Lead Us Not Into Temptation
-
Greg Waybright
- Matthew 26:36-46
- Praying for Reign
- 37 mins 26 secs
- Views: 735
Small Group Questions
- Jesus prays corporately that we would not be led into temptation. Is there a difference between corporate and individual sin? Can you think of any examples of corporate sin in our culture?
- Jesus and the disciples were tempted in different ways in Gethsemane. Which of their temptations do you identify with more. Why?
- Jesus implores his disciples to pray and keep watch with him. What were they watching for? What might it look like to “keep watch” in our prayers?
- Jesus prays that we would be delivered from evil. Do you actually trust God to do that? Can you remember times when you felt like God did not deliver you or someone you know from evil?
- What temptations do you need to be prayerfully watchful about in your life this week? What corporate temptations should we be watchful for in our community?
Sermon Notes
Praying for Reign: Lead Us Not into Temptation
Matthew 6:13; 26:36-46
I think I can relate to the people who lined the streets on the first Palm Sunday waving Palm branches as Jesus rode into their capitol city. They cried out to him, “Hosanna”, meaning, “deliver us”; “save us now!” After all, their lives were hard as they served under the rule of what they considered to be an ungodly and harsh outside government. And, although some people in Jerusalem were suspicious of this young rabbi riding into Jerusalem, he had gathered quite a following with all his miracles and his profound teaching. As he entered Jerusalem that day, many people thought he might be the long-expected deliverer, the Messiah their prophets had foretold.
In other words, on Palm Sunday the people were expressing a deep longing for things to be different. They were yearning for Jesus to be the one who would change things. In effect, when they cried out, “Hosanna”, they were saying, “Things cannot stay the way things are. We pray, Jesus, that you will be the one who will save us, that you will deliver us from this evil.”
That’s one thing that makes Palm Sunday so relevant to me. I relate to the people’s longing for things to be different from the way they are. Can you empathize with them in that? Are there any things in your life – and in this world -- that you long to be different from the way they are? On that day of Jesus’s triumphal entry, the people were wrong in thinking that what they needed Jesus to do was to provide military and political deliverance from Rome. But, make no mistake about it, they were right in sensing that Jesus was the rescuer. He had come to make things right. He had come to bring the kingdom of God.
All this brings us to the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”
My Experience Praying the Lord’s Prayer
I think this part of Jesus’s prayer is the way Jesus teaches us to express in prayer what I am calling today, “Palm Sunday’s Heart Cry.” I think the only way I can explain to you why I find this phrase in the Lord’s Prayer to be so connected with the longings of the people on the first Palm Sunday is to tell you how I personally experience praying The Lord’s Prayer. Let me walk you through it phrase by phrase. When I pray the Lord’s Prayer, I pray something like this:
- Our Father in heaven… – “I am in awe that I can meet with you as a child meets with a loving Father – and to know that you don’t have the limitations those of us have who are fathers on earth. You never leave us. Your never abuse us. You want the best for me and for all your children. And, you can bring about the best because you are our Father in heaven. So, Abba, you are the one whose name I want to hallow, i.e., to reverence and desire above anything else in this world. May your name be seen to be good and holy in me, by me, and through me in this world.
- Your kingdom come; your will be done on earth as it is in heaven – “…for your kingdom has not come in all its fullness. There are so many things that still are wrong, Father. Your will is not being done – in our world and, I confess Lord, in my life either. So, I bring you these petitions…
- Give us this day our daily bread – Even when I have more than enough, Lord, I need to pray this so I will not forget that whatever I have is all from you. And, I do have needs today, Father – or I think I do. Give me today what I need to live for you and to honor you. And, give us in our church family and community daily bread. Father in heaven, when you have given me more than I need, also give me the love of Jesus to provide your bread for those in distress you bring across my path. And, especially, provide for the needs of all who come to our church today.
- And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us -- …I must pray this, Father, because I confess that I am one who has not always been doing your will on earth. I have fallen short of your glory and participated both in doing what I know is wrong as well as failing to do what I know is right. But, even as I confess that to you, I receive the forgiveness purchased through the blood of Jesus. And, as a recipient of that kind of costly mercy, I will seek to further your blessing of forgiveness by offering forgiveness to others.
- Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil – Father, I am filled with sorrow that I must confess to you the same sins I have confessed so often before. Why is it taking me so long to be made complete in Christ? Heavenly Father, I want my life to be different from the ways it has been. But, I am distressed by the fact that I know that, when I leave this place of prayer, I go back into the trials and temptations that I have faced before and have failed in before. So, lead me, Father – not into places and situations where I fail but to places where I know your presence. And when I am there, deliver me from evil and from the power of the Evil One that my life might bring honor to you.
The Realities That Emerge When We Pray This Way
I hope you can see how I understand this phrase, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” through the way I pray it in my prayer. I see it as flowing out of all that Jesus taught in the Lord’s Prayer -- especially the preceding line about forgiveness. When I pray this way, I identify several realities:
- Humble Realism – that God’s Kingdom has not yet come in all its fullness. I own up to the fact that I do not always do his will. I acknowledge that, in my own strength, there is no way I will break addictions, resist temptations to do wrong, and overcome trials without anxiety and doubt. I take time to identify the places where, whenever I go there, I give in to temptation – to certain websites, to a particular bar or gym, or to a place where I buy what I do not need. In other words, I give words in my prayer to the reality that, when I go in to this world, I go into places like what Martin Luther wrote about so vividly, “Though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo me…” I am saying honestly and humbly that I need divine help if I’m going to live as I should live.
- Heartfelt Longing – to be led and delivered by God instead of driven by my own cravings and bound by the temptations of this world. I find this prayer to express a longing for things to be different -- for my own life to be different. So, when I go out into each place in this world every day of my life, I go into places and situations in which there is temptation. In some of them, I know that I usually fail when I go there. But, since meeting Jesus, I also am passionate about my life pleasing him. So, I pray, “As you lead me Lord, I pray that your leading will not take me into a place of failure but into a place in which I will experience your presence, your power and your salvation.”
- Divine Deliverance – that God alone can save us. He never leaves us or forsakes us. God can do in us what we cannot do on our own. Daniel Fong, from our church, sent me this week a prayer from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It seems to me to be one that flows directly from what Jesus taught us to pray:
We come before you, source of all being, as sinners. We have betrayed you.
We saw a great lie raise its head, and we did not honor the truth.
We saw our brethren in direst need, and we feared for our own safety…
After wandering so long in darkness, lead us to walk in the light of the sun.
After the falsehood of the current way, build a road for us by your Word.
And until you completely wipe out our fallenness, Lord, make us patient. Amen.
Jesus Lives What He Teaches – Prayer and Temptation (Matthew 26:36-46)
Jesus provides a real-to-life application of this phrase in the Lord’s Prayer as we observe him in Matthew 26. The episode is reported to have taken place on the Thursday of the first Holy Week.
When Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." Jesus fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (From Matthew 26:36-42)
Jesus, was in the Garden of Gethsemane knowing that he soon would go to a cross and experience not only physical death – but, in dying, he will also carry the punishment for the sins of the world. Jesus was aware of the indescribable suffering that he would have to go through. But, more than that, he knew he had a choice to make: a choice between going through with this crucifixion or avoiding it. He was facing a trial that brought with it a deep temptation. Jesus actually was wrestling with the possibility of escaping what he knew his Father had called him to do. He had to choose between his Father’s will and his own will. When we see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, we see a man with a decision to make! “My will” or “the Father’s will.”
Twice he tried to get comfort from his friends and twice he found them asleep. Jesus’ words in vv. 40-41 are so significant: “Could you not watch with me for an hour? Watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.”
You see Jesus, at that very moment, was experiencing a collision between the desire for obedience and the desire for escape. He wanted to do the will of the Father. But he also wanted to avoid the cross. Which did he want more? That was the issue. Would Jesus pray, “My will be done” or “Father in heaven, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”?
Remember the earliest days of human history when the “first Adam” had stood in a garden and faced a similar choice. But Adam had chosen “my will be done.” Made in the image of God, he wanted equality with God. He wanted “my kingdom come” -- not God’s. So, when the serpent tempted him with, “You shall be like God,” Adam disobeyed God and grabbed the forbidden fruit. The result of his decision? Cosmic disaster.
In Matthew 26, we see the “Second Adam” in a garden. He bears the untainted-by-sin image of God. He has the opportunity to reverse his predecessor’s failure. But, to do so, he had to follow the call of his Father.
What would he do? Jesus was fully God but he also was fully human. Where would Jesus find the strength to make such a costly decision? Let me tell you this: Jesus was really tempted here. Jesus was not play-acting in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had a real decision to make. If he would die on the cross and bear our sins, it would be because he resisted the temptation to escape and made a personal decision to obey his Abba in heaven. So, let me ask you: “Why did Jesus make the right decision in the Garden of Gethsemane and Adam make the wrong one in the Garden of Eden?”
The Bible gives us the answer three times:
* V. 39: “Jesus fell to the ground and prayed.”
* V. 42: “Jesus went away a second time… and prayed.
* V. 44: “Jesus went away a third time and prayed.
And the Bible tells us that each time he prayed the same thing. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will but as you will.”
The Bible lets us know that Jesus made the right decision in the midst of temptation because he prayed. He prayed the kind of prayer that he taught us to pray – and that we have been studying throughout this Lenten Season. The Garden of Eden is conspicuous for its lack of prayer. Adam didn’t want to acknowledge God’s presence because Adam wanted to go his own way. But in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed.
And out of his blood-inducing prayer on our behalf, Jesus urges us to be people of prayer. “Watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. Know this: Above all things, prayer is a seeking to be led by God so that we might do his will rather than our own.
So, until God finishes his work in us and in this world, don’t be surprised by the tests, trials and temptations that fill your world. When you leave church today they will be there. So, let me tell you this:
- 1. Each day you live in this imperfect world will be a day that you will face trials and temptations.
- 2. As you do, the decisions between right and wrong you face will involve struggle. Doing right is still not easy. Breaking addictions is not easy. You can’t do it on your own. Following Jesus when all your family and friends mock at you is not easy. Don’t be surprised by trials and temptations. No one was a better “Christian” than Jesus – but overcoming temptation and making the right choice was a struggle even for him.
- 3. The Lord Jesus will understand the temptations you feel and will meet you in their midst. It’s not a sin to be tempted. Jesus was tempted. We Christians often are embarrassed to own up to the particular struggles and temptations we feel. “No other Christian has these,” we think. “Jesus would surely never have faced these,” we also think. Well, think again. Jesus understands the struggles you go through to see the will of God obeyed in your life. And, he will not leave you alone. He has given us the gift of prayer, a gift that acknowledges his presence in the mist of trials and temptations.
- 4. When you face temptation and have a decision to make, prayer is the key. It must be biblical prayer. Learn from Jesus that prayer is not a way to get your own will done. You can ask God for anything in prayer. But, true prayer always acknowledges that God is God. So, be honest and don’t try to hide when you are struggling. Bring your requests for daily bread to him. But, when you pray, acknowledge that He is the Lord. Pray, “I am following you, O Lord. So, as you led me, know that my heart’s desire is to stay away from those places where I fail. And wherever you lead me, deliver me from the evil that is in this world and that I am prone to give in to -- for Father, wherever you lead me, my prayer is, “Not as I will but as you will.”
“Lead Us… Deliver Us…” – Where are we at LAC most susceptible to temptation?
We should pray this prayer personally – but we should not ignore the “us-ness” of the prayer either. On the personal level, I ask myself, “Where do I keep failing when I go there?” Then I pray, “As you lead me, deliver me.” But we should ask the same question as a church family too. Because of that, I’ve been asking a lot of LAC people this week, “Where are we most susceptible to temptation as a congregation?” And, I keep coming to the main thing Jesus prayed for us just before he went to the cross:
“My prayer is not for them (my twelve disciples) alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me… May they be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me (John 17:20-23).”
For several months now, I have been hearing rather consistently two kinds of concerns. One has said, “Lake is becoming too political. Pastor, why are you letting that happen?” The other has said, “Lake is not political enough. Pastor, why don’t you call us more directly to engage in the injustices of our world, whether abortion or discrimination, by working for political change?” And, the power of those concerns presents an equally powerful temptation, i.e., to leave the church family rather that to allow our Lord to guide us through it together.
I must confess to you today that I find it very hard to bring the Scriptures to bear upon the issues of our world – as I know I am called to do – in a way that does not promote or denigrate one political ideology or another. I need more wisdom than I have to navigate this. I do know that the evils of our world will not be eradicated by political change or military might but only by the power of God at work in and through his people. I believe that Jesus came to bring the kingdom of God into our lives and into this world. I believe that we gather as we do today to worship our Father in heaven in unity and to allow his kingdom to grow in us – continuing his work of delivering us from our own sinfulness. As he does, he sends us out to further that kingdom -- to offer the love of Jesus to those who need daily bread, and healing, and housing and deliverance from evil. I know he calls us to that because Jesus did that. And, as we do, we invite people to bring the kingdom of God into their lives by placing their faith in Jesus and becoming a part of the family of God. That’s the task what I want us to be about here in our church.
So, in whatever ways I may have preached unwisely or unclearly about such things and thereby led to disunity, I ask for your forgiveness. For the wisdom to proclaim the Word of God with confidence and conviction but without political affiliation, I ask for your prayer for wisdom and courage. And, I ask you to make a new personal commitment to bringing about the oneness of our church family. Please join me in this kind of prayer, “Lord, lead us not into the temptation of breaking what you have brought together by the blood of Christ. Deliver us and set us free to joyously give witness to you in this world. May we at Lake Avenue church be brought to complete unity so that this world might see and believe.”
Two Questions to Ponder:
- Where are the places or situations in this world that you face deep temptation and failure? Do you long for deliverance? Are you ready to pray fervently for deliverance from evil?
- Will you pray that God will do a might work of bringing our church to complete unity – and that he will use you to help accomplish that prayer.
Chinese Translation
為神的主權而禱告：不叫我們遇見試探
馬太6:13； 26:36-46
我想，我能夠理解那些在第一個棕櫚節排隊站在街上，拿著棕櫚樹枝迎接耶穌騎驢駒進入他們首都的人們。他們向祂喊著：“和散那”！意思就是“拯救我們”。畢竟，在一個他們認為不敬虔與對外苛刻的政府的統轄之下，他們的生活是很艱辛的。盡管耶路撒冷的一些人對這個進城來的年輕拉比持懷疑態度，但是因著祂所行的神跡和祂深刻的教導，在祂的周圍還是聚集了很多的追隨者。那天，當祂進入耶路撒冷的時候，很多人認為祂可能就是他們盼望已久的拯救者，就是先知們所預言的彌賽亞。
換句話說，在棕櫚節的主日，人們都表達著他們改變現狀的深切盼望。他們渴望耶穌成為改變一切的那一位。實際上，當他們叫喊著“和散那”的時候，他們其實是在說，“這一切都不能再繼續保持原樣了，耶穌啊，我們禱告，你就是那位拯救我們的人，你救我們脫離這邪惡的世代。”
這就是使我感覺與棕櫚節主日緊密相連的原因。我非常認同人們對改變現實的深切渴望。你能體會嗎？在你的生命中有沒有這樣的事情？就是你渴望改變的事情？在耶穌凱旋進入耶路撒冷的那一天，人們認為，他們需要耶穌做的是，將他們從羅馬的軍事與政治統治中解救出來，然而他們錯了。不過他們感覺到耶穌是一位拯救者，祂來是要讓一切都成為美好，祂來是要將神的國度帶給我們，這點倒是沒錯。
這一切都將我們帶進主禱文之中：“不叫我們遇見試探，救我們脫離兇惡。”
我對主禱文的經驗
我認為，耶穌禱告的這一部分，就是耶穌教導我們如何在禱告中表達“棕櫚節主日心聲”的方式。主禱文中的這一段話，與人們在第一個棕櫚節主日的渴望如此的緊密連接，我唯一能向大家解釋其中原因的方式，就是與你們分享，我個人是如何經歷以主禱文禱告的。讓我們一句一句地分析，當我以主禱文禱告的 時候，我會這樣禱告：
- • 我們在天上的父 – 我心存敬畏地認識到，我可以像一個孩子見到慈父那樣與你相見，我知道，你不像我們在地上的父親，有著很多的限制。你永遠不會離開我們，也不會撇棄我們。你為我 和你所有的孩子們所預備的，都是最好的，因為你是我們的天父。所以阿爸父，我要尊你的名為聖，敬畏你，渴慕你勝過渴慕世上的一切。願你的名在我裏面、藉著我在世上顯為美好。
- • 願你的國降臨，願你的旨意行在地上如同行在天上 ----父啊，你的國度還沒有完全降臨。世上還有很多不完全的事情。你的旨意還沒有完全成就----在世上是如此，我也承認，在我的生命中也是如此，因此，我將這些禱告帶到你面前。
- • 賜給我們日用的飲食 ----主啊，即使我有足夠的飲食，我仍然需要為此禱告，好讓我記得，我所有的一切都是從你而來。父啊，我今日仍有需要。求你將我今日為你而活和榮耀你名所需的一切賜給我；也將我們教會所需的日用飲食賜給我們。我們在天上的父，當你所賜給我的遠超我所需求的，就請你也將耶穌的愛賜給我，使我能為那些遇到困難的人們提供幫助。尤其是為今天來到教會的人們提供所需。
- • 赦免我們的罪，如同我們免了人的罪 ---- 父啊，我必須要為此而禱告，因為我承認，我在地上沒有常常遵行你的旨意。我虧缺了你的榮耀，常常沒有去行正確的事情，反倒去行錯誤的事。但是，盡管我向你認罪，我也會得到耶穌寶血的救贖，並且在接受了神寶貴的憐憫之後，我會藉著赦免他人而擴展你赦免的恩典。
- • 不叫我們遇見試探，救我們脫離兇惡 ---- 父啊，我的心憂傷，因為我必須要向你承認，我常常因著同樣的罪而向你懺悔。為什麼我在基督裏的完全要花這麼久的時間？天父啊，我想要改變我的生活，但是，我為一個事實而感到痛心，我知道一旦我離開這禱告之所 ，我就會回到我以往所面對的失敗的試煉與試探之中。所以父啊，帶領我，不要進入我曾經失敗之地，而是進入有你同在之所。救我脫離那惡者，使我的生命能榮耀你。
當我們如此禱告時會發生的事情
我希望你能通過我的禱告，看到我對這句話的理解。“不叫我們遇見試探，救我們脫離兇惡”。我認為這是主禱文的核心，尤其是前面提到赦免的那一句。當我這樣禱告的時候，我確定了下面幾件事情：
第一：謙卑的事實 ---- 神的國度還未完全降臨。事實是，我並沒有常常執行祂的旨意。我承認，憑著我自己的力量，我無法戒癮、抵制誘惑，和毫無疑惑地勝過試煉。當我去到某些地方，我會屈服於誘惑，比如面對一些網站，到某個酒吧或健身房，或是那些誘惑我購買不需要的東西的地方。換句話說，我為這樣的現實而禱告，當我進入世界，我就進入了馬丁路德博士曾形象地描繪過的地方：“盡管這個充滿邪惡的世界要威脅毀滅我……”我誠實而謙卑地說，如果我要過討神喜悅的生活，我就需要神的幫助。
第二：衷心的渴望----有神的引領和救贖，而不是由自己的欲望和世間的引誘所驅使。我發現，這個禱告表達了一種改變的渴望，渴望改變我自己的生活。我每天出門時，會進入這個世界的任何地方，我會進到那些充滿試探的地方和境況之中。我知道我在其中常常失敗。但是，自從我認識了耶穌，我渴望在我的生活中討祂的喜悅。因此我禱告說：“主啊，在你帶領我的時候，我祈求你不要將我帶到失敗之處，而是將我帶入那能使我經歷到你的同在、你是能力與你的救贖之處。”
第三：神的救贖----唯有神才能拯救我們。祂永遠不會離開和撇棄我們。神在我們裏面所做的工，是我們靠著自己所無法完成的。這周，我們教會的丹尼方發給我一篇潘霍華的禱告文。在我看來，它直接反應了耶穌對禱告的教導：
作為罪人，我們來到你的面前，生命的泉源。我們背叛了你。
我們看到一個巨大的謊言在擡頭，我們卻並沒有尊重事實
我們看到弟兄迫切的需求，我們卻在擔心自己的安危……
在黑暗中徘徊許久，最終領我們行走在太陽的光中。
在虛假的道路之後，終於藉著你的話語建立了通向你的道路。
直到你完全除去我們的墮落，主啊，賜給我們耐心。阿門。
耶穌按照祂所教導我們的那樣生活 ---- 禱告和試探（馬太福音26：36-46）
正如我們在馬太福音26章中所看到的，耶穌在主禱文中讓我們看到了這個
短語的真實例證。這個情節據悉發生在第一個聖周的周四。
當耶穌和門徒一起去一個叫客西馬尼的地方時，祂對他們說：“你們坐在這裏，等
我到那邊去禱告。” 耶穌俯伏在地禱告說：“我父啊，倘若可行，求你叫這杯離開
我；然而，不要照我的意思，只要照你的意思。” （來自馬太福音26：36-42）
在客西馬尼園，耶穌知道自己很快就會上十字架，不僅要經歷肉體的死亡 - 而且在
死亡中，也將承擔對世界一切罪的懲罰。 祂意識到自己必須經歷無法形容的痛苦。 但是，除此以外，祂也知道，自己要在釘十字架或者避開它這兩者中做出選擇。 他正面臨著一場極具誘惑性的試探，因為事實上，耶穌在是否避開父神讓祂做的這件事上有所掙紮，祂必須要在天父的旨意和自己的願望之間做出選擇。當我們在客西馬尼園看到耶穌時，我們看到一個需要在“我的願望”和“天父的旨意”之間做出決定的人！
祂兩次試圖從祂的朋友們那裏得到安慰，但兩次祂都發現他們睡著了。 耶穌在40-
41節中所說的話是非常的重要：“怎麼樣，你們不能同我警醒片時嗎？總要警醒禱
告，免得入了迷惑。你們心靈固然願意，肉體卻軟弱了。”
你可以看到，在那個時刻，耶穌正在經歷順服和逃避這兩種意願之間的掙紮。祂想要順服父神的意誌， 但祂也想避免十字架的刑罰。 而哪一個是祂更想要的呢？ 這就是問題的所在。 耶穌會做以下哪種禱告：“願我的旨意成全”，還是“天上的父神，願你
的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上。”？
曾記得在人類最早期的歷史中，“第一個亞當”站在樂園中，面臨著類似的選擇。 但是亞當選擇了“我的旨意”。作為“按照神的形象”所造的他，希望與神平等。 他想的是“我的王國降臨” ，而不是神的。 所以，當蛇用“你會像神一樣”來試探他時，亞當就違背了神，摘取了禁果。他如此決定的結果是什麼？ 是宇宙性的災難。
在馬太福音26章，我們在園中看到“第二個亞當”。 祂承受著神無瑕疵的形象。
祂有機會扭轉祂前任的失敗。但是，為了這樣做，祂必須聽從父神的呼召。
祂會怎樣做呢？ 耶穌完全是神，但祂也完全是人。 耶穌將會從哪裏得到力量去
做出如此代價昂貴的決定？ 讓我告訴你：耶穌確實在這裏被試探， 而不是在客西
馬尼園裏演戲，因為他需要去做一個非常重要的決定。 如果他死在十字架上並承
擔我們的罪責，那就是因著祂抗拒了逃避的試探，完全出自祂個人的決定，服從了祂天上的阿爸父神。 所以，讓我問你：“為什麼耶穌在客西馬尼園做出了正
確的決定，而亞當在伊甸園做了錯誤的決定？”
聖經曾三次給了我們答案：
39節：”耶穌俯伏在地禱告”
42節：“耶穌第二次又去禱告”
44節：“耶穌又離開他們去了，第三次禱告。”
並且聖經告訴我們，每次祂祈禱的都是同樣的事情。 “我父啊，倘若可行，求你叫這杯離開我；然而，不要照我的意思，只要照你的意思。”
聖經讓我們知道，耶穌在試探中做出了正確的決定，是因為祂祈禱了的緣故。 祂是按照祂所教導我們的那樣去禱告的，就是在整個四旬期我們一直在學習的。
伊甸園中缺乏禱告。 亞當不希望神的同在，因為他想要自己方式生活。 但在客西馬尼園中，耶穌卻向神祈禱。並且為了我們的緣故，祂以付上血的代價的禱告，敦促我們成為禱告的人。 “總要警醒禱告，免得入了迷惑。” 我們須知道這一點：首先，祈禱是對神帶領的一種尋求，以至我們可以按照祂的而不是我們的旨意而行。
所以，直到神在我們身上和這個世界上完成祂的工作為止，不要驚訝於那些充滿在
你的世界裏的考驗、試煉和試探。 當你今天離開教會時，它們就會隨著你了。因此，讓我告訴你幾件事情：
第一，只要你是生活在這個不完美的世界裏，每一天都將成為你受考驗和試探的日子。
第二，正如你現在所經歷的那樣，每當你在對與錯之間做決定的時候，都會有掙紮。做正確的事情常常是不容易的，戒除毒癮更是不易，你不可能靠著自己來完成這些事。當你所有的家人和朋友嘲笑你，而你仍然跟隨耶穌同樣是不容易的。不要
因遭遇試煉和試探而感到驚訝，沒有人比耶穌是更好的“基督徒”，然而克服誘惑並做出正確的選擇，甚至對祂來說都是一件令人掙紮的事。
第三，主耶穌會理解你所感受到的試探，並會在試探中與你相遇。被試探不是一種罪過。耶穌被試探了。我們基督徒常常感受到特殊的掙紮和試探·。 “沒有其他基督徒有這些事，”我們會想。 “耶穌肯定永遠不會面對這些事，”我們也會這麼想。那麼，你應當理解，耶穌明白你在你生命中遵守神的旨意時所經歷的掙紮。而且，祂不會離開你。祂給了我們“禱告”這件禮物，這是一件當我們處在試探和試探的迷霧中確知祂與我們同在的禮物。
第四，當你面對試探、需要作出決策之時，禱告就是關鍵所在。必須是符合聖經的禱告。耶穌教導我們說，禱告不是我們達到自己目的的途徑。你可以向神祈求任何事，但是，真正的禱告總是先要承認神的主權。因此，當你在掙紮的時候，不要試圖隱藏，將你日用飲食的祈求帶到祂的面前。要禱告說，“主啊，我要跟隨你，求你帶領我。你知道，我心中渴慕遠離那些使我失敗的地方，無論你帶領我到哪裏，都求你救我脫離這世上引我屈服的邪惡，無論你帶我去往何處，我都祈求：不要成就我的意思，只要成就你的旨意。”
“引導我們……拯救我們……” ---- 在湖邊大道教會中，哪裏是我們最容易受到試探的地方？
我們個人應當這樣禱告，但是我們也不應忽視集體的禱告。在個人的層面，我問自己：“在我去到那裏時，我失敗在何處？”然後我禱告說：“當你帶領我的時候，也求你救贖我。” 然而我們也當以教會為整體來求問同一個問題。因此，這周，我問了教會許多人這個問題：“作為會眾這個整體，我們在那裏最容易受到試探？” 我也不斷地回到在耶穌釘十字架之前為我們禱告的核心問題：
“我不但為這些人祈求，也為那些因他們的話信我的人祈求。使他們都合而為一。正如你父在我裏面，我在你裏面，使他們也在我們裏面。叫世人可以信你差了我來……使他們合而為一，像我們合而為一。我在他們裏面，你在我裏面，使他們完完全全的合而為一。叫世人知道你差了我來，也知道你愛他們如同愛我一樣。” （約17:20-23）
幾個月以來，我不斷聽到兩種疑慮。有人說，“我們教會變得太政治化了。牧師，你為什麼允許這種事情發生？”另一些人說：“我們教會還不夠政治性。牧師，你為什麼不直接呼籲大家參與世上不公義的事情？無論是墮胎還是種族歧視，讓我們努力做政治上的改變。”這些憂慮同樣也帶來強大的誘惑，比如有人因此而想要離開教會，而不是讓我們的主來帶領大家一同經歷。
我今天必須要承認，我覺得很難將聖經帶到當今世上的一些問題之中，我知道，我有這樣的呼召，就是以一種既不推動又不詆毀某個政治意識形態的方式來處理這樣的問題。我在這件事上需要更多的智慧。我確切地知道，世上的邪惡不會因著政治的改變和軍事的力量而被根除，只有神藉著祂的子民以及祂在他們之中的大能才得以完成。我相信，耶穌來到世上，為要將神的國度帶入世界和我們的生命之中。我也相信，像我們今天這樣一同聚集敬拜我們在天上的父，是為要讓祂的國度在我們中間成長，繼續祂救贖我們脫離罪惡的工作，將耶穌的愛帶給那些需要日用的飲食、醫治、住房和從罪中得蒙救贖的人們。我知道，祂呼召我們，是因為耶穌就是這樣做的。當我們這樣做的時候，我們就在邀請人們藉著相信耶穌將神的國度帶進他們的生命之中，成為神家中的一分子。這就是我希望大家在教會中能一同參與的任務。
因此，如果我所講的有任何不明智或是不清楚的方面，從而導致了教會的不合一，我懇請大家的原諒。為要有信心、有信念地、卻又不帶有政治傾向地宣揚神的話語，我希望大家祈求智慧和勇氣，也請求大家重新作出承諾，一同來實現我們教會的合一。請與我一起這樣禱告：“主啊，是你藉著基督的寶血將我們聚集在一起，求你帶領我們，不要使我們進入分裂的試探之中。救贖我們，使我們自由而喜樂地在世上為你作見證。願我們在湖邊大道教會能夠得到完全的合一，讓世人看見就能相信你。”
需要思索的兩個問題：
- 1. 在這個世界上，有哪裏或者哪種境況會使你面臨深切的試探和失敗？你渴望被救贖嗎？你是否準備好為此而切切地禱告，脫離罪惡？
- 2. 你是否會祈求神，讓祂以大能使我們教會得到完全的合一，並使用你來成就這樣的禱告？
榮耀歸給神，
Greg Waybright 博士
主任牧師