333. Make God’s Name Known
Ezekiel 39:7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
God promises to make His holy name known among His people. He answers our prayer, “Hallowed be Thy name.”God’s name is holy in our midst when we hear God’s Word and live according to it, that is, when we believe the gospel. In the midst of a sinful, evil, wicked, godless and corrupt generation (the world in which we presently live) another world exists, a holy world in which the presence of God lives. The Christian lives in both worlds. Both the physical and spiritual worlds impact our lives every day.
God’s Name is indeed holy, but we need that holiness to be made known among us. We need to overcome: Jesus says, “I have overcome the world.”He overcomes for us who believe in Him. This is the promise: God will break into the world and make His Presence known in answer to our prayers. The temptations that come to us through the world and our flesh come from sin, death and the devil. And when God shows up in the midst of temptation He overcomes. And thereby a little holiness affects our life and produces blessings according to God’s good and gracious will. We pray for and we expect God’s Name, God’s Will and God’s Kingdom to break into our lives and make a difference. It is a struggle, but Jesus always wins.
Where God’s Holy Name is in effect Sin, Death and Satan always lose. Sometimes we may feel like we are losing, and we may be afraid we have picked the wrong side, But the truth is that God’s love, grace and forgiveness is more powerful. We can pray with confidence, “Hallowed be Thy name,” because we have this promise. And Jesus never fails.