Response to the Holy Spirit

How do we respond when we hear the Holy Spirit's voice? Acts 2 and Acts 7 give us two different reactions.

In Acts 2, Peter preaches his very first sermon. In vs 37 it says, "Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brethren what shall we do?'" They were willing to listen and ended up getting baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 7, we see a different response. Here, Stephen is preaching. He says similar things that Peter did. In this case the reaction was as follows. Vs 54 - "Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick and they began gnashing their teeth at him". They were unwilling to listen and ended up stoning Stephen to death.

Two extremely different reactions with two extremely different results.

The question is, "How do we respond when we hear the Holy Spirit's voice?" When we are 'cut to the quick' and we realize we have sinned, do we make excuses and come up with reasons why it's best to leave 'well enough alone'? Or do we go to the person, ask for forgiveness and try to mend a relationship?

When the Holy Spirit reminds us to read God's Word do we make excuses like, "I'm too tired," or "I don't have enough time," or "I'll do it tomorrow", or do we sit down and read?

In the middle of a moment with our children or co-workers or husband, when we are frustrated and want to lash out, do we listen to the quiet voice reminding us to keep our mouths shut and wait until we calm down, or do we ignore that voice and angrily vent, most likely damaging the relationship?

This really hit me. Everyday we hear His voice. What is our response?? Do we 'gnash our teeth' or do we ask, 'what shall we do'?

Boldness

I read Acts 2 today. I was amazed at Peter's boldness. I need that. I was also interested that he immediately started a) quoting the OT and b) reminding them of what they had done to Jesus.