Growing In God with Gary Hargrave

Growing In God Podcast
Program Number: GIG #303
 
Title: Impelled by the Spirit
 
Web Description: We often think of the infilling of the Holy Spirit as a means of experiencing His gifts. While it is absolutely true that He gives us gifts—and we should use those gifts—there is a greater purpose. Christ has given us the Holy Spirit to indwell us and impel us. We belong to Christ, and we are not here to direct our own lives. We are here to be the temple of the Holy Spirit in which He continually dwells. And He is in us to be the controlling force in our lives from now on.
 
Show Notes: The book of Acts records the experiences the disciples had when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. But the Holy Spirit came to them that day for a greater purpose than to give them experiences, as great as those were. To understand God's purpose in bringing the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we should look at the life of Christ. When Yeshua (Jesus) was baptized with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit descended on Him and remained. Then He was driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness.
 
The Holy Spirit dwelled upon and within Yeshua from that time forward and was the driving force in His life. And this is exactly why the Holy Spirit descended on Yeshua's disciples—to remain with them, to dwell in them, and to be the driving force in their lives. We should have the same expectation when we receive the Holy Spirit. He does not come to us to give us temporary experiences. He comes to us to abide with us, dwell in us, lead us, drive us, and guide us from that point on.
 
We need to repent of this idea that we can turn the Holy Spirit on or off at our convenience. When we receive the Holy Spirit, the reality is that we are giving ourselves to be His housing, His temple, the ones in whom the Spirit of God abides continually. The reality is that we have been bought with a price and we are not our own. We are not supposed to direct our lives for our own desires. We are to be led by God. And we open our hearts wide to the complete and total purpose of God in giving us the Holy Spirit, which is to dwell in us and be the controlling force in our lives.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       Mark 1:9–13. "Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness."
•       Luke 4:1. "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, … was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness."
•       Matthew 4:1. "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."
•       John 1:32. "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him."
•       1 Corinthians 3:16. "Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"
•       1 Corinthians 6:19–20. "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. … You are not your own."
•       2 Corinthians 6:16–18. What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God.
•       2 Corinthians 5:14–20. "The love of Christ controls us."
 
Quotes:
 
•       "Is there a baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, miracles, gifts of the Holy Spirit? Is that all reality? Yes, it is reality. But let's not get lost in the weeds. A greater sense of that is this constant abiding and constant leading, guiding, directing, and I would say control of the Holy Spirit in our lives."
•       "The Holy Spirit is a vehicle of God fathering us as children, teaching us, directing us, guiding us. And that is what we should be driven for and want for the spiritual experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit."
•       "'We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.' That is the cry of the book of Acts, and it was a result of the Holy Spirit descending and remaining and indwelling those who received Him."
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    The Holy Spirit descended on Yeshua and remained permanently abiding in Him and directing His life. If we want an experience in the Holy Spirit, then that is what we should believe for as well.
2.    The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us as His temple, as His permanent housing in the earth. We are not our own. We are to give ourselves to the Lord so that the Holy Spirit becomes the driving force in our lives.
3.    We are new creatures in Christ because we are no longer driven by our own ideas, lusts, and desires. Instead, we are driven and led by the Holy Spirit. The old things pass away, and new things come because the Holy Spirit leads us and guides us into everything God has for us.

Growing In God Podcast
Program Number: GIG #302
Categories: Kingdom of God
Air Date: 5/20/2026
 
Title: The Colony From Heaven
 
Web Description: If you feel like your world has been turned upside down, then you are just like the disciples of Yeshua (Jesus). After the Passover, everything they thought they knew was gone. But by Pentecost they understood what the Lord had actually spoken to them, and they were prepared to be that to the world. And God will remove your past conditioning to prepare you to move forward as His ambassadors to this world.
 
Show Notes: Between Passover and Pentecost, the disciples of Yeshua (Jesus) went through a time of deep preparation. They were thrown into turmoil and confusion as their concepts about Yeshua's purpose were turned upside down. Yeshua had told them plainly what would happen, but they had to go through a time of transition until they were able to understand and move in what the Lord had shown them. We too have been in a transition where we are coming to understand and move in what God has shown us.
 
For the disciples, Pentecost was a completion of the old things and a launching pad into a whole new day. And we have the same experience in Christ. We go through a transition that seems like turmoil and confusion. But we come out of that with an understanding of God's Word and an ability to move forward. Pentecost means that the past is not something we are stuck in but something that has prepared us to be God's representatives to the earth. We have a purpose to fulfill. The Lord has placed us here for a reason. We are His ambassadors.
 
We may live here on earth, but our citizenship is in heaven. We have been transplanted here from heaven; we are a colony of the Kingdom. As ambassadors of Christ, we still reside in the Kingdom that we represent. As a colony from the Kingdom of Heaven, we are an exact replica of that Kingdom on the earth. We are a manifestation of the Lord's government, ways, thoughts, morality, miracles, and everything else about His Kingdom. Therefore, we leave the past behind and press on toward the goal of our high calling in Christ.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       Philippians 3:1–14. "Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal."
•       Philippians 3:15–21. "Our citizenship is in heaven."
•       Ephesians 3:19. "Be filled up to all the fullness of God."
•       2 Corinthians 5:20. "We are ambassadors for Christ."
•       John 18:36. "Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not of this world.'"
•       John 15:18–19. "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you."
•       John 17:14–15. "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. … Keep them from the evil one."
 
Quotes:
 
•       "You can't go back and make everything right that was wrong. You just rejoice in God and know that He's moving you forward. So let's all start by just rejoicing in the Lord."
•       "Don't confuse the future with the past. Don't try to recreate what we had in the past, what we did in the past, who you were in the past, what we were in the past together."
•       "We are to have the experience of the life of Christ filling us. We are to be filled, as Christ was, to all the fullness of God in this day, in this life. And we're to have that so living in us that we're able to impart it to others."
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    The process of God taking us out of everything we have known in the past seems difficult. But He does that so we can understand and walk in what we were unable to understand or walk in before.
2.    Let us be like Paul and say that all we gained in the past is loss in comparison to the fullness that God has called us to walk in. We leave everything of the past in the past and keep moving forward.
3.    You are a colony of the Kingdom of Heaven. You are the picture of the Kingdom that God is wanting to bring forth on this earth. You are the ambassadors of that Kingdom and the ones who impart that Kingdom to the people of this world.

Growing In God Podcast
Program Number: GIG #301
Categories: Discipleship
Title: Prepare to Receive the Holy Spirit
 
Web Description: The Day of Pentecost was not just a single moment in time when the disciples experienced a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They had prepared before that event to receive the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit continued to be in them after that event. Pentecost for us should be more than a remembrance of a historical event. It is a time to prepare our hearts to receive the Holy Spirit to be in us and direct our lives from that moment on.
 
Show Notes: For Christians, Pentecost represents the beginning of the Church, and many Christians celebrate it as a remembrance of that event. But there is more to Pentecost than a one-day event. And our celebration of Pentecost should be more than remembering what happened with the apostles back then. What happened at Pentecost is something we should anticipate walking in and experiencing in our own lives today. And that requires preparation, just as it was required then.
 
Before He ascended Yeshua (Jesus) told His disciples to stay in Jerusalem and prepare for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. When that happened, it changed their lives. We think of Pentecost as a single manifestation of the Holy Spirit. But it was just the first day of the Spirit being with them and in them as He empowered them to be Christ's witnesses in all the earth. What happened with the disciples is what happened with Christ when the Holy Spirit came on Him and remained. And this is what we are to have as temples of the Holy Spirit.
 
We absolutely want to see the outpourings of the Holy Spirit on all mankind. But that means more than having some wonderful experiences on one day and then going back to our regular lives the next day with no awareness of Him. We are looking for a life-changing event like the Day of Pentecost. We are looking for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on us and permanently reside in us as His temple. It means we do not go back to living our own lives according to our own desires and passions. The Holy Spirit, who is from God, has come to dwell within us to lead us, guide us, and direct our lives. This is what we prepare ourselves for.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       Acts 1:2–8. "He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised."
•       1 Corinthians 6:19–20. "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you."
•       John 1:33. "He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One."
•       Galatians 2:20–21. "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."
•       John 14:17–23. "You know Him because He abides with you and will be in you."
•       1 Corinthians 3:16–17. "Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"
•       Romans 8:10–16. "You have not received a spirit of slavery … but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons."
 
Quotes:
 
•       "It's important to me that we take the Bible with the attitude that we're always looking for what God has opened the door to. And have that be an experience that we walk in."
•       "Our salvation experience, our walk with God, our revelation of Christ, our revelation of the Father is to be something that changes our way of life, how we think, what we do. We are to be led now by the Spirit, not led by our own thoughts and will and desires."
•       "It's worth taking a few days and really going before the Lord to find out, 'Is there any resistance in me? Is there any way in which I'm not really opening my heart to the completeness, the thorough reality of what it is to be the temple of the Holy Spirit and to have the Holy Spirit dwelling in me so that I am no longer my own person?'"
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    Pentecost is more than a time to celebrate a historic event. It is a time to prepare our hearts, just as the disciples prepared, for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
2.    The Holy Spirit did not come at Pentecost to give the disciples a one-day experience. He came to remain with them and be in them just as He did with Christ. We should expect the same.
3.    He comes to dwell in us as His temple. We are no longer our own person living for our own desires, but He is in us to guide us and direct our lives.

Growing In God Podcast
Program Number: GIG #300
Categories: Discipleship
Air Date: 5/6/2026
 
Title: Meditate on God's Word
 
Web Description: God spoke to Joshua, "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night." We also need God's Word to be always with us, never departing from us, and that comes through meditating on His Word. It is essential to memorize and voice His Word consistently because only His Word has the answers we need to meet each day.
 
Show Notes: When Joshua had to lead the children of Israel after the death of Moses, he faced many challenges and dangers. He needed God to strengthen him. He needed to know that God was with him every day. So God spoke to him, "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night." This is not meditation as you might understand from Eastern religions. God told Joshua to keep speaking the Word to himself. The Hebrew word for meditate in this passage can even mean to mutter, growl, or moan.
 
Our personal lives might seem mundane compared to Joshua's, who had to step into the shoes of Moses and set about to conquer nations. It is unlikely that we face those kinds of situations. But we do face situations at work or in relationships with others that are not easy to do. And we have the same need to meditate on the Word of God. Just as God told Joshua, "Be strong and courageous," we have the same need to draw the courage from the Lord and throw off our fears. We too need to understand how to draw God's presence, how to draw His strength, and how to know His leading for us.
 
Joshua is a great example of this. In the wilderness he would spend time in the Tent of Meeting after Moses left. Joshua did that to remain in the presence of God, and we need to follow that example. We too need to find the way to stay in the presence of God. In the wilderness the Lord imparted His instructions to Joshua. Then as the one to lead God's people, Joshua kept those instructions alive in his mind and heart. He continually remembered them. He repeated them to himself. He voiced them aloud as though he were creating afresh what he had heard God speak. We too can make the Word of God a fresh and living part of our daily lives.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       Joshua 1:8–9. "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night."
•       Exodus 33:7–11. "When Moses returned to the camp, … Joshua, the son of Nun … would not depart from the tent."
•       Philippians 4:4–9. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything … let your requests be made known to God."
•       Nehemiah 8:10. "Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
•       1 Peter 5:7. "Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you."
•       Ephesians 6:16–17. "The shield of faith … will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."
•       Isaiah 26:3. "The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You."
 
Quotes:
 
•       "Sometimes the Scriptures can maybe seem not that relatable to us. But the truth is that they really are relatable to our personal daily walk with Him."
•       "I believe that in the strength of our meditation on God's Word, we will have the capacity to draw and appropriate all the provisions that the Lord has made for us."
•       "It's not enough that we have examples. It's not enough that these verses are giving us illustrations for our life and how we should live and what we should do. We have to exercise them. There has to be an action that we ourselves enter into."
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    In the morning have a time of prayer where you are waiting on the Lord for His Word to come to you. Draw from the Lord the Scriptures you need. 
2.    When you find things that speak to your heart, memorize those Scriptures because they will impart to you all that you need.
3.    Set a timer or make some type of a reminder for the time or times of prayer every day that work best for you. It will be effective because every time you do this, it will change your day.
4.    If you memorize something, it is already in your mind, and you simply repeat it. You meditate on it, you mutter it, and you groan over it throughout the day.

Growing In God Podcast
Program Number: GIG #299
Title: God's Many Dwelling Places
 
Web Description: There are many dwelling places in our Father's house, and Christ is our access to the Father. He has prepared a place for us so that we can be with Him where He is. Our prayers should be more than asking Him to give us things in this material realm where we are dwelling. We should be moving to our spiritual dwelling place where all God's completed provision is available.
 
Show Notes: God's creation is vast, as Yeshua (Jesus) said, "In My Father's house are many dwelling places." And we have access to those dwelling places because Christ went to the Father to prepare a place for us. In so doing, He enabled us to be with Him where He is. This means that our waiting on the Lord, our prayer life, and our seeking Him brings us into an awareness of Him and all He has given us access to in the universe of God's creation.
 
When we pray, we are not asking God to solve our problem as much as we are moving into the place where that problem does not exist. God said, "Behold, I will do something new. Will you be aware? Do not remember the former things or call them to mind." God has done many things for us in the fullness of His creation. But it is our choice to be aware of them. It is our choice to take our minds off the former things, off our circumstances and problems in this material world, and become aware of our new dwelling place in Him.
 
The way TV works illustrates this principle. There are many channels you can access with your TV. But you decide if you will turn that TV on or leave it off. And when you turn it on, you decide what frequency or wavelength you tune into to get the channel you want. It is all within your control. We likewise choose what our awareness is tuned into. We can leave our awareness of the spirit realm turned off, or we can tune our awareness to any of those dwelling places of Spirit in the Father in whom Christ is our access. We determine to dwell with Him in the place He has prepared for us.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       John 14:1–3. "In My Father's house are many dwelling places."
•       John 3:3–8. "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
•       Isaiah 43:18–21. "Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it?"
•       2 Corinthians 5:17. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."
•       Isaiah 65:17—66:2. "My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being."
 
Quotes:
 
•       "There are many dwelling places out there. And you can choose to dwell with Christ in any of those dwelling places which already exist and are already created."
•       "A lot of times your problems aren't solved because you're praying that God or some angel comes along and changes your circumstances on a natural level. It's because your vibration level takes you into a place where those situations don't exist anymore."
•       "You can now tune to specific programs. You don't see them all at once. You have to tune to something specific. You have to find what the Lord is taking you into. And when you do that, then you become one with it. You're immersed in it. You dwell in it where He is."
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    In the Father's house, in His creation, there are many dwelling places. And all of them are accessible because Christ went to prepare a place for us.
2.    If we are born into the spirit realm, then we can function in the spirit realm. Just like turning on a TV to access the many wavelengths available, we must exercise our spiritual capacity to access all that is available to us in Christ.
3.    God has created something new for us, but are we aware of it? We determine to turn off our awareness of our past, our circumstances, and the vibrations of this material realm, and tune into the new Kingdom prepared for us.