GIG249 The Ministry of Bethesda
Growing In God with Gary Hargrave
Growing In God Podcast Web Description: How do we bring the healing that we need and that the world today needs so desperately? The example of healing at Bethesda is a lesson for all of us to apply. When Christ asks us, “Do you wish to be healed?” Our answer needs to be an emphatic, “Yes!” And not, “We are waiting for someone to carry us.” Christ is the source of our healing. He is always willing. And we pick up our own bed and walk in what He has provided. Show Notes: During the first church service of Bethesda Ministries and the ordination of Silas as pastor, a...
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GIG248 Remembering our Dear Brother, Pope Francis
Growing In God with Gary Hargrave
Growing In God Podcast Web Description: On the death of Pope Francis, we must do more than reflect on his legacy. We must be in intercession for the selection of the new Pope because this will impact how the entire Body of Christ moves forward. Let us pray by the Spirit to create the Pope who will not only continue what Pope Francis started, but will break new ground in our oneness, our functioning by the Spirit, and our connection with the Jewish people. Show Notes: As the Catholic Church remembers Pope Francis, we also remember our connection with him and with Catholics...
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GIG247 Christ Given His Kingdom, Daniel 7:14
Growing In God with Gary Hargrave
Growing In God Podcast Web Description: After a vision of men turning away from evil because of the force of the Kingdom of God in the spirit realm, Gary laid out a burden for greater effectiveness in our prayers to see real change happen in the earth. Our meditation should be something that connects with the Kingdom of God that we have already received and then manifests the power of God in the earth from within us. Show Notes: Daniel saw the Son of Man come up to God from where He was given “dominion, glory, and a kingdom.” He saw this before Christ ascended to the...
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GIG246 This Is the Day
Growing In God with Gary Hargrave
Growing In God Podcast Web Description: The book of Zechariah records the specific day on which Zechariah’s prophecy was voiced. This emphasizes the significance of this prophecy and how much we should be expecting God to fulfill His Word in our day. We look eagerly for the fulfillment of these promises of God’s blessings on Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. This is the day they come to pass. Show Notes: The prophecy of Zechariah is one of the greatest messianic prophecies that we have. And in Zechariah 1:7, we are given the exact day when that prophecy came. The significance...
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GIG245 I Stand at the Door and Knock
Growing In God with Gary Hargrave
Growing In God Podcast Web Description: The Lord begged the church in Laodicea to open the door to Him, so He could dine with them. This need to dine with God does not make sense to our Christian thinking. But it makes total sense in the Hebraic context of making a covenant over a meal. God is knocking on the door of the Church in this day. And regardless of how far removed we are from Him, if we open the door, He will make a covenant with us to bring us into everything He has promised. Show Notes: The Laodicean church was a lost church, having fallen away from God. Yet...
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GIG244 The Difficulties of Deliverance
Growing In God with Gary Hargrave
Web Description: At the Passover God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt to bring them into the land He had promised their fathers. But their focus was on the difficulties that this deliverance meant to the life they had adapted to. Moving from our present age into God’s Kingdom can also feel like a disruption to the life we are comfortable with in this world. Our focus must be on His Kingdom and not on the difficulties of deliverance. Show Notes: Passover celebrates the deliverance of Israel from their slavery in Egypt. When they first heard that the Lord had come...
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GIG243 Christian Persecution
Growing In God with Gary Hargrave
Web Description: Christianity is suffering tribulation today even if we as individuals feel unaffected by it. We need to be one with our fellow Christians who are suffering and be praying for them. Let us not be fearful of what satan might do to us because Christ defeated him at the cross. Even if we must face death ourselves, we overcome satan by simply exercising Christ’s victory. Show Notes: The Lord said to the church in Smyrna, “I know your tribulation and your poverty.” Just as God knew then what the Christians in Smyrna were suffering, He is aware of what Christians...
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GIG242 Religion or Relationship?
Growing In God with Gary Hargrave
Web Description: The religion of their day prevented many from receiving Christ when He appeared in the flesh. Religion is no different in our day. Religion tends to establish orthodox interpretations about God rather than lead us into a relationship with God. However, the promise is that we will all know the Lord. And we need to honestly deal with that which prevents us from knowing Him, even if it is our own religious thinking. Show Notes: It is important to understand the degree to which our lack of awareness is based on our religious upbringing. Religious orthodoxy encourages...
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GIG241 Will You Be Aware?
Growing In God with Gary Hargrave
Web Description: The Scriptures warn us that just as we are unaware of a thief at night, we could be unaware of the Lord’s appearing. Perhaps the greatest problem we face is not the circumstances in the world but our own unawareness of God. It is imperative that we seek the Lord for a greater awareness and understanding of what He is saying and doing today. Show Notes: A characteristic of the end-time is the unawareness on people. We see this in the flood of anti-Semitism that is moving through the world today and even sweeping through many churches. What enables the anti-Semitism...
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GIG240 Purim—How God Works Deliverance
Growing In God with Gary Hargrave
Growing In God Podcast Web Description: In the story of Esther, the king was not personally involved in delivering the Jews from the destruction imposed by Haman. However, his signet ring in the hand of Mordecai gave Mordecai all the king’s authority and power to deliver the Jews as if he were the king himself. Likewise through the name of Yeshua (Jesus), we have been given the signet ring of God Himself. Let us accept who we are as His instruments and use His authority and power to bring Christ’s deliverance to the earth. Show Notes: In the story of Esther, King Ahasuerus gave...
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Get out of your mind that you are here on the earth by happenstance, wondering, “Why am I here? What is my purpose?” Instead of spending a lifetime trying to answer those questions, simply know that you were brought to birth by the will of God to be on earth at this time. And God is working in you and through you to accomplish exactly what He wants to accomplish.
Show Notes: There is so much confusion in this age that it can be overwhelming. This level of confusion can lead people to feel ineffective in their lives and even develop a sense of uselessness or depression. We see then how confusion is a tactic of satan. If he can keep us confused about who we are, what we are to do, and how we are to do it, then he can keep us from moving with the power and authority we need. This confusion is the opposite of what believers are to have in Christ.
As a believer it must be real to you that you were not born by the will of man nor of the will of flesh. You were born by the will of God, and you are here on this earth at this time with a purpose in God. God is also at work in you to work His purposes and His pleasure in this earth. Therefore, you do not have to go it alone, trying to work things out by yourself. You have the force of God Himself, Christ, and the Holy Spirit working within you to accomplish this purpose.
If we could get this understanding that we are brought forth by His will, then we would begin to flow with our time here on earth, rather than fight it. Are you wondering, “What is it all about? What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to become what God wants?” Instead, keep rehearsing John 1:13 and say, “I am born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” Let there be an assurance that God is working His will in us and through us. And that purpose can flow in us and through us without the uncertainty we often struggle with.
Key Verses:
• John 1:9–13. “… born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
• James 1:16–18. “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth.”
• Philippians 2:12–13. “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you.”
• 1 Peter 1:22–23. “You have been born again … through the living and enduring word of God.”
• Ephesians 1:1–14. “We have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose.”
Quotes:
• “We must be unwavering in the fact that we are here by the will of God with that purpose in God, and we are able to reach in by the Holy Spirit to find the revelation of that, and begin to move with great clarity and force in our hearts.”
• “This is not some flash-in-the-pan existence that we're part of. This is part of our eternity with Him in an eternal life. We are living in God. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.”
• “What a privilege we have! What an honor we have to be part of God summing up all things in Christ, both things in the heavens and the things that are in the earth! And we are brought forth by His will to have a purpose in fulfilling and concluding His great purpose.”
Takeaways:
1. It is necessary, especially in this generation, not to be caught up in the confusion of this age. The demonic realm is driven to keep us in confusion to prevent us from moving in power and authority with clarity about our purpose.
2. It is a great necessity for believers to really grasp the fact that we are born by the will of God, that we are here at this time in history by the will of God, that we are here with a purpose from God. And we must move forward and accomplish that purpose.
3. We are not part of some temporary existence that we have to work out by ourselves. He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world and created us by the living and abiding Word of God. Our life on earth is part of our eternal life in God who is working in us to accomplish His will.
4. There may be a mystery in His will, but He will make it known to you if you seek Him. But seek Him knowing that you are born by the will of God, brought forth for His purpose, and you are simply clarifying that which you know to be true about yourself.