I recently watched the Netflix show Waco, which is a tv series about the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas led by the devilishly clever David Koresh (not his real name). Without getting into the fictionalizations in the storytelling, the show rightly portrayed Koresh as the center of this offshoot of Seventh Day Adventists and how his personal teaching gift became the locus of their faith. It was his contention that all the Scripture pointed toward the seven seals of the Book of Revelation. He taught that faithful followers of God pursued the knowledge contaied in these sealed documents and their key to gaining that knowledge was Koresh himself. In order to be a successful cult leader, one must shift the focus from Jesus revealing the nature of God, toward the fulfillment of human desire through the cult leader. Every cult is based on this.
The teachings of Jesus are pretty clear, give up what you think is important. Focus on what God calls important. Lay down your life if that’s what it takes. Add value to the lives of others. It’s pretty simple when you take the teachings of Jesus at face value but all too often, people don’t want simple. They want super-spiritual convoluted teachings that make them feel special because of their insight.
The crazy shift
Jesus knew he was teaching people who needed rules. Their mind could not yet comprehend a system whereby they would have a personal, dynamic relationship with the God of heaven. So like Moses of old, he came down with commandments. He said that his new commandment was to love one another. This was not a suggestion, philosophy, or a religion. It was a commandment. He said that this new relational dynamic would be so remarkable that people outside the community would see and be so impacted that they would know that only God could be working in their lives. He again appealed to the desire to keep laws. He said that if you love God you will keep this commandment to love.
This is the crazy shift that Jesus brought. He connected our relationship with God to our relationship with each other in no uncertain terms. Over half the Ten Commandments teach this, but we missed it for hundreds of years. But Jesus said we were not alone in this quest to follow his love leadership. He promised another Helper. This Parakletos is not our servant, he is an advocate with the Father who gives us the ability to do what we could not do on our own. He empowes us to love. Those not connected to Jesus would not understand this love power but the promise was that we would.
It was this empowerment that Jesus called the Spirit of Truth. This empowering advocate will turn our thoughts to Jesus, and in turn, we will turn other’s thoughts to Jesus. Here is that connection between our relationship with God and other people. The Holy Ghost is the bridge between our heavenly relationship and our worldly relationships. Jesus is drawing a clear line. We are commanded to follow truth as sent by Jesus, not ideologies as formulated by people.
Truth or Ideology
An ideology is a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory or policy.
Truthcomes from the Spirit of God. It is the conviction of Holy Spirit who said he would testify about Jesus, our God who laid down his life for us.
How do we find this truth?
When we connect with Holy Spirit he guides us into the truth. This is a foundation of Pentecostal theology. This is why we pray in tongues. This is why we seek Charismatic experiences. We want to encounter God so we can be further guided into his truth. The promise is that if we live by this system of encountering God and walking in the truth, we will live a life of joy.
Jesus came to level the playing field
Jesus came to a world fraught with ideological strife and taught followers to set our focus on truth. The Father moved heaven and earth so that we can display the kingdom of heaven to the world around us.
Jesus sent his Spirit to give us all the supernatural ability to be a touchpoint of the kingdom of God. We each have access to the riches of the Kingdom with the ability to distribute the wealth of our heavenly Father as we see need. This ability has a byproduct of personal reward but when the motivation is personal reward, that which is holy, the sharing of the Kingdom, becomes corrupt. The material rewards of following Jesus have the potential of overshadowing the real rewards in heaven we are supposed to be focusing on, and when this happens, it brings out the worst in people and damages the reputation of our Savior.
The Christ did not come to bring us a higher quality of worldly experience. He did not leave heaven, put on flesh, subject himself to humanity, so we could satisfy our egos in a more efficient manner. Nor did he come so we could quiet our conscience while we extracted the most value for ourselves while devaluing our fellow man. We know we are experiencing spiritual maturity when we realize we are not in competition with anyone. There is no competition. Jesus invites us into a life in the kingdom of God where there is always enough for everybody. Those who have not had their minds transformed are still in the competition of the world where there is a the law of zero sum gain. Your victory is my defeat.
Real joy comes from knowing Jesus
When people don’t know God, they think he is focusing on Presidential elections, economic activity, or personal freedom. These poor souls lay down the life of joy that Jesus promised for earthly riches. They are then deceived into thinking that he is willing to bend his morals so they will never need to be uncomfortable. This is the deception that makes people think Jesus came to protect our ideologies. This self-centered focus in the name of Jesus alone defines their truth. Though they may compile volumes of Scripture, they are always learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth.
This was the devilish plan of David Koresh. He would argue people into the belief that what was best for him was best for them. This led to him comadeering their money, their labor, their wives and daughters, and ulitmately their lives. But this all started with him becoming the gatekeeper of their relationship with God.
We have modern gatekeepers. They are not selling sheep in the temple, they are selling ads on tv and our future for their gain.
I plan to walk in the conviction of Holy Spirit and point out their lies so that I can walk in the joy of the Lord. I hope you join me on the mission.