Let Us Exalt His Name Together

Amen.

Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to the book of Psalms.

The book of Psalms.

We're going to be in Psalm 34, verse 3 this morning.

Psalms 34:3

We've been going through the Gospel of John,

and we're going to take just a brief break from the Gospel of John for the month of January

to remind ourselves of our mission and vision as a church.

So this morning we're in Psalm 34, just one verse, verse 3.

And when you've found that in your Bibles, I ask that you please, if you're able,

let's stand together for the reading of God's Word.

Psalm 34, verse 3.

Psalms 34:3

It says,

It says,

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

Let's pray.

Lord, this is a life-defining verse for me and for us.

So I pray now as we begin the new year together in your Word

that you would draw our hearts to affirm this verse with everything we are.

And we ask this by the power of your Spirit at work in us.

In the name of Christ, our Savior.

Amen.

And please be seated.

There are not many verses that stir my heart the way that this one does.

Not many verses that compel me to worship and to exalt in the glory of God the way that this one does.

It is a powerful verse.

And my family knows that I love this verse.

In fact, one of the gifts that I received for Christmas this year was a framed picture where each of my three children had handwritten this verse out.

Each one of them by hand.

I had it framed as an absolute masterpiece.

And they said that it's for me to hang up in my office here at church.

Although, to be honest, I'm having a hard time deciding where to put it.

Because to be truthful with you, it could just as appropriately be hung up in my home.

This is a family-defining verse for my family.

It's a life-defining verse for me.

And it has become for us a church-defining verse for our church community.

This has become our verse.

Our mission statement as a church is drawn from this verse.

Psalm 34 verse 3.

Psalms 34:3

The call that David makes is,

Oh, magnify the Lord with me.

Let us exalt His name together.

That's the call.

And our mission as a church family is to answer that call.

So our mission as a church family is,

We exist to magnify the glory of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is a church-defining, mission-defining, identity-defining, direction-defining verse for us.

If you or anybody else ever asks,

Well, what is Sea Wee Bay about?

This verse is the answer.

So my prayer for you and for us together as we begin a new year, 2024, together,

is that we would hang this verse as a purpose-defining banner over every facet of our lives.

That's my prayer for us.

And so my aim today, very simply, is just to remind us of this mission.

To remind us of our purpose to magnify the glory of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And so I have just two observations to make this morning from verse 3 of Psalm 34.

Two observations to make this morning.

First, is that the name of the Lord is worthy of exaltation.

The name of the Lord is worthy of exaltation.

And to state the obvious here, with David calling us to magnify the name of the Lord,

to magnify His glory, to exalt in His name,

David clearly believes that the name of the Lord is worthy of exaltation.

That He is worth being magnified.

Meaning, David believes that God is worthy of all of our praise.

You know, we should be clear what we mean when we say words like magnify and glory and exalt.

These are very Christian words.

It's kind of Christianese.

And sometimes we speak this way.

And the meaning gets a little bit lost when we say these things over and over and over and over again.

And so we need to be careful to define and to clarify,

well, what exactly do we mean when we say magnify the glory of God?

Well, to magnify His glory means to make a really big deal out of who He is.

It means to make Him central.

To make Him not just an accessory to your life,

but to make Him primary in your life.

To make Him and His glory your ultimate boast.

To make His glory your ultimate aim.

To make Him the ultimate deepest delight of your heart.

Your ultimate joy.

And so what this looks like practically for you

is that now all of your speech is aimed towards magnifying the glory of God.

And now if this is your aim,

what this looks like is all of your thoughts are taken captive and made obedient to Christ.

It looks like all of your actions,

all of your motives,

everything that you do throughout your day-to-day life

is aimed towards this great end.

To magnify the glory of God.

That we would live as if this were the greatest thing in the universe

because our heart is convinced that it is.

That's magnification.

That's exaltation.

That's what David says God is worthy of.

And that, I believe, is meant to be the aim of your life.

John Piper says it like this.

You've heard me quote this before.

He says that there are two types of magnifying.

There is microscope magnifying,

where you make something that's very small appear to be big.

And then there is telescope magnifying,

where you make something very big appear to you as big as it actually is.

And so you take a microscope and you aim it at an ant,

and that tiny little ant becomes much bigger in your sight.

Bigger than it actually is.

You take a telescope and you point it upwards at the moon,

and now you begin to see with greater clarity

the shape, the color, the brightness, the texture.

All of it is seen more clearly.

All of a sudden it is magnified.

That's what we mean when we say we want to magnify the glory of God.

We want to make the biggest, greatest thing in the universe

big and great in our lives,

in our hearts,

in our families,

in our church,

in our community,

because we believe from our heart

that He is worthy of complete and total exaltation.

I want you to just take a minute

as we begin the year together

and take an honest assessment of your heart right now.

As you hear this call from David

to come to magnify the Lord with me,

let us exalt His name together.

This call to make God's glory primary in your life.

I want you to ask yourself,

does your heart agree

that the Lord is worthy of this type of magnification?

Does your heart resonate with this call on your life

that God is worthy of not just part of you,

but all of you?

And if not,

then I want you to ask yourself,

well, what is taking His place?

The truth is,

your heart will worship something.

It will worship someone or something.

Our hearts are made,

we are created to worship.

It will magnify someone or something.

Our problem tends to be,

because of the effects of sin in our lives,

our problem is that

our hearts tend to microscope magnify

small, trivial, passing, fading things.

We microscope magnify small things,

and in doing so,

we fail to look up and realize

that there's far greater glory to be enjoyed.

That's what sin is.

That's what sin does in our hearts and in our lives.

Sin is giving anyone or anything other than God

the honor that God alone is due.

Sin is pointing the telescope of our hearts

at small things and making much of them

when God alone is worthy of all honor and praise.

C.S. Lewis, in his book,

The Weight of Glory,

he says it like this.

It would seem that our Lord finds our desires

not too strong but too weak.

We are half-hearted creatures

fooling about with drink and sex and ambition

when infinite joy is offered to us.

We are like an ignorant child

who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum

because he cannot imagine

what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.

We are far too easily pleased.

So I'll ask you again this morning,

Church,

is your heart convinced

that God is worthy of all praise?

You might be coming into the new year

with a bit of a spiritual limp.

You believe, you profess with your mouth

that God is worthy of all praise.

Yes, he's worthy of all honor.

But if we're honest,

maybe your heart is a little bit slow this morning.

If that's you,

well, how do we stir our heart up

to magnify his glory?

How do we stir our heart up

to exalt in his name

the way David's calling us to do?

How do we begin to point

the telescope of our hearts

upward at his glory of God

so that we might see him more clearly

and love him as he deserves?

Well, let me make a few suggestions

for you this morning.

First, consider his attributes.

Consider his attributes.

Who else is perfectly holy?

Where else can you turn?

Anywhere on the earth

to find someone

or something completely pure,

the fount of all goodness,

totally, completely good and pure.

Where can you find that

anywhere in the world?

Who else is all powerful,

without rival, without equal?

Who else is all knowing,

the fountain, the source,

the giver of all truth

and wisdom and knowledge?

What other pleasure,

what other joy

is infinite,

eternal,

unchanging?

We praise good things here on earth

despite their flaws,

but the God we worship

is flawless,

eternally,

totally good.

That's who he is.

There's no one like him.

Consider his works of creation.

How easy is it

to just ignore the miracle of creation?

And how foolish are we

that week after week,

day after day,

we spend our lives

in God's creation,

yet we're so dull

to the glory

of what God has made.

We're so blind

to the creator of it all.

Consider,

who else created all things?

Who else holds all things together?

Who set the sun

and the moon

and the stars in their place?

Who knit you together

in your mother's womb?

Who commands the wind

and the waves?

Who tells the waters

where to go,

where to stop,

and to go no further?

Church,

if your heart is slow

to exalt in the Lord,

find in any part of creation

something that's worthy

of admiration

and trace it all the way

back up to the source.

Consider his work of creation.

But don't stop at creation.

Consider his works of redemption.

who else is so full

of mercy

and grace

towards sinners?

Who else is

so full of justice

and loving kindness

to not spare his own son,

but to graciously

give him up for us all

that sinners like us

might be saved?

Now, there's a reason

why we focus our aim

at the gospel,

that we exist

to magnify the glory

of God

specifically

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

Why do we do that?

Why do we say

in the gospel

specifically?

Well, it's because

we believe that

the gospel of Jesus Christ

is where the glory of God

is most clearly seen.

This is where our hearts

are transformed

to love Him.

This is where you and I,

as we explore the depths

of the love of God

for you in Christ,

this is where we grow

in Christlikeness.

This is where we will spend

the rest of eternity

delighting in God's kindness

to us in the gospel.

If you're slow this morning

to praise Him,

if you feel that your heart

is dull towards the Lord

this morning,

fix your mind

on the cross.

Remind your heart

of God's love for you

in the gospel.

Set your mind

on things above

where Christ is,

seated at the right hand

of God,

risen,

reigning,

ruling,

and returning.

Consider His work

of redemption.

And last suggestion

here on this point,

to consider His purpose

in all of these works.

Consider His purpose

in all of these works.

Do you ever wonder

why does God do any of this?

Why does God create the world

to begin with?

Why does God bother

to save unworthy sinners

like you and me?

And why does God do

anything that He does?

I'll tell you,

the answer that the Bible gives

is that God's highest aim

in everything God does

is the magnification

of God's glory.

That is why He does

what He does.

There's no higher purpose

than this.

If there were a higher purpose

than this,

God would be all about that,

but there's not.

So everything He does

is to the great end

that His name

would be magnified

in all the earth.

It is to that end

that He made the world,

the heavens declare

the glory of God.

And it's to that end

that He redeems sinners.

If you are a Christian,

we need to know

His glory

is the goal

of your salvation.

Did you hear that great purpose

as Randy read

from Ephesians chapter 1

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

this morning?

I hope you heard it

just over and over

and over and over

and again

throughout the book of Ephesians

like a beating drum,

that great purpose

that Paul lines out

for our salvation.

Listen to this.

He says,

He predestined us

for adoption

to Himself

as sons

through Christ Jesus

according to the purpose

of His will

to the praise

of His glorious grace.

Do you hear that?

In Him

we have obtained

an inheritance

having been predestined

according to the purpose

of Him

who works all things

according to the counsel

of His will

so that we

who were the first

to hope in Christ

might be

to the praise

of His glory.

In Him

you also

when you heard

the word of truth

the gospel

of your salvation

and believed in Him

were sealed

with the promised

Holy Spirit

who is the guarantee

of our inheritance

until we acquire

possession of it

to the praise

of His glory.

Do you hear it?

Chapter 2

We were all dead in sin

but God

being rich in mercy

because of the great love

with which He loved us

even when we were dead

in our trespasses

made us alive

together

with Christ

by grace

you have been saved

and raised us

up with Him

and seated us

with Him

in the heavenly places

in Christ Jesus

Why?

Verse 7

chapter 2

So that

in the coming ages

He might

show us

the immeasurable

riches

of His grace

in kindness

toward us

in Christ Jesus

Did you hear that?

Our eternity

Christian

will be spent

exulting

in the limitless

depth

of God's love

for you

in Christ Jesus

All of eternity

will be spent

magnifying

His glory

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ

exulting

in the gospel

of His grace

every day

if there is such a thing

in eternity

every day

will be filled

with new reason

to praise Him

for His kindness

to praise Him

for His goodness

to praise Him

for His undeserved

mercy and grace

towards us

who believe

to the praise

of His glory

forever

we were saved

for that

you were created

for that

that is why

God chose you

that is why

Christ died

for you

that is what

we have to look

forward to

in eternity

that is what

this church

is about

and so the question

again

are you living

in line

with that purpose

right now

let me humbly

suggest to you

that you will

never be satisfied

with your life

until the glory

of God

is its ultimate

purpose

you will never

be satisfied

with anything

else you find

on this earth

you will never

be satisfied

with your life

until God's glory

and the magnification

of His glory

is your highest aim

let this verse

define your life

church

magnify

the glory

of God

exalt

His name

but as you do

as you

as you consider

how you might

orient your life

around this great aim

let me draw

your attention

to my second

observation

which is that

second

we are called

to exalt

His name

together

together

together

this is a

corporate

summons

to exaltation

when you read

this verse

it is good

it is right

and it is appropriate

to think

how can I

make this the aim

of my life

that is good

but what I want

you to notice

here is that

the call here

is not primarily

for you

alone

this call

is not just

for scattered

individuals

to magnify

the glory

of God

in their own

way

on their own

terms

on their own

time

as individuals

sadly

that is how

many think

about the

Christian life

I don't know

if you have

noticed this

but

individualism

has just

consumed

American

Christianity

and that

makes sense

doesn't it

because that is

the American

way

we are

independent

we think

we are

self sufficient

we do

what is best

for us

and then we

take that

independent

mentality

into our

lives

as Christians

and we

think

wrongly

we think

well

my relationship

with God

that is on

my own

terms

it is in

my way

it is by

myself

that is my

business

and then we

treat the

church

in those

terms as

well

so long

as it

benefits me

so long

as I like

the songs

that are

being sung

so long

as I

understand

and I

appreciate

what the

pastor

has to

say

that Sunday

so long

as I am

getting

something

out of it

then I will

come on

my terms

in my

own way

our own

spiritual

growth

well that is

my business

as my

personal walk

with the

Lord

it is nobody

else's business

what I do

how I think

how I practice

my Christianity

how I handle

my personal walk

with the Lord

it is all

very personal

and individual

we should know

that that may be

the American way

but church

that is

totally

foreign

to how the Bible

speaks about the

call to follow

Christ

Christianity

is inherently

corporate

do you hear that

in the call of

David here

he says

magnify the

Lord

with me

let us

exalt his

name

together

you may have

heard it said

before that

faith is always

personal

but it is never

private

have you heard

that

and that's

true

you should

absolutely

you should

have personal

individual

faith in

Jesus Christ

you must

have personal

faith in

Jesus Christ

if you're

going to be

a genuine

Christ follower

but don't

for a second

believe that

that personal

faith is a

totally private

matter between

you and God

that doesn't

involve anyone

else

far from it

Christianity

is not

an individualistic

religion

it is a

corporate

religion

and sure

you can be

a Christian

without ever

being a part

of a church

of course

you can

the same

way you

can be

an arm

and not

be attached

to a body

the same

way you

can be

a brick

and not

be connected

to a

building

of course

you can

be those

things

but you

were not

meant

to be

you were

not made

to be

that's not

the purpose

for which

you were

made

an arm

or a

brick

it may

be

that the

building

could benefit

from you

and you

from the

building

the body

could benefit

from you

and you

from the

body

you can

tell

this strikes

a nerve

with me

I'll be

honest with

you church

I'm

I'm tired

of seeing

American

Christianity

the way

the songs

on the radio

the way

that people

speak about

their relationship

with the

Lord

and their

relationship

if there

is one

to the

church

they speak

about it

as if all

God wants

is a million

only children

but the plan

of God

from before

the ages

began

was not

to adopt

just a million

only children

it was to

form a

family

of many

brothers

and sisters

throughout

the world

not only

you

but you

and you

and you

and you

together

there's a

story of the

great evangelist

D.L. Moody

D.L. Moody

was visiting

a church member

who had been

absent

for some time

and like a good

pastor does

he noticed

and he went

to go speak

with him

and when he

found the man

he was outside

sitting by a fire

and as Moody

sat down

the man

told him

he said

I believe

I can be

just as good

of a Christian

outside the church

as I could be

inside of it

that's a common

line of thinking

maybe you felt

that way

and so Moody

did better

than I would have

he said

nothing at all

instead

he reached

for a pair

of tongs

and he grabbed

one burning

coal from the

fire

very quietly

set it off

to the side

and they sat

there in silence

as they watched

that one coal

go from

red hot

to totally

cold

while the rest

of the gathered

coals

in the fire

burned on

and once

that one coal

had clearly

died out

still not saying

a word

D.L. Moody

grabbed the tongs

once again

picked up

the cold coal

placed it back

alongside the others

in the fire

and sure enough

what happened

the black coal

steadily began

to turn orange

and began

to warm again

Moody got up

without saying

a word

to go home

and the man said

pastor thank you

for the sermon

I'll see you

next Sunday

church if you

feel a little

bit cold

in your

affections

for the

Lord

I don't know

if there's a

better way

to warm

the affections

of your heart

than to gather

together with

God's people

I can't tell you

how many times

your faith

has encouraged

me

as I hear

you sing

songs of

worship

as I

speak with

you

as I hear

your words

of encouragement

as I hear

the ways

you're struggling

with this

you're succeeding

in this

the Lord's

working in

your life

here

you want

to learn

this

you have

this

question

your faith

encourages

me

I know

you've felt

some of that

same stuff

haven't you

even if

you're doing

great

spiritually

and you

don't see

what in the

world you

could possibly

gain from

being a part

of a church

I would

challenge that

thought

but could I

just suggest

that maybe

others could

gain from

you

and maybe

your spiritual

well being

isn't only

about you

maybe others

could gain

from what the

Lord is doing

in your life

maybe you

could be blessed

and be a

blessing as a

part of

a family

in ways

that are far

greater than

just on

your own

we have to

remember that

when we're

called into

union with

God our

Father through

personal faith

in Jesus

Christ

we are also

called into

union with

all of our

brothers and

sisters in

Christ

that's the

universal

church

the invisible

church

brothers and

sisters from

every tribe

tongue and

nation who

will spend

eternity

exalting in

the glory of

God together

but do you

know where

that invisible

unity is most

clearly seen

and most

clearly experienced

on this side

of eternity

it's right

here in the

local church

right here

in the local

church

church

now I just

fear that

many of us

have simply

lost the

meaning and

the purpose

of the local

church

the local

church is

meant to be a

foretaste of

the glories of

eternity

glory of

glory of

glory of

glory of

God

we offer

one another

forgiveness

and mercy

we comfort

one another

in our

affliction

we encourage

one another

and build

one another

up

and we lift

up our

hearts together

to magnify

the glory of

God

that's what a

church is

for

and if you're

a part of

this church

I know you

know what I

mean

church we

are blessed

here

this church

is a

family

there are

many

metaphors

throughout the

New Testament

that give us

pictures of

what a

church

is

I'll have you

know none

of them are

individualistic

we are

we are

the bride

of Christ

we are

the temple

of the

living God

we are

a priesthood

we are

a kingdom

of priests

we are

a spiritual

army at war

with the

powers of

darkness

but you know

most fundamentally

the most common

way that the

New Testament

speaks about

the church

is as a

family

the church

is a

family

of the

redeemed

I went

home

for Christmas

you all know

I wasn't

here

last week

I missed

you

I wasn't

here

but I

went home

and I

gathered

with my

physical

family

three sisters

on one

side

two on

the other

lots of

nieces and

nephews

grandparents

uncles

aunts

cousins

all of us

have different

places that we

call home

we have

different tastes

different

personalities

we've all

had different

experiences over

the past year

but we come

together because

we share a

common bond

we're

family

family

the church

at a

basic

fundamental

level

is a

family

much

truer

than

flesh

and blood

and as

a family

as diverse

and as

distinct

as we

may be

as

individuals

as a

family

we share

several

key things

in common

think about

this with

me as we

close

as a

family

every one

of us

shares a

common

past

we were

dead

in our

trespasses

and sins

in which

we once

walked

every one

of us

we have

different

stories of

what that

looked like

in your

life

we have

different

experiences

of what

that looked

like in

your own

rebellion

against the

Lord

but we

share a

common

past

we know

what we

have been

saved

from

but praise

God

that we

share a

common

salvation

we share

a common

hope

a thousand

unique

different

testimonies

but one

common

theme

the word

of God

came to

you in

power

and you

believed

by the grace

of God

that Christ

Jesus came

to save

sinners

of which I

am the

foremost

that Christ

Jesus

has lived

and died

and risen

to save

you from

your sin

by the grace

of God

you believed

and you were

washed

you were

sanctified

you were

redeemed

by the

power

of God

every

member

of this

church

says

yes

that's

my

story

because

of this

church

we

share

a

common

aim

it's

the

family

motto

we

exist

to

magnify

the glory

of God

in the

gospel

of Jesus

Christ

together

this

is the

great

banner

that hangs

over

every

ministry

of this

church

the

great

banner

that

hangs

over

every

member's

life

as

individuals

the

great

banner

that

hangs

over

our

identity

together

corporately

as

Sea Wee Bay

church

how will

you make

this your

aim

this year

to magnify

the glory

of God

I should

probably ask

first

are you

a part

of a

local

family

of

believers

it

doesn't

have

to be

here

but I

would

encourage

you

if you're

not a

member

of a

church

somewhere

meaningfully

where you

can link

arms

together

and be

a part

of the

family

consider

how you

might do

that

this

year

and for

those

who are

a part

of this

church

Sea Wee Bay

how do

we plan

to magnify

his glory

this

year

well we've

identified

three ways

three ways

we'll explore

them throughout

the rest

of January

we aim

to enjoy

God

to equip

the saints

and to

evangelize

the lost

those are

our three

buckets

to enjoy

to equip

and to

evangelize

but over

the next

three weeks

I've

I've felt

compelled

to explore

how we might

accomplish

these aims

more specifically

through

prayer

my desire

for us

as we go

into 2024

is that we

would enjoy

him

in prayer

and that you

as a church

family would be

equipped

to pray

and that we

would pray

and desire

and ask the

Lord earnestly

to send laborers

into his harvest

field

that we would

commit

to magnify

his glory

through prayer

and that's where

we're going

Lord willing

in the weeks

to come

let's pray

Lord there is

nothing greater

that we could

give our lives

to than

your glory

we confess

the tug

and the

pull

of so many

worldly

desires

and worldly

pleasures

fleeting

things

we microscope

magnify

small

things

and ignore

the call

on our lives

to magnify

your glory

so we pray

Lord if there

are any here

who have

not yet

tasted

and seen

that the

Lord is

good

would you

would you

draw their

hearts

to the glory

of God

and the gospel

of Christ

even now

as I pray

and Father

we ask

that together

as a church

family

as we step

forward

into the new

year

Lord

that we

would be

defined

by this

great call

would you

do it

in us

we pray

in Jesus

name

amen