Friday, March 15, 2013

The Lord's Prayer Part II - Talking to the Father about the Family, Part 53 of 61

TEXT: "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father 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 forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen" (Matthew 6:9-13).

IDEA: We need to connect the dots in Matthew 6:13.

PURPOSE: To help listeners call upon God to be delivered from temptation.

Do you like to fish or hunt? How do you do it?

Can you understand the proverb that says, “How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds”?
Suppose you were hired as a counselor to fish and birds, what advice would you give them?

I. In Matthew 6:13 Jesus put two requests together that we should not separate.

How are the two phrases related?

Why do we ask, “Lead us not into temptation”? Would a bird or a fish ever need to ask that? Why?

What does “Deliver us from the Evil One” have to do with “lead us not into temptation”?

Behind the temptation is the tempter; behind the lie is the liar; behind the trap is the trapper.

II. When we pray, “Deliver us from the Evil One,” we do three things:

We acknowledge Satan’s power.

We acknowledge our weakness.

We acknowledge our heavenly Father’s greater power—in spiritual battles His power is indispensable.