is not that I did choose. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nibert. When the Lord was teaching His
disciples to pray, one of the things that He told His disciples
to pray is, lead us not into temptation. Every believer is
called on to pray that prayer every day. lead us not into temptation. Now, the first question I would
ask is who is the us when our Lord says lead us not into temptation? Well, this is a reference to
every believer in the prayer. He begins with when you pray,
say our father, which art in heaven. So it's everyone who
is a child of God. Is everybody a child of God?
No. The Lord said to one group, you
are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father
you will do. So not everyone is a child of
God. The one who is called upon to pray this prayer is that one
who is a child of God. It's the one who worships, hallowed
be thy name. That's not just an empty phrase. It means something. The name
of the Lord is the person behind the name. It's all of his attributes,
his holiness, his power, his sovereignty, his wisdom. Every attribute of God is behind
his name. His name is who he is, and the
believer says, hallowed be thy name. Holy and reverend is thy
name. The one who prays this prayer,
lead us not into temptation, is a worshiper. And then he says,
thy kingdom come. We're taught to pray that, thy
kingdom come. They're subjects of his kingdom.
Thy will be done. There are people who desire his
will above all things. Lord, take my will and make it
thine. It shall be no longer mine. Thy
will be done. And then there are people who
pray, give us day by day our daily bread. We're totally dependent
upon the charity of God. We're dependent upon Him for
everything. This is the one who's called
on to pray, lead us not into temptation. And then these people
are also praying this, forgive us our sins. They're sinners.
They're sinners who need forgiveness. And they ask the Lord, forgive
us of our sins for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to
us. Having been forgiven by God,
they truly forgive. And then, this part of the prayer,
lead us not into temptation. Prevent us from even being tempted. Prevent us from even being tried. Now, our Lord teaches His disciples,
every believer, to pray this prayer, Lord, lead us not into
temptation. Now, what is meant by the word
temptation? In the scriptures, this word
means two different things. First, a temptation is a trial,
is a trouble. It's heartache. It's things that
trouble you. Genesis 22.1 says the Lord did
tempt Abraham. He brought a trial into his life. troublesome trial. Now you and I will have trials. You've already had some and others
are ahead. Trial. And then the word also
has to do with being tempted to sin. Tempted to disobey God. Tempted to do what you know you
should not do. Now first let's consider it in
the light of trials, troublesome times, things that are difficult. Now, James tells us to count
it all joy when we fall into trials. Now, that doesn't mean
we rejoice in the trials, but we rejoice in him who sent the
trials, knowing that he does it for our good and his glory. And James also says, blessed
is the man that endureth temptation, that makes it through the trial,
for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which
the Lord has promised to them that love him. Now, before I
talk about these trials that we're told to pray, Lord, lead
us not into temptation, let us not be tried. Remember this,
you're allowed to pray that you won't be tried, but understand,
if you're a believer, you will be tried. It's all under Romans
8.28, and we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.
This trial God sent, He's in control of it. If you're in a
trying situation, if you're going through a grievous trial, God
sent that trial. And if you're a believer, he
sent it for your good. It's exactly what you needed. Isn't that a blessing to think
about that? Now, trials are painful. They're not things you get through
easily. If you get through it easy, it's not much of a trial.
If you've not been sick, you will be. And I love that scripture,
he whom thou lovest is sick. Somebody says the devil makes
you sick. Well, the Lord's in control of sickness. And if you're
sick, it's because he sent it your way if you're a believer.
Now, I know many religious people will disagree with that. They'll
say, oh, it's not God's will for you to be sick. It's God's
will for you to be prosperous and healthy and all that kind
of stuff. And that's foolishness. You won't get that from the scripture.
Look at Job, what the Lord sent his way. Now, there are trials
more than sickness. There's economic trials. God
may try you with prosperity. That is a trial many people fail
with, prosperity, because they forget God. Or he may trial you
with poverty. What a trial that is, an economic
trial. There are trials that go on in
our homes, going through a tough time in your marriage when you're
tried to walk away from it. You're tempted to because it's
so difficult and you, I didn't sign up for this. I didn't want
this to take place. And there's a temptation to walk
away from it. There's trials with wayward children
where they just break your heart because of the things you do,
the things they do. There's trials of death. losing
someone that you love, the trials of bereavement, trials of old
age, trials of loneliness, trials of isolation. There are emotional
trials. There are mental trials. There's
depression. There's mental illness. Somebody
says, can a true Christian be mentally ill? Well, can he be
physically ill? Yes. Then he can be mentally ill as
well. And what a trial that is. become in such despair that they
feel like taking their own lives. There's trials of conflict with
others. Maybe someone doesn't like you
and bears ill will toward you and would be malicious toward
you. What a trial that is. Or what a trial when a true friend
may turn on you and betray you and not treat you the way they
one time treated you. You can be roasted and slandered
by people. And what a trial that is when
people would attribute things to you that just aren't true.
Oh, trials. I could go on and on about trials,
but the scripture says, man that's born of woman is born to trouble
as the sparks fly upward. Now, we live in a sin-cursed
world, and there will be temptation, there will be trials, there will
be troublesome times. You know that, but the Lord teaches
us to pray, lead us not into temptation. I don't want to be
tried. I would rather just believe the
word without having to learn things the hard way. But let
me show you what the wise man said in Proverbs chapter 30.
And I think this is the same prayer that he's praying in chapter
30. He asked for two things of the Lord. It's in Proverbs 30
verse 7. Two things have I required of
thee. This is what the wise man is asking of the Lord. Deny me
them not before I die. And here's the first thing I
need. Remove far from me vanity and lies. Let me know the truth. Don't let me believe a lie. Don't let me hear vanity. Give me the truth concerning
who you are. Give me the truth concerning
who I am. Now, I want to know just enough about who I am to
make me call upon you. I don't want to know the whole
truth about myself. but I want to know just enough
about myself that will make me come to you for mercy and grace. Give me the truth. Remove from me vanity and lies."
And the second thing he requests is give me neither poverty nor
riches." That's a wise thing to ask. Feed me with food convenient
for me, give me what I need, but remove from me poverty, remove
from me riches, lest I be full. If I'm fool with riches, I'll
be fooled, and I'll deny thee and say, who is the Lord? I'll
lose my sense of my need of you. Or if I'm poor, I'll steal and
take the name of my God in vain. So that's really saying the same
thing. Let me not be tempted or tried. But understand this,
and this is such a blessing. If you are tried, There's a needs
be to it. If you have trouble in your life
that the Lord has sent your way, it's exactly precisely what you
need. Peter said in first Peter one
six. Now, if need be. you're in heaviness through manifold
trial. Whatever trial you're going through,
if you're a believer, as painful as it is, and you're permitted
to ask, Lord, don't let me be tried, yet know it's exactly
what you need. It's what the Lord sent your
way for your good and for his glory. You know, Paul said in
1 Thessalonians 5, 16, in everything, give thanks. For this is the
will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you, this very difficult time
you're going through. This is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you. He sent it for your good. It
may be painful. But it's for your good, and it's
for His glory. Trust Him. Trust Him. That's what we're called upon
to do, trust Him. I might not understand what He's
doing, but He does. And I am to trust Him. And also
remember this, this too shall pass. Paul said, our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory. While we look, not at things
which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things
that are seen are temporal." They're temporary. They will
not last. But the things which are not
seen are eternal. We're strangers and pilgrims
passing through, if we're believers. What a blessing to be able to
pray, Lord, don't let me be tried. I don't want to go through troubles.
Don't let me be tried. But understand this, the trials
that come your way, the temptations that come your way, God sent
them for your good and for his glory. If you're a believer,
all things work together for good. Did you hear that? All
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. So we're to pray,
lead us not into temptation. Oh Lord, deliver me from trials. Don't let trials come my way.
That is a daily prayer that we are to pray. But this also has
to do, this word temptation, also has to do with temptation
to sin. When you're tempted to sin against
God, we're taught to pray, lead us not into temptation. Prevent
us from even being tempted. Now let me say at the outset
that this does not mean that the Lord tempts His people to
sin. He does not do that. Let's hear
what James says about that in James 1, verse 13. Let no man
say when he's tempted, I'm tempted of God. God is tempting me and
trying to get me to commit a sin. Don't say anything like that,
for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any
man, but every man is tempted when he's drawn away of his own
lust and enticed. And then when lust hath conceived,
it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth
forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren."
Now, What I'm saying when I'm saying let prevent me from being
tempted, I'm saying I know I'm so weak and I'm so sinful that
if I'm tempted, I'll fall. So what I'm asking you to do
is let me not even be tempted to sin. Remove the temptation. Let me not be exposed to it. Now, in this thing of temptation,
there are three problems every believer has. First, the devil. There is a being called Satan,
and he's called the tempter. The tempter. I think of his work
all the time. He asked for permission for Peter
that he may sift him as wheat. And at one time the Lord said
to Peter, get thee behind me Satan. Satan had worked on him
and tempted him and brought him into a bad position that was
contrary to the gospel. And the Lord said, get thee behind
me Satan. The devil is called in scriptures,
the tempter. Now, there's also the world,
the world that John told us not to love. Love not the world,
neither the things that are of in the world. For all that's
of the world, the lust of the flesh, sinful pleasure. The lust
of the eyes, being more concerned about what other men see than
what God sees. Being controlled by the fear
of man, being controlled by what other people think of you and
what other people do. The lust of the eyes. Popularity
is what that is. First is pleasure, then there's
popularity. And the pride of life, the lust for power, the
lust for prestige and position. All that's of the world, the
lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life
is not of the Father, but it's of the world. This world you
live in hates God and wants you to join in step with it. But
here's the biggest problem. your evil nature, my evil nature. If I had a holy nature that was,
well, here's the way I'll, if I'm a believer, I do have a holy
nature, but I also have an evil nature. Now, when the Lord Jesus
Christ was tempted to sin, he said concerning the devil, he's
found nothing in me, nothing he could get a hold of. You see,
the Lord Jesus Christ was, is, always has been, and always will
be, incapable of committing sin. He's holy. He's holy. It's no temptation to him to
sin. When he hears of the lust of
the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, there's
no temptation. When Satan came to try to tempt
him, he said, the prince of this world have come and found nothing
in me. He didn't even have the potential to commit sin. But you and I do. And even if
I'm a believer, I have a new nature. I've got a holy nature
that was given to me in the new birth when I was born again by
the Spirit of God, but I still have that same evil nature that
I was born with. And there is an appeal in the
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Now, being tempted to sin, Your
constitution, your upbringing, your gene pool all has some bearing
in that. It's not an excuse for sin, but
it's true. The way you were raised up, the
thoughts you have would make you more liable to some sins
than others. Some are more tempted by the
lust of the flesh, some are more controlled by the lust of the
eyes. Some are more craving of the pride of life, but it's all
sin. It's all sin, this thing of temptation to sin. Now, sin
is called in the scripture the transgression of the law. Question, is it a temptation
to you to put something before God? Is it a temptation? to have false
ideas of God, which is idolatry, which will make you more comfortable
with the direction you're going? Is it a temptation to loosen
up and not be so reverent and devout and take the name of the
Lord in vain? Is it a temptation to try to
do something instead of just rest. You see that rest of the
Sabbath that's in the Ten Commandments represents resting in the Lord
Jesus Christ, not working for salvation, not trying to do something,
but rest in Him. But it's always a temptation
to do something. Is it a temptation to fail to honor authority, fail
to honor your parents, to be a rebel? Is it a temptation to
kill? Not only to murder someone, but
to slander someone, to murder their character, to make them
look bad so that you look a little better and you make your own
light shine brighter. Is that a temptation? Is it a
temptation to commit sexual sin? Is that something that you're
tempted by? Is it a temptation to steal? And I don't only mean
shoplifting. What about robbing God? What
about taking credit where credit is not due? You know, the Lord
did say, will a man rob God? What about taking honor to yourself
and robbing it from somebody else? That's stealing. Why, to
fail to pay your bills is to steal. Is it a temptation to
steal? Is it a temptation to not tell
the truth? Even omit some part of the truth in order to save
yourself? Maybe what you say is true, but you don't tell the
whole truth and nothing but the truth because of what it'll cost
you. Is that a temptation? Is it a temptation to covet,
to covet what belongs to your neighbor, to wish you had it
instead of them, to covet what they have or the position they're
in? Is that a temptation? Is it a
temptation to be jealous or envious of someone? Is it any wonder
the Lord taught us to pray, lead us not into temptation? I have enough experience with
myself to know what happens when I'm tempted. So I ask the Lord,
don't let me even be tempted. Prevent me from being tempted. Now, there's several things that
we say when we pray this prayer. From our heart, lead us not into
temptation, First, we show that we really don't trust ourselves.
I don't believe I'll bear up well under that trial He sends
my way. I'm afraid I'm going to fail at it. I know I'll fail
at it apart from His grace. And as far as being tempted to
sin, if I'm tempted, oh, I give in. So, Lord, don't let me be
tempted. Keep me, prevent me from being tempted because I
know I can't trust myself. So, Lord, don't let me even be
tempted. Now, when I pray that prayer,
I'm also demonstrating a genuine love for other people. What do
you mean by that? Well, we're fearful of being
a bad example to others where they will be emboldened to sin. by following our example. You
see, when we sin, we're tempting others to sin. And when we become
spiritually lazy, other people will follow our example. And
we don't want to be tempted because we know what a horrible example
will leave to our family, to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
So we cry out, Lord, don't let me be tempted so I won't bring
reproach on your gospel by my bad conduct and by my actions. And when we pray this prayer,
we're confessing how weak we really believe ourselves to be. I'm saying to the Lord, I'm so
weak. May God give us grace to be honest
before God, to be without guile, without deceit. When we pray
this prayer, Lead me not into temptation. We're saying, I'm
so weak. I know that I'll fall if I'm
tempted. So please don't let me even be
tempted. I'm so in need of your grace
because I am so weak. But you know, when you and I
see ourselves to be weak, weak before God, Weak before sin,
just weak, weaklings. That's when we're strong. Didn't
Paul say, when I'm weak, then am I strong? You see, when I'm
weak in myself, I have nowhere to look but Christ. When I'm
weak before temptation, all I can do is cry out to Him, lead me
not into temptation. Don't let me even be tried because
I'm weak and I know I'll fail. But thank God there's a promise
for the weak. The Lord said to Paul, my grace
is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Now for that person who's tried,
let me read you a scripture that is so precious. Hebrews chapter
four, verse 14. Seeing then that we have a great
high priest. Now, there's one priest, the
Lord Jesus Christ. He's a great high priest. And a priest is someone who represents
men to God. And I need him to represent me
to God. And every believer has this great
high priest. And what a great high priest
he is. He's so great that whatever he
asks the Father, the Father gives him. Oh, the Father is pleased
with him. Now seeing we have a great high
priest that's passed into the heavens, he's not in some dark
confessional booth, he's passed into the heavens in the very
presence of God. Jesus, the Son of God, that's
our great high priest, Jesus, the Savior, the Son of God, the
second person of the Trinity. Let us hold fast our profession,
for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched, moved
to sympathy with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Now let me say this about the
Lord Jesus Christ. He never sinned. He never committed
a sin. but he's experienced everything
about sin but the commission of it when he was made sin on
the cross. I don't understand that, neither does anybody else,
but I know he'd bear our sins in his own body on the tree,
and he experienced all the shame, the humiliation, the failure
of sin. Oh, he experienced all that on
Calvary's tree. That's why he cried out, my God,
my God, why have you forsaken me? And so when you Feel the
weakness of yourself. The Lord's touched. We have not
a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities, but was at all points tempted, like as we are, yet
without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace, free favor, that we may obtain mercy. and find grace to help in time
of need. What a blessing for that tempted
one. Aren't you thankful that the
Lord has taught us to pray, lead us not into temptation? Now, we have this message on
DVD and CD. If you call the church, write
or email, we'll send you a copy. And we'd like to invite you to
services at Todd's Road Grace Church. Our Bible study begins
at 945, morning worship at 1030, and evening at 6. This is Todd
Nygren praying God will be pleased to make Himself known to you.
That's our prayer. Amen. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.