Mensa Otabil - My Soul Magnifies the Lord
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Welcome to our Christmas week. We’re still in the book of Luke’s Gospel, chapter 1, verses 46 to 48. And Mary said, «My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, for He has regarded the lowly estate of His maidservant. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.» This is Mary’s hymn of worship to God after Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, had confirmed the word of the angel Gabriel. The hymn of praise is also called the Magnificat because it starts by expressing magnification to God. It’s a profound expression of worship flowing unrehearsed, without any forethought, just an outburst of worship from a very grateful soul to the living God who has favored her and shown her so much mercy.
Mary teaches us what to do when God has done something great for us: we learn to verbalize our praise of Him and magnify Him. She starts by saying, «My soul magnifies the Lord.» Worship of gratitude starts from within; my soul magnifies the Lord—my inner being, my inner personality. What Mary was communicating to God was not just from her mind or from a physical expression but deep within her, from her soul. She says she was magnifying the Lord. Now, when we say we’re magnifying the Lord, we’re not adding to God—we’re just declaring to ourselves the magnificent works of God. We are enlarging the works of God because many times people minimize the work of God. God does something great for them, yet they minimize it; they travel from one place to another and arrive at the other, minimizing the miracle of safety. We have to learn to magnify what God does for us.
«My soul magnifies the Lord,» and as we come to the end of the year, learn to magnify the Lord. The second thing we learn from Mary’s worship is, «My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.» It’s great to magnify the Lord, but in addition to magnifying the Lord, we also have to rejoice in the Lord. Be excited; show happiness for what God has done for us. We can learn how to express our joy in what God is doing for us by dancing, singing, clapping, jumping, and expressing ourselves. What would you do if someone unexpectedly blessed you or did something great for you? Instantly, there is rejoicing. You say something nice and act in a joyful way. You express it either in a dance, a jump, a scream, or a yell, and that is my spirit rejoicing.
Mary says we magnify God and rejoice in Him. This year, as we come to the end of the year, learn to rejoice in the Lord. Let Mary’s attitude inspire all of us to rejoice in what God has done for us. Then she says, «My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.» She personalized her praise; she personalized her worship. This is not just doing it for the God who created all things but for the God who has visited me. Has God done something personal for you? Has He blessed you? Has He touched you? Has He delivered you? Has He helped you? Then let your soul magnify Him, and let your spirit rejoice in all that He has done for you.
This is going to be a great week as we celebrate the birth of Christ, and I just want us to share a word of prayer. Let’s pray together and say with me: «Heavenly Father, my soul magnifies You today, and my spirit rejoices in all Your goodness to me this year. In Jesus' name, amen.» Well, we’ll continue tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.