Ye Do Always Resist The Holy Ghost

Sovereign Grace Chapel, located at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to today's broadcast. My text for today will be found in Acts chapter seven. And I want just one verse as a text. Acts chapter seven, verse 51. And we read these words.

Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost. As your fathers did, so do ye. My title for this message is this. Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost. So let's get right to it. I got several things I wanna try to preach this morning. Let's get right to it. This statement here is an indictment of the whole human race. You hear what I said? It is an indictment of the whole human race. Although Stephen spoke this, to an audience of Jews.

All humanity are born stiff-necked. Now what's that mean, stiff-necked? It means stubbornly obstinate. Arrogant, that's what it means. Stubbornly obstinate, arrogant. So again, while Stephen was preaching this to this audience of Jews, all humanity are born stiff-necked. We have this stubborn obstinacy and this arrogancy, but also uncircumcised in heart and ears. What does that mean? It means unregenerate. It means dead in trespasses and in sins. It means spiritually bankrupt. It means totally depraved. It means absolute spiritual inability to perceive and hear the truth with love. And we read this clearly according to the Apostle Paul and his indictment of the whole human race. When in Romans chapter three, he writes these words, verse nine, what then? Are we better than they? That is, is the Jew better than the Gentile? Because the Jews had all of this advantage according to verse one. What then, are we better than they?

No, in no wise. For we have before proved, both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God. Now, that's what God says about us. That's what God says about it. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. So how does this ever change?

Look at what he says about all of us, Jews and Gentiles. Their throat is an open sepulcher. With their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of ass is under their lips. whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

So again, I say this is an indictment of the whole human race. And here's a second thought concerning this indictment of the whole human race. Here's the second thought. No one is able to change their own condition. Do you hear what I said? We're not able to change, this is what God said, what I just read to you. From the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter three, verses nine through 19, this is an indictment of us all by nature. This is the way we are. As Stephen put it this way, we are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, and no one's able to change this.

Listen to what Solomon said. In Proverbs chapter 20, verse nine, we read it this way. Verse nine, who can say I have made my heart clean? I am pure from my sin. It is an impossibility with man. As a matter of fact, Jeremiah put it this way. In Jeremiah chapter 13, Jeremiah writes these words. This is astounding. Listen to what he says, Jeremiah 13, 23.

Can the Ethiopian change his skin? or the leopard his spots, can he? Can he? He cannot, I'll tell you one way, he cannot do it just by an act of his or its own will. The Ethiopian cannot just say, well, all of a sudden, I'm gonna become a different color skin, uh-uh, no. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?

Listen, then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil. Again, I say this statement by Stephen, recorded by Luke in Acts chapter eight, verse 51. Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost. As your fathers did, so do ye.

I'm saying that's while he was speaking. to a company of Jews that is an indictment of all of us by nature. But here's a second thought for today. There are never any spurts or anomalies or deviations from this fact. Do you hear what I said? Listen to the language. Stephen was moved by the Spirit of God to preach the truth to these Jews. And this truth about these Jews is the same thing true about any of us Gentiles.

This truth is true of us all and there are never any spurts or anomalies or deviations from this fact. Ye do always, do you see that? Always. Always, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost. As your fathers did, so do you. Number three, this demands the necessity of a sovereign act of God. That's the only way this will ever be solved. Do you hear me? It's the only way this dilemma that you and I find ourselves in will ever be resolved, is that it demands the necessity of a sovereign act of God.

And our Lord Jesus Christ put it this way to Nicodemus. Listen to what he said to Nicodemus. Christ said to Nicodemus in John chapter three that there must be an act of God. There must be this new birth. There must be this, as some say, this birth from above. And Jesus put it this way. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

The same came to Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. And Christ didn't even respond to that. Look what it says. Jesus answered and said unto him, truly, truly.

We read it, verily, verily. in the English here. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Notice it doesn't say you see the kingdom, then you are born again. No, you've got to be born again to even see it. That means to comprehend, to understand, to perceive. Did not Paul say there's none that understandeth? Huh?

Except a man be born again, that's born from above, born of the Father, born of God, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, notice he didn't even bat an eyelash or deal with this. Look, Jesus answered, truly, truly, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

So again, remember what we've looked at. This is an indictment of the whole human race. You do always resist the Holy Ghost. You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in ears, that's what you always do. And it's an indictment of the whole human race. and there are never any spurts or anomalies or deviations from this fact. You do always resist the Holy Ghost, just like everybody else always has, you always do too.

And I said, thirdly, this demands the necessity of a sovereign act of God, it is the new birth. And according to the Apostle Paul, this is the way he puts the new birth. In a little different language, but he says the same thing listen to ephesians chapter 2 and what paul says there and you Have he quickened who were dead you see it? Dead in trespasses and sins. What's that mean stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears? and you have been quickened who were dead in trespasses and in sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation or way of life in time past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. We're this stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears.

You know what that causes us to do? It causes us to have wrath toward God. But look at it, but God. You see it? But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are you saved. and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

I'm saying again, this demands, this state of the whole human race. this state of being stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, this demands the necessity of a sovereign act of God, and that is the new birth. Paul put it this way to the Colossians. This is what he writes in Colossians chapter 2, verse 11. in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hand. So he's not talking about that physical circumcision, he's talking about spiritual circumcision. And look, that's what Stephen said.

You stiff-decked and uncircumcised at heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Ghost, just like your daddies did, you do it too. in whom also you're circumcised, with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. He's the one doing the work.

Do you see it? Buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead, and you, being dead in your sins, and the, here we see it again, and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses. You see this work that God performs upon a man or a woman? That this work that God performs upon a boy or a girl is based upon what?

The very fact that Jesus Christ died for them and has already blotted out, forgiven their sins. Go on, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it."

I'm saying that this state, this state, our state of being stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears demands necessity of a sovereign act of God. That's the new birth. Christ spoke of the necessity, the absolute necessity of the new birth. Paul then defines the new birth in different language, in two different places, but saying the exact same thing. It's an act of God. It's a work of God. Thirdly about this, this demands the necessity of a sovereign act of God. It is a sovereign act of God in creating a new man. Do you understand? Creating a new man in people.

Listen to Ephesians chapter four. Listen to how Paul puts it there. And there's one verse I want us to really see, really concentrate on. really, really, really, really lay hold of if we can, but it is a sovereign act of God in creating a new man. And to get the context, listen to Ephesians four, verse 17, Paul writing to these converted believers at Ephesus.

He says in verse 17 of Ephesians four, this I say therefore and testify in the Lord that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity, that is the emptiness of their mind. having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness, that's what it means to be stiff-necked and uncircumcised and heart and ears. But ye have not so learned Christ, if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that ye put off concerning the former conversation, the former way of life, before God did this work of grace and mercy through Christ on us. that you put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lust.

Boy, how did Stephen put it? Stiff necked and uncircumcised heart and ears. Paul goes on. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind that you put on the new man, now listen, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness and we don't make our own heart clean. God's got to give us a clean heart, you see. God's got to give us a clean heart. We can't change the color of our skin. The leopard can't change his spots, but God Almighty can create a new man, and he does in the new birth.

So again, that's those three things. This is an indictment of the whole human race. There are never any spurts or anomalies or deviations from this fact. You do always resist the Holy Ghost. Just like everybody else does, you do it too. And thirdly, this demands the necessity of a sovereign act of God.

Now here's the fourth thing. This is an indictment against all. Now listen to me. I wanna read the text again, but listen to this statement. Here's the fourth thing. This is an indictment against all who deny man's absolute, man's total, man's utter depravity. Do you hear it? It's an indictment against all who do so. I know some people say, well, we believe man's pretty bad off, but he's not as bad as he can be. You are as bad as you can be. And I'm as bad as I can be by nature. You are too.

And the only thing that keeps us from being like the wild beasts of the field is God Almighty's sovereign restraint in his providential purpose. That's the only thing. You and I would be like the wild beasts of the field devouring one another, killing one another, and every once in a while we see God lift that restraint just a little. just a little, and we see men go hog wild, go totally crazy, go star-craving mad. Why?

It's because we're stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, and we always resist the Holy Ghost, just like everybody else does. We do it too. That's what it said. Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in what? Heart and ears. It's not talking about some ritual that you could go through. This is not talking about something you come forward and you pray some prayer and God will do it for you because your stiff neck and uncircumcised heart and ears, you always resist. And it's an indictment. I'm saying it's an indictment against all who deny man's absolute, total, utter depravity before God Almighty. But here's the fifth thing. This is an indictment against all who hold to free will. You hear what I said this day? You hear what I just said on this TV? is an indictment against all who hold to this supposed, this lie, this lie of Satan called free will. What's free about this condition? What's free about it?

You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears? Here's the result of being that way. You do always resist the Holy Ghost. You can't change it. You're not gonna have a little spurt of good. You're not gonna have a little spurt of understanding. You're not gonna have all of a sudden just a little deviation from hating God and all of a sudden start to love God. Oh, you might love your imagination of God. You might love what you think God is and how you think God is, but you and I do not love him by nature as he truly is.

This is an indictment against all who hold the free will because there's nothing free about this condition. Nothing. It's not freedom. It's bondage. It's a yoke, do you see it? Listen to the words Stephen preached. Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, as your fathers did, so do ye.

So again, remember, this is an indictment against the whole human race. There are never any little spurts or anomalies or deviations from this fact. This very fact, this state into which we're born, this condition into which we're born demands the necessity of a sovereign act of God in mercy and compassion. This indictment is against all who deny a man's absolute, total, utter depravity.

We're all as bad as we could possibly be. We just don't show it all the time because God Almighty restrains us. And when he lifts that restraint, we'll go hogwild. Caldwell this indictment is against all who hold to that lie called free will Here's the sixth day this proves this one statement Once they're just just a handful of words but oh how powerful they are, how true they are, how damning they are, what an indictment it is.

Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Ghost as your fathers did so to ye. I'm just gonna keep saying that and saying that and saying that over and over until finally God opens somebody's ears and God opens somebody's heart and they say, I get it, that's me. I say this proves that God does not improve the old man or the flesh. Go back to what our Lord told Nicodemus. You remember I read to you several words right from the beginning of their conversation, and I read several words to you about between Christ and Nicodemus. And he ended up this way, verse five, Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh, what is it? It's flesh. That's all it'll ever be. You can't improve it, you don't have a spurt of goodness in it. You don't have this little anomaly that all of a sudden, if a preacher just preaches the right way and says the right words, that person will have a little glimpse and maybe they can do something for the Lord. This ain't about you doing something for the Lord. This is about the Lord's gotta do something for you and me.

You see it? That which is born of the flesh is what? Flesh. That which is born of the spirit is what? Spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must. You see the words? Ye must be born again. Then our Lord illustrates it. Think about this illustration. The wind bloweth where it listeth. It's an old English word, I realize that. Not used a lot today. What's that mean? The wind bloweth where it pleaseth. Thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth.

So is everyone that is born of the Spirit. can't be stopped, to be born of Him. Now to hear His testimony, the testimony of the Spirit through His prophets, through His preachers, yes, men do always resist that, but they cannot resist the new birth because it's a sovereign act of God and is not dependent upon man in any way, shape, or form. This proves that God does not improve the old man or the flesh, and John put it this way in John chapter one, and it says this. of Jesus Christ. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came into His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, which believe on His name.

Well, what made them different? There was nothing in them. It's nothing that they did. It's nothing that they come up with. It was not in their choice or their decision. Listen, even to them that believe on his name, same sentence, just a colon there, even to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.

So again, I say this is an indictment against the whole human race. There are never any anomalies or deviations or little spurts of goodness beyond this. We do always resist the Holy Ghost, just like everybody else does. We do the same thing, and we do so because we are what? We are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, and this very fact demands the necessity of a sovereign act of God.

This is an indictment against all who deny man's absolute, total, utter depravity. And this is an indictment against all who hold to free will. And this proves that God does not improve the old man of the flesh. God don't work on you what you are by the flesh and make it better. God's got to what? Create a new man in you.

Why do preachers not preach this? Why are they not teaching? Why is your pastor, if you have a pastor, why is he not preaching this if he does not preach this? Why? Because he doesn't believe God. Because he doesn't believe the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because he's not preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's my last thought for this message. Now listen to me, and we'll turn right back to my text, Acts chapter seven. We'll read my text verse, but we'll look at this thing and we'll kind of condense this down. Now here's my last thought.

All who hate this truth, they have the same desire. All who are still nothing but stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, if God doesn't do something for you in grace and mercy and compassion, this is where you're at. Listen to it. ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Ghost, as your fathers did, so do you.

Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? Had they have slain them which showed before the coming of the just one, that's the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom ye have now been the betrayers and murderers. Do you hate the Jesus of the Bible like that? Do you hate the Christ of God like that? Do you hate the Christ who does what he will, with whom he will, when he will, as he will?

Then you're still stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. And listen, who have received the law by the disposition of angels and have not kept it. You ain't keeping the law. Well, I'm just being a good person. God'll accept me because I'm a good person. You're not in God's sight. We read what Paul said about us, didn't he? Romans three, down through verse 19.

Look, when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart. How about you? Has this cut you to the heart this morning? But look, and when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart and they gnashed on him with their teeth. You know what you'll do? You'll hate the messenger, you'll hate the message, and you'll hate the Christ whom the message is about. That's what it means to be stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears.

And I'm here to tell you that this thing of salvation is all up to God. You see, you do not have God over a barrel. It's not God up there wringing his poor hands, waiting for somebody to let him have his way. He's having his way with you. He's either leaving you right where you are, stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, or he will lay hold of you in free, reigning, sovereign grace and mercy and compassion.

And he said this, God said this to Moses. Verse 15 of Romans 9. For he, that is God, saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion, so then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. It's not up to your will, it's up to God's will. It goes so far even to say this, verse 18. This is what it says about God now.

This is who he is. Are you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears? Are you resisting? Are you just ready to gnash your teeth on me, on God, on Jesus Christ, on the gospel, on the church? Look at it. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will he hardeneth. Yep. That's what stiff-necked and uncircumcised people do. You know what they do? They resist. Which one are you? Amen.

Ye Do Always Resist The Holy Ghost

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Ye Do Always Resist The Holy Ghost

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