Where is Your Focus?

Acts 7:55 “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.”

It is one of the great, dramatic moments described in the Bible. Stephen giving his defense before the High Court of Israel. His speach was masterful and respectful. His recall of history was exact and compelling. The case he presented was flawless and clear.

But as he spoke he saw the smug indifference etched deep into the faces of his judges. Their hearts were hardened by pride, their eyes blinded by bigotry. Stephen, realizing that nothing he could say was going to change their prejudice, shifted gears and got straight to the point.

He cries out; “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.” Acts 7:51.

No boxing champion ever relies on a single punch to knock out his opponent. No, he peppers him with jabs, rocks him with a one-two combination, and then drops the bomb – a left hook and a blinding overhand right. Knockout!! Stephen does the same.

While the council was reeling from his stunning indictment, Stephen continued, “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?” Before they could compose themselves to reply in religious double-speak, he delivered the knockout blow “and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:” Acts 7:52.

The Bible says, “Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.” Acts 7:54. And puts it this way, “At that point they went wild, a rioting mob of catcalls and whistles and invective.” We are then told, “Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him …” Acts 7:57 & 58.

Amazing, isn’t it, the depth of evil that lurks in the hearts of ‘religious’ people? From the moment Cain murdered Abel, religion has found no other way but violence to force its claims against those with whom it disagrees. Oh how quickly those esteemed as holy and impartial judges turn to nothing more than a band of alley thugs.

But now, set in sharp relief against this dark backdrop, get the point of our opening text. Acts 7:55 & 56 “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”

Wow. How wonderful it must be to “hardly notice” the dumb, outrageous, banal, and vindictive attacks of the devil through people and circumstances around us. What is the key? How did Stephen manage to remain so detached? The Word says, “he only had eyes for God!”

“Lord Jesus, please help me through the Holy Spirit to keep focussed upon You. Amen.”