Aside

I need to address an important matter before we dive deeper into this topic. It is vital to our walk with Christ to understand the workings of our new covenant with Jesus. Celebrating the feasts and Shabbat is not a requirement of our covenant. There was a dispute among certain Jewish leaders in the Church of Colossae. Some were teaching that following the Sabbath, the feasts and circumcision was required by God to be in covenant with Him. Paul addressed that issue of false doctrine in the second chapter of the book of Colossians.

So why would you allow anyone to judge you because of what you eat or drink, or insist that you keep the feasts, observe new moon celebrations, or the Sabbath? All of these were but a prophetic shadow and the evidence of what would be fulfilled, for the body is now Christ!

Colossians 2:16-17

We too must be careful that we are not elevating ourselves over other believers that are not at the same point in their walk of faith as we are. God did not design the feasts as a way for Jesus’ followers to erect themselves over other believers. In America, our educational system has thwarted our mindsets by teaching us an unbiblical pyramid scheme, lowering some and elevating others based on their current theology of God. What do I mean by this? Let’s start by simplifying the definition of the word theology. Theology is a fancy word for a person’s belief system, or how they believe God works and moves in our world today. I would also like to point out here that no one on earth today has perfect theology, and those who believe they do are in grave danger of becoming like the Pharisees and the Sadducees (who added and subtracted from the Torah). The only person who has ever lived with perfect theology was Jesus Christ. In fact, in our own lives, our theology (or viewpoint) of God is always changing. As we read the Word, learning the context through the guidance of Holy Spirit, and hear the voice of the Godhead in our lives; our theology must transform.

It is also important to note that theology is realized in our mind/heart, which are a part of our soul. Trying to figure out God from a soulish place is like traveling on a round-about and never getting anywhere. Remember the meeting that took place between Jesus and the Pharisee Nicodemus in John 3:1-13? Nicodemus was a highly educated teacher of the law, and he came to Jesus seeking knowledge, but Jesus did something spectacular in their conversation that is key to understanding anything of God. Jesus did not offer Nicodemus knowledge, He offered him life.

Jesus answered, “I speak an eternal truth: Unless you are born of water and the Spirit, you will never enter God’s kingdom. For the natural realm only gives birth to things that are natural, but the spiritual realm gives birth to supernatural life!

John 3:5-6 TPT

One can understand how confused Nicodemus was, for he took everything at face value and couldn’t see a deeper meaning. Like Nicodemus, knowing God only through our soul cannot bring us into a place of intimacy with the Lord where we can explore the depths of God’s divine nature and His majesty. Many believe in the baptism of water but forget the baptism of fire. We need a baptism of fire through the Holy Spirit! Believers who deny the Holy Spirit perplex me. Living life without Holy Spirit is like attempting to turn on a lamp that is unplugged from the outlet. We live without power when we are not plugged into the power source of Holy Spirit! It is impossible to fulfill our God-given destinies without God’s power working through us. This baptism of Holy Spirit isn’t a onetime thing either, it is a continuous renewal that is offered to us to partake in. When we give room for Holy Spirit to habitat within us, instead of just a visitation, we enter deeper levels of intimacy with God. Intimacy with the King of the Universe must be our goal in this life because that alone is what transforms our hearts and minds to look more like Jesus.

By no means am I saying that theology is inconsequential and that we should throw out the baby with the bathwater. I yearn to see believers walking in humility, forbidding pride to have a place in their hearts that would cause them elevate themselves and their theology over other believers. There has been this battle in the American Church over who is right and who is wrong, and we have wasted valuable time arguing with one another over secondary issues. This elevation has caused the Church to neglect its God-given design to make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them to obey the law of love that Christ taught us to follow.

When we focus on the weeds in our brother’s/sister’s garden (or speck in their eye according to Jesus in Matthew 7:3), it causes us to neglect tending our own garden of our hearts and minds. A good gardener doesn’t tend their garden by only looking at someone else’s, right? We were not created to focus on other people’s theology! God designed us to focus on the perfect theology of Jesus. So, let God be God, and release the urge to control your brother’s/sister’s walk with God. It is not your job to shepherd all of God’s sheep. He gave each of us a portion. If you aren’t sure what your portion is, it’s time to seek the Lord for a response. He gave you a portion. It is your job as a follower of Christ to steward your portion and leave the rest up to the Good Shepherd. Many believers do not understand the way authority works in the Kingdom. If a person is believing false doctrine or teaching it, and you have no authority to correct them because they are not within your portion; leave it to God. Don’t take the bait of Satan! Taking his bait is a trick. There is always a hook involved with the enemy. The hook here will cause you to step out of God’s divine order, and that has some pretty serious consequences.

We are called to “work out our own salvation” according to Phillipians 2:12. This does not mean that we are to just do our own thing. It certainly does not mean that we can justify our disobedience or pet sins by saying, “I don’t see anything wrong with doing this,” when we know we are in error. Paul is calling believers to keep cultivating the work of Christ within them, serving Christ, and operating in the fear of the Lord instead of the fear of man.

My point is this: the cycles of life that God designed are but a shadow of what has been and is yet to be fulfilled through Jesus. Celebrating and learning about them adds richness to our walk with Christ. There is a blessing for those who allow God to transform their thinking from the ways of man to the ways of God. For Americans, we are living in a land that has polluted by pagan traditions and rituals (much like Israel was) that were designed by the enemy to cause a separation between us and knowing Yahweh. We have lost the firstfruits, fellowship, and intimacy with the Lord because of compromise. As believers we must choose between trust in God’s divine order or compromising with the enemy, and my prayer is that you will choose the former over the latter.