lord, that you would work within us, that we would truly take in the truth of your word and be changed and transformed by it. We think of those in other places who do not have such freedom. [16:19] This has been prayed for nations that are closed off, Afghanistan, North Korea, and other places, Lord. We remember brothers and sisters in Christ who live in places where it's against the law to meet as we do. [16:34] We remember, Lord, their courage and we ask that you would continue to give them courage and we pray that in these places where there is such opposition and oppression, that you would continue, Lord Jesus, to build your church. [16:49] We thank you that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church that you're building there. We pray, Lord, that you would help us as we gather in safety to not take that for granted, but to know the thankfulness in our hearts that we are able to come together in this way. [17:13] We pray for others who do the same. We think of other denominations who meet around your word as we do in this place and in different places and we ask that you would help them, Lord, as we pray that you would help us. [17:28] We think of neighbouring congregations. We thank you for Stuart being able to preach in Scalpe this morning and we ask your blessing upon the word that he shared and we pray for Angus McKellar as he preaches just now, that you also would speak through him, help him, Lord, use him. [17:48] And we pray for the young folks, the YF, who will meet after the service this evening here. We ask that they would know your presence, that they would enjoy a time of fellowship together and that they would hear your voice, that these young folks in their early years would be cause to trust their creator, to know him and to have a relationship where they walk with Jesus all the days of their lives. [18:19] We thank you, Lord Jesus, that you are the one who is able to carry us through every season, every situation in life. So we look to you and pray that you would help them as we pray that you would help each one of us. [18:31] We are poor, we are needy, we are in much help of you for everything that we do, every breath we take is at your permission, Lord. [18:42] So help us, Lord, as we bow before you now to be in the spirit of worship on this, your day. And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, if you could have your Bibles open at Matthew 6, that would be helpful. [19:07] And we've been stepping through the Lord's Prayer over the last while, as you know. And for those visiting, you don't know, but we have been doing that. And we come this evening to verse 13. [19:19] Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. So that's our focus for tonight. It was on Tuesday of this week that I had a meeting scheduled in my diary. [19:37] I was supposed to be meeting a colleague who works for the Free Church. He's based in Edinburgh, but he was just here for a couple of hours. [19:48] He's an Irish man, so he's not from these parts. He's never been to the islands before. But he was coming here and he was visiting all the different ministers in the different church buildings and mansits. [20:02] And so I was supposed to be meeting him at the church here at half past four. But half past four came and half past four went. And there was no sign of him. [20:14] So I phoned the officers in Edinburgh and there's a girl, Sharon, who kind of assists him in what he's doing. And I said, is there any idea where Andrew is? And she said, well, he should be there. [20:27] I said, well, does he know where he's going? She said, well, you know, he should know where he's going. I gave him the postcode. So all he's got to do is tap it into the sat-nav and it'll take him straight to the door. [20:39] And I won't surprise you to know that the sat-nav didn't. It took him within about 50,000 miles of the door, but not much closer than that. So he had to phone up and say, where on earth is this church? [20:52] And 10 minutes later, we were able to meet up. But the point is, we have to be careful at who's leading us. We depend on people to lead us for many different things in life. [21:09] And we have to be careful who's leading us. On the islands, especially, the sat-nav on our phones or in our cars doesn't always lead us to the right route to the right address. [21:24] We can get taken to all kinds of strange places. I remember a lorry stuck on the Bialik Naba to Applecross causing carnage for days because some sat-nav thing would send it off in completely the wrong direction on a road that you can hardly get a bike over. [21:42] We need to be careful who's leading us. Sat-nav doesn't always lead us on the right road. Google, if we type Google in, boys and girls, do you ever use Google for your homework? You search up things on Google, doesn't always give you the right answers. [21:57] The newspapers, as we open them and we read the stories, they don't always report the truth. So we have to be careful who's leading us. [22:09] And even more when it comes to the spiritual things, we need to be careful who's leading us. And towards the end of verse 13 that we're looking at this evening, Jesus, he identifies someone called the evil one. [22:28] If you've got an ESV or a King James version, it simply says there, deliver us from evil. But in the NIV or the New King James, it's more specific, it's deliver us from the evil one. [22:42] And I think that's the better, more accurate translation. And even if we think about the breadth of Scripture, right the way from Genesis chapter 3, we know from that passage onwards that evil is not some nameless, faceless force. [23:03] Evil has a source. Evil has an author. Evil has a name. And his name is Satan. He is the evil one. [23:18] I've said this to you before, but a minister in Aberdeen that I was under for lots of years, William Still, he used to so regularly say, I always have one eye on the brute. [23:32] It's always stuck with me. He was a man who, if you ever listen to him preach and especially pray, it was so obvious that he had such a close walk with God. [23:44] His eyes were fixed on Jesus, but he used to so often say, I always have one eye on the brute. And that's a necessary thing because the brute, the evil one, would want to tell us lies, not truth. [24:04] He would want to cause us to be in a state of confusion and not have any kind of spiritual clarity. The evil one would want to mislead us. [24:16] And so Jesus points the finger at him. He takes the spotlight and he shines it on the evil one. [24:28] And he says, when you pray, be alert to the evil one. Don't let him mislead you. In fact, when you're praying, pray this way. [24:41] Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. So let's think about this verse for a few minutes this evening. [24:54] What are we praying? What are we asking God to do when we pray verse 13? Well, the first thing we're doing, the first point, is we're asking God to lead us. [25:07] As we pray verse 13, we're asking God to lead us. lead us at the first, well, and lead us at the first three words in that short verse. [25:18] And remember who Jesus is speaking to when he's giving this lesson in prayer. He's speaking to his disciples. They're the ones who came to him. Luke tells us that and says, Jesus, will you please teach us how to pray? [25:34] So he's teaching his disciples and by definition, what are disciples to do? Well, disciples are to follow Jesus. They're to be with him and they're to follow him. [25:49] Jesus leads and disciples follow. And that's how it all began. And maybe go with me just for a moment to Matthew chapter 4. If you've got a Bible, you can flick to Matthew chapter 4. [26:01] And that takes us back to the beginning for these disciples of Jesus. [26:17] At verse 18 of Matthew 4, it says, as Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake for they were fishermen. [26:30] Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers or men. At once, they left their nets and followed him. going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James, son of Zebedee and his brother John. [26:46] They were in a boat with their father Zebedee preparing their nets. Jesus called them and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. [27:02] I wonder, I wonder for all of us here this evening, for those who may be watching at a distance. Have we begun to follow Jesus yet? [27:17] I'd be surprised if there isn't at least someone or a few folks here who haven't yet begun to follow Jesus. [27:30] And that's where the Christian life begins. There is that decision, there is that response there is that determination to follow Jesus. [27:43] We see Jesus either in the pages of scripture or as we listen to sermons or maybe in the life of someone who's a Christian that we know. We see Jesus, we hear the voice of Jesus and we follow him. [28:00] that's where the Christian life begins. See, naturally we're going the other way. We're going the direction of this world but when God calls us, he calls us to change direction, to repent. [28:17] That's what it means. And to follow Christ. So, have we begun to follow him yet? I pray that we've begun to follow him but then, if we've begun to follow him, we know that's not the end of the story, that's just the beginning. [28:36] Because day by day, disciples of Jesus are those who ask Jesus to lead us as we stay in his word, as we call upon his name in prayer and as he leads us, we keep on following. [28:58] And sometimes as we sang in Psalm 23, he takes us to still pastures and we get to lie down for a while and be refreshed because he knows we need it. [29:12] And sometimes he takes us through dark valleys where it's really difficult to keep on going. but disciples of Jesus are those who ask the Lord to lead us and then we follow. [29:31] So, that's what we're praying when we pray this verse. We're asking God to lead us. So, are we doing that? All of us. Are we living this out? [29:46] Are we asking the Lord day by day? to lead us? Or to lead us into right friendships that are going to help us in our walk with God? [29:59] Are we asking God to lead us into a marriage that will glorify him? If that's beginning to come onto our horizons, are we asking the Lord to lead us onto a career path that will glorify him? [30:18] See, our chief end, catechism number one, our chief end is not to set our own course. [30:31] It's not to determine our own path so that we can have the most comfortable life and make the maximum amount of money. Our chief end is to follow Jesus, to seek first his kingdom, to glorify God, to know the joy of his presence with us today and always. [30:54] That's discipleship. That's the Christian life. We ask God to lead us and we follow and we keep on following. [31:08] second point as we pray this prayer is we're asking God to lead us not into temptation. You can see that in verse 13 as we just progress through this verse, a word at a time almost and lead us not into temptation. [31:29] We're asking God not to lead us into temptation. Now if we think about this for a minute, it may be slightly strange that we would be taught to pray this. [31:44] Why would Jesus teach us to pray to the Lord, to our Father, lead us not into temptation? You know there are certain things that we know we don't normally need to ask. [32:00] You wouldn't ask a fireman or a firewoman to lead you into a burning house. They just wouldn't do it. You wouldn't ask a police officer to lead you into a criminal lifestyle. [32:13] You wouldn't ask a shopkeeper to lead you into a habit of shoplifting because you know these are just not past. They're just not things that they would want to do. It would be to go against the character of their job. [32:29] So why would Jesus teach us to pray this? Why would the God who hates sin and who does not tempt us to sin ask us to pray, lead us not into temptation? [32:48] That's the question that certainly was in my mind as I thought about this verse and probably it's in the minds of one or two others. Why are we asked to do this? It seems almost unnecessary. [32:58] And the answer I think is that Jesus is teaching us in this prayer and in this verse to pray in accordance with the will and the character of God. [33:15] Jesus is teaching us about the character and will of God in and through this prayer. We know from James chapter 1 and verse 13 that God does not tempt us to sin. [33:30] James 1 13 says when tempted no one should say God is tempting me for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone. So in prayer we're coming to the God who will not tempt us. [33:45] He will not lead us into temptation. This is the one that we approach. Sometimes he'll allow us to be tempted by the enemy but even in that case we know that God is watching over us as a good father watches over his children. [34:06] 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 13 the apostle Paul says he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear but when you are tempted he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. [34:21] So God does not tempt us to sin and when we find that we're in the situation when we are tempted and there is the draw towards sin God is the one who promises that he'll open up a way for us to be able to stand up under it. [34:41] So in this verse Jesus I think is teaching us to pray the truth about God. And in so many parts of the Bible and so many prayers of the Bible we're taught to pray truth. [34:58] If we're struggling to pray, if we can't find the words to pray, all we have to do is open the Bible. There are so many prayers that are there for us to be able to enter into when we can't find the words ourselves. [35:17] And in these prayers within Scripture, God reveals his ways to us, he reveals his character to us, he reveals his will to us. Think about the Psalms. [35:32] We learn so much in the Psalms about the character of God. Psalm 103, the Lord is compassionate, he is gracious, he is slow to anger, he is abounding in love. [35:46] We learn that in a prayer. And we learn so much about the will of God in the Psalms as well. Psalm 91, favourite of many, that reveals to us that God loves to protect us. [36:01] That's his will. Or think about Psalm 43, it underlines for us in that prayer that God, he loves to save us. Think about Psalm 23 that we sang, that's a psalm that reveals to us that God loves to give us the contentment in him that we can find no other place. [36:23] And as we pray these prayers of the Bible, as we pray this truth, we are shaped by that truth. We're encouraged to come to the God who is compassionate and gracious when we see him for who he is. [36:40] We're encouraged to hide ourselves in God when we're in trouble because we know that he will shield us. He'll carry us through. We're encouraged to seek salvation from the God who loves to save us when we call upon his name. [37:00] And in relation to this prayer, the Lord's prayer, as we pray, lead us not into temptation. We are reassured of the fact that God will not lead us into temptation. [37:20] And we are encouraged not to willfully wander down the path of temptation when the evil one attacks us or when our own sinful lusts start to ignite and threaten to take over. [37:35] God will not go to temptation. And as we pray, lead us not into temptation, we are resolving in prayer, as we spend time in God's presence, that we will not yield to temptation, but we will go the way that God would have us go. [37:57] temptation. And that's true, isn't it? I think it's true. And how difficult it is for us to pray this verse if the fire of temptation is lit and if we know in our minds that within two or three hours we're going to go down that road. [38:23] If that's what's going on in there and in there we're not going to pray this prayer. But if we truly, sincerely pray this verse, there is a repentance within it, there is a resolve within it, there is a determination within it to live out the life of a disciple in obedience to God. [38:54] And then if we've prayed this prayer and as we rise from our knees, we rise with that resolve to be obedient. [39:09] So if for you temptation comes in the form of an app on your phone, you delete it. If for you temptation comes in a particular place, you determine you're not going to go there. [39:25] or if it comes through a particular conversation on a particular subject with a certain group of friends, you just avoid these things. So as we pray in accordance with the truth and the character of the will of God, we are strengthened to be more like him. [39:48] We are determined to be more obedient to his way and his will. So what are we praying? We are praying that God will lead us. We are asking that God will lead us. [39:59] We are asking God to lead us not into temptation because we know that's his will for us and that's his character. And the third thing is we are asking for strength to keep on going. [40:10] I remember an old man in Loch Caron, an old elder in Loch Caron, who some of you met, a very godly man, one of the steadiest, brightest Christians that I have known over the years. [40:32] And I remember speaking to him one day and as we were speaking the subject of temptation came up. He was probably mid 80s at this point. And I remember saying to him, temptation won't be as much of a problem for you now I presume. [40:48] At the age you're at, having been on the road for so many years and to my shock he replied, don't you believe it? He said, it's worse now than it was when I was in my teenage years. [41:04] Which kind of depressed me. But it's realistic. you know, for as long as we're in this world, temptation will not go away. [41:18] Because the evil one will not go away. The devil will seek to attack anyone, at any age. The child will be targeted. [41:28] The middle aged person, the elderly person, no matter what age or stage or level of vulnerability there is, the evil one, as Jesus points the finger at them, will use any means to take us down and keep us down. [41:46] So discipleship, Christian discipleship, is spiritual warfare. the Christian life is a battle of the heart and the mind and the body. [42:00] as we find them in the Bible, the world, the flesh, the devil, they all come together to pull us down. [42:12] And so we need to keep on praying for strength to stand. And God will give it. That's his promise. [42:24] Remember the verse we just read a few minutes ago, 1 Corinthians 10, 13, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you're tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. [42:39] That's good news, isn't it? That's encouraging news. But remember the man who wrote that in 1 Corinthians 10, 13, also wrote Romans 7, the Apostle Paul. [42:55] And in Romans 7, Paul, he opens up his diary for us. And he shares with us a page in his diary on one of the days when he was having the greatest struggle. So just go for your encouragement for a second to Romans 7. [43:08] verse 7. We look at the Apostle Paul, a mature Christian, a holy man. [43:33] man. And we probably make the assumption as we look at him from a distance of, well, he's going to be okay, he's going to be steady, he's not going to have the battles that I have. And yet, as we read a page in his diary, we see he seems to be having exactly the same battles that we have. [43:53] Because he says in verse 15 of Romans 7, I do not understand what I do, for what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. [44:07] As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me that is in my sinful nature, for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. [44:21] For what I do is not the good I want to do, no, the evil I do not want to do, says the Apostle Paul, this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin living in me that does it. [44:36] So I find this law at work. When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being, I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. [44:57] What a wretched man I am, he says. You know, it's shockingly honest. [45:11] But we get this, don't we? I think. We feel Paul's struggle. and we can enter into this. [45:23] We know this personally if we are Christians. You know, if you find that you're going to sleep during this and it means nothing and you're not able to enter in any way to what Paul is writing here, it's doubtful if you're a Christian at all. [45:41] If this is being written off as something not relevant to your life, then I would question if there's any spiritual life in you at all. But if we know this inner struggle, if we can identify what Paul is saying here about this battle with sin, if we know what it is to be attacked by an evil one, then there's encouragement in this in a strange way. [46:14] Because that's one of the marks of assurance that we actually are disciples of Jesus. The evil one has no interest in those who are already on his track. [46:30] The evil only has an interest in the ones who are seeking to go the other way and follow Christ. So if we know that civil war, that inner civil war, then there's encouragement because we recognise that this battle that we are in, it's the battle of a disciple. [46:52] And we need to keep asking for strength to keep on going. And that's why Jesus teaches us to pray this. [47:04] Praying for strength, lead us not into temptation, temptation. And notice this prayer, the Lord's prayer, it's not a one-off prayer. [47:18] It's a daily pattern of prayer. We keep on praying for daily bread because we keep on getting hungry. We keep on praying for forgiveness because we keep on sinning. [47:30] And we keep on praying for strength because we keep on being tempted. God's prayer. God's prayer. Someone once asked the minister in the Tron Church in Glasgow, when he was preaching on Romans 7, someone came to him, Eric Alexander was his name, and they said, can you please tell me, when will we get out of Romans 7? [47:55] And his answer was, not for as long as you're in my church. And that's the truth. You know, Paul in Romans 7, at the end of that chapter, we feel the frustration in verse 24. [48:12] He says, what a wretched man I am. Who will rescue me from this body of death? And it's a heartfelt question. [48:25] It takes us to the final point. The final thing we're asking for in this prayer is we're asking for deliverance from the evil one. [48:38] Verse 13 still, but deliver us from the evil one. That's what Jesus teaches us to pray. But think about this. [48:55] as Jesus teaches the disciples to pray this prayer, Jesus knows that the deliverance that they, that we need from the evil one could only come from him. [49:16] And the place for that deliverance would be secured was to be a cross. So here as Jesus, perhaps in a quiet, special moment with his disciples, as he teaches them this prayer, he can see on the horizon the cross. [49:44] He knows where he's going. he knows that the answer to this prayer was going to be painful. It was going to involve him becoming the man of sorrows. [50:01] The answer to this prayer was going to involve him taking our sin upon his shoulder. The answer to this prayer was going to involve him in this cosmic battle where Satan and Jesus would clash on this cross where he would die for our sin. [50:27] But then on the third day he would rise for our deliverance. So as we pray this prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, we see that he was the answer. [50:45] God and he will always be the answer. Paul the apostle, he saw that so clearly because notice at the end of Romans 7, the answer to his question, he cries out in verse 24, who will rescue me from this body of death? [51:02] And then in this intro to Romans 8, he says, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jesus is the deliverer. [51:20] He is the savior. He is the only one who could deliver us from the evil one and on the cross he finished the work of salvation. [51:31] salvation. And he promises that salvation, that deliverance to all who will ask for it. [51:43] That's what grace is. We just ask for it. We don't earn it. We don't buy it. [51:55] We feel the struggle. We know the sin. We sense our condemnation and we look to Christ. We look to the cross. We ask for it. [52:08] Please save me, Lord. Please forgive me. Please rescue me from the clutches of the evil one. [52:21] Please rescue me from death. Please forgive my sin. Please give me this eternal life. we ask for it. [52:34] And by grace we're promised that we will receive it. We sang it. Lifted up was he to die. It is finished, was his cry. [52:45] Now in heaven, exalted high, hallelujah, what a savior. pleasure. So where is our hope found? Where is deliverance found? [52:58] One place. One person. The God man. Jesus. In Christ alone, our hope is found. [53:13] In Christ alone, there is deliverance. grace. So pray this prayer. Ask him for it today, and then tomorrow, and then the day after. [53:31] Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Let's pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Our heavenly father, again, we thank you for this prayer that Jesus Christ, your son, our savior, taught us to pray. [53:59] We confess, Lord, that we are sinners. We are those who all too often yield to temptation. And so we know how critically we need the help of God. [54:13] and so we pray as we've been taught to pray, lead us not into temptation. We thank you, Father, that you are the God who does not lead us into temptation. [54:26] We thank you that that's not your will for us. It's not your desire for us. So lead us not into temptation. [54:37] And when we feel the draw of temptation, give us the strength to keep on repenting, to keep on turning away, to keep on turning to Christ. [54:51] And we thank you for the fact that he is our deliverer. We thank you that he went to the cross to suffer and die so that we might be saved. [55:03] We thank you that he rose from the dead on the third day to provide that deliverance that is for eternity. And we thank you that that deliverance is promised to us if we will simply ask for it. [55:21] So hear our prayers Lord as we look to you to be our deliverer. In Christ alone our hope is found. [55:31] May we each know that hope this evening. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. We'll sing to finish the hymn 1072 in Mission Praise. [55:46] In Christ alone my hope is found. Amen. Amen. [56:49] Amen. Amen. [57:49] Amen. Amen. [58:49] Amen. Amen. [59:05] Amen. Amen. Amen. And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit be with us all. [59:17] Now and forevermore. Amen.