Hallowed Be Your Name

HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME

Intro

Matthew 6:9-13 Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Prayer

As you guys know, Haley is quite pregnant at this point, and we have been discussing for a pretty good while now what the name of our baby will be. And we put a ton of thought into this. And we had the perfect name picked out – our little baby girl was going to be called Haddie May. May for Haley’s maiden name, Mays, and Haddie which is short for Hadassah. One of our favorite Biblical stories is the story of Queen Esther, whose Hebrew name was Hadassah… In the Hebrew, Hadassah literally translates to Myrtle. So that name Haddie May really meant a lot to us.

When we named her Haddie, I envisioned that every time we looked at her, we’d be reminded that little Haddie was made for such a time as this and that the Lord would do an incredible work through her. And because Hadassah means Myrtle, when we looked at little Haddie, we’d be reminded of the incredible faithfulness of God, as we’ve seen in our lives especially since we moved here to Myrtle Beach a few years ago.

Ironically, God decided that perhaps Haddie was made for a time that is not now, but in the future… because we’re having a boy. INSERT PICTURE And, we’re really excited about that! But don’t ask me what we’re naming him, because I don’t know.

I share all that with you to highlight the importance that a NAME can have.

When Jesus gave us this model for prayer, He said pray to the Father like this: “HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME.” I like the way the CSB says it, “Your name be honored as HOLY”

Jesus tells us that our aim, in prayer, is that the name of God be hallowed, be honored, be lifted up, be set apart, and be seen for what it is: One of one, above all others.

We are called to pray in a way and to live in a way that HALLOWS THE NAME OF THE LORD, THAT HONORS THE NAME OF THE LORD…and if we’re going to do that, here’s the first thing that we have to understand…

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A NAME

Biblically, a name is typically much different than how we think of a name today. In most cases throughout scripture, a NAME means much more than simply a word. If you said, oh, your name’s Derek, what’s that mean? I’d say I have no idea. I think it means my parents liked the way “Derek” and “Price” sounded together, so that’s what they decided to call me. And there’s nothing wrong with that; that’s fine…giving your kid a Biblical name doesn’t make them any more or any less holy in the eyes of the Lord.

But Biblically, names oftentimes have great meaning…There are countless examples in the Bible of how a name literally describes who someone is. Let me give you some examples:

God named Abram, Abraham, which means “Father of Many Nations” because that’s WHO HE IS. He’s the father of our faith.

God named Jacob, Israel, which means “He who strives with God” because he would be the patriarch of the twelve tribes of God’s holy nation in the Old Testament.

God named Simon, Peter, which means “ROCK” because Jesus told him that he was literally the foundation that the early church would be built on.

When we look at these NAMES in the Bible, we don’t just see a word; we literally see who that person is. And if a name is significant in describing God’s people, then it’s even more important when describing God Himself. Here’s what I want us to know..If we’re going to understand this prayer that Jesus is teaching, then we have to understand this:

THE NAME OF THE LORD = WHO HE IS

The name of the Lord is not simply “God”. God is his title, but it’s not His name. In the Biblical sense that we’re looking at this name here, it’s much more than just a word. The name of the Lord is the character and the will and the essence of WHO HE IS. And in Exodus 3:14, our God, Yahweh, reveals who He is when He says, “I AM WHO I AM.” That name reveals to us that He is eternal, and He is unchanging - that’s who He is. God is actually named several times in the Bible, revealing WHO He IS:

He is Adoia which means He’s master over all creation.

He is Jehovah Jireh which means He is our provider.

He is Jehovah Rapha, our healer.

He is Jehovah Nissi, our protector and our victory in every battle we face.

All of these titles are THE NAME of the LORD because they tell us WHO HE IS

Remember all those characteristics of God that we talked about last week?...The point of highlighting those characteristics was to ensure that we know WHO He is, to know WHO we’re praying to… those character traits of our Father, those are HIS NAME.

HIS NAME is perfection, and love, and compassion, and strength, and forgiveness, and so many other things. Our Father, who we pray to, we want His name to be hallowed, to be revered, to be lifted up, to be honored as HOLY.

That’s what Jesus wanted us to have in mind when we pray to the Father, making His name holy. And while we pray to the Father as Jesus taught, the Bible says that Jesus, the Son, ever lives to intercede for us. Every prayer that we pray to the Father, Christ the son is making intercession for us. He is praying for us. And Jesus is giving us important instruction here on prayer in Matthew 6, but He also gives critical instruction in prayer in many other places in the gospels, including this verse in John 13:13-14 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. What Jesus doesn’t mean here is that our prayer life should be just asking God whatever we want without considering His opinion and then saying “IN JESUS NAME, amen.” What He does mean is that our requests should align with His character and His will, AKA, HIS NAME.

I love that song that we sang, “I Speak Jesus”... that says the NAME OF JESUS is power, and healing, and life…And we sing that song to remind ourselves WHO JESUS IS…WHO WE SERVE AND WHO WE WORSHIP

The whole point here is to understand that a name, especially the name of the LORD, is much more than just a word. It is a literal interpretation of WHO GOD IS.

So when we follow Jesus’ instructions in the Lord’s Prayer, and we pray ”Hallowed be Your name.”, That means that we’re praying to God, “Father, I pray that your name be hallowed, that it be made HOLY.”

So that’s the challenge of this message, a challenge from the words of Jesus: that we, as followers of Christ, lift up the name of the Lord - through our prayers, through our words, and through our actions.

If God’s name is representative of WHO GOD IS, then Jesus is showing us that we, as followers of Him, have an obligation to show the world WHO GOD IS.

I’ve talked about this concept before because I think it’s a great reminder of how we can greater serve God, that there are clear dichotomies in scripture, meaning that God draws a hard line between His way and the wrong way, and there is no neutrality in these things…there’s no sitting on the fence. We’re either doing it God’s way or we’re not.

Let me give you some examples: As we live, we are either

Sowing to the Spirit or sowing to the flesh

Seeking first the kingdom of God or seeking first things of the world

Walking the narrow path of discipleship or walking the broad path of comfort

Walking by faith or walking by sight

We could spend all night talking about examples of how God shows us the stark contrast of His way vs. the wrong way, but I show you this to show you the same is true is what Jesus is teaching here in the Lord’s Prayer, when He’s showing us that the Name of the Lord should be hallowed…And what we see throughout scripture is that we, as followers of Christ and representatives of His name have no room for neutrality when it comes to His name. Here’s what I mean…

If you claim to be a Christian, then you are a representative of God’s name. And in everything you do, you are either…

Hallowing the Name of the Lord or

Taking the Lord’s Name in Vain

As we go throughout our lives, whatever our job is, whatever our age is, whatever we do or don’t think our level of influence is, we are either lifting up the name of the Lord, or we’re walking in a way that is contrary to what the name of the Lord represents.

When others look at us, who carry the label of Christian, as, by the way, we BOLDLY SHOULD. Jesus says that we SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE HIM BEFORE MEN OR HE’LL DENY US BEFORE THE FATHER.

But when others look at us, professing Christians, if they see God in us, then we are hallowing the name of the Lord. When the world sees a Christian walking in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, then the name of the Lord is being glorified, is being made holy.

On the other hand, when we, as Christians, are living in a way that contradicts the character and will of God, then we are taking His name in vain. Let me show you what I mean…

The 3rd Commandment of the 10 that the Lord gave us back in Exodus chapter 20 is, “You shall not take the name of your Lord God in vain.” If you’ve been in church for a while, you know this. That word for vain means empty, vanity, nothingness. So to take the name of the Lord in vain is to express that His name is meaningless.

And when I hear unbelievers throw the name of God around so casually, and they use the name of Jesus Christ as a cuss word or they say GD to get their point across, that annoys me.. I’m sure it annoys you guys as well.

What’s much worse than that, though, is when we, as REPRESENTATIVES of the name of God, walk in a manner that opposes His will in character.

When God gives the 10 Commandments, He gives them to those who are called to worship Him. When Jesus gives the commandment to love the Lord our God with everything we have, and when Jesus tells us to pray that the name of God be hallowed - be held in reverence - be made holy, who is He talking to? He’s not talking to unbelievers; He’s talking to His disciples, His followers. He’s talking to us. We should be the example to the world of what the name of God really means and who God really is. And far too often, instead of lifting His name up, we take it in vain. Not just by saying, “Oh my God”, but living in a way that directly opposes who God is.

We need to keep in the forefront of our mind, that as Christians, as individuals who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are representatives of His name to the unbelieving world. If the name of the Lord is love, then to hallow the name of the Lord is to love others as He has called us to, not just love when it’s easy for us or convenient.

If the name of the Lord is forgiveness…if we profess Christ with our mouths but clearly hold unforgiveness in our hearts that others can see, then we’re taking the name of the Lord in vain.

If the name of the Lord is patience and kindness, and we get openly angry with people in traffic while showing off our “I LOVE JESUS” bumper sticker, then we’re showing whoever is watching that the name of the Lord is just a name and the term “Christian” is just a title, nothing more.

Now, we do things like that because we are NOT PERFECT. We are sinners that have been saved and are being sanctified. If it wasn’t an ongoing process, then we wouldn’t have to pray for God’s help….

But we should want our lives to be a reflection of who God is. When people see me, I want them to see the love and the transformational power of the name of our Lord. It ought to be our aim that our lives are lived in such a way that when people see us - us who claim Christ as Lord and Savior - that the name of the Lord is hallowed, is lifted up, and is held in reverence.

God often displays His holiness, His goodness in this world through His children. If God’s name is going to be hallowed (made holy) on earth as it is in heaven, then God’s name must be made holy in our lives.

GOD’S NAME IS MADE HOLY WHEN HIS CHILDREN LIVE HOLY

The name of the Lord is lifted up, is hallowed, is made holy, when people see God in us.

It should be our goal that people see God in us… so how do we get there? The same way we get anywhere that He’s called us to be…WITH HIS HELP.

I want to bring this back to our mission. There’s an important reason that I emphasize our mission as a church every single Tuesday night. I’ve done it 25 times, and I’ll continue to do it…because everything God calls us to do as a church and everything God calls us to do as individuals will ultimately go through that mission. And this prayer that Jesus directs us toward is no different.

We are a movement for all people to discover and walk in God’s will through an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

First thing - A movement for all people. We want to live our lives in such a way that other people see us and see God. We call it a movement because we aren’t confined to a building. As we go to our various jobs and social settings, we want to shine the light of Christ for the world to see. We want the world to see Jesus when they see us.

And our purpose is to discover God’s will and walk in God’s will through an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

Discovering God’s will is as easy as hearing the Word of God proclaimed. Jesus makes it clear to us here that the will of God is that the name of the Lord be hallowed, be lifted up, be made holy. In whatever topic we’re studying, I want to make certain that before you leave on Tuesday night, you understand what the will of God is in that particular area. But that’s about 35 minutes out of your week. If you want the Lord to further reveal His will to you in this area, and this area, then you have to spend time in the Word of God.

If discovering God’s will is knowing that God wants His name to be made holy, then walking in God’s will is living a life that makes His name holy.

What is the only way that we can live that kind of life? A life that lifts up the name of the Lord and glorifies who He is? Only through an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

The name of the Lord is made holy when we live a life that is holy… Let me show you Biblically what that means for us…

God has always desired that His name be made holy through His holy people. We see that with the Israelites in the Old Testament; we see that with children of God (like you and me) in the New Testament.

Who does the Bible in a year? What’s the hardest book to get through? LEVITICUS. Here’s what’s happening in Leviticus: God is telling His people…You are my Holy people (different, other, set apart) who will make my name Holy by living a life that shows the world that you are different - and you’ll do it through a plethora of ceremonial laws.

Thank Jesus our holiness does not come from our performance of ceremonial rules. What sets us apart, what makes us different from the rest of the world, is that the Spirit of God dwells within us. We call Him the HOLY SPIRIT because He is what makes us holy and set apart.

And if God’s name is hallowed when we walk in holiness, then we are walking in His will when we walk in closeness with Him. The name of the Lord is lifted up when we are living the way that He has called us to live. We’ve talked about this important passage before…

Jesus says in John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

What’s Jesus saying? He’s saying that anything good that we do has to come from Him. Walking in the will of God is contingent upon walking with Jesus. And in this particular instance of fulfilling the will of God, if we are going to live a life that makes the name of the Lord holy, then we have to do it with Jesus.

So let’s bring it back to the top. Let’s bring it back to the leading emphasis of this whole series…How do we walk in closeness with the Lord? It begins with prayer.

Jesus says that when we pray, we should pray that the name of the Lord be made holy. The name of the Lord is made holy when we, representatives of the Lord live a holy life… and we live a holy life, producing holy fruit, when we walk in closeness with the Lord…through living in His word and of course through…PRAYER.