When God’s Name is Lifted Up by Pastor Abidan Shah

WHEN GOD’S NAME IS LIFTED UP by Pastor Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson

Introduction: We are in the second message in our series through the Lord’s Prayer called “Talking to the Father” and it is titled – “When God’s Name is Lifted Up.”

Matthew 6 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Overall Background: This morning we will look at the second line of the Lord’s Prayer – “Hallowed be Your Name.” Now, before we jump in and start unpacking this line, there is something very important to note here: The Lord’s Prayer can be divided into 2 halves: the “Thou-petitions” and the “we-petitions.” Thou-petitions – “Hallowed be thy name,” “Thy kingdom come,” and “Thy will be done.” We-petitions – “Give us this day our daily bread,” “Forgive us our debts,” and “Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from the evil one.” The first part of the prayer is about God’s name, God’s Kingdom, and God’s will. Then follows the second part about our needs, our sins, and our security.

Here’s the point: Prayer is first about God and His purpose and then it is about us and our petitions. Many times we begin with what’s on our list and that’s fine but we should first begin by asking what’s on God’s list. Later Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Question: How do you see prayer? Do you begin with your own needs and wants? Are your prayers self-centered rather than God-centered? Is it any wonder that many of our prayers never get answered? Are you saved? If not, you will never understand what’s on the heart of God. It’s only when you receive a new heart and mind, you can do that.

3 basic questions we will ask in order to understand “Hallowed be Your Name.”

I. WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT GOD’S NAME?

Listen again – 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

Background: To understand the importance of God’s name, we need to keep in mind that in the biblical culture a person’s name was a description of his/her character. This is hard for us to understand in our culture today. We give names based on what sounds good or what is popular. We name our children after someone in the family or some famous person or even a street sign (like Nicole was named after a street sign in New Orleans!). But in the Bible, names were very significant, especially God’s names. If you remember, when God came to Moses and spoke to him through the burning bush, what did Moses ask God? Listen to Exodus 3 13 “…Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” That’s an odd question. If it is the God of your fathers, then why do you need to know His name? There’s something critical here. The question was not – “Who is this God?” The answer to that would’ve been “Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the Hebrews.” But, the Hebrew word is “mah” which means “what” not “who.” What they were asking was – “We know who He is but does He have a name that will tell us what He will do for us in this situation?”

For e.g. I’m one of the chaplains at the local hospital. Many times I run into some of you when you’re visiting someone in the hospital and you introduce me as “Abidan.” I have no problem with people calling me by my first name. I don’t get offended over that. Typically, when I am introduced by just my first name, the person just politely nods. That’s when people clarify – “Oh by the way, he’s Pastor Shah, my pastor.” All of a sudden there’s a change in their demeanor. I’m not just some friend who happened to be passing by but a pastor and many times they’ll ask me to pray for them, which I gladly do. By the way, I have other names: To my children – “Daddy,” as a former teacher and educator – “Mr. Shah,” and as an academic – “Dr. Shah.” (little too early for that)

So also with God – He is God but that’s too generic. He has many names that signify who He is and what He does in particular situations. By the way, what was God’s answer to Moses? Verse 14 “…I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” What God was saying is – “Tell my people ‘I am the God who was with them; I am the God who is with them; and I am the God who will be with them.’” 15 “…This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’” In other words, “I am the God who established you as a people; I am the God who allowed you to go into slavery; and I am also the God who will set you free.”

God’s names are very important because they teach us His character and His work in our lives. My challenge to you is go beyond the generic “God” and get to know His names:

If you are in need, He is “Jehovah Jireh: the God who provides.”
If you are sick, He is “Jehovah Rapha: the God who heals.”
If you are in turmoil, He is “Jehovah Shalom: the God who is our peace.”
If you are in the wilderness, He is “Jehovah Shama: the God who is close to us.”

I don’t have time to go through all of them. Jump over the New Testament and you find Jesus as Emmanuel, Son of God, Lion of Judah, and the Lamb of God.

Application: How well do you know God? Are you satisfied with the generic “God?” What difficult situation are you facing? I promise you there is a name of God in the Bible with your particular need. Call God by that name. He will meet you right where you are.

II. WHY SHOULD GOD’S NAME BE HALLOWED?

9 “…Hallowed be Your name.”

Background: The Greek word “hagiazein” is a rare word that means, “to sanctify.” It has the idea of exalting and lifting up God’s name. Daily in this sinful world, God’s name is being brought down and being tarnished. There’s no name that get’s as misused and misrepresented as God’s name. Do you remember your parents telling you – “Don’t drag our name through the mud?” God’s name gets dragged through the mud constantly.

At this point, we think of the atheist, antichristian, and the terrorists. Not true. It begins with God’s people. Jesus did not create the Lord’s Prayer but adapted it from the Kaddish, an ancient Aramaic prayer of the Jewish people. Listen to it – “Exalted and hallowed be His great name in the world which He created according to His will. May He let His kingdom rule in your lifetime and in your days and in the lifetime of the whole house of Israel, speedily and so on. And to this say: Amen.” The Jewish people knew how seriously God took His name. When He gave the 10 commandments in Exodus 20, the 3^rd commandment said 7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” Repeatedly, the people of God had broken this commandment. A perfect example of this is in Jeremiah 7 where God said to the priests in verse 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, 10 and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name…” (God is saying – “My name represents truth, justice, holiness, righteousness, etc. but you have the audacity to stand before Me, knowing who I am, claim to belong to me, and still do things that I hate”) 11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes?…” says the LORD. Later, Jesus quoted the same passage when He cleansed the temple.

Here’s the point: Taking God’s name in vain is much more than saying G or GD. It’s about misusing and misrepresenting God’s name. It’s about claiming God’s name but living contrary to His will. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say – “I know so and so claims to be a Christian but you should see how he/she acts outside the church.” That is taking God’s name in vain. When a man claims to be a Christian but acts bitterly towards his wife, he is taking God’s name in vain. When a woman claims to be a Christian but hatefully towards her husband, she is taking God’s name in vain. When a young person claims to be a Christian but does the same thing as the world, he/she is taking God’s name in vain and God hates it.

Application: Are you profaning God’s name or are you exalting God’s name? Are you the one who keeps desecrating God’s name with your lifestyle? God expects me to be a righteous husband, a righteous father, and a faithful shepherd. When I fail to do that, I profane His name. Are you the one who keeps dragging God’s name through the mud?

III. WHO HALLOWS GOD’S NAME?

9 “…Hallowed be Your name.”

Background: We need to understand something very important here. The statement is addressed to God. We don’t hallow God’s name. God hallows His own name. Furthermore, all three of the “Thou-petitions” are in 3^rd person. Remember “Person” in grammar class? 1^st person – I, me, we, us; 2^nd person – you, yours; and 3^rd person – he, she, it, they, them. Some people mistakenly change the 3^rd to the 2^nd person – “God, please hallow Your name, please bring Your kingdom, and please do Your will.” That’s incorrect. Plus the verb is a divine passive. Instead, it should be – “May God’s name be hallowed; may God’s kingdom come; and may God’s will be done.” Each of them is more a declaration rather than a command to God.

Here’s the point: God doesn’t need a petition or a reminder to hallow His name. He is going to do what He needs to do about His name. Listen to Ezekiel 36 22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. 23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.

Sometimes people ask – “I don’t know what God is up to…all these atheists, terrorists, and antichristians keep profaning His name.” Every day God is abolishing everything that is contradictory to His holiness and one day He will abolish them permanently. Don’t worry about His job. Worry about your life because hallowing first begins in His own people. He wants His name to be hallowed in us first.

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