What Does the Holy Spirit Do?
(John 16:5-10)
Sermon Notes
5 But now I go away to Him who sent Me,
and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’
6 But because I have said these things to you,
sorrow has filled your heart.
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 depart, I will send Him to you.
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
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RECAP – WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT
The Holy Spirit is not an “it;” the Holy Spirit is a person. He thinks, feels, and acts.
The Holy Spirit is not a “feeling;” He’s there whether you feel him or not.
The Holy Spirit is not a “something.”
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity; He is God.
WHAT DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT DO?
The Holy Spirit Convicts the World.
Convict means to expose to facts, to prove, or to show that one is guilty. The Holy Spirit is convicting the world (meaning people who are associated with a system that’s estranged from God). The Holy Spirit is at work in the minds of unsaved people to show them the truth of God for what it is.
II Corinthians 4: 3 & 4
“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”
Satan has blinded the minds of lost people. A lost person does not have the ability to see the truth of who God is except the Holy Spirit does His work. We were lost in our sin and salvation was right in front of us, but we could not see the truth about Jesus. When the Holy Spirit came, He began to convict the world and prove who Jesus is.
“The church has got to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.” – Pastor Billy Johnson
The church wants everyone to feel good, but the Holy Spirit’s job to the unbeliever is to convict and to expose to them that the way they’re living is wrong. Conviction is not conversion but is necessary for conversion to take place. God does not want us to be condemned, so He convicts us and then conversion takes place, and then we are removed from that place of condemnation.
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Conviction of Sin
Sin is wrongdoing or activity that is contrary to will and law of God. The Holy Spirit is convicting the world of sin because they do not believe the truth about Jesus. When the world continues to hear about Jesus but rejects Him, at some point they will have to give an answer for that.
John 3:18-19
“He who believes in Him is not condemned;
but he who does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil.”
He’s convicting the world of sin – the sin of unbelief and rejection of who Jesus is.
“Sin is real, and it will kill you.” = Pastor Billy Johnson
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Conviction of Righteous
There is a right standing with God that is provided exclusively through Jesus Christ.
“The world must also be convicted of righteousness, and this is something that the Holy Spirit does. There is a righteous standard that we are held to despite the world’s stubborn denial of absolute truth.” – Anonymous
God’s truth is the only truth that’s going to matter when it’s all said and done. What God says is right, and only Jesus has fulfilled the righteous requirements that God, and only God, has set. He alone lived perfectly, and He alone was qualified to die for our sins and be raised on the third day. People are not our standard for righteous. But when we look to Jesus who knew no sin, He was made to be sin for us that we might be made the righteous of God in Him.
“Our ability to stand right before God is only because of Christ.” – Pastor Billy Johnson
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Conviction of Judgment
Judgment is the decision for or against. This world has been judged, and Satan has already been judged. So, the Holy Spirit is doing a work in the life of an unsaved person that will lead them to the realization that Jesus, and Jesus alone, is the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father except by Him.
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THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES SPIRITUAL THINGS UNDERSTANDABLE.
I Corinthians 2:9
“But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man,
the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
So, if your eye has not seen it, your ear has not heard it, nor has it entered into your heart, that means you don’t know it. But verse 10 helps.
I Corinthians 2:10
“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.
For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”
He makes spiritual things understandable.
I Corinthians 2:11 -12
“For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”
The Holy Spirit’s job is to cause our minds to be fruitful. When you understand that, you allow the Holy Spirit to teach you. He can make you smarter and wiser. You begin to tap into what it means to allow the Holy Spirit to teach you – to become your private tutor. You have the author of the Book on the inside of you. When you read your Bible, ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes so that you can see. I Corinthians 2:10 states, “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.” Here “revealed” means He takes the cover off. Also, the Holy Spirit can not only make spiritual things understandable, but He can also help you with natural understanding.
THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
“You need to know, that you know that you know, that you are saved.” – Pastor Billy Johnson
He assures us of salvation because we are a part of His family. No matter what’s going on in my life, I know I am saved, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and I know that He and He alone redeemed my life from destruction and satisfies my mouth with good things. You need to have an assurance and not be guessing that you are saved. Today is the day that you can be sure that you are saved. Today is the day that you can finally surrender and settle the question that you are saved. The Holy Spirit is the one who gives us that assurance of salvation.
Romans 8:14-16
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
We are children of God. The Holy Spirit comes into our lives to lead us in the very practical aspects of our lives. If you would acknowledge Him, He will direct you. The Holy Spirit allow us to call God “Abba Father.” When you have that kind of relationship with God where He begins to assure that you are part of His family, you can call Him Father. The Holy Spirit begins to bear witness in you that you belong to God. He begins to witness to you of who you are on the inside.
He assures us of salvation by His abiding presence.
I John 3:24
“Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
He assures us of salvation by placing His seal on us. We’re sealed.
Ephesians 1:13-14
“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
“Sealed” here is a picture of the king’s signet ring. You don’t just have the king’s signet ring; you have the spirit of the king. You’ve got the person of the Holy Spirit living inside of you letting you know that you are saved. So, when God goes looking, He doesn’t have to look for you, He just has to look for Himself. When you got saved, the Spirit of God came on the inside of you as the seal letting you know that the relationship is sealed, it’s official, and the presence of the Holy Spirit is with you. You can’t lay your religion down. Even if we are unfaithful; He cannot deny Himself. The Holy Spirit is the seal, and He guarantees your inheritance.”
“I know that I am saved today because the Holy Spirit lives in me.” – Pastor Billy Johnson
