BILL’S BLOG ENTRY #57

Posted on May 2, 2013 by THE DISCIPLE

Continuing on the subject of the work of the Holy Spirit:

“SPECIFICS:
sin: gr. hamartia: John 16: 9: The Holy Spirit convicts/describes what is “missing the mark, falling short of the glory of God.”; the Holy Spirit clearly identifies sin as not believing in the Lord Jesus Christ: JOHN 6: 40- “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” SEE ALSO JOHN 3: 36; PSALM 51: 3 – 11.
righteousness: gr. Dikaiosune: John 16: 10- “right-doing” (a product of right-thinking), conformity by man to all that God commands or appoints; it is what is consistent with the Truth/truth; what matches up with God’s Word. SEE ALSO EZEKIEL 36: 25 – 27; LUKE 4: 18. All our attempts to conform to the Law have been futile; “The Christian who struggles in his own strength to live the Christian life will fail! SEE ALSO Romans 8: 13 – 14; “But I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”- Philippians 4: 13.

God’s righteousness is imputed to us and imparted as a gift; it is not earned. We can only accept God’s claims on our lives as we repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior by faith. We “make real” or realize God’s claims on our lives by the miracle of the regenerating action of the Holy Spirit. It is His action in our hearts which results in right-thinking (having been convinced of the veracity and validity of the Truth) which leads to repentance and that repentance results in “right-doing.” Jesus, the Living/Loving Word, the Perfect Example, is no longer to be seen on earth; His righteousness is established by God’s raising Him from the grave; however, He can be seen in the “right-doing” of His people: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

judgment: gr. krisis: the final judgment; implying separation; making a distinction between after a solemn trial; expressing a preference for one vs another; to divide (guilty or not guilty- notice that I don’t say “innocent”). John 16: 11- Satan and his followers have been judged. What about the judgment? SEE MATTHEW 25: 31 – 46; focus: vv. 32 –33.”

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BILL’S BLOG ENTRY #48

Posted on March 26, 2013 by THE DISCIPLE

“Still, what do He do? The Holy Spirit convicts: convict is not quite the same as being convicted of a crime, although it has the same force/authority and power to accomplish this. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” If this, from Romans 8: 1, is truth, What then, is this “convicting”? The Greek word, elegcho: implies not merely the charge, but the truth of that charge and, very often, the acknowledgement, if not outwardly, yet inwardly, of its truth. The one confronted with the truth is brought to an acknowledgement of the truth; one comes into agreement with the truth. This action by the Holy Spirit is what enables REPENTANCE of our sins. This repentance then leads to an acceptance of Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord, faith in Him and THEN a changed life.

This is why there is NO REPENTENANCE without the Holy Spirit! When we deny Him, we deny His truth and we reject His actions in our hearts to convict us of the truth in Jesus Christ. If we say that He is a liar, then we identify with Satan, just as by baptism, we testify that we “identify” with Jesus Christ! This is why blaspheming the Holy Spirit is unpardonable! Because when you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, you say He is a liar and that what He brings is NOT truth! JOHN 14: 17b.”

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BILL’S BLOG ENTRY #47

Posted on March 9, 2013 by THE DISCIPLE

“Who is the Holy Spirit?”

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BILL’S BLOG ENTRY #56

Posted on March 2, 2013 by THE DISCIPLE

From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks, copyright March, 2005:
“We saw earlier in John 8 that “the truth shall make you free.” One aspect of that freedom is manifested once we have “gird(ed) our loins with truth), Ephesians 6: 14. Our loins are often a metaphor for our guts, the seat of our feelings, our passions. Knowing the truth allows us to control our feelings and emotions rather than the reverse, having our feelings and emotions control us. When we are free from the tyranny of our emotions, appetites and passions, we can put these to use in service to our Lord, rather than have them become obstacles to our faithful obedience to His Word. “For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even in weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.” Philippians 3: 18 – 19.””

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BILL’S BLOG ENTRY #55

Posted on January 29, 2013 by THE DISCIPLE

From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks, copyright March, 2005:

“Paul gave Timothy insight and instruction into how “one ought to conduct himself in the household of God”, to put this “truth” into practice as would a disciple (in I Timothy 3: 15).  Paul encourages Timothy to be dedicated to truth, to be a “pillar and support of the truth.”  Paul describes how a disciple is a leader in the home, and in the church, the “household of God.”  Paul makes sure that Timothy understands that being a disciple is “work” that one must “desire to do” (I Timothy 3: 1).  Discipline is the consistent application of truth to one’s life.  Spiritual growth occurs only when one is dedicated to the truth; honesty is the predicate to growth.

A disciple’s personal life must be in order, manifesting that his relationship with the truth, with God, is in ‘good working order’.  Being dedicated to the truth- “Thy Word is truth” (John 17: 17), a disciple “must be above reproach, the husband of one wife; temperate; prudent; respectable; hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle; peaceable; free from the love of money; he must manage his own household well, be a good parent; as a leader in the household of God not a new convert, but one having been tested; he must have a good reputation with those outside the household; he must be honest; she must be dignified; self-controlled; not a gossiper and, he must hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.””

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BILL’S BLOG ENTRY #54

Posted on January 12, 2013 by THE DISCIPLE

From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks, copyright March, 2005:

““Nowadays, there is a lively, but entirely unoriginal debate about the claims Jesus made about Himself.  Was He/Is He really the Son of God, and thereby God Himself, “one with the Father”, as He claimed?  He said of Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  If these statements are true, that is, are actual facts, then Jesus in His person is the object and substance of worship.  “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”  (John 1:18).  God the Father is the unseen ‘that which lies at the basis of and agrees with that which we are able to see, hear, feel, smell, touch, know- that is, God the Son.  Jesus is the truth manifested- the made to be able to be perceived-, the veritable- the certain, the actual, the genuine, the authentic-, essence of God the Father.

Nicodemus, in John 3: 2, recognizes that Jesus’ works of power (signs) point towards His authority to teach the truth of God when he said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with Him.”  Now, we know that Nicodemus had not grown in the faith to the point where he recognized that Jesus was God, one with the Father; however, Nicodemus did conclude from the facts before him that God was in Jesus if only insofar as His teaching was concerned.  Nicodemus was dedicated to the truth to the extent that he was willing to come to Jesus by night to be taught the truth of God; he did not yet recognize that Jesus Himself  was the truth.””

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BILL’S BLOG ENTRY #53

Posted on December 22, 2012 by THE DISCIPLE

From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks, copyright March, 2005:

“Corporate worship is an essential aspect of our relationship to God because we are encouraged to “draw near to listen, rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools.”  When we attend church, the central aspects of the experience should be worship and praise.  Worship must entail and contain the Word of God going forward in such a way that disciples receive instruction on how to be a disciple.  This is crucial, critical, a must, so much so that it is my contention that there is no real corporate worship without the Word of God going forward.  In today’s “religious” environment, many “praise concerts” are held.  In this context, songs of “praise” are sung and offerings are lifted, but oftentimes the seeker leaves unfulfilled, or “unfilled” with the Word.  We leave entertained, feeling good but we know nothing more about God and His will for us.  We are unequipped to deal with the challenges the world will throw at us unless we get some Word into us.  We should enter the corporate worship experience with the aim to listen intently and intentionally towards applying what we hear to our daily walk with Him.

This implies an obligation upon the “messenger” of God (Ecclesiastes 5: 6) to ensure that the Word is available and accessible to those who come to worship.  But we listeners/disciples are also obligated to come to the worship experience to “listen” and not to offer the “sacrifice of fools”.  A fool defined: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God’. (Psalm 53: 1)  ”The sacrifice of fools is many empty words or promises to God what we are going to do in His service, insincere, empty and repetitive prayers and a self-centered motivation for giving.””

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BILL’S BLOG ENTRY #52

Posted on December 4, 2012 by THE DISCIPLE

From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks copyright March, 2005:

“Ecclesiastes 5: 1 – 7 and Habakkuk 2: 20 provide insight into the approach disciples take towards corporate worship. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes says that we should guard our
steps AS WE GO to the House of the Lord. This implies that worship really starts BEFORE we arrive at the sanctuary.  If this is so, then it follows that there is no time in which a disciple is not in worship.  Our hearts and minds should be focused on communicating with God, preparing to receive a Word from the Lord long before we get to church.  “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the House of the Lord.”  I Corinthians 3: 16 – 17 identifies each disciple as a “temple  of God” in which the Spirit of God dwells and that the temple is “holy”.  God wants His disciples to approach ourselves as the temples in which He dwells.  Thus, we should strive to cleanse the temple of all evil thoughts, malicious
intentions and anything and everything that is anathema to and incompatible with the indwelling Spirit of God. Moreover, we should be prepared to manifest the presence of God as soon as our eyes open in the morning until we close them in repose in the
evening.  Remember that He blesses His beloved even when we are sleeping! (Psalm 127: 2)””

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BILL’S BLOG ENTRY #51

Posted on November 10, 2012 by THE DISCIPLE

From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks, copyright March, 2005:

““THE DISCIPLINE OF WORSHIP

The English word “worship” was spelled originally, “worthship”, acknowledging the worth, the worthiness of the object of one’s adoration and praise.  There is herein the clear connotation that God is worthy to be worshipped; but what is worship?  How does one do it?  Worship is giving to the object of worship praise, adoration, thanks, honor and allegiance.  It is acknowledging the majesty and lordship of God, His power and His lovingkindness towards the worshipper, the debt owed to Him for His kind affection towards the worshipper.  A disciple recognizes that God is worthy of worship and he seeks to be one of those who worship God in spirit and in truth.

But wait; is not this same object of worship “seeking” worshipers?  This greek word for seeking is likened to the way a leopard in the wild that hasn’t eaten for five days stalks his prey.  It is a hungering, single-minded, concentrated, indefatigable, never-say-die, never give up focus that will end in the acquiring of the object of one’s seeking.  Thus, we observe that God is actively seeking for worshipers who will truthly worship Him- in spirit and in truth.  God is seeking those whose hearts yearn for Him and who understand that the truest form of worship is to put His Word into practice in their daily lives (“when neither in this mountain or in Jerusalem… but in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth.”).  True disciples, disciples in actual fact, are those whose seeking after the Truth results in the truth being manifested in the way they walk- their lifestyles- which comes only by doing what their Teacher teaches: “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments (My Word).””

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BILL’S BLOG ENTRY #50

Posted on October 22, 2012 by THE DISCIPLE

From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks, copyright March, 2005:

“A truth cannot always be accessed empirically.  Science can only aid one’s journey towards a fuller knowledge of who God is, and ultimately, can only provide a partial glimpse of the nature and character of God.  A disciple is a persistent, consistent seeker after God.  A disciple yearns and searches after any scrap of knowledge available about his God; yet, that yearning may leave him vulnerable to those who would take advantage of his searching spirit.  The followers of Jim Jones and David Cyrus come sadly to mind.  So where is the answer?  If God is only partially accessed by empirical pursuits, how then can a disciple gain greater, more intimate knowledge of God?

Jesus provides the answer during His conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.  “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father… But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true (in actual fact) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  (John 4: 21, <st1:bcv_smarttag>23 – 24).  That which is true is a matter of fact; that which is truth is a matter of faith.””

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