Welcome to the For the Gospel Podcast where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Costi Hinn, and I want to welcome our listeners on Apple, Spotify, and those of you enjoying this on our YouTube video podcast format. If you're new to our ministry, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. And I've been encouraging folks as the year winds down and you pray through end-of-year gifts outside of your local church. I'd love to encourage you to consider partnering with For the Gospel. We produce all of our resources for free. We are 100% donor supported. And we've just finished our annual strategic meetings for 2024. We're excited for what's ahead. We always say if the Lord wills. And I want you to know that's actually how we structure our ministry and our financials. We pre-raise our budget for each year, never spending more than what comes in. So whatever God provides each year goes towards that next year of ministry. Our current goal is a $442,000 budget, and we're grateful for the growing number of people jumping on board to support what we do. You can go to forthegospel.org and click give to partner with us. And as a way of saying thank you, we've got some gifts throughout the year that we love to send our gospel patrons. On this episode, we're doing a listener QA on God's will. You've sent in a number of questions, and I'm gonna do my best to get through all of them in this episode. So let's jump right in. Number one, does God have different wills, and how do these play out? Does his will always happen? Well, let me explain that God's will of decree, which we covered in the second episode of this series, always happens. Basically, according to scripture, we see what God decrees will come to pass. It's what he decrees, it's what he sovereignly ordains, nothing can stop it, and nothing can resist it. In that episode, I gave a number of passages to back that up, one of them being Romans 9 19, which reminds us who can resist his will. Romans 9, by the way, an excellent chapter to read about the sovereignty of God and salvation. Theologically, we must also consider God's revealed will. This is what has been made known to us through scripture, and this is what we can conclude about that is that all of God's decrees will come to pass. His revealed will is his commands, which are laid out in scripture, and those can be quote unquote resisted. Not that anyone can stop his ordained or decreed will, but his revealed will can be resisted, in other words, when we disobey, we're quote unquote resisting, or maybe one would better describe this as rebelling against his revealed will and direction. However, I want to add a caveat here. A genuine spirit-filled believer will eventually obey and be continually sanctified, and the trajectory of their life will be following after Christ. A false believer or a total unbeliever will have a pattern of consistently rejecting God and rebelling against his revealed will. On all fronts, they don't care to ever consider his revealed will. They will not obey his revealed will. Now, lastly, we need to consider what theologians call God's will of desire. And that's what we would say an anthropomorphic expression, meaning something being expressed in human terms of God's feelings towards humanity, calamity, uh, sin, death, salvation, all these things, meaning uh one passage in particular. Like God may not rejoice or desire the death of the wicked or their burning in hell. He's not cheering up in heaven, but he's decreed that all who reject him will be judged eternally in hell. 1 Timothy 2, 4 says, God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. In other words, God's expression of desire does not mean it's his sovereign decree. He doesn't just, you know, make everyone a believer. While he desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, only those whom he has called will. See if God's will of desire that's expressed. Some people would argue, and I don't see a big issue with this, that the all people or the many statements in Scripture are referring primarily or only to the elect or whom God has chosen. Many great scholars have made that argument. Others would argue against that. Here's what I would say: Ezekiel 18, 23, and then verse 32 are incredibly helpful for seeing a picture of God's will of desire and how it will differ or at least just be presented in contrast with his will of decree. God says, Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? The death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live. God is basically saying, Look, don't imagine me as cheering on. I'm so pleased with the death of the wicked. And not that he should turn from his way and live. This is how God's will of desire is expressed. Based on what Scripture teaches, then, God's decreed will will always happen. God's revealed will is linked to his commands, and of course, we can rebel against this, though true believers will not do this as the trajectory of their life. His revealed will, or us obeying it or not, by the way, won't change his sovereign decrees. Those are unchanging. And I want you to see that as the anchor or the rudder in all of this, God's sovereign will be done. And God's desire or his seeming feelings, while expressed in Scripture, don't alter his decrees. And so you can't say, well, look at what uh Paul says in 1 Timothy, you know, God wishes that all men, so so I guess, you know, then what? Well, it's not going to be universalism. God doesn't make all men saved, even though it says in the text that he desires all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. God's will of desire does not alter God's will of decree. He has decreed that there will be those whom are saved, and there are those who reject him. Number two, I have a child with a woman that I had before I was married to my current wife. How do I deal with that? So it would be God's will for you to do what is in line with Scripture. First, you are a father to that child. And in sin, you missed the mark of God's design for marriage and union between a man and a woman. However, like many people, you're obviously repentant or you have repented, you are now married, and a marriage to the birth mom didn't happen. And I'm filling in some gaps here. If I was counseling your situation, I would ask you a lot of these questions. And basically, though, now to divorce your current wife would go against scripture, since divorce is not God's will. Furthermore, if you did all this pre-conversion, you were obviously dead in sin, you were blinded by unbelief, you were unable to make the right choice. So now you do. You try to make all the right choices you can according to God's revealed will without breaking his law in order to, I guess, obey his law. Well, I need to go do the right thing now, so I need to sin again. I need to divorce my current wife in order to do that. That would not be how it works. So now you do all you can, though, because you're alive together with Christ. You need to be a biblical father. You need to navigate differences or challenges with the fruit of the spirit. Meaning, all the different differences or challenges you face with whether the mom or someone else in the situation, you need to be exhibiting the fruit of the spirit. You need to be evangelizing the birth mom if she's not a believer, or being unified and cooperative if she is a believer, certainly having the common goal of raising your child faithfully if she's remarried to a believer as well. And here's what I'll say through all the complexities of this situation, and though they're not ideal, we as believers follow the scriptures no matter what. If she's an unbeliever, Colossians 4 tells you to conduct yourself with wisdom towards outsiders. And so if you're wondering about how much authority you have to raise your child or what you should be doing, I want you to think of Ephesians 6.4, the mandate to raise your children in the instruction of the Lord across the board. As much as it depends on you, pour in the gospel, follow scripture. Your situation is the result of sin, but your story can turn out for good, and God will bless your obedience to the word. And we have these type of situations in our own church. We always counsel parents to do all they can to model Christ, to teach the gospel, and to follow the word in their particular situations that have resulted from pre-conversion sin. Number three, I'm often afraid to ask things of God because I don't want to contradict his will. You know, this is a very honest comment, and I appreciate it. Here's the truth Jesus says, Your Father in heaven already knows what you need before you ask him. That's Matthew 6 8. And then Jesus unpacks a great model for prayer in the Lord's Prayer in Matthew chapter 6. In this, we have the request for daily bread. That's our physical needs. We've got the request for forgiveness of sins. Forgive us our debts or forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. That's our spiritual need. And you also have a request that his will be done, and the acknowledgement of his holiness, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed, holy be your name. Across the board, the Lord's prayer is a beautiful picture of balance, acknowledging the majesty of our God, being humble, confidently asking him for our needs, and yet trusting your will be done. I don't see a biblical precedent for being fearful of asking for things from God. Based on the Lord's prayer, based on all the New Testament teaching on prayer, be honest with him. And then if you're concerned about asking for the wrong thing, then end every prayer with what Jesus says in Luke 22, 42 when he says, If possible, let this cup pass from me. And he says, But not my will, but yours be done. End every prayer with that. Trust the Lord. Number four, how do you reconcile God's will with him making sinful people for dishonorable use? And then Romans 9 was in that. I love this question. In Romans 9, the key picture is of clay, and clay being molded by God and shaped by God and used by God for whatever his purposes are. If we submit to Scripture as our authority and not our emotions, not human logic, then we must conclude that God is well within his divine rights to use his creation for his purposes. So I reconcile that by just saying, well, Scripture says that he's chosen to use some as vessels of destruction, and that he's destined some false teachers to hell, and that he hardened Pharaoh's heart, and that he's completely aware and in control of the destiny of human beings, or that he chooses to show mercy on some and not on others. I must, I'll say it, you must submit that God is God, that he is the potter, that he is the authority. We are clay, we are created beings, we are the subjects to the divine sovereign. I've not no problem with God doing what God does because he's God. So you say, How do you reconcile that? I've wrestled with this. I'm sure there are people are, and people probably right now, even listening to this, say, I don't agree with that, Costi, or I just can't level there. Here's what I'd say. And this is just hard truth. I say it because I love you. I genuinely believe it's a spiritual maturity issue when people say, Well, no God that I believe in would ever do this or that. Meanwhile, Scripture says he does. Or, well, that doesn't seem fair of God to do that to Pharaoh and so on. I would say, Who is God in your mind? Or have you come to a place of submission under Christ yet? Have you pondered that Scripture, not your feelings, are the ultimate deciding factor of what is true? Or that God's divine ways are far above our ways. I'm good with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob doing whatever he pleases. I'm good with God having a right to do as he pleases because he had the right and still does, the right to send us all to hell yesterday, but he didn't. Try reconciling that. What a merciful God that he would even choose to call and to save and awaken our dead hearts and open our blind eyes. Seth asks, What is the bedrock of God's will for our lives? Well, I believe it's scripture. Peter calls it the prophetic word made more sure. Paul says scripture is sufficient in 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17 for everything we need teaching, reproof, correction, training, and righteousness. Over and over we see Jesus testify up testify about the Father's will and his true followers, loving him and doing his will. John repeatedly says, Whoever does the will of God is a believer. So where do we find his will? What's the bedrock for his will? The very breathed-out scriptures, which are of divine origin. So the bedrock is the Bible. And I think of the great line from that old hymn, On Christ, the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. And I say, I'm going to look to Christ. Christ is the word, the word is him revealed. So what's the bedrock for knowing God's will and following God's will, the scriptures, every day a thousand times over? Question number six: Is it God's will for all these folks to move out of California or are they running from his will? It's a great question. And look, I got strong views on this whole uh move away from trials, run for the hills from your city, uh, or run from God, or run what run from where God has you mentality without considering the local church. Now look, do some people need to move or do some people move and it's fine? Of course. I'll get to that in a second. But look, we can all move to the hills and hide. But what does that accomplish spiritually? Nothing. Is it sinful to move to the hills and be plugged into a church, enjoy living off the grid, and have your chickens and whatever? No, not at all. It's not sinful. Go do it. Just invite me to come hang out once in a while. But think about how you do that kind of thing or how people move or why people move. I was talking recently with some friends in my own life, and we always discuss these type of things. My take is that many people might choose to buy a mountain escape. You could have a bug out bag, you can move to a conservative state, be frustrated with the government, all that. Look, fine. You need to think through it though biblically, and the local church and spiritual priorities have to remain at the top of your decision-making priorities. But let me just press in here on the church leader angle. I believe, you may not agree, but this is my belief, church leaders are cowards who run from their congregation and their duties to pursue a more utopian lifestyle when God has placed them in their city, made them under-shepherds over his flock, and to be a light in the darkness, and they say, Well, I want to go where it's easier, I want to go where everybody agrees with me, I want to go have my little compound and have my you know 18 little families and run away from everything. Look, but for someone else, someone that someone else, then it may not be sin. Or for a pastor whose church is dying or dead, everyone's moved away, he gets reassigned or he moves, fine. Conversely, if you're a pastor in an area like Idaho, Idaho is gorgeous. Great place to run if you're a runner. But if you're already there, like you're I have friends pastoring in Idaho. Look, great, they're off the grid, be faithful and invite all of us to come hang out off grid if our eschatology is wrong and we need to hide out in the hills during the tribulation. But honestly, I think more people should stick it out than run away. More people should stick it out than run away. There are too many, especially since COVID, there's too many quitters and too many cowards, and not enough with courage. Does that mean all who are move are sinful? No way. Don't say that and don't blanket this thing and go tell your church if you run away, if you move, people move all the time. And you need to protect your family, you need to use wisdom, and there is some prudence in that. But we need to be balanced. Could more have stayed since the COVID exodus in many states than who have left? Yes, I believe so. And P.S. I say that as a California resident who had moved to Arizona, but that was because God opened the door for ministry here. But my elders were highly involved. It was unanimous on all fronts. I didn't move to Arizona because it's conservative. I didn't move to Arizona because the market was cheaper. I didn't move to Arizona because it was going to be quote unquote easier. In fact, when I moved here, it was very uh red, if you will, and now it is as blue as the ocean, and our governor is Katie Hobbs. So look, you can go anywhere. Basically, God's assignment is God's assignment. Our priorities need to be spiritual. Think about how you're making these decisions. If running and having a little utopia is your number one, well, you've placed something above the priority where God has you right now. And maybe you're the warrior you are, and you're the protective person you are, and you're the thinker you are, so God can use you in the trial zone, in the red zone, if you will, of challenges, and he wants to use you in your local church. So just don't go making quick knee-jerk decisions to peace out on everyone. Think about it. And don't be materialistic, be spiritually minded. Number seven, how can I know God's will in order to select the right woman to marry? It's a great question. I would think about what scripture describes about a godly wife. Proverbs has much to say in 31 and other other places. Uh Ephesians 5, great place to go. Read the whole chapter. Understand God's will, understand submission, understand the love and submission of a husband and a wife together in their roles. Uh 1 Peter 3, another excellent passage. And I would look at the general nature of the spirit-filled walk described in Galatians 5, 16 to 23. Does she look like those things on the inside? Because if she's pretty on the outside, but poisonous on the inside, look, who cares? It doesn't matter how she looks, it matters about how godly she is. We can be attracted to our wives. I recommend you are. I'm crazy about my wife. I think my wife is gorgeous, but it is her inner beauty that stood out and still does. Many men would say the same thing about their wife. Looks are only skin deep, my friend, but lasting beauty and what you're looking for as essential is on the inside of her. That's what you want to be able to say. Only marry a girl. Actually, only date or court a girl who matches scripture. Don't justify ungodliness in her life because she's pretty. Way too many guys do that. In fact, you just need to wait or you need to look around a little or get involved in your church and start paying more attention to the girls that are godly, and I guarantee you'll find a woman, if it's God's will, that is beautiful on the outside that you just adore and think the world of, but the inner beauty makes everything pale in comparison. Number eight, how do we make decisions based on God's will if both outcomes glorify God? It's a good question. I believe this is where God's given us a great deal of freedom. Uh, could I move to Florida tomorrow and serve the Lord? Sure. Could I move to Africa the next day and serve the Lord? Yes. I can also stay in Arizona till I die and serve the Lord, though I might need a sabbatical sometimes in July when it's 120 as I age. But look, when two decisions glorify God, uh, you need to think through that. I believe if you're married, you should consult with your spouse. A husband should consider the feelings and needs of his wife. A wife should be submissive and respectful to her husband. Perhaps a job provides for them more faithfully in one place over the other, and that assumes they have a solid local church in either place. Perhaps discipleship is deeper in one place over the other. But the job and other factors are equal otherwise. There's a myriad of factors, but we can still go to the Bible for how we should discuss these matters. So everyone should stay spirit-filled in the way that they communicate. We can be respectful of each other. A husband can deeply consider the needs of his wife and lay himself down, even though he'd prefer to be a different place than her. Maybe he could consider her and there's some compromise there. Or a wife can see how she might submit to her husband as he sets course, even though it may not be her favorite choice. If it honors the Lord, then the couple should find agreement on as many fronts as they can and then mutually love each other and sacrifice where they might differ. I generally find that when God's leading a couple somewhere, though, there's going to be unity and agreement. I'll use a personal example. I didn't force my wife to Arizona. She was nervous because it was new, but she never said, I'm not going or whatever. The Lord had us in lockstep. It was adventurous. We discussed the pros and cons, but never disagreement or disunity in the decision. I look back on that and think I can see God's work in all of it. And I have many friends who've experienced the same thing. Perhaps you have. Are there uh pros and cons? Sure. Are there things you need to talk about and work out? Absolutely. But ultimately, where God guides, he provides, he will unify a couple in the direction they're heading. And if not, I'd pause, I'd pray, and I'd really assess and get some wise counsel. Question number nine. Is it ever God's will for a believer to marry an unbeliever? Absolutely not. 2 Corinthians 6.14 makes it unequivocally clear. We're never to be unequally yoked to an unbeliever. Light doesn't mix with darkness. No covenant, no unity can be had in marriage when you have a believer and an unbeliever. Don't do it. Now, if you got saved after marriage, but your spouse didn't, you don't divorce them. You got to follow God's will on that too. Read 1 Peter 3 and understand the role of a believing spouse there. Very, very helpful passage. Number 10, why do babies die? It's a great question. It's a deep one. Babies die for the same reason all people die. Because sin has corrupted this world. We now live in a fallen world where sin, sickness, pain, calamity, all of those things wreak havoc on the lives of humans. That happens in varying ways and at varying degrees. For a friend, maybe they experience the loss of a child in one way. But for us, maybe it's sickness, or for someone else, it's the presence of personal sin and broken relationships. For someone else, it's going through a painful divorce or adultery. For others, it's a wayward child, a prodigal. All of these things. There's so many aspects to this broken world. Persecution, all of it. Across the board. The pain and the specifics will vary based on the degree of loss. But all of it is the horrific result of sin cursing this earth. Friends, this is why we need the gospel. This is why Christ came as Savior. This is why we cry out, Maranatha, come, Lord Jesus, come. He will one day restore all things. This world will pass away. There'll be a new heavens, a new earth. All of that will be inaugurated. We'll dwell with our God forever in perfect peace, and there'll be no more sickness, no more sorrow, no more death, only joy, only peace, and only life everlasting with our glorious Father and our Savior Christ and our helper, the Holy Spirit. But until then, yes, babies will die, people will sin. Marriages will sadly end in divorce. People will commit suicide. Nations will instigate war. Those who hate Christ will persecute the church and people will slander you, gossip about you, mistreat you, misunderstand you a thousand ways from Sunday. And in all these things, I think that creation groans for the coming of its creator and perhaps no one more than the church. Both living here and now, proclaiming the gospel that more would be saved, but also praying, Lord Jesus, come quickly. We long for the day where the curse of sin is fully undone, meaning right now we're in the now but not yet. We know he's won victory. We know what's to come, but we wait on the Lord, trusting the perfect timing of his coming kingdom, the new heavens, the new earth, the new Jerusalem, and glory with him forever. Well, friends, I hope this series has been a blessing to you. I hope it's helped you better understand and appreciate God's will. There's so much more to learn, so much more to consider, uh, thinking about what other resources I can do on this particular subject. So stay tuned for that. And as for my next series, you won't want to miss it. I'm gonna do one episode uh soon on where we're heading here for the gospel, take you in deeper and under the hood of the ministry. I think that'll be really fun. I'm gonna do that with our executive director. And then we're gonna be spending several weeks on biblical manhood all the way to Christmas. Be prepared to dig deep. You will not want to miss my special guest. He is a former Navy SEAL, a dear brother who's impacted my life, and a very faithful pastor. I can't wait to introduce him to you. You're gonna love the series, whether you're a man or a woman. Oh, it's gonna bless your life. There's a lot of bad press and bad noise out there about biblical manhood. We're gonna dig in and set things straight. Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. Be sure to follow us on social media or subscribe here on YouTube for free resources every single week. I'll be back next Monday with another episode. For now, keep on living for the gospel.