God's Holy Fire: 'Resisting the Holy Spirit?'

Thursday, January 29, 2026

[Stephen said to the Sanhedrin,] "You stubborn people! You are heathens at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That's what your ancestors did, and so do you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn't persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One — the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God's law, even though you received it from the hands of angels."
— Acts 7:51-53 NLT

Key Thought

Stephen stands before the members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. Since they rejected Jesus, he accuses them of following a long line of ancestors who resisted God's message spoken through the prophets. These prophets are the very ones who predicted the coming of Jesus, "the Righteous One" who is "the Messiah" they crucified. To ignore, oppose, and disobey the prophets' message is to resist the Holy Spirit of God who inspired them. The question we have to ask ourselves is this: What part of the Holy Spirit's message am I ignoring, opposing, or disobeying?

Today's Prayer

Holy God, thank you for speaking in human words through the prophets and through the Scriptures. I pray for the courage to live obediently to your will and thereby to honor the message of truth you have communicated through the prophets and the Scriptures. In Jesus name, I ask for this grace. Amen.

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4 Related Resources by Heartlight

Rejecting the Message of God's Spirit
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"[Stephen moved from reviewing Jewish history in response to the accusation against him to challenging his accusers by saying,] "You stubborn people!....."
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"[In his defense before the Sanhedrin, Stephen said,] "And you continue, so bullheaded! Calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears! Deliberately ignoring the..."
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"[Stephen, in his defense before the Sanhedrin:] "You stubborn people! You are heathens at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit?...."
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"Dear Believer, Today I want to give you a glimpse of My servant, Stephen. In the verses below, you will see how he followed My example when faced..."

Illustration

Illustration of Acts 7:51-53 NLT — "You stubborn people!"

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About This Devotional

God's Holy Fire is a daily devotional about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Thoughts and Prayer for God's Holy Fire are written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

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