July 24, 2025 • 29 mins
In this special behind-the-scenes episode, Brody shares a message to our summer staff emphasizing the importance of encouragement in ministry and they danger of drifting. Many start strong but drift from faith over time—why? Brody unpacks the role of proven leadership and the daily practice of confirming your calling as keys to lasting faith.
Drawing from 2 Peter 1:10, he explores how small, consistent steps guard against spiritual decline. Whether you're on staff or leading behind the scenes, this episode offers practical wisdom for staying faithful and finishing strong.
Please leave a review on Apple or Spotify to help improve No Sanity Required and help others grow in their faith.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The following content is from Snowbird Wilderness
Outfitters, a gospel-driven highadventure camp in western North
Carolina.
Go to SWOutfitterscom to learnmore about our camps and
conferences.
Enjoy the message.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
In all the years that we've been here doing this
there's been a lot of peoplehave come through and served and
been on staff here and been onstaff here and probably the
person I talk to the most aboutthis is Harry McSween because of
the position he's held throughthe years.
(00:33):
But a lot of people, sadly,have walked away from the faith
after they served here.
And when I say a lot of people,I don't mean like a majority of
people, say a lot of people, Idon't mean like a majority of
people.
But it's pretty staggering andstatistically, in a room with
this many people in it,statistically some of you are
(00:53):
going to turn away, some of youare going to fade away, fall
away.
God forbid that some of youmight turn away, forbid that
some of you might turn away.
And so week eight, going intoweek eight of summer, I always
try to give some word ofencouragement that will help you
finish well, so that you cantransition well, so that you can
(01:16):
start well in the next seasonof life, and I think it's
important.
Transitional periods are veryimportant and as we transition
out of the summer you want toend with a lot of momentum and
then when you start your nextseason of life.
If you're, if you're comingback here and you're going to be
(01:38):
in the Institute, we're goingto help you own ramp really
aggressively and we're going tohold uh, we going to hold, we're
going to sort of hold the linefor you and help get you up to
speed.
But for a lot of you, you'regoing to leave here and you're
going to go home or you're goingto go to school and it's going
to be very critical.
It's going to be imperativethat you get plugged in
(01:58):
somewhere where discipleship isLook for good and proven
leadership.
I would encourage you to dothat.
I almost I'm not going to teachon this this morning, but I was
looking back through some of mynotes and I came across
something that I had justjournaled and written a couple
(02:19):
years ago leadership strategiesfor our team managers, community
group leaders, fire teamleaders, etc.
And I had put down threeprinciples.
And I will just tell you Idon't read leadership books.
I just I don't enjoy them.
Most of them are pretty cheesy.
Either it's principles fromcombat and I've never been to
(02:40):
combat, I don't know.
I just, but I don't.
I'm not critical of peoplereading them, I just don't read
them.
I think for me it workspractically now, at this stage
in my life, to draw.
I'm 53.
I'm not going to read what a 30year old army or Navy SEAL guy
has to say.
I'd rather look to people likeJohn MacArthur, who's dying
today.
Did y'all know that?
(03:01):
Have y'all heard that?
If some of you maybe have beenimpressed or imprinted by his
ministry?
But John MacArthur is one ofthe first guys I listened to on
the radio when I first became aChristian and they've called his
family and I saw that at hischurch yesterday.
They're preparing the churchfor him to go to be with the
Lord.
But when it comes to leadership, you can find some 30 yearold
(03:26):
dudes that are all fired up andexcited because they've read all
the books and they've been tothe class and they've done the
thing.
And here's the thing look forpeople that have been faithful
for a long, long time, a longtime.
There's a misconception and, Ithink, a misappropriation that a
lot of young people strugglewith, and that is, they don't
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appreciate what older peoplebring to the table.
So when you transition intothis next season of life, I
encourage you to look forministries and ministry leaders
that are established and haveproven themselves.
You see what I'm saying.
I jotted down these three things.
I want to read them to you.
There are levels and layers tobeing in leadership in general
(04:14):
and being an effective leader inparticular.
So three different levels ofleadership that I think about.
One is a person who is simplyassigned to lead.
This is a position in anorganization that is hired or
that is inherited because you'rethe next person in line.
A lot of times that's what yousee happen, like in the military
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or in some corporate structures.
It's like a person retires andif you've been there long enough
, you're going to be the nextperson in line.
This is the most basic form ofleadership.
It can also be the mostunderwhelming form of leadership
.
People may or may not respectyou as a person and as a leader,
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but they must respect theposition you hold.
The second type of leadership isleadership that is earned and
or granted leadership.
This occurs when the respectivepeers and those in or under
your command or department lookto you with respect and trust
that you have earned from them.
When leadership is earned thisway, people will work for you
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even when they don't have anobligation to.
This type and level ofleadership is driven by
relationship, shared experiences, time spent together.
Oftentimes, people who havecaring personalities or dynamic
and charismatic personalitieswill win folks over this way.
Level two leaders aren'tnecessarily naturally gifted
(05:41):
leaders.
But then the third one, and thisis the one I want to point you
to as you head off to school orwhatever's next for you as you
leave here.
The third one is what I'vewritten down as proven
leadership.
This requires that you leadwell over a long period of time.
Most natural leaders get heremore quickly, but typically you
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need to be around long enough tobe proven.
A proven leader is provenbecause they've been around for
a long time.
This means they've weatheredsome storms.
It means they've had somepeople turn on them.
It means they've had somepeople talk bad about them, but
they're still here.
It means they maybe survived achurch split or a ministry
(06:25):
fragmentation or some bad press,but they're still here and
they're still faithfully servingas well Some longer seasons of
hardship, financial recessions,major turnover in key positions.
Maybe they've had to firepeople who were in positions of
influence that then souredothers against them.
(06:46):
Maybe they've survived COVID oran IRS audit or staff conflict.
Look for proven leadership.
So I just I wanted to sharethat with you because I think
one of the things that'simportant as you leave here and
go to what's next, it's easy togo follow charismatic people
Y'all with me, especially inyour age demographic Someone
(07:10):
that's really charismatic andreally pulls and draws a
following.
But I'm telling you somethingif somebody's been faithful for
a long period of time andthey've survived some stuff,
they're closer to being provenas a leader and those ministries
are closer to being establishedas a ministry.
There's a guy his name's MikeMahaffey and he's sort of
(07:33):
semi-retired now.
He works for a ministry calledCrew.
Are y'all familiar with Crew?
It used to be called CampusCrusade.
Mike Mahaffey is from, I think,santa Clara or Santa Barbara.
He's from California and in thelate 80s he was working with
Campus Crusade and ended upassigned to NC State.
Do we have any NC State people?
(07:53):
You go to crew, you go to crew,you are Okay.
Have you met Mike, because he'skind of retired.
Do you know Mike?
You know Todd.
So Todd, you know the guys thatwere here during staff training
.
Todd Smith leads that group ofguys and, uh, so Todd is is my
age and he's been at campuscrusade at NC state for about 30
(08:15):
years.
Mike Mahaffey has been thereabout 40 years.
Mike's now sort of retired andhe's moved into working.
He's been at.
He's been there long enoughthat he's now ministering to
professors.
He has that kind of credibilityand I like to use him as an
example, because when you meetMike, he's not charismatic, he's
not dynamic, he's notimpressive in terms of his
(08:36):
personality or his ability tomotivate people, but he's been
there being faithful for so longthat he's one of the only
people I know anywhere in all ofacademia in America who
literally has a ministry tocollege professors at a secular
university in a majorinstitution.
Pretty cool.
Why does he have that?
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Because he's just been faithful.
He's just been faithful.
He didn't ride waves, he juststayed faithful, stayed
consistent.
And so look for ministrieswhere people are proven because
they've been there for the longhaul.
They may not be the mostdynamic, but they're proven.
I bring that up because I wantto talk to you just for the
(09:16):
second half of this time, forthe next 10 minutes, about how
do you stay faithful when youleave, how do you stay the
course, not just for the nextsemester, but for the next 10
years or for the rest of yourlife.
There's a in second Peter,chapter one, verse 10,.
It says this therefore,brothers, be all the more
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diligent to confirm your callingand election, for if you
practice these qualities, youwill never fall.
That sounds like somethingwe're studying, doesn't it?
Read it again.
Therefore, brothers, be all themore diligent to confirm your
calling and election.
Woo, that's a controversialword.
What do election mean?
(09:58):
It means God is sovereign andhe saves whoever he pleases.
And don't you ever be ashamedof that?
Would you ever shrink back fromthat?
The word is the word and itmeans what it means, and we
don't need to make excuses andwe don't need to be shy about it
.
He says make your calling andelection, take it diligent and
(10:19):
confirm it, for if you practicethese qualities, you will never
fail.
In other words, if you liveyour life recognizing that Jesus
is the author and the perfecterof your faith, he's the one
that's doing the work, and yousimply confirm it every day,
confirm it, confirm it, confirmit.
How do we confirm our election?
How do we confirm our calling?
(10:40):
We get up every day and we justconfirm it.
A lot of times, I think it'seasy to look for something
supernatural, almost, or likesuper, super gadgety.
Listen, if you wake up tomorrowmorning and your feet hit the
floor and you say these wordsJesus, you are Lord.
I will follow you today.
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I'll do the best I can.
I'll repent where it's needed.
I'll be faithful as I can.
I'll keep my hand to the plowand just be faithful and
consistent.
Make your election and callingsure.
Confirm it every day.
So Peter gives us a good wordthere, and this is at the end of
(11:21):
Peter's life.
It's a really good word.
Confirm, be the more diligentto confirm your calling.
So he says be diligent.
What does that mean?
Just be consistent, do it everyday, every single day.
Consistency in the Christianlife is critical.
Be diligent to confirm yourcalling and election.
So you're diligent to confirmor declare or re-up your calling
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and election.
For if you practice thesequalities you'll never fail.
Then he says practice them, inother words, live that out.
The Bible will use the phraselike live in a manner of life
worthy of the calling, or walkin a manner worthy of the
calling.
Live or walk in a way thathonors the Lord.
And then, 2 Peter 1.19, just afew verses later, he says we
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have the prophetic word morefully confirmed, to which you
will do well to pay attention asto a lamp shining in a dark
place until the day dawns andthe morning star rises in your
hearts.
So it's this idea of confirmingand confirmation and making
your calling something that youconfirm daily, that Jesus is
Lord and that he's called you tofollow Him, that he's called
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you to walk with Him, that he'sbeen clear to you and I through
His Word.
He doesn't make it confusingand so if we do that, I think it
protects us from three things.
If you're every day confirmingyour election, confirming your
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calling, other than I'm going togive you three things, but
other than it mitigates doubt.
So let's make that a fourththing.
It wasn't in my notes.
It mitigates doubt becauseyou're going to wrestle with
doubt.
You're going to doubt a fourththing.
It wasn't in my notes.
It mitigates doubt becauseyou're going to wrestle with
doubt.
You're going to doubt yourself,you're going to doubt your
leaders.
That's why I said look forproven leadership.
You're going to doubt people,like in the church.
You're going to doubt.
It's going to happen.
So if I confirm my callingevery day and I confirm my
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election or my salvation, Iconfirm that Jesus is Lord.
It's going to mitigate doubt.
It's going to reduce the amountof doubt, but then it's going
to do three other things that Ithink are critical, and this
goes back to what I started withwhat we've seen happen with
people.
It'll keep me from falling away.
I won't fall away On a day whereyou're confirming Christ and
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you wake up and you don't takethat day off and you confirm
that Jesus is Lord and you lookto Jesus as the author of your
faith and you put your hand tothe plow and you focus on who he
is and what he's done.
That day you won't fall away,y'all.
I'm just telling you.
I'm telling you, 100%guaranteed if your eyes are on
Jesus, your hand is on the plow,your confession is that he's
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Lord.
You're confirming it.
Confirming it, confirming it.
That's not the day you're goingto fall away.
You ain't going to do it.
That's not the day you're goingto fall away.
It's also going to keep youfrom turning away.
That's a little different.
One person falls away.
Another person just kind ofgets tired of it and turns away.
It's turn away.
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I've tried the Christianitything.
I've tried the ministry thing.
I've tried, you know, I'veworked at SLO for the summer.
It's good, but now I'm going toturn away and try something
else, and then the third thingit'll keep you from is
indifference.
Indifference it's where you justquit caring.
Apathy so what we're talkingabout is apostasy and apathy.
Apostasy the person that turnsaway from the faith that they
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once professed and they justturn away from that and they now
reject it.
That's bad.
That person is is most likelybound for destruction.
Or apathy, which probablyaffects more people.
You just quit caring.
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You quit caring about your ownsin.
You quit caring about thehurting people around you.
You quit caring about the lostand dying neighbor or the person
across the street or the personyou work with.
Don't stop caring.
Y'all Listen to me, look at me.
Don't stop caring about peoplewho don't know Jesus.
Look at me.
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Don't stop caring about peoplewho don't know Jesus.
Don't stop caring about peoplewho are hurting.
Don't stop caring that God hasput you in their life for a
reason.
If you do that, you will notfall away.
Turn away, walk away and youdefinitely won't grow
indifferent.
You definitely won't growindifferent If we'll be serious
about ministry to others, ifI'll care more about people than
I care about myself and I'llpour my life into them for the
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sake of the gospel, it'll keepme from falling away.
Now, if I do that, what it'sgoing to do is it's going to
keep me from drifting.
Hebrews, chapter 2, verse 1,says therefore, we must pay much
closer attention to what wehave heard lest we drift away
from it.
Writer of Hebrews.
He does this a lot, where he'llsay we need to learn from
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something we just talked about.
He takes exposition and leadsthat to exhortation.
So he takes the exposition ofHebrews 1 and it becomes
exhortation in chapter 2.
He's saying that, based on therich theology that we unpacked
in Hebrews, chapter 1, there'san appropriate reaction.
The author of the text isintroducing us to one of the
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warning passages of the book ofHebrews.
Based on what he's told usabout who Jesus is in chapter 1,
he enters into a warning Basedon the truth outlined in chapter
1.
Jesus is, in Hebrews, chapter 1,verse 2, the final prophet
through whom God has spoken.
Number two also in verse 2 andin verse 10, he's the creator
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through whom God has spoken.
Also in verse 2, he's the heirof all things.
In Hebrews, chapter 1, verse 3,he's the exact representation
of God's glory.
Verse 3 and verse 10, he's theupholder of all things, verse 3,
.
He's the priest who providedpurification for all things.
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How did he do this?
At the cross.
The cross provides us with theonly way to be saved.
Therefore, it's the onlymessage of salvation to a dying
world.
The cross shows that we need aSavior because it reveals our
sin.
The cross provides us theanswer to all of God's promises.
We surrender to the power ofthe cross and we proclaim the
victory of the cross.
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Because of the cross, jesus isseated at the right hand in
victory, right hand of theFather.
And then last Hebrews, chapter 11, verses 1 through 4, and
verses 8 and 9,.
He's the King of kings who hassat down at the place of honor.
Think about Friday night whenwe talk about Jesus, seated at
the right hand of the Father,interceding for us.
So, based on those things,those seven things, how do I
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confirm my calling?
How do I confirm my election?
Declare these seven thingsabout Jesus.
Don't drift from that.
Everyone who drifts away.
Where they loosen their grip ison the person and work of Jesus
.
That's where they loosen theirgrip.
It could be that they stopclinging to the word of God as
inerrant and infallible andauthoritative, but they loosen
(18:14):
their grip on Jesus and suddenlyJesus is a life coach or a
self-helper, a great example ofhow to live our lives, or
something other than these seventhings the final prophet, the
creator, the heir of all things,the representation of God's
glory, god's glory revealed tous, the upholder of all things,
the final priest, our great highpriest and the king of kings.
(18:35):
If you confess and proclaimthose things about Jesus every
single day, you're going to bejust fine.
And here's what he says inHebrews, chapter two, verse one
pay close attention to whatwe've heard.
It's easy to read and learnabout the Bible in an
informative way.
It's easy to have emotionalappeal during corporate worship.
It's critical that we grow inour knowledge of the scripture,
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but that we also submit to whatwe learn and strive to
understand.
The word of God will shape whoyou are and how you see God.
But as we enter into thewarning, we're being challenged
to consider and examine deeplythe person and work of Jesus.
We're to fix our eyes on Jesus.
We're to be reminded of whoJesus is and what Jesus has done
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.
We're to look to the cross.
We're to look to the tomb.
We're to be reminded of whoJesus is and what Jesus has done
.
We're to look to the cross,we're to look to the tomb, we're
to look to the throne, we're tolook ahead to the kingdom.
The work of Jesus is finishedand complete and providing
salvation, and we have to keepour eyes fixed on Jesus so that
we don't drift away.
It's an important principle andit's this.
It's an important principle andit's this no one ever drifts
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towards jesus, no one everdrifts toward holiness.
That's from macarthur.
So let's consider five thingswe'll be done.
These are very quick, thesewill go very quick the causes,
patterns and effects of drifting.
Let me give you the causes,patterns and effects of drifting
.
Number one is just simply whatwe see there in Hebrews, chapter
2, verse 1.
It's the first warning passagein Hebrews, and that is just the
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word drift.
What does it mean to drift?
We drift when we stop payingattention to God's Word.
That's why he says therefore,we must pay closer attention to
what we've heard, god's word,and specifically what it teaches
about the person and work ofJesus.
We drift and we stop payingattention to the word of God.
We become careless.
There's a constant appliedpressure and if we're left, if
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we leave it unaddressed, we willsimply drift.
Number two that'll lead to doubt, doubt.
Hebrews, chapter 3, verse 12.
It says take care, brothers,lest there be in any of you an
evil, unbelieving heart leadingyou to fall away from the living
God.
We doubt when we begin tocompromise and avoid the word of
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God.
Hebrews, chapter 3 and verse 12.
So we start to drift by notholding to and paying attention
to the word of God.
And if we don't pay attentionto the word of God, that will
lead us to do one of two thingsavoid the scripture altogether
or compromise the scripture andtry to make it mean something it
doesn't mean.
When that happens, we'rebeginning to not only drift but
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we're beginning to doubt.
And I don't mean doubting mysalvation or wrestling with
anxiousness, I mean doubting thesovereignty of God, doubting
the deity of Christ, doubtingthe person and work of Jesus,
doubting the security of thebeliever.
And when we begin to compromiseand avoid the word of God, it
leads to the third thing, whichis we grow dull.
We grow dull.
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Hebrews, chapter five, verse 11, it says this about this we
have much to say and it is hardto explain, since you have
become dull of hearing the titleof that section in Hebrews five
is a warning against apostasy.
Apostasy simply means quittingthe faith, recanting my belief
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and my confession and turningaway.
And he says that starts with adullness where we become dull of
hearing, we become callousedand we abandon the word of God.
So we stop paying attention, wedrift, we begin to compromise
and avoid the word of God, wedoubt, then we grow calloused
and then we abandon the Word ofGod.
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And that leads to the fourththing we drop out.
We drop out, we bow out, wequit, we cut off fellowship, we
cut off relationship with peoplewho we know will hold us
accountable to the Word of God.
The effect of this is verybroad and all-encompassing.
Hebrews chapter 10, verse 25,says don't forsake the
assembling of yourselvestogether, as the manner of some
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is.
Don't drop out of fellowshipand community, because when that
happens it leads to the fifthand final thing, which is we
become defiant, become angry atthe Word, angry at those who
represent it.
I've seen this happen a lot andit's interesting to me because I
think there's things that Isimply don't believe in and I'm
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not mad about it, you know, Idon't.
I don't believe in fairy tales,I'm not upset.
There was a black Panther movieplaying at my house this
weekend and I come in there andI watched 10 or 15 minutes of it
.
I wasn't mad at the villain,why?
Because it's make-believe.
I'm not mad at make-believe I'mnot angry at.
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But you know what makes me angry?
The deception of Islam, thedeception of the Mormon church,
where people say, oh, we'reMormons and it's a Christian
organization, it's a Christiandenomination, it's not.
It's not a Christiandenomination.
We talked about this in Elementon Thursday in our Thursday
morning Element session, wherethey don't believe what we
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believe, because they reject thedeity and past eternality of
Jesus.
You cannot reject that and holdto Jesus' claims of who.
He is right, you understandthat, and so I get angry about
that.
I'm angry that the devil isusing the mouthpieces of false
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teachers and organizations andmass movements to lead people
astray.
But I'm not mad at things Idon't believe in that are
make-believe.
So why is it that people thatdrift and then doubt and then
grow dull and then becomeeventually they drop out and
become very defined.
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Why do they hate us so bad?
Because they know that what werepresent is truth, because
they've stood with us in thelight.
And when you leave the lightand go back into the darkness.
The light is simply offensive.
So they hate you, they hate me.
They'll talk about us.
Don't go down that path.
Be warned against drifting,because the chain of events that
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drifting starts will lead youdangerously close to apostasy,
where you are now defianttowards the very gospel you once
proclaimed.
You spend 10 weeks proclaimingthis gospel.
Can you imagine a time in yourlife where you would be standing
in the darkness, hating thelight, talking about those that
represent it?
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There's a reason he warns usagainst this Lest we go down
that path, lest we drift.
That's why, in chapter 2, verse1, he says pay careful
attention lest you drift,because drifting always leads to
something more severe, and sowe got to pay attention.
So how do we address it?
How do we respond?
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Well, it's simple Don't startdrifting, don't start drifting.
Pay closer attention to Jesusand go back to second Peter,
chapter one, verse 10.
Therefore, brothers, be all themore diligent to confirm your
calling and election, for if youpractice these qualities, you
will never fail.
How do we not do it?
Hebrews two,1, we pay attentionto what To?
(25:59):
Hebrews, chapter 1, the personand work of Jesus.
Keep your eyes on Jesus.
In 2 Peter, chapter 1, verse 10,confirm your calling, confirm
your declaration, confirm yourelection right.
Do those things and you willnot fall away, drift away, walk
away, turn away.
You will not grow apostate andyou will not grow apathetic and
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when you struggle with doubtyou'll constantly be turning
back.
Listen, there's days whereyou're going to struggle, but
just live in the light.
Confess that Jesus is Lord,make your calling and election
sure, confirm it, proclaim it.
Keep your eyes on Jesus.
And you're 20 years old rightnow.
You're 16 years old right now.
You're 24 years old right now.
You can still be faithful.
When you're 53 years old, whenyou're 73 years old If God lets
(26:45):
you live to be 85, you can stillbe faithful.
That's a thing.
You can be one day, that provenleader that others look to and
are inspired by, because you'veheld your hand to the plow and
you've gripped it firm to theend.
Amen, all right.
It's a warning for us and Ihope you'll take it to heart.
That's my prayer for you, lord.
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I pray that on this day, as welook at another opportunity for
ministry, a day where studentswill arrive here, by your good
grace and your sovereign calling, they're going to come here and
we're going to have theopportunity to teach them about
Jesus, to open your word, toshare things with them that are
(27:33):
potentially going to changetheir lives.
God, I believe that there aregoing to be young men and young
women who profess faith in Jesusthis week, who go from death to
life, from darkness, step rightinto the light and say, yeah, I
want to be in the light now, Iwant to live here.
I don't want to live in thedarkness anymore, and you're
going to give them ears to hearand eyes to see and you're going
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to give them a voice ofconfession.
've got to pray that we woulddo our part this week.
We'd be faithful.
You've got to pray over thisstaff, this team, every man and
woman in this room that you'dpreserve and protect the faith
that you've entrusted to them.
That they would make theircalling and election sure, that
(28:14):
they would confirm it andproclaim it and declare it until
you return or call us home.
I thank you for theirfaithfulness.
They've been so faithful herethis summer.
Might they be faithful for theyears and decades to come.
I pray and I pray that thisweek, the fruit of ministry that
we get to experience would beto you the reward of your
(28:36):
suffering and we will rejoice inthat and give thanks to have
gotten to take part in it thatyou would have considered us
worthy.
We're grateful.
Pray these things in Jesus'name, and all God's people said
amen.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Thanks for listening.
We hope this has encouraged youin your walk with Christ.
Be sure to give us a rating andreview and for more Snowbird
content, check out our otherpodcast.
No Sanity Required.
The following content is from Snowbird Wilderness
Outfitters, a gospel-driven highadventure camp in western North
Carolina.
Go to SWOutfitterscom to learnmore about our camps and
conferences.
Enjoy the message.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
In all the years that we've been here doing this
there's been a lot of peoplehave come through and served and
been on staff here and been onstaff here and probably the
person I talk to the most aboutthis is Harry McSween because of
the position he's held throughthe years.
(00:33):
But a lot of people, sadly,have walked away from the faith
after they served here.
And when I say a lot of people,I don't mean like a majority of
people, say a lot of people, Idon't mean like a majority of
people.
But it's pretty staggering andstatistically, in a room with
this many people in it,statistically some of you are
(00:53):
going to turn away, some of youare going to fade away, fall
away.
God forbid that some of youmight turn away, forbid that
some of you might turn away.
And so week eight, going intoweek eight of summer, I always
try to give some word ofencouragement that will help you
finish well, so that you cantransition well, so that you can
(01:16):
start well in the next seasonof life, and I think it's
important.
Transitional periods are veryimportant and as we transition
out of the summer you want toend with a lot of momentum and
then when you start your nextseason of life.
If you're, if you're comingback here and you're going to be
(01:38):
in the Institute, we're goingto help you own ramp really
aggressively and we're going tohold uh, we going to hold, we're
going to sort of hold the linefor you and help get you up to
speed.
But for a lot of you, you'regoing to leave here and you're
going to go home or you're goingto go to school and it's going
to be very critical.
It's going to be imperativethat you get plugged in
(01:58):
somewhere where discipleship isLook for good and proven
leadership.
I would encourage you to dothat.
I almost I'm not going to teachon this this morning, but I was
looking back through some of mynotes and I came across
something that I had justjournaled and written a couple
(02:19):
years ago leadership strategiesfor our team managers, community
group leaders, fire teamleaders, etc.
And I had put down threeprinciples.
And I will just tell you Idon't read leadership books.
I just I don't enjoy them.
Most of them are pretty cheesy.
Either it's principles fromcombat and I've never been to
(02:40):
combat, I don't know.
I just, but I don't.
I'm not critical of peoplereading them, I just don't read
them.
I think for me it workspractically now, at this stage
in my life, to draw.
I'm 53.
I'm not going to read what a 30year old army or Navy SEAL guy
has to say.
I'd rather look to people likeJohn MacArthur, who's dying
today.
Did y'all know that?
(03:01):
Have y'all heard that?
If some of you maybe have beenimpressed or imprinted by his
ministry?
But John MacArthur is one ofthe first guys I listened to on
the radio when I first became aChristian and they've called his
family and I saw that at hischurch yesterday.
They're preparing the churchfor him to go to be with the
Lord.
But when it comes to leadership, you can find some 30 yearold
(03:26):
dudes that are all fired up andexcited because they've read all
the books and they've been tothe class and they've done the
thing.
And here's the thing look forpeople that have been faithful
for a long, long time, a longtime.
There's a misconception and, Ithink, a misappropriation that a
lot of young people strugglewith, and that is, they don't
(03:49):
appreciate what older peoplebring to the table.
So when you transition intothis next season of life, I
encourage you to look forministries and ministry leaders
that are established and haveproven themselves.
You see what I'm saying.
I jotted down these three things.
I want to read them to you.
There are levels and layers tobeing in leadership in general
(04:14):
and being an effective leader inparticular.
So three different levels ofleadership that I think about.
One is a person who is simplyassigned to lead.
This is a position in anorganization that is hired or
that is inherited because you'rethe next person in line.
A lot of times that's what yousee happen, like in the military
(04:36):
or in some corporate structures.
It's like a person retires andif you've been there long enough
, you're going to be the nextperson in line.
This is the most basic form ofleadership.
It can also be the mostunderwhelming form of leadership
.
People may or may not respectyou as a person and as a leader,
(04:56):
but they must respect theposition you hold.
The second type of leadership isleadership that is earned and
or granted leadership.
This occurs when the respectivepeers and those in or under
your command or department lookto you with respect and trust
that you have earned from them.
When leadership is earned thisway, people will work for you
(05:19):
even when they don't have anobligation to.
This type and level ofleadership is driven by
relationship, shared experiences, time spent together.
Oftentimes, people who havecaring personalities or dynamic
and charismatic personalitieswill win folks over this way.
Level two leaders aren'tnecessarily naturally gifted
(05:41):
leaders.
But then the third one, and thisis the one I want to point you
to as you head off to school orwhatever's next for you as you
leave here.
The third one is what I'vewritten down as proven
leadership.
This requires that you leadwell over a long period of time.
Most natural leaders get heremore quickly, but typically you
(06:04):
need to be around long enough tobe proven.
A proven leader is provenbecause they've been around for
a long time.
This means they've weatheredsome storms.
It means they've had somepeople turn on them.
It means they've had somepeople talk bad about them, but
they're still here.
It means they maybe survived achurch split or a ministry
(06:25):
fragmentation or some bad press,but they're still here and
they're still faithfully servingas well Some longer seasons of
hardship, financial recessions,major turnover in key positions.
Maybe they've had to firepeople who were in positions of
influence that then souredothers against them.
(06:46):
Maybe they've survived COVID oran IRS audit or staff conflict.
Look for proven leadership.
So I just I wanted to sharethat with you because I think
one of the things that'simportant as you leave here and
go to what's next, it's easy togo follow charismatic people
Y'all with me, especially inyour age demographic Someone
(07:10):
that's really charismatic andreally pulls and draws a
following.
But I'm telling you somethingif somebody's been faithful for
a long period of time andthey've survived some stuff,
they're closer to being provenas a leader and those ministries
are closer to being establishedas a ministry.
There's a guy his name's MikeMahaffey and he's sort of
(07:33):
semi-retired now.
He works for a ministry calledCrew.
Are y'all familiar with Crew?
It used to be called CampusCrusade.
Mike Mahaffey is from, I think,santa Clara or Santa Barbara.
He's from California and in thelate 80s he was working with
Campus Crusade and ended upassigned to NC State.
Do we have any NC State people?
(07:53):
You go to crew, you go to crew,you are Okay.
Have you met Mike, because he'skind of retired.
Do you know Mike?
You know Todd.
So Todd, you know the guys thatwere here during staff training
.
Todd Smith leads that group ofguys and, uh, so Todd is is my
age and he's been at campuscrusade at NC state for about 30
(08:15):
years.
Mike Mahaffey has been thereabout 40 years.
Mike's now sort of retired andhe's moved into working.
He's been at.
He's been there long enoughthat he's now ministering to
professors.
He has that kind of credibilityand I like to use him as an
example, because when you meetMike, he's not charismatic, he's
not dynamic, he's notimpressive in terms of his
(08:36):
personality or his ability tomotivate people, but he's been
there being faithful for so longthat he's one of the only
people I know anywhere in all ofacademia in America who
literally has a ministry tocollege professors at a secular
university in a majorinstitution.
Pretty cool.
Why does he have that?
(08:56):
Because he's just been faithful.
He's just been faithful.
He didn't ride waves, he juststayed faithful, stayed
consistent.
And so look for ministrieswhere people are proven because
they've been there for the longhaul.
They may not be the mostdynamic, but they're proven.
I bring that up because I wantto talk to you just for the
(09:16):
second half of this time, forthe next 10 minutes, about how
do you stay faithful when youleave, how do you stay the
course, not just for the nextsemester, but for the next 10
years or for the rest of yourlife.
There's a in second Peter,chapter one, verse 10,.
It says this therefore,brothers, be all the more
(09:36):
diligent to confirm your callingand election, for if you
practice these qualities, youwill never fall.
That sounds like somethingwe're studying, doesn't it?
Read it again.
Therefore, brothers, be all themore diligent to confirm your
calling and election.
Woo, that's a controversialword.
What do election mean?
(09:58):
It means God is sovereign andhe saves whoever he pleases.
And don't you ever be ashamedof that?
Would you ever shrink back fromthat?
The word is the word and itmeans what it means, and we
don't need to make excuses andwe don't need to be shy about it
.
He says make your calling andelection, take it diligent and
(10:19):
confirm it, for if you practicethese qualities, you will never
fail.
In other words, if you liveyour life recognizing that Jesus
is the author and the perfecterof your faith, he's the one
that's doing the work, and yousimply confirm it every day,
confirm it, confirm it, confirmit.
How do we confirm our election?
How do we confirm our calling?
(10:40):
We get up every day and we justconfirm it.
A lot of times, I think it'seasy to look for something
supernatural, almost, or likesuper, super gadgety.
Listen, if you wake up tomorrowmorning and your feet hit the
floor and you say these wordsJesus, you are Lord.
I will follow you today.
(11:01):
I'll do the best I can.
I'll repent where it's needed.
I'll be faithful as I can.
I'll keep my hand to the plowand just be faithful and
consistent.
Make your election and callingsure.
Confirm it every day.
So Peter gives us a good wordthere, and this is at the end of
(11:21):
Peter's life.
It's a really good word.
Confirm, be the more diligentto confirm your calling.
So he says be diligent.
What does that mean?
Just be consistent, do it everyday, every single day.
Consistency in the Christianlife is critical.
Be diligent to confirm yourcalling and election.
So you're diligent to confirmor declare or re-up your calling
(11:46):
and election.
For if you practice thesequalities you'll never fail.
Then he says practice them, inother words, live that out.
The Bible will use the phraselike live in a manner of life
worthy of the calling, or walkin a manner worthy of the
calling.
Live or walk in a way thathonors the Lord.
And then, 2 Peter 1.19, just afew verses later, he says we
(12:09):
have the prophetic word morefully confirmed, to which you
will do well to pay attention asto a lamp shining in a dark
place until the day dawns andthe morning star rises in your
hearts.
So it's this idea of confirmingand confirmation and making
your calling something that youconfirm daily, that Jesus is
Lord and that he's called you tofollow Him, that he's called
(12:32):
you to walk with Him, that he'sbeen clear to you and I through
His Word.
He doesn't make it confusingand so if we do that, I think it
protects us from three things.
If you're every day confirmingyour election, confirming your
(12:52):
calling, other than I'm going togive you three things, but
other than it mitigates doubt.
So let's make that a fourththing.
It wasn't in my notes.
It mitigates doubt becauseyou're going to wrestle with
doubt.
You're going to doubt a fourththing.
It wasn't in my notes.
It mitigates doubt becauseyou're going to wrestle with
doubt.
You're going to doubt yourself,you're going to doubt your
leaders.
That's why I said look forproven leadership.
You're going to doubt people,like in the church.
You're going to doubt.
It's going to happen.
So if I confirm my callingevery day and I confirm my
(13:15):
election or my salvation, Iconfirm that Jesus is Lord.
It's going to mitigate doubt.
It's going to reduce the amountof doubt, but then it's going
to do three other things that Ithink are critical, and this
goes back to what I started withwhat we've seen happen with
people.
It'll keep me from falling away.
I won't fall away On a day whereyou're confirming Christ and
(13:35):
you wake up and you don't takethat day off and you confirm
that Jesus is Lord and you lookto Jesus as the author of your
faith and you put your hand tothe plow and you focus on who he
is and what he's done.
That day you won't fall away,y'all.
I'm just telling you.
I'm telling you, 100%guaranteed if your eyes are on
Jesus, your hand is on the plow,your confession is that he's
(13:56):
Lord.
You're confirming it.
Confirming it, confirming it.
That's not the day you're goingto fall away.
You ain't going to do it.
That's not the day you're goingto fall away.
It's also going to keep youfrom turning away.
That's a little different.
One person falls away.
Another person just kind ofgets tired of it and turns away.
It's turn away.
(14:16):
I've tried the Christianitything.
I've tried the ministry thing.
I've tried, you know, I'veworked at SLO for the summer.
It's good, but now I'm going toturn away and try something
else, and then the third thingit'll keep you from is
indifference.
Indifference it's where you justquit caring.
Apathy so what we're talkingabout is apostasy and apathy.
Apostasy the person that turnsaway from the faith that they
(14:39):
once professed and they justturn away from that and they now
reject it.
That's bad.
That person is is most likelybound for destruction.
Or apathy, which probablyaffects more people.
You just quit caring.
(14:59):
You quit caring about your ownsin.
You quit caring about thehurting people around you.
You quit caring about the lostand dying neighbor or the person
across the street or the personyou work with.
Don't stop caring.
Y'all Listen to me, look at me.
Don't stop caring about peoplewho don't know Jesus.
Look at me.
(15:22):
Don't stop caring about peoplewho don't know Jesus.
Don't stop caring about peoplewho are hurting.
Don't stop caring that God hasput you in their life for a
reason.
If you do that, you will notfall away.
Turn away, walk away and youdefinitely won't grow
indifferent.
You definitely won't growindifferent If we'll be serious
about ministry to others, ifI'll care more about people than
I care about myself and I'llpour my life into them for the
(15:44):
sake of the gospel, it'll keepme from falling away.
Now, if I do that, what it'sgoing to do is it's going to
keep me from drifting.
Hebrews, chapter 2, verse 1,says therefore, we must pay much
closer attention to what wehave heard lest we drift away
from it.
Writer of Hebrews.
He does this a lot, where he'llsay we need to learn from
(16:04):
something we just talked about.
He takes exposition and leadsthat to exhortation.
So he takes the exposition ofHebrews 1 and it becomes
exhortation in chapter 2.
He's saying that, based on therich theology that we unpacked
in Hebrews, chapter 1, there'san appropriate reaction.
The author of the text isintroducing us to one of the
(16:25):
warning passages of the book ofHebrews.
Based on what he's told usabout who Jesus is in chapter 1,
he enters into a warning Basedon the truth outlined in chapter
1.
Jesus is, in Hebrews, chapter 1,verse 2, the final prophet
through whom God has spoken.
Number two also in verse 2 andin verse 10, he's the creator
(16:46):
through whom God has spoken.
Also in verse 2, he's the heirof all things.
In Hebrews, chapter 1, verse 3,he's the exact representation
of God's glory.
Verse 3 and verse 10, he's theupholder of all things, verse 3,
.
He's the priest who providedpurification for all things.
(17:09):
How did he do this?
At the cross.
The cross provides us with theonly way to be saved.
Therefore, it's the onlymessage of salvation to a dying
world.
The cross shows that we need aSavior because it reveals our
sin.
The cross provides us theanswer to all of God's promises.
We surrender to the power ofthe cross and we proclaim the
victory of the cross.
(17:29):
Because of the cross, jesus isseated at the right hand in
victory, right hand of theFather.
And then last Hebrews, chapter 11, verses 1 through 4, and
verses 8 and 9,.
He's the King of kings who hassat down at the place of honor.
Think about Friday night whenwe talk about Jesus, seated at
the right hand of the Father,interceding for us.
So, based on those things,those seven things, how do I
(17:52):
confirm my calling?
How do I confirm my election?
Declare these seven thingsabout Jesus.
Don't drift from that.
Everyone who drifts away.
Where they loosen their grip ison the person and work of Jesus
.
That's where they loosen theirgrip.
It could be that they stopclinging to the word of God as
inerrant and infallible andauthoritative, but they loosen
(18:14):
their grip on Jesus and suddenlyJesus is a life coach or a
self-helper, a great example ofhow to live our lives, or
something other than these seventhings the final prophet, the
creator, the heir of all things,the representation of God's
glory, god's glory revealed tous, the upholder of all things,
the final priest, our great highpriest and the king of kings.
(18:35):
If you confess and proclaimthose things about Jesus every
single day, you're going to bejust fine.
And here's what he says inHebrews, chapter two, verse one
pay close attention to whatwe've heard.
It's easy to read and learnabout the Bible in an
informative way.
It's easy to have emotionalappeal during corporate worship.
It's critical that we grow inour knowledge of the scripture,
(18:57):
but that we also submit to whatwe learn and strive to
understand.
The word of God will shape whoyou are and how you see God.
But as we enter into thewarning, we're being challenged
to consider and examine deeplythe person and work of Jesus.
We're to fix our eyes on Jesus.
We're to be reminded of whoJesus is and what Jesus has done
(19:17):
.
We're to look to the cross.
We're to look to the tomb.
We're to be reminded of whoJesus is and what Jesus has done
.
We're to look to the cross,we're to look to the tomb, we're
to look to the throne, we're tolook ahead to the kingdom.
The work of Jesus is finishedand complete and providing
salvation, and we have to keepour eyes fixed on Jesus so that
we don't drift away.
It's an important principle andit's this.
It's an important principle andit's this no one ever drifts
(19:45):
towards jesus, no one everdrifts toward holiness.
That's from macarthur.
So let's consider five thingswe'll be done.
These are very quick, thesewill go very quick the causes,
patterns and effects of drifting.
Let me give you the causes,patterns and effects of drifting
.
Number one is just simply whatwe see there in Hebrews, chapter
2, verse 1.
It's the first warning passagein Hebrews, and that is just the
(20:08):
word drift.
What does it mean to drift?
We drift when we stop payingattention to God's Word.
That's why he says therefore,we must pay closer attention to
what we've heard, god's word,and specifically what it teaches
about the person and work ofJesus.
We drift and we stop payingattention to the word of God.
We become careless.
There's a constant appliedpressure and if we're left, if
(20:32):
we leave it unaddressed, we willsimply drift.
Number two that'll lead to doubt, doubt.
Hebrews, chapter 3, verse 12.
It says take care, brothers,lest there be in any of you an
evil, unbelieving heart leadingyou to fall away from the living
God.
We doubt when we begin tocompromise and avoid the word of
(20:56):
God.
Hebrews, chapter 3 and verse 12.
So we start to drift by notholding to and paying attention
to the word of God.
And if we don't pay attentionto the word of God, that will
lead us to do one of two thingsavoid the scripture altogether
or compromise the scripture andtry to make it mean something it
doesn't mean.
When that happens, we'rebeginning to not only drift but
(21:19):
we're beginning to doubt.
And I don't mean doubting mysalvation or wrestling with
anxiousness, I mean doubting thesovereignty of God, doubting
the deity of Christ, doubtingthe person and work of Jesus,
doubting the security of thebeliever.
And when we begin to compromiseand avoid the word of God, it
leads to the third thing, whichis we grow dull.
We grow dull.
(21:40):
Hebrews, chapter five, verse 11, it says this about this we
have much to say and it is hardto explain, since you have
become dull of hearing the titleof that section in Hebrews five
is a warning against apostasy.
Apostasy simply means quittingthe faith, recanting my belief
(22:00):
and my confession and turningaway.
And he says that starts with adullness where we become dull of
hearing, we become callousedand we abandon the word of God.
So we stop paying attention, wedrift, we begin to compromise
and avoid the word of God, wedoubt, then we grow calloused
and then we abandon the Word ofGod.
(22:21):
And that leads to the fourththing we drop out.
We drop out, we bow out, wequit, we cut off fellowship, we
cut off relationship with peoplewho we know will hold us
accountable to the Word of God.
The effect of this is verybroad and all-encompassing.
Hebrews chapter 10, verse 25,says don't forsake the
assembling of yourselvestogether, as the manner of some
(22:42):
is.
Don't drop out of fellowshipand community, because when that
happens it leads to the fifthand final thing, which is we
become defiant, become angry atthe Word, angry at those who
represent it.
I've seen this happen a lot andit's interesting to me because I
think there's things that Isimply don't believe in and I'm
(23:05):
not mad about it, you know, Idon't.
I don't believe in fairy tales,I'm not upset.
There was a black Panther movieplaying at my house this
weekend and I come in there andI watched 10 or 15 minutes of it
.
I wasn't mad at the villain,why?
Because it's make-believe.
I'm not mad at make-believe I'mnot angry at.
(23:26):
But you know what makes me angry?
The deception of Islam, thedeception of the Mormon church,
where people say, oh, we'reMormons and it's a Christian
organization, it's a Christiandenomination, it's not.
It's not a Christiandenomination.
We talked about this in Elementon Thursday in our Thursday
morning Element session, wherethey don't believe what we
(23:49):
believe, because they reject thedeity and past eternality of
Jesus.
You cannot reject that and holdto Jesus' claims of who.
He is right, you understandthat, and so I get angry about
that.
I'm angry that the devil isusing the mouthpieces of false
(24:11):
teachers and organizations andmass movements to lead people
astray.
But I'm not mad at things Idon't believe in that are
make-believe.
So why is it that people thatdrift and then doubt and then
grow dull and then becomeeventually they drop out and
become very defined.
(24:32):
Why do they hate us so bad?
Because they know that what werepresent is truth, because
they've stood with us in thelight.
And when you leave the lightand go back into the darkness.
The light is simply offensive.
So they hate you, they hate me.
They'll talk about us.
Don't go down that path.
Be warned against drifting,because the chain of events that
(24:56):
drifting starts will lead youdangerously close to apostasy,
where you are now defianttowards the very gospel you once
proclaimed.
You spend 10 weeks proclaimingthis gospel.
Can you imagine a time in yourlife where you would be standing
in the darkness, hating thelight, talking about those that
represent it?
(25:17):
There's a reason he warns usagainst this Lest we go down
that path, lest we drift.
That's why, in chapter 2, verse1, he says pay careful
attention lest you drift,because drifting always leads to
something more severe, and sowe got to pay attention.
So how do we address it?
How do we respond?
(25:37):
Well, it's simple Don't startdrifting, don't start drifting.
Pay closer attention to Jesusand go back to second Peter,
chapter one, verse 10.
Therefore, brothers, be all themore diligent to confirm your
calling and election, for if youpractice these qualities, you
will never fail.
How do we not do it?
Hebrews two,1, we pay attentionto what To?
(25:59):
Hebrews, chapter 1, the personand work of Jesus.
Keep your eyes on Jesus.
In 2 Peter, chapter 1, verse 10,confirm your calling, confirm
your declaration, confirm yourelection right.
Do those things and you willnot fall away, drift away, walk
away, turn away.
You will not grow apostate andyou will not grow apathetic and
(26:21):
when you struggle with doubtyou'll constantly be turning
back.
Listen, there's days whereyou're going to struggle, but
just live in the light.
Confess that Jesus is Lord,make your calling and election
sure, confirm it, proclaim it.
Keep your eyes on Jesus.
And you're 20 years old rightnow.
You're 16 years old right now.
You're 24 years old right now.
You can still be faithful.
When you're 53 years old, whenyou're 73 years old If God lets
(26:45):
you live to be 85, you can stillbe faithful.
That's a thing.
You can be one day, that provenleader that others look to and
are inspired by, because you'veheld your hand to the plow and
you've gripped it firm to theend.
Amen, all right.
It's a warning for us and Ihope you'll take it to heart.
That's my prayer for you, lord.
(27:08):
I pray that on this day, as welook at another opportunity for
ministry, a day where studentswill arrive here, by your good
grace and your sovereign calling, they're going to come here and
we're going to have theopportunity to teach them about
Jesus, to open your word, toshare things with them that are
(27:33):
potentially going to changetheir lives.
God, I believe that there aregoing to be young men and young
women who profess faith in Jesusthis week, who go from death to
life, from darkness, step rightinto the light and say, yeah, I
want to be in the light now, Iwant to live here.
I don't want to live in thedarkness anymore, and you're
going to give them ears to hearand eyes to see and you're going
(27:53):
to give them a voice ofconfession.
've got to pray that we woulddo our part this week.
We'd be faithful.
You've got to pray over thisstaff, this team, every man and
woman in this room that you'dpreserve and protect the faith
that you've entrusted to them.
That they would make theircalling and election sure, that
(28:14):
they would confirm it andproclaim it and declare it until
you return or call us home.
I thank you for theirfaithfulness.
They've been so faithful herethis summer.
Might they be faithful for theyears and decades to come.
I pray and I pray that thisweek, the fruit of ministry that
we get to experience would beto you the reward of your
(28:36):
suffering and we will rejoice inthat and give thanks to have
gotten to take part in it thatyou would have considered us
worthy.
We're grateful.
Pray these things in Jesus'name, and all God's people said
amen.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Thanks for listening.
We hope this has encouraged youin your walk with Christ.
Be sure to give us a rating andreview and for more Snowbird
content, check out our otherpodcast.
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