Deliver Us

Reference

Matthew 6:13, James 1:13

SPECIAL FEATURE

Great is the Lord (Psalm 96)
Words & Music by Carson Li @KEC Worship

MESSAGE SUMMARY

Matthew 6:13
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one

Lead us not into temptation
James 1:13 says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”

Would God even tempt us? If not, why bother praying, "Lead us not into temptation?"
Why do we have to ask God to refrain from doing something we are pretty sure that He would never do in the first place?

Peirasmos
The word for “temptation” in the New Testament is the Greek word peirasmos.
The word, however, has two different meanings.
It can be translated into “temptation” or “test/trail”

A test is something meant to prove a person's character, and in the process, improve it.
A temptation is meant to entice a person to sin, to bring a person down in some way.

But deliver us from the evil one
The prayer is not just, " and lead us not into temptation."
The prayer is …
"and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

The very same events or experiences in life, which the Father may use as tests or trials to prove and improve our character and faith, the evil one will try to sneak in and turn it into temptation with a clear intention to destroy our character and our faith.

However, whether that difficult situation ends up being a temptation that destroys your faith or a test that strengthens your faith depends on our response to it.

Evil-one’s The five strategies

Sow seeds of suspicion
Focus on the negative
Make deductions from the negative
Force the Father's hand
Take things into our own hands

Fortunately for us, God is in the deliverance business.
It was God who delivered Israel out of Egypt.
It was God who delivered Daniel from the lions’ dean.
It was God who delivered Peter from prison.
And it was God who delivered Paul from all the dangers.

In one of the most devastating experiences of our lives, our heavenly Father delivered us from the evil one's attempt to destroy our faith.

The prayer:
Our Father in heaven
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.