David [00:00:03]:
The last few weeks we’ve been studying Psalm 37, but today we start with Psalm 34. 3. Psalm 34. 3 says this. O magnify the Lord with Me, and let us exalt his name together. Wow. I’ve heard that verse my whole life.
David [00:00:45]:
And as I was studying this, I began to discover more and more and more about my father God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Magnify the Lord with me is an invitation from Psalm 34. 3 to collectively all of us to collectively exalt God, making Him appear as great and significant as he truly is. Because he truly is great. He truly is significant. Hallelujah.
David [00:01:17]:
It involves shifting focus from personal worries to God’s attributes, choosing to believe he is powerful and faithful even in the midst of difficult times. This phrase is often used for collective worship in church and as a reminder to prioritize God in one’s thoughts and actions. The verse calls believers to together acknowledge and glorify God, recognizing His worth and power, especially when facing challenges. Now, that word magnify there in the Hebrew one. Some of the definitions are this. It means to increase something. So when we magnify the Lord, we’re increasing him, our vision, image, but also in the mind of others, those around us. Magnify means to increase something or someone’s importance or significance.
David [00:02:24]:
Not only do we just increase it, but we lift up their importance, their significance. We’re making God important and significant not only in our heart and mind, but in the heart and mind of those around us. It means to set something or someone on a pedestal to be seen above all else. Hallelujah. What a privilege and honor we have as believers. And as David was writing here, David King David wrote this psalm to lift the Lord up so all the world sees him as a God, the God, the one and only true God, who is in all things, who created all things, who is above all things. So in the Bible, to magnify God means to praise, exalt, and show reverence for his greatness, his power and his character, recognizing his infinite majesty. I love that infinite majesty.
David [00:03:37]:
There’s no end to his majesty. It goes on and on and on and right. When you think you know it, there’s more. He shows you more. In the Hebrew, it means to grow or become great. In the Greek word here, for majesty means to make Great or declare great. So we see it’s all similar. But magnification is achieved, as I said a moment ago, through acts of worship, thanksgiving, obedience and testimony.
David [00:04:16]:
And we’re going to talk more about that which reflects God’s glory to others. And that’s what magnifying the Lord and exalting him together is all about, is reflecting God’s glory to others, to one another, but also to the world. So here are some key aspects of magnifying God. Number one. We’ve already touched on this coming with a heart of worship. Magnifying God is an expression of a heart that acknowledges his supreme authority and divine attributes. Praise God. Praise God.
David [00:05:00]:
It’s just like we studied over the last few weeks. We studied Psalm 118:24. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Why? Because God and His divine insight and authority and character made this day. Praise God. Praise God. I will delight in the Lord, and He shall give me the desires of my heart.
David [00:05:35]:
So Psalm 37:4, same thing. Delight in the Lord and He shall. And so a lot of times those two verses, Psalm 118:24 and Psalm 37:4, is speaking to the more personal side of what we’re doing. But when we come over here to right here to Psalm 34:3, we’re talking about what we’re doing together corporately. And so we come together with a heart that acknowledges his supreme authority and divine attributes. Next is seeing God for who he truly is. It is about seeing his inherent greatness and glory as real and grand as it truly is. That is way beyond our limited human perspective and acknowledging it, not only seeing it, but acknowledging it, seeing God for who he is.
David [00:06:38]:
Sharing that. Next is expressions of praise. It involves proclaiming God’s name, attributes and works through heartfelt songs, prayer and spoken words of adoration. Just don’t keep it all in here. Let’s express it. Express it to those around you. Express it to those people you’re with. Praise God.
David [00:07:06]:
Which brings us to the next one is action and testimony. Magnifying God is also demonstrated through a life of obedience to his commands or his instructions and by sharing personal experiences of his faithfulness and grace with others. I love doing that. I love testifying of God’s goodness. Kanye kids me all the time because I’ll start to tell somebody something that God has done. She goes, get ready. We may be here. While he loves telling stories, and I do love telling stories, and I love talking about the goodness of God.
David [00:07:42]:
And how he’s moved in our life. Hallelujah. Praise God. God wants us to walk in his ways, but also to testify of his ways and his goodness. Reflecting God’s glory to others is a key focus in this verse, because what we’re doing, when we all come together as a body of believers and we magnify the Lord together and we exalt his name together, we’re reflecting God’s glory to others. Which points us to Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verses 18 through 20, which explains that God has reconciled us, reconciled people to Himself through Christ. But then he’s given us, the believers, the mission to share this message of reconciliation, acting as Christ ambassadors to encourage others to be reconciled to God. So what we see here is magnifying the Lord and exalting his name together, simply this, we’re fulfilling what God’s desire is, that we become Christ ambassadors to encourage others to be reconciled to God.
David [00:09:15]:
So this involves a lifestyle of love and grace. So we’re living it, walking it out, both in sharing the gospel with non believers and fostering reconciliation among believers. Hallelujah. So it’s bringing us all together as one. 2nd Corinthians 5, 18, 20, the new King James Version. Let me read this to you so you you get a complete context of what I’m saying here. Now, all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and as committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were pleading through us.
David [00:10:17]:
We implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. Come into relationship with your father, God, who created you, know him, walk with him, be like him, and we see. I could go on and on and on with this, but there are biblical examples of this and of course, the Psalms. We’ve seen this as we been studying the last few weeks, and many of the Psalms are full of calls to us to magnify the Lord, to delight in the Lord, to rejoice and be glad in him, just as we’re studying here in Psalm 34:3. But in the new Testament, there’s a section there in Luke 1:46 is where it starts. It’s called Mary’s Magnificat. And Mary’s Magnificat is a beautiful poem, a song she sang, establishing Mary’s important role in the story of salvation, evoking joy and proclaiming God’s justice for the world. And it all starts with this.
David [00:11:32]:
My soul magnifies the Lord. She was making God bigger. And when we make God bigger, we manifest God to an extraordinary degree, and we can enter into his joy, the joy of the Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And then again, we see this in Paul’s ministry. Paul echoes this.
David [00:12:06]:
He expresses his desire that Christ would be magnified in his body, signifying that his life and suffering would bring greater glory to Christ. And he talks about this in several areas. One is Philippians 1:20. But he also talks about this in several other places. We want to become those who magnify the Lord and exalt his name, and we want to do it together. And so how do we do that? How do we magnify the Lord? Now, we’ve talked a little rude about some of it in a big picture, but number one is to focus on God’s character. Believe and affirm that God is almighty. Do you believe he’s almighty? Then talk about it.
David [00:12:58]:
Affirm that he is almighty. He is all powerful. Hallelujah. He has all power, all authority, all dominion. He is all loving. God is perfect love. We talked about this last week. God is perfect love.
David [00:13:18]:
And he is our Savior. Our Father, God gave the Lord Jesus Christ to us so that we could come and be in relationship with him and partner with him and see the world come to him. Hallelujah. First, we need to magnify that presence in ourselves. And so we want to do what we can. And those verses we’ve studied over the last few weeks help us do that. They give us a platform for doing that, that we magnify the presence of God in ourselves, within us, through our worship, praise our humility, our good works. And so everything we’re doing, no matter what it is, we’re doing it in the name of Jesus.
David [00:14:13]:
If I’m working with someone or coaching with someone, it’s one of the things that Kanye and I do. We’re doing it to the glory of God. It becomes an act of worship and praise. It’s a way to share goodness with those that we work with. But we’re magnifying the Lord in us and acknowledging him, because we wouldn’t be there doing that and sharing that if it weren’t for Him. And then we magnify his presence to others through those same good works that we do, and by our example and our proclamation of God’s word, declaring the word of God to others and sharing it. Now let me say this, I’m not saying you’re preaching. I’m not saying you have to have a theological degree.
David [00:15:13]:
You don’t have to have studied all of Greek or all of Hebrew, all of those things. What you’re doing is simply sharing what scripture has. God used to speak to you, and you can share that with others and testify of his goodness in doing that. Another way we magnify the Lord is we shift perspective from problems. Now, I do this in my own life, and I do this with others, too. Instead of magnifying personal problems, and we all have them, choose to magnify God, recognizing his ability to handle any situation. I acknowledge, okay, we’ve got this issue. But I know my God will make a way.
David [00:16:02]:
He has a plan, and he will show me the way. And then I just need to walk it out. So we need to downsize our troubles. Don’t make the troubles. Oh, the big scary thing. We need to downsize our troubles. And right size, our God, he is bigger than all of it. He is more than enough.
David [00:16:25]:
Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. If we linger too long in lamentation, lamenting, we make our problems greater than God. Don’t spend all day going around, oh, no, where did this come from? What am I gonna do? How did this happen? Are we ever going to get through this? No. Okay. Father God, you see the challenge here, and I thank you that you’re more than enough. You’re more than enough. And you know how to help me overcome this.
David [00:16:58]:
You may be a victor in Christ and an overcomer. And there is a way through this. Our friend Jackie Liston, he’s got a book called, called A Place Called Through. And we’re all going through somewhere to get to where God wants us to be. Hallelujah. So don’t focus on the issue. Focus on the answer, which is your father, God. Hallelujah.
David [00:17:25]:
John 16:33 says this. I love this. This is from the new King James Version. And Jesus is talking to his disciples. And he said these things. I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer.
David [00:17:48]:
I have overcome the world. Hallelujah. He has overcome the world. Praise God. So it doesn’t matter what you’re going through. You can have peace in the midst of trial because your savior, Jesus Christ, has overcome the world. And he can show you the way through. He can show you how to overcome.
David [00:18:15]:
Praise God. Which leads us to this thought we’ve been talking about. A part of magnifying God is Worship and praise. Well, praise plays a role in spiritual warfare also, as we’re praying and interceding. Magnifying the Lord can be a form of spiritual warfare because it declares God’s power over any situation and aligns our hearts with his truth. Doesn’t matter what the enemy is bringing. As I praise the Lord, I’m declaring God’s power and that he is the answer. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
David [00:19:00]:
And a part of being strengthened is worshiping God and praising him and magnifying the Lord and His power and authority. And then doing that, we come and we offer thanksgiving and praise, expressing gratitude for God’s goodness and faithfulness in even during hard times. And praising him in song brings peace and comfort and a release of his power in our lives. If Brother Jackie was here right now, just me saying that, he could preach a whole message and he asked before, we’ll have him do it again. On gratitude and the importance of gratitude, the benefits of gratitude. It is even said today there that gratitude is the healthiest emotion there is. Wow. Because that, that mindset of gratitude brings peace to our heart and our mind.
David [00:20:09]:
It improves our health. God’s goodness and faithfulness is there for us, spirit, soul and body. Then the next thing is this. We talked. We just spent three weeks looking at this. But delight in his presence, that presence within you, his presence within you, the Holy Spirit within you. Delight in it. Spend time with God, glorifying Him by delighting in Him.
David [00:20:43]:
That’s one way we magnify the Lord. And then we come together as a body of believers and we let’s delight in his presence. Let’s worship, let’s praise, let’s share testimonies, Glorify the Lord together. And when we do that, it releases his blessings. I don’t know how many times I’ve been in a service and we just all together, we got into an anointed time of worship and praise, delighting in the Lord. And all of a sudden, people were being healed, set free, people being saved. Hallelujah. Filled with the Spirit.
David [00:21:26]:
Praise God. Delighting in his presence, Glorifying the Lord. Magnifying the Lord. Acknowledging, recognizing his greatness and blessings flow. So let’s talk about that. Let’s say, what are the benefits of magnifying the Lord? Magnifying the Lord brings benefits, like a clear perspective on God’s greatness. And when we’re settled at the fact that God is greater than all things, all of a sudden all those problems seem smaller. They’re nothing.
David [00:22:16]:
God’s got a way out, that’s nothing. God is greater. It also fosters a deeper connection with God. One of the benefits of magnifying the Lord is that deeper connection with God which can renew your strength, bring peace, and fulfill the purpose of glorifying him in all aspects of your life. Praise God. This process involves not only verbal praise, but also living a life of thanks, obedience and service that reflects God’s character. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
David [00:23:06]:
Walking in that place of magnifying the Lord, whether you’re doing it outwardly and verbally or whether you’re doing it in your heart, people recognize reflects God’s character. Now individually, what we see, one of the benefits we see for the individual is increased faith. As we magnify the Lord, a greater perception of God’s greatness builds within us. It builds our faith and our confidence in his abilities and willingness to to help us. Romans 1:17, and this is from the Passion translation says this gospel unveils a continual revelation of God’s righteousness, a perfect righteousness given to us when we believe. And it moves us from receiving life through faith to the power of living by faith. This is what the scripture means when it says we are right with God through life giving faith. Praise God.
David [00:24:20]:
Praise God. So our faith is built from faith to faith and we walk in renews our strength. God’s presence in the act of praising him replaces weakness with strength. The other day, Kanye and I were praying together and I began declaring some scriptures God had given us. I began praying them and declaring them over us and guys from deep within me just rose up. This confidence came up in me as I was declaring that word and I could see it clearly. This is what God is doing in us. This is what God is doing through us and for us and with us.
David [00:25:07]:
Hallelujah. Praise God. It just came up within me. I could have got up and stormed a mountain and I was ready. And there are a few of them around here. I’d like to go do that. But that’s what praising him and magnifying the Lord. Well, when we declare the word of God over our lives individually, it strengthens us.
David [00:25:34]:
Confidence and faith rises up within us. We become courageous in him. Isaiah 40, 31 in the Amplified says this. But those who wait for the Lord, who expect him, look for him and hope in him shall change and renew their strength and power. They shall lift their wings and mount up close to God as eagles mount up to the sun. And they shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Or become tired.
David [00:26:10]:
Hallelujah. Magnifying the Lord brings inner peace. By focusing on God’s greatness, you can achieve achieve a sense of peace as opposed to being consumed by worries and concerns. Isaiah 26:3 in the Amplified classic says this. You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace, whose mind, both its inclination and its character, is stayed on you because he commits Himself to you, leans on you, and hopes confidently in you. When we lean on the Lord, we focus on Him. We magnify him, we hope in Him. Peace comes, we can’t explain, passes understanding.
David [00:27:11]:
It’s constant with us. Magnifying the Lord, focusing on him brings us that sense of fulfillment, of purpose. Magnifying the Lord aligns us with God’s purpose for us, which is to glorify him in everything we do. And I don’t have it here in front of me, but it’s Ephesians 3:20, Ephesians 3:20. By the power that works in us, God is able to accomplish his purpose and do super abundantly, far over and above anything we think we dare think or desire, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, thoughts, hopes, dreams. Infinitely beyond. That means it never ends. He’s going to be working through you throughout eternity, accomplishing its purpose.
David [00:28:11]:
Hallelujah. Now those are benefits. So how do we do it? We’ve already talked about how we do it a little bit, but I want to go back over it again. Number one, how do we do it? Again? It comes back to Thanksgiving. Praise, worship. Offer heartfelt praise and song to the Lord, expressing gratitude for his provision, his grace and his salvation every day. We should be praising him for his provision. He provides for us every day.
David [00:28:51]:
I talked about this last week. The fact that we’re breathing and even have life is because he’s given it to us today. The Holy Spirit, it says. Paul said, the Holy Spirit within us quickens our mortal body. Well, that word quicken there means to give it life and strength. So every day the Holy Spirit is giving our mortal body life and strength. Hallelujah. Thank God for that.
David [00:29:19]:
Magnify the Lord in that. Then we walk in obedience and service. What is God calling you to? What is he asking you to do? We live a life that reflects his character and his instructions, his commands, his directions, demonstrating his transformative power to others. If God can change me and do this good thing in me, he’ll do it for you too. And then share that testimony. Testify. Don’t hold back. Don’t be afraid.
David [00:30:00]:
Share your personal experience of God’s faithfulness and grace. With others. Encourage and edify those around you, those of the faith community that you’re in relationship with in your church, in your circles, but also those outside the faith community out in the world. Share that goodness with them. Testify of God’s goodness, His greatness, his majesty to everyone. This is one way we give him glory and then, as Jesus said, seek him with your whole heart. Seeking God with your whole heart means making him your highest priority, making him a deep, lifelong pursuit characterized by intentionality, humility, constant prayer and worship, and a willingness to surrender worldly desires and commit to a life of obedience and service. Hallelujah.
David [00:31:15]:
Every day I like to say, lord, what are you about today? How can I be a part of it? Where do you want me? Who do you want me to talk to? What do you want me to do? What do you want me to say? I’m here for you. I surrender all to you. As we step into magnifying the Lord, some of the key characteristics we see is a deep longing and dedication. We have a profound desire for God that surpasses any other longing, making you prioritize him above all relationships, possessions, and earthly pursuits. Psalm 42:1 in the Amplified says this as the heart or the deer pants and longs for the water brooks, so I pant and long for you, O God. Intentional and consistent pursuit is another characteristic. Seeking God becomes a deliberate and ongoing lifestyle, not just an occasional act marked by diligence in a plan for your time with Him. But it’s ongoing every day.
David [00:32:38]:
It’s my heart. Jeremiah 29:13 New King James Version says, and you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. God is ready to be found. God is ready to be found. Humility and repentance approach God with a humble and contrite spirit willing to surrender all your life to him, and he is always there to receive you, to accept you, to approve you, to love you, to empower you for greater things. Proverbs 3, 5 and 6 in the Amplified Lean on, trust in and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind, and do not rely on your own insider understanding. In all your ways, know, recognize, and acknowledge him, and he will direct and make straight and plain your paths and all your ways. Know him and all your ways, recognize him in all your ways, acknowledge him he is in all of it.
David [00:34:06]:
If he wasn’t, you wouldn’t be there. You couldn’t be there. But when you know, recognize, and acknowledge him in all your ways. He directs your paths. He shows you the way, and he makes straight and plain your path, one version says, removing all obstacles. Hallelujah. Magnify the Lord. Make him great.
David [00:34:37]:
One translation says. Make him famous. Would you join me in making the Lord famous? Let’s do it. Let’s make him famous. Transformation in a renewed mind is another characteristic of magnifying the Lord. A process of spiritual transformation seeking to renew your mind and change your heart and develop a character aligned with God’s will is what Paul talks about in Romans 12:2. Let’s read that from the new King James Version. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God as you conform to him through His Word, to studying His Word, Being in His Word, you renew your mind, and in that process you prove this is a good example in perfect will of God walking and living this way.
David [00:35:45]:
This is it, and here’s why we do it. 2nd Corinthians 5:18 through 20 this is going back there where we started in the beginning. Now all things are of God, God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were pleading through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. As I said before, reflecting God’s glory to others is the key focus in this verse, as it says here in 2nd Corinthians 5:18, 20 Father, God has given us believers the mission to share his love, his greatness, and his desire for relationship with others. We are here acting as Christ ambassadors to encourage others to be reconciled to God. And this involves a lifestyle of love and grace, both in sharing the Gospel with non believers and fostering reconciliation among believers.
David [00:37:26]:
And this verse is calling us and inviting us to do it together. Psalm 34:3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. Hallelujah. Let’s bow our heads in prayer. Father, we thank you for this privilege and honor. We have to represent you here in the earth to magnify your name, to come together with one another, to share the good news of Jesus Christ, to show others as ambassadors of Christ and of the kingdom of God how they can be a part of the family of God and how they can come into relationship with you. Father God, the one who created them, the one who gives them life and strength, breath. Thank you, Lord, for all that you do in us, through us, with us, for us.
David [00:38:27]:
Thank you, Lord, and may we be a light to the world around us, a bright light shining and reflecting your glory to all those we come in contact with. I thank you for this honor and privilege. Jesus name, Amen. All right, let’s go out there and magnify the Lord this week and be a light. Shine. God bless you. Pastor Kanye is coming now with a closing thought and a word of prayer. God bless you.
