Sermons

Remembering What God Has Done (part 2)

11/20/16
- Joe Mandeville
Audio Written Summary Blog Post

There is power in testimony. When you are reading the Word, take in the testimonies you see on a personal basis. Galatians 5:22-23 says “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” God gave us Himself and in giving us Himself He gave us all of these things: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. We have all these character traits of God at work within us. For example, God is joy. He gives us Himself and therefore He gives us joy!

If you think the Christian life is boring, you are just doing it wrong. You cannot have a true relationship with God that is boring. He’s the most joyful person you will ever know. He is the most patient person you will ever know. You just have to know Him more! You won’t want to leave Him. In fact, the more you know Him, the more you want Him!

James 1:2 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” This doesn’t translate into “You know, you just have to understand joy…if it's linked to trials, joy is really not that good.” That’s incorrect thinking. Count it all joy! Graham Cooke describes joy as intensity of gladness that is bigger than our circumstances. Joy has to do with wonder and pleasure. God is for me. God is joy. God is present to help me. So it’s not, “You need to understand joy—it’s not really that great all the time.” On the contrary, you need to understand how good God is because His presence even turns trials into fullness of joy!

Remembering What God Has Done (part 1)

11/6/16
- Joe Mandeville
Audio Written Summary Blog Post
In Judges 6, we see that Gideon remembered (recalled the facts) about what God had done, but did not remember in a way that affected him. True remembrance actually transcends time and space—bringing the past to today. It is not vague recollection, but instead a bringing forward of history to present day. Gideon did not have a personal, visceral remembrance of God’s goodness. You can read God’s word to hear facts. You can also, however, read the Word of God and actually extract power by putting yourself in the story. You can experience with your imagination what it would be like to be so afraid that you were hiding in a winepress and then visited by someone (who you think may or may not be an angel). 
 
When you read what God has done in His Word, that is an encouragement to you! We can read the Word experientially. We can listen to testimony experientially. We can say “what you have, I want” when we see someone walking in the presence and power of God. And that is up to us to individually go after. “I am going to experience THAT!” “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Ps. 34:8) 
 
Gideon’s story is our story too. The testimony of the previous generation had made it through to Gideon in fact, but he needed to make it his own in order to trust God deeply. He started small, believed that the Lord was speaking, and partnered with God to the result of an incredible victory! As much as it is the responsibility of the younger generation to establish their own testimonies, Psalm 78 tells us not to hide our testimony but to tell the generation to come the praises of the Lord—to tell of God’s strength and wonderful works. 
 
When you see a good movie, you tell your friends about it. “Hey, you’ve got to check out this movie; it’s really good!” When you listen to a great band, hear a great song, or eat at a phenomenal restaurant, you tell others about it. We all are experiencing the goodness of God and there are people out there that literally don’t know. We have the opportunity to share our testimonies of His goodness. “This is what God has done in my life! You’ve got to see this because you can have it too!” Remember your testimony. Consider areas where you need to develop a testimony. Consider areas where you can share a testimony. Read the Word experientially. As others give testimonies, listen experientially. Establish your own testimonies with God—and help others establish theirs!

Commissioned! (part 4)

Boldness

10/16/16
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary Blog Post

The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you…” When you became a born-again believer God put a word in your mouth and—and power—is Jesus! We are to speak the word to all the people He sends us to! “Go into all the earth and preach the gospel!” 

This is why there is such a discrepancy between what Christians believe about the Great Commission and what they do: We don’t realize that there is actually opposition to DOING the Great Commission. There is exponentially more opposition to DOING than there is to believing the Great Commission. The enemy just wants you to nod your head during church service, but he doesn’t want you to move your feet on the pavement of the street. The darkness shall cover the earth.” (Isa. 60:2) But that darkness will not cover God’s people! We are to be lamps on stands, salt on food, and a bright shinning light! Arise and shine for your light has come! 

In Jn. 12:42-43 we read, “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” Many believers believe, but never confess. There’s a difference. 

Many believers believe, but never confess. Why? We need to realize that there is actually atmospheric, spiritual pressure over the earth. He is called the prince of the power of the air. That pressure is greater in some places than in others. The testimony of Jesus, your confession of Christ (in word and in power) will issue forth out of you when your internal pressure for Christ is greater than the atmospheric pressure against Him! This is why you feel bold for Christ in certain circumstances, but not others. For instance, if you come to a church where all the members believe in Jesus, and they are here to praise God and hear the Word of God, the atmospheric pressure against Christ in that environment is VERY low! It doesn’t take a lot of internal pressure from Christ for you to get to the point that you are praising God in this environment! 

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13) We absolutely want to get theology right, but theology cannot replace passion. You can know everything, but if you are not passionate for Jesus, you will do nothing. Think about a marriage. Passion is so important in a marriage. A marriage is not just principle. Passionate love will cause you to do what principle will never motivate you too. Believing is not enough—we must believe to the point of action!

Commissioned! (part 3)

"Come with Me"

10/2/16
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary Blog Post

It’s the most riveting thing in the world to follow God! In Matthew 4:19 Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” When you follow Jesus, He will make you a fisher of men. Your action verb is to FOLLOW. His action verb is to MAKE.

In Joshua 1:10-11 we read that “Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’” Get ready Agathos! God’s going somewhere and He wants us to get ready. Remember, God works on people; His focus of influence is individual. This is why we will all stand before God individually in front of His throne. Our church will come with Him if EACH person comes with Him. 

Peter’s life and his history of following Jesus provide an illustrative example. Following Christ always means stopping following something else. Peter chose Jesus. He could honestly tell Jesus that he had “left everything” to follow Christ. He forsook all. He left his nets. Nevertheless, Jesus said to Peter, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.’” (Mark 8:34) There was something going on in Peter’s heart to which Jesus was saying “I know you think you want to follow Me, but you want to follow your version of Me.”

In John 13:37, Peter asks Jesus “Lord, why can I not follow You?” If we follow Him, He will make us fishers of men, but Jesus says, “If you want to come after Me” you need to (1) deny yourself, (2) take up your cross, and (3) follow Me. You have to do a “denying” and a “taking up” before you can do a following. Eventually Peter’s shadow healed all it touched, but at this point Peter had not left this one idea about who the Messiah ought to be to him! 

In all of our genuineness, why can’t we follow Jesus sometimes? There are three hindrances that can exist in our hearts to keep us from actually following Jesus. These are blind spots. Peter was genuine, but he couldn’t follow Jesus because of a mindset. Peter had not denied his own ideas, taken up his cross, and actually followed the real Jesus. 

(1) The first hindrance is being given to the opinions of people. John 5:44 says, “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” If satan can’t control you, he will seek to control you through people.

(2) The second hindrance is riches. The Word of God is clear: “you cannot serve both God and Mammon.” Mammon is controlling a lot of believers. We want to be in the flow of realizing that God will supply for you supernaturally to create flexibility in order that you can accomplish His Great Commission.

(3) A third hindrance is self-preservation, or as Mark 4:18-19 calls it “the desire for other things.” You have to leave something in order to follow a new thing. If you will follow Christ, I can promise you what He will do: He will make you a fisher of men! But you cannot follow two things simultaneously: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.” (Mt. 6:24) We all want to serve God, so let’s remove any hindrances! 

Commissioned! (part 2)

The Natural Desire of Our New Nature

9/18/16
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary Blog Post
Bobby Conner has said there is a roar of revolution - a revolution of unction for function! This coming move will be about action. It was never the plan of God to establish the kingdom of God with mere words but with Christ-centered works. Not just mere doctrine but God inspired deeds. 
 
The Holy Spirit is again waiting for the Word of God to be released in this earth! (see Gen. 1:2-3) Initially, the Holy Spirit was partnering with the Word of God to make the earth. Then, Holy Spirit was partnering with the Word of God to bring Jesus to the earth! Now, He wants to bring the earth to Jesus! THIS is the pulse beat of the Holy Spirit. When Holy Spirit comes into your heart, He wants to bring the world to Jesus!  For example, in Acts 2, the first thing that happens after the Holy Spirit has His way with 120 believers is that thousands are saved! Why? Because the Holy Spirit came and He has one agenda! The Holy Spirit only responds to the Word of God (Jesus), and He was listening when Jesus gave the Great Commission! 
 
We have to understand we have a new nature with new desires. The old things that used to motivate you are gone and all things have been made new! When we talk about the Great Commission, we are not talking about something that you’re not. There is nothing more core to your new nature as a born-again believer than to bring the world to Christ - to prepare the Bride of Christ! 
 
Some of you are about to go through a “spiritual puberty.” When you go through a physical puberty, you find a drive that you didn’t have before. Some of you are about to have a spiritual, Great Commission drive that you’ve never had before. The desire for the Great Commission is so natural for your born again spirit that it is going to get to the point where you think “how could I not want to do this?” 
 
Proclaiming the gospel takes faith! If we put any of the pressure for being able preach the gospel on ourselves then apparently we don’t think it’s by faith. The Great Commission is not a will-powered mission. It is a faith-powered mission, and if we need faith to carry out the great commission then we need to be clear about how to get faith! The first thing we need to know is that actually, as believers, we have already all been given the FULL measure of faith. That said, we are not all walking in the full measure of faith yet. Allowing all of the faith that is within us to be released requires knowing His Word. Romans 10:17 says “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”
 
We want to approach the Great Commission God’s way - not just “the logical way.” “In the beginning was the Word.” If you want to start anything in your life, start with the Word! That’s what God did after all! John 1 also says that “all things were made through the Word” and “nothing that was made was made apart from the Word.” So how does God make things? By His Word! So if we want to operate like God, how do we make things? By His Word!
 
In John 6:28-29, the people were asking Jesus “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” The Great Commission is the work of God, correct? So what shall we now (as believers) do so that we may do the works of God - that we may do the Great Commission? Look at Jesus’ response “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him (THE WORD) whom He sent.” The work of God is to believe in the Word whom He has sent - and that is exactly how we are approaching the Great Commission!

Commissioned! (part 1)

No Compromise and No Condemnation

9/4/16
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary Blog Post

When something isn't operating according to its commission, we call it "out-of-commission." We don't want to be out-of-commission Christians. It's important to know what our job as believers is. So what is our job description as Christians–what is our commission?  According to the Gospels, our Great Commission is as outlined:

  • Go everywhere
  • Everywhere you go, preach the gospel to every creature
  • Make disciples of all the nations
  • Baptize those that believe in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
  • Teach them to observe all things that I (Jesus) have commanded you 
We also see that these signs should follow those who believe: 
  • Cast out demons
  • Speak with new tongues
  • Pick up serpents
  • If you drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt you
  • Lay hands on the sick and they will recover 
Our Christian Job Description (our Commission) has NOTHING to do with our identity in Christ! The Great Commission is not "the great commission for righteousness...to earn righteousness!" It is just the Christian job description! 
  • In wanting to be transformed concerning the commission, the first stage is denial/avoidance. Look at the Commission and don't let it depart from your eyes. Don't gloss over it. Don't average it out (aka justify yourself). Don't claim that it doesn't work because you've tried it half heartedly before with correspondingly poor results. 
  • The next stage can be condemnation. At this stage, remember it is important to not let your identity get wrapped up in your job description. To the pure all things are pure. If you are looking at the Commission and you think "I don't do any of this." OK, that feedback is PURE. There's nothing more to it. It's just data. It's just feedback. It's not your identity. Don't get your identity from your job; you get your identity from Christ, and then you help people. 
  • The third stage is to embrace the tension. You want to look squarely at the Commission and the things that will follow and feel the tension that says, "I don't see that" or "I don't want to do that." You stay in that tension and say "I know, my heart's going to change, but I am not letting it depart from my eyes until I see my heart change to line up with the Word because that is my standard!" Be careful not to throw a pity party for yourself and go back into condemnation in the midst of the tension. Understand that we are prone to use condemnation as a cop-out. You are not victimized because someone or the Word told you the truth! Stay in the tension–you can do it and you will be changed!
  • You begin to actually have faith rise up in your heart for the scripture you are keeping before your eyes! 
We are going to do the Great Commission with zero modification AND zero condemnation! Commissioned! It's a good thing. The Commission has NOTHING to do with your identity in Him. It has everything to do with a job that needs done. Keep it before your eyes and we're going to build from there. Amen! 
 

Divine Healing (part 3)

Jesus Perfectly Demonstrated God's Will for Healing

8/21/16
- Brad Ettore
Audio Written Summary Blog Post

Jesus demonstrated the will of God perfectly. Jesus’ works are the Father’s works. He came to show us the Father. So, let’s look at how Jesus revealed the will of the Father as it relates to healing. In Mathew 9:35. we read that Jesus healed every sickness and every disease among the people. Does that say to you that the Father might heal some people and not heal others? Of course not! The reason Jesus healed every single person in all the cities that He went to was because it must clearly be the will of the Father to heal every sickness and every disease! Sickness is a curse. God is not using sickness to teach you anything. God is not doing anything other than healing sickness! 

Sickness can be demonic in its source, but not always of course. In Mathew 12:22 we read “Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.” Jesus healed this man of blindness and muteness by casting the devil out. Likewise, God has given believers the authority over all the power of the enemy!
 
Healing wasn’t just for Jesus to minister. In Matthew 10, Jesus sends out the twelve apostles to heal the sick, cleanse lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons. And it wasn’t just the apostles! In Luke 10 Jesus sends out 70 others to heal the sick. Likewise in John 14:12 Jesus says those who believes in Him will do what He did and beyond. Finally in Mark 16:14-18 Jesus said “And these signs will follow those who believe.”  He said those signs will follow those who believe!
Some believers say “doesn’t the Word teach that we are to suffer for the sake of the gospel?” It sure does! But if you look at it and allow Scripture to interpret itself, the Greek word for suffering is used 65 times to mean “suffering” and only one time does it refer to sickness and in that case Jesus said it is a demon causing the suffering not God, and He cast him out. Sickness is not of God. The bible is very clear in the New Testament: when it is talking about suffering it is referring to trials, tribulation and persecution - never sickness, not even poverty. Those are considered a curse and God doesn’t put curses on His children. Difficulty, however, is not a curse. God will use situations to develop character in us.
 
Some will ask about Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” When we read these Old Testament verses we see that Paul was using Old Testament language in describing his “thorn in the flesh”.  In Joshua 23:12-13, Numbers 33:55, and Judges 2:1-3 “thorns in sides” refers to people who harass you. Paul mentioned his thorn in the flesh in 2 Corinthians 12:7. Paul was describing people who were harassing him in every town he went into. (2 Cor. 11) What Paul is saying is that satan was stirring up people to attack him everywhere he went. This was not a matter of God trying to keep him from being prideful; it was the devil keeping him from being exalted by buffeting him, and he called it a thorn in his side. 
 
How can we just know for certain that healing is the will of God? If you just need a couple of scriptures, look at Isaiah 53:4-6, where you can see very clearly that sin and sickness were paid for on the Cross. And then if you think that healing for sickness referred to in Isaiah 53 wasn’t real physical healing (that perhaps it was just spiritual healing), thank God we've got Mathew 8:17-18. In Matthew 8, Jesus casts out demons and He heals all the sick that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah in Isaiah 53. There is also 1Peter 2:24 which says, “Who bore our sins on his own body on the tree that we having died the sin might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.” God paid the price for you and I to be physically healed and walking in health our whole life. 
 
Finally, someone might say well then how are you supposed to die? Psalms tells you how. He takes away your breath. That’s how we’re supposed to go. When it’s time to go, He takes away your breath. Nowhere in Scripture can you find that you are supposed to die of cancer or diabetes or some other sickness. You are supposed to die well, healthy, and strong! And then you say “Lord, my work is done, I am out of here.” And He will say “OK, come be with Me!” And you check out nice and peacefully in the middle of your sleep. 

Divine Healing (part 2)

Understanding the Relationship between Sin and Sickness

8/7/16
- Brad Ettore
Audio Written Summary Blog Post

It is God’s will to heal everyone without exception and immediately. If you or I pray for someone and healing does not take place, the issue is always on the part of man – without exception. Healing is real. It is for today and we are seeing it happen at Agathos right now. Each believer is as capable of healing as any other, and God has commissioned all believers to pray for the sick.

It is imperative to know that God's will is to heal everyone all of the time or you will not reach any successful level in the area of healing. Jesus bore on the cross the things that God doesn’t want on you! According to Isaiah 53, Jesus “has borne our sicknesses and carried our diseases!” God doesn’t want sickness and disease on people because Jesus already bore it! When Jesus took care of the sin, He took care of the sickness. Sickness is the result of sin. In Luke 5:23-24, Jesus even demonstrates that he could forgive sin by healing sickness! Jesus instructively connected sin and sickness for us in that story. Sin is the source of all sickness - all of it!  
 
Not only is it God’s will to forgive you,He already has! And as a result, not only is it His will to heal you, He already has! Your healing is already done, that’s why 1 Pe. 2:24 says, “by His stripes you were healed.” Were – past tense. It is finished. Your healing is already done! This is why it is not even a question about God’s will to heal -- any more than it’s a question about God’s will to forgive! He’s already done it. Faith is what activates what God has already done. What does it take to get saved? Faith is what appropriates what Jesus did. Faith in His forgiveness causes the new birth. Faith in the fact that He’s already healed you causes the healing to take place. Amen!

Cultivating Growth by Staying in your Lane

7/31/16
- Bryan Mangerchine
Audio Blog Post

If we are not seeing fruit in our lives we have to look at our inputs - because input equals output. The Lord gave us very clear instructions on the inputs that lead to fruitful output. In Mark 4, Jesus says some of the seed falls in the wayside.  The wayside is Satan stealing the Word. Satan steals the Word by contradicting the Word or lying to us - by giving us different thoughts that are in opposition to the Word.  Jesus also warned about having a heart of rocky soil. If our hearts have rocky soil, we are going to hear the Word, we are going to be like, “yes I believe it! That is what I'm talking about, God is good!” And then we are going to go do very little with it.  You will not cultivate it and the result will be that trouble or persecution will cause it to wither away in your life. Jesus continued by warning about thorny soil. Thorny soil equals a lack of prioritization. Our prioritization of the Word has to outpace all of our other priorities if we want to see big fruit. Good soil on our hearts produces fruit - every time guaranteed.  And, so, if we are not producing fruit we can go back and look at what is it? 

- Do I have the Word coming into my heart? 
- Am I listening to the lies of the enemy? 
- Am I not really going after it and acting on the Word? 
- And, then, is it top priority for me or not?
 
For those of you who want measurably more without fail, seek the Word, make it a priority above all else.  Diligently cultivate, and out of a place of rest expect the harvest that is to come. Your fruitfulness is already provided for; it is just a matter of you living out this process in order for him to bring the sickle for you. You will get to your destination if you stay in your lane, keep your foot on the gas pedal, and don't get distracted.

Divine Healing (part 1)

Introduction

7/17/16
- Brad Ettore
Audio Written Summary Blog Post
When we look in the Bible, we see Jesus healing the sick. We read that and it gives us hope. Hope that God still desires to heal today. But, what we see around us doesn’t seem to support that idea. So the questions begin in our minds. “Am I misunderstanding what I’m reading or seeing in the Bible regarding healing?” In this teaching, the intent is to address and cover these issues. Here are two statements that will serve as the border for the rest of the teaching:
  1. It is God's will today (and will be forever) to heal spirit, soul, and bodily and to heal every single person without exception. In other words, it is God’s will to heal ALL who are sick WITHOUT EXCEPTION.
  2. Whenever someone is not healed, the issue (roadblock, hindrance) is ALWAYS on the part of man—never on the part of God.
Divine healing is real, it for God’s people, it’s alive and well today, and it is up to us to understand it, receive it, and then walk in it.  It is not up to God. He’s already made up His mind. He gave it to us, and it is not only for us. It is also a ministry to minister to other people. We just need to understand it, receive it, and then walk in it.  Amen!
 

Moving the Needle (part 3)

Promotion Through Pruning

7/3/16
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary Blog Post

“In theory only” is called religion. It’s form, no function.  It’s form, no fruit. Jesus hates that.  In John 10:37, Jesus said “if I don’t do the works of my Father, don’t believe me.” That’s the standard. The Holy Spirit is wanting to convict you of things in the Kingdom that you haven’t seen yet. But, if you are not bearing much fruit, the Father’s heart is to lift you up - not to cast you out! (Jn. 15:2) Fruitfulness is actually natural for a believer. Fruitfulness consists of both fruitful “works” (Eph. 2:10) and fruitful “ways” (Galatians 5). "Every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” There is only one reason God prunes you - that you would bear more fruit.  

Pruning looks like being transformed by His Word (Romans 12:2), being led like a sheep with a shepherd, or like being chastised (Heb. 12:11). Remember that pruning is progressive and makes you better equipped to bear fruit. We can trust God to prune us according the plans He has for us. The more we act, the more we grow, and the more we grow, the more we get pruned. The goal of pruning is not to avoid it, but to embrace it.

Moving the Needle (part 2)

The Value of Fruitfulness

6/19/16
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary Blog Post

When you expect more, you get more!  Jesus expected His relationship with His Father to make an impact in the lives of others, but a religious spirit tries to replace fruit with just words. 1 Cor. 4:20 says “for the Kingdom of God is not in word but in power!”

Those that are the most fruitful in the Kingdom of God know what the Word of God says, believe it, and practice it!  Wherever you are fine with fruitlessness is where the enemy will steal from you. We have to value fruitfulness.  Jesus said in Jn. 10:37 that if He didn’t do the works of the Father that we should not believe Him!  That’s the standard.’
 
But the pressure is not on us to bear fruit!  A self-righteous root will never bear kingdom fruit! God’s curse is on self-righteousness, but God’s blessing is on another root! Jesus said “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5) Jesus’ disciples bear much fruit! Fruitlessness in the Kingdom is caused by being your own root - trusting in yourself. Fruitfulness is caused by being in Christ!
 
What do you have faith rising for in your heart? Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) tells us that faith is a conviction—of things not yet seen. The Holy Spirit wants to convict you of the things you haven’t seen yet!  He wants to convict you that there’s more.  May our hunger become so thick that we cannot have it any other way.

Learning to Walk in God's Love (part 3)

Dealing with Unforgiveness and Offense

6/5/16
- Brad Ettore
Audio Written Summary Blog Post

As believers, we all know that we are supposed to walk in love, but are we loving others like Jesus loves us?  We may think that the love walk is hard. But when you start believing correctly the love walk is really, really easy. In fact, you will actually find that not walking in love is infinitely times harder than walking in love.

 
The first reason to walk in love is because your Father wants you to!  The second benefit to walking in love is that it is how we experience God’s fullness. Jn. 15:9-12 says that if you obey God’s commandment—to love one another as I have loved you—your joy will be FULL!
 
Loving people is not about feelings.  God says “Overcome evil with good!”  Every part of Christianity is about whether we are going to be moved by our feelings or by the Word of God.That is our choice at all times. When I fail in my Christian walk, I always fail for the same reason—I was moved by my feelings instead of the Word. When I am successful is when I make a decision to be moved by the Word irregardless of my feelings.  The whole reason our feelings even get involved is because we are still way too alive! God says we are to die to self! Someone has said “you will never be greatly used by God until you get your ‘I’ punched out.”
 
The greatest hindrance to loving people is unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is always triggered by offense.  Our Father doesn’t want us to harbor unforgiveness.  We need to know that unforgiveness is a toxic poison in the heart.  It will literally cause you to physically decay. It will cause you to mentally bog down. It is emotionally destructive.  We need to realize that ALL unforgiveness in the heart is demonic in nature. Unforgiveness is NOT of God.  Unforgiveness is you and I drinking poison—hoping that they will die. So, let’s find a better way to deal with it!
 
So, how do we walk in love and constant forgiveness towards everyone?
  1. By possessing correct theology (or in other words, thinking like God thinks).
  2. We must have faith in our God-likeness.
  3. We often have a hard time forgiving someone because we mix the concepts of forgiveness and reconciliation, but God does not say “be reconciled to everyone.” NO. He says “forgive everyone.”  Reconciliation takes both parties, forgiveness only requires you. “With everything that is within YOU, be at peace with all men.”
  4. You and I are not the judge of the earth. Your Father asks you to give to them what He already gave to you in a much bigger way. God is saying “I forgave you of a massive debt. I am asking you to do the same for them.” God is actually going to balance all the books at the end perfectly! We can release them to the only lawgiver that there is and no that He is perfect in His ways!

Moving the Needle (part 1)

Life and Life Abundantly: More Than Theory

5/29/16
- Peter DeWitt
Audio

Jesus came to give us life, and life abundantly. (Jn. 10:10)  But the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy.  The abundant life the Lord has for you is not in theory only!  When we are willing to know God in theory only, the enemy can steal from us in reality.  Jesus had no value for words without works (see Jn. 10:37).  Likewise, James had no value for faith without action.  In Luke 18, the blind man put action behind his faith when he cried out to Jesus.  The crowd tried to silence him, but he cried out all the more. Jesus recognized and responded to his faith: "what do you want Me to do for you?"  And that's the question for you today as well.  What do you want Him to do for you? What part of your walk with God do you want to promote from theory to reality?

Discipleship (part 10)

Being Known by God (Part 6)

5/15/16
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary Blog Post

Good students ask questions. We all have questions on our heart to ask God. The Lord today is saying “what do you want to know about?” Jesus said "Ask and it will be given to you … for whoever asks receives.” (Mt. 7:7-8) We need to go to God with our questions! Our experience as a student is determined by our initiative. If you sit in the back of the class, you cannot expect to have a front row experience with God! If you are not asking questions, you are not a student. Disciples are students. If you are not asking questions, you are not playing the role of disciple. In the New Covenant, you can go straight to God to ask Him questions for yourself! God wants to be the instructor in every area of your life! Be specific -phrase your questions to God in such a way that you can do something with His answers. Start asking Him questions about something - with the expectation of being changed by His answer. If you are willing to turn at the Lord’s direction, He will make His words known to you. (Prov. 1:23) Raise your hand (and your voice); He wants to make His secrets known to you! (Jer. 33:3) God does not want to just to puff up your heads without changing your life. God has prepared special revelation, special inventions, special innovations, special insight for you – with your name on it – in Heaven. Do you realize that you are God’s #1 choice to bring impact in certain areas of this world? When you are a friend of God, He tells you more! (Jn. 15:14-15) You are His friend if you do whatever He commands you. The Holy Spirit wants to teach us in every area of our lives! When you are obedient to the insight and direction He has already given you, He will give you more. Faithful with little … given much! Engage with God, inquire in His temple. Ask Him questions!

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