​

CURRENT RADIO SERIES Destiny   CURRENT TV SERIES Destiny

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.           --Matthew 7:7 God has called you not to just make a living, but to make a life. God has called you not to just take up space in this world, but to make our world a better place in which to live! Yes, God wants you to make a difference! Now, the people God uses to make a difference in this world are people who are vulnerable to Him, who are dependent on Him, and who are available to Him. If you desire and seek a courageous faith… and if you ask God to give you a compassionate heart… then anything is possible. I’m telling you, you can change the world! I believe it’s time to make an impact on this generation and the coming generations for Christ. It’s time for us to fulfill our calling before He comes again. It’s time for God’s Church to rise up and shake off the past and shake the world for Christ. It’s time for God to do a new thing… a brand new thing in the hearts of His people! And that means you! The story of Nehemiah is a compelling illustration of how God uses people… all kinds of people… for His glory. Someone put it this way: “A zealous man in religion is preeminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say he is earnest, hardy, uncompromising, thoroughgoing, wholehearted, firm in spirit. He only sees one thing. He cares for one thing. He lives for one thing. He is swallowed up in one thing. And that one thing is to please God.” Let that be the passion and the prayer of our hearts and of our lives! God is looking for men and women who have a heart for Him… men and women who want to take their lives to the next level, who want to live beyond all limits! That’s my prayer for you… and me… today. That we will want to move out of the maze of mediocrity in our lives and live for something bigger than ourselves. That we will move out of our comfort zones and into the life God has called us to live! Move out of the maze of mediocrity in your life and live the powerful life God has called you to live!

The Holy Spirit and the Word of God

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”
Luke 18:32–34
The temptation is for us to condemn the disciples for their failure to understand what Jesus told them about His upcoming crucifixion. He plainly said that He was going to Jerusalem where He would be put to death and then resurrected, but they didn’t get the point. However before we judge them too harshly, we should remember that there are often things in the Bible that we struggle to understand—and that we have the great advantage of the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us understand what the Word of God teaches.
Charles Spurgeon said, “Commentators and expositors are very useful, indeed, but the best expositor is always the author of a book, himself. If I had a book which I did not quite understand, it would be a very great convenience to me to live next door to the author, for then I could run in and ask him what he meant. This is just your position, Christian! The Book will sometimes puzzle you, but the divine Author, who must know His own meaning, is always ready to lead you into its meaning!”
One of the main roles of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to help us understand the Bible. Jesus said, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come” (John 16:13). This is a vital resource for our Christian lives.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Because we have the Holy Spirit, we have everything we need to understand what God tells us in the Scriptures.

1 at a time =)

​

CURRENT RADIO SERIES Destiny   CURRENT TV SERIES Destiny

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.         --Joshua 1:7 Nehemiah was one of the great leaders of the Bible even though he wasn’t a prophet, a priest, or a preacher! Nehemiah described himself as a cupbearer to the king. He was just a guy who worked hard and had risen to some prominence in his day and time. Nehemiah was just a man… but he was a man whom God raised up! As we look at his life, there are some steps that Nehemiah took that insured his success… steps that made him a very effective leader. They’re the same steps you can take as a follower of Christ to ensure you’re an effective leader in your sphere of influence as well. Step number one is to pray fervently. We see this trait over and over again in the life of Nehemiah. He was a man of prayer. Real leaders understand that opportunity swings on the hinges of prayer. Step number two is to proceed confidently and courageously. You accomplish this by living what Proverbs 3:5-6 says: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Step number three to being an effective leader is to plan wisely. Too often we have an idea… we have a dream… and we just go at it arms flailing, rather than taking time to plan. But there’s a beautiful balance here. There’s the divine side of praying and then there’s the human side of planning. There is agonizing and then there is organizing. This is why Nehemiah was such a great leader. He not only prayed, he not only proceeded with confidence and trust in the Lord, he planned effectively. These same steps… when applied to your life as a Christian… will help you become the effective leader God intends for you to be! Become the effective leader Ggod wants you to be by praying fervently, proceeding confidently, and planning wisely. Fulfilled Prophecy and God’s Faithfulness by Dr. Paul Chappell “Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.” Luke 18:31 The Bible is filled with declarative prophetic statements. These are not vague generalities designed to conceal failure through a lack of precision. There’s a saying that goes like this: “If they ask for a date, don’t give a number. If they ask for a number, don’t give a date. If they insist on both, mumble softly.” That is not a prophetic declaration. God foretold specific incidents and details of the life of Jesus hundreds or even thousands of years in advance. And every one of those declarative statements was proved true down to every tiny detail. These prophecies of the Old Testament were given to validate the claim of Jesus to be the Messiah. The Gospel writers frequently talk about events as fulfilling particular prophetic declarations, citing the prophets who made them so that everyone would know that Jesus was the promised Saviour. The fact that He was born when and where the Bible said He would be, that He lived and ministered as the Bible said He would, and that He died, was buried, and resurrected exactly as foretold is evidence that He is the promised Son of God. But these fulfilled promises also offer us confidence for our lives. The same God who spoke those events that came to pass also makes promises to us in His Word—and every one is just as certain and sure as those that have already been fulfilled. Peter tells us that the Bible is given to us to believe. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). Today’s Growth Principle:  Because God has never broken a promise in the past, we can place full confidence in every promise for the future.

​

CURRENT RADIO SERIES Destiny   CURRENT TV SERIES Destiny

Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.   --Jeremiah 32:17 Today, you may find yourself in a rut. Maybe you’re in a place where you’re thinking, “Well, this is as good as it gets.” And perhaps you’ve settled for mediocrity. Mediocrity in your marriage… mediocrity with your children… mediocrity in your career. But God has so much more for you! “Well,” you say, “I’ve got all kinds of problems… all kinds of issues in my life you don’t know about.” You know, that may be true, but God is bigger than your problems. As 1 John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” So let me ask you today: What are you asking God to do in your life? Because God wants to do supernatural things in you… things you could never imagine! Think about what God tells us in Isaiah 43:19: “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” In other words, God is saying, “Look! Can’t you see it? Can’t you taste it? Can’t you feel this new thing that I’m doing?” God takes barren places in our lives and uses them for His glory. That’s when He does the brand new thing in our lives! And God wants to do something new in you. Do you believe that God can do greater things in your own life… right now… than you ever imagined possible? I believe God can do and will do what you believe He can do. Now, you say, “That’s impossible!” Let me remind you what the Scripture says in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” If you’re a child of God, He is for you. So don’t doubt that He wants to do great things in your life today! God wants to do great things in you and through you, so turn to Hhim today for what you think is impossible

Blessings Now and Later

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.”
Luke 18:28–30
Some people act like serving God is all about sacrificing and being miserable, as though it is a dreadful and painful thing to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. But Jesus painted a very different picture. There are sacrifices and struggles, but they pale in comparison to the blessings that we receive, both in eternity and in this life as well. Those who desire eternal joy must recognize the necessity of serving God in this life. His work is not grievous to those who love Him. Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29–30).
Dr. John R. Rice recounted his decision to enter the ministry this way. “Down at the Pacific Garden Mission, singing and doing personal work, one night I more or less volunteered myself to be a preacher on the basis of Romans 12:1–2, ‘present your bodies a living sacrifice,’ and the call of Isaiah 6 in which he said, ‘Here am I, send me.’ I wanted nothing better than to win souls and have welling up in my heart continually the glad joy I felt at that moment. I looked through the vista of future years and saw the time when ‘they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.’”

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Every day there are blessings to be found for those who serve the Lord with gladness and a willing heart.

Beware of False Teachers or False Prophets (Part 9)

The Bible















Doctrine and Covenants

Section 132

 

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, recorded July 12, 1843, relating to the new and everlasting covenant, including the eternity of the marriage covenant and the principle of plural marriage. Although the revelation was recorded in 1843, evidence indicates that some of the principles involved in this revelation were known by the Prophet as early as 1831. See Official Declaration 1.

 

1–6, Exaltation is gained through the new and everlasting covenant; 7–14, The terms and conditions of that covenant are set forth; 15–20, Celestial marriage and a continuation of the family unit enable men to become gods; 21–25, The strait and narrow way leads to eternal lives; 26–27, The law is given relative to blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; 28–39, Promises of eternal increase and exaltation are made to prophets and Saints in all ages; 40–47, Joseph Smith is given the power to bind and seal on earth and in heaven; 48–50, The Lord seals upon him his exaltation; 51–57, Emma Smith is counseled to be faithful and true; 58–66, Laws governing plural marriage are set forth.








 

​

CURRENT RADIO SERIES Destiny   CURRENT TV SERIES Destiny

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.   --Psalm 119:105 In Ephesians 6:10-12, Paul says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” A vital part of standing firm in the spiritual battle is to take up the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Becoming a fully committed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ begins by picking up your sword each day! Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” The Bible is not a human book. It’s a God-given book! And it is sufficient for your every need. That’s why I want to encourage you to have a daily time of devotion and discipline when you open God’s Word… when you pray and ask God to speak to you through the Scriptures.   I want to also encourage you to take your Bible with you when you gather with other believers in worship. Take your Bible to church! And take a pen with you so you can underline or highlight some Scriptures and take a few notes and really engage! Don’t be a passive listener; be a proactive learner! Just like your physical health, your spiritual health will deteriorate if you neglect it. So… as 1 Timothy 4 encourages us… take the time and the trouble to be spiritually fit! It’s the only way you’ll be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might… able to withstand the attacks of our enemy, the devil. It’s the only way you’ll be able to stand strong in the spiritual battle you face every day! Your best defense against the attacks of the enemy is Ggod’s word. The Great Miracle of Salvation by Dr. Paul Chappell “And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” Luke 18:26–27 Most people in the world who think about eternity believe that their destiny is determined by themselves—how they act toward others, or whether in the end their good deeds outweigh the bad things they have done. But if we understand what the Bible says about the perfection of God and the standard of unchanging holiness that governs His Heaven, we quickly see that any salvation that depends on our own works and efforts is an utter impossibility. In the time of Christ, great wealth was seen as a sign of God’s special blessing (and in many places it is still the same today). So when Jesus said that it was hard for rich people to be saved, it came as a shock to His hearers. Their assumption seems to have been that if these favored people would find salvation difficult to attain no one else stood a chance. But Jesus pointed out to them the vital truth that salvation is not about what we have or do, but about what God does in response to our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son. The reality is that none of us have any hope of salvation on our own. No accomplishment, no atonement, no achievement that we can reach offers any means of acceptance in His sight. Paul wrote, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The word used for sin literally means “to miss the mark,” like an archer shooting at a target and completely missing. We don’t even come close to what God demands. But in His love and mercy, He provided the miracle of salvation for all who will believe. Today’s Growth Principle:  Rejoice today in your own salvation and then take time to share the good news with someone else.

Beware of False Teachers or False Prophets (Part 8)