You Are Noticed

Acts 1:21
“Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,”

There is a valuable group of people in every church that go unnoticed who are as valuable to the work of the LORD as those who hold visible positions. These unseen people often work in the background, but they are dependable and can be counted upon to be there no matter what happens. In fact, sometimes these people are the ones you can count on more than those who hold prominent positions in the church.

The verse above talks about two unnoticed men in the church of Jerusalem. Right after Christ ascended to Heaven, the church met and discussed the position that Judas Iscariot left open when he betrayed Christ. The apostles wanted someone else to fill that position. The requirements to fill this position was that these men “companied” with the apostles “all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out” among them. In other words, these men needed to be as involved in the LORD’s work as were the other eleven apostles. The men mentioned were Justus and Matthias. It is interesting that these men are never mentioned in any other place in the Scriptures, but their service was noticed. Several lessons can be learned from these two men that will benefit you and your church.

First, you are noticed even when nobody notices you. One thing you must remember is that God always notices those who are faithful. It doesn’t matter if others notice what you do as long as God is taking account of your service to Him. Never fall into the trap of only doing things in the LORD’s work when you are noticed. If you are serving the LORD because you love Him and because you want to do right, it won’t matter if nobody sees what you do.

Second, it is not easy to continue in the LORD’s work. These men were with Christ in the popular and unpopular times. I would much rather serve with a bunch of “no names” in the ministry who are dependable than to serve with a well-known, undependable person. Every church needs people like Justus and Matthias who continue to do their work, are dependable, and don’t need man’s recognition to do their job. It is not easy to be this type of person because there are going to be times when you are passed over, forgotten, and there will be times of disagreement; however, the work of the LORD needs you to continue in spite of how hard it may be to do so.

Third, you are severely missed when you don’t continue in your service. My friend, the worst thing you can do is not show up and let those who are in leadership know at the last minute. It is very unthoughtful and inconsiderate of you to let your pastor or ministry leader know that you won’t be there on the day or the day before you know you are going to be gone. I am not talking about getting sick on that day, but I am talking about you knowing you will be gone and not allowing the leadership to plan for your absence. You may not understand the importance of your position of service, but you are important and missed when you don’t show up.

My question for you is this: are you a person who continues all the time, or are you a person who leaves your position open regularly? My hope is that you are as dependable to your church as were Justus and Matthias. Always remember that every position in the LORD’s work is a “prominent” position, even if that position isn’t recognized.