![]() ![]() I am going to believe it and hold on to it. I am not going to let Satan take the word in my heart. ![]() What else would he do, right? So we have to be so vigilant. So when the word is proclaimed, Matthew 13:19 says, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.” And that’s talking about the word. So if falsehood is the modus operandi of the evil one by which he tempts and destroys us, there is only one remedy, and that is the opposite of falsehood, which is truth. In fact, I would say there is no remedy - none for falsehood other than truth, none. ![]() So, “by your word” - what is that? Well, the antidote to every falsehood are the truths of Scripture. More specifically, your word - not just vague truth, any old truth - but your word is truth meaning, those promises that God had made to us and those facts about life and about his way and his being. So sanctify means to help them be holy and to conquer temptation by being holy. And here is the way I think you should do it.” Here it’s like the Son tells the Father how to do it namely, “In the truth - make them holy in the truth your word is truth.” Now that should not be a surprise to us that he says to the Father, “There is an evil one out there. And here is what Jesus prays in John 17:15: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” And then verse 17 says, “Sanctify them in the truth your word is truth.” And Jesus prays the same thing, only he expands it and answers the question. So how does Jesus ask the Father to deliver us? And we have another prayer, interestingly enough, besides the Lord’s prayer. He lies to us about where happiness is best to be found. Revelation 12:9 says, “The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.” John 8:44 says, “When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” So the strategy of the devil in bringing about temptation and evil is to deceive us, to put thoughts in your mind or feelings in your soul that are false. The primary strategy of the devil is to deceive us. How are we delivered from evil, and how does he save us from temptation?”įirst, I think when it says “deliver us from evil,” it probably does mean “the evil one,” but it works either way because he is behind every temptation. A question has come in from a listener who asks this: “Pastor John, Jesus tells us to pray this line in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil’ (Matthew 6:13). ![]()
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