14th October 2020 - Hallowed Be Thy Name

​APC 14th October 2020          “Hallowed be your name.”
 
Welcome and Introduction          
Good morning everyone and welcome to our Midweek worship.  On Sunday we began our new series looking together at The Lord’s Prayer.  As we reflected on the opening line, “Our Father in heaven,” we discovered some wonderful insights to help us in our own personal prayers.  Today we will be thinking about what it will mean for us to pray, “Hallowed be your name.”  But first let’s take a moment to pause and to talk to our heavenly Father, let’s pray…
 
Opening Prayer
Sovereign God, great and wonderful, almighty and all-powerful, in grateful praise we bring you our worship today.
We praise you that you are greater than our minds can grasp – higher than our highest thoughts, beyond expression in words.
In grateful praise we bring you our worship today.
We praise you that you are the source of all that is and has been, that you are at work in our world and in our lives, always seeking to fulfil your purposes, never resting until your will is accomplished.
In grateful praise we bring you our worship today.
We praise you that you came to our world in Christ, and that through Him you come to us again, revealing your love, renewing our faith, showing your mercy, giving us life.
In grateful praise we bring you our worship today.
Forgive us that we have not always appreciated who you are and all you have done – despite all the signs in creation we have doubted your existence, despite all your provision we have failed to give you thanks, we have not kept our first sense of wonder at your greatness, we have not given you praise that is rightfully yours, we have presumed to limit you to our own expectations. We have been closed to your Holy Spirit’s prompting, we have kept Christ at arm’s length when His challenge has disturbed us.  Yet you have shown mercy to us, constantly reaching out to forgive and renew.
In grateful praise we bring you our worship today.
Come to us now as we worship you today.  Through your loving mercy give us guidance for the days ahead.  Help us to grow stronger in faith, more committed in discipleship, more faithful in the service of Christ until that day when He is all in all.
In grateful praise we bring you our worship today to the glory of your name, Amen.
Join me as we say the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely together…
 
Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name,
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us,
And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil,
For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
For ever and ever, AMEN.
 
Introduction to the Bible Reading
 
Did you know that there are actually two records of the Lord’s Prayer found in Holy Scripture.  On Sunday we read the version that is recorded in Matthew’s gospel and today we look at the recording in Luke.
 
Bible Reading         Luke 11 v 1-4
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
    for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.”
 
Reflection                       “Hallowed be your name.”
Last Sunday we began our new series on the Lord’s Prayer by reflecting on the opening line – “Our Father, who art in heaven”.
We learned that God is like a perfect parent who wants the best for us and whom we can talk confidently to, about anything, anytime and anywhere.  We also learned that because God is so special and so perfect that we should respect Him and give Him the honour that He deserves.  This brings us nicely to the second line of the Lord’s Prayer which is our focus for today, “Hallowed be Thy name.”
The Greek word ‘Hagios’ translated here as ‘hallowed’ means to be set apart, to be separate or different.
When something is really special to us we say that it is “Hallowed”.  For example, if a sports stadium was a really famous and special one, we would say that the grass on the pitch was ‘hallowed’ turf.  You might have a china teapot or a baptismal gown that is ‘hallowed’.  It is special because it has been in the family for generations and you feel a responsibility to care for it and look after it so that it can be passed on to your own children.  When Jesus teaches us to say to God, “Hallowed be your name,” He is reminding us of taking time to pray, “God, help me and help people in the world to Honour and respect you”.
But what will it mean practically for us to give God’s name the honour and respect that He deserves?
Very often when a new baby is born the parents will give the baby a name because the name has a special meaning.  Do any of you know what your name means?  Conor means “Lover of Dogs.”
When we talk about God’s name, we mean everything about God- His character.  What He is like.  So when we say to God, “Hallowed be your name” what we are really saying is, “God everything about you is really special and we want everyone to respect You.”
But how can we make this concept a reality in our own lives?  And how can we be an influence for good on the people we rub shoulders with so that they may also begin to hallow God’s name?
Well the first thing we must do if we are to hallow God’s name is to believe wholeheartedly that God is real!  It saddens me deeply that in today’s society it seems to be a badge of honour and intelligence to believe that there is no such thing as God or to say, “I’m just not sure if God is real or not!”
The Psalmist says, “The fool says in his heart that there is no God.”  But why is it foolish to refuse to believe that God is real?
Well for a start, look at the world around you!  Look at the amazing mountains, the sky, the sun, the creatures, the flowers and trees, the beaches and the sea.  Think about the vast array of stars and galaxies.  Think about the order of the systems by which nature functions.  Think about the complexity and the wonder of the human body and its genetic code. 
Now imagine that wrist watches had never been invented.  You are walking along a beach when suddenly your eye catches something sparkling in the sand.  You pick it up and there find a beautiful gold object with a strap, a glass face with tiny needle-like hands one of which is circling at precise intervals making a ticking noise as it goes along.  You turn it over and remove the back.  Inside there is an intricate system of wheels and cogs turning in complete synchronisation.  Then you turn to your friend beside you and say, “Isn’t it amazing what the rain and the sun and the water and sand has created?!”  Or do you turn to them and say, “Wow, I don’t know what this is but somebody really intelligent must have made it!  I hope these make it to full production soon!”
Let me be frank.  If you don’t believe in God, or if you are sitting on the fence saying, “I’m not sure if I believe in God or not” you are deliberately refusing to believe all the evidence that He has provided in the world around you of His existence.  You may think you are being very clever or even very modern and mature in your thinking.  But let me advise you that you are actually being very stubborn and foolish.  You have no excuse.  To hold to the view that God does not exist is not an intellectual position to be proud of, it is a dangerous and foolish belief which will keep you from knowing the greatest relationship that life can give you and isolate you from the greatest source of love and power to help you be the person you have always wished to be.
Listen, as C.S. Lewis’ wonderful book the Screw tape letters remind us - the devil is real.  He will do everything that He can to keep you from believing in God, even when he subtly whispers in your ear- “You really are very clever, after all, this is what most intelligent individuals believe these days.”  Don’t listen to him.  If you do you will not only regret it in this life but you will regret it for all eternity in the life that is to come.
If we are to honour God in our lives we must begin by believing that He is real.  And as Tim Keller suggests in his book ‘The Reason for God’, let us not be afraid as Christians not only to have our own beliefs challenged by others but to challenge our atheist friends politely but robustly to examine why they hold the position that they do in the light of all that screams in the world around us of the existence of our Creator.
To hallow God’s name begins with believing that He is real.
But something else is necessary for us to hallow God’s name.  In addition to believing that God exists, we must also understand what He is like.  God’s ‘name’ is His character and if we are to honour Him, we must know what He is like.
Looking at the wonder of the world around us not only points us to the fact that God exists it also gives us some clues as to what He is like. 
The intricacy and beauty of creation and the natural systems or laws of physics that operate in the universe show us that God is wise and intelligent.  A flash of lightening and the crash of waves show us that He is powerful and strong.  The provision of nuts and seeds, fruits and vegetables for the needs of all living creatures remind us that God is loving and caring. 
Beyond that, I will be the first to admit that we are at the mercy of God to reveal Himself to us if we are to understand what He is like.  Thankfully, that is exactly what God has done.  Throughout the centuries from the creation of the world, God has chosen to reveal Himself and to explain His nature to people.  Principally this has happened through the nation of Israel.  God chose a nation of people to explain His character and ways to so that they in turn could be a light to the other nations.  That means they could show the other nations in the world what God was like.  So when we read the OT Scriptures, the nation of Israel are a light to us.  For as we read the History of their nation, we discover what these people learned about God and what guidelines He gave them for living and worshipping Him. 
But the greatest and clearest way that God has revealed Himself to the world is when He decided to come to earth Himself in the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is God come in human flesh.  There is more evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ than for most other historical figures including Julius Caesar.  In other words, Jesus Christ definitely lived on earth just over 2000 years ago.  Secondly, when the normal criteria that are used to decide if an historical document is reliable are applied to the 4 biographies of the life of Jesus what do we find? 
We discover that there is much more evidence that the gospels are reliable sources than for many other works of literature that we consider to be reliable.  In other words, Jesus definitely lived and the 4 gospels are reliable accounts of his life.  So believing the gospels and doubting Davinchy is not just a cop out by the unintelligent.  It is by far the more scientifically accurate and more intellectual response to accept the reliability of the gospels and to leave the books of Davinchy to the genre that they are- Works of Fiction which make great cinema viewing.
When we read the gospels we discover that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God.  God come in human flesh.  So when you study His life and teaching you are discovering what God is like.  And what do we find?  He healed the sick.  He raised the dead.  He stilled a storm.  He forgave sins.  He had compassion on the people that society despised.  He died on the cross and rose from the dead so we could be forgiven and brought back into a friendship with God.  He went back up into heaven and sent out His Holy Spirit.  That same Spirit now lives in all who trust in Him.  Christ’s Spirit guides us, comforts us, warns us and empowers us to turn from ways that are wrong and to live more and more each day in ways that are right and good.  He taught us many ways of how to live life in all its fullness.  Ways which often contradict the wisdom of our age.
Perhaps you are finding it hard to believe in God.  Perhaps you struggle to talk to Him regularly.  In one sense there is no shortcut answer to this.  Rather let me encourage you to go for walks and deliberately take in the beauty and the wonder of the world around you.  Let me encourage you to read books on the wonder of the human body and of the universe.  Let me encourage you to turn off your laptop, set down your Financial Times and give the same time that you give to these things to the reading and study of the library of books that we know as the bible (Hold up Bible).  Don’t just get it second hand from me or someone else as to what God is like and how you can know Him.  You are an intelligent individual.  You can read and can understand the bible for yourself.  You are responsible to God for how seriously you take that! 
I am amazed at how much emphasis we put on academic study and achievement both personally and for our children and yet we spend so little time in the study of Theology- the study of God.  What could be more important?  I mean what will it profit you or your family if you gain the whole world but lose your soul? 
I will never forget the story that Canon J John tells about the day he was invited to a Business Man’s breakfast.  He was seated beside a man considered to be an economic giant in the business world.  During their conversation at the table, the man waxed lyrically about all his achievements and turned to J. John who he hoped was suitably impressed.  J. John thought for a moment and then responded with these words.  “Sir, you are indeed an economic giant but you are a spiritual minnow!”
Sometimes we need to be shocked into the reality of our situation!  If we want to honour God we need to believe that He exists.  If we want to give Him the respect that He deserves, then we need to make the time to find out what He is like.  That means we need to make church a priority, and we need to make every effort to read and study the bible for ourselves.  Jesus said, to whom much is given, much will be required.  We have bookshops in Dublin and we can go online and order a huge array of fantastic books to help us understand the bible more accurately.  Let me encourage you not to remain a spiritual minnow but to make it your lifetime goal to become a spiritual giant.
It has been my experience and therefore it is my deep conviction that if you are willing to make the effort to discover what God is really like, He will show you.  He will draw your heart and passions out in renewed affection towards Him and your life will be changed for the better in the deepest and most meaningful ways.  As this happens, the prayer, “Hallowed be your name” will become a reality in your life and not just words from your lips on a Sunday morning.
To hallow God’s name means to give Him the respect and place in our thoughts and lives that He deserves and to desire for this to happen in the lives of others also.
To do that we must believe that He is real.  To do that we must take the time to understand what His name or what is His character is like.  This comes through the prayerful study of nature and the Holy Scriptures.
But there is a third thing that we must be willing to do if we are to be able to pray this prayer without hypocrisy.  To hallow God’s name we must cultivate an awareness that we are always in the presence of God.  Important as it is to believe in God, to study His word to discover what He is like, and to meet together regularly for worship, we must forever resist the temptation to keep God confined to one little part of our lives – the times when we are praying or singing in church, or whatever.  The truth is God is everywhere at all times.  Therefore all of life is spiritual.  “Hallowing His name” then will also mean learning to practice the presence of God.  God watches how we drive the car.  He sees how we treat the waitress in a restaurant.  He knows how we complete our tax return.  He is aware of how we speak to our children or our spouse.  He is beside us when we are watching the TV or trawling through the Internet.  He is seated at our Board Meetings and is an extra player on our hockey team.  Training ourselves to practice His presence, reminding ourselves that God is in us, with us and around us, will enable us to cultivate a holy respect for ourselves, and for the way we treat other people.  As we learn to do that we will be hallowing God’s name.
There remains one final ingredient in reverence. Hallowing God’s name means believing He exists, making the effort to understand what He is like and learning to view all of life as lived in God’s presence.  But we may have all these things and still not have reverence.  To all these things must be added obedience and submission.  In his Catechism, Martin Luther asks, “How is God’s name hallowed among us?”  His answer is, “When both our life and doctrine are truly Christian.”
In other words, God’s name is hallowed among us when our convictions and our practical actions are in full submission to the will of God.  This doesn’t mean that we live perfect lives.  Such a thing is impossible.  But it does mean that we pray and ask God to help us to live right and have the right attitudes.  It does that mean that we say sorry when we have done wrong and that we are willing to repent on a regular basis.
To believe that God exists, to understand what God is like and what His will is through prayer and scripture reading, to be constantly aware of His presence and to be willing to obey Him in every area of our lives- this is reverence and this is what we pray for when we say, “Hallowed be your name.”
May God by His Spirit, give each of us the desire and ability to pray this prayer.  May He increasingly enable us by His Spirit to give Him the reverence that His nature and character deserve...
 
Prayer for others
Lord Jesus Christ, the way the truth and the life, we pray today for those who seek the truth- the truth about themselves, about others, about this world we live in, about You.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who study and research into the working of the universe, the deep mysteries of life, the complexities of this world, the mechanics of science.  Give them insight and humility, patience and understanding.
We pray for those in mass media – journalists, reporters, photographers, cameramen, editors of news bulletins and newspapers, presenters and program-makers, authors and script writers- all those who in different ways have the power to shape public opinion.  Give them honesty and integrity, courage and perception.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for theologians, preachers, evangelists and individual Christians, seeking to understand more about the reality of God and to communicate this to others, responsible for leading others to a greater knowledge of your love.  Give them vision and dedication, vision and open-mindedness.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who cannot face the truth, who find it too challenging, too depressing, too frustrating or too frightening to contemplate.  Give them courage and help, hope and perseverance.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray too for those who deny the truth, twisting and distorting it, leading others astray, blind to right and wrong.  Give them honesty to recognize their mistakes, and grace to amend them.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray finally for those who work to help people come to terms with truth, counsellors, psychiatrists, ministers, workers, doctors, philosophers.  Give them compassion and sensitivity, understanding and inspiration.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
 
Take a few moments to bring your own prayers for people on your mind to God…
Lord, we offer you all these prayers in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
 
Closing Words
It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today. Thanks again for logging on.  I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s reflection on the second line of the Lord’s Prayer.  Please do spend some time in quiet over the next couple of days and ask yourself, what do the words, “Halowed be your name” mean to me? 
 
Unfortunately with the new restrictions we are unable to meet for church services for the immediate future.  So for the next while I’m planning to have online reflections on Sundays and on Wednesdays to keep us encouraged and in spiritually good shape.  We’ll be looking at the Lord’s Prayer and in between having the odd special service. 
 
At the end of November we will be entering the wonderfully reflective season of Advent.  Each Sunday I will include a video clip for the children and we’ll post a printable colouring page for you to download to help them learn the lesson for the day.
 
Do tune in at 10am this Sunday for a very special online Harvest Celebration.  Our Sunday school have been working very hard behind the scenes to provide us with some beautiful prayers and songs.  So thanks to the children and to Tara and all the parents for that.  We’ll also be hearing personally from representatives of the two charities that we will be supporting this year.  One from Purple House Cancer Support in Bray and one from the Arklow Lifeboats.  Let me encourage you to be generous in your financial support of these charities.  You can contribute using the church Bank details that you will find on the church website or you can ring Aleida our treasurer and organise an alternative method of payment that would be more suitable for you.
 
So there’s lots to look forward to.  So let’s keep positive and keep on tuning in.
 
Do stay online at the end of this recording to listen to a beautiful song reminding us of the amazing truth that God is a perfect parent to us and loves us so much.
 
In the meantime, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you as always, to say the grace together…
 
Benediction   
Go now and hallow God’s name.  Not just through your words but what you do and who you are.  May others as they meet with you, meet with Christ and know His living presence for themselves.  Amen.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.”