Growing In God with Gary Hargrave

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #282 Air Date: 12/31/2025 My Resolution for the New Year Web Description: The period from the ascension of Christ to the present has been labeled the Church Age. In reality it should be called the Age of the Holy Spirit. Yeshua (Jesus) did not tell His disciples, "The Father will teach you how to have good churches." He promised that they would be endued with power by the Holy Spirit and be His witnesses in the earth. My New Year's resolution is to change my emphasis from church to being filled with the Holy Spirit first and endued with power to be His witness today.   Show Notes: The Church Age is the term most widely used to identify the years since the ascension of Christ until now. This label, I think, misdirects the focus of our faith in this generation. When Yeshua (Jesus) prepared His disciples for His departure, He did not give them instructions about church. He taught them about the Holy Spirit directing them and guiding them and about their being witnesses in all the world to make disciples of the nations.   Christ could have said, "Go to Jerusalem and focus on gathering everyone together who believes in Me and establish an order and a structure for the Church." But He did not do that. He said, "You are to go and receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses." Eventually those who had this experience were drawn to assemble together. But their assembling together was secondary to their individual experience of having this promise of the Holy Spirit resting upon them.   We tend to lose this emphasis. To be honest, our emphasis is more on being led and taught by Church leaders than on being led and taught by the Holy Spirit. And what I want to do this year is focus on being filled with the Holy Spirit, not dependent on anything that is not provided by the Father through the Holy Spirit. If we can do that as individuals, I believe the Church will have the power and witness in the earth that Christ promised to His disciples.   Key Verses:   •       Luke 24:49 (NKJV). "Tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." •       Deuteronomy 23:3. "No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the LORD." •       Matthew 16:15-18. "Upon this rock I will build My church." •       Matthew 18:15-17. "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church." •       Acts 1:6-8. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses." •       John 14:16-18. "You know Him because He abides with you and will be in you." •       Jeremiah 31:31-34. "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me." •       John 14:26. "He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." •       John 16:6-15. "It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you." •       John 7:37-39. "The Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."   Quotes:   •       "What was necessary and what He had promised them was the Holy Spirit, not church." •       "How do we learn about Christ? How do we know Christ? How do we understand Christ? By the Holy Spirit that comes to us." •       "It's endless what the Lord gave to us when he gave us the Holy Spirit upon His departure, and I don't want to make it secondary to anything else."   Takeaways:   1.    The ecclesia, what we call the Church, was initiated by virtue of the experience the disciples had of being filled with the Holy Spirit and being endued with the power of the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses. 2.    When Yeshua used the Greek word ekklesia, He was not speaking in terms of our understanding of the Church. He was speaking in terms of the assembly of the Lord or the assembly of Israel. And He applied it to those who would be taught and directed by the Father through the Holy Spirit. 3.    How much are we depending on the Church to provide for us what Christ has already provided through the Holy Spirit?

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #281 Title: Christmas, Celebrating the Son of Man   Web Description: The symbolism that most often defines Christmas is the Nativity scene. And the Nativity scene is about the reality that Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, the King of kings, was born and lived as a human being. At Christmas we are not celebrating His divinity. We are celebrating His humanity. We are celebrating the fact that He came to earth as a man who went through everything we go through and is thus able to lead us and help us through everything.   Show Notes: At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Yeshua (Jesus). When we do that, we are celebrating the birth of a human baby. Yet in our Christian faith, we think of Christ as a divine figure who always moved in a divine way. But the Christmas story is the opposite of that. The Christmas story tells us that He was a vulnerable baby who had to be cared for and protected. He had to be raised and taught like any human child.   As Christians we tend to put Christ so far above us that He is unattainable in today's life. We think, "He was perfect, but I am caught in my flesh, and I can't get out of it." That viewpoint is unscriptural. The Scriptures teach us that the Messiah is a human being. Yeshua was not born perfect. He learned obedience through the things that he suffered. He was made perfect by what He went through, just as we are being made perfect because of what we go through.   Yeshua could not be the Messiah without living in the flesh. He had to share in flesh and blood. He had to partake in the same things we partake in. He had to feel what we feel. He had to experience what we experience because He is our help. He is the aid to those who are tempted because He faced it all. He overcame the circumstances, the stress, the oppression, the futility of living in this earth where satan surrounded all that He did, seeking to kill Him every day. Therefore, He is able to help us through all those things in our daily lives.   Key Verses:   •       Read Luke 2:1–52. •       2 Corinthians 5:16. "We have known Christ according to the flesh." •       Matthew 6:10. "Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." •       Acts 1:6. "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" •       Hebrews 2:14–18. "Since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same." •       Hebrews 5:7–11. "Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered." •       Hebrews 4:14–16. "We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses." •       Hebrews 7:24–25. "Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him." •       Romans 8:27–39. "Those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren."   Quotes:   •       "If we are going to truly celebrate the concept that is called Christmas, it is about Him being born. It is about Him living in a human life." •       "I know we will live in the days of glory. I know that we will live with Him in His Kingdom. But right now in the days of our flesh, we need help." •       "He lived in the flesh. And in the flesh, He was successful in being a human who related to God, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, who was enabled to move and enact and bring the will of God into the earth."   Takeaways:   1.    Let us celebrate Christmas this year by identifying with our Messiah as a human being—a son of man.[SP1]  2.    Let us celebrate that Yeshua did not exercise His divinity during His days on earth, but He was tempted in all things and felt our every human suffering. There is nothing we go through in our lives that He cannot relate to. 3.    Let us celebrate that Yeshua lives to intercede for us every day and ministers to us in our times of crisis and need. He is our Messiah. Our lives are meant to be lived in Him and through Him.  

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #280 Categories: Biblical Feasts   Web Description: In Romans 12, Paul exhorts us not to be conformed to this world. That is what Hanukkah is all about. It expresses the refusal of the Jewish people to be converted into something that was against the will of God and against the teachings of God. We as believers in Yeshua (Jesus) should have the same resistance to the culture that is set to move us away from the Scriptures, away from our Christian values, and convert us to a different way of life. Hanukkah is not a substitute for Christmas. It is an observance very applicable to Christianity today.   Show Notes: Many people think that Hanukkah is just a celebration for Jewish people to compete with Christmas during December. That is not true. Hanukkah existed before the celebration of Christmas and was observed by Yeshua (Jesus). Called the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Temple after the Maccabean Revolt when the Jews recaptured Jerusalem, recaptured the Temple, and purified it from its defilement.   At a time when Israel was under the suppression of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus IV (known as Epiphanes) determined to wipe out all the practices and beliefs of the Jewish people and replace them with Greek paganism. A small band of Jewish men and women who refused to be Hellenized and converted into pagans rose up and fought against the armies of the Greeks and won, taking Jerusalem and cleansing and rededicating the Temple. This spirit is what Hanukkah celebrates.   To celebrate Hanukkah is to follow after those who refused to be converted to the paganism of the Greek culture. As Christians we likewise should refuse the demands of today's culture and the pressures of society that would force us to deny our faith and convert us to the paganism of today's world, which is quickly abandoning the Scriptures, abandoning morals, abandoning pure thought, and the right ways of life. We, as believers in Christ, along with the Jewish people, should shine as a light on a hill as those who hold forth the Word of God, the promises of God, and the prophecies to come.   Key Verses:   •       John 10:22–23. "At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple." •       Romans 12:1–2. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." •       Matthew 5:11–16. "You are the light of the world. … Let your light shine before men." •       Matthew 24:22. "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved."   Quotes:   •       "We are the salt of the earth. We are to be the light. And that is what you can say about those who participated in the Maccabean Revolt that refused to be removed off of their faith." •       "We are believers, and we are not to be conformed to this world. We are not to be conformed to its cultures, its beliefs, and its ways of life when they are contrary to God and to His Word." •       "Let us rededicate and purify everything that has been touched and destroyed during these days under the attempts of satan to bring about his purpose."   Takeaways:   1.    Hanukkah reminds us that as believers, we are not to be conformed to this world. We are not to be conformed to its cultures, its beliefs, and its ways of life when they are contrary to God and to His Word. 2.    Hanukkah reminds us that we are to be a light to this world—we should shine brightly as a light on a hill. We cannot let our light go out, and we certainly cannot live in fear and intimidation and hide our light under a bushel basket. 3.    Hanukkah reminds us that we are the salt of the earth. What we are to do today is to preserve the culture of the Kingdom of God. We are to preserve the ways of God. We are to preserve the love and the Word of God in this day and age. 4.    Hanukkah reminds us that we must put our faith into service. Like the ancient Maccabees, we must go in and cleanse the Temple—to rededicate and purify everything that has been touched and destroyed as satan has attempted to bring about his purposes in our world.

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #279 Categories: Biblical Feasts   Web Description: Hanukkah may be best known for the lighting of the menorah and the miracle of the oil lasting for eight days in the Temple following the Maccabean revolt. But the true heart of the Hanukkah celebration is the cleansing of the altar and the rededication of the Temple after a small group of Jewish farmers had defeated their enemies. Just as there are eight candles burning on the menorah during the celebration of Hanukkah, there are at least eight good reasons for Christians to celebrate Hanukkah.   Show Notes: Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication, is actually a biblical feast and has significance for us as Christians. Here are eight reasons why Christians should consider celebrating Hanukkah:   1.    Hanukkah is found in the Bible. In John 10:22 we see that Christ celebrated the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah). 2.    We all need times for a new dedication and recommitment of ourselves to God and to a deeper level of service to the Lord. 3.    Once again the land of Israel is under the leadership of the Jewish people. This restoration was promised by God, and Christians should celebrate that we are yoked together with Israel and the Jewish people. 4.    Hanukkah foreshadows the days of the complete fulfillment of the messianic prophecies, where we see God's kingdom and God's rulership on earth as it is now in heaven. 5.    Celebrating Hanukkah looks forward to the end of anti-Semitism: the end of persecution and desecration of the Jewish people in our day and age. 6.    As Christians we should join with the Jewish people in the bold proclamation of their faith by celebrating Hanukkah. 7.    We are showing our oneness today with Judaism, with the State of Israel, and with the Jewish people everywhere as our elder brothers in the faith. 8.    In celebrating Hanukkah we reconnect ourselves with the Jewish Yeshua (Jesus) and return to our Hebrew roots—to recognize them, to be thankful for them, to engage with them, and to learn more deeply the ways that were the ways of Yeshua.   Key Verses:   •       John 10:22–24. "At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place … and Jesus was walking in the temple." •       Daniel 3:13–18. "We are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image." •       Matthew 5:14–16. "Let your light shine." •       Matthew 5:17. "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law … I did not come to abolish but to fulfill."   Quotes:   •       "We should live our lives as Christians in oneness with the Jewish people in their fight against anti-Semitism, because their fight is our fight." •       "As Christians celebrating Hanukkah, we can celebrate the bold proclamation of Jews down through the centuries that say, 'We will not bow down to the idolatry of this age.'" •       "There's something very important in the coming together of Christians and Jews in today's world. Hanukkah can be a bridge for us to see that happen."   Takeaways:   1.    Go back and read the book of Maccabees, the Jewish encyclopedia, and the other sources to find out for yourself what was done and how it was done—so that Hanukkah will create in you a oneness with our Jewish brothers and sisters. 2.    Take time in this holiday season to open your heart, your mind, and your spirit to reconnect through the celebration of Hanukkah with the Jewish roots of our faith so that you will find something new and alive in your own Christian experience.

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #278 Title: Walking with God is Doing   Web Description: How do we walk with God? By taking steps to act on what God is telling us to do. The Scriptures are more than ideas to learn about and discuss. They are a way for God to speak directly to us what He wants us to do. We can know His will for us in the Scriptures when we are willing to do His will. And we can know the blessings of a walk with God when we find the way to do His will as He makes it real to us in His Word.   Show Notes: There is an abundance of material available to us for Bible study. We can do a great deal of Bible reading. We can memorize Scriptures. We can consume many Bible teachings. And God can speak to us through that. But if we never do anything about what God speaks to us, how beneficial is our study? Yeshua (Jesus) said, "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them." The Scriptures are examples for us to live by. More than just studying them and discussing them, we are to take steps to walk in them.   That is what a walk with God is all about. It is learning what God wants you to do and then taking steps to do it. If a Scripture touches your heart, or the Lord makes something real to you, then meditate on it with the purpose of doing something about it. Seek the Lord about it and ask Him, "What do you want me to do with this? How do I express this in some type of action?" This is how we appropriate the Word in our lives. It becomes real to us when we are doing it.   Yeshua said that we will know if His teaching is from God when we are willing to do His will. And we know that God is at work in us to will and to do His good pleasure. The purpose of Him working in us is not to learn more about His will or to talk more about His will, but to be driven to do His will. Let us begin to apply this to our Bible study. One way is to keep a notebook of action items that we can do in response to what God is showing us in His Word. Whatever method we use, let us strive to see the will of God accomplished in our lives.   Key Verses:   •       Genesis 17:1. "Walk before Me, and be blameless." •       Psalm 116:9. "I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living." •       John 13:12–17. "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them." •       Matthew 22:35–39. "LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD … LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR." •       Philippians 2:12–13. "It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." •       John 2:5–10. "Whatever He says to you, do it." •       Hebrews 13:20–21. "Now the God of peace … equip you in every good thing to do His will." •       John 7:17. "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching."   Quotes:   •       "It's not knowing the Scriptures. It's doing the Scriptures. It's not knowing the things of God. It's doing what He's commanded us to do." •       "We're not to read the books or listen to messages and then sit around and just discuss them. If we're going to sit around and discuss the Word and what God's saying, let's start discussing what we're going do about it and how we're going to do it." •       "He is working in you because what He is asking, or what's needed as a response to His Word or the teaching, may be a difficult thing to do. And so you have to draw on His strength and His enabling in order to go do that."   Takeaways:   1.    There is a tendency for us as Christians to consume a lot of material in our study of the Scriptures. But the concern is what do we actually do about what we are learning from the Scriptures? 2.    It is important to develop some methodology that helps us do something about what God makes real to us in the Scriptures. 3.    We have a greater grasp of Bible teaching when we have the heart to do it. And not only when we have the heart, but when we actively find the ways to do something about what God shows is in the teaching.

Growing In God Podcast Program Number:  GIG #224 (2) Title: Thanksgiving—A Time of Gratitude   Web Description: Thanksgiving is a wonderful time set aside for giving thanks to the Lord. But the scriptural example of thanksgiving is not something that is done only on specific days. It is a continual practice of giving thanks and praise to the Lord every day. The pattern in our lives should not be thanking the Lord whenever we feel He has blessed us. We should have an attitude, a mindset, and an intentional emotion of gratitude for everything God is and does. Let this Thanksgiving be the beginning of a new lifestyle of overflowing gratitude before the Lord.   Email Subject Line: Thanksgiving—A Time of Gratitude   Show Notes: In the transition from the Tabernacle to the Temple, David commanded the Levites to thank and praise the Lord every morning and evening. This concept of giving continual thanks and praise to the Lord goes deeper than our concept of giving thanks. When someone gives us something, we say, "Thank you." And so our definition of thanksgiving still has this idea of thanking God after He blesses us. A better word for the scriptural concept of continual thanks to God is gratitude.   The Scriptures show us that we can develop a mindset, an attitude, and especially an emotion of gratitude before the Lord. Even when we face difficulties and negative situations, we can still have this emotion of gratitude because it is not dependent on our circumstances. We do not have to deny what may be happening to us, but we can continually focus on the Lord and develop within ourselves the sense of wonder and gratitude for all that God is and all that He does.    Therefore, let us celebrate Thanksgiving this year with gratitude. Let it be an expression of our continual thanks and praise to the Lord and not isolated to one specific gift or answer to prayer that He has given us. Let our gratitude become something that we develop within the depths of our being as part of our relationship with God, whereby we say daily, "Lord, we are not thankful for one or two things that You did for us. We are overflowing with gratitude for all things that You are to us and have provided for us."   Key Verses:   •       1 Chronicles 23:30. "They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the LORD, and likewise at evening." •       Psalm 92:1–5. "It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High." •       2 Peter 1:3. "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness." •       Colossians 2:6–7. "As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, … overflowing with gratitude."   Quotes:   •       "We don't just want to say 'thank you' for something. We want to develop in our hearts an attitude of gratitude." •       "When we talk about gratitude, it's not just an action; it's an emotion that is being expressed from within the depth of our being." •       "There is an unending list and an unending focus of what we should be giving praise and thanks to the Lord for."   Takeaways:   1.    David introduced a new responsibility and ministry for the Levites. They were to stand every morning and evening to thank and praise the Lord. It is also important for us to find a new expression in our giving of thanks and worship to the Lord. 2.    It is good to set aside one day at Thanksgiving to express our thanks to the Lord. But we need more than just a practice of thanking the Lord on one day and afterwards reverting to a life of ungratefulness. We need the Levitical pattern of thanking and praising the Lord continually. 3.    Giving thanks when we are blessed is still a limited emotion in response to our circumstances. We need to develop an intentional emotion of gratitude that is a continual expression of praise and thanks to the Lord.  

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #277 Title: Love Is the Antidote   Web Description: The world is experiencing an increase in lawlessness and a corresponding decrease in people's love. As a byproduct, anger and hatred are spreading like infectious diseases. We need an antidote. And that antidote is the Father's love in Christ. As believers in Christ, we have the ability and the responsibility to deliver this antidote to the world.   Show Notes: When describing the end times, Yeshua (Jesus) said that the increase in lawlessness would cause people's love to grow cold. Yet also during these times the gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world. And what is the very foundation of the gospel of the Kingdom? It is the love of Christ. The love of Christ is the antidote for the sickness in the world that is draining love from people's hearts. How is this antidote delivered? As believers in Christ, we need to wake up to the fact that we are the ones to do that.   Only the love of God, which we have received in Christ, can be effective in fighting the anger and hatred that is spreading like a virus in this age. This virus has even infected the Church. We have seen division, anger, and hatred infecting the hearts of believers. Now more than ever Christians must be loving one another because our oneness is the sign that the Father sent Christ into the world. In these days when darkness is spreading, we have to let our light shine. And our light is the love of God that is manifested in us.   Not only should we be expressing our love among ourselves, but we should also love everyone around us, even our enemies, as the Lord commanded. In this day when Judeo-Christian values are being attacked and the persecution of Christians is increasing, we cannot draw back or hide our light. We are to love even our enemies as Christ did and show that we are sons of our Father. It may seem like everything in the world is becoming darker. But that means God is giving us an even greater light to shine. If the world is getting sicker, then we have an even greater antidote. Let us minister the antidote of God's love freely to everyone and spread the gospel of love throughout the world.   Key Verses:   •       Matthew 24:12–14. "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold." •       Matthew 5:14–16. "Let your light shine before men." •       Proverbs 4:18–19. "The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn." •       John 8:12. "I am the Light of the world." •       1 John 3:11. "This is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another." •       Romans 13:8–12. "Let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." •       Peter 1:22. "Fervently love one another from the heart." •       John 13:34–35. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." •       Matthew 5:43–48. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father." •       Luke 6:27. "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you." •       Luke 6:35. "Love your enemies … and you will be sons of the Most High."   Quotes:   •       "The world is dark and darkness is coming. The world is sick. It's upside down. Good is bad and bad is good. And it doesn't seem like necessarily there's an answer. But there is an answer, and the answer is God's love." •       "This love that we have is being compared to a light, and it shines brighter and brighter. And we should expect to see more and more the love of God manifested in us and being able to be conveyed and imparted to this age." •       "It is the time for us as believers to wake up to the need and to wake up to the reality that within our hearts we hold the antidote to the wickedness, to the evil, to the hatred that is so widespread in this age."   Takeaways:   1.    The love manifested in us and through us to the world repels the darkness from us personally. And it is the antidote that people in bondage to the darkness are needing. 2.    People will know that we are Christ's disciples because we love one another. Our oneness is a sign to the world that the Father sent Christ into the world. 3.    Our love cannot be just for fellow believers. It must also be for those who hate us, who are our enemies, and who persecute us. That is what shows that we are sons of the Father. 4.    It is not so much what we preach. It is what we express and minister as light in the darkness, showing God's love to all His creation.

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #276 Title:  Renewing Our Minds     Web Description: When we get into spiritual warfare, we tend to become focused on things outside of us. But it is actually an internal battle that takes place in our minds. We are fighting a battle against mental speculations that attack the knowledge of God and draw our focus away from Him. Let us bring our focus back on Christ the King and enforce His victory with the divinely powered weapons He has given us.   Show Notes: The practice of building a booth, or sukkah, at the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth) involves leaving the roof open. And we can draw a lesson from the fact that in our sukkah, we are not looking out; we are looking up. Instead of a focus that looks out on everything happening in the world, we are to be training our minds to focus on the Lord. This principle applies directly to our concept of spiritual warfare. The battle for our focus is not happening outside of ourselves. It is taking place in our own minds.   According to 2 Corinthians, the weapons of our warfare are powerful to the pulling down of strongholds. We are destroying speculations and taking every thought captive in obedience to Christ. We are warring against strongholds. But those strongholds are not separate from us. They are strongholds built from the speculations and thought processes of our minds. These speculations of the human mind are what raise themselves up against the knowledge of God, against the truth of God, and against Christ. Our warfare is with the thoughts of our own minds and the things within ourselves on a human level.   In our society today we see many who are embracing twisted ideologies and belief systems that literally claim that truth is a lie, and the lie is truth. These belief systems have become a stronghold like a fortress or a walled city that seems impossible to break through. We need to believe and exercise our powerful and effective spiritual weapons that are able to destroy these speculations that war against the knowledge of God within us. These weapons are divinely powerful because they come from God, and we fight this war effectively by keeping our minds focused on Him.   Key Verses:   •       2 Corinthians 10:3–7. "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God." •       Romans 12:2. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." •       1 Corinthians 2:16. "We have the mind of Christ." •       2 Corinthians 5:17. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." •       Hebrews 11:10. "He was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God." •       Psalm 2:1–8. "As for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion." •       Psalm 96:10–11. "Say among the nations, 'The LORD reigns.'"   Quotes:   •       "When our minds develop these speculations and then coalesce those speculations into a belief system, all of a sudden we realize that these things are fortresses that are absolutely against what God is trying to say." •       "I don't need to argue with you about all of your morality and all of your philosophy and all of your theology. I just need to tell you one thing: Christ reigns. He reigns as Lord Supreme. He reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords." •       "We can either be aware of the battle, or we can be aware of the fact that the battle is already won."   Takeaways:   1.    The weapons of our warfare are for destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God. A speculation is a thought process, and we need to see that spiritual warfare is a battle that takes place in our minds. 2.    Speculations and belief systems of the fleshly mind become a fortress, and we cannot fight that on a fleshly level. We must use the spiritual weapons that are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 3.    We need to change our focus. We need to take our focus off the world and put it back on the Lord so that our minds are stayed in Him, and we are bringing His divine presence constantly in our thoughts.

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #275 Title: Christ the King   Web Description: Why are the nations in an uproar? Because God has established Christ as King and has given all the nations to Him. God is not moved by their uproar, and neither should we be as believers in Christ. He is our refuge, He is our focus, and His unshakable Kingdom is the reality of our lives right now.   Show Notes: We read in Psalm 2 that the nations are in an uproar, and today we see how true that is. It is difficult to find a nation where positive things are happening. Every nation is facing negative consequences as people devise a vain thing. Like no other time in history, whole populations all over the globe are embracing vain and ridiculous ideas to believe in. Meanwhile, governments and rulers take their stand against the Lord, His will, His Kingdom, and His people. They counsel together against Israel and against Judaism and Christianity everywhere.   It seems like the world is spinning out of control. And as much as we pray for things to change, they just seem to go from bad to worse. That should come as no surprise to us as Christians. The Scriptures make clear that things will be difficult in the days before the Kingdom of God is established. And we are to be focused as believers on His Kingdom coming. So do not be focused on whatever is happening in the world. Instead, keep looking to the Father, to Christ, and to His Kingdom, knowing that God is in charge.   How is God responding to all the ridiculous ways the nations are acting in their defiance of Him? According to Psalm 2 He is laughing. In other words, He is not bothered. He is not losing control. He is not moved off His throne. God is securely planted as the One who is in charge. And He has installed His King on Zion, His holy mountain. That is where we stand in Christ. We can live today in His Kingdom, taking refuge in Him, seated with Him in the heavenly places, and proclaiming that He is ruling over every situation.   Key Verses:   •       Psalm 2:1–5. "The kings of the earth take their stand … against the LORD and against His Anointed." •       Psalm 2:6–8. "But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain." •       Psalm 2:9–12. "How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!" •       Psalm 24:1. "The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains." •       Ephesians 2:4–6. "God, being rich in mercy … seated us with Him in the heavenly places."   Quotes:   •       "This is the scream of people who are refusing the Lordship of Christ, the Lordship of the Scriptures, the Word of God in their life: 'The Word of God is not going to be our moral compass. It's not going to rule over our life and how we live it and how we act one towards another.'" •       "There is going to be a moment where God begins to respond to each and every one of these that He's dealing with, each and every one of these ones that think they are bringing about their will on the earth and their kingdom on the earth, including satan himself. They are going to be addressed personally by the Lord, and they are going to be terrified at His response." •       "Whatever you're experiencing, whatever we're going through, whatever will happen around us in this uproar of the nations, take refuge in Him. Keep your focus upon Him. Keep absolutely in the front of your mind and heart that He has installed Christ the King upon Mount Zion."   Takeaways:   1.    The nations are in an uproar. But they are in an uproar because the Father has granted the ownership of those nations to Christ. 2.    God is not shaken, and Christ the King is not shaken by whatever is going on in this world. He is laughing at the plans of the world because they are already thwarted by His Word as the God of all creation. 3.    We tell of the decree of the Lord that He is the King. We take refuge in Him personally. And we are those who proclaim that the nations are His, and He has installed His King upon His Holy Mountain.

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #274 Title: The Bronze Serpent   Web Description: Do you feel like you are being bitten to death by your circumstances and problems? Get your focus back on Christ. Renew and deepen your relationship with Him because He Himself is the answer. He Himself is the victory and the overcoming of any situation that we are in. And by believing in Him, we will not perish in our circumstances but instead have eternal life.   Show Notes: When the children of Israel complained against the Lord and Moses in the wilderness, the Lord sent them poisonous serpents. So the people repented and asked the Lord to remove the serpents. That however is not what God did. Instead, He told Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a standard. And if anyone looked at the serpent, that person would live. That story has great meaning for us today.   The children of Israel had become entirely focused on the material world rather than on the presence of God who was with them day and night. They were entirely focused on what they were unhappy about and what they did not have, ignoring all that God was providing them. As Christians we too tend to lose our focus on the Lord. We start to focus on what we are lacking and what we wish we had in the material world. We sometimes forget that we have the Holy Spirit to lead us and guiAde us, that Christ is in us, and that we can be filled with all the fullness of God.   Just like in the wilderness, we may be asking God to remove our problems that are like poisonous snakes biting us. But we should not be surprised if those problems do not go away. We should expect that God will give us something else to focus on. He may even be using our problems to get our focus back on Him. He is looking to bring us to Himself, to a life in Him, to a life in His Word, to a faith and a walking in Him that we may not be doing at the moment. Christ was lifted up just like that bronze serpent in the wilderness so that in Him we can have eternal life. He is our answer. And we need to live in Him more than we need to try to solve our problems.   Key Verses:   •       Numbers 21:4–11. "If a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived." •       2 Peter 1:3. "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness." •       Psalm 103:2. "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits." •       Luke 21:28. "When these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads." •       John 3:12–21. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up."   Quotes:   •       "It seems almost impossible to think that we would get tired of having the Lord's presence with us day and night. But I think in all honesty, we do lose our focus on the Lord, and we tend to bring our focus back into the lower level or lower realm of the natural world." •       "Instead of taking away our problems, many times what He does is He gives us an answer that brings our focus and our relationship back to Him. Because ultimately, He's the answer." •       "You're going to get tired of this journey that we're on in these end times if you are focused only on what's going on around you. But if we can keep our focus looking up, looking upon the Lord and what He's provided, then these other things are not going to destroy us."   Takeaways:   1.    The children of Israel magnified their unhappiness about the wilderness to the point that they despised God's provision. And we need to realize how we can get so focused on what we dislike about our circumstances that we forget the Lord's benefits. 2.    God's answer to the serpents in the wilderness was not to remove the serpents but to get the people's focus back on Him. And God may not be answering your prayer by removing your circumstances but by getting your focus back on Him. 3.    When you see all the things beginning to happen in the end-time, raise your eyes above the material world and focus on Him and His Kingdom. Make Him your focus and make Him what you are journeying to.

Faith Experiences the Invisible Now Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #273 Web Description: It is with the heart that we believe, and the heart is the center of our emotions and feelings. That means faith is not actually a mental process. You are not trying to believe with your thoughts that something will happen. Instead, you are knowing in your heart, by the joy and love and emotions that come by the Spirit, that you already have fulfillment.   Show Notes: How do we measure our faith? It seems that the only gauge we use is a negative one. We measure how much faith we do not have when something we believe for does not happen. But there is a better way. In a message titled, "Living Faith in Action," John Stevens said of the promises of God that "we were to rejoice in them with faith. We were to lay hold upon them as though we already possessed them." The greatest measure of our faith is the joy we experience in knowing that we have what God has promised.   We associate believing with the mind. But according to the Scriptures, we believe in our heart. And scripturally the heart is the center of our emotions. The heart is where faith really comes from, and the heart is also at the root of what we feel. Our feelings then impact our physical bodies, our thoughts, and our behavior. So faith from the heart is expressed in emotions. If you want faith to heal someone, then the most effective way is not to mentally strive to believe but to feel the joy of the deliverance in your heart.   We know that the fruit of the Spirit consists of emotions like love, joy, and peace. These emotions are spiritually imparted, meaning we do not get them from the material realm but from the spirit realm. This is the principle that Yeshua (Jesus) taught us in the simplest of terms. He said to pray, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." In other words, the answer exists right now in heaven. And you want it to also exist in your life right now. So do not pray for it to happen in the future. Pray with the knowledge that you have it now, and your faith is bringing it into the earth.   Key Verses:   •       Matthew 6:10. "Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." •       Hebrews 11:3. "What is seen was not made out of things which are visible." •       Romans 10:10. "With the heart a person believes." •       1 Samuel 13:14. "The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart." •       John 10:10. "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." •       Romans 4:17–20. "With respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith." •       Hebrews 11:1. "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." •       1 John 5:4. "This is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith."   Quotes:   •       "On the Sabbath, God finished His creation; He finished his works. His works are finished and now they exist. What we are learning to do is to reach into what exists and to find the ways to bring that out of the invisible into the visible, into an effective function within the material world." •       "We don't hope that there's the restoration of Israel. We don't hope for the Jews to be brought back into the land. We feel the joy. We should be dancing like David in the street at the return of the Ark of the Covenant because we are dancing over the return of the people, the return of all the wealth that they have and all the blessings that are theirs. We're living in it right now." •       "Your faith is the substance of the thing hoped for. It's the evidence of the thing not seen. That is not wishful thinking. That's God's faith given to you to believe Him and to rejoice with Him."   Takeaways:   1.    How do you measure how much faith you have? Look to what you are feeling in your heart. 2.    Having faith for something means that you have already embraced it in your heart. You are not praying with hope that it will happen. You pray knowing that you have it right now. 3.    Our emotions are something tangible. Study your heart and the emotions that are there. Emotions trigger thoughts and then the thoughts come out of your mouth. And that is what is creative.

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #272   Title: From Generation to Generation   Web Description: In the wilderness the children of Israel learned the consequences of not following the Word of God. And they set themselves to rehearse the Word repeatedly so that they and future generations would not fail to follow that Word. As Christians today we cannot expect that we will have the faith and success we need if we are not following what God has made real to us. And we must have the same determination to rehearse His Word.   Show Notes: Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, remembers the time when Israel lived in tents for forty years in the wilderness. This was a time when one generation died off because of their disobedience and a new generation was taught the Word of God. They had learned from the wilderness that they lived by the Word of God, and therefore every new generation must be taught to live in the Word. This is why a special day is observed at the end of Sukkot each year. This day is called Simchat Torah, which means "the joy of the Torah."   Every year the Torah is read in the synagogue from beginning to end. And every year at Simchat Torah, this annual cycle repeats. It is a continual reminder of what Moses told the people before they entered the land: "Will you make the same mistake the previous generation made, which cost them forty years in the wilderness? Or have you learned your lesson? And if you have learned your lesson, will you be able to keep that lesson alive for yourself and for your children?"   We see then the importance that Judaism places on rehearsing the Word. Do we as Christians realize that it is just as important for us? We face challenges that seem too big for us, just as the giants in the land seemed too big for the generation that failed in the wilderness. But those giants were not too big for God then, and our challenges are not too big for Him today. We need to believe what God has spoken to us and believe in His power to accomplish what He said. It is all there in His Word. And we need to make rehearsing His Word a major focus of our times together and in our daily lives.   Key Verses:   •       Deuteronomy 8:1–6. "You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you." •       Deuteronomy 6:1–3. "This is the commandment … that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD." •       Hebrews 12:5–9. "God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?" •       Romans 10:17. "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." •       Deuteronomy 6:4–9. "You shall teach them diligently to your sons." •       Deuteronomy 11:18–21. "You shall teach them to your sons." •       Deuteronomy 31:10–13. "Their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear the LORD."   Quotes:   •       "We should come away from the celebration of Sukkot refreshed in the memory that God is all powerful, that He is able to give us what He's promised." •       "When we get together to fellowship, there should be a focus on worship and the Word. We can still barbecue and have fun and have other conversations. But what is the focus of it? What is the purpose of fellowship? The true purpose of fellowship is to get together surrounding the Word and the worship so that we're creating faith within ourselves." •       "Even as aliens we had the right to come and stand at the gate during Sukkot and hear the Word of God so that we could learn, and we could understand, and we could fear the Lord our God. And we could walk with Him and have long life and prosperity and blessings."   Takeaways:   1.    The battle is against forgetting. If we are reminding ourselves, then faith comes by hearing. If we hear it, then we can have faith to do it. 2.    We need to find the things that are foundational to our faith—who we are and what God has spoken to us—and we need the faith right now to walk in them. 3.    Let us not leave the Feast of Tabernacles. Let us enter a year of hearing the Word of God.

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #271 Title: The Feast of Tabernacles   Web Description: As we celebrate Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, we worship in thankfulness for all that God has done for us in the season that we have just completed, and we prepare our hearts during the feast for the new season that is now beginning. So it is very important that we learn about the Feast of Tabernacles and think about what we are expecting God to do for us during this time.   Show Notes: Celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles puts us in a place of seeking God. We experience a new relationship with the Word of God as we celebrate this feast. In His Word we find instructions and direction for our lives in the coming year. Our cry before the Lord is that His Word will break our hearts and cause us to repent so that we will see the manifestation of the Word of God coming alive to the Body of Christ and coming alive to Israel in a new and greater way.   During the Feast of Tabernacles, we must "build our booths"—construct our lives—with a focus on God and His provision and not on the desolate wilderness. Because when we dwell in the shelter of the Most High, we will have a focus on God that will bring us to a place of trust and deliverance from everything that could come against us in the dark days that we may face in the coming year.   As we celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, we also find the Lordship of Christ coming alive. We know that His Kingdom is established in heaven, but there will come a time when the age of Messiah will begin to reign in the earth, even as the Lordship of Christ reigns in our hearts. In this feast we find ourselves contending together in prayer to see the manifestation of the Kingdom of God in the earth now.   Key Verses:   •       Nehemiah 8:13–18. "The LORD had commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel should live in booths during the feast." •       Numbers 9:15–23. "So it was continuously; the cloud would cover it by day, and the appearance of fire by night." •       Psalm 91:1–16. "No evil will befall you." •       2 Corinthians 3:16–18. "Transformed into the same image from glory to glory."   Quotes:   •       "I believe this can be a transitional time for Israel and for the Body of Christ both, as we experience something tremendous in these days of Tabernacles." •       "The Lord tells us where to live, but how we live is something that we construct as part of this Tabernacle experience." •       "We're going to be living in maybe some very dark days during this coming year, but what we focus on is what God is doing for us." •       "We don't know what we face or what we're going to go through, just as they didn't in the wilderness know exactly what they would face day to day, but they knew one thing—the glory and the presence in the light of God was with them."   Takeaways:   1.    Prepare yourself as you think about the Feast of Tabernacles and what you expect God to do for you during this time. 2.    Build your booth—your life, your family, your community—in a way that they house us in His presence and create a constant focus on His glory. 3.    Abide in the shadow of the Almighty and let Him become your dwelling place so that the glory of His presence will begin to manifest around you. 4.    Focus on the Lord's presence so that you might be changed from glory to glory into that same Presence, but also that you might reflect that glory to others as it radiates from you.

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #270 Title: Atonement and Our Purification   Web Description: We are coming to the Day of Atonement, which has great significance for us as Christians. It is about the forgiveness of our sins, something we understand well. But it is also about something we need a greater revelation and appropriation of, and that is our purification and the removal of our sins. Let this be our experience as we celebrate the Day of Atonement this year.   Show Notes: We read in Leviticus 16 that the Day of Atonement is about cleansing the people of their sins. It was a solemn assembly, a time for the people to humble themselves and repent of their sins. Then the first goat was sacrificed as a sin offering, speaking to the forgiveness of their sins. But there was also a second sacrifice. The goat of removal was sent into the wilderness to take away all the iniquity of the people.   Most Christians relate to Christ who is our Atonement in the context of the forgiveness of sins. But the Day of Atonement is about being cleansed of our sins. And cleansing is more than external washing. It is about our purification. The prophecy of the Messiah in Malachi tells us that He comes for the very purpose of purification. Yeshua (Jesus) HaMashiach, the Messiah, came for our purification, which along with forgiveness is the cleansing and removal of our sins.   Therefore, we absolutely should celebrate the Day of Atonement this year. And as we celebrate it, we should remember that our atonement is not only about the forgiveness of sin. It is also about the purification of the believer, enabling us to truly enter the presence of the Father. With great thankfulness we reach in during this time to humble ourselves before Him and appropriate all that He has provided for us on this Day of Atonement.   Key Verses:   •       Leviticus 16:29–31. "It is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you." •       Leviticus 16:18–22. "The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land." •       Malachi 3:1–3. "He will purify the sons of Levi." •       Hebrews 10:1–2. "The worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins." •       Psalm 103:12. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." •       Hebrews 10:14–23. "Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean."   Quotes:   •       "The Lord through the blood of Christ forgives us. But again, there's something more that the Day of Atonement is pointing to that we want to receive. And that is this removing out of us the iniquity and the sin so that we don't continue going through the same process of sinning." •       "We as believers are not just to live lives having been forgiven of our sin. We are to live lives that are more represented by this event in the Day of Atonement that we are forgiven but also cleansed and purified." •       "When God forgives, He does forget. He remembers our sin no more. But He goes beyond that because in the purification He is then able to put His law upon our heart and upon our mind."   Takeaways:   1.    On the Day of Atonement two sacrifices were made. The first sacrifice was to forgive the sins of the people. The second sacrifice was to remove the sins of the people. We understand the forgiveness of our sins in Christ but not so much the removal of our sins. 2.    Atonement is for our cleansing. And that is not just cleansing as we relate to cleansing ourselves by taking a bath or cleaning something by wiping the surface of it. It is talking about purification. 3.    Malachi tells us that when Messiah comes, He is like a refiner's fire and fullers' soap and will sit as a smelter. The sacrifice of Christ forgives our sins but also puts us through the process of purification that is like the refining and purifying of gold or silver.

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #269 Title: The Feast of Trumpets   Web Description: The Feast of Trumpets was a holy convocation, a day of celebration and rest, when all of Israel came up to Jerusalem to meet with God in anticipation that He was going to do something. This is now called Rosh Hashanah, and it is celebrated as the Jewish New Year's Day. This appointed time has yet to be fulfilled in Christ, leaving the world to wonder what it will mean when the divine trumpet blows.   Show Notes: What God is doing in most of the feasts is clear. For example, Passover commemorates the blood of the lamb on the doorposts in Egypt that saved the Hebrew people from the death angel. What God is doing in the Feast of Trumpets is less clear. It is a holy convocation. It is a Sabbath rest. It is a day when trumpets are blown. But why?   The Feast of Trumpets is a day of celebration—the Hebrew word is zikkaron—which means a "memorial" as well as a "remembrance" or "reminder." Each year this celebration memorializes God coming to earth on Mount Sinai where He announced His presence with the blast of a trumpet. We also remember God's promise that He will once again return to the earth with the sound of a trumpet.   Today we look forward to that trumpet which has not yet sounded, but no one knows the day or the hour. So our response is to be prepared. The trumpet blast alerts us to the promise of Messiah's return. May this prophetic cry be always on our lips: "Come, Yeshua. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on this earth as it is in heaven."   Key Verses:   •       Leviticus 23:23–25. "You shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation." •       Leviticus 23:24. "A holy convocation … a reminder by blowing of trumpets." •       Numbers 29:1. "It will be a day to you for blowing trumpets." •       Exodus 19:19. "When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder." •       1 Thessalonians 4:16. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God." •       Matthew 24:29-42. "And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet." •       Revelation 22:20. "Yes, I come quickly!"   Quotes:   •       "So when we look at most of the appointed times or the feasts, the fasts, the celebrations that God appointed, it's very clear what it is that Israel was celebrating. Not so with the Feast of Trumpets. •       "That's what a trumpet blast is for: to get your attention." •       "Now to me those are two very distinct things, and I think in the Feast of Trumpets both are taking place. We are to have a memorial and a reminder. A memorial is a celebration of something that took place historically. You build a monument; you memorialize an event in history. A reminder to me is more of something you are looking forward to. I have to remind myself of my to-do list, something I am supposed to do. So both of these really take place during Trumpets."   Takeaways:   1.    We anticipate the Feast of Trumpets because its fulfillment in Christ has not yet transpired. 2.    The Feast of Trumpets is to get our attention and keep us alert. 3.    Our response is to always be on the alert. Watch! 4.    We should cry out, "Come, Lord Jesus!"

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #268 Title: Remember That God Is Able   Web Description: The biblical feasts are a reminder that God is able to deliver us, save us, cleanse us of all our sins, and dwell with us in all power to meet every need. Rather than complaining about our circumstances, let us remember who God is and make His reality our daily experience.   Show Notes: An important part of the biblical fall feasts is remembering what God did in the past. Why is that important? Because it is too easy for us to forget. The children of Israel saw how great God's ability was to deliver them from Egypt. But as soon as they were free, they complained because they could not believe in God's ability to take care of them in the wilderness. How quickly we lose sight of what God did for us, even before our very eyes! We need to remember who He is, what He has done, and what He is able to do right now.   Yom T'ruah, the Day of Trumpets is a "reminder by blowing of trumpets." The trumpet blast reminds us that the Lord God who dealt with Pharaoh is the same God who will take care of us in whatever wilderness we experience. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is a reminder of God's power to not only forgive and forget every offense but to also remove all sin from us completely. This is the power of Christ's resurrection that will manifest in all the earth, which God reminds us of at Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles.   At these special times of the year, let us be reminded of the amazing God we serve who is all powerful, all knowing, and always present with us. What we face today might seem worse to us than anything we have ever faced before. The forces directed against Israel and against God's people today might seem greater than the world has ever known. But none of that matters because God has not changed. And He is able to be the answer for everything that we have no answer for in ourselves.   Key Verses:   •       Leviticus 23:24. "You shall have … a reminder by blowing of trumpets." •       Matthew 6:8. "Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." •       Deuteronomy 6:1–25. "Watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt." •       Matthew 4:7. "YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST."   Quotes:   •       "When we don't bring our knowledge of who God is into the now for what we're facing today in order to create our future, then we tend to test Him. Something goes haywire with our prayer, and our prayer turns almost into a complaint." •       "With Him there is no past, present, and future. There is only now. And that reality is something that we can live in. And that's why we can appropriate all that He has for us and walk in it today. Because if once He spoke it, it is." •       "I want us to come into that day looking for the power of the resurrection of Christ manifesting itself in the earth today in a powerful way—the kind of power that has the ability to save the Muslim world, that has the power to save the Gentile nations out of where they're standing right now."   Takeaways:   1.    In the wilderness without food and water, the children of Israel lost sight of God's power that He had just demonstrated to them. The feast season was a time when God said, "Remember Me. Remember what I did. Remember how you got here." 2.    What happens to us today when we enter our own wilderness? It is also easy for us to lose sight of who God is and what He is able to do. If we are not careful, we could be like those crying out to God for food and water and questioning if He is able to do what He promised. 3.    The world is in a wilderness right now, but we remember that the wilderness is where God comes down to dwell with His people. We do not enter this fall feast season wondering if God will meet our needs but rather worshipping God who is all the answer that we need.

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #267 Title: A Walk Through the Fall Feasts   Web Description: We are coming to the biblical feasts of the fall season. And rather than seeing these feasts as disconnected events, see them as steps on a journey that begins with your receiving of the Word of God, continues with your atonement in Christ, and leads to your dwelling in His presence. Let these promises come to a completion and manifestation in your life.   Show Notes: It is common to think of the biblical feasts as individual and separate events. But this podcast looks at the feasts of the fall season as a combined experience that is like a path we walk on. One feast leads to another in an unfolding walk with God. The first step on this journey is Yom T'ruah, the Day of Trumpets. Here we remember the time God appeared at Mount Sinai with the blast of a trumpet, which put all Israel into a state of awe.   On the Day of Trumpets, we become aware that God Himself came down to the earth and will again when Christ returns. This awareness leads us into Ten Days of Repentance or the Days of Awe. This state of awe should be real to us. And we should recognize that as we walk with God, what He is doing in us and through us is to bring the nations into this same sense of awe, repentance, and worship of God. This state of repentance is to lead us into Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is about the removal of our sin.   This opens the door to the experience of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. This is a remembrance of the time in the wilderness when the people lived in the presence of God. And we should reach into this experience. God removes our iniquity so we can live in His presence. Sukkot is celebrated for seven days, with an added eighth day, so that we can absorb all that God has done for us to change our lives. It leads us into His Word, into waiting on the Lord, and into appropriating all God's fullness.   Key Verses:   •       Leviticus 23:23–25. "You shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation." •       Hebrews 12:18–21. "You have not come to … the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words." •       Exodus 19:16–20. "The sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder." •       Psalm 22:23–26. "Stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel." •       Psalm 22:27–28. "For the kingdom is the LORD's and He rules over the nations." •       Leviticus 23:26–32. "On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement." •       Read Leviticus 16. •       Leviticus 23:33–36. "On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths." •       Leviticus 23:37–39. "Celebrate the feast of the LORD for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day." •       John 1:1–13. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." •       1 John 2:6. "The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked."   Quotes:   •       "Something is going to happen as we walk through this beautiful landscape of the fall feasts." •       "We should look for God to meet us in such a dramatic way that it throws us into repentance. It brings us into an awe of God beyond anything we have ever known." •       "There's something about where we come out of this walk through the fall feasts together that brings us to the reality of Christ in our life. It brings us to embrace Him as the Word made flesh."   Takeaways:   1.    At the trumpet blast on Mount Sinai, the people heard and saw the Word of God. And so these fall feasts take you on a journey that begins with your introduction into the Word of God. They bring you into an awe of Him. They bring you into atonement. And they bring you into the remembrance of living in His presence and seeing where He is taking you in the Kingdom of God as it manifests on the earth. 2.    Christ walked the earth as the Word made flesh. That Word from the trumpet blast came alive before the eyes of men and women. And that is what is happening today. And it is happening in your heart. 3.    Let us walk through this time of the fall feasts together and let it bring a fulfillment of His Word made alive in our flesh because we are to walk as He walked. And that is to be the Word of God manifested in this earth.

Growing In God Podcast Program Number: GIG #266 Title: Should Christians Celebrate the Jewish Feasts?   Web Description: Following the examples set for us by Paul and Yeshua (Jesus) Himself, the Jewish feasts and fasts are special occasions for believers in Christ as well. All Christians should recognize the importance of these celebrations and find ways to make them a part of their lives. Study this podcast and consider how you can incorporate these biblical holy days into your personal walk of faith.   Show Notes: Christ and the early Church followed the schedule of the biblical feasts. When He was a child Yeshua and His family went up to Jerusalem and celebrated the feasts as ordained by the Lord. Later during His ministry Yeshua continued to observe the feast times. It is recorded throughout the Gospels that His pattern was to go to Jerusalem during a prescribed feast. Even when people there were seeking to kill Him, it was important for Him to go to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. We also read that He went to Jerusalem in winter for the Feast of Dedication, which is Hanukah.   The same pattern was followed by Paul. On one occasion Paul decided to sail past Ephesus because he was in a hurry to be in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. At another time he told the Corinthians that he would remain in Ephesus until the feast. So Paul often made observing the feasts a priority in his travel plans. The greatest example though of the importance of these biblical feasts is the fact that the Church was created during the Feast of Pentecost. It was the Lord Himself who directed the disciples to be in Jerusalem during that time.   Zechariah prophesied that in the days of Christ's Kingdom on the earth, all the nations will come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles together. And it will not be a matter of choice. A plague and a punishment will be on the nations and families who do not come. Clearly God is serious about these times that He has appointed for us to celebrate Him and His Word. We should approach these times with tremendous anticipation in our hearts, not out of a sense of obligation but with an expectation that God will meet us, open doors that have never been opened, and show us things in His Word we have never seen before.   Key Verses:   •       Luke 2:40-42. "His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover." •       John 2:13, 23. "The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem." •       John 5:1. "There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem." •       John 7:2-10. "When His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up." •       John 10:22–23. "The Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple." •       Acts 20:16. "Paul … was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost." •       1 Corinthians 5:7-8. "Celebrate the feast … with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." •       1 Corinthians 16:7-9. "I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost." •       Acts 2:1-4. "When the day of Pentecost had come." •       Acts 1:4-8. "He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised." •       Zechariah 14:16-19. "All the nations that went against Jerusalem will … celebrate the Feast of Booths." •       Micah 4:1-2. "Many nations will come and say, 'Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD.'"   Quotes:   •       "There are several appointed times in the Hebrew Scriptures. And people wonder if this is something that has passed or if there is a significance or a reason why Christians should be observing or looking for God to move in their lives during these times." •       "Even though it was dangerous for Yeshua to go into Jerusalem and go through Judea at this time, He still went up at this prescribed time of the feast." •       "Christ had told them to go back to Jerusalem and wait until they were endued with power from on high. And that endowment of the Spirit, that giving of authority and power to the disciples to spread the gospel into all the world, came on the Day of Pentecost."   Takeaways:   1.    Christ's family celebrated the feasts as observant Jews. Paul himself celebrated these times. He scheduled his travels to be in Jerusalem for a specific feast. The Church itself was born during the Feast of Pentecost. 2.    Zechariah prophesied that the Gentile nations will come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. The feasts then are not something only to be observed by Jews. They continue to be an important part of our Christian experience. 3.    These are appointments with God that He has established for us. Let us schedule our hearts and our spirits to enter into these times and expect that He will meet us.

Growing In God Podcast Title: Live by His Strength   Web Description: As Christians should we have an expectancy for less strength and less life in our physical bodies as we age? According to the Scriptures, something different is available for us. We can have the strength that comes directly from God. The Spirit of God dwelling in us can give life to our physical bodies. We need to appropriate what God has made available. Let us wait on the Lord and be renewed by His life.   Show Notes: As Christians we believe in the resurrection of Christ and the new life that is ours. But Christians grow old like everyone else and watch their strength and vigor dissipate over time until it is gone. According to the Word, we should have something different. We read in Isaiah 40 that if we wait on the Lord, we should gain strength rather than lose it. This happened for Caleb who had the same strength and vigor at eighty-five that he had when he was forty. The same was true for Moses when he was one hundred twenty years old.   When Christ begins to dwell in us, our bodies are still dead because of sin. But that does not mean we are supposed to remain in that state. It does not mean that we are supposed to believe in death and have faith that our bodies will grow weak and die. Christ being in us means that we are being reconnected to the Father, and our spirit is coming alive to the Father. And the Spirit of the Father dwelling in us will give life to our mortal bodies.   Through Christ we are plugged into God. And as Isaiah 40 states, God does not grow weary; His strength does not go away, and His vigor never drains out of Him. And when we wait on the Lord, He gives us His strength that never dissipates. Why then would we live our lives as if we were still disconnected from God like we were before receiving Christ? Do not keep drawing from the world and the world's concept of living and dying but keep appropriating the new life that Christ has made available.   Key Verses:   •       Isaiah 40:28–31. "Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength." •       2 Corinthians 5:17. "If anyone is in Christ … old things passed away; behold, new things have come." •       Romans 12:2. "Do not be conformed to this world." •       Romans 8:10–11. "He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies." •       Galatians 5:22–25. "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." •       Psalm 118:14. "The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation." •       Joshua 14:7–12. "I am eighty-five years old today. I am still as strong today as I was." •       Deuteronomy 34:4–7. "Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old, … his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated."   Quotes:   •       "Christ is in you. But the Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead must dwell in you and give life to your mortal body. So this is part of maturing in God, growing in Him, moving on in the relationship and in the purpose for which He saved us." •       "If Christ is in me, I can begin to wait upon the Lord. I can begin to connect with God in such a way that His attributes come into my life." •       "There's no lack of vitality in God. And Moses and others like Caleb—and we see others in the Scriptures—knew how to wait on the Lord, how to draw this energy on a daily basis. They didn't do it once or twice. They lived this way."   Takeaways:   1.    As Christians there are ways in which we are still conditioned by the world. And one of those conditionings is to believe it is okay to grow old, get sick, and die. But the reality of becoming Christian is that we have a new life, and our experience should be different than that of the world. 2.    We have Christ in us. And because we have Christ in us, we can have the Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead also dwelling in us. And because His Spirit is dwelling in us, life should be infused into our mortal bodies. What prevents us from having this? 3.    All that is available in God is activated when we wait on Him, plug into Him, and draw His strength and power into our lives. But we are not really getting that if we are not consistently walking that way. We need to get out of any blindness and passivity resulting from our conditioning and go after the appropriation of all His provision.

Growing In God Podcast Title: The Bread We Know Not Of   Web Description: Is it really possible to run without getting tired or to walk without becoming weary? That is not our normal experience, but it is God's. He is never weary or tired, and He promises to give us His strength if we wait on Him. Christ knew how to do this. The food that sustained Him was in His connection to the Father, and we are connected to the Father through Him. Isn't it time for us to learn how to draw from Him?   Show Notes: Isaiah 40 contains a familiar passage about waiting on the Lord. This passage tells us that when we wait for the Lord, we gain new strength. God wants us to have a new strength that is beyond any strength we have ever known because it is His strength. Unlike our strength, His strength never dissipates. Whereas the strongest and most vigorous human will grow weary, God never gets tired. He does not need to rest or eat because He always has energy. And this is the energy He has promised us if we wait on Him.   As humans we get our energy from food. But Yeshua (Jesus) told His disciples that He had food to eat that they did not know of. There is a spiritual food that He knew how to partake of. He knew how to connect with the Father's unlimited energy. In His weariness in the flesh as a human being, Yeshua reached into God the Father and was energized without eating natural food. Unfortunately, we do not know of this food, but we are supposed to learn about it. We are supposed to learn how to wait on the Lord and connect with the energy that God provides.   If we are not drawing this energy, then have we really learned how to wait on the Lord? Let us set aside any passivity or conditioning we might have and put the force of our faith behind what God has said in His Word is ours. Let us learn to walk in the spirit as Christ did and wait on the Spirit of God until He dwells within us. According to the Word, if the power of the Father that raised Christ from the dead dwells within us, our mortal bodies will be energized. We will run and not get tired. We will walk and not become weary. Let us reach into it. Let us learn to wait on the Lord.   Key Verses:   •       Isaiah 40:28–31. "Those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength." •       John 4:31–34. "I have food to eat that you do not know about." •       John 3:3–5. "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." •       Galatians 5:25. "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." •       Romans 8:10–11. "He … will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."   Quotes:   •       "If we are really tuning into His strength, then it becomes evident to us that it is His strength. Why? Because it doesn't dissipate. His strength doesn't grow weary. He doesn't lack. He doesn't grow tired. All of these aspects of God's energy are extremely different than the human energy that we are used to." •       "We have to be born into another world, into another relationship with the Father. That's different than just relating to Him at arms distance from this material world that we live in." •       "I know I live physically by the food I eat. But is there a life that can come to me, and even come to my flesh, that comes through this relationship with Christ and having the Father—the Spirit of the Father—dwell within me?"   Takeaways:   1.    After many years of reading the Scriptures, we tend to become conditioned in our response to God's Word. And we might not put the emphasis and force of faith we need to behind experiencing what God is speaking to us. 2.    God promises in His Word that if we wait on Him, we will renew our strength. How real is that in our lives? Are we drawing on His power daily for a strength that never dissipates? Or is our strength continually dissipating because we look to our human flesh for our enabling? 3.    Physically we gain energy and sustain our strength through food. But Yeshua said He had food that was not known about on the physical level. He was energized and strengthened by His connection to the Father. Because Christ reconciled us to the Father, we can learn to draw that energy, strength, and life to our physical bodies.