Sermons

Christmas Eve Service

12/24/17
- Agathos kids
Audio

The Gift of God that's Within You (part 7)

Touched by His Love (Part 4)

12/17/17
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary
Authority is positional. As a believer, you are in Christ! That means that you are in His authority! You have the signet ring! When you pray and say “in Jesus’ Name” you are NOT using vain repetition as the heathens do. You are not heard because of many words. “IN JESUS’ NAME” is a statement of KNOWN AUTHORITY. 
 
Colossians 3:1-3 says “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” We need to set our minds on things above! How can you set your mind on things above? Read the Word! Recite a memory verse! Speak about the things of God with another believer! Worship God! Or you can break out your secret weapon for heavenly-mindedness … praying in the Spirit - praying in tongues!
 
Praying in tongues is a major way to keep yourself in the Love of God. Jude 20-21 “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” Notice that you are called “beloved.” You are not just loved by God - your identity has become that of one who IS LOVED … “beloved.” When you pray in the Holy Spirit we actually build ourselves up in our most holy faith. Every time you pray in tongues, it is evidence of the love that God has bestowed up on you - it’s evidence of your perfect acceptance before God. When you pray in tongues you are therefore inherently keeping yourself in the love of God!  In fact, praying in the Spirit is the 7th piece of the armor of God!  (Eph. 6:18)
 
If you can start your day with God, it’s powerful. One way that you can start with God - even before you open up your Bible, even before you get before Him in prayer, or anything else  - you can have a declaration in the morning - a specific verse that you are declaring to shape your thinking before you let your mind go to anything else. Don’t turn to the news or open up Facebook or your email. Wake up and declare your destiny according to His Word and Will for your life!
 
Let’s look a bit further at 2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”  And John 14:23 says “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” As we experience the grace of the Lord Jesus, it invites us into the love of the Father which as we encounter His love for us and pleasure in us, draws us deeper into communion with the Holy Spirit!  Holy Spirit is in us. The Father and the Son are knocking on the door of your heart and they want to come in and dine with you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. 
 
Hope actually comes from knowing, experiencing, and responding to God’s love. (1 Cor. 2:9 and Rom. 5:5) Hope does not disappoint when it is the sort of hope that is coming from a place from the love of God being shed abroad in your heart. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. So we see that love is actually driving hope and hope is the impetus for faith. Put together, we see that faith is actually a tag-along with His love! And here’s one more! 1 Cor. 13:13 “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Why? Because you cannot have hope or faith from God without His love! Love truly is the greatest because it releases hope, which leads to faith!
 
What did Jesus do after He got a revelation of the Father’s love in Matthew 3:16-17? He went and fasted in the wilderness. The idea of doing a corporate fast in the new year has been growing in my heart over the past month or so. It’s a voluntary corporate fast. No requirements, OK? It will be corporate fast if at least one other person does it with me. With this fast, you should do what you have faith for. Anything done apart from faith is sin. Faith does come by hearing and hearing by the Word of God so I am going to teach from the Word of God on fasting!  
 

The Gift of God that's Within You (part 6)

Touched by His Love (Part 3)

12/3/17
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary

Do not feel bad having to work on your love relationship with God. If we think that love is just an emotion, we won’t work at it. But, if we think that love HAS emotions associated with it - that when we do the things love does, emotions follow which are a blessing - than we will work at doing the things that love does. Remember that the Ephesian church had departed from their first love and Christ instructed them to “do the first works.” If we do the things that love does in our relationship with God - and we stick at that - we will experience all the beauty that comes with it.  

We can meditate not only in the quantity of God’s love, but also in the qualities of His love! The magnitude of God’s love includes everything up to and including the value of His very own Son! That’s how GREAT a love with which He loved us! While that’s a great meditation, if you want to understand and have more of a revelation of God’s love, you have to go past just thinking about quantity and step into a place of also thinking about the qualities of God’s love.
 
Let’s look at Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Now, if these are the fruit of the Spirit, that means that when you sow the seed of God (which is the Word of God) these are the things that are naturally produced in your life. That means that these characteristics are inherent to the very DNA of God! The fruit of the Spirit are actually an opportunity to meditate on who God is to you! In other words, God IS love, joy, peace, patience, kindness … these are actually describing God! Now, watch this … what is the first fruit of the Spirit? Love. Therefore all the other fruit of the Spirit come through the avenue of love. When you have love, it gives access to the rest.
 
God’s love is actually filled with joy. God’s love is totally rooted in a covenant of peace with you. Then you find out that His love is patient toward you. God’s kindness toward us starts with His patience toward us. When you see how patient and kind He is with us, it becomes clear that He has only goodness for us!  And how can He help but be faithful toward you when His intentions toward you are ONLY good?” His love lacks no gentleness. Lack of gentleness comes from a desire to control. God’s love, by nature, is self-controlled, which means He is NOT controlling you. 
 
You can do the same thing with 1 Corinthians 13. We know that “love is from God, God is love, and we love because He first loved us …” (1 Jn 4:7,8,19) So, when we look at 1 Corinthians 13, we see that love doesn’t behave rudely and therefore you can say “God does not behave rudely toward me.” We also see that His Love does not envy, is not puffed up, and does not parade itself. 
 
There are opportunities to meditate not just in the quantity of God’s love, but also the qualities of God’s love. You are invited to explore His love. There is so much more to discover and experience!

The Gift of God that's Within You (part 5)

Touched by His Love (Part 2)

11/19/17
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary

You only prosper in the Kingdom of God by receiving. Humility is how we receive. There’s a place of humility in the Lord that’s available to all of us that is actually the place of promotion. When you get in humility, it magnetically attracts / draws in the grace. When you take upon the yoke of Christ the issues of the soul that we so often experience fly off because we stepped into humility. 

The love of God is one of the toughest things to teach because most Christians KNOW ABOUT the love of God but not nearly as many have ENCOUNTERED the love of God. God so LOVED the world that He GAVE … In other words, God’s GRACE is always propelled by His LOVE! When you encounter His provision, know that you are encountering an expression of His love!
 
Every time you find you are looking outside of yourself for something, it is a mile maker and a signpost at which God is saying “turn off here, turn into My love, turn into My grace, because I want to provide that need that you have.” Likewise if don’t have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control abounding in our life in such a way that when we are squeezed that’s what comes out it’s a signal and God is saying “let more of My love into your heart so that more of My fullness would be coming out.” Notice that the first fruit of the Spirit is love. You need to receive His love in order for the rest of the fruits to fully develop!
 
The single greatest tactic of the enemy to keep you from walking in His love is condemnation. When accusation is believed or received, it turns into condemnation - and condemnation always leads to separation. As a believer, you have been made righteous in Christ. We have to fight condemnation. Here’s a hint … if you have the same condemning thought come all the time. Ask God “why?”When you’ve invited a guest who you now realize is NOT WANTED, what do you have to do? You have to dis-invite them! This sounds so simple you might not realize how powerful it is …You need to command demonic spirits that you’ve entertained in your thoughts to LEAVE in the name (authority) of Jesus. Confront it head on and command it to go so that you don’t even have to slam that door any more. Cast it out formally! “This time I am not only going to shut the door in your face, but I command you to TAKE ME OFF YOUR LIST - you’ve got NO PART of me!”
 
David asked for 2 types of instruction from God … one was to teach him God’s TRUTH and the other was to show him God’s WAYS. 93% of human communication is non-verbal. We are made in His image. Is it possible that 93% of how He is speaking to you is not with words? God’s love is not only a theological concept … it is an encounter! Truth AND ways.  You can hear the Father’s heart for you - not just His words. When we think that we can only hear His words, we will only experience a small portion of His love. We will know love in theory, but we won’t know the heart behind it. When your ear is close to His heart you will actually hear more of His words and you will hear more of His words more accurately. Even God’s hard words are wrapped in LOVE!

The Gift of God that's Within You (part 4)

Touched by His Love

11/5/17
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary

We are going to start to burn in our hearts with His love! Georgian Banov recently said the Christian life is not THINK … it’s DRINK! Peter recently had an encounter in which he was overwhelmed by God’s love. After this experience, he realized he had known the grace of God and who he was in Christ, but NOW he knew the HEART BEHIND THAT GRACE!

Are you “vitamin L” deficient? Let’s consider some litmus tests. Be humble. Ephesians 3:19 shows us that if you are not filled with all the fullness of God yet, that means you are not filled with His love yet. Likewise, 1 John 2:15-16 shows us that if you find an area of your life that has the lust of the flesh, the list of the eyes, and/or the pride of life (overall the love of the world) it highlights to you an area where He has a new revelation / deeper revelation of His love for you. 
 
The greatest ploy of the enemy to keep believers from receiving God’s love is to function as the accuser of the brethren. Accusation, when believed, becomes condemnation. Condemnation produces separation. If you are experiencing separation in your heart form the love of Christ - any sense of distance - it is not on His end. 
 
You can short circuit condemnation with Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord.”
 
What if your level of encounter with His love went way up in your time in the Word? What if your level of encounter with His love went way up in your time in prayer? Humble your heart and say “God I need more of your love.” His grace will flood into every place of humility.
 

The Gift of God that's Within You (part 3)

What I have I give to you

10/15/17
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary

“And in that day you will request as a favor nothing of Me. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you demand the Father as something due to you in My name He will give you. Until now you have demanded  nothing as something due to you in My name. Demand, and you will receive, that your joy may be full … In that day you will demand as something due to you in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall ask the Father as a favor for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.” (Jn. 16:23-27)

That’s a different sort of asking! Power and authority is different than what we often think of as faith One is a request to the Son. The other is realizing you are a Son! In Acts 3, Peter said “but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 
 
The question is do you think you have something to give? We’re not just talking about truths. We’re not just talking about “oh yes, I will pray for you.” Do you have the Spirit of the Living God abiding in you and residing upon you such that when you see someone like the beggar that you say “what I have (what I am aware of carrying) I give to you now - rise up and walk!”
 
YOU RECEIVED impartation last main service and NOW we are released as ones who impart the Kingdom of God into every area of society. We are commissioned as ones who do not only have truths, but also are cognoscente of Who is with us and upon us - Who we can each impart to others!

The Gift of God that's Within You (part 2)

Activating God's Fire through Impartation!

10/1/17
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary

We already have been, but more than ever before, the people of Agathos are going to be doing the works of God WITH POWER. God spoke to Peter that this is a season of “Activation!” And that He wants to activate “My fire!” through the “laying on of hands!” 

The gift of God that was in Timothy was in him through the laying on of Paul’s hands. (2 Tim. 1:6) Hebrews 6:1-3 also makes it clear that “laying on of hands” is one of the 5 elementary principles of Christ. Impartation can be for blessing, baptism in the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, leadership transfer, and releasing healing. The impartation is through us but ultimately from God. Children qualify (Jesus laid hands on them to bless them), and God gives us what we are ready for. 
 
The kingdom of God is by faith AND impartation can accelerate your trajectory in the kingdom! Listen to this message to hear two testimonies of the amazing impact impartation has had in just about a month’s time. 
 
We see from the start (with Adam and Eve) that God did not just speak to man. He laid His hands on man! God is saying “until you’ve been touched by Me, you will not see your destiny!” God can raise up children for Abraham from the stones. God can raise up ANYONE that He can touch! 
 
This is beyond our intellect. He wants to activate HIS FIRE. Fire falls on sacrifice! Romans 12:1 says we should present ourselves a living sacrifice. Fire falls on sacrifice! Peter had his own zeal and denied the Lord 3 times before the rooster crowed twice. The fire fell on Peter and he comes out of hiding and preaches to thousands of people from whom he had previously been hiding! Jesus told us to be a lamp on top of a stand! We are supposed to be a lamp on a stand and they did NOT have incandescent bulbs! What was on top of that light? Fire!!!! Fire fire fire! You may have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, but fire is supposed to come with it! Receive God’s fire today!

The Gift of God that's Within You (part 1)

Introduction: Power, Love, & a Sound Mind

9/17/17
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary

Not everything in the Kingdom of God is first intellectualized and then acted upon. A lot in the Kingdom of God is EXPERIENCED and THEN understood! God is saying “if you will let me go outside your intellectual box, I will take you into places that otherwise you’d limit Me from taking you.”

Peter’s been touched by God more powerfully in the last couple of weeks than he ever have been in his entire life - including having the most profound encounters with the love of God that he has ever had. Being “slain in the Spirit” is pretty new to Peter. While it had happened a couple times before when he was praying for people, in the last month it has happened about 25-30 times when he prayed for people. He knows there is something different happening when he prays for people now - a new normal. Each member of Agathos is going to start flowing in the same power because you receive the grace on a minister’s life when you honor that ministry. So, we need to have spotters when people pray.
 
Jesus told the Sadducees that they do “err” - knowing neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. “For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” God has given us a Spirit. It is not a spirit of fear, but of power! If you want to operate in power according to God’s Holy Spirit, you need to operate in two other things as well - love and a sound mind. The Scriptures and the Spirit cannot be separated!
 
There is NEVER any shame in someone being demonized (in other words, oppressed in some way by a demon). The only shame would be them not wanting to be set free. The truth we know will set us free, but sometimes God appoints a time to deliver us from lenses and triggers that have held us back from total freedom. Praise God we can partner with Him for each of His children’s total freedom! It’s here - we are going to minister in more power than ever before!

Valuing What God Values (part 11)

God's Word about Homosexuality (part 3)

9/3/17
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary

You will release power into your prayer life if you believe in the gospel. The Gospel is summed up in one word: receive. The entire Old Covenant is summed up in one word: achieve. Jesus achieved it all so that we can receive it all … and that’s all we’re doing when praying for people - receiving what Jesus achieved!

Grace people take NO PRIDE in not having a sin issue. How could we who have received grace possibly have judgment or think ourselves better-than? After all, “such were some of us!” We simply praise God that He set us free! But that doesn’t mean that we don’t speak clearly when the Word of God calls something sin. People shall know the truth and the truth shall set them free, so we speak the truth in love. If we don’t speak the truth, how are others also going to get set free?
 
The Bible is unequivocal about homosexuality: God calls it sin and God so loved all sinners that He paid for their sin with His own life. Despite the Bible’s clarity, many questions remain in culture. In this message we will look at 3 main cultural FAQ’s and also take note of how Jesus loved on and ministered to 5 different individuals that were living in sin. Jesus died for everybody in the entire world and NO ONE is beyond saving!

Valuing What God Values (part 10)

God's Word about Homosexuality (part 2)

8/20/17
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary

There is a lot going on in the media right now and we need to guard our hearts from offense. The body of Christ is going to need a very pure heart and pure thought pattern so that we can walk rightly with Him and walk in the power that He has available for us. There is a great opportunity on the other side of this chance for offense.

As believers, we want to minister God’s way. If you are a homosexual or some who is struggling with same sex attraction, know that GOD IS FOR YOU. Know that we are for you. And know that we would love for you to come visit at Agathos! God is not changing on this issue.“The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” (Isa 40:8) Even as persuasion in our country about sexual persuasion has been changing dramatically over the past 10 years, God’s Word has remained the same.
 
31,000 scriptures to zero. 6 explicit prohibitions of it. All the clear teachings on marriage in the New Testament. Homosexuality is a topic that is controversial to the world - but it is not controversial to God. Jesus said “whoever commits sin is a slave to sin,” (Jn. 8:34) but Jesus came to set captives free. (Isa. 61) “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (Jn. 8:31-32)

Valuing What God Values (part 9)

God's Word about Homosexuality

8/6/17
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary

You don’t need a certification to shout “amen” during a sermon. Yes, things should be done decently and in order, but the church misses the will of God far more from lack of pushing into the things of the Spirit than from pushing too far. God is looking for someone not to be lukewarm.

Ignoring or not teaching on homosexuality is what the vast majority of theologically conservative pastors are doing. As a result, there has been a 250% increase in favorability towards homosexual marriage in just 10 years among a group that is professing to be evangelical (gospel-sharing) Christians! Has the Bible been re-written in the last 10 years?
 
“There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end is the way of death.” This message is about loving homosexuals in a way that’s right to God. 
 
You can be a minister or you can be a man-pleaser. You can’t be both. It is God’s Word that equips us to minister. God’s Word gives people life - not death, peace, and causes them to be blessed. It brings about good, perfect, and pleasing things in their life so they experience life and life more abundantly. So let’s seek out what the Word of God is on how to best love homosexuals!
 

The Prayer of Protection (Psalm 91)

7/30/17
- Don Clay
Audio

Valuing What God Values (part 8)

Abortion from an Apostolic Perspective (part 3)

7/16/17
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary

We carry the power of God wherever we go and as we are connected to the Vine, we bear His fruit naturally! We are not supposed to be conformed to the world, but instead to inform the world!

Hearts are changing about abortion in our nation. It is not a medical conversation - it is a moral one. The Bible is clear, abortion is murder and God is calling the church to speak lovingly and plainly about it. Is it possible abortion could again be outlawed in our land within the decade?
 
Nearly 60 million American babies have been murdered since 1973. The yearly number peaked in the 90’s around 1.4 million and has since reduced to about 900,000. We must be grateful for the progress yet hungry for complete safety for our unborn boys and girls. Abortion is not rare. It is not about women’s rights nor women’s health, and the data is clear … women are safer when abortion is outlawed. Infanticide happened in Bible times too - including when both Moses and Jesus were born. Who is it in this generation that satan is trying to keep from their destiny? May no more destinies be cut off from the children of our nation!

Valuing What God Values (part 7)

Abortion from an Apostolic Perspective (part 2)

7/2/17
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary

There is no need to re-invent God’s vision for churches. He has empowered us to preach the gospel everywhere, disciple nations, cast out demons, prophesy destiny, and speak with new tongues. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, protected from harm, and lay hands on the sick who then recover! These are not theories to us, but promises from the Word of God for us to walk in … and we are hearing testimonies weekly of exactly that!

Grace and truth co-exist in a Person and His name is Jesus! And what God has joined together let no man separate! God wants the body of Christ to not only know what He says but also to disciple nations accordingly. 
 
It’s easy to brush abortion under the rug - out of sight, out of mind. But God says “don’t ignore it! Don’t turn a blind eye to it!” The Bible is clear that abortion is murder and we are called to speak up for those who don’t yet have a voice. God individually fashioned each one of us and has beautiful plans for every unborn child. May we partner with God to see those plans come to pass!

Valuing What God Values (part 6)

Addressing Secular Humanism

6/18/17
- Peter DeWitt
Audio Written Summary Blog Post
American Christians often think that the church should be separated from state, but that’s not what the constitution says! The state is not supposed to run the church, but as believers we are called to bring God’s will (His Kingdom) to every area of society! “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Mt. 6:10)
 
If the church does not shape culture for Christ, others will shape it for us. Secular humanism had taken hold of our government and educational systems with a motto of “good without God.” We are in a season where the foundations of secular humanism in our nation are being shaken and many believers find themselves disoriented. 
 
God is looking for a band of believers whose minds are not confused by the ways of the world, but instead are clear about the Word of God. We do not need a pastor-in-chief. The church is called to disciple the nations. Secular humanism’s hold on our country is dying and God is positioning the church to fill that void and rebuild the walls of righteousness in our nation. A wave of revival has already begun in our nation and God is hoping to partner with each of us to cause His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven!

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