Matthew 6:13b * August 18, 2002 * Pentecost 13 (seventh petition) * Pastor Pagels

In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:

Earlier this week I went to the post office to mail a package to a friend of mine who is a missionary in Grenada, a Caribbean island off the coast of South America. He and his wife just had their first child and we wanted to send them a small gift. I was surprised to learn that the shipping cost was higher than the value of the contents, but that is beside the point.

During the transaction, the postal worker asked me if I wanted to purchase insurance. For an additional fee, the postal service would reimburse me should the package somehow get lost. Since there was only a baby outfit and a card in the box, I declined. Plus I was thinking to myself that $10 was already more than enough to spend on shipping.

I am not trying to say that insurance is always a bad idea. There are times when it makes sense to insure. If you are sending something valuable, if the contents are fragile, insurance can give the sender peace of mind. You still trust that the package will get where it needs to go in one piece, but you have the added assurance that all is not lost if it doesn’t.

The seventh petition is all about safe delivery, but we are not the ones who are doing the sending. Instead, this petition forces us to look at things from the perspective of the package. We are asking the Lord to safely deliver us, to deliver us from this world to our final destination. And with God there is no need for insurance because he has a perfect track record. He has never lost a soul in his care. He delivers on time. He delivers every time.

This morning we take a closer look at the seventh and final petition of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. And it is our prayer that the Holy Spirit will help us understand and appreciate what we are asking when we pray…

DELIVER US FROM EVIL

I. This petition is the believer’s only hope

II. This petition contains the Lord’s ultimate promise

What was the worst day in the history of the world? Since people tend to remember what they have experienced, I imagine that September 11, 2001 would get some votes. Others Americans might choose December 7, 1941, the day the United States was attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbor.

There are others who might go back into Bible history and select the year 586 B.C. when Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians and the temple was destroyed. And even though we don’t know the exact date, some people might choose the time of Noah because it was during his lifetime that the flood sent the entire world’s population minus eight to a watery grave.

All of these dates all have at least one thing in common. They are marked by death and destruction. We can debate which one took the most lives or which one caused the most pain and suffering. And as terrible as they were, none of these days can compare with the darkest day of all time.

There were no camera crews or reporters on the scene. There were no special bulletins that interrupted regular television programming. In fact, there were only three witnesses in the Garden of Eden.

There Satan tempted Adam and Eve, and their sin changed the world forever. Before that day, everything was perfect. Since that day, nothing is perfect. Before that day, there was peace and harmony between God and man. Since that day, God and sinful man are mortal enemies. Before that day, there was no need for funeral homes or sympathy cards. Since that day, death has become an accepted part of life.

The devil won a great victory when Adam and Eve fell into sin, but he wasn’t satisfied. Adam’s sin brought death into the world, but the devil wants more. He is still a roaring lion, lurking and looking for someone to devour (I Peter 5:8). He desires nothing less than eternal death for you and for me and for as many people as he can reach with his soul destroying claws.

Jesus understands how powerful Satan is. Jesus knows how ruthless Satan is. Jesus knows exactly what people are up against because he fought the same battles. Because Jesus was tempted by the devil just like we are, it is no surprise that he concludes the Lord’s Prayer with this petition: “but deliver us from the evil one.”

Our pleas for divine deliverance start with deliverance from Satan’s grasp, but they do not end there. Some Bible translations (like the KJV) make this petition more general: “But deliver us from evil.” Luther picks up on this in his explanation: “We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would deliver us from every evil that threatens body & soul, property & reputation…”

That sounds good, but what does it mean? What kinds of things does that include? How do those words apply to Christians today?

When we watch the news and see story after story about corporate scandals and less-than-honest accounting practices, and when we see how those white-collar crimes are affecting the family finances, we need to pray: “Lord, deliver us from the evil in this world.”

When we watch our sinful bodies struggle from day to day, whether it is due to addiction or disease or aging, we need to pray: “Lord, deliver us from the effects of sin in this world.”

When we compare the amount of time we spend to feed our bodies with the time we set aside to feed our souls, when think about how often we replace a steady diet of God’s Word and prayer with the godless thoughts and ideas of the world, we need to pray: “Lord, deliver us from the evil lodged in our own hearts.”

If we are honest with ourselves, we are no match for the devil. There is only so much we can do about the evil in the world (assuming that we want to). And because we are sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, we are filled with the same lusts and desires. Because of the harsh realities of sin all around us and within us, “deliver us from evil” is much more than a pious wish. Realistically, it is our only hope.

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, it was never his intention to lead them to despair. He did want them to recognize their own shortcomings. He did want them to acknowledge their complete dependence on God. But this wasn’t meant to be a burden. It is a blessing. And the same is true when it comes to the seventh petition. When God’s children pray “Dear Father, deliver us from evil,” we see in those words the Lord’s ultimate promise.

The seventh petition acknowledges the existence of evil. It is real. It is everywhere. But so is God. He is just as real. He is also everywhere. A logical question then would be: How do these two forces, God and evil, relate?

As Pastor Leyrer mentioned last week in connection with temptation and the sixth petition, God is not the source of evil. God is perfect. God is holy. God hates sin. But at the same time, God does not ignore the evil in the world either.

Sometimes God keeps evil away from us entirely. There are many examples of this in the Bible, but perhaps none is better than the first lesson for today. Daniel was thrown into a den of lions, but there was not even a scratch on him the next morning because the Lord protected him. In the case of Daniel, God sent an angel to watch over him. And the Lord continues to send his angelic armies to protect his people from evil today.

I think that most people can point back to a time in their life when, by all rights, they should have died. As I was preparing this sermon, I was able to recall three separate incidents when I could have been seriously injured in a car accident. As it turned out, only one of them turned into an accident at all. Was I just lucky? Was it a case of good timing? Or were angels working behind the scenes to keep me safe?

God himself provides the answer to that question in Psalm 91: “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike you foot against a stone” (11,12).

We have the Lord’s promise that he will shield us from the evil in the world (sometimes via angels), but that does not guarantee that our lives will be perfect. Christians are not immune to adversity. Sometimes Christians struggle because they are Christians. Paul told a group of young believers that “we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22). Jesus told his disciples: “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33).

God promises both protection and problems in our lives. So is there a contradiction? No, at least not when we look at things from God’s perspective. There are times when God does allow evil to work its way into our lives. But when it does, remember that the Lord is still in control. He will never give us more than we can bear, and he will always provide a way out.

As strange it may sound, God may also permit evil to come into our lives for our own good. If you would have interviewed Joseph at certain times during his life, he would not have been able to explain why things were going the way they were. He was faithful to God, and how was he rewarded? He was sold into slavery and later he was thrown into prison.

Joseph might have questioned God’s methods. He might have even been tempted to question God’s motives. But in the end, the Lord turned evil into good. Joseph’s life is a perfect example of Romans 8:28 in action: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.”

There is a possibility, however, that the Lord will not reveal his plans to us. We may not be able to put all the pieces together on this side of heaven, but that doesn’t mean that God loves us any less. Even though Jesus did say: “In this world you will have trouble,” he went on to say: “Take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b).

Jesus wasn’t intimidated by the forces of evil. Jesus didn’t run away from danger. He met it head on. He marched into Jerusalem knowing full well what was about to happen to him. He answered the high priest’s questions without hesitation, knowing that a truthful answer would mean a death sentence. He refused to back down from the Roman governor, knowing that his life was hanging in the balance.

And when Jesus died on the cross, it was more than the ultimate miscarriage of justice. When Jesus was crucified, it was more than the plots and plans of evil men coming to fruition. When Jesus was nailed to a pole outside the city and hoisted up for everyone to see, all the evil in the world was pressing down on his shoulders.

Because Jesus died to take away the sins of the world, because all the wickedness of the world was sealed with his body in the tomb, because Jesus rose from the dead to prove that the old Evil Foe had been defeated once and for all, the seventh petition takes on a whole new meaning.

“Deliver us from evil” is not only our prayer for the present. It is God’s promise for our future. Jesus’ death and resurrection give us the confidence to say: “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom” (II Timothy 4:18).

Normally when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we close our eyes and fold our hands and bow our heads. Perhaps next time it would be appropriate to change your posture just slightly when you get to the seventh petition. As you think about what you are asking God to do for you, you might want to open your eyes and lift up your head in anticipation of that glorious day when the Lord will carry us from this world of sorrow to himself in heaven.

“Deliver is us from evil.” Lord, teach us to pray this way. Amen.