No Sanity Required
A Challenge to the SWO24 Summer Staff
We’ve officially completed the 10 weeks of SWO24 summer camp. This episode is a message Brody gave to the SWO24 Summer Staff. Brody challenges and encourages the staff by walking them through Luke 9 — highlighting 18 things they should take away from working this summer.
The Lord has saved souls, grown believers, and used imperfect people to do his work this summer.
We are so thankful for what God has done! We hope this episode is an encouragement to you as well, as you finish out your summer and move into the next season.
- Luke 9
- 1 Corinthians 5:1-2
- Red Oak
- SWO Sessions
Please leave a review on Apple or Spotify to help improve No Sanity Required and help others grow in their faith.
Click here to get our Colossians Bible study.
We’ve officially completed the 10 weeks of SWO24 summer camp. This episode is a message Brody gave to the SWO24 Summer Staff. Brody challenges and encourages the staff by walking them through Luke 9 — highlighting 18 things they should take away from working this summer.
The Lord has saved souls, grown believers, and used imperfect people to do his work this summer.
We are so thankful for what God has done! We hope this episode is an encouragement to you as well, as you finish out your summer and move into the next season.
- Luke 9
- 1 Corinthians 5:1-2
- Red Oak
- SWO Sessions
Please leave a review on Apple or Spotify to help improve No Sanity Required and help others grow in their faith.
Click here to get our Colossians Bible study.
This week we're going to be sharing with you a message from the final Monday of staff worship. Our staff meets together on Mondays during the summer and we do that just before students show up, and I hope this is an encouraging message to you. It's a challenge, a charge to reflect on all that God had taught us, and I think this is something that'll be practical for any Christian, anybody that's following Jesus. Just some principles and practical applications of God's word, some things that pertain to working together with a team or that, hopefully, would be beneficial to you as a member of the local church, just as members of the body of Christ, some things that we can know to be true as we are on mission to build the kingdom and reach the world of the gospel. So this was the final session that we had together going into week 10, a couple weeks ago, and I hope that you find it encouraging. I'll come back at the end and wrap things up.
Speaker 2:Welcome to no Sanity Required from the Ministry of Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters a podcast about the Bible, culture and stories from around the globe.
Speaker 1:Come in, take your seat and let's turn to Luke, chapter nine. I thought it'd be appropriate to finish our time this summer in these Monday services by going to the gospel of Luke and considering several things that I believe are are applicable to the teaching focus of the summer. It's always a challenge to me, something that's very important to me, to speak in a way on this last Monday together that challenges you, that encourages you, that excites you about what God's doing, what God has done and what the Lord is going to do in the days ahead. Wherever you're going, wherever life takes you after this week, that you would remember that we are on mission and that Jesus is the one who has called us to that mission. So I'm going to do the unthinkable and preach the chapter Luke, chapter 9, which is only 62 verses, and so get comfortable, we'll move quickly and skim through a few, a few high points and really focus on one or two verses. Let me give you an overview of Luke, chapter nine, because I think it sets up like a parallel to where we are. At least, I want to. I want to think of it as a parallel to where we are at this point in our summer. I want to draw an intersection between where we are in this 10th week of camp, this 10th week of ministry partnership together, and where the disciples of Jesus were at a point in their ministry that I think it's not a stretch to say was similar. So we're going to intersect our ministry with their ministry. There's similarities in the ministry that Jesus called the disciples to, beginning in Luke 9, verse 1, with the ministry that you have done this summer.
Speaker 1:In Luke 9, verses 1 through 6, jesus sends out. He calls his 12 apostles together, and we know that Jesus had a number of disciples. At one point he would send out over 70 disciples in pairs. We know that over 120 were with him in the end, but there were 12 that were unique in that they were his apostles. They were the leaders of the ministry that he was building, and so he would call them together, he would mobilize them and then send them out.
Speaker 1:This was a scary time for them because they had been together under the ministry. I want you to listen to the parallels to where you guys are right now. They had been together under the ministry. I want you to listen to the parallels to where you guys are right now. They had been with him, together, under his guiding hand, doing ministry. He was doing a lot of the heavy lifting of ministry. He was bringing them along and teaching them and instructing them. Now he was going to send them out. They were going to go without him, they were going to leave and go out in pairs and do ministry, and he gave them instruction for that.
Speaker 1:And in verse 10 of Luke nine he brings them back together Sometime. We don't know the time that passes, maybe it was 12 weeks. Let's let's imagine that 12 weeks of ministry that we've just come through. Let's imagine it was something like that. We don't know for sure. And in Luke, chapter nine, verse 10, it says on their return, the apostles have all, so they've all come back and they told him all that they had done. They gave reports of the ministry that had occurred over the previous weeks and months. And so they come together and they report to Jesus and then Jesus begins to do incredible ministry, then again with them on his team, and they see amazing things. So they go from ministry under Jesus to being commissioned and sent out by Jesus, to being brought back and then brought back under the ministry that Jesus is doing. That starts with the feeding of the 5,000. So an incredible ministry experience for them. They see Jesus work miraculously.
Speaker 1:And then there's a point in Luke, chapter nine, verse 21 to 24, that I want to highlight, where Jesus strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one. What is he speaking of? He's speaking of the fact that Jesus has confessed that he's the Christ of God. So Peter has confessed that Jesus is Lord, that he's the Messiah that. So Peter has confessed that Jesus is Lord, that he's the Messiah, that he is the promised one that would come. Peter has made that declaration, a declaration that we've all made, a declaration that when I'm getting those texts from you, that means so much to me. So-and-so, this student in my youth group that I'm working with has confessed that Jesus is Lord. Those moments in worship services where I have everyone in the building say Jesus is Lord.
Speaker 1:We've highlighted continually and over and over and over again that confession that Jesus is Lord is the crux, it's the pivotal point of your own conversion and it's the foundation to everything that you do as a believer. And so Jesus brings them together. Here's Peter declare that Jesus is Lord after asking them who do people say that I am Well, some people say that you're this and some people say that you're that. But who do you say that I am Well? I say that you're Lord, you're the Christ, the Christ of God. And Jesus charged him not to tell anyone verse 22. He said the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. And he said to all of them if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. So Jesus tells them that he's going to be crucified and then he then calls them to do the same, to have that mindset, to have that attitude of living out a daily crucifixion, death to myself, and being alive, made alive, to pursue Christ and live in obedience to Christ.
Speaker 1:The next thing that happens in Luke, chapter 9, is Jesus takes the three inner circle. They go up on the Mount of Transfiguration and that's in verses 37 through 43. I'm sorry, that's in verses 28 through 36. And in that story, if you're familiar with it, jesus takes them up on the mountain. They see the glory of Jesus revealed and they hear the father speak from heaven and affirm Jesus and tell them to listen to him, be obedient to Jesus. You'll see that in verse 36. It says this when the voice had spoke I'm sorry, verse 35, and a voice came out of the cloud saying this is my son, my chosen one, listen to him. And when the voice had spoken, jesus was found alone and they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen. So God speaks from heaven and and affirms the authority of Jesus.
Speaker 1:I think the parallels throughout Luke nine are so good for us because you've got this affirmation of the authority of Jesus. You've sat and you've heard sermon after sermon after sermon after sermon about the authority of Jesus. And so Christ has authority. And he says to his own disciples all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. And so then he commissions and commands us. The father in Luke nine tells us to listen to the son and obey him. Luke nine, 35 and 36.
Speaker 1:What happens next is the disciples come down off of the mountain, and I want to draw the parallel right here. They come down off of the mountain. So to this point in Luke nine, they've been commissioned by Jesus. Following training, equipping, they've been sent out. They've done incredible ministry work. They've been brought back together. They've seen Jesus do miraculous things, including the feeding of the 5,000. They've then heard him declare that he's going to lay down his life and be crucified and then to call them to the same mindset, the same attitude to daily lay down their own lives, to daily pick up their own crosses, to live lives of sacrifice and submission and humility. They've experienced all of that.
Speaker 1:And then some of them have gone up onto the mountain of transfiguration. And then they come down off of the mountain and it says in verse 37 on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met them and so they come off of the mountain and what they encounter is this chaotic scene where a father has brought his demon-possessed son to the disciples and they're unable to deliver this boy. They've seen God move in powerful ways through the ministry of Jesus. They've seen God move in powerful ways in their own lives when they were sent out on mission. They've seen the glory of Jesus revealed on the Mount of Transfiguration. And then they come to this point where they don't know what to do and they're stumped and they freak out a little bit. They panic a little bit because Jesus is not right there with them and some of you.
Speaker 1:I think the parallel here that intersects with this story is there's going to be a little bit of a freak out in the days and weeks ahead. There's going to be the temptation to reminisce about what God did this summer, but not believe that he can do abundantly more than we could ask or receive or believe in the days ahead. You see, wherever you're going, whatever God's taking you to next, you should go expecting that God is going to do abundantly more than you could ask or believe in the days ahead. If you're staying at Snowbird, it's the same. We should trust that the Lord in every season of ministry, that God is building on the previous season of ministry but that we're going forward and that greater days are ahead. Do you believe that Greater days in your life are ahead for the gospel? Greater days in the life of Snowbird Wilderness Out is ahead are ahead for the gospel.
Speaker 1:We've seen god move and we've seen god work, but the power and serving and all powerful, omnipresent, omniscient, all-knowing god is that he can always do abundantly more than what we've already seen him do. He's never totally out, tapped his own resource to greatness and power and glory and the abundance of ministry. So we transition into and then out of week 10, trusting that God's going to do more than what we saw him do in week nine, eight, seven, six or back in staff training. You got to believe that. You need to believe that. If you don't believe that your view of who God is is too small, it's a diminished view and it needs to be enlarged because he'll do abundantly more. In the first century God used these men and women to reach the entire Roman empire with a gospel. But since the first century he's used the faithfulness of his people to reach all six continents that are inhabited by humans. God's always going to do more, and so we look back and we remember what he's done and we're grateful, but we look ahead, trusting that he's going to do more in and through our own lives.
Speaker 1:And so Jesus would go on and do a miraculous exorcism, I guess you'd call it. He would defeat this demon that's in this boy again by his authority, and then he would turn again in verse 43 down through verse 45. And he would again predict his own death, constantly bringing them listen out of the joy and abundance and victory of ministry. He constantly would bring them back to the real reason he was there, which was to go to the cross. And our ministry, we constantly have, bring them back to the real reason he was there, which was to go to the cross. In our ministry, we constantly have to come back to the real reason we exist, which is the cross of Christ Jesus. And an argument comes up and they argue over who's the greatest.
Speaker 1:And Jesus does a few more things in that chapter and it comes down to verse 62, verse 60 rather, and I want to. I want to consider this. Jesus said to him leave the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of god. He would say to us this monday of week 10 go and proclaim the kingdom of god. Another said to jesus I'll follow you, lord, but let me first say farewell to those in my home. Jesus said this, and this is the challenge to all of us no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.
Speaker 1:Let's live lives going forward with our hand gripping the plow and not looking back, but trusting that the work ahead is enough to demand all of our focus, all of our attention, is enough to demand all of our focus, all of our attention, all of our affection, all of our time, our treasure, our talents, and that it will require constant submission to the will of God in our lives. So, with that, I want to give you a list of things that I'm going to call lessons to take away from this summer of service Lessons as you put your hand to the plow, as you look forward, as you don't look back other than to reflect in moments of meditation on what God's done. Because we do want to look back in that sense, in the sense that I want to sit down in the quiet hour or with some friends and I want to look back at what God has done and I want to rejoice and reflect on it. But then I want to pick the plow back up and continue the work, moving forward, and so I want to give you lessons to take away from a summer of service. The first one is this I want to challenge you to live your life with a spirit that is unconquerable.
Speaker 1:A spirit that is unconquerable, courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the execution of the mission and the calling and the responsibility given by God, even in the presence of fear. What we've learned here in the last few weeks is not to be without fear, but to have a confidence in the calling of God on my life that overrides and appropriates that fear. He showed us that when you are confident in your calling and your purpose, you will press on in the most difficult situations. So live with a spirit that is unconquerable. By the way, these are principles that I try to live my life by every day. I'm a list guy, I'm a bullet point guy, and it helps for me to stay on task.
Speaker 1:Next, hard work is necessary, even though salvation is a free gift. Hard work is necessary even though salvation is a free gift. It's been said this way by several people, including Bonhoeffer. The gospel is free to you one time. From that day forward, it costs you everything. You will sweat and bleed and labor and toil and strive, and you will grind it out. Most days will not be easy. Don't ever expect anything to be handed to you. Ministry is no different. We all need to prepare for a lifetime of labor, of striving and tolling, so that people would know not only Jesus, but that we might one day present those we minister to mature in Christ. So we started our summer. Think back to staff training and all those nights and days that we worked through the mission statement in Colossians 1, 28 and 29. To this end we labor and toil with all the energy that he powerfully works within us that we might present those we minister to mature in Christ.
Speaker 1:Next, this summer, the vision for ministry was clear and strategic. The ministry for vision was clear and strategic. The ministry for vision was clear and strategic. There was never. No one on this team has a reason to say I just didn't know what we were about at Snowbird. I just didn't know what we were doing. We had leadership in place that was solid. You had fire team leaders, community group leaders, family groups. We had pastors and teachers and leaders and people on the administrative side of camp. You have had the opportunity to serve in a ministry that's not perfect but that is doing things in the most biblical sense and with the most biblical conviction to stand before the Lord one day and give an account for how we're doing what we're doing Every man and woman in leadership here.
Speaker 1:The vision for ministry was clear and strategic From day one of orientation. We've worked hard. We've maintained a high view of the sovereignty of God, but also understanding that as men and women we have great responsibility to carry out the calling and plans and purposes of the Lord. Sometimes there seems to be the misconception that if I hold to a higher view of the sovereignty of God then I don't have to do much work. But scripture shows that God is sovereign, but that he demands everything from us in our pursuit of personal holiness, the execution of the great commission and the building up of the church through the disciple making process. So, if nothing else, you've come through three months of ministry where there was clear strategic vision. Perhaps that would help you in the next steps of your life as you link up with the campus ministry or as you pray about God's call in your own lives.
Speaker 1:Next, consider the lesson of the critical importance of daily focusing on the gospel of Jesus Daily focusing on the gospel of Jesus. We say it all the time here, but we say it because it's true and because it matters and because we mean it. First, corinthians five, one and two say I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preach to you, which you received and which you now stand and in which you are being saved. That gospel is the gospel we hold on to to live in awe and wonder. That drives worship. When I think of the power of Jesus's resurrection and what that means for me, that should determine the way you turn a wrench or write a paper or do whatever task God might lead you to do in your next season of life. The critical importance of daily focusing on the gospel of Jesus Christ. The critical importance of daily focusing on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:Next, we learned that no one should ever work alone. We all understand the need for a team and we saw the effectiveness of being part of a team that is driven by a like-minded mission and calling. We have to work together to carry out the vision and mission God has called us to For the global and historical church triumphant. We must know what Jesus has laid out in Scripture as our mission for making disciples of all people. Missionaries need to work under support and the authority of the local church for security and accountability of mission and locally, we need to know who we are and what our responsibility is to our communities and to the families and friends and classmates and coworkers that we serve and serve alongside of. So we don't work alone. It's a team, it's a team effort.
Speaker 1:Next, a belief in, and a practice of, personal mentorship. A belief in, and a practice of personal mentorship who are you going to invest in? Who's going to invest in you? And let me give you one word of challenge and encouragement Don't go to your next ministry. Stop and think that the senior pastor of a church of 800 people is going to take weekly hour out every week and minister to you one-on-one. It's probably not going to happen, and don't get your feelings hurt when that doesn't happen. I wish personally that I could invest in every person that comes here one-on-one, but if you just do basic math, 150 people an hour a week, that's 150 hours. We know that's not possible. So learn. What I would encourage you to do is learn high level discipleship from people you watch from a distance and emulate pastors, leaders, people that you may not be able to constantly get close to one-on-one. And then look for those people that you would sharpen Iron sharpens iron Day-to-day interaction, maybe someone that you can sit under and learn from and take the burden of responsibility Listen, the burden of responsibility for your own mentorship or discipleship. Put that on your shoulders, not on the shoulders of someone that you want to personally invest in. You Take responsibility for your own discipleship and growth, top-down. Organizationally, it matters, doesn't matter what position you hold. You need mentorship in your life, but also the spiritual investment that you've seen through fire teams and community groups and family groups.
Speaker 1:Next, we've learned the importance of a love for the church, the body of Christ. A lot of people are disenchanted with the church. There's sometimes a negative outlook towards the church, but it's easy to find what's wrong with the church. It's very easy to identify things we don't like within the church a specific church or the big C church. The church is the bride of Christ, christ, and we need to love the church. The church is god's plan for how he's going to build his kingdom. We know the church is not without her issues. We have a strong conviction and genuine desire to see her grow and become stronger and we must be, to a man and to a woman, committed to making that happen.
Speaker 1:On that, I would just encourage you to go find a church. If you're not going to be here, if you're moving on, find a church that is biblical, a church that, first and foremost, preaches the word of God expositionally. That matters than how good their worship music is. You hear me, it matters more. I know we like to, we like to be ministered to through song and it's a very important part of the worship service and I love good music and it's important to me. I love it. But what's most critical where you land is that the Word of God is preached not just loudly, not just with a voice of boisterous authority, but that it's preached faithfully, expositionally. That's the number one thing. When you go plug in, when you get to college, you get back to school, whatever. Find a church that's going to teach and preach the Word of God and then we would point you to maybe the Nine Marks ministry. Ninemarkscom or org I think it's ninemarksorg gives the nine marks of a biblical church and use that as a guide.
Speaker 1:Next, we learned we gained an abiding confidence in the authority of Jesus. Please don't go through 10 weeks of hearing this and then just grow numb to it. We've seen it in the sermons and lessons. We've heard almost a dozen times now. Some of you have heard them a dozen times. Some of us have said them almost a dozen times. It's not easy. Throughout the rest of the book of Luke. We see it again and again, and again and again. If we could, if we could, unpack all 24 chapters of Luke, we would see that theme, that focus, that heavy, moment by moment visitation of Christ on humanity with his authority on display.
Speaker 1:Next, consider the importance of authoritative, uncompromised and unwavering expository preaching and teaching. In our own personal faith journey, biblical preaching is critical to our development. This morning I listened to half of two sermons I'm going to go back and listen to the other half of both of them that have nothing to do with what I'm teaching to you this morning, have nothing to do with what I'm teaching this week, but it's important to me. I sat under a faithful expository sermon last night. I try to sit under two or three throughout the week. There's power in sitting under the teaching of God's Word and we live in the golden age of this because you can pull out your phone and listen to faithful preaching at any time. In our personal faith journey, that biblical preaching is critical to our development in the church and churches that we become a part of. Again, this has to be held in highest preeminence.
Speaker 1:Next, we learn to live by faith. We learn to live by faith. Paul wrote to the Galatians the life I live, I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. He would also write in one of his letters we walk by faith, not by sight. And he would remind us that the righteous live by faith. You, you came here by faith. You're obedient to God's calling. And you came here by faith. And we lived by faith every week, trusting that it was the power of the Lord and his spirit that was going to change lives. Not your personal gifting, not your ability to win somebody over, not your personality or your sense of humor. We lived by faith that Jesus would change lives. And guess what? Praise God. Thanks be to God. He's done that and he's going to do it again this week Next.
Speaker 1:Sometimes, when the gospel is proclaimed, people are saved. Sometimes, when the gospel is proclaimed, people are saved. Does it always happen? Doesn't always happen. There are times where we preach Jeremiah, who spent decades preaching. He's called the weeping prophet because he preached a message of repentance and he was hated for it. He's persecuted for it. There might be seasons of ministry where people don't turn to faith in Jesus, where they reject your message, your friendship, your investment and you get that co-worker and you feel like man. I've got to share the gospel with this person. I've got to share Christ with this person, praying for Hack this week as she went on mission to share the gospel with a loved one, because there's a sense of urgency that should burn in our hearts that the people we know know the Jesus we know, and sometimes listen to me, brothers and sisters sometimes people are going to respond to the gospel call and you're going to get to be a part of that and it's powerful and there's nothing like it.
Speaker 1:Next, we learned the progression of repentance, didn't we? Surely we did. Surely we did the progression of repentance that in our own lives, surely we did. Surely we did the progression of repentance that in our own lives there should be fruit that is, the fruit of repentance that's born in our lives, that true repentance stays with us, that we walk in that repentance. And in addition to that, we learn the importance of prayer for personal growth, for ministry effectiveness. We rely on intercessory prayer for students, for one another. We'll gather just in a few minutes. We'll gather and pray over the churches that are coming.
Speaker 1:Why do we pray? Because we believe in the power of prayer. We believe that by prayer and supplication, if we let our requests be made known to God, that he hears from heaven and he might heal our land. We believe that prayer is that activity whereby we engage the sovereign over all of creation and that he hears and responds to us. That is powerful, brothers and sisters, that when we pray, god hears us. We learn the consistency. That consistency is critical in our day-to-day life.
Speaker 1:Several things that go into this. First, there's a commitment to pursue holiness, meditation on Scripture, surrender to Jesus every day, but also the importance of accountability in our lives. Accountability to build relationships with those that will pray for us and sharpen us, but also to submit to the authority of trustworthy people. In that we learned our own limitations and the need and what it looks like to depend fully on the Lord and to lean into others. We also learned how to deal with conflict, some of you more than others. Some of you had a tough summer man. It was somebody in your fire team and it was an ongoing thing and you had to learn how to work through conflict. Some of you got a deep conviction to go deal with something back home and let bitterness go. Some of you had a week of ministry where it was so hard because it was wrought with conflict. But conflict is something that will always exist in our lives and we have to learn how to deal with it. We can never run away from it or deal with it in an unbiblical manner. We learned and gained a belief that this world is temporal.
Speaker 1:By the way, we'll post all this, we'll send you all these bullet points, okay, if you don't get them all written down. We're almost done. We're almost done, y'all. Good, it's a busy summer. It's a lot went into this summer. Everybody here has every right and reason to be exhausted, but it's that good kind of exhaustion. It's that good kind of exhaustion. Watch that. I'm just going to take a break right here. That's a long one.
Speaker 1:While you're writing that down, if you're going to watch this movie this weekend the young woman in the ocean and have y'all seen this? It's the story of the first woman that that swam the English channel best movie I've seen in a long time there's this moment where her feet hit the ground after years of conflict and adversity, and when her feet hit the ground and she realizes she's made it and she's standing on the shore. I just identified. In that moment I got a little overwhelmed, personally, thinking I feel a little bit like that coming out of summer. I feel a little bit like that coming out of summer.
Speaker 1:What's it going to be like when our feet hit the shores of Jordan, just on that other bank, when we cross over, exhausted, worn out, and hear the words well done, good and faithful servant, because this world is temporal and one day Jesus is returning and he's going to make all things new. He's going to judge every deed, every word and every thought, every attitude and action, and he's going to make all things new. He's going to judge every deed, every word and every thought, every attitude and action, and he's going to establish an eternal kingdom in which he will reign forever and we will reign with him. Two more We'll need to engage hostility in both an uncompromising way, but also as lovingly as possible. This is different than that idea of dealing with conflict and that we're going to have to enter back into a world that is in opposition to the gospel that we proclaim.
Speaker 1:There's a time for confrontation, but there's also a time to avoid it. Jesus was not afraid of confrontation, but he was not argumentative and contrary just for the sake of being difficult. When the purity of the gospel or the unity of the church was at stake, he would always stand for and fight for that purity and unity. The word of God has laid out for us in clear and plain order how we are to confront conflict, both inside and outside of the church, and how to defend her purity against the attacks of the enemy. Every one of us is called not just to contextualize the gospel, but to understand that we preach a gospel that can only be contextualized so far, because Jesus said as the world hates me, they're going to hate you. We need to preach the gospel, understanding that it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, but to understand there are times where we will have to preach it without compromise and we will be hated for it. That may come in the form of taking a stand for biblical sexuality or pushing back against some cultural current or movement or moment, but it's the gospel that we submit to.
Speaker 1:And lastly, lastly, we have a living hope, and his name is Jesus. He lives because he conquered death and he reigns because he is seated at the right hand of the Father, his rightful place of exaltation. We worship him because he's worthy. We speak his name in exaltation and adoration. We sing to him and we sing about him because he has put a song in our heart that we will sing now and forever. Throughout eternity. We proclaim his name and his gospel and his message because he's the hope of the world. He is the answer that everyone needs, whether they see it or not.
Speaker 1:We point to him for healing and freedom from every pain and addiction and enslaving power. We run to him when we are overwhelmed and we look to him when the darkness is closing in on us, because he is light and in him there is no darkness. He knows us by name and even the hairs of our head. He has numbered, he crafted and wove together your very DNA and he knows the exact number of times your heart will beat in the shadow of eternity. That is this momentary life, knowing the moment it will give way to your eternal reward and glorification.
Speaker 1:With him, he has the power to free you from bondage to addiction and selfishness and anxiety and fear and past abuse and fear of future failure. He is the, the way and the truth and the life, and we look to him, and looking to him will expose every lie and argument and pretension that raises itself up against a true and intimate knowledge of Jesus. He's the anchor for your insecurities and his promises can be trusted. He's the hope for your lost and unbelieving loved one. He's worthy to be praised and proclaimed and he's worthy of all of our affection. He's the victory over your temptation and your struggling identity. He will anchor you to himself, secure in all things.
Speaker 1:In him is no deceit and he came not to be served but to serve each and every one of us, giving us the free gift of eternal life. Be served, but to serve each and every one of us, giving us the free gift of eternal life. We can trust Jesus, but we can also know he will not leave us and he will not forsake us, and in that we put our hope in him. He's the lamb who was slain and has received the reward of his suffering. He's the lion of Judah, he's the king of kings, he's the Lord of lords and he is our savior. He is Christus Victor, the one who has crushed the head of the serpent. He's our older brother, our closest friend, our only hope and our abiding and guiding light. And he has called us into relationship, given us purpose, given us value, given us mission to be with him and for him and through him and by him are all things, and for him and through him and by him are all things, and his name is Jesus. That's why snowbird exists. That's why you came here. That's the reality you leave with. This was not anything that you just experienced, that you expect anybody in your life to understand. You can go try to tell people about it and they're not going to get it. But let's remember what Luke 9 in verse 62 says no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. Plow on brothers and sisters. So that wraps up. So that wraps up.
Speaker 1:This is kind of the last formal piece of the SWO 24 summer season and program. We've got events coming up pretty quick. We'll be training our institute staff over the next week or two, doing some training with them. There are over 30 of them that will be interning here or taking part in the Snowbird Leadership Institute over the next year. And we've got some events coming up. We kick off our first fall retreat weekend, labor Day weekend, and then we run our Be Strong Men's Conference in September and multiple fall retreats. That's what's up next for us In the middle of all of that, we'll have several weeks where we'll have Christian schools here doing their Spiritual Emphasis Week, back-to-school Christian school retreats.
Speaker 1:In addition to all that, just a reminder, we put out a lot of content on the church where I'm one of the pastors, red Oak Church. You can find that on Spotify and Apple. We're at redoakchurchwhatever. I think there are several Red Oak churches. Look up the one in Andrews, north Carolina.
Speaker 1:What else? Of course, the Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters teaching podcast. Look up the one in Andrews, north Carolina. What else? Of course, the Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters teaching podcast, our main podcast channel. That covers all of our carries and we put out all of our teaching content. Make sure you've got that. And a reminder that if you go to the Snowbird website you can listen to the podcast there and that's where I've had people a lot of comments about the two episodes I did earlier this summer with my cousin, scott Bryson, who's a retired Secret Service agent. Lots of pictures linked on the website on that episode. And make sure you download the SWO app so that you get all the content, all the scheduling, real helpful, intuitive app to follow along everything that's going on at Snowbird Wellness Outfitters. So see you next week and hope you guys have an awesome week.
Speaker 2:Thanks for listening to no Sanity Required. Please take a moment to subscribe and leave a rating. It really helps. Visit us at SWOutfitterscom to see all of our programming and resources, and we'll see you next week on no Sanity Required.