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[0:00] This is the First Mustang Pulpit Podcast, a podcast of the weekly preaching and teaching at First Mustang. Thank you for joining us.!

[0:11] That which we've been taught directly to our lives. For we truly do want to be doers of the word and not merely hearers only. And we ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen.

[0:24] All right, Patrick and Micah, where are you guys at? Right here, right in front of me. So you guys make your way up here. Good evening, church. My name is Patrick and this is Micah and we've been married 26 years.

[0:42] We have eight children and I will spread the names. They're long. So, ever since I came to Christ, I've been captivated by God's word.

[0:53] Like many of you, when you came and confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. God has revealed himself in the vastness of the universe and in the smallest things.

[1:04] And if you can think of the last two years, you know, the virus that ran rampant across stopped our little world altogether. But God was more gracious and he gave us direct revelation.

[1:16] He gave us his word. He revealed in his word who he is, his holiness, how perfect he is, how mighty he is. He also revealed, although his creation was good, that we sin.

[1:29] We've fallen short. He showed us that where we want to be people of courage, where we want to stand up morally, we fail. But also in his word, he revealed a plan to redeem us, to restore us back to him.

[1:46] In this plan, he showed us who Jesus was going to be, who the Messiah was going to be. And then Jesus came in the flesh and lived out those words. And it was told who he was.

[1:59] He demonstrated who he was. And then he died. Perfect sacrifice for us. But that didn't end there. Three days later, he rose again. Because God would not let his holy ones see decay.

[2:13] So we have the words that he revealed to us. We have the Holy Spirit, who also reveals himself to us. Through the scriptures that he wrote. And the conviction he has on us. And what was birthed from that was the church.

[2:27] Us. We reveal who God is. As the Holy Spirit lives through us. Demonstrates himself through us. Through the scriptures as it was told. And that was one of the things that when we came to First Baptist Church Mustang.

[2:40] Was the use of God's word. In just about everything that we see. When we just witnessed here. When we sang songs. We talked about God's word. We sang God's word.

[2:52] We read the scripture. About God's word. We'll hear from our pastor God's word. We serve in Awanas. We get to teach young people God's word.

[3:05] Again, it's prevalent through here. So. And men's ministry. I'm sorry. Men's ministry was another area. Where we're studying now. Hermeneutics.

[3:16] How to rightly interpret the Bible. Again, this. Is a powerful use of God's. God's word. And teaching men. And teaching people. How to read. And understand God's word.

[3:26] And the other classes. Introduction to the New Testament. And the Old Testament. Again, expounding upon God's word. So that we know. And understand who God is. So.

[3:40] Throughout our marriage. We have obviously seen. How gracious God has been. And how faithful he is. Through every step. Through all the places that he's taken us. Every church he's sent us to.

[3:52] He's had a place for us. He's had people to surround us. Specifically for me. He's always brought women mentors. Into my life.

[4:03] To care for me. To walk beside me. It started. As newlyweds. We immediately. We got married.

[4:13] And we immediately moved away. Far away. From family. And God placed. In our life. A great Sunday school class. But the Sunday school teacher. Kind of took me under her wing.

[4:25] As a. A 19 year old. And. She. Taught me how to pray for my husband. And we would meet. On a regular basis. And. And we would pray.

[4:36] And she taught me how to pray for him. As the leader of my family. And she was a mom. And so I got to see how she was. With her children. And so she taught. I got to. To witness that.

[4:47] And she. She was. She lived to that. She was a testimony. And then. Even as we moved. A woman that was. My grandmother's age. She was a woman of prayer.

[4:59] And I got to. She just mentored me. Through that. Through that time. In our lives. And again. We were still far away. From family. And they.

[5:09] Showed us what love was. And what a church fellowship was. But. Individually. She. Showed me what servanthood was. And prayer. And how to pray for a church.

[5:20] And pray for those around us. To pray for the hurting. To minister to the hurting. And then. We finally got to move back home. And I got to. Find what a new relationship.

[5:31] With a godly mom was like. Just to be. Have. Not be under her care. As a child. But to. To have her as a mentor. In my life.

[5:42] And. To experience that new dynamic. And then. A new prayer partner. A new friendship. That arose. That. Is still active to this day. Where we pray with each other.

[5:53] And hold each other accountable. To this day. And we've. Walked beside each other. Through. Many. Many. Different things in our life. So.

[6:04] I just. See the faithfulness. Of God. Through my life. Just through the women. That he's put in my life. You know. Just that. That Titus. Example. That has.

[6:15] He's been so faithful. And I'm so grateful for. It's just a blessing. That I can't. Can't really explain. But then. We come to. FBC. And just. Immediately.

[6:25] Just how rich. The women's ministry. Is here. And how. God has. Blessed me. Through. Knowing God's word. And worshiping.

[6:36] And in the praise nights. And women's night of theology. The women's conferences. It's all just. So. Steeped in. The love of God's word. And worshiping him.

[6:47] And have a wonderful. D group. Of just wise women. Who love me. And whom. Whom I adore. But they have lived life. And I get to. To just.

[6:57] Glean from that. And it's. It's just. It's such a blessing. But it's all. Based. Like Patrick said. And just. The love of God's word. And the love of who he is. Yes.

[7:09] Let us pray. Dear heavenly father. Thank you so much. Thank you for this church. Thank you for. Their hearts. Being. Rended towards your word. Lord.

[7:19] Thank you so much. For revealing yourself. In your word. Lord. We can't express. Our gratitude. And how powerful. You've been in our lives. Through your word.

[7:31] Through your spirit. Through the life of Jesus. Through the life of your church. Lord. We pray that we live every day. In gratitude to that. And thanks. Thankfulness. Lord.

[7:42] Just walk with us. And guide us in your ways. And assist in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Like Jeff said a moment ago.

[7:53] It is. It's been such a blessing for me. As well. As known as for all of you. To have heard these testimonies. On Sunday nights. One of my favorite things. That we do. Is get to hear from people. Who have. Taken time to think.

[8:04] Of what the Lord has done. And how the Lord has blessed them. And. Such an encouragement. To be able to hear that. And. We're thankful for the McKenna family. One of my. First.

[8:16] When I think of their family. I think of a Sunday morning. A couple of years ago. When we had a severe. Snow and ice storm. That hit early on a Sunday morning. We were planning to have service.

[8:27] That morning. We woke up. Big storm came. And roads were getting very, very bad. And parking lot was getting icy. And so. We went ahead and live streamed. Our service that morning.

[8:37] But basically said. You know. We're. Nobody come. It's dangerous. The parking lot's a mess. We'll just live stream. And most churches. Were having to cancel that morning. We went ahead.

[8:47] And. And. Did our regular stuff. And here. But no one was here. Except just the staff members. Already here. But the McKenna family came. They showed up. And when the McKenna family shows up.

[8:58] You've got. You've got a house full. They've got eight kids. And so. Eight kids plus two. Is. Is. Close to ten. If I'm doing the math right. Which means.

[9:08] On a day when nobody was here. We still had like a. Half the center section full. And I'm not. And it was such a blessing. Because I thought I was going to sit out there. And just see nothing but empty chairs.

[9:20] And. And what may have seemed like a very small thing that day. Was actually a tremendous blessing. To be able to have people that were able to show up. They live. Right down the street. Close by. And were able to come.

[9:30] And was such an encouragement to us that day. And so. What may have seemed like. No big deal. Is actually something I will. Always be thankful for. It was. It was such a gift that day.

[9:42] Thank you Jeff. For reading Psalm 40. Great. Great text to have. In the forefront of our mind. To think about. The Lord's protection. And deliverance of us. We're going to be finishing our study tonight.

[9:54] Through the Lord's model prayer. Next Sunday night. Will be a special treat. Usually the last thing out of the month. Our youth choir comes in here to lead. And be a part of a worship service.

[10:06] They will be in here next Sunday evening. We'll have about 90 of our teenagers. Who will be here leading from our youth. In our youth choir. So you'll want to make sure. And be a part of that. And we're also going to begin.

[10:16] And this will carry us through the end of the calendar year. On Sunday nights. Looking around the theme focused. And we're going to focus on. On Sunday night. Starting next week. Just the key core things.

[10:28] Of what a church must focus on. Focusing on the supremacy of God. Focusing on the preaching of the word. Focusing on worship through singing. Focusing on bearing each other's burdens.

[10:40] The things the New Testament says. That a church must be focused on. Those are the things that we will be studying. John will kick that off for us next Sunday night.

[10:51] And you'll get a chance to hear from all of our pastoral team. Over the weeks to come. The rest of the semester. And you'll be greatly blessed by being a part of that. Let's look here at Matthew chapter 6.

[11:04] As we finish up our study on the Lord's Prayer. Just to remind you. This may help you to kind of think through. How this prayer unfolds.

[11:15] The outline we've been using these last two months with this. Two points. First, seeking the glory of God. Second, seeking the help of God.

[11:26] Each of those two points have three sub points. So, seeking the glory of God first. As we seek the glory of His name. The glory of His kingdom. And the glory of His will.

[11:39] And then when we seek the help of God. First, we seek His help with daily bread. We seek His help in forgiveness. And we seek His help, as we'll learn tonight.

[11:50] In deliverance. Seeking the glory of God. His name. His kingdom. His will. Seeking the help of God. Daily bread. Forgiveness. And deliverance.

[12:02] We return to these very familiar words to us. In Matthew 6. We'll start here in verse 7. When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases.

[12:12] The Gentiles do. For they think that they will be heard. For their many words. Do not be like them. For your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray then like this.

[12:24] It's really the theme of these two months of Sunday nights. Pray then like this. This is how the Lord taught us to pray.

[12:37] Like this. Think of these words, He says. Be familiar with these words. Understand the teaching of these words. And then pray like this.

[12:48] As Jeff mentioned in his prayer a moment ago. We want to apply what we learn. We want to apply in prayer what we learn about prayer. That's exactly what we learned from Psalm 40 that he read for us.

[13:01] It's exactly what we want to do as we consider the Lord's model prayer. The Lord says pray then like this. This is an action. It includes understanding. It includes knowledge.

[13:13] It includes theology. But it needs to be carried forth into action. The purpose is not merely to dissect the language.

[13:23] It is to give us knowledge for us to then pray like this. Whatever is about to come next after that opening phrase of verse 9.

[13:34] It's supposed to be an action for us. Pray then like this. Yes, we study. Yes, we memorize. Yes, we learn.

[13:45] Yes, we want to walk through the language and the context. But ultimately, once we've done that, once we've studied and once we've interpreted and once we have understood, don't miss the call to action, the verb in verse 9.

[14:01] Pray. Pray. Pray. Pray then like this. It would be far more simple for us but wrong of us to just simply study like this.

[14:15] That's not what he says. He says to pray then like this. Now, rest assured, if we're going to pray according to God's will, we have to know his will.

[14:26] And we will not know his will apart from studying his word. So to pray like this absolutely demands that we do read and that we do study and that we do understand.

[14:39] We must do the hard work of reading and studying if we're going to pray the way he wants us to pray. But we also have to recognize that among the Christian world, for many of us, it's far easier to study than it is to pray.

[14:57] It's easier to read than it is to wrestle in prayer. It would be a mistake for us to think that the Lord wants us to pray instead of reading the word.

[15:13] That would be a tragic mistake. Or that he wants us to pray instead of understanding and hearing the preaching of God's word. That would be a mistake. But it would equally be a mistake to think that the Lord wants us simply to talk about prayer or to study about prayer or to memorize prayers and yet fall short of praying them.

[15:34] Pray then like this. Once you understand what he's saying and once you come to grasp the depth of the theology and the doctrine and the richness of these words, make sure there's a follow through in your life, in your daily life to pray then like this.

[16:04] Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

[16:16] Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And for tonight we will conclude with verse 13.

[16:30] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. So we think about verse 13.

[16:42] This is the sixth and final request. This is the third request that deals with the help of God. The sixth overall. The first request was make your name holy. Second request was help us to live for your kingdom.

[16:56] The third request is help us to do your will the same way the angels in heaven do your will. The fourth request is give us each day what we need. The fifth request, help us to be forgivers.

[17:10] And the sixth request, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Let's look with three headings tonight.

[17:23] First, an acknowledgement of the Lord's leadership. Acknowledgement of the Lord's leadership. I get this from the very first part of this final request in verse 13. Lead us.

[17:35] Our prayer life needs to be often repeating, Lord, lead us. Remember the pronouns in this prayer. We've talked about this for six weeks now. These are not first person singular pronouns.

[17:49] They are first person plural. It's we. It's us. It's our. Our prayer. We are praying with each other. We are praying for each other. And so we conclude the same way we began.

[18:01] Our Father. And now we say in verse 13, lead us. Lead us. We acknowledge that we need the Lord's leadership in every single part of our life.

[18:16] Lord, lead us. Lead us as a church. Lead us as a family. Lead us as a ministry. Lead us as the body of Christ.

[18:26] Lord, through your Holy Spirit, help us to read your word, to understand your word, to obey your word, to do what your word says. Lord, lead us. And this is so important.

[18:41] Because what we really want is not simply for God to give us something. What we're praying for is for God to make us someone.

[18:54] Big difference. We're not praying that God would just give us something. We're praying that he would make us someone.

[19:04] This is why it goes back to what we looked at a couple of weeks ago. To make sure we're praying Christian prayers. To pray prayers that unbelievers could not and would not pray.

[19:19] I want to really emphasize that and make sure that as the church we understand that. That we pray differently than the unbeliever would.

[19:29] And you say, well, why is an unbeliever praying? Because unbelievers get desperate. Unbelievers get superstitious. And unbelievers will, when they are getting ready to take a test that they've not studied for, turn into theologians.

[19:44] And unbelievers, when they're getting called into the boss's office, all of a sudden want to be prayerful. And unbelievers get sick and they want to pray. Even if they don't believe in the God of the Bible, they want to throw up prayers to someone, somewhere just to cover their bases.

[19:57] But what an unbeliever would not do is say, God, would you lead us in a way that brings glory to your name? Would you lead us in a way that I would obey you the same way you're obeyed in heaven?

[20:09] Would you lead us in such a way that we don't want our will to be done, but that we want to see your kingdom expand? We want to pray Christian prayers that are rooted and bathed in a love for the name of God, the kingdom of God, and the will of God ultimately to see the glory of God displayed.

[20:29] So we say, God, lead us. Because what we are not after is just for God to give us something. We want God to make us someone. That's how Christians pray.

[20:43] And so we start with an acknowledgement of the Lord's leadership. God, lead us. This is your motivation when you open your Bible every morning. God, lead me.

[20:55] It's not just about you have to read your reading for the day to be able to keep up with your annual reading of the Bible. It's not just about I've got to check off the reading so I can say I read it for my class or my group or my accountability partner.

[21:08] It's about opening your Bible every day and saying, God, lead me. I need to be led. And I want our family to follow things of God. So lead us as a family. Every single day when I open my Bible to study, to preach on Sundays, the prayer of my heart needs to be, God, lead our congregation through the study of your word.

[21:28] I don't want to read the Bible just to create a sermon. I want to come to the text and say, God, lead me so that I can teach our people so that your word is leading us.

[21:38] Because I don't want to just give us a sermon. I want the spirit of God to make us someone. And so we approach the word daily saying, God, lead us.

[21:49] This is your motivation as you pray. God, lead us. God, lead our family to be a family that shines the light of Christ.

[22:03] God, help our teenagers at our church to be the kind of teenagers that stand out and are different. God, help the young parents at our church who are physically tired and exhausted with little ones at home.

[22:20] Help them to take time to read the Bible to their children. God, lead our single moms and our single dads who are doing the hard work of shepherding their children and doing it alone.

[22:35] God, lead our widows and widowers who are at home alone and often lonely and dealing with hardship that they did not expect to have to face.

[22:46] God, lead us. See, biblical prayer in the context of the model prayer is not just praying for you. It's not me just praying for me. It's us praying for we.

[22:58] It's praying for us. Lead us. Lord, lead those in our church who are hurting. Lead those in our church who are brand new to our church, who are trying to fit in and make friends.

[23:14] Lord, lead those in our church who are looking for a place to serve. And looking for a ministry. Lead those in our church who are new believers, new Christians, learning the elementary things of the faith.

[23:24] God, lead us. We acknowledge the leadership of the Lord is our great need. So if you just want to ask yourself, give yourself a quick test.

[23:37] Am I doing what the Word tells us to do? Just simply look back at the last seven days. How have you prayed for us? I don't say that in a condemning way or a guilt-inducing way.

[23:51] Just an honest question for each of us to consider. If we are not taking time to pray for us, then what we are doing is loving to learn but being slow to obey.

[24:03] And I say that graciously because that can be true of any of us. Any of us at certain times can love to learn and enjoy the theology and enjoy the doctrine that we gain.

[24:15] But we can at times, if we are not careful, be slow to obey. So my question to you is, in the last seven days, have you prayed for us?

[24:27] Lord, lead us. The church, the body of Christ. Your children. Your Sunday school teachers. Those who teach your children.

[24:41] Those who serve your children, Awana. Those who are helping to lead in all the different ministries your family may be connected with. Lord, lead us.

[24:52] Now remember, this is not simply about information. This is the culmination of verse 9. Pray then like this.

[25:06] To people who are praying, but they're praying selfish prayers or worldly prayers or materialistic prayers, I would want to emphasize, pray then like this.

[25:16] But for others who may love the doctrine and understand the theology, but not following through with actual time and prayer, I would emphasize, pray like this.

[25:32] If you're someone who struggles to take time to pray, let it be a priority of your week to pray then like this.

[25:46] And to say, Father, would you lead us? We need the leadership of the Lord. Have an acknowledgement of your need and my need, collectively our need, for the Lord's leadership.

[26:01] Second, there's an admission of temptation all around us. There's the admission of temptation all around us. Lead us not into temptation.

[26:14] Now, we have to stop and acknowledge that temptation is all around us. Where does temptation come from? Well, I'll give you at least three places biblically that temptation comes from.

[26:28] One, it can come from within. James 1.14 says, Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

[26:40] As Christians, it's true we have a redeemed nature, but our redeemed nature is encased in sinful flesh. And sometimes our self launches an attack against us.

[26:54] And so Jesus teaching us to pray, Lord, lead us, but lead us not into temptation. Help us to walk by the Spirit, not according to the flesh.

[27:07] Here's a verse that would help you pray for this. Galatians 5.16, But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

[27:17] If you need a way to help put words to formulate your prayers, just pray that right there. Lord, lead us not into temptation. Help us. Help my family.

[27:28] Help my children. Help our church. Help our ministry staff. Help the leadership of our church. Help our Sunday school teachers. Help our deacon body. Help those who serve and lead in our church to not walk according to the flesh.

[27:42] Help us to not give in to earthly, sinful desires. Because temptation can come from within.

[27:56] Second, temptation can come from the world around us. Sometimes temptation comes from within us, and sometimes temptation comes from around us.

[28:07] From commercials that you are inundated with that tell you that you deserve something you don't have. By billboards you see driving down the highway, and an image just comes into your field of vision.

[28:21] You didn't want it to be there. You didn't ask for it to be there, but now it's there. Temptation can launch an attack that way. By an unwholesome image that comes across a magazine or a computer screen or a television screen, whatever it may be.

[28:36] Sometimes it's the world around us that wages war and inundates us with temptation. Third, temptation can come from those who desire our demise.

[28:51] The friend who tells you to go ahead and lie, it's not that big of a deal. The boss who asks you to doctor the document or to lie about the numbers to make life easier for everybody.

[29:04] Those who try to persuade you to disobey that do not have your best interest at heart. We want to pray about that.

[29:17] Lord, lead us not into temptation. Help us to be aware of the temptation that's within us, to be aware of the temptation of the world around us, to be aware of temptation that comes from those who would seek to lead us astray.

[29:32] This is a prayer that prays, God, help me to be on alert. Help me to be spiritually awake to temptation. Help me to not grow numb.

[29:43] Help me to live by conviction. Help us to live by conviction. Help us to let our hearts be sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

[29:54] That's where temptation comes from. Now, I want you to see secondly, though, that the Lord provides for his people when we are tempted. We have an admission that temptations all around us, within, from the world without, and from those that seek our demise.

[30:13] But here's the good news. The Lord provides for his people when we are tempted. 1 Corinthians 10, 13. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.

[30:26] God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape so that you may be able to endure it.

[30:41] Make it a matter of prayer. Lord, lead us to look for the way of escape when we're tempted. God, lead our family to be people who are spiritually strong, and we don't give in to the temptation to lie, or to gossip, or to exaggerate, or to name call, or to impugn motives.

[31:14] God, help our family when we're tempted to blame each other, to instead be quick to take accountability and to forgive.

[31:29] Instead of just praying for your child's history test tomorrow, which I'm all for praying for your kid to do well in school, but instead of just, understand again, every parent would ask for that.

[31:43] It doesn't mean it's wrong to pray that way, but your unbelieving parents want their kids to do well in school too. How could you pray for your children in a way that is uniquely Christian?

[31:57] Well, it would sound like praying over your children and your grandchildren. Lord, would you help us to look for the way of escape you provide when we are tempted, so as a family, we honor the name of Christ.

[32:15] let your children hear you pray like that. Let your Sunday school class let them hear you pray for them like that.

[32:31] Teach your teenagers when you teach Sunday school to pray like that. Instead of turning family devotion into mom and dad lectures, the kids, which we can all do very quickly, don't let family devo become about mom and dad lecturing.

[32:51] Let it be about family worship, which means let your kids hear you, mom and dad, say, lead us not into temptation.

[33:03] You provide a way of escape. Help us as a family, all of us, to always look for the way of escape that you promised to provide.

[33:15] If we don't pray like that, what we inadvertently teach our children is that we need to fight temptation until we leave the house, and then we don't have to worry about it anymore. But that's leading them astray.

[33:30] Because temptation did not stop coming after you when you left mom and dad's house, did it? It's still very much alive. Do your children hear you pray for your standing up to temptation?

[33:45] Do your grandchildren ever hear you talk about how you are still actively striving to live a holy life that you know what it's like as grandma and grandpa to face temptation?

[33:56] Do they ever hear you talk about your spiritual battles? Do they ever hear you talk about what you're learning in the Bible? How you're trusting the Lord? What the Lord is doing in your life today?

[34:07] If you teach Sunday school or Awana, let your children that you teach hear you talk about how you're learning too. How you're growing. How the Lord's convicting you.

[34:18] How you are prayerful every day for your own spiritual life in addition to those around. don't inadvertently put off the vibe that spiritual growth and spiritual battle ends when you become an adult.

[34:34] And so Jesus says, pray like this. Lead us not into temptation. And just admit that temptation's all around us.

[34:45] From within, the world without, those who seek your demise, but the Lord provides escape. And remember that our greatest hope in temptation is that Christ stood where everybody else fell.

[35:00] It's interesting. We're here in Matthew 6. If you just turn the page one at the most, two times, you're going to come to Matthew chapter 4 where we've just, if you're reading through the Gospel of Matthew, you've just come through the temptation of Jesus in the desert.

[35:16] So, if we're reading the Gospel of Matthew from beginning to end, when you get to chapter 6, verse 13, lead us not into temptation, immediately, your mind is going to what you would have just read in chapter 4 where Christ himself was tempted.

[35:38] And the whole point is we want to be aware that we want to pray to not be led into temptation, to not give into temptation, but with the understanding that our great hope is while we have fallen into temptation, Christ stood where everybody else fell.

[35:58] Which means, even as we pray this model prayer, we pray it as Christians focused on Christ as our substitute.

[36:11] focused on Christ as our Redeemer. Absolutely, I want to fight temptation and I want to look for the way of escape, but I also must acknowledge and admit that I've not done that perfectly my whole life, or if I did, I would be a perfect person and not even in need of a Savior, but that's not my testimony.

[36:36] Nor is it yours. Adam and Eve fell. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob fell. David fell.

[36:51] The nation of Israel fell. The disciples fell. You fell.

[37:02] But Jesus stood perfectly faithful where everybody else fell.

[37:15] And His perfect obedience drives us to run to Him because His perfect obedience is what qualifies Him to be our substitute on the cross and to be our sin bearer.

[37:30] See, when you read Matthew 6, 13, you've got to read it with Matthew 4, 1 to 11 in mind. You've got to remember that yes, like Jesus, we want to fight temptation by memorizing Scripture.

[37:47] Yes, like Jesus, we want to quote Scripture in its right context to fight temptation. Yes, like Jesus, we want to recognize false teachers that would try to lead us astray like the devil did to Him in the desert.

[38:01] Yes, like Jesus, we want to follow His example so that we can stand. But unlike Jesus, we have already fallen. Unlike Jesus, we have given end to temptation and our sin has earned us death.

[38:19] But praise be to God, where we fell, Christ stood. So when we say, God, lead us not into temptation, we are praying that we would be holy, but with the awareness that we have sinned and it is Christ that is our sin bearer.

[38:40] Amen? See, this is how Jesus taught us to pray. This is not just memorize three or four verses and recite it before the football game.

[38:52] This is saying, God, I want to pray like this, with this understanding, with this theology undergirding everything that I believe and everything that I say.

[39:06] So we have an acknowledgement of the Lord's leadership, an admission of temptation all around us, and then thirdly, we have an awareness of the enemy.

[39:18] An awareness of the enemy. Lead us not into temptation, the second half, but deliver us from evil. Deliver us from evil.

[39:31] I don't have time to get into this. We're about out of time, so let me just, let me just summarize a brief part here. The language here, I think best understood, and the best scholars would agree with this, that the best way to understand verse 13, the second half, is deliver us from the evil one, I don't have time to get into why that is true, but take my word for it linguistically here, that the best understanding is Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

[40:04] This is a reminder that you have an enemy, that there is a devil, a real devil, that seeks to destroy you. Now some people pretend that the devil is everywhere, and every bad thing is a satanic attack against you.

[40:22] You get to school late because you got up late and you can't find a parking place, the devil's out to get me, or you should have got up earlier. It's not that difficult. The test is really hard, my teacher is so unfair, I think the devil's at work here, or you should have studied and watched less TV.

[40:41] Don't attribute every headache in your life to the devil. At the same time, if you pretend there is no devil, then you simply are not taking God's word seriously.

[40:53] Now think about that. Jesus taught us to pray to be delivered from evil, and specifically, I believe, to deliver us from the evil one.

[41:07] If you think Satan is everywhere, and that he is somehow an equal opponent to God, then you do not know what the Bible teaches about the limitations of the devil.

[41:18] But if you do not believe he exists, you just don't believe the Bible, because 1 Peter 5 says, Be aware, your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

[41:31] And Jesus taught you to pray to be delivered from him. But the good news is that our God is stronger. 1 John 4, 4, Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.

[41:46] John 16, 33, Jesus says, I have overcome the world. So what are we praying when we say deliver us from evil, or more specifically, deliver us from the evil one?

[41:57] Jesus is not teaching us to pray that we would avoid all suffering. He is not teaching us to pray that we would avoid all testing of our faith, because what does James say?

[42:10] The testing of your faith develops perseverance. And perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives generously to all without finding fault, then it will be given to him.

[42:27] But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt. For the man who doubts is like a man blown and tossed by the wind. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all of his ways.

[42:41] What James chapter 1 is teaching us is our faith must be tested to know if we are stable. Our faith must be tested if our faith is going to persevere.

[42:54] So Jesus is not saying, Lord, protect me from ever having my faith tested. Lord, protect me from having to go through sanctification. Lord, protect me from having to suffer for righteousness' sake.

[43:07] Those things are for your good. What he's teaching us to pray is help us to never be led astray by the evil one to ever fail to trust in you.

[43:21] That's exactly what the devil tried to do just two chapters earlier in Matthew 4. Jesus, just bow down. I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world.

[43:34] Your father promised it to you, but your father wants you to go through a crucifixion. You bow down to me, no cross. Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

[43:50] Deliver us from the temptation to seek anything less than the glory of God. Lord, deliver us from the strategy of the enemy that seeks to make us focus on the here and now rather than things that are eternal.

[44:13] God, deliver us from the evil one who wants to convince us that the world has all the charms that we need when your word says we're to set our mind on things above, not things below.

[44:36] See, an unbeliever can't pray this prayer. Only a Christian can. Which is why Jesus says, pray then like this.

[44:49] Our Father, uniquely, it's the redeemed of the Lord that can call him Father. You have access to a great blessing that the unbeliever doesn't have.

[45:05] Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. God, I want your name to be glorified among us in our home, in our church.

[45:18] Help us to live in such a way that the name of the Lord would be magnified. And Lord, may your kingdom come. We see your kingdom come every time an unbeliever is converted, so we're praying for salvation.

[45:33] We're praying daily for people that are lost, to be saved because God moves in behalf of our prayers, but we're also praying for the kingdom of God to come physically, for the return of Christ.

[45:44] Lord, we want to be ready for your return, eager for your return. But while we wait, Lord, help us to do your will.

[45:56] To do your will, we have to know your will. To know your will, we have to read your word. Help us to read your word, but not just to read it, but to do it. To obey it.

[46:08] And specifically, God, help us to obey your will the same way it's done in heaven by the angels. Immediately, completely, joyfully, and for the glory of God alone.

[46:25] But God, we need your help. While we seek your glory, we also need your help. You've made us weak. You've made us limited. We need your help. We need your help every day. And so, God, would you provide for us our daily bread?

[46:38] Would you give us every day what our bodies need in order to live for your glory? We're not robots. To live for his name, his kingdom, and his will, we need food, and water, and shelter to survive.

[46:53] So, Lord, we're not asking you just to give us something. We're asking you to make us someone. So, give us daily bread so that we can be someone who lives for your glory.

[47:05] God, give us daily water so we can be someone who speaks the praises of our king. God, give us daily shelter and provision so that we can do your will on earth as it's done in heaven.

[47:17] So, God, we need daily bread and we know that Christ is the bread of life. We need daily water. We know Christ is living water. And so, help us to use even our physical needs as a way to be reminded that Christ is our spiritual provision.

[47:38] And God, would you forgive us our debts? And we're gonna show and prove that we've been forgiven because we're gonna forgive those who have hurt us.

[47:50] And God, that's hard. And that hurts. And God, we admit to forgive somebody makes us feel vulnerable, but here's what we know. You have forgiven us of far more than we've ever been asked to forgive.

[48:04] And so, would you forgive me? And as you forgive me, may I give to others the grace that you have given to me. Make us a forgiving people.

[48:14] And as we forgive, would you, God, not lead us into temptation help protect us from the temptation from within us, protect us from the temptation in the world around us, protect us from the temptation of those who seek our demise, and would you deliver us from the evil one, the one who wants us to focus on the here and now, but instead, help us to focus on eternal things.

[48:39] Protect us and deliver us from the evil one who wants us to bow down to the things of the world when you've told us to set our sight on things above. But God, it's not just me that I pray this for because I'm a part of a family.

[48:54] My conversion was individual, but my individual conversion led me and brought me into a family. And so, I'm praying not just for me, I'm praying for us.

[49:05] I'm praying not just for me, I'm praying for we. It's not just about I want to finish well, I want my wife to finish well, my kids to finish well, I want our church to finish well, and we understand that prayer is a gift and a tool that leads us there.

[49:21] So no longer will we be prayerless and no longer will our prayers be just for us and no longer will our prayers be just the same things that the unbeliever could pray. No, we want to say, God, lead us in such a way that as together we obey you, we see your kingdom come, your will be done, and the world will forever know that you are the treasure of our hearts.

[49:47] Pray then like this. And the application will be as you pray.

[49:59] Not just as you listen, not just as you take notes, not just as I pray that you understand the theology, the application will be on your knees praying for us to live like this.

[50:17] Lord, we thank you for your word. I pray that it's been helpful. I pray that it's been instructive. I pray that it's been clear. I pray, Lord, above all else that you would help us to pray like this, to really pray, and to pray in the way that you've taught us.

[50:40] We ask it for the sake of your name and yours alone. Amen. God bless you. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed.

[50:51] You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed.

[51:02]  You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. You're dismissed. fathers. You're dismissed. fathers.