“⁷ Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, ⁸do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,  ⁹ where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.  ¹⁰ Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’  ¹¹ As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’  ¹² Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.  ¹³ But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today’, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  ¹⁴ For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.  ¹⁵ As it is said, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.’  . . . . .  ¹⁹ So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.” Hebrews 3:7-15,19 (ESV)

The Lord Jesus knocked Saul down with pure light, and a change came over him. The change of a reborn spirit is instantaneous whereas transformation by the (continual) renewing of the soul (i.e., intellect, will, emotions) in the Word of God is through the Teaching of God’s Spirit – the Spirit of Truth. The Ministry of the Holy Spirit is at hand (right now) to help our further development and/or strengthen our ability in the way of God, to manifest the things of the LORD God for the benefit of self and others. “. . . Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” It is foolish to even attempt to argue with those in the kingdom of darkness because they know not what they do. Therefore, Stephen asked just as the Lord Jesus asked the LORD God to “forgive them because they know not what they do”. Now (this day), though the veil between YHWH (with inserted vowels YAHWEH transliterated JEHOVAH commonly interpreted the LORD) and all mankind was torn by the blood of Jesus, a significant number lack awareness of the fact that we may go “boldly to the Throne” with respect; there’s no begging involved. Whether lack of awareness is intentional (free-will) or manipulation by the devil and his cohorts, Scripture reveals that every calling out of darkness into God’s Kingdom of Light is from the LORD God and His mighty power.  An individual can’t wait to get themselves clean before coming to God because the cleanliness that allows for the presence of LORD is by God’s power; He sent YESHUA/JESUS to do the work; it’s already done; the Lord Jesus said, “it is finished”. GOD is LOVE, and to recognize the characteristics of the LORD God facilitates discernment to differentiate between God’s way and the world’s way of doing. That is, comprehension of the culture of the Kingdom of God for application in the way of Light. Therefore, don’t “harden your heart” to the way of the LORD God. (Acts 9:1-6; John 3:1-8; Rom 12:2; 2Co 3:18; John 14:25-26 & 16:13; Matthew 6:9-13; John 15:18-19; Acts 7:54-60; Luke 23:34; Matthew 27:50-51; Colossians 1:12-14.)