Growing In God with Gary Hargrave

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.

Growing In God Podcast
Program Number: GIG #298
Title: On Earth As It Is in Heaven
 
Web Description: The king told Esther and Mordecai to take his signet ring and do what they needed to complete their deliverance. He said, "You do it." We too have the Lord's signet ring. He has given us His authority. We have the full backing of His Kingdom. And we are the ones who take the initiative to see that Kingdom manifested on this earth as it is in heaven.
 
Show Notes: There has been a disturbing trend in the United States as the woke agenda and anti-Semitism have invaded our educational, political, and religious systems. Instead of being a nation of people standing up for Judeo-Christian morality, we are rapidly becoming the opposite. This is all a part of satan's plot to bring America to a place of unrighteousness that forces God to bring judgment on this country. But there are positive signs that things can change. The Supreme Court recently ruled that schools cannot violate parents' rights when it comes to gender policies affecting their children. This is proof that the prayers and faith of the Body of Christ are being successful. It should encourage us to persist in our drive to reverse the enemy's plot.
 
Reversing the enemy's plot is what Purim is all about. Because of Esther's pleas, the king had judged Haman for his plot to kill all the Jews in the empire. Haman was hanged, his house was given to Esther, and Mordecai was given the king's signet ring. Yet the original decree to destroy the Jews had been sealed by the king's signet ring and was still in effect. Therefore, Esther pleaded with the king to reverse that decree. The king responded by saying, "You have my signet ring. You and Mordecai gather the Jews and defeat your enemies in my name."
 
Even though we have the ruling from the Supreme Court, bad policies in schools are still in effect. It will take parents stepping up and taking action to reverse those policies. We have awesome provisions in God. He has given us His authority. He has given us His signet ring. But we must be the ones who carry out His decrees here in the natural realm. We need to be praying for true leaders to come forth. We need to see the anointed Esthers and Mordecais who will stand up and bring change beyond what we have seen so far. Our prayers are being effective. Let us continue in our drive to see His Kingdom come on this earth as it is in heaven.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       2 Chronicles 7:13–14. "If … My people … turn from their wicked ways … I will heal their land."
•       Esther 8:2–8. "The king took off his signet ring … and gave it to Mordecai."
•       Joel 3:2. "I will gather all the nations and … enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people."
•       Isaiah 65:17—66:2. "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth."
•       Isaiah 43:18–19. "Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it?"
•       Hebrews 11:3. "What is seen was not made out of things which are visible."
•       Matthew 6:10. "Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
•       Esther 8:17. "Many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them."
•       Matthew 16:19. "Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven."
 
Quotes:
 
•       "A lot of this woke mentality stuff moves through intimidation. It is there to shout you down, make you shut up, make you fear for speaking up, and just crawl into a corner and not do anything, not touch it. So again, that just flipped and there's going be an ability now for parents to speak up with the full force of the Supreme Court of the United States backing their voice."
•       "We need to see these things changed on a root level that only the people can change. And when you look again at the story of Purim, what do you see happening? You see that after the decree from Mordecai; people began to come and join themselves with the Jews. You see that they changed their whole stance and their whole life."
•       "I want us to recognize that we may be in a time when, all of a sudden, we see a shift in governments that are willing to stand up and do the right thing. And boy, there's no better way than to start standing up with Israel."
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    It took Esther and Mordecai using the king's signet ring and acting against their enemies to finally reverse Haman's plot against the Jews.
2.    The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of parents' rights regarding school gender policies. But parents must still act to make changes.
3.    God has done His part. His Kingdom exists. His works are finished. And He has given us His authority to see that which is in heaven manifested on this earth.

Growing In God Podcast
Program Number: GIG #297
Title: Resurrection Is Our Reality
 
Web Description: Yeshua (Jesus) is the Resurrection and the Life, and by His stripes we are healed. Everything we need for our life and health already exists, and our prayers should express this reality. Do not pray as if your healing does not exist. Immerse yourself in the resurrection, life, and healing that already exist in Christ. They are yours now.
 
Show Notes: Is healing something we ask for because we do not have it? No. By His stripes we are healed. Our healing already exists. Is resurrection something that will only exist in the future? No. Christ is the resurrection and the life. His resurrection is our reality right now. So prayer is not a matter of asking for a healing that does not exist, but rather immersing ourselves in the resurrection life of Christ and the healing that His sacrifice accomplished.
 
That is the principle of baptism. When we are immersed in the water, we are buried with Him in baptism. When we are raised out of the water, we are raised up in the likeness of His resurrection. The cross of Christ never goes away. It is a completed work that exists for us now and we can put ourselves on that cross with Him. We can put everything of our sins, our failings, our sicknesses, and our problems into His death and suffering. We can put ourselves into the grave with Him. And we can put ourselves into His resurrection.
 
This is what our prayers should be doing. We are not asking for something as though it does not exist. We are immersing ourselves in the reality of His death, burial, and resurrection, which always exists in time and which we can experience at any moment. Your prayer holds yourself, and anyone you pray for, in the place where God's love and power resurrected His Son. When you pray for someone, see yourself taking that person into the existing reality where we have all died with Christ to the flesh and now live with Him in resurrection life.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       John 11:25. "I am the resurrection and the life."
•       Romans 6:4–5. "We have been buried with Him through baptism … we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection."
•       Philippians 3:10–11. "Know Him and the power of His resurrection."
•       2 Corinthians 5:14–16. "One died for all, therefore all died."
•       John 10:10. "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
•       Isaiah 53:5. "By His scourging we are healed."
 
Quotes:
 
•       "When we do what we call prayer, I think too often we are asking for something to happen instead of recognizing that it exists already."
•       "Resurrection exists right now where we're sitting today. And so we're not asking for healing; we're not asking for resurrection; we're immersing into it because we know that it does exist."
•       "The cross without resurrection is not a complete picture. There has to be the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ before we have the things that we know are ours in Yeshua (Jesus)."
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    When we pray for healing, we are not asking for something that does not exist. Our healing exists in Christ, and we position ourselves in His healing.
2.    He is the Resurrection and the Life. Resurrection life is available to us now.
3.    We immerse ourselves in His death, burial, and resurrection. Our prayer is immersing ourselves and one another in the healing and life that we need.

Growing In God Podcast
Program Number: GIG #296
Title: Passover Is a Choice
 
Web Description: The Israelites had to choose to participate in the Passover. And that required choosing to think according to God's instructions through Moses rather than according to their past conditioning. Today we deal with a world that is constantly trying to condition our minds to think in opposition to God. But as divine beings created by God, we are not our minds, and we can determine that our thinking will be according to His instructions for our lives.
 
Show Notes: At the Passover every family and every individual in Israel was instructed by Moses to put the blood of a lamb on the doorpost of their homes. Those who did escaped the judgment on the firstborn and walked out of Israel a free people. There are many things to say about this great deliverance. But this podcast focuses on one point: keeping the Passover was a choice. It was not a law. Everyone had to choose whether to do what Moses said or not. Even when the Law came, it was still their choice to walk in it or not.
 
Essentially, the Israelites had to choose how to think. They had to wrestle with their own thoughts to make the choice of putting the lamb's blood on their doorposts that night. They could probably think of many reasons why not to do it. At the time they were still suffering under the whip of the taskmaster. Their people had four hundred thirty years of never seeing God move. Now they had to control their minds to choose the promise of deliverance through Moses. Their need to do that continued. All their failings in the wilderness were because they did not control their thoughts to follow the Lord.
 
It is the same for us in our walk with God. We choose what we allow our minds to think. This is the battle that is going on now. People in our world are letting their minds be controlled by speculations that are opposed to the will of God. But the weapons of our warfare are divinely powerful for the destruction of this fortress of speculations. And we continue to take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. We are the ones who renew our own minds and bring our own thoughts into alignment with who we are as eternal beings created in God for His purpose in the earth.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       Exodus 12:3–4. "According to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb."
•       Exodus 12:13. "When I see the blood I will pass over you."
•       Exodus 12:18–20. "Whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off."
•       Hebrews 11:28. "By faith he kept the Passover."
•       Deuteronomy 30:19–20. "Choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants."
•       Joshua 24:15. "Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve."
•       1 Kings 18:21. "How long will you hesitate between two opinions?"
•       2 Corinthians 10:4–5. "We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
•       Philippians 4:8–9. "If there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."
•       Romans 12:1–3. "Think so as to have sound judgment."
•       Romans 10:6–10. "With the heart a person believes … and with the mouth he confesses."
 
Quotes:
 
•       "Our deliverance, our release, is a simple experience of faith that we choose to participate in."
•       "We are divine beings having a human experience. And so nothing about our humanity do we want in charge and controlling how we're living and what we're doing."
•       "I choose to do what the knowledge of God is telling me to do because that is my salvation, that is my deliverance, that is my release, and that is what we should be doing as God's people. We should be absolutely, positively focused on every Word that God has given us."
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    The Passover was a choice the Israelites made as individuals, as families, and with their neighbors.
2.    Their deliverance at Passover and their life in the wilderness required continually choosing how to think.
3.    Choice is essentially choosing how we will think—what we allow our minds to do.
4.    We choose to renew our minds and bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Growing In God Podcast
Program Number: GIG #295
 
Web Description: As we read the Scriptures, it is not long before we realize that God is serious about what He wants us to do and to be. But a Scripture that confronts us with this reality can make us uncomfortable and make us try to lessen its impact in some way. We should stop doing that. The Word of God has the power to transform us. And we should let it confront us, let it impact us, and let its power come through with full force.
 
Show Notes: Some Scriptures in the Bible are so confronting that we read them and say, "Did God really mean that?" These are Scriptures we tend to avoid or try to interpret in some way that lessens their impact. We know we should believe them, but because we struggle with our flesh, we have trouble accepting verses about God's love for us or His power within us. We need to change our response to the Word and realize that God means what He says when He tells us what He wants us to become and what He wants us to walk in.
 
Rather than downplaying these Scriptures, we need to let them confront us. Rather than avoiding them, we should meditate on those Scriptures that impact us the most. There is power in the Word of God. If we receive His Word, ååthen He empowers us to walk in that Word. The fact that we cannot do it in ourselves is the very reason we need to let His Word work in us. If God says it, He means it, and He intends for us to get it. We should do nothing less than let the full force of His Word penetrate our hearts and begin to change us.
 
The Word of God is the greatest power in existence. It is literally the power of God that transforms us into new creatures. It is not by any work of our own. Have you been struggling in yourself to walk with God and break through into His promises? Simply receive a Word from God with the same force it had when He spoke it. Receive the full power of that Word and let it transform you. When you do that, you enter His rest because you are not trying anymore. We all need this, and we reach in together for a greater faith in God's Word.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       Galatians 5:14. "LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
•       John 17:20–21. "That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us."
•       John 17:23. "That the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me."
•       Colossians 2:9. "In Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form."
•       John 20:21. "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
•       Ephesians 3:13–19. "Know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God."
•       2 Corinthians 5:17. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature."
•       Romans 8:11. "He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies."
•       Hebrews 4:1–11. "There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God."
•       Hebrews 4:12–16. "The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword."
 
Quotes:
 
•       "The Father is in Christ and Christ is in the Father and they are in us. How can I live a normal life if I believe that the Creator of the universe lives in me?"
•       "Why are we to understand and know the love that Christ has for us? Because if we know that love, we will be filled up to all the fullness of God. We have to take this at absolute face value. This is not a parable. This is not Paul teaching us through parables or through some other type of literary context. He is saying what he means, and he is meaning what he says."
•       "When we read these verses, we see that they are in us now. And we see that this Word is powerful to create everything that has been spoken. And we see that it is the Sabbath. These things are finished. They're not for a future day."
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    We recognize that the Scriptures can be very confronting. But the reason is that God wants to confront us with the reality of what He is telling us to be.
2.    We need to crack the shell around us that does not let the Word impact us to the extent that we say, "God is saying this, and I must become it now!"
3.    God does not tell us to do something that we cannot do. If He says something, then He empowers us to do it.