Magnify The Lord
Presented by Minister Paul Washington
Today we’re going to be talking about magnifying. We’re going to be talking about magnifying within yourself, we’re going to be talking about Magnifying within the Spirit and we’re going to talk about be magnifying the Lord. So how do we view relationships in our lives? There’s many different types of relationships that we go about in our lives.
We have our friendships, we have the relationship with the father, we have our marriages. Everybody has different experiences in their relationships. And in these relationships there are things that we choose to magnify. You can either focus on the good or you could focus on the bad. See, and the Lord is already in our lives and it resolves on us to build a relationship with Him.
Are we going to focus on the bad in our lives because what we choose to magnify is what our lives will be? Or are we going to focus on the good and look forward to a relationship with the Father? When we focus on things that aren’t of the kingdom, we detract from the things of the Father. So you could be a Christian and be serving the Lord, but not be serving the better of the kingdom. You could focus on things like I don’t have enough finances or I am not good enough. My time myself that I am giving to the Lord is not good enough. You could choose to focus on those things or you could focus on the things that the Lord says about you because he has already extended a relationship to each and every single one of us.
And I’ve seen in churches that the problem of why churches aren’t growing is because of the relationships that they’re having, the toxicity in their lives that things are broken. And the Word tells us many things about restoring of relationships and so oftentimes our focus is broken. Oftentimes we only see the benefits that come from our yes. And we so desire without being able to see the traps of the enemy that he sets out lying in wait. Because of what the enemy is doing and because of where we’re choosing to shift our focuses to. It’s very difficult to remember that first love that Christ had extended us. So we’re going to talk about for a second. From Proverbs 16 and one through eleven it says that the preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits. It says commit your works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established. The Lord has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom. Everyone proud in heart is an abomination of the Lord. Though they join forces, none will go unpunished. In mercy and truth. Atonement is provided for iniquity and by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil. When a man’s way pleases the Lord. He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Better is a little with righteousness than vast revenues. Without justice. A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. Divination is on the lips of the King and his mouth must not transgress in judgment.
Honest weights and scales are the Lord’s and all the weights and the bag are his word. I just want you to keep this in mind and I’m a backtrack a little bit and we’re going to talk about the definition of magnify because this is where our focus is coming from in this message. We have to know the difference between what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong. How can we better ourselves in this relationship with our Father? So there are multiple definitions for magnify and I have a few of them on the screen here. So there’s extol or glorify and we could see that and praise the Lord and magnify him or we have to cause to be held in greater esteem or respect, or to a large in fact or an appearance.
And all three of these definitions are important in the relationships that we’re choosing to have or what we’re choosing to magnify in them. So the original sense of magnify was to praise highly, to glorify and to extol, and specifically to praise or render honor to God for he is worthy, right? But to magnify is also to be caused to held in greater esteem or respect. So the best way to think about this is to think about a magnifying glass. When we use the magnifying glass to look at things, we see details that may be hidden from the naked eye. And the magnifying glass does not change the actual image, but rather make it more clearer to us in these definitions. I just want you to hold on to these as we’re going to be moving through this message.
The thing that we are looking at does not change in size, it just changes how we see it. When we take a look or glass, or take a look through the magnifying glass, we’re seeing all the details. Whether they are bad or good, they are exposed. For the Lord is exposing things in our relationships. And when we have an incomplete view of who God is, we worry about our prayers being answered or whether or not God is in control. See, when we don’t know who our father is, we don’t know what power and authority he is capable of. And we suffer for that. It is our relationships that suffer. When we don’t know who our father is, when we don’t know the nature of who the Word says he is.
And so we have to enlarge or expose these iniquities inside of ourselves so that we’re not ashamed and so that the Lord can help us better ourselves. We have to be real with who we are as humans we all know that we make mistakes, but those mistakes are not who God said we are. So we are trying to better ourselves. Well, for what are we trying to better ourselves? We know that we’re trying to further the work of the kingdom. We’re trying to extend ourselves out to be covered by the Lord so that we can have better relationships with Him. So when we’re talking about this, we’re talking about magnifying our relationship, but that magnification starts within ourselves. And how great is God that he knows what we need?
So if you look with me at Matthew 631 through 34, it says, therefore do not worry, saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink? And what shall wear for all these things the Gentiles seek? That’s us. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all things, but seek first the kingdom of God. This is a changing of our ways. We’re not seeking what we used to seek. We died, and Christ brought us back to a new life. It is a new relationship or a new covenant that we have. So you saw our old ways. What shall we eat, what shall we drink, what shall wear? For all these things are the things the Gentiles seek. But we know. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Sorry. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. So we know that God is guiding us. He is willing to take the time to tell us where we should be. It’s in his word. We just have to seek that out in our relationships. All the answers that we worry about as people in our iniquities have already been answered, it’s where we’re searching for those answers. Some people search for them at bars, the club, the streets, in drugs, in alcohol. But none of those have the answer. There is only one place where you can find these answers. And it’s all about where you’re choosing to focus on. If your focus is on the streets, you’re never going to see those answers.
Because when were talking about it, if you remember one of the definitions of magnifying, it exposes things, it makes things larger to the view. So if my focus is on drugs, and those drugs are so large, because that’s what I’m choosing to magnify, I can’t see the God behind the drugs. I can’t see where God is because I’m choosing to have my vision blocked. So we need to rebuild that focus, because God knowing what we need alone, is worthy of to be praised, to magnify. Just Him having that solution already there is worthy. He is worthy for us to shift our focus away from what we died to Him. We have to be careful in our walk as Christians not to go back to the things that we have already been saved from, to not go back to that bondage.
So read with me from Matthew seven. One through eight says, judge not that you be not judged, for with that judgment you judge, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider that plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me remove the speck from your eye and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite. First remove the plank from your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in pieces. It says, ask, and it will be given to you.
Seek and you will find. Knock, and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. There’s so much that we just unpacked in eight verses in this. So we know from Matthew six that the Lord has everything we need. So the next step, which we’re reading.
In Matthew seven, is that relationship that he’s offering. This is.
Worrying about others, anything other than him. He’s already you in a position for success. He’s asking here when we’re reading through the verses one through eight, judge not that you be not judged. It’s that we have to turn towards an inner reflection, is what he’s saying. What we’re looking for in our lives is not in somebody else’s. It’s not in somebody else’s life. Their mistakes, yes, they make mistakes too, but it’s not for us to point out only because we have an internal struggle that we have to deal within ourselves. It’s an internal relationship if we’re spending time judging other people, or if we’re spending time looking for their mistakes. And iniquities when are you developing yourself? When are you relationship with the father jumping forward to the end?
Ask and it will be given to you.
Everything you need is in that relationship.
If you need freedom or redemption, bondage.
You ask him and he will give it to you. He is yourself. You’re choosing to magnify the Lord and sing praises onto Him. He will provide whatever you need. Full and complete substance is what the Lord is offering. So we have to examine ourselves. And this happens in two stages. It happens internally on what we focus on, and then it happens in how we communicate with God. There was two parts to that passage. There was seek and you will find. Ask and you will receive. So there is one, the internal portion you are looking for, that internal development, and then there is that asking, communicating with the Father. You have to have both. You have to be able to look at yourself and internalize, and then you have to be able to speak out to God for that development to come.
So that is magnifying within ourselves. So then we’re looking at magnifying the Spirit, because the Spirit is an indwelling. There’s an indwelling of the Spirit from Christ. It says, we recognize the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is a precious gift from God. It resides in each and every one of us. It is empowering and guiding us on a special journey to magnify the Spirit is to acknowledge and embrace the divine presence within us, allowing it to work through us and transform our lives. So it says in Romans eight and eleven, but if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
We know that when we said yes to Christ and we had the baptism of fire and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we knew from there that our lives had changed. And we have to nurture and develop this. So you could think of it like this. I think every one of us in here has been married or has been married at some point. When you get married okay, sorry. The ladies in the back just looked at me. Tell the truth. No. Oh, man, that’s funny. Thank you, Lord. What I was saying is, okay, so you don’t know this yet. When you get married, does your relationship stop? Does your dating end? It’s not supposed to. A lot of people think it does.
And that’s why they say their marriage got stale, because they stopped going on dates, they stopped the romance, they stopped communicating, they stopped growing. So in a marriage, you have to grow. If you get married at age 19 and you’re now 30 and you haven’t developed at all from age 19 to 30, you’ve gone stale. You’re dead. You’re dead inside. The same thing can happen with your Spirit.
If there’s no spiritual growth inside you’ve stale.
You’re doing it in just to what.
Done for you marriage. So that’s your internal right there’s internal.
Development in your marriage.
The external would be communicate with, communicate.
What I’m thinking and know what I’m thinking, or what I don’t know what she’s thinking. There’s no development together. It’s a relationship, a sacred bond that God calls as a covenant. When you’re married in a covenant. The two shall become one. That’s not two halves become one. That’s two wholes become one. It’s a relationship that is sacred under the eyes of the Father. And if we choose not to communicate with each other, then it also grows stale and dead. That’s why there’s an epidemic of divorce in our communities, an epidemic of divorce in our nations. It’s because people stop developing, they stop moving forward. They think the race is already won. They choose not to develop internally and they choose not to develop in their relationship, the same thing that we’re seeing here.
But if the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Life is ever living, life is present, it ages. There’s a forward movement. And if we’re not doing that internally and we’re choosing not to have a relationship with Christ, then how can the kingdom of God continue to live at least in the part that we have a part of? God never dies, he is forever. But he also charged us with commands when we gave our lives. And we have to do our part. We have to grow or the relationship ceases to exist and God will always be there. We have to take that internalness and grow forward and reach out for that relationship. We have to seek out the kingdom.
So that brings us into the fruits of the Spirit. What happens when we nurture this? Indwelling says but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against such there is no law. So that is Galatians 522 through 23. Flip back to my notes here real quick. It says by magnifying the spirits, we open the Spirit. Very clear in that magnify the Spirit, we open our hearts to influence, enabling the growth of spiritual fruits such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Through these spirits sorry, forgive me. Through these fruits we reflect God’s character and draw others closer to his light. Through our relationship with God, there’s going to be people who see us, and they may not understand it at first, but they’re going to see the light.
They’re going to see that bond that we have with our Father. Although again, we want to make sure they’re analyzing and that where our relationship with God is what we have. But we know that people are going to see it. And as Christians, we should be taking careful to examine our relationships, examine how we’re moving about in our lives, because people are seeing that. And we don’t want to detract from God’s kingdom because we will be liable for that when the time comes. We don’t want to be the reason that somebody never comes back to Christ. And so in the relationships that we choose to have both with God and out there in the world, we have to make sure that they’re all kingdom centered, that we’re living the lives that the Lord asked us to live.
And this brings us to living in alignment with God’s will. That magnifying the Spirit involves aligning our desires, our actions and decisions with God’s will that we surrender to the Spirit’s, leading we find ourselves on a path of righteousness, discerning God’s purpose for our lives and walking in obedience. I’m not going to stay too long on this subject, but you guys know the clear differences that the Christians who find everything permissible and then the Christians or the Christians whose desires line up with God’s word. You have to make a choice. Are you going to magnify your relationship with God in line your desires to his will? Or are you going to live by what the world says is permissible? What the world says is okay, look at this last verse before we move on to our next section with me.
It says, or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. Now, this is one Corinthians 619 through 20. Growing up for me, I always heard the verse, your body is the temple of the Lord. I did not grow up in a Christian household. And I could tell you from the world’s perspective that this verse right here never receives justice. What the lies that you are told by the world about the temple is. You see it in the message where Jesus went back.
I don’t remember the exact jesus went.
Back to the temple and it had all the Matthew. Thank you, Tina. And they’re doing things in there that are disgracing the temple and stuff, and.
He uses that to reference how our.
Body is the temple. The injustice is done by the world, and what they lie to you and tell you is permissible is horrendous. When you get to grow closer, you have to forgive yourself for the injustices you did to the temple before you were saved. You have to let that go. It is part of your development. We were lied to. We were all lied to. Satan is the great deceiver. We know now we didn’t before. We know now that were bought at a price. We have to choose now, knowing that God called us and glorified us, right?
Yeah.
God called us and bought us at a price. Therefore, glorify your God in your body and in your spirit, which are Gods, for you have turned that back over to Him, and that leads us into this worshipping of our Father, the magnifying the Lord. To magnify the Lord is to acknowledge his sovereignty and his supremacy over all things. Our lives become a testament to his greatness as we humbly lift Him up and glorify or give Him the glory that he deserves, for he is a provider. If somebody is providing for you, do they not deserve that recognition? We have to worship Him in spirit and truth. We’re magnifying the Lord involves genuine worship. It stems from our heart overflowing with reverence and awe at both our private moments of devotion and in our public gatherings.
We lift our voices in hearts and praise, magnifying his name above all else. We reflect God’s light. How can we reflect God’s light if we’re not speaking out, if we’re not praising his name in all things that we do? I remember I used to work tracker with Aaron, and people would say things about the Lord and I would never speak out against it. They would say, he’s not worth my time, blah, world stuff. And I would never speak out. I would never say, that’s not who my God is. I never once defended the Lord, and I was actively going to church. So we have to be careful of what positions we’re putting ourselves in to not speak out. And Peter didn’t say Jesus three times.
Jesus told him he would do that, but at those times, he chose not to acknowledge his relationship with Christ. We have to make sure that we’re not finding ourselves in positions to be like Peter. Are we extending out? I don’t go and say, I’m not married to my wife. That is my wife. And I will make sure every man here knows it. That’s my wife in there. We have to do the same thing with the Lord. That’s. My God. No one could take anything away from my God, for he has sovereignty and supremacy. He reigns over all that is our God, and we have to make sure that people know that. We have to sing on these praises onto Him. Reverence is honor and respect that is deeply felt and outwardly demonstrated.
Because of the Lord’s God awesome power and majesty, he is deserving of the highest level of reverence. We see this in Leviticus 19 and 30, where it says, you shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary, for I am the Lord. He told us this we shall keep the Sabbath and reverence his sanctuary, deserving of the highest praise in numbers. In 26 it says So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle, a meeting, and they fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them because they were having a relationship. They went down to have a relationship with Him. It says, Psalms 145 and three great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.
Also says in Psalms 69 and 30, I will praise the name of God with the song and will magnify him with thanksgiving. Or Psalms 95, one through four. You see where this is going. The word is filled with times that we worship and glorify God. And if our Bibles are filled with it, why isn’t our hearts filled with those praises too? How many times do people in the Bible glorify and praise and call out his name? And we hear these great and mighty stories of David solomon and all these people and all the great things that they did. But how can God use us in the same or similar ways if we’re not singing out his praises onto Him? We’re not in here worshiping, if we’re not on our faces praying, if we’re not developing a relationship, how can he use us?
Says, oh, come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth, the heights of the hills are his also. So we thank the Father and we praise out to Him. We magnify that relationship of Him within us. Not only does the Lord know what you need, he has what you need. We have to give those praises to Him, and you should want to. Why wouldn’t you desire a relationship with someone who has everything you need?
We’re so used toxic relationships that we find ourselves willingly walking off the cliff or willingly going back to the things that are going to kill us, when everything we need is right here with the Father. We have to give rid of the once saved mentality. Just because we’re married doesn’t mean the work in our relationships end. We’re constantly developing, and we should constantly desire the things of the Lord. And that moves us on to my next point that if we’re constantly desiring the things of the Lord, if we’re constantly with the Lord, and I’m speaking to the humanness in us at this point in time, right? Yes, these are all things we should do. But why do we do them? What’s in it for us? Right?
I tell you that a deeper relationship with God should be your first priority, despite what we get from it. But there’s many things we get from it, right? Being the fruits of the Spirit. Isn’t it so great to be so joyous? Isn’t it great to be blessed? As we magnify the Spirit and the Lord, our relationship with God deepens, we become more attuned to his presence and more responsive to his guidance. That right there. What do we receive from the Lord? We receive direction. Aren’t we so tired of not knowing what our next step should be? Aren’t we so tired of not knowing where to turn to his presence? And we are transformed by his grace, says Psalms 16 and eleven. You will show me the path of life.
In your presence is the fullness of joy, and at your right hands are pleasures forevermore. Excuse me, sorry. Pleasures forevermore. You are forever blessed when you are serving the Lord. This isn’t always about stuff. This is about something that happens in here where Paul was literally in chains and he says, I am bonded no more. That freedom that he had in serving the Lord and singing out praises unto his name by magnifying the Spirit and the Lord brings a profound sense of joy and fulfillment that surpasses all worldly pleasures. All those things we died to, you will not miss it if you submit fully onto the Lord that all our temptations are just cast aside and replaced with Spirit, replaced with Christ, that our spirits are lifted and our souls are nourished by the riches of God’s love.
So it says in John 15 and Eleven, these things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. All of these things, it has an impact internally and on people around you. We see that in Sorry Matthew five and 16, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. When you submit yourselves, you’re receiving from the Lord. People will see that, and they too will glorify your Father in heaven. And all of that, the blessings of the Lord, working a development within yourself, a development or a magnification of the Spirit, magnifying the Lord, and then seeing and receiving, you have to receive from God. The reason being is you can give.
But if you’re so used to a toxic relationship where you don’t receive what you need in that relationship, you will forget to receive from the Lord, or you will choose not to receive those blessings in that magnification of the magnification. I know it sounds a little funny to say it, but I’ve seen people in relationships where they were abused not know how to accept a thank you, a simple thank you. They literally don’t say that to me. What do you mean? I was just thank you. Stop? You’re going to stop my thanks? Are you going to stop the blessings that the Lord has for you just because you don’t know how to receive from Him, because you’re so used toxic relationships? We have to learn how to heal. We have to learn that healing is okay. Your development is your development.
Just like we don’t judge other people, and we don’t go to look at the speck in their eye, your development is not for them, it’s for you. You have to know that being healed and being in the presence of the Lord and having the indwelling of the Spirit and being able to do the work for the kingdom, just as I do the work for the kingdom that Lady Ivy does, the work is for you, too. It’s for you. It’s for your relationship, for the glory of God. The Lord is your completion, he is your satisfaction, and he is all you will ever need. I’m going to end with this verse says proverbs three, five through six, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He. Shall direct your paths.
It is that acknowledgment of our Father God, accepting Him into your life. Leading out among the nations is his praise. When we speak up and we sing onto the Lord, that is an acknowledgment and a reverence. He will guide your path. All you have to do is commit to a relationship with Him. I thank you, family, for being here with me today. Heavenly Father, we thank you for all those who have heard Your word today. We thank you for all those who have pressed their way out. We thank you for all those who have joined online. We ask you today for a development in our relationship with you. A step forward.
That we may continue doing the work of the kingdom, that we can learn to forgive ourselves, that we can learn to heal, that we could put away selfish and vain things, Father God, that we could focus on the light of the kingdom and that we could sing praises unto you without being bonded, Father God, without being held back. That your light may be seen by all. And that we could just be in Your sweet presence at your right hand. Father God is in this in Jesus name that we pray. Amen.
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