Slides for a talk given at Blazing Fire on July 20, 2019. Welcoming Holy Spirit to fully access our heart. Here is the link to the podcast: https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-t2b8u-b89896 God's "hesed" love for us, the work of Holy Spirit in our hearts, the problem of being "stiff-necked"/narcissistic, and the challenge of loving our enemies.

1. Russ Fochler
July 20, 2019
STEPHEN’S GOD ADVENTURE
ACTS 6:8-7:60
PART 2
Welcoming Holy Spirit To
Fully Access Our Heart

2. THIS IS A STORY OF:
Holy Spirit leading and empowering Stephen with:
Miracles and signs of God’s love and power
Great wisdom in answering the Greek speaking Jews
Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin
Declaring Jesus as the prophesied Promised One —
and calling them to Repent.
God’s Hesed - Loving kindness, enduring love for the
children of Abraham. Even with their bent towards
being “stiff-necked” and worshipping evil “gods”
instead.

3. Thank you Stephen Carey for reading the
Scriptures for us today!

4. STIFF-NECKED AND RESISTING HOLY SPIRIT
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always
resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” Acts 7:51 ESV
God has a word for taking glory and avoiding shame. The word is
qasheh (kaw-sheh’). It is the translated: stiff-necked, hard, cruel, severe,
obstinate, difficult, fierce, intense, vehement, stubborn, and rigorous of
battle. Qasheh is used across the Old Testament for anyone who will
not feel shame, blush, bow down, and say,“That is my fault, and my
problem.” The qasheh kind of person says,“I am proud! I will look
good!”
E. James Wilder “The Pandora Problem” pg 74

5. THE PANDORA
PROBLEM
Facing Narcissism in Leaders &
Ourselves
E. James Wilder

6. DO NOT QUENCHTHE HOLY SPIRIT
AND DO NOT BE “STIFF-NECKED”
15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always
seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in
all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not
despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what
is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
1Thess 5:15-22 ESV

7. DO NOT GRIEVETHE HOLY SPIRIT
AND DO NOT BE “STIFF-NECKED”
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only
such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it
may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the
Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day
of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and
clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all
malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, as God in Christ forgave you. Eph 4:29-32 ESV

8. HOLY SPIRIT AND HESED
Where Holy Spirit’s influence is welcomed, Hesed (loving
kindness, secure emotional attachment) is nurtured and grows.
Where Holy Spirit’s influence is resisted, quenched, grieved -
then Hesed is scarce and “winning” runs the show. The “stiff-
necked” rise to positions of leadership. And Father God’s
heart for His children to all love each other and thrive is not
valued.
Holy Spirit - we needYou!

9. “If you take loving kindness out of the human brain,
there’s not much left except the desire to win.”
Stout, Martha. The Sociopath Next Door:The RuthlessVersus the Rest of Us. 2005.
Martha was on the clinical faculty of Harvard Medical School for 25 years

10. STIFF-NECKED
RESISTANTTO HESED-BASED SHAME
A sensitivity to Holy Spirit means we are sensitive to the life-
giving corrections, the healthy shame messages, the
conviction of God’s Holy Spirit.
Healthy shame message - a message from someone who
carries loving kindness (hesed) for us and is calling us to
recognize we’re doing things that are causing relational
disconnection. Or we’re acting outside of what our group
identity (God’s people) is — and to repent from those things

11. “Shame is toxic when it aims to control rather than
to restore honor”
E. James Wilder “The Pandora Problem” pg 76

12. THEY WERE ENRAGED
The members of the Sanhedrin weren’t handling Holy Spirit’s loving
shame message and call to repent well.
When we’re qasheh, when we’re playing according to our inner-
narcissist “rules” we do all we can to avoid feeling shame. We
harden our hearts and attack! These “rules” (pg 39) are:
The best justification wins
I should not have to suffer
Weakness is bad

13. SELF-JUSTIFICATION
“Self-justification refers to any tactic we use to keep from
admitting wrong or taking blame. A narcissist is always self-
justified. We believe justifying our actions is a good thing.”
pg 39
Explaining vs. Self-Justifying:
“Explaining is done in order to feel satisfied that a we
have said what we needed to say for clarity
Self-justification is always at the expense of another.“ pg 132

14. SEEMS “NORMAL”AND GOOD, BUT…
Self-justification, trusting our own judgment
(about what is good or evil), and avoiding even
hesed-based shame all seem “good’ to us.
But they are all fruit of what Paul calls the “sarx”
or “the flesh” and they insulate us from Holy
Spirit’s leading and influences in our life.

15. “If God provides an active presence that engages our
thoughts and guides us into truth, then there is an
alternative way to know what is right. If God is inert,
and religion is a set of true beliefs and practices, then
we are left with no higher appeal than our own
judgment. Without God’s active intelligence in our
lives, religion just becomes people quoting God to
justify themselves. The narcissist wins.” pg 44

16. THE LORD OF GLORY
As human beings, we all desire glory - weightiness, significance,
specialness.
“The people of other gods give themselves glory. People of the
Lord of Glory let His glory shine through their character. Both
systems promise glory, one way seeks glory by performance and the
other finds glory through belonging. One is living by the flesh
(sarx), the other is living by the Spirit. These two paths are in
complete conflict.“
“The Pandora Problem” pg 74

17. Matthew Guillot

18. STEPHEN LOVEDTHE ONES KILLING HIM -
AND FORGAVETHEM
What makes Christianity stands out from other
religions is how we are to love our enemies. pg 29
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love
your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to
you, Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your
Father who is in heaven.” Matt 5:43-45a ESV