Sermon Brief
Date Written: February 26, 2014
Date Preached: February 26, 2014
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: A Study on the Lord’s Prayer
Sermon Title: Hallowed Be Thy Name… (Sermon 4)
Sermon Text: Matthew 6:9-13 [HCSB]
Essence of the Text: Jesus wanted His disciples to know how to pray…
Essence of the Sermon: Jesus wants believers today to know how to pray…
Objective of the Sermon: Prayer is vital for the believer, but prayer is not so much in the words as it is in the attitude behind those words. This model prayer lays forth a template that guides the believer in the direction of their prayer and the attitude of their heart.
Introduction:
The first week we looked at prayer from an overall perspective, that it was not FOR God but it was for us to draw into a more intimate time and relationship with God.
He knows what we need and what is going on in our lives, so we don’t have to TELL Him to let Him know… BUT we do need to tell Him so that we are in communion with Him and learning to trust Him and lean on Him.
A few wks ago we looked at the object of that prayer. We looked at the term, “Our Father” and we saw how the Father figure and how our view of God is often based on how we see our human father.
2 wks ago we looked at WHERE the object of our prayer is focused...that locale is Heaven. Our Father Who is in Heaven...
We learned that heaven is described in Scripture but in truth 'heaven' is really where God is... if God is dwelling within our hearts then we have a piece of heaven already WITH us...
Once God’s sovereign reign is established in any heart, it becomes His dwelling place and therefore…heaven! So when Jesus was instructing his disciples to pray “Our Father who is in heaven…” he was NOT referring to some remote location in the far reaches of our galaxy, but rather the location where God abides… and when that is in our heart… then that is where heaven is!
So tonight I want us to continue in this model prayer to the next statement Jesus lays out for His disciples... "Hallowed be Your Name..."
This is a very positive statement but just what does it really mean and what is implied when we say it? First we need to understand that it doesn’t just mean that we believe God’s name should be honored… because we could associate that type of statement to equal to honoring someone’s name here in this world…
No… “Hallowed by Your Name” is a phrase that is addressing the name above all names… the Creator of the Universe… the One who spoke things in to existence. When Jesus says, “…hallowed by your name…” this is NOT some passing comment about God, but it is an effort to point out that God’s name… and what God’s name means is to be forever held in the highest of honor!
When we hear the phrase, “God’s name…” this means SO much more than just saying the name of someone you know… or someone you love… but it represents all of who God is… His name, title, his person, authority, character and power… HIS very reputation!
The Hebrews had such an awesome reverence for the name of God that they would avoid speaking the name in fear of profaning with their sinful lips… They would not write the entire name for fear of profaning it with human language… it was represented by four letters of the Hebrew alphabet. YHWH…
This representation of God was later expanded to become Yahweh, which translates to Jehova… however most English translations today will represent God as ‘the Lord’
Now I believe it is fairly obvious to all of us here that the creator God of the universe that created all things living and the world that sustains them… that he deserves FAR more than a human title…
When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush he identified Himself as “I am” and told Moses to tell the Hebrew leaders that “I am” has sent him to rescue them. Jesus, in his teaching to the disciples and toward the Pharisees said this about himself, “…before Abraham, I am…”
This reveals a great deal about Jesus… first that he is eternal like God the father. Another revelation is that Jesus said, “before Abraham, I am…” He does not say I was… but I am. This tells us that Jesus before the dawn of time or recorded history… and that Jesus is still WITH us today! The phrase ‘I am’ denotes both a statement of reality but also a statement of eternality! I am means that he has been and always will be…
So just what does the ‘name of God’ mean and why must we keep it hallowed within our hearts and lives? To help us better grasp this idea, I want to share an illustration I saw in a book on The Lord’s Prayer. The author W.Phillip Keller says, “I think of His character in the form of a six sided cube”
On the 1st side we see that God is utterly holy, pure and flawless…
On a 2nd side we see His absolute love, compassion and concern...
On a 3rd side God is completely righteous, just and impeccable…
On a 4th side God reveals His boundless mercy, kindness and patience…
On a 5th side God is utterly honest, true and reliable contrasted to…
His 6th side where God is infinitely faithful, understanding and attentive to His children.
With such a character to view and live in… If we could even catch the faintest glimpse of His goodness it would NO DOUBT elicit within us an affection or and gratitude toward… It is no wonder John exclaimed in 1 John 4:19 (ESV) “We love because he first loved us.”
I believe that this was the thought Jesus had when he uttered these words, “Hallowed be your name…” or in other words, “…may Your name that is the epitome of love be held in the highest of reverence by all in this world…”
We have a tendency to do this in our society today… we call it ‘branding’! McDonalds, Walmart, Starbucks, MicroSoft, Apple… all of these ‘names’ represent far more than JUST a name, but the organization behind them!
The name of God is to be revered NOT because of who is backing him up… but because of WHO he is and what he has done! The church has always been centered around doing things in the NAME of Jesus… in the NAME of Christ… in the name of God!
And I believe all of this was in Jesus’ mind when he instructed His disciples to pray “…hallowed by YOUR NAME…” But just what does it mean to wish for the name of God to be ‘hallowed’… that is NOT a word we use that much today, so what did it mean when Jesus said it and what does it mean in our society today?
The Greek word that is used by Matthew in this verse that is translated as ‘hallowed’ is hahg-ee-oddzo which its root word hahg-ee-oss means ‘most holy’
The term holy in English stems from an Anglo Saxon word halig or hale which was used to denote things that were set apart or very special… which is a VIVID depiction of who God is… He is SET apart because he is the Creator! He IS very special because He is God!
So what Jesus is saying here is… ‘because of WHO you are we need to revere, honor, and respect your name’ this is because God’s NAME represents WHO he is!
In our prayer we have acknowledged God as OUR HEAVENLY FATHER… we have revealed a closeness and an intimacy with God in our desire to draw closer to Him! This phrase strengthens that desire as it recognizes our thoughts of God… how we hold Him in highest of regard… he is FOREMOST in holiness and revered as our God… none other is above Him!
So “hallowed by your name” carries with it a confession from our hearts to His ears that we hold Him in the highest of places in our hearts and minds.
9Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Let us now pray to our Father who dwells in who we hold in the highest regard!
Pray for…
The believers of Oak Park Baptist Church, their walk with Christ and their witness to the community around us!
The ministries of Oak Park Baptist Church, their focus on Christ and the message they bring to our community around us!
For the JoEllen Ministry
For the Parc Fontaine Ministries
For our Wellness/Body&Soul Ministries
For our Outreach ministries
For our Sunday School and small group ministries
For our Corporate worship and praise ministry
For the image and stature of our church/Savior and our members within our community
For our fellowship and ministering to one another
For our fellowship and the unity of spirit among that fellowship!
The staff of Oak Park Baptist Church, in their focus on submitting to God’s will and serving those to whom God has placed them in leadership over.
The lost and dying within our community, those who do NOT know God, who do NOT have a relationship with Jesus!
The sick and hurting of our congregation and of our community.
