Coffeespiller87 Posted January 29, 2015 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 4 Topic Count: 212 Topics Per Day: 0.04 Content Count: 1,691 Content Per Day: 0.31 Reputation: 449 Days Won: 1 Joined: 03/28/2009 Status: Offline Share Posted January 29, 2015 "And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them."—Luke 2:20. HAT was the subject of their praise? They praised God for what they had heard—for the good tidings of great joy that a Saviour was born unto them. Let us copy them; let us also raise a song of thanksgiving that we have heard of Jesus and His salvation. They also praised God for what they had seen. There is the sweetest music—what we have experienced, what we have felt within, what we have made our own—"the things which we have made touching the King." It is not enough to hear about Jesus: mere hearing may tune the harp, but the fingers of living faith must create the music. If you have seen Jesus with the God-giving sight of faith, suffer no cobwebs to linger among the harpstrings, but loud to the praise of sovereign grace, awake your psaltery and harp. One point for which they praised God was the agreement between what they had heard and what they had seen. Observe the last sentence—"As it was told unto them." Have you not found the gospel to be in yourselves just what the Bible said it would be? Jesus said He would give you rest—have you not enjoyed the sweetest peace in Him? He said you should have joy, and comfort, and life through believing in Him—have you not received all these? Are not His ways ways of pleasantness, and His paths paths of peace? Surely you can say with the queen of Sheba, "The half has not been told me." I have found Christ more sweet than His servants ever said He was. I looked upon His likeness as they painted it, but it was a mere daub compared with Himself; for the King in His beauty outshines all imaginable loveliness. Surely what we have "seen" keeps pace with, nay, far exceeds, what we have "heard." Let us, then, glorify and praise God for a Saviour so precious, and so satisfying. I was reading this and I dont understand it especailly how if u can see Jesus through God given sight how that is comparting to cobwebs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted January 29, 2015 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 733 Topics Per Day: 0.10 Content Count: 3,017 Content Per Day: 0.43 Reputation: 128 Days Won: 1 Joined: 01/01/2005 Status: Offline Birthday: 04/09/1966 Share Posted January 29, 2015 The "God-giving sight of faith" is Charles Spurgeon's way of saying that we could never have come to Jesus without faith, and that faith was given to us by God Himself. Jesus said in John 6:44, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." So, even our own coming to Christ was possible because God gave us the faith to recognize our need for Jesus. But just accepting Jesus, and knowing about Him, isn't enough. That God given faith causes us to act on our faith, and not just being content with only knowing about Him. When Spurgeon says, "suffer no cobwebs to linger on the harpstrings," he's creating a picture of what he said about the difference between just knowing about Jesus and putting our faith into action. Here's the picture he described: Coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus, is like receiving a beautiful harp that is capable of playing the sweetest music that praises and glorifies God! But, if we don't put our faith into action, that harp can't play. It just sits there, with no music coming from it. Cobwebs only grow on things that are idle and not used. Spurgeon is encouraging us to not let cobwebs grow on the harp! When we put our faith into action, that's like using our fingers to strum on the harp and play the music that praises and glorifies God! Cobwebs can't grow on our faith and knowledge of Jesus if we're putting that faith and knowledge into action! Only if we're content with just knowing about Jesus and not doing anything about it. So, he used that picture to say this: Don't be content with just being saved and knowing about Jesus. Put your faith into action, and let God be glorified through it! James 2:14-20, "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hard after God - Glenn Posted January 29, 2015 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 1 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 6 Content Per Day: 0.00 Reputation: 1 Days Won: 0 Joined: 01/29/2015 Status: Offline Birthday: 05/07/1964 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Knowing about God and truly experiencing Him are two different things. Experiencing God in His fullness can only come through personal faith in Jesus Christ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffeespiller87 Posted January 30, 2015 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 4 Topic Count: 212 Topics Per Day: 0.04 Content Count: 1,691 Content Per Day: 0.31 Reputation: 449 Days Won: 1 Joined: 03/28/2009 Status: Offline Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Thanks Keith That is well spoken and defined thank you. Its given me a lot to ponder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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