“Renewing of the mind triggers the awakening of the heart. In Acts 7:51, Stephen is giving them a rundown of the Scriptures pointing to Jesus, how they were a shadow of things to come, but not the thing itself. When Stephen said, ‘You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears (mind),’ their hearts were so dull to the traditions of men that it was knowledge puffed up. They had become calloused in heart, and were unable to perceive and understand because of so much foundation other than Christ Himself. These kinds of people lean more on their own understanding and do not come to Me. That’s what the calloused heart means…it is their own understanding by not coming to Me. The calloused heart is the closed bud of a flower. They still had a heart. But Stephen reveals a big key here and that’s the sincere heart. They already knew the truth, in their heart, but wouldn’t open it because of other foundation. Stephen knew what he was saying because it was revealed to him by the Spirit. He always came to Me for communion.
“Notice that even though their response was wicked, they were still cut to the heart. Why? Because it agreed with everything Stephen was saying. Because the heart agrees. Because that is what the word of God does. It is sharper than any two-edged sword. These guys were so dull, calloused, and closed, yet the word of God still cuts through to the heart. So how did this happen? Again, Stephen explained the Scriptures pointing to Jesus, who is the very Word of God Himself, then made it personal. He pointed his finger at them, ‘You!’ He was stating the truth that their hearts were dull and ears dead.
“Now, the more you speak the word of God, you will become it, for you have the Word of God in you. You become passionate for righteousness and justice, being ready to give a defense for the sake of the gospel. When you are bold, people listen. When you are confident, people consider and hear. When this happens, you will look into the eyes of your hearer, and speak with passion, saying, ‘Where is your heart? What have you become? Who are you? Where are you?’ It is a powerful chastening. It is a godly correction, not judgement or condemnation. It is conviction of truth, unto righteousness. And you have realized how powerful it is to ask questions like these.
What I see you doing, as far as speaking the word of God, is what Stephen did. He shared and revealed the Scriptures explaining the good news of the Kingdom and of Jesus, and then focused the attention on them. You will speak well of My Kingdom and bring people into the promised land of which they were already in. You will give a defense for the gospel, and you will know what to say to them because you do not resist the Holy Spirit, but you hear. You will speak what they need and want to hear, and it will match their heart. Then you will make it all about them, ‘Look at what you have become. Do you know who you are?’ You will demonstrate My kindness to My children, and it is that very kindness that will bring a godly change; godly sorrow leading to repentance. It is the constant repentance that holds it all together, changing the way you think in accordance to who you really are and who I really am. You have found how good it is to repent and change behavior because of knowing who you are. And people will change, though they might not tell you, because of your example, and because of the words of life that you share. It will not be how the world thinks, by telling them, ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that, you need to stop this, you need to…’ You will set captives free from their minds, by the sword and shield. You are My son.”
Philip Serino 