When I was growing up we had a miniature dachshund named Mouse. Mouse was a very good dog and seldom got into trouble but one Saturday morning after my Mom and Dad finished breakfast they went outside and as was her custom, my Mom stood and watched my Dad drive off to work. After just a few minutes she came back into the house and found our little dog on top of the dining room table where she had just eaten four sweet rolls and was now working on lapping up a pitcher of milk. When Mouse saw my Mom, or more likely when she heard her voice, she wasn’t able to move, not because she was scared but because she was bloated. She literally couldn’t move. What really perplexed my Mom was how a miniature dachshund with legs about 3 inches high could have gotten up onto the dining room table in the first place. What she discovered was that a chair hadn’t been pushed in all the way which gave Mouse the opportunity to jump onto the chair and then from the chair onto the table. Even though she had never done this before, the smell of the sweet rolls and her desire to eat them lured her to a place she had never been and an activity she knew was wrong. My parents didn’t lead Mouse into temptation, she was enticed into it all her own and the truth is that God doesn’t lead us into temptation because we do a good job of that all our own.
Temptation to say and do things we know aren’t right or healthy is a universal problem that has been with us from the very beginning, literally, the very beginning. When God created Adam and Eve he placed them in a garden full of trees and plants that were all good to eat. God’s only instruction was don’t eat from this one tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve knew what they were supposed to do and not do, they had heard God’s voice clearly but from the very beginning there was another voice they heard and it was a voice that enticed them to go a different direction and walk away from God. That voice called them to question what God said. Did God really say you couldn’t eat from that tree? The voice led them to places they shouldn’t have gone – it led them directly to the tree that they weren’t supposed to eat from. It says that they saw how good the fruit was and that it was a delight to the eyes. The voice led them to the tree and it was in that place that they started thinking about how good that fruit would taste. The voice told them to think about themselves and what was good for them and how much they would enjoy eating the fruit. They listened to that voice, and then after a while they followed that voice.
Now the story of Adam and Eve is our story. We all hear those same two voices and we all wrestle with temptation. We hear the voice of God tell us what is right and healthy, but we also hear that voice of temptation that tells us that we don’t need to listen to God and that it’s ok to do what we want to do and take hold of what we want in life. Now we all wrestle with different temptations. For some it may be in how we spend our time or our money. The temptation may come in unhealthy relationships or unhealthy activities, the temptation might be seek revenge and lash out in anger when someone breaks into our home or church. The truth is we all hear the voice of God calling us to go in one direction and we all hear a voice that works hard to lead us in the opposite direction and like Adam and Eve, without God leading us away from temptation – it is our nature to give in to it. I look at it this way; we all need God to push in the chair so we don’t jump up onto the table because on our own we will go for those sweet rolls! Jesus knows the power of temptation and evil are real and he knows that we are weak and prone to give in to it which is why he first tells us to pray for God to lead us away from temptation and it is also why Jesus prays for us. Look at John 17:15.
So the most important part of this phrase of the Lord’s Prayer is the first two words, Lead Us. Because evil and temptation are real and strong, we need God to lead us - not into temptation where we can go so easily on our own, but away from temptation and evil. The question I have been asking myself the last 24 hours is how God wants to lead us in the situation we find ourselves in. How does God want to lead us in showing our community and a troubled young man what forgiveness is all about? How does God want to lead us in calling for justice and accountability which can bring about real change and yet temper it with mercy which can bring about the transforming power of God’s love?
I said last week that when it comes to forgiveness we need to get it right – and now God is giving us a chance to do just that – will we allow him to lead us in getting it right? God is giving us the opportunity to be a living example and witness to the Lord’s Prayer in a very practical way. Will we allow God to lead us not into temptation – the temptation to seek revenge and act out of anger but into a place of real forgiveness? Will we allow God to teach us and lead us into forgiving someone who has trespassed (literally – criminal trespass) against us? Someone shared this message with me last night, what a blessing to see how God loves and trusts Faith Church to do what is right and to lead your community right now. He is truly at work in you and around you. God truly is at work in us and I believe God wants to work through and he wants to do that by leading us not into the temptation to seed revenge or the temptation to hide our head in the sand and do nothing but to lead us to a place of real forgiveness.
As we wrestle with what this means and what it looks like the larger question we need to ask ourselves is how does God lead us at all? How does God lead us, not just during times of temptation or trials, but at all times? Before we answer this, we need to understand that the word lead here implies relationship which means that God isn’t going to lead us by walking out in front and yelling directions over his shoulder from a distance. God leads us by walking with us. When we think of God leading us we need to think about Psalm 23:1-3. God leads us a shepherd leads his sheep and a shepherd is not detached and far away, a shepherd is right there in the midst of the sheep. A shepherd leads by getting their hands and feet dirty. They walk right in the center of the sheep so the sheep can hear his voice, feel his touch and find courage in his presence to go in the right direction and do the right thing, and this is how God leads us. God doesn’t lead us from a safe and secure seat in heaven – God leads us by coming to us and walking with us. God leads us by getting involved in our lives and even dwelling among us and inside of us. This is how God has always led his people.
God led the people of Israel through the wilderness by a fire at night and with a cloud during the day which meant that God in all his power was right there with his people. God could be seen and heard among his people. God then led his people through his word. The 10 commandments and the law were to given to help shape not just people’s minds and actions but their hearts. The word wasn’t just to be read, the people were to fix God’s word in their heart and have it lead them into right attitudes and actions.
But God wanted to lead us his people in an even deeper relationship so he became flesh and blood in Jesus and literally walked with us in this world. Jesus led the disciples by showing them what it looked like to follow God; he led by example and he led through encouragement. But God wasn’t content to just walk along side of his people so God sent the Holy Spirit to literally dwell inside of them. God now has the ability to lead us from the inside – by speaking to our hearts and then giving us the power and courage to follow the voice we hear.
So throughout the Bible we see that God has led his people through his Spirit, through his word and the word made flesh in Jesus, and that is still how God leads us today. If we are going to pray, lead us, in the Lord’s Prayer, then we need to allow God to do just that and lead us through the power of his Spirit, through the power of his word and then through the power of a relationship with Jesus.
So let’s look at those for a moment. If God is going to lead us through his Spirit, then we need to learn how to listen to that Spirit and we need to learn how to really hear the voice of God. In the Old Testament there is the story of a young boy named Samuel. The spirit of God spoke to Samuel but Samuel didn’t know it was God until his mentor, Eli, said to him, “When you hear that voice again say, Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. God did speak again and Samuel started to listen and God then led Samuel throughout his life.
What a great prayer for us to pray if we want to hear God’s voice and be led by God’s spirit – speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. Speak, Holy Spirit, because we are listening and we need your voice to lead us in life and in faith. Through His Spirit, God is still speaking to us and God desperately wants to lead us – the question is if we are willing to listen to that voice and then follow where it leads us? Will we quiet our lives enough to hear God? Will we obey what we hear and allow God to lead us to new places? .
How has the Holy Spirit been speaking to you recently? Has God been leading you away from certain places or behaviors that aren’t healthy? Has God been leading you to new places where you can serve him or grow in your faith? You see, it’s the Holy Spirit that tells us we should sign up for VBS even if we have never worked with children. It’s the Holy Spirit that calls us to serve at the FaithCentre or go on the next mission trip or visit a friend who is sick. It is the Holy Spirit who tells us to get involved in a Sunday School class, or pray for the people of our community. It is the Holy Spirit who is speaking to us as a church asking us if we are really committed to a life of forgiveness and grace. Every time we hear that voice and follow it, we learn to hear God more clearly the next time. There is a great book called the power of a whisper by Bill Hybles that helps us understand how important it is for us to learn how to listen to God’s Holy Spirit and that we learn by acting on what we hear.
God not only leads us through the Holy Spirit whispering to our hearts and minds, but God still speaks to us through his word. The Bible says God’s word is living and active and then in Psalm 119:105 it says God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. In other words, God’s word, the Bible, can direct us in the way we should go. God’s word can lead us away from temptation and it can lead us into life but only if we will read it and allow it guide us. Will we commit ourselves to that this week? Will we take some time and read a psalm or a story about Jesus and find a verse or two we can use as a guide for our day or for our week. The more we allow God’s word to lead us, the more God’s word, both written and spoken through the Holy Spirit, will lead us.
God also leads us through a relationship we can have with Jesus. Not only can look at how Jesus lived his life and use it as an example, but we can also reach out to Jesus himself and ask him to lead us. Jesus said, I will be with you always, and in many different ways we can build a relationship with Jesus through which he will lead us. I believe Jesus wants to lead us today; he is just waiting for us to ask.
So in the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to lead us, not into temptation because can do that all on our own, but away from the temptation and away from evil. To pray this is one thing, to allow God to actually lead us – is something else. May it be our desire and the passion of our prayer today to truly have God lead us? Not just in our own lives, but in our life as Faith Church, may it be our desire to have God really lead us. If you want God to lead you in life, then I invite you to join me in the Lord’s Prayer.
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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. AMEN
Next Steps: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Identify the temptations are you struggle with today?
Do these temptations threaten your health? Finances? Marriage? Family relationships? Spiritual growth?
Do you see any patterns in your life that need to be addressed?
To begin to overcome these temptations:
1. Allow God to lead you this week through His Word.
Commit 10 minutes each day to reading a passage of the Bible and try to identify one verse which can guide your thoughts, words and actions through the day.
2. Allow God to lead you this week by His Holy Spirit.
Commit 10 minutes each day to prayer and listen for the whispers of God. Follow the nudging of God and do what the spirit prompts you to do.
3. Allow God to lead you this week through the support of others.
As you feel comfortable, share your temptations with trusted followers of Jesus who can support you in your walk of faith.
