How The Holy Spirit Deals With A Lost World

John 16 unveils for us a work of the Spirit of God in connection with the lost that is not often accounted for in our thinking as Jesus followers. Yet, Jesus laid it for us in plain language what the Holy Spirit of God would do when he came from heaven to earth. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. Many years ago there was a pastor of a church in Alabama, he was preaching a revival in the church. On Sunday night the service had been on radio. This pastor had preached a simple sermon on the plan of salvation. On Monday afternoon he was calling on some of the families on the other side of the city. Suddenly the thought crossed his mind, “Go to the church.” He was to meet the guest singer there at four o’clock, so brushing it aside he continued his planned visitation. But the thought continued. “Go to the church.” Finally the thought became so persistent, with seemingly no purpose in doing so, that he returned to the church building. The church secretary had the afternoon off so he was there alone. In a few moments he heard someone at the office door. Turning, he saw a young woman. She asked if he was the pastor. When he told her that he was, she asked, “Will you tell me how to be saved?” This pastor and this young woman sat on the front pew of the auditorium as she unfolded her story. She lived in a boarding house with her husband. For some time she had been having an adulterous affair with her husband’s best friend. After dinner on the previous evening, all the boarders were visiting in the large living room. The radio was on. Hearing a few words of this pastor’s sermon, she sat down before the radio on a small stool, turned the volume down low, and listened to the service. At the close of the sermon, she was under conviction by the Holy Spirit. She decided to seek this pastor out to find out how to be saved. In simple language he told her how to receive Christ as her Savior. That night in the revival service she made a public profession of her faith in Christ, and later was baptized. She became a faithful Christian and an active church member. Just suppose she had not been listening to the radio. Just suppose that this pastor’s sermon had not been on the plan of salvation. Or suppose that she had brushed it off. Suppose that he had not gone to the church like he was prompted to go. Like, what if he over rode that nudge he had. Or that she had come and found no one there. But, none of these ‘what if’s’ took place. The Holy Spirit guided the events and led this young woman to Jesus for her salvation and God’s glory!¹ Isn’t that a great story! The Holy Spirit convicted, this woman convincing her of her need of Jesus. This specific work of the Spirit is what we’re going to be looking at in today’s podcast. That’s why we entitled this ‘How the Holy Spirit Deals with a Lost World.’ All on this week’s Light on Life.

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#010: Questions to Ask Jesus about Lost People [Podcast]

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Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
This week’s call is:

Convicting the world of sin is one way the Holy Spirit operates with those who are of the world. Know that the He is working even now on your unsaved loved ones.

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Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
This week’s question is:

Question: Share a testimony on how the Holy Spirit worked on someone in your family and caused them to come to Jesus. Share your story in the comments section below.

Episode Resources:

For more teaching on the book of John, please click on the links below to listen to some of those podcasts.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 47 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 40 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on iTunes and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic, you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com

Prayer

Well again, welcome.

Let’s talk to the Lord.

Father God, we thank you for Jesus today. We thank you that He asked you for the Holy Spirit to be with us and in us. Thank you for answering His prayer. We marvel at the mighty move of the Spirit of God in the earth. Help us to know more of this so that we may be able to cooperate with God in the salvation of mankind. We thank you for this in Jesus Name, Amen.

Podcast Notes

The Work of the Spirit in a Lost World

John 16:7–11 (ESV) — 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

For the last couple of podcasts, we been on a Holy Spirit journey to know the working of the Holy Spirit in us.
This is now the fourth podcast on the Holy Spirit as Jesus spoke of Him in John 14–16.
We said this and we’re going to keep saying it.
One thing is evident: Jesus made the Holy Spirit available for us and we need Him.
That fact is evident because if you could know everything you should know on your own, and if you could be everything you need to be without the Holy Spirit, why would Jesus say you need Him?
The truth is, you can’t know everything you need to know on your own and you can’t be everything you need to be by yourself.
You need a Helper — you need THE Helper, the Holy Spirit of God working in your life.
What we need to know is how He works so that we can cooperate with Him in God’s great plan of salvation for mankind.
Now, here the scripture will take us in a different direction.
The Word of God is going to show us how the Holy Spirit works in the world.
We’ve been focusing on the Spirit within but we know these about those who don’t have the Spirit within, that is the world, from what Jesus already told us.

Lost World: John’s Holy Spirit Scriptures

John 14:15–17 (ESV) — 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

The world can’t receive Him, the Holy Spirit.
The world neither sees Him nor knows Him.
Now, that’s significant.
We also saw the teaching ability of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:26 (ESV) — 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

We covered that last week in the podcast entitled “Why God’s Spirit Will Teach and Transform Your Life.”
Move over one chapter now to John fifteen.

John 15:26 (ESV) — 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

Now, lastly we have this passage in John sixteen that we have read.

Lost World: The Spirit’s Singular Work

Out of these nine verses in John sixteen, we are going to set our sights on verses eight through eleven.
Let’s just reread those.

8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

As we read this, we can see that there is a singular work that the Holy Spirit engages in when it comes to the world.
The Holy Spirit convicts the world in three areas: Sin, righteousness, and judgement.
Let’s make sure we understand that the this particular work of the Spirit occurs out in the world.
Now, to be honest, this is a passage used to confuse me in the sense that I didn’t really understand what was going on here.
Once I began to study this out, I believe I was able to grasp this a little better.
There are several key words that, when you look at them, I think opens up the picture a little bit better for us.
One of the words, is this particular part of the passage.

He [the Holy Spirit] will convict the world.

In your thinking, underline and bold face the two words, ‘the world.’
This action of the Holy Spirit is one that takes place among unbelievers and should be the reason it is foreign to you today.
You are not in the world.
Listen to the following two verses.
If you are a Jesus follower, here is where you stand.

John 13:1 (ESV) — 1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he [loved them to the end].

Now go over to John fifteen.

John 15:19 (ESV) — 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

John thirteen says you’re in the world — John fifteen says you’re not in the world.
Which one is it, Jesus?
Well, it’s both of them.
A Jesus follower is in the world, but he is not of the world.
You’re on the planet where the world system exists so in that sense, you are in the world.
You’re not following that system or of that system, so then, you’re not of the world.
The system you are following is God’s system.
It’s the Kingdom of God — that’s the realm you are learning to operate from.
Now convicting the world of sin is one way the Holy Spirit operates with those who are of the world.
You would have had experience with this part of the Spirit’s ministry even though you were ignorant of what was going on.
Before you came to Jesus, you were of the world.

Ephesians 2:11–12 (ESV) — 11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

When you were separated from Christ, you were of the world.
It was then that the Spirit of God convicted you of sin.
Look back on that time when God was dealing with you — in fact, you may have even used that terminology but it was actually the Spirit of God that was working on you.

Lost World: The Spirit and Sin

Now notice the word ‘sin,’ in the phrase, ‘And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin’ is singular.
The Greek language which the New Testament was written in shows that the grammar for ‘sin’ is singular.
So, Jesus is not talking sins plural, that is individual sins.
He is taking about sin ‘singular’ which is the sin nature.
Individual sins like lying, stealing, or committing adultery come out of the sin nature.
People who are referred to as being ‘in the world’ are classified as such because their nature is wrong.
Men don’t go to hell because of what they do — that is, individual sins.
They go hell because of who they are.
The new birth is not just forgiveness of sins — it’s a changed nature.
We’ve already covered that — a new spirit will I put in you and a new heart I will give you and I will take away your stony heart.
Listen to Jesus on people’s nature being wrong.

John 8:44 (ESV) — 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Thing about that statement, ‘You are of your Father the devil.’
What is Jesus saying to these religious leaders?
He is saying — ‘you are in the wrong family.’
You see there are only two families on Planet Earth.
Every human being is a member of one of those families.
Either you are a member of God’s family or you are a member of the devils family.
Each family has their own traits.
What characterizes Satan’s family is explicitly laid out here — they are murderers and liars.
Galatians five goes into more detail.

Galatians 5:19–21 (ESV) — 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

These works of the flesh are the devils family traits.
As a child of God, these are your family traits.

Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV) — 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Now, you may say, ‘Well, I know so and so doesn’t want to have anything to do with Jesus but I know he’s not a murderer.’
Are you sure?
Are you sure you are defining murderer as God sees it?

1 John 3:15 (ESV) — 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

You should watch your words — you should guard what comes out of your mouth.
People sin with their words all the time.
They use the word ‘hate’ too casually.
“I hate Republicans — I hate Democrats.”
‘Man, I can’t stand my father/mother/or some relative – I hate him for what he did to me.’
“I hate my boss — he promised me this and that and none of it happened.’
Well what if all of this was true?
What if you don’t agree with the opposing political party?
What if some family member really did something too heinous to even comfortably talk about.
Should you be using hate language of ‘everyone who hates his brother is a murderer?’
If you are a Jesus lover, I would strike the word ‘hate’ completely out of my vocabulary.
Why even get close?
You see, what you say repeatedly gets scribed on your heart and hate is not something you want inside of you.
Jesus followers are lovers not haters.

1 John 4:16–19 (ESV) — 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.

Jesus followers believe in love.
They refuse to operate in fear because they’ve chosen love as their way and there is no fear in love.
Jesus people are lovers of others because He first loved us.
Could it be that your understanding of this passage today is a foggy because you missed those two words ‘the world?’
Could it also be possible that you did take note of those two words .‘the world’ but you still think that the Holy Spirit will convict you of sin?

Lost World: The Spirit, the Believer and Sins

No saved person can give testimony that the Holy Spirit convicted them of sin, singular.
How could He? — that sin nature is gone.

Micah 7:19 (ESV) — 19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

No one can testify because the Holy Spirit has never done this with any child of God.
That’s one reason why it’s supposed to be foreign to you!
Jesus wiped away your sins and changed your nature to boot.
Now, the enemy tries to fool people by bringing conviction.
But, if you are saved, born again child of God, these words do not pertain to you.

Lost World: Defining the Word ‘Convict’

Let’s look at the word ‘convict’ and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
The word ‘convict’ means to bring a person to the point of recognizing wrongdoing.
It means to convince someone of something, ‘to point out something to someone.²
This verb means to state that someone has done wrong, with the implication that there is adequate proof of such wrongdoing.³
Other Bible translations will help us here to understand the intent of what Jesus was trying to communicate about the work of the Holy Spirit in a lost world.
Here’s the TNIV.

John 16:8–9 (TNIV) — 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me;

Here’s a translation you may have never heard of, the German Common Language translation.
It says, and I like this.

John 16:8–9 (GeCl) — “he will show that the men on earth have wrong ideas about sin, about God’s righteousness, and his judgment.”⁴

So here you are, you’re praying about your unsaved family members.
You pray and pray, and you think nothing is happening.
Just know that the Word of God is right — He is working on the lost who are in your families.
And this is what He is doing — He is convincing them they are wrong about sin.
The ideas they have concerning it are in error.
He’s telling them that Jesus is the answer.
That God is right about sin.

Lost World: How the Holy Spirit Testifies

The Holy Spirit testifies and He uses several methods.
Sometimes He is giving you utterance and He is speaking through you.
Other occasions, He is visiting people via dreams and visions — showing them Jesus.
He’s ordering people’s steps and leading them unconsciously even.
They end up in a church service or at the other end of an evangelical rally and they don’t even know how they got there.
The message is declared and the Holy Spirit strikes them, right where they stand.
We cannot even begin to go through all the various scenarios that occur whereby the Holy Spirit is working in a lost world with your lost relatives.
Your job is to believe the scriptures.
Put your faith on John 16:8: when he comes, He will convict the world of sin.
That’s a Bible fact and and an everyday realtity no matter what it looks like.
In regards to your prayer, be encouraged by this episode in the life of Elijah as we get ready to close.
Elijah was praying for rain.

1 Kings 18:1 (ESV) — 1 After many days the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.”

Note the promise: ‘I will send rain upon the Earth.’
Next, you have the episode between Elijah and the false prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel.
God shows up with the tremendous display of power and the false prophets of Baal are vanquished.
Listen to Elijah now.

1 Kings 18:41 (ESV) — 41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.”

What’s Elijah doing?
He is voicing his faith in what God told him even though not one drop of rain has fallen.
Nothing has changed — you look outside the window and everything is barren.
There’s been no rain for 3 years.
That’s what you do — when things look like they’re not working, you keep courage and keep declaring the Word of God.

1 Kings 18:42–44 (ESV) — 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. 44 And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’ ”

Note, Elijah prayed and nothing happened.
You may be praying for your loved ones, and it seems like nothing’s happening.
Six times, Elijah’s servant went to look for rain — and nothing happened — six times!
The seventh time — there’s a tiny indicator of change — “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
A little cloud — not a big cloud — not a swooping deluge of rain.
What’s a tiny cloud going to do with 3 years worth of drought?
All of a sudden — BANG! — The clouds opened up and it was game, set, and match.
Stay encouraged — the cloud is coming.
There will be movement if you don’t quit — if you continue to voice your confidence in God.
Why can we say that?
Because we know the work of the Holy Spirit in a lost world.
When He comes, He will convict and let the world know they are wrong about sin.
Stay encouraged.

Now, Father God, thank you for the work of the Holy Spirit. I know that you are working on our unsaved lost ones and that they are seeing their need of Jesus. We give you the praise for their entrance into the Kingdom of God.

How The Holy Spirit Deals With A Lost World.
You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

#S3-008: Why Your ‘Want To’ Needs to Be Fierce to Receive Help from God [Podcast]

__________
References:

Herschel H. Hobbs, My Favorite Illustrations (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1990), 137–138. ↩
BAGD Bauer, Walter. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Translated and adapted from the 5th ed., 1958 by William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich. 2nd English ed. revised and augmented by F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979, p315 ↩
Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene A. Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1988. ↩
Barclay Moon Newman and Eugene Albert Nida, A Handbook on the Gospel of John, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1993), 503. ↩

emeryhorvath.com

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How The Holy Spirit Deals With A Lost World

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Forty-Three

by Emery Horvath

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Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

For more teaching on the book of John, please click on the links below to listen to some of those podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Prayer

Podcast Notes

The Work of the Spirit in a Lost World

Lost World: John’s Holy Spirit Scriptures

Lost World: The Spirit’s Singular Work

Lost World: The Spirit and Sin

Lost World: The Spirit, the Believer and Sins

Lost World: Defining the Word ‘Convict’

Lost World: How the Holy Spirit Testifies

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Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe in PlayerFM

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

For more teaching on the book of John, please click on the links below to listen to some of those podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Prayer

Podcast Notes

The Work of the Spirit in a Lost World

Lost World: John’s Holy Spirit Scriptures

Lost World: The Spirit’s Singular Work

Lost World: The Spirit and Sin

Lost World: The Spirit, the Believer and Sins

Lost World: Defining the Word ‘Convict’

Lost World: How the Holy Spirit Testifies

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