And really, we have two texts this evening. The one is, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And it's in relation to that that we read from 1 Corinthians 9, 24, and as far as chapter 10, verse 13. Let's give your attention to the Word of God. Do you not know that in a race, all the runners compete? But only one receives the prize. So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So, I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as when beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified. I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now, these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were, as it is written, that people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. We must not indulge in sexual immorality, as some of them did, and 23,000 fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did. and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has ever taken you that is not common to man. God is faithful and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with a temptation He will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. So we're to pray, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Jesus there forces us to hold two thoughts together that we don't want to have to hold together. He's making us hold this thought I am weak. I must pray this prayer. Together with the thought, and I am at war. Now those two thoughts, both of them are unpleasant enough alone, but they're really unpleasant to hold together. If we are weak, then let me not be at war. And that's indeed what we pray for. Being weak, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Or you might say, well, if I must be at war, let me be strong. So indeed, we find that prayer as well. We find the Apostle Paul saying, and I am praying for you that you may be strengthened in the inner man, that you may be strengthened in all knowledge, strengthened in all his will. So we find that prayer as well. The prayer that we might be strengthened, since we are at war. So it's dangerous to be at war. And especially dangerous to be at war when you're weak. He tells us, seek strength and pray for protection. You can say the point here is that we're sheep, so we have to be careful of being isolated, beware of dangers, and seek our shepherd constantly. Shun isolation, beware of dangers, and seek your shepherd constantly. So if you look at this passage in Corinthians, he begins here, read your Bible, and run your race with the Lord before you. Because you know athletes focus their efforts. First thing you gotta do if you're gonna be an athlete, you gotta go to practice. You can't just go to practice, you gotta actually work hard at practice. You say, alright, I'm going to practice, I'm working hard, I'm trying to get better. Then you realize if you really wanna get after it, you need to sleep enough your body recovers for the next workout. You gotta make sure you get your sleep. Take it to the next level, you realize, and I need to eat the right way, or I'm not gonna have the energy, or I won't sleep. So you gotta modify your diet, you gotta modify your sleep, and you gotta be working hard at practice. You gotta change your life if you wanna be the one winning. And so he says, you know that. That makes sense. Some of you have done that, you understand that. Even if you don't do it, if you think it's too much effort, it does follow, but if you wanna win, And your competitors are doing these things. You need to do these things, or you don't have a chance. So he says, if that makes sense, how much more should we, who are believers, discipline our bodies, and change our lives, since we have a much greater goal set before us? But you might not see it. You might say, you know, I follow you on the athletic side of it. But I don't see why I need to change my life or focus my efforts for the Christian life. I mean, Jesus has done it all, and I'm saved, so I don't see really what I must change. So if that's where you are, he goes on in chapter 10 to say, well, read your Bible again. The Israelites had God's presence. A pillar of cloud before them by day, a pillar of fire by night. They were saved. saved from the Egyptians, and God opened the Red Sea, let them through, and collapsed the Red Sea on them. They had something that looked like sacraments. They had special nourishments from the manna. They had special drink provided for them supernaturally. You go so far as to say, look, they had Christ. They had spiritually all that we have. And yet God was not pleased with actually nearly all of them. They died in the wilderness. And so we're saying, learn from the Bible that, yes, you're saved when you believe in Jesus, but you're not in the Promised Land yet. And so we need to realize that, I'm going to put it this way, Pilgrim's Progress is a better map to the Christian life than the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Now, here's what I mean. Fellowship of Christian Athletes used to send us professional athletes who were believers into the Christian school to give us talks. And I appreciate every guy who came. It was great. Thank you very much. But what I found was, these guys would come in, and they would paint this very vivid picture of the entertaining morons that they were when they were unbelievers. And then they got saved, and the story was over. And I was like, well, okay, I see that you were a moron, but you haven't told me what it is to be a Christian. I mean, did you die? You're still here. Why is there nothing to say about living the Christian life? So, there's progress, on the other hand. I mean, sure, Christian is not a believer at the beginning of the book. He has a burden on his back. And he's running here and there, crying out, I must be free of my burden. He gets some bad directions. Finally, he makes it to the cross, and the burden falls off his back. But the book's just getting started. You're still in the first quarter of the book. Most of the book is about what happens after the burden falls off his back. After he's become a believer. After he's come to the cross. Now what? And so it follows him through his allegorical wonderland. As he faces giant despair. And as he faces the destroyer. And as he meets good companions and bad companions. And as he encounters various things. Apostle Paul here in 1 Corinthians 10 says that's the way to read it. The Israelites had been saved from Egypt, but they just started trying to get to the promised land. And we who have believed, maybe a couple of us will die quick, but presumably most of us here will be around for a little while. And so we must be addressing our minds, okay, now what? How do I live my life now? So, what are the dangers? He says, read your Bible. He starts going through them there, at verse 6. We must not desire evil as they did. Not crave evil things. It doesn't take very long to think of some evil things that could be craved. That perhaps you crave. You must cut off the craving. Not crave the gambling. It's an evil thing that can be craved. Not crave pornography. which makes sex an end in itself, and makes you an animal, cutting off all love, all relationship, all consequences, all context. So, it's just to focus on this, and not see it in the context of this. You don't have to crave any number of evil things, where the taste of them entices you. He goes on, "...do not be idolaters, as some of them were." There's a lot of pious Christians who get caught up in, yeah, but... but I feel closer when I have something to see. Yeah, what's an idol? It's an attempt to see God. It's an attempt to make the invisible visible. I've heard people who should really know better say, well, you know, it's a postmodern age now, and people don't like to read anymore, so we need to have the image. I mean, I actually use the word image. I'm like, you shall not make any graven images. How can you use the word there? We're not to fall for the idol. Nor are we to take a good thing and make it our everything. Because that's the more subtle form of idolatry. When you take some good thing, and this is what I must have, I am only happy, my life is required that I have this thing. Without this, I am undone. But it's not God. And it's there for an idol. if you would be undone without this thing. What tempts us? He goes on in verse 8, one must not act immorally, as some of them did. You know, I've got to tell, there's a lot of young adults here, you know, when I was a young adult, I dealt with various sexual temptations, and I thought, you know, when I get married, it'll make these problems go away. Wrong. Wrong. And you got married, and, you know, it's great for a little while, and then you have all these kids exhausting you, and you're not ready at the same time. And it gets frustrating. And there's various problems that come up, and, you know, it doesn't happen, and you miss each other, and, oh, you were actually interested. I missed it. I was too tired. Sorry. And pretty soon you start thinking, you know, why would it be easier if I went over here instead of over here? Not acting morally, as some of them did. Sorry, but... Marriage is not that wonderful cure-all for those sexual sins. You'll have to keep fighting the temptation after you're married, as well as right now. Verse 9, "...who has not put Christ to the test of some of the dead, and been destroyed by serpents." Did God really say something? I'll bet I don't really have to listen to that part of the Scripture. I'll bet He doesn't really mean that. That is too counter-intuitive. It doesn't seem right. What if I set that part aside? And then the really awful one, verse 10. Nor grumble as some of them did. And I find that most penetrating of all. Because who doesn't grumble? And yet when you make grumbling your habit of mind, who are you grumbling against? You say, well, just Dad. Really? Where did the dad come from? I mean, who gave you the father? You might grumble once and have it just be against the person, but the ongoing grumbling is eventually against God and His providence. So as Moses says, why do you complain against me? What is Moses? It is the Lord that you are rejecting. And there's other temptations, the things that waylay you, the things that try to get you to run right off the course, ideally, Or not run off the course, just sit down in the middle of the course, and not continue to run. Maybe sit down and start grabbing other people's ankles, as you grumble, and other people hear you grumble. And he's saying, the Scripture is for us. We're not to read those things and be like, oh, okay, I know more history. If they have a Bible quiz exam at camp, I'll be able to win it. Winning is fine. But you need to know how to apply it to yourself. And not desire evil, as some of them do. So see, you've got to read your Bible and run your race with the Lord before you. Take care, verse 12, if you do it humbly. When you think you've got it made, you've just taken the first step off the course. And verse 13, you must do it with the faith that God cares. You think no one's been tempted like you. Verse 13 says that you're wrong. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. You say, mine is uncommon. Well, okay, the details are unique to you. And maybe not everyone's tempted in this way, but a fair number of other people have been tempted with this temptation. None of us is so unique that we can say, I am the only one to face such a temptation. No temptation has overtaken you. that is not common to man. Finally, we're to know that God is faithful and will provide a way of escape. We're to be alert for that escape. So, we're to run our race with the Lord before us. So, Jesus has us end our petitions looking forward spiritually. We're talking about the last thing we ask God for in the Lord's Prayer. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. We've asked Him to exalt His name, and His kingdom, and His will. We've asked Him to give us bread, and forgive us, give us peace with Him. Now we ask God to give us peace, peace with ourselves, and peace with the world. But He doesn't use the word, peace. Because when you're aiming at peace, and think you have peace, you go to sleep. There's a World War II movie, Tora! Tora! Tora! It's about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. And obviously, it's a movie, but it portrays the Japanese planning, acting, getting ready, being energetic, because they're going to attack. And then it portrays the Americans wandering around in Hawaii, barely paying attention, because they think they're at peace. And really, by the time the Japanese attack, you almost want to root for the Japanese to win. They've got something to them. They're trying to achieve something. Americans are just kind of clueless. Because that's how we are, when we think it's peace. Why don't we get up and check the radar? What is a radar? What do these dots mean on the screen? I just installed this thing. What's going on here? So Jesus doesn't have us say, Lord give us peace. He has us ask for peace in such a way that we should remember that we're at war. Lead us not into temptation. Notice He doesn't say give us a positive request for the positive good. He gives us a negative request against a negative thing. Lead us not into temptation. To keep us on our toes. There's temptation to deal with. And we have to ask for protection in it. You might ask, well, why are we asking God about temptation? We just read James 1 this morning. God Himself does not tempt anyone. So, if God does not tempt anyone, why am I talking to God about keeping the temptation off of me? And I hope you understand why. That God is in charge of all things. God is sovereign. And so, when the devil tempts us, it is only because the Lord has let the devil at us. That's the message of the book of Job. At the beginning of the book of Job, Job the man is at peace. It's only after God has given the devil permission and boundaries that then Job is afflicted. The devil is afflicting him, but the Lord has permitted it and set the boundaries for it. And furthermore, the Bible says that God tests us. It says that King Hezekiah, in 2 Chronicles 32, in the matter of the envoys from Babylon, the Lord left him that he might know what was in his heart. It also says that the Lord tested Abraham. Now the really interesting thing is that test and tempt in the Greek are the same word. Something like pirazo. And you can say, now wait a minute. If it's the same word and it says that God did this word to Abraham, how can James say that God doesn't tempt anyone when it's the same word as pirazo? And the nuance is this. God tests us. with a redemptive purpose. He tests us to strengthen us. He tests us to show us our weakness. He tests us to bring out and to further help us. Peter had to be shown not to be so cocky. So the Lord tested him. When the devil comes after us, it's for an evil purpose. And so thus, we translate that with a negative word, tempt. He wants us down. He wants to destroy us. He wants to destroy God's glory. Job is only worshipping you because you've given him everything. That's kind of the debate in Job, between God and the devil. Why is Job so pious? Out of piety? Or just because God gave him all the candy? Now, you might ask a dumb question. I mean, it seems sensible, but I'm telling you it's dumb. You might say, well, how do I know in this situation if I'm being tested by God or tempted by the devil? And that's a dumb question. First of all, because with Job, what was it? Both. And with David, taking a census of Israel, who was it? Well, Samuel is the Lord, and in Chronicles, it's the devil. It's both again. So the question is not who's behind the temptation, the question is what are you going to do with the temptation? Are you going to turn towards the Lord or away from the Lord? That's the question to focus on. You don't have to worry about things that are hidden from you. Job never finds out what we find out at the beginning of Job. He doesn't get to read the book of Job, he has to live the book of Job. So lead us not to temptation, that is keep the reality of temptation in mind, for in a spiritual war must not forget it. We have to know we have these three enemies. Three enemies. Can you think of the three enemies? Well, there's the devil, there's the sinful world, and then there's your own flesh. And it's the old flesh part that we might forget. It's the old flesh part that helps make the isolation that we have too much of in our society, isolation dangerous. And imposing these three powerful enemies, we have weak us. Peter had to learn how weak he was. We have to learn that we don't win this battle on our own. We have to pray, God, protect us. God, You're sovereign. God, keep me from these trials. God, help me not to think that I got it in myself. Lord, protect us. Now, there's one other thing, of course, that Jesus is teaching us here. If you pray, lead us not into temptation, You're also putting yourself on the hook to do your part in removing yourself from temptation. We're not to be hypocrites saying, Lord, lead me not into temptation. Now let me go right back to the same situation where I sinned before. What kind of prayer is that? It's a hypocritical prayer. If you're going to pray, Lord, lead us not into temptation, then do your bits. Think it through. Where am I tempted? When am I tempted? In what situations am I tempted? And then what am I going to do? to address those temptations. Some situations can be avoided. So avoid them. Some cannot be avoided. So what's your game plan? We're on the hook when He says, lead us out of the temptation. When we pray it, we're to also follow through. And not pray, oh God, that's all on You now. I don't have to protect myself. No! That's not how we live the Christian life. We pray for the Lord, lead us out of the temptation, deliver us from evil, and we're exhorted to That's the point here, the whole point of the athletic metaphor. You don't win the mile by, the gun goes off, and you're like, okay Lord, carry me along. You have to run. And that is... and the analogy given us here. So we are to go... we are to exert ourselves. It is not in the temptation, but deliver us from evil. Because temptations are evil. It's not sinful to be tempted. Jesus was tempted. But temptations aim to separate us from God, and so they are in themselves evil, though we be innocent in suffering them. I read a great line this week. Jesus was tempted to be made like us. We are tempted to be made like Him. So, I like that. Jesus was tempted to be made like us. We're tempted. So He has been tempted in every way, just as we are. It's in Hebrews. And we're tempted to be strengthened, so that we might be made like Him. We're not to be discouraged of temptation, we're to be roused to fight. We talked about anger this morning. If you want to get angry at something, be angry at temptation. Angry enough to get yourself out of it. It will be a good use of your capacity for anger, to protect yourself from evil. So if I deliver us from evil, keep the temptations from me. But if I must be tempted, and you know that there are some situations you will not be able to avoid. If I must be tempted, Lord, show me the way of escape. And let me take it. The best time being immediately. And Lord, if I do fall, don't leave me as I might deserve. But lift me up and bring me out of it. John Owen said something like this, has God ever interfered with your sinning? You're all lined up to sin. You got your plan, and then God messed it up. Couldn't sin the way you were planning on? See, that was God's grace to you that day. But that's God's grace to you, period. Owen says, you might now be a terror to yourself if the Lord had not interfered with your sinning. You don't know where you might have gone, if you had not messed up your plans to set out to sin. So, it's our last petition. We pray it to the end of time, and we pray it with the end of time in mind. Lord, deliver us from evil, now and tomorrow, and eventually, Lord, just permanently deliver us from evil, so that we don't have to pray the prayer anymore. Yes, deliver us from evil so completely, in the new heavens and the new earth, that we can lay down this prayer. And this petition wraps back to the beginning. Deliver us from evil, so that we may live and glorify your name, and hallow your name. So we start back to where we started. Beloved, you gotta pray this as an us. Were you thinking of yourself as an individual all through this message? I was preaching it that way. I think we've got to think about it that way. Temptation, you've got to think about what tempts you. But the prayer isn't deliver me from temptation, it's deliver us. Deliver us from evil. Lead us not. So you're to also pray for others as well as for yourself. Pray for the group to be protected. If you've been praying for us to be protected from COVID, thank you. You can also add this one. Also protect us from temptation. Temptations that come from COVID. Why are we still wearing masks? Why aren't you wearing masks? Protect us from the temptations of anger around COVID. Protect us from temptation in general. It's not fun to think I'm weak and I'm at war. But it's true, so we better know it. And he shows us how to deal with that. We're to pray and walk with the Lord and walk together as an us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. As sheep, we're to beware isolation and beware of dangers. We're to look to our shepherd constantly. Be spiritually awake and pray for all the church. Heavenly Father, we ask that you would protect us against the evil one. Keep him far from us. Lord, don't let any of us be exposed to the full force of his temptations. Lord, help us to live together and not to isolate ourselves from each other. Help us to come together and to live as an us that we may encourage and be encouraged by one another. And we pray, Lord, that You would deliver us from evil. If anyone is caught in any sin, Lord, we pray that You would deliver us, us together, each one of us, from these evils. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.