Growing In God with Gary Hargrave

Growing In God Podcast
Program Number: GIG #326
 
 
Web Description: When we thirst for God, we have the promise of the Holy Spirit being poured out within us like rivers of living water. And with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit comes dreams and visions. By our dreams we have the assurance that all we hope for in God will come to pass. By our visions we see the evidence of what is not seen today but is guaranteed to manifest tomorrow.
 
Show Notes: Like the rain that falls on everyone, the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit is for everyone. No longer exclusive to prophets or kings like David, the Holy Spirit will fall on all the sons, daughters, and servants. This is what Yeshua (Jesus) said of the Holy Spirit. All who thirst can drink of Him, and out of their innermost being will flow rivers of living water. Prophecy will no longer come from a few prophets, but everyone will prophesy. Everyone will have dreams and visions.
 
When we talk about dreaming dreams or seeing visions, we are talking about seeing something that does not yet exist. But that is not an end in itself. We are connecting with what we are seeing until it does exist in our lives. We are drawing that vision into its fulfillment and reality. We live in that vision, focusing on it because we know it will come true if we hold that vision in our heart. The coming forth of the Kingdom of God will be a result of those who by the Holy Spirit begin to dream dreams and see visions.
 
For the moment, they may be dreams. They may be visions of what will take place. But they will take place. God created the entire world out of what was invisible. Where did it exist? It existed in His heart. He had a vision for His creation, and so the visible came out of the invisible. Yeshua likewise saw everything that God had spoken, and therefore He became the one human to manifest those things in the earth. By the same Holy Spirit, let the creation of everything God has promised us flow out of us like rivers of living water.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       John 7:37–39. "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink."
•       Zechariah 14:16–18. "No rain will fall on … the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths."
•       Isaiah 11:9. "The earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."
•       Romans 4:16–18. "He believed, so that he might become … according to that which had been spoken."
•       Hebrews 11:1–3. "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
•       Romans 11:5–6. "If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."
 
Quotes:
 
•       "The Holy Spirit is not reserved for the super spiritual. It's not reserved for only Elijahs and Elishas and King Davids and people who seem to be outside of the scope of our ability, or the group that we think we belong to or not. No, the Spirit will be poured out upon all His servants, all those who love Him, all those who are pursuing Him."
•       "This age will be framed by those things which we dream about, those things that we envision taking place for us. And again, they're not something that you're not qualified for. When the Holy Spirit comes, that's the qualification."
•       "The Kingdom of God is not visible as we stand here today. But I loose our vision of the Kingdom. I loose our dreams by the Holy Spirit of the Kingdom. I loose us, like Abraham, to know that the Kingdom is—because God has created it."
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    The outpouring of the Holy Spirit does not come to us because of our abilities and qualifications. The only qualification is that we hunger and thirst for Him.
2.    The outpouring of the Holy Spirit means that we will have dreams and visions of the Kingdom of God so that, like Abraham, we walk in what is not yet visible but is already completed by God's Word.
3.    The Holy Spirit anoints us to see the will of God that is invisible now, but it becomes visible in us and flows from us like rivers of living water.

Growing In God Podcast
Program Number: GIG #325
Title:  The Lord Is Speaking to Us
 
Web Description: The Day of Trumpets is a reminder every year that God has something important to say to us, and we need to be alert and listen. The trumpet sounded at Mount Sinai when the Lord gave the Ten Commandments. And the Lord's message to the churches of Revelation was with the sound of a trumpet. That means we need to be alert, listening and applying all of Christ's instructions to His Church today.
 
Show Notes:
God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and took them to Mount Sinai where He came down with the blast of a trumpet. That trumpet blast had a purpose. It was an announcement that God was about to speak to His people. He was going to give them the Ten Commandments, so He wanted their attention. This aspect of Yom Teruah, the Day of Trumpets, applies to us today. The trumpet blast means that God wants to get our attention. He wants us to wake up and listen to Him because He has something to say to us.
 
We read in Revelation that the Lord's voice was like the sound of a trumpet when He delivered a message to the seven churches in Asia. Just like at Sinai, the Lord wanted to get their attention, so they would listen to the instructions He had for them. And just like the Ten Commandments, His Words to the churches were commandments the entire Church needed to hear, understand, and follow. We need these Words even more today in this time when the Church is preparing for the return of Christ.
 
We do not need to determine if our church is like a specific church mentioned in Revelation. Each point the Lord made to all those churches applies to us personally, to our church, and to the global Church today. Every instruction is for us to follow. If the Lord told a church to keep doing a positive activity, then we pursue that with all our hearts. If the Lord pointed out something that needed correction, then we give ourselves to repentance for that to change. Let us wake up to the trumpet call and have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       Joel 2:1. "Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain!"
•       Deuteronomy 4:10–13. "The LORD spoke to you. … He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform."
•       Revelation 1:1–3. "Hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it."
•       Revelation 1:4–7. "Every eye will see Him … and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him."
•       Revelation 1:8–11. "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet."
•       Deuteronomy 11:26–28. "I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse."
•       Revelation 2:1–7. "I have this against you, that you have left your first love."
•       Revelation 2:8–11. "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life."
•       Revelation 2:12–17. "I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam."
•       Revelation 2:18–23. "I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel."
•       Revelation 3:1–6. "Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die."
•       Revelation 3:7–13. "Hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown."
•       Revelation 3:14–22. "You do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."
•       Revelation 4:1. "The first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, 'Come up here.'"
 
Quotes:
 
•       "We are going to see things taking place within the Church that are the consequences of the sin that has been allowed to grow there. Do not allow it; call it out. Separate from it, and see that God is able to bring a blessing back instead."
•       "We must come back to Him. We must be filled with His Spirit and see that we finish the deeds that He has given us to do in this day and in this hour."
•       "We are in a place where we must hear His voice now. We must understand what He wants us to do and not do."
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    The Messiah's message to the churches in Revelation is like the Ten Commandments for the Body of Christ to follow now.
2.    If we are disobedient to His commands, we will reap what has been foretold of the judgments.
3.    If we obey these words, we will be called up into the heavenly throne room and be shown the things that must take place as God's Kingdom is coming into this earth. Lord, bless us with ears to hear and hearts to obey!
4.    The revelation of God's Word always challenges us to pursue a deeper relationship with the Lord by helping us to see more clearly and understand more completely, so we may be more closely conformed to the image of Yeshua (Jesus) in all we think, say, and do.

Growing In God Podcast
Program Number: GIG #324
Title: Remove the Filthy Garments
 
Web Description: Christ is our atonement. He took away our sins at the cross. That means we are delivered from the accusations of satan. These accusations are about things that are not us but instead are put on us like filthy garments. By our love and faith, we remove the filthy garments from one another and replace them with the clean robes that God has provided for His priesthood in His Kingdom.
 
Show Notes: The Day of Atonement is about God removing our sin. God does this for us through the sacrifice of Christ. Just as the sins of the people were transferred to the Azazel goat and removed from the camp, so Christ took our sins and removed them at the cross. Everything about our salvation and deliverance from sin comes from God alone. It is not something we can do for each other. Yet there is an aspect of atonement that requires our involvement.
 
Zechariah gives an account of Joshua the high priest standing before the Lord in filthy garments. Meanwhile, satan is right there to accuse him. Then the Lord tells those who are nearby to remove the filthy garments from Joshua. And the Lord says, "I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes." Others then clothe Joshua with clean garments. In this amazing picture we see that God takes away our iniquity, but others are involved in removing the filthy garments and putting on clean ones.
 
We must see ourselves in this picture. In our love and faith and oneness, we play a role in delivering one another from the filthy garments of the flesh. Satan is always trying to corrupt us, taint us, cover us over, and make us look and act like him. But we are not that; we are the pure gold and silver that God created, which He is purifying in the refining fire. In this purifying process that God puts us through, we are actively involved in removing the dross that is covering over the pure gold that is our brother and sister.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       Leviticus 16:1–28. "The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities."
•       Zechariah 3:1–5. "Joshua was clothed with filthy garments. … So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments."
•       1 Corinthians 15:33. "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company corrupts good morals.'"
•       Matthew 13:24–25. "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field."
•       Malachi 3:1–3. "He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver."
•       Matthew 24:3. "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold."
•       Daniel 12:10. "Many will be purged, purified and refined."
 
Quotes:
 
•       "Visualize a tsunami, seeing the globe of the Earth hanging out in the darkness of the universe and a tsunami of God's light and love, which is His salvation and atonement, coming and just encompassing the whole globe."
•       "There is a will of God in your life. And He planted you here as His good seed to accomplish His purposes and to spread His Word and to bring forth His Kingdom in the earth."
•       "Revelation talks about us standing with white robes. But we don't put those white robes on ourselves. It's our friends standing around who are going to be able to clothe us in those white robes as we move into the days of His Kingdom."
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    Our salvation, deliverance from sin, and atonement only come from God. But we have a role in removing the filthy garments from one another, as well as clothing one another with clean garments.
2.    We tend to identify ourselves with the filthy garments. And satan is always accusing us to make us think that we are the sin. But all our sin, impurity, and uncleanness was transferred onto Christ who takes it away. 
3.    Tares planted by the enemy generate corruption. And the filthiness of the flesh is the dross that comes to the surface when gold is smelted. But we are not the corruption of the tares; we are the good seed that God planted. And we are not the dross; we are the pure gold that God created.

Growing In God Podcast
Title: Our Hunger and Thirst for God
 
Web Description: When Yeshua (Jesus) received the Holy Spirit, He was immediately led by the Spirit into the wilderness. It is the same for us when we receive the Holy Spirit. We are led into a wilderness experience so that we will know that our fulfillment comes only from the Lord. If we are hungry, we feed on Him. If we are thirsty, then we go to Him and drink. And out of our innermost being will flow rivers of living water. 
 
Show Notes: Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, is observed by building a Sukkah. This is done to remember how the children of Israel lived in the wilderness for forty years. During those forty years, the Lord led them and provided everything for them. In the wilderness there was no water except the water God provided. There was no food except the food God provided. There was nothing they could depend on except God. And this is the lesson of the wilderness for us as well.
 
You can go through times in your life when you feel like you are in a wilderness, when things have dried up for you spiritually. You are hungering and thirsting, but there is nothing in the wilderness that can satisfy you. That is for a reason. God wants you in a place where it is only you and He, where there is nothing for you to reach for except Him, where you can learn to depend wholly on Him, just as Christ did when He said that He could do nothing without the Father.
 
It was on the last day, the Great Day of the Feast of Tabernacles that Yeshua proclaimed, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." That is how rivers of living water will flow from us. But He also said this concerning the Holy Spirit. And just as the Holy Spirit drove Yeshua into the wilderness, so He does with us. The Spirit positions us in that place of hunger and thirst for God so that His living waters can constantly flow from us. That is the greatest answer we can have for ourselves and for the world.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       John 15:19. "The Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing."
•       Deuteronomy 8:1–11. "You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness."
•       Deuteronomy 8:15–17. "He led you through the … wilderness … to do good for you in the end."
•       John 7:37–39. "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink."
•       Mark 1:9–13. "Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness."
•       Jeremiah 29:13–14. "You will … find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."
•       John 3:34. "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure."
 
Quotes:
 
•       "God is working with us to do good to us, to bring the blessings and the promises to us, which He's promised to our fathers, which He promised to Israel, which He's promised through Yeshua."
•       "The greatest answer the world could have right now is a spiritual hunger. It's a spiritual thirst. Because if we can truly see a world that gets hungry and thirsty for God, we can see a world that can be saved."
•       "The Spirit doesn't come and go. It rested upon Yeshua and never left Him. It drove Him into the wilderness, and He had His wilderness experience. But we know that was the making of the Son of God. Certainly, He'll do nothing less for us."
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    The wilderness experience is about God removing everything except Himself in our relationship with Him, in order that we can be multiplied, learn to live in Him, and possess what He has sworn to us and our forefathers.
2.    The world with all its technology does not have a solution for the wilderness it is in. There is only one solution! Hunger and thirst after God and pursue Him with all your heart. Only He has the answer for all the things you need.
3.    When we come to the Lord and drink, the Holy Spirit begins to flow out of us and drive us into the wilderness, which increases our thirst for Him so that it may continually increase until the Spirit flows from us without measure.

Growing In God Podcast
Program Number: GIG #322
Title: Today We Changed the World
 
Web Description: Do you believe you can change the world? Most people, if they are honest, would say, "No." But the more we read the Scriptures, the more we realize that changing the world is exactly what God wants us to do. It is not by our own ability, however. Christ's authority has already judged satan and cast him out of heaven. And with the force of our spirits, we envision God's will happening on earth just as it has happened in heaven.
 
Show Notes:
According to Matthew 16, whatever we bind on earth has already been bound in heaven, and whatever we loose on earth has already been loosed in heaven. We see the perfect illustration of this in Revelation 12. By the authority of the risen Christ who is at the right hand of the Father, we see satan bound and thrown out of heaven. Now we can see ourselves doing the same thing here on earth. We can visualize ourselves binding satan by the authority of Christ and kicking him out of the earth.
 
We see many problems in the world that we know are caused by satanic forces. But do we really see ourselves as the ones who bind those forces by the authority of Christ and change things by our agreement, just as Yeshua (Jesus) commanded? Are you concerned about a problem in the world or in your life? Then use your imagination to visualize the promises in God's Word overpowering that problem and replacing it with His perfect will. A specific problem right now is the way the media, under the control of satan, is filling the world with lies. So visualize the truth of God like a tsunami sweeping away those lies of satan. Then agree together to see that fully manifested in the earth.
 
In a recent Fellow Workers Zoom call, which was recorded for this podcast, we did just that. We focused on specific issues, exercising our imagination with the force of our spirits to see the removal of the satanic forces behind each problem. As you listen to this podcast, participate by exercising your own spiritual imagination when different issues are addressed. There will be a one-minute pause after each issue is discussed. Use that time to visualize the will of God being done in the situation. Practice this on your own as well. Keep your spirit engaged with what God wants to do in the earth.
 
Key Verses:
 
•       Matthew 18:19–20. "If two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them."
•       2 Corinthians 10:3–5. "The weapons of our warfare are … divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses."
•       Habakkuk 2:13. "The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."
•       Isaiah 28:17. "Hail will sweep away the refuge of lies and the waters will overflow the secret place."
•       Matthew 16:19. "Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven."
•       Revelation 12:9. "Satan … was thrown down to the earth."
•       Matthew 13:40–41. "Just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels."
•       Psalms 2:4–6. "He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them."
 
Quotes:
 
•       "Whatever you can imagine with your will behind it is what your spirit does."
•       "Imagine humanity on the earth right now being set free from all deception, all division, all anger, all hatred, all satanic influence because truth, like a tsunami, covers the earth as the waters cover the sea, and the lies of satan are swept away."
•       "We see ourselves finishing this job by knowing that satan and his angels have been defeated and are not strong enough. And we bind them, and we cast them out of our atmosphere."
 
Takeaways:
 
1.    Use your imagination to visualize everything Christ accomplished in heaven as displacing everything satan is doing on the earth.
2.    We bind on earth whatever has already been bound in heaven. In other words, we are not inventing things. We specifically bind that which the Lord has bound in heaven.
3.    Humans always try to bring their agendas through government. But God laughs at their plans and installs His King. He installs into government those whom He chooses, those who will bring forth His purposes and His Kingdom on the earth.