Matthew chapter 6, around page 978 of the Church Bibles.
! Matthew chapter 6, at verse 9, where Jesus has told us how not to pray.
! And before we come into then how to pray.
Do not pray, he said, like the hypocrites, for they love you.
To stand and pray in the synagogues, that was verse 5.
And then in verse 7, and when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do,
for they think that they will be heard with their many words.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask.
Pray then like this, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
So we're turning back to the Lord's Prayer.
It's a prayer we're familiar with.
We say these words mostly each Lord's Day.
We repeat the Lord's Prayer.
We hear young and old alike repeating these words.
But what do they mean to us?
What do these words actually mean to us?
They're not just words to be repeated, but they're really giving us a pattern to follow in prayer.
Prayer is much more than just using these words that we have in the Lord's Prayer.
We can expand on these words, but there's a pattern in it that reminds us that we are looking and see that God, if you like, ranks first.
He comes first in this prayer.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
And then we see that ourselves, we rank second as you move further down to verse 11.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And so it goes on.
There's six petitions.
Three looking to God and then three looking to ourselves.
And so we're thinking about honoring his name.
Giving glory to his name in this stanza, hallowed be your name.
There's no end to the number of ways that we are told how we can improve ourselves.
Be it our looks, our wealth, our lifestyles.
There's offers being thrown at us all the time on all of these things.
Offers saying we can be better than we are.
And you just look at society today, whether it's in schools or even in the workplace or just in our general day-to-day lives.
There's this kind of idea of being self-confident.
Of being able to manage by ourselves.
To be strong in ourselves.
To be bold.
To be courageous.
And all of these things.
And in many ways it sounds very positive.
And it's no doubt it's something that we need.
Even as a Christian we need to be bold.
We're taught that.
To be bold.
To be courageous.
To be all of these things.
But it's how it's taught.
And where that courage, where that boldness comes from.
And what its focus is on that's important.
You look at the kind of quotes that you find out there about how to be a better person.
For example, Michael Jordan.
Famous basketball player.
He once said this.
Everybody has talent.
But ability takes hard work.
And there's truth in that.
There's no doubt about that.
Everybody has talent.
But it takes hard work.
Madonna.
Famous singer.
No matter who you are.
No matter what you did.
No matter where you've come from.
You can always change.
Become a better version of yourself.
Again, you can see there's positives in that.
But it's where the focus is.
And sadly, you hear it in preaching.
When you look at the likes of prosperity ministry.
Someone like Joel Osteen.
It can all sound very positive.
It can sound very focused on the scriptures.
But at the heart of it is self.
For example, he said, be happy where you are.
But what does that mean?
And what's behind it all?
It's very much a focus on self.
So all these ideas, they have good intentions in many ways.
But when we're focusing on self, that then takes our focus away from God.
And as we come away from God, that leads us down the wrong paths.
And so in prayer, and in the Lord's prayer as we're looking at it, it is really bringing our focus back on him.
Our dependence on him.
If we are going to change, it has to be through him.
If we are going to be a better people, it has to be through him.
Because that has to be the source of all of these things.
No matter how positive they may seem, the source has to come from God.
One of the best quotes you'll have about bettering yourself, if you like, is found in the scriptures.
In John chapter 3, verse 30.
Where John the Baptist says,
He must increase, but I must decrease.
If you want to be better, if you want to be all of these positive things, he must increase.
God must increase.
I must decrease.
And that's what Jesus is teaching here in the Lord's Prayer.
There's a focus away from self towards God.
Our Father.
That's not looking to ourselves.
That's lifting our eyes to him.
And that's what the first three parts of this prayer are about.
Centered on God.
And this evening we're looking at,
Hallowed be your name.
C.S. Lewis once said,
A proud man is always looking down on things and people.
And of course, as long as you are looking down,
you cannot see something that is above you.
And that's how we are to pray.
Humbly.
Coming before him.
Not looking down on things and people,
but looking up.
Looking down on ourselves,
perhaps bringing ourselves down.
We must decrease.
And he must increase.
So, Hallowed be your name.
What does Hallowed mean?
How do you do this?
What's in his name?
These are the things that we're going to think about this evening.
Beginning with that word,
Hallowed.
Hallowed be your name.
We say this in prayer often.
How many times have you repeated these words?
Hallowed be your name.
Have you ever paused and just thought,
what does it actually mean?
And what does it mean to you personally?
What difference should this make in your life?
If this is how we are to pray,
what difference does this make?
Hallowed be your name.
God is a priority in our prayers at all times.
Because if our focus is not on him and through him,
then our prayers are not lifted up to what is above,
to our Father in heaven.
And here he is saying,
Hallowed be your name.
What does that word, Hallowed, mean?
It's maybe not a word we're overly familiar with,
but we do hear it in some different contexts.
For example, in a traditional way,
you can sometimes hear that word, Hallowed.
We must protect the Hallowed traditions of our community.
There's that sense of something that's important,
something that's precious.
Hallowed traditions.
It's used metaphorically.
You often hear it about football teams
or teams that play in stadiums.
The teams stepped onto the Hallowed turf of the stadium.
The Hallowed turf, that pitch,
it's almost like it's sacred.
It's special.
There's something about it.
But as we're looking at it here,
when it's saying,
Hallowed be your name,
it means so much more.
That traditional sense,
or in that metaphorical sense,
there's that sacred or that revered kind of nature to it.
And there's that with God,
that sacred, that revered.
But there's so much more.
Because here it's really meaning to sanctify your name.
That your name be holy.
That we give that holy nature to God.
But we cannot give it to him,
because he is already holy.
So it's not something that is missing in God,
that we are to seek to pray for him,
that he will have.
He is already holy.
So what does it mean as we are praying,
Hallowed be your name?
Well, it's about honoring his name.
Honoring his name.
Giving glory to his name.
This is what hallowed means in this sense.
Giving honor and glory to God.
If left to our own devices
and our own self-help methods,
then the name of God would not be given honor and glory.
And there's always a danger of that in our prayers.
Where instead of starting,
like I say,
this is a pattern for prayer.
Instead of starting with our Father in heaven.
Instead of starting with God,
giving glory and honor to him.
We start with self.
And we start with the second half of this prayer.
Give us.
We were looking to God in that way.
Straight away.
Our focus is on ourselves.
God, answer my demands.
Answer my needs.
Answer my prayers the way I want you to.
We begin with self.
We end with self.
And that's not the way that we are taught to pray.
Because you see in scriptures,
when people turn to their own ways,
turn to their own wisdom,
the blessing of God is so often lost or departs from them.
The phrase,
everyone did as they saw fit,
or everyone did as they thought right,
is a repeated phrase in scripture.
It appears at times when God's name was not being glorified.
Where his name was not being hallowed.
But instead,
self-importance was greater.
You see it in Romans.
Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.
They turned to their own ways,
thinking,
we know better than God.
We're not going to give God glory.
We're going to glorify ourselves.
And we take God out of everything.
You can look at an example in our own society,
with,
for example,
the girl guides.
They were set up in 1910.
And as part of becoming a girl guide,
you had to take an oath.
And part of the oath was,
to love my God.
But in their wisdom in 2013,
they changed that.
And it became,
to be true to myself,
and develop my beliefs.
To be true to myself.
Instead of to love my God,
it's to be true to myself.
God is just taken out.
In just a few words,
totally removed.
So instead of God being set apart,
in this way of being holy,
his name being sacred,
his name being precious,
his name is removed.
There's no glory given,
there's no honour given,
to the name of God.
It's to be true to myself.
And it's not just with the girl guides.
That becomes prevalent,
in so many areas of life.
Where God is removed,
and it's all about self.
And so here we are learning,
when Jesus is teaching us to pray,
as we are praying to our Father in heaven,
we are doing it,
that his name may be glorified.
His name may be honoured.
Hallowed be your name.
God is set apart as holy.
As we read in Isaiah 45,
we were just seeing there,
how God was speaking,
about the glory that was due to him.
I,
I am the Lord,
there is no other.
That's what you see repeated,
through Isaiah 45.
There is no other.
And so here we are being reminded as well,
it is his name,
that is going to make all the difference.
Giving glory to his name,
because there is no other.
God is set apart.
That is what the first commandments teach us.
You will have no other gods before me.
He is the most important one.
You see it in the third commandment,
which is so close to this,
hallowed be your name.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord,
thy God,
in vain.
We are to glorify his name.
His name is treated differently.
His name is precious.
Look,
when you look at Psalm 145,
as we sang it in the Sing Psalms version,
you have that,
these words,
oh my God.
Now,
how often do you hear that phrase repeated today?
You hear it probably every day of life.
But how is it used?
Is it used in the sense of his name being hallowed,
his name being glorified,
his name being honoured?
It's not.
It's often a curse.
It's often just a phrase that comes off the lips of people.
Oh my God.
And yet,
as we sang there,
I will exalt you.
Oh my God.
And King.
It's not about a curse that we need to use.
It's a plea.
And that's what this is reminding us here.
Hallowed be your name.
We are making that plea to God.
Because we depend on him.
But it's also more than just words.
This is not just a word prayer.
This is a prayer that is to be lived.
Hallowed be your name.
It's about these words being said,
but about our attitude changing
and our behaviour as well.
If we are crying out to our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
How are we doing that?
How are we living that out?
There are many ways in which we make gods in our lives.
The Bible speaks about it so often.
Isaiah 45 spoke about it.
How the nation has their gods,
but none can help.
All other gods are idols dumb.
But we have a God,
a Father in heaven,
whose name we are to hallow.
And that is not to be just spoken.
It is to be lived.
So that even in our thoughts,
even in how we live our attitudes and everything,
it is to be with that sense of,
Lord, help me to glorify you.
Help me to honour you.
Because we are helpless ourselves.
The danger that we have is we make ourselves God
before God himself.
And it's easily done.
All these self-help kind of attitudes,
the assertiveness, the boldness,
the courage that comes from self,
that's putting ourselves in place of God.
That's a change in our attitude,
in our minds.
But it's taking us away from God.
So even in the way that we think,
we are to glorify God,
to hallow his name.
So it's our attitudes we are to honour him with,
but it's also our behaviour.
Hallowed be your name.
In the way we live.
So our actions,
everything that we do,
we are asking that his name be hallowed,
his name be glorified in everything that we do.
So is it?
Is your life lived like that,
where you hallow his name
in the way that you live?
Is his name hallowed
in the way that you speak?
In the words that you use?
It so easily could be us that's saying,
oh my God,
in that flippant way,
and that's our witness to those around us.
Instead of that plea,
Lord,
you're my king,
you're my God,
you're my father.
So in the way that we speak,
what about in the way that we work?
Are we hallowing his name in that sense?
Are we honouring his name?
Are we glorifying his name
in the way that we work?
Honouring our employers,
honouring our time,
honouring our attitudes,
and that as well.
In the way that we treat others.
It's so important.
So if we're praying,
hallowed be your name,
and we're mistreating
or misspeaking towards others,
that is not hallowing his name.
That is not giving glory to his name
and honour to his name.
It is dishonour.
And so that's why this is so important
to pray.
Hallowed be your name.
So as you pray this prayer,
as we repeat these words,
think about your attitude,
your conduct,
your speech,
everything,
your mind,
your prayers.
Is it hallowing the name of God?
Because as we do,
we realise that we are
depending on him
for everything.
We are depending
on his son,
on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Are we glorifying his name
by glorifying our saviour?
By honouring him?
By giving glory to him
in all that we do?
There are so many ways
that we don't.
But we are to say,
hallowed be your name
in every way.
But then that leads us secondly
to your name.
What is in this name?
His name is precious.
His name is important.
We all have a name.
We are all identified by a name.
Our birth certificates
give us a name.
But our name doesn't tell us much
about the kind of person
that we are.
There are many people
in the world,
there are many people
in our island
with the same name.
But not every Donald,
not every Callum,
not every Mary,
they're not all the same.
We're all different.
We've all got our different traits.
We've all got our different attitudes.
We've all got our different behaviors.
Characters are very different.
But here we are looking
at the name of God.
Hallowed be your name.
And his name has much more substance.
It has much more meaning
than our names.
And what does it mean?
What does his name mean?
Well, as we read in Isaiah 45,
we see the significance
of his name.
As we read in Isaiah 45,
verse 5,
I am the Lord
and there is no other.
There is his name, Lord.
Apart from me,
there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me.
There is this grace.
In verse 23
of the same chapter,
And you look at that
in the New Testament
where it's talking about
every knee shall bow
and every tongue confess what?
That Jesus Christ is Lord.
And that's his name.
He is Lord.
So to recognize the name of God
is to recognize all that God is.
That we are given such a clear picture
of who he is throughout his word.
So many things are revealed to us
by his name.
By who he is
and all that he has done.
Just think of Jesus himself,
how he prayed to the Father.
We read this the last time
in John 17,
that prayer of Jesus.
How does he pray
there in verse 17?
Holy Father,
keep them in your name.
Holy Father.
It's the same word
as hallowed.
Hallowed Father.
Holy Father.
And he's praying
to the Father,
keep them
in your name.
He is praying
for his people.
And then you look at
how the name of God
is used.
Maybe especially
as you go through
the Old Testament.
You see all the different meanings
behind his name.
And we are reminded there
as we are praying
hallowed be your name.
How it's not just
our words
but everything about us.
our attitudes,
our actions,
all of these things.
And it's showing
our dependence
on his name.
So you look through
the names of God
in the Old Testament.
I've got a few of them
here to share with you.
Genesis 22,
verse 14.
Jehovah Jireh.
The Lord will see to it
or the Lord will provide.
That's the meaning.
So as we're saying
hallowed be your name,
we are honoring God
by remembering
the Lord will provide.
We are depending
on the Lord.
Exodus 17,
verse 15.
Jehovah Nisi.
The Lord is our banner
or our victory.
David prayed and said
his banner over us
is love.
But there's that idea
of the Lord
is our banner.
So as we're praying
hallowed be your name,
we are remembering
that we are honoring God
by remembering
he is over us.
He is the one
who gives victory.
Jehovah Shalom.
The Lord is our peace.
That is where peace
is found.
Not in self-help.
Not in self-change.
But in dependence on him.
Honoring him.
Honoring his name.
Glorifying his name.
We find our peace
in him.
Jehovah St. Kenyut.
Jeremiah 23,
verse 6.
The Lord who is
our righteousness.
So again,
hallowed,
glorify his name.
Honor his name.
Because he is your righteousness.
He is the one
who gives us
that righteousness
through his son,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm 23,
verse 1.
The Lord my shepherd.
Jehovah-rohi.
The Lord is my shepherd.
Glorify his name.
Honor his name.
Because he is shepherding you.
He is leading you.
Through the still
and the calm waters.
Through the valley
of the shadow of death.
Every step of your life.
We are depending
on him in prayer.
Honoring his name
by walking
with him,
the Lord my shepherd.
Exodus 15,
verse 26.
Jehovah-rohi.
The Lord our healer.
Again,
we look for
all these healing ways
in this world.
But God is
the great physician.
And we pray to him.
Hallowed be your name.
Glorify your name.
Honor your name
in all that we are doing
where the Lord
is able to heal.
Where the Lord
is able to help.
Jehovah-shammah.
The Lord is there.
That's his name.
He never leaves.
He never forsakes
his people.
There's that confidence
as we pray
Hallowed be your name.
The Lord is there.
He's listening.
Our Father in heaven
hears our prayers.
And the Lord is there
with us
every step
that we take.
Final one.
Isaiah 37,
verse 16.
Jehovah-sebath.
The Lord of hosts
or the Lord of battles.
He fights our battles.
He's victorious
as we saw earlier on.
Jehovah-nessi.
But he also
is the one
who fights for us.
Jehovah-sebath.
So you have his name.
Throughout all of Scripture
you've got all of these names.
Hallowed be your name.
Glorify his name.
Honor his name
in all of these ways.
He is mighty.
He is powerful.
He is able
to keep all of his promises.
So do you find comfort
in that?
Do you find comfort
in these few words?
Hallowed be your name.
There's a challenge
because it reminds us
it's not just words.
It's our attitude.
It's our behavior.
And sometimes
that needs to change.
But it changes
through God
working in us
by his Spirit.
Not self-help.
Not self-confidence.
But confidence
in him.
And it changes us
in a way
that we repent
of our sin
and that we seek
to hallow
to honor
to glorify
his name.
And there we find
comfort.
That's what
Isaiah was saying
in Isaiah 45.
I
I am the Lord.
There is
no other.
The people
were going away
seeking their own gods
being
their own gods.
But he is always saying
return.
Return to me.
Turn to me
and be saved
all you
ends of the earth
for I am God
and there is
no other.
And so
will we bow
before him?
Will
we decrease
and he
increase
as we pray
these words
Our Father
in heaven
hallowed
be your name.
Let us glorify
his name.
Let us
honor
his name.
Let us
remember
his name
and all of
these precious
ways
that he
reminds us
that he is
victorious.
He will
provide.
He is our
peace.
He is our
righteousness.
He is our
shepherd.
He is our
healer.
He is there.
That is who
we are praying
to.
That is the
one
who is with
us.
And may we
know him
with us
constantly
as we do
seek him
in prayer.
And let us
pray.
Lord our
gracious God
we do
thank you
for all of
these promises
we find
in your
name.
We thank
you for
the reminders
that we
are helpless
but that you
are the one
who helps.
That you
are the one
who fights.
That you
are the one
who is
victorious.
That you
are the one
who gives
peace.
That you
are the one
who provides.
The one
who is with
us.
We thank
you for all
of these
things.
May we
grasp them
and see
them as
precious
every day
of our
lives.
May we
understand
these words
even more
as we
pray them.
Our
Father who
art in
heaven
hallowed
be your
name.
We pray
that you
would help
us not
just to
say these
words but
to show
out these
words as
we live
in our
minds,
in our
attitudes and
in all
the ways
that we
seek to
give glory
to your
name.
So Lord
we offer
up that
praise to
you.
We offer
ourselves to
you Lord.
Take us
and help
us, shape
us and
mould us
as you
would have
us to
be.
For we
ask it
all with
the forgiveness
of our
sin.
In Jesus'
name.
Amen.