Sermon
Lead Me Not Into Temptation
July 3-4, 1999
Pastor Donald Sheley

The scene was the US Senate, the year was 1947, it was time for Chaplain Peter Marshall to say the opening prayer, and this is the prayer that he prayed: God of our fathers whose almighty hand hath made and preserved our nation, grant that our people may understand what it is they celebrate today. May they remember how bitterly our freedom was won. The down payment that was made for it. The installments that have been made since this republic was born, and the price that must yet be paid for our liberty. May freedom be seen not as a right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to please to do what is right. May it ever be understood that our liberty is under God and can be found nowhere else. May our faith be something that is not merely stamped upon our coins, but expressed in our lives. Let us as a nation not be afraid of standing alone for the rights of men since we were born that way, and as the only nation on earth that came into being for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith. We know that we shall be true to the pilgrim dream when we are true to the God they worshiped. To the extend that America honors Thee, wilt Thou bless America, and keep her true as Thou hast kept her free, and make her good as Thou hast made her rich, in Jesus' name. Amen. A prayer for our nation on this Independence Day.

The subject this morning is the subject of prayer, which it has been now for some weeks. And we're in Matthew chapter 6, if you'll take your Bible. Matthew chapter 6, and we have taken some time considering almost word for word the Lord's Prayer. It's a prayer that we've all prayed from our early childhood days, and yet I came to realize that I think many of us say words and we do not really understand the depth of those words. So in this prayer we have decided, this study, we'll just take the Lord's Prayer and we'll go verse or word after word, and phrase after phrase. It begins in chapter 6 verse 9. "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father 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 forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Now the phrase that we want to give special attention today in our study is that phrase, And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. 

One of the exciting studies of Scripture is to go through its many pages and record the prayers that are prayed and the marvelous answers to prayer, and I'd like for you to make a journey with me today. We're talking about prayer so let's consider some of the great prayers of the Bible. Go with me to 1 Kings chapter 18. It's the prayer of Elijah. Now let me give you the background. Elijah had deep concern as he observed his nation falling into idolatry. He went to the king and announced that there wound be no more rain. He left the king's chambers and for three and a half years there was no rain. Now we come to verse 17. Ahab is out looking for Elijah. Ahab is the king. Elijah is the prophet. It says, Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Is that you, O troubler of Israel? "And he answered, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. "Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table." So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel.

The time for a showdown has come. And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions?" If the Lord is God, follow Him: but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word. Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are hour hundred and fifty men. "Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. "Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God." So all the people answered and said, "It is well spoken." We agree. Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it." So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, "O Baal, hear us!" but there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.

And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened." So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. Now it's three o'clock in the afternoon. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." Most likely, that scene of four hundred and fifty frenzied men with blood coming from their bodies leaping and jumping around the area, it probably frightened the crowd away.

And so Elijah says, come on people, come near to me. So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, "Israel shall be your name." Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, "Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood." Then he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time; and he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water. And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, three o'clock in the afternoon, that Elijah the prophet came near and said: Now remember those false prophets, four hundred and fifty have been screaming, yelling, cutting themselves for nearly six hours. Elijah steps up to his altar and he begins to pray. It's a prayer, I think, with sixty-four words. "Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. "Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again." Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 

Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!" And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!" So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there. Four hundred and fifty false prophets, nothing happens; six hours of lashing and praying. Old Elijah steps up to the altar with very few words and fire falls from heaven, consumes the sacrifice, the stones, the wood, and all the water, and the people are on their faces acknowledging who's God.

There's another prayer that I'd like for you to join with me in. It's the prayer of David. It's Psalm 51. It's page 388 in your Bible. Here's the situation. David is king. He stays home from battle. One day he's sitting on his housetop, sees a beautiful lady, invites her to his bedchamber, sin is committed, and a child is on its way. Now he's covered this sin for many months then Nathan comes to him, the man of God, the prophet, and exposes his sin. In response this is David's prayer; Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight - That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. When sin has caught you in its trap and you bear the burden and the guilt of its weight, here's the prayer to pray; God have mercy upon me. 

There's another prayer that I'd like for you to join me in. It's the book of Jonah. Jonah you remember is that prophet of God who's been instructed that he's to go and preach to the city of Nineveh, and he refuses to go. The result was he goes down to the sea and buys a trip ticket going the opposite direction in a ship. So this disobedient prophet is on the ship, God stirs up the water around the ship, the sailors believe that somebody on board is wrong, and God's vengeance is being poured out. So look what they do, verse 15; So they picked up Jonah, I'm in chapter 1, and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed. Boy, I'd of started praying a long time before that. And this is what he said: "I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. "Out of the belly of (Hell) Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. Then I said, 'I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.' The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. I went down to the moorings of the mountains. That's the depth of the sea. The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God. "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple. "Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy, But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord." So the Lord spoke to the fish, gave it a stomachache, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. A man praying in desperation and God answers his prayer. 

Here's a prayer that maybe you never were aware of, or you've not come across this in your reading. It's 2 Kings 20:1-11, and here's the situation, Hezekiah is the king. Verse 1 it says, In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, "Thus says the Lord" 'Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.'" Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, "Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, "And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David."'" A king told he was going to die reminds God of his loyal heart, and God responds, and not only heals him, but gives him fifteen more years to live. 

Now the reason why I've read these prayers, showed you the answers, is because the truth of the Scripture is this, when we pray God does answer prayer. And when we come to our prayer today, if ever we need an answer to that prayer, we really do, and it's this prayer; Lord, lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one. You see prayer is our need crying out for help. Prayer is the voice of faith to the Father. Prayer is the channel through which all good flows from God to men. Prayer is more than a privilege, more than a duty, it is a means, an instrument, a condition, it is the appointed condition of getting God's aid. It's the avenue through which God supplies mans' wants. But have you ever thought that not to pray is a sin. In 1 Samuel 12:23 is says, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you. David says, God forgive me in failing to pray. It's found in 1 Samuel 12:23 if you'd like to mark it down. So prayerlessness is a sin against the person of God. 

God has commanded us to pray. He has told us that He delights in the prayers of a righteous man, and God seeks to answer our prayers according to His will. And in the light of these facts, prayerlessness is lawless anarchy against the person of God. Prayerlessness is a sin against the purpose and the plan of God. All that God does He does through prayer, and what is more audacious is that the sin of prayerlessness is always compounded by the fact that once we neglect it, we must install our own flesh-born programs to replace God's programs. That's why we fail so many times. Prayerlessness is a sin against the promises of God. 

James says, Ye have not because Ye ask not. And thus, it's a charge that can be leveled against any of us when we allow ourselves to remain in a situation that prayer could change if we would just pray. Thus, not to pray, is a sin against our God. Prayer is not only a means of getting things from God, but it's the means whereby we really come to know God. You see, prayer in its primary essence is worship. Worship is the recognition of worth. It's the fitting of God into the overall picture of our lives. And the very act of prayer, whether it's on our knees, whether it's on our face before God, or whether we're standing, it's an affirmation of the worthiness of God. So when you pray, it's an act of worship. 

One great writer wrote a book entitled 'Seven Wonders Of Prayer', and he starts by saying, by prayer we enter into God's holy temple and we penetrate it once to the throne of grace. Prayer is not only the shortest distance to God's mighty throne, it is the only way. The veil of sense and space that hides Him within His temple, universe, is suddenly removed as we pray. We enter silently into His temple and lo, suddenly we are before His throne; priests before our Great High Priest. Thereto we are suddenly in the presence of angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven we worship and adore Him. Only there do we discover the wonder of worship. Prayer. 

You see prayer gets to the devil like nothing else we do. He has no defense system against prayer, for prayer throws the battle to the Lord an engagement the devil has no power against. It's not Christian work that gets to the devil, it is prayer. Jesus said, and whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask anything in My name, I will do it. Again, in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you. Hitherto you've asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full. 

Now we come to that part of the prayer we're thinking about. We've learned that when we pray God hears us. And I might like to suggest that probably this is the most important phrase of all the Lord's Prayer, because when we pray, lead us not into temptation, we're acknowledging our own weakness. Now before I explain that, let me tell you that the word temptation in the Bible is used in various ways. In the original root meaning, it's a neutral, it has a neutral connotation. That is, its definition varies by the way that it's used. Temptation can mean testing or trials or difficult times, or temptation can be used as tempting one to sin.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says, No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted, or tested, beyond what you are able, but with the temptation (testing or trial) will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. So you see the word temptation there in that verse is speaking of life's trials and life's testing, and the promise is that God will never allow us to be tested and tried beyond our ability. He'll always have a way for us to escape. 

Now James says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. And here James used it. In fact, you might turn there with me. I'll show you how James uses the same word with two different meanings in two different settings. You'll notice in James 1:2 it says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials (diverse temptations). Now in our Bible it's trials, but in the King James text it's temptations. The same word; trials, temptations, testing. Now James talks about that all the way through to verse 12. Look at, he says, Blessed is the man who endures temptation. That is, blessed is that man who is victorious through trials and tribulations; for when that man has been approved. That is, when he's completed the journey, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 

Now notice in verse 13, though now, he changes the meaning of the word, or uses it in a different way. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away. Now you see the word tempt or temptation relates to being drawn away into sin, so it changes its meaning by the way it's used in the setting. And so James says that each one it tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Now, here's the question; if the Bible says that God does not tempt anyone, then why would it be placed in this prayer that I'm to ask God not to lead me into temptation? If he tempts no one, he's not going to lead me into temptation. So what's the meaning of this phrase?

May I suggest to you that this petition is a safeguard against the presumption and a false sense of security and self-sufficiency. And it would probably be easier to understand if we said it this way, God, do not suffer us, or do not permit us to be lead into the pathway of sin. You see, when I say that, I'm saying, God, I realize that the devil is for real. Peter says, be sober, be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour. I acknowledge that I have an enemy, I have someone, Satan who would like to trip me up today. And when I pray this prayer, I'm saying, Lord, I realize that unless you help me, unless you give me strength, I will fall to the tempter, because I'm not strong enough for him. Ladies and gentlemen, temptation is always a part of the journey. 

You say, but Pastor, when you get older do the temptations lessen? No, they just change. You see, life's conditions change, life's situations change and the temptations are still there. I still live in this body of flesh just like you, and Satan will find different ways to tempt me. When I pray this prayer, I'm saying, God, even though I've journeyed with You for fifty years, I'm admitting that I don't have the strength to fight off the devil unless You help me. David prayed, incline not my heart to any evil thing to practice wicked works. And he said, keep me from the snares which they have laid for me and the traps of the workers of inequity. I'm saying, God, my enemies are there, Satan is there, sin lurks on every corner, temptation is always before me, lead me not, permit me not, dear God, to walk down the pathway of sin. 

The Bible never is in doubt that there is a power of evil in this world. And the Bible does not think of evil as an abstract principle or force, but as an active personal power in the person of the devil. Thus, I say, that this particular prayer, this particular petition, probably the most important part of this prayer, because I realize that if I fall to sin, and temptation overtakes me and then I allow sin to add up to sin, and soon I'm out of fellowship with God, and I'm in a miserable state, and I backslide. No more miserable condition can a man be in than to be far, far, far from God. And I want that fellowship. I long for God's approval in my life. You desire it along with me. We want God to be honored through our living. I don't want to fall to sin. I don't want to fall to temptation. 

As I was thinking about this verse this week, in my mind, I just went back a few years over some of my friends, some of my pastor friends who didn't pray this prayer, and didn't trust God and went on in their self sufficiency, and sin overtook them, the tempter slaughtered them, and today they sit on the highways of life on the sides without any meaning and shame covers their face. Proverbs 28:26 says, He who trusts in himself is a fool, But he who walks in wisdom is kept safe. Hosea says, but you have planted wickedness. You have reaped evil. You have eaten the fruit of deception, because you've depended upon your own strength. And the warning comes to us in 1 Corinthians 10:12, Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. And thus the warning of Scripture is this, Satan is for real, he walks around as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, and you're his object. And apart from God's power and the strength of the Spirit of God, you'll fail. And so when we pray this prayer, Father, lead me today, and when I get near to temptation somehow turn on the red light, somehow get my attention dear God, so I can divert the pathway away from sin and back to You. Protect me from the one who would like to throw me into hell. Deliver me from the evil one. I started with four prayers and said if God answers those prayers, he'll answer this one; and if you'll pray it, and mean it from the depths of your heart every morning, dear God, without You today I'm weak. Without You today I'll fall. Without You today I'll slip to temptation, but I invite You to come, give me Your strength, fill me with Your presence, and guard me from the evil one. And He will do that, He will do that. Let's stand together, shall we?

Lord Jesus, I thank you for this wonderful prayer, and today may it be that all of us never walk in self-sufficiency or pride, but may we ever be dependent and acknowledge our need or Your constant presence in our life. Forgive us for ignoring the privilege of prayer and sinning the sin of prayerlessness that brings us to temptation and to failure. Forgive us for that sin, O God. May this week, as we begin each day, pray this prayer from the depths of our being; Father, help me in my footsteps today. Lead me in the pathway of righteousness, and protect me from the enemy of my soul. This is my prayer and I pray it sincerely, in Jesus' name, and everybody said, amen. God bless you.