Beliefs

The following is a brief explanation of our beliefs. Click on each element to open it.

Scriptures:

The Bible, consisting of 66 books of canonized scripture, in its original language is the Holy, inspired, infallible Word of God. Every word is God-breathed (inspired) [2 Tim. 3:16].

Godhead:

God is One, but Triune, eternally existing in three Divine, individual yet indivisible, Persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. There is only ONE God not three gods, and not one person who took three modes, offices, or forms. (Isa. 44:6,8; 45:5; Gen. 1:26-27; 3:22; Matt. 3:17; 28:19; Luke 9:35; 2 Cor. 13:14). Such is “the mystery” of the Godhead (1 Tim. 3:16). God is the one and only Sovereign Ruler over all the universe.(Note: Our doctrine concerning the Godhead is Trinitarian, as opposed to the modalistic or unitarian view held by “Oneness” or “Jesus-Only” Pentecostals. Although we seek and promote unity with ALL believers in Christ, make no apologies, refuse to debate this controversial matter, and reject all divisiveness, we believe it does matter who we believe God is — i.e., three “manifestations,” “modalities,” “personalities,” or “persons” — and our desire is to be those “true worshipers” Jesus spoke of who worship God in Spirit and Truth. The primary reason this distinction is mentioned here, is in the interest of reducing the incidence of “misunderstanding” that has arisen with some who wish to relate with this ministry who presumed that because we espouse certain other Pentecostal and Charismatic beliefs that therefore we must identify with Oneness Pentecostalism. While we strongly believe that “sound doctrine” (1 Tim. 4:6; 2 Tim. 4:3; Tit. 1:9; 2:1) is critical we nevertheless also maintain that fellowship among believers must be founded upon the Agape-Love of God. The goal of God’s Love is acceptance and assimilation of all believers in the Body of Christ rather than the alienation and acrimony that has prevailed for so long, resulting in division instead of unity. If your personal convictions will not allow you to walk together with us in genuine fellowship of the Spirit, that is regrettable, however, just as we would not require you to compromise your convictions in order to have fellowship with us, we cannot compromise ours in order to have your approval, acceptance, and fellowship. In our view, Wisdom dictates that this is truly one topic on which it is best that we agree to disagree without being disagreeable and divisive. However, church leaders can also be assured that if they are of a different persuasion than ours on this matter, Dr. Lambert would never knowingly accept an invitation to minister at your church and allude to this matter at all during his visit, because doing so would be unethical, unless he was requested by the leadership to teach on the topic.)

Jesus Christ:

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God the Father. He is God the Son. He is the Word of God who was made flesh. He voluntarily laid aside His Holy and Sovereign estate to become a human-being by means of a miraculous immaculate conception through a virgin woman named Mary. He is Lord. He is the only Savior and Redeemer of mankind, which redemption He effected through His bodily death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven and appearance before God as the true High Priest.

Fall and Redemption of Man:

Through the sin of Adam and Eve, mankind, the human race, fell into utter spiritual death and corruption. All of mankind, every human, has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus Christ was manifested for the purpose of redeeming mankind and restoring mankind’s fellowship with God. This redemption, however, is individually appropriated by each person through personal faith and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Repentance:

Repentance is a specific act, yet an on-going, life-long process. It is a mandatory requisite of the Gospel, for forgiveness of sins, and for eternal salvation.

Salvation, Eternal Life, New Birth, Regeneration, Justification:

All these are bestowed by God as a free gift on the basis of undeserved, unearned favor (grace), through faith, unto everyone who will receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. All who do, receive forgiveness of sins, are restored to fellowship with God, are spiritually Born Again (regenerated) by the regenerative work of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and are saved from eternal damnation. (Note: We specifically reject the notion of “Universalism” or “Universal Redemption” as being wholly false and Biblically unsupportable.)

Sanctification:

Sanctification is a life-long, progressive work effected by the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, making him or her holy and consecrated unto God. It is a mandatory prerequisite in order to see the Lord in eternal fellowship.

Water Baptism:

Baptism in water is a commandment of the Lord for every believer as a testimony and symbol of his/her identification with Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection.

Baptism in the Holy Spirit:

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a free gift and promise of God available to all believers subsequent and adjunctive to the New Birth. The initial, but by no means only, evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a supernatural ability and unction to speak in language(s) not understood by the believer. The spirit of the believer is regenerated at the New Birth, and the entire person of the believer, spirit, soul, and body, is immersed, or baptized, in the Spirit in this transaction. [For more on this topic, please read Dr. Lambert’s book, Dunamis! Power From On High!]

Gifts of the Spirit:

The nine Gifts of the Spirit listed in First Corinthians 12:8-10 are all supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit for the common good of the intended recipients. They are distributed by the will of the Holy Spirit through believers who have been empowered by the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, who may manifest them through yieldedness and obedience. [For more on this topic, please read Dr. Lambert’s book, Dunamis! Power From On High!]

Fivefold Ministry Offices, Elders, & Deacons:

Christ Himself has bestowed upon certain men of His choosing the spiritual gifting of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers, whose function is to spiritually equip, edify, develop, mature, and activate believers unto effective service, to the end that through the effectual contribution of every believer, the corporate Body of Christ will be fully edified and developed. These five offices constitute the eldership of the Church, which is to say, Fivefold Ministers are all Elders. The role and responsibility of governing the Church on Earth has been delegated by Christ, the Head of the Church, to the men He has anointed and appointed unto these Fivefold Ministry offices, i.e., Elders. Apostles and Prophets are the foundational ministries of the Church and are to be operable within the Church throughout the Church Age. Scripturally, the office of Deacon is one of servitude unto appointed eldership for practical implementation of ministry operations and functions, not an office of governance. In a nutshell, Elders govern; Deacons serve.

Divine Healing and Health:

Divine healing and health are provided in the atonement of Christ for every believer. Divine healing of human infirmities is effected through the power of God, sometimes by means of the prayer of faith, and sometimes (albeit, not necessarily) by means of the laying on of hands by believers.

The Lord's Supper:

The periodic partaking of the Lord’s Supper is a non-ritualistic, joyous and thankful commemoration of the Lord’s death by which abundant spiritual benefits were supplied unto believers, as well as a celebration of our eternal communion with Him and our fellow-believers.

Resurrection of the Just, Rapture of the Church, Return of Christ:

The Bodily return of Christ is imminent. When the Church-Bride has become fully matured and prepared for eternal marriage unto Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ shall literally return in the clouds in the atmosphere above the Earth, at which time, “the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (these events being The Resurrection of the Just and The Rapture [gathering together] of the Church).” At the conclusion of the seven-year Great Tribulation, Christ shall Bodily return to the Earth, accompanied by the Saints (true believers), to establish the literal reign and government of His Kingdom upon the Earth.

Judgment of Lost, Hell, & Eternal Retribution:

Every human who physically dies in his/her sins without accepting Christ as Savior and Lord is without any further hope of salvation, is eternally separated from God, and will be forever banished to a literal Lake of Fire, i.e., Hell, for everlasting punishment.

Additional Declarations

In addition to the above tenets, we would also like to offer the following affirmations and denials to further help to explain our position on some teachings that have emerged in the Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal movements. We do this in an attempt to be totally forthright as to what we believe and to minimize the potential for misunderstandings and breaches of fellowship based on doctrine. We want it to be known that it is our desire to relate and fellowship with all genuine believers and legitimate Christ-centered ministries around the world, and that our relationship and fellowship be based solely on the Agape Love of God that has been shed abroad in our hearts through Christ, rather than on whether or not we believe precisely alike on all points of our doctrine. That, we believe, should be the primary premise of all relationships in the Body of Christ!

The Manifest Sons of God Theology

WE AFFIRM that “the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19), and that “all who are being led by the Spirit of God (obedient believers), these are sons of God” (Rom. 8:14) who presently possess “the first fruits of the Spirit” and “groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons” (Rom. 5:23), which will be fully realized when “the redemption of our body” (i.e., the eradication of the sin nature) takes place “at the last trump of God” when Christ returns to claim the true Church as His Eternal Bride —

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (thus we will not inherit these promises as mortal humans); nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be CHANGED — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet (this is when the full/final redemption will take place). For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible (sin nature eradicated), and we shall be CHANGED. For this corruptible must put on INCORRUPTION (eradication of sin nature), and this mortal must put on immortality. So WHEN this corruptible has put on incorruption (and not before), and this mortal has put on immortality, THEN shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’” (1 Cor. 15:52; NKJV)

WE DENY that we will experience the fullness of our inheritance as sons of God BEFORE Jesus returns. We further deny that believers in this age can attain unto a level of supposed “faith” that elevates them to Divine-like status or enables them to attain Divine qualities and abilities that resurrected believers will possess after the resurrection. Although with the redemption of the Cross of Christ believers have been granted “the firstfruits of the Spirit” (Rom. 8:23), and have “TASTED…the powers of the age to come” (Heb. 6:5), and have been blessed “with every spiritual blessing in Heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3), nevertheless we have not yet received the full inheritance we will receive when we receive our full redemption, which is the redemption of our bodies that will result from the eradication of the sin nature that will transpire at the resurrection and rapture of the Church.

The Latter Rain

WE AFFIRM the Church will experience the greatest outpouring of the Spirit in history before Jesus returns (Joel 2:28–32; Acts 2:14-21). This outpouring will result in a great harvest of souls and restoration and renewal of the Church so that it walks in godliness as declared in the Sermon on the Mount (Mat. 5–7). We also affirm the continued operation of the Fivefold Ministry and the Fivefold Ministry Model for the spiritual maturing, edifying, and equipping of the saints (Eph. 4:11–13). We also affirm the validity of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the resulting “charismata” or “Manifestations of the Spirit” delineated in First Corinthians 12.

WE DENY the distinctive deviant doctrines that cannot be reasonably and hermeneutically supported by Scripture that emerged during “The New Order of the Latter Rain Movement,” which began in 1948 in New Battlesford, Saskatchewan, Canada, and have been reintroduced and proliferated during the Charismatic Movement; e.g., Joel’s Army, Phinehas Priesthood, Manifested Sons of God, First Fruits, Amillenialism, Pentecostal Gnosticism, Modalism, Restoration of the Tabernacle of David, et al.

Dominion Theology (aka, "Kingdom Now Theology")

WE AFFIRM that God’s purpose is for Jesus to come back to fully establish His Kingdom Rule over all the Earth. After the Second Coming, the saints will rule the Earth under the leadership of Jesus Christ when He sets up His government on the Earth in the Millennial Reign (1 Cor. 6:2; Rev. 5:10; 20:3–6). We believe that believers in the present age are called to serve Jesus in politics, government, the arts and entertainment, educational systems, the business and entrepreneurial realms, and in every segment of society where righteousness and justice and the principles of the Kingdom need to be established. We do NOT have the assurance that ALL laws and governments will be changed until after the Second Coming of Jesus to establish His Millennial Kingdom.

WE DENY that the Kingdom Rule of Christ will be established prior to the return of Christ and the commencement of the Millennial Reign of Christ, and that the Word of God indicates or predicts that the Church will take over governments of the nations of the Earth before the return of Christ, or that there will be an en masse revision of laws and restructure of national governments prior to the return of Christ and the commencement of His Millennial Reign. We specifically deny the correctness of the “Seven Mountains” teaching, and identify it as heresy, in that the Holy Mountain in Scripture is ZION, and Zion is the Church (Joel 2:1, Mic. 4:1-2; Rev 14:1). Jesus is building the CHURCH, not the societal segments of the world. He didn’t come to restore, repair, or redeem the world, but He came to CALL OUT believers unto the EKKLESIA (the called out) He is building! (Mat. 16:18) The systems of the world are the work of the devil, “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). Jesus calls believers to the mountain of the Kingdom of God, not the kingdoms of this world ruled by Satan (Mat. 4:8). Jesus came to destroy that system, not redeem or repair it! Jesus will return to claim the CHURCH as His eternal Bride, not the world. The systems of the present world shall be destroyed by unquenchable fire and shall pass away to be replaced by “a new heaven and earth” (Rev. 21:1). The “Seven Mountain” teaching did not originate from the primary proponents of it, but rather originated with and were first published in the writings of Karl Marx (1818-1883), the father of Marxism, which he admits were given to him during the night through auto-handwriting by a “messenger” (evil spirit) that appeared to him in the wee-hours of the insomniacs sleepless nights. Marxism hypothesizes that there are “seven societal segments” that Marxists must infiltrate in order to indoctrinate people with the philosophies of Marxism in order to successfully gain ascendancy and authority in the society of any nation over time. We also deny both full and partial preterism often associated with Dominion Theology and upon which the “Seven Mountain” heresy is predicated.

The Tabernacle of David

WE AFFIRM the Holy Spirit is effecting a global emphasis on worship and intercession that petitions God to intervene in the affairs of men worldwide to bring forth the purposes and plans of God upon the Earth (Luke 18:7–8; Mat. 21:13; Rev. 5:8, 8:3–5, 22:17; Isa. 62:6–7; Joel 2:12–17 and 32). “The heavens are the heavens of the LORD, But the earth He has given to the sons of men” (Psa. 115:16), thus the prayer and petitions of God’s people grants Him “permission” to intervene in the affairs of men. As one Bible teacher said, “It’s as if God can do nothing unless and until somebody (a human) asks Him.” Jesus’ instruction to ask, seek, and knock is an affirmation of this concept concerning the necessity of prayer. The Biblical prediction of the restoration of the Tabernacle of David is typology that symbolizes the establishment of Kingdom Reign of Christ beginning with the commencement of His Millennial Reign. The context of Amos 9:11,12 speaks of the governmental rule of Christ over all the nations from His Kingdom Throne in Jerusalem. At the conclusion of the Jerusalem Council, James extrapolated from the Amos 9:11,12 the spiritual essence that following the Cross of Christ no requirement existed for Gentiles to convert to Judaism in order to enter the Kingdom and that the Kingdom was open to Gentiles and Jews alike (Acts 15:13–18).

WE DENY that the Word of God calls for or predicts the literal restoration of the “Tabernacle of David,” and that any such literal restoration would have any spiritual efficacy other than symbolic or typological in the endtime Church, and that it portrays, represents, or signifies a worldwide or international concerted prayer or saints movement that God will orchestrate in the endtime through which He will fulfill His purposes and plans on Earth. We also deny that the nascent so-called “prayer movement” that has emerged in some sects, primarily those affiliated or related in some way to the “Kansas City Prophetic Movement” of the 1980s is a genuine move or orchestration of the Spirit, but rather a man-made movement designed and propagated by streams espousing beliefs and teachings associated with “The New Order of the Latter Rain Movement.”

Hyper-Grace Heresy

WE AFFIRM believers are saved by grace through faith and even that (faith) is not of ourselves, but God: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).

WE DENY the Biblically unfounded, fallacious, and heretical assertions of hyper-grace proponents and adherents. We agree wholeheartedly with the counter-assertions and apologetic treatises of Dr. Michael Brown on this topic as represented in his book, Hyper-Grace: Exposing the Dangers of the Modern Grace Message, and strongly recommend all believers study it in this hour when Jesus prophesied that “even the elect” will be deceived. This matter may be the most egregiously dangerous spiritual issue in existence in this last hour before “the end of all things” comes. The stakes are the eternal destiny and destination of all humans. [More details to come soon.]

Postmodernism, Universalism, Emergent Reformation, Reformed Theology, Retrogressionism, Universal Church Ecumenicism

WE DENY the Biblically unfounded, fallacious, heretical, and apostate doctrines, teachings, assertions, methodologies, and practices posited by promulgators of Postmodernism, Universalism, Contemplative Spirituality, Contemplative Prayer, Spiritual Formation, Postmodern-Missiology, Postmodern-Mysticism, Reformed Theology, and Retrogressionism, One-Church Ecumenicism, Doctrinal Syncretism. [More detailed explanation to come.]