To Magnify God-4

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.””