God's Glory: Our Beginning and End

Exodus 34:6–7 ESV

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Acts 17:24–28 ESV

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Romans 8:12–17 ESV

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Scripture Readings: Exodus 34:6-7, Acts 17:24-28, Romans 8:12-17

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 46-47

Sermon Title: God’s Glory: Our Beginning and End

           Brothers and sisters in Christ, when we begin to talk about names, we begin to learn a lot more than what we might expect. When I typically introduce myself, I am Dan. That is not my given name, but I like the shorter form, and the only people who typically call me “Daniel” is my parents, grandparents, and a few friends. My parents, named Dave and Dawn, most likely chose my name due to the fact that like theirs it started with a “D” and it was a name from the Bible, meaning “God is my judge.” 

A name identifies who we are, but our birth names are not the only ones that do that. Throughout our lives, some of us may pick up nicknames. One of mine during high school was “The Mountain,” because of my size, and eventually that became “La Montana” when on a service trip in Juarez, Mexico, the kids started to climb on me.

Some of us have titles that become attached to our names. When people hear not just “Dan” but “Pastor Dan,” they understand that I hold a position in leadership with a church. I am probably someone who preaches and leads worship, directs weddings and funeral services, and one who visits and counsels. There is significance with a title that one’s calling cannot be separated from the person who bears it. 

           As I have already found out here in rural communities, especially those with large Dutch populations, names are a big deal because even hundreds or thousands of miles apart in America, we can usually find a few people who we are connected to once we start sharing our names. 

A name puts a face in our minds, usually they can help us identify one’s gender, ethnicity, and even religion; for better or worse, right or wrong, that is how our minds work. So when I say what’s in a name? It’s not just Pastor Dan, a man standing here, but my family background, my connections, personal preferences, physical and vocational characteristics, and what you know about me may all influence your thinking of who I am and what I say. 

It should not be a surprise that if all of that territory comes with a human name, then when we enter into prayer, Jesus saw fit to give us instruction for how we begin, who we address our prayers to. “Our Father” is the name and title where we are instructed to begin.  Why this way? The catechism answers it as kindling a childlike awe and trust, an earlier version used the words reverence for and confidence in God becoming our Father. Like an earthly father fulfils their calling by giving his sons or daughters what they need when they ask, God our Father does that, but yet he cannot be limited to what we know of fathers. 

When Jesus came and taught us to pray, a significant change happened! Israel knew God as a holy being who demanded fear to the point that they had to worry about being struck down if they uttered his name “Yahweh.” That is the reason throughout the Old Testament that we find the name LORD; a title that honors God. Israel saw themselves as God’s chosen people but it was not until Jesus came as the true Son of God, that believers come to see themselves as adopted. This is what we read in Acts 17, we are “offspring,”—we are looked at by God as his sons and daughters, Romans 8 adds; we are part of the family.  This is only possible because of Christ’s redeeming work though; it is he who allows us to be adopted by his grace, and he wanted us to grasp that even in our prayer, that we are sons and daughters with him. 

There is still a holy fear to be had when we consider God in all of his righteousness. We do not deserve the infinite blessings of grace that have been given to us, but yet in the gift of Jesus, we are gathered into the intimate love of a Father to a child. It is a relationship so basic, so foundational to life, thus we’re reminded from the start of the prayer that we should be as children addressing a Father.  If we our truthful in our prayers, we are confessing a dependence upon him rather than solely in ourselves. Using the language of Father shows respect and recognizes the fruit that can come about in the way he cares for us.

           Having established that personal, intimate relationship, Jesus tells his followers to pray “in heaven” and then request “hallowed be your name,” and this is where I want us to dwell a bit tonight on God’s glory. This is the first request, our start, but also our end, what we’re working towards in lives of prayer. First, what do we mean that God, our Father, is in heaven? We quite often say that God is everywhere and that he is with us; but Jesus reminds us in the prayer that he has taught us that our Father is one who operates outside of this world. He is not bound by matter existing or not existing, he’s not bound by scientific principles that can rationally be determined, he moves, and acts through all times and all places, his will unfolds over thousands of years in the midst of and through billions of people. He has chosen some for eternal salvation. Having that big picture, cosmic scope, of the way that God upholds all things is incredible. It may cause us to see ourselves as rather insignificant, but yet he values us.

Our God is one who cannot be copied, reproduced, or replaced by anything we have on earth. Because of his heavenly glory, he beckons us to pray, to request whatever we need or desire with the expectation by faith that it will be provided. In the answer of question 121, we heard this promise that out of the heavenly majesty of God, not earthly, we may expect everything whether for body or soul (physical or spiritual we might say), as people confined to the earth by his almighty power. The hope of our prayers and essentially our faith is that we have a God who is able to work out of the infinite, not being up in political red tape or bound by a financial budget, but who can do all things. God’s glory is perfect and on display in ways unfathomable to us. It cannot be held in fullness by anyone or anything, it’s indescribable by any terms we have. 

           I hope when we hear terms like “holy” and “glory,” that we do not just envision a bright light or silver lining around whatever God touches. We must be honest with ourselves, do we pray that God’s name, his good and faithful name, which we see in the Old Testament reading is wrapped in a holy fear and compassion, be hallowed, and know what we mean? We enter intently into prayer, calling upon God’s name because we believe he is our creator, sustainer, and provider, but do we really see and grasp his holiness around us? 

That list of attributes and characteristics of God in answer 122, do we actually see them, recognize them, and call them as God’s holiness and glory on display? God’s power at work in battling for our salvation in such a way that our physical death is not our end. His wisdom in the complexity of creation down to the particles that make up atoms, and how blood travels through our body, how these spheres of mass called planets can hang in space. His kindness in acts of grace, mentoring relationships, and laughter. His justice and mercy held in the balance of discipline and love. And his truth is still meaningful and unchanging. 

Do we take time to look up and see God’s active hand in our daily lives, not just using the gifts and tools that he has provided us with, but stepping back and observing his creation and the capacities he has placed within it? How animals that migrate know exactly where to go, how huge ships can sail on seas and planes can fly in the air, how it is that sound and video signals can travel from one location on one side of the globe to the other? When we sing songs that bring praise to God, hopefully we do not just mindlessly let the words come out of our mouths. If we can just take time in each of our days to intentionally see what God continues to do and be truly awestruck, the glory and honor we are sinking to give God comes out of a true acknowledgement of him.

This acknowledgement of God’s glory needs to be in our hearts and minds when we present our requests by voice and while we live our lives because if it’s not, then our prayers become lists of finite expectations.  If we do not think very lofty of his ability and his glory, then prayer turns into things we expect to do and could very well in our strength and power complete ourselves; we are just asking God’s blessing on the work we can do.  But when we intentionally recognize God’s glory and we leave our needs and desires up to him, we make a statement based on his original promise and revelation of who he is, a faithful God. When we see God as our father, our entire existence extends from his glory and what he has been able to do and continues to do. There’s nothing too big: healing from cancer, depression, financial shortages, marital issues, all of these requests by faith his glory can restore.

           When we’re taught to ask that God’s name be hallowed, we’re intending that the indeed he and everything that he stands for, all that God is, be recognized as holy and set apart. God’s holiness does not depend on our request, but there is a desire that not just his character would be holy, but that everything he has done and made that has been caught in the brokenness of sin would be restored to wholeness. We are desiring God’s glory to shine in his power, wisdom, kindness, justice, and mercy—we are desiring for him to be holy in his activeness!  In all that God is, in all that he does, we should have a desire to be seeking after and to be praising and praying that all of that is credited to God. 

           Brothers and sisters, the glory of God is how we start our prayer, but its activity is meant all the way into our lives. Our thoughts, our words, our actions, all directed to giving God glory. It’s easy to wake up and think of work as a necessary evil that we have to go do to put food on the table, pay the bills, and finally cover that vacation so that we can take a break and see God’s beauty wherever and whenever that happens, but isn’t that supposed to be the point of our whole lives? Seeing, honoring, and praising God whether in the office or in the field, driving the kids around or fixing things that need to be fixed. There are certainly jobs and tasks in which its easier to take time and look around, read God’s revelation and sing to him in thanks, but for all of us, truly honoring God requires being intentional about our lives, about relationships, the way we work and the way we love. Seeing God’s glory and honoring him should not be something that always requires a vacation; it should be part and parcel of every bit of our day. In our decisions, in our interactions, in our values—everything should promote God and his glory so that others may know: we cannot do this on our own, and thus we ask for help when we pray. 

           We end this afternoon where the answer ends; we’ve recognized God as our Father, the intimacy of our relationship to him through and with Jesus. We’ve recognized his heavenly residence, and let’s be clear that this does not deny his omnipresence, that he’s everywhere, but he’s also complete outside and unbound to earth’s restrictions which he created. Hopefully we’ve begun to grasp when we say hallowed be your name tangibly. It extends from a lifestyle of noticing God, praising him, and desiring to show that to those around us with purpose. That purpose is So that your name will never be blasphemed because of us but always honored and praised. Ad lib—Amen.