Acts 7:54

Acts 7:54
    “When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.” NKJV

    The people judging Stephen were furious when he told them not to accept the Holy Spirit in their hearts. Of course, we know this was true. If the Holy Spirit had been in them and they were obeying his will, then they would not have done what they did (that is, stoned him). Furthermore, we know that they Holy Spirit was with Stephen, so he would not have made a false accusation.
    The reality of this is that Stephen’s judgers probably knew this rebuke in their hearts to be true. People don’t get that angry at a false rebuke in my experience. However, it is very easy to be angered when someone points out a huge fault of yours that you deny, in a very ungraceful and accusing way.
    They chose to hate Stephen and call him a liar rather than admit that truth to themselves, and that is a very easy path to go down.
    The application for this is rather simple. Reflect before you anger. I rarely show anger outwardly but sometimes when I hear something I don’t want to, I harden my heart toward that message. That only happens when I know in the back of my mind that it is true and that I should change or sacrifice or whatever it is the Lord is calling me to do.