THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Matt. 5, 6, 7 (31)

January 5, 2019

7-8-18

Key: SCHAFF: “When the Lord open his mouth, we should open our ears and hearts” 

GOOD WORKS WITHOUT OSTENTATION. Matt. 6:5-15 … Prayers …8

Prayer is so vital in our relationship with God, our Apostle said we should ‘keep on praying’ 1Thess. 517. Bob Gass in “The word for today” says, “Paul’s letters contain more requests for prayer than they do appeal for money or comfort. And what about Jesus? He rose up early to pray Mk. 1:35. He dismissed people to pray Matt. 14:23. He climbed mountain to pray Lk. 9:28. Before going to the cross, He prayed all night Lk. 22:29-46. Every word He spoke and every work He performed was saturated in prayer. You can accomplish great things after you’ve prayed, but nothing great until you’ve prayed”

  1. Matt. 6:13 “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” According to Broadus John A. “The Latin Fathers, explain it to mean ‘Do not suffer us to be led’, but in the Greek it is ‘Do not bring us’. It is men who lead each other into temptation by offering inducements to do wrong; but the thought here is of God’s ordering things in His providence as to bring us into trying circumstances which would put our principles and characters to the test. The providential action does not compel us to do wrong 1Cor. 7:5, 1Thess. 3:5, for such conditions become to us the occasion of sin only when our own evil desires are the impelling cause. Jas. 1:13-15.
    1. To be tempted. The Greek word signifies to try, to make trial of, to test. The motive could be good or bad.
      1. The object may be to ascertain character, to develop and to make manifest its excellencies, to expose its faults that they may be mended. In Jn. 6:6 ‘prove’, 2Cor. 13:5 ‘examine’, Rev. 2:2 ‘tried’ Gen 22:1 God ‘did ‘tempt’ Abraham ‘prove’Ex. 20:20 ‘prove’
      2. The object may be unfriendly, bad. Men ‘tempt’ God, test Him in some improper way, because they lack confidence in the fulfillment of His promises. Deut. 6:16, Ex. 17:2, 7; Ps. 95:9, Is. 7:12, Act. 5:9; 15:10. God ‘tempteth no one’.Jas. 1:13 
      3. The humble believer, self- distrutful because consicious of the remaining tendencies to sin, and weakness in restraining them, prays that God will not bring him into temptation. Matt. 26:41, Gal. 5:7, 1Cor. 7:5. “Men are weak, wherefore we must not fling ourself into temptations; but if we have fallen into them, we must pray that we may not be swallowed up.”-Theophyl
    2. We should pray because we cannot expect a life free from trials and afflictions. Jn. 16:1, 33, 1Thes. 3:3-5, Rom. 8:18. Why?
      1. The world is cursed.
      2. Man has fallen and can make wrong choices.
      3. Satan is envious.
  2. God sees it fit, notwithstanding our prayers and effort, to bring us into temptation, but will provide a way of escape. 1cor. 10:13.

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