Date of message: 02 February 2003
Subject: The Family Prayer - And Do Not Lead Us Into Temptation
Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),

To all my Chinese friends, I wish you and your loved ones a blessed Chinese New Year. May the Lord bless you richly in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).
Many thanks for the words of encouragement you have been sending me over the past few sessions. They were timely and all praise and glory belong to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Who is now seated at the Father's right hand reigning with Him.

It is unfortunate that when the original Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New testament were translated into English, the process brought along some ambiguity. Take the text we have for this week, for example.
An initial glance gives us the impression that the Lord does lead people into temptation. On the contrary, the Lord does not tempt us or bring us into temptation. In the Hebrew, there are two tenses in the action words; one is a causative tense while the other is a permissive tense. The Lord does not deliberately lead us into temptation (that will be in a causative tense) but He does allow us to be tempted (in a permissive tense).

We see the best example of a permissive temptation or test allowed in the life of Job. In Job 1 we read that Job was a righteous man and the devil was jealous of him. The devil came before God and accused Him of unfairness in His dealings, that Job was prosperous because God protected him. The devil challenged God that Job would be no different from others when he had lost everything that the Lord had blessed him with and that he would not worship the Lord any more.

And so the Lord God allowed the devil to do whatever he wanted with Job except not to kill him. The devil immediately went to work. In a short span of a few hours, Job lost all his seven children in freak accidents and all his animals (camels, horses, donkeys, mules, cattle, and sheep) were taken away from him. For nine months, Job was inflicted with sores and boils and the advice his three friends gave him were not encouraging either. It looked a hopeless case for Job. But praise to the Lord, Job held on to his faith and believed God was not behind his troubles. In fact his faith was strengthened. At the beginning of his troubles, Job did not know the Lord; he only knew about the Lord. From his remarks in Job 42: 5 - 6, we know that his faith was only in the head (from what others had told him) but through his troubles he was able to see the Lord and worship Him.

Job passed the test and he was rewarded handsomely. The Lord blessed him with fourteen children and all his possessions were doubly restored. His latter days were better than before he had those tests.
The Lord does allow us to be tested but He is never the one who tests us. The devil is always the one who will do the tempting and he is always on the look-out to ensure that we do not pass the test. And when we fail to meet the mark, he will be only too pleased to accuse us before the Father.
How does the devil tempt us? In the Garden of Eden, the devil could have killed Adam to stop procreation and thereby frustrate the Lord's plan (as if he were able to do so!) but he did not and could not. He could only tempt Eve where the law was given, that both she and Adam were not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In the beginning, God created everything for the enjoyment of Adam and Eve. Everything that they wanted to eat of was made available to them. The only prohibition the Lord gave them was not to eat of the fruit of that tree and the devil intentionally chose to tempt them on that prohibition or law.

The apostle Paul devoted one whole chapter in Romans 7, writing about his personal struggle with the Law and all its requirements. Paul found that whenever he focused on what he wants to do, it became a forgone defeat and he would feel depressed. The Law has its high standards of requirement and unless we can meet up with all that it demands, we cannot live by the Law. We need a Deliverer who can match up and satisfy everything that the Law demands of us. Praise the Lord, Jesus Christ became that Deliverer and because He died, we are now set free from the bondage of the Law.
The devil can only tempt where the Law prevails; that had always been the boundary set for him. Where there is no Law, he has no jurisdiction. Therefore, since we have been delivered from the Law through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the devil cannot prevail over us and we should remind him of our position in Christ and he will flee from us.

The apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5: 8 that the devil goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He is not a lion. Trust me he had been defeated by our Lord Jesus on the cross. But he behaves as if he were a lion attempt to scare us and if possible intimidate us but all praise be to our Lord, he cannot prevail over us because with the Holy Spirit in our lives, he is a loser.
Our Lord is full of compassion and grace. It is amazing that He provides us with sufficient grace even when we do not remember our positions in Him and fall into temptation. In 1 Corinthians 10: 13, Paul reminded us: -

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
The Lord will not allow the devil to tempt us beyond what we are able to endure and He will provide us with the way of escape so that we are able to bear with it. That is great news for us. That is grace in all splendors!
Therefore, when we pray, "and do not lead us into temptation," I would like us to remind ourselves that even when we do get tempted, He is always there for us giving us the strength to overcome and that He knows our limit and will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we cannot bear. It would be even sweeter when we learn to look to Him and less on self whenever we are faced with temptation for it is He Who will deliver us. Paul summed up Romans 7 in verses 24 & 25
24. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25. I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Have you believed in Jesus as the One Who had died for you and taken away your sin? The Bible teaches that it is only to those who have believed in Jesus as their Lord and Savior who will enjoy these blessings. Because of our position as children of the Most High God, we are able to enter into His awesome Presence and enjoy His blessings to us.

Why not take this opportunity to receive Him and join us as children of the Lord. The Bible tells us that we become children of God the moment we believe in Jesus and welcome Him into our hearts. Read John 1:12 and be comforted. The Lord does not lie. For Him, whatever He speaks comes to pass and He had promised us in the Bible that those who have put their trust in Him will not be condemned but have passed from death into life (Romans 8: 1). Pray this simple prayer of faith and invite Him into your heart and immediately you will experience the peace coming your way.
Our Heavenly Father, thank you that because You love us so much even when we were still sinners, You sent Your Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, down into this world to take our place and to die for all our sins.

Lord Jesus, thank you that You came, You obeyed the Father, You died for all on the cross, You conquered death and You rose again on the third day. And now, because of Your death and resurrection, we, who believe in You as our Lord and Savior, will no longer have to die but we receive Your eternal life. Come into my heart, I pray, and make my heart Your home.

Thank you that because of what You have accomplished for us on the cross, I am now a child of God the Father. I am eternally forgiven, greatly blessed, highly favored, deeply loved and completely protected in the Lord and in Your most precious Name, Yeshua Ha' Meshiah, I pray. Amen.
If you have prayed that prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important that you are not alone facing your personal trials but that you can obtain good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your own local Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together? You will be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father, for fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.
Numbers 6: 24 - 26
Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee
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