Title Matthias/Acts 1:20-26
Content Ⅰ. entry
We are studying the book of Acts. The resurrected Lord appeared to the disciples and showed Himself that He lived and spoke of the things of the kingdom of God. And the Lord tells the gathered disciples not to leave Jerusalem and wait for the promise. It was to wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem, where he did not want to remain. The disciples begin to wait while remembering the word of the Lord. However, the waiting was not a helpless, passive waiting, but an active waiting to find something to do. We too are going through times of waiting. And in this period of waiting, the period of the wilderness, and the period of training, the Lord wants us to do and be perfect. The Lord wants us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
The disciples did four things while they waited. First of all, we received a ground order. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we must live our lives as witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. We have observed that life as a Witness is not very welcome, but rather cumbersome and uncomfortable. And the disciples saw the ascending Lord. The disciples began to pray from him. That prayer was a prayer of waiting. It was a prayer of preparation, a prayer of waiting, and a prayer of waking up to wait for the coming of the promised Holy Spirit to come soon. The content of today's event is that Matthias joined the group of the 12 apostles according to the suggestion of the apostle Peter while they gathered and prayed.
Today we are going to take a closer look at the content of the text and think together how we can decide if this happens before us. What you should pay attention to when observing the text is the process they go through until Matthias is cast by lots. We hope that it will be a time to check together the parts we make hasty decisions in our lives, or the parts that we want to be comforted by based on something mystical, while paying attention to the procedure that Matthias is elected through.
II. text observation
1. Did Matthias have to be elected?
Last time we went back and forth between Akeldama of Judas Iscariot and Golgotha of Jesus Christ, and examined the meaning of Akeldama, the death of greed and impulse, and the death of Golgotha, who walked for our sins with a clear sense of purpose. However, now that the Lord was resurrected and ascended into heaven, the burden of their hearts remained. It is the heartache caused by Judas Iscariot. The disciple's betrayal and tragic death of Judas, who had lived together, cohabited, and lived together with them for three years, became indelible memories. Moreover, the fact that the original number of apostles, who were originally twelve, remained as eleven would have reminded him even more of Judas Iscariot.
2. What are the qualifications for being included in the number of apostles?
The first is that from the baptism of John to the day of his ascension to heaven, they must always be with the Lord and with them. At least, these words disprove that there were many others who walked with the Lord except for the 12 disciples. Although these were not the twelve disciples, they were people who saw and experienced the life of the Lord from the baptism of John until the time of the Lord's death, resurrection, and ascension. These people must have followed the Lord because they wanted them on their own.
And even among those people, he had to be a witness to the resurrection of Jesus. In other words, it was to select people who had witnessed the resurrection, believed in it, and were ready to live as witnesses.
The interesting thing, however, is that they met those conditions and received a recommendation. This again suggests that many met the criteria, two of which were nominated for the primary. They are Barsabas and Matthias.
However, there are questions we need to ask and pass. It is whether the lot was cast after the Holy Spirit came. no. After the Holy Spirit came into our hearts, we no longer depended on the lottery. It is for this reason that it is difficult to find any record of a lot being cast after this event. We are people living with the Holy Spirit who indwells us, the Holy Spirit who came to change us. Therefore, living a life that beats us into submission so that the Holy Spirit can fully assert us is our number one priority.
3. How to seek God's guidance in the process of choosing Matthias
We have already finished our observations of these methods. But once again, we need to be clear at a glance. First, it was a decision based on the words of the Bible. The Word does not give specific answers to our situations. But the Word provides the principle. Therefore, making decisions based on the Word requires a life filled with the Word so that the Word flows into our veins. And let that Word become a principle in all the decisions we make in our lives. Indeed, the Word provides such a principle.
The second is to use common sense. In other words, we use our reason. If we are faced with a difficult decision for ourselves, such as they used the recommendation method, we can draw a diagram and distinguish between what God wants and what I want. That's enough to think about. Seeking advice from a mature person. By looking at the situation, the storm does not sink into the sea, but by looking to the Lord, we should be able to objectify the situation while seeking peace of mind. These are common sense.
The third is to pray. This prayer may be a prayer asking God to be with you in this decision. It should be a prayer to reflect on one's decision. It must be a prayer entrusted to God. It must be a prayer of determination to obey, even if the desired results do not come out.
Ⅲ. Conclusion and application
We have yet to observe closely the process of the apostles choosing Matthias before the coming of the Holy Spirit. And with the exception of the lottery, we were able to obtain the principle of God's guidance in making decisions based on the principles of the Bible, using common sense, and praying.
People have a hasty habit of making decisions when things are confusing. Everyone! Any decision you make while you are out of composure is likely to be governed by the circumstances. Therefore, it is necessary to have the wisdom to put on hold any decisions when things go bad.
Also, God loves those who work. Remembering that the disciples' waiting was not a vague and lethargic waiting, but a lively waiting with hope and expectation, I pray in the name of the Lord that a life of true waiting, full of hope and vitality, comes to our lives today. ( * )