The Lord’s Prayer: Lead Us Not Into Temptation
Matthew 4:1-11 New King James Version
4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ And, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
Jesus Offers More Than Forgiveness for Our Sins, He Authors Victory Over The Powers Of Temptation
We Are in the Summer of Prayer
What is Prayer? [Any Thoughts and Words Exchanged with God in Faith]
Prayer Is Necessary In The Year Of OVERFLOW
In our NEED, we must learn to SEEK the Lord in prayer
Prayer maintains gratitude and prevents grumbling in the midst of the PREPARE
Prayer prevents us from taking glory for the POUR and sets us up for OVERFLOW
Jesus Intentionally Taught His Disciples, How to Pray
Matthew 6:9-13 New King James Version
9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
13 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.
[Verse 9] To Focus Attention On Who God is, Where He is, and What He is Like
[Verse 10] To Recognize and Desire God’s Kingdom and Will On Earth
[Verse 11] To Ask Our Holy Father To Meet All of Our Needs
[Verse 12] To Seek and Reflect the Forgiveness of Our Holy Father
[Verse 13] To Trust and Depend on Our Reigning, Powerful, and Glorious Father for Victory Over Cycles of Restistance
This Morning We Will Focus Our Time on the First Portion of Verse 13
Matthew 6:13(a) New King James Version
13 And do not lead us into temptation…
“Lead Us Not Into Temptation”
This is an invitation to trust and rely upon our father to break our Cycles of Resistance
What is Temptation?
Peirasmos (G3986)
An Experiment, Attempt, Trial, Proving
Peirasmos is Used Three Ways in Scripture
1. God Testing Mankind in Order to to Reveal
Faithfulness
Integrity
Virtue
Constancy
2. The Devil Tempting Mankind in Order to
Expose
Distract
Compromise
Corrupt
3. Mankind Testing God
Provoking Him to prove His power and justice
Two Moments in Scripture Where All Three Uses of Peirasmos Overlap
1. Israel in the Wilderness [Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy]
The nation of Israel does not endure testing, give into temptation, and repeatedly test God
2. Jesus in the Wilderness [Matthew & Luke]
Jesus endures testing, resists temptation, and refuses to test God
The only reason we have this account of Jesus’ temptation is because Jesus intentionally shared it
No one was with Jesus in the wilderness
Jesus wanted Matthew and Luke to have this story in their gospel accounts
Only Matthew and Luke record Jesus teaching His disciples to pray the Lord’s prayer
7 Truths Revealed In Jesus’ Testing and Temptation in the Wilderness
Matthew 4:1-11 New King James Version
4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ And, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not [test]tempt the Lord your God.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, [Get behind me]“Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
The Spirit Led Jesus into the Wilderness to Be Peirazo (G3985)
1. God WILL Test You
Deuteronomy 8:2 New King James Version
2 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
God doesn’t “pass/fail” test us nor does He test us to determine if we’re worthy/ good enough
He tests us in order to reveal the contents of our hearts to ourselves and spiritual beings
Proverbs 17:3 New King James Version
3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
But the Lord tests the hearts.
Ephesians 3:10 New King James Version
10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,
Scripture tells us that God tests the righteous, those already in right standing with Him
Psalm 11:5 New King James Version
5 The Lord tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
God tests us to grow and mature us
James 1:2-4 New King James Version
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Holy Spirit led Jesus and the Israelites into the wilderness to be tested
The Israelites spent 40 years complaining about food, compromising and testing God
Jesus spent 40 days and nights fasting, praying and meditating upon God’s word
Jesus endured God’s test & the devil’s temptation in the wilderness
To be Tempted by the Devil
2. God NEVER Tempts Us to Sin
James 1:13 New King James Version
13 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.
You can be sure that the devil will try to twist each test into a temptation to sin
Honestly, he doesn’t have to work that hard because…
3. MOST Temptation to Sin is Fleshly
James 1:14-16 New King James Version
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
The majority of the temptation we face, is the result of our unchecked thoughts, feelings, and desires
1 Timothy 6:9 New King James Version
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
1 Corinthians 6:18 New King James Version
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
4. SOME Temptation to Sin is Demonic
Acts 5:1-3 New King James Version
5 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?
John 13:2 New King James Version
2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him,
1 Timothy 4:1 New King James Version
4 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
However, the demonic still needs your fleshly and selfish desires in order to entice you to sin
Genesis 3:1-6 New King James Version
3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
When the Tempter Came…
5. Temptation is INEVITABLE [We Cannot Control the When or How the Enemy Tempts Us]
1 John 2:16 New King James Version
16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
The lust of the flesh [Use what God has given you to satisfy your flesh]
The pride of life [Presumptiously testing God’s justice, power, and promises]
The lust of the eyes [Take what you were promised via compromise rather than sacrifice]
6. Temptation is NOT Sin [Giving INTO Temptation is Sin]
Hebrews 4:14-16 New King James Version
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Away With You Satan… Then the Devil Left Him…
7. Victory Over Temptation is Possible and Available in Jesus
Matthew 16:24 New King James Version
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Jesus humbled Himself before God tested Him and before the devil could tempt Him
Jesus denied His flesh and fasted for 40 days and nights and relied radically upon Holy Spirit
Jesus prioritized God’s thoughts, feelings, and desires over His own
Jesus faithfully prayed and meditated upon the scriptures [daily secret place]
Jesus Offers More Than Forgiveness for Our Sins, He Authors Victory Over The Powers Of Temptation
Holy Spirit Wants to Break the Cycles of Resistance This Morning/Afternoon
1. The Cycle of Fleshly Resistance
Romans 8:12-17 New King James Version
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
2. The Cycle of Worldly Resistance
John 16:33 New King James Version
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
3. The Cycle of Demonic Resistance
Pastor Michael will pick up here next week, but I want to leave you with this scripture
James 4:7-10 New King James Version
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
