Last week we saw how the disciples had been filled with the Holy Ghost and Peter under the anointing of the Spirit gave an anointed sermon under the unction of the Spirit. He spoke boldly and fearlessly. One of the benefits of being filled with the Holy Ghost is having the anointing of the Spirit which produces results in bringing conviction and leads to souls being saved. 1 John 2:20 and 2:27 read, "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things...But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." The Holy Ghost is our instructor. He instructs in the truth of the word of God and reveals truth to our soul. In other words, we have been given divine guidance.
Application
John 16:8 says, "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." The Amplified Bible renders this verse, "And when He comes, He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about righteousness–uprightness of heart and right standing with God–and about judgment." Reprove means to convict. This is a legal term. All of God’s proceedings are judicial in nature. Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines "convict" as "1. To determine the truth of a charge against one; to prove or find guilty of a crime charged; to determine or decide to be guilty, as by the verdict of a jury, by confession, or other legal decision. 2. To convince of sin; to prove or determine to be guilty, as by the conscience." "Convince" from the same dictionary is "1. To persuade or satisfy the mind by evidence; to subdue the opposition of the mind to truth, or to what is alledged, and compel it to yield its assent; at to convince a man of his errors; or to convince him of the truth. 2. To convict; to prove guilty; to constrain one to admit or acknowledge himself to be guilty." The Holy Ghost brings men to the knowledge of their lawless ways and produces guilt which leads to repentance and saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 2:36 reads, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." Here Peter makes his sermon personal. He said in effect to his audience that they were guilty of killing the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, they were murderers. The reason some preachers are never able to bring conviction to their listeners is that they generalize their messages and do not make it personal. They will not cry against the guilty as Nathan did to King David, "Thou art the man." Preaching that does not produce conviction is not Holy Ghost anointed preaching and will not result in bringing sinners to the point of decision.
Notice what happened to Peter’s listeners. Acts 2:37 says, "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?" The word "pricked" means that they were cut to the heart. These are men that were in the valley of decision. They needed to get rid of the guilt for their crimes against the Lord. Only forgiveness can relieve a guilt ridden soul. Peter gave the remedy in Acts 2:38, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." The first thing a convicted soul needs to do is to repent of their and sins and to forsake them. Repentance is having a change of mind and attitude towards our previous behavior and wanting to change the course of our future actions. When a man repents, then God in a judicial act forgives or remits all the charges (sins) against the accused. This relieves the guilty party of his of sin debt. They are forgiven and no longer exist. Baptism is a outward sign of an inward change. When a man is forgiven, he is simultaneously regenerated. He is born again. He is brought out of spiritual death into spiritual life. Once again, the Holy Ghost is a gift and can only be received as such by faith.
Acts 2:39-41 reads, "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." This so great salvation is available to whomsoever will. The Lord has called all men to salvation. Young, middle aged, and old have all been called to partake. Peter encouraged those present to be delivered from this wicked generation they were living in. Repentance brings joy and peace in believing. They gladly received his anointed words and were baptized that day. Peter’s anointed preaching resulted in 3,000 souls being saved on this day of Pentecost. Not bad for a day’s work. The kingdom of God had greatly been expanded. These were a wave offering before the Lord of the first fruits of the harvest. Praise the Lord! This spiritual reality was expressed in the natural in Leviticus 23:20, "And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest." Anointed preaching will always produce results.
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