Tonight we come to the end of our study in the Lord’s Prayer. And we end right back where we started. We end with recognizing God for who He is. We end with praising Him for His kingdom. For His power. And for His glory. But before Jesus takes us there, He takes us to a much more difficult place. As a matter of fact, it can be a disturbing place. You see, it’s fairly easy to say that God has all the power. It’s fairly easy to say that everything is for His glory. It’s fairly easy to tell God that He’s King over all. But what does that mean? How does that play out in day-to-day living? When you get the promotion you were praying about, it’s easy to see God as in control. When you see a miraculous healing take place, it’s easy to see God as in control. When you see things work out just the way you think they should, it’s easy to see God as in control. But what about all the other things that make up life? What about all the things that we see as bad? What about the difficulties? What about sickness that doesn’t get healed? What about hurricanes and tornados and fires and floods? What about those things? It’s called the question of evil. It’s a question that has caused many people to stumble throughout history. Have you ever heard of a man named Charles Templeton? Charles Templeton was one of the greatest evangelists of the 20th century. In the ‘40s, he was credited with leading thousands of people to Christ. He planted a church in Toronto that grew exponentially. But he is probably best known for his relationship with another evangelist. You see, he was very close friends with Billy Graham. He was even responsible for nominating Billy to be the field evangelist for Youth for Christ. Both Charles Templeton and Billy Graham regularly spoke to thousands about Jesus. So why do we all know about Billy Graham and many of us don’t know about Charles Templeton? Because Charles Templeton lost his faith. The whole time he was preaching to thousands, he was questioning God. They say it began when he saw the World War II newsreels about the Holocaust. He just couldn’t understand how God could be who He said He is and allow evil like that to exist. In 1996, he wrote a book about his rejection of Christianity called, Farewell to God. His foundational question for rejecting God is found on page 201. He wrote: “How could a loving and omnipotent God create such horrors as we have been contemplating.” The sad thing is, he’s not alone. When you talk to people about God, it won’t be very long before someone confronts you with THE question: “How can a good God allow bad things to happen.” People try to skirt the question. They try to dance around it. The worst thing is when people try to make excuses for God. Several years ago, Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote a best-seller that basically said that evil happens because God is powerless to do anything about it. Poor God. Do you see what happens when the Bible isn’t your source of truth? Do you see what happens when you begin to undermine the truth of Scripture? When you remove Scripture as the source of all truth and meaning, you end up with a pitiful, man-made god. You end up with a god who is powerless against evil. Or you end up with a god that many of our TV preachers peddle today. You end up with a god who isn’t sovereign. Instead, they peddle the idea that Satan is sovereign. Of course they don’t say that. What they say is, “you lost your job because Satan made it happen.” “you are sick because Satan made it happen.” “you lost your loved one because Satan made it happen.” Guess what? Satan doesn’t make anything happen. Because Satan is not in control. Satan’s main power is in his extraordinary ability to deceive. And I can think of no bigger deception than that. To convince people that he is in control of anything is the biggest lie going. Because that is God’s territory. God is in control. God is sovereign. He is not helpless. He is not powerless against evil. Nothing surprises Him. Nothing is outside of His sovereign control or power. Nothing. Not even evil. Not even sickness. Not even disease. Not even hurricanes or tornados or the Holocaust. Nothing. Whether death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present, things yet to come, height, depth, or any other creature. God is sovereign over all. He created them all and He is over all. How comforting that is. How reassuring that is. But if you’re not careful, it can be disturbing. It can be disturbing when we allow our minds to wander into the implications of it. It can be disturbing when we go to a place in our mind like the Holocaust. When we go to a place in our mind like sickness and disease and suffering. That’s why Jesus tells us to pray. And when He tells us to pray, He tells us to pray about one of the most difficult things to wrap our mind around. He tells us to pray about the nature of evil and God’s role in it. But notice what He doesn’t tell us to pray. He doesn’t tell us to ask God to let us understand it. Because we can’t. We will never be able to understand all of the philosophical implications of the question of evil. We can’t because we don’t have the mind of God. And it takes the mind of an all-knowing God to understand how something that we see as evil will work together for good. When Joseph was being hauled up out of the pit and sold as a slave, I’m sure he didn’t see how it would work together for good. When he was left to rot in jail for a crime he didn’t commit, I’m sure he didn’t see how it would work together for good. But it did. And he acknowledged as much in Genesis 50:20 when he said to his brothers, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me—but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive.” So that brings us back to what Jesus is telling us to pray. He doesn’t tell us to pray that we will understand it. Instead, He leaves us with an unspoken. He leaves us with the unspoken understanding that God is in control. And that’s where we have to leave it. We understand that evil is a result of sin because that’s what Scripture tells us. We also understand that if God is all powerful… and the Bible says He is… and He is not the author of sin… and the Bible says He isn’t… then sin only exists because He allows it. So the question is, why does God allow sin to exist? He allows sin to exist for the same reason that He planted a tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden and then told Adam that he couldn’t eat of it. He planted that tree and made the rule as a test. If there had been no test, could Adam really have proved his love to God? No. But we know that Adam failed that test. So the test wasn’t really there for Adam to prove his love for God, was it? The test was really there so God could prove His love for Adam. It was there for God to prove His love to all mankind through the atoning work of Christ on the cross. It was not God’s desire for Adam to fail the test. God didn’t cause Adam to fail the test. Adam believed the lie of Satan and failed the test on his own. But God ordained that His glory would be magnified through Adam’s willful sin. Just like He ordains that somehow His glory will be magnified through all the results of sin we see in the world today. And through it all, Jesus tells us to pray, “Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.”
Does God lead us into temptation? Yes, He does. Of course we have to know what we’re talking about with the word temptation. When we see the word temptation, it has very negative connotations. In our language, temptation leads to sin. But the meaning of the original word carries no such connotation. The original word simply means test. A temptation is a test. Just like the tree in the garden was a test. What was God’s desire for Adam concerning the test? God’s desire was that Adam glorify God by passing it. By the same token, what is God’s desire when He gives us a test? His desire is that we pass it. It was His desire that His Son pass the tests in the wilderness. You remember what happened after Jesus was baptized, don’t you? He was tested in the wilderness. Satan presented Jesus with three scenarios. Turn the stones into bread, test God by throwing Himself down off the top of the temple, and be given the kingdoms of the world by bowing down to Satan. The three temptations of Jesus—we’ve read them many times. But there’s something we tend to skip over. We skip over how the passage starts in Matthew 4:1. “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.” Who led Him there? God the Holy Spirit did. For what purpose? So that He would be tested. Satan intended evil for the tests. Satan intended for the tests to result in failure. But Jesus didn’t fail the tests. God the Spirit led Him to be tested and He passed. At the end of His life, Jesus was tested again in the Garden of Gethsemane. And He wrestled with that test in prayer to the point that He was so emotionally stressed that He actually sweat blood. And what was He asking in that prayer? Father, let this cup pass from me. He was asking that the Father not lead Him into the ultimate test of the cross. But at the same time, He knew that was why He was sent. He was sent to be tested with that ultimate test. He was sent to give God ultimate glory by passing that test. And in order to pass it, He had to take it. So He followed up His request that the Father lead Him not into temptation. He followed it up with, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to be tested. I don’t like it when my flesh is tested with a lustful thought. I don’t like it when my pride is tested or my motivation is tested or my selflessness is tested. I don’t like those things any more than I like it when I’m tested with sickness or grief or loss. But what about other kinds of tests? What about success? I know how many times I’ve failed the success test in the past. I’ve failed it by taking credit for it. I’ve failed it by getting a big fat head about it. I’ve failed it by not being content with it. Tests come in all shapes and sizes. And we don’t have to like them. That’s why Jesus tells us to pray about them. He tells us that it’s OK to ask God not to test you so much. And I think it’s especially appropriate when you are dealing with a particular besetting sin. If you have a gossiping problem that you just can’t seem to get under control—pray about it. Lord, lead me not into that particular test. Lord, don’t lead me into those situations where I will be so tempted to gossip. Of course, you need to be prepared—He might disconnect your phone. But then again, He might give you lots of opportunities to display His strength through your weakness. He might just put you into a situation where you will be tested. He might just put you into a situation where your only way out is to cry out to Him. And then when you do… He will deliver you from evil. Jesus says that it’s OK to pray that the Father take the tests away. Just like it was OK for Him to pray for the cup of suffering to pass from Him. But at the same time, you need to realize that might not be God’s plan. That might not give Him the greatest glory. That’s why Jesus followed with, “Not My will but Thine be done.” And that’s why He tells us to follow with, “deliver us from evil.” God, deliver me from the evil of thinking I know more than you do. Deliver me from the evil of thinking my way is best. Deliver me from the evil of forgetting your promises that you are working it all out for your good. Deliver me from the evil of forgetting that it’s all about your glory and not about my comfort. Lord I really don’t want to be tested. It’s not fun. I don’t like it. I don’t like it because sometimes it hurts and sometimes I fail. But Lord, I know that every test you put me through is for your glory. You desire that I pass it. But when I don’t, and when I fail, you’re faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me of all unrighteousness. So Lord, what I ask is, if you won’t take the test away… deliver me from evil. Don’t let me do anything that will dishonor the name of Jesus. A friend of mine prays this prayer every morning and I have started to copy him. He prays something like this: “Lord, you know all things. You know the end from the beginning. You know what this day holds for me. If I am going to do something today that will bring shame to my family, my church or to the name of Christ… kill me now before it happens.” You know what he’s saying there? “Deliver me from evil.”
I don’t know what kinds of tests the Lord is placing in your life right now. I know some of them but not all. Know one thing tonight. God places the tests there in order that you will bring Him glory by passing them. Not in your strength, but in His. The only way you will be delivered from evil and pass the tests placed before you is with the power of the One who holds all power. Because it’s His kingdom. He’s in control of it all. It’s His power. He holds all power in His hands. And it’s for His glory. You didn’t choose your tests. But you can pass them. And the first place to start is prayer. Do you need to remind yourself that God’s in control tonight? Do you need to ask God to remove the test from you tonight? Do you need to pray, not my will but Thine be done? Do you need to ask God to deliver you from evil by giving you the strength to pass the tests tonight? The Lord is placing another test before you tonight. He’s placing a test of response to His Word. Are you going to pass it? Will you respond in the way He’s calling you to respond?
