“For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’; and, ‘Let another take his office.’ “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭1:20-26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The apostles were picking the replacement for Judas. Why did they cast lost then?
It did not matter who was picked in the end because the ones who were chosen for casting of lots were faithful.
They had to be someone who had been with Jesus from the beginning since the day of His baptism.

2 Marks of Faithfulness

1. Loyalty
The depth of loyalty is dependent on the depth of one’s relationship.

Matthias did not just know about Jesus but had a relationship with Jesus. The relationship we have with Jesus brings about loyalty. He knows us and we know Him. This relationship is what carries us through. (Psalm 23:4)

There is no victory without a battle, no anointing without sacrifice, no mountain top without the valley. The place where we come out of the wilderness leaning on out Beloved.

2. Consistency
Acts 1: 21-22. It is easy to be faithful when Jesus is the in thing and all is going well. But what about when He is out and we can’t feel Him or seem to hear His voice?

Jesus is seeking those who are faithful even when they don’t feel anything but live by faith. We limit God if we wait for feelings rather than walking by faith. It is called a journey of faith.

Matthias was faithful. A righteous and wicked man will eventually fall. Yet the righteous man will get back up again. This is not a time to quit but doing everything to stand and trust in the Lord.

Rewards of Faithfulness
God is not going to short change you. Our faithfulness will bless the generations to come. The faithfulness of the early church allows us to have the blessings we have today as believers.

The rewards of faithfulness?

• Favour and a good name (Proverbs 3: 3-4)
• Ruler over many things (Matthew 25:23)

Stay faithful where you are, especially in times of uncertainty. This is the time to know who God is and stand in Him.