1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:02,960 Welcome to the Illuminate Church podcast. 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:05,520 We hope today's message is encouraging to you. 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:16,480 I flew in yesterday from Lai, got the the red eye and so I 4 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:21,080 arrived here at Orlando at 5:00 AM and I was scheduled to meet 5 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:25,160 Aaron here at the church to kind of get all the technical sides 6 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,840 set up. And as I'm coming up to church, 7 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:35,040 there's just a ton of men here at the church and nobody knew me 8 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:38,480 from, you know, just Adam off the street. 9 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:43,040 And this guy Rob comes up to me and he goes, hey, great to have 10 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:45,040 you here. We've got breakfast over here. 11 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,640 We'd love you to come and meet and introduce me to a whole 12 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:51,200 bunch of guys. And, and I'm just thinking, you 13 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,600 know what? I'm starting to love this church 14 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:58,520 already. And so I got to have breakfast 15 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:03,880 with a whole bunch of men here. And thank you, Rob, for making 16 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:06,520 me feel welcome and all the guys at my table. 17 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,280 I know ministries like this don't just happen by accident. 18 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:15,200 There are people who have prayed it and persevered it into 19 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:16,840 reality. And I just want to honor your 20 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:23,480 pastors, Pastor Tim and Pastor Christine, thank you so much for 21 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:27,000 being faithful. This is how faithful your 22 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,240 pastors are. There was a call that went out 23 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,960 this morning from the children's ministry saying we've had an 24 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:36,000 unusual amount of call ends people who couldn't make it. 25 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,680 And so we're putting the the word out there who anybody can 26 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,480 help us today. We'd love to have your help. 27 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:48,360 And Pastor Christine turns to her husband and says, here I am, 28 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,320 Tim, send me. That is the spirit. 29 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:54,000 Now I'm I'm glad that you're here. 30 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:56,200 I'm glad that the children's ministry was covered. 31 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:58,840 But that is the spirit of your pastors. 32 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:03,120 Here I am, Lord, send me wherever the needs are. 33 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:07,680 So I just want to honour you as pastors, as team leaders here at 34 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:10,479 this church at Illuminae. God bless you and thank you for 35 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:18,920 trusting me with your people. I also want to put the worship 36 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:22,200 team on notice. I'm calling an audible here. 37 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,720 I can't do this in every church, but in this church I can do it 38 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,040 because you are just that good. So Aaron, if you could get the 39 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:33,320 word to the entire worship team, I want you to come back and do 40 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:35,680 that song. We're going to just start out in 41 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:39,600 the chorus something. I'm still amazed by you. 42 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:41,440 That's all I can remember. I'm still amazed. 43 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:44,160 So the whole worship team rhythm section, everybody, I want you 44 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,200 to come out with Patty around 10:50. 45 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:53,760 Actually, let's make that 1054 and we're going to finish up. 46 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:59,840 Oh, tits 954. That's great. 47 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:02,280 I've just had to cut an hour off my message. 48 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:08,840 I all right, as Pastor Tim said, I am both a pastor and a doctor 49 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,400 of clinical psychology. That means that I have been 50 00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:16,640 trained and licensed to diagnose and treat the conditions that 51 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:22,280 impact people's mental health. And so I love just standing at 52 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:27,320 the Nexus of science and faith. And this morning, I'm going to 53 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:31,800 be basing my message on on a scripture that I know and love. 54 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:35,160 But I always like to know who's speaking to me. 55 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,000 So I thought you should know a little bit about me. 56 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:43,240 I belong to a family, and this is my wife. 57 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,640 On the left hand, your left hand side with our oldest son, David, 58 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,680 he and his wife pastor a church in Montana. 59 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:56,080 On the right hand side standing with me is our second son who is 60 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:00,920 a doctor of medicine in the US Navy and he's currently based in 61 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:07,160 Georgia. I also have a YouTube channel 62 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:09,360 and it's the only time I want you to get out your phones. 63 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:14,760 I have this YouTube channel as an extension of my ministry. 64 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:19,320 It's called Making Life Better with Doctor West, and I worked 65 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:23,320 really hard to put these many documentaries together just on 66 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:27,880 various subjects all around the topic of making life better. 67 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,520 The one I did just recently is called Wives Want This. 68 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:37,440 This comes out of my private practice as I do a lot of 69 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,160 couples counselling, specifically of pastors and 70 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:44,520 their wives who come in. And consistently there are three 71 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:50,240 themes that come in which wives are saying I really need these 72 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:53,720 qualities in my husband. So every guy in the house should 73 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,760 at least watch that one. But I invite you to subscribe. 74 00:04:56,840 --> 00:04:59,520 It's a good way for us to stay connected and it's a great 75 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,960 encouragement for me to keep going with the this 76 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:09,320 encouragement after today. Anxiety is not the enemy. 77 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:12,520 That's a good one to watch because sometimes in this 78 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:15,760 culture we see anxiety as an enemy and it's not. 79 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:21,560 Sometimes an anxious response is absolutely appropriate in the 80 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:25,640 situation. What God wants is for us not to 81 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:31,200 be imprisoned, so captivated by anxiety that we can't even 82 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,320 function. So that's that's a good one 83 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:36,320 there. So thank you in advance for 84 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:38,480 subscribing and being a part of that world. 85 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:43,600 All right, the scripture that I'm basing this message on is 86 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:50,000 Psalm 139, verse 14. One that you know very well. 87 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,720 I praise you because I am fearfully. 88 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:59,000 Now let's just stop there. God was not in heaven going. 89 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,280 Oh my goodness, I hope I get this right. 90 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:04,600 I'm really quite anxious about this. 91 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:10,680 No, fearfully in the Hebrew text means He made it with awe and 92 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:13,600 reverence. So when you read that word, I 93 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:18,840 want you to thank God made us with awe and reverence. 94 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:21,960 It was the pinnacle. We are the pinnacle of His 95 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:24,760 creation. We are fearfully and wonderfully 96 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:27,160 made. Your works are wonderful. 97 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:32,720 I know that full well. Here on the screen is a picture 98 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:36,800 of a friend of mine. Her name is Anne Yeller. 99 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:41,200 She's on your right. Anne and her friend Debbie 100 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,880 Nichols were out riding their mountain bikes in Whiting Ranch 101 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:49,120 in Southern California. And as I was interviewing Anne 102 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:55,200 for one of my content creations, Anne said. 103 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:57,200 I was ahead of Debbie at this stage. 104 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:01,200 And I came over a hill and I saw in my peripheral vision this 105 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:05,840 reddish, brownish fur. And she thought I'd startle the 106 00:07:05,840 --> 00:07:10,120 deer, but she said where's? Nanoseconds later, I realized I 107 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:14,840 had not startled a deer. I was actually being attacked by 108 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:20,080 a Mountain Lion. A fully grown Mountain Lion with 109 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:25,600 so much thrust knocked Anne off her bike and then proceeded to 110 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,800 grab her by the neck. Now you know that that is that 111 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:30,640 is the kill shot for a Mountain Lion. 112 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:36,160 As Anne fell off her bike, her helmet slipped off her head and 113 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:40,440 was dangling around her neck, which was frustrating this fully 114 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:45,000 grown Mountain Lion because it could not get a purchase on her 115 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,400 neck. This helmet was getting in the 116 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:50,520 way. And so instead it grabbed onto 117 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,720 her face, her cheek. Now you notice she's she's kind 118 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:58,080 of leaning away left, left kind of leans away, but her cheek was 119 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:05,240 completely ripped open. Debbie coming upon the scene, 120 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:10,760 saw this Mountain Lion dragging Anne down into a ravine and Anne 121 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,000 threw her mountain bike aside, ran down into the ravine, 122 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:18,560 grabbed Anne by the ankle and started pulling Anne up the 123 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,640 ravine having the force of gravity against her. 124 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,640 And not only that she was pulling up Anne, but she was 125 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:30,480 pulling up the Mountain Lion at the same time that was attached 126 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:33,559 to Anne. And she was screaming at the top 127 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:36,640 of her voice. Anne, I'm not going to let you 128 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:38,799 die. I'm not going to let you die. 129 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:43,080 And with superhuman strength, she was pulling Anne up the 130 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,240 ravine, having the forces of gravity against her. 131 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:55,240 How does 115 LB woman achieve that type of fate? 132 00:08:55,240 --> 00:09:00,760 Well, I'll tell you why, because God made her that way and God 133 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:05,920 didn't make you any differently. God has put within us mechanisms 134 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:10,400 in certain situations to do something that defies our 135 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,120 humanity. Oh yeah. 136 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,120 I always have to put this slide up because I forget to tell the 137 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:17,440 rest. Anne lived. 138 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:24,080 Very important detail. They brought in a Life Flight 139 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:28,480 helicopter. They put Anne in and took her to 140 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:30,880 Mission Hospital in Southern California. 141 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,400 And there happened to be the world's leading, one of the 142 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,760 world's leading trauma surgeons there working that night. 143 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:41,800 And he said it as if her whole left side of her face had been 144 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:45,960 peeled away from her skull and just handfuls of dirt thrown in 145 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:51,360 there. 15 plus operations and did survive. 146 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:56,640 And once she got to that point of being healthy enough, all the 147 00:09:56,840 --> 00:09:59,760 all the television programs, Good Morning America and the 148 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:03,080 Today Show were calling in and saying we'd love to interview 149 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,800 you and said I'd love to be interviewed as long as you let 150 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:10,280 me say it was Jesus who saved me. 151 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:18,760 She is a mighty woman of God. And So what was unleashed in 152 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:21,720 Debbie Nichols at that time? It was a hormone called 153 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:25,560 adrenaline and adrenaline is secreted from the adrenal glands 154 00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:28,920 which are just sit above our kidneys in the back here. 155 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:34,040 And what adrenaline does is it shocks our muscles into action 156 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:38,080 followed by adrenaline is cortisol. 157 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:42,600 Now, cortisol is the stress hormone, and cortisol has a a 158 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:45,200 specific purpose. What it does is it helps. 159 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:49,280 It narrows our attention down to a very specific thing. 160 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:53,080 And as Anne was being attacked by this Mountain Lion and Debbie 161 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:55,680 was screaming at the top of her lungs, Anne, I'm not going to 162 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:57,920 let you die. There was adrenaline and 163 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,600 cortisol flooding through her system. 164 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:07,480 Now, cortisol releases certain chemicals that help us perform 165 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:11,680 certain functions. What cortisol does is it turns 166 00:11:11,680 --> 00:11:17,640 sugar and fat into energy and it improves the ability of your 167 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:21,160 body and brain to be able to use that energy. 168 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:26,040 Now our brain is only 2% of our body mass but uses somewhere 169 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:29,640 between 20 to 25% of our blood supply. 170 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:35,160 And so the brain has been flooded with with this cortisol 171 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:37,480 because the brain needs it at that point. 172 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:42,720 Now, cortisol also suppresses some other biological functions. 173 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:45,960 So when you're highly, highly stressed in a stressful 174 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:49,240 situation, let's say guys, you were being chased by a bear, 175 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,720 your digestive system is shut down at that point. 176 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:56,640 You're not thinking. You know, Rob, you and I are are 177 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,760 not thinking. Oh man, we should have, should 178 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:02,760 have had that extra bagel kind of hungry at the moment. 179 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:05,120 No, our digestive system is shut down. 180 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:07,800 Also, our reproductive system is shut down. 181 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:10,560 Quarter soldiers shuts down our reproductive system. 182 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:14,000 You know, it's, it's been said that guys think about sex a lot. 183 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:18,480 Well, in this moment when you're getting chased by a bear, guys 184 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:20,280 are not thinking about sex at all. 185 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:28,320 I can see there's wives in the house going, honey, we we should 186 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:29,920 get a pet bear. We should. 187 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:36,360 OK. There is another neurosteroid 188 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:41,240 called dehydroepyandrosterone that is released in our body 189 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:47,840 that helps our brain to grow. Now, testosterone. 190 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,000 I'm going to need some help here, young man. 191 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,000 What's your name? John. 192 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:55,480 John. John, I'm not going to embarrass 193 00:12:55,480 --> 00:13:01,560 you very much, just moderate. John, could you join me on stage 194 00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:05,640 here? And I so run, John, run. 195 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:07,640 Because this is coming out of my message time. 196 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:14,360 OK, so as I'm worshipping, I I look across at John. 197 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:16,200 Here, take the microphone. Very dangerous thing. 198 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:20,600 So you have no idea what I'm going to say, but I, I'm 199 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:24,040 thinking these were you born with. 200 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:29,040 I mean, what, how did you do that? 201 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:36,120 I put them under stress, John. I put my muscles under stress 202 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:41,720 too. But when I put my muscles under 203 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,080 stress, my, my muscles, they hurt. 204 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,080 They really hurt the next day. What? 205 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:54,840 Why is that? The muscle is torn and it's 206 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:58,120 healing itself. Ah, excellent. 207 00:13:58,120 --> 00:13:59,840 You got, you went straight there. 208 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:03,920 What happens? So when you're when you're doing 209 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:07,640 those bicep curls, you're, you're actually tearing your 210 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:09,640 muscle fibers torn up a bit torn up. 211 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:11,440 And that's why there's pain there. 212 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:15,040 Yeah. OK, John, God put within you 213 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:17,240 within your system. Obviously he gave you a double 214 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:21,840 portion. What testosterone does to the 215 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:26,760 body is it's a healing agent and it repairs the muscle and the 216 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:33,000 muscle actually becomes smaller. No, it becomes stronger and 217 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:34,400 bigger. Fantastic. 218 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:37,000 Let's give it up for John. You did great. 219 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:44,440 So what testosterone does for the human body, dehydro 220 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:48,040 epiandosterone does for your brain. 221 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:53,600 Now, we thought that, you know, when we were, you know, 222 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:57,120 scientists thought back in the day that when you were born, you 223 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:00,200 were born with all the brain cells you were ever going to 224 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,240 get. And then over the course of your 225 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:04,920 life, you, you know, end up burning through those brain 226 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:06,800 cells. So by the time you're old, 227 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:08,480 you're Dumber than a box of rocks. 228 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,320 That's not true. The scientists realize the error 229 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,560 of their way. They realize that your body is 230 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:21,360 capable of generating new brain cells up until your dying hour. 231 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:25,760 It's called neurogenesis, the formation of new brain cells. 232 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:28,520 And what stimulates the formation of new brain cells? 233 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:32,840 It's dehydroepiandrostrone that's released into your body 234 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:36,680 at certain times. Now, which is better? 235 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,400 Cortisol or dehydroepianndrosterone or DHEA 236 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:42,080 for short. Which is better? 237 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,680 It's the wrong question. You see, they both have a 238 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:50,320 purpose. It's the ratio that makes a 239 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:54,080 difference. The ratio is if you've got 240 00:15:54,200 --> 00:16:00,120 higher ratio of cortisol and lower dehydroepianndrosterone if 241 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:02,400 your body is in that configuration. 242 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:08,400 And unfortunately, we live in a in an age where the culture out 243 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,360 there likes us to be in a place of fear. 244 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:16,320 The whole news cycle is based around stimulating that fear and 245 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:19,640 that anxiety response. If we don't watch it, we can be 246 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:23,240 high in cortisol and low in dehydroepiandrostone a lot of 247 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,080 the time. Now, that configuration God 248 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:28,960 intended only for specific situations. 249 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,880 When we're being chased by a bear, attacked by a light, and 250 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:37,560 we're involved in an accident, you know, we, our, our system 251 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:40,640 flips where we've got high cortisol and low 252 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:44,040 dehydroepandrocerone. That's exactly what God intends 253 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,960 when we're in crisis. But God does not intend for us 254 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:52,360 to be in this situation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 255 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:57,280 And yet so many of us are. And what it does is it it harms 256 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:00,160 your immune system when you're in this configuration. 257 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:03,440 It also leads to greater depression. 258 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:07,560 Now, I think back to when we had COVID, you know, our response to 259 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,839 that was scientifically dubious. You know, what we did was keep 260 00:17:11,839 --> 00:17:14,440 people away from each other. Well, that's a strange thing. 261 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:16,200 That's going to lower your immune system. 262 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:20,200 Don't let's shut the gems, John. That's going to, that's going to 263 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:22,240 lower your immune system when you're not. 264 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:25,839 Let's shut down the churches. Well, that's going to lower your 265 00:17:25,839 --> 00:17:28,960 immune system because you're not connecting with others in 266 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:32,800 fellowship, which stimulates dehydroepiandrosterone. 267 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:39,600 Now in this configuration, high dehydroepiandrosterone and low 268 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:44,040 cortisol that has been linked. That configuration has been 269 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:48,480 linked with reduced anxiety and depression, reduced heart 270 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:53,160 disease, and reduced brain cell deterioration. 271 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:57,320 So you want to be in this configuration most of the time 272 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:03,480 unless you get chased by a bear. This research has come out of 273 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:05,880 Stanford University, and Pastor Tim and I were talking 274 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,080 beforehand. It's just a great delight of 275 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:11,760 ours to see where science reinforces what God has been 276 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:15,080 teaching us all along. But Kelly Mcgonigal and her 277 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:18,160 research team out of Stanford University calls this 278 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:21,000 configuration high dehydroepindosterone, low 279 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,360 cortisol, the growth index. And what they've determined 280 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:27,200 through scientific research is that you have greater 281 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:29,520 persistence when you're in this configuration. 282 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:34,120 Greater resilience, higher performance, greater focus, 283 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:40,840 superior problem solving skills. This is the way God wants us to 284 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:45,560 be most of the time. So the question is, how do you 285 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:48,920 activate the growth index? You know, it's like, OK, Dr. 286 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:51,000 West, you've got me solved. I want to be in this 287 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:54,480 configuration most of the time. How do I get there? 288 00:18:56,240 --> 00:19:01,040 You've got to change your view about stressful events. 289 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:06,040 Change your view about stressful events. 290 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:13,040 You see, you can have a fear and worry view of stressful events. 291 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:20,800 Have you ever had these thoughts go through your mind? 292 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:25,880 I can't handle this. This'll do me in. 293 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:31,560 I'm done. This'll be the death of me that 294 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:35,360 is having a fear and worry view of stressful events. 295 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:38,840 What is that signal to your nervous system? 296 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:42,080 You're under threat. This is a life threatening 297 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:44,800 situation. We need adrenaline, we need 298 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:48,400 cortisol and it floods your system with those that which God 299 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,920 only intended for when you're in being chased by a bear involved 300 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:55,720 in a car accident. It's it sends a signal that we 301 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,600 need to flip your configuration high cortisol. 302 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:00,440 You ever heard of adrenal fatigue? 303 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,320 That's because we we allow ourselves to get flipped so 304 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:07,240 often. Because we attempted to have a 305 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:10,760 fear and worry view of stressful events. 306 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:14,640 But you have the option whenever you're faced with stress. 307 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:21,640 See, stress is not the enemy. You know it's appropriate to be 308 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:27,280 appropriately stressed, appropriately stressed, but it's 309 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:30,920 how you view the stress. You can have a fear and worry 310 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:35,680 view of a stress or you can have a growth oriented view of 311 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:39,280 stress. And this is one such growth 312 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:44,120 oriented view of stress. I believe regardless of what I 313 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:47,480 face, God is with me and he'll bring good out of it. 314 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,880 OK, I heard an Amen. Let's everybody stand together. 315 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:55,320 If you're new to this church, I'll be gone next week and you 316 00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:56,600 won't have to put up with this again. 317 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:03,280 So what I would like us to do on the count of three to, to, to 318 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:09,080 declare this in the house today ready 123. 319 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:15,280 I believe regardless of what I face, God is with me and he will 320 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:17,840 bring good out of it. That's a great practice run. 321 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:21,840 Awesome practice run. All right, now we're going to 322 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,920 pick up the pace a bit and we're going to go for it 1-2. 323 00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:26,520 Oh, you don't even need to count. 324 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:31,200 That's a great let's go. I believe regardless of what I 325 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,080 face, God is with me and He will bring good out of it. 326 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:40,760 Again, I believe regardless of what I face, God is with me and 327 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:42,880 He will bring good. Come on. 328 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:48,040 I believe regardless of what I face, God is with me and he will 329 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:49,880 bring good out of the come on church. 330 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:55,400 I believe regardless of what I face, God is with me and he will 331 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:58,160 bring good out of it. Let's give the Lord the hand 332 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:08,560 today this Oh, before you sit down, how many, how many of you 333 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:12,280 feel kind of this energy in your back here, this kind of 334 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,920 tingling? You are changing your body 335 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:23,360 chemistry by declaring that over your life when you have a growth 336 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:26,040 oriented view of stress. OK, stand standing. 337 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:30,800 Here's the Bible's full of this. Let's say a growth oriented view 338 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:33,200 of how we should respond to stress. 339 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:35,960 Let's say this together because we're good at it. 340 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:42,720 The Illuminate Church 123 So do not fear, for I am with you. 341 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:46,360 Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. 342 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:49,120 I will strengthen you and help you. 343 00:22:49,360 --> 00:22:53,080 I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 344 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:12,400 That is a growth oriented response to stress and when you 345 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:16,360 speak God's word and you speak God's promises over your life, 346 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:21,400 you are you are choosing. It's like, well, I could have a 347 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:24,120 fear and worry view of this situation. 348 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,160 Oh, this is going to do me in. I don't know how much more I can 349 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:29,880 handle this is this is really, really stressful. 350 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:36,040 Or you can have a Bible based. I believe regardless of what I 351 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:40,080 face, God is with me and He will bring good out of it. 352 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:44,200 And I am Pastor Tim and Pastor Christine and all the other 353 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:48,120 ministry leaders and Gary and all the elders here want you to 354 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:50,440 have a growth oriented view of stress. 355 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:55,720 Do not be afraid of stress. Be afraid of your fear and worry 356 00:23:55,720 --> 00:24:01,080 view of stress. And choose this day to be a day 357 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:05,600 that I'm going to Lord have the configuration of my body 358 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:09,840 chemicals that you've put within me in the right ratio. 359 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:15,120 High dehydroepidendrosterone, low cortisol for most of the 360 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:17,040 time. And you know what happens when 361 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:21,560 you speak those life giving words over yourself, your your 362 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:25,640 body goes hang on. This is this is a new angle. 363 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,520 I haven't got brain cells dedicated to that new angle. 364 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:33,760 Dehydroepidendrosterone floods your floods your, your system 365 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:42,480 creates neurogenesis, the formation of new brain cells and 366 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:45,040 those new brain cells now carry that message. 367 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:49,440 I believe regardless of what I you've got brain cells right now 368 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,280 that can be dedicated just to that thought. 369 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:56,680 I believe regardless of what I face, God is with me and he will 370 00:24:56,680 --> 00:25:00,680 bring good out of it. There's so much benefit in being 371 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:06,520 in this configuration. Go ahead and have a seat and and 372 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:08,240 worship band. You can come out now. 373 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:15,480 I love this. Do not be anxious about 374 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,800 anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with 375 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,920 Thanksgiving present your requests to God, and the peace 376 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:26,040 of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your 377 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:27,560 hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 378 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:30,400 For all my ministry life, I have believed this. 379 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,400 I've absolutely believed it, but I've always viewed it in a 380 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:38,720 metaphorical sense, you know, will, you know, God will guard 381 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,120 my heart. You know, the, the core of my, 382 00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:45,360 my spirit guard my heart and he'll guard my mind in Christ 383 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:46,920 Jesus. You know, that it's just kind of 384 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:49,480 metaphorical. And then I read the research 385 00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:53,200 because what is the research? Stanford University. 386 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:55,800 Thank you very much for doing the hard lifting for us. 387 00:25:56,280 --> 00:26:01,080 The research says when you have higher D dehydro epiandosterone 388 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:09,000 levels, it's linked to reduced heart disease, reduced brain 389 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:14,080 cell deterioration. So we can read that. 390 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:20,200 And the peace of God, which transcends all your 391 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:25,520 understanding, will guard your heart and guard your mind. 392 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:29,440 We can not only see that metaphorically, but we can see 393 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:36,040 that actually physically when we have a God honouring Bible based 394 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:39,440 view of stressful events. When we say to ourselves, let's 395 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:45,720 go for a team. Alex, are you here? 396 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:48,680 Yeah, you're no, this is this is great, man. 397 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,240 You're one of the only worship leaders that actually sings in 398 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:54,840 the key that I can sing in. It's awesome. 399 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:59,840 So it's great. I don't know how you're going to 400 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:03,120 do this, but I want, I want the band to come in and and do that 401 00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:08,000 chorus, that refrain. Yeah, So you'll know when it's 402 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:11,720 right. Thanks for joining us today. 403 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:14,760 We hope God is speaking to your heart through this message. 404 00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:17,760 If you'd like to connect with us, you can text connect to 405 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:24,280 407-588-0115 or visit Illuminate dot church. 406 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:26,000 Have a great week.