Hallowed Be Thy Name

Introduction

Today we got to start our service off by witnessing people follow God in the first step of obedience which is baptism. We do not always get to start off our services this way, but it is exciting when it happens. Since we are already departing from our regular “routine” as far as how the services normally go, we are going to go ahead and depart from it even more.

I am going to do what I have threatened to do for a long time: I am going to preach the sermon before the worship time! Now there is a purpose for this, and after the sermon I hope it becomes clear. Today we are going to be looking at a lot of verses, so if you would like to follow along more smoothly, please text the word NOTES to the number on the slide behind me. That will send you a link where you can follow along the sermon, see all the verses we will be covering, and you’ll even be able to write and save your notes on the sermon as we go along.

I’ll go ahead and ask you to open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6.

As we continue our study through the Model Prayer in this series "Teach Us to Pray," we remember that last week we covered the very first phrase of this prayer, Our Father, which art in heaven..."

We discussed that prayer is essential to each Christian. It is how we stay in communication with God, who is our heavenly Father. Jesus made it a point to pray, and the disciples saw this. Remember, one of the purposes for Jesus coming to earth and living as a man was for us to have an example to follow. If Jesus was regularly praying, then this is the pattern which we should follow as well. Matthew 6:9 starts off with Jesus telling His disciples, "After this manner therefore pray ye..." "Pray after this manner," not, "Whenever you pray, say these words." This is a stylized prayer. There is certain strategy or formula to this prayer. Not a strategy so that we can get what we want out of it, not a formula so that when we get done we can look at the checklist and say, “I prayed the right way so now I have communicated with God,” but a formula so that by prayer, we can be progressively more conformed to God's will and His Son's image every time we pray.

The Model Prayer is a formula for prayer that will lead us to be progressively more like Jesus every time we pray.

We must never forget that the words and order are not as important as the heart behind the prayer.

So how does the model prayer lead us to be more like Jesus? Well, we open up by acknowledging God as not only our Father, showing that we know He cares for us, but our Father in heaven. This is an acknowledgement of His sovereignty, His rule and dominion, His wisdom, and His omniscience.

Then we follow that up with praising His name (hallowed be thy name.)

We once again acknowledge His sovereignty and authority by acknowledging that He is King (Thy kingdom come), and that His will is supreme (thy will be done).

We recognize God as the giver of all gifts and supplier of all needs, and that it is by His hand, not ours, that we experience the graces that he bestows on us (give us this day our daily bread).

Though this next part was not a part that Jesus ever had to pray, forgive us our debts/sins, when we confess our sins, we are pure before the Lord and in right-standing with Him, just like Jesus.

We come to the second part of that phrase that says, “as we forgive our debtors.” Jesus is in the forgiving business, and therefore we must also be in the forgiving business.

The next part acknowledges His guiding hand and His protection (lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil).

And once again, we end the prayer by praising God and acknowledging His worthiness of all glory and honor.

This is exactly what Jesus was about - humbling Himself, living righteously, honoring the Father, doing only what the Father wanted him to do, depending on the Father for provision and for guidance, and forgiving others. This prayer guides our minds and hearts to be like Jesus in these areas.

Last week we saw that in Luke 11 that this model prayer was taught to the disciples after they asked Him, "Lord, teach us to pray." They recognized that there was a way to pray that would allow them more closeness to the Father than what they had seen from the religious leaders all of their lives. They saw a different way of praying when they saw Jesus pray. They knew that He actually was communicating and not just babbling.

This request brings up something interesting: we should have a desire to communicate with God. In fact, even non-Christians have a desire to communicate with God. If you read Romans 1 & 2, you see that within each person, there is a knowledge that God exists. There is a desire to connect with God. What happens, is that sin perverts that knowledge and too often, instead of seeking out the Creator, man is content with worshiping the creation. Rituals are made up in order to make contact with so called "deities" like the sun god, the moon god, the god or goddess of nature, etc. There is a natural desire within man to know who God is and to communicate with Him.

It is truly disturbing when Christians lose the desire to pray and talk with God. It is reflective of an attitude of self-sufficiency. We are not meant to be self-sufficient, a topic which we will get into later as we study this prayer, but we are meant to rely fully on our heavenly Father.

So Jesus starts off this example prayer, this model prayer, with the phrase, "Our Father which art in heaven," giving us two important pieces of information: 1) We should approach God as our Father. That is His identity when it comes to those that are saved, and we should identify ourselves as children of God, not merely servants or acquaintances. 2) God is a heavenly Father. He is good all the time, despite what experiences we may have with earthly fathers. He is good. He is love. He is caring, and He is approachable.

That is where we left off last week, and this week we will continue, but before we do, let's read the passage in Matthew 6:9-13

Matthew 6:9–13 (KJV 1900)

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

So our next phrase is also the title of this sermon:

Hallowed Be Thy Name

Before anything is asked or requested, in fact, even before sin is confessed, Jesus models to the disciples and to us to first take the time to "hallow" God's name. To hallow something is to separate it for praise, to make something important. This is a command for us to do and we find examples of it all throughout the Psalms.

Psalm 145:21 (KJV 1900)

21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: And let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

Psalm 63:3–4 (KJV 1900)

3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise thee.

4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

Psalm 66:1–3 (KJV 1900)

1 Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:

2 Sing forth the honour of his name: Make his praise glorious.

3 Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.

Notice how we are supposed to “say unto God, ‘How terrible [wonderful] are you in your works.’” When we hallow the name of the Lord, we aren’t just singing or saying His praises to the wind, we are directing our praise directly to Him.

Psalm 26:7 (KJV 1900)

7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all thy wondrous works.

Psalm 47:1–2 (KJV 1900)

1 O clap your hands, all ye people; Shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

Why?

2 For the Lord most high is terrible; He is a great King over all the earth.

If you don't like praising and shouting and lifting hands unto the Lord, you aren't going to like heaven much!! This is a Biblical thing to do! To shout "amen," to say, "praise God," to exclaim, "hallelujah," is not something that should be relegated to the "crazy charismatics." It should be our regular practice!

You're not glorying the preacher, your not glorying yourself, you are glorifying God! And this is something that we should be doing. If someone raises their hands in praise or says "glory to God" in praise, and I have the attitude of "I wonder why they are doing that? Probably just to center the attention on themselves..." Then it is I who has the problematic attitude, not the other person! I need to understand this:

1. Those actions are not for me; they are for God, and they are a Biblical response we should all have toward the Word of God and His majesty.

2. This should encourage me to glorify God as well.

When you say "amen," you aren't "amen-ing" the preacher; you're amen-ing the Word of God and His principles. No preacher should think that any "amen" is for him, but he should be encouraged that people are agreeing with what the Bible says. That is what amen means.

Amen is a Hebrew word that means truth, certainly. If I say "amen" to something or someone, I am voicing my agreement that what they have spoken is truth. When it is said at the end of a prayer, it is not another word for "the end," it is saying that we have expressed truthfully our thoughts and requests and praises before God.

Hallelujah is another one of those words that we have probably all heard, but may not know exactly what it means. It means "Praise God." The word is of Hebrew origin and though it is transliterated into English as one word, it is two words in Hebrew: hillel, and jah. Hillel meaning to praise or sing the praises of. Jah is a shortened form of YHWH, the letters used by the Jews to spell the name of the LORD. Hillel Jah then means to sing the praises of God, or simply, praise God. Hallelujah - to sing the halals (praises) of God.

Let's all read this next psalm together:

Psalm 150 (KJV 1900)

1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: Praise him in the firmament of his power.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts: Praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: Praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: Praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: Praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

Now let's try it again with some feeling! This is a psalm of praise to God. Read it again with me. It might help to add some emphasis on the word "praise."

Psalm 150 (KJV 1900)

1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: Praise him in the firmament of his power.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts: Praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: Praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: Praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: Praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

This word translated "praise" is coming from the Hebrew word halal which means: To be clear; to shine; hence, to make a show, to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causatively, to celebrate; celebrate, commend, glory, give (light), to (sing, be worthy of) praise, rage, renowned (to make famous), to shine. To flash forth a light, to praise.

Read that again. Notice the underlined words.

Now, I want to you to read the following psalm, but do it quietly. When you have understood what it says, then I want you to follow the instructions that it gives.

Psalm 100:1, 4 (KJV 1900)

1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

[give a moment to let people respond, then read v.1 and 4]

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise: Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Are we getting this? When Jesus says "Hallowed be thy name," it means to set aside His name for praise. What should our praise look like? It should be clear, it should be loud, it should shine a light on God and all that He is. It should be done with our voices, it should be done with instruments, it should be done with our hands clapping and with them lifted high.

And if this makes you nervous and uncomfortable and makes you wonder, "Where is Pastor taking us?" The answer is this, "I just want us to praise God." That's it. Let God move you in how you express that praise, but praise God with all of your heart.

When? Daily. Every day. Throughout the day. Then, praise Him when we gather together.

If you sing worship songs loud in your car or in your shower, sing 'em loud here at church.

If you shout "amen," or, "hallelujah," or, "whoo!" while your singing and worshiping God, do it at church too.

If you raise your hands while your driving down the interstate when a particular hymn or worship song comes on, raise them when we sing together, too.

Your worship at home and your worship at church shouldn't be different.

On the other hand, if your personality is more on the mellow side, don't change when you get to church. Just praise Him! Praise Him from your heart. Be encouraged when you see and hear others praise God.

Hallowing God’s Name in Prayer

So how does this look in prayer? Because that is what we are talking about, right? With this phrase, Jesus is teaching us to take time to praise God in our communication with Him. When you pray, take the time to praise His name. This is not indicating a praise for what God has done, but for who He is. He is worthy of praise.

Knowing God

What is one of the first questions you ask somebody that you meet and want to get to know?

“What is your name?” We do this so that we can talk to them, call on them, get their attention, or to refer to them.

So, lets talk about the names of God. We don't have the time to go through all the names of God that the Bible has, but I do want to go over some of these with you.

God - Elohim (Plural), El (singular) - Supreme being

LORD (YHWH, Yahweh)- Jehovah, self-existing, eternal

Lord (Adonai) - Lord, master, sovereign; title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence

I Am - Self-existent

and of course, Abba - Father

These are the names of God that are most common in scripture.

Throughout Scripture, there are other names which refer to God. We saw some when we did our study through the book of Genesis: Hagar called God El Roi- The God Who Sees Me, in Genesis 16:13. Abraham called God Jehovah-Jireh - The Lord who provides/sees to our needs.

Each of these names tell us something about God. It helps us to relate to him in a certain way. What I mean is this: most of you probably have a nickname or a shortened version of your name that other people call you. We respond differently depending on how we are addressed. Friends may call us something different than our given name, and we respond to it in a different manner than when our parents call us something.

My mom would often call me "Mikey." If she called me that, then I knew everything was good. But occasionally, my mom would use my whole name, Michael David Jones. When this happened, I knew I was in trouble. I wouldn't go bounding over to her with a big smile on these occasions; I would approach carefully, usually with my head hung low, anticipating the rebuke that was sure to come.

When I was in the Army, different people called me different things. I had one particular sergeant that would always call me “Jonesy.” But on occasion, he would say, “Hey, Specialist Jones, come here.” Just in the way that he said my name, I knew how to respond. One would be more casual, the other was more official or more serious.

I am NOT saying is that this is a way that we can manipulate God. But I have encouraged in the past, and will continue to do so throughout this series, that we approach God with honesty when we pray. When I need healing, I go to the "Lord my healer", one of the other names of God we find in Scripture. When I need guidance, I go to the Lord who is my shepherd (Psalm 23). When Satan is attacking, I call upon the Lord of hosts to fight for me and defend me.

Why is this an important thing? Because through praise is one of the ways that we get to know God. As we hallow His name, we get to know His character.

Another way to praise God is, Hebrews 13:15, to be thankful to Him.

Hebrews 13:15 KJV 1900

15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

Thanking God

The sacrifice of praise is our expression of gratitude toward God.

So, we come to God as Father, and we thank him for being our Father, for adopting us, for loving us unconditionally and for everything that His Fatherhood toward us means. Then we should take time to praise His name. How? Thanking Him for who He is and praising His name.

So you and I should be taking time in prayer to just thank God for who He is and how He has revealed himself to mankind. Thanking Him for His names and what those name tell us about Him.

One of the reasons we should be studying the Bible is to know God more and more. As you read, don't just read your Bible to read it; pay attention to what it has to say about God. When you come to stories like Hagar running away and she worships God with a particular praise, write it down. He is the God who sees us.

Take the time to daily praise God in prayer. How? by blessing His name and thanking Him for what He has done and who He is.

Why Is It Important to Praise God?

The first and most obvious reason is simply because He is worthy of all praise.

The second is one that we have already seen, and that is because we are commanded to praise Him.

But there is something that praising God does for us.

A while back ago, we studied the book of Genesis, and in doing so, we came upon the story of Jacob and his two wives, Leah and Rachel. Jacob, grandson of Abraham and one of the patriarchs of the nation of Israel, had two wives who were sisters, Rachel and Leah. Whenever I read about these events, My heart goes out to Leah. You see, Jacob loved Rachel, but was tricked into marrying Leah because she was the oldest... He ended up having to work 14 years for his father in law to marry Rachel. Leah was not naive; she knew she was not loved like Rachel. When she had children, she gave them names like Ruben, Simeon, and Levi. Names that mean "look at me," "hear me," and "join me." These names were a plea for intimacy with her husband that she longed for, but Jacob had eyes only for Rachel.

But when Leah's 4th child was born, there was a paradigm shift. Her focus shifted from prioritizing intimacy with Jacob to focusing on God as her fulfillment. She named this child Judah.

Judah means praise. All of a sudden, when before, sadness and disappointment filled the house, when Judah was born, praise filled the house!

"Judah, come here. Judah, go get this. Judah, go do that." Every time she called Judah’s name, she was reminded of reasons why she could praise God.

Praise Helps Us Focus on God

Praising God does something inside us. It helps us focus on who God is. When we do that, it helps put our world into proper perspective.

From Jacob's sons come the 12 tribes of Israel, and guess what? the tribe of Judah are the descendants of this Judah.

Much later, as the children of Israel make their way from Egypt to the promised land, the tribe of Judah would make its camp in front of the Tabernacle.

To enter the tabernacle, the place where sacrifices and fellowship with God was, you had to go through Judah, you had to go through praise!

Praise Helps Us Communicate Who God Is

Praise helps us know God better and it helps us communicate God to the world better.

Psalm 76:1 KJV 1900

1 In Judah is God known: His name is great in Israel.

Jesus came from Judah. Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lion of the tribe of praise. It is through Jesus that we know God. Jesus Himself said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”

We find the word "praise" hundreds of times in the Bible. Over 130 times in Psalms alone! Just like that cliche that the Inuit tribes have over 50 words for snow (that describe snow in different ways), the Old Testament, written in Hebrew, uses at least 6 unique words that are translated to "praise" in English:

Hallel - To boast, to shine forth, to glorify

Psalm 113:1 (KJV 1900)

1 Praise [hallelu] ye the Lord. Praise [hallelu], O ye servants of the Lord, Praise [hallelu] the name of the Lord.

So, boast about God, shine forth His glory with your words.

Tehilah - Sefer Thillim is the Hebrew name for the book of Psalms. Tehilah is a spontaneous praise song.

Spontaneous celebration with songs, shouts, and holy noise.

One of the first uses of the word tehilah is when the Israelites safely cross the Red Sea and God destroys the pursuing Egyptian army. I can imagine a moment of silence before all of a sudden there where whoops and hollers praising God and thanking Him for His protection. This would have been a roar of praise and laughter coming from the nation.

Psalm 22:3 (KJV 1900)

3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises [tehilot] of Israel.

Zamar - a musical term for praise implying the use of stringed instruments.

It deals with the harmonious and collective praise coming from a group of people, creating an atmosphere where God is invited to move powerfully.

Whereas with tehila being more spontaneous (the Israelites did not wait to praise God while they broke out there instruments), zamar seems to be more intentional. It would be a good description of what happens here in our church services. This is a “praise that shifts the air.” When King Saul was afflicted by an evil spirit, it was David’s harp that soothed him spiritually.

Psalm 47:6 (KJV 1900)

6 Sing praises [zamru] to God, sing praises [zameru]: Sing praises [zamru] unto our King, sing praises.

The interesting thing about this word, zamar, is that it traces its roots back to a word that means the act of pruning. In fact, the Jewish people celebrate the harvest with songs and dances to this day. How fitting that

While we praise God with Zamar, the Lord is lifting us up. He cuts away at what is old and unbecoming of His children and allows us to bring forth new fruit.

Yadah - from the Hebrew root yad (meaning hand) - praise through uplifted hands.

When the Israelites were attacked by the Amalekites, as long as Moses had his hands lifted, Israel prevailed in war. Lifted hands is a sign of surrender unto the Lord and an acknowledgement of His greatness and majesty.

When we surrender ourselves to God with arms lifted up, this tool of praise becomes a tool of victory as well.

Psalm 42:5 (KJV 1900)

5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise [yadah] him For the help of his countenance.

Todah - This also come from the root yad. Raising hands in thanksgiving.

Todah remains to this day the Hebrew way of saying a simple “thank you.” It describes a physical act of showing thanks with uplifted hands.

Psalm 100:4 (KJV 1900)

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving [todah], And into his courts with praise [tehilah]: Be thankful [yadah] unto him, and bless [barach] his name.

Barach - worshipping while kneeling.

This word is often translated blessing. When Jacob was blessed by his father, Abraham, he would have knelt down to receive this blessing.

When we worship the Lord and come to Him broken and humble, He blesses us and we emerge from that time of worship standing stronger and braver by His power.

I find it interesting that when Jesus taught His disciples to pray, before he taught them how to ask for their needs or even confess their sin, He taught them to praise God's name. This allows us to know God more and therefore, treat Him more as the heavenly Father who deserves praise and honor and less as a vending machine when it comes time for asking God for our needs later.

Invitation

Our invitation is going to be a little different today. I am going to invite the worship team to come up, and the invitation today is an invitation for you to join us in praise and worship to the Lord.

So as they come up, I will ask you to stand with us and sing our first song, All Praise.

Home Groups

Considering the “formula” of the Model Prayer, how can we be sure that we don’t fall into the trap of “vain repetitions” or mechanical prayer that Jesus warned against in Matthew 6:7 “7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”?

Why do you think Jesus started of the Model Prayer with praise instead of immediately presenting our requests or even confessing sin? (more on this question in three weeks)

The sermon discusses the power of praise to change our mindset. Have you ever experienced a time of praise that altered your mood, perspective, or priorities?

We have looked at various forms of praise as described in the Hebrew language. What types of praise come most naturally to you? Are there forms you feel hesitant about, and why?

Hallel - to boast, shine forth God’s glory (not necessarily in song)

Tehilah - to praise God in spontaneous song

Zamar - to praise God with music and instruments

Yadah - to praise with uplifted hands

Todah - to praise God with thanksgiving and uplifted hands

Barach - to worship while kneeling

How do God’s names (see the following list for more) help deepen our understanding of His character? Which name of God resonates most with you, and why?

• Jehovah-jireh- The Lord sees, the Lord will provide, the Lord will see to it (The Lord has seen our need and the way to overcome it) Genesis 22:14

• Jehovah-nissi- The Lord is my banner. When we fight under God's banner (and by implication, under His rules), He gives the victory. Exodus 17:15 (Israel's victory over Amalek)

• Jehovah-Tsidkenu - The Lord is our righteousness Jeremiah 23:6 refers to Jesus and Jeremiah 33:14 refers to Jerusalem (where Jesus will reign on earth and be our righteousness)

• Jehovah-shalom- The Lord is our peace. Judges 6:22- After Gideon realizes he has seen the angel of the Lord, the angel says, "Peace be unto you, you shall not die." Phil 4:4-9

• Jehovah-shammah- The Lord is there. Ezekiel 48:35 The Lord had departed from Jerusalem because of sin. He will return (Rev. 21:1-8 New Heaven and New Earth) and He shall be THERE! We as Christians, have the promise of dwelling where He is! He is with us now.

• Jehovah-rapha- The Lord that heals. Exodus 15:26 The Lord is the only one who can heal both body AND soul.

• Jehovah-M'Kaddesh- The Lord who sanctifies Leviticus 20:8 As we obey God, He sanctifies us.

• Jehovah-Rohi- The Lord my shepherd Psalm 23:1 He is our Giver, our Guard, and our Guide.

• Jehovah-sebaoth- The Lord of hosts. Psalm 46:7, 11 When the heathen rage and all are against us, He is the Lord of Hosts, our refuge and protector. He makes wars to cease. V. 10 Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

6. How can praise influence our approach to challenges or struggles we face in life?

7. What impact does praise have on our sense of gratitude? How might it help us to become more aware of God’s daily provisions and blessings?

8. The sermon suggests that how we worship at home and in church should be consistent. How can we integrate personal worship into our everyday lives?