WEBVTT 00:00:00.590 --> 00:00:04.190 Well, again today, another one of those heart 00:00:04.190 --> 00:00:07.950 -to -heart talks. As you well know that we are 00:00:07.950 --> 00:00:12.390 now in the study of the sixth chapter of Matthew. 00:00:12.589 --> 00:00:16.550 And we've come to that part of the prayer that 00:00:16.550 --> 00:00:21.829 Jesus taught us to pray, where he says, lead 00:00:21.829 --> 00:00:28.850 us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.880 Now this clause has probably caused more difficulty 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:41.179 than any other part of the entire prayer. And 00:00:41.179 --> 00:00:45.920 for many earnest Christians, it has been almost 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:50.320 a stumbling block because they feel, and rightly 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:55.939 so, that God could not lead anyone into temptation. 00:00:58.490 --> 00:01:05.530 God could not lead anyone into evil in any circumstances. 00:01:06.230 --> 00:01:11.450 And so these words for them seemingly do not 00:01:11.450 --> 00:01:17.870 ring true. And it is true. As you and I learned 00:01:17.870 --> 00:01:21.950 from our heart -to -heart talk in the talk preceding 00:01:21.950 --> 00:01:29.370 the one today. God does not. God... cannot lead 00:01:29.370 --> 00:01:37.250 one into temptation. And yet, regardless of how 00:01:37.250 --> 00:01:41.730 deeply spiritual you may be or what great spiritual 00:01:41.730 --> 00:01:46.230 experiences you may have had in your life, you 00:01:46.230 --> 00:01:53.150 will still be tempted as long as you are in this 00:01:53.150 --> 00:01:58.659 body of flesh. before this which is mortal will 00:01:58.659 --> 00:02:03.099 have put on immortality. And so for this reason, 00:02:03.140 --> 00:02:06.540 a number of attempts had been made to recast 00:02:06.540 --> 00:02:09.539 the wording. People had felt that Jesus could 00:02:09.539 --> 00:02:13.000 not have said what he is represented to have 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:16.340 said, and so they looked for some other phrasing 00:02:16.340 --> 00:02:19.379 which they think would be more in accordance 00:02:19.379 --> 00:02:23.310 with the general tone of his teaching. There 00:02:23.310 --> 00:02:26.509 have been those who have tried to say that in 00:02:26.509 --> 00:02:31.710 the Greek original there was something different. 00:02:31.870 --> 00:02:39.349 But all of this is absolutely unnecessary. Don't 00:02:39.349 --> 00:02:43.849 do one thing with it. Leave it just as it is. 00:02:44.530 --> 00:02:51.669 Exactly as Jesus said it. One thing you must 00:02:51.669 --> 00:02:55.930 do remember and that is that the lord's prayer 00:02:55.930 --> 00:02:59.449 this prayer that jesus taught you and taught 00:02:59.449 --> 00:03:04.770 me as a pattern for our praying covers the whole 00:03:04.770 --> 00:03:09.389 of the spiritual life everything i know it's 00:03:09.389 --> 00:03:14.330 condensed in form and yet nevertheless it's a 00:03:14.330 --> 00:03:17.169 complete manual for the development of the soul 00:03:17.169 --> 00:03:25.460 and Jesus knew the temptations that you and I 00:03:25.460 --> 00:03:30.780 would have. He knew it. And we need to warn young 00:03:30.780 --> 00:03:34.460 converts, young Christians, that even though 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:42.000 they have been born again, there will be temptations. 00:03:43.580 --> 00:03:47.639 You and I must be conscious of the fact that 00:03:48.169 --> 00:03:55.030 The enemy of our soul is very active. And sometimes 00:03:55.030 --> 00:04:00.110 I am prone to think that the greater the life 00:04:00.110 --> 00:04:04.050 of usefulness for God, the greater will be that 00:04:04.050 --> 00:04:07.370 one's temptations. And that is the reason we 00:04:07.370 --> 00:04:13.150 must be on guard. And Jesus is telling us that 00:04:13.150 --> 00:04:17.410 very thing right here in this pattern for us. 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:28.220 our praying. I repeat again that Jesus knew only 00:04:28.220 --> 00:04:34.360 too well all the subtle perils and difficulties 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:38.279 that can and do beset the soul when once the 00:04:38.279 --> 00:04:42.279 preliminary stages of spiritual unfoldment have 00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:53.079 been tossed. Those who are yet as a comparatively 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:59.199 early stage of development in their spiritual 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:05.639 life do not experience such great difficulties. 00:05:05.740 --> 00:05:10.199 They're apt to jump to the conclusion that this 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:17.800 clause is unnecessary. But such is... Not the 00:05:17.800 --> 00:05:24.699 case. The facts are these. The more you pray, 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:28.959 the more time you spend in seeking the Lord, 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:34.879 the more sensitive you become, and the deeper 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:42.939 you grow spiritually. And remember, if you are 00:05:42.939 --> 00:05:50.029 a healthy Christian, If there is his divine life 00:05:50.029 --> 00:05:55.829 in you, there will be a spiritual growth. And 00:05:55.829 --> 00:06:02.410 you will grow from babyhood to an adult in spiritual 00:06:02.410 --> 00:06:08.009 things just as an infant grows. A daily growth 00:06:08.009 --> 00:06:15.430 spiritually just as an infant grows from infancy. 00:06:16.589 --> 00:06:24.009 to being an adult. Oh, how well I remember something. 00:06:24.910 --> 00:06:30.750 It's as vivid to me as though it just happened 00:06:30.750 --> 00:06:34.009 a week ago. Of course, I began the ministry when 00:06:34.009 --> 00:06:39.410 I was quite young. Stupid. I was so ignorant 00:06:39.410 --> 00:06:43.069 regarding spiritual things. The only thing that... 00:06:43.339 --> 00:06:45.920 I really knew about spiritual things, of course, 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:49.959 was being born again, accepting Christ as your 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:53.160 Savior. And I think I told you before that the 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:55.939 first sermon I ever preached was Zacchaeus up 00:06:55.939 --> 00:07:00.579 a tree. That was the first sermon I ever preached 00:07:00.579 --> 00:07:04.899 in all of my life. And I began my ministry in 00:07:04.899 --> 00:07:11.319 the state of Idaho. And I still hear from some 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:16.490 of those precious folk. In Wendell, Idaho, Caldwell, 00:07:16.589 --> 00:07:23.829 Idaho, Boise, Emmett. Oh, sure. I preached in 00:07:23.829 --> 00:07:26.810 the little Methodist churches, Presbyterian churches, 00:07:26.990 --> 00:07:31.189 Christian churches, Baptist churches. But do 00:07:31.189 --> 00:07:36.610 you want to know something? After my fifth sermon, 00:07:36.850 --> 00:07:43.100 I remembered so well. After I had finished that 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:49.860 sermon and was walking down the road to the little 00:07:49.860 --> 00:07:56.240 room where I was sleeping, I thought, now there 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:59.459 isn't anything more in the Bible to preach about. 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:06.360 I have absolutely exhausted the supply. There 00:08:06.360 --> 00:08:11.149 isn't another sermon in me. Can't for the life 00:08:11.149 --> 00:08:13.850 of me think of anything else to preach about. 00:08:13.949 --> 00:08:20.509 I have exhausted the supply. I rolled and tossed 00:08:20.509 --> 00:08:28.569 all night. And I thought, I cannot think of anything 00:08:28.569 --> 00:08:35.850 more to preach about. A sixth sermon can't be 00:08:35.850 --> 00:08:44.710 born. I drained. The supply. Oh, Lansing, how 00:08:44.710 --> 00:08:47.509 many hundreds and thousands of sermons I have 00:08:47.509 --> 00:08:50.710 preached since then. And, of course, now the 00:08:50.710 --> 00:08:53.309 whole thing has opened up so beautifully, so 00:08:53.309 --> 00:08:55.809 marvelously, as the Holy Spirit reveals the deep 00:08:55.809 --> 00:08:58.789 truths. But do you know the secret? I have grown. 00:08:59.409 --> 00:09:02.850 The thing was there all the time. These wonderful 00:09:02.850 --> 00:09:06.669 truths that I've been bringing you were there 00:09:06.669 --> 00:09:13.309 the whole time. And yet, because of the fact 00:09:13.309 --> 00:09:19.509 that I was so young spiritually, just a newborn 00:09:19.509 --> 00:09:28.370 child spiritually, I did not see the full depth 00:09:28.370 --> 00:09:32.570 of meaning in His Word. I had to grow, and as 00:09:32.570 --> 00:09:36.230 I grew, the Holy Spirit revealed the deep truths 00:09:36.230 --> 00:09:39.190 to me. And as he revealed the deep spiritual 00:09:39.190 --> 00:09:43.029 truths to me, I grew. It was bread to my soul. 00:09:43.730 --> 00:09:48.169 It fed my soul. I developed. I grew spiritually. 00:09:48.289 --> 00:09:54.049 Just as a baby grows when it is given the right 00:09:54.049 --> 00:10:00.230 food. First the milk. And then food a little 00:10:00.230 --> 00:10:03.590 more substantial. And then it isn't long before 00:10:03.590 --> 00:10:08.279 the... potatoes and the meat, and then it isn't 00:10:08.279 --> 00:10:11.120 long before the youngster sits up on the side 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:17.179 of his dad and says, Daddy, I want steak, just 00:10:17.179 --> 00:10:22.000 like you're eating. That's it. The secret is 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:32.759 growth. And it is crude. Those, my friend, and 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:36.360 these are facts that i'm giving you the more 00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:39.000 you pray the more time you spend in meditation 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:45.500 the more sensitive you become to the spirit and 00:10:45.500 --> 00:10:47.139 if you spend a great deal of time working on 00:10:47.139 --> 00:10:50.700 your soul in the right way you become very sensitive 00:10:50.700 --> 00:10:55.159 this is excellent this is marvelous but like 00:10:55.159 --> 00:10:58.039 everything else in the universe it works both 00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:03.379 ways the more sensitive and spiritual you become 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:07.519 the more powerful and effective are your prayers. 00:11:08.360 --> 00:11:11.659 The better work you do for him, the more you'll 00:11:11.659 --> 00:11:18.539 be used of him, and you will advance in spiritual 00:11:18.539 --> 00:11:24.259 things. But for the same reason, you also become 00:11:24.259 --> 00:11:27.799 susceptible to forms of temptation that simply 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:32.850 do not be set... those at an earlier stage when 00:11:32.850 --> 00:11:35.009 it comes to their spiritual growth in the spiritual 00:11:35.009 --> 00:11:43.769 life if like that there has been a stage in your 00:11:43.769 --> 00:11:51.490 life in my life just as i felt that i had exhausted 00:11:51.490 --> 00:11:56.409 the supply there wasn't another sermon to be 00:11:56.409 --> 00:12:02.769 preached i had drained the supply after my fifth 00:12:02.769 --> 00:12:09.710 sermon. Also in my life, I felt that I had surrendered 00:12:09.710 --> 00:12:15.570 everything to God. In those early years, if someone 00:12:15.570 --> 00:12:19.470 had told me that I was not completely surrendered 00:12:19.470 --> 00:12:24.649 to him, I would have wept bitterly. But as I 00:12:24.649 --> 00:12:31.529 look back now, it was... Some of self and some 00:12:31.529 --> 00:12:40.070 of him. Later in my life, there came that time 00:12:40.070 --> 00:12:52.190 when it was less of self and more of him. Today, 00:12:52.350 --> 00:12:59.590 I can take you down a road. In a certain town, 00:12:59.870 --> 00:13:08.409 in a certain state, it's a dead end street. But 00:13:08.409 --> 00:13:14.149 my friend, it was the opening of the greatest 00:13:14.149 --> 00:13:20.269 day of my life. When walking down that dead end 00:13:20.269 --> 00:13:28.649 street that day, I surrendered. everything, body, 00:13:28.690 --> 00:13:34.470 soul, and spirit to heal. I remember it. The 00:13:34.470 --> 00:13:40.610 tears streaming down my face. A full surrender 00:13:40.610 --> 00:13:45.909 for the first time in my life. It was none of 00:13:45.909 --> 00:13:54.009 self and all of him. But with that surrender, 00:13:56.139 --> 00:14:02.539 came a responsibility. A great responsibility. 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:09.539 It was when I made that full and complete surrender 00:14:09.539 --> 00:14:14.200 to him of everything that the Holy Spirit took 00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:18.320 the empty vessel. And that's all that he asks. 00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:26.240 If the only vessel that he's looking for All 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:29.639 golden vessels or silver vessels. He never in 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:37.139 a thousand worlds would have chosen me. You just 00:14:37.139 --> 00:14:45.899 don't realize where I came from. Nothing. Nobody. 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:55.299 Stupid. Really no natural talent. Not really. 00:14:56.970 --> 00:15:00.190 It isn't golden vessels. It isn't silver vessels. 00:15:00.350 --> 00:15:05.950 It's empty vessels. The word says he uses the 00:15:05.950 --> 00:15:11.389 weak thing, the base thing, the things that are 00:15:11.389 --> 00:15:16.929 not white, that no flesh should load in itself. 00:15:18.470 --> 00:15:21.549 That's one thing you'll not share with any human 00:15:21.549 --> 00:15:28.049 being. That's the glory. feels what we surrender 00:15:28.049 --> 00:15:36.809 to him. I had no real ministry, not really, until 00:15:36.809 --> 00:15:42.850 I walked down that little road, that dead end 00:15:42.850 --> 00:15:48.490 street, and surrendered to him everything. And 00:15:48.490 --> 00:15:53.649 I became an empty vessel. And he filled that 00:15:53.649 --> 00:15:57.879 empty vessel with the Holy Spirit. But with that 00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:02.460 feeling, a responsibility that was so tremendous 00:16:02.460 --> 00:16:09.080 that many a time since, I've looked up and almost 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:18.100 wished I was back again as a small -town girl 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:24.840 in Concordia, Missouri. But watch it! The... 00:16:25.070 --> 00:16:30.909 greater the yieldedness, the greater will be 00:16:30.909 --> 00:16:37.789 the responsibility that is ours. And along with 00:16:37.789 --> 00:16:43.250 it, the greater will be the temptation. It's 00:16:43.250 --> 00:16:50.230 like that. As we advance, new and powerful temptations 00:16:50.230 --> 00:16:57.309 await us on the path. They're there. Every turn 00:16:57.309 --> 00:17:02.750 of the road, there's temptations. There's temptations 00:17:02.750 --> 00:17:09.250 to work for self -glory. There are temptations 00:17:09.250 --> 00:17:15.089 for personal honors and distinctions. There's 00:17:15.089 --> 00:17:21.869 a temptation for material gain. I'm just laying 00:17:21.869 --> 00:17:28.920 bare my soul to you. Watch it. There's temptations 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:35.859 to allow personal preference to hold sway. There 00:17:35.859 --> 00:17:44.599 are temptations to take the advice of folk in 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:48.799 the world that you feel are so much better educated 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:52.440 than you and that perhaps have a greater knowledge 00:17:52.440 --> 00:17:57.549 and perhaps greater wisdom. in dealing with a 00:17:57.549 --> 00:18:03.490 thing than yourself. And yet, when one is called 00:18:03.490 --> 00:18:08.390 a god, one is to look to him, the one who's called 00:18:08.390 --> 00:18:13.890 you, for wisdom, for guidance, for leadership. 00:18:15.869 --> 00:18:25.210 And it's just like that. I repeat. one becomes 00:18:25.210 --> 00:18:29.690 susceptible to forms of temptation that simply 00:18:29.690 --> 00:18:33.349 do not reset those who are less spiritual or 00:18:33.349 --> 00:18:38.829 less used of God. And I think the worst temptation 00:18:38.829 --> 00:18:43.329 of all is the temptation to spiritual bigotry. 00:18:43.490 --> 00:18:49.650 That's so easy. All the deadly sin of spiritual 00:18:49.650 --> 00:19:00.859 pride. spiritual bigotry. I'm just telling you 00:19:00.859 --> 00:19:09.579 why Jesus included this part of the prayer that 00:19:09.579 --> 00:19:18.259 he taught us to pray. Great knowledge brings 00:19:18.259 --> 00:19:24.880 great responsibility. greater the knowledge, 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:32.339 the greater will be the responsibility. And the 00:19:32.339 --> 00:19:38.059 responsibility misused brings terrible punishment. 00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:47.539 Don't create the stand in my shoes. Please do 00:19:47.539 --> 00:19:53.019 not. There's one thing I am very aware of. And 00:19:53.019 --> 00:19:59.759 that is, if I misuse that which God has given 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:07.940 to me, my judgment, my punishment will be far 00:20:07.940 --> 00:20:12.980 greater than the judgment of one to whom this 00:20:12.980 --> 00:20:17.660 great responsibility had not been given. One's 00:20:17.660 --> 00:20:24.740 knowledge of truth is a sacred... trust and must 00:20:24.740 --> 00:20:32.640 not be violated. Lead us not into temptation 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:40.359 but deliver us from evil. Amen.