Bethel Deliverance International Church

Guest (Male): God said to Jesus, "Bring me all them sinners. Bring me every sinner." And Jesus said, "Here they are. Here they are. I got some dope heads, I got some winos, I got some alcoholics, I got some pot smokers, I got some warmongers, I got some people here who deserve hell." And God said, "Just bring them to me. I'm going to accept them through you."

And so every time Paul says, "Through Christ," you don't know how blessed you are. Every time you hear that statement, you ought to go off in praise. You ought to lose your Hallelujah mind because everything that we get from God, we get because of our relationship with Christ.

Bishop Eric A. Lambert, Jr.: Well, praise the Lord everyone and welcome to the Climbing Higher broadcast. You know, here at Bethel, our title is really our heart. We want to climb higher in the things of God. We want to get so close to God that, if you forgive my terminology, he gets irritated with every time he turns around. Here's somebody from Bethel in my presence, praising me and worshipping me. Here they come again.

And you know what? They don't want anything. They just want to sit in my presence and praise me for who I am. That's the mentality we have here at Bethel. I believe with all of my heart that God has a divine purpose for all of his children. I don't necessarily think that that purpose is ministry-related in every sense of the word.

Sometimes you just may have the purpose of helping someone who's down-trodden, of breathing life into someone's desperate situation. Whatever that purpose is, you ought to seek to fulfill it. Now, with discovering your purpose and understanding your purpose and staying with your purpose, we're going to present this message to you today using the letter to the Colossian Christians.

If you understand anything about the letter to the Colossians, Paul tries to get them away from being held captive by the culture that they were in and learning how to fulfill the purpose of every believer, which is to seek the things of God. That's right. He says, "Since you are risen with Christ," in chapter three, "seek those things which are above where Christ sits on the right hand of God."

And so today you hear a whole lot of discovering your purpose and usually it's connected to ministry and ministerial titles. But Paul tells the Colossian Christian that your purpose is to seek Jesus and then to carry out the Great Commandment of sharing that knowledge about Jesus to everyone you encounter. So listen to the message today and I'll be back at the close of the broadcast to encourage you just a little bit more. God bless you.

We have allowed the culture to change us. Jesus said, "You're supposed to be the light of the world, the salt of the earth. You are supposed to impact the world." In the first century, those few Christians impacted their whole world. They influenced an entire government, even were beneficial to the Kingdom of God till God could pull down that government.

We can't even touch ours. We've become so much a part of what we're called out of that the world can't tell the difference anymore. We look like what they are and we tell them to come to our church. We tell them, "Come go to church with me while I'm at the party drinking." Why? Well, it's obvious that Paul teaches nobody should spoil us.

To spoil was the important stuff, the stuff of significance that was left after the battle. So you would go in and spoil that nation by taking away whatever they ran away and left. So he's saying, "Don't let the devil spoil you. Don't run away and leave the things of God." He says, "After the tradition of men and after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ."

Now Paul hits the nail on the head. Their problem was not religion. Their problem was relationship. They could not connect with Christ. There was something in the way. Maybe it's ministry for you. Maybe it's church position. Maybe it's an amusement level of discomfort with your Christian life that you feel hypocritical about it.

You don't really want to be a Christian. You just don't want to go to hell. And there are people who will come and publicly give themselves to the gospel call, but inside they really don't want to die to the things of the world. They constantly feed that particular desire. They feed it all the time through TV, through radio, through various forms of entertainment and amusement.

Why is that? Because our culture is pushing that for us. The culture does not encourage cognitive thought. It encourages amusement. And when you are in amusement, it means you're not thinking. To muse means to think. With the prefix "a," it means no. So it's no thinking. The more you're amused, the less you think. Think about it.

You get on a roller coaster. The roller coaster is traveling on about a quarter to three-eighths of an inch of steel, going 60, 70 miles an hour. And the thing was built by the person who was the lowest bidder and you're on there screaming with your hands in the air. It could just roll right off the track because somebody forgot to put a rivet in it. You're not thinking. You're amused.

So Paul says, "We are complete in Christ." But Satan says, "I'm not going to let you know it." I want you to hear this, that Satan only fights what's been done in you. He never fights what's going to be done. Because what's going to be done, you're not in it. So what's the point in fighting you? He only fights what's been done to get you to doubt it.

So Paul says here, "In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead in a body and you are complete in him." So how do you go to a person and say, "You complete me"? Talk amongst yourselves. You ever tell your spouse, "Baby, I'm so glad you're in my life. You complete me"? I understand the psychology behind the statement. It's just a flattering way of telling a person they mean a great deal to you and they make you happy.

But no one can complete you but Christ because that fleshly person that you say completes you can walk away from you tomorrow. Then what's happening? You're a half a person again? Now watch what he says in verse 15 of chapter two. Again, look at the audience. What are they struggling with? Their spiritual position. It is being weakened by cultural pressure, just like now.

Solomon said there's nothing new under the sun and our positions are being weakened by cultural pulls and we can't break free. I was studying something last week that I found quite interesting. I was searching out more about the word training. Now, the Bible says—again, this is where Pentecostal theology is so much of a problem—the Bible says, "Train up a child in the way they should go and when they're old, they will not depart."

Now, we all know that the Bible doesn't lie. We all know every word of God is true. So what Pentecostals did was they created a B statement. The A statement was, "Train up your child in the way they should go and when they're old, they will not depart." So they created a B statement that says they may stray, but they'll come back. That's not what the Bible says.

The Bible does not make any provision for the failure in a child. The Bible says, "Train them and they will not depart." But no one asks what does training mean. You thought it meant teaching. No. Training and teaching are two different things. Teaching is the importation of knowledge that gets into the learning centers of the brain that cause you to remember facts.

I've been studying training. When Solomon writes this, he's familiar with the training motif. When an axeman or a bowman wanted to train their equipment for permanent usage, they would get the wood while it was green, still having moisture in it because it is pliable. You can't train a piece of dry red oak because when you try to bend it, it breaks.

The Bible says don't provoke your children. That means don't try to break them. You blew your chance. You only get five years to train your child. That's when they're bendable. You don't train them at 16, you beat them. That's to help them understand consequences. But you only train them from about zero to five, six, and seven.

After that, they're pretty much done. So Solomon understood. Let's just take the bowman for example. He would go over and get us some wood from a tree that we would call a birch tree. A light color wood has a lot of moisture in it and it has a bark that holds the moisture in. He would get that piece, snap it off the tree, the main branch, and he would put a rope on each end, strip the bark away, and then tie it to the shape he wanted his bow to be.

He would put a knot in the string and put a rock right in the middle of the wood so that the weight would hold that bow in the position for it to be trained. As it dried out, all of the wetness, all of the stuff inside was being drained under the pressure of the rock and the rope. So point number one is training is never comfortable.

And the trainer can't have any compassion for the trainee. When that physical therapist was bending my knee to test my range of motion, he said, "Let me know when it hurts." And I, stupid me, thought that he would stop when I let him know. He pushed it again. I was determined he wasn't going to make me yell. He pushed it back. He said, "Where is it?" He said, "128."

Now, what he did not see was while I was saying that, my right hand had become a Black Panther and as sure as God sits on a jasmine throne, had he pushed it more, I would have figured a way to say, "Auh!" But he stopped pushing. And he said, "Now I want you to push to me while I hold it here." So the final three or four degrees that I needed didn't come from him.

It came from me. God is saying, "I did everything I can do. I've done everything I can do for you. The final part for you to get where you want to be has to come from you." So I had to scoot myself up while he was holding my foot so it wouldn't move and I got two or three more degrees. He said, "That's it. You're at 131." I was like, "Whoa."

But I couldn't blame him. I was pushing. And that's what Paul is saying to the Colossians. The outside world doesn't determine your depth with God. You do. How far do you want to go? How long do you want to stay on a walker? How long do you want to stay on a cane? How long do you want to stay incapacitated?

How long do you want to be dry in your worship? How long do you want to go around and not feel the presence of God? How much are you willing to put into this so that God can get the maximum out of you? Now watch what he does. This is good. He says down in verse 20, he says, "Wherefore if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments or the elements of the world, if you are dead in Christ," he said, "then why are you subject to its ordinances?

Why do you feel pressure to buy jelly beans on Resurrection Day? Why do you feel it necessary to get your children a Halloween costume? Why do you feel it necessary to put up a tree and lights and buy all types of gifts that nobody wants because the culture says it's Christmas?" Why do you have to go on Facebook and take pictures of the meals you had in Mexico and send it back to us with you hanging off the boat?

Why is that necessary, child of God? Why is your identity so connected with Facebook? Why is it so connected with X? Why is it so connected with all of these other things that everybody has to know your business? "I just got my hair done. Look at this." Why? Did you get your hair done for everybody else or did you get it done for you?

I tell you one thing you'll never see on Facebook. If you hit the lotto, you ain't telling nobody. You got $200 million? "I ain't telling nobody, they're going to be asking me for money in church." But everything else goes on. Why are you so insecure in your person that you want everybody to know everything about you?

So Paul says, "Why are you living as though you are subject to the ordinances of the world? Why has the culture made you so uncomfortable with who God made you? You are the righteousness of God through Christ." I thought about this. God's people don't have the slightest idea of what it means for God to accept you through Christ. Don't even know.

Because most people just get you saved, don't even let you know. If you notice, there's a phrase that comes from the Apostle Paul. It's just two words: in Christ. That's all it is and it's so revolutionary. Now, I'll show you this because I thought how do I convey this to the people because they don't listen to me. The Holy Spirit just put some stuff in my head.

Y'all know how I feel about Miles. I talk about him all the time. I've known him forever and he's just a jewel to be with. If you come to Bethel and you are depressed, ask the usher to seat you where you can see Miles. I believe that's part of his ministry. I believe God said to Miles, "You just going to be an encourager. So just get used to it. You ain't allowed to have no bad times."

And I never known him to have a bad time. I remember he was having a physical thing going through in his foot. He never talked about it. He would say, "Yeah, such and such and such, but praise God!" I wanted to hurt for him. Now, because of my relationship with him, let's say for example I say I need a brother to do such and such and it's a very crucial job and we're going to pay you well.

Somebody goes to Miles and they say, "Miles, will you let Pastor Lambert know I can handle this?" And Miles said, "Okay, I know you. I'll take care of it for you." And then Miles brings your name to me. You're going to get hired because you're getting hired through Christ. I don't see you. I don't even know you, but he knows you.

That's what God did. God said to Jesus, "Bring me all them sinners. Bring me every sinner." And Jesus said, "Here they are. Here they are. I got some dope heads, I got some winos, I got some alcoholics, I got some pot smokers, I got some warmongers, I got some people here who deserve hell." And God said, "Just bring them to me. I'm going to accept them through you."

And so every time Paul says, "Through Christ," you don't know how blessed you are. Every time you hear that statement, you ought to go off in praise. You ought to lose your Hallelujah mind because everything that we get from God, we get because of our relationship with Christ. Glory to God! God looked at us and said, "You cannot meet my criteria. You aren't good enough.

But because you're in Christ, because he died for you, because he saved you, because he reached out to you, I'm going to accept you because you're in Christ." So you ought to praise God because you're in Christ. You ought to glorify God because you're in Christ. Hallelujah! So listen what Paul says. He said, "Don't you let anybody judge you because you don't keep their holidays.

Don't you let anybody put you down because your expression to God is yours and his alone." And they're telling you, "Why don't you do so and so?" Why? This is how me and Jesus, we got a thing. And the world is looking at you and they're like, "What's wrong with you?" I told you before I was in the market and the Spirit of God walked down the aisle with me.

And I could feel it. I knew what was coming and the aisle was full of people. And I'm like, "Jesus, please, please, Lord, have mercy on me. I'm in a Japhethite store. I'm not at ShopRite. I'm in a Japhethite store. These people are going to have me locked up." Holy Spirit said, "Uh-uh, not today, boy." And I said, "Okay, well then just let me go to frozen foods so I can open up the door."

And I stuck my head in the door and I said, "Glory!" And there's a lady about 30 feet up the aisle from me, it's a long aisle, big store. And she heard the something come out the thing and she looked down. And when she looked down, I was in the middle of "Thank you, Jesus!" See, God doesn't care about your surroundings.

When he hits you, he hits you. And if you aren't ashamed of him, you go along with the hit because you don't know. That praise might be what you need to get through the next battle that's coming towards you. So you better go on and praise him. Oh, yeah.

Now Paul tells us, he tells us that the enemy has been defeated, that Jesus has conquered him once and for all. And so you and I must now dedicate ourselves to seeking the things of the Lord. In fact, the commands that he gives us in chapter three of the letter to the Colossians in the first three verses have to do with set your affections on things above where Christ sits on the right hand of God.

Seek those things that come from the Kingdom of God and then keep yourself in the love of God. So we see that Paul tells us our purpose is Christ-centered, Christ-oriented, and dedicated to the furtherance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't let the life of the Colossian at the beginning where they were held captive by the culture—he even tells them, "Don't even worry about holy days and holidays," but stay focused on your walk with God.

That's your purpose. Your purpose is to connect with Christ. That's why God sent Jesus. Jesus is the one who pulls us to God. Jesus is the one who died in our place and you can never over-use Christ. He is to be in all, through all, and for all. In fact, Paul says by him all things consist.

And so I want to leave you with this thought: that once you understand your purpose in God, strip yourself of everything else and begin to focus on how to get closer to Jesus. When you get closer to Jesus, you know what's going to happen? You remember over in the book of Exodus where Moses gets to the point where he says to God, "Show me your glory."

And God said, "I can't do that because I'm so awesome that if I let you see me in my full glory, it would just suck all the life out of you because my glory is so powerful." But then he said, "There's a place by me and you can go stand on the rock." And Paul tries to let us know that the rock is Jesus. And if you want to see God, take a good look at Jesus.

Jesus said, "The Father and I are one." I love you with the love of God. I thank you for praying for us. I thank you for communicating with us as often as you do. We love you and we pray that you will continue to walk in the fulfillment of your purpose. God bless you.

Guest (Male): Are you seeking a life filled with meaning and purpose in your relationship with God? Yet you find yourself feeling unfulfilled by your experiences so far? Join Bishop Lambert as he leads us on a journey to satisfy our desire for a meaningful and purposeful life through a deeper connection with God.

With clear action steps outlined in this book, you'll feel inspired to spend more time with the Lord and align your life with his plan. Order "Chasing the Heart of God."

Guest (Female): What I got from this book is his heart, his heart towards God. And the way he wrote it was in such simple explanation and for someone who is working directly with those coming to Christ, I saw this book as a manifesto for discipleship.

Guest (Male): I think it's really good for discipleship and just truly following God and a desire to know him on a more intimate level.

Guest (Female): I appreciate learning about the word of God. I am so grateful for a pastor who is chasing the heart of God and who encourages his flock to chase the heart of God as well.

Guest (Male): Visit ericlambertministries.org or call 800-550-3284 to get this inspiring book today. Thank you for tuning in to Climbing Higher with Bishop Eric A. Lambert, Jr. of Wyncote, Pennsylvania. We pray that you are encouraged to grow in your faith as you listen to today's message.

If you enjoyed today's program, feel free to order the entire message by calling 800-550-3284 and request the item number and sermon shown on the screen. Climbing Higher is a production of Bethel Deliverance International Church of Wyncote, Pennsylvania, located right outside of Philadelphia.

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