Apostolic Ministry of Matthias is Missing 8-2-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. It's very early this morning, but I can't sleep -- something is burning in my bones. So I rise and enter in to the holy place of prayer. Speak, Lord, for Your servant and Your son is listening. ... "Then they prayed and said, 'Lord, You know everyone's heart. Show us which one of these two You have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.' And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles" (Acts 1:24-26). I've never heard anyone ever teach or preach on the ministry of the apostle Matthias. Maybe because his name is never mentioned again in Scripture after this verse. But there is something here we need to see for our day. The apostolic ministry of Matthias was necessary. Something was missing without him. It stuns me to see for the fist time a connection to the very next verse after Matthias was identified and added to his position of ministry through discernment and prayer: "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place" (v. 2:1). Lord, this is a key to the Pentecostal power of Your church taking her place of authority and responsibility in the earth in our day. We are missing the apostolic ministry of Matthias. They are those who have labored among us "during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us," but we have not yet affirmed and embraced our need and their ministry (v. 1:21). We've not always known their names because they've not drawn attention to themselves, but to You alone. But You know their hearts (v. 1:24). And You know our need of their ministry for us to be the church You've created us and called us to be. We have such a tendency to "look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). Many are placed into positions of authority because of education, organizational credentials, and prayer-less presumption. And many essentially place themselves in positions of authority by self-promotion. Forgive us, Lord. Your church has suffered for our sin and the world has suffered for our failure to fully manifest the fullness of Your nature. We have failed to be the body of Christ, filled with the Spirit of Christ, continuing the ministry of Christ, established in Your biblical order, submitted to Your heavenly will, and empowered by Your Holy Spirit to reveal Your nature as Your "ambassadors" for too many generations (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are not yet spiritually mature as the body of Christ. We are not yet experiencing the fullness of the Pentecostal power and the "greater works" You have longed to demonstrate through a generation desperate enough, humble enough, to be obedient enough so we can be empowered enough to be the hands and feet, heart and soul of the body of Christ on earth You have destined us to be (John 14:12). And part of our immaturity is that we have not set our hearts to seek Your face in prayer for those who are missing in the ministry of gifts and positions of Biblical order, responsibility, and authority of Your church: "The gifts He gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children ... we must grow up in every way into Him Who is the head, into Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-15). Lord, call us to prayer to seek to understand what is missing and identify who is missing. Show us where we have failed to recognize our need and Your gifts of all the positions and callings of spiritual leadership. Forgive us for trying to make pastors be apostles and make apostles be pastors because we don’t' yet fully understand Your biblical order. Call out and raise up all the ministries of Your Spirit and Your body, including the apostolic ministry of Matthias. Appoint and anoint those who have the whole-hearted humility and single-minded devotion to be the nameless, faceless, fearless spiritual leaders of our day. When the gifts of Your grace and positions of Your authority are in place, the day of our Pentecost and Your power will come into and flow out of Your church to manifest the fullness and maturity of Your nature in the ways the world is literally dying to see. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 http://www.messiah-ministries.org/ Daily Archives: http://www.morningbymorning.injesus.com/