Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Do you know anyone who will ask for forgiveness before they even do anything wrong? Pastor Mike Patz has been teaching word by word from the Sermon on the Mount. He concludes the series, warning us with these words of Jesus in the Lord's Prayer, "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Know this, you're going into battle. This is why Jesus gave you the exact prayer you would need, deliver us from the evil one! There is a tendency of humans to radically overestimate our capacity of handling things that we shouldn't even try to handle. In 1 Corinthians 10:12, the early church was warned, "take heed lest you fall..." Consistently we overestimate ourselves. Forget about confidence in yourself. Cultivate a God-confidence!The word for temptation can be used for the word "test" or "temptation." Ask, "Is it a test, or a trap?" Don't be led to stumble! God doesn't tempt, but He does allow tests. Temptations come! Pleasure. Pride. Power. Beware of looking down on others in the areas you may feel strong in. We must recognize there is good and bad in each one of us. Tests are not evil, but temptations are laden with evil. It is Satan who tempts us to stumble and rush ahead of God's plan. None of us are good; Jesus prayed "deliver us..." There is a personality behind all evil, and it is the devil. The evil one depends on us not detecting him when we're in the midst of temptation. Father, we need your protection and deliverance against the demonic. The snake came with venom, but the Lamb came with the antidote! On the cross, Jesus invites us to begin to live "by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony"! Jesus is greater than any power found in the world. He invites us to use His words, "Our Father in heaven, we ask that your kingdom will come. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. Give us our food again today, and forgive us our sins. Don’t bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Amen."