Lord's Prayer:
Lead us not into temptation

Pastor Meyer’s Sermon

 Sunday, July 22, 2007

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus, our Christ. Amen.

Hum. [Vending machine. Coins.] Does anybody want any? Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation.

Lead us not into temptation. What does Jesus talk about? After all, Jesus was the one who gave us this prayer. What is Jesus talking about? Lead us not into temptation. Are we asking to take all the temptations away? All the temptations we deal with in our daily lives?

What does He mean by temptation anyway and what does He mean by lead us? Does He mean those temptations when we come in front of a vending machine and we’re on our diet, like I am? And I go ahead and get salted cashews? What does He mean when He asks us to pray “Lead us not into temptation?”

Well, James gives us a good picture of what it means in our reading for this morning. Did you catch it? Right at the end of our reading he talks about it. He says, “But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires, he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived to give birth to sin and sin when it is full grown gives birth to death.” So temptation is that enticement or that desire to do evil.

But we all know about temptations, don’t we? We deal with them in our daily lives and that is why I have this vending machine up here. Because it gives us a good clue as to why temptations are so difficult for us. The first one is the attractiveness of the vending machine. You see, it has the soft light on the inside that highlights each of the products and each of the products are nicely wrapped. Some of them stand out more than others. This was attractive to us.

But think about those temptations we have in our lives that we deal with every day and how attractive they are, understanding the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. That’s why it’s so hard for us when we deal with temptations because they’re attractive. But also, there is easy access. You see vending machines all over the place, don’t we? We go to the motels. They’re on each floor. You even can come to church and there’s a vending machine here. You can go anywhere into public places and there is usually a vending machine. Easy access.

Earlier this week, I went to the U.S.A. Today paper on the website and while I was reading this article, there was a little banner on the side with a picture of a pretty lady and it said, “Do you want to see more of me?” And all I would have had to do was just take my arrow, go right over and click on that banner and it would have taken me to a different page, a much more difficult page that had nothing to do with U.S.A. Today. They are so easy, easy access for us in our daily lives. That’s why temptation is so hard for us.

But there’s also a sense of anonymity, too, when you’re talking about a vending machine. How many of you even pay attention when somebody goes up to a vending machine? How many of us know who has actually used a vending machine in the last three weeks? There’s an anonymity about it, anonymity about the vending machine. The same for us in our daily lives where the temptations that most people don’t know what’s going on with us so we say it’s always easy for us to fall into temptation because it’s easy for us to hide it.

And then the things we are tempted with just as you go by a vending machine. They’re tempting but they’re not necessarily good for us. And it’s the same for those temptations we deal with in our daily lives. They are tempting but they’re not necessarily good for us.

The one thing we need to do with temptation and desire the way James talks about temptation is we need to park the car here because we need to talk about desire. Now desires in and of themselves are a part of life and they’re not bad at all. They’re that internal, that inside drive for us to get things. It’s not wrong for us to have desires or the desires themselves or the temptations we feel. They’re not the sin. They’re not the sin at all. In fact, if we did not have a desire to eat, we would starve to death. We wouldn’t eat. When Jesus was sentenced to the wilderness, He was tempted but that doesn’t mean He was out in the wilderness sinning. No. We’re not praying these temptations be taken away from us. No, that’s not what we’re praying about. Because the problem is when we attempt to satisfy those desires outside of God’s will. First, the desires become lust as James said and the desires turn into or give birth to sin. So eating, the desire to eat is normal but gluttony is sin. The desire to sleep is normal but laziness is a sin. The desire for marriage and marrying is normal but adultery is a sin. You see, the desire itself is not the sin. It’s what we do with that desire that can lead us to sin.

So again, we need to also park the car with temptation because there’s another nuance here that most of us don’t always think about when we think about temptation. You see, the Greek word that’s used for this, the original language in the New Testament is twofold. It talks about temptation but then it also talks about a trial or some kind of testing that we will be engaged in. So you see, while the temptations we deal with are internal, they’re inside, these trials and these testings we receive, they come from the outside. Maybe it’s that family difficulty we have or that work struggle or the unrealistic expectations that have been placed on us. They’re external things that come from the outside to us. And the purpose of these testings is to determine the depth and integrity of one’s commitment to God. In fact, James says that right at the beginning of our reading for today. James writes, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so we may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything.” Hum. So when we say, “Lead us not into temptation,” not only are we saying, “Keep us from going into those evil desires, falling into those temptations we have, the desires we have,” but also, “help us with our trials.”

But the one thing I’m hung up on is “lead us.” What do we mean by lead us? What is this lead us? Does it mean God sometimes in our lives leads us into temptation? Does He lead us into the trials and these difficulties we have in our lives? Hum. What does He mean by lead us? Well, Jesus answers us in Luke 22. It’s a parallel passage to the reading we just had for our gospel where Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane and He comes back to His disciples. It says here, “Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives and the disciples followed Him. And on reaching the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’” So lead us not into temptation, we’re not asking God to lead us not. God is not the one who is doing the leading. No, those desires, those temptations, those trials we have in our lives, they’re kind of like that rope that’s on the horse that you use to lead that horse around. And what we’re praying when we pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” we’re saying, “May that rope not lead us into falling into, giving in to those temptations and in to those desires we have.” Hum. That’s a lot we’re saying with those five little words, isn’t it?

But the one thing is we’re going to deal with temptations no matter what we have in our lives and the question is how do we deal with them? How do we handle them when we’re in the face of trials and temptations? And there are four things I would like to give you for you to take home with you that would be able to help you when you get into a time when you’re faced with temptations and trials. And the first one is to realize we will be tempted. It seems so easy. We will be tempted because, you see, when we say, “Lead us not into temptation,” we’re not saying, “Take away all the temptation we have.” No. We’re praying that God would help us to deal with those temptations. And the first one is to realize that as long as we’re here in this world, we are going to be exposed to temptation. Because, you see, knowing that is going to allow us to be prepared for when those temptations come. Jesus tells us to watch out. Watch out because those temptations are going to come. So realize we will be tempted.

The second one is kind of odd. It’s odd because James tells us, “Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials.” So the second thing in the midst of temptations is to be joyful about it. Now that seems weird because temptations are so difficult for us, aren’t they? But to find joy in it. You see, the reason why is because James tells us that trials and temptations give us a chance to reflect on our faith, gives us a chance to see how far we’ve grown in our faith, especially those times where we stand up to the trial or the temptation. It gives us the chance to look back and say, “Man, how I’ve grown.”

I’ll give you an example. The last couple of years, I’ve been learning how to play the piano and so I can play a little diddy right now, like [piano music]. Okay, I can play that but about two years ago, the only thing I could do was [piano scale] just be able to play the scale. That was the only thing I was able to do and it was so hard to try to do the scales with both hands. And so when I was learning a new piece, as I was advancing, I was learning a new piece and I was getting so frustrated and my piano teacher said, “Go back to those ones you have learned earlier and see how much easier it is for you to play.” You see, when we have temptations and trials, it gives us the chance to look back and to see how much we’ve grown in our faith and in our relationship with Jesus. And that’s the joy He’s talking about, the joy in temptation, realizing we’re going to be tempted and having a joy when we’re in the midst of those temptations.

But the next one is to trust in God that He will provide because that’s a promise He gives us. Because Jesus tells us when we’re in the midst of temptation, He will provide for us. It says here in James again, at the end of James, just after the end of our reading, it says, “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly light who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He has created.” He talks about giving us good and perfect gifts in the midst of those temptations and trials to help us, to sustain us, to help us to stand strong in the times of temptation. And He promises He will move and He will act in our lives and He will respond to our needs. So trusting that promise but then also to not doubt. That’s the fourth one. Don’t doubt. James says here, “Do not be someone who doubts.” He says, “If you lack wisdom,” how to handle this temptation or this trial, “he should ask God who gives generously,” all those gifts He gives us generously, “without finding fault and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt.” Hum, to not doubt. So don’t doubt that God will give you what you need during that time.

Finally, we read from 1 Corinthians 10, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to men and God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” So when we are in the midst of temptation, knowing we are going to be tempted, that we are going to be able to go and we’re going to be able to ask God for help, to know that we have a joy in that temptation and to not doubt God’s promise, “Lead us not into temptation, Lord. Let us not fall away from you.” Amen.

Copyright 2007 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church