Manna From Messiah

Pastor Ellen Mumper, Canada

 

 

 

Hallowed is His Name!

 

Isaiah 6 opens with some of the most awe inspiring words of Scripture. " In the year that king Uzziyah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the serafim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew. One called to another, and said, 'Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Hosts! The whole earth is full of his glory!' The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke."

 

It is almost impossible now for me to think of the throne in Heaven without remembering these words. Think of it! Immense in glory- the throne room is filled with His glory. It's very high, this throne. The ONE sitting on that throne is HOLY. Seraphs, which are burning angels charged with the mission of guarding the Throne and He who sits on it, fly about. They are both horrible and stunningly beautiful to look upon. We don't know exactly how Isaiah pictures them but he saw them and his reaction was wonder and fear. These are intrinsic parts of true worship. His voice was powerful- so much so that when He calls, the foundations shake and the seraphim, burning, fill the place with holy smoke. Power. Majesty. Glory! And He that sits on that throne is more wonderful than all of these things. He who spoke the worlds into existence is worthy of our worship. Hallowed, holy is His Name!

 

I will never forget the very first time I went into an evangelical type church. I was shocked. People were milling around and talking and laughing. I am not saying that is wrong but that I was not used to it or prepared for it. For the first song, this man, jovial and grinning, waved his hands in the air and the piano and organ broke into "He Lives". Well, I learned to love those people and that hymn! I learned to joyously sing with them and praise and worship the LORD in those settings. But nevertheless my first impression was... "get me out of here!"

 

Let me take you by contrast into a synagogue setting. Worshippers there go through a protocol of worship, or a siddur of liturgy. Siddur means 'order'. There is a protocol for coming into the presence of a king. Though most Jewish people have missed realising Yeshua is their Messiah, they nonetheless have a very definite approach to GOD as a KING. One of the beautiful parts of liturgy, my favourite, is taken from Isaiah 6. The cantor intones, in Hebrew, "We shall sanctify Your Name in this world, just as they sanctify it in Heaven above, as it is written by Your prophet, And one will call another and say" and the congregation says with him, "HOLY HOLY HOLY is the LORD, Master of Legions, the whole earth is filled with His glory!" The liturgy continues with the congregation in worship as a people standing before a King. The liturgy of worship takes them into His presence. They bow. There is a hush. No one laughs or giggles or talks out of turn. Oh how they need Messiah Yeshua, but they DO know that God is HOLY.

 

I was fascinated last year with the release of Tommy Tenney's book "Finding Favor With the King", which he wrote prior to scripting his film "One Night With the King." These were words that riveted me, even as he explained them:

 

"Just as worship is the protocol that protects the king, it is also the protocol that qualifies the visitor... Relationship gives us the right of access to the King. Worship is the garment that gets us through the door."

 

Think of it! The protocol for approaching royalty! If we were to be granted admittance into the throne room or office of some great king, or queen, or president, or prime minister, there would definitely be a protocol for pre-admittance. There would have to be an invitation. Surely we would wear our very best clothing, something clean and nice. We would not put our hands in our pockets. We would be allowed only certain postions. There is no way we would turn our backs on an important person. We would maybe even take a gift of some kind. There are words we would and would not use. Protocol such as this, protects the king. Screening for weapons... checking pockets... verifying identity. So much protocol for those precious five minutes!

 

If our earthly "important people" need protecting, how much more the King of kings? Not that He is in danger of being harmed, but His Name and integrity are worthy of protection. Hallowed be His Name! Think of the protocol of Biblical examples. David, anointed to be king himself, honoured King Saul because of his position. Esther the queen knew because she had gone to school for preparation for it, the right way to approach an earthly king. To violate that would bring her death. And in the verses above, Isaiah knew his place. He said " "Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts!" (Isaiah 6:5). Worship! One of my favourite verses in the Psalms, Psalm 138:2, says "I will bow down toward your holy temple, And give thanks to your Name for your loving kindness and for your truth; For you have exalted your Name and your Word above all." When I come into His presence, that is what I want to do- to bow. I think sometimes in our familiarity with the Father who loves His children, we forget to bow. He is still a King. We sometimes forget that even His Name is holy. We whisper it. We bow. We reverence the King who is also a Father.

 

Protocol qualifies the visitor! Oh yes! Listen to Yeshua's words. He speaks with the woman of Samaria and of all people, she wonders how He, a Jew could speak with her. In John chapter 4 we read this account. He wants a drink and the ensuing conversation reveals to her her sin, that He is the Messiah, and that He gives living water- salvation. Standing before this fallen woman is a King. He asks for water. Gently He, the Holy One, exposes her sin and her need and her deep thirst. Then He gives HER living water! In the course of the conversation, while she's hedging and stalling before coming to faith, she tells Him (not knowing Who He is yet!): "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you Jews say that in Yerushalayim is the place where people ought to worship." (John 4:20.) Yeshua then tells her, in verses 22 - 23: "You worship that which you don't know... But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshippers."

 

This is the protocol that qualifies us: worshipping in spirit and in truth. It's not enough to worship only in spirit. I know many believers who praise and sing and clap their hands, and cry and shout with joy. That is a beautiful part of worship. But in truth is also important. Worship in His Truth- according to His Word, in obedience to His word, which is impossible without relationship. "Relationship gives us the right of access to the King." I know that I can only approach this Holy King, washed in the blood of the Lamb of Calvary. I know that I am His child. I remember that in the Torah, when the children of Israel set up the Tabernacle in the wilderness, there was definite instruction about the Holy of Holies, the Kadosh Kedoshim. Only one person could approach God then- the high priest. He had to follow a certain protocol and only on one day, the Day of Atonement. Any other person- wrong relationship- would have been struck dead instantly. The high priest himself, approaching the wrong way, would have been struck dead immediately. Praise GOD the veil is torn and the way to His throne is open to us all now! IF we're rightly related to Him.

 

Only when He is our Abba, our Heavenly Father and shepherd, can we put on the garment of worship and come reverently into His presence. And then He- O blessed thought! scoops us up and holds us in His arms.

 

Hallowed is His Name!