Text: James 1:12-15; 1 Peter 5:6-11; Petitions 6-7 of The Lord's Prayer
In
the name of Jesus: Amen.
In
1896, an infectious disease specialist named William Osler said,
“Humanity has but three
great enemies: fever, famine, and war.”[1]
What
Mr. Osler was pointing out in this most sobering and realistic assessment was
that disease, lack of food, and outbreaks of war have historically been and
continue to be mankind’s three greatest threats for survival. For example: things like the Bird Flu or
Ebola have killed thousands upon thousands of people in a matter of
months. Droughts, lack of rain, and torrential
rains can also destroy crops, leaving bellies empty, and causing death. If sickness or the lack of food does not get
us, then there is always war. Who can
forget the slaughter of people from the Nazis regime, the various mass murders
of maniacal fanatics, and the heartless violence of ISIS? War has claimed thousands – no – millions. Indeed, these three enemies are vicious and
ruthless, out to destroy and attack mankind.
Now,
it would be easy to pin these three enemies up as public enemy number one, two,
and three; however, tonight I would like to offer up three different enemies. Like a rival gang, these enemies are just as
ruthless and just as maniacal, wreaking havoc from shortly after the creation
of the world until now. This gang of
three is: the sinful flesh, the world, and the devil.
I do
not share this to be a killjoy, but I share this because the sinful flesh, the
world, and the devil are not to be underestimated or written off. In other words, each and every one of us are
constantly tempted by these three evils and constantly attacked by them. While we can avoid the fever with modern
medicine and while we can avoid famine by stockpiling food, and while we can
avoid war by seeking peace, there is actually no escaping the flesh, the world,
and the devil The reason why? These three ruthless enemies seek us out and
attempt to have their way with us.
Take
the sinful nature, the sinful nature – also known as the old Adam – tempts us
and attacks us. We can’t outrun the old
Adam or avoid him, for we live with this sinful old Adam around our necks until
the day we die. This means that the old sinful nature goes to work on us daily
and lures us daily into sexual immorality, laziness, gluttony, drunkenness,
greed, deceit, fraud, and deception. Why
do we see so many acts of evil done by people in this world on the nightly
news? It is because the old sinful Adam
– the sinful nature – it clings to humanity and we are incited by it to plunge
into whatever makes us happy at the expense of hurting ourselves and others. The sinful nature dangles a poison apple in
front of our eyes and says, “One bite won’t kill you; you’re worth it;
everybody is doing it.”[2] Then after the bite, the poison
devastates.
If
it isn’t the sinful nature, then it is the world. Yes, each and every one of us are in the
world, which means that we are constantly attacked by the ideologies and
messages of the world. The words and
deeds of the world are enough to drive us to anger and impatience. In short, there is nothing in the world but
hatred, envy, violence, injustice, slander, arrogance, pride, fondness for
luxury, honor, fame, and power. In the
world, no one is willing to be the least, but everyone wants to sit on top and
be seen by all; therefore, the little guy always seems to be stepped on.[3] The world is cruel; life is hard in the
world. “You live, then you die, then
they throw dirt in your face.”[4]
If
the sinful flesh and the world are not enough to depress and overwhelm you and
me, then comes the devil. This sly
pathetic enemy baits and badgers us at every turn and at every angle. His purpose is to make us bored or to despise
God’s Word and the Sacraments. His whole
purpose is to tear us away from faith, hope, and love, and to draw us into
unbelief, pretend security, and stubbornness.
He throws flaming darts of lies and accusations at each and every one of
us and attempts to catch us in his snare – that is his web of false promises
and enticements.[5]
Now,
I wish I could say that these three enemies are just for show; however, they
are real. So ‘real’ that they attack
each and every one of you. Maybe not all
at the same time, but as long as we live this life in the veil of tears, you
and I will be attacked, hunted, and harassed from all sides, from all three of
these enemies. They will not pull back
and they will not compromise. Those of
you who are younger, you will often fight the flesh, the sinful nature. Those of you who are older, you will be tempted
and attacked by the world. And those of
you who have journeyed through life and are learning to rest in your baptisms
before the shadow of death, well, the devil will generally be there to attack
you.[6]
Because
this is the way it is with us Christians, we do not foolishly pretend that
these enemies do not exist. We do not
put our heads in the sand. We are not
naïve. But rather, we wake up every
morning knowing that temptation is before us and that evil is there to kill,
steal, and destroy us…
…And
because this is the way that it is, we pray the sixth and seventh petition of
the Lord’s Prayer.
“And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from the evil.”
Yes,
we Christians know the fight is before us.
We know it is daily; therefore, we pray against these enemies and their
temptations.
As
we pray though, we are not helped by our own thoughts or the strength of our
meditating heart, but rather, we pray with boldness, as the Lord has taught
us.
You
see, we pray knowing that the Lord hears our requests because He has promised
to. And as He hears our petitions, we
know that He cares for us.
And
so, we continually pray. We pray that
the Lord would preserve and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and the
flesh may not deceive us or misled us into false belief, despair and other
great shame.[7]
We
pray so that we may seek and expect help from no one else, but the Lord.
We
pray that we would be continually reminded and centered in the reality that the
Lord Jesus Christ has snatched us from the jaws of hell, won us, freed us, and
restored us to the Father’s favor and grace.[8]
We
pray that the Lord would continually strengthen our faith, faith that knows
that the Lord has given Himself completely to us, holding nothing back.
We
pray that the Lord would strengthen us and give us steadfast faith in the midst
of this ongoing battle.
We
pray knowing that the Lord is good and that He will never leave His children
alone.
We
pray that the victorious Christ would put these tyrannical enemies into their
proper place and that He would be our righteousness, life, salvation, and hope
– our ever present help.
We
pray that we would be delivered from evil, evil that would affect our body,
soul, property, and reputation.
My
friends, do you see why we pray the Lord’s Prayer? If we want the flesh, the world, and the
devil to be at bay, we must pray that the Lord’s name be hallowed, that His kingdom would
come, and that His will be done in our midst. The Lord is the only solution and answer to
the sinful flesh, the world, and the Devil.
There
is also another aspect to prayer. In
prayer we not only call upon the Lord in our time of need, but we also remember
all of His promises to us. As we contemplate upon these promises, we shall not
despair in the face of these three enemies, but rather, we shall remember that
we do not belong to these three enemies.
Truly, you and I do not belong to our flesh, the world, or the devil, but
we belong to the one who strangles the old Adam, overcomes the world, and
crushes the Devil at the cross. We
belong to the Lord and He belongs to us.
Dear
Baptized Saints, tonight, tomorrow, and in the weeks and years to come, let us pray. May the voices of our faith confess and cry
out before the Lord the following,
“Lord, continually teach us
to pray. Continue to strangle my old
sinful flesh, overcome the tactics of the world, and crush the Devil’s plans,
for I am yours. Save me and preserve me.”
In
the name of Jesus: Amen.
[1] Osler W. The study of the fevers of
the South. JAMA 1896;26:999— 1004
[2] Martin Luther, The Large Catechism: The Lord’s Prayer, The Sixth Petition.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Partial quote from: David
Gerrold.
[5] Martin Luther, The Large Catechism: The Lord’s Prayer, Sixth Petition.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Martin Luther, The Small Catechism: The Lord’s Prayer.
[8] Martin Luther, The Large Catechism, The Apostles Creed,
Explanation of the Second Article.
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