Matthew 6 verse 9, ìAfter this manner therefore pray ye our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.î We are in the middle of a series called Lord Teach Us to Pray. And this pattern of prayer is given by the Lord to His disciples and He is telling us this is how I want you to pray. Now we understand there is a distinct distinction between when Christ was speaking to the disciples, it was before His death, burial, and resurrection, and yet this pattern can still be used because of the elements that are in it, and the Lord is showing us how He expected the Israelites to pray, and I believe how He expects those of us who are now of the household of God, the Gentiles and the Israelites, in one body, the church. and uh... the lord's going back to work with israel after the rapture he's gonna start working with them again bring them to the tribulation until they are they'd look at him and say you are our messiah we love you and we accept you we want you and we worship you that's coming and uh... you can see all the things going on people say well what's happening over there in the middle east uh... well the truth is prophecy is is on the uh... kind of a cold storage right now. The Lord deals in prophecy with the nation of Israel. There's nothing in the Scripture about America, or really very many other countries other than places like Rome, and you understand that's in the book of Revelation and Daniel. But really, as far as prophecy is concerned, it's almost like the Lord said, you don't need to worry about all the things that are coming, you just need to have a relationship with Me and bring forth fruit. And I I'll return when it's time. And so that's why I don't get to, is this the Magog War? Is this Ezekiel 38 coming up? I'm not worried about that. That's on the Lord's timetable. I'm focused on reaching Jew and Gentile with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And what a privilege it is that we have. I mean, you ever, you ever think, man, time goes by so quick and it does. So let's get busy. Let's get busy. We'll be done. We'll be dead. I mean, you already feel half dead, don't you? right? We'll be dead soon enough. And we'll be standing around going, man, she was a good woman. She really was. You know what? If you're a child of God, you're not going to be sad. You're going to be overjoyed. But maybe you'll say, I wish I had given him more when you get there. So, you know, this truncated time we have, it's a fleeting moment. Let's do something for the Lord. And that's why there's nothing more important that we do than communicating with our Father. And so he said, we talked last week about how, what a privilege it is to be able to say, our Father, which art in heaven. Our Father, we're now in the family of God. And then the next phrase is, hallowed be thy name. Hallowed be thy name. What is a name? A name is a word by which a person or thing is denoted. A word, now we know this, this is so simple, but let me give you some names. How about George Washington? the first president of the United States. How about the name Abraham Lincoln? Or Thomas Jefferson? Or Benjamin Franklin? Or Theodore Roosevelt? Or George Washington Carver? Immediately when you hear that name, your mind goes to all the things that they accomplished, the reputation that they had. We can talk about business names, very famous ones, like Steve Jobs. You could talk about Bill Gates Warren Buffett How about the name Oprah Winfrey? Right all these names immediately they come in your mind. They come what they stand for what they've accomplished what they've done Walt Disney There's a name a lot of people love. He's up, you know, in some case, he's almost like, I don't know what you'd say, a prophet, priest, and king in America. I mean, he's like, he's everything. People almost worship him. Jeff Bezos, thank God for Jeff. Man, he's made our lives a lot better, a lot busier. All those packages from Amazon, he's the guy that's responsible for that. Elon Musk is a big name today. About years and years ago, it would have been people like Andrew Carnegie or John D. Rockefeller. These men and women who have accomplished something to the point where their name is known. How about Estee Lauder? Estee Lauder. Anybody know that name? I remember that from when I was a kid. My sisters were into that. Estee Lauder. Or Mary Kay Ash. She's the one that's responsible for all the junk in your home that you don't need, right? Now there's the founder of Tupperware, and I didn't remember to write her name down. Maybe you know who she was, but man, she really took over, didn't she? Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Walton. How about Milton Hershey? Isn't that interesting? When you think of Milton Hershey, I can't help but think of chocolate. But he didn't grow up with a chocolate bar in his hand. His family wasn't chocolate barons. He's the one that developed the chocolate company, the Hershey Company, that is in the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania. Isn't that interesting? And whenever I think of that name, I just think of they've got to have a river of chocolate in that town that just flows. It's just interesting how that name. How about Charles Pillsbury? You ever heard of him? The Pillsbury Company and the Pillsbury Doughboy, right? The name Henry Hines, known for what? He's known for ketchup and also for other things that they used to pickle. You know, they'd pickle all the little things, different vegetables. Levi Strauss, he's the guy who invented what? Blue jeans. And, you know, you think about Levi's. I mean, that's just the first name of the guy. and how popular he is james cash jc penny uh... boy they've fallen on hard times haven't they feel like i'm going to a yard sale whenever i go in there but back in the day when they were doing what james cash penny told them to do uh... they were really rolling weren't they i mean they were some of the the greatest department stores in america there's a guy named william wrigley and he founded the Wrigley Chewing Gum Company. John Deere, hello, invented the steel plow. He's very popular. How about William Proctor and James Gamble? They started out with candles and soap, and then expanded. And now I think they run just about everything else. William Boeing, he's the guy who pioneered aircraft manufacturing. You know what they said about that? He said he wasn't in love with developing a new airplane, he was in love with flying. And because of that, the innovations just kept coming. And that's the kind of guy now, they've fallen on hard times as well. Charles Kraft. And you could hardly go to school without invoking his name. You've got to put that Kraft single on your sandwich, right? How about Henry Ford, Walter Chrysler, Richard Sears, and Alva Roebuck. Did you know their first names? I didn't know. Sears and Roebuck. Now, for those that don't know, that's a company that used to be here in America, a big department store on the way of the dodo bird. Now, let me give you some names. that maybe go the other direction. Bernie Madoff. Largest Ponzi scheme in history, remember him? How about the company Enron? Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. The 37th president that resigned due to the Watergate scandal? What was his name? Richard Nixon, right? That's right. Who's the guy that switched sides in the Revolutionary War? and betrayed George Washington. Anybody remember? Benedict Arnold. And his name went down in infamy. The great gangster during the Prohibition era, Al Capone. He stayed in, I think, every hotel in America, according to hotels. They say, yeah, Capone was here 100 years ago. Here's someone a little closer to our timeframe, Harvey Weinstein. Boy, what a bad name he has. And then connected with him, Jeffrey Epstein as well. These names, when you hear them, they're just nasty in your mind. You think of darkness, you think of corrosion, corruption, of really satanic influencing that they've done. How about the name Lance Armstrong? Do you remember what Lance Armstrong used to stand for? Just hard work. They used to ask him, they would ask him, because he won the Tour de France over and over and over again. And they would ask him, what are you on? What are you on? And Lance Armstrong had this great comeback. He said, what am I on? I'm on my bicycle, exercising and riding all the time. Well, come to find out, he was also on some other types of things, some drugs. Right? And now you look at that great reputation that Lance Armstrong had, and now there's an asterisk. Just like next to Mark McGuire, right? There's an asterisk. And it's like, that name does not mean the same as it used to mean. It's taken a hit. How about the name John Wilkes Booth? The assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. And then Charles Ponzi, that's another name. How'd you like to have that name? Ponzi, what's your last name, Ponzi? Man, you know, you're connected forever. It's like, it might as well be Toilet. My name is Toilet. It's terrible. You know, the scripture says in Proverbs 22, a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. You know, if you had to do anything that would mess your name up, your reputation up, go ahead and do without anything that you might benefit from it. Get rid of all your stuff if you can just hang on to a good name. If you can do that, you will find it's much more valuable. When you lose a good name, you can't earn enough money to buy it back. You just can't, why? People are people, they don't forget. I'm thankful for the forgiveness of God, but it's interesting, when you're talking about the name of the Father, He said, hallowed be thy name. Hallowed. We're talking about a name that is above every name. As we mentioned prayer earlier in the first couple of weeks, the context of prayer is asking. And if I'm asking, my prayer is all about asking, then it's very important whom I'm asking. Who is it that I'm asking? I could ask you for something. It's interesting, a lot of Christians would rather talk to other people about their problems, and maybe good people. But can you talk to anyone like God? There's only one God. And so when you're talking to God, you're talking to the greatest name. We're praying to a God with a hallowed name. Now what does hallowed mean? Hallowed to hallow is to make holy. to sanctify, to honor as holy, to consecrate, to ordain. We talked about sanctification on Sunday. It's to be set apart. A hallowed name is one that is a special name. It is not your run-of-the-mill name. Interestingly enough, coming up here at the end of this month is Halloween, and that refers to all hallows evening or even and so they take that that uh... v out of it and they just put a little apostrophe halloween halloween right it's talking about saints a hollow in the old days was a saint a person who was holy And that's why Halloween, which of course, there's nothing about that nowadays. Nothing at all. Halloween is just getting darker and darker, and the weird mummies are getting taller and bigger, and, you know, the zombies and everything. What is this infatuation with death? In the Latin American culture, you have Dia de los Muertes, and it's the Day of the Dead, but in that case, at least you're honoring your forebears, your ancestors. and halloween is just let's see who can have the darkest nastiest smoke satanic emphasis on their front lawn as possible and uh... it's ridiculous isn't it uh... what what are we doing what are we doing the guy down the street from us used to have a hearse out in front of his house and uh... you know did people swinging in the wind decapitated all that and uh... you know what i would say is is uh... If I was really, really serious about being mad, I would overcome evil with good and I would put something good in my lawn. But it's easier for me to just complain about it. So I do that. Amen. Exodus chapter 20. Let's take our Bibles to Exodus 20. If you haven't understood very much, I believe in the best of our ability doing something, not just talking about it. I get tired of watching Fox News because it's the same old commentators, the same old people, the resources that just keep whatever. Put a mic in front of them, what do you think? And they just keep talking and talking and talking and talking and talking. At some point we need to do something about it. actually do something. And that's why we're talking about prayer. We want to actually pray and understand what the words actually mean so that when we pray it's not just vain repetitions as the heathen do. Exodus 20 verse 7, He said, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Now, we've heard this all our lives. If you've been in church or been around the things of God at all, you've seen this idea, don't take God's name in vain, which is don't blaspheme God. Don't use God's name as a cuss word. And certainly that is true. But I want you to hold your place in Exodus and look at Proverbs chapter 30. Proverbs chapter 30, gives us an example of what it means to take the name of God in vain. It is not simply saying God's name as a substitute for a cuss word. It is using the name of God in such a way that it represents God in an evil way, in a wrong way. I'll say it better in just a moment. Look at Proverbs chapter 30, look at verse 9. He's talking about, give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food convenient. He said, lest I be full and deny thee and say, who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain. Notice, he doesn't say, lest I be poor and steal and curse the name. Just the fact that he stole would mean that he had taken the name of God in vain. So, to take God's name in vain is not just limited to blasphemy. Just as a woman takes the name of her husband at marriage, So a Jew was to take the name of Jehovah as his identity and North Star. Now, when I take God's name, I am saying I represent God. So if I were to tell you, my last name is Washington and I'm related to George Washington, one of the most common jokes would probably be, you're nothing like George Washington. Why? Because when you have the name, you're supposed to also have some of the fame. But a lot of people want to have the fame without ever living up to the name. So to have the name of God is to have God's identity as mine. When I'm saying, Lord, hallowed be thy name, who is his name? Our Father. Our Father. which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." Guess what? I have his name too, if he's my father. And so he's supposed to have a name that is high and lifted up in my own heart. I'm supposed to reverence him. To hallow God's name is to accurately represent who he is to others. to accurately represent who God is to others. Now, I think you probably held your place in Exodus. Look at Exodus 23. Exodus 23. Don't take the name of God in vain. It's interesting how we could say, and I can say this, I don't think in my life of 47 years, I don't think I've ever used God's name as a curse word. So I followed that commandment to a T. But I don't think I could say that in my life I have never lived in such a way that didn't represent God. In fact, most of my life, I don't think I've accurately represented who God is from the heart. You see why the Lord was after the Pharisees? Because the Pharisees would say, I never did that. And yet he said, I'm raising the bar higher. Do you remind other people of me? That's what it means to take the name of our God. To not accurately represent God is to take the name of God in vain. Why would I call you my son? You don't look anything like me. now you would never say about your kids nowadays week nobody ever pushes their kids out nobody ever stiff arms are kids nobody ever says sorry we're not doing that in this house now we just change our rules we just change everything but you know the reason why you might take a a kid out of your house is because they do not represent what you stand for They may have your name, but if they were to walk out and say, yeah, I'm a marshal, people would say, there's something that doesn't fit between you and your dad, you and your mom. When we say, hallowed be thy name, we're not saying, God, you are so awesome. You are so wonderful. You are the best. And at the same time, I'm nothing. I'm nobody. I'm not even here. God, you're, no, I am connected with my father's name. And I need to accurately represent. So when I say, hallowed be thy name, there should be a little alarm that goes off in my heart that says, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. You're supposed to be representing your father. How hallowed are you? You follow what I'm saying? So he said, I don't even want you to say those names. Don't even say them. Praying for God's name to be hallowed means that I am setting His name above everything that I value. I would rather your name be held hallowed in my heart than for me to get to do what I want to do if there is a conflict. I'd rather your name be hallowed. He said, hallowed be thy name. Now, when we're talking about how God used Israel now, God chose Israel to represent His name to the earth. Did you notice in Exodus 23 He said, make no mention of the name of other gods. Well, Hebrew tradition developed. And you've heard of the Tetragrammaton, right? The Y-H-W-H in Hebrew. Four letters, no consonants. And that's where everybody, that's where people get the idea of Yahweh. It's actually the word Jehovah, but people take it and they use it Yahweh. It's like, I say Yahweh, and we could go into that Yeshua and all. We won't take the time to go into that. The personal name of God. People began using Adonai as a substitute for Jehovah in conversations. And then they actually had a practice of not pronouncing God's name. Over time this practice developed. Why? They said that it was out of extreme reverence for God. We're not even going to say God's name. And today, you'll see, maybe if you ever see someone commenting or maybe a blog post or an article, and you'll see G-D, even in English. Jews will not type out the whole name of God. They will just put G-D. And the idea is we have so much reverence for God that we will not even say His name. But that was never something God told them to do. In fact, he told them not to say the names of other gods. But you know, God's name, he wants his name to be glorified, to be exalted. He wants his name to be made great in our hearts. We find that God's name served as a rallying point for the Israelites. It distinguished their monotheistic faith from polytheistic cultures. It took a long time for the Jews to get this idea of one God. They had to go all the way to Babylon and to Assyria to the captivity, the exile, and before they actually learned the lessons. When God sent them kind of out in the back 40 to live with real heathens where it wasn't their land, it was the heathen land and the heathen culture, they were around the polytheistic culture and they were like, you know what? This is not as good. See, the grass was always greener on the other side when they were in the promised land. They said, we want to be like the other nations. But they never learned their lesson about one God until they actually were chained up in Babylon and Assyria. And then when they came back, it's interesting, the Jews never had a problem again with worshiping false gods. They finally got it. because they were actually able to say, God is my God. There's only one God. And so that's why I say sometimes in church you'll see people who are like, I just can't, young people, can't wait to get out of here. And then you've got in the same pew somebody going, what are you talking about? I've been out there and I've seen all kinds of junk and there's nothing like Jesus. So here's what you do. If you're a person in church looking over the fence, you ask God to help you have the spirit of prophecy, testimony of Jesus Christ. To be able to see down the road, if I follow that, you gotta know your heart and be honest with your heart. Say, I know what I would be. I'm not gonna tell you, but I'm pretty sure I know what my besetting sin is, and I think I know what I would be if I weren't saved. I would be in big trouble. I didn't have to go out there and do it. I was honest with myself and say, if I'm moving this direction and this direction, if I wasn't saved, I'd be right over there. It's not hard to follow the trajectory. You just have to be honest with yourself. And a lot of second, third generation Christians are not honest. All they do is look around at other people and say, I'm not as bad as they are. They're not looking at their own trajectory where they know they have gone and thus where they would go. But the point is that the name of God to the Israelites became valuable to them when they finally realized that all the other gods did not hold a candle. When we pray, hallowed be thy name, what are we saying? We're saying, God, we don't need anyone else. We don't have to have anybody else. We just need you. In fact, when Moses in Exodus chapter 3, remember? He said, I'm going down here to Pharaoh, and the Israelites are going to ask me, what's the name of the God that told you to come and get us out of here? And the Lord said, here's what you tell him. Tell him, I am that I am. That's my name. I am that I am. Well, who are you? I am that I am. What can you do? I am that I am. Will you be powerful enough when Pharaoh starts chasing us? I am that I am. That's the name that God told Israel, I want you to know this name. And he told them actually, Jehovah as well, which we won't go into that, but when he revealed that, he was revealing himself, God wanted to have a personal, covenantal relationship with the Israelites. I want to sign a contract with you is what God was saying to the Israelites. Take your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 28. Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy. Go over to your right. Exodus, Leviticus, number, sorry, Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 28, we're looking at verse number 9. God chose Israel to represent His name to the earth. All right, look at 28.9. The people of the earth are going to see that you're called by the name of the Lord. Notice, the Lord shall establish the unholy people unto himself. God was never trying to just get people away from bad things and situations. He was trying to get his people to himself. Sanctification is always about getting closer to God. It's not about getting away from sin. Because if you make it getting away from sin, what typically happens is you go from one sin to another sin. If it's all about getting rid of sin in your life. I hate myself. I'm tired of cussing. I'm not going to cuss anymore. I'm just going to smoke three packs a day. And thank God I don't cuss anymore. Right? You know what sanctification is? It's separation to God. And if you're separating to God, guess what you're leaving behind? You're leaving behind your cussing, and you're leaving behind your smoking eventually. Now you know what I think about smoking? I don't think it's the worst sin that ever happened. I really don't. I think it's harmful to you. I think drinking is a what much worse sin because you actually ruin people's lives when you get drunk. Smoking, I mean, you just smell bad. And maybe you make other people smell bad. But isn't it interesting how in America we have certain sins that we think are horrible. Smoking, oh, so bad. But drinking, we got like 1,700 aisles of just booze in our grocery stores. No big deal. Oh, but we keep the cigarettes locked up to make sure no one can get to them. Isn't that stupid? It's stupid, right? You know what's really hurting America? Booze is hurting America. I'm not saying cigarette smoking is healthy. Don't get me wrong. I'm saying if I had to choose between one, I'd say everybody just smoke as much as you want. Just don't touch booze. Amen. But what happens in that is that we choose our favorite sins. Separation is separation to God. It's not about, well, at least I don't drink. I may smoke. Well, what does God want? What does God want? Not what people think is bad or what you think is okay. What does God want? You say, well, I don't listen to that kind of music. I like this. I just like this. What does God want? Does God like that kind of music? Right? See, that's what separation is. And the Lord said, I'm calling a nation to me of people, and I want those people to represent my name. So when you say, hi, what's your name? I'm Joe Israelite. Joe Israelite. So you worship the God of heaven. That's what God wanted. All right, now, take your Bibles, if you would, and go to Deuteronomy chapter 18. Flip back to chapter 18, we're going to look at how God chose within that group of people another smaller group of people that would still represent His name. Deuteronomy 18, verse 1, the priests, the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel. This is one of the tribes of Israel, the tribe of Levi. They're just as Israelite as anybody else, but they don't get an inheritance. Why? Verse 5, for the Lord thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes to stand to minister in the name of the Lord him and his sons forever. So the Lord is choosing the Levites to represent his name to his people. The Lord values his name more than just, I want to tell all those heathen out there who I am. I want some people in my nation to tell other people in my nation who I am. Because the Lord is dialing this thing down. You can go even further, and there's a high priest among the priests. And he is the one who offers that propitiatory offering on the Day of Atonement once a year. What is he doing? He is representing God to the people, and he is representing the people to God. He is that bridge. Look at chapter, take your Bibles, if you would, back to Leviticus, Leviticus chapter 21. Leviticus 21, we're looking at what it means when God says, Hallowed be thy name, when He wants us to say that to Him. 21.1, And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people. He begins to talk about what is allowed and not allowed as a priest. Verse 6, They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God. For the offering of the Lord made by fire, and the bread of their God they do offer. Therefore they shall be holy notice. There's two there's two opposite possibilities There's holiness unto the Lord and there's profanity There's holy and profane Why does that matter because they're making offerings to God and when you make your offering to God what you're saying is God this is what you deserve and That's why God was so intent and so particular about what was offered, because when you're offering something to God, you're telling God what he's worth. You're saying, God, you can have this. The Lord says, if you're going to value me or you're going to show my value by what you offer, you better offer the very best. Why? Because I'm the very best. So you have to offer the very best. And he is saying when you offer, it's not just you offer the very best, you better be at your best when you offer the very best. That's what he's saying. Do you see verse number six? They shall be holy for the offerings of the Lord made by fire and the bread of their God they do offer. Verse 7, they shall not take a wife that is a whore or profane, neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband, for he is holy unto his God. Thou shalt sanctify him therefore, for he offereth the bread of thy God. He shall be holy unto thee, for I the Lord which sanctify you am holy. He doesn't want his name to be muddied, so it's very important who is working on his behalf. That's what the name of the Lord is. The name of the Lord is his reputation. It is the character of God. Just as much as George Washington Carver has a reputation in our minds versus Charles Ponzi, the name of God has a reputation as well. And the people who take the name of the Lord their God and walk around with the name of God need to look like God. So when I'm praying, hallowed be thy name, I am doing two things. I am saying, Lord, your name is above every name, and I have been reserved for you. I am reserved for the use of my Father. Look at chapter 22, Leviticus 22. The Lord spake unto Moses, verse 1, saying, Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me. I am the Lord. that appears 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 times in this passage. I am the Lord. Why does that matter? It matters because God is holy and He wants me to be holy. So my prayer life Amen. It's not just God. I got a bunch of stuff you need to do. I need to start with the fact that God is holy. Hallowed be thy name. By the way, is God's name holy? Yes it is. So why do I need to ask God to hallow it? He's not talking about, God, I want you to be holy now in heaven. I want you to be holy. He is saying, hallowed be thy name in my life. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. It's already hallowed, but on earth it's not. And that's what we see as we go through the Lord's Prayer, the template there, that the Lord is saying, what's happening in heaven, I'm asking my Father that it would happen here on earth. and if you would say that i can't wait for jesus christ to come back and i'm telling you when he comes and he takes over they've got a kick some people's tale it's going to be finally it's gonna and that's true i'm thankful that's true it is going to happen but wouldn't be hypocritical for me to say i can't wait for jesus to come back when i'm not living like jesus is in me today I'm saying, Lord, you know, come back in a minute. I got a little more sinning to do. I can't wait till you come back and change everything. And we say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts. I can't wait for that day. But for now, for now, I got some other stuff I need to get done. I can't possibly say, hallowed be thy name right now. But I'm praying, Lord, please, do it someday, right? Look at chapter 22, verse 3, say unto them, whosoever he be of all your seed among your generations that goeth unto the holy things which the children of Israel hallow unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord. Verse 31, therefore shall you keep my commandments and do them. I am the Lord. Neither shall you profane my holy name, but I will be hallowed. Where? among the children of israel I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord which hallowed you, that brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord." God is choosing people to represent Him, and how is He doing that? He's not just saying, all right, who wants to be saved? Okay, good. You're saved. Now, okay, you're good. I'll talk to you when you get to heaven. Who else wants to be saved? You want to be saved? Okay, good. Now, just chill, have fun, enjoy. That's not what the Lord's doing. And one of these days, we're gonna have a big get together. You guys are all invited up to my house. He is calling you to himself because he wants you to look like Jesus on your street. He wants you to be hallowed in your workplace, in your home. He wants your kids to look at you and see Jesus. That's what it is. He said, I'm the one. I am in the midst of you, in the midst of this house. Yeah. In the midst of our family? Yeah. Oh, and by the way, I am the Lord which hallow you. I'm the one that makes you holy. I don't have to worry about being made holy. All I have to do is draw an eye to God and say, Lord, what's in my life and heart that's not holy unto the Lord? So it won't take long, once you start praying, our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. If you really mean that, hallowed be thy name, the Holy Spirit's gonna say, what's this doing in here? What's that doing in here? That's not very holy. Well, Lord, I mean, I heard a message on that years ago and the preacher told me I don't have to worry about that. Or there's a bunch of Christians I was reading on Facebook the other day, and they're just like, that's old, we don't have to do that anymore. And a lot of people fight about that. I don't really know what it is. I mean, the curse of our culture is there is no truth. There's no truth. Nobody's really ever right about anything, except this is one thing that is true, nothing's true. It's absolutely self-defeating when you look at it from that angle. But a lot of Christians have that mindset. The idea is, well, I mean, I heard a preacher say that, but you know, we don't have to be. The problem is not what some preachers said back in 1975. The problem is that's still gonna bug you if you let it. What did God say to you in his eternal word that shall not pass away? The Holy Spirit stopped being holy in 1975. I'm sorry, 2019. Oh, I'm sorry, during COVID, he kind of lost his power. The Bible no longer applies, COVID. Well, that makes sense, yeah. Everything else, you can just say COVID. Oh, oh yes, right? Hey, listen, God still wants to hallow you. He's gonna do that in your life. He's gonna hallow what you watch. He's gonna hallow what you listen to. Well, I kind of just like that stuff. Well, your flesh and my flesh, we have all our little idiosyncrasies and things that we like, yes? People make money on saying, what do you like this, this, this, this, this, and then with that algorithm, we're gonna provide you other options. The question we have to ask ourselves is what does the Holy Spirit like? What is he like? Amen. This is Bible study, guys. I'm not really serious about this. I'm just like, we're just playing around, okay. You didn't come to get preached at, amen. Now, we won't take the time to go there, but in 1 Kings 9, we preached about this a little while ago about Solomon and how the Lord said, I have hallowed this house. So God chose the temple to place his name there. Okay, God chose the temple. We were in New Mexico in the Yucatan Peninsula. And you know what they said? They said, is it safe? Oh yeah, it's modern, it's great. They have a Costco. And you know what that says immediately? The name Costco, in your mind, you think of a very large warehouse with lots of stuff, very well organized, priced somewhat affordably in large quantities, you could take it with you. You immediately know what they're talking about. Why? Because of the name, Costco. And that's what God was saying. I want my name to be at that temple. So when someone walks into that temple, they know what it is. They know who I am. And every time they think of that temple, they think of me. So what does it mean? Let's take our Bibles now. We're going to go to, as you're going into the New Testament, I want you to stop by Psalm 22. Psalm 22. Because I want to show you this verse very quickly, and then we're going to go to the book of Romans. And we got so much, we can't go through it all. Psalm 22, but that's never stopped us before, amen? Psalm 22. Look at verse three. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." The praises of Israel. You see, hollowing God's name is more than just saying, I never use his name as a cuss word. It is representing God, including my speech and my praise is an indication that I live differently. Have you ever praised God verbally? A lot of Christians, they say, well, I'm Midwestern, I'm quiet. And there's different levels, there's different personalities and so forth. But may I point you to the Bible over and over and over again, it talks about how, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. I noticed this, the Cleveland Browns, the Detroit Lions, the Cincinnati Bengals, they have tens and scores of thousands of people, and they're all Midwesterners, and I've never seen a game where everyone was like, nicely done. He's on my fantasy football team. He does well, he does very well. You know what they do? They scream. They yell. They emote. You know why? Because it matters to them. Now, I will say this, to be fair to church members and churchgoers, we do a lot of mental processing that they don't do. Okay, what do they do? They're drunk, they think it, they say it. Right? We do a lot of mental processing. But you know, at some point that mental processing should get to the point where, you know what? God for... You know what? God is great. He's just great. And we're able to say, praise God! Glory to God. When's the last time you felt so filled with the goodness of God that you verbalized it? You actually said, praise the Lord. Now, you know what? I can get up here and I can pump you and I can guilt you into doing that. And this is probably not the time. If you're a normal amener and a praise Godder, then keep going, amen? But what I'm saying is, there ought to become a time in your life, there ought to come a time where you realize how wonderful and good God is, and how holy and how different he is from every other person you ever met, and how kind and gracious and long-suffering and powerful he's been in your life, that you just say it. God, you're amazing. You're amazing. One of the times we have opportunity to do that all the time is when we sing to praise God. And so many times we don't take advantage of it. You know where we're looking? We're thinking about everything but. We're thinking, I don't know this song. Ain't nobody here know this song. Right? If you did know the song, that would mean what? You would be able to sing it without thinking. And that's not good either. You see, God wants, He inhabits the praise of His people. What is praise? Praise is this, you'll never believe the deal that I just got. We had the best steak dinner last night. It was awesome. I don't know what it was with their staff, but they're unique. You know what that is? That's praise. I found the coolest little thing at the mall. You're praising. You are saying this thing is valuable. How much more the God who inhabits eternity? God for who He is. And He never runs out. He never tires. He never changes. He never goes obsolete. He never expires. He is the God of eternity. So the pattern of prayer is this, hallowing God's name is to exalt His glory and to thank Him. to exalt His glory and to thank Him. I'm going to read a bunch of scriptures for you from the Pauline epistles, but let me give this to you. The pattern of prayer is God first, you next. Praise to God is offered before personal requests are made. If you find it hard to praise, then you're really not thinking much about God. And if you're finding it hard to praise, then you're thinking of God as maybe a slot machine. You feed it in, pull it, sometimes, you know, you get all sevens, sometimes God answers your prayer, but you know, hey, there's a chance, right? You gotta keep praying. That's not, you know what, what do you think about the slot machine? Nothing, it's a machine. If that's the way you treat God, are you really hollowing His name? Are you really saying, God, you are unique and special? You are unusual. Let me read some verses. Romans 15, Now the God of patience and consolation grant you that you be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus, that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians 3, for this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. Ephesians 5, giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 2, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of who? God the Father. Hallowed be thy name. We're glorifying him. Philippians chapter 4. Now, unto God and our Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Colossians 1. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 1.12. Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. In Colossians 3, and whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. You see, it's okay for you to glorify the Father. Some people say, oh, you're supposed to pray in Jesus' name. We pray to God, we pray to the... Listen, don't get too technical on this stuff. Jesus said, I and my Father are what? One. When you're praying to Jesus Christ, you're also praying to the Father. Now, we understand our access to the Father is through Jesus Christ. But you may ignore the Father because you're thinking, no, no, no, the Father's mad, and Jesus made Him accept us. Where are you getting this stuff from? Jesus said, the Father Himself sent me here. The Father Himself loveth you. We're on the same page. There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, and the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are what? One. One. When we pray to God the Father, We can pray to God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit together. Now we understand there are some distinctions there, but don't be so smart, so technical that you're just a nerd when it comes to prayer. Because you're more interested in sometimes we can be so afraid that someone's doing something wrong instead of actually thanking the Father for who He is and what He's done. Thanking Jesus Christ. And I can take you through. Look up God and the Father. or our great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. It's just interchanged. Why? Because God is all three. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, when you're praying to God. And there are distinctions, this is not the time to go into all those, but don't get so nerdy that you don't pray. Right? And don't get to this point, well, I only pray in Jesus' name. I always pray in Jesus' name. And we should pray in Jesus' name. But if you're not careful, you can start getting this idea that God's not gonna answer your prayers unless you pray in Jesus' name. Now what have you done? You've separated the Father and the Son. In your mind, are you following me? Okay, listen, Jesus Christ has made us worthy, the Father's drawing us, and if you don't remember to say, in Jesus' name, be careful, that becomes a religious little tagline that we put on everything. Amen? Now this is where we hit Baptist hard, so forgive me. Just like closing your eyes when you pray, right? Not in Scripture. Anywhere, right? Maybe we need to close in prayer. Don't close your eyes. What I'm saying is we get so hung up on all these little things, we're afraid to talk to God. We're afraid to ask Him for anything. How will I adore God's name today? Since God's name is hallowed, it is worthy of praise. Let the Spirit of God direct you as you praise the Father. Praise Him for who He is. Praise Him for what He has done in your life. Praise Him for what He is doing right now, even the trials, and praise him for what he will do in the future. Those are just four ideas. You can come up with more. I'm talking about praising God. Hallowed be thy name. One final place tonight, 1 Peter chapter three. 1 Peter chapter three. And by the way, I close my eyes when I pray, in case you're stuck on that. And not because scripture commands it, but I think it's just a good habit for me because it shuts the world out. but Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven when he prayed. Right, you could do that. That means if you do close your eyes and you pray, you certainly can't pray when you're driving. I remember when I was growing up, I remember thinking, how can my dad pray? He's driving. And then I remember seeing, I peeked one time, and I saw him driving and praying with his eyes open. I thought, I don't know if God's gonna hear him, His eyes aren't closed. That was taught very early. Close your eyes when you pray. And it is a good practice, but you understand where I'm coming from. 1 Peter 3. 1 Peter 3. Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands." Now we're finally getting to it, amen? This is the real stuff right here, amen? I know I can get some amens from guys that don't have their wives with them, amen? Praise the Lord for that. 1 Peter chapter 3, and he goes on to talk about obedience and reverence. He talks about in verse 2, while they behold your chaste conversation, coupled with what? fear. Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, and of putting on of a parrot. Let it be that hidden man of the heart." Hidden man of the heart. And notice in verse number 4 he says, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. Verse 5, for after this manner in the old time the holy women also who trusted in God adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands. What I want you to see here is the connection with Reverence and fear. Reverence and fear in connection with prayer. Verse 6, even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. Look at verse 7, likewise ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving what? Honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life. Notice that your prayers be not hindered. He's referencing through this passage the Levitical priests who were to offer acceptable sacrifices and to have a pure heart and appearance. The Lord dials it in even more here and He's saying, watch your heart. There's reverence and subjection and there is purity in connection with your prayers. He goes on to instruct us about living holy. In verse 8, finally, be all of one mind, having compassion one of another. And he talks about not rendering evil for evil, and refrain your tongue from evil. And then look down at verse number 12. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. What's the point? Hallowing God's name is reverencing His authority in my life. Hallowing God's name. How do I know that? Look at verse 15. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer. He said, I want you to hallow my name, to sanctify it, to make it holy in your heart. Is God in my heart? Yes, He is. Is He sanctified? Well, if it's that God... You mean God is not... No, no, no. Have you sanctified the Lord in your heart? Have you hallowed God in your heart? If you haven't, then guess what? Your prayers are going to be hindered. You're not going to be able... Notice, he says, His ears are open unto their prayers. Who? Who with prayers? The righteous. When we get down and we say, Our Father which art in heaven, we're not asking to be saved. If you're not saved, you don't get, this is not the prayer to pray. Okay? I'm talking to people who are saved. When you kneel down and say, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, you are saying, God is different than anything else in my life. He is to be valued above all things, and I am supposed to set Him apart. What am I supposed to do? Hallow His name. Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. And if I'm thinking about God and how He's the most important thing in my life, guess what's going to happen? I'm going to bump into people who want to know about God. Why? Because the Lord is going to direct you to people who want to know about you because you look like Him. You know the reason why you don't ever see anybody saved or you don't even get a chance to witness anybody? Because you're not trying to hallow his name in your heart. You're not saying, Lord, you're different and I'm willing to follow you. Hallow me, God. Sanctify me as you have sanctified yourself. I'm going to set you apart in my life and I'm willing to be set apart from this world. Most Christians in America are what? They're just simply trying to not look too Christian. Not act too Christian. Why? Because I've seen some overreaches. What about the Lord? What about being sanctified to the Lord? Set apart to Him? People are deathly afraid that someone might think you're a Christian. You say, well, I'm not afraid of that. Then why are you mostly concerned about fitting in? Just being normal, being one of the guys, one of the girls, nobody can ever tell that there's anything different about me. Some of you are like, I'm no problem. Yeah, because you're never around lost people, so you don't have to worry about it. I'm talking about people who live in the real world and on purpose come into contact with lost people. You ought to be willing to be different. Why? You are a child of God. You're to be sanctified to Him. I'm not talking about all get rid of that sin and stop doing that. I'm saying what does God want and as He draws me to Himself, I become more like Him. sanctify the Lord God, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. Be ready, because they're gonna ask. Hallowing God's name, it's reverencing, reverencing His authority in my life. He is in charge. It is exalting His glory and thanking Him, and it is accurately representing Him to others.