In the Bible, a young man named Stephen died from a speech he gave. The words were so strong that the religious people of that time decided to stone him.

Today, we are in a time of “cancelling.” Many are “stoned” when expressing an opinion. It doesn’t kill like stoning, but it kills reputation and closes doors to some jobs.

Let’s look at a little excerpt of what Stephen said (the full text is in chapter 7 of the book of Acts). Religious Jews were jealous of the rapid growth of the Christian church, and they wanted to end it (even if it was necessary to kill).

And Stephen said, “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you” (Acts 7:51).

That word was what provoked the wrath of those religious Jews, confirming what Stephen said about them.

This also has to do with your life. “Stiff-necked” was an expression God used in the desert during the times of Moses. It means “neck that does not bow”; they are a proud person who does not submit. It’s someone who “looks down their nose”. You know that the right way for someone to be unhappy in life is to be proud. They may even appear happy, but they can’t even stand it when they are alone.

But let’s look at ourselves. How many people have difficulty bowing their heads and saying, “I made a mistake?” This quality is rare. And you begin to understand why God has difficulty helping this type of person. They were supposed to bow and say: “It was by grace we did not deserve what God gave us.” But, on the contrary, they bragged.

“Uncircumcised” refers to “circumcision” in Jewish practice. The boy, 8 days after birth, is circumcised. The foreskin is cut to increase sensitivity. So, “uncircumcised in heart” was someone who did not feel guilty and was insensitive to feelings (pain of others, for example). It is centralised on what they think or want. What they believe will harm someone is the other person’s problem. They only think about themselves. Who knows, maybe you are also acting like an “uncircumcised in heart”? Have you cared only about what is valuable and pleasant to you? An “uncircumcised in ears” (they didn’t hear the Word of God)? Stephen’s speech was to touch them, but the uncircumcised interpret everything wrong; they only listen to what is bad.

“You always resist the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is God, and He speaks and tries to guide. But when the person resists Him, He doesn’t act. The end of those who resist the Holy Spirit will not be great. You will break. I tell you to wake up before a tragedy happens in your life. You can “bow your neck” and “leave your heart sensitive to God’s voice” now. Because if you don’t do it out of free will, you will be broken and humiliated. I say this for your own good.

Don’t resist the Holy Spirit. The sooner you bow to what He is trying to promote inside you, the faster He will be able to act in your life.

Think about it and follow the entire message in the video above.