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In this manner, therefore, pray, 
our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, 
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this 
day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our 
debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, 
but deliver us from the evil one, who yours is the kingdom 
and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men 
their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. 
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will 
your Father forgive your trespasses. Moreover, when you fast, do not 
be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance, for they disfigure 
their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they 
have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint 
your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to 
men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place. 
And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Amen. So in this particular section 
in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is dealing with acts of piety, 
or acts of righteousness, or the things that the people of 
God engage in. Notice that Jesus assumes or 
presupposes that the children of God will engage in these things. It says, when you do a charitable 
deed in verse 2. Verse 5, and when you pray. And then in verse 16, moreover, 
when you fast. So he's addressing and highlighting 
religious observances that the people of God undertake And he's 
trying, or he's telling us the proper manner and way we are 
to do these things. And with reference to prayer, 
he gives two cautions and then he gives this model prayer. The 
first caution is that we ought to be, or we must not be like 
the hypocrite. The hypocrite prays simply to 
be seen by men. Jesus says, if that's all that 
you're after, well then certainly you will get your reward. People 
will see you and fawn all over you and say, wow, look at that 
person praying. But Jesus says, when you pray, 
go into your secret place, go into your closet, and your father 
who sees in secret will reward you openly. So don't pray like 
the hypocrite. Secondly, in terms of caution, 
he says, don't pray like the heathen. Verse 7, and when you 
pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think 
that they will be heard for their many words. God is not a being 
to manipulate through our many words. This was common among 
the heathen or among the pagan, is to just use formula or magical 
rites or whatever it might be to try and manipulate the God 
to perform in a manner that the petitioner desires. Jesus says, 
don't be like those heathen. When you pray, use this model 
prayer, not just recite it in some sort of empty-minded fashion, 
but rather look at each of these petitions and use these in your 
prayer closet, use these as well in the church as you gather together. So he condemns ostentatious prayer, 
thoughtless prayer, and now he gives a model for his disciples 
to follow. Last week we considered the preface 
in verse 9. It says, Our Father in Heaven. That is the preface to the Lord's 
Prayer, and then follows six petitions. The first petitions 
are those things that have specific reference to God. They are God-centered 
petitions. The latter three, or the second 
three, are man-centered. Not man-centered in the sense 
that it's all about me, but they are things that peculiarly relate 
to man. So with reference to the God-centered 
petitions, we first see the glory of God's name, secondly, the 
coming of God's kingdom, and thirdly, the execution of God's 
will. And when we get to the man-word 
ones, we see food, forgiveness, and protection. Food, not just 
food. but temporal blessings, the things 
that we stand in need of on a daily basis. So that's the progression. 
And it's very conspicuous that God comes first. Just like in 
the Ten Commandments, God comes first. Before we get into our 
interpersonal relationships and how we're to relate to parents, 
how we're to relate to human life, sexual matters, property, 
the truth, and covetousness. Before we get into all those 
very important things, the first four commandments highlight our 
duty toward God. And so that same sort of a priority 
structure is seen in the Lord's Prayer. God's name, God's kingdom, 
God's will comes before we come to ask for our food. Ryle says 
the glory of God is the first thing that God's children should 
desire. Now that's something that we 
need to ponder and we need to consider. That's probably not 
always the case. We get ahead of ourselves. We 
run into the presence of God and we say, Lord, give me, give 
me, give me. I need these particular things. This prayer calls us 
to stop, to reflect upon the God to whom we are addressing, 
our Father in heaven, and then to consider those things which 
are absolutely requisite in terms of prayer. Spurgeon says, does 
not the daily bread often come in before the kingdom? Again, 
an inversion of the priority here. We come and ask first for 
ourselves. Jesus says, no, you come first 
and praise my father and then lay your petitions out before 
him. Calvin summarizes all of the 
petitions this way. He says, Christ embraces therefore 
In six petitions, what we are at liberty to ask from God. Nothing 
is more advantageous to us than such instruction. Though this 
is the most important exercise of piety, yet in forming our 
prayers and regulating our wishes, all our senses fail us. No man 
will pray or write unless his lips and heart shall be directed 
by the heavenly master. It's a very excellent reminder 
for us. This is a model prayer. Again, 
not simply for recitation. Don't just say it ten times and 
think that you're going to be answered for your particular 
petition because you've said it many times. That's not the 
manner. You're to take the petition, 
as we're going to do tonight, roll it around, consider it, 
what's being said, and seek to apply it in various areas in 
our lives. So the first one is the glory 
of God's name. Hallowed be your name. The Westminster Larger Catechism 
number 190 says, what do we pray for in the first petition? By the way, the Westminster Larger 
Catechism on the Lord's Prayer and on the Ten Commandments is 
very helpful. If you want some things to consider, 
it's not a huge work, a paragraph at the most. They're very good 
things to stimulate thought and meditation and concern for these 
particulars. At any rate, what do we pray 
for in the first petition? In the first petition, which 
is, hallowed be thy name, acknowledging the utter inability and indisposition 
that is in ourselves and all men to honor God aright, We pray 
that God would by His grace enable and incline us and others to 
know, acknowledge, and highly to esteem Him, His titles, attributes, 
ordinances, word, works, and whatsoever He is pleased to make 
Himself known by, and to glorify Him in thought, word, and deed. that he would prevent and remove 
atheism, ignorance, idolatry, profaneness, and whatsoever is 
dishonorable to him, and by his overruling providence, direct 
and dispose of all things to his own glory." Again, it's a 
wonderful summary statement about this first petition. The thing 
that I think is very intriguing, though, they say before they 
get into dealing with the particulars, acknowledging the utter inability 
and indisposition that is in ourselves and all men to honor 
God aright. This is a petition. We're asking 
God, hallowed be your name. We're not saying we want something 
to happen that isn't already true. No, God's name is hallowed. It is honorable. It is glorious. The petition is, help me to hallow 
it. Help me to honor it. Help me 
to praise it. Help me to esteem it. And help 
me to live in a manner that is consistent with true religion. So the confession, or the catechism 
rather, acknowledging our inability. This is a petition that we pray 
to God, asking God to help us to rightly esteem and respect 
Him. It acknowledges the reality of 
our sin and the natural inclination of our heart to not honor the 
God of heaven and earth. Prior to our conversion, many 
of us were blasphemers, we cursed, we said things that we shouldn't 
have, we invoked God's name only to try and get things out of 
Him. Well, even as Christians, as those converted to God, we 
still need great help, great assistance, the power of the 
Spirit and constant and earnest prayer so that we may esteem 
properly that name which is above every name. And so let's look 
first at the meaning of his name. The catechism links not only 
his name, his titles, but his attributes, ordinances, word, 
and works. The meaning of his name, the 
essence of God. When we speak of God, we refer 
to the God of the Bible. We refer to his being, that Exodus 
3.14 reality. When Moses says, who shall I 
say sent me, he says, say I am who I am that I am is the one 
that sent you. This underscores God's being. 
It underscores his independence. It underscores the fact that 
he is of himself. He's not created. He's not derived. He is not put on this planet 
by something outside of himself. He is what he is. The glory of 
the triune God is involved with reference to this, Hallowed be 
your name. When we pray for the hallowing 
of God, we are not praying generically. We are praying with reference 
to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as he has revealed 
himself through the Holy Scripture. So if we really take seriously 
this first petition and we pray it and we mean it, then this 
indicates that we need to know something about the God that 
we are seeking to hallow and glorify. More on that in just 
a moment. But it's not only his essence 
or his being or the very deity of God, it is also his attributes. Thomas Watson says, anything 
by which he may be known. As a man is known by his name, 
so by his attributes of wisdom, power, holiness, and goodness 
God is known by his name. We might speak of somebody, we 
might refer to this particular person by name, and others might 
say, he's a good man, he's a man of integrity, he's a man of honesty, 
he's a man of loyalty. Those are attributes that say 
something about that particular man. The attributes of God function 
in that particular way as well. They ascribe to God certain things 
that are true concerning Him. The shorter catechism says, what 
is God? The answer is God is spirit, 
infinite, eternal, and unchangeable. It is being, wisdom, power, holiness, 
justice, goodness, and truth. All of those things taken together 
describe for us, or at least begin to describe for us, just 
who God is. When we consider various attributes 
of God in the scripture, It helps us with this particular petition. 
Hallowed be your name. Those attributes of God's sovereignty. His sovereignty and His power 
and His majesty and His truth. All of these things help us to 
flesh out what is meant by this reality of God's name. And as well, His word. The Catechism 
says His title attributes, ordinances, and word. It's interesting because 
God magnifies his name among the nations, doesn't he? He says 
that throughout the scripture. God's name is to be glorified. God's name is sacred, it's holy, 
it's awesome. People ought to fear with reference 
to the name of the living and true God. But it's interesting, 
in Psalm 138, the psalmist says, I will worship toward your holy 
temple and praise your name for your loving kindness and your 
truth. And then he says, for you have 
magnified your word above all your name. It's a very intriguing 
statement. We have the name of God in great 
reverence. It is sacred. It is other. It is something that is to be 
esteemed. And the psalmist says that God 
has magnified his word above all your name. Thomas Manton 
says, there is more of God to be seen in his word than in all 
the creatures of the world and in all his other works besides. So when we come and we petition 
God, Hallowed be Your name, it's not just God. That's certainly 
involved. It's no less than the name God, 
but we consider His essence. We consider who He is in His 
being. We consider Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We consider 
His attributes, truth, goodness, righteousness, holiness, justice, 
all of these things. And we consider His Word. All 
of this causes us pray, hallowed be your name, that these things 
would be esteemed and held high, and that men might fear as they 
ought to do." So that's the meaning of his name, or at least sketching, 
or a little bit of it. Secondly, the explanation of 
the petition. When Jesus says, hallowed be 
your name, I've already explained, it doesn't mean we want to create 
something that hasn't been done. It's not as if we make God's 
name holy. It's not as if we make it something 
that is worthy to be praised. God is holy according to Leviticus 
11. God is glorious according to 
Exodus 15. God is set apart, according to 
Isaiah 57. God's name is excellent. This is already a given. So when 
we pray, hallowed be your name, we're not praying for the very 
first instance of this occurring. Psalm 8. The psalmist says, O 
Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth, 
who have set your glory above the heavens. The purpose of the 
petition is to help us recognize the holiness and the hallowedness 
and the sacredness of that particular name, to live in light of this 
reality, to make sure that we esteem it in our private lives, 
in our families, in our churches, and we pray that God's name would 
be esteemed in society. If ever there was a time the 
church ought to be praying this first petition is in a day and 
age where it's perfectly legitimate to blaspheme Jesus Christ as 
a matter of course But you cannot say anything against the Prophet 
Muhammad. You cannot say anything against 
the President of the United States, who's an incompetent man. Or 
you are guilty of racism, or bigotry, or your prejudice, but 
you can blaspheme Jesus like it's nothing. I saw on the news 
recently, there's a TV show, one of the channels, a cable 
channel, is going to put on unless they are swayed otherwise, putting 
on this show called Black Jesus. And Black Jesus is set in either 
Harlem or Compton. I think it was Compton. Compton 
is a black neighborhood, or a black city in California. And Black Jesus, I don't know 
if it's supposed to be the real Jesus, who is now living in Compton, 
or it's a guy who just thinks he's Jesus. But this black Jesus 
cusses, he smokes marijuana, he carries on, and it's just 
an utter blasphemous expression of the way that society is going. This is a good time to pray. 
Hallowed be thy name. Because men are trashing the 
very name of the God of heaven and earth. And so when we pray 
this, we are asking that the name of God be recognized as 
hallowed. It's not about God becoming hallowed, 
but rather His being and attributes being recognized as hallowed. We do not add to His essential 
glory, but we exalt Him. That's the purpose behind the 
petition. Leviticus 10.3 at the death of 
Nadab and Abihu this is what God said by those who come near 
me I must be regarded as holy and before all the people I must 
be glorified now when I say the death of Nadab and Abihu I'm 
assuming you know what happened in that particular instance. 
If you have forgotten, let me remind you, because I think it 
underscores this statement in Leviticus 10.3. God had told 
Israel how they were to worship Him. They were to sacrifice in 
a particular way. Chapters 1 to 7 in the book of 
Leviticus specified how they were to approach God. Very detailed, 
very fastidious, very particular, the means and manner by which 
they were to present their sacrifices. At the end of chapter 9, the 
children of Israel offer up a sacrifice to the Lord that He approves 
of. He comes down, fire comes down 
out of heaven, and accepts that offering that was made by Israel. 
It says, all of the people shout it. It was an expression of praise, 
I take it. And then in Leviticus chapter 
10, Nadab and Abihu offer up strange fire to the Lord, something 
He did not command that. See why Pastor Cam and I at times 
really harp on this whole issue of we need to worship God the 
way He says to? We're not free to be creative. 
We're not free to be innovative. We're not free to determine how 
it is that we worship the triune God of heaven. We are simply 
called to obey him. Well, Nadab and Abihu offered 
a profane fire. So again, fire comes down out 
of heaven. But instead of this time accepting 
the sacrifice, it consumed Nadab and Abihu. So imagine that, you're 
at a worship service, and I do something really foolish, and 
fire comes out of heaven and burns me right up there at the 
pulpit. That would probably put a little fear in your hearts, 
wouldn't it? If that ever happens to me, please, let it put fear 
in your hearts. At that point, we all need a 
good dose of fear. And it's in that situation, it's 
in that setting, and it's in that context that God says, by 
those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy. And before 
all the people, I must be glorified. You see, we ought to take seriously 
the name of God. We profess faith in our Lord 
Jesus Christ. We profess that God the Father 
is our Father. I wouldn't like it if my children 
were out doing stupid things, engaging in sinful conduct, and 
doing it in my name. Well, why is it the case that 
we'll conduct ourselves as Christians in stupid, sinful ways and not 
begin to think about the shame we are casting upon our Father's 
good name? We are identified as the people 
of God. We must pray to God, hallowed 
be thy name. First and foremost, for us, that 
we may honor and that we may esteem it. Psalm 34.3, O magnify 
the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. Psalm 96.8, 
give to the Lord the glory due his name. Bring an offering and 
come into his courts. Jesus prays in John 12, 28, Father, 
glorify your name. You see, this is huge. This is 
where the prayer begins. And I think that if we're thinking 
properly, all the other petitions ultimately serve this. When God's 
kingdom comes, when his will is done on earth, it brings honor 
and glory and praise to his name. When our temporal needs are met, 
when we're eating and we're breathing and we're conducting ourselves 
in this world, when we are being forgiven by our Father and we 
are being protected by our Father, what is the end result? The end 
result is that his name is glorified His name is honored. His name 
is esteemed, exalted, and praised. That is the purpose behind our 
lives. We have been saved, not just 
so we can go to heaven. That's a blessed, wonderful corollary. We have been saved to bring glory 
and honor and praise to our God. This is why we were called out 
of darkness into marvelous light, according to 1 Peter 2.9. It 
is to proclaim the excellencies of Him who did this, or proclaim 
His praises. You see, we're not saved simply 
to sit and enjoy our salvation. Certainly we enjoy our salvation. The prophet says, I rejoice in 
your salvation. But we do what we do to bring 
glory and honor and praise to the name of the living and true 
God. Calvin says the substance of 
this petition is that the glory of God may shine in the world. and may be duly acknowledged 
by men." That's the point. That's what's in view in this 
first petition, that the glory of God may shine in the world 
and may be duly acknowledged by men. So we've seen the meaning 
of his name. Secondly, the explanation of 
the petition. Let's consider some of the particulars 
with reference to the application of this. First, as individuals, we need 
to know this stuff, right? See, this is the fundamental 
difference between Baalism or paganism or heathenism or any 
of the false religions of the day versus the religion of the 
Bible. See, God tells us we need to 
know him when we come to him to worship him and pray to him. 
We're not emptying our minds. We are not getting things out. We're not just disengaging and 
somehow getting in touch with the cosmic forces that are out 
there. No, the scripture tells us we 
need to be filled with the knowledge of God most high. We need to 
know his name, his being, his attributes, his titles, his word. 
We need to understand truth about God in order to apply this petition. So you see, it's not enough just 
to pray, hallowed be thy name. But we also must take means or 
we must put into practice the things that we are praying. Owen 
says, he who prays as he ought will endeavor to live as he prays. So when we say, hallowed be thy 
name, we're not just saying, God zapped me and caused me to 
always esteem you. Within the petition is this pursuit 
of knowing who God is so that we can rightly esteem and praise 
and honor him. that we know his name. Second, 
that we profess his name. We can never fulfill this first 
petition unless we're Christians. We can't hallow the name of God 
if we haven't come to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Profession 
of faith, confession of faith in our Lord Christ is absolutely 
crucial. in order to put into practice 
this first petition. Thirdly, there ought to be a 
dependence upon his name. We learned something of that 
on Sunday morning. I hope we did. What does the 
psalmist say in Psalm 46.10? Be still and know that I am God. Trust in God. Seek refuge and 
safety in God. We honor the name of God when 
we are still in God, when we know that He is God and we rest 
upon Him and depend upon Him. Fourthly, we need to esteem His 
name in our words and actions. It's always intrigued me that 
when David committed his sins, the big sins, murder and adultery, 
Nathan comes and reproves him. Remember how Nathan does it? 
He tells David a story and David gets all upset and he's, you 
know, that, you know, woe to that man. And Nathan says, thou 
art the man. And he indicts him and he reproves 
him for his sin with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of 
Uriah. It says there, Nathan says, by this you have given 
cause to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. David, when the 
nations around Israel see you carrying on like a pagan, they 
speak ill of the God of Israel. So you see, if we're going to 
pray, hallowed be your name, we ought to esteem his name in 
our words and our actions. So it doesn't do us any good 
to say, oh, how I love God and how I praise Him and esteem Him, 
and then go out and do things that cause the enemies of the 
Lord to reproach or blaspheme that particular name. Again, 
Thomas Watson says, we hallow and sanctify God's name when 
we have a high appreciation and esteem of Him and set Him highest 
in our thoughts. The Hebrew word to honor signifies 
to esteem precious. We conceive of God in our minds 
as the most super-excellent and infinite good. We see in Him 
a constellation of all beauties and delights. We adore Him in 
His glorious attributes, which are the several beams by which 
His divine nature shines forth. We adore Him in His works, which 
are bound up in three great volumes, Creation, Redemption, and Providence. We hallow and sanctify His name 
when we lift Him highest in our souls. We esteem Him a supereminent 
and incomprehensible God." So when we do that, hopefully, and 
this is the petition, we will live consistently with that esteem. It doesn't do us any good to 
say how super excellent our God is and then go conduct ourselves 
like pagans because it brings reproach upon the name of God. You all know this, most of you, 
and some of you will. When you have kids and they get 
out of line, guess who it reflects upon? Or you are a manager or 
a boss in a job situation or a supervisor in the military. 
Was the case. When I was in the military, if 
an airman went out and got a DUI or did something stupid off base, 
the supervisor got a talking to as well. because he, in large 
part, is responsible for his subordinate. The same thing is 
true. When we go out and act like fools 
and sinful wretches, it brings reproach upon the name of God. So we must know his name, profess 
his name, depend upon his name, esteem his name, and fifthly, 
and again, this is as individuals, we promote his name. 1 Peter 2.9, I've already mentioned 
that. We're called out of darkness 
into marvelous light that we may proclaim the praises of Him. And proclaim there doesn't necessarily 
mean that everybody's a preacher, or everybody stands behind a 
pulpit, or everybody sets up a place at five corners and starts 
telling people about Jesus. Proclaiming His praises, proclaiming 
His excellencies, can be as simple as that man saying, you know, 
I was blind, but now I see, and it's as a result of that man, 
Jesus Christ, telling people what Christ has done for us. 
This is a means by which God's name is hallowed. See, I think 
at times we think God's name isn't hallowed if people don't 
get saved. God's name is hallowed in the 
Declaration and the Proclamation of Truth. Every time the Gospel 
is preached in truth, God is glorified. That's it. It's not 
just when sinners are saved. It's when sinners are saved, 
and it's when sinners aren't saved. It's the proclamation 
of the truth of God's name. That brings glory to Him. So that as individuals. Secondly, 
in families. Family religion is a reality. We ought to take seriously the 
claims of Jesus Christ with reference to the name of God. Deuteronomy 
6. That is a foundational, fundamental passage that every single one 
of us should have in our minds and hearts when it comes to family 
religion. When you pray, hallowed be thy 
name, hopefully you say, God, help me to hallow your name. Help me to esteem it. Help me 
to proclaim it. Help me to depend upon it. All 
those things. But if you're a father, or you're 
a mother, or you're a grandparent, You pray, Lord God, get a hold 
of my children. Get a hold of my grandchildren. 
I don't want them to blaspheme your name. I don't want them 
to misuse your name. I don't want them to be like 
the heathen or the pagan. I want you to get a hold of their 
heart and teach them the fear of the Lord so that they may 
proclaim your excellencies. You see, the nature of the prayer, 
you don't just say, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be 
thy name, and then you're done. You think about the petition. 
How does it apply to me? How does it apply in my marriage? 
How does it apply in my family? And in a moment, how does it 
apply with reference to the church, with reference to missions and 
evangelism? Hallowed be thy name ought to 
be something that householders and persons in homes pray for 
everybody in that home. Notice in Deuteronomy 6, verse 
4. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our 
God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your 
God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your 
strength. 6.4 is Israel's central confession 
of faith. It is their 1689 London Baptist 
Confession in one verse. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our 
God, the Lord is one. As a result of that confession, 
verse 5, as individuals, you shall love the Lord your God 
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your 
strength. Verse 6, and these words which I command you today 
shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently 
to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your 
house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you 
rise up. You shall bind them as a sign 
on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your 
eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and 
on your gates." So you see, we pray, God, hallowed be thy name 
in our homes. We don't want a home that's mixed. 
We don't want the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light 
trying to occupy the same space. We can't convert. We can't save. That's for sure. But we can pray 
to the God who does convert, the God who does save, and we 
can pray, God, teach my child the fear of the Lord so that 
they may honor and hallow Your great name. So that they may 
esteem You. So that they may prize You. So 
that they may read Watson and go, wow, I should see God. has 
this super-excellent being that is worthy of all adoration. Family 
religion is absolutely crucial. Joshua confesses this in Joshua 
24, his parting exhortation to the children of Israel, an exhortation 
they certainly didn't plead to, an exhortation they certainly 
didn't hold on to for the long haul. But in 2415, he says, as 
for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. You can hear 
Joshua at the throne of grace praying to God, Lord, teach my 
children to fear you. Teach my children to hallow your 
name. Teach my children to honor you 
and to esteem you and to praise you. And the same thing is true 
in New Covenant religion, Ephesians 6.4. You fathers, do not provoke 
your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition 
of the Lord. You see, you want well-behaved 
kids. You want to be able to go to 
Taco Bell and have them not throw food at each other. That's commendatory 
in today's world. But you want something much more 
than that. You want them to hallow the name 
of God Most High. And that does not happen apart 
from His grace. So you come to the throne of 
grace and you say, Father, teach me to esteem your name. Teach 
my son or my daughter to esteem your name as well. So we see 
the application of this first petition as individuals. We see the application as families. Thirdly, we see the application 
in the church. You may turn to Ephesians 3. 
Ephesians chapter 3, verses 8 to 11. Again, just teasing out some 
of the implications or applications consistent with this first petition. 
We pray, hallowed be thy name for ourselves. We pray it for 
our families. We pray it for our church as 
well. Ephesians 3, verse 8, to me, 
who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was 
given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable 
riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship 
of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been 
hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ. 
to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known 
by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. Isn't that interesting? The manifold 
wisdom of God is made known by the church. The church is the 
means by which this manifold wisdom is made known to others. The manifold wisdom, to be sure, 
is made known to the church. God does that, and other portions 
of scripture teach us that. But in this particular instance, 
the church is to function as a means by which, or a vehicle 
by which, certain truths concerning God are communicated to others. And in this instance, it says, 
to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known 
by the Church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 
according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ 
Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence 
through faith in Him. Therefore I ask that you do not 
lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. 
God so worked in our church that we would be a means of declaring 
your attributes. That's what Paul is saying here. We want the attribute of God's 
manifold wisdom to be demonstrated to these principalities and powers 
in the heavenly places. First Corinthians 11 alludes 
to this reality, that angels are looking down upon the church 
at worship. Angels are gazing upon corporate 
worship services. I like to think they're getting 
something more than a guy who's wearing torn jeans, holding a 
latte with a crooked hat on, who's talking to people like 
there's nothing big going on. The angels ought to be able to 
look down and see the trophy case of God's grace, God's power, 
God's wisdom displayed in the salvation of these particular 
people. We ought to pray in such a way 
that God's glory and God's name would be realized in and through 
the church. Hebrews 12, 28 to 29. It says, 
therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, 
let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with 
reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire. 
You see, church is serious business. Worship is serious business. We are not to take it lightly. 
We are not to treat it like it's any other thing, but rather we 
are to engage in an acceptable form of worship with reverence 
and godly fear. What does reverence and godly 
fear sound like? Hallowed be thy name. We ought 
to pray that on the Lord's Day, God's name would be hallowed 
here, that it would be praised here, that it would be esteemed 
here. We have to have that in our minds. We're not simply here 
for ourselves. We are here first and foremost 
for God and for His glory and for His honor and for the magnification 
of His name. I think if everybody got a piece 
of that in their minds and hearts, it would probably dramatically 
change the way that we come to worship when we know that our 
primary objective is to bring glory to Him. See, the church 
doesn't function that way. The primary objective today with 
reference to church is community, relations with one another. And those things aren't bad. 
Community's good. I like community. I'm part of 
a community. Relationships are good. Social 
interaction is good. Getting encouragement is good. 
But the primary objective when we step foot into this place 
is that God's name would be hallowed and honored. Let's pray that 
for our corporate gatherings. And then with reference to the 
church as well, as we read in Westminster Larger Catechism 
190, that God would prevent and remove atheism, ignorance, idolatry, 
profaneness, and whatsoever is dishonorable to Him. I mean, 
if we legitimately prayed that, we're probably praying against 
50% of the churches out there. Probably a little higher. I'm 
just trying to be kind and gentle. Roger's going, yeah, it's probably 
higher. But listen. Atheism. What does that do? It 
dishonors the name of God. Ignorance. You have people that 
don't know the Bible. You have preachers that don't 
know the Bible. You have men that stand behind 
pulpits and they don't preach the Bible. Does that ignorance 
honor God? Is God esteemed through that 
declaration? Are the people of God being taught 
to revere and approach Him with godly fear and to hallow and 
glorify and prize His holy name? No, ignorance has no place in 
Christian pulpits. Idolatry. So much of what passes 
for evangelicalism is probably nothing more than pagan idolatry. Baalism, this whole emphasis 
on experience and feeling and emotion, that has more in connection 
with Baal than it does with Yahweh. Profaneness. profaneness, when 
we come in and we're not esteeming God. This is something we have 
to take conscious stock in with reference to worship. There was 
one of the Puritans, I think it was Richard Steele, wrote 
a book, How to Deal with Wandering Thoughts During Worship. You 
ever have wandering thoughts during worship? No, not me. I'm 
always 100% focused. We probably all struggle with 
wandering thoughts, not even in worship, but leading worship 
sometimes. It's amazing the kinds of things 
that jump into your head. It's like, why is that there? Get out. You just want to throw 
those things out. It is a battle. There is a real 
devil. There is remaining corruption. 
There are these things that are vying for our attention. Profaneness 
does not esteem and honor the great and holy name of God. And 
just in case we haven't covered everything and whatsoever is 
dishonorable to him. So with reference to individuals, 
families, and churches, we ought to pray, hallowed be thy name. And then based on Psalm 46.10, 
we're really going to milk that particular verse. We ought to 
pray, hallowed be thy name, Lord God, throughout the earth. throughout 
the earth, because what does the psalmist say? Be still and 
know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. C. H. Spurgeon says, they forget 
God. They worship idols, but Jehovah 
will yet be honored by them. Reader, the prospects of missions 
are bright, bright as the promises of God. Let no man's heart fail 
him. The solemn declarations of this 
verse must be fulfilled. I will be exalted in the earth 
among all people, whatever may have been their wickedness or 
their degradation. Either by terror or love, God 
will subdue all hearts to himself. the whole round earth shall yet 
reflect the light of his majesty. All the more because of the sin 
and obstinacy and pride of man shall God be glorified when grace 
reigns onto eternal life in all corners of the world. Psalm 67, 
verses 2 and 7, that your way may be known on earth, your salvation 
among all nations. God shall bless us, and all the 
ends of the earth shall fear him. So you see, that first petition 
has reference to missions. When we pray, God, hallowed be 
thy name. in my life, in my family's life, 
in my church life, but it doesn't stop there. God, send forth your 
glorious gospel and teach those people that are currently committed 
to Muhammad and Islam, teach them to hallow the great name 
of Christ Almighty. Instead of esteeming him or saying 
that he is a prophet, lesser, inferior to Muhammad, teach them 
that he is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Philippians 
2, 9-11, Therefore God also has highly exalted him, and given 
him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus 
every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth, 
and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should 
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the 
Father. So you see, the first petition 
is crucial. If we don't pray that God would 
be honored and glorified and hallowed, then in many respects 
the rest of it just doesn't ring, or just kind of rings empty or 
hollow. We need to be serious about the glory and the honor 
of our Most High God. Well, let us close in prayer, 
and if there's any questions or comments, we can discuss that. Father, we thank you for this 
prayer. We thank you that our Lord Jesus 
gave it to us. God, help us to take these things 
to heart, to consider them, to roll them around, to see how 
they apply to us, to see how they apply in our families and 
church and missions. Give us grace to be bold in our 
prayers, God, to come to you with faith, with confidence, 
with the reality and the knowledge that you hear the prayers of 
your upright, that you love, you delight in the prayers of 
the upright. Grant us grace to come to you. Grant us grace, 
Father, to be faithful in these means. And bless our church. 
Help us to glorify you in our times of corporate prayer together. 
And we pray these things through Christ our Lord. Amen.