Acts 7:55
This Is what the Bible testifies about Stephen. The Word declares he was full of the Holy Ghost. How we need the Holy Ghost in these most crucial times! We not only need the Holy Ghost, but we need to be completely filled with Him, filled to the utmost capacity, engrossed, occupied – filled to the maximum with Him. The world is filled with so much evil, especially today that I believe, the only real antidote to counteract its poison is – men and women of God who are filled with His Holy Spirit. Could we so commit ourselves in these last and final days of human history, to be filled with His Spirit, so much so that all they can see is Christ only, always living in us. Please God, fill us again and again until we are full to the overflowing.
How sobering the thought that as Stephen is being violently stoned to death, the writer states “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly unto heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said…” (Acts 7:55,56). Nothing could be so gruesome and brutal, and yet so majestic and ethereal at the same time. There you see the demons in all their rage and fury, and you also see the King of glory in all His regal dignity and splendor, supervising the home-going of one of his most trusted servants and followers. There is the noisy, defeated mob on one side and on the other side the undisturbed, triumphant warrior Stephen, declaring eternal, inescapable truth, right up until his last dying breath. With undeniable force he unfalteringly proclaims “…Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). None of their rage, fury nor protest could change what Stephen had heard, seen, affirmed, and preached. No matter how hard they tried, they could never stop, silence, or dismantle the truth spoken by this formidable man of God.
Even in death, Stephen’s powerful witness of Jesus would never stop speaking to their guilty minds and troubled souls. The message is clear, you could never truly stop a real Spirit-filled man or woman of God. The message and testimony of Jesus Christ live on! To substantiate this, we keep in mind what Paul says many years later, “And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him” (Acts 22:20). Stephen’s death left the most indelible impression upon their minds.
It seems like the more Stephen preached, is the more his listeners became rabid and hate-filled. In the most demonic and savage manner, “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). However, what stands out the most in the passage is Stephen’s response. Instead of running away, recanting or cowering, Stephen looks up and keeps on preaching, then he kneels down and prays in the most unselfish way, “…Lord, lay not this sin to their charge…” (v60).
Saints, let us be solemnly admonished to keep looking up. Look steadfastly into heaven. If ever a time we need to see Jesus, is today. As you see Him, proclaim Him! Tell others, not only what you see, but whom you see. He is right there, standing with you in your most trying time and hour. He never leaves or forsakes us. Though the masses turn and seek our demise and removal, we have the glorious assurance of this abiding love and constant, protective care. They rejected Stephen, but Stephen confidently prayed and said “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” and he kept looking upward. Saints and loved ones, Keep Looking Up! That’s what Spirit-filled people do!!
Leroy V. Greenaway
Presiding Bishop – Northeast Region
