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Welcome to the For the Gospel podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Costi Hinn, and want to say a big happy new year to all of you. Thank you for all of your support this past year and beyond. Thank you for listening and sharing and reviewing. I am so grateful that God would use this small effort to bless you and to spur you on in your faith and your life with him and for his glory. On today's episode, I want to unpack one priority for your 2023 that will change your life. It's one that you've heard about before, no doubt, in a variety of different places, including radio programs and books in your church on social media, but I don't think we go as deep on this one as we ought to into our thinking, meaning deep thinking, looking at the results, maybe looking at it from different angles. If we would go deeper on this particular priority, it's going to impact our lives in significant ways. Before I lay out that priority for you, I want to give you some stats. These aren't meant to poke fun or derail your New Year's resolutions, but these are some stats on New Year's resolutions. Basically, just about everybody you talk to is going to have some goals this year. They're going to have some things they want to accomplish, things they want to do. That's normal. Goal setting, fairly common, should be in our lives. And then there are more formal ways to crystallize goals like New Year's resolutions. The New Year turns, people say, Well, these are the things I want to accomplish this year. Studies show that about half of people who set New Year's resolutions set one. There's one main goal they're trying to accomplish. Other people, they set multiple goals. Now here's where it gets interesting. 23% of people will quit in the first week. So they sign up for the gym membership, they pay the dues, and they're gonna bail after one week. Only 36% are gonna make it past the first month. So now we're really cutting into the numbers, and then the special elite, disciplined group that makes it to the end, they successfully keep their New Year's resolutions, amount to a grandiose 9% of people. In other words, we're not really good at keeping New Year's resolutions. We set these goals, we're gonna get in better shape, we're gonna do this, that, and the other, and then we bail. I would suggest to you, here's my proposal, that you set simple, attainable goals. Maybe boil it down to one, maybe two, max three this year of things you want to set your sight on. Now, my goal in this particular episode is just to give you one. This one goal, or this one priority will change your life this year. The reason I say that is this one goal is like an iceberg. The surface is really not its primary mass. When I give you this priority, underneath it is mass amounts of impact for you if you will stick to it and prioritize it. Here it is. I'm not trying to delay or make it all suspenseful. The priority that will change your life in 2023 is the local church. And don't merely think about some legalistic guilt trip about church attendance. That's not my target zone here at all. I'm referring to what happens when we will prioritize the local church in our lives as Christians. I'm talking about sitting under sound doctrine, saturating your life with consistently sound teaching, being pressed in on by uncomfortable truths that will stretch you, being around people who both are and aren't like you, finding a renewed perspective every single Sunday when you gather with God's people because God's word is invading your life and the fellowship of other believers is sharpening and shaping you. And perhaps most of all, what we need in this world is this built-in moment where we are reminded of why we're here and that God is in control. If you saturate your life with the news cycle and social media, you're going to be depressed, or you're going to have 15 bug-out bags and be building a bunker in your yard because it looks like the world is ending. You gather with God's people, you prioritize the local church, and you start remembering, hey, I know why I'm here. I'm a citizen of heaven. I'm here for his glory. I'm here to execute my purpose as an ambassador for Christ. God is in control. And soon your perspective on all of life is shaped by God's will, God's word, God's people. I can't ignore when I bring up this topic my background and the influence of my background in the fitness industry as a personal trainer. I've been a certified personal trainer. I was an athletic trainer with athletes myself. I was a D1 athlete. And my original degree, I don't know if everybody knows this, but was in kinesiology. I have my Bachelor of Science in kinesiology. I essentially studied the human body and in college was a D1 athlete. I was obsessed with physical performance and pushing myself past the boundaries of comfort. I loved to push my limits and see how far I could go. And now after 10 years as a pastor, I can't help but see the similarities because there's this overarching principle that governs all personal growth. I used to say this to people in the gym, used to say it with other athletes on the field. Half of success is just showing up. Now, showing up isn't everything, but it accounts for something. I want you to think about this first through fitness and physical health for a second. Or just think about the gym. You show up and you do something. Even if it's just a little bit of something. And over time, you watch as the benefits become more obvious. But it doesn't happen in one workout. It doesn't even happen in one week. It rarely even happens in great amounts over the course of one month. But over time, month after month, and pretty soon this year, through consistent showing up, you're going to experience the benefits of the gym because you're doing something and you're doing it consistently. Even if you didn't know how to work out, if you just show up, you're going to see how others work out. Even if you weren't highly motivated, let's say you weren't really fired up to be at the gym, but you just show up, being there is going to motivate you. Talking with other people, seeing them get after it is going to trigger your response to then get after it yourself. If you weren't sure how to do something, well, you're somewhere with plenty of other people willing to field your questions. If you needed a group to get involved with, you could start there. If you wanted some one-on-one training, there's options at a gym for that. Over time, by showing up and being consistent, your body composition, your health, your mindset, and your relationships within that gym begin to change. You see the illustration, I'm sure already. It's super obvious. Whether it be in sports, in athletics, in our physical fitness in the gym, and certainly in spiritual spheres, half of success is just showing up. Why don't we see the local church this way? It's the original blueprint for personal growth, handcrafted by God. God created us, he knows what's best for us, and he gives us this community of believers to be a part of, to show up, to be together. And then Satan comes along with lies, and here are some of the lies he wants you to believe about the local church. First, he's gonna get you to think or wants you to think that they just want something from you. Yeah, they want your money, they want your free labor, they want power over you, they want to control you, they want to whatever, build build the business and and build the pastor's vision, and he just wants to be a celebrity or whatever else, or he just wants to control people. Whatever else he could do to keep you jaded in your view of the church, Satan will do. In the process of lying, he works overtime at exploiting our hurts as well, so that you and I begin to define the church by a negative experience without ever going deeper into the reasons why you and I experienced that hurt in the first place. So an abusive leader hurts you, or a church imploded. Now you think the church at large is a sham. You know, no, those leaders were sinful, nobody held them accountable. You lacked discernment, you weren't well taught, you weren't saturated in God's word, you weren't walking yielded to the spirit, otherwise, you would have left that place a long time ago. You were immature in your faith, perhaps. And so the church overall isn't abusive. Unfortunately, you weren't at the right church. Other people will say, well, Costi, churches are nothing but shallow social clubs. You know, I don't need the church. I am the church. I'll stay home and watch online, I'll enjoy my life without all the drama. And once again, the enemy wants people to define the church according to false churches, shallow churches, or the experiences you had under unqualified pastors. This is the greatest propagation of fake news the world has ever seen, and people swallow it hook, line, and sinker. The devil wants you to hate the church, be annoyed with the church, roll your eyes at the church, or use bad experiences in the church to cause you to dismiss it as a priority in your life. Why? Because then he can exploit you spiritually. He can stunt your growth. And remember this the devil cannot steal your salvation, so he will try to distract your sanctification, your spiritual growth. Imagine if we took the approach I just described to you into marriage, you know, based on the hurts of others or bad experiences ourselves. We would say it's very immature and very inaccurate to say, you know, don't ever get married. All men are just selfish. Or don't ever get married. Women are so entitled. Whoa. Those are big generalizations. They derail what God has designed, they redefine what God has already defined. They use a negative experience with the wrong kind of person to crystallize a view on marriage that is not from God. The right way to approach this is to realize that we chose to marry someone who is not the right kind of person or who was unrepentant, not to redefine marriage or toss it out the window altogether. So now apply that illustration to the church. Some of you settled for the wrong church in years prior, maybe even this year. Some of you were in a church that started off the right way, but it ended up veering off course. And that happened because something or someone along the way derailed it. And it should have been dealt with, but it wasn't. Some of you, you played the American church game with the celebrity pastor and the laser light Sunday show, and he was on the screen, and it's multi-site, and it's his big vision, and everybody was bought in and they got sucked in to the big personality, and we got exactly what that recipe makes. Some of you never studied what the church is and what it's supposed to be. So you just go to whatever feels right for a little while, and then something or someone bothers you, and you choose a new church. Never thinking deeply about what the church is. We do need to deal with our church hurts, absolutely. We need to stick things out for as long as possible and work out our differences whenever possible. Absolutely. We need to be patient with people and leaders while we learn and grow together. Absolutely. But friends, we need to define the church and view the church through God's word, not the ideas or the traditions of man. The church is beautiful, the church is glorious, the church is the bride, the church is a people redeemed by the blood of Christ. The church is who Jesus is coming back for, and the church is the wisdom of God on display. This is what Paul the Apostle defines as the church or the ministry of the church in Ephesians chapter 3. He's describing his gospel ministry, what God called him to do, and the mystery of the church and God's plan for it, and he outlines the ministry of the church and then says, so that, this is the church's purpose, is so that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which he carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in him. That's Ephesians 3, verses 10 to 13. Paul was saying that the ministry of the church is to be a showcase of the wisdom of God. It's the truth that God has revealed, it's the plan that he has, it's the people he saves, it's the power of the spirit. The church is designed to show off God's wisdom. And Paul uses this phrase manifold wisdom. It means multifaceted, multicolored wisdom. It's wisdom above all wisdom. And he's doing this to the rulers and the authorities in heavenly places. This refers to the spirit realm, in which both angels of God and the rulers and principalities of darkness wage war. As God's plan through the church unfolds, you've got to imagine, friend, that in the heavenlies there's spiritual warfare going on right now, but also they're observing the church and God's plan unfold, and the angels are blown away time and time and time again, and the principalities of darkness are put to shame. They could never keep Christ in the grave. They could never keep you from getting saved. The angels and all of heaven are crying, holy, holy, holy, as they look upon God's plan unfolding through the church. The rulers of darkness are trembling with fear. They know their defeat is sealed, and their final judgment draws near as Jesus builds his church. This is the picture of what's happening spiritually right now. So shouldn't we think deeply about the church? It changes the way that we think about, well, I don't, whatever, you know, I don't need to go on Sunday, or who cares about this, or ah, church, whatever. Friend, there is a spiritual war happening in the heavenlies right now. The church is a people, and when we gather together and make worship a priority, God is showing off. His angels only cry, holy, holy, holy, in stronger, louder, more passionate tones as praises cause the floor of heaven to thunder. And the forces and rulers of darkness, the devil himself, tremble with fear because God's people are worshiping, praising, obeying, gathering. They're a gospel proclaiming force, showing off God's plan to save and redeem people. I appreciate what John Stott says in God's New Society. He says this about the centrality of the church in the life of every believer. Number one, the church is central to history. Central to history. Kent Hughes writes this the now open secret is that the church as a multinational, multiracial, third race will rule in the universe along with Christ and the angels. And amidst the swirling tides of Marxism, materialism, and any other militant false religion, only the church will survive history. Isn't that remarkable? The church always survives. This thing never dies, it never goes away. It's not like something going out of business or an animal species going extinct. The church is central to all of history. Number two, Stott says the church is central to the gospel. Through the preaching of Christ, living out of our faith, boldly proclaiming the wisdom of God through words and deeds. We are, friend, a city on a hill. We are, as the church, a lighthouse to the nations. So when you and I as believers don't prioritize the local church, the people of God, we're like a lighthouse that doesn't work. We're supposed to be living loud and bold and bright for Jesus and doing that together as a priority. The church, finally, he says, is central to Christian living. He says the church is worth the sacrifice, the suffering, the time, the investment, the effort, the blood, the sweat, the tears. And I know some of you, you've been hurt by the church, you're done with the church, you love Jesus, but you just go, I don't want to get close to people. Listen, I know those experiences can affect you for years, but Christ has called you to an active, vibrant life within his body. And just like the human body, you can and will heal. Will there be scars? Yes. Could there be pain? Might there be a need to clean out that wound? Yes. But just like the body can heal, so too spiritually we can be healed, restored, and living with our time, our talent, our treasure, our eternal purpose invested into what Jesus promised to build. So when you prioritize the local church in your life, it's going to impact your growth. It's going to help you grow. Like the Jim illustration, it won't always be easy. There'll be days when you don't feel like it. There's going to be people who are awkward, aspects of it you want to see improved, other people who need to improve, but focusing on your own growth and prioritizing what God has ordained for you in your life is going to cause you to look back on 2023 eventually and say, I'm not who I'm going to be yet, but I'm definitely not who I used to be. I grew this year. To close, I want to give you just a few of the benefits if you'll prioritize the local church this year. First, the local church pours in sound doctrine from leaders who know you and love you. Regular biblical application-rich doctrinal teaching from a consistent voice in your life is going to produce spiritual results. Don't let busyness invade your life to the degree that you are sacrificing sound doctrine being poured into your life. Get under the right teaching, under the right teacher, lock in on the truth. Lean in during sermons. Be a note taker. Maybe if you've never tried that, try it. Grab a pen, grab a piece of paper, lean into what's being said. Pray before, as you drive to church and even as you park, set a routine saying, Holy Spirit, today open my eyes, my ears, soften my heart. Help me to have a receptive mind to the teaching of your word. Prioritize sound doctrine. Prioritize it physically, in person. The power of FaceTime, not the FaceTime on your iPhone, but FaceTime, literally being with other people, looking at your pastor, seeing how he studies, how he prays for you, how he loves you, seeing the other people in the room, prioritizing sound doctrine, getting into the local church with other people is going to equip you in very helpful ways. It's one of God's particular means of grace for us and helps to grow us in our faith. This is one of the ways, or one of the reasons why I'm so anti, you know, multi-site with the guy on the screen, not because I'm anti-technology. We love technology for the gospel. We use all sorts of creative media. But when it comes to gathering with the saints, I don't want to look at some guy on a screen or look at my pastor. I want him up there looking at me. I want him available to talk to me after or someone there to pray with me and talk with me. Not because I believe that he's the anointed leader and the only guy who can be there for me, but I want to know this is a shepherd who is caring for me as one of the sheep. The local church pours in sound doctrine from leaders who love you and know you. Let me add on to that so I'm not just picking on multi-site. I'm not your pastor unless you're a member at Shepherd's House Bible Church in Chandler, Arizona. I can be a podcaster, I can be a brother in Christ, I'm a pastor who produces resources that are meant to spur you on. But friend, if you don't have a local church, I want you to plug into one where you are. If you don't have one, pray for one, or move somewhere that has one or find a way to help plant one where you are. Maybe you're someone who spends a lot more time listening to podcast pastors than your own. I would say it's time this year to flip that paradigm. And you can appreciate resources like this, and you can listen to John Piper and John MacArthur and everybody else, but in the end, nobody loves you and knows you like your pastor. Get into a church where your pastor knows you. Number two, the local church fosters relationships that center on Christ. We typically choose to hang out with people who are like us common hobbies, common life stage, even common income level, like you know, you're successful, I'm successful, okay, we hang out and get along. But the church becomes a place where Christ is our common bond. And in and amongst other potential secondary interests, the number one common denominator for our healthiest relationships is we're chasing Christ together. This is healthy in the local church. We're spending time with people who are different than us in many ways, but linked together in Christ. And we do find people, of course, with common interests, common life stages, other, you know, people with the same hobbies. But when the common denominator is Christ, that old statement, show me your friends, I'll show you your future, it rings truer than ever. Cause now we're running the race with people who are serious about godliness and spiritual growth. Our recreation, our lifestyle enjoyments begin to weave in with spiritual relationships. And those people will hold you accountable. They're the people who love you enough to call you out on your sin. And they're the people who love you enough to walk with you while you work out your sin. So the local church as a priority in your life is going to foster relationships that are going to help you in your journey as you walk this road together. Third, the local church helps us get over ourselves. I think this is so helpful. If you prioritize the local church, and I do too, how great. You're going to get over you. I'm going to get over me. You're a consumer most of the week. Businesses, they want your Yelp reviews to be five stars. Restaurants hope you like their food. Customer service reps plead with you over the phone so they can make it right and keep your money. That is all good and right for business. It's how it should be. Then there's this spiritual entity that we're connected to, and suddenly it humbles us and it exposes our selfishness and it erodes away the consumer mentality that says, you know, it's all about you. The customer is always right. Friend, if you go to church more than ever this year, and if it's the right church, you're going to be called on to serve, to give, to help, to follow, submit, to lead, to learn, and to pray all the more. And there is no way, if you are in a church that calls you to action, that the needle is just going to sit there in the same spot it was in this last year. The needle's going to move. Your life will incrementally improve. Sins are going to be addressed. Wounds will be healed. Marriages will grow. Purpose is discovered. Relationships are going to thrive. Most importantly, your relationship with Jesus because we're not focused on ourselves anymore. We've prioritized something which is alive, that is the church, which calls to us. It is not about you. We exist for his glory. Galatians 5.20 describes the Christian life this way. I have been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. If you want to thrive in 2023, you need to be in the right church and prioritize the church. One single priority this year, it'll change your life. You may have other goals, you may have other things you add in, you may need to lose weight or get in more shape or you need to date your wife or what have you. I'm telling you, if you are in the local church and prioritizing it, all of those other peripheral things, they're going to be challenged, they're going to be stretched, they're probably going to happen because you're in the place that God has designed to foster and nurture your sanctification. Stick it out with your church. Be a problem solver. Fight that inner armchair critic. Deal with your own log in your own eye before being an expert at pointing out the sliver in your church. Guard your habits this year and your priorities. They'll dictate your growth. What you feed grows. This law applies to the physical realm and the spiritual realm. You cannot be a healthy body part in the body of Christ without staying physically connected to the ligaments, the nerves, the skeletal structure, the muscular support, the blood flow, and the nutrients of the local body. Feed that priority. The church does not want something from you. The church wants something for you. I want you to thrive this year. I want you to be challenged and I want you to grow. Resources here on the podcast this year are going to be geared towards that end. Along with our videos and all other forms of media, I want to spur you on more than ever this year to be growing in Christ, in godliness, and actively thriving as a part of the body of Christ. Sound doctrine is great, but putting that sound doctrine into practice is always the goal. So map out your year, commit to being faithfully active in your local church and stick to it. You will grow, I guarantee it. Thanks for listening. Happy New Year. I'm so excited to keep going on the journey as you grow in the Lord. I'll be here next week with another episode. For now, keep on living for the gospel.