"9 "Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is 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 also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]
14 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions."
Charles Spurgeon once said, "A prayerless church member is a hindrance, he is in the body like a
rotting bone, or a decayed tooth, and, ere long, since he does not
contribute to the benefit of his brethren, he will become a danger and a
sorrow to them. Neglect of
private prayer is the locust which devours the strength of the church." Prayer is not only a privilege, but it is the Lord's gift to you. Prayer is talking to God, aligning our heart with His will.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for Your trustworthy Word for us today. We are so blessed by the experiences designed to test us, strengthen us, and prove our character. Lord, confessing sin isn’t easy but we understand that it’s necessary. Help us to be honest with both ourselves and You, that we may not attempt to conceal our sin. For we know that You see all, even the secrets in our hearts. May we never lose sight of the exceeding righteousness of salvation, that we would always to cling to the cross of Christ.
It is His name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: Deliver Us From Evil
Open with me your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6, I want to read all of the seven verses again of this magnificent, matchless prayer from our Lord. Today we will be looking at verses thirteen through fifteen. Matthew 6:13-15.
‘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.
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]
Let's pick up where we left off, the last part of verse 12, "as we also have forgiven our debtors," tends to create a lot of confusion. For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." This verse has really been misunderstood by the Church today.
There are a number of Christians who think that when they become a Christian, they no longer need to bother with confessing sin. Only those who are in Christ, can call God "Our Father," and if that weren't clear enough, I believe the phrase "And forgive us our debts," should bring fullness of the meaning. We are to acknowledge before God we need His forgiveness. Though our past sin has been forgiven, but future sins are to be avoided. A believer is to have a changed attitude toward sin. I've heard a number of "believers" claim, "It's ok if I continue to sin, its all forgiven anyway."
I John 1 says "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us."
There is a problem with praying for God to protect you from something that is intended to transform you. But that doesn't mean we can’t pray to ask God to spare us from something we don’t want to go through. In fact, in Matthew 26, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed asking the Father to spare Him from suffering on the cross, which He knew was part of God’s purpose for His life. But He had to take the penalty for our sins, because a just, righteous and a holy God cannot forgive sin unless sin’s penalty is paid, Keep in mind, Jesus ultimately prayed "Not mine, but Your will be done." We can pray that a temptation that is not bigger than we can handle. However, I believe that we need to be prepared for God to say "no." We must be willing to say "I will do whatever it is that you want me to do." Jesus not only prayed in submission to God, He lived His life that way.
Just as we want the best for our children, and sometimes that involves saying "no" to what they ask, that is exactly what our Heavenly Father wants for us. When He answer our prayers, He does it in just the right way at just the right time, even in miraculous ways. Through Jesus Christ, we have a kind and loving Heavenly Father, Who
provides for us, watches over us, protects us, but also corrects us. Our God is a Mighty God, therefore, surely we can trust in God's will for every season of our lives. As surely as it is God's will for you to know Him as your Heavenly Father, I can assure you that it is His will that you would trust Him, even when it puts us on the hard road, So, I encourage you to put your trust in the Lord, because we all need to be led away from temptation!
Notice that Jesus ends the prayer rather abruptly, with this
sixth and final petition. Some say it's two, but I believe it's one, not
two. "‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
This passage has brought a great deal of confusion to many people. In James 1 he says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God can neither be tempted nor does God ever tempt any man." I believe this prayer is an emotional petition, the cry of the human heart that hates the potential of sin, as it faces its danger. God does not tempt anybody, at any time to do anything wrong. Trials, however, have a perfecting work. Nobody likes trial, in fact, most often, we resist them. But I believe that trials strengthen Christian character, I know that I have grown in my trials.
Next He says "but deliver us from evil." In the original text the word deliver is the word "rhýomai," which means to rescue from danger or destruction, to snatch up for oneself. In other words, we're asking God to deliver me to Yourself, for Yourself and bring me to You. This is a very reassuring, as I picture God rushing in to rescue us from danger and drawing us close Him. We not only need forgiveness of sin, we need deliverance so we don’t continue to sin. I do not believe a true Christian sees grace as a license to sin, a true Christian knows he's unworthy and asks God to deliver him from these things. I don’t know about you, I don’t trust myself. As we mature as a Christian, there is a decreasing frequency of sin. On the other, there is an increasing sensitivity to it. Because I know what sin did in my past, I do not want to be involved in it again! I believe if you are a true Christian, you are just as concerned about your future sins being avoided, as you are your past sins being forgiven.
This is a fallen world, just look at the world around us, mankind is out of harmony with God. And this fallen world presents temptations of great strength, that in my own humanness, I can never resist. Men sin because they’re tempted. So when I find myself in a situation, I run into God's presence. A true Christian realizes his own inadequacy, he knows he can't fight the enemy himself. He runs to the Commander and Chief. By the way, God may allow Satan to bring certain trials into our lives, but God does tempt anybody, Satan does the tempting! Sometimes, it's because we've disobedient and unfaithful. Other times, it's to prove how righteous we are, as in Job's case. But in either case, God is never the tempter. People love to argue about this, God allows evil folks. God wants us to avoid it. Evil does not proceed from the Father, it comes from the world. By enticing us with our lust, Satan turns a trial into a temptation. And God has given men a choice.
That brings us to verses 14 and 15, He says "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." Because there is a plea for confession, there is a prerequisite for forgiving others. As followers of Christ, Who was our example, who have received forgiveness, we must forgive others. I believe before we even seek forgiveness for our own sin against God.
If we look back at verse 12, Jesus said "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." Another reason why I believe He is talking about a believer, unbelievers have no spiritual virtue of forgiveness by which he would earn forgiveness. If you're not experiencing the fullness of joy in the Lord, there's a good possibility that you're not confessing your sins or there is someone else that you haven’t forgiven. If you're holding on to a grudge, maybe it's somebody in your family, acknowledge it, take it to God as a sin. First forgive, then we are forgiven. God deals with us as we deal with others, that's what Jesus is saying here.
Beloved, examine your life, I know I've been examining my own. No matter how righteous we think we are, we do not have God's righteousness. If you've offended someone else, go to that person and ask forgiveness. I know many Christians who think that as long as they seek God's forgiveness, they don't need to ask others for forgiveness. There have been times in my life when I have felt a certain way about someone that I felt justified about, a resentment or bitterness because they've wronged me. You are not going to experience the freedom of forgiveness until you've dealt with it.
In Luke 6, Jesus said "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." Forgive and you'll be forgiven. God deals with us the way we deal with others. In other word, if you invest with God, surely you will receive a return on it. You just cannot get any clearer than that people! We don't forgive to show off our spirituality to other people, we forgive to please God, He in turn forgives us. Serving and pleasing God, isn't that what it's all about?
Earlier in Luke 6, Jesus taught "If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
And in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus said "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." God's people are merciful. God's people are forgiving and compassionate toward others. Some of you have issues in relationships that are unresolved, you haven't forgiven them or you haven't asked their forgiveness. Verses 23-24, "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering."
Let me put it another way, God forgave you and me, who are we not to forgive others? Psalm 66 says "If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear." If you regard iniquity in your heart, the Lord will not hear you. If you’re not merciful to others, He will chasten you. We forgive others as God has forgiven us for Christ's sake. Many people defend their decision to hold on to grudges, bitterness and resentment, perhaps some of you here, joining us today. Even followers of Christ are hypocrites! As Christians, we must address the problem of hypocrisy within the church. Jesus had some pretty harsh words for the self-righteous religious people who were unconcerned about reflecting the character of the God. A successful church is not measured by the number in attendance, but by their obedience to whole truth of God.
A watching world needs to see us being salt and light. Though they won't acknowledge it, they need our preserving influence. The world tends to judge God by the people who claim to represent Him. We deny Christ not only with our words, but with our actions. The church is not a social club for saints, it's hospital for wounded, and weary people. They need grace and mercy rather judgement and condemnation. Someone who will come alongside them and stand with them. Christians are called to gather together in order to serve the Lord and meet the needs of one another and others, who are wounded, weary and unworthy, as were everyone of us.
In Mark chapter 2, Jesus said "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Beloved, that is ever and always our invitation to sinners as we echo His grace. As children of God, we are not a perfect people, we are merely people who are being perfected. We cannot take all the forgiveness God has given and be unwilling to forgive others.
We are called to make a difference in the world. I hasten to add being used by God is not limited to pastors. Today Jesus is calling us to touch someone else's life.
May it be so..
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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