Scripture: Psalm 78 v 1 - 5: "Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:"
Our lives are a spiritual venture into the unknown from the moment we are born again. God has a plan for each redeemed soul to become fruitful, and useful to the Kingdom of God and our fellow-travellers.
Acts 1 v 8 - 9: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight."
The very last words spoken before the ascension of Jesus were how we would become powerful witnesses after the Holy Ghost has come upon us! It was not just for the twelve, there were 120 disciples in the Upper Room, including His Mother, Mary, when the power came down upon them all.
Peter preached in Acts 2 v 38 - 39: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."
The gift is the baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues. It is for every believer. It opens the door to 8 more gifts of the Spirit that empower us to live as the New Creations we now are. No longer "just human"!
The Godhead of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are part of us. The Trinity is One God. It is not 1+1+1 = 3. It is 1 x 1 x 1 = 1 and multiplied by any one of us it is still 1. We are one with God and this makes us formidable to God's enemies whether human or demon spirit. If we exercise the authority Jesus gave us!
Our lives begin when our formerly dead-in-sin spirits come back to life as our sins, transgressions, and indiscretions are cancelled by the Blood of Jesus. We step into a realm that is completely opposite to how our lives were lived before. Like when Neo took the red pill in the Matrix - we see things differently. If and when we reject the truth our spiritual life slows to stagnation.
Our purpose is to know more about God, Jesus, the Holy Ghost, Heaven, Hell, righteousness, holiness and how to adjust to the newness of life. We have the most powerful books ever printed, collected in one volume, called The Holy Bible. It's a supernatural record of God's creation, plan, judgment and vital for each of us to know and understand.
So God gave various ministries to the Church, preachers, teachers, evangelists, prophets and apostles. There are also intercessors, prayer warriors, missionaries and helps. Helps are those who form the band and lead the praise and worship. Also people who work behind the scenes as secretaries, the accountant, cleaners and gardeners. All these are set in place to give understanding of the Word of God, to explain and demonstrate how it relates to us and to keep the church looking lovely.
When our enlightenment is established we get our individual assignments from the Lord. Each of these will require faith, obedience and boldness. We will be equipped for the tasks through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the gifts given to us will determine our direction for this venture into the unknown.
Jesus created a powerful testimony concerning the Gadarene demoniac. He instantly went from a raving lunatic to a calm, reasoning, excited man who wanted to follow Jesus. Jesus said he must rather go back to his home city and testify of the power of God. He was a visible witness to healing and deliverance. Now to show his family, friends and others of the transformation done to him. The people of Gadara were so shocked they demanded that Jesus leave their region. To this day dealing with demons causes problems to those who really don't like that sort of thing.
People who have been healed and set free from terrible bondage are, or should be, eager to share their testimony to witness to the truth that is Jesus Christ. We should not need a relapse to remind us of our role in bringing souls into glory. We just need to tell it, Jesus does the saving.
We need boldness to overcome shyness or fear of ridicule and/or rejection by our family and friends. They knew us before our salvation so they may be hard to convince of the changes the Lord has already made. However, the Lord is the after preacher who keeps bringing our testimony back into the minds of the hearers.
1 Thessalonians 1 v 5 - 6: "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:"
He keeps us alive in spirit through amazing power. He makes our venture into the unknown spiritual dimension very memorable and encourages us in so many ways to keep going. It's a life full of mysteries, surprises, miracles, visions, revelations, dreams and the majesty of our King. He gives many insights from the depths of the Word which is a lamp unto our feet in the darkness of this world.
There are many milestones along the way as we grow in faith, experience and spiritual knowledge. There are some setbacks but they are usually lessons needing to be emphasized. Our God knows when Satan has set traps for us to fall into. Sometimes we are allowed to fall into one or two only to rise up stronger and more determined than ever.
This creates a bigger setback to our enemy who has to try outsmart the one who has seen through his evil devices and knows how to fight back. Experience of this sort gives us courage and boldness, confidence in God's ability to protect us even in calamities, illness, and sorrow. Remember, when we are at our weakest, He is at His strongest in us.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory unto Him. Let us be filled with praise and worship to Him who sits upon the Throne guiding us through the minefields on Earth. We are never alone, for Jesus will never leave us nor abandon us.
When we have walked the walk of Jesus in our own lives we need to teach these ways to our children that the truth is never lost or hidden under a rock. In the sharing of truth we gain more and more insight about the mighty love of God for each one of us.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I Love You. I have truly enjoyed the life You have given me in my venture into the unknown. Thank You for such wonderful friends and family who are gifted with discernment and faith, love and kindness.
I pray that all who read have wonderful experiences of Your love and that each venture will produce the fruit that You expect and delight in.
In Jesus' name. Amen.