Sunday, February 16 sermon notes:
I know this will date many of us but do you remember Flip Wilson and his saying “The devil made me do it.” Well, we can know today that the devil cannot make us do anything—but we also have to realize that the enemy of our souls is very real.
This final petition in the Lord’s prayer addresses the disciples’ struggle with evil forces both within and without.
There is a powerful story in Genesis 4 about Cain and Abel. Cain was angry and the Lord said to him: “Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent? If you do what is right won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, BUT YOU MUST RULE OVER IT.”
Since the Lord is not one who tempts his people to do evil (James 1:13) and the word rendered “temptation" or testing, this petition indicates that the disciples should pray either for relief from testing or for their testing not to become an occasion for temptation, leading to possibly sinning.
This is similar to a standardized Jewish morning and evening prayer:
Bring me not into the power of sin
And not into the power of guilt
And not into the power of temptation
And not into the power of anything shameful.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus directed the disciples to pray: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.” (Mt. 26:41)
The second part of this phrase, “but deliver us from the evil one” is an indication that we must be conscious that life is a spiritual battle. We need to clearly understand that Satan is the influence behind every attempt to turn a testing in a temptation to evil.
Jesus is teaching the disciples and us that we must rely on God not only for our physical cares and forgiveness of sin, but also for moral victory and spiritual victory in all of our spiritual battles in this life. Probably the greatest illustration of the spiritual battles is in the life of Jesus written in Matthew 4 when Satan came and tempted Jesus.
Jesus understands the need for God’s help and for us to stand strong. This request presented by Jesus in the Lord’s prayer is for spiritual protection. This request fundamentally recognizes that if we are to be protected from temptation, we need to lean hard into the Lord to protect us. This also has to do with our own integrity that recognizes that without God’s leading we could potentially lead ourselves straight into sin. This is a reflection of a depth of spiritual sensitivity, since it understands just how prone to sin we are if we do not diligently seek the Lord’s face.
In our lives, we need to grasp that the Lord permits His people to undergo temptation and testing. We are not puppets on a string—we have free will to make choices. The entire idea of this petition in the Lord’s prayer is for us not to be abandoned to temptation—and even though we may experience temptation, we do not have to yield to it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us that God can provide a way out.
That now leads us to what Paul writes in Ephesians 6:10-18. We are to STAND FIRM.
As believers, we face 3 enemies—the world, the flesh, and the devil.
· The world refers to the system around us that is opposed to the Lord and His ways. This is what John referred to in 1 John 2L15-17. The world caters to “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
· The flesh is our old nature that is opposed to God and cannot do anything spiritual to please the Lord.
The beautiful thing we know today is that Jesus, through His death and resurrection, overcame the world, the flesh, and Satan.
The good news for us is that because we belong to Jesus, we do not fight FOR victory but we fight FROM victory. We are more than conquerors because of Jesus. The Holy Spirit enables us to apply Christ’s victory in our lives.
Paul, in Ephesians, brings to the forefront 4 specific topics that when applied to our lives, help us to walk in victory.
1. In military warfare it is crucial to know and understand the enemy. Unless we know who the enemy is and what he can do, we have a difficult time defeating him.
a. Our enemy has many different names—devil (accuser), Satan (adversary), tempter, murderer and a liar. He is compared to a lion, a serpent, an angel of light (deception) as well as the god of this age.
b. Our spiritual enemy seeks to oppose God and defeat His works.
c. Because Satan is a created being, he is limited to his knowledge and activity. Thus, Paul lists the devils’ helpers—principalities, powers, rulers, spiritual wickedness in high places.
d. Bottomline—a spiritual battle is going on in this world and in the sphere of the heavenlies and you and I are a part of this battle.
e. Having the knowledge of this makes walking in this life victoriously vitally important. Paul makes it very clear that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers.
2. The admonitions Paul gives indicate to us that Satan is a strong enemy that we need the power of God to be able to stand against him. Jesus said that Satan comes to “steal, to kill, and to destroy.”
a. 2 Corinthians 2:11 tells us that we cannot afford to be “ignorant of his devices.”
3. Because of the truth of this strong enemy, we need special equipment for this battle. God has provided for us full armor. We are commanded to put on the armor of God, take the weapons provided and withstand Satan—all of which we do by faith.
a. Romans 8:31—if God be for us, who can be against us!
b. Our equipment:
i. The girdle of truth—we know that Satan is a liar but out lives are to be controlled by the truth that will defeat him. The girdle held the other parts of the armor together—so we need to know that truth is the integrating force in the life of a victorious believer.
ii. The breastplate of righteousness—this covering symbolizes our righteousness in Christ. Understand, Satan is the accuser, but he can’t accuse the believer who is living a godly life in the power of the Spirit.
iii. The shoes of the Gospel—its interesting to niwo that the sandals of the Roman soldiers had what were called hobnails in the soles to give them a better footing in battle. Very much like the cleats athletes wear today.
1. The Gospel give us not only sure footing but the shoes are also a symbol of the need to be a witness to others about the good news of Christ’s salvation for all.
iv. The shield of faith—this is living faith. An active trust in the promises and power of God. Faith is a defensive weapon in our spiritual arsenal.
v. The helmet of salvation—Satan wants to attach the mind. The helmet refers to a mind controlled by the Lord. We have the mind of Christ. We need a solid intellectual base of God’s Word so that we cannot be easily led astray by false doctrines.
vi. The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. It is our offensive weapon that God has provided for us. The Word pierces the heart (Hebrews 4:12) and it makes us sharper and not dull.
Finally, Paul talks about the energy that enables the believers to wear the armor and wield the sword of God’s Word. That energy is prayer.
We cannot fight the battles in our own power, no matter how strong or talented you may be.
We are to pray always, pray in the Spirit, be watchful in prayer, and to keep on praying.
All of this is covered not only in the life of Jesus appropriated into our lives—but emphasized in the pattern of prayer taught by Jesus in the Lord’s prayer. Prayer is an offensive weapon that when done daily keeps your faith in a healthy place and helps you to hear the voice of the Lord more clearly as you take the time to quiet yourself in His presence.
In the weeks to come, we will be looking at various prayers in the Bible to see what they were seeking God for, the why’s in the petitions, and how they not only approached the Lord but how God answered the prayers.
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