Lord’s Prayer #3 Hallowed be they Name
I was born George Calhoun on Feb. 22, (George Washington’s birthday) 1957 in Paterson, N.J. to George and Bernice Calhoun. I was later given the middle name David at my Christening. I actually like the name David better than George, but George is all I’ve ever known. When my grandpa and grandma came from Scotland through Ellis Island in 1906, they change the family clan name from Colquhoun to Calhoun, so that it would sound more American. My dad was the youngest of 11 and most of his brother’s and sisters where born just outside of Glasow, Scotland.
Next year, Lannette and I plan on going to Scotland to visit the land of my ancestors. This is more than just a trip, I feel the need to connect. To reconnect with my families heritage and my families name.
Names are important. They tell you where you come from and they represent where and who you are. It is said that a person is only as good as their name and as William Shakespeare said in Romeo and Juliet; What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Names are important us! And when we pray, “Our Father, hallowed be thy name”, we need to recognize that it is important to the Lord as well.
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name”, He wanted them to recognize at least 4 distinctive truths about God. And when we know these 4 truths, we will never be able approach Him in the same way again.
1st truth Jesus wants us to see is that God has a name:
In the 10 Commandments, the Lord emphatically says,
Deut. 5:11 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. In the KJV it says, Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.
Why is this so important to the Lord? It’s important because God’s name represent Himself, His nature and His being. In essence, God is only as good as His name. So when Jesus teaches us to pray, “Hallowed be thy name”, He’s telling us to give honor to the Father who created us, and desires so deeply to have a loving and nurturing relationship with us.
Now some people pray; “Hallowed be Thy Name” like they’d say “God bless America, or “Hail to the Queen”.
But when Jesus tells us to pray, “Hallowed be Thy name”, He’s telling us to do more than to salute the Lord, He’s telling us that the Lord desires for us to ascend to His very heart and there recognize who He is and what He has done for us.
Now last week we looked at the three OT Names for God:
Elohim (God the Creator)
Yahweh (God who keeps His covenant)
Adonai (God is the Lord or Master)
And up unto the time of Jesus, the Jews so revered the name of God that they dear not even say it. So they took the consonants out of the name Yahweh and the vowels out of the name Adonai and put them together to create a new name for God, Jehovah.
And yet, despite this outward reverence for God, Jesus said with regard to these extremely devote Jews that "’These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. Matt. 15: 8
In short, though their words say one thing, their heart’s response, their behavior and actions are to the contrary. In essence, they are breaking the 3rd Commandment edict to not misuse the Lord’s name. There is a story of a young soldier who served in the army of Alexander the Great. This young man was found running from battle during one of Alexander’s campaigns. Subsequently he was caught and brought before the great leader. Alexander the Great asked the young man what his name was. The young man ashamedly hung his head and mumbled in a hushed voice, “Alexander sir!” Alexander the Great strained to hear what the young man had said and then asked the question again. The young man replied again in muted tones, “Alexander, sir!” By now, Alexander the great was becoming indignant and shouted, “Young man, what is your name?” With this the young man snapped to attention and responded forcefully, “Alexander, sir!”
The great leader sat back in his chair, pondered the young man’s response for a moment and then with a tone that would make a person’s bones quake, he said, “young man, change you attitude, or change your name.”
The Jews carried the name of God. They revered, respected and would not even verbalize the name of God, but their words meant nothing because their hearts, their behaviors and their actions were far from God.
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Hallowed be Thy Name,” He was talking about so much more than a formal address to God. You know, “To the Chairman of the Universe, greetings and salutations.
He wasn’t talking about “tip-toeing” around the Almighty in fear of making Him mad.
He wasn’t saying, “be nice to His face, but belittle Him in your actions behind His back”.
He was saying to understand who it is you are coming to. To recognize the opportunity and the privilege of a new relationship that He (Jesus) was now affording.
Jesus was teaching His disciples, when you pray, “Hallowed be Thy Name”, you now have the wonderful chance of entering into the presence of our Father who is the King, our Dad who is the Creator, and our Abba who is the Ruler and Sustainer of the Universe.
The 2nd truth Jesus wants us to see is that God’s Name is Holy
“Hallowed” is an old world word that has little meaning today. When people think of hallowed, they typically think of regal sanctuaries or “hallowed” halls of justice. But the word “hallowed” actually comes from the Greek word hagios, which means “holy” or “separate”. So when we pray “Hallowed or Holy be Thy Name”, we’re saying, “Father, “You are pure, untainted and unpolluted” and you are separate from anything on earth that is sinful, wicked or profane”
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Hallowed be Thy Name”, He wanted them to know that in so doing, they were:
-recognizing that God is pure, untainted, unpolluted, and unmarred by sin.
-that He is not consumed like we are with petty jealousies, irrational angers, and twisted and warped thinking.
-that He is worthy of our honor and praise.
"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." Rev. 4:11
The Lord is worthy of us:
-treating Him will all the respect due His character,
-of giving Him the honor He deserves,
-of worshipping Him, which means we are giving Him the “worth-ship” that is due Him.
Our prayer to God should be like the angels when they cried out"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." Isa. 6:3
Now to understand how God’s name can be glorified, we don’t have to look much further than Moses when he stood before the presence of God on top of Mt. Sinai in Ex. 3.
Moses said, "Now show me your glory."
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Ex 34:5-7
What Moses experienced that day was more than glorious, it was supernaturally glorious. Moses experienced that day the “Shekinah glory” of God, the very visible manifestation of the presence of God. As a result, Moses was changed, he was transformed, He went into the presence of God one way and came out another. And that’s what happens when you enter into the holy presence of God. It is a time of transformation, reconstruction, renovation, and alteration. It’s an extreme make-over! Now most of us may have to go back for multiple treatments, but it is a changing, altering and transforming time in the presence of God. We see this in the N.T., but perhaps no more clearly stated than in Acts 4:13 when the religious leaders noted saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13
Jesus was telling them to take time in the presence of God’s holiness and it would change them to be like Him.
3rd truth Jesus wants us to see is that God wants us to praise Him
Jesus told the woman at the well that true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." John 4:23
Jesus is saying, when we come to the Father we must believe that he exists (truth) and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (spirit). Heb. 10:6
Folks, Worship, plan and simple is surrender! It is saying that God is God and I’m not Him.
Its saying I honor Him, trust Him, look to Him, respect Him and give Him the Name that is above every name.
Its saying I am a learner, a student, a seeker of truth, a disciple and apprentice that wants to be taught by Him, learn from Him and be like Him.
It’s a worshipper who admires, adores, reveres, respects, devotes, esteems and gives my all and all.
When we Pray, “Hallowed be they name, we are reminding ourselves of all these.
When we pray, “Hallowed be Thy Name”, we are remembering that God is:
-greater than our problems
-greater than our sorrows
-greater than our needs
-greater than our fears and
-greater than anything we face.
When we pray, we “Hallowed be Thy Name”, we are reminding ourselves that God our Father is Omnipotent (all powerful), Omniscient (all knowing) and Omnipresent (ever present).
And though this world can be quite overwhelming, unrelenting and unforgiving at times, we not only have a God, a Creator, a King and Lord, but a Father who says; "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Mt. 11:28 and
"Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. Rev. 22:17
4th truth that Jesus wants us to see is that God does not force us to honor Him
Worship is a choice. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. Ps. 96:9
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Ps. 100: 1-2
The Lord desires that we come and worship Him. He longs for us to honor His Name and to give our very lives to Him, but He won’t force us. He doesn’t make us, pressure us, cause us or muscle us. He says come just as you are.
Now we may be too busy, too preoccupied, too self- absorbed, too consumed with our problems, issues, cares and woes to come to Him, but regardless, it’s His desire that we come.
We may feel too lonely, lousy, left-out or lost to worship Him, but He understands and He still says to come.
So here’s the deal:
• If you come to the Father through Jesus Christ you have direct access to Him.
• If you need understanding, come to Him and praise Him and your Father who gave you life will understand your needs
• If you want to grow and have purpose in your life, come to Him.
• If you need healing, deliverance, comfort or calm amid the storm, He’s the place to go to.
• If you are lost, lonely and lacking direction He provides the way.
• If your life is “hollow”!
• If you’re full of “sorrow!
• If you feel like you can’t face “tomorrow”!
Then I suggest that you not waste anymore time and “wallow”. Make a decision right now, today, to “follow” so that at the end of the day when you put your head to the “pillow”, you know you’ve spent time in the “hallowed” presence of God, your Heavenly Father.
