Magnifying the Lord
Ps. 34:1-3 Intro: Magnify= the Hebrew word is gadal (gaw dal) and means to promote or praise; the Greek word is megaluno and means to enlarge! To make conspicuous; to declare the greatness of. We do understand that to Magnify something does not change the object; does not actually make it any bigger than it is BUT it makes it Appear Bigger; easier to see; more visible. We are to Magnify the Lord! We are to promote Him. We are to Enlarge him. We are to make him more conspicuous and declare his greatness. Oh, Magnify the Lord with me! How can we magnify the Lord? 1) By Praising Him. O magnify the Lord with me and let us Exalt His Name together. By speaking out our Praises of God, we Magnify Him; we declare his greatness and promote him; we enlarge him in the eyes of those around us. Ps 69:30 I will Praise the name of God ...and will Magnify him with thanks giving. In Psalm 40 David told how the Lord inclined his ear and heard his cry; he told how the Lord brought him up out of a horrible pit and out of the miry clay; how he set his feet on a rock and established his goings- then he said, He has put a new song in my mouth even Praise unto our God- Many shall see it..and shall trust in the Lord. David realized that when he Praised the Lord and declared his greatness, it caused Others to See the Lord better- AND when they saw him better they were convinced to trust in him. O how we Christians; we children of God; we who have been saved by his grace; cleansed by his blood; born again by his Spirit; O how we should Magnify Him to those around us. They need to Hear about how great our God is! In Acts2 we read about the Powerful and Supernatural Outpouring of the Holy Ghost in the Upper Room. We are told that they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Then in vs 11 we read that those who heard these believers said this- “we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.” They were speaking out Praises to God! In Acts 10 when the Holy Ghost fell upon the household of Cornelius, Peter said that he and Jews with him “heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.” Think about how powerful that is! When the Holy Ghost filled believers and spoke through them, they were Magnifying God; declaring his greatness; promoting HIM; exalting him; enlarging him. I found it interesting (and a little sad) that out of the 19 times the word Magnify is found in the Bible- 9 of those times it speaks about People who were Magnifying THEMSELVES! How tragic- they were declaring their own greatness and enlarging themselves instead of magnifying the Lord! Let’s Magnify the Lord by Praising Him! 2) By Telling Others About Him. We certainly do magnify the Lord when we tell other people about him; about his love; his grace; his mercy; his forgiveness; his compassion; his healing power; his saving power; his purity. In Mark 7 Jesus healed a man who was deaf and could not speak. Mark records that those who witnessed this mighty miracle, instead of keeping it to themselves, Published It. The Greek word means to Herald; to Proclaim abroad. They magnified the Lord by telling others about his mighty healing power. Later in that same chapter Mk 7 it states that Jesus “arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.” There was no keeping him under wraps; there was no keeping him hid; he had been Promoted- Praised- Proclaimed and everyone Knew who he was when he came. Think just for a moment- do you magnify the Lord by telling anyone about him? Are there people in your circle of life who need to know how Great your God is? How wonderful Jesus is? Let’s magnify the Lord by Praising him and by telling others about him. 3) By Living for Him. As great as it is to tell others about the Lord, Living For him every day is an even greater way of Magnifying the Lord. Many times the Lord is promoted and enlarged and made more noticeable not by what we say, but by what we DO. When Paul went to Ephesus in Acts 19 he spent some time every day telling people about Jesus Christ and his saving power, AND no doubt many believed because of what he said. BUT then we read about the miracles that the Lord used Paul to do and that the Spirit of God empowered him to bring deliverance to some who were possessed by demons. Then the account says, “fear fell on them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.” You and I really don’t realize how many people are impacted by our every day life for the Lord. They see your appearance; it’s very obvious in our culture. They also see your countenance; they see your face which reflects your Attitudes. They see how you react to normal events of life: in the workplace; in the grocery store; in that public place of business; in your dealings with your children; in your dealings with others you meet throughout the day. They will be affected by your Christian behavior and it will Magnify your Lord. Let your light so shine among men Jesus said; they will see your good works; and they will glorify your Father in heaven. What does it mean to let your light shine? It means to Live for the Lord everywhere you go; to live for the Lord every day; to live for the Lord in every circumstance and in every situation. Paul expressed his great desire in Phil 1:20 that “Christ be magnified in my body whether it be by life or by death.” Paul was serious about declaring Christ with his life; about promoting Christ with his life; about enlarging Christ with his life. He was so serious about it that he wanted to Magnify the Lord even in his Death! O Magnify the Lord with me! Let us Exalt his name together!
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Bro. Dwain GaliherPastor of JHPC Archives
November 2024
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