To MAGNIFY GOD—Psalm 34:3(:1-10)
[VBS Theme—‘Magnified’—Psalm 34:3]
Attention:
From 1981-1989 I was an ‘Assistant Coordinator’ working in a particular lab, under one of the researchers at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, outside of Savannah, Georgia on Skidaway Island. Skidaway was & is a ‘marine research’ lab established & partially funded thru the University of Georgia.
In the years there, my job was to analyze samples of zooplankton that our lab had collected along multiple transects that were run off the coasts of Georgia & Florida. We took into account the specific oceanic depths, salinities, temperatures & other physical properties, that existed where the animals had been collected.
•The vast majority of my time in the lab was spent seated & looking thru a ‘stereo-microscope’ to identify & tabulate the individual & total numbers of zooplankton, that were in each sample, dividing them by species & sex if possible.
After having tabulated the zoological findings, I would physically graph them in the water column by species. Our conclusions would give the ‘big-picture’ of what was happening in that particular part of the Atlantic Ocean. Our research revealed how the resident zooplankton responded to changes in the water & vice-versa.
Our research would then be analyzed by our particular lab’s Director, who would then work up & publish our findings in respected scientific journals.
*So, by our ‘Magnifying’ the zooplankton—which are largely unseen to the naked eye—our lab was able to combine it’s findings with that of other labs at Skidaway, & draw firm conclusions about the state of the ocean’s dynamics, it’s health, or the lack thereof.
*Without ‘Magnifying’ the zooplankton, the research would have been pointless!
*Likewise, the Church must Magnify God, they must ‘make much of’ God, so that He, His nature, His character, & His workings can be easily seen by the world at large!
•So, in general, our job, as the church, is To MAGNIFY GOD!
Need:
When a person does not magnify God, make much of Him, or elevate Him to His proper position & place in life, the person’s entire life become self-centered. A life uncommitted to God, is severely & detrimentally limited in scope. That self-centeredness causes people, to live their lives within the narrowly confining limitations of this created world’s acceptance & knowledge. And that is why there is so much unrest in the world.
By God’s design, what is expected of every person & what every person is called to, is to personally ‘Magnify’, make much of, or elevate YHWH-God. However, God’s expectation for mankind, & His calling to mankind, is left to each person’s personal choice, so that every person is personally answerable to God, for whether they follow God’s design or not!
Php. 2:12, 13—“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear & trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will & to do for His good pleasure.”
David was a recipient of YHWH-God’s protection(deliverance/rescue), & so David magnified Him.
God’s people magnify God.
How do/can you magnify God?
When do we truly magnify God?
When is God magnified in your life?
6 realities necessary for magnifying YHWH-God in your life.
2—To Magnify God In Your Life, God must be...
SHARE-WORTHY To You(:2b-3)
Explanation:(:2b-3)
:2b—“...The humble shall hear of it & be glad.”
:3—“Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.”
:2b—“...The humble shall hear of it & be glad.”
Those who are “humble” & ‘contrite’ of heart(:18), shall “hear” the praising “boasts” of those who trust in Ever-existent & eternal God!
•Ps. 34:18—“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.”
“Contrite”—akd dak-kaw’—Noun Masc.--1) Dust. •Adjective Masc. Plural Construct--2) Contrite. Strong—Crushed(literally--Powder, or figuratively--Contrite). Used 3X--Ps. 34:18; Ps. 90:3; Isa. 57:15.?From—akd daw-kaw'—To crumble; transitively--To bruise(literally or figuratively); a primitive root(compare hkd daw-kaw'—To collapse(physically or mentally)).
“Contrite”—“Feeling or showing sorrow & remorse for improper or objectionable behavior, actions, etc.”(MW) “Feeling or expressing remorse or penitence; affected by guilt.”(NOAD)
And such “humble” people are cheered or “gladdened” by such Good News. And particularly by the Good News that is in Christ Jesus!
:3—“Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.”
The writer(King David) invites his audience to do, as he himself is doing. David wants others to experience the same awe & love for YHWH-God that he himself has. David wants all/others from among his people—God’s people—to recognize YHWH-God as entirely worthy of personal & collective national “magnification.”
David is “magnifying the LORD”! David is publicly/openly/unashamedly lifting up the eternally existing YHWH.
And David invites his subjects(national Israel) & invites you & me today, to “exalt” or lift up YHWH-God’s very “name.” David invites them & you & me to “exalt” the “name” of YHWH-God corporately(“together”).
Again, YHWH-God is entirely worthy of individually personal & collectively national “exaltation.”
Argumentation:
Ps. 69:30—“I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.”
Mat. 28:18-20—“And Jesus came & spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven & on earth. Go therefore & make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father & of the Son & of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; & lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
Philemon 1:4-6—“I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love & faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus & toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”
Acts 19:8-20—“And he[the apostle Paul] went into the synagogue & spoke boldly for three months, reasoning & persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened & did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them & withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews & Greeks. Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, & the diseases left them & the evil spirits went out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered & said, “Jesus I know, & Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, & prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked & wounded. This became known both to all Jews & Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; & fear fell on them all, & the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many who had believed came confessing & telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together & burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, & it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily & prevailed.”
Illustration:
Any local Church gathering, is initially a gathering of ‘God’s people’—those who have committed themselves to God thru Jesus Christ. They gather for the intentionally collective purpose of worship & training. A church is not, nor has ever been, a ‘club’, where you would pay your money & get what you want.
Being God’s people, they, in turn, then invite others into their midst—to Worship, Bible Study, Meals, Trips, Playground fun, Various social gatherings, Grounds-care, etc. ‘God’s people’ invite into their midst, those who have lost their way, & are without Christ...‘God’s people’ invite those who are despondent, or those who are struggling in their lives. ‘God’s people’ invite those who are satisfied with their lives, being absent of Jesus.
Those ‘church members’ want to rescue others from the world’s lying, empty, debilitating, joy-sucking, & soul-compromising embrace. I invite YOU to get involved in the harvest!
•SHARE-WORTHY To You?
Application:
?Is YHWH-God SHARE-WORTHY To You?
?Are YOU someone by & in whom God is MAGNIFIED?
?Do YOU MAGNIFY God in your life?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Generally speaking, the job of the church, is To MAGNIFY GOD!
Action:
To Magnify God In Your Life, God must be...
2. SHARE-WORTHY To You(:2b-3)
Pnt# 2-only! presented 06/08/2025am(VBS Kickoff) to:
Salem Baptist Church
1618 Salem Rd.
Bennettsville, SC 29512
[VBS Theme—‘Magnified’—Psalm 34:3]
