Magnify The Glory Of God

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 chapter 34 this morning.

If you have not opened up your Bible to the book of Psalms before,

you just take it right to the middle and open it up.

You'll probably land somewhere close by and flip to the 34th chapter.

And our text this morning is just going to be verse 3.

And our passage is short this morning, but I promise you it is loaded.

And so if you would, Bibles open to Psalm 34 verse 3.

Psalms 34:3

Please follow along with me as I read the word of God.

David writes,

Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.

Let's pray.

Lord, this is our aim.

This is our desire that your name would be magnified.

And we pray you would do it now through the preaching and the hearing of this word.

We pray in Christ's name.

Amen.

Southwest Airlines made the news over the holidays and not in a good way.

You may be familiar that the airline company, they canceled over 15,000 flights between December 22nd and December 30th

as travelers were attempting to make their way to their destinations for the holidays.

The bags were missing.

Connecting flights were missed.

Passengers were left stranded at the airport.

And nobody had any answers.

And by all accounts, this was a customer service nightmare.

The airline, to their credit, has since tried to make up for the mistake by apologizing over and over and over and over again.

And even going so far as to offer frequent flyer miles to those who were significantly affected by the issues.

But let's be honest.

They are not coming back from this one anytime soon.

This was a major blow to the reputation of Southwest Airlines.

Southwest, as a company, has had several different versions of their mission statement over the years.

Right now, their mission statement is to connect people to what's important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel.

And their vision is to be the world's most loved, most efficient, and most profitable airline.

And that's, I think, three strikes and you're out.

After all of this, they certainly have a long way to go.

A former version of their mission statement, you can look it up, was dedication to the highest quality of customer service,

delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit.

And the point here is not to pile on to Southwest.

I'm sure that they're doing the best that they can.

The point is that these words of their mission and their vision, they sound wonderful.

But from December 22nd to December 30th, at least, they did not translate into action.

They were clearly not understood and certainly not applied.

And now, in the aftermath of this customer service disaster,

they have to set out on the hard work of rebuilding their identity as a company.

Well, why are we talking about Southwest Airlines this morning?

It's because, Lord willing, as we've already said, in just three weeks,

unless the Lord returns first, which would be much better,

in just three weeks, the church at Seaweed Bay will be reborn,

reintroduced as Seaweed Bay Baptist Church.

If you're just joining us this morning for the first time,

or you've just been blissfully unaware for the past six months or so,

we are in the midst of a major transitional milestone in the life of this church family.

So for roughly six years, the church at Seaweed Bay,

this gathering has existed as an extension of First Baptist Mount Pleasant.

It is a campus of First Baptist Mount Pleasant.

But over the past six months, even back further than that,

the elders at First Baptist Mount Pleasant, alongside Treg,

alongside the Pillar Network, alongside myself,

have been working towards what we believe God has providentially prepared

this church family to do in this place and in this time.

And so in just three weeks, Lord willing, January 29th,

we will officially form a new church body,

Seaweed Bay Baptist Church.

In the forming of a new church, I'm sure you're aware,

there are many moving parts,

many important questions to be asked and to be answered.

But the most important of these questions, I believe,

is do we understand the mission?

Do we understand the mission of the church as given by God?

Do we understand what we are here to do?

Do we understand the purpose of the church?

Do we understand why we are here and what we are here to accomplish?

What is it that is at the core of our identity that drives us,

compels us, makes us distinct in the world around us,

shapes the content of our message,

shapes the content of our gatherings,

shapes the form of our lives together?

We absolutely must be clear on this.

And so we have worked to clarify the mission and the vision

of Seaweed Bay Baptist Church.

And so over the next four Sundays, starting this morning,

leading up to the birth of this church,

we're going to talk about each part of our mission and vision.

Because what we don't want is for this to just be a collection

of nice-sounding words that never translate into action.

Amen?

And we want this to shape the life of this church body.

We want to drive and define the identity of this church family.

So, what is the mission of Seaweed Bay Baptist Church?

I would like for you to write this down.

If you have a pen and a bulletin or a notepad,

this is the mission.

This is the grand banner that we want to fly across

every ministry of this church,

everything that we are, everything that we do.

The mission is this.

We exist to magnify the glory of God

in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That's the mission.

We exist to magnify the glory of God

in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And in the coming weeks, Lord willing,

we will talk about how we plan to go about that grand mission.

But this morning, I want to ask why.

Out of all the things that we could have put our foot down

and said this is what we want to be about,

why this?

Why this mission?

And there are about a billion reasons why.

But this morning, I want to give you three.

Three reasons why this is our mission.

This will be our outline this morning.

And if you're taking notes,

three reasons why our mission

is to magnify the glory of God

in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

First, first reason why

is because this is the purpose of your life.

This is the purpose of your life.

Everyone, man, woman, boy, girl, rich, poor,

everybody wants to understand their place in the world.

Everybody wants to know their purpose.

And everybody wants to thrive

and live a life that's full and satisfying

and filled with meaning.

Let me tell you where that starts.

It starts with the realization

that your life serves a purpose outside of yourself.

It starts with realizing that there is a God

and you're not Him.

And that your purpose,

the reason that you exist

is not to draw attention to yourself,

not to make much of yourself,

not to serve your own interests,

but it's to draw attention to Him

and to make much of Him.

That's the purpose of your life.

So I have two questions here

that we need to understand.

First is, what is the glory of God?

If our goal is to magnify the glory of God,

what is it that we're supposed to be magnifying?

And that's not easy to define, is it?

What is the glory of God?

But here's a shot.

God's glory is the sum total

of all of His infinite goodness,

all of His infinite holiness,

all of His perfections,

all of His worth.

It is all of His praiseworthiness.

And so when we say that we are magnifying the glory of God,

we are magnifying Him.

And we're saying that He is worthy of our praise.

When we say that we glorify God,

we're not adding anything to Him.

We're simply acknowledging with our minds,

with our hearts,

with all of our entire selves,

that He is supremely worthy of worship.

That's what it means to glorify Him.

This is what we were made to do.

Do you realize that we are born as worshipers?

Do you realize that?

Sometimes we do this all the time

without even realizing it.

We praise what is praiseworthy.

That's just how we're wired.

That's how we're made.

We are made to worship.

We're designed to praise what is praiseworthy.

And whatever it is that our heart finds satisfying,

whatever it is that our heart finds worthy,

we will praise it.

When you eat a good meal,

what do you do?

You praise it.

You celebrate.

When you see something beautiful,

a beautiful sunset,

you go out to the ocean,

what do you do?

You praise it.

You declare its worth.

You make much of it.

Tomorrow night,

when the Georgia Bulldogs win the national championship,

thousands of people throughout the country

will praise the team

and the coaching

and the final score.

There's nothing wrong with this.

This is good.

And it's right.

That is not wrong.

That's how we're wired.

We are meant to enjoy

and to praise

and to declare worthy

to magnify what is good.

It is right to praise what is praiseworthy.

But get this,

so long as

it is proportional

to its praiseworthiness.

You follow that?

It is right to praise

what is praiseworthy,

so long as

it is in proportion

to its praiseworthiness.

Christians

are those who have had

our eyes opened

to the truth

that God

is infinitely

worthy

of our praise.

that He is

infinitely

praiseworthy.

So we worship God

because God is

infinitely

good.

He is infinitely

satisfying.

He is infinitely

wise.

He is infinitely

sovereign.

He is infinitely

perfect

in every single one

of His glorious

attributes,

which means

He is infinitely

glorious

and worthy

of our praise.

So my second question

then is

what does it mean

for us to

magnify

His glory?

To magnify

His glory

it means

to make

much

of Him.

It means

to

proclaim

Him,

to enjoy

Him,

to worship

Him,

to revere

Him,

to celebrate

Him.

It means

you stop

living

and working

and thinking

and acting

as if

we,

me,

you,

were the

center of

the universe

and instead

we begin

to orbit

our life

around Him

and His

glory.

John Piper

says that

there are

two kinds

of magnifying.

There is

microscope

magnifying

and there is

telescope

magnifying.

The one

makes

small things

look bigger

than they are

and the

other makes

a big

thing

begin to

appear

as big

as it

really is.

When we

say that

we want

to magnify

the glory

of God

we are not

microscope

magnifying.

We are

striving

and pursuing

with all

of His

energy,

all of His

power at

work in

us to

begin to

see Him

for as

big and

as glorious

as He

really

is.

We are

striving to

focus the

lens with

our lives

and with

our speech

so that the

whole world

around us

can look

and taste

and see

how

magnificent

God

is.

That is what

it means to

magnify

His glory.

This is

exactly what

David is

doing here

in our

psalm.

Psalm 34.

Look there

with me

again.

You see

this language

that he is

using here

throughout the

psalm.

Verse 1.

He says,

I will

bless the

Lord at

all times.

His praise

shall continually

be in my

mouth.

My soul

makes its

boast in

me,

in my

kingship,

in my

wisdom,

in my

accomplishments.

No.

My soul

makes its

boast in

the Lord.

See,

these are the

words of

someone who

has had

his eyes

opened to

the worth

of God.

He has

realized by

the grace

of God

that the

purpose of

his life

is to

make much

of him.

Oh,

magnify

the Lord

with me.

Let us

exalt

his name.

So David,

he invites

us here

to praise

him for

his work

of salvation.

Verse 4.

I sought

the Lord

and he

answered me

and he

delivered me.

He invites

us to

praise him

for his

mercy and

his grace

to poor

men and

poor women

like us.

He says,

verse 6,

this poor

man cried

and the

Lord heard

him and

saved him.

He invites

us to

praise him

for his

constant

protection

over his

people.

The angel

of the

Lord

encamps

around

those

who

fear

him.

Verse 7.

He invites

us to

praise him

for his

promises,

to praise

him for

his goodness,

praise him

for the

hope he

gives

to his

people.

He's

just rattling

off reason

after reason

after reason

after reason

why God

is worthy

of your

worship.

We praise

him because

he is

infinitely

worthy

of our

praise.

Do you

see the

Godward

magnification

of this

psalm?

The Godward

orientation

of David's

heart?

That is

what you

were created

for.

And here

at the

beginning

of a

new

year

and at

the

beginning

of the

new

life

that God

is giving

this

church,

now is

the time

to ask

yourself,

is this

how my

heart

beats?

Is this

what my

heart

sounds

like?

Is this

the

orientation

of my

heart?

And if

not,

there's a

very clear

simple

reason

why,

and it's

sin.

It's

sin.

Sin is

failure to

magnify the

glory of

God.

And so we

magnify the

glory of

God's

gifts and

minimize or

completely ignore

the glory

of God.

I said

earlier that

Christians are

those who

have had

their eyes

open to

behold the

truth of

God's

glory.

glory of

God's

glory of

glory of

God.

If you have

not had your

eyes open by

his sovereign

power,

then you are

blinded to

the glory of

God.

You cannot

see it.

The heavens

declare it,

the earth is

full of the

glory of the

Lord,

and you

don't see

it.

You don't

have the

capacity to

see him for

what he's

worth.

All you see

is what you

see around

you,

and so that's

what you

love,

that's what you

pursue,

that's what you

build your life

around.

You wonder

why our

non-believing

friends just

ignore God

completely,

make their

lives about

money,

about success,

about whatever

it is,

you fill in

the blank.

The reason

is they

can't see

the glory

of God.

They are

blinded to

it.

If they

could see

him for

what he's

worth,

they would

love him.

They would

worship him.

They can't

see it.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 4:4

4,

verse 4

says,

The God

of this

world has

blinded the

minds of

the unbelievers

to keep

them from

seeing the

light of

the gospel

of the

glory of

Christ,

who is the

image of

God.

And if

that's you

this morning,

I just want

to invite you

this morning,

right now,

to pray in

your heart

something simple

like this.

God,

give me

spiritual

sight,

that I

might see

you for

how good

you are.

God,

give me

spiritual

sight,

that I

might begin

to understand

your worth,

that I

might see

it and

live in

light of

it,

that I

might see

the light

of the

glory of

Christ.

It starts

there.

But we

know even

as believers,

we still

struggle with

this,

don't we?

this is not

just a

non-believer

problem.

Instead of

magnifying

his glory,

we tend

to still

stray and

fixate on

earthly

treasures,

money,

earthly

systems,

politics,

earthly

worries,

all of it

where moth

and rust

destroy.

And all

too often,

our biggest

problem is

that we

want to be

magnified.

That we

want to be

the one

at the

center of

the lens.

We want

God to

look through

a telescope

at us.

Magnify

us.

So our

lives are

about us.

Our

decisions

are about

us.

Our

thoughts

are about

us.

Our

needs,

our

comfort,

our

preferences,

our

actions

are about

us.

Everything

is about

us.

I may have

told this

story before,

forgive me

if I have,

but I will

never forget

this.

When I was

in college,

I was a

brand new

believer,

being discipled

for the

first time

in my

life,

and I

was just

awestruck

with the

way that

these men

loved and

studied the

word of

God.

I had never

seen someone

so seriously

think about

God as

these men

did.

And one of

the assignments

that they

gave me in

our discipleship

meeting,

this was me

and like four

other guys,

and so you

did the

homework,

otherwise

they knew.

The assignment

that I was

given was to

make a pie

chart of my

time.

And I was

supposed to

think through

how my

time worked

and how I

allotted my

time and what

portion of my

life I was

giving to

selfish things,

what portion of

my life I was

giving to the

Lord.

And I tried to

make some

positive changes

as I did the

assignment at

the last minute,

but what I

handed in was a

pie chart that

had a section

here for

sleeping,

a section

here for

eating,

a section

here for

studying and

classwork,

a section

here for

friends and

recreation,

sports,

a section

here just

for whatever

I have

free time

wanted to

do,

and a

section

right over

here for

God.

This is

when I

plan to

read my

Bible and

pray,

and this

is the

portion of

the pie

that I

give to

God.

And I

handed it

to the

student who

discipled me,

and he

said,

what is

this?

I

said,

well,

this is

my pie

chart.

You

asked me

to do

this.

This is

the section

here that

I want

to give

to God.

And he

said,

let me

see that

for a

minute.

He

wrote in

big letters

over the

entire

thing,

God.

He

handed it

back and

said,

keep your

time in

the word,

keep your

time in

prayer,

don't lose

that,

but you

need to

remember

that all

of your

time,

all of

your life

is for

him.

You

don't just

fit God

into your

schedule.

You don't

fit him

around your

plans and

your desires

and your

wants and

your needs,

your ambitions

for your

life.

You

live

every

minute

for him,

for his

glory.

He's the

one that

gives purpose

and meaning

to everything

on your

schedule,

whether you

eat or

drink or

go to

school or

take a

nap.

Do all

for what?

Help me.

The glory

of God.

Some of us

need to

remember this

morning that

our life is

not about

us.

It's about

him.

And you

will never

find more

joy,

more

satisfaction,

and more

genuine,

lasting,

purpose than

when you

live as

you were

made to

live,

to magnify

the glory

of God.

So reason

number one

why this

is our

mission as

a church

is because

this is

all of

our mission

as

individuals,

but not

just as

individuals,

which is

why number

two,

the second

reason why

this is

our mission

as a church

is because

this is the

mission,

this is

the purpose

of the

church.

This is

the purpose

of the

church,

not just

our church,

not just

our gathering,

our body,

but the

church.

Don't you

think that

our church

ought to

fit in with

the purpose

of the

church?

That our

mission needs

to be the

mission.

We're not

trying to be

unique here,

we're trying

to understand

what has

God said

the mission

of the

church is.

And Lord

willing,

again,

we'll talk

over the

coming weeks

about how

we go

about this

mission by

equipping the

saints,

by enjoying

God,

by evangelizing

the lost,

but the

end goal

of all

of these

things,

the point

of all

of it,

is to

magnify

the glory

of God,

not just

as individuals,

but together

as a

church

family.

That's the

purpose of

the church.

Look what

David does

here in

this psalm.

I love

this.

See,

he starts

with personal

devotion,

but that

personal

devotion

spills

over

into

corporate

devotion.

His

personal

commitment

cannot

remain

singular.

It lasts

about a

verse and

a half,

and then

it's plural.

Look there

to verse

one again.

He says,

I will

bless the

Lord at

all times,

and his

praise shall

continually be

in my

mouth.

My soul

makes its

boast in

the Lord

personal.

Let the

humble hear

and be

glad.

That's

corporate.

You see,

David knows

delight is

not meant

to just

stay

personal.

It's meant

to be

shared.

It's

better

shared.

It is

great to

go watch

the game

by yourself

at home

on TV,

but how

much better

is it

when you

go and

gather

and celebrate

and shout

and cheer

in the same

direction as

10,000 other

people.

It is

good and

right and

necessary to

have a

personal

relationship

with the

Lord,

but that

relationship

is never

meant to

be private.

It's meant

to go

public.

It's meant

to be

shared with

others in

a big,

messy

family called

the church.

And so

David says,

let's do

this together,

together,

magnify the

Lord with

me.

Let us

exalt his

name together.

He shares

his own

personal

testimony in

verse 6.

It says,

this poor

man cried

and the

Lord heard

him and

saved him

out of all

his troubles,

but it is

for corporate

rejoicing.

Verse 8,

oh,

taste and

see that

the Lord

is good.

He has

personally

tasted the

joy of

the blessing

of fearing

the Lord,

so he

invites

others.

Verse 11,

come,

oh,

children,

listen to

me that

I might

teach you

the fear

of the

Lord.

See,

he is

inviting

others to

join in

to his

exaltation.

David

knows that

joy is

compounded

in community.

That's why

the church

exists.

I don't

know how

anybody can

come and

gather with

this church

family and

not understand

this.

I don't know

about you,

but when I

come and I

gather here

with you all

on a Sunday

morning,

I am

encouraged by

the fellowship

of the saints.

Amen?

I am lifted

up,

I'm built

up and

spiritually

strengthened

when I

hear you

sing songs

of truth

as we did

this morning.

I am,

my soul

is nourished

and fed.

As Randy

read the

words of

scripture from

John chapter

John 12 · chapter mention

12 this

morning,

my soul

was encouraged

as I heard

you recite

the answers

to these

catechism

questions.

What is the

chief end

of man?

And it's

to,

what is it?

And enjoy

him forever.

I'm encouraged.

My soul

is built

up and

edified.

That's the

purpose of

the church

family.

We need

to remember

that God

never intended

to just save

us as

individuals,

distinct and

separated

individuals.

His plan

from the

beginning of

time was

to create

a people

for himself.

a family

of worshippers,

a collective

group of

redeemed

sinners who

would gather

together,

encourage one

another, spur

one another on

to love and

good works,

correct one

another,

admonish one

another on

occasion,

rebuke one

another if

necessary,

teach one

another,

train one

another,

love one

another with

brotherly

affection,

proclaim the

gospel alongside

one another

bear one

another's

burdens and

so fulfill

the law

of Christ,

to submit

to one

another,

a people

who would

magnify the

glory of

God together.

That's the

mission of

the church.

Our mission

is to magnify

his glory

together.

together.

You know,

if we could

just get

this right,

everything else

would fall

into place.

If we could

just keep

this simple

mission before

us, it

sounds so

simple,

and it is,

but believe me,

churches have a

hard time keeping

this central.

And the enemy

does not want

a church to

magnify the

glory of

God.

So he will

do anything

and everything

he possibly

can to

distract us

from this,

to keep us

from this,

to cause our

attention to

divert from

this,

focus on

anything else

but the glory

of God.

God,

we need to

be clear

on this.

You may have

been to church

your whole

life and for

whatever reason

never quite

caught this.

Maybe you've

been a part

of a church

that just

never made

this the

central aim,

never made

so much

about this

main priority

of the church.

Some of your

church experiences

I know are

just so

messed up

from your

past that

whether you

realize it or

not,

you may have

absorbed some

of these

misunderstandings

about what

the church

is and what

the church

is supposed

to do.

And so let

me tell you

some things

the church

is not.

I want to

be very

clear.

The church

is not a

social club

that exists

primarily to

build relationships

and to build

community.

Good things,

not the

primary thing.

The church

is not a

political

organization

that exists

for public

policy or

to promote

any individual

candidate or

political party.

The church

is not a

charity.

It just

exists primarily

to do good

deeds.

The church

is not a

business

that exists

primarily to

make a

profit.

The church

is not a

theater

where you

come to be

entertained

or where

you come

feeling like

you need to

be the

one to

put on

a show

and to

be something

you're not

and to

act as

something you're

not to

entertain or

to deceive

others.

The church

is not a

gathering of

perfect people.

Tim Keller

says the church

is not a

museum for

saints.

It is a

hospital for

sinners.

Here's what

the church

is.

The church

is a

family.

bound

together

not by

common

blood

or by

common

skin

or by

common

country

but by

common

exaltation.

We share

one Lord

one faith

one

baptism

one God

and father

of all.

our

heartbeat

as a

family

is to

magnify

the glory

of God.

It's that

simple.

And let me

tell you

something.

When that

is made

primary

here

we will

see God

work and

move like

we have

never seen

it before.

Don't you

want that?

Don't you

want to be

a part of

that?

a church

that makes

that the

mission.

So let me

invite you

to do

something.

When you

go to

pray this

week and

next week

and the

week after

that and

I would

just invite

you to

pray every

single day.

If you

would commit

with me to

pray every

single day

leading up

to February

5th our

first Sunday

as Seawee Bay

Baptist Church

and then go

ahead and keep

praying every

day after that.

That would be

great.

I want you

to pray not

only for the

Lord to be

magnified in

you personally

in your life

but would you

just pray

every day

that the

Lord would be

magnified in

this church

family?

It's very

simple.

Here's what I

want you to

do.

Just take

Psalm chapter

Psalms 34:3

34 verse

3 and pray

it over this

church.

It'll look

something like

this.

Lord magnify

your name at

Seawee Bay.

Let us

exalt your

name together.

Amen.

Simple.

Pray it for

one another

by name.

Lord I pray

that Linda

and Breeze

and Priscilla

and Joe

and Dick

that they

would magnify

the glory

of God

in their lives.

Work your way

down a list.

Pray for

one another

that God

would be

magnified

here in

this family.

Would you

pray over

our gatherings

as a church?

Pray for

me.

Would you

please?

Would you

please pray

that the

Lord would

magnify

his glory

through the

preaching of

the word

here at

this church?

Would you

pray that

the Lord

would be

magnified

in our

singing

together

as a

congregation

as we

gather

to worship?

worship?

I'm

confident

the Lord

is already

answering

that prayer

here.

And I'm

confident

he will

continue

to answer

that prayer.

Would you

pray that

God would

magnify

himself in

this church

family?

Third

and finally

our mission

is to

magnify

the glory

of God

because

this is

the purpose

of the

gospel.

This is

the purpose

of the

gospel.

Mission

statement

we exist

to magnify

the glory

of God

in

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ.

Why do

we add

that?

why do

we add

that

phrase?

Why not

just leave

it as

magnify

the glory

of God

and call

it a

day?

It's

shorter

sweeter

we probably

easier to

memorize

and remember

why do

we have

to add

in the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ?

It's

because

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ

is the

clearest

the

grandest

the most

spectacular

display

of the

glory

of God.

God

what

could

display

God's

wisdom

more

than

the

gospel

where

the

wisdom

of

this

world

is

just

shattered

to

pieces

as

the

Son

of

God

becomes

man

and

comes

to

die

the

death

that

we

deserve.

What

could

display

God's

holiness

more

than

the

perfect

righteousness

of

Christ

never

sinning

living

in our

place

succeeding

where we

have

failed

perfectly

fulfilling

the

law

of

God?

What

could