1 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:12,520 Please stand as I read the script. 2 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:19,640 You're ready for today's Sabbath and Revelation 12/1 and two a 3 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:24,840 Roman Roman. I'm sorry receipt you therefore, 4 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:32,200 brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a 5 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:37,240 living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your 6 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:42,360 responsible, responsible service, reasonable, reasonable 7 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:46,760 service. And do not be conformed to this 8 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:53,360 world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you 9 00:00:53,360 --> 00:01:00,360 may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of 10 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:04,120 God. Amen. 11 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:16,160 Please be seated. Now time for our message. 12 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:18,880 Our message will be delivered to us by Sister Laura. 13 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:24,040 And Laura is the, what can I say, is the founder and 14 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:26,280 president of Wellspring Health Ministry. 15 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:30,080 And the Lord has been leading in that ministry. 16 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,040 So we look forward to her message today. 17 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:35,040 She comes to us from our sister church. 18 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,240 You all know her. So we really don't need much of 19 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:42,480 an introduction. But she holds a doctorate in 20 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:45,440 natural medicine, in natural medicine. 21 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:49,280 So if you need natural medicine, you will give her a ring. 22 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:52,720 So we welcome Doctor Laura to our open thank. 23 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:59,920 You happy Sabbath. I trust that you're all well 24 00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:02,080 this morning. It is an honor and a privilege 25 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:07,200 for me to be here. And I pray that the message I 26 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:09,759 will share with you this morning will be a blessing to you. 27 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,160 I know it's been a blessing to me and it speaks to me just as 28 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:15,600 much. And we have quite a bit of 29 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,600 information I want to cover and would like to get to lunch at a 30 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:20,880 reasonable time, and I'm sure you would as well. 31 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,120 So we're going to dive right in and start with the word of 32 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:24,760 prayer. So if you bow your heads with 33 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:28,240 me, we'll pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you 34 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:32,200 for the Sabbath day and we thank you that we can be here together 35 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:36,400 to study your words. And we invite your angels, your 36 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,840 presence, to be here with us Now that you prepare our hearts, 37 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,600 that you give us understanding, and that each of us will leave 38 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:46,680 here closer to you and have learning more of your plans for 39 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:49,680 our lives, we thank you. In Jesus name I pray. 40 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,200 Amen. The gospel of renewal. 41 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,400 We're going to be looking at the Parable of the Talents this 42 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:58,560 morning. I do have the verses on the 43 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,600 screen, but if you have your Bibles, I encourage you to use 44 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:04,560 them. We're going to be looking at 45 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:09,760 Matthew chapter 25 starting in verse 14. 46 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:13,880 Matthew 25, starting in verse 14. 47 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:22,680 Give you all moments to find it. It begins, it says. 48 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,960 For the Kingdom of heaven is like a man travelling to a far 49 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,560 country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods 50 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,080 to them. And to 1 He gave 5 talents to 51 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:37,440 another two, and to another one, to each according to his own 52 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:40,120 ability. And immediately he went on a 53 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:43,040 journey. Then he who had received the 54 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:46,720 five talents went and traded with them, and made another 5 55 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:50,240 talents. And likewise he who had received 56 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:56,200 2 gained 2 more also. But he who had received one went 57 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,080 and dug in the ground and hid his Lord's money. 58 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,800 After a long time the Lord of those servants came and settled 59 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:06,840 accounts with them. So he who had received 5 talents 60 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:12,120 came and brought how many more? Five other talents, saying, 61 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:15,040 Lord, you delivered to me 5 talents. 62 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:19,000 Look, I have gained five more talents besides them. 63 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:25,280 His Lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant, you 64 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:30,160 were faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many 65 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:33,680 things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. 66 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:38,000 He also who had received 2 talents, came and said, Lord, 67 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:42,200 you delivered to me two talents. Look, I have gained 2 more 68 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,640 talents besides them. His Lord said to him, Well done, 69 00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:50,320 good and faithful servant, You have been faithful over a few 70 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,000 things. I will make you ruler over many 71 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,320 things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. 72 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:00,840 Then he who had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I 73 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:04,480 knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, 74 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:06,880 and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 75 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:10,120 And I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground. 76 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:13,120 Look, there you have what is yours. 77 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,760 But as Lord answered and said to him, you wicked and lazy 78 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,480 servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown. 79 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:23,520 You gather where I have not scattered seed, and gather where 80 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:26,240 I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited 81 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:28,840 my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have 82 00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:30,920 received back my own with interest. 83 00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:34,920 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has 10 84 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:38,360 talents. For to everyone who has more 85 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:42,720 will be given, and he who will have abundance, but from him who 86 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,240 does not have even what he has will be taken away and cast the 87 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:49,240 unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will 88 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:51,440 be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 89 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:54,120 Now this is a parable that we are all familiar with. 90 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,040 Yes, more or less the parable of the talents. 91 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,920 So as we talk about the parable of the talents, it begs the 92 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:06,760 question, what are the talents? And you can, you can answer. 93 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:11,680 I like engagement. When we think of talents, what 94 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:15,120 are the talents? Our skills? 95 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:18,360 There could be things we're good at, right? 96 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:21,000 Can anyone think of anything else that may be classified as a 97 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,040 talent? Spiritual gifts. 98 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:29,400 So what would some of those be? The gift of preaching, The gift 99 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:31,920 of teaching? There's one of healing, of 100 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:37,240 prayer, right? Was there another answer? 101 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:40,800 Time. Yep, time is a talent. 102 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,920 Now, Ellen White, in her book, Christ Object Lessons, she 103 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:47,440 writes a lot about the talents. It's actually a long chapter and 104 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,680 we'll be taking quite a few quotes from there this morning, 105 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,720 but I encourage you to go home and to read the chapter for 106 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:54,320 yourself. There are many gems in there, 107 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:59,320 but she goes through many of the different talents and I put them 108 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:03,800 in a list here for us to see. The first one is what gifts of 109 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:06,120 the Holy Spirit. Those would be spiritual gifts, 110 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:08,280 like the gift of teaching, of preaching, of prayer, of 111 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:10,520 healing. The next one that she talks 112 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:14,920 about is mental faculties, our minds, our education, always 113 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,920 seeking to be learning, our speech. 114 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:22,160 Have you ever thought of the fact that you can talk as being 115 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:27,040 a talent, kind impulses and affections? 116 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:30,720 That's not one I had necessarily thought of before, but people 117 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,280 who are inclined like have that really soft heart, you know, we 118 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,560 call them people, people person. You know, you don't like to see 119 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:38,520 someone suffering, you go out of your way to help them. 120 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:41,240 She says that people who God is given that talent, who are 121 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:43,240 especially accountable for what they do with it. 122 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:48,120 Health, is that a talent? Absolutely. 123 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:52,080 Our strength, our money feel like that's one of the ones that 124 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:54,280 we think of often when we think of our talents and our 125 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:56,360 resources, we think of money and time. 126 00:07:56,760 --> 00:08:00,280 How about influence? Have you ever thought of your 127 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:04,760 influence as being a talent? Now, why did God give us these 128 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:06,760 talents? What is their purpose? 129 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:12,240 To share with others. We are called to use our talents 130 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:16,520 for service. This is a quote from Christ's 131 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:20,400 Object Lessons page 3/26. She says Christ's followers have 132 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:25,040 been redeemed for service. Our Lord teaches that the true 133 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:30,120 object of life is ministry. You know, oftentimes when we 134 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:34,159 think of ministry, we think of pastors, of missionaries, of 135 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:36,640 those who are going to faraway lands. 136 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:39,760 But each one of us is called to live a life of ministry. 137 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:43,679 By living to minister for others, man is brought into 138 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,600 connection with Christ. The law of service becomes the 139 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:52,400 connecting link which binds us to God and to our fellow man. 140 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:56,840 Isn't that beautiful? That as we work to serve and 141 00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:59,960 benefit others, we are brought into a closer connection with 142 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:02,000 God? We are Co laborers with Him 143 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:05,720 couple pages down. On page 329 she says the 144 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:09,240 talents, however few, are to be put to use. 145 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:13,240 The question that most concerns us is not how much have I 146 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:17,960 received, but what am I doing with that which I have. 147 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,240 The development of all of our powers is the first duty we owe 148 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:26,960 to God and to our fellow men. Have you ever stopped to think 149 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:29,360 that maybe God hasn't given you a lot of talents? 150 00:09:30,680 --> 00:09:32,120 Has that thought ever crossed your mind? 151 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:36,320 I had a friend. She's a very dear friend, and 152 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:39,200 she would get very sad thinking that God hadn't given her any 153 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:41,760 talents, like when he was dispensing them. 154 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,880 One day he just passed over her, completely forgot. 155 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:47,480 She wasn't good at playing instruments, she wasn't a great 156 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:49,840 singer. She didn't have any special 157 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:54,720 skill set or special jobs. She wasn't a public speaker and 158 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,280 she believed that she didn't have any talents. 159 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:01,120 Was that true? No. 160 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:03,880 We have this list again, and I want to encourage you to look at 161 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:05,960 this list and think of the talents that you have been 162 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:09,160 given. Have you been given the 163 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:11,880 opportunity to study? Have you gotten an education? 164 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,880 Are you a good learner? It doesn't even have to mean 165 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:19,000 that you went to school and got high degrees, but that you are 166 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:20,720 good at learning, You like to learn. 167 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:23,400 Does everyone here have the gift of speech? 168 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:27,120 Can we talk? Can we share Christ with others? 169 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:31,240 Absolutely. Kind impulses, health, strength, 170 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:35,160 money, time, influence. We all have something that we 171 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:38,360 can use for God's service. And when it comes to influence, 172 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:43,840 is that only referring to those who are popular and public 173 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:46,480 people? No. 174 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:48,720 We all have someone who we influence, right? 175 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,560 Doesn't matter if it's someone at your job, if it's in your 176 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:54,000 family, we all have an influence over somebody. 177 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:57,720 Well, looking at these talents, those of you who know me and the 178 00:10:57,720 --> 00:10:59,920 introduction I just have, which is talent, you think we're going 179 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:01,040 to talk about a little bit today. 180 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:07,000 Yes, the town of health. But I want to reassure you, 181 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:11,960 we're not going into diet and nutrition and all the little 182 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:14,520 nitty gritties of health. I'm looking forward to potluck 183 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:17,560 and even hoping there's a nice dessert to follow, you know, But 184 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:20,720 I want to get into a different aspect of our health message. 185 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:25,440 Christ's Object, Object lessons, page 346 says health is a 186 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:28,320 blessing of which few appreciate the value. 187 00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:30,640 It's one of those things, we don't appreciate it till we lose 188 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:33,560 it, right? Yet upon it, the efficiency of 189 00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:36,960 our mental and physical powers largely depends. 190 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:40,800 Our impulses and passions have their seat in the body and it 191 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:44,080 must be kept in the best condition physically and under 192 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:48,560 the most spiritual influences in order that our talents may be 193 00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:53,040 put to the highest use. So health determines the 194 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:57,160 efficiency of our mental and physical powers and through it 195 00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:59,000 can strengthen our other talents. 196 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:03,040 It talks about this quote you see on the screen. 197 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:06,280 There's a sentence in bold. Our impulses and passions have 198 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:10,280 their seat where? In the body? 199 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:13,760 So have you ever stopped to consider why we were given a 200 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:17,200 health message? I feel like, you know, most of 201 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:20,720 us here could be able to say, you know what the health message 202 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:24,400 entails, right? We're familiar with laws of 203 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:27,640 health, you know, about having a good diet, about exercising. 204 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,760 We know these things, right? But why did God give it to us? 205 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,720 What is the importance of it? Because it's a lot more than 206 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:37,760 just what we eat. Page 346 She has this quote. 207 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:42,800 Anything that lessens physical strength and enfeebles the mind 208 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:47,640 and makes it less capable of discriminating between right and 209 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:51,320 wrong. So why is our health important? 210 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:55,000 Because it strengthens our minds. 211 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,720 And as we have strong minds, we're able to discern the 212 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:00,120 difference between right and wrong. 213 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,960 Would you say that's important? Absolutely right. 214 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:08,440 So I actually want to talk a little bit about the minds this 215 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:10,520 morning. It's something that I find 216 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:12,640 interesting. I hope you guys do too. 217 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:18,520 So here we have a diagram of of the brain with divided into 4 218 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:21,600 sections, 4 lobes. And this is the traditional 219 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:23,640 breakdown of the brain. Recently they've started 220 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,720 breaking it down into 6, but I just put the four that we may be 221 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:29,360 most familiar with. We have the frontal lobe, the 222 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,280 temporal lobe, the parietal lobe, and the occipital lobe. 223 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,800 And each one of them you can see there has different functions. 224 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:39,320 But one of the ones that I want to kind of hone in on this 225 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:43,200 morning is the frontal lobe. You see that there in in pink. 226 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,720 It's located in the front of our minds and it is responsible for 227 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:50,240 higher executive functions such as thinking, problem solving, 228 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:52,840 behavioral control and decision making. 229 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:56,200 It's a pretty important part of our brain, right? 230 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:59,520 Have you are you familiar with the story of Phineas Gage? 231 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:02,160 Has anyone heard of that name before? 232 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:05,080 I'm sure many. I'm sure a few have. 233 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:10,200 But he was a real railroad worker back in the 1800s, and he 234 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:14,520 had an accident while working on the railroads where a spike, 235 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,840 there was an explosion and a spike was sent through his head. 236 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:20,680 It had entered through his eye socket and came out the top of 237 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:22,560 his head. And amazingly enough, he 238 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:26,080 survived. He survived, but he wasn't the 239 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:29,040 same person anymore. It had disconnected. 240 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:31,440 It had severed this frontal part of his brain. 241 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:36,680 And so when he used to be a good family man, a good husband, a 242 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:40,960 good father to his children, now he became a drinker, he was 243 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,840 promiscuous and he was hot tempered, completely different 244 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,440 person because he didn't have the ability to control and make 245 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,000 decisions anymore. So it's a very important part of 246 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:53,600 our brain. Our brain weighs about 3 lbs, 247 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:56,400 relatively small compared to our bodies, right? 248 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:01,160 You can hold it in your hands and it has, it's made-up one of 249 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:04,920 the things of these neurons. This is an artist's rendition of 250 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,200 kind of what neurons look like. You can see like a spider web 251 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:11,240 there, right? This is a closer up of it. 252 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:16,040 You guys see that? So we have the top part, which 253 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:19,920 is a cell body that would be the larger, the larger part in the 254 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:22,960 Topper corner, which houses the genetic material for the cell 255 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:26,120 and produces energy for it. And then we have dendrites. 256 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:27,880 Dendrites are like the little arms. 257 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:31,480 You see the tentacles sticking out from that circle up top. 258 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:35,360 They're like little tree branches and these receive 259 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:38,360 messages from other neurons and then deliver them back to the 260 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:41,240 cell body. And you have the Axon, which is 261 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:43,880 the tail. Can you guys see that comes 262 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,680 down? I don't have a pointer comes 263 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,840 down from the cell body and that is what sends messages away, 264 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:53,440 brings messages away from the neuron and then synapses. 265 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:56,760 You can see in the little corner, there are spaces located 266 00:15:56,760 --> 00:15:59,440 between the neurons where signals are transferred. 267 00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:02,800 So each of us, every moment of every day, we have these little 268 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:07,480 cells that are firing in our brains is taking messages down 269 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,440 the Axon, and the dendrites of other neurons are picking them 270 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:13,160 up. OK. 271 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,880 Does that kind of make sense? And there's a lot of them. 272 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:19,800 So you can kind of see like from this artist's rendition, they 273 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:22,200 they kind of intertwine themselves and they communicate 274 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,160 with each other well. Maybe. 275 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:33,160 Oh, I got a laser in case I need it again. 276 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,680 Thank you. So constantly these cells are 277 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,840 communicating with one another and you can kind of get a 278 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:43,400 picture for that here, kind of dim. 279 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:44,960 But can you see that picture well enough? 280 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:49,560 That is a high resolution map, one of the first ones ever made 281 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:51,960 that scientists put together where they were trying to map 282 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:56,720 out the neurons in a brain. So this is only 1/3 of a brain. 283 00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,200 They didn't finish it. They just wanted to take a 284 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:03,160 section and start. But this picture that you see 285 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:08,319 shows 25,000 neurons with 20 million synapses between them 286 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:10,119 that all communicate with one another. 287 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:15,400 That's pretty complex, right? But this isn't a human brain. 288 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,480 They they weren't ready to start with humans yet. 289 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:20,079 Have any of you seen this picture before? 290 00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:23,560 No. Do you want to guess what 291 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:26,040 creature it is outside of my household who already knows the 292 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:28,200 answer? A monkey. 293 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:31,880 OK, Any other ideas? A pig. 294 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:37,400 Any other ideas? Ricka, you look like you want to 295 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:42,400 say something. A bird. 296 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:46,160 Bird brain. OK, those are good guesses. 297 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:48,840 You know, I but it's not none of the above. 298 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:50,880 It's, it's actually much smaller than that. 299 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:54,240 What was that? An Ant? 300 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:56,200 You're getting closer, but even smaller. 301 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,640 This shows the brain connectivity of 1/3 of a fruit 302 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:06,160 fly brain. Can you imagine that? 303 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:09,160 A fruit fly? Have any of you seen a fruit fly 304 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:10,920 this week? Maybe this morning in your 305 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:16,200 kitchen. They're small, right? 306 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:19,360 They've since finished this project. 307 00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:21,840 I wasn't able to get a picture and put it up there, but it is 308 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:25,960 amazing. They have hundreds of thousands 309 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:28,720 of neurons functioning in their little tiny brains. 310 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:31,760 And they have, they discovered they actually have sections of 311 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:34,040 their brains responsible for decision making. 312 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:38,400 And I was at a client's house this week and they have a 313 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:40,960 problem with fruit flies. And they got one of those sticky 314 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:43,880 traps where where the fruit fly sticks to it and it can't get 315 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:45,720 away. And there was one fruit fly who 316 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:48,280 was really working so hard to pull himself off the trap. 317 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:50,480 And after seeing this, I actually felt bad for him. 318 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:53,840 It's like they're actually complex little creatures. 319 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:57,680 But if a fruit fly has this many neurons in their brain, how many 320 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:06,120 do you think we have? The human brain is estimated to 321 00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:13,040 house 100 billion neurons with 100 trillion synapses between 322 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:16,080 them. That's a pretty high number, 323 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:18,360 right? So you think that you have this 324 00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:21,840 many a billion neurons in your in your minds right now, and all 325 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:24,440 of them are, are working, they're communicating with one 326 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,000 another through those hundred trillion synapses. 327 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:30,760 That means there are more neurons in your brain and more 328 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,960 connections than there are stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. 329 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:39,560 Is that pretty incredible? The Milky Way Galaxy covers a 330 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:44,040 very large space, does it not? And we have all of these neurons 331 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:49,040 in a 3 LB mass of muscle that God created in our minds, in our 332 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:50,880 brains. It's incredible. 333 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,440 And this is something, this topic is something that when, 334 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:56,520 when I get to heaven, I really want to sit down with Jesus and 335 00:19:56,520 --> 00:20:00,640 be like, explain to me exactly how all of this works because 336 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:02,640 it's incredible. Science hasn't been able to 337 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,400 really understand consciousness and thought. 338 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:11,000 In his book Proof Positive, Neil Nedley has this quote says the 339 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,680 crowning wonder of the brain is that it is not static physically 340 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:16,920 or chemically. For something to be static, it 341 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:18,880 means it's unchanging. You know it. 342 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:23,040 It is what it is. But they're finding science is 343 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:26,320 finding that that is not true. There are two relatively new 344 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:28,200 fields of study. The first one is called 345 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:32,080 neuroplasticity, and that talks about the ability of the nervous 346 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:35,720 system to change its activity in response to intrinsic or 347 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:39,280 extrinsic stimuli by reorganizing its structure, 348 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,480 functions, and connections. So all these neurons that we 349 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:46,560 have in our brains actually have the ability to rewire themselves 350 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:50,280 and structurally alter the form of your brain. 351 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,520 And then there's neurogenesis, which is the even more amazing 352 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:58,040 ability that the brain can grow new neurons. 353 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:03,480 So it used to be believed that once you became an adult, like 354 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,600 you were developed, your brain was set in the way it was going 355 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:08,160 to be. You had all the brain cells that 356 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:10,880 you were ever going to have, and that was that. 357 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:14,720 But they're finding out that, no, the brain actually has the 358 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,000 ability to change and to adapt and to rewire. 359 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:21,400 I read an article recently about, it's not in this this 360 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:25,800 presentation, but it was a gentleman over in France who was 361 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,840 having back pain and he went for an MRI to to kind of find out 362 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:31,840 what was going on. They scanned his brain and were 363 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:34,480 surprised to find that 90% of his brain was missing. 364 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:38,040 When he was born, he had water in his brain that had been left 365 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:43,600 untreated and it had actually eroded away 90% of his brain and 366 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:45,680 he never would have known without that MRI. 367 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:49,880 The remaining 10% was able to adapt so he could talk. 368 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:52,000 He was married, he had kids, he had a job. 369 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:57,320 He wasn't a neuroscientist. He wasn't the brightest person, 370 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:02,520 but he lived a good life. Amazing, right? 371 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,960 God created this, that we can actually have our brains be 372 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:11,720 rewired and new brain cells. This is a quote from an article, 373 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:15,440 a scientific article called Use it or Lose It, and it has to do 374 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:18,040 with neurons in the brain. It says thousands of new neurons 375 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,320 are added to the adult hippocampus each day. 376 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,440 The hippocampus in our brain is thought to be the center of 377 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:27,280 emotion and memory and our automatic nervous system. 378 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:30,400 So thousands of new neurons are added to the adult hippocampus 379 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:33,680 each day. However, most of the new cells 380 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:37,120 do not survive. It's kind of exciting. 381 00:22:37,120 --> 00:22:39,880 We get new cells right and then find out more than half of them. 382 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:43,680 So in fact over half of them, if not more, die within just a few 383 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:47,120 weeks of their birth. One of the most effective ways 384 00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:51,400 to keep these cells from dying is by what learning. 385 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,360 Effortful and successful learning keeps new neurons alive 386 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:58,920 so we can actually do things to prevent those new brain cells 387 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:01,920 from dying. Moreover, once rescue, the new 388 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,480 neurons survive for months at least. 389 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,920 These new cells establish anatomical connections with 390 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,840 other neurons, which not only effects neuronal activity within 391 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:15,200 the hippocampus, but also presumably effects synaptic and 392 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:17,960 neuronal activity at afferent locations throughout the brain. 393 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:21,400 So in other words, once these new brain cells are rescued, 394 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:26,160 they actually mature into full adult neurons and they stay, 395 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:28,920 they they help rewire the brain. They alter the structure not 396 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:32,920 just in that area of the brain, but in other parts of the brain 397 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:37,040 as well. I think that's incredible. 398 00:23:38,120 --> 00:23:42,080 So the new cells are amazingly, amazingly responsive To what? 399 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:48,960 To their environment? We produce fewer brain cells in 400 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,080 response to stressful experiences, specific drugs of 401 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,400 abuse, alcohol, and sleep deprivation. 402 00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:58,000 Thus, it would appear that new neurons tend to be produced in 403 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:02,360 response to experiences that we often consider healthy, whereas 404 00:24:02,360 --> 00:24:05,520 fewer are produced in response to unhealthy behaviors. 405 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:07,800 Would that make sense? Makes sense. 406 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:11,320 So I just have a couple articles that talk about some of the 407 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:17,440 health habits that help promote neurogenesis and neuroplasticity 408 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:19,040 in our mind. What's this first one? 409 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:24,560 How exercise affects your brain? Here's a quote that is from the 410 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:26,960 Scientific American. This is a quote from the article 411 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:30,200 says exercise affects the brain in many ways. 412 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:33,680 It increases heart rates, which pumps more oxygen to the brain. 413 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:37,040 It aids the release of hormones which provide an excellent 414 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:39,240 environment for the growth of brain cells. 415 00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:44,040 Exercise also promotes brain plasticity by stimulating the 416 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:47,640 growth of new connections between cells in many important 417 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:51,200 cortical areas of the brain. Research from UCLA even 418 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:54,240 demonstrated that exercise increased growth factors in the 419 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:58,160 brain, which makes it easier for the brain to grow new neuronal 420 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:00,440 connections. Do you ever think that when you 421 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:03,600 went out for a walk that you were helping your body produce 422 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:06,280 new brain cells and new connections in your mind? 423 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:10,120 No, but it doesn't. Sometimes when we think of 424 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:12,480 exercise, we think of the fact that we have to go to the gym. 425 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:16,440 We have to, you know, work out and but something as simple as 426 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:20,440 walking makes a difference. Sleep restriction. 427 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:26,040 OK, this is from an article. They took some mice and they 428 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:29,240 limited how much sleep they could get each night and and 429 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:32,520 study them to see how easily they could learn a new activity. 430 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:36,480 So the findings reporting the study reaffirmed the importance 431 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:40,160 of sufficient sleep to neural and behavioral plasticity and 432 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:43,160 provide insight into the neural processes that are affected by 433 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:46,160 sleep loss. And in their study, they chose a 434 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:49,120 sleep restriction paradigm so they only limited how much sleep 435 00:25:49,120 --> 00:25:51,560 they got each night rather than taking it away completely, 436 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:55,000 because it was more similar to the type of sleep restriction 437 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:59,800 that adult humans normally incur in a standard work week as 438 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,920 someone's yawning. Is it true that sometimes we 439 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,080 don't always get the sleep that we should during the week? 440 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:07,880 Yeah. So they were trying to mimic 441 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:11,440 that and they found that while cognitive impairment may be 442 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:14,840 overcome, so the the mice that were sleep deprived did 443 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:18,120 eventually learn what they were supposed to learn, but it took 444 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:21,760 them four days to do it versus the other ones who could learn 445 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:24,840 something in one day. So their findings indicate that 446 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:28,160 mild chronic sleep restriction may have long term deleterious 447 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:31,400 effects on neural function. So is sleep important? 448 00:26:33,120 --> 00:26:38,440 Yes, this one has to do with dietary intake, our diet and 449 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,280 here's a quote from the article. While consuming highly palatable 450 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:48,560 foods, those considered high in salt, sugar and our processed 451 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:52,560 oils which are most snacks right American junk food. 452 00:26:53,360 --> 00:26:56,240 It can result in neuro adaptations that negatively 453 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:58,240 influence the brain function and structure. 454 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:02,280 However, consuming unprocessed, nutrient dense and diverse foods 455 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:06,760 daily, like fresh or even canned or frozen vegetables, fruits, 456 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:10,320 high quality proteins and healthy fats, the kinds found in 457 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:13,640 olive oil, avocados and nuts, can result in the opposite 458 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:17,800 effect, a process called neurogenesis, which involves the 459 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:21,120 proliferate of new neurons and other resident brain cells. 460 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:25,680 So the food that we eat plays a role in whether our brain has 461 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:27,760 the ability to produce new cells or not. 462 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:31,880 And you know, this is anyone who knows me knows that I love the 463 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:34,920 health message. I love to to teach about health. 464 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:40,440 But I have found that a lot of us, especially as Adventists, we 465 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:44,240 boil this down to just nutrition, you know, and it's 466 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,400 not, we believe we're supposed to believe in righteousness by 467 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:50,080 faith, but we adopt A righteousness by diet kind of 468 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:51,800 thing. Like the healthier food we eat, 469 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,000 the more brownie points we gain with God, right? 470 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:59,360 But the food that we eat should be healthy. 471 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,600 It should be promoting the health of our body and our 472 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:05,400 minds. But that is the focus of our 473 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,440 health message. OK, does that make sense? 474 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,720 Absolutely. To grow new brain cells to help 475 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:14,720 us be more capable, better learning. 476 00:28:16,360 --> 00:28:18,360 This is the last article I'll quote. 477 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:21,760 This is the adult brain makes new neurons and effortful 478 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:26,960 learning keeps them alive. So the types of skills that keep 479 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:30,000 new cells alive are not limited to those that depend on hip on 480 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:33,320 the hippocampus, but rather include those that are effortful 481 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:36,840 to learn that require more training, trials or time spent 482 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:40,000 training. Importantly, training alone is 483 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,080 not sufficient to increase cell survival. 484 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:45,640 Animals that are trained but do not learn do not retain more 485 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:47,280 cells than animals that are not trained. 486 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:50,760 Therefore, it's learning that increases the survival of newly 487 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,640 generated cells, and then once rescued, the vast majority of 488 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:57,960 these cells differentiate into neurons, thereby forming 489 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:01,440 synapses and generating action potentials as they become 490 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:05,520 incorporated into the existing architecture of the adult brain. 491 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:08,720 Did you ever stop to consider that there's a difference 492 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:14,800 between training and learning? Because it says here that if the 493 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:17,600 animals that they were studying, if they were trained to do 494 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:21,120 something, they didn't retain these new brain cells that they 495 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:24,800 were creating, that there's a difference between training and 496 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:26,360 learning. And quite honestly, I've never 497 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:29,680 really stopped to think about that much. 498 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:33,960 So the key difference between training and learning is that 499 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:38,880 training does not aim to change, develop, or expand the learner's 500 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:42,680 viewpoint or behavior. Training focuses on a specific 501 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:45,360 task and teaches the learner how to perform it. 502 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:49,080 Whether the learner absorbs, retains, or acts on what they've 503 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:52,280 learned depends entirely on how they're able to apply their new 504 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:55,480 found knowledge and skills in the real world and seek further 505 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:58,760 development. Now just as a little side note, 506 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:02,520 how many of us as as Adventists are well trained Adventists? 507 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:06,400 Could you say we're well trained? 508 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:09,000 We know that we go to church on Saturdays. 509 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:11,240 We know that we have a health message. 510 00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:17,400 We know to pay our tithe. We know not to drink, right? 511 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:20,560 We we know all the rules to be a good Adventist. 512 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:26,040 But how many of us, I'll make it general, maybe haven't allowed 513 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:30,640 that to to leave just a head knowledge and let it become part 514 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:32,080 of our lives and part of our hearts. 515 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:35,840 Where we learn that Sabbath keeping is more than just going 516 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:39,080 to church on Saturday, but it's resting in God and being a part 517 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,760 of him seven days in the week and letting it to become a very 518 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:46,400 real part of who we are. You know, and I thought that was 519 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:49,680 interesting is when as even as we study God's Word, we 520 00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:54,720 shouldn't be just reading it to see what we can know as far as 521 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:56,920 information goes. But how can we apply this to our 522 00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:58,880 life? The difference between training 523 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:00,920 and learning is that learning is very deliberate. 524 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:03,560 We want to change ourselves, become better people. 525 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:08,320 Now these things we mentioned, exercise, sleep, diet, learning, 526 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:13,680 do they sound familiar? Ministry of healing Page 127 527 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:16,080 pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, that is 528 00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:19,840 temperance, rest, exercise and proper diet and the use of water 529 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:22,520 and trust and divine power. These are the true remedies. 530 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:25,760 Every person should have a knowledge of nature's remedial 531 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:28,160 agencies and how to apply them. What do we call these? 532 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:31,920 The 8 laws of health. And it's amazing. 533 00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:35,440 You could pick any one of these and go look up, Google it, the 534 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:38,280 benefits of sunlight and you're going to find out how good this 535 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:40,360 is for you. God gave us such a simple plan 536 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:42,880 here on how to maintain our health. 537 00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:48,000 Pastor shared with me that that you guys have different topics 538 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:51,280 that you're studying each week and the the topic for this week 539 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:56,760 was the gospel and I believe this applies to the gospel, does 540 00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:59,280 it not? Our scripture reading was Romans 541 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:01,600 12/1 through two. I beseech you therefore, 542 00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:05,000 brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a 543 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:10,160 living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your 544 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:13,720 reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this 545 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:19,400 world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you 546 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:24,560 may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of 547 00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:30,800 God to be renewed, transformed by the renewing of your mind. 548 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:34,320 You know, for so many years I read this verse and I think we 549 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:37,840 think of it as an abstract concept that God comes and he 550 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:40,840 changes us, He changes our minds, He changes our desires. 551 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:45,120 Actually last night in Vespers, Elder Fred here was talking 552 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:47,880 about the will and as you were sharing, I was thinking of how 553 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:49,960 nice that dovetails. I was telling grandma like, hey, 554 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:52,440 you know, it dovetails into this topic today. 555 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:56,920 God wants to transform our minds, but he does it very 556 00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:01,240 literally as well. He is recreating us and 557 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:03,640 recreating our minds into his image. 558 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:07,520 And the amazing part to me is that we're allowed to be a part 559 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:12,760 of that, though we actually have a role to play in the 560 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:18,000 transformation of our minds. If you have your Bibles again, 561 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:19,920 you can turn to Deuteronomy Chapter 7. 562 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:23,880 Again, it's on the screen. If you don't Deuteronomy Chapter 563 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:29,960 7 starting in verse 6, it says for you are a holy people to the 564 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:33,280 Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you 565 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:37,000 to be a people for himself, a special treasure above all the 566 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:38,760 peoples on the face of the earth. 567 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:42,800 The Lord did not set his love on you nor choose you because you 568 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:45,760 were more number than any other people, for you were the least 569 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:47,760 of all peoples. But why? 570 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:54,200 Because the Lord loves you. Jumping down to verse 12. 571 00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:57,160 So then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these 572 00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:00,400 judgments and keep them, and do them, that the Lord your God 573 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:04,280 will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to 574 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:08,639 your Father's. And jumping down to verse 15 And 575 00:34:08,639 --> 00:34:11,800 the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict 576 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:14,600 you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have 577 00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:17,800 known, but will lay them on all those who hate you. 578 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:23,239 Did God give laws to the Israelites because He wanted to 579 00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:26,280 control them, because he wanted to restrict them, because he was 580 00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:30,199 mean and harsh and just wanted to make their lives miserable? 581 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:33,560 So they gave it to him because he loved them. 582 00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:38,000 It was to be a blessing to them. And we see in these this passage 583 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:40,800 that he promises his love, His protection. 584 00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:43,920 He promises a covenant with us, and He promises to give us 585 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:45,560 health. Have you ever stopped to 586 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:47,639 consider what the diseases of Egypt were? 587 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:51,840 I studied that and I looked it up one time and surprisingly 588 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:55,760 enough, they are the same diseases in the United States of 589 00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:59,920 America. Atherosclerosis, heart disease, 590 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:03,040 they had lung disease, kidney disease. 591 00:35:04,240 --> 00:35:05,800 It's very common. Disease is what we would call 592 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:08,200 diseases of lifestyle that have to affect with the way they 593 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:10,000 live. So the Lord promised that as we 594 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:13,720 followed His counsel, He would guide us and protect us. 595 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:17,960 This is from Councils on Health, page 120 to 121. 596 00:35:18,320 --> 00:35:21,080 As our Heavenly Father sent the light of health reform to guard 597 00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:23,800 against the evils resulting from a debased appetite. 598 00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:27,160 That those who love purity and holiness may know how to use 599 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:30,040 with discretion the good things that He has provided for them, 600 00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:33,960 and that by exercising temperance in daily life they 601 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:39,680 may be sanctified by the truth. So the purpose of the health 602 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:46,640 message is for what? Our Sanctification Review and 603 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:51,840 Herald, Volume one, page 254. This is true sanctification. 604 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:57,040 It is not merely a theory, an emotion, or a form of words, but 605 00:35:57,040 --> 00:36:01,000 a living, active principle entering into the everyday life. 606 00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:06,200 It requires that our habits of eating, drinking, and dressing 607 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:10,320 be such as to secure the preservation of physical, mental 608 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:13,680 and moral health, that we may present to the Lord our bodies, 609 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:17,560 not an offering corrupted by wrong habits, but a living 610 00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:21,000 sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. 611 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:25,680 Beautiful. This is true sanctification, 612 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:27,960 that every day our lives are living in a way that is in 613 00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:32,040 harmony with God's principles, that will keep us in the best 614 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:35,080 health to serve others, that will keep us with clear minds to 615 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:38,760 discern right and wrong. I believe we all want that 616 00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:46,040 minds. Yes, 1st Corinthians 6 verse 19 617 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:50,400 and 20 says do you not know that your body is the temple of the 618 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:55,080 Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are 619 00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:58,520 not your own, for you were bought with a price. 620 00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:02,640 Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which 621 00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:07,080 are gods. We can glorify Him in our health 622 00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:10,640 and in our bodies, counsels and nines, and food. 623 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:13,960 Page 17 it says The Creator of man has arranged the living 624 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:17,720 machinery of our bodies. Every function is wonderfully 625 00:37:17,720 --> 00:37:21,880 and wisely made, and God pledged Himself to keep this human 626 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:26,040 machinery in healthful action. If the human agent will obey His 627 00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:29,720 laws and cooperate with God, we have a part to play. 628 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:33,800 Every law governing the human machinery is to be considered 629 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:38,280 just as truly divine in origin, in character, and in importance 630 00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:43,720 as what the Word of God. Every careless, inattentive 631 00:37:43,720 --> 00:37:47,320 action, any abuse put upon the Lord's wonderful mechanism by 632 00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:51,080 disregarding His specified laws in human habitation, is a 633 00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:56,360 violation of God's law. We may behold and admire the 634 00:37:56,360 --> 00:38:00,080 work of God in the natural world, but the human habitation 635 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:06,080 is the most wonderful humanity. That was the crowning of His 636 00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:11,680 creations. But to disregard the laws of our 637 00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:14,360 human habitation is a violation of God's law. 638 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:16,320 That is pretty serious, is it not? 639 00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:21,040 But why? Why would it be such a serious 640 00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:23,440 offense to violate the laws of our being? 641 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:27,760 Comes back to the quote we shared at the beginning on page 642 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:32,600 346 of Christ's object lessons. Anything that lessens physical 643 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:36,080 strength and feebles the mind and makes it less capable of 644 00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:37,960 discriminating between right and wrong. 645 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:45,440 And this quote Testimonies for the Church volume to page 347 646 00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:48,520 says the brain nerves which communicate with the entire 647 00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:52,400 system are the only medium through which heaven can 648 00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:55,560 communicate with man and affect his inmost life. 649 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,080 So those neurons that we were talking about that we can grow 650 00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:03,800 neurons that can rewire themselves and restructure. 651 00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:06,320 Those are the only ways that heaven has to talk to you. 652 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:13,920 So we should want to keep them in the best health, yes, to want 653 00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:17,560 to be generating and keeping as many of them as we can each day 654 00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:21,240 so that we can have clear minds to hear God. 655 00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:25,560 Ellen White says that we should be so in tuned with with God 656 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:28,600 that we are moved by the faintest whisper of His Spirit 657 00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:30,840 and we need to have clear minds to do that. 658 00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:37,200 Matthew 2529 going back to the story of the talents says for to 659 00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:40,240 everyone who has more will be given and He will have 660 00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:45,120 abundance, but from him who does not have even what he has will 661 00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:47,880 be taken away. So what is our responsibility in 662 00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:49,360 this? With the talents that God's 663 00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:54,920 given us to work to cultivate them right? 664 00:39:56,240 --> 00:39:59,320 To try and perfect them, to gain as as much as we can. 665 00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:03,920 Christ object Lessons 330 It says God will only accept those 666 00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:08,200 who are determined to aim high. He places every human agent 667 00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:13,320 under obligation to do how much to do his best. 668 00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:15,680 You know there's a saying, you do your best and God makes up 669 00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:19,920 the rest. You heard that moral perfection 670 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,960 is required of all. We need to understand that 671 00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:26,640 imperfection of character is sin, and those who would be 672 00:40:26,640 --> 00:40:29,560 workers together with God must strive for perfection of every 673 00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:33,360 organ of the body and for the quality of the mind. 674 00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:37,200 Next page. But Christ has given us no 675 00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:40,160 assurance that to attain perfection of character is an 676 00:40:40,160 --> 00:40:43,760 easy matter. A noble all around. 677 00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:48,320 Character is not inherited, it does not come to us by accident. 678 00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:50,200 Can we accidentally become perfect people? 679 00:40:50,640 --> 00:40:55,360 Like it just happens? That's like how they say The Big 680 00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:59,800 Bang Theory happened, right? A noble character is earned by 681 00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:02,840 individual effort through the merits and grace of Christ. 682 00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:07,600 God gives the talents, the powers of the mind and who forms 683 00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:10,840 the character. We form the character. 684 00:41:11,880 --> 00:41:14,800 Let no one say I cannot remedy my defects of character. 685 00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:17,680 If you come to this decision, you will certainly fail of 686 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:24,280 obtaining everlasting life. The impossibility lies where in 687 00:41:24,280 --> 00:41:30,600 your own will and where do we will to do things in our minds 688 00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:36,120 right in the frontal lobe, yes says if you will not, then you 689 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:39,040 cannot overcome. Remember that you will never 690 00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:42,560 reach a higher standard than you yourself set. 691 00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:49,680 But as we do that, as we seek to to multiply our talents and to 692 00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:54,640 grow them, do we have to be afraid that we're going to fail 693 00:41:56,280 --> 00:41:59,240 as we try to cultivate what God has given us and to use it for 694 00:41:59,240 --> 00:42:02,880 His service? Will we lose in the long run? 695 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:09,320 With the dispensation of the talent, success is guaranteed. 696 00:42:10,320 --> 00:42:12,680 You know, I was thinking about that foolish servant who buried 697 00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:17,120 his talent and how many of us maybe do similar things with 698 00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:22,120 talents that God has given us if he had tried, because he didn't 699 00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:25,120 even try, right? He just buried it in the ground. 700 00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:28,440 But if he had tried to multiply that one talent, do you think he 701 00:42:28,440 --> 00:42:32,560 would have been successful? I mean, we say that the the 702 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:36,120 Master, his Lord wouldn't have been mad at him if he lost the 703 00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:40,000 talent, if he tried to multiply it and made a bad business deal 704 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,320 and came back with no talents that his Lord would have been 705 00:42:42,320 --> 00:42:45,520 understanding and accept, accepting the fact that at least 706 00:42:45,520 --> 00:42:47,440 you tried, right? You tried your best. 707 00:42:48,080 --> 00:42:53,040 But as we try our best, we don't have to be afraid that we're 708 00:42:53,040 --> 00:42:56,600 going to fail. God will bless and he will give 709 00:42:56,600 --> 00:42:59,760 us the strength to continue on, continuing to multiply the 710 00:42:59,760 --> 00:43:02,200 talents that he gives us and bringing us farther and farther 711 00:43:02,200 --> 00:43:05,640 along to perfection. I love this following quote. 712 00:43:05,640 --> 00:43:07,120 This is from Manuscript Releases. 713 00:43:07,520 --> 00:43:11,920 Volume 9, page 21 says eternity is before us. 714 00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:17,000 All improvements we make here on earth of our mental powers, all 715 00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:20,640 the high attainments we make in refining and elevating ourselves 716 00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:24,560 by connecting closely with Heaven, will be translated with 717 00:43:24,560 --> 00:43:27,920 us. While if we dwarf our capability 718 00:43:27,920 --> 00:43:31,000 by inaction, if we deteriorate our talents which are 719 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:34,040 susceptible to the highest cultivation, we cannot in the 720 00:43:34,040 --> 00:43:37,720 better world redeem that past neglect of self culture, that 721 00:43:37,720 --> 00:43:40,680 great loss. We should make improvement in 722 00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:44,720 this life all that we can by the help and grace of God, knowing 723 00:43:44,720 --> 00:43:48,200 that we can take these improvements with us to heaven. 724 00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:52,800 So the choices that we are making here, even when it comes 725 00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:56,040 to how we live our lives and our lifestyle, we'll reverberate 726 00:43:56,040 --> 00:44:01,600 through eternity. Manuscript releases, Volume 9. 727 00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:04,400 Reasoning we must have. And where does the reasoning 728 00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:07,760 take place? And the frontal lobes of our 729 00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:10,400 minds. It is one of the great masterly 730 00:44:10,400 --> 00:44:13,760 talents entrusted to the human agent, and is a great advantage 731 00:44:13,760 --> 00:44:16,280 at every step we advance from earth to heaven. 732 00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:21,200 The faculty of reasoning, trained and cultivated as a 733 00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:25,640 precious and trusted gift, will be taken to heaven, with all its 734 00:44:25,640 --> 00:44:29,760 improvements and sanctified abilities, to be to be perfected 735 00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:32,600 more and more in the heavenly schools above. 736 00:44:34,040 --> 00:44:41,080 Isn't that beautiful? Philippians 3 This is Paul 737 00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:44,640 speaking starting in verse 12. This is not that I have already 738 00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:48,040 attained or I'm already perfected, but I press on that I 739 00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:51,080 may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold 740 00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:54,000 of me. Brethren, I do not count myself 741 00:44:54,160 --> 00:44:57,240 to have apprehended but one thing I do, forgetting those 742 00:44:57,240 --> 00:45:00,040 things which are behind and reaching forward to those things 743 00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:03,880 which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the 744 00:45:03,880 --> 00:45:06,000 upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 745 00:45:07,160 --> 00:45:09,960 It's a journey, right? We don't become perfect 746 00:45:10,560 --> 00:45:14,360 overnight, but every day we lay our will down at the foot of the 747 00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:18,120 cross and every day we make decisions that will bring us 748 00:45:18,120 --> 00:45:20,080 closer to Christ and we press on. 749 00:45:21,200 --> 00:45:24,160 But we have the assurance in Philippians one verse 6 being 750 00:45:24,160 --> 00:45:27,520 confident in this very thing that he who has begun a good 751 00:45:27,520 --> 00:45:31,640 work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. 752 00:45:32,280 --> 00:45:35,080 So who's the one responsible for the perfection who will complete 753 00:45:35,080 --> 00:45:37,800 that work? Jesus says right. 754 00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:42,160 Isn't that relieving? It's not all on us. 755 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:46,640 God will do that for us, so that one day each of us, when Jesus 756 00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:50,720 comes back and we've used the talents that he's given us here, 757 00:45:50,720 --> 00:45:54,160 we've cultivated them, we've grown them, that one day all of 758 00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:58,240 us will meet our Maker and we will be able to hear the words 759 00:45:58,240 --> 00:46:01,920 ourselves. Well done, good and faithful 760 00:46:01,920 --> 00:46:04,480 servant. You have been faithful over a 761 00:46:04,480 --> 00:46:07,920 few things, and I will make you ruler over many things. 762 00:46:08,440 --> 00:46:12,920 Enter into the joy of your Lord. Do you want to hear that 763 00:46:12,920 --> 00:46:15,120 someday? Amen. 764 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:19,520 I want to hear that too. And it is my prayer that each of 765 00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:23,160 us will make the efforts needed to learn how to best keep 766 00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:26,520 ourselves close to God, to be making decisions each day 767 00:46:26,520 --> 00:46:30,040 that'll help strengthen our minds so that the mind of Christ 768 00:46:30,680 --> 00:46:33,480 will be recreated literally in US. 769 00:46:35,160 --> 00:46:38,120 Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you 770 00:46:38,120 --> 00:46:44,240 for the simple messages that you've given us that give us the 771 00:46:44,240 --> 00:46:47,680 promise and assurance that you will do the work in our lives to 772 00:46:47,760 --> 00:46:52,320 bring us to perfection. And we thank you for the 773 00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:54,640 privilege that you've given us to be a part of that work. 774 00:46:55,280 --> 00:46:58,720 And we ask that you will just continue to give us the wisdom 775 00:46:58,840 --> 00:47:02,160 and the guidance to cultivate the talents that you've given 776 00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:06,920 us, that we may be of best service to you and to others, so 777 00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:09,080 that one day we may hear those words. 778 00:47:09,080 --> 00:47:12,680 Well done, good and faithful servants, we look forward to 779 00:47:12,680 --> 00:47:16,520 that day and we ask that you will keep us close to you until 780 00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:18,160 then. In Jesus name I pray. 781 00:47:18,600 --> 00:47:18,880 Amen.