Get out of the Way

Spiked hair, cool clothes, and now days even an occasional beard (or at least a soul patch!). Meet the typical music leader in today's contemporary church. A man with a great voice that can sing every choir part simultaneously. That last part might be a bit of an exaggeration. 

Let me say first of all that I'm appreciative of the talent and creativity we see in music leaders in the church today. Part of being made in the image of God means that we should expect certain people to be gifted in the arts. I for one am thankful for my brothers who are exceptionally talented in music and seek to use these gifts to serve the local church. 

Furthermore, let me make it clear that what I'm about to say doesn't just apply to the "hipster" type music leaders only. Whether you sing straight out of the Heavenly Highway Hymnal, or have an iPad stand, or you're anywhere in between, I implore you to listen to an important truth from Scripture about facilitating worship: get out of the way. 

We all know the passage in Isaiah where the prophet has his vision of the Lord seated on His throne, high and lifted up. We often (rightly) make a point of Isaiah's  response, but he's not really who I want to draw your attention to in this particular pericope. Consider this:

Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. - Isaiah 6:2

Seraphim. You want to talk about creatures in the presence of a Holy God! Are there any closer than these? The name literally is conveying the concept of "burning ones." And it's been said the reason they are burning is because they are simply emanating the light of the ineffably Holy God to whom they sing their never ending song. What do you think about these creatures? Do you imagine them to be displeasing to the eye? I don't. I think a case can be made that these creatures are indescribably beautiful. That if you or I were to see them, we simply wouldn't be satisfied with any beauty to be found in this fallen world. I imagine their song to be magnificent as well, as nothing less is befitting of our holy and awesome God's unceasing praise. 

So here we have these amazing creatures. They are closer to the holy presence of God than you. They are more beautiful than you are. And then to top it off, they sing better than you can! Yeah, so what? They've never known the Fall! And Jesus didn't shed His precious blood for them! True. But I still think we can learn from them. Let's look at the verse again: 

Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

Did you catch that? As glorious as these creatures are, what are they doing? Getting out of the way. They are doing everything they can to say "Don't look at me!" They literally shield their bodies as if to remind us that to even consider them as we worship the Holy Triune God is both heinous and foolish. The song they sing would probably disappoint advocates of "new" stuff as it never changes. At the same time it would probably disappoint advocates of "traditional" stuff as the whole song is less than 20 English words and sang on repeat! Now, I say those last two sentence in slight jest, but really in this vision the emphasis isn't on engaging style or presentation gimmicks is it? The focus is unquestionably on the LORD of hosts. 

Look, we ought to do things well, don't get me wrong. But I wonder what your church's gathering would look like if you were more concerned about showing the congregants the holiness of God than you were about what you and your band looked and sounded like. If you were intentional about not singing songs describing what you or I do and instead sang more about who He is and what He has done. Holy, Holy, Holy. 

So here's my plea music leaders: would you work this week on getting out of the way? Dress well. Sing well. But also lead well by covering your face (in the figurative sense of course) and fading into the background. Let folks think in worship not how great a particular guitar or drum solo is or how many octives you can switch or how many "good ole time religion" songs you may sing, but rather let them think about how glorious, awesome, and holy the Lord God Almighty is. 

It's interesting how divisive music can be in our churches isn't it? And how much money churches will spend on smoke, lights, lasers, screens, and presentation software. It's almost as we've been duped into thinking we need something extra in order to make God's holiness "unboring." Like, if we aren't staying ahead of the technological curve, there won't be any exciting experience. Or even, if we can't get people jumping, flipping, dancing, or shaking, they might not find things engaging enough. But I promise you, show your people God's holiness and (if they see that) no one will leave bored. Sure, it's possible some may respond in Woe!, but none will respond with "meh." Don't be complicite in anything that works to take people's attention away from the Holy One. Don't be a part of anything that works to make the music about the music and creates an atmosphere of entertainment instead of an environment of reverence. What do you really have to offer in comparison to the Thrice Holy God anyway? Or simply put, work harder at getting out of the way. Show us Christ. 

And then, let me say one final thing. Pastors, there's a lot of application in this for us as well. I don't want to walk away thinking about how funny or winsome you were. I don't want to be amazed at your creativity and innovation. Show me the Holy and He will suffice. 

He must increase but I must decrease. 

Grace and Peace.  

Cooking St. Nick

One of my favorite Christmas memories growing up was gathering at my grandmother's house to make Santa cookies. These aren't just any cookies mind you. They are the best frosted sugar cookies ever. This is not mere opinion, but scientifically verifiable. 

My grandfather served in the Air Force and while he was away during the holiday season my grandmother had to think of something to help keep her children occupied. One winter while stationed in Japan she had the phenomenal idea to make these cookies. This was in the late 1940s. 

So these babies were in our family almost a full four decades before I even arrived on the scene. Thankfully, my grandmother still had the joy and energy to make these cookies each year with me, my brother, and my sister. She would help us make some for us, our friends at school, and then she'd make dozens more on her own to mail to various family members. We'd sneak cookie dough when she wasn't looking and I'm sure at times it might have felt to her like this whole endeavor was more trouble than it was worth. We literally would spend all day at her house causing icing, flour, and cookie crumbs to be scattered all over the kitchen and dining room! But still, every year we made the cookies. To us, skipping this would have been equivalent to burning the flag (and having a grandfather who retired as a Colonel, that's a big deal!).

On December 20, 2014 my grandmother passed away. I guess in a way it was appropriate that she passed in December as this time of year brings back some of the fondest memories I have of her. As her health was failing last year we gave her one of the cookies we had made while she was suffering from dementia in the nursing home. She may not have remembered our faces at that point but she remembered that cookie, and smiled. After all, at that point she had been seeing those sweet treats for almost 70 years! And unlike her children and grandchildren, those Santa Clause cookies never grew up. They never changed. Always the red suit, the blue eyes, the green boots and gloves, they looked in 2014 Arkansas just like they did in 1948 Japan. Amazing how such a seemingly insignificant object (a Christmas cookie!) can transcend time and bring to life the feeblest of memories. 

A few years ago we got the recipe for the cookies and started our own tradition with our 4 children. While we have no vendetta against the fat man in the red suit, we've chosen to change the tradition just slightly. The cookies still taste and look the same but instead we call them "St. Nicholas" cookies. We cherish the family tradition, the cookie dough (the kids still eat it!), and the absoulute mess baking with children under 10 creates. But we also use it as an opportunity to focus on Jesus. After all, St. Nicholas (the real one!), fits very nicely into the Christmas story. The stories of his Christian kindness and benevolence are legendary. And then of course we love that he took a stand for the divinity of Jesus (it is said that at the council of Nicea in 325 AD, he punched the heretic Arius in the face). Our salvation rests wholly on the fact that Jesus is God the Son incarnate. If He is not fully God and fully man we have no hope that His death on the cross for sinners was able to reconcile God and man. Only One fully man can pay for our sins and only One fully God can bear the weight of the righteous wrath due us. St. Nicholas was right to see that this is no small matter. If there were ever a time that the Son was not, we are hopeless! But this is the glorious truth of Christmas isn't it? That God came to us to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found. The war has been won and one day we will see all that has gone wrong in our world be fully and finally undone and made right. No more struggle with sin, no more dementia, no more gaining weight because of too many cookies.  It's special to us that we can use this family Christmas ritual to discuss with our children the eternality of Jesus our Redeemer and the true significance of what we are celebrating on December 25. 

So, we plan to carry on this 70 year Nelson tradition once again in 2015. We'll laugh, make messes, cut cookies, bake, decorate, reminisce, and if we get the opportunity, slap a heretic. It makes me smile to think that when my children have their own kids, they too will reach back in the memory box and think of these times with happy thoughts. 

Maybe you don't have any special traditions like this in your family. Can I encourage you to start something this year? You never know what it will look like in 7 decades! Through continuing family times like these, your influence will live on long after you're gone. Cherish the moments God has given you. And it's ok to get creative in using them to tell of His greatness! 

Merry Christmas to you and yours... 

Let Angels Sing

On a typical weekday morning I enjoy reading from The Valley of Vision during my time with the Lord. This morning I read from the prayer entitled The Great God that had these words:

Let angels sing for

sinners repenting,
prodigals restored,
backsliders reclaimed,
Satan's captives released,
blind eyes opened,
broken hearts bound up,
the despondent cheered,
the self righteous stripped,
the formalist driven from a refuge of lies,
the ignorant enlightened,
and saints built up in their holy faith.

Let angels sing indeed! I can't help but think of how fitting this is for our current Advent season. I think Angels singing brings our minds to Luke's narrative of their appearance to the shepherds. Did the angels actually 'sing'? They certainly praised God and gave Him glory! Whether or not this involved a song as we know it matters not. But they did have great reason to praise God. The One had been born. The One who would bruise that old Serpent's head. The One who would make His blessings flow as far as the curse is found. Which brings us back to the above prayer.

All of these things are results of Christ's coming: sinners repenting, prodigals restored, backsliders reclaimed, Satan's captives released, blind eyes opened, broken hearts bound up, the despondent cheered, the self righteous stripped, the formalist driven from a refuge of lies, the ignorant enlightened, and saints built up in their holy faith. 

What a marvelous season Advent is! As we think deeply about Christ's first coming and all that He has accomplished in it, may our hearts rejoice. Don't let the "arrows" of this season distract you from Whom they are actually pointing. The lights, the family, the cookies, the presents, all of it ought to be pointing us to this greater reality that Christ has came and He has conquered. Joy to the world! We are free from our bondage to sin and our rebellion against God and we are restored, setting our minds and hearts on our chief end: to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Christ is the great hope, love, joy, and peace of this season. Let angels sing indeed!

Thy Will Be Done

We continue in our journey through the Model Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.  Today we'll look at the second half of v. 10 - "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

The first question to think about as we come to this instruction is this: Can God’s will be thwarted?

Well, it depends on what you mean. Let's look at Scripture:

Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. - Psalm 115:3

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will - Ephesians 1:11

I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. - Job 42:2

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. - Psalm 33:10–11

The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble. - Proverbs 16:4

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. - Proverbs 19:21

The eternal purposes and decrees of God, the eternal will of God, cannot be thwarted by us, by Satan, by the nations, by anyone or anything… But, in God’s revealed moral will, in which He commands men to do certain things, well yes, that is rejected quite often. However, even that falls under His eternal sovereign will.

So why does Jesus command us to pray this way? Two reasons:

1. God does hear and answer prayer and accomplish His purposes through what we pray-

So, if we didn’t believe God was Sovereign ruler...like if we thought God could be defeated by the will of man, Satan, a tornado, or whatever…why would we pray this? Why would we pray “Thy will be done…”? Because ultimately if God could be thwarted, this prayer would be pointless. It would be more like “Well God, we hope you won’t be frustrated in this endeavor, best of luck.” But that’s blasphemous!

So, we can pray confidently for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven because God can and will use our prayers to bring that to pass!

Yes, it is true, that this may not fully happen over all the earth until Jesus comes back. But why does that keep us from praying it right now? For our homes? For our churches? For our communities? Sure, the world might not rejoice as a whole at God’s reign, but why can’t your county or your state? 

John Knox who died in 1572 used to pray “God, give me Scotland, or I die!” Why can’t we pray that about our cities, counties, and even our country? We are to pray confidently for God's will to be done knowing that it will be done and that He uses our prayers to accomplish His good purposes!

2. When we pray, we aren’t trying to change God, we are asking God to change us-

In the act of this very prayer our hearts ought to be drawn to areas in our life that are resisting God. What areas of your life wouldn’t be the same if you were in heaven right now?

Maybe your response is: Well I don’t know? How can I know? Do we understand Beloved, that God has given us a Book? Do you want to know God’s will for your life? Read the Book! The Book teaches us the will of God. And so as Believers, we want to love what God loves and we want to hate what God hates and we want God to orient our lives in such a way that we do on earth as it is in heaven.

Again, this sort of reorients our priorities doesn’t it?

• Whose will do we want done in our church?
• Whose will do we want done in our home?
• Whose will do we want done in our business?
• What about our children? What about our grandchildren?

And let's not take this prayer lightly either. What if God is calling your child to the jungles of the Amazon Rain Forest? You gonna trust Him with that? Are you going to believer that the grand purpose for God's eternal decrees is for the glory of His great name and the good of His people?

Specifically with this petition I think it ought to drive us to be better students of the Word. God is not hiding His will from us is He!? No, we can’t know the secret things of God. But we can and should and must know the things He has plainly revealed to us in His precious Word.

And how do we want His will manifest in our lives: “on earth as it is in heaven…” Don’t we see here Jesus’ concern for God’s glory? Isn’t God glorified when His children freely and joyfully submit to Him in all things? Aren't we most glad when we freely and joyfully submit to Him in all things?

And no, we are not advocating perfection but we are advocating forgetting what lies behind and pressing on towards the prize! We must continually rest ourselves in the gospel and the finished work of Jesus and as we are doing that we must pray for God’s reign to ever more manifest itself in our lives that we would be conformed into the image of His dear Son.

What if I don't Persevere to the End?

Finishing well matters. As a Southern Baptist I often hear the phrase "once saved always saved" thrown around sort of causally in various circles. While I whole heartedly do affirm that all those genuinely converted will go to heaven, I have an issue with that phrase. 

It's not that the phrase in and of itself is all that bad, but it's what it has come to mean. Now days it means "anyone who at any point in his or her life has made any sort of profession of faith, will go to heaven." If you don't believe that's the case, you must not have attended many funerals in the Bible Belt. 

So, then, what happens if I don't persevere to the end? To answer that, let's read from a sermon by Charles Spurgeon entitled Enduring to the End:

Only he who continueth till he reaches the goal may be accounted a Christian at all...Those who merely begin, and do not hold out, will not be saved. Why! If every man would be saved who began to follow Christ, who would be damned? In a country as this, the most of men have at least one religious spasm in their lives (emphasis mine). I suppose that there is not a person before me who at some time or other did not determine to be a pilgrim (Christian).

You, Mr. Pliable, were induced by a Christian friend, who had some influence with you, to go with him some short way, till you came to the Slough of Despond (a Pilgrim's Progress reference); and you thought yourself very wise when you scrambled out on that side which was nearest to your own home. And even you, Mr. Obstinate, are not always dogged; you have fits of thoughtfulness and intervals of tenderness. My hearer, how impressed you were at the prayer meeting! How excited you were at that revival service! When you heard a zealous brother preach at the theater, what an impression was produced! Ah, yes! The shop was shut up for a Sunday or two; you did not swear or get drunk for nearly a month; but you could not hold on any longer.

Now, if those who were to begin were saved, you would be secure, though you are at the present time as far from anything like religion as the darkness at midnight is from the blazing light of midday. Besides, common sense shows us, I say, that a man must hold on, or else he cannot be saved; because the very worst of men are those who begin and then give up...There are none so bad as those who once seemed to be good.

After a lengthy illustration on a young man who walked away from the church, Spurgeon goes on to say:

Do not think it is the young alone however. It is a very lamentable fact that there are, in proportion, more backslidings among the old than the young; and if you want to find a great sinner in that respect, you will find him, surely, nine times out of ten with gray hairs on his head. Have I not frequently mentioned that you do not find in Scripture many cases of young people going astray..."Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall."  

 No true child of God perishes - hold that fast; but this is the badge of a true child of God, - that a man endures to the end, and if a man does not hold on, but slinks back to his old master, and once again fits on the old collar, and wears again the Satanic yoke, there is sure proof that he has never come out of the spiritual Egypt through Jesus Christ, his leader, and hath never obtained that eternal life which cannot die, because it is born of God. The true badge of the Christian is perseverance, and without it no man has proved himself to be a child of God.

There it is.  While it is true that all Christians are preserved by God and never lost, it is equally true that they all persevere to the end. We cannot tell a person is saved simply by what they say about their conversion. The most dramatic and emotional of conversion experiences may prove false if one does not persevere to the end. "Although works do not justify a man before God, they do justify a man's profession before his fellows" (CHS).

Let us recover right teaching on this grand doctrine of Believers persevering to the end! Let me encourage you Believer to continue the fight! Continue to run the race set before you. Continue on this narrow way. Continue! For he who endures to the end, shall be saved.

Spurgeon concludes:

But ye cannot persevere except by much watchfulness in the closet, much carefulness over every action, much dependence upon the strong hand of the Holy Spirit, who alone can make you stand. Walk and live as in the sight of God, knowing where your great strength lieth; and depend upon it, you shall yet sing that sweet doxology in Jude, "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." A simple faith brings the soul to Christ. Christ keep the faith alive. That faith enables the believer to persevere, and so he enters heaven. May that be your lot and mine, for Christ's sake. Amen. 

Your Kingdom Come

We continue in our journey through the Model Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.  Today we'll look at the phrase Your Kingdom Come.

When we pray “Your Kingdom Come” what are we praying for?

1. A Priority Realignment – Your

We live in a ‘me’ culture. It’s all about me, what I can get out of life. We take verses like Jeremiah 29:11 and say God has a wonderful plan for my life full of college educations, a big house, and a nice retirement.

Whether we admit it or not, Christianity has become ‘me focused’. I want my type of music, my style of preaching, my sort of ministries. And when we don’t get that we move on to a church that will give it to us, or maybe we plant a church that will give us what we want. (By the way, this is why affinity base churches find 'success' in America. They are "me-churches". This is also why many churches that we might call "traditional" struggle. They are "me-churches".)

Essentially, we say “I care about God’s Kingdom as long as it lines up with MY Kingdom.”

But here in this petition we ought to have a priority realignment. An intentional refocusing of our priorities to be on God’s glory through the furthering of His Kingdom.

2. A Present Reality – Your Kingdom

A short definition for the Kingdom of God: Where God’s rule is recognized and rejoiced in. Most people are happy to talk about how the Kingdom of God as the ‘already not yet’. So, in this point we want to talk about the ‘already.’ 

I will tip my eschatological hand here but I think there is a correlation between John 12:31 and Revelation 20:1-3

Is Satan still active in our world? You better believe it! But through the death of Christ, through the victory Jesus won through His crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, the works of the devil have been defeated.

Beloved, the Kingdom of God is advancing RIGHT NOW! Who can stop it? Corrupt churches? Kim Jong-Un? Satan? Ha! No sir! 

Aslan is on the move.

Oh yes, there is still much work to do. There is still much sorrow, pain and suffering in this world. But know this: The Kingdom is ever growing. People in Africa, Asia, and the jungles of South America are coming to faith in Christ, recognizing and rejoicing in the rule of God.

The church in America may be suffering. She may be weak and faltering in many areas and in desperate need of Revival. But don’t miss this truth: THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS ADVANCING! Souls are coming to Christ, marriages are being restored, wrongs are being righted!

So when we say “Your Kingdom come” we are saying “God, let my priorities be refocused on You and Your Kingdom…”

And we are saying “God, break through the darkness! Save sinners for your eternal glory! Use me in this endeavor. Send me, I’ll go! Restore prodigals to their Father, bring back the lost Sheep, raise the banner of Christ over all the nations! May the Lamb that was slain receive the full reward for His suffering!”

Let those in my home, workplace, neighborhood, recognize and rejoice in your sovereign rule. 

3. A Promised Return – your Kingdom come

Yes, the Kingdom of God is advancing now, but we still wait its fulfillment. We long for Jesus’ return where He will fully and finally restore all things. It is when Jesus comes that His people will reign with Him forever perfectly recognizing and rejoicing in His Sovereign rule.

Have you heard of the word ‘Maranatha’? In 1 Corinthians 16:22 some translations use that word. It simply means “Our Lord come!”

The early church longed for the coming of Jesus. The Didache 10:5-6 says this:

“Remember your church, Lord, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in your love; and gather it, the one that has been sanctified, from the four winds into your kingdom, which you have prepared for it; for yours is the power and the glory forever. May grace come, and may this world pass away. Hosanna to the God of David. If anyone is holy, let him come; if anyone is not, let him repent. Maranatha! Amen.”

Revelation 22:20 says

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Are you praying for Jesus to come back?

It is at that point we will see the fullness of the Kingdom and God glorified over all the nations as every knee and every tongue bows to the Sovereign Christ and confesses that He is Lord. It is when Jesus returns that all God’s enemies, including all people who have refused to bow the knee in this life, will be vanquished in Hell continually day and night for all eternity.

“Well, if I pray for Jesus to come back it may make all this stuff I’m focused on now seem less important…” Ah ha!

Don’t get me wrong, we ought to glorify God in all of our endeavors. And it is good and right to live for His glory in the time He has given us. In our jobs, families, retirement, leisure activities…

But all of these things must be subservient to our grand desire for Jesus to come back and set all things right! So, we see this desire for restoration in this model prayer: Your Kingdom Come

We will save 'Thy will be done' for another blog post...

Our Father Who Art in Heaven

We are doing a 'series within a series' currently at Immanuel. We are taking some extra time during our journey through the Sermon on the Mount to specifically focus on the Model Prayer given to us in Matthew 6:9-13. I will attempt to blog each week about our time in this section. This week we are looking at v.9

Our Father in heaven
hallowed be Your name.

Four things we see in the section of the Model Prayer:

1. Exclusivity - Our Father.

God is God of all, but He is not the Father of all. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is preaching to His disciples (Mt. 5:1-2). Later in Matthew Jesus says " no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Matthew 11:27).

So, it is impossible for one to know the Father apart from knowing Christ as Savior and Lord. If you are reading this and are not a follower of Jesus, God is not to be considered your Father as He is to Believers.

In fact, let me put it more bluntly: God is your Judge. For those who refuse to repent of their sin and trust the perfect and all sufficient sacrifice of Christ, the bible says:

God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; He has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.(Psalm 7:13)

For those who are not followers of Jesus, they will meet God as a righteous and Holy Judge who will destroy their soul continually day and night for all eternity in Hell.

If you are not a follower of Jesus, won't you trust His sacrifice on the cross for sinners? Won't you repent of your sin and place your faith in our only suitable, all sufficient Savior?

2. Intimacy - Our Father. 

Jesus refers to God as Father over 40x in the gospel of Matthew

Think on this glorious thought: What ought we to call God? Master? King? Ruler? Sovereign?

All of those titles are certainly appropriate and should be used at various times no doubt. However, Jesus says to come to God and call Him ‘Father’. He is our Father because He has created us and He has redeemed us through the work of Christ.

Believers have the privilege, honor, and duty of going to their heavenly Father in prayer.

I don’t think the term needs to be stretched to lose the reverence. There is ‘authority’ wrapped up in that word Father isn’t there? But, it is a valid interpretation to understand Father as One who loves us, is kind and affectionate towards us, and who delights over His children…

It reminds us that although God is transcendent and high above us, He can be known through the person and work of God the Son. It is through Christ that we come to know God as Father.

There is something distinctly Trinitarian about Christian prayer. We can pray to God the Son and God the Spirit. However, when we come to God the Father we do so because we have been redeemed by God the Son and that has been applied to our hearts by God the Spirit. We serve a Triune God.  One Being eternally existing in three distinct Persons. 

3. Other Worldliness - Our Father in Heaven.

Lest we forget that God is not just some benevolent grandfather doting over us, Jesus reminds us that our Father is in heaven.

It reminds us that in a sense to pray is to enter another world. Our minds and our hearts ought to be lifted out of just where we are now in time and space and set on the things above and the glory of God…

Our hearts and minds ought to be drawn to the fact that God is our Father but He is our Father who is the infinitely sovereign God of the universe. There ought to accompany prayer a holy reverence, awe, and fear of God.

That yes, we approach Him as Father, but He is our Father who meticulously orders every nanosecond of history for His own eternal glory. Who is the Supreme ruler and holy King of all things seen and unseen. Who alone is God and there is no other. Who will not give His glory to another….

Reverence.

You may go to God confidently, but don’t do so casually. He is our Father, in heaven. This doesn’t mean He is not omnipresent. But it is to remind us of His transcendent glory and inimitable majesty.

4. Consecration - Hallowed be Thy Name

Hallowed. There is a word you don’t use often. Here we have the idea of consecration.

May God’s Name be set apart in our minds and hearts as holy. May I think of and speak of God in a way that actually reflects who He is.

Notice, this is a petition. It’s not a statement. It’s not: Your name is hallowed. It’s “let your name be hallowed.” It implies that there are still areas of our lives and minds and hearts where God’s name is not hallowed as it should be. 

• For God to be honored in our thoughts, words, and actions,
• For His Word to be prized and cherished
• For God to be set apart in our hearts as having the highest honor and supremely holy…what would these things look like in our lives?

Reverence. When we say ‘hallowed be your name’, it’s not just that we want God to have a good reputation. God cannot be any less glorious than He is. When we say ‘hallowed be your name’ we are saying in the words of Craig Blomberg:

“All that God stands for should be treated as holy and honored because of his utter perfection and goodness.”

So, we aren’t actually asking anything to be changed about God in this petition. Rather, we are asking for God to change us. And specifically to change us to evermore enjoy God and glorify Him forever. May I think of and speak of God in a way that actually reflects who He is.

John Calvin puts it this way: “We ought to lose sight of ourselves, and seek the glory of God…It is of unspeakable advantage to us that God reigns, and that He receives the honor which is due to Him: but no man has sufficiently earnest desire to promote the glory of God, unless (so to speak) he forgets himself, and raises his mind to seek God’s exalted greatness.”

I wonder if you would be willing to say that you are actively seeking God’s exalted greatness? Are you seeking to give God the glory due His name with your life? With your plans? With your desires? With your thoughts? With your hopes? With your words? With your actions?

Is this petition a regular one in your prayers? That God would be glorified in you and through you?

Consider Psalm 23:1-3

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

This gives us some perspective doesn’t it? Salvation actually isn’t ultimately about you. Your holiness isn’t ultimately about you. Prayer even isn’t ultimately about you. In fact, nothing is ultimately about you at all is it? We could boil down this fact that the chief end of all things is the glory of God!

Jesus teaches us to pray in such a way that we have the chief end of God’s glory on our minds and hearts. So, we may desire Aunt Sally’s surgery to go well, and for a job interview to go well, or for a promotion to happen, or that we’d make a good grade on a test. But we put all of these things in subservience to the glory of God. What we want chiefly is that God’s name would be hallowed

Oh God, would you lead me in paths of righteousness for the sake of your great and glorious name!?

Let me bring you glory in thought and deed. May your name be consecrated in my life so that my life might be consecrated before a lost and dying world.

I do wonder how many of us would put ourselves in this camp?

It is very easy to focus on ourselves. It is very easy to think God is the means to some other end. Like, the purpose of knowing God is just that we’d get salvation or heaven or some temporal blessing here on earth.

But God is not the means to some other end. God is the end. God is the goal, the prize, the destination. In the words of Augustine:

 “Thou movest us to delight in praising Thee; for Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee…”

My goal is that you will grow to prize the privilege of prayer. I hope that your prayers will ever increase in their Kingdom focus. Check back as we continue to walk through the Model Prayer together...

The audio for this sermon can be accessed HERE