To MAGNIFY GOD-IV—Psalm 34:5(:1-10)
[VBS Theme—‘Magnified’—Psalm 34:3]
Attention:
Subway Violinist Experiment:
This is a true story. In Washington DC, at a Metro Subway Station, during the morning rush hour, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for nearly-45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After a few minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace & stopped for a few seconds, & then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
Sometime later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the violinist’s container &, without stopping, continued to walk.
Later, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch & started to walk again.
Shortly after that, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, even though he was fascinated with the violinist’s playing. The same actions were repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move along quickly.
The musician played continuously. There was never a crowd. A few people gave money, but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After forty-three minutes, he finished playing & silence took over. No one noticed & no one applauded. There was no recognition at all. He packed up his violin & went home.
*Very few knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, who was considered one of the greatest classical violinists of his era. A writer for the Washington Post, had convinced violinist Bell, to don a T-shirt & baseball cap, & attempt being a street musician, in order to find out what kind of response he might invite from the throng of ‘work-a-day’ people who would scurry past him. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a Stradivarius violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before, Joshua Bell had sold-out a theater in Boston, where the seats averaged $100 each to sit & listen to him play the same music.
Joshua Bell ‘street violinist' Considerations:
•We can be guilty of casually regarding God’s glory
•?Do we truly see & appreciate God as He works in every aspect of our life?
*When we do NOT magnify & exalt God, then WHAT is it that we are POSSIBLY allowing to TAKE HIS PLACE in our hurried life?
*The Church must Magnify, ‘make much of’, elevate, & exalt God, so that the reality of His nature, character, & workings can be easily seen & understood by the world at large!
•So, God’s people, both individually & gathered, must MAGNIFY GOD!
Need:
By God’s design, what is expected of every person on earth to personally ‘Magnify’, YHWH-God.
However, that expectation for mankind, & God’s calling to mankind, is left to each person’s personal choice, so that every person becomes personally answerable to God, for whether they follow God’s intended design or not!
There is an ever-present ‘false belief’ that ‘God sends people to hell.’ That ‘belief’ is simply an act of ‘self-justification.’
BECAUSE, God does NOT send people to hell...People send themselves to hell, by dismissing God’s reality & plan for mankind!
David was a recipient of YHWH-God’s protection(deliverance/rescue), & so David made much of & ‘magnified’ Him.
So simply stated:
God’s people magnify God.
But:
When do we truly magnify God?
When is God magnified in your life?
In verses :1-10 are found:
6 realities necessary for magnifying YHWH-God in your life.
The last time we were in Psalm 34, we found that in order:
To Magnify God In Your Life, God must be...
1. BOAST-WORTHY To You(:1-2a)
2. SHARE-WORTHY To You(:2b-3)
3. FREEING To You(:4)
Today, we’ll discover that in order:
4—To Magnify God In Your Life, God must be...
JOY-WORTHY To You(:5)
Explanation:(:5)Provider of ‘Joy’ to you
:5—“They looked to Him & were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.”
Who are “they”?...“They” are those people who find reason to “look to” YHWH God for their fullness!
Upon YHWH-God’s people “looking to Him”, “they” become “radiant”—With joy, with rescue, with protection, forgiveness, with being so loved, etc., etc..
There is never any “shame” regarding God’s nature or wisdom, that will ever come upon any of those(“they”) who truly trust YHWH-God. No reason or trace of being “ashamed” regarding God, will ever found in or upon those who fully trust in YHWH-God.
•Even God’s people may be “ashamed” about their own representation of God before others. But they are absolutely NEVER “ashamed” of God Himself!
Mk. 8:38(Lk. 9:26)—““For whoever is ashamed of Me & My words in this adulterous & sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.””
Isa. 49:23—“Kings shall be your foster fathers, And their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, And lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD, For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.””
Rom. 9:33—“As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone & rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
?Can you find JOY in one of whom you are ashamed?...OR...?Can you find JOY in the actions of which you are ashamed?...Of course not!
•Our children may disappoint us at times in their growth toward adulthood.
YHWH God NEVER disappoints or leaves any of His people ‘in the lurch’ as it were!
Js. 1:2-4—“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect & complete, lacking nothing.”
“Radiant/Lightened”—rhn naw-har'—Qal Perfect 3rd Common Plural—1) To shine, beam, light, burn—1a) (Qal)--To beam, be radiant; 2) To flow, stream—2a) (Qal)--To flow, stream. Strong—To sparkle, i.e. figuratively--Be cheerful; hence(from the sheen of a running stream)--To flow, i.e. figuratively--Assemble; a primitive root. Used 6X.
Argumentation:
Ps. 97:11-12—“Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.”
Deut. 28:45-48—Moses to Israel,—“Moreover all these curses shall come upon you & pursue & overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments & His statutes which He commanded you. And they shall be upon you for a sign & a wonder, & on your descendants forever. [:47]Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy & gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, & in need of everything; & He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.”
Neh. 8:10b—after the Jewish exiles had returned & heard God’s written word, Ezra the priest stated,—“...Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Rom. 14:17—“...the kingdom of God is not eating & drinking, but righteousness & peace & joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Rom. 15:13—“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy & peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
2Cor. 2:2-3—“For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me? And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all.”
Gal. 5:22-23—“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
Php. 1:21-25—“For to me, to live is Christ, & to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart & be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain & continue with you all for your progress & joy of faith,”
“Joy” is an integral part of saving faith, or it is not saving faith at all!
Ps. 40:16—“Let all those who seek You rejoice & be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The LORD be magnified!””
2Chron. 7:10—at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple,—“On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful & glad of heart for the good that the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, & for His people Israel.”
Illustration:
•For two seasons now, we have had ‘Carolina Wrens’ build a nest in one of our hanging fern baskets. We get to watch the eggs appear, then hatch, then see the babies grow. Observing that expression of the ‘wren kingdom gives us great ‘JOY’!
•Your recognition of God’s Creative excessiveness is key to finding your Joy in Him!
JOY-WORTHY To You
Something/Someone you find JOY in:
•The wife God has blessed me with.
•Flowers blooming.
•Hummingbirds at the feeder.
•The beautiful view behind the parsonage.
Application:
?Is YHWH-God JOY-WORTHY To You?
?Are YOU someone by & in whom God is MAGNIFIED?
?Do YOU MAGNIFY God in your life/living?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Recall Joshua Bell’s foray as a ‘Subway Violinist’ who, though he played in the midst of the hurried throng of work-a-day people, he went unrecognized by them, even though he was a famous classical violinist virtuoso.
*The Church must faithfully Magnify, ‘make much of’, elevate, & exalt God, so that the reality of His nature, character, & workings can be easily seen & understood by the world at large!
•So, God’s people, both individually & gathered, must MAGNIFY GOD!
Action:
To Magnify God In Your Life, God must be...
4. JOY-WORTHY To You(:5)
1. BOAST-WORTHY To You(:1-2a)
2. SHARE-WORTHY To You(:2b-3)
3. FREEING To You(:4)
Pnt# 4 only presented 07/06/2025am to:
Salem Baptist Church
1618 Salem Rd.
Bennettsville, SC 29512
Pnt# 2 only! presented 06/08/2025am to:
Salem Baptist Church
1618 Salem Rd.
Bennettsville, SC 29512
