SPEAKER_00: Ministering to the heart of Western Arkansas's River Valley for over 165 years, welcome to Chapter and First, the Bible Teaching Ministry of Fort Smith's First Baptist Church.
SPEAKER_00: You'll find sermons and teachings from Pastor Greg, our ministry staff, and guest speakers.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.
SPEAKER_01: But church, I gotta say just thank you.
SPEAKER_01: It has been a blessing to be here in Fort Smith and in the River Valley doing student ministry.
SPEAKER_01: Just over two years ago, y'all took a chance on a 21-year-old kid fresh out of college, and uh now here I am.
SPEAKER_01: I'm a husband, I'm an expectant father, I'm a homeowner.
SPEAKER_01: Life is good.
SPEAKER_01: God is good.
SPEAKER_01: And so I just have to say thank you for investing not just in our student ministry, but in me as a student minister.
SPEAKER_01: I I can't say thank you enough for that.
SPEAKER_01: Well, this morning I want to look at uh at Psalm 34.
SPEAKER_01: So if you want to turn there.
SPEAKER_01: See, as Abigail talked about, we've had a great summer in student ministry.
SPEAKER_01: And some of you might remember from VBS that the theme verse was Psalm 34.3.
SPEAKER_01: And our students are really living that out.
SPEAKER_01: It seems like now more than ever they are choosing to draw closer to the Lord, to live lives that magnify him, and to invite others into that.
SPEAKER_01: And we see that in Psalm 34.3, that it's kind of become our theme verse for the whole summer in our student ministry.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna ask anybody to do any dance moves like Eli did, but I do want to look at Psalm 34, the first three verses.
SPEAKER_01: But see, I've invited the students this summer.
SPEAKER_01: Magnify the Lord with me.
SPEAKER_01: Psalm 34, 3, it says, proclaim the Lord's greatness with me.
SPEAKER_01: Let us exalt his name together.
SPEAKER_01: So while I've been trying to encourage them to do that, I've had to make sure that like David, they were doing that with me.
SPEAKER_01: So I've had a personal, I've had to make my personal decision to live a life that is glorifying to God.
SPEAKER_01: For them to do just that, to do that with me.
SPEAKER_01: So there's a lot that you can unpack from Psalm 34, but I do want to look at the first three verses.
SPEAKER_01: So you read that with me, it says, I will bless the Lord at all times.
SPEAKER_01: His praise will always be on my lips.
SPEAKER_01: I will boast in the Lord, the humble will hear and be glad.
SPEAKER_01: Proclaim the Lord's greatness with me.
SPEAKER_01: Let us exalt his name together.
SPEAKER_01: So our first takeaway that we're gonna take out here, straight from verse one, is that we must make a personal decision to magnify the Lord with our lives.
SPEAKER_01: David made it clear from the very beginning, right here, verse one, he made the choice that he was going to bless the Lord at all times.
SPEAKER_01: He was going to always be praising the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: If you look at the top, the subtitle for Psalm 34, it says, Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech, who drove him out, and he departed.
SPEAKER_01: We get some context for that psalm in 1 Samuel chapter 21, verses really the whole chapter, chapter 21.
SPEAKER_01: David had already been appointed as the next king of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: He was working for King Saul, and Saul found that out and wanted to kill him.
SPEAKER_01: So David, out of fear, he flees from the king.
SPEAKER_01: He goes to the temple and he takes consecrated bread for himself.
SPEAKER_01: Goliath's sword is there in the temple, so he takes that too, and he flees to Gath.
SPEAKER_01: He's got to get out of town.
SPEAKER_01: I'm a little confused why David, the one who killed Goliath from Gath, decided to take the sword of Goliath from Gath and go to Gath trying to stay under the radar.
SPEAKER_01: I don't quite know exactly why he chose that, but I do know that he was recognized.
SPEAKER_01: And because he was recognized out of fear of being captured, he had to act insane.
SPEAKER_01: He had to act like he was crazy.
SPEAKER_01: So we'll have it on the screen in 1 Samuel chapter 21.
SPEAKER_01: Starting after he's recognized, verse 12 says, David took this to heart and became very afraid of the king of Gath, so he pretended to be insane in their presence.
SPEAKER_01: He acted like a madman around them, scribbling on the doors of the city gate and letting saliva run down his beard.
SPEAKER_01: It's at this moment, if on a Wednesday night in the student ministry, I would tell the students that David was down bad.
SPEAKER_01: He was cooked.
SPEAKER_01: He literally had no other option but to act as if he was crazy, insane.
SPEAKER_01: He'd lost his mind.
SPEAKER_01: But when we look at Psalm 34, there is no reference of that.
SPEAKER_01: Nowhere in Psalm 34 does David say, Thank God I use my quick wit to get myself out of a jam.
SPEAKER_01: Never does he say, Thank God I'm so smart and quick on my feet.
SPEAKER_01: I'm sure a lot of you have heard of a pastor and a theologian from the latter half of the 1800s.
SPEAKER_01: His name is Charles Spurgeon.
SPEAKER_01: And Spurgeon, in his commentary on the Psalms, he says that David dwells only on the grand fact of his being heard in the hour of peril.
SPEAKER_01: We may learn from his example not to parade our sins before others.
SPEAKER_01: David played the fool with singular dexterity, but he was not so real a fool as to sing of his own exploits of folly.
SPEAKER_01: See, God saved David, and he knew that.
SPEAKER_01: David didn't have to relive his failure, his sin, to remember God's grace in that moment.
SPEAKER_01: But he did have to offer God full praise for that grace.
SPEAKER_01: He was personally determined to bless the Lord, and that his praise would always be on his lips.
SPEAKER_01: So I've been trying to help our students to understand what it means to truly live a life that magnifies God.
SPEAKER_01: Because we have conversations, they're awesome conversations, where these students, it clicks for them.
SPEAKER_01: God is real.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus, the Son of God, he stepped out of heaven and he lived a perfect life.
SPEAKER_01: And he died on the cross to pay for our sins.
SPEAKER_01: And then three days later, he rose from the grave to conquer sin and death and be the personal savior and Lord of everyone who calls on him, who puts their faith and trust in him.
SPEAKER_01: They have these conversations and it's incredible.
SPEAKER_01: And I love those moments.
SPEAKER_01: But oftentimes I feel like even for a lot of us, we don't know what's next.
SPEAKER_01: We make this decision, we put our faith and our trust in him.
SPEAKER_01: We have this moment that's incredible.
SPEAKER_01: But then as the days go on and the spiritual high maybe starts to fade a little bit, we kind of lose track.
SPEAKER_01: We get confused, or it's difficult to continue to stay that way.
SPEAKER_01: They ask the question, how do I live a life, live my life for Christ?
SPEAKER_01: And I wouldn't be surprised if some of you here also were asking that question.
SPEAKER_01: How do I actually live a life that glorifies the Lord?
SPEAKER_01: But I'll tell you, we have a beautiful example of how the Old Testament and the New Testament work together to point us towards the author of it all.
SPEAKER_01: So I want to invite you to turn with me to Philippians chapter 1.
SPEAKER_01: The Apostle Paul he wrote the letter to the Philippians from prison.
SPEAKER_01: He was in prison for preaching the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: So as he's in prison for preaching the gospel, he's still doing his ministry.
SPEAKER_01: We see Paul as an incredible example of repentance, conversion, of sanctification, and then going and living that faith out.
SPEAKER_01: He truly was a servant of Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: So even today we can learn from his writings.
SPEAKER_01: If you'll read verse 20 with me of Philippians 1, he says, My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
SPEAKER_01: So if you'll allow me to speculate just a little bit, I can't help but think that Paul was remembering Psalm 34.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, he was a Pharisee, right?
SPEAKER_01: Paul was an expert in the Old Testament back when it was just the testament.
SPEAKER_01: It was his Bible.
SPEAKER_01: Paul knew it.
SPEAKER_01: He calls himself Hebrew of Hebrews.
SPEAKER_01: He knew the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_01: So he would know Psalm 34.
SPEAKER_01: So I can't help but think that he's remembering David's call to magnify the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: He's saying yes to living a life that magnifies God.
SPEAKER_01: And not only is he saying yes himself, not only is he accepting that invitation, but he's then extending it to the Philippians and to us today.
SPEAKER_01: I say that Paul might be remembering Psalm 34 because the word here in verse 20, highly honored, is also translated as magnified.
SPEAKER_01: And that literally means to make someone or something large.
SPEAKER_01: To make someone or something large.
SPEAKER_01: This is in the same way as a magnifying glass, or maybe your readers make something large.
SPEAKER_01: Paul, the prisoner, awaiting trial, in a position that he should have been filled with shame, embarrassment for being in jail.
SPEAKER_01: This day and age, there was nothing to brag about.
SPEAKER_01: But instead, he says that he is not ashamed about anything.
SPEAKER_01: He had nothing to be ashamed of because he knew that he was magnifying the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: He knew he was glorifying God with every bit of his life.
SPEAKER_01: And he was committed to doing that even up to his death.
SPEAKER_01: In 1 Corinthians 11, verse 1, Paul says to imitate me as I also imitate Christ.
SPEAKER_01: So not only did he know that he was living the life, but he was understanding of the fact that he was setting the example for us.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Imitate me.
SPEAKER_01: Do what I'm doing, because all I'm trying to do is glorify God with every bit of my life.
SPEAKER_01: So let me ask you something.
SPEAKER_01: Believer, Christian, have you accepted that invitation?
SPEAKER_01: Have you joined in the chorus alongside David and Paul?
SPEAKER_01: Are you magnifying the Lord with your life and every bit of it?
SPEAKER_01: Do people look at you?
SPEAKER_01: Do your friends look at you and think of Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: Do your kids?
SPEAKER_01: See, because salvation is only the first step.
SPEAKER_01: You need to be able to imitate or to echo Paul and say, imitate me because you are imitating Christ.
SPEAKER_01: When you give your life to Jesus, it isn't just about fire insurance.
SPEAKER_01: It's about giving everything to him.
SPEAKER_01: Signing up to be a beacon of hope in the darkness that is this world.
SPEAKER_01: Signing up to be an ambassador for the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: Where you walk like and talk like and act like, and you are a picture of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: You're dying to your old self and you are going all in for him because that's what he did for you.
SPEAKER_01: See, when we make the personal decision to magnify God with our life, even to our death, then are we rewarded in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: And what a day of rejoicing that will be, amen.
SPEAKER_01: When we stand face to face with Jesus, there is nothing better.
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely nothing on this earth is as good as heaven.
SPEAKER_01: There is nothing like standing face to face with Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Nothing on this earth.
SPEAKER_01: So I gotta tell you, knowing that makes earth a lot less fun.
SPEAKER_01: Makes sin a lot less fun.
SPEAKER_01: Why would I want to be here if I have perfection waiting for me?
SPEAKER_01: Paul felt that way.
SPEAKER_01: We'll get to that in just a second.
SPEAKER_01: He explains that.
SPEAKER_01: But it takes us to our second takeaway this morning is that when we live out our faith, there is a kingdom impact.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 2 of Psalm 34, David says, I will make my boast in the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: The humble will hear and be glad.
SPEAKER_01: See, boasting in oneself, being proud and bragging about oneself is something that the humble, the meek, the lowly would usually turn away from.
SPEAKER_01: They don't want to hear about all this good stuff that's happening for somebody else when they're struggling.
SPEAKER_01: Spurgeon says it this way.
SPEAKER_01: He says, usually, he says, the humble are usually grieved to hear boastings.
SPEAKER_01: But boasting in the Lord is quite another matter.
SPEAKER_01: The most lowly are consoled and encouraged.
SPEAKER_01: See, by boasting in the Lord, the trust of the humble and a faithful God is confirmed.
SPEAKER_01: Paul says in verses 21 through 23, he says, For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
SPEAKER_01: Now, if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me.
SPEAKER_01: And I don't know which one I should choose.
SPEAKER_01: I am torn between the two.
SPEAKER_01: I long to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
SPEAKER_01: It is truly far better to depart and be with Christ.
SPEAKER_01: But he knows that there is still fruitful work, there is still gospel ministry for him to do on earth.
SPEAKER_01: Until that day, there is gospel work to do.
SPEAKER_01: So Paul doesn't say, I long to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
SPEAKER_01: And I've already had such a great ministry, I'll just sit here and wait until I die.
SPEAKER_01: That's not even close.
SPEAKER_01: It's not even close to what he says, because we can read on in verses 24 through 26.
SPEAKER_01: He says, But to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
SPEAKER_01: Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith.
SPEAKER_01: So that because of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound.
SPEAKER_01: See, for us to sit and wait to die just because to be with Christ is far better.
SPEAKER_01: It's for us to fail to complete the task that is placed before us by the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: It's for us to fail to follow the example of the Apostle Paul, who up until his dying breath was magnifying the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: See, we have a job to do.
SPEAKER_01: Christians, we have a part to play in the expansion of the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: We have to do our part.
SPEAKER_01: We are here on this earth for those who aren't here in this church building this morning.
SPEAKER_01: We are here on this earth for those who are out there dying and going to hell without a clue.
SPEAKER_01: We have to live out our faith because there is a kingdom impact.
SPEAKER_01: Our time on earth is only a blip compared to eternity in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: All of this is only a blip compared to glory.
SPEAKER_01: See, no matter the pain, no matter the suffering or persecution that you might face, nothing comes close to heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Paul says that in Romans 8.18.
SPEAKER_01: He says, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us.
SPEAKER_01: Can I tell you what that means?
SPEAKER_01: It means there is truly nothing to lose.
SPEAKER_01: You have nothing to lose.
SPEAKER_01: If you are living a life that glorifies God, there is nothing worth sitting on your hands for.
SPEAKER_01: There is nothing worth living for more than the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: No matter what you face, no matter how uncomfortable it is, no matter how much pain is involved in that, all of it is just a blip compared to eternity at the feet of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: There's nothing worth treasuring more than the gospel, nothing worth living for more than the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: But I have to say, it's not easy.
SPEAKER_01: This world hates the gospel, sin hates the gospel, Satan hates the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: So for us to choose to be set apart is for us to choose discomfort.
SPEAKER_01: It's hard.
SPEAKER_01: So maybe it's a little embarrassing to be the one person in the office or in the room that is living for Christ when everyone else is living for the world.
SPEAKER_01: That may be a little uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_01: Let me tell you a story right here.
SPEAKER_01: Moving to Fort Smith a little over two years ago, I had a U-Haul truck, had a tow dolly behind it.
SPEAKER_01: See, but my pickup truck wouldn't fit on the tow dolly, which meant I was going to drive the U-Haul towing Emma's car, and she was gonna have to drive my truck up here.
SPEAKER_01: She'd never driven it before all interstate.
SPEAKER_01: So she told me, I'm just not comfortable with driving your truck.
SPEAKER_01: So a wise man in that moment would have said something along the lines of, that's okay, darling, we'll figure something else out.
SPEAKER_01: I was not a wise man.
SPEAKER_01: I told my fiance, not even my wife yet, I said, You're gonna have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_01: I thank God every day that she didn't tell me to just drive that U-Haul down the plano to her mom and daddy's house and drop her off.
SPEAKER_01: She did it too.
SPEAKER_01: She drove my truck up here.
SPEAKER_01: I gotta give credit where credit is due.
SPEAKER_01: She did it.
SPEAKER_01: That was not my most gracious moment.
SPEAKER_01: I should have thought of literally anything better to say in that moment.
SPEAKER_01: Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_01: I should not have said that then, but I am saying it now.
SPEAKER_01: I'm saying it to you today.
SPEAKER_01: To live a life that is magnifying the Lord, you're gonna have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_01: It is not easy.
SPEAKER_01: But I can tell you something else.
SPEAKER_01: I know that Jesus was uncomfortable on that cross when he bled and died to pay the price for our sins.
SPEAKER_01: I think we can stand to be a little uncomfortable here on earth since he made the ultimate sacrifice for us to give us a chance at being with him.
SPEAKER_01: That takes us to our final takeaway this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Our lives should be an invitation for others to worship with us.
SPEAKER_01: See, Psalm 34, verse 3, David says, Proclaim the Lord's greatness with me.
SPEAKER_01: Let us exalt his name together.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna reference Spurgeon one last time here because he states it beautifully.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Jehovah is infinite and therefore cannot really be made greater.
SPEAKER_01: But his name grows in manifested glory as he is made known to his creatures.
SPEAKER_01: And thus he is said to be magnified.
SPEAKER_01: Christians, we are to magnify the Lord with our lives, out of worship to him for what he's done for us, and as an example for others of what he wants to do for them.
SPEAKER_01: Just like a magnifying glass or your readers, they don't actually increase the size of what you're looking at.
SPEAKER_01: We cannot make God bigger than he is, he's infinite.
SPEAKER_01: However, when we act as the magnifying glass on the glory of God, greater attention and focus can be brought to his glory, which further increases that glory.
SPEAKER_01: It is worship of him for us to live a life that magnifies him.
SPEAKER_01: When we were at church camp, the speaker asked.
SPEAKER_01: A question that really stuck with me.
SPEAKER_01: He said, if everyone on earth lived their life exactly like you, would the Great Commission be fulfilled?
SPEAKER_01: If everyone on earth lived exactly like you, would the Great Commission be fulfilled?
SPEAKER_01: That struck deep for me, and I work in full-time ministry.
SPEAKER_01: I do my best to faithfully preach the gospel, to faithfully disciple and encourage discipleship.
SPEAKER_01: To invite students to come to church, to come and hear the good news.
SPEAKER_01: I do my best to live a life that magnifies God, but I still sin.
SPEAKER_01: I am still a sinner.
SPEAKER_01: So don't hear me as somebody that's got it all figured out.
SPEAKER_01: Hear me as a sinner saved by grace.
SPEAKER_01: Hear me as a brother in Christ who is, despite my sin, pleading with you to join me in doing the work.
SPEAKER_01: Magnify God.
SPEAKER_01: Proclaim his greatness with me.
SPEAKER_01: Let us exalt his name together.
SPEAKER_01: There is still work to do.
SPEAKER_01: There is still gospel work to do, work for the truth that Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, He stepped out of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: He left perfection, this perfection that we're longing for.
SPEAKER_01: He left it to live a perfect life, to die our death.
SPEAKER_01: To pay the price for our sin with his blood.
SPEAKER_01: And three days later, he rose from the grave.
SPEAKER_01: He conquered sin.
SPEAKER_01: He conquered death.
SPEAKER_01: He beat it.
SPEAKER_01: He left it all in the grave.
SPEAKER_01: And said, Call on my name and you will be saved.
SPEAKER_01: That is the gospel truth.
SPEAKER_01: In Romans chapter 10, it says, if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
SPEAKER_01: One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.
SPEAKER_01: For anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
SPEAKER_01: Anyone.
SPEAKER_01: So if you're here this morning and you haven't done that, the invitation of David and Paul and me now is open to you.
SPEAKER_01: Come experience the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Come experience the freedom that is found only in Him.
SPEAKER_01: Because He paid for all of our sins on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: He paid for your sin.
SPEAKER_01: Just call on Him.
SPEAKER_01: That invitation is open to you.
SPEAKER_01: If you have done that, if you have professed your faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then let us exalt His name together.
SPEAKER_01: Let our boasting in Christ Jesus abound so that the humble will hear and be glad.
SPEAKER_01: Join me in seeking to imitate Christ so that others will see him through our lives and turn to him.
SPEAKER_01: In just a moment, I'm going to pray.
SPEAKER_01: God's people are going to stand and sing.
SPEAKER_01: And if you have never put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then I invite you to come.
SPEAKER_01: There'll be ministers at the aisles.
SPEAKER_01: Don't wait.
SPEAKER_01: Turn to Him today.
SPEAKER_01: Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you'll be saved.
SPEAKER_01: And then join me in the gospel work until that day when we get to see him face to face.
SPEAKER_01: What a perfect day that would be.
SPEAKER_01: God, we love you.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for who you are and for what you've done for us.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for the gospel truth.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for paying the price for our sin.
SPEAKER_01: God, I ask that anyone here who does not know you, would you just reach out and touch them this morning?
SPEAKER_01: Would you give them the courage to come down and talk to someone?
SPEAKER_01: To ask those questions.
SPEAKER_01: Give them the courage to reach out to you.
SPEAKER_01: God, I ask that you would give my fellow believers here the boldness to go to make their boasts in you, so that the humble will hear and be glad.
SPEAKER_01: Give them the courage to live as a beacon of hope in the darkness.
SPEAKER_01: Help them to live as an ambassador for your kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Help them to magnify you with their life every day, every bit of it, even to their death, God.
SPEAKER_01: And remind them that perfection is waiting.
SPEAKER_01: You are waiting for them on the other side.
SPEAKER_01: Not only are you with them here, but we will stand face to face with you one day.
SPEAKER_01: God, we love you.
SPEAKER_01: To your name we pray.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: We pray this message has been a blessing to you and helped to strengthen your walk with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Please know we want to minister to you and pray for you.
SPEAKER_00: Send an email to contactus at fsfbc.org and let us pray for you and help you in any way we can.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to Chapter and First, the Bible Teaching Ministry of Fort Smith's First Baptist Church.