Hallowed Be Your Name - Part One Series

Hallowed Be Your Name

Matthew 6:9

OKAY – so we are in an in-depth verse by verse study of the Gospel of Matthew... (The King and His Kingdom)...

AND CURRENTLY – we are doing a deep dive into the most well-known prayer in the world, a prayer that Jesus unveiled in His Kingdom Manifesto, a prayer that His people have been praying for 2000 years ago.

A prayer that we know as the Lord’s Prayer.

NOW – so far we have looked at the first 7 words...

Our Father who art in the heavens

NOW THIS MORNING – we are going to look at the next 4 words in this prayer...

Hallowed Be Your Name

UNDERSTAND – in the bible there are many names for God and each name speaks to a different aspect of his perfect character.

In Genesis 1:1 God is called Elohim – This is a plural word that emphasizes God’s majesty, power and glory.

Elohim is the mighty creator God.

God is also called El Elyon – God Most High; this means he is a God who is high and exalted and can do great things. David wrote, “I will cry to God most high, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.” When everything in your life is out of order and control, you need to know El Elyon.

In Psalm 91:1 - the Psalmist urges us to, “rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” El Shaddai, a name that speaks of God’s strength. Even when you have no strength you have not exhausted your resources because God says, “My name is El Shaddai.”

El Roi - the God who sees… LISTEN – even when you feel alone and like you have no hope – like no one cares, no one notices, God sees…

God is called El Olam – “The Everlasting God” (Gen 21:33) who is in no hurry and will take the time to do what is best for us…

Yahweh - is the most scared name for God, AND it speaks of His self-existence. “I AM WHO I AM” God told Moses.

Yahweh – shalom – “The Lord is peace”

Yahweh -rapha; “The Lord is our healer”

Yahweh -jireh; “the Lord will provide” (Gen 22:14)

NOW - those are just some of the names of God that we see in Scripture.

AND MGCC – understand God is very serious about His name. IN FACT - one of the commandments that Moses brought down from thundering Mt Sinai was..

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain,

(and listen this is so much deeper than using God when cussing..)

for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. - Exodus 20:7

Question - Why is God so sensitive about His name?

BECAUSE - a name is much more than an identifying tag that that we wear. A name represents three things: reputation, character, authority.

A Name Represents Reputation.

When somebody has a good reputation we say, "He's got a good name." When he's got a bad reputation, "He's got a bad name."

I MEAN - when I say a name you automatically think of the person’s reputation.

For example - what do these names bring to mind?

Hitler, Martin Luther King Jr, Elvis, Mother Teresa, John F Kennedy, Judas, Ted Bundy, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, George Washington...

A Name Represents Character.

In bible times when parents picked out a name for their child they didn’t go buy a book and pick out the coolest or most popular name… INSTEAD they would pick a name that had a special meaning

Jacob was so named because he had his hand on his brother Esau’s heel.. Jacob literally means “heel catcher.” Joseph first born was named Manasseh because God had help him forget all the trouble of his past life, Manasseh means, “forget”

Samuel means asked of God..” (Hannah).

UNDERSTAND – who you are (your character), cannot be separated from your name once they’ve been identified together.

AND – that is why many times in the Bible when somebody changed their character, when their life was changed, God gave them a new name.

Abram became Abraham,

Jacob became Israel,

Simon became Peter.

Saul became Paul

God would change their names because they had changed their character…

A Name Also Represents Authority.

When a police stops you he doesn’t say, "Stop in the name of Micky Mouse!"

No, he says "Stop in the name of the law." Why?

Because there is authority behind that name.

If you received a call from ________ while you were eating dinner you might have them call back later.

But if his name were Joe Biden you would probably take the call right then (whether you voted for him or not).

Names represent authority.