Agathos A Spirit filled, Non-denominational christian church in Columbus Ohio. We meet altogether and in House Churches. Bible truth Christian teaching sermons! https://agathos.org Wed, 12 Aug 2020 08:42:41 +0000 Wed, 12 Aug 2020 08:42:41 +0000 hourly 1 3600 SnapPages.com How do I Hear God's Voice? https://agathos.org/blog/2022/02/02/how-do-i-hear-god-s-voice Wed, 02 Feb 2022 12:40:47 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2022/02/02/how-do-i-hear-god-s-voice
By Erin Rollins

Have you noticed that there is little to no teaching in scripture about how to hear God's voice? Yet, have you ever had someone say to you "I don't know how to hear God."

The only thing that I have seen in scripture that talks about HOW to hear God is Jesus saying “You hear Him!”

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." John 10:27
If you were in a gathering of some kind and a child started screaming from another room, every parent in the room would immediately pay attention but only one of them would get up.  Why?  Because they know their kid's voice. Think about it. You have a parent or a grandparent or someone that you know well, a husband, a wife. You can be in a huge crowded room and you can hear their voice from across the room and know that it is them. How do you know that? No one taught you.  There are other types of learning besides that which we gain through teaching. 

You hear God.  The question is do you recognize it?  

The only other thing that's talked about in scripture is He's not the only voice talking to you.

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1
 
And so that's why John says, "Test the spirits," because you don't always know which spirit is talking to you. It might be your own desire. It might be a demonic presence. It might be the voice of your culture. But God talks to you. Start with that assumption. And if you have trouble knowing when it's Him, get around people who have done it for a while. And then say out loud the things that you think you're hearing from Him, and they will help you to start to realize, “oh, that was Him.” Amen.
 
We have been meeting in our Prophetic Company for around 18 months now. When we started that group, a lot of people would not participate much because they were still in the process of recognizing that they could hear Him. . A community like that one - where others are seeking to hear the voice of God and sharing what they hear with each other -  is a great place to test out what you hear and begin to understand “that was God, that voice that I heard was God.” 
 
This morning someone shared with me that they’ve always had this voice in their head that they’ve ignored.  Then someone told them prophetically “That voice you’re always hearing - that’s God.”  And once they started to pay attention, they realized it was true.  That’s a game changer!  
]]> Guided by God's Eye https://agathos.org/blog/2021/09/27/guided-by-god-s-eye Mon, 27 Sep 2021 22:19:20 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2021/09/27/guided-by-god-s-eye
By Megan DeWitt

In the Old Testament, they were guided by the commandments, but Jesus said that God's going to write His law on our hearts.

There's a difference for my kids between them following the rules, and them having a heart to look to me and to do what I would desire them to do. Yes, they can do what I'm desiring them to do if they choose to follow the rules, but there's a difference between rule following, and their hearts being so submitted to me that what they do comes out of that place of looking to me to know what to do.

The place where the Lord is leading us is to be guided by His eye.

It doesn't mean that we don't do the things that He says to do, but it means that those are more of a measurement of how close my heart is to His heart. Instead of being a prescription where I don't have to be close to Him, and I just do what He says to do and then I can have my heart kind of far away from Him.

The Lord is bringing us to a place where our hearts are close to His heart, and sometimes, what I'm doing might not look like what He wants me to do. If so, that's a red flag to say, “I am not connected to Him. My heart is not close to Him.” So we can actually see where we're at.  

When we are guided by the list of rules only, and our hearts aren't close to His, we can think that we're aligned with Him, but there’s the verse that says, "These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me."  

We don't want to be a people that honor the Lord with our lips, and our hearts are far from Him.  

God's teaching us that He wants to guide us by His eye. Not following a list of the good to do, but instead following the One who is good, who leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. We have to trust that if we follow Him, He will lead us in the path of righteousness — but it's for His name's sake.

He will do it.  When we attach ourselves to Christ and abide in Him, we can trust that His life will produce life in us. It will produce fruit in us and fruit that remains.  The farmer knows not how.  

He Who began a good work that will bring it through to completion.  

This is not an action-less role on our part, just sitting and waiting. Goodness and mercy will follow me if I seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. He says “follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” When He says “follow Me,” we’re the subject and what we do is follow. In the second part of that sentence (“I will make you fishers of men”) God is the one who is the subject and He's the one who's doing the action. In that part of the sentence, He says He's going to make us something — fishers of men.
   
He's the one who does the making.

It's for freedom that He has set us free, but we are guided more by rules and regulations than His eye.  Don't get me wrong. The law is a tutor that brings us to Christ.  

The freedom is in Him.  If I am in Him, I'm bounded by Him.  

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, and you can't have freedom apart from His presence.

We have been talking about alignment of heart and when our hearts are aligned with Him, our lives may not look perfect yet, but I can guarantee you that the things that He starts in us, He will bring them through to completion.

As we look to Him, we become more like Him.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. 
Psalms 32:8
]]> How hungry are you? https://agathos.org/blog/2021/09/12/how-hungry-are-you Sun, 12 Sep 2021 20:58:57 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2021/09/12/how-hungry-are-you
By Joe Mandeville

When you go to a feast, if you're not hungry you're going to be really picky about what you eat. If you come to a feast and you're hungry, it's like, "Oh my goodness, I can try all of these different things!”

You’re going to try the things that you know that you like and you're even going to try some things that you're not sure if you like because you're hungry. However, if you come and you're not hungry, it's like, "Oh, I'll just take the cherry thing because I really like cherry stuff." That's it; you don't try anything new.  

I feel like the other part of this word is the Lord is the one that set up the feast.
Does anybody here have dietary restrictions? In our family, that is something that we live with, constantly. We have this insane list of all these things that we can't eat.  

However, if my wife and I set up a feast for our kids, what do the kids know? They know that everything on the table is approved!

So, the Father is setting the feast and everything on the table is approved, and so you want a taste of everything. You don't want to just taste what you think you want, you want a taste of everything.  

Sometimes we come hungry and sometimes we come not hungry. We might actually make decisions based on doctrine because of what we want to eat. “This is what I believe and because of that, this is what I want to eat out of what's been said, out of what the Lord is bringing.”

Let me encourage you that when it's the Lord that's setting the feast and it seems inconsistent with what you already believe, trust He who is putting it before you. If the Lord is putting it before you and you have wrong thoughts that have you not wanting to accept it, it's your wrong thought that needs to go, not the food that's before you.

I am not suggesting that Peter (Agathos' lead pastor) has everything for us. I think Peter would agree that his vision is to bring you to the Lord. It's not you eating from him. It's him bringing you to the Lord. So, if the Lord is feeding you, eat it. Forget about what you think you know, eat it.
]]> Thankfulness to God for our past and present changed our future! https://agathos.org/blog/2021/08/09/thankfulness-to-god-for-our-past-and-present-changed-our-future Mon, 09 Aug 2021 22:08:08 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2021/08/09/thankfulness-to-god-for-our-past-and-present-changed-our-future
Testimony by Sarah Augenstein


Last year we decided to look for a new place to live for a number of reasons - not only because our apartment was too small, but it also had a faulty air conditioning unit outside our bedroom window that sounded a bit like rocks in a dryer. We had two loud 80 lb dogs nextdoor to us that were unruly and untrained. We also had a couple of college students down below us that would yell loud profanities at video games at all hours.
 
So we were looking for a new apartment and getting a little bit frustrated. I asked God, “why aren't we finding anything?”

I heard him say “You haven’t yet thanked Me for what you already have.”

I thought for a moment and responded, “You’re right God, despite the difficulties that this apartment has brought, it has also been a blessing to us in this season and I haven't thanked you for them.” So I started to thank God and list off many of the reasons it had blessed us.

Philippians 4:6 came to mind: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God …”

When we are coming from a place of abundance we are remembering what He’s done for us. When we have a mindset of lack it can be actually painful to envision the future because it’s reminding us of what we don’t have. A lot of times we pursue things and desire things without having remembered and thanked God for what He has done in the past.

That week I was listening to a Bill Johnson sermon in which he said, “hunger and thankfulness are two sides of the same coin."

"Hunger without thankfulness leads to frustration. Thankfulness without hunger leads to complacency.”

 I thought this really hit the nail on the head with what I was experiencing. I was striving for the new thing without being thankful for the old and it was leading me into a place of being frustrated. 

The present must be immersed in thankfulness and the future must be immersed in hunger.  

As God was changing my heart through this process, I decided I would pray and stop striving, surrender to Him and and trust Him to provide for us exactly the house He had prepared for us. I was going to operate out of a place of resting in Him.

I still had to do my part and look online for houses but this time I wasn't going to strive. About a month later I found something online that ticked all the boxes we had been asking for. I called the landlord. He said he had just got back from a 2 week trip and had about 20 people call about the property in that time. I thought this was a long shot.

We spoke on the phone for about 30 minutes and he said “I like the sound of you guys and I’m going to let you see it first and rent it if you want it.”  Wow! This was so obviously God’s favor over the situation. When we surrendered the whole situation into His hands He gave us favor for exactly the right thing at the right time - which He had specifically prepared for us!

A couple months after moving in Peter had a word for us: “Don’t settle. Catch your ASK up to God's YES.” 

“Don’t settle. Now that your hunger has been satisfied. Why are you stopping? Catch your ASKING up to My YES!”

He wants to continue to say yes to us! May we not become complacent but to continue in thankfulness and hunger!  There’s more He wants to give us … over and over and over again. It’s not just this one thing that we need. He wants us to dream with Him. He wants to say yes! He’s inviting us on a continual journey with Him. 

I hope that we will always remember the power of thankfulness, surrender and hunger as we let our requests be known to God. What will you ask, dream and surrender into God's hands?
]]> A prophetic word that lead to healing! https://agathos.org/blog/2021/06/01/a-prophetic-word-that-lead-to-healing Tue, 01 Jun 2021 15:44:04 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2021/06/01/a-prophetic-word-that-lead-to-healing
Testimony by Brian Jones


I had a great time last night at a worship event downtown. I had no idea what to expect, and I'm glad I didn't. God did far more than I think I could have even imagined anyway.

I had been praying that God would show me somebody that might need healing and I said, "Lord, maybe I could see somebody on my drive down that has a physical ailment that would indicate somebody that needs healing."

Most of the time when you're driving down the road, you don't necessarily see people that have a physical ailment. You're in your car, right? But I promise you, I was driving and there was a car pulled off on the side of the road and a guy got out. I saw him stretching his back, bending his back and pointing at his back. Then his wife got out of the car and she came over and was pushing on his back.

I laughed afterwards. I don't know why I didn't just stop and pray that HIS back would be healed, but I just kept driving. I was saving it for later in the night, I guess.

So I got there and it came time for a ministry moment and I shared that story with everyone. I asked if there was anybody that had a sore back. There was a man in the back that raised his hand so I said, "Are you able to come up?" and he said, "Yes." So he got up and he walked to the front.

I thought Peter would come over and pray, and I thought Kenton would come over, and I thought some other people would come over, but no one was coming.... and I had no idea what to do. He was standing there expectant. He was expecting something, so I said, "Where does it hurt?" He replied, "The pain is up here" and pointed to the top of his back. So I put my hands on his back, near his neck, and I was praying that the tension would go and that there would be healing.

I was praying for muscles. I was praying for vertebrae. I was praying for nerves. I mean, I was just praying for everything. I was praying for his neck, for his back, for his shoulders. I was praying for his shoulder a lot.

I noticed the people around me moving and they called for anybody that needed healing and other people came forward. They were praying and then everybody started sitting down again. And this guy was still standing there and I thought he was kind of swaying with the music, but then I kind of felt like his knees start to weaken and so I moved my hands from his shoulders to under his arms and I caught him. Then he stood back up so I started praying again.

I didn't know if I should release him. Everybody else was sitting down at that point. He turned around and he had tears in his eyes and he said, "Thanks so much, that was incredible" and he sat down. Then after the service he came up to me and he had tears in his eyes and he said, "Why did you pray for my shoulder?"

He said "I clearly told you my back is what I needed prayer for." I thought I'd done something wrong. He said, "Why did you do that?" I said, "I don't know. I just felt like I should pray for your shoulder." He said, "The reason why I asked you to pray for my back was because my back hurt, but my shoulder did too, but I had given up all hope on my shoulder. So I didn't even think of it."

He said, "Not only did my back get healed but I tore ligaments in my shoulder playing rugby in Ireland," so he had this beautiful accent as he was sharing this with me.

He said, "I've had two surgeries to repair it," and he said, "I still have pain every day and I have very limited mobility. But for the first time in years, I have NO pain and I can raise my arm up over my head."

Wow, it was just incredible. I was just so blown away. I thought, Lord, you answer prayer and we serve a God who heals!
If you would like to hear more about the power of healing and how it is available to all of us, Brad spoke on this topic in a series titled "Divine Healing." You can find it by going to our Featured Messages page or by clicking the first part of the series below!
]]> Reframing Inconceivable https://agathos.org/blog/2021/05/18/reframing-inconceivable Tue, 18 May 2021 16:40:00 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2021/05/18/reframing-inconceivable
Message by Peter DeWitt

Hebrews 11:11 says "By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised."

When Sarah first heard the word of the Lord that she would bear a son in her old age, she laughed at the promise of God. The Lord said "“I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son” but God's promise was INCONCEIVABLE to her!

It wasn't until she judged Him faithful who had promised that she received strength to conceive seed and bear a child (Isaac). She had laughed because the prevailing narrative of her heart was that she was barren.

When the Lord told her she would have a child she laughed because God's word did not match her own narrative of barrenness.

She had not yet set her seal upon this: that God is true (See John 3:33). She had not yet entered into covenant with God's words to her.

There's much we can learn from Sarah's faith process but one important question to ask ourselves is "What words or narrative(s) do I no longer measure, because those are the the words I am in covenant with."

Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

So often in our Christian walk we don't see the fruit of faith and yet like Sarah we deny that we doubt.

Yet God can handle your doubt, your anger, and your process.

In the New Testament God does not record Sarah's doubt but instead the victory of her faith that caused her to become a mother of many nations.

The most major breakthroughs in our walk with God will come from a word that He gives us that at first in inconceivable. 1 Corinthians 13:11 gives us a framework to know how to battle through the process of faith to lay hold of that new that God is calling us into. “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” Paul described the movement from CHILD —> MAN and said that in order to embrace a new identity we need to ask Holy Spirit how we need to change our

(1) speaking,
(2) understanding, and
(3) thinking.

That is how we put away the old things.

When Sarah was barren she spoke as one barren, she understood as one barren, and she thought as one barren, but when she accepted the previously inconceivable word of the Lord she put off the things of barrenness and became a mother of many nations!

"What words or narrative(s) do I no longer measure, because those are the the words I am in covenant with?” Is there something Holy Spirit is speaking to you? Is it current inconceivable to you? God is faithful and when you judge Him faithful who has promised, you too will receive the strength to conceive of what He has spoken to you!


Listen to more in the message below!
]]> Comparison is sowing doubt into our lives https://agathos.org/blog/2021/05/10/comparison-is-sowing-doubt-into-our-lives Mon, 10 May 2021 21:31:20 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2021/05/10/comparison-is-sowing-doubt-into-our-lives
By Bryan Mangerchine


Picture a flower.

A flower doesn't compare itself to other flowers, does it? Flowers don't compare themselves to trees. They can't really think for themselves. If they did and they thought about themselves and compared themselves to the other plants that they are growing around, I propose they'd probably destroy themselves, or they wouldn't grow into the flower that they were supposed to be, the flower they were created to be.
The truth is, every single one of us is unique, uniquely created. Why do we look at each other and compare each other to one another? Why do we look at so-and-so and say, "Man, I wish I had their nose," or, "Man, look how happy their life seems," or, "Man, I wish I had skills like that person."  

Comparison is sowing doubt into our lives.

Comparing is not an option in the kingdom. Remember when the disciples came to Jesus and they were talking about it to Jesus - "who's the greatest in the kingdom? So-and-so was thinking it was this guy, so-and-so was thinking it was this guy. I don't know, but can you settle this for us?"

And Jesus goes, "Unless you're like a bunch of children, you don't even know it. You can't even inherit the kingdom message." Unless you dramatically change your thinking and become teachable like a little child. That’s what He says and that's a good message for us to hear.

Then He goes on to say, "Whoever continually humbles himself to become like a child is the greatest."

So that means to be the greatest I have to continually humble myself. That didn't feel like I thought it was going to feel, Jesus.

Matthew 18:3-4  At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

To grow in our maturity, it doesn't happen by looking at how someone else handles situations and trying to emulate it. It happens by humbling ourselves and receiving the love and acceptance of the Father.
Lord, Thank you that you have created me to be completely unique, purposely different to others. I pray we will learn to celebrate our differences instead of comparing them. Lord, help us to receive your love and acceptance everyday and to continually humble ourselves and become teachable like a little child. Amen
]]> Our 3 year old's miracle healing! https://agathos.org/blog/2021/04/28/our-3-year-old-s-miracle-healing Wed, 28 Apr 2021 09:12:19 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2021/04/28/our-3-year-old-s-miracle-healing
Testimony by Kristina Maccaughey

Our little 3 year old daughter, Ivy, had a severe case of salmonella this past summer.

After a couple of Urgent Care visits we ended up in the ER and she was at Children's Hospital for seven days. We took her to the hospital because she was in severe pain. If you're a parent and you see your child in pain and you can't help them, it's very upsetting. She had to have an IV to her heart and we had to administer daily medications to her every eight hours.

When I had taken Ivy to the emergency room I was the only parent allowed in the emergency room because of the COVID restrictions. Ivy at this point was extremely lethargic. If you know her you’ll know she's usually bright, spunky, energetic, but lying there in the ER she was malaise. That was the word that my husband used to describe her.

My parents had taken care of our other three kids while Ivy was in the hospital. It was a Sunday so they had brought the kids to Agathos Church and we hadn't officially started coming to Agathos as a family yet, but we visited because a lot of you are like family to us.

As soon as she was admitted to the hospital, my husband Aaron, thank you Jesus, was allowed to come and be with me. At this point we had pretty much been holding Ivy for 24 hours and she hadn't been responsive, she only made a sound when she was getting poked by nurses.
We're sitting there at around one o'clock in the afternoon.

All of a sudden she sits up and she just starts talking! 

Both Aaron and I both just looked at each other, shocked and we looked at Ivy and Ivy looked at us. She smiles and starts talking, it was just so completely out of the blue.

We both said to each other “Our Ivy’s back!”

 She had a long path to go after that, but we could just see the essence of Ivy was back!

Later that day I was talking to my mom and she shared with me how she brought the kids to church. Well, my eldest son, Oliver, went up and asked Peter during the service if the church would pray for his little sister. And so Oliver prayed and Peter prayed and all of the church prayed for Ivy. And at that moment was the moment Ivy suddenly woke up! It was a miracle!

We are so grateful for the church praying for her and I am praising God publicly that he used my son and your prayers to bring our baby back. And she's here and happy and  strong so we praise God for that!
]]> My journey to 'freely receiving and freely giving' in ministry https://agathos.org/blog/2021/04/20/my-journey-to-freely-receiving-and-freely-giving-in-ministry Tue, 20 Apr 2021 20:52:58 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2021/04/20/my-journey-to-freely-receiving-and-freely-giving-in-ministry
Testimony by Brian Jones


I've known the Lord a long time, but much of that time, it was kind of a boss-employee relationship. I would go to the Lord to get my marching orders, "Lord, what do you want me to do?" And this is probably the case for many Christians on Sunday mornings. It's like they're coming to church, "Lord, what can I hear from you so I can apply it and go out and do something?" So you're always listening to apply, listening to apply.

And that's where I was at. I was doing lots of good things, lots of things that were a blessing to people and they were a blessing to me and a blessing to my family. But what I realize now is I was really only extending what I had received - which was nothing. It was me. And so, I was only extending myself. And what happens when you extend yourself over and over and over again is you get tired. You get very tired. You get exhausted.

And when you are seeing results, that is kind of a motivator. But when you're not seeing results, I mean, you get tired quickly. And that's where I was. I was exhausted. And what I realized was for me anyway, if something was good, if it worked out well, then I was like, "God, you came through. Great job." But inside, I was like, "Man, I must have been faithful. I must have been faithful to hear what you wanted me to do. I must have executed on that well."

And so even though I was saying, "God, You get the glory," inside it was kind of about me.
I didn't intend for that to be the case … in my heart I wanted God to get the glory, but inside, I was like, "Man, I must have done something right." And then if something failed, I was thinking, "Well, this isn't God's fault, because God doesn't fail." And so, then whose fault is it? It's mine.
I didn't hear from Him.
I didn't execute on it well enough.
I didn't plan enough.
I must not have heard correctly.

So what happened, whether it's a success or a failure, it was me. I did a lot of good things and I saw very little fruit. People would say, "Hey, I'm blessed. I feel blessed." And I realized I was helping people maybe manage their sin better, giving them good tips in wisdom for avoiding problems and making good choices, but I wasn't extending Christ because I had not received that in private.  

I was reading a Bible, but I was reading it to see what I should do, that it would give me some wisdom. And instead, I was just extending myself and I will be 100% honest. I'm not enough. I'm enough for some problems but those weren't the problems I was setting out to solve.

And so, again, people liked me. People responded. People wanted to come together and do whatever I was asking them to do, but we were not seeing the fruit because there wasn't a power because I hadn't received power.

And I think that's really when I came in to Agathos Church, I saw people that had been in the presence of God. You had received the power, and then I was able to believe because of your testimony and say there's something different here. I remember it was the night before the Agathos Tubing trip at Snow Trails, which was a ton of fun, and I woke up early. I couldn't get back to sleep. We decided as a family we were going to read the book of John. And I just sat down and started reading John 1.
Bible reading was something that I didn't enjoy doing. I did it because I was supposed to. I knew it was a good thing. But when I really sat down I felt like God had given me something. And when I looked at John 1, I just started writing down, “what does it say about Jesus?” And believe it or not, it says a couple of things in that chapter! I started with one post-it note. I went to two and I ended up with three.
But in John 1, it says that Jesus:
He was in the beginning.  
He's the word.  
He's God.  
He's the Creator.  
He's life.  
He's the light of men.  
He's beyond the comprehension of darkness.  
He's the light.  
He gives light to men.  
He shines in the darkness.  
He is in the world.  
He gives the right to those who believe in his name to be called children of God.
The world became flesh. He dwelt with man.  
He's the glory.  
He's the full of grace and truth.  
He gives us his fullness and his grace.  
He brought grace and truth.  
He's the only Begotten Son.  
He declares the Father.  
He's preferred before John the Baptist and before all others.  
He's the Lamb of God.
He takes away the sin of the world.  
The spirit of God was upon him.
He baptizes with the Holy Spirit.  
He's the Son of God.  
He's a rabbi, teacher.  
He's the Messiah, the Christ.  
He gives us new names and new identities.  
He calls us by name.  
He's worthy of a testimony.  
He's prophesied about.  
He offers words of knowledge.  
He's Jesus of Nazareth.  
He's knowable.  
He's written about by Moses and the law and the prophets.  
Angels serve him.  
He's the King of Israel.  
He's the Son of man.  
He's the Son of Joseph
and He knows us!
That's just in John 1. And I was just blown away. And what I realized in that moment after being in the presence of God … I felt I had been with God, I realized He is worthy of everything. He's worthy of all praise. He is worthy of all glory. I suddenly had good news, the good news of the Gospel. I had received the good news of the Gospel!

Before I had an idea of Jesus and I had a strategy, and I had read a lot of books about what other people had heard God say, but I didn't necessarily have the good news. I knew what the Word said in tract, I believe that. It's not that I didn't know the Lord. I just had not received the good news to share with people.
After I read this, I was thinking, "God, I need to tell someone about this. You are worthy of all praise." There's nothing in here that isn't an answer for the people that we meet. Whether it's somebody that's already in the family of God or somebody that's not yet in the family of God, there's an answer in John 1. I mean, there may be a ton of other answers out there. In John 1, there is an answer, and I will tell you that and I received my good news!

What is your good news?
I want to challenge you with today ... I don't want you to come up with a plan. I don't want you to come up with a strategy. I want you to focus on drawing near to Him, spending time in His presence and asking Him, "What is my good news? What is the testimony that you've given me?" Because that's what He’s given you to share with other people.

My brother Greg and I were talking this week about how Greg has been on death's doorstep twice. And he's been given his life back. He has a testimony of healing like no one else in this room. And God's placed him in a place with people that need healing. He's surrounded by people with need of healing. God has prepared him for this time and for this moment. Greg doesn't have to do a bunch of things to work up what to say, he has a testimony that he has gotten from this time from the Lord. That’s that he needs to share like this Samaritan woman.

So, I'm asking you to spend time with the Lord, see what He gives you and have eyes to see within the body of Christ and to also see those that are not yet in the body of Christ. And He will answer the desires of your heart and give you a chance to share that testimony!

Freely we receive and freely we give!

Listen to more in the message below: Reframing our perspective about ministry.  
]]> How to think about money the way God thinks about it https://agathos.org/blog/2021/04/06/how-to-think-about-money-the-way-god-thinks-about-it Tue, 06 Apr 2021 09:27:48 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2021/04/06/how-to-think-about-money-the-way-god-thinks-about-it
By Brad Ettore

Did you know the Bible talks about money more than any other subject?  Since the Bible talks about money - and talks about it a lot - we should also talk about it and understand what God has to say about it.
 
Many believe that poverty is akin to spirituality and wealth is akin to worldliness.  Similarly,  we often hear the term "filthy rich."  But why would we automatically accuse a rich person of being "filthy?"  Why don't we say "wonderfully rich?"  Can money be used in a filthy way? Sure. But, when money is used the right way, it is a sweet thing to the Lord!  Money can be used in such a way that it a sweet aroma to God!  

Your faith will never rise above your knowledge of God's will in any area of your life.

That is why it is so important to have a solid foundation about God's will as it relates to finances.

Blessed in Every Area of Life

It is God's desire that His children would be blessed in every area of life.  There are no exceptions to that statement.  Any parent would be quite confused by the question: "what areas of life would you like your child to NOT be blessed in?"

 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matt. 7:11)  God does not have a skewed personality that only wants us blessed in some areas of life!  

We don't want to get religious about money – we want to get spiritual about it!  In other words, we want to think like God thinks about it!  For instance, looking at God’s interactions with Abram in Genesis 12 and 13 we see that God includes finances as one of the components of His definition of blessing.

When God told Abram to leave his family and land, He  effectively told him  to leave all his protection and provision.  God told Abram to come out to a place that "I will show you." (Gen 12:1-3)  God told him "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."   God promised this major blessing to Abram.

So what did the blessing end up looking like in practical terms?  See Genesis 13:1-2: "Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South.  Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold."   Abram was rich and it was God's doing.

Part of God's blessing in Abram’s life was in terms of wealth and possessions. God is not opposed to riches – He considers them to be a blessing!

Is money the most important thing?

 Most people start getting off track when they make money the priority or goal of life.  If you believe God wants you to be blessed financially AND you then put that as a priority in your heart, you will get off track with God.  I have been full of joy and miserable in all 3 stages of money (broke, OK, and wealthy). That has taught me a simple but profound truth:  

Money isn't the principle thing

Having been both "broke and full of joy" and "wealthy and full of joy," I prefer the "wealthy and full of joy." But I wasn't full of joy because of the wealth!  The wealth was the proverbial "icing on the cake" - but it's not the cake!  What are some of the things that are better than money?

• Wisdom
• Knowledge
• Understanding
• Marriage
• Children
• Health
• Reputation (honor)

Think about health, for instance.  Would you rather have $1 billion and be wretchedly sick or poor with great health?  Yes, both hypothetical scenarios are bad, but most would prefer to have their health.  In my travels, I have seen many very poor people being particularly happy! Wealth simply does not, in and of itself, bring happiness! That's not where it comes from!

Desiring God vs. Desiring Riches

1 Tim. 6:10 says "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil . . ."  Notice that it says the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil.  We know it's not the root of all evil because the Bible teaches very clearly that sin is the root of all evil.  But, sin in the heart of man, will cause the love of money.  The “love of money” is a heart stance characterized by an overwhelming desire to be rich.

Paul tells Timothy that those who "desire to be rich,” whose focus is money, fall "into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition."  The love of money (the heart posture that has money on the throne) will not produce gain at all!  But, "godliness with contentment is great gain." 

Go after godliness and the contentment that is found not in money, but in your relationship with the Lord.  That's great gain.

The reality is most things that have real power come with warnings.  The warnings that come with a car don't mean "therefore don't drive a car." The scriptures simply give us warning against the power of money - it wants to take over your heart so God gives us warnings about the dangers of it.
 

God is not saying "therefore I don't want you to have money."   Don't get a wrong understanding simply because there are warnings with it. All of 1 Tim. 6 is a warning label.

Having Riches vs. Trusting in Riches

Mark 10 shares the story about a rich, young ruler coming to ask Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus told him to keep the commandments.  The young man told Jesus that he had kept all of those since his youth.  Jesus said, "OK, you lack one thing . . . sell all that you have and come and follow me."  Jesus effectively brought up the first commandment "you shall have no other Gods before me" by asking the young man to sell his god - money - and follow Him instead.  Mark tells us this young man unfortunately went away sad "for he had great possessions."  

Jesus turned this into a teaching moment with His disciples, telling them "how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!”  A trust in riches can cover up (in some measure) how lost and destitute a wealthy person actually is. 

Jesus was addressing a heart stance with the young man in order to set him free of a bondage to money.

God is not opposed to us having things, but He is opposed to things having us.  He is for riches when our heart is right!


With a right perspective about money, the financial principles of the Kingdom of God will actually work because you'll have your heart right - you'll be lined up with the Kingdom of God.

Money, in God's eyes, is a beautiful thing when used His way. God wants the world to see His benevolence, to see His heart, through us!  How can that be accomplished if we are broke? God wants us to have money - but He wants us to have it with a couple things lined-up correctly:

• Money is not our source.  He is!
• Don't get haughty or proud when we have riches.  When you have money, have humility and say "this is from the Lord - the Lord has blessed me!"

Be like God with money - give, give, give!  Luke 6:38 says "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."  You can't out-give God!

When you get blessed the way God wants you to get blessed, there's no sorrow with it. (Prov. 10:22)  


Pray with me.
Thank you, Father, that we are your precious children, you love us so much and you want us to be blessed. I pray you enlighten our hearts and eyes to think about money the way that you do. I ask you show us where our hearts or not lined up with yours so that money is not our source or security - you are. Shine a light on our path and direct us in the way of humility and generous giving and that we will truly know that everything we have and own is from you and you alone.

In Jesus name, Amen.
For more teaching on biblical perspective of money, check out the Agathos sermon series linked below.
]]> The spirit of faith is saying YES to what God is saying! https://agathos.org/blog/2021/02/28/the-spirit-of-faith-is-saying-yes-to-what-god-is-saying Sun, 28 Feb 2021 19:51:28 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2021/02/28/the-spirit-of-faith-is-saying-yes-to-what-god-is-saying
By Peter DeWitt


Many of us are trying to find good apart from God. "There's a way that seems right to a man, but in it's end, it's the way of death."

There are only two voices in all of the earth - God's voice and not God's voice.  The life of faith is saying yes to God's voice. "This is the work of God, that you would believe the One whom He sent." Who's the One whom He sent? The Word.

Okay, I just defined faith for you. Let me say it again. "Faith comes by hearing," Romans 10:17, and hearing by the word of God. Why is the word of God so integral to faith?

Because faith is saying yes to what God has said.
I had an encounter in December, and in this encounter, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said something about the spirit of faith. He talked to me about the spirit of faith and then He corrected my thinking.

He said, "The spirit of faith, Peter, is not a doctrine but simply a heart that says yes to what God is saying."  

Faith is as simple as saying yes to what God is saying!

Matthew 5:37 says, "But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’" What's the next phrase? It's fascinating. "For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”

There are two ecosystems, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life, which is Jesus, the Word of God. Remember, after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they had to be kicked out of the garden so that they didn't eat from the tree of life - the word of God -  because had they, they would have lived forever. So how do we how do we live forever? We receive Jesus Christ, right? You see, the Tree of Life was Jesus in the garden in the midst of them, they chose to go against Jesus and instead chose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which persisted. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil persists all the way until this day.

So anything more than yes being yes and no being no, is from the evil one. There's a lot of confusion in the world right now. You will do well to know this. 

There's only two sources for words in this entire world - God's Word, and everything that's not God's word.

The first source of words that weren't from God were from the serpent in the garden, who said, "Has God really said?"  

The first attack is to bring the Word of God into doubt. That is still going on. When things are a million shades of gray, you'll find out that actually anything beyond you simply being able to say yes to the Word of God or no to something that's not the Word of God is, in and of itself, from the evil one.
At the beginning of last year, Megan and I gave a word about being purveyors of hope. We said that it was going to be a year of great upheavals. Well turned out it was. I recently did a Facebook Live with Mark Crawford and Chris Bassett where we talked about Kingdom things. We let you into our own conversation, basically. We laughed ahead of time because I imagined myself standing in front of a group people and saying, "2021 is going to be the best year ever!” I laughed out loud when I saw myself doing that in my mind's eye because I don't think the circumstances of 2021 are going to be particularly good.  

Now you might say, "What sort of faith is that?" Well, it's the faith that says that if I believe in the Word of God, my leaf is never going to wither no matter the circumstances. Do you see what I'm saying? I'm good. I was great this last year. It was the best year my life. I have never grown that much in my life. I count it all joy. But here's what I would tell you. I think God was acclimatizing us last year.
I used to mountain climb, not big, big mountains, more so rock climbing, and sometimes mountain climb. One year I drove out west for the summer. And I stayed in Kansas, maybe the first night in my 1994 Honda Accord. I drove about 13,000 miles that summer, all around the west. I stayed in Kansas the first night which has an elevation of 400 feet above sea level. The next night I was in Salt Lake City with my friends Nate and Robin. Salt Lake's pretty high itself, but my friends Nate and Robin lived up in a ski lodge in the summer. That ski lodge is very famous - called Alta.

I kind of had an arrangement there with them that if I did some work around the ski lodge, I could room for free. So I was sleeping in these little bunks that they had way up on top floor of the lodge, where the ski instructors probably slept during the winter. That night, I thought I was going to die as I tried to sleep. Growing up as a kid I had asthma, and I thought “what is going on? Am I like having an asthma attack or something? I feel like I'm going to die.” Then all of a sudden, I realized what was going on, I was sleeping at 9,000 plus feet.

I was 9,000 feet above the sea level and the air is thin up there, and it's harder for your lungs to get oxygen. The next day we went and climbed a mountain together and I got even more gassed doing that. You know, you're doing strenuous physical activity.  
What was wrong? I hadn’t …

Acclimatized.  

If you ever watch a documentary of someone climbing Everest, it's like they have these base camps. And they'll stay there for multiple days to let their lungs acclimatize to the lack of oxygen. Once you're acclimatized you can do awesome stuff. Runners will even go to Mexico City or other high places, in order to train because for a few days after being in those high places, your lungs are amazingly strong. So if you get down into low elevations with those lungs that can so efficiently harness the available oxygen, your CO2 max goes way up.

What does that mean? I think 2020 was about hope for the Body of Christ. Megan and I gave that word. We need to be hope dealers in the context of upheavals that are going to be going on in 2020. That is what happened. And many of us have had a lot of opportunity to process with God what it looks like to see the light at the end of the tunnel in the midst of great difficulty.  

That's what hope is right? “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?” (Rom. 8:24) Being able to hope for something that you don't see right in front of you, that's hope, right? So last year in the context of difficulty, being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, was hope, right?

I think God was acclimatizing the Body of Christ to hope in 2020. So that then we could operate in faith in 2021. Let me say it again. I think God was acclimatizing in the Body of Christ to hope in 2020. So that then we could operate in faith in 2021. This is what overcomes the world, our faith. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 Jn. 5:4)

Now, Hebrews 11:1-2 says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.” The elders, speaking of the Hall of Faith, did not obtain a good testimony because circumstances were perfect. We do not read Hebrews 11 like this “So and so lived in a favorable time, therefore they had a good testimony.” No. The elders obtained a good testimony by one vehicle, which was faith and faith comes by hearing the Word of God because the work of God is as simple as saying yes to God's Word - to believing the One whom He sent, which is His Word.  
The spirit of faith is not a doctrine, it's a heart that says yes, to what God's saying. He's going to lead us into some places that are different than before. We acclimatized in 2020. 

Welcome to altitude, who's ready to operate in faith?  


Father, I pray that you'd give us the courage to rule with our words, to find and acknowledge the power of our yes. To find and acknowledge the power of our no, and to stop being confused by anything that's not yes or no.

I pray, Father, the simplicity of your word, versus things that are not your word, would become clearer to all of us, in Jesus's name. Father, I ask that you'd give us a grace to operate in the spirit of faith this year, with a heart that says yes to all that you're saying.  
Amen!
]]> I'm Hearing God's Voice! https://agathos.org/blog/2021/02/16/i-m-hearing-god-s-voice Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:50:59 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2021/02/16/i-m-hearing-god-s-voice
Testimony by Kate Finley
A few weeks ago on Sunday, Peter shared a sermon about God speaking to us individually and having a heart that says 'yes' to what God says. I had this thought when he was speaking that felt a little uncomfortable and bold.

I was thinking, "why doesn't God speak to me as much as he's speaking to Peter?" Especially as I know that the word says we are able to connect to the Lord directly.

I thought "I want God to speak to me." So I started, in that moment, to have an expectation and it sprung up in me that God would speak to me all the time.

I could feel some faith rise up in me about it.


Throughout the following week, God started revealing me that he was already speaking to me all of the time!

I remembered that a few days prior I had had a thought come to my mind that my personal relationships could be connected to my intimacy with God, as if they were parallel. If the friendships were shallow then it was an indication of where I was at in my spiritual relationship with God.

That night I listened to a sermon about a different topic and then the speaker started sharing about how human relationships reflect what is spiritually going on. It's not an outward issue, but an inward issue, typically something spiritually we need to change. This was a confirmation for me that I had received what God was pointing out to me.

The next day I had another simple thought "I just need to eat the word and I'll hear from him, that's what I'll do." That thought just sprung up in me. The next morning I noticed the daily verse from the Bible Gateway app was Matthew 4:4: It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

This whole past week God keeps showing me things and then confirming them with the word and confirming them with other people.


My parents came to visit spontaneously for a few days. A week had gone by and my mom didn't know any of this was going on and that I had started noticing the Lord speaking to me and confirming the thoughts he was giving me. I was starting to realize that I was learning to discern the voice of the Lord in my head as not being my own thoughts.

My mom and I were doing a puzzle and she says to me "You know, God is speaking to you" she said, "you have a prophetic gift, and God is speaking to you like in the story of Samuel. Samuel had been hearing from God but he didn't realize it."


The next day my mom and I were walking together, and there was an issue with the street we were on, I had a split second thought to say "don't trip." It was really quick and I thought "I don't need to say anything to my mom."

And then suddenly she tripped and she completely fell! Praise God that she only had bruises and stiffness, but I was thinking, oh my goodness the Holy Spirit told me to say "don't trip" and I didn't do it!

Later that week Daniel and I had a conversation with my parents about creating a personal finance program or educational system for employees. We were getting really excited about it. Then one of my team members messaged me and said, "Hey, what if we did some sort of educational system where we helped out our team and it could be an employee benefit?" Wow - we had just been talking about that!

 It's exciting how the Lord has been revealing that he has been speaking. Some may seem small and some bigger, but I have been practicing discernment of his thoughts from my own. I started by having expectations through faith and then I took action by being in the word and by saying yes to what he was saying. So I'm seeing these connections throughout my day. And I'm practicing listening and just doing my best to act when I see opportunities.

I wanted to share that to encourage you that hearing God's voice is available to you too and I hope it will stir up some faith right now, a little excitement or some hunger to go after it. Claim it in your heart and then speak it out and be alert and listening because God's going to do the same thing for you!
]]> What happened when I fasted! https://agathos.org/blog/2021/01/26/what-happened-when-i-fasted Tue, 26 Jan 2021 21:44:34 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2021/01/26/what-happened-when-i-fasted
Testimony by Michelle Avelis

A few years ago, shortly after I moved from Columbus to the Seattle area, God brought many sources into my life that talked about the importance and advantages of fasting. After the 4th or 5th unrelated confirmation about fasting, I decided to try it. Since at the time I didn't know much about it, I used the rules for Ramadan and fasted for about 40 days during the day Monday-Friday, eating and drinking nothing from when I woke up until the sun set.

At first it was really difficult, especially because in Seattle the days during the summer are  long (sunrise is 5 or 6, sunset is about 9 or 10). After a few days, my body got more used to it, and it felt more like a spiritual workout- uncomfortable, but somehow like I was getting stronger.

A couple things happened when I fasted-
I realized that I had more control over my body than I thought possible. I didn't think I would be able to not eat or drink and still function, but I did. I felt different, less focused and more reactive, but that opened up opportunities.

I began to follow impulses that I normally ignored, like checking on a project at work out of the blue, or emailing someone I don't normally talk to. When I wasn't fasting, I'd ignore this "noise" but in my weaker state, I followed them up. It opened up so many opportunities and connections, and I cannot tell you how many times after following one of these nudges I heard someone say it was "Perfect timing". It was a constant theme.

I began to realize that those nudges were the Holy Spirit and I started trusting them more. The more I leaned in, the more God delivered. Now I can recognize them better, even when I'm not fasting.

It wasn't all rosy though. Temptations start coming hard and fast. There was never so much delicious, free food and snacks as when I'm fasting. So many birthday cakes and surprise catered meals I had to skip! People literally trying to give me free expensive fair trade chocolate bars. One tip I learned was to bring Tupperware to work and set aside any free treats for later when my fast was over.

It also cultivated curiosity from others. When you don't eat, people wonder why. I had to decide whether to hide it or not. For those I had a good rapport with, such as my coworkers I eat with regularly, I just told them. I said I was trying out fasting and I was surprised by people's reactions. They were inquisitive and supportive, asking about the rules and my experience, but in no way judgmental or critical. That also helped with temptation- they knew not to offer me treats for a while!

I didn't realize it, but fasting is actually a growing trend in the secular world for health. There's a lot of research coming out about how it might jump start rejuvenation of cells and improve health. To make it easier between my husband and I, I only fasted during the week since I was at work, and ate normally on the weekends when we'd be eating together. This helped make it sustainable for the full amount of time.

Since then, my church also started preaching about fasting. My pastor challenged the church to fast with him every Thursday. I think that was last year and I've been doing that most Thursdays since then.

I believe that fasting has amplified my sensitivity of the Spirit, and has made my times of praying in the Spirit more fruitful. Since fasting, I've had exponential growth and abundance, gaining more confidence both in my spiritual life and my professional life.

If you are interested in learning more about what the bible says about fasting and it's benefits, there are a couple of comprehensive sermons in the Agathos 'Featured Messages' archive in the discipleship toolkit. 
]]> Generosity can change a life...yours! https://agathos.org/blog/2020/12/16/generosity-can-change-a-life-yours Wed, 16 Dec 2020 10:16:52 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2020/12/16/generosity-can-change-a-life-yours
By Peter DeWitt

In Galatians 2:10 Paul said James, Peter, and John "desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do."

Jesus said "For the poor you have with you always." That means we will always have an opportunity to show mercy and generosity.

Proverbs 19:17 says “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given.”  When we have pity on the poor, we make a loan to God and God doesn't default.

Proverbs 14:21 says “He who despises his neighbor sins; but he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.”  It's easy to love the lovable. But when we have mercy on the poor, we are made HAPPY!

Prov. 21:13 says “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.”  We cannot individually minister to every need, but when Holy Spirit draws your ear to a cry, you can allow your heart to be soft to it.

Finally Proverbs 29:7 says “The righteous considers the cause of the poor, but the wicked does not understand such knowledge.”  

There is a consideration (a type of gracious thinking) that is available to those who know their righteousness is ONLY by the blood of Christ. This sort of knowledge (of our right standing coming only from Christ's perfection and none of our own) will cause us to love the least without disdain and the greatest with no regard to their fame. Remember "The rich and the poor have this in common, the Lord is the maker of them all." (Prov. 22:2)

Just before the verse in Galatians about James, Peter, and John desiring "only that we should remember the poor..."  we read about the grace given Paul, Peter, James, and John. It's in the context of the GREAT grace upon their lives that they emphasize remembering the poor. The greater the grace upon your life, the more important generosity becomes.

The Lord spoke to my heart last night "Generosity can change a life - yours!"


Only God could create a simple act that is so easy to do, yet so profound in its impact. When we give we are blessed by God in return. When we give it deepens our trust in God and removes trusting in Mammon or our ability to provide for ourselves. When we give we get to actively serve and bless the lives of others - not just by the actual gift that we give them, but also by the love we communicate.

And then, as though that wasn't already enough, we may hear back from those we've given to about what it has meant to them!

Thank you Jesus for modeling generosity in giving your very self for us!

]]> When you realize how fear works, you can learn how to be free of it! https://agathos.org/blog/2020/11/22/when-you-realize-how-fear-works-you-can-learn-how-to-be-free-of-it Sun, 22 Nov 2020 21:10:35 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2020/11/22/when-you-realize-how-fear-works-you-can-learn-how-to-be-free-of-it
By Peter DeWitt

365 times in the Bible, God says, don't be afraid. You need reminded daily not to be afraid!

Turn with me to Romans 8:24-25. I'm going to teach you something about fear. Once you realize what fear is, you can also learn how to get out of it. This is really helpful. So I want to teach the how. How do you get here?  

“For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” (Rom. 8:24-25)

Hope is a positive imagination. If you already see it, then it's not hope anymore, right? Hope thinks about future.

If you have fear, I can promise you it's also about your future. It's never about your present. You might say, “I have fear about my past.” Well, that condemnation can go and that shame can go, but what you actually fear about your past is being rejected in the future. Your fear is still about your future.
When I was fly fishing two years ago, I got a hook stuck in my finger and it had a barb on it. Now I’m one of those people that can't watch blood. Praise God, I didn't become a doctor. So I had this barbed hook in my finger and I was terrified. I had to call Megan to calm me down. I was shaking with fear. Now, at the time, in the moment, I would have told you I was shaking with pain … that the pain was so strong! No. The fear about the potential pain of pulling it out is what was so strong! Do you understand? The fear was about the future. 

You're fearing your future. BUT you can also hope for your future.

Read this verse again. “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” Look how easily “fear” can be substituted for “hope.”  
But fear that is seen is not fear; for why does one still fear what he sees? But if we fear what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with trepidation.

Do you see what I can almost interchange fear and hope in those verses? They're the same thing. 

Fear is negative imagination about what's going to happen. Hope is a positive imagination about what's going to happen.

Romans 15:13 says that as believers we can be abounding in hope, filled with all joy and peace in believing! “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” This is what God wants to do for us!

We know that hope is the precursor to faith! Hebrews 11:1-2 says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.” Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. Right? When you've got hope, then you get a promise from God connected to your hope and you declare that word and it releases faith to receive the thing that you've been hoping for!  

Here's how fear works. You have a negative expectation, a fear of what's going to happen, and then you start running your mouth about the bad that is about to happen. So you just released faith, but in the wrong direction!

If you're made in God's image, as a child of God, who can create the worlds with your words, why would any of us speak negative things over our lives? But we all do it.
Say this, “I will abound in hope. I'm filled with all joy and peace and believing.”
Here's what you need to do. You need to engage what I call your “what if pivot.”  

Fear is a “what if” statement. “What if someone finds out about what I did when I was a kid?" "What if this business meeting goes badly?" "What if there's a famine in the land?" "What if Goliath kills me?”

Right? But you can change every negative "what if" into a positive. Where do you find that? Romans 5:5 says, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” 

It's in the place of His love and the place of His presence that He’ll give you a new view on the things that you're fearing!

So go into His presence and you say, “I've got a fear here. What is the hope that you want to give to me?”

After God speaks hope to you, you then you partner that hope with the word of God and now you release your faith by speaking faith and hope into that exact thing. Isn't that awesome! This is the power of your "what if pivot.”  

Consider this … Joseph could have said, “Oh God, you had what dream, Pharaoh?!? It's going to be a famine. What if we all die!”

No, what did Joseph say? He thought, “no, what if this is an opportunity that God's bringing me into the place of being a Prince that I always saw myself being? What if this is a chance to actually for me to position God's people well?”

What if, what if, what if?

What did David say? The other Israelites were saying, “what if Goliath kills us? What if the Philistines take us down?”

What if, what if, what if.  

David comes in and says, “what's Saul gonna give the guy that kills him?” He says, “what if I get my wife out of this? What if I gain favor with the King because I kill the ones that are attacking his children?”

Jesus could have said, “what if I die on the cross and I'm separated from God,” which He knew was going to happen.
But, instead He said, “what if there's so much joy set before me that all of these sons and daughters that are in this room right now are going to come into the family of God, that it actually makes it worth it all?”

Do you see the power of a what if pivot? You can take fear and turn it into a hope!  
Do not be afraid. You have to practice your “what if pivot.” That's a pathway that you can forge and learn to walk yourself out of fear and into a place of hope.  

You are either governing your life from a place of fear or governing your life from a place of hope.

 And I know that God just gave you the breakthrough that you need in your life. You're governing your life from a place of fear. You're leading your business from a place of fear or from a place of hope. You're running your relationships from a place of fear or from a place of hope. You're thinking about that hard conversation you need to have from a place of fear or a place of hope.

The hope you receive will not disappoint because the love of God has been shed abroad in your heart!

]]> 3 ways to have breakthrough in having consistent time with God https://agathos.org/blog/2020/11/10/3-ways-to-have-breakthrough-in-having-consistent-time-with-god Tue, 10 Nov 2020 22:06:43 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2020/11/10/3-ways-to-have-breakthrough-in-having-consistent-time-with-god
By Peter DeWitt

Set time aside to hear Him and you will hear from Him! Some of us need a break through in our time with God. In other words, if you honestly assessed how often you have meaningful time set aside with the Lord, you might say, “it's not that often.”

If so, here we go! Here are 3 tips to help you consistently set time aside to hear God.

1. Stop feeling bad about it. You feeling bad about it doesn't help anything.

The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God, right?

"My wife and I have not been going on dates, but I know that if I just hate myself enough, and flagellate myself enough for not taking her on dates, I know I'm going to have an awesome date with my wife.” Could you imagine? “We've got to go on a date. I can't believe we've not been on a date.” Now, we're on a date … “Honey, are you having fun?”

That’s ridiculous but that's what we often do with God. He’s wooing us into this environment of being close to Him and being next to Him, and we don't let Him woo us, and instead, we demand it of ourselves and turn it into something that we dread. Isn’t that the dumbest thing? Just be free.

2. Set a time and use a timer - and don't look at it until it goes off.

Once I met a really buff guy at a park, north of town, next to an ice cream shop. My family had just picked up ice cream, which wouldn't be a surprise to some of you at all, who make fun of us all the time for our dessert intake! So, we were at Handles (Megan's favorite ice cream place) and it's a little bit cheaper to buy a quart. We've got this quart of ice cream Megan and I are going to split. No, pint I think!

As we get to the playground, the boys are eating their ice cream, they're about to play, and I've got this bag with a pint of ice cream in it, and there's this really buff guy there. One of the things I've learned to do is if I meet someone who's really good with something, and I've got an interest, I'll just say, "What's one thing that you've learned that's caused you to be so successful about ___________?” I wanted to ask this guy like, "How are you in such good shape?"

But I had a little conundrum, I had a bag of ice cream. So, I'm thinking, "What am I going to do here?" Megan's like, "Do you want any ice cream?" "No, thanks.”

So I walk up to this guy, and I ask him that question without my ice cream. He says, "People ask me that all the time, and here's what I tell them … Find a gym, on your way home from work … you don't need to find the best gym, you don't need to find a certain type of gym, just find a gym that you have to pass in order to get home … and then go there every day on your way home from work for 30 minutes.”

He said they will then ask, "Well, what should I do there?" He's responds, "It doesn't matter. Do something." He said, "Now I spend two or three hours at the gym every day … People might think that I force that on myself but that’s not how it works. If I was starting, I'd go for 30 minutes, I'd probably start to enjoy that I was feeling a little bit better, and I'd start to think, ‘boy, it would be good if my cardiovascular got a little stronger.’ So, I'd maybe add 10 minutes of running.

Maybe before I was just walking and doing a little lifting, but I want to do a little stronger cardiovascular. So, I add 10 minutes of running. Now, I'm at the gym for 40 minutes … I like the results of that, and I realize I'd really like to work on my chest muscles. So, I add extra workouts that work my chest muscles, because I'm really interested in having more success there, and now I'm at the gym for an hour."

He gave me a brilliant insight in how to get started again in your spiritual workout. Paul told Timothy “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” (1 Tim. 4:8)

If you are not having regular time with God, don’t beat yourself up for it. Instead, here's what I want to  encourage  you  to  do… Set  a  time,  and  then  set  your  timer  on  your  phone. Perhaps  it's  30 minutes, perhaps it's 45 minutes, perhaps it's an hour, I think you'd do great to
set an hour, if you can, but 30 minutes even is a great place to start. Set a 30 minute timer, put your phone down and don't look at it until the alarm goes off.

3. Then what do you do with God? Whatever you're hungry for!

Let Him serve you. If you're hungry to be in the Word, if you're hungry to pray, if you're hungry to be in this part of the Word versus that part of the Word, read what you are hungry for! Do you see what I'm saying? Pray what you are hungry for.

Do you know when you find God? When you seek Him with your whole heart. God says “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jer. 29:13) You will start to find God more in your time with him than ever before, if you seek Him out of the place of what you're truly hungry for.
This is a day of breakthrough. If you're a person that for the last five years has been feeling like, “why don't I have a consistent time with God?”

Today's your day to stop feeling bad and to start having a breakthrough.

 Mark Crawford teaches that follow through is the key to break through. If this registered in your heart, but then you don't set a time and you don't set a timer, you won't have breakthrough. That's all you have to do.

Remember, the guy in great shape said, "Go to the gym every day, and do what you're hungry for." So, you do have to go. That's all you have to do. I bless you in that.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you!

]]> The breakthrough that comes when Church looks like FAMILY https://agathos.org/blog/2020/10/28/the-breakthrough-that-comes-when-church-looks-like-family Wed, 28 Oct 2020 13:28:12 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2020/10/28/the-breakthrough-that-comes-when-church-looks-like-family
By Bryan Mangerchine

The last 6 months or so I have been on a journey of letting go of a rebellious heart that I took-on growing up as a teenager.

It was very natural thing for me to do because of the circumstances. It was totally natural, but it was just my way of comforting myself, rather than to deal with what was going on around me. So that kind of attached itself to my identity. And then I took on this character of being a rebellious person. And I was kind of proud of it. 

I would always win the game of who could take it the farthest.  God has shown me that He didn't put that rebelliousness in me. I did.  

So the journey that I'm on is letting go of who I thought I was, and receiving who God tells me I am.

He tells me I'm a good son, an obedient son, who loves to obey his Father … because my Father is so good.  I would not have been on this journey without others around me - my wife and this church family.  If I didn't have those people in my life, I would not be the person that I am. Those of you who knew me as a kid, God's grace has flowed into my life and he’s transformed me. I’m a different person  than I used to be.

I attribute that mostly to this body - the relationships that I've had here - because this became my home 15 years ago. The relationships that have been established and developed in my life have born fruit in my life. 

What we do on Sunday mornings is the gathering of a family. If we go to church on Sundays, and that is the depth of our  relationship with the body of Christ, we are selling ourselves short. We need to be eating each other’s fruit!

I can say that most of the breakthrough that comes in my life is not through listening to Peter's messages, as great as they are.

The rubber hits the road over dinner at one of our houses, doing something fun together, or celebrating together.

 It hits the road going and doing things together as a family, where we're actually seeing each other's lives and we're able to see “oh, that, I didn't know that was there.”  Or “I have a word for you”  or “ listen to what God’s doing in me”. 

Then over the course of years, those things get talked about, discussed, we get set free from the bondage that we've put ourselves under by the lies that we believed about ourselves. 

We all have blind spots, and we need each other. We need each other to release love to one another, to receive the love of the Father, so we can be set free from those blind spots.

 Humility is a really smart thing to do. It's actually the only smart way to be. It's actually the logical thing to do. It's not emotional to be humble. It is to walk into truth and to correct yourself with that truth, rather than rebel against it.

It's been prophesied that we are going to experience tremendous growth in this season and we receive that. The limiting factor, the little limiting reagent for our growth is our individual humility. 

How much we are willing to seek out input from others?

We’re going to get feedback, going to get hard things to hear sometimes, and if we don't work that out and see it come to bare fruit in our lives, then something happened there that didn't allow it.  That’s probably something in our heart that blocked the fruit we intended to see.
Some of us grew up, learning how to analyze our lives and learning to look for the fruit of our lives. What would be the wrong thing to do with that information would be to judge ourselves.

We must observe the fruit, the output that we’re seeing, and then you take that to the Father, and you ask Him to correct it for you. “What am I believing incorrectly, Father?” Sometimes we don't see the fruit in our lives, because we're so deceived. We deceive ourselves in our hearts, and that's where the body comes in.

Fortunately, when we seek the family relationships, there can be  brothers and sisters in our lives that want to see us meet our potential.

One point is key to remember what Jesus taught us about calling out others.  He said to be focused on the log in our own eyes rather than the spec in the other.  

Don’t receive what I’m saying as permission to criticize or correct, that’s not what family does. Family supports one another.  Family accepts each other just as we are! Family celebrates one another.

I encourage each of us to be sons/daughters by seeking out wisdom from spiritual mothers and fathers in areas of our lives where we see people that have fruit that we don’t have yet.
I encourage you to especially seek out those folks who’ve overcome something that we might be struggling with.

That’s where the breakthrough lies - in seeking out their help and having the humility to do what they say.  

Don’t give up until you get that fruit!

]]> Does God supply all of our needs even when water was pouring into our basement? https://agathos.org/blog/2020/10/20/does-god-supply-all-of-our-needs-even-when-water-was-pouring-into-our-basement Tue, 20 Oct 2020 17:11:08 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2020/10/20/does-god-supply-all-of-our-needs-even-when-water-was-pouring-into-our-basement
 Testimony By Erin Rollins

Philippians 4 says God shall supply all your needs according to His riches, right?

So two weeks ago we had water in our basement. We were trying to figure out where it was coming from, and we realized that it was the main water line heading into our house! Turned off the valve, nothing happened, water was still coming into our basement. We're thinking, "Oh, that doesn't seem good."

I have been on furlough since March, so I've been on unemployment that whole time. For those who are on unemployment, the stimulus had just terminated at the beginning of August. So I was now officially only making half of what I normally make, and then the water problem started.

First I'm freaking out, then I stopped myself and thought, "No, Lord, you’ve got this. You're going to figure it out."

 We called in a couple of plumbers. The first one comes in and says, "Oh, this is major, I can’t estimate this, we’re definitely going to have to dig. I have to send in another guy to do the estimate.”  I'm thinking, "Oh dear God, this is going to be in the tens of thousands of dollars, I just can feel it."

Then, the second plumber comes in, and he says, "I fix this problem all the time, we can do it without too much digging,” and he quotes a price much lower than what I had feared.  Then, I sit down at my computer, and I'm filling out unemployment, and there's this new box.  “Check here for the new stimulus." I'm thinking, "New stimulus? I didn't hear about a new stimulus."

I look it up, and low and behold, Governor DeWine had decided to ask for a grant from the federal government … everyone who's on unemployment is getting back paid from August, all the way through the end of September. The money I would receive as a result would be the same amount as the cost of the plumbing job.

The Lord provided!


God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches.

Isn't that awesome?
'According to', kata, in the Greek, means that it stems forth from His riches. That alone is really encouraging.

Think about this. It's like, "Hey, where do you have that financial supply coming from in your life?" "I'm on tap from heaven." That's pretty good, isn't it?  

But then, in addition to it, I think kata also means according to - since it's heaven's supply, it's according to heaven's supply. 

There's an old story, I don't know if I've shared this with you before, it's a brilliant story. I think it was Alexander the Great was going down the road in his royal coach, and there was a beggar alongside of the road, and Alexander the Great flipped him, as the story goes, a gold coin. His attendants said, "Why did you flip that beggar a gold coin? Surely copper would have been sufficient for him."

They thought a copper coin would've been a big breakthrough for the beggar. Yet Alexander the Great replied, "The copper coin would have been appropriate for the beggar, but it would not have been appropriate for me.”

So when God says that He'll supply all your needs according to His riches, do you understand that there's certain ways that you might think that He should supply you that just are not appropriate for God?

He wants to provide exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think!

Second section by Peter DeWitt
Father, thank you that you promised to provide all my needs according to heavens supply!
As your children, we know and receive your fatherly love and provision, no matter what happens. I trust that you provide exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to your power at work in us.





]]> How to process failure so it becomes an opportunity for growth https://agathos.org/blog/2020/10/14/how-to-process-failure-so-it-becomes-an-opportunity-for-growth Wed, 14 Oct 2020 09:13:38 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2020/10/14/how-to-process-failure-so-it-becomes-an-opportunity-for-growth
By Peter DeWitt

Probably 10 years ago, when I first married and I was out doing some woodworking in my dad's woodworking shop. I was making this music box out of cherry and cedar for Megan as a present. The sides of the music box were just over 1/2” thick and I had these barrel hinges that you have to drill a circular hole to put the hinge in to make the lid of the music box open, and the barrel hinges were a half inch in diameter. There was very little wood on either side of that, about 1/32” or so … almost impossible.

On this day, my dad was taking my sister to an OSU basketball game, and I'm out there trying to get these hinges to work. They go to the OSU basketball game, and I experienced multiple hours of frustration trying to get these hinges to work. After the OSU basketball game finishes, they come back. You can imagine a game is two hours, at least. There's the drive there, the parking, the walk there, the crowds, the parking, the walk back and all that sort of thing. So probably about four hours later, my dad returns, the hinges still haven't worked. I've been fussing with these things for about 4 hours!

My dad walks into the shop, says one thing, and I don't even know if it was the answer to how to do the hinges. He says one thing and within probably two minutes or less, the hinges work. The Lord spoke to my heart and witnessed to me that this was a prophetic experience.

The Lord spoke to my heart and said, "Everything hinges on the presence of a father."

A friend was telling me a story recently about when he was a young boy he went to go try out for a select team. During the tryouts for that select team, he realized, I'm not going to make the cut. So, he faked being hurt.

He faked being hurt, and his parents weren't at the actual tryouts and the coach drove him home. The coach was trying to cheer him up a little bit in the car because he now recollects with an adult perspective and realizes that the coach probably knew what he was doing. So anyway the coach drops him off. He goes inside and just casually tells his parents, "I don't know, it didn't go that well." That was the end of the interaction. He hid what had happened, right?

He told me the story and I thought, “wow, that's fascinating, I have a similar story.” I really wanted to play baseball and I wasn't that good or I got better over time, I should say. When I was 11, I tried out for a travel baseball team. The tryouts had a couple of teams that you're trying out for and a bunch of kids were there. I played pretty well at times, but I still got cut.
 
I was driving home, I remember I was in my dad's 1995 Saturn, you remember those cars? I don't even think they exist anymore! We're driving home together; my dad was driving me home. We get to our driveway and we stopped there, and we sat in the car probably for 10 minutes because I was just crying. I was devastated that I had been cut.

For bout 5 or 8 minutes he just let me cry, and then he said, "Well, do you want to go have a catch?" I said, "Huh?"
He said, "Well, do you want to make it next year?" I said, "I guess."
He said, "Do you want to go have a catch? Looks like we need to practice." I said "Okay."

We walked out and we had a catch.

Do you realize that the presence of a father reframed what seemed like failure into an opportunity for growth?

Do you know that perfect love removes the fear of failure?

If you're processing failures, difficulties or challenging words on your own … Remember the two kids: me and the other kid. The one kid was not measuring up at tryouts. He processed it on his own. "It didn't go that well mom and dad." Then he went up to his room.

Me, I'm crying in front of my father, who then at the appropriate time says, "Ready to have a catch?"

If you're processing failure in any area of your life on your own, you've not yet been perfected in love.

 1 John 4:18, right? Perfect love casts out fear. Fear has to do with punishment.

There's a place that's called love. Think of a literal place that's called love that I’m trying to describe to you. Megan said that I was going to take people into new green pastures where they're going to be able to grow.

The Shepherd leads us beside still waters and leads us into green pastures. He helps to transfer you from one place into another place of growth! There's a place for many of us that we're going to get to feed and grow like we've never been able to grow before.

A big part of it has to do with how you relate to the Father in the place of failure. Think of it like this, God's leading you to a new green pasture, and I'm calling that pasture, perfect love.

John says, that perfect love casts out fear. Anyone who fears has not yet been perfected in love.
When you learn the love of the Father and stop processing failure or difficulty on your own, you've moved yourself into a location and that location is physical, and it's called the love of God! You can be actually perfected in the love of God, do you understand me?

You can be brought to maturity in the place of the love of God. God can work on things in your life if you're IN His love. I still haven't gotten the Words across to get across what I'm trying to say.

Many of us are trying to be perfected in performance. What I'm saying is, you can depart from the place of “perform on your own” and enter the place of the love of the Father. He says, “in the place of my love, I will perfect you.”


What I'm trying to communicate to you is if I give you a hard Word, and you process it on your own, instead of if necessary, weeping before the Father and allowing Him into that place, then you have not yet learned to operate in the place of being perfected in the context of His love.

You  don't need to be perfected in performance. Go get into His love and allow that to perfect you!

]]> Praying and Seeing Healing! https://agathos.org/blog/2020/10/07/praying-and-seeing-healing Wed, 07 Oct 2020 10:04:30 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2020/10/07/praying-and-seeing-healing
Testimony by Brad Ettore

A while back my mom asked if I could pray for a friend of hers that had been bedridden for two months. She has Guillain-Barre syndrome, which attacks the sheath around the nerves and eats those sheaths away so the nerves are not able to operate correctly, causing the muscles to fail and often resulting in complete paralysis. She had been basically paralyzed in a bed and couldn't even feel her legs. For example, if she couldn't see her legs, she didn't know where they were. She had just had a major physical therapy breakthrough in that she could now just barely raise a glass of water to her mouth with two hands.

I was on my way to meet with my mom's friend, Erin, in the hospital. It is worth noting that I felt utterly exhausted due to only having about four and half hours of sleep the night before. I was feeling about as anointed as a dead fish, but I knew healing has nothing to do with my physical strength.

So, I thought, “OK, so I'm tired? So what! So I feel nothing. So what! How I feel has nothing to do with it.

"Healing has everything to do with Jesus and what He did on the cross! It has nothing to do with me.”

My mom’s friend, Erin, basically believes in a universal power or force - a good force but not a personal God. Since she is not a believer, I wanted to begin at the beginning with her but right as I was ready to start sharing about Jesus and the healing He has afforded us, we hear a knock at the door. It’s her friend. I was bummed because the timing was not the best. Nevertheless, her friend came in and sat down and the lady I came to minster to tells her, “Hey this is Brad he is going to talk to us about healing. What do you think about that?” Her friend didn’t even look at me, instead she just looked at Erin with a look that seemed to say, “That is not what I came for!”

There was definite resistance in Erin’s friend. There was definitely an opportunity for me to get down and let negativity come into my thinking, but I resisted because I knew I would have an opportunity to minister to Erin. I did, however, think about doing this at another time so that I didn’t have unbelief in the room while I was going to be ministering to her. So I turned to my mom and said, “Hey what do you think? Maybe I should just come back another time?” I also didn’t want to interrupt Erin and her friend’s time together as I could always come back later.

After my mom thought about it for a second, she said, “I think we should just go for it.” Since she has known Erin and her friend for years, I agreed. I began talking about how God heals. I showed her scriptures on healing and had her read the scriptures out loud. I thought I did a pretty good job explaining that healing is real and it is for today. I also gave her some testimonies of people I have prayed for and the healing they had experienced. This lasted about thirty minutes.

I then asked her, “Are you ready? Can I pray for you?” To which Erin replied, “I can't say that I really believe like you believe.” I assured her saying, “Well that is okay that you don't believe like I believe, but first I just want to tell you God is a real person. He created you, He’s your maker, He’s real. Here’s what I need from you to move forward. I just need you to have a ‘yes’ in your heart that you will receive healing if it is real. If your heart is like ‘no I don't want anything to do with that,’ I can't minister to you. 

"God is a gentleman; He will not force Himself on you, you just have to be open.”

 Then I asked her “are you open to the idea of receiving it?” Erin said “well yeah, I mean yeah.” And I said “duh right?!?” And Erin said “well yeah duh, yeah I'll receive it.” So I said “OK cool that’s all I need, I'll do the believing, I just need you to be open to receiving.” Erin said “okay I can do that part.” I said “alright.”

So, I was getting ready to pray when she said “wait, wait one minute my shoulder is just really hurting could you just put the pillow under my shoulder?” After we got that pillow situated for her she said I could go ahead and pray for her. So I lay hands on her and I speak to her body. I command the nervous system to be corrected and to be healed completely. I just commanded healing into her body. I won't go into all what I was praying, I just prayed for two minutes or so.

Now, when Erin’s friend had originally come in the room and Erin said “He is going to talk to us about healing what do you think about that?” Erin’s friend said in an almost condescending way “well I've got a knee sore if you want to pray for that.” I don't mean to put her down. She doesn’t buy this. So, after I prayed for Erin, I turned to her friend and said “what do you think if I prayed for your knee?” She looked at me like “are you serious?” And then she said “sure why not?” Her tone said “whatever.”

I said “can I touch your knee?” and she said “sure.” So I said “how long has your knee been hurting?” She said “fifty years.” I said “are you serious?” She said “yeah, I injured it when I was pole vaulting in high school.” 

It had ripped her tendons in her knee and she has been in pain for fifty years! I said “OK well that is going to end today.” So I laid hands on her I commanded her knee to be healed. That was it.

 I turned back I start talking to Erin. We were talking for about three minutes and her friend completely interrupts our conversation and says “Brad you fixed my knee!” She says “oh my gosh!” and she stands up and again exclaims “you fixed my knee, oh my gosh, Erin, I don't have any pain in my knee!” My mom told me she that now Erin’s friend has been asking me all kinds of theological questions! She has never done that before. Her knee still does not hurt. God is awesome!

Now, when I had originally finished praying for Erin, she said “well I can't say that I feel any different.” And I said “that’s OK.” (If you pray for someone and they say they don’t feel any different, do not get into unbelief.) So I said to Erin “I promise you, you will, the anointing went into you and it was doing its work now and you will feel different. My guess is tomorrow morning you are going to be shocked at your level of recovery. Like you are going to start doing things you can't even imagine. It will defy logic what you will be able to do tomorrow and it will get better and better and you will heal rapidly, alright.”

Having prayed in faith for Erin and seen her friend’s knee healed, I was getting ready to leave, but I kept getting a reminder from the Lord about Erin’s shoulder. So I asked Erin “how is your shoulder by the way?” And she looked at me as if to ask “should I test it?” and then she started to move it. She was like “oh my gosh!” My mom said take the pillow out from under her arm. So, I went around and pulled the pillow out and she starts moving her shoulder.

“Oh my gosh it doesn’t hurt anymore! I don't have any pain in my shoulder!” I said “see it has already started! You are going to be fine!"

Her physical therapist came the next day and apparently said no less than five times “this is amazing!” about everything she could do, she could lift her hands 180° above her head the next day! Remember she could barely lift a water glass with two hands the day before! As for the foot that she couldn’t even tell where it was if she could visually see it, she was now resisting the physical therapist with her leg, resisting with her leg! Then, three days later, she was starting to stand up! Glory!!!

Healing is Real and For You!

Healing is real and there are many many more testimonies that Brad could share - and ones even more powerful than the ones that we just heard. Powerful in the sense that they are really radical to our minds. But they are not any more or less because they are all the same level of power.
They are all supernatural events, and they are available to us.
]]> You have received an INHERITANCE! https://agathos.org/blog/2020/09/16/you-have-received-an-inheritance Wed, 16 Sep 2020 10:49:34 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2020/09/16/you-have-received-an-inheritance
By Peter DeWitt

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in  glory by Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19)

God’s supply is according to (Greek: kata) His riches. Kata has the  sentiment of “stemming from, coming from, flowing from, according  to.” All of those would be a true expression about God’s supply. His  supply for us flows from His riches - from His resources.  It is also true to say that His supply for us is according to the  standard of His riches. In other words, He doesn’t use our need as  the reference frame for His supply … instead the reference frame of  His supply is HIS RICHES in glory. God’s supply to us on earth is  according to His riches in Heaven.  

There is an old story of a secular ruler who’s entourage passed by a  beggar along the side of the road. As he passed the beggar, the ruler  tossed him a gold coin to which the attendants of the ruler said “why  did you give him gold when copper would have suited him?” The ruler  responded “copper would have suited him, but gold suited me.” God  supplies all our needs according to his riches in glory!

All of the supply of Heaven is ours because of our position in Christ  as believers.

Ephesians 1:11 says we have obtained an inheritance!  Col. 1:12 says the Father has QUALIFIED us to be partakers of of the  inheritance of the saints in the light. Likewise “For all the promises of  God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through  us.” Our YES and AMEN is found in the IN HIM POSITION. It is our  position in Christ that has qualified us as sons of God and therefore  possessors of an inheritance!  

The inheritance we have received is so great that Jesus said we  would need Holy Spirit’s help to comprehend and receive all the  supply that God has for us! Paul knew this and said “Now we have  received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by  God.” (1 Cor. 2:12)  

Jesus prophesied all of this in John 16:12-15 “I still have many things  to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the  Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not  speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and  
He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of  what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are  Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”  

Jesus’ inheritance has become your inheritance.

That’s grace! Holy  Spirit says “this is the grace supply available to you.” Faith says “I  receive the grace you’ve supplied to Me!”

Speaking of the New Covenant, Jesus said "And in that day you will  ask (Gr: BEG) Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you  ask (Gr: demand as something DUE TO YOU) the Father in My name  He will give you.”  

A king threw a gold coin to a beggar who deserved copper at best.  We did not deserve Christ, but God has already delivered His Own  Son over to be crucified for me and you. How will He not - with Him -  also give us all things?!?

We have not because we ask not ... "Ask, and you will receive, that your  joy may be full."
]]> Our Income Increased by 84% in 12 Months! https://agathos.org/blog/2020/09/01/our-income-increased-by-84-in-12-months Tue, 01 Sep 2020 17:28:46 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2020/09/01/our-income-increased-by-84-in-12-months
By Peter DeWitt

Some years ago we needed a house. Our oldest son, Peter, was about 1 and we were soon to have another (Andrew) on the way ... and we lived in a 600 or so sq. ft. one-bedroom apartment.

We were out on a date and Megan so lovingly said "we don't make enough money to own a home." She was so honoring of how I had been providing for the family - but the point was clear. Instead of being offended I chose to PRESS INTO the conversation.

I had a faith for some reason ... "let's think about how much we would really need to make in order to own a home comfortably ..."

We wrote down some figures: how much would we like to be able to give charitably each month? How much would we need for mortgage and updates / repairs? Food? Clothes? Cars? Trips? etc?

The number was 183% of our current salary. I said "how about we ask God for our income to be that much within the next 12 months?" We prayed simply but locked-into the belief He would answer our request "Father, I ask for our income to be $____________ (183% of our current) within the next 12 months."

Within the next few months I received a number of raises / promotions / opportunities but to be honest I forgot about the prayer we prayed and we continued to live in our one-bedroom apartment.

Then, the following fall I was waiting for a contract to come back for a small side-job. To be honest, I thought "this side job may be more hassle than it's worth." It seemed like "just another thing" and it would be easier to keep my schedule freer. Because of that I sort of prayed a "sigh" to God and said "oh I hope they offer me at least 2x what I think they will."

Shortly thereafter the contract offer came back ... it was 2x what I had asked God ... 4x what I had figured! THEN I had a thought! When did we pray for an 83% increase in income? I looked through my journal and it was almost exactly 12 months previous!

THEN THEN THEN I thought ... wait, what's our income going to be now? I added everything up. I remember the desk I was sitting at ... with that better-than-expected side contract, our new income was going to be ... 84% more than 12 months before!

Now watch this ... we asked God for 83% increase in 12 months! Crazy, right?
BUT God exceeded our expectations even ... with 84% increase in 12 months!

The following summer we were able to buy our first home. GOD LOVES YOU. He knows what you need before you ask. But it DELIGHTS HIM when you ask!

I've been thinking about this:
THE FEAR OF MAN LEADS TO A MUTED TESTIMONY.

It's time to UNMUTE YOUR TESTIMONY! In John 9 the man who was born blind could now see. He said this "One thing I know; that though I was blind, now I see." And now his testimony still rings out every time Amazing Grace is sung!

So many of us struggle to share testimony because we don't realize it only needs to contain ONE THING ... what Jesus HAS DONE!

For me, my family needed more money for a home and God nearly doubled our income in one year to make it happen! That's just ONE THING that has showed me how much He loves me.
What's your "ONE THING I know?"

UNMUTE your testimony!
]]> WORRY is entertaining GOSSIP against God's goodness! https://agathos.org/blog/2020/08/25/worry-is-entertaining-gossip-against-god-s-goodness Tue, 25 Aug 2020 16:54:14 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2020/08/25/worry-is-entertaining-gossip-against-god-s-goodness
By Peter DeWitt

In Philippians 4, Paul said "Not that I speak in regard to need ..."

We must be careful where our thoughts originate from. If I am in prayer and filled with hope and out of that abundance of hope a thought comes about my career, that is probably a very different line of thought than a line of thought that originates from thinking about a large bill I have to pay and a concern about an upcoming contract negotiation process.

Both lines of thought could lead me to think about my career, but one line of thought was brought about “in regard to need” whereas the other line of thought was brought about from the leading of Holy Spirit.

While it would be amazing to never entertain thoughts “in regard to need” that is a place many of us are not at yet …however, we can all engage in thought capture.

When we have lines of thought that we realize are originating out of fear, not faith, we can say “hey, wait a minute, I am not going to tend this line of thought any further.”


We can also all decide not to SPEAK out of that place. While it would be great to give no thought to worry, we can still do wonders in our life by at least not speaking out of the place of worry! Jesus instructed us in Matthew 6 “Therefore do not worry, SAYING, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

Worry that’s SPOKEN begins to direct our hearts and determines what we seek.

Paul was careful to not speak “in regard to need.” I would encourage you that worry in your heart doesn't always need to come out of your mouth! Jesus taught us that faith speaks. Worry wants to speak too.

I feel to say that many of us have "worry partners." These are people we "process with." While we all need a chance to process at times, I would encourage you to assess ... when you talk with someone and share some things you're worried about, do you end up in a place of faith declaring the Word of God over your life or that situation by the end of the conversation? If not, could that person become a "faith partner" instead of a "worry partner?" If you are realizing you are someone's "worry partner" could you become a loving "faith partner?"

From God's end, His goodness and mercy are literally tracking us down all the days of our lives (see Ps. 23). If I meditate with others on my lack and need, I'm actually slandering the goodness of God behind His back. WORRY is actually entertaining GOSSIP against God's goodness. So, next time you get lost in worry, stop that line of thought, try not to speak out of that place, and invite His goodness and mercy track you down!

He wants to supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

]]> The Lord Rebuked the Devourer over our Car Trouble! https://agathos.org/blog/2020/08/18/the-lord-rebuked-the-devourer-over-our-car-trouble Tue, 18 Aug 2020 19:54:48 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2020/08/18/the-lord-rebuked-the-devourer-over-our-car-trouble
By Andy Davis

As I was driving to and from work in our Toyota Corolla, I began to notice over multiple days a sound coming from what seemed like the front passenger side suspension. I thought “bummer - this didn’t used to make this sound and it’s not supposed to make this sound so something seems to be wrong.”  As it was consistently making this odd sound, I took video with my phone to record the noise.

We were due for an oil change so when I took the car to the garage I mentioned the sound to them and asked them to figure out what was wrong with it.

When my wife and I prepare our tithe each month (even our kids joins in) one of the things we pray is “Your Word says You will rebuke the devourer for our sakes and we thank You for that now - that You will rebuke the devourer over home repairs, car repairs, our health in the Name of Jesus!” We also prayed the same thing after dropping the Corolla off to get looked at. At the same time, I was thinking “but there IS something wrong with the car, I keep hearing it."

Interestingly, I tried to play the recording so the mechanics at the garage could hear the sound when I dropped the car off, but I could not actually get the sound to play on the video.  The video would play, but no sound. I tried to get another video on Facebook to play sound ... my phone would not play sound! It’s almost as if the Lord was saying “I’ve already rebuked the devourer ... don’t even tell them about this - it’s taken care of!” Later that day, my phone played sound, no problem.

Finally, we got a call late on Saturday from the shop who said they just couldn’t hear that sound even though they drove the car around everywhere! This is where I had a learning point as my honest, immediate reaction was “guys, come on ... I’ve heard the sound for 4 days; it’s there!” I realized that I should have immediately thought “praise You Lord, You’ve rebuked the devourer - it’s done!”

We drove the car home - no sound. Then Laura drove the car to work on Monday - no sound. I drove the car to work Tuesday - no sound. Every day since then there is no sound and no issue with the car. We didn’t pay anything for it. The Lord rebuked the devourer for our sakes! Thank you, God!
Your car isn’t going to be breaking down and costing you money. Your house isn’t going to breaking down. You are not going to have medical bills piling up.  - That’s what you can speak into and say “You rebuke the devourer for our sake!”

All of His promises work together for our good and they are yes and amen!

“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the LORD of hosts.”
Malachi 3:11
]]> "What are people going to think of me?" - Finding Validation from the Father https://agathos.org/blog/2020/08/12/what-are-people-going-to-think-of-me-finding-validation-from-the-father Wed, 12 Aug 2020 08:42:41 +0000 https://agathos.org/blog/2020/08/12/what-are-people-going-to-think-of-me-finding-validation-from-the-father
By Peter DeWitt

When I was 10 years old I stood in front of a mirror and I said “why don’t people like me?” It was a real vulnerable spot for a little 10 year old kid’s heart. “Why don’t people like me?” I remembered that 30 seconds for more than 2 decades after that. Why? Holy Spirit was bringing it up.

 First I said “why don’t people like me?” But next I said “I’ll show them.” A vow (which is what I made there) is the flesh’s response to judgment. It says “let me pull up my bootstraps … I’m going to show them … I’m going to avoid judgment myself!”

So many people are walking around with a nebulous sense of “what are people going to think of me?” I would venture to say that I used to spend 30, 40, 50, 60, 70% of my brain’s energy caring about what people would think of me. I know that I have often “wound myself up” before spending time with other people to make sure that I looked good. I didn’t want to be rejected anymore.

But you cannot find validation in your peer group. You can only find validation in your Father. You don’t want to be searching for walnuts up an acorn tree. You can spend your whole life spinning your wheels wondering “why am I not finding validation here?” IT’S A TRAP.

Sons and daughters - stop performing and instead enter the rest of the acceptance of the Father.


Orphans are competing with one another to find a father-figure. All the while, when you finally come to your senses, like the younger prodigal son, and say “I’m going to come back to my father” we come with all of our performance and all of the things that we think we’re going to do to win His love and the Father says “SHHHH … I’m going to kiss you.”
“You don’t understand yet, and that’s OK. I’m glad you’re home. Welcome home.”

Whoever you give the right to justify you, you also give the right to condemn you. Sometimes that looks like people pleasing. Sometimes that can also looks like self-judgment. When you want to people please badly enough you will actually pre-judge yourself to make sure that you are in line with what you “need to be” before you’re with other people.

Self-judgment will weaponize your conscience against you.


If you have an overactive conscience, I would venture to say that you’ve engaged in self-judgment. Many people who grew up in religious-type environments have this mindset because they’ve learned all the “good to do” and they are working on doing all of those good things and managing their heart to do all of those good things … so that they could “be right.”

But authority doesn’t rest on right-ness, it rests on relationship.
So instead of trying to “be right” in order to have relationship, we can have relationship that causes us walk rightly!

“He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” (Ps. 23:3b)
Thank you, Father, that you give us unconditional love and we can only receive validation from you. Thank you that my authority in you does not rely on being good enough, but instead on relationship with you. I can come to you and rest in the acceptance you give me. Please help me to receive your love in my heart to fully understand I no longer need to perform to receive it and I no longer need to look elsewhere for validation.
Amen
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Listen to the sermon below - "Returning Home to your Father"
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