August 1, 2025 • 32 mins
What if growing older wasn’t about slowing down, but stepping up in bold faith? In this final episode of Start Strong, Run Hard, Finish Well, we draw inspiration from Caleb in Joshua 14—who at 85 was still ready to take on giants, trusting God fully.
Brody challenges the idea that aging means retreat and explores how to finish life with purpose, gratitude, and courage—no matter your age. Whether you're 25 or 85, you'll find practical wisdom for living with intention, building intergenerational community, rejecting comfort as your goal, and staying focused on the race God has set before you.
If you're still here, God’s not done with you yet.
Keep running. Finish strong. Hear “Well done.”
Joshua 14
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, welcome to a special episode, special edition
of no Sanity Required.
In this short episode I'm goingto finish up a series I started
actually now quite a while back.
It was early in the summer andit was going to be a three-part
series and then it kind ofstretched into possibly a
four-part.
But anyway, I want to finish itup, the series we were calling
(00:22):
it.
I want to finish it up theseries we were calling it Start
Strong, run Hard, finish Well.
And we had a couple episodeswhere we talked about what it
looks like to to enter intoadulthood or to start strong in
your faith, whether you're a 15year old or a 40 year old and
you're a new believer.
What's it look like to to startstrong and then run hard?
(00:44):
Where we talked primarily aboutthe 20s, 30s and 40s For some
of us.
Maybe that would also includethe 50s For some of us that are
late.
You know we were late to theparenting game or we're still in
the prime of building abusiness or a ministry and don't
have plans of retiring.
You know some career paths youretire after 25 years and if you
(01:07):
start at 22, you know that'sthat's pretty early.
Uh, even like militaryretirement, I think can be
earlier than that 20 years, andyou can retire If you go in at
18, I've got good friends thatretired at 38.
So you know this is I don'twant to nail ages to this, but
for me I'm in my 50s and I donot have any intentions of
(01:27):
retiring from what I'm doing Ifeel like I'm in my prime.
If God gives me mental andphysical health, I don't want to
stop doing this.
I feel like we've just hit agear at SWO.
That is just phenomenal.
The scope and impact that we'rehaving that's, that's
meaningful depth of impact.
Um, so I, I'm, I'm hoping thatGod gives me the health to do
(01:50):
this for a long, long time tocome.
And so whether I'm beginning theprocess of finishing well now,
or that's something that's goingto come later, uh, for some of
our listeners you're in yourseventies, eighties.
I don't think we have anylisteners in their 90s, but I
know we have listeners in their80s and a lot in their 70s and a
ton in their 50s and 60s.
So, um, but then you know, I'llrate, I'll ask for a hand
(02:14):
raising at a slow event andthere'll be 600 teenagers in the
room and how many of us in nsrand it's crazy, couple hundred
people raise their handssometimes.
So we're all over.
We really try to target everyage group and as we shift
towards the school year and thefall, jb will be back on here.
Her summer responsibilitieswere just so heavy that she
(02:35):
couldn't we weren't able to haveher on a lot this summer, but
she'll be back on with me a lotgoing into the fall, and so what
I want to do is just wrap upthis.
Start strong, run hard, finishwell series.
We're going to talk aboutfinishing well.
For some people, they finishtheir race at 40.
For some people, they finishtheir race at 80.
For some people, they live tosee a hundred.
(02:56):
Whatever that looks like, youhave to start today finishing
well because, you don't know,you're not promised tomorrow.
So, um, let's, let's get intothis.
I hope it'll be anencouragement to you.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Welcome to no sanity required welcome to no sanity
required from the ministry ofsnowbird wilderness outfitters.
A podcast about the bibleculture and stories from around
the globe.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Okay, in this bonus episode, an extra episode this
week, which I feel like I owe itto you because we had a short
episode there the other day Iwant to talk about what it looks
like to finish well.
Right before the intro there, Imade a comment.
I said let's start today tofinish well, and that comes from
the fact that we don't knowwhen our last breath is going to
be drawn.
We don't know our last day onearth.
It was crazy a couple of weeksago where, in one week's time,
(03:55):
uh, ozzy Osbourne died, hulkHogan died and John MacArthur
died.
What a crazy contrast ofpersonalities and characters.
Characters, but all of themprofessed to have a relationship
with god.
Now I I don't know about ozzyosbourne, but I heard hulk hogan
talk about.
You know, probably some of y'allsaw a lot of videos got put
(04:16):
online from his baptism and himgiving a testimony to putting
his faith in the lord, puttinghis faith in jesus.
Pretty cool, I think.
That man gave his life toChrist and he finished his race.
His race was short, wasn't it?
I mean that guy got saved at 69or 70, died at 71, but he ran
his race and I don't know whenyou started your race, but we
(04:42):
all have the opportunity to runour race well, starting today,
regardless of how we've run itup until this point.
So you know, maybe to thispoint your race has been wobbly.
You know you've been running iton wobbly legs.
But, man, you can put your headdown and put your nose to the
grindstone, put your hand to theplow and get after it for the
(05:06):
kingdom of God, for the sake ofthe church, for the glory of
Christ and for the hope of thefuture and for your own holiness
.
Man, quit worrying about your401K and how much money you've
got and if you're going to beable to retire, just knock it
off.
Just knock that off, just quit.
Just quit worrying about that.
I can tell you right now Idon't worry about that.
(05:28):
I do not, and I don't say that.
I do not say that in a way thatI'm bragging about something.
I'm not saying it that way.
I'm saying there's a lot ofthings I do very poorly, but I
can tell you right now, when itcomes to worrying if I'm going
to have enough money to go oncruises and vacations and to
live in a really nice, I don'tcare, I don't give a rat's rear
(05:49):
end if the last 20 years of mylife are spent living uh, and
where I started my life as anadult?
Little, when I started outliving our lives, uh, together
as a married couple, in in thehayloft of a barn, literally.
And I'm not talking about abarn converted to a barn
dominium, I'm talking about welived in a barn, like.
(06:11):
We moved about 200 square balesof hay that we had baled and
put in that barn loft and wemoved it over and made a spot to
sleep, plugged in a mini fridgeand lived in a barn.
And it was crazy because in themornings I'd be out feeding
livestock.
I'd go out earlier than little.
(06:31):
I'd be out there feedinglivestock and we were working at
at, you know, the camp that weworked at, the master's in in
Virginia and it was a kind of adude ranch kind of feel to it
and we lived in the barn and I'dbe out there saddling horses,
feeding, feeding, doing themorning feeding and then
saddling horses getting startedfor the day's trail rides or
whatever we were doing and andwe did these breakfast chuck
(06:52):
wagon rides and I'd hear littleshoot.
I'd hear 22 pop pop.
It should be wake up, roll outof the bed and be looking
through the cracks in the in thefeed being under her on the on
the first floor of the barn, andshe'd be shooting rats through
the, you know, through thecracks in the floor and uh.
And so that's how we started it.
(07:18):
And y'all know, when we got toSWO and we started SWO, we lived
for those first three years andher grandparents old, old
summer fishing shack.
You know it was like a fishingcamping cabin with no amenities,
no running water, no bathroom.
It was an outhouse, not a portapotty, an outhouse, a hole in
the ground dug with a wood shacksitting over it and it was a
double seater.
You want to get close andintimate with somebody.
(07:39):
Me and my brother, me and oneof my cousins would be out there
doing what we call the tandembusiness.
You know, I mean it's themiddle of the winter and it's 20
degrees outside and y'all know20 degrees in these humid
mountains we live in a temperaterainforest 20 degrees here
feels like zero degrees inMinnesota.
That's just a fact.
I've been in zero degrees inthe Dakotas and 20 degrees here
(08:02):
is to to me hurts more, and sothat's how we were living.
Man, we did that for threeyears when we started SWO.
And so just saying all that tosay I don't care if I finish
that way.
Now I'm sure if I live into my70s and 80s, if I make it, I'm
probably going to need a littlemore creature comfort, but I'm
(08:23):
fine if I don't.
I'm probably going to need alittle more creature comfort,
but, but I'm fine if I don't.
And uh, and so I what I want toget at is quit worrying about
is my house.
If I invested enough money inthis, am I going to be able to
have enough to finish well interms of financial stability?
And it's like man, the Lordwill take you.
The bottom line is I'm notsaying you shouldn't be a good
(08:45):
steward of what God's given you,I'm saying you shouldn't worry
about it.
So the first step in finishingwell is quit worrying about it.
Quit worrying about if you'regoing to get Alzheimer's or if
you're going to get cancer, orif you're going to have enough
money in the bank to finish tofinish this thing out.
Quit worrying about it.
Well, I retired from my job,but now what am I supposed to do
(09:05):
and what's going to come nextand how I'm going to have
meaningful life?
Quit worrying about it quit,don't like.
At no point.
The Bible doesn't teach us notto worry.
It doesn't say be anxious fornothing, but in everything, by
prayer and supplication, letyour requests be made known to
God, unless you're over 65.
And then, well then, you can beanxious.
It doesn't say that.
(09:25):
And so I want to look at um andand listen.
For some of you who are 40,this is for you.
For some of you who are 30,this is for you.
Don't worry, don't fret, don'tsweat, just work as long as you
can labor, fight as long as youcan fight.
I want to read you a story fromJoshua, chapter 14.
(09:47):
This is about Caleb.
It says A delegation from thetribe of Judah, led by Caleb,
son of Jephunneh the Kenizzot,came to Joshua at Gilgal.
Now, this guy, caleb, was uhwas the son of a Kenizzat, which
you can go do your own researchon that, but he was not an
inside man.
In other words, caleb said toJoshua remember what the Lord
(10:08):
said to Moses, the man of God,about you and me when we were at
Kadesh Barnea.
I was 40 years old when Moses,the servant of the Lord, sent me
from Kadesh Barnea to explorethe land of Canaan.
I returned and gave an honestreport, but my brothers who went
with me frightened the peoplefrom entering the promised land.
For my part, I wholeheartedlyfollowed the Lord, my God.
(10:29):
So that day, moses solemnlypromised me, the land of Canaan
on which you were just walkingwill be your grant of land and
that that of your descendants,forever, because you
wholeheartedly followed the Lord, my God.
So, context this story's takenplace when Caleb is 85 years old
, and he references back tosomething that happened 45 years
(10:53):
earlier, when he was 40 yearsold, and he was one of a dozen
spies that were sent into Canaanto spy the land out.
These spies were they were acontingency of men that were
hand selected, one from eachtribe.
If I remember right and he'sgot, this was at a time when
Israel as a nation had beendelivered from slavery.
(11:15):
They were a nation of slaveslocked up under Egyptian rule
and dominion, and God had led agreat and powerful victory over
the Egyptians, and so hedelivered his people out of
slavery and they escaped it.
And God did all these crazymiracles to deliver them from
slavery, and they get right tothe point where now all they got
(11:38):
to do is cross the Jordan Riverand enter into the land that
God has promised them will betheir own land.
But to get there they got toroot out the people in the land,
they got to fight battles andwin battles, and if they'll do
that, god will use those battlesto make them stronger.
In other words, God ain't goingto just hand it to them.
He's going to make them workfor it a little bit, but at the
(11:59):
end of the day they can't go.
Well, we earned this, they say.
Oh no, god's grace and favor isthat he gave it to us, but he
used us.
He used our gifts and strengthsand he blessed our courage.
And it's an important principlefor Christians, for Christ
followers, that God issovereignly in control of your
life.
But he's going to call you intothe work and he's going to give
you tasks to do, and andstewardship of your resources.
(12:20):
And and.
So Caleb had been a goodsteward.
He was bold, he was courageous.
He's like let's go.
Let's go take the land thatGod's given us.
We're going to have to fightfor it, but he'll be with us and
we'll get it.
And then the people turned onCaleb.
Caleb and Joshua were the twomen that said let's go take
what's rightfully ours, asappointed to us by God.
And so that was his goal.
(12:41):
And the people turned on himand they said that like they
almost killed him.
And so, as a result, godpunished the people of Israel
and said, hey, this generation,everybody over the age of 40 or
20, whatever it was everybodythat's an adult is going to is
going to die out here in thewilderness.
And so for the next fourdecades they just drifted and
(13:02):
wandered in the wilderness.
God fed them and gave them foodand took care of them, but it
was just kind of, they're justthere.
They didn't enter into what Godhad had had promised them and
was going to give them.
Then they had to miss out onthe blessings of God because
they weren't willing to fightfor it, and God allowed Caleb
and Joshua to live and to get togo into the promised land.
(13:26):
They were the only two in thatgeneration that didn't die in
the wilderness.
And so now you know, but Calebwanted to go fight as a
40-year-old which, like I meanto be honest, 40, you're not a
spring chicken.
There's not many 40-year-oldLike.
Right now the world heavyweightboxing champ is Oleksandr Usyk,
(13:47):
who's a Ukrainian boxer.
That dude's 38, and people aretalking about just how crazy it
is that he's 38 and he's achampion.
Or think about when GeorgeForeman won the heavyweight
championship in the 90s and hewas in his mid 40s, you know.
(14:11):
Or I got a buddy that, a friendof mine who spent 24 years with
Dev Group, seal Team 6, 24years and that came on the heels
of, I think, eight or nineyears with SEAL Team 2.
So before he went toDevelopment Group, which is SEAL
Team 6, he had already lived apretty intense life.
That guy's my age and spent30-some years in the Navy and I
talked to him about, like, whatwas it like going on ops when
you're 40 and 42 and 43?
(14:33):
He said well, it's a lot harderthan doing it when you're 30.
I can tell you that this dude,caleb, at 40 was ready to go
fight.
Now he's 80.
He's 80.
And listen to what he just saidto Joshua.
He said hey, man, remember, godpromised Moses and when we were
with Moses, god promised usthat when I was 40, at the time
(14:55):
that I was going to get aninheritance in this land, I
followed the Lord to my wholeheart when everybody turned
against him and turned againstus and he said I want to go take
what's mine.
I want to go fight for what'smine as an 85 year old man.
So he says we continue now.
As you can see, the Lord haskept me alive and well, as he
promised, for all these 45 yearssince Moses made this promise,
(15:17):
even while Israel wandered inthe wilderness.
Today I'm 85 years old.
I'm as strong now as I was whenMoses sent me on that journey
and I can still travel and fightas well as I could then.
So give me the hill countrythat the Lord promised me.
You will remember that asscouts we found the descendants
of Anak living there in greatwalled towns, but if the Lord is
(15:38):
with me, I'll drive them out ofthe land, just as the Lord said
.
What a man of faith.
He said hey, I know there'ssome guys up there.
They're a huge race of people.
They're physically imposing,they're gigantic, these
barbarian Viking type.
I don't know how to paint thepicture.
But how are we going to gofight?
He said God will give mevictory.
(16:00):
I'm 85.
I'll go fight these suckers.
It's just this bold faith toact, to not retire and sit on
the porch and stare off at thesunset.
So Joshua blessed Caleb, son ofJephunneh, and gave Hebron to
him as his portion of land.
Hebron still belongs to thedescendants of Caleb.
Caleb, son of Jephunneh, andgave Hebron to him as his
portion of land.
Hebron still belongs to thedescendants of Caleb, son of
Jephunneh, the Kenizzite,because he wholeheartedly
(16:22):
followed the Lord, the God ofIsrael.
And then it says and the landhad rest from war.
It's crazy that this dude nowand don't get me wrong, I'm not
knocking, I'm not saying youshouldn't sit on the porch and
watch sunset, I'm saying Calebwas like Nope, that ain't for me
, I'm, I'm.
(16:42):
I spent 40 years wandering anddrifting with everybody else out
there in the wilderness and Ithink with Caleb, you see a late
resurgence in life where in hiseighties, he wants to make up
for lost time and finish.
Well, and he's like I want to.
I want to fight for what's mine.
And I think, as an older person, where you're 50s or 60s,
you're still maybe wrestlingwith some midlife crisis, 50s
for sure of what's my purpose.
(17:03):
How do I finish?
Well, like you know, yourcareer maybe is winding down,
but you don't have to retirefrom life.
You might retire from yourcareer as a teacher or a police
officer or uh, you know, uh, outof the military, whatever it is
, or business owner and you sellyour business.
You might retire from that, butdon't have a retired from life
(17:25):
mindset, like, don't, don't go,buy you a place in a retirement
community and and playpickleball and and, and that's
what you live for every day.
Now you can do that.
Hear me out, don't hear thespirit of what I'm saying, not
the letter of the law here.
There's nothing wrong with withliving in a retirement
community and playing pickleball.
I'm not.
(17:48):
I'm not creating a system ofdo's and don'ts here.
I'm saying that should not beyour purpose every day.
That should be your recreationand you should have recreation
even as an older person.
So when I get up every day, Ilove.
I'll give you an example.
I love shooting and I enjoyprecision shooting where I hand
load my ammunition and I will.
I will go out maybe three timesa week and shoot.
(18:11):
And when I go out and shoot, Ishoot three to six rounds,
typically Um and and at at a two300 yards and see how small of
a group I can make.
And that whole process is goingto take me a couple hours.
The the hand loading, um, thatprocess takes just a few minutes
(18:32):
.
But then going to the range,setting my stuff up, stretching
out, shooting and then puttingmy stuff up, come back to the
house.
Or if I'm going to train withmy handgun, maybe I fire 250
rounds and that whole thingtakes me an hour.
To go out and train.
It's not a lot of time.
(18:52):
What I'm getting at is I lovedoing that.
It's a good's, not a lot oftime.
What I'm getting at is I lovedoing that.
It's a good escape for me.
But that is.
That escape is there to help mejump right back into doing
things that really matter, likelike loving people.
Well, thinking about how we canadvance the gospel, writing a
letter to a missionary ortexting them, or sending them
Marco Polo, meeting with someonefrom my church or my community
(19:15):
for lunch and trying toencourage them, praying for
people studying the scripture.
So what I'm getting at is don'tlive for recreation.
Let recreation fuel your, giveyou extra energy to do the
things that really matter.
So let me run through the bulletpoint list here in finishing.
Well, so we start by.
(19:35):
I just gave you the intro there.
That's the first principle,that's the first idea.
All right.
Next, remember and rejoice.
Remember and rejoice.
What do I mean by that?
Well, there is.
Let me grab my Bible inEcclesiastes, chapter 11 and
(19:55):
verse 8.
Give me a second.
I should have already had this.
Ecclesiastes 11, 8, it says soif a person lives many years,
let him rejoice in them all, butlet him remember that the days
of darkness will be many.
So remember what God has done.
Rejoice in the good times,reflect even on the bad times.
(20:16):
Look back and take it all in.
Next, remember this thatThanksgiving produces joy.
We tend to remember and becomesad, but remember the goodness
of the Lord and give thanks.
If you can be a person thatexpresses thanksgiving to the
Lord daily, god will use that togrow you, stretch you, fulfill
and satisfy you.
As a 75-year-old, 85-year-oldman or woman, you could
(20:40):
experience the satisfaction thatthe Lord provides every day.
Next, I say this If you'restill here, the Lord, he ain't
finished with you.
He's not finished with you.
If you're still here, God'sstill got something for you to
do Every day.
He's got something for you todo.
So look to Jesus every day.
Look to Jesus every day.
Look to Jesus every day.
(21:04):
Every day, your feet hit thefloor.
Thank you, lord.
There's breath in my lungs, myheart is pulsing, my brain is
working, my eyes are, they'rebright and I can see, or they're
cloudy and I'm struggling andI've got aches and pains and I
can't see, but I got breath inmy lungs.
Look to Jesus every day andthank him for another day on
planet earth and imagine whatcan I do with this day?
You might be in an assistedliving facility, uh, which
(21:24):
probably not listening to this,but that day may come.
I don't know that anybody thatlistens to this is living in a
place like that now, but thatday may come.
And when that day comes,there's going to be ministry
opportunity for you to thepeople in that facility.
You know, and you you got to,every day look to Jesus and say
how can I, how can I leverageand maximize this day for the
Lord?
I don't know if you can hear itin the background this
(21:46):
microphone does a pretty goodjob of drowning it out but, um,
I, as I'm, as I'm talking, I canhear the Wednesday night girl
dance party at week 10 of SWO.
It's it's on the other side ofthe wall from where I'm at and
it is so loud.
Those kids are going crazy andthey're having the time of their
lives and I think, man,wouldn't it be awesome to have
(22:06):
that level of energy and justlack of inhibition?
Well, we're going to have thatwhen we meet the Lord, and the
longer you're on the earth, themore you can get excited about
the fact that you're going to.
You're going to experiencehealth and strength and vitality
Like like you've neverexperienced in this life.
We're all going to get that'swhat.
That's what waits for us on theother side.
(22:27):
So, um so, look to Jesus andlook to what his future plans
are.
Now here's the next one Don'tbe fixated on comfort.
Challenge yourself, contributeto the kingdom, work.
Your reward is in heaven.
When I say don't be, don't justbe fixated on comfort, let me
tell you what I'm not talkingabout.
I'm not talking about well,every day I go do CrossFit or I
(22:47):
do, I go do my exercises andthat's hard.
I challenged myself.
That ain't no challenge, man.
If you got physical, if you gotthe physical ability to do that
, that's just like normal, likeevery, every, every society in
history.
People didn't have to doCrossFit because living was one
long, ongoing workout.
(23:07):
When I say, don't be fixated oncomfort, you're not.
You're not challenging yourself.
If you get up and do an hourworkout once a day but then you
relax for six of your eveninghours, you know, watching your
shows and putting your feet up.
And I'm saying get up and go dosomething, man.
Go do something thatcontributes to the kingdom.
Go find an elderly person thatcan't help their self and serve
(23:27):
them and work for them.
Go support a foster family andhelp them out.
Like go talk to your pastor orthe person in charge of
discipleship or local ministryor missions at your church and
say put me to work, what can Ido?
There's plenty to be done.
And so get uncomfortable, go ona mission trip.
(23:48):
I mean, how many of you listento the sound of my voice have
never not one time, much lessonce a year, every couple of
years gone to a third worldcountry?
And I don't mean done fun,facebook worthy, instagram
posting worthy.
I mean it's like we live inthis society where everything's
(24:09):
got to get posted on Instagram.
I need everybody to listen tome so and look at me, or
Facebook.
And so what I'm talking aboutis go right now, start planning.
We're going to go to EastAfrica, to the West Nile region,
or we're going to go to areally rough part of Central
America and we're going to workwith people and we're not going
to take pictures of it and postit on Facebook.
(24:30):
We're going to just serve andlabor for a prize that doesn't
tarnish, perish or fade, andjust go minister to the least of
these.
Heck.
Do it in your town.
Figure out who needs that.
Figure out what, whatopportunities they are in your
community and contribute tokingdom work.
Share.
Share the gospel with people.
(24:51):
Share the gospel with people.
Strike up a friendship withsomebody that you think's not a
believer and find out if theyare or not and if they're not,
cultivate a relationship withthem and start to minister the
love of jesus to them.
You know, I'm not talking abouttelling you're a republican who
votes pro-life and and liketrump is your messiah.
I'm not talking about that.
That's.
I'm sick.
I'm that mess man.
(25:12):
I'm just sick of it.
We have a king.
His name is Jesus.
We are on a mission.
It is not to preserve ademocratic republic, it's to win
the lost, shine the light intothe darkness.
If Christians would get seriousabout evangelism, serious about
discipleship, and would use andleverage their 40s, 50s, but
(25:33):
really their 60s, 70s and intotheir 80s to do that.
There's a man that's going tolisten to this and I read a
comment from him last week.
His name's John.
He's a good friend of mine.
He's a faithful member at RedOak Church.
He's a supporter of SWO.
John is approaching 80, and heand his wife have recruited and
brought more people to churchthan anybody else at our church.
(25:54):
They are always on mission.
They're trying to win theirneighbors, they're trying to
reach people in their communityand in their sphere of influence
, and it's very challenging tome and I love it.
Next, don't fear death.
It's coming for you.
It is coming for you.
Death is undefeated, exceptagainst Jesus.
It will come for us all.
It is coming for you.
(26:16):
Death is undefeated, exceptagainst Jesus.
It will come for us all.
And rejoice again Ecclesiastes11.8, that you lived as long as
you did and just wait for it anddie well, die well.
It's a blessing to die well,finishing well.
We can't talk about finishingwell if we don't talk about
dying well, and for some of youit's going to be a long, hard,
brutal death of cancer orAlzheimer's or whatever it is.
(26:36):
But listen, whatever you endurein this life, what waits on the
other side is glorious, andPaul says in Romans 8, 18, I
consider the suffering of thispresent life but this present
time not worth comparing to theglory that's to be revealed in
Christ Jesus.
And so death will give way tothe ultimate reality and the
ultimate blessing no moresickness, no more sorrow,
(26:59):
glorified existence.
It's going to be awesome.
Next, be gospel driven.
Be on mission every day.
Let the gospel drive what youdo.
Enjoy the simple things.
Enjoy the simple things in lifethe sunshine, the sunrise, a
good meal, a day of recreation,a visit with grandkids or great
grandkids, or just your, yourson and daughter, son or
(27:19):
daughter, like.
Enjoy going and watching a ballgame, or you're going to a
movie, going to watch your, youknow, going with a friend or
your spouse and watching a movie.
Just enjoy the simple things.
Enjoy the taste of sweet tea orred meat or your favorite fruit
, the sweetness of watermelon inthe summer.
(27:39):
Savor it and be thankful for it, which, by the way, put salt on
it.
That's what we Southerners do,but enjoy it.
Next, this is big, and I saidthis on the first two episodes
of this Don't complain, don'twhine, don't be a baby.
Don't complain, don't whine,don't be a baby.
Don't be a wuss, don't be asissy.
Just because you're 75 yearsold and your backbone hurts and
your knees are replaced and youhave a hard time getting out of
(28:02):
bed, don't complain.
Nobody wants to listen to youwhine.
God's giving you breath and Iknow it hurts and I know it's
hard to get old and I hate itfor you and I'm right behind you
.
But don't whine.
If you're, if you're a personwho's prone to negativity,
attack that every single day,every single day.
(28:22):
And then here's a warningYou're never too old to fall
into sin, but you're also nevertoo old to receive forgiveness
and restoration.
So trust the Lord to providethat for you.
Lean into his grace if you'vemade mistakes and you faltered
and failed.
Have the lion's mindset ofCaleb and say I'm going to
(28:43):
finish well and when I mess up,I'm going to lean into God's
grace.
I think the conclusion of thiswhole series would be as older
people, we can invest in youngerpeople, but we can also learn
from them.
Young people need to look toand learn from older people.
Everybody on this list can lookto someone older and can invest
in someone younger, and maybeyou know you might be on the
(29:06):
higher end of the scale, mightnot be anybody older than you
that you can really look to, butinvest in younger people, speak
, speak into their lives.
Let's be a let.
Let let the church of JesusChrist be a church that's full
of people who love one anotherand invest in one another,
regardless of age.
Old people, the young people,have an energy that we can, we
(29:26):
can draw from.
I'm around them all the timeand I'm grateful for it, and it
motivates and encourages me.
Young people, old people, knowa whole lot more than you think
we do.
We've lived a whole lot of lifeand we've got something we can
offer you.
So open your heart and yourmind and ask what you might
learn from an older saint, anolder brother or sister in
(29:48):
Christ, because there'ssomething you can learn, I
promise you.
And so let's encourage oneanother, learn from one another
and be in this thing together asGod's sons and daughters on
mission to run our race well andto finish our race well.
And again, please don't tunethis out and go.
Oh, that's good, I'll send thatto my granddad.
(30:09):
No, it's for all of us.
We don't know when we're goingto die.
We don't know our last day onearth.
We to my granddad.
No, it's for all of us.
We don't know when we're goingto die.
We don't know our last day onearth.
We don't know when we're goingto finish our race.
I've in, in 31 years of doingthis, and 28 of them being at
SWO man I've I've been to a lotof teenage funerals, a lot of
funerals of young men and womenin their twenties babies I've.
(30:29):
I've stood over the casket andled the funeral message, trying
to speak hope to a family whohad lost a child, a baby, a
toddler, a teenager.
I've done that more times thanI care to think about and
remember.
But the thing is, death cancome for us at any time.
So, regardless of whetheryou're right now starting or
(30:52):
you're in the thick of life,you're in your 30s or 40s, 20s,
30s, 40s, or you're winding downyour career and thinking about
how am I going to close thisstuff out?
How am I going to finish thisLike run hard, start strong, run
hard and then finish well.
But here's the thing You'vealways got to be ready to finish
(31:13):
well, because you don't knowwhen you're going to finish.
If you're into your 70s, thenyou are finishing.
You might be here 20 more years, but you're finishing, so you
can strategically begin tofinish well, but for those of us
that are not there yet, we justdon't know when that day is
going to come.
Let's be ready to face Jesuswith a smile on our face and a
fist triumphant raised in theair, to say we did it for your
(31:34):
glory, lord, and to hear him saywell done, enter into your rest
, receive your reward.
Uh, it's going to be awesome.
Love you guys.
Uh, hope you uh are blessedtoday, the day that you're
listening to this.
I pray that God's blessing ison you and uh hope you've
enjoyed having this bonusepisode this week.
(31:55):
Talk to you soon.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Thanks for listening to no Sanity Required.
Please take a moment tosubscribe and leave a rating.
It really helps.
Visit us at SWOutfitterscom tosee all of our programming and
resources, and we'll see younext week on no Sanity Required.
Hey, welcome to a special episode, special edition
of no Sanity Required.
In this short episode I'm goingto finish up a series I started
actually now quite a while back.
It was early in the summer andit was going to be a three-part
series and then it kind ofstretched into possibly a
four-part.
But anyway, I want to finish itup, the series we were calling
(00:22):
it.
I want to finish it up theseries we were calling it Start
Strong, run Hard, finish Well.
And we had a couple episodeswhere we talked about what it
looks like to to enter intoadulthood or to start strong in
your faith, whether you're a 15year old or a 40 year old and
you're a new believer.
What's it look like to to startstrong and then run hard?
(00:44):
Where we talked primarily aboutthe 20s, 30s and 40s For some
of us.
Maybe that would also includethe 50s For some of us that are
late.
You know we were late to theparenting game or we're still in
the prime of building abusiness or a ministry and don't
have plans of retiring.
You know some career paths youretire after 25 years and if you
(01:07):
start at 22, you know that'sthat's pretty early.
Uh, even like militaryretirement, I think can be
earlier than that 20 years, andyou can retire If you go in at
18, I've got good friends thatretired at 38.
So you know this is I don'twant to nail ages to this, but
for me I'm in my 50s and I donot have any intentions of
(01:27):
retiring from what I'm doing Ifeel like I'm in my prime.
If God gives me mental andphysical health, I don't want to
stop doing this.
I feel like we've just hit agear at SWO.
That is just phenomenal.
The scope and impact that we'rehaving that's, that's
meaningful depth of impact.
Um, so I, I'm, I'm hoping thatGod gives me the health to do
(01:50):
this for a long, long time tocome.
And so whether I'm beginning theprocess of finishing well now,
or that's something that's goingto come later, uh, for some of
our listeners you're in yourseventies, eighties.
I don't think we have anylisteners in their 90s, but I
know we have listeners in their80s and a lot in their 70s and a
ton in their 50s and 60s.
So, um, but then you know, I'llrate, I'll ask for a hand
(02:14):
raising at a slow event andthere'll be 600 teenagers in the
room and how many of us in nsrand it's crazy, couple hundred
people raise their handssometimes.
So we're all over.
We really try to target everyage group and as we shift
towards the school year and thefall, jb will be back on here.
Her summer responsibilitieswere just so heavy that she
(02:35):
couldn't we weren't able to haveher on a lot this summer, but
she'll be back on with me a lotgoing into the fall, and so what
I want to do is just wrap upthis.
Start strong, run hard, finishwell series.
We're going to talk aboutfinishing well.
For some people, they finishtheir race at 40.
For some people, they finishtheir race at 80.
For some people, they live tosee a hundred.
(02:56):
Whatever that looks like, youhave to start today finishing
well because, you don't know,you're not promised tomorrow.
So, um, let's, let's get intothis.
I hope it'll be anencouragement to you.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Welcome to no sanity required welcome to no sanity
required from the ministry ofsnowbird wilderness outfitters.
A podcast about the bibleculture and stories from around
the globe.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Okay, in this bonus episode, an extra episode this
week, which I feel like I owe itto you because we had a short
episode there the other day Iwant to talk about what it looks
like to finish well.
Right before the intro there, Imade a comment.
I said let's start today tofinish well, and that comes from
the fact that we don't knowwhen our last breath is going to
be drawn.
We don't know our last day onearth.
It was crazy a couple of weeksago where, in one week's time,
(03:55):
uh, ozzy Osbourne died, hulkHogan died and John MacArthur
died.
What a crazy contrast ofpersonalities and characters.
Characters, but all of themprofessed to have a relationship
with god.
Now I I don't know about ozzyosbourne, but I heard hulk hogan
talk about.
You know, probably some of y'allsaw a lot of videos got put
(04:16):
online from his baptism and himgiving a testimony to putting
his faith in the lord, puttinghis faith in jesus.
Pretty cool, I think.
That man gave his life toChrist and he finished his race.
His race was short, wasn't it?
I mean that guy got saved at 69or 70, died at 71, but he ran
his race and I don't know whenyou started your race, but we
(04:42):
all have the opportunity to runour race well, starting today,
regardless of how we've run itup until this point.
So you know, maybe to thispoint your race has been wobbly.
You know you've been running iton wobbly legs.
But, man, you can put your headdown and put your nose to the
grindstone, put your hand to theplow and get after it for the
(05:06):
kingdom of God, for the sake ofthe church, for the glory of
Christ and for the hope of thefuture and for your own holiness
.
Man, quit worrying about your401K and how much money you've
got and if you're going to beable to retire, just knock it
off.
Just knock that off, just quit.
Just quit worrying about that.
I can tell you right now Idon't worry about that.
(05:28):
I do not, and I don't say that.
I do not say that in a way thatI'm bragging about something.
I'm not saying it that way.
I'm saying there's a lot ofthings I do very poorly, but I
can tell you right now, when itcomes to worrying if I'm going
to have enough money to go oncruises and vacations and to
live in a really nice, I don'tcare, I don't give a rat's rear
(05:49):
end if the last 20 years of mylife are spent living uh, and
where I started my life as anadult?
Little, when I started outliving our lives, uh, together
as a married couple, in in thehayloft of a barn, literally.
And I'm not talking about abarn converted to a barn
dominium, I'm talking about welived in a barn, like.
(06:11):
We moved about 200 square balesof hay that we had baled and
put in that barn loft and wemoved it over and made a spot to
sleep, plugged in a mini fridgeand lived in a barn.
And it was crazy because in themornings I'd be out feeding
livestock.
I'd go out earlier than little.
(06:31):
I'd be out there feedinglivestock and we were working at
at, you know, the camp that weworked at, the master's in in
Virginia and it was a kind of adude ranch kind of feel to it
and we lived in the barn and I'dbe out there saddling horses,
feeding, feeding, doing themorning feeding and then
saddling horses getting startedfor the day's trail rides or
whatever we were doing and andwe did these breakfast chuck
(06:52):
wagon rides and I'd hear littleshoot.
I'd hear 22 pop pop.
It should be wake up, roll outof the bed and be looking
through the cracks in the in thefeed being under her on the on
the first floor of the barn, andshe'd be shooting rats through
the, you know, through thecracks in the floor and uh.
And so that's how we started it.
(07:18):
And y'all know, when we got toSWO and we started SWO, we lived
for those first three years andher grandparents old, old
summer fishing shack.
You know it was like a fishingcamping cabin with no amenities,
no running water, no bathroom.
It was an outhouse, not a portapotty, an outhouse, a hole in
the ground dug with a wood shacksitting over it and it was a
double seater.
You want to get close andintimate with somebody.
(07:39):
Me and my brother, me and oneof my cousins would be out there
doing what we call the tandembusiness.
You know, I mean it's themiddle of the winter and it's 20
degrees outside and y'all know20 degrees in these humid
mountains we live in a temperaterainforest 20 degrees here
feels like zero degrees inMinnesota.
That's just a fact.
I've been in zero degrees inthe Dakotas and 20 degrees here
(08:02):
is to to me hurts more, and sothat's how we were living.
Man, we did that for threeyears when we started SWO.
And so just saying all that tosay I don't care if I finish
that way.
Now I'm sure if I live into my70s and 80s, if I make it, I'm
probably going to need a littlemore creature comfort, but I'm
(08:23):
fine if I don't.
I'm probably going to need alittle more creature comfort,
but, but I'm fine if I don't.
And uh, and so I what I want toget at is quit worrying about
is my house.
If I invested enough money inthis, am I going to be able to
have enough to finish well interms of financial stability?
And it's like man, the Lordwill take you.
The bottom line is I'm notsaying you shouldn't be a good
(08:45):
steward of what God's given you,I'm saying you shouldn't worry
about it.
So the first step in finishingwell is quit worrying about it.
Quit worrying about if you'regoing to get Alzheimer's or if
you're going to get cancer, orif you're going to have enough
money in the bank to finish tofinish this thing out.
Quit worrying about it.
Well, I retired from my job,but now what am I supposed to do
(09:05):
and what's going to come nextand how I'm going to have
meaningful life?
Quit worrying about it quit,don't like.
At no point.
The Bible doesn't teach us notto worry.
It doesn't say be anxious fornothing, but in everything, by
prayer and supplication, letyour requests be made known to
God, unless you're over 65.
And then, well then, you can beanxious.
It doesn't say that.
(09:25):
And so I want to look at um andand listen.
For some of you who are 40,this is for you.
For some of you who are 30,this is for you.
Don't worry, don't fret, don'tsweat, just work as long as you
can labor, fight as long as youcan fight.
I want to read you a story fromJoshua, chapter 14.
(09:47):
This is about Caleb.
It says A delegation from thetribe of Judah, led by Caleb,
son of Jephunneh the Kenizzot,came to Joshua at Gilgal.
Now, this guy, caleb, was uhwas the son of a Kenizzat, which
you can go do your own researchon that, but he was not an
inside man.
In other words, caleb said toJoshua remember what the Lord
(10:08):
said to Moses, the man of God,about you and me when we were at
Kadesh Barnea.
I was 40 years old when Moses,the servant of the Lord, sent me
from Kadesh Barnea to explorethe land of Canaan.
I returned and gave an honestreport, but my brothers who went
with me frightened the peoplefrom entering the promised land.
For my part, I wholeheartedlyfollowed the Lord, my God.
(10:29):
So that day, moses solemnlypromised me, the land of Canaan
on which you were just walkingwill be your grant of land and
that that of your descendants,forever, because you
wholeheartedly followed the Lord, my God.
So, context this story's takenplace when Caleb is 85 years old
, and he references back tosomething that happened 45 years
(10:53):
earlier, when he was 40 yearsold, and he was one of a dozen
spies that were sent into Canaanto spy the land out.
These spies were they were acontingency of men that were
hand selected, one from eachtribe.
If I remember right and he'sgot, this was at a time when
Israel as a nation had beendelivered from slavery.
(11:15):
They were a nation of slaveslocked up under Egyptian rule
and dominion, and God had led agreat and powerful victory over
the Egyptians, and so hedelivered his people out of
slavery and they escaped it.
And God did all these crazymiracles to deliver them from
slavery, and they get right tothe point where now all they got
(11:38):
to do is cross the Jordan Riverand enter into the land that
God has promised them will betheir own land.
But to get there they got toroot out the people in the land,
they got to fight battles andwin battles, and if they'll do
that, god will use those battlesto make them stronger.
In other words, God ain't goingto just hand it to them.
He's going to make them workfor it a little bit, but at the
(11:59):
end of the day they can't go.
Well, we earned this, they say.
Oh no, god's grace and favor isthat he gave it to us, but he
used us.
He used our gifts and strengthsand he blessed our courage.
And it's an important principlefor Christians, for Christ
followers, that God issovereignly in control of your
life.
But he's going to call you intothe work and he's going to give
you tasks to do, and andstewardship of your resources.
(12:20):
And and.
So Caleb had been a goodsteward.
He was bold, he was courageous.
He's like let's go.
Let's go take the land thatGod's given us.
We're going to have to fightfor it, but he'll be with us and
we'll get it.
And then the people turned onCaleb.
Caleb and Joshua were the twomen that said let's go take
what's rightfully ours, asappointed to us by God.
And so that was his goal.
(12:41):
And the people turned on himand they said that like they
almost killed him.
And so, as a result, godpunished the people of Israel
and said, hey, this generation,everybody over the age of 40 or
20, whatever it was everybodythat's an adult is going to is
going to die out here in thewilderness.
And so for the next fourdecades they just drifted and
(13:02):
wandered in the wilderness.
God fed them and gave them foodand took care of them, but it
was just kind of, they're justthere.
They didn't enter into what Godhad had had promised them and
was going to give them.
Then they had to miss out onthe blessings of God because
they weren't willing to fightfor it, and God allowed Caleb
and Joshua to live and to get togo into the promised land.
(13:26):
They were the only two in thatgeneration that didn't die in
the wilderness.
And so now you know, but Calebwanted to go fight as a
40-year-old which, like I meanto be honest, 40, you're not a
spring chicken.
There's not many 40-year-oldLike.
Right now the world heavyweightboxing champ is Oleksandr Usyk,
(13:47):
who's a Ukrainian boxer.
That dude's 38, and people aretalking about just how crazy it
is that he's 38 and he's achampion.
Or think about when GeorgeForeman won the heavyweight
championship in the 90s and hewas in his mid 40s, you know.
(14:11):
Or I got a buddy that, a friendof mine who spent 24 years with
Dev Group, seal Team 6, 24years and that came on the heels
of, I think, eight or nineyears with SEAL Team 2.
So before he went toDevelopment Group, which is SEAL
Team 6, he had already lived apretty intense life.
That guy's my age and spent30-some years in the Navy and I
talked to him about, like, whatwas it like going on ops when
you're 40 and 42 and 43?
(14:33):
He said well, it's a lot harderthan doing it when you're 30.
I can tell you that this dude,caleb, at 40 was ready to go
fight.
Now he's 80.
He's 80.
And listen to what he just saidto Joshua.
He said hey, man, remember, godpromised Moses and when we were
with Moses, god promised usthat when I was 40, at the time
(14:55):
that I was going to get aninheritance in this land, I
followed the Lord to my wholeheart when everybody turned
against him and turned againstus and he said I want to go take
what's mine.
I want to go fight for what'smine as an 85 year old man.
So he says we continue now.
As you can see, the Lord haskept me alive and well, as he
promised, for all these 45 yearssince Moses made this promise,
(15:17):
even while Israel wandered inthe wilderness.
Today I'm 85 years old.
I'm as strong now as I was whenMoses sent me on that journey
and I can still travel and fightas well as I could then.
So give me the hill countrythat the Lord promised me.
You will remember that asscouts we found the descendants
of Anak living there in greatwalled towns, but if the Lord is
(15:38):
with me, I'll drive them out ofthe land, just as the Lord said
.
What a man of faith.
He said hey, I know there'ssome guys up there.
They're a huge race of people.
They're physically imposing,they're gigantic, these
barbarian Viking type.
I don't know how to paint thepicture.
But how are we going to gofight?
He said God will give mevictory.
(16:00):
I'm 85.
I'll go fight these suckers.
It's just this bold faith toact, to not retire and sit on
the porch and stare off at thesunset.
So Joshua blessed Caleb, son ofJephunneh, and gave Hebron to
him as his portion of land.
Hebron still belongs to thedescendants of Caleb.
Caleb, son of Jephunneh, andgave Hebron to him as his
portion of land.
Hebron still belongs to thedescendants of Caleb, son of
Jephunneh, the Kenizzite,because he wholeheartedly
(16:22):
followed the Lord, the God ofIsrael.
And then it says and the landhad rest from war.
It's crazy that this dude nowand don't get me wrong, I'm not
knocking, I'm not saying youshouldn't sit on the porch and
watch sunset, I'm saying Calebwas like Nope, that ain't for me
, I'm, I'm.
(16:42):
I spent 40 years wandering anddrifting with everybody else out
there in the wilderness and Ithink with Caleb, you see a late
resurgence in life where in hiseighties, he wants to make up
for lost time and finish.
Well, and he's like I want to.
I want to fight for what's mine.
And I think, as an older person, where you're 50s or 60s,
you're still maybe wrestlingwith some midlife crisis, 50s
for sure of what's my purpose.
(17:03):
How do I finish?
Well, like you know, yourcareer maybe is winding down,
but you don't have to retirefrom life.
You might retire from yourcareer as a teacher or a police
officer or uh, you know, uh, outof the military, whatever it is
, or business owner and you sellyour business.
You might retire from that, butdon't have a retired from life
(17:25):
mindset, like, don't, don't go,buy you a place in a retirement
community and and playpickleball and and, and that's
what you live for every day.
Now you can do that.
Hear me out, don't hear thespirit of what I'm saying, not
the letter of the law here.
There's nothing wrong with withliving in a retirement
community and playing pickleball.
I'm not.
(17:48):
I'm not creating a system ofdo's and don'ts here.
I'm saying that should not beyour purpose every day.
That should be your recreationand you should have recreation
even as an older person.
So when I get up every day, Ilove.
I'll give you an example.
I love shooting and I enjoyprecision shooting where I hand
load my ammunition and I will.
I will go out maybe three timesa week and shoot.
(18:11):
And when I go out and shoot, Ishoot three to six rounds,
typically Um and and at at a two300 yards and see how small of
a group I can make.
And that whole process is goingto take me a couple hours.
The the hand loading, um, thatprocess takes just a few minutes
(18:32):
.
But then going to the range,setting my stuff up, stretching
out, shooting and then puttingmy stuff up, come back to the
house.
Or if I'm going to train withmy handgun, maybe I fire 250
rounds and that whole thingtakes me an hour.
To go out and train.
It's not a lot of time.
(18:52):
What I'm getting at is I lovedoing that.
It's a good's, not a lot oftime.
What I'm getting at is I lovedoing that.
It's a good escape for me.
But that is.
That escape is there to help mejump right back into doing
things that really matter, likelike loving people.
Well, thinking about how we canadvance the gospel, writing a
letter to a missionary ortexting them, or sending them
Marco Polo, meeting with someonefrom my church or my community
(19:15):
for lunch and trying toencourage them, praying for
people studying the scripture.
So what I'm getting at is don'tlive for recreation.
Let recreation fuel your, giveyou extra energy to do the
things that really matter.
So let me run through the bulletpoint list here in finishing.
Well, so we start by.
(19:35):
I just gave you the intro there.
That's the first principle,that's the first idea.
All right.
Next, remember and rejoice.
Remember and rejoice.
What do I mean by that?
Well, there is.
Let me grab my Bible inEcclesiastes, chapter 11 and
(19:55):
verse 8.
Give me a second.
I should have already had this.
Ecclesiastes 11, 8, it says soif a person lives many years,
let him rejoice in them all, butlet him remember that the days
of darkness will be many.
So remember what God has done.
Rejoice in the good times,reflect even on the bad times.
(20:16):
Look back and take it all in.
Next, remember this thatThanksgiving produces joy.
We tend to remember and becomesad, but remember the goodness
of the Lord and give thanks.
If you can be a person thatexpresses thanksgiving to the
Lord daily, god will use that togrow you, stretch you, fulfill
and satisfy you.
As a 75-year-old, 85-year-oldman or woman, you could
(20:40):
experience the satisfaction thatthe Lord provides every day.
Next, I say this If you'restill here, the Lord, he ain't
finished with you.
He's not finished with you.
If you're still here, God'sstill got something for you to
do Every day.
He's got something for you todo.
So look to Jesus every day.
Look to Jesus every day.
Look to Jesus every day.
(21:04):
Every day, your feet hit thefloor.
Thank you, lord.
There's breath in my lungs, myheart is pulsing, my brain is
working, my eyes are, they'rebright and I can see, or they're
cloudy and I'm struggling andI've got aches and pains and I
can't see, but I got breath inmy lungs.
Look to Jesus every day andthank him for another day on
planet earth and imagine whatcan I do with this day?
You might be in an assistedliving facility, uh, which
(21:24):
probably not listening to this,but that day may come.
I don't know that anybody thatlistens to this is living in a
place like that now, but thatday may come.
And when that day comes,there's going to be ministry
opportunity for you to thepeople in that facility.
You know, and you you got to,every day look to Jesus and say
how can I, how can I leverageand maximize this day for the
Lord?
I don't know if you can hear itin the background this
(21:46):
microphone does a pretty goodjob of drowning it out but, um,
I, as I'm, as I'm talking, I canhear the Wednesday night girl
dance party at week 10 of SWO.
It's it's on the other side ofthe wall from where I'm at and
it is so loud.
Those kids are going crazy andthey're having the time of their
lives and I think, man,wouldn't it be awesome to have
(22:06):
that level of energy and justlack of inhibition?
Well, we're going to have thatwhen we meet the Lord, and the
longer you're on the earth, themore you can get excited about
the fact that you're going to.
You're going to experiencehealth and strength and vitality
Like like you've neverexperienced in this life.
We're all going to get that'swhat.
That's what waits for us on theother side.
(22:27):
So, um so, look to Jesus andlook to what his future plans
are.
Now here's the next one Don'tbe fixated on comfort.
Challenge yourself, contributeto the kingdom, work.
Your reward is in heaven.
When I say don't be, don't justbe fixated on comfort, let me
tell you what I'm not talkingabout.
I'm not talking about well,every day I go do CrossFit or I
(22:47):
do, I go do my exercises andthat's hard.
I challenged myself.
That ain't no challenge, man.
If you got physical, if you gotthe physical ability to do that
, that's just like normal, likeevery, every, every society in
history.
People didn't have to doCrossFit because living was one
long, ongoing workout.
(23:07):
When I say, don't be fixated oncomfort, you're not.
You're not challenging yourself.
If you get up and do an hourworkout once a day but then you
relax for six of your eveninghours, you know, watching your
shows and putting your feet up.
And I'm saying get up and go dosomething, man.
Go do something thatcontributes to the kingdom.
Go find an elderly person thatcan't help their self and serve
(23:27):
them and work for them.
Go support a foster family andhelp them out.
Like go talk to your pastor orthe person in charge of
discipleship or local ministryor missions at your church and
say put me to work, what can Ido?
There's plenty to be done.
And so get uncomfortable, go ona mission trip.
(23:48):
I mean, how many of you listento the sound of my voice have
never not one time, much lessonce a year, every couple of
years gone to a third worldcountry?
And I don't mean done fun,facebook worthy, instagram
posting worthy.
I mean it's like we live inthis society where everything's
(24:09):
got to get posted on Instagram.
I need everybody to listen tome so and look at me, or
Facebook.
And so what I'm talking aboutis go right now, start planning.
We're going to go to EastAfrica, to the West Nile region,
or we're going to go to areally rough part of Central
America and we're going to workwith people and we're not going
to take pictures of it and postit on Facebook.
(24:30):
We're going to just serve andlabor for a prize that doesn't
tarnish, perish or fade, andjust go minister to the least of
these.
Heck.
Do it in your town.
Figure out who needs that.
Figure out what, whatopportunities they are in your
community and contribute tokingdom work.
Share.
Share the gospel with people.
(24:51):
Share the gospel with people.
Strike up a friendship withsomebody that you think's not a
believer and find out if theyare or not and if they're not,
cultivate a relationship withthem and start to minister the
love of jesus to them.
You know, I'm not talking abouttelling you're a republican who
votes pro-life and and liketrump is your messiah.
I'm not talking about that.
That's.
I'm sick.
I'm that mess man.
(25:12):
I'm just sick of it.
We have a king.
His name is Jesus.
We are on a mission.
It is not to preserve ademocratic republic, it's to win
the lost, shine the light intothe darkness.
If Christians would get seriousabout evangelism, serious about
discipleship, and would use andleverage their 40s, 50s, but
(25:33):
really their 60s, 70s and intotheir 80s to do that.
There's a man that's going tolisten to this and I read a
comment from him last week.
His name's John.
He's a good friend of mine.
He's a faithful member at RedOak Church.
He's a supporter of SWO.
John is approaching 80, and heand his wife have recruited and
brought more people to churchthan anybody else at our church.
(25:54):
They are always on mission.
They're trying to win theirneighbors, they're trying to
reach people in their communityand in their sphere of influence
, and it's very challenging tome and I love it.
Next, don't fear death.
It's coming for you.
It is coming for you.
Death is undefeated, exceptagainst Jesus.
It will come for us all.
It is coming for you.
(26:16):
Death is undefeated, exceptagainst Jesus.
It will come for us all.
And rejoice again Ecclesiastes11.8, that you lived as long as
you did and just wait for it anddie well, die well.
It's a blessing to die well,finishing well.
We can't talk about finishingwell if we don't talk about
dying well, and for some of youit's going to be a long, hard,
brutal death of cancer orAlzheimer's or whatever it is.
(26:36):
But listen, whatever you endurein this life, what waits on the
other side is glorious, andPaul says in Romans 8, 18, I
consider the suffering of thispresent life but this present
time not worth comparing to theglory that's to be revealed in
Christ Jesus.
And so death will give way tothe ultimate reality and the
ultimate blessing no moresickness, no more sorrow,
(26:59):
glorified existence.
It's going to be awesome.
Next, be gospel driven.
Be on mission every day.
Let the gospel drive what youdo.
Enjoy the simple things.
Enjoy the simple things in lifethe sunshine, the sunrise, a
good meal, a day of recreation,a visit with grandkids or great
grandkids, or just your, yourson and daughter, son or
(27:19):
daughter, like.
Enjoy going and watching a ballgame, or you're going to a
movie, going to watch your, youknow, going with a friend or
your spouse and watching a movie.
Just enjoy the simple things.
Enjoy the taste of sweet tea orred meat or your favorite fruit
, the sweetness of watermelon inthe summer.
(27:39):
Savor it and be thankful for it, which, by the way, put salt on
it.
That's what we Southerners do,but enjoy it.
Next, this is big, and I saidthis on the first two episodes
of this Don't complain, don'twhine, don't be a baby.
Don't complain, don't whine,don't be a baby.
Don't be a wuss, don't be asissy.
Just because you're 75 yearsold and your backbone hurts and
your knees are replaced and youhave a hard time getting out of
(28:02):
bed, don't complain.
Nobody wants to listen to youwhine.
God's giving you breath and Iknow it hurts and I know it's
hard to get old and I hate itfor you and I'm right behind you
.
But don't whine.
If you're, if you're a personwho's prone to negativity,
attack that every single day,every single day.
(28:22):
And then here's a warningYou're never too old to fall
into sin, but you're also nevertoo old to receive forgiveness
and restoration.
So trust the Lord to providethat for you.
Lean into his grace if you'vemade mistakes and you faltered
and failed.
Have the lion's mindset ofCaleb and say I'm going to
(28:43):
finish well and when I mess up,I'm going to lean into God's
grace.
I think the conclusion of thiswhole series would be as older
people, we can invest in youngerpeople, but we can also learn
from them.
Young people need to look toand learn from older people.
Everybody on this list can lookto someone older and can invest
in someone younger, and maybeyou know you might be on the
(29:06):
higher end of the scale, mightnot be anybody older than you
that you can really look to, butinvest in younger people, speak
, speak into their lives.
Let's be a let.
Let let the church of JesusChrist be a church that's full
of people who love one anotherand invest in one another,
regardless of age.
Old people, the young people,have an energy that we can, we
(29:26):
can draw from.
I'm around them all the timeand I'm grateful for it, and it
motivates and encourages me.
Young people, old people, knowa whole lot more than you think
we do.
We've lived a whole lot of lifeand we've got something we can
offer you.
So open your heart and yourmind and ask what you might
learn from an older saint, anolder brother or sister in
(29:48):
Christ, because there'ssomething you can learn, I
promise you.
And so let's encourage oneanother, learn from one another
and be in this thing together asGod's sons and daughters on
mission to run our race well andto finish our race well.
And again, please don't tunethis out and go.
Oh, that's good, I'll send thatto my granddad.
(30:09):
No, it's for all of us.
We don't know when we're goingto die.
We don't know our last day onearth.
We to my granddad.
No, it's for all of us.
We don't know when we're goingto die.
We don't know our last day onearth.
We don't know when we're goingto finish our race.
I've in, in 31 years of doingthis, and 28 of them being at
SWO man I've I've been to a lotof teenage funerals, a lot of
funerals of young men and womenin their twenties babies I've.
(30:29):
I've stood over the casket andled the funeral message, trying
to speak hope to a family whohad lost a child, a baby, a
toddler, a teenager.
I've done that more times thanI care to think about and
remember.
But the thing is, death cancome for us at any time.
So, regardless of whetheryou're right now starting or
(30:52):
you're in the thick of life,you're in your 30s or 40s, 20s,
30s, 40s, or you're winding downyour career and thinking about
how am I going to close thisstuff out?
How am I going to finish thisLike run hard, start strong, run
hard and then finish well.
But here's the thing You'vealways got to be ready to finish
(31:13):
well, because you don't knowwhen you're going to finish.
If you're into your 70s, thenyou are finishing.
You might be here 20 more years, but you're finishing, so you
can strategically begin tofinish well, but for those of us
that are not there yet, we justdon't know when that day is
going to come.
Let's be ready to face Jesuswith a smile on our face and a
fist triumphant raised in theair, to say we did it for your
(31:34):
glory, lord, and to hear him saywell done, enter into your rest
, receive your reward.
Uh, it's going to be awesome.
Love you guys.
Uh, hope you uh are blessedtoday, the day that you're
listening to this.
I pray that God's blessing ison you and uh hope you've
enjoyed having this bonusepisode this week.
(31:55):
Talk to you soon.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
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