Welcome to the Further Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Kosti Hinn, and first of all, happy new year. Whether you're listening to this on your favorite podcast platform or you're watching on our YouTube channel, thank you for joining me here on this episode. Thank you for running with us if you've been with us through 2025. And prior to that, I love kicking off New Year's with a new series. And for this year, you can stick with us all month long. And I promise this particular series is going to strengthen you and challenge you because every Monday, I mean, all year long, should be a filling station, fueling you up with truth. But that really starts now. And I want to sharpen you with a series that will begin with looking at life-changing priorities and the habits that you and I have in our life, because your habits and your priorities are going to become your reality. And what you repeatedly do is going to develop into your future. So before that, I do want to just make a brief recommendation. If you're one of those people that loves to read devotionals or you're looking for a resource for the new year, this devotional from my brother and friend, Abner Chow. Dr. Chow is the president of the Masters University. I got the chance to read through it and endorse this. It's a 365-day devotional called Wonderful Things From Your Law. I started reading through it even before the end of the year, and it was awesome. Very good for the soul, refreshing. You'll learn some things doctrinally. It'll sharpen or remind you of things that maybe you've already heard or know and take you to some places that are a little unexpected for a devotional. And you are going to be soaked, saturated in scripture. So couldn't recommend this one enough. Wonderful things from your law. On that note, as we step into a new year, most people are going to think about goals. They're thinking about health goals, financial productivity goals, maybe financial goals, and all of those things I want to reiterate to you, they are good. But they're not exactly the reason that people grow spiritually or finish a year fruitful or faithful in their personal life, their singlehood, their marriage, their parenting. For you, if you're a grandparent, all those life stages, you're not going to finish strong spiritually because you uh went and did all those things. Those are good things. Don't get me wrong. You want to be healthy, you want to make good financial decisions, you want to set some goals, strategic goals, your work goals, all that. But most believers end up, I would just say it bluntly, as miserable. Let's just call it that. Miserable, unhappy with the way things went in any given year. If we're spiritually depleted, I don't know about you, but I know for me, I could have things going well relationally, things going well in my marriage, things going well financially, things going well with my kids. But if I'm spiritually depleted, I'm not happy. I mean, that's where the epicenter of joy really is, my relationship with Christ. I would imagine you're the exact same way. And as believers, most of us don't drift away from God because we woke up one day and we just rejected Christ. We drift spiritually because we have not established the right priorities. Depletion begins long before the moment where it all culminates. And so if you don't decide what matters most now, the world is gladly going to decide for you. And make no mistake about it. We all have priorities. You can't say, well, I don't really know what my priorities are, or I don't really have priorities. I don't get into goal setting. I don't really worry about all that. Look, everybody has priorities. Just look at what you do on a given week. What do you spend your time, your money, and your energy on? Those things, those are your priorities. You may not feel good about what you see, if you get really honest, but the facts don't change because we don't feel good about something. The calendar reflects the convictions. And so instead of making excuses, instead of living in denial, I think you and I should just look at our life and take inventory every single year and then take action. The year 2026 will not be neutral. It's going to shape you. You are going to steward it one way or another. And the question before us is simple: what do I want to accomplish this year? And who do I want to become? What priorities are going to form my soul? And so today I want to lay out five life-changing priorities that if you embrace these, they'll anchor your faith and strengthen your walk with Christ in the year ahead. Priority number one, faithful commitment to the local church. I start here because Scripture is unambiguous about the role of the church in the life of a believer. Hebrews chapter 10, verses 24 and 25 tells us not to forsake the assembly. We gotta gather together, and we do that to encourage one another. The Bible says, all the more as we see the day drawing near. What does that mean? Well, Christ's return. The early church, they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer in Acts chapter 2, verse 42. The local church was never optional. It was foundational. And yet today, I know, I believe, I'm sure you would agree, that a lot of people are spiritually depleted because they treat church attendance like some flexible accessory rather than a spiritual necessity, like an anchor for their soul. People attend when it's convenient, when nothing else is going on, when they're not tired, they're not traveling, they're not working, they're not busy. And you got to understand, spiritual growth doesn't happen accidentally. Faithfulness is not built on convenience. Attendance to church, sitting under the right teaching, of course, we're assuming here that you're picking the right local church. And I have videos on that. I've talked to you about that recently. We put out a video recently, even on how to select the right local church. So assuming you're at or a part of a good church, attendance is going to shape your appetite. And then what you consume is what you're going to become. So when it comes to church, distance actually breeds drift. You keep distance from solid teaching, distance from community. You are going to drift spiritually. And so if you want to grow in Christ in 2026, you got to decide now that gathering with God's people is a priority. It's not a negotiable. And I want to say this: that's not a legalistic statement to make. This isn't about legalism. It's about love for Christ and his bride. In fact, I would say it's often the people who cry, you know, legalism, legalism, when this gets brought up, who are spiritually anemic and not growing. Church attendance doesn't save you, but it certainly strengthens you spiritually. One time I shared with a mentor that, you know, somebody I was, I was dealing with was responding to being called out on sin in a way like kind of they were kind of flipping their lid and they they started a war over it. And I remember my mentor saying to me, uh, when you throw a rock of truth into a pack of wolves, how do you know which one you hit? And I was like, I how? And he said, the one who yelps the loudest. And so I remember thinking, oh, that makes a lot of sense. If we get bothered by the statement, the local church should be, must be, you are commanded to make it a priority. If that bothers you, well, it's probably true. It's not legalism. That's the Holy Spirit convicting you that you've been treating worship and gathering with the bride of Christ as a consumeristic convenience, not as essential for your soul and an essential command. And so decide now. You want to have a great 2026 and you're a Christian, church is immovable. My calendar bends around it. I don't replace it. Church, church is a staple. As for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. We will gather with the church. Priority number two, devouring doctrinal teaching. Devouring doctrinal teaching. This flows right out of the first priority because where you're going to get good teaching. Well, you know, I'm going to watch YouTube. I'm going to do podcasts. Look, if you are not a member at Shepherd's House where I pastor, I'm not your pastor. I'm your brother. I'm your friend. I'm a supplement. I'm like uh, I don't know, a shot of creatine or a pill, whatever. Uh I'm here to kind of boost your iron or your zinc or your magnesium, whatever you want to call for the gospel. It's a resource just to strengthen and serve you. Cause, you know, you're in the car and you sat under your pastor on Sunday, and his sermon was wonderful for your soul. And then you see this topic that I've got on the podcast, and you're supplementing with that, and your pastor is comfortable with that, and he knows that I want to be a supportive brother in the family of God, awesome. But the local church is where you're going to get that. And then what do you do? Read good books, grab good devotionals, listen to really reliable, really biblical, challenging podcasts or videos because devouring doctrinal teaching is going to strengthen you. If every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday you listen to one of those shows like the, you know, Mad Money or Fast Money or some stock market guy or uh sports talk radio or you know, Stephen A. Smith talking about the NBA and LeBron James, I'll tell you this, you and I, we will become stronger in those subjects because we're devouring sports talk or stock talk. Well, it works the same way spiritually. The Bible warns us in 2 Timothy 4, 3 through 4 that there's going to be a time where people don't want to hear or endure sound doctrine. They accumulate teachers who just suit their own passions. That time is not coming now, it's here. We live in a day where there's endless content and shallow theology. And so a lot of Christians consume inspirational thoughts, sports, money, all of it, but they lack doctrinal depth. And so they have no anchor when the storms of life hit. The boat just flows and goes wherever the wind blows it. And the result then is fragile faith that's easily shaken, easily confused, and easily discouraged. And, you know, some people say, ah, doctrine just makes people rigid and stuffy. No, that's pride and that's sin. But it's God's will we grow in doctrine when motivated by love. And so doctrine should not and will not make genuine, loving, God-fearing Christians cold. It makes us stable and faithful and active as disciples. And so that's why elders in the church, Titus 1.9, have to be able to hold fast to sound doctrine so they can exhort and teach the church and help the church become healthy because doctrine guards the church. It grounds the believer. And so in 2026, do not aim to just sample little bits here and there. Aim to devour it. Don't just become better at money, better at investing, uh, better at your Bitcoin predictions and really uh, you know, an almanac of sports knowledge. Read scripture deeply, study theology carefully, listen to preaching that explains the text, not just entertains the crowd and hypes you up. Use resources that we provide here for the gospel so you can grow on important topics. Strong doctrine produces strong Christians. And so you got to decide now that truth is not going to be an afterthought for your spiritual life. Use your commute, use your run, use your workout, use your time cleaning the home, use your time cutting the lawn, whatever it is, devour doctrinal teaching. Priority number three, daily dependent prayer. Notice the way I said that. Daily dependent prayer. This isn't just chucking one up, like, oh, God bless me, help me, do this for me, do this for me. Dependency. Getting your heart before the Lord. One of the best things you can do to get honest about sin in 2026, to get honest about your weaknesses. Prayer is one of the most talked-about spiritual disciplines, but it's also one of the most neglected. Jesus, his disciples, never said, Lord, teach us to preach. Teach us to preach. What did they say in Luke 11? They said, Lord, teach us to pray. Because prayer reveals dependence. Lord, teach us. They asked him, Lord, will you teach us to pray? And that's because prayer again reveals dependence. There's this weakness. We say, God, I need you. A prayerless life is not just, oh, a busy life. Well, I'm really busy. I can't pray. No, it's it's a self-sufficient one. And there's a lot of warnings in the Bible about trusting in self or leaning on your own understanding or being self-sufficient. That person will end up spiritually bankrupt. Paul the apostle exhorts believers to pray without ceasing in 1 Thessalonians 5.17. That doesn't mean constant words. It is constant dependence. Aligning your heart with God's heart, aligning your will with God's will. All of that reminds us of our need and it anchors us to his strength and him as our source. But, you know, vague intentions and these kind of ethereal, float them up random prayers are not going to produce faithful, strong, specific prayers and honest prayers about your sin. So don't be funny with God. Don't be vague with God. Don't play games and be all elusive and beaten around the bush. Tell them the truth about your sin. Tell them the truth about your heart. If you want prayer to shape your year, you got to choose a time and a place and get honest. You got to protect it. Whether that's morning, evening, lunch break, all the day long, dependency, you got to be dependent. And it it really doesn't matter if you're a morning prayer person or an evening prayer or uh in the car or while you're getting ready. Look, it's just about consistency. Just throughout your day. You don't think, well, I'm gonna talk to my wife. I've got to make sure I talk to my wife every morning, and then I'll talk to her again in the evening. You kind of just live a married life. It's the same way with prayer. I will meet with God daily. I will meet with God consistently. He's there all day. You're not gonna be perfect, but you're gonna be faithful. Priority number four, protected family time. Protected family time. I know some of you are single, but let this be a shaping mechanism for your future. Spiritual leadership, spiritual thriving is attached to the home. And in Deuteronomy 6, parents are commanded to teach God's word diligently to their children. When they're sitting in the house, when they're walking by the way, lying down, rising up, the text says, because faith is meant to be woven into the rhythms of everyday life. In 1 Timothy 5, verse 8, we are reminded that the neglect of one's household, not providing it. Paul says you're worse than an unbeliever if you don't work hard and provide for your household. Well, we know that to be true. How much more then should spiritual provision be applied from a text like that? If it matters how a man is providing financially, well, then how much more as he provides and presides and guides and serves his home by leading it spiritually? This applies to me as well. Ministry success, who cares if I'm not winning at home? Career advancement for you, who cares if you're not winning at home? Public faithfulness can never compensate for private neglect. And so if you are faithful in the business world, if I'm faithful in ministry and I can make great podcasts or write a good book, who cares if my home is bankrupt? You see this with a lot of dysfunctional families. They have conflict behind the scenes, they backbite, gossip, compete, slander. They live with such an edge. There's no peace. Holidays are hell. Everybody's playing games. And then they walk into church or they do something in business or they do something financially or they're on the sports field. And man, they just look amazing and they know how to put, oh, they're faithful and very good at what they do publicly. They are a menace and a mess. It is mayhem privately. Don't let that be you. I don't want that to be me in 2026 because the enemy loves busy, uh, shiny Christians, we'll call them, with fractured homes. And family time isn't going to protect itself. You got to schedule it. You got to guard it. You got to prioritize it. You got to fight for it. You can't apologize for it. Meals together. Miss the practice, friend. Miss it. Stay home. Have dinner. Pray together. Don't rush them to bed. I know that the kids sometimes are crazy and I know the house is a mess. And I know you got things you want to do. And I know you need to work out. You guys that like me, you got to go out there and lift and get the testosterone out. And you got to go, ah, and stay healthy. And some of you are like, I just need quiet. I just want to go on a walkasti what I would do for just quiet. I just want 15 minutes. Yes, I understand. I'm a busy dad too. I got six of them. My wife and I. Oh, uh a priceless night together is a quiet night. Just sitting together. Fight for it. Fight for it. But don't neglect your children in the process. Don't neglect even your soul. Don't doom scroll. Pray. Scripture. Rest. Be present together with one another. Have the extra conversation. Ask the kids how they're really doing. Protect your family time from constant distraction, divided attention. Book the date nights. Schedule them in advance. Decide now. My home will be a place of spiritual investment. I will not outsource. The church is there to help. Your pastors, resources like this, all there to strengthen and support you. But you, you are responsible. You're the steward of your home. Don't play around with that. If you made less money in 2026, but you had more investment into your home spiritually, you are rich. You are wealthy beyond most, if not many, in this world. Finally, priority number five, intentional discipleship relationships. A lot of what I've said to you is not going to be done in isolation. You need people in your life. So intentional discipleship relationships. Christianity was never designed to be lived in isolation. Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, 2, entrust these truths to faithful men who in turn will be able to teach others. What's he saying? He's saying this discipleship model flows from one to the next to the next to the next. And so that's discipleship. Truth passed along through intentional relationships. Proverbs 27, 17 reminds us that iron sharpens iron. Growth accelerates around godly people. You get around those type of people. You sit under solid, Christian, godly, doctrinal preaching. You get around Christians that aren't doing life alone. Why? Because Christians around other people in community are usually sharpened, convicted, encouraged, picked up, pressed in on. Lone Christians don't flourish. They they plateau and then they get in themselves and it's all this incestuous thing where it's an echo chamber. And so ask yourself honestly, who is discipling me? And then ask yourself honestly, do I want to look like them? Look at their marriage, look at their family life, look at their children, look at the offspring of their lifestyle. Is that who you want to be like? You don't need dozens of relationships, but you need intentional ones. So who knows you? Who can speak truth into your blind spots? Who encourages obedience? Who challenges you when you make excuses? Decide now that discipleship will not be accidental or negotiable in 2026. I want to close by saying this. If you don't set biblical priorities, the world will assign your priorities for you. And the world is very effective at keeping Christians busy and distracted and spiritually thin, not spiritually strong. You will not drift into godliness. You choose it. You say, I will. This is what I will do. It's a discipline in that sense. Salvation isn't works, but sanctification is not detached from doing something like, oh, God's gonna save me. Yep, okay, and then he's gonna sanctify me. Yeah, it's his power, but uh, God's not gonna set the alarm for you. He's not gonna, you know, magically just make the Bible fall open for you. He's not gonna say the prayers every day for you, although the Holy Spirit is interceding for you. No, God is not gonna pick you up by the back of your collar and slam you down at the dinner table to do family devotions. There's an aspect of a synergistic lifestyle to say God is gonna do it. It's his power and his strength and his word, but I'm gonna grab the Bible. We're doing this right now. You hit play on a podcast. You said this morning, I want to listen and I want to, I want to be sharpened and challenged, or you subscribed prior and now it's automatically pumping into your phone along with whatever else you're subscribed to. You got to choose to press in. And so as the new year begins, don't aim to be productive and richer and wealthier and better and all these things and fitter only. Don't just say, I want to do better. Aim to grow in godliness, aim to be faithful. So anchor your life in the church, devour sound doctrine, pray daily, dependently, protect your family time, and invest in discipleship. And by God's grace, I guarantee it, if you do those things according to the word of God, it's not Costi's promises, it's the Lord's through his word. You are gonna look back and you're not just gonna see accomplishments in your life, you're gonna see spiritual growth. And that's where true riches, true wealth, and true resolution is found. More can be said. I hope this first episode gets you going. Next episode, I'm gonna keep building on this one and we're gonna keep this new year jump start rolling. Thanks for listening, for watching, for your support for the gospel. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for free resources. Or if you want to learn more about our ministry, uh register for our For the Gospel golf classic coming up in the spring here in Scottsdale, Arizona. Or if you want to partner with us, you can go to forthegospel.org. All the information is there. I'll be back next Monday with another episode. Keep on living for the gospel.