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Livin' On A Prayer, Part 9

"Guide Us & Guard Us"

February 28, 2021

When we sincerely pray, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors," we will surely become a target for the enemy. The next line of The Lord's Prayer is vital as we pray to the Lord for protection. "Do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one". The heart of this request is for divine protection. It is asking God to protect you as part of your prayer life. 1. Purposes of the Petition The greek word, "peirasmos" can be translated as "trial" or "temptation" has two uses, a negative use and a positive use depending on intent and context. - God brings trials into the life of a believer to develop him or her. Much like one would lift weights to build muscles. Lifting weights can be difficult and even painful but the result is a stronger body. The trials that God brings us through serve to strengthen us spiritually, to cause us to grow in our relationship with God. - Satan brings "temptations" into your life with the intent of destruction. - Notice the positive purpose of trials - James 1:2-4 James says, "consider it great joy when you experience various trials". Various here means multi-colored. It represents the idea that we will face trials of different levels and intensities. Why should we count it all joy when we come into God ordained trials? Because it's always for our own development. That is GOOD NEWS! We're not joyful about the pain of the trial but we ARE joyful about the PURPOSE of the trial. - Notice the negative purpose of trials - James 1:13-15 When you are tempted to do wrong, at that point your own flesh has entered the picture to entice you with what God has intended as a trial to grow you, while the enemy wants to use it as an attempt to harm you. Satan wants to take the opportunities God gives you for development and turn them into opportunities for destruction. That's the enemy's negative purpose to bring sin and defeat rather than righteousness and victory. See Matthew 4 where God sent Jesus into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. The devil attempted to destroy God's purpose by tempting Jesus with things to entice his flesh. It was the same event being used by God to test Jesus and by Satan to destroy him. The issue becomes how we respond to these trials and temptations. 2. Process of Protection What does God do? See 1 Corinthians 10:13 "“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” - Hear this, God is faithful! You need to understand that God is faithful. You can count on Him when this happens. When you face a trial in life on or solved from the devil, God is what? Faithful means dependable, bankable every single time. - God limits the extent All of the temptations that come our way are controlled by God. He limits how far Satan can go. God is faithful in this. You might think, "Well, I don't feel that way." Please know that the issue here is God's faithfulness, not our feelings. Whenever our feelings and God's faithfulness clash we must recognize that our feelings will lie to us!" - God provides the escape God will show you a way out, a detour, a way to escape the temptation. There is always a road out because God is always faithful! God says, even in the pain of the trial, look for Me. I’ll show you the detour. Isn’t that what James 1:5 says? If any man lacks wisdom, that means I can’t see it. I know there is a road here somewhere, but I can’t see it. God will give you the wisdom to see the road and take the route that you might endure it to the lesson being learned. 3. Prayer of Protection Why pray this prayer? - God is a delivering God • When Peter was in prison and the church prayed, God is a delivering God. • When Esther was faced with death and the death of the Jewish people and she prayed, God is a delivering God. • When Daniel was about to go in the lion’s den and he prayed, God is a delivering God. • David all through the Psalms says He delivered me from peril. He delivered me from persecution. He delivered me from famine. He delivered me from this. He delivered me from my enemies. He keeps talking about this delivering God. The sacrificial work of Jesus upon the cross is the ultimate delivering. I was dead in sin, headed to an eternity in hell separated from Him. Jesus took on our sin so that we may be delivered into His righteousness.