Object: A magnifying glass of any size
Scripture: Psalm 34:3; Psalm 69:30: James 4:8a
Does anyone have a magnifying glass similar to this? Who know what it is used for? Does it make things bigger? Oh, it just makes objects look bigger, right? When objects appear bigger, we can see more details that are not visible to the naked eye.
This magnifying glass reminds me of a Bible verse. Psalm 34:3 says this: “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.” Does anyone know what it means to magnify the Lord? Does it mean we look at him with a magnifying glass? Does it mean we make him bigger? Does it mean we make him more important?
Some times we don’t think about God very much, do we? What the guy who wrote this chapter in Psalms meant was that he wanted to think about him more. He meant that he wanted the Lord to be more important to him. The Lord is already the most important being in the world, but as we magnify him, he becomes more important to us. By magnifying the Lord, he meant that he wanted to understand what a big God we serve and worship.
How can we magnify the Lord? Another verse in Psalm gives us some help. Psalm 69:30 says this, “I will praise the name of God with song, and shall magnify him with thanksgiving.”
This verse tells us that singing about God magnifies him because it makes us think about him. This verse also says that when we give thanks to the Lord that he is magnified too.
Can anyone think of any other ways that we can magnify the Lord? Would hiding God’s Word in our heart by reading, studying and memorizing it magnify the Lord? What about praying to the Lord? Anything that causes us to think about God does magnify him.
Let’s go back and look at Psalm 34:3 again and notice one other thing the psalmist said.
The last half of that verse tells us to “exalt the Lord together.” What do you think he meant by that? Can you think of a place we can exalt the Lord with other people? That’s right-with the church. When we gather with other people who are exalting the Lord in music and with words, the Lord is being magnified. He is becoming a more important part of our life. We are understanding how amazing our God is and we think more about him.
There is another verse in the Bible I want to share with you. James 4:8a says, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” As the Lord is being magnified in our lives, we are drawing closer to him. And in this verse, he promises that when we draw closer to him that he will draw near to us.”