Welcome to the For the Gospel Podcast. My name is Kosti Hinn, and I have the pleasure of being your host for this episode. FTG for the Gospel is all about providing sound doctrine for everyday people. If you haven't already, drop us a review on Apple or Spotify and let people know if this podcast has been a blessing to you. That helps with search engine visibility and gets this show in front of more people. Today we are doing QA. I got on Instagram the other day and asked people to submit questions and committed to answering as many as I could in one episode. I think for sake of time, I can get through about 34. Some of them are short, quick answers, others are a little more robust, but I will do my best to provide you with biblical answers. So let's jump right in. First, Angie has asked, Do I have to be strict with myself and strict with others as a Christian? I'll put it to you this way, Angie. Pharisees tend to be hard on everyone else, but easy on themselves. They make up their own rules for everybody else, but they don't follow rules themselves. And so we're definitely in danger of being like the Pharisees when we're really strict on others, but loose with ourselves. That being said, I think believers should be harder on themselves and more gracious with others. So we want to look at our own hearts and our own sin while at the same time holding all believers to uh 2 Corinthians 5.17 standard that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. Uh looking at Paul's words in Romans 7 and thinking through that grace abounds. And so because grace abounds, we don't just sin all the more and do whatever we want. We want to have God's standard in Scripture and at the same time be very gracious with those who are wrestling and fighting with sin, of course, even in our own hearts, be confessing sin and walking together. But yeah, there's no room and no helpful scenario where Christians are really hard on everyone else and easy on themselves. Next question. This one doesn't have a name with it, but they said, Does your family that is still in the prosperity gospel get angry that you talk openly about it? Uh here's an honest answer. Not my father, mother, sisters, or brother-in-law, all them. We talk about it. Uh I was just at dinner with my parents last week in California, and we had a wonderful conversation about these things and more. And still, my extended family does. They get pre-fired up. So some uncles, cousins, etc., and a lot of them pretty much refuse to talk to me. There's a few in the extended family who are really supportive and are sort of privately cheering on what we're doing. But in the end, it is my immediate family that tends to be fairly gracious and the extended family that's pretty fired up. Next one, Zach. First year at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and my first year in pastoral ministry. So Zach is in seminary and pastoral ministry. What's your best advice? Here's what I would say, Zach. Apply what you are learning as soon as possible and be a blessing to your church. If you're in pastoral ministry, one of the fun things, I did the same thing. You learn in seminary, and instead of going through seminary like some young, smart guy, getting all your knowledge and then doing nothing but feeling smart and debating with your seminary buddies in the middle of your classes and whatever, you get to use what you're learning. So you apply your knowledge immediately, which right away will humble you because you realize you can know a lot, but people don't really care. Because pastoral ministry is so much more than just knowing stuff and spitting answers at people. So here's my advice: first year in seminary and first year in pastoral ministry, be humble, be a servant. No matter what title you hold or what degrees you end up getting or pastoral role you have, focus on carrying a towel. Be a servant, be a foot washer. Uh org charts and ministry may look top down on paper, but leaders serve from bottom up. We lift up others, we equip others, we celebrate the gifts of others, and ultimately we bring glory to another. That's Jesus. So, man, enjoy yourself, but apply that knowledge and bless your church with your service. Next one. Kara, have you ever had the opportunity to talk to Stephen Furtick about his false teaching? That's a good question, Kara. I wish that I've had the opportunity, but I can't say I have. Um, maybe tongue in cheek, I say I probably couldn't crack his entourage, but uh I've talked with his formal personal trainer, and he left the ministry and left that theology. He's doing well now. And a actual family member was at Furtick's church for a while. But that's the closest I've ever gotten. Uh, haven't had the chance yet, but uh if I ever did, I certainly would want to talk to him and be honest with him and let him know there's a better way and another way. So maybe one day we'll see Furtick preaching like a wild man, but actually getting the gospel right and not trying to be a rock star. Okay, next one. Who are some of your favorite theologians? Uh here's a quick list for you FF Bruce, John Wilford, Tom Shriner, Martin Lloyd Jones, Norman Geisler, uh, John Calvin, John Knox, John Owen, R. C. Sproull, and then John MacArthur, who's still alive but has put out a ton of great theological material. And then Kent Hughes would be another one. I actually just got an entire commentary set from Crossway, an incredible, incredible commentary set. It's the one that's all white. It's like the preaching through the Bible type of commentary set, and that's not a plug. Uh Crossway's not paying me to do that. This is not a uh Crossway-sponsored ad. That is just a fact. I've really enjoyed it. A couple other commentaries that you guys might want to look into if you're into that sort of thing, would be the MacArthur New Testament commentaries. Uh, Johnny Mack, Jay Mack, Pastor John, did a great job with those. He quotes from and cites a ton of good sources that you can see where he got all his stuff from. Really helpful. Great theologians of old. And what he did is he basically did all the work in compiling some of the best of the best and then delivering that commentary information to us here today, and of course, adding in some of his own helpful commentary thoughts and applications. So, great Bible teacher, of course, a man that we all love dearly. And that should be a helpful list to get you going. One last thing about favorite theologians: more than not, you want to follow dead guys. Dead guys have landed the plane, they have finished well, and it'll keep you from putting up on a pedestal too many living heroes. Of course, it's okay to have a few guys that have been helpful, but uh, dead guys have landed the plane, and you could see what happened even with Robbie Zacharias, how quickly your world can be shattered because we put so much stock in the living legends. Let's wait till after they're gone and see how the Lord honors their legacy if it was a true one. Next, uh Maya asked, How do we navigate the whole pronouns movement? What she means is people who have the she, her, the they, them, the him, he, uh, maybe somebody who wants you to use different pronouns, all of that. I talked with a young gal actually at our church recently, who's one of her close friends changed from a biological woman to wanting to be a man, wanted her name changed the whole bit. Uh, it's some challenging stuff. I would say this first, graciously. That's how you navigate it. You don't need to be angry, stone throwing, mean spirited. Graciously, but not at all does that mean that you're just going to compromise on truth. Dialogue with the people you know who are in it. When they ask you to do something that's against your conscience, you need to graciously let them know that you cannot do that, but that you love them and that you care about them as an image bearer of God. Now, some of that might not fly, and they might accuse you of things or not receive that well. You can't control them. What you can do is convey your biblical convictions in love to them. Next question is Cayley. Cayley says, How do you explain homosexuality as a sin to people who are gay? Well, in Paul's writings in the New Testament, we see him actually list homosexuality as a sin. But I want to get out front of this argument a little bit. They, meaning homosexuals who are arguing against this sort of thing, would say Jesus did not say homosexuality was a sin. I'm not going to listen to Paul, I'm going to listen to Jesus. So it's not a sin because Jesus didn't say that explicitly. Here's how you can respond to that. Genesis establishes marriage as one man and one woman. It establishes male and female as the two genders that God has established. The Bible in the book of Genesis as well establishes male and male relations and female to female sexual relations as sinful and wrong, i.e. Sodom and Gomorrah. And Jesus then quotes from Genesis in Matthew 19, verses four to six. So he borrows an answer on marriage and sexuality from Genesis. So when people say Jesus never talked about homosexuality, Jesus never said it was a sin. Jesus never, Jesus never, Jesus never, I would say Jesus quoted from the very book in the Pentateuch, which is the first five books of the Bible, in which a whole section talks about gender and marital relations as male and female and them becoming one. Listen to this, Jesus, Matthew 19, 4 to 6, he answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female? And said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh, so they are no longer two but one. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. Jesus affirms the Genesis account of marriage. Jesus affirms the Pentateuch. Jesus affirms the law, he affirms two genders, and marriage as one man and one woman, therefore, sexual relations, marital relations, and gender identity is all a part of God's design as stated in Genesis and then affirmed as Jesus quotes from Genesis. So I hope that's helpful as you look at the potential arguments that you'll find, which are that Jesus never said homosexuality, homosexuality was a sin. The fact is, Jesus defined marriage and sexuality the same way it always had been from the book of Genesis. Next one, Joey. Thoughts on post-millennialism. Okay, so Joey, I'm not a post-millennial. I am premillennial. And when it comes to interpreting the Bible, I hold to the literal historical grammatical method, which would see literal prophecy as literally to be fulfilled, among other things. And I say this all graciously, got a lot of love for my omillennial or post-millennial or uh covenantal brothers, different guys from different camps and different fields, and there's dispensational brothers that we love, and all the different types of uh aspects of eschatology, which is the study of the end times. Here's the deal for me though Revelation 19 through 21, I'm looking at as literal events, which is where the millennial kingdom is mentioned, the return of Christ and his establishment of the literal kingdom, him ruling and reigning for a thousand years, uh, those in white robes behind him, returning with them, I believe, clearly, are believers. That's the church. And he returns, his foot touches the Mount of Olives, a sword comes from his mouth, he smites the armies that have raised up against him. His kingdom then is inaugurated, truly his literal physical kingdom. And there's some people that will say, Well, what do you mean? What about now? The kingdom is now, we are part of the kingdom, all that. You could say, in a spiritual sense, there's a now but not yet. Like we are, of course, part of God's kingdom, and we are here on earth, and we are sharing the gospel. And we say things like, Hey, this is all for the kingdom. We're serving the kingdom. Sure, in a spiritual sense, God's people are a kingdom, if you will, or a people. We're a part of a now but not yet thing that's promised to come, of course. But in a literal sense, he's not the king of kings and the lord of lords and the wonderful counselor because he's just gonna hang out and be up in heaven. No, he's the wonderful counselor because the Bible makes it clear that he's gonna counsel the nations. And that's what will happen when you read the book of Revelation in a more literal sense. Now, some things are metaphorical, sure, in the Bible. Or there's images that John saw that he did his best to explain, but he had never seen, like when he sees things flying around, there were no satellites, there's no airplanes at the time. So of course he's saying, you know, like a bird, or he's saying this or that, or an eagle, and he's describing as best as he can what he's seeing in that vision. It doesn't change the literal nature of certain things that are pretty obvious, like a literal kingdom, a literal king, Christ returning and ruling for a thousand years. There's some people that will argue, you know, Peter says a thousand years is like a day to God. Well, Peter using a simile in that phrase does not mean that John in his revelation is saying, you know, the thousand years isn't literal. I believe the same way that the prophets literally foretold a coming king and he came, that there'll be a literal promise of a coming kingdom and Christ reigning for a literal thousand years, and us ruling and reigning with him is all very literal. Um, again, I know there's lots of different views, and there's some great, smart guys. I've got wonderful friends that have different views, but uh that's where I'm at, Joey. Rob, can I get a free for the gospel t-shirt? Yeah, man, totally. Uh DM us with your mailing address. Say I am Rob, and then I won't read your last name, but say I'm Rob. I'm the guy who Costi promised a free shirt. And just know we have a small amount of time on our hands as a team because we've got a lot of projects going. We have limited funds, and then a lot of shirts to give out. So we're just trying to keep up. We've got hundreds of them to give away, though, which we're pumped about. So just give us some time and we'll get those out. Eric asked, is there an app? If not, will there be one? He's talking about for the gospel. Yes, there will be an app. I'm going on record saying there'll be an app. Not sure on the timeline, but we are relentlessly innovative at for the gospel. And our team, in my opinion, is the best of the best. And so we've just been doing this about four months, and these people are incredible. I'm pretty excited to see what happens as we move forward. But yeah, our ministry strategy and our mission involves an app, so you can have a lot of things in the palm of your hand, and we can upload things, and you can do devotionals and different things that are all coming. And I can't say too much about the fun surprise projects, but it's coming. So stay tuned and we'll drop an app. What does being spirit-filled actually mean? So this is Maya asking this. Ephesians 5 18 says, Be filled with the spirit. Uh, you basically have John 16 outlining the role of the Holy Spirit that he will glorify Christ. Um, you have a lot of different references to the Spirit, and so what does all that look like? Or what does it mean in daily life? Maya's looking for some practical steps. Here's what I would say, Maya. You want to be praying for the Spirit's filling, and you want to be walking, according to Galatians 5, by the Spirit or in the Spirit, and all of that is the Spirit-filled life. Here's an example. Uh when, you know, a mentor of mine that I talk to often about prayer, praise, uh I'll often hear him say, you know, fill my mind with your word. Uh fill me, Holy Spirit, control my actions, bring conviction upon me in every decision I make today. Help me to walk in you today for the glory of Christ. You know, it's prayer. It's asking him to fill you and to control you. It's bringing yourself under subjection to him. The actual the literal phrase in Ephesians 5 18 is be being filled with the Holy Spirit. It's a way of life. It's all the time uh you want to go to the Lord in prayer for that. So I would encourage you in that, be real careful about people who say that being filled with the Spirit is sort of this um, you know, one-time extra thing that you get at an altar call or when you speak in tongues, or that you have to do a bunch of things for the spirit to love you, fill you like good works, or do this and that and the other. No, you surrender to the Holy Spirit, you walk in the Spirit by the Spirit, you seek to glorify Christ. And the Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity. He is God, and so you can most definitely ask the Holy Spirit for his work to be in your life and for his filling day by day. Uh Trey asks, what does praying in the spirit mean? Well, when you look at the end of the book of Jude, he actually tells the church, pray in the spirit. Now, it's very similar to praying in the name of Jesus. To pray in the name of something or someone is to identify with the reputation and the nature of that person. So when you pray in Jesus' name, you're praying according to the will of Jesus, in line with the nature of Jesus, according to what you know about Jesus. Same thing with the Spirit. To pray in the Spirit is in accordance with, in line with, in unity with, and in agreement with the Spirit. Well, what does the Spirit do? What does the Spirit uh exist for, if you will, in Jesus' words in John 16? Well, he said, He will glorify me. That's part of the Holy Spirit's role. He uh is constantly pointing believers to Jesus. And so when you pray in the Spirit, you are praying essentially in line with the will of the Spirit of God, which will certainly involve bringing glory to Jesus. Here's another one. Uh no name here, but how to start Bible time with littles, 18 months old and older. So here's an illustration from when our six-year-old, now six-year-old, was three months old. My wife came to me once and said, I want to start doing bedtime routine with, you know, a little Bible book and a song. And I remember looking at her thinking she was a little bit crazy or a little bit early on this. Um, and I remember she was being mentored at the time by a Titus II woman, which was awesome. And so I remember thinking, all right, this is probably coming from somewhere that is a place of wisdom and experience. And my wife was starting to think, you know, we should start this routine. I remember asking her, okay, just help me understand why, because he's three months old and he doesn't really care if we're reading the Bible to him. And so we walked through this. That routine is actually more about us than them early on. In other words, we're building in the habitual muscles, if you will, and that muscle memory that before bed or in the morning or at various times, the family gathers around Scripture. The family gathers and sings, the family focuses on the Lord and in prayer and dialogues and acts out our faith together. And I remember that by the time he was nine, ten, eleven, twelve, and beyond months old, we had this routine built in. And I didn't have to fight to be disciplined in that way. She didn't have to like drag me in to do stuff with the boy and do Bible time and pray and all that. It was like easy because we had been doing it for a long time. And so I would say just start. How to start Bible time with littles, keep it short, keep it simple, keep it creative, uh, use a book, a song, a structure that they understand, and talk about Jesus and point to pictures and help them identify what is in the picture. Where's Jesus? Where are the children? Uh do you love the Bible? How do we praise God? You know, asking questions about faith and life and action and all of that will help you tremendously teach the Bible to your little ones. Another one, um, Dietra is asking, how do we explain the gospel to youth? Please help. Here is what I would say go to one of our podcast episodes, one of the early ones, look it up, and it's titled, What is the gospel? Listen to that episode. It's got everything you need. Also, write out the gospel in simple words. That's an exercise that you could do that'll help you with that. Um, next one. This one is from Daniela, another youth ministry topic. How do you lead a youth ministry well? And so here's what I would say be doctrinal, be loving, be structured, be authentic, be creative, and have fun. So what do I mean? Be doctrinal, give them the Bible. Don't downplay doctrine. Gen Z can handle it. Absolutely bring it. Give them the truth. Be loving. Honestly, this generation and every generation does not care how much you know until they know how much you care. Love them. And then be structured. You gotta have a plan. You gotta strategize. Don't be overly structured that it's so rigid and stuffy, but honestly, plan and have plans and have some structure. And then be authentic, is just to be honest, be yourself. Don't try to put up a front or a veneer. Uh, it's the same reason why I preach every week to our next gen ministry here at the church. I don't wear a suit and a bow tie. Uh, that's not who I am. I might wear one at a conference because that's the dress code, but I'm just costy. I'm just here. I'm their pastor. I love them. And I'm gonna dress like a normal human being does in Arizona. It's 115 degrees outside in the summer. You know, I'm not showing up in a three-piece suit because I want to, you know, look like R.C. Sproul or John MacArthur. I am just me. Do the same thing. Where are you in your context? You know, how do people dress? How do people act? Just be normal. Don't try to be someone you're not. Be authentic. Next, be creative just means honestly present things in a clear and engaging way. Be creative could be everything from the way that you do things from a design standpoint. It could mean using social media. It could be coming up with really cool and fun ideas for conveying Bible stories. I've seen ministries do this where they bring the Bible to life and they have a lot of fun doing that. So be creative. Next one. Um Angie asked, What devotions do you recommend for young kids ages 10 to 12? I would say kids' Bibles like the Adventure Bible from Zonder Kids. We gave some away on our show a while ago. Um, I would have them draw what they're reading. So we did that for a while. We still do, but we did it for a while where like every day they were drawing what they were reading, and it built in that habit and brought things to life visually, a bit of a creative way to engage. I would discuss the Bible and stories you're learning versus you're memorizing with the family at dinner. Uh, devotions can sometimes be sort of a checklist thing. I would make it more of a lifestyle, maybe putting up uh, you know, some scripture around the house and trying to memorize those scriptures. For us, we have this giant paper wheel that is sort of this cool rustic design on the wall my wife put together, and there's brown paper that pulls down from the roll, and she puts verses every week up there with a sharpie, and we memorize those and talk about those, and the kids will ask questions like what is sovereign, what is sovereignty something? And we're somewhere to talk about sovereignty. Or uh there's different translations like Philippians 2.14. Right now in our house is a big topic. Do all things without grumbling or complaining. Well, there was a different translation in one of the verses that said disputing. And so it was a cool conversation with our kids to discover the difference, or rather a lot of the similarities, but the different translations where do all things without grumbling or complaining, disputing or arguing. Family devotions can take on whole new life when you don't try to stick it on a little checkbox, but you live your faith and talk about it. Uh, don't forget singing when we're talking about devotions. Sing with your kids. The Geddies were doing this thing where they're learning one hymn per month. So we started copying that in our home. It's really been fun to do. We got a hymnal and we're using the hymns of grace hymnal from Grace Community Church, and we're just learning a hymn of one month. So last month was How Great Thou Art, and now we're doing amazing grace. Uh we often think as well, read, or we forget about singing, but also don't forget prayer when you're doing devotions. We should go to our knees more often with our kids, our preteens. Uh, what if we lived out the rhythms of our worship as we kind of walk by the way, if you will? Prayer is a huge part of that. So don't forget prayer when you're doing family devotions. All right, next question. Does God welcome prayers for things like nice or safe homes, career choices, or vehicles? I would go to Matthew 6 and look at how God clothes the lilies and how he takes care of our needs. And see what Jesus says in Matthew 6 33 seek ye first the kingdom, and then all these things will be added unto you. That doesn't mean you're gonna have a bunch of health, wealth, and prosperity, but God cares about your needs, so it's okay to pray for those things. However, I think there's some more important things we should be praying for. Uh what do people mean when they say they hear or talk to God? Well, here's what usually people mean. They are referring to thoughts or feelings. They thought a thought or they felt something. Rarely, at least in my experience in the reformed or conservative world, do people mean that they're audibly hearing from God. In fact, even in other circles, I've talked to Pentecostals before who have said, well, I didn't hear him audibly, but I felt him, like I heard him in my heart. All right, so here's what people mean. First of all, if we believe the best, we say that well-meaning. First Corinthians 2 says we have the mind of Christ. And we know that if the Holy Spirit is in us, we're going to make decisions and feel feelings and think thoughts that are going to be in line with Christ and bringing him glory. The thing that I would encourage people to do is remember, you hear with your ears, you feel with emotions, you think with your head. So say what actually happened. If you felt a feeling, just say that. Or if you felt a conviction, just say it. If somebody came to mind, just say, hey, brother, sister, you came to mind today. And we don't need to say, like, hey, God told me, or God did. We just need to say, you came to mind. So it's better to do a good job with your language whenever possible, because what'll happen is your kids or whoever is around you listens to that and goes, oh, I guess you know, God talks to them. I God told me, God, God, you know, put it on my heart. You go, okay, I that's fine, but what do you mean by that? I think it's important to clarify so we don't confuse people. If someone is saying they're hearing from God audibly, that would put them in incredibly rare historical company. I'll leave it there. Uh, what should an active, healthy prayer life look like? Well, pray first every day. Make the first thing you do prayer. That would be active and healthy. Do not go to your phone, do not scroll Twitter, do not check the news, but regularly engage God first, not just for food prayers. And here's what else I would add: not just for Aunt Sally's cold or Uncle Bill's knee replacement, real prayer about sin and holiness and gospel doors being opened, seeking God in prayer for a healthy marriage, to love others more sacrificially, all of those things, the salvation of your children, those are things to pray for. Uh, if you want to learn more about that, I would go to our category section on the blog. I would click prayer and find an article called How to Become a Prayer Warrior. I outline 41 of Paul's New Testament prayers, and there's a lot there that you can discover about how he prayed. Uh Nikki asks, what about arguments regarding free will and God's sovereignty? I'll put it this way, paraphrasing Spurgeon. He says, How do you reconcile two friends? Well, I never try to reconcile two friends. That's what these things are. Uh they're, you know, intersecting on the other side of eternity. Where they intersect on the other side of eternity, I don't know, but I'm content to preach, repent, and believe, but that only God can save you, and that God is sovereign and saving, but man is still held responsible for unbelief. Free will and sovereignty is a tension that we hold because it's a divine reality, it's a divine truth. It's from the mind of God, it's originating with God. The human mind cannot comprehend such lofty things. And as the prophet Isaiah says, My thoughts are above your thoughts, my ways are above your ways. I think that's where the tension of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility will forever lie. However, you can know the truth, and that is simple. God is the one who initiates salvation. He is the author of it. The Bible makes that so clear. No one can ever accurately argue that we save ourselves or we start salvation. God is the one who comes in, does spiritual heart surgery, and suddenly a dead heart comes to life, like Ephesians 2 talks about, from being dead in trespasses to being alive in Christ. God does that, and we respond in faith to him. If we do not respond in faith, we are held responsible. That is why people go to hell. So there certainly is an element of man's responsibility. Another question here from Runer does God want all people well or healed? Um, no. It is not his will to always heal on earth. You say, does God want all people well? Of course, in the end, in heaven, where there's no more sickness and no more tears. But if it was always God's will to heal on earth, everybody would be healed. But a lot of people aren't. And in fact, God actually uses weakness and can use sickness and can bring himself glory through all that. And you look at somebody like Johnny Erickson Tata, it's obviously not God's will to heal her right now, and it hasn't been. She's lived most of her adult life paralyzed. I was just with Nick Vuyacich. Um, he does an amazing job being a motivational speaker and uh ends up at some Christian conferences here and there. I don't know him really well, but I know that when he speaks, people listen because he has no legs and no arms. It is obviously not God's will to grow his legs and arms. But he has four kids, he seems to love the Lord, and God's using him in that way, and there's definitely no indication that God is healing him right now. I think of my friend Justin Peters. He has cerebral palsy, does an incredible job preaching the gospel, preaching the word, and equipping saints all over the world. It has not been God's will to heal Justin. One day, in heaven, he will walk, he will run, he will fly, he'll do whatever his glorified body can do and will do. Um, but it's not always God's will to heal now. You can read an article on for the gospel called Is It Always God's Will to Heal? And that will give you a deeper dive into that. Let's try to rattle off just a couple more. Uh how should I pray regarding health and miracles? I left name it and claim it theology, and I'm having to unlearn a lot, including a key phrase that is often used in prayer. So when faced with sickness or awful circumstances where a miracle is required, how should I pray? Here's how. You should pray like Paul did in 2 Corinthians 12 7, asking the Lord to do something and then trusting his answer. You should pray 1 Peter 5 7, casting all your anxieties on God because he cares for you. You should seek the Lord, but in the end, pray like Jesus did in Luke 22 42. He says, If possible, let this cup pass from me, but not my will, but yours be done. You pray and ask the Lord for things. You can do that. You can pray for healing, but you always want to say, Not my will, but yours be done. Jesus did that. Never listen to somebody who says that it's a lack of faith to pray that way. Jesus prayed that prayer. All right. Couple more here. Uh is it appropriate to law call out all false teachers on Facebook if they use Facebook to promote heresy? Seth asking that question. Uh Ephesians 5 11 says, Do not participate in the deeds of darkness, rather expose them. I see no reason why you can't do that on Facebook. So, yes, you can definitely call out false teachers on Facebook. They use Facebook, they promote heresy, they do targeted marketing, probably better than anyone out there. They spend a lot of money on targeted marketing and shipwreck a lot of people's faith online doing that. Uh, Chris asked, just moved to Vancouver. Which church do you recommend? I'm in the downtown area. You need to look up a guy named Brett Landry. He's a pastor down there. Um, I believe it's Christ City Church. He is a dear brother in the Lord. They're doing a great job. Brett Landry in Vancouver. I grew up out there in Vancouver, so I love that his work is blessing the Lower Mainland. And they're downtown, so um, look into that. Somebody's asking a best book to recommend to a friend who's seeking uh scripture and walking through it. You need to buy How to Eat Your Bible by Nate Pickowitz. It's a blue book with a fork, a knife, a plate, and a Bible on it. Nate Picowitz, good friend of mine, love him dearly. How to eat your Bible. Uh, Brig is asking, do you recommend any Christian adolescent therapists? I would go talk to your pastors, honestly. Get in a good church, make sure you're in a good church, and that is a point blank answer there. Go talk with your pastors. Last two. Luca says, Does the fact that I find myself thinking morally malicious thoughts, um, immoral thoughts show that I'm not saved? Uh probably not, Luca. It means you're human. Everybody thinks immoral thoughts. Some of people think a lot of bad thoughts every day and just wrestle with a real messed up thought life and don't act on it, but they're always repenting of their thoughts. Uh I've often called the mind the last great battleground of sin, where you and I can look really perfect on the outside and we can look spiritual and sound spiritual in the outside, but my, oh my, if somebody ever saw our thoughts in our head, we would be seen for what we are and what we all are, which is a sinner. 2 Corinthians 10 outlines spiritual warfare as a battle in the mind. And so you want to take those thoughts captive, repent and go to Jesus, fight the good fight in your thought life by his grace and strength. And remember the difference is believers care about this sort of thing and want to be right with the Lord. Unbelievers don't. The fact that you're asking, Luca, means that you got a good sense of what a believer should care about. We all struggle in our thought life at times. We all sin in our thought life, even if we don't outwardly sin, we all also go to the Lord and repent even of those type of thoughts. Last question for this episode, because I'm hitting 40 minutes. Ruthie says, Is fasting still necessary? If so, how do we fast correctly and what's the purpose of it? Now, you see fasting in the Bible, and the purpose in it could be to lay aside earthly or fleshly desires, um, to starve, if you will, the flesh and fuel or feed the spirit, to focus on things that are spiritual and that matter most, and to discipline spiritually one's self to be able to abstain from foods or whatnot. But here's the thing, okay? No matter whether or not you fast or choose to fast, or whether you think it's necessary or not, the standard for fasting and how you should be fasting would look like Jesus described in Matthew 6. Listen to this. Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearances so that they'll be noticed by men when they're fasting. In other words, these religious people are trying to look really, really exhausted and gloomy. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full, Jesus says. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be noticed by men. But by your father who is in secret, and your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. The point of it is, if you're fasting, you don't need to tell the whole world. That's why some of these programs where they say, hey, let's fast together, and everyone's fasting in this kind of an American consumeristic way to brand fasting and turn it into a business. If you're really fasting, you're really seeking the Lord, you're really trying to spiritually discipline yourself and lay aside your earthly, fleshly desires in order to seek the Lord more diligently, no one will know about it. You're not going to look draggy, you're not going to walk around in sackcloth and ashes, acting like you're extra spiritual. People should not know about it. And so what you do, do for the glory of God. Well, that's it for this one. I'll do another QA soon enough, maybe in the coming weeks. There were a lot of questions. I didn't get through all of them. There's a lot more still coming in, but I hope that was helpful and engaging and interesting and offered you guys some valuable answers to questions that you can put into practice right away. Thanks for listening to the For the Gospel podcast and this episode in particular. Be sure to subscribe and rate and review the show. And for articles and videos and more, go to furthegospel.org or go to our YouTube channel and be sure to check us out on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok. We're back every Monday with another episode. We're giving away free t-shirts online, so be sure to follow. And until next time, keep on living for the gospel.