Welcome to the For the Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Costi Hinn. And whether you are listening to this on your favorite podcast platform or watching it on our YouTube channel, I'm really thankful that you've joined me for this episode. We've been talking about God's will and how to make decisions over the past two episodes. And I walked you through 10 things that are God's will for every Christian. And then last time, things that cripple your decisions. We talked about paralysis by analysis, things like perfectionism, fear, shame, and the like. And now in this episode, I want to give you the steps to making great decisions. In my new book, Walking in God's Will, I call these the seven P's for no regret decisions in the chapter titled Fundamentals for Every Fork in the Road. And I want you to be informed. I think that we can make no regret decisions, even if we go through challenges and trials in life, if we make decisions based on what scripture teaches. So you could end up in the best season of your life thinking, wow, victory, victory, all over the place. And you could end up in a trial with a diagnosis you didn't see coming, or a prodigal child, or a job that didn't go like you thought, or a home that forecloses, or just general challenges. And you don't have to second guess, man, if I wouldn't have this or wouldn't have that, then this wouldn't have all happened. I must not be in God's will because things aren't going very well. No, you can absolutely be certain that you're walking in God's will because you came to that place. This is the key. You came to that place through decisions that were filtered through a biblical lens. If you haven't already picked up a copy of the book, this is what it looks like. If you're watching it on YouTube, it's called Walking in God's Will. And it's available on Amazon, Christianbook.com, and every other bookstore, including Barnes Nobles, if you prefer to shop at Target or wherever, you can pick it up online all over the place. And one thing I want to encourage you to do, we have a free PDF download of a decision-making tool. It's actually based on what I'm about to give you in this episode. At forthegospel.org, if you go to our webpage and you look at the header up top and you click on it, you'll go to a page. All of the information for the book is there, including a summary, some photos. But the main thing is a phone background for any smartphone and a downloadable PDF that has the seven P's for no regret decisions on there and some Bible verses as well. So I want you to take advantage of that. It may be a tool that you use with your small group or something you pin somewhere or a backdrop on your phone. That will be an encouragement. My goal is that we make biblical, no regret, confident decisions no matter what we're going through. And if you're listening to this and you already got the book over the last couple of weeks, it just came out last week, but I know some early release copies went out and folks were getting it delivered early from Amazon of all things, then go ahead and drop a review and let folks know if it's been a blessing to you and encourage them to pick up a copy as well. All right, let's get right into this. First of all, most of the hardest decisions that you and I are going to make in life is not going to be deciding between something that's bad or good. That's really easy. You pick the good thing, you pick the thing that matches God's word the most. It's usually our challenge picking between good and good or great and what seems to be great and trying to discern what the right course of action is. Both options usually seem pretty good. Or maybe one decision has good things with it and challenges. And then you look at the other decision, and it has good things the other doesn't, but also challenges that the other decision doesn't. Everything can be both, I guess, unique in some ways, but also the same in others. You'll hear older people say, you know, there's really no uh, you know, silver bullet or no there in life, meaning that every major decision will come with a lot of pros and some cons. And Christians can get really tied down, wondering what the will of God is. And I think that most people would prefer that God would just burst on the scene and shout out the directions. But in reality, he has already given us his word and he's revealed to us the tools we need in the Bible. So we've got to interact with his voice through his already spoken word. And so to start, I believe that you need a process before any major decision, just like Jesus says in Luke 14, that you need to count the cost of salvation and following him. Well, take that and apply it to how you make decisions. We need to count the cost. What builder sets out to build something without thinking, I need this, I need this, I need this, we'll need this, and it'll need to look like this? Uh, what captain sets a course for his ship by thinking, well, we'll just go where the wind blows? I mean, even those who sail and require wind chart a course and they steer the ship in that direction. And so before any major decision in life, we need to ask, what is my process? The Bible's filled with statements about patience and thinking through decisions, not being impulsive. So, like a builder, we consider what we need and then we execute the plan. And so the first thing you should ask is, What is my process? That's the first P to making great decisions. Followers of Christ who are consistently reading the Bible, they're praying, they're spending time with the Lord, are gonna come to a place in their life where they have a decision to make and it might be on a shortened timeline. Well, all of the groundwork you've laid, planting seeds, reading the word, spending time, being close to the Lord, is gonna help you make decisions that are on shortened timelines, but not an impulsive one and a foolish one. So when I say that we need to be patient and mindful and thoughtful, it doesn't mean that everything in life is gonna be this long, drawn out, slow process. I mean that even on a short timeline, the groundwork you've laid is part of the process. I think about this in my own life. I want to be loaded up with prayer. I want to be loaded up on scripture, not always in desperation, like, oh, I need something right now. I better start reading my Bible or I better start praying. No, but I'm waiting patiently, knowing the day will come where what's in the well will be drawn out. And that's a big key for you. So, what's your process? Do you have a process? Is there a timeline? When does the decision have to be made? Uh, have you laid out pros and cons? Who are the people you're gonna talk to? How are you gonna communicate along the way? All of those aspects should be thought through before you make a major decision. Number two, also a P is have I prayed? Have I prayed? Bad decisions are typically marked by prayerlessness. We just rush into whatever we want without pausing to ask what God wants. And so prayer is an exercise in humility and patience and submission to God's will above our own will. Colossians 4 2 reminds us be devoted in prayer. Devote yourselves to prayer. Paul uses a command, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. And so when we're making major decisions, we should devote ourselves to prayer, never seeing prayer as a delay or a hindrance to action, but a key part of making no regret decisions that are informed by God's will. I remember reading a quote one time by Martin Luther. He said, I have so much to do today, I'll have to pray for three hours to get it all done. Imagine having so much to do that you stop, supposedly ceasing from any type of action, and you pray because you have so much to do. That is the counterintuitive, supernatural nature of prayer. We ask God, open the doors you want open, close the doors you want closed. It's about your will, not mine. So we pray like Jesus did in Luke 22, 42. When we come to a decision, we say, Lord, here's my request. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. And we pray for wisdom, like James 1.5 tells us, because we need wisdom to make great decisions. Number three, am I being prudent? You gotta think of prudence. I think it's the unsung hero of great decisions. It's what we are being prudent when we seek wise counsel. I'd phrase the question like this Have I sought wise counsel with prudence? Proverbs 11, 14 says, where there is no guidance, the people fall. But in an abundance of counselors, there is victory. You gotta get wise counsel from people. And you gotta ask more than just the echo chamber or the people who have an agenda. You gotta ask people who love you and are biblically minded and are fairly objective in the process. In contrast, Proverbs 18, verses 1 to 2 says, One who separates himself seeks his own desire. He quarrels against all sound wisdom. A fool does not delight in understanding, but in revealing his own mind. What does that mean? Well, those who go, Ah, I don't want to ask them, or no, I don't want to talk to them, or well, they'll probably not understand, or no, they'll maybe ruin the plan. That means you just want your own desire. When you don't go to people, or when there are people in your life you know you should submit to and ask, and you go, hey, I want to let you know what I'm doing, versus, hey, I'd want to ask for some of your wisdom on this. Look, when it's the Lord leading it and the Holy Spirit's in it, there will be unity and there'll be peace. But people who lack prudence are going to cause all sorts of trouble and conflict with the way they go about. Even if a decision is right and good, sometimes it's not the what, it's the how that causes problems. And a prudent person will listen to wise counselors, consider all the different angles, and then exercise a kind of restraint needed to be successful in the decision and keep the peace. Merriam Webster defines prudence as the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. And then also skill and good judgment in the use of resources. Think about even the use of resources being the relationships we have. It's so much better to stay unified by listening to the people around you and loving them, of course, if they're properly minded in scripture and rooted in scripture, and having peace in that process. Prudence is going to help us more than we can imagine. We're going to be less foolish, less selfish, less impulsive, and we can walk in God's will. Number four, what are my top priorities? You gotta know your why and what you're living for in order to look back and be filled with joy over the life you're living for the glory of God. It comes down to priorities. And I lay out four in particular, and I want to encourage you in these. Number one, spiritual. Do not make decisions that are divorced from spiritual priorities. What church will you go to if you move there? What Bible study can you be a part of? Or is this decision going to cut you off from being spiritually nurtured? Or have you thought about the ways that it's going to affect your spiritual life? Once you've thought through all those things and you've established a good roadmap there and your spiritual priorities in order, there's financial priorities. Is this decision going to help you provide for your life or hinder it? Is it going to lead to a financial fruitfulness or blessing in the right ways? Or is this going to hamper or hinder you? But there's some other motivation driving the decision. And look, this will certainly apply to missionaries. Well, a decision to go to the mission field is not financially helpful, Costi. I'm not going to be quote unquote blessed. Okay. But think about this, and every missionary knows where I'm going with this. It's usually not them that think this way. People that think, well, that not every decision is going to lead to financial freedom and monetary blessing, of course. But even a missionary considering going somewhere where there's a great deal of sacrifice can consider the financial priorities of their funding, of the kind of people they want to partner with, and what it takes to be sustained on the mission field. Even the greats of old, the Hudson Taylors, the Adaniram Judsons, and many others had to establish their financial priorities and support systems before going out. Number three, relational priorities. Who are the people that are going to be in your life? Will this bring you the kind of friends and inner circle that's going to bless you and strengthen you relationally, pointing to you towards Christ? Or are you getting around some people that are going to pull you away from the Lord? And then finally, eternal priorities. You got to be thinking with the end in mind. I mean, every great decision maker thinks with the end in mind. We're chasing a particular purpose. Like Paul, we're running a race that is far beyond the things of this world. And so eternal priorities should factor in. Now, number five, as far as the overall process, the seven Ps for making great decisions is has God given me permission? Now, I'm super passionate about this one in particular because I believe there's a lot of legalism in church circles today that cripples people from making decisions. And I mean great decisions. I think back to years ago in the prosperity gospel circles I was in, and spiritually abusive leaders saying, if you do this or that or the other, you're going to be coming out from our anointed covering. And hey, we can't promise that bad things won't happen to you. And if you leave this church, some pastors will say, Well, you're leaving the covering that's keeping you protected and blessed. And so we can't really protect you if you leave. And they use a kind of spiritual abuse tactic to control people. I've been pastoring for uh around 12 years now, I would say in conservative Bible Orthodox, more reformed circles. And by orthodox, I mean proper right believing as far as the gospel goes. And I recall uh even in these circles of sound doctrine, meeting a pastor who would cripple people with fear if they moved away from the church. And like most people who are legalistic, he had great arguments for it and reasons. If they, you know, bought a house that was 30 or 40 minutes from the church, you know, he would fearmonger with people and say, oh, well, I mean, if everybody just starts buying houses and living far from the church so that they can live the American dream and buy a home and the idol of materialism, well, what happens then to the church? And you would think, well, I guess so. I mean, that kind of makes sense. And then you'd start thinking, what? What if people's priorities are in order and they buy a home 30 or 40 minutes from the church and they're at the church all the time, serving in the church, and they just bought a home? What about farmers who live on the outskirts of town and they have to drive a little ways? And oftentimes people, pastors in particular, can be guilty of this. They'll gaslight people for living a joyfully blessed life from a material standpoint, even though they're generous with the church and abundantly faithful with the Lord's work and they're lavishly generous with their giving and helping other people, and they're committed to the church and they're serving and getting after it, but because they bought that house way out there, or they even purchased a home or did whatever or have a nice car, you know, oh well, what if everyone did that? And oftentimes I would say that pastors uh, in an effort to keep people in the church, start making rules where there kind of are no rules, and we can all be guilty of this. But, you know, I remember moving to Arizona and there were some who said, Oh, yeah, I mean, it's, you know, I'm sure moving to Arizona is probably the move you wanted to make, right? Because now you could own a home and live in a state with lower taxes and it's a lot easier there, right? And I remember thinking, like, no, it has to do with serving the Lord. If anything, it's for four months, it is very hot, and you begin to think about how hot Arizona is, and that means, wow, hell is even hotter than this. And so I really need to preach the gospel because I don't want people to go to hell. It's if it's hot like this in Arizona, I mean, we got it's motivation for evangelism. I mean, I say all that kind of half-joking, but people, pastors in particular, can just cripple people. And when you look at scripture, God has given us permission. And before I begin to study and talk to wise counselors, I was sucked into kind of the grain of truth in so many legalistic statements and ideologies, scared to live far from the church, scared to buy a house, scared of this, scared of that, because, oh, well, if if we do, you know, we need to do this, that, and the other. Look, it's not always feasible for everyone to fit into the box that we demand they do because we've chosen to make certain decisions. And many times our convictions become the commands of others, and that's not God's will. That's nice if somebody wants to do that. That's wonderful if somebody wants to sell everything and live, you know, next to the church. That's wonderful if somebody wants to sell everything and give it all to the poor. That's wonderful if people want to use income caps. You remember the days where like Francis Chan and John Piper and David Platt and all these guys were doing income caps. You know, they were only going to live off a very small amount of money and they were telling everyone, like, that's the way to do it. That's fine if people want to give away the rest of their money past a certain point because they have more than enough for themselves. God bless so many wonderful decisions. But when we're making our own, we don't need to take the convictions of other people and feel crippled by it. Maybe God has given us permission to enjoy good gifts. So long as our priorities are in order, we're allowed to. When making decisions, there are things that are explicitly prohibited. Yes and amen. Don't do those. Don't be a foolish rebel to God's will. But there are things that God has given us permission to enjoy or do. So don't be crippled by rules where God has not placed any. Know that all of us have a passion for control and manipulation at times deep down within our souls when we have a secret agenda. So sift through all those things. Stick to God's word. Maybe two good decisions are in front of you, and there's people who really want you to make the decision that they want you to make, and so they gaslight you or manipulate. Look, check your obedience to Christ, check your love for others, ensure your priorities are in order and that no command of God is being disobeyed, and then make a decision and enjoy the Christian liberty attached to your particular situation. Number six, do I have long-term perspective? Another P, you got to make decisions today with tomorrow in mind. So ask yourself, where will I be in one, three, five, or 10 years because of this decision? Are there other options I should consider because they're better in the long run for me or my family? Have I tempered my expectations? If this is a short-term decision to reach a long-term goal, you know, not every decision you make, when I say long-term perspective, means you have to make a decision that's attached to some 30-year outcome. Maybe your next decision is a short-term journey that's going to help you achieve a long-term goal. And so it only lasts a year, it's six months. Think of like traveling nurses who take a role and they travel around for a little while because they can and they are paying off student loans or making a little extra money. Think about somebody who takes a short-term job offer to go do something very difficult. Think about people who work in oil fields. Think about people who are fishermen. Think about different people who do certain things for a short-term period, a season, in order to get to the next step. Well, whatever that is for you, consider it. And then for others, think about the long-term impact. I mean, when I did move to Arizona and took a pastorate here, when we planted a church, all of those things were attached to a long-term goal. I used to say, I just want to grow old with God's people. I want to be somewhere I'm going to shepherd for a long time. I want to be with people and put my roots down. And I was thinking about the long-term goal. I do that with for the gospel. Why do we release a podcast episode every single Monday? And we've never missed one yet, Lord willing. We never will. Why do we make content? Why do we spend all the time and money and energy to connect with people and to rent film studios and to have our production crew there? And why do we go through all the trouble of preparing things? Well, we're thinking with a long-term goal, legacy content, meaning stuff that in two years, five years, ten years, and 15 years is still going to be edifying people so that somewhere, someone, just like Acosti was 13, 14 years ago, up at night, down the YouTube rabbit hole, I come to a video and I hear teaching and it begins to chip away at the calloused heart that I had. What about the commentaries that changed our lives? What about the Bible someone gave us? What about that church that a friend invited us to? What about the job you took? And what about you sticking something out with a relationship or those conversations you kept having? I mean, there are so many things that we need to be thinking with a long-term perspective. Oftentimes people will, you know, scoff or think, you know, what are you doing that for? Or why? You know, this, and you think, well, this doesn't have any short-term dividend. This isn't like a pump and dump stock. This isn't a quick turnaround on something, you know, in today, like a day trader, just do this. It is a long-term investment. And we believe that when we plant these seeds now, the harvest we're seeing now is not even close to what will be one day. And so is your decision attached to long term eternal perspective and things that will matter? Like a wise investor, you're considering your course with the long term results attached. And finally, number seven, is this decision marked by peace? Now, there's two kinds of peace I want You to experience when you're making great decisions. Subjective is one of them, but it's secondary. It's the feeling of peace. And look, that's fine. But we don't base our decisions based on a feeling, we base them on truth. And so we need objective peace as well. That's the second kind of peace. This is when doors are opening. It's objective. Wise counselors are speaking, affirming truth, and it's rooted in scriptural wisdom. When your core relationships are on the same page, you're you have objective peace. Everybody's unified. If there's conflict with someone who you value, you have a conversation and you hear them out. Now, sometimes a lack of peace in our core relationships when making a decision is God's way of slowing us down. It doesn't mean He's going to shut the door, we're not going to get what we want or what we think is happening. It just means we're going to be walking through a pathway of wisdom, and God is ensuring we keep those relationships unified and strong on our way to where we're going. We don't always do decision making perfectly, but conflict should not be rampant unless people are opposing biblical truth or our Christian worldview that's informing our decisions. There can be unbelievers or family members or in-laws and outlaws and friends who have an agenda and they want to manipulate us. And so we want to be careful with those. When we have conflict with those kind of people, we just go our way in peace and we do our best to keep the peace, but we're going to roll our way towards what God is doing. At the same time, we don't do a great deal of yeah, we'll just call it helping ourselves and helping our friends. When we go into certain relationships and say, hey, here's what I'm doing, wanted to let you know. Or perhaps you you go to uh a pastor or a wise counselor in your life and you just tell them what you're doing versus saying, Hey, can I get your wisdom on this? Can I get your insight? And it creates conflict because we go to people that we've told we want speaking into our life, and then we say, Yeah, but you have no place in this. I'm already doing it, I don't care what you say, and we separate ourselves. And Proverbs says, when we do that, we seek our own desire. We have an agenda anyway. And so we want to think through peace and how we can do a good job of slowing down, seeking wise counsel, ensuring that through an abundance of wise counselors, we're making a decision and we're not withholding that conversation from a counselor because we don't want to hear the truth. I think when we approach it with a subjective piece and then an objective piece, those two things are great indicators. Again, not basing everything on feelings, but in your heart, you know, and then there's an objective reality and evidence of that. Now a lot more can be said, uh, but the seven P's I've walked you through in this episode can save you from a lot of headaches and regret. And so I hope this has given you some things to think about when you're making decisions in line with God's will. And I want you to know each one of these have a lot more to it, and I've unpacked those in the book, Walking in God's Will. And so feel free to pick up a copy. It's got reflection questions at the end of each chapter to help you think through decisions you're facing in life. It's also uh got a section at the end of each chapter before the reflection questions called Learning to Live, where I summarize each chapter into three basic action steps that you can take to help with your decisions. Also, be sure to take advantage of the free decision making tool by downloading it at For the Gospel. Just click on the header at www.forthegospel.org and follow that page. It'll take you right where you need to go. You'll see the book, a summary, some photos, and then you'll see a PDF download for the resource and also a phone backdrop. One more time. This is what the book will look like, and I hope that it is a blessing to you. Next episode, I'm gonna answer all of your questions about God's will. Throw them at me. What about decisions you're facing? I'll offer you some pastoral counsel. I'm not your pastor unless you are a member at Shepherd's House Bible Church, but I'll encourage you based on what scripture teaches, and hopefully uh your pastor or the people that are speaking into your life will be only further affirmed by any advice or any questions that I answered. I'll root them in scripture, and maybe you have other questions about a theology of God's will or confusing things that you've been taught or been told. We'll just sift through all that chaos and bring God's word in like a light shining in some of those foggy corners of our mind. Please shoot us a DM. Let us know what questions you have, or you can drop a comment whether you're watching this on YouTube or on one of our posts. We appreciate all of the engagement. We appreciate you sharing and listening for your support, for watching. We love getting to do this, and we pray it's a blessing and a support system to you and your local church, your pastor, and if you are a pastor, I pray these episodes fire you up, brother, and encourage you as you shepherd the flock faithfully. Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. I'll be back next Monday with another episode. Keep on living for the gospel.