People simply do not like to be told what to do, or how to live. That is basically what it means to be stiff- necked. Time, and time again God referred to Israel as a stiff-necked people. We read in Acts 7:51 what the Lord says to the Sanhedrin by way of Deacon Stephen, “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” These words are as relevant today as they were in the First Century. We simply do not want God to govern our lives, because we know God’s rule is disruptive. When God enters our life’s situations God seemingly always makes us uncomfortable. We always have to get up from where we are and do some rearranging of things. When God comes into our lives God will put in order what is in disorder. This will require some uncomfortable work on our part and we don’t like that. Let’s face it, no one wants to spend the required amount of time cleaning up a mess that has been growing for years. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people would rather live dysfunctional and reprobate instead of embrace the holy (set apart) life God intends for us.

Recall in scripture (Matthew 8:28-34) when Jesus visited the Gadarenes. The Gadarenes Jesus encountered were primarily Gentiles who earned a living farming pigs. These Gadarenes were living in fear, being bullied by two demon possessed men who blocked a key pathway. The Gadarenes lived in discomfort. They were being tormented by evil and their lives were unnecessarily harder because of it. So, Jesus cast the demons out of the two violent men and allowed the evil spirits to enter into a herd of swine. The whole herd rushed down a steep bank into the lake and died in the water. The locals were furious that they had lost a herd of pigs. It seemed that they could care less about being in the presence of one who has power to cast out demons. There was no rejoicing for the revival of the two possessed men. No one celebrated over the end of violence, fear, and inconvenience. Rather, the local Gadarenes’ focus was on the disruption Jesus Christ caused to their financial stability. The Gadarenes begged Jesus to leave! They would prefer to endure dysfunction and continue to live among the pig stench of evil than to have Jesus Christ stick around. In essence, the Gadarenes chose swine over Savior.

Like us, the Gadarenes valued material things above spiritual deliverance. Because of our determination to live how we want to live; without the counsel of the Holy Spirit, our world is operating in reprobate dysfunction. We are no different than our ancestors, a stiff-necked people. We have pleaded Jesus to leave our personal lives and we have forced him out of every public institution. Without Christ our world is demon possessed and violent. No one, in their right mind, wants to live this way. Perhaps, it is time to stop asking God to leave us alone. Instead we should plead Jesus to stick around. There will be work to do…a lot of cleaning and rearranging, but it will be far better living with a Savior than with swine.

[Read] Matthew 8:28-34

[Pray]:

Lord we magnify your Holy and righteous name. You are the Lord of Host and we adore you above all. We are a stiff-necked generation, full of sin. Yes Lord, I confess, I am a stiff-necked sinner too. I sincerely repent of my sins and ask that you look beyond my faults and see my needs. I know that at some point in my reprobate mind I asked you to leave me alone. Please forgive me Lord, for I knew not what I asked. Now I invite you back into my life. I beg of you to come into my life and stay. Make the changes that need to be made in my life and give me the strength to accept your Will. Set me apart from this world and be the Lord of my life. In the name of Jesus I plead this prayer. Amen.