Can You Hear Me Now? Good! Week 2
“UPGRADE YOUR CONNECTION”
Matthew 6:9b and Isaiah 6:1-5
INTRODUCTION:
Most wireless providers will allow you, even encourage you to upgrade a number of things. You can upgrade your phones, you can upgrade your calling plan, even upgrade a number of accessories. But I know of no wireless provider that will allow you to upgrade your connection. Try going into a company and saying, “Look, I want a stronger signal, a wider calling range (at no extra cost) and clearer reception.” An honest wireless provider will tell you that is not an upgrade and actually would require a different provider.
Well, you don’t have to worry about that in the spiritual realm. Upgrading your connection is not only available it is promoted. God wants you to be as close to Him as a child with a perfect, loving Father can be. And no matter what connection or relationship you have with Him now, He always will welcome a stronger one. But while we are to have an intimate relationship with God we are also to understand that He is the ultimate Provider and as such, deserves our respect and honor. That is why Jesus includes “we honor your holy Name” as the second phrase of this prayer.
Rick Warren tells about hearing a little boy who prayed: "Our Father, who art in heaven, Howard be your name." Well, it’s important that we get God’s name right because His name tells us a lot about Him. And in looking at this phrase I believe we will not only discover it’s definition but we’ll find out what it means both to Our Father and to us when we say, “honor Your Holy Name.”
I. UNDERSTANDING THE PHRASE: “Honor Your Holy Name..”
Remember, what we want to do first is understand each of these phrases in the context that Jesus used them. The word Jesus uses for “holy” is a word that has two distinct meanings. (1) The root meaning means simply to “set apart.” In that basic use the word means to take something that is ordinary and make it special. It’s used that way in the O.T. when in the Ten Commandments it talks about the Sabbath being holy. Take the ordinary day, for the Jews it was Saturday, and set it apart for worship, rest and spiritual priority. It is used in the N.T. in describing Christians. 1 Peter 2:9 calls Christians “God’s holy nation.” A follower of Christ is set-apart by God’s forgiveness and should be set-apart from those who do not believe by the way they live. 2Tim. 1:9 says that God has “saved us and called us to live a holy life.”
But Jesus chose the second meaning of the word “Holy”here. You see if Jesus has used the first meaning than God and His Name would of had to be first unholy or ordinary and be made holy or special. But God did not become holy. He is, always has been, and always will be “holy.” (2) So, there is a second meaning. It means to treat as “sacred” or hold in highest“esteem. In decades past it would be a name to be revered. John saw a perfect illustration of this in Revelation 4:8 where all the living creatures give God honor - “Day after day and night after night they keep on saying: `Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.’” Day and night they hold God as sacred, the One worthy of honor. Jesus, is teaching us in this phrase that “You are to honor God as Holy.. For He is the only one worthy of your worship, so we “honor Your holy - Your sacred & esteemed..”
“... Name.” We all know names are important. I told you last week that my daughter is pregnant. I did not tell you that my daughter-in-law is also pregnant. Janice, my daughter-in-law is due the end of January, Marlo, my daughter is due the end of February. It is exciting for them both to experience this first “blessed event” together. And both families are giving a great deal of thought to what name they will give a boy or a girl. For Ryan and Marlo a boy will bear the name Derrick Timothy Holbert. A girl: Gabrielle ? Holbert. For Rusty and Janice if it is a boy it will be Trey or Weston Alan Smith. They’re still working on girl’s name and pouring over baby name books. But ask any new parent, choosing the right name is important. You want to give your child a name that will be pleasant to the ear and also honor the family. But sometimes the “right” name for some might seem a little strange. John Train has collected some really surprising names that parents have inflicted on their kids. In his book, Remarkable Names of Real People, he lists some actual names that are a little hard to believe: Some are not too bad like the John Tune naming his daughter June so she’d be “June Tune.” But how about the parents whose last name was Agony, naming their daughter, Constant. Or the parents whose last name was Odor name their son Ivan. The topper may be the man in Houston, Tx. Who’s last name was P-i-g-g and actually named his two daughters, no kidding, Ima & Ura. Naming your child some of those names makes you wonder what a parent was thinking.
But in Bible times great significance was placed on a name. The word Jesus uses here had two distinct meanings. First, a name equaled or represented your identity. Many names in the Bible were used to tell about a particular event. Esau = hairy because the Bible says “he came out red and his whole body was like a hairy garment.” Jesus renamed one of his disciples, from Simon, which meant pebble to Peter, which means bedrock. When Moses in Ex. 2 asked God who it was that he should tell the Israelites was sending him to deliver them from Egypt God said, “Here is my identity..” “Tell them “Jahweh” or the “I am sent you.” That identified Him as the eternal One, the One who is always present. Those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord have new names that tell of their identity = Christian.. belonging to Christ.
But name also equals character. This is the meaning Jesus uses here. In fact, when you read the Bible you find God is given many names. Why? Because no single name can describe all of God’s attributes. No single name can describe all that God is. The King and author David wrote in Psalm 8:1- “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”(NIV) And then David goes on to describe who God is.. The Creator, The avenger of enemies, the lover of mankind, the ruler of all things.. His Name defines His character, it tells us who He is! So Jesus is saying in this 4-word phrase.. “treat as sacred the great I am! Revere the One who was, who is and who is to come” as you “honor Your Holy Name.”
II. APPLYING THE PRINCIPLES:
So, how do we apply this phrase to our daily lives. Well, first let’s check our attitude toward God. What should be our attitude toward Him if we are “honoring His Holy Name”? This is important because last week we talked about the intimacy of God and said that there has to be a balance between His closeness and His Holiness. There has to be a balance between our calling Him “Daddy,” which is what “Our Father..” really means and holding Him up with the highest esteem, as sacred which is what this phrase is telling us to do. How do we do that? Well, we need to develop within us a healthy, reverent respect for God. I’m afraid that in our desire to get intimate with God, and I believe that is good and necessary, we have forgotten what it means to come face to face with God’s perfection, His holiness. God is our “daddy” but He is also the all powerful, all knowing, all-owning, all-everywhere at once God. The Bible teaches that God is awesome, He is higher, greater and majestic than we can ever imagine. In fact no one can even look upon God and live.
Why, even Indiana Jones understood that. When his arch enemy and Nazi,Rene Belloq, not only finds the sacred Ark of the Covenant, which in the O.T. was said to be the dwelling place of God, but also starts to open it, Indiana knows enough to respect it’s sacredness.
{Raiders of the Lost Ark clip - Chap. 29 - 1:44:04 - 1:47:11 = 3:07}
You see, while God is beautiful beyond our imagination, He also is so the Great I am! Man, as the created, cannot treat Him indifferently or apathetically. God is powerful, God is the Creator and expects the created to honor him. In fact, I believe you cannot truly be close to God without seeing your own frailty in light of His majesty. Let’s share a couple of scriptural illustrations of how people responded when they came face to face with God to remind us of God’s holiness.
Isaiah 6:1-6- “In the year that King Uzziah died..” Now, is that important? It is if your name is Uzziah. But also because Uzziah’s death had an incredible effect on the nation of Israel. 2 Chron. 26:18-21 tells us that Uzziah tried to usurp the position of the High Priest but his attempt was met with God’s wrath and God gave him leprosy. He remained leprous until he died. And under Uzziah’s reign the Israelites prospered physically and so thought that God was pleased with them. The truth was that they had been so disobedient that God was going to destroy them. But before He did, as is His nature, He sent a preacher to warn them to turn from their wicked ways. In Isa. 6 we see this preacher’s response to being in the presence of God. Isa. 6:1-4 - “In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2Hovering around him were mighty seraphim, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces,(respect) with two they covered their feet, (submission) and with the remaining two they flew. 3In a great chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” 4The glorious singing shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire sanctuary was filled with smoke.” “And Isaiah said, “My, my, my.. God.. This is one fine place you’ve got here! Can I have a place like this when I get to heaven?” No.. He said “5My destruction is sealed...” Isaiah took one look at God and said, “I’m dead!” And look at why he felt that way.. “For I am a sinful man..” When he saw God’s perfection his imperfection was so evident that he knew he was unworthy of even existing!.
A second illustration, this one from Lk. 5:1-10. Simon Peter and his fishing buddies have been laboring all night and haven’t caught a single fish. After preaching from his boat Jesus says to Simon in vs:4 “Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets, and you will catch many fish.” Now, these guys are professional fisherman and no-one likes some “rookie” to come along and tell you to “try something new.” Vs:5- “Simon answered, `Master, we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing.” “Lord, we appreciate you trying to help but... ‘..but if you say so, we’ll try again.’ And this time their nets were so full they began to tear! 7A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. 8When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said...’ “Jesus will you be my fishing partner? I mean, you are the original fish finder!” Didn’t say that did he? In fact he doesn’t say a thing about fish! He says, “Oh, Lord, please leave me - I’m too much of a..’ what? “..sinner to be around you.” When you really see the holy power of God, you see yourself and you realize how sinful you are. It’s time for some of us to fall before God Almighty, recognizing that He is God and except for His grace.. We are ruined! When you get a glimpse of how holy He is, you realize how incredible loving and forgiving He is. And our attitude motivates our right actions and we honor His Holy name through our lives!
How do we act this out? Several ways.. (1) With our genuine praise. One of the reasons we sing as a part of our service is that the Bible tells us that praising God through singing honors God’s holy name. Did you notice the songs we sang this morning about God’s name? "Lord, I lift your name on high,” “Blessed be the Name.” Psa. 68:4- “Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the Lord rejoice in his presence!”
(2) Another way we honor His name as holy is with our complete trust. There’s an interesting event in life of Moses, one of the great heroes of the O.T., that bears this principle out. In Num. 20:1-11 the Israelites are wandering in the wilderness. They were about to perish from thirst and begin to complain about God’s kindness, something they did often. Well, God instructed Moses to take his rod and speak to a rock and tell the rock to pour forth water. But Moses, instead of speaking to the rock, in his anger & frustration with the people’s complaining, struck the rock. Then God said to him: “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!” God is saying to Moses, “Your action, when you struck the rock instead of speaking to it, was an action of distrust in that you thought you knew better than me. Your blatant disobedience dishonored me.” When I doubt God’s going to provide my needs, when I think I can do things better than the way He’s told me to then I’m not honoring His name. Psa. 9:10- "Those who know your name will trust in you." 20:7- “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the Lord our God.”(NIV)
(3) And we honor His name as holy when our lifestyles match what we say we believe. We say there is a God, we say we believe in Jesus.. But are we concentrating on showing that by the way we live? Jesus was very clear on this point in Matthew 15:8 when he said, “... you honor me with your words, but you never really think about me, you never really live for me. It is useless for you to worship me, your actions negate your words.”(CEV) God is honored not by shallow words but by hearts, attitudes and actions that are trying their best to give him priority.
But God’s name also tells us what kind of relationship He desires to have with us. Let’s look at just 3 names for God that tells us How much He cares for us.
(1) He wants to relieve my stress. His name is Jehovah-Shalom. Judges 6:24- "The Lord is our peace." (GW) That’s something we all need. I see so many people who are over stressed, over committed, uptight, burned out. They need real peace in the midst of their fast paced lives. Can you identify with this stress test? How familiar are you with these phrases:
I’m ready to throw in the __. (towel) /// I’m just a bundle of __.(nerves)
I’m at the end of my __. (rope) /// I’m at my wit’s __. (end)
God wants to relieve my stress. It’s amazing to see the great lengths that people will go to find peace. They try therapies, fads, seminars, tapes, exotic places, drugs. The only problem is you have your kicks but you get your kick backs. You can get high but when you come down, you still have the same difficulties. It doesn’t help. But God wants to give us real peace. Jesus said in Jn 14:27 "The peace I give you isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives so don’t be troubled or afraid."(LB) The difference between God’s peace and the world’s peace? The world’s peace is based on circumstances. “If I could just change jobs, I’d have peace.” “If I could just find a mate.” “If I could just get rid of my mate.” If I could...” If your peace is based on circumstances, when circumstances don’t work out, you’re going to lose your peace. God wants to teach you how, in spite of difficulty, discouragement, defeat, distractions, disappointment, death, divorce, stress, crisis, and sickness, how to have on-going tranquility on the inside. Jesus said, "The peace I give you isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives.” It’s internal, eternal and uninterrupted.
(2) He wants to heal my hurts. In Exodus 15:26 is the name Jehovah- Rophe = God is my healer. God wants to heal your hurts, wherever you’re hurting. Now, He won’t necessarily heal every time but He will eventually heal all of us who know His name in eternity! Several years ago the American Heart Association published the results of a remarkable scientific study. In 1998 Dr. Randy Bird did a study of 393 coronary care patients at Duke University Hospital. Dr. Bird is not a Christian and this is not a Christian study. But it asked the question: “Does prayer have any impact on patient’s healing?” Without the patients knowing it, people were asked to pray for only half of the heart patients. The groups were comparable in age & severity of medical conditions. The people praying were given the names of the patients and their diagnosis and were asked to pray everyday for their healing and recovery. Dr. Bird compared the outcome of each group and found those patients who were prayed for did better than those who were not. It was amazing! Everything from recovery rates, hospital stay, length of medication, type of procedure needed, was better for the group that was prayed for. Just to prove this was not a Christian study they observed that distance of those praying for the patients made no difference. Duh! But that’s significant because the people who were being prayed for didn’t know they were being prayed for. So it wasn’t psycho-somatic or a psychological trick.
The truth is God cares about your hurts and He still heals! And not just physical hurts. Psa.147:3 "God is the healer of the brokenhearted. He is the one who bandages their wounds." You can break an arm or a leg and it will heal but you can have a broken heart and hurt 20- 30 years. God says I want to help the brokenhearted. If you’re hurting, disappointed, rejected, abused, please know this: God sees it & cares.
(3) He wants to forgive my faults. Jeremiah 23:6 says "And this is His name: The Lord is our Righteousness." Jehovah-Tsidkenu. (Scudnew) Isaiah 43:25, "I am the God who forgives your sins, and I do this because of who I am."(GN) Why does God forgive? Because you earn it? No. Because that’s who He is.. That’s a part of his character. The word sin in the Bible was taken from an archery term that means “missing the mark.” And the Bible tells us that we’ve all missed the mark, because the mark was perfection. Are you a perfectionist? Then you need theses verses because you know deep down you are NOT perfect. Rom.3:21-24: “But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight... We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins.” You see, Jesus becomes our righteousness! When you start getting down on yourself, "I blew it again! I’m never going to be able to live up to God’s expectations.. I’m an awful wife! I’m a lousy dad!" Listen to God say, “Because of the death of Jesus and your faith in Him, guess what? Not Guilty!.” Not because of anything we’ve done but because of who He is. Jehovah-Tsidkenu, (Scudnew) God is my righteousness.
You know the result is of honoring His Name? True happiness.. True Joy. Because you are able to trust Him no matter your circumstances. You have an inner peace and joy that transcends anything this world can dish out. Psa. 33:21 “In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust His holy Name.” The more you know God, the happier you’ll be. It’s just that simple. Oh, you certainly see your sin, but you also know that there is forgiveness in His very name.
“I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Hovering around him were mighty seraphim, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with the remaining two they flew. In a great chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”
Song: I see the Lord
{All Scripture taken from the Holy Bible - New Living Translation - unless otherwise noted.}
