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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP191102A
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00:10 >> Good morning. Happy Sabbath.
00:14 It is so great to come with you to worship our God together, 00:19 and today, we're going to be celebrating a God 00:21 who doesn't just live in another realm and distance 00:25 Himself from His creation, but He gets involved, and 00:29 He cares about every aspect of our lives. 00:31 So as we begin, let's pray together. Father in Heaven, we thank you 00:36 for caring about our physical well-being, our mental health and our 00:40 spiritual connection with you, and we pray that you will join us as we worship you, 00:45 all for your glory. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 01:02 Let's sing this together. Praise Him. 01:34 Let's sing that again. 02:46 Sing with us. 05:19 Isn't it great that God's love never fails, that it never gives up on us? 05:25 You know, we fail. We give up. We mess up, for sure, 05:33 but our God is always there to take us back, and not only that, but 05:38 He is who defines us. We're not defined by our mistakes, 05:43 even by all our choices. We are defined by His immense love for us. 05:48 We are defined by His regard for us. We are who we are 05:53 because it's what He says that we are, and this morning we're talking 05:57 about mental health this morning, and there's just this important foundation 06:02 to lay our identity on, and that is God's love and regard for us. 06:55 I'd like to stand with us as we continue singing. 07:35 In my Father's house. 08:10 I am chosen. 08:27 I am. 09:30 And our Father invites us to come sit at his feet, and as we come to bring 09:35 the things that weigh us down to Him, he says, "My yoke is easy. 09:41 My burden is light. Let me help you. Let me carry some of that 09:44 for you because I love you because you're my child." So as we're singing this 09:48 last song, if there's something that you want to bring to His feet, join us at the front. 13:33 >> Good morning, boys and girls, on this first Sabbath of November. 13:37 Nice to see you here. G'day, that's what I should be saying, g'day, 13:41 because today's children's story comes from one of my favorite story scouts 13:46 who lives in Australia now. Darish Yankovic, he saw this story. 13:50 Oh, I'm so glad he did. It's about a golden retriever. What kind of an animal 13:55 is a golden retriever? Help me out. >> A dog. 13:56 >> It's a dog. It's a big dog. It's a beautiful dog. 13:59 His name is Jake, and the Atkinson family, 14:02 oh, they loved their pet, Jake, but Jake is very sad today. 14:05 You know why he's sad? 14:07 Because his sister, Molly, also a golden retriever, died, and when somebody 14:13 who is very dear to you dies, it's a very sad time, and Jake is just wandering 14:19 around the house, and if he had dogs tears, he'd be crying dog tears. 14:24 He is so sad, and the Atkinson family says, "Oh, this is terrible for 14:28 that dog to be so sad. Let's go buy another golden retriever. 14:33 What do you say, honey? Let's get one. Let's get a puppy," 14:35 and so they went out, and they bought a little, tiny golden retriever named Addie, 14:42 a little sister to join big-brother Jake, and suddenly Jake 14:46 with little Addie just always nipping at his heel and grabbing his ear, 14:50 suddenly Jake is feeling good because he has somebody traveling beside him, 14:54 and soon Jake is back to his old self, except, Uh-oh, they notice something 15:03 is happening to Jake's eyes. Something is going wrong with his eyes, 15:08 and sure enough, little Addie, his little sister, she began to come up to Jake, 15:13 and she would get right up into his eyes. She would start 15:15 licking his eyes. That doesn't sound very fun at all. 15:21 Something, Addie sensed, was wrong. So they took Jake to a dog 15:25 doctor, called a veterinarian, and the veterinarian looked at Jake's eyes. 15:29 He said, "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I've seen this before. I'm very sorry. There's nothing 15:34 we can do to save the eyes. We are going to have to take the eyes out." 15:40 What? Yes! No! 15:44 "We have to, or you're going to lose your dog." Oh, so the family 15:49 talked it over. They said, "Okay, take Jake's eyes out." 15:53 How would you like somebody to take out your eyes? It would be bad. 15:57 They took his eyes out, and the doctor said when he woke up -- Could he see anything? 16:02 No, it's pitch-black, but his tail was wagging because he felt so much better. 16:07 His eyes had quit producing tears, and they had to take them out. 16:11 Now Jake is in total darkness. But when he gets back to the house from the hospital, 16:18 who comes right up to him? It's little Addie. She is so excited to have her 16:23 big brother back. She said, "Jake, welcome home," and Jake said, "Listen, Addie, 16:30 I can't see at all. It's pitch-black. So you just lead me, 16:33 and I'll follow where you go." So Jake, the golden retriever, has a seeing eye dog now, 16:40 and the little seeing eye dog is his sister, and she says, "Oh, watch out, 16:44 those are the stairs. Slow down. Good! Watch out! Watch out for that corner, Jake," 16:49 and she was helping Jake. He's in darkness, but she's walking beside him 16:54 and a big help. And you know what? He eventually got used 16:59 to the whole house. He could run. He can run now out in the yard 17:02 because his little sister, Addie, when he was in a time of terrible darkness, 17:08 came right up beside him and said, "I'm going to stay close to you." 17:12 I want to see a picture of Jake. If you could just move over just a little bit, Mama, 17:16 I want to see a picture of Jake and his sister, Addie. Now they both have bow ties on, 17:21 and I do want to compliment those bow ties, but I want you to look at Jake. 17:26 He's the one on the right. You see, his eyes are permanently closed. 17:30 The eyeballs aren't there. So it's just kind of sunken in, but it's Jake. 17:34 "Jake, are you upset?" "No," he says, "I'm not upset because I have my sister, Addie, 17:40 and I'm going to be just fine." Oh. Thank you, Jake. 17:46 Thank you, Addie. You know, who else? I'm thinking of somebody 17:49 who always walks with us, and when it's dark, He really walks with us. 17:54 Who am I thinking of, I wonder? >> Jesus. >> I'm thinking of Jesus. 17:59 He's a friend in darkness. He's a friend in light. He's always with us. 18:03 And you know what He does? Ooh, ooh! Sometimes He says -- 18:06 He picks another friend of His, and He says, "I want you to go that friend right there, 18:09 and I want you to walk with that little boy. I want you to walk with 18:12 that little girl because she's very lonely. She's very discouraged. 18:16 She's very sad," and when we walk with people who are in darkness, 18:21 it just brings a new, fresh joy into their hearts. Oh, thank you, Jesus. 18:28 You never left us. You've always been our very best friend. 18:35 Who would like to thank Jesus for us, and by thanking Jesus, say, "Listen, Jesus, 18:40 you stay with me"? Anybody? With glasses, come on down here. 18:47 Come on down here. Yes, sir. Watch out, ladies, 18:50 just let him through, and I got a microphone for you. Here it is. 18:53 And what's your name? >> Nathan. >> Nathan. 18:56 Hey. Let's pray with Nathan, shall we? 18:59 Nathan is going to thank Jesus for being somebody who stays with us all the time. 19:02 Close your eyes, fold your hands, and, Nathan, let's pray. 19:06 >> Dear Jesus, thank you for this day. Help us have a wonderful Sabbath 19:11 and help us follow Your word. In Jesus' name, amen. >> Amen. 19:16 Thank you, Nathan, for that beautiful prayer. As you go quietly back 19:19 to your seats, you can say that, "Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for staying with me 19:23 whether it's dark or light. I love you." Happy Sabbath. 19:32 In fact, let's pray right now. Father, well, we needed that prayer. 19:40 And what's that promise? Yea, though we walk through the valley of the shadow. 19:52 You're there. Wherever we are right now, Father, 19:57 You are here. Take these next few moments, sensitive subject, let us 20:04 hear what we need to hear, make it clear, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen. 20:11 It is a sensitive subject. In fact, I want to pick up 20:13 where we left off with the children's story. 20:15 When you're in darkness, you really need somebody 20:19 to walk beside you. You need somebody to be there 20:21 with you. So earlier this semester, 20:26 I'm sitting in a circle of Gen-Z university students. 20:29 All right? We're just 20:31 sitting around talking, and as it often happens, 20:34 the topic shifts to mental health. 20:36 That's just the reality. It shifts to mental health, and it's an energetic 20:41 conversation that we're having, and then one of the guys says, "Hey, yo, yo." 20:45 He said, "I want to tell you something. Last year, winter semester, man," 20:53 he said, "I went into a bout of depression." I said, "No. You?" 21:01 "Yeah, me." I said, "Well, look at you now. How'd you get out of it?" 21:05 He said, "Somebody. God sent somebody into my life," and he pointed. 21:09 True story, he pointed across the circle at a guy sitting where I'm sitting, 21:14 and he said, "He did it." I said, "You're talking about your roommate?" 21:19 He said, "Yeah." I said, "What'd he do?" "He just prayed with me. 21:24 He prayed with me at night. He just kept praying for me, and I'm here because of him." 21:28 I said to myself, "Wow, this Generation Z not only knows about mental health crises, 21:35 it also knows about mental health solutions. He really got that right," 21:39 and then we fell back into the conversation about mental health, 21:42 and another kid, I'm telling you the truth, another university guy said, "Yo." 21:47 I said, "What's up with you?" He said, "My friend, not just last winter, my friend last year 21:55 went into a huge and dark dive. He didn't think he was going to make it." 21:59 I said, "Well, what'd you do for him?" He said, 22:02 "I knew I had to do something. So I said to him, 'Look, I know what you're going through. 22:08 Here's the deal. I want you to meet me every day, and I'm going to meet you 22:11 every day at the end of the day, and I'm going to ask you one question, 22:14 and you be ready for the answer. "Look back over today and tell me one good thing 22:19 that happened to you."'" Every day, this guy and his buddy 22:28 met at the end of the day. They're not even roommates. They met at the end of the day, 22:32 and he asked that one question, "What one good thing happened to you today?" 22:36 And do you know what? Because that friend was traveling 22:39 beside his friend in darkness, that friend in darkness eventually reached the light. 22:44 >> Amen. >> Hallelujah. I'm thinking to myself, 22:47 with that second story, I said, "Wow, this Generation Z, they not only know that 22:52 they have a mental health crisis going on, but they have found a huge solution." 22:58 It's really kind of crazy when you think about it. You take this generational 23:02 spread, okay? Here's the human race right now. This is the human race. 23:06 Those incoming, okay, massive mental health crisis, they're saying, over depression, 23:15 and what's so weird is the incoming generation is matched by the outgoing generation. 23:21 Gen Zs matched by baby boomers plus, they have their own huge mental crisis going on. 23:27 Over here, it's called depression. Over here, it's called dementia, 23:33 and it's going on just as real on both sides, and I'm thinking to myself, 23:38 "That is a huge felt need in this little university parish, and we can't go on 23:45 without dealing with this extremely sensitive subject, and I'm really 23:49 nervous about this because I'm probably going to blow it in some people's minds, 23:53 and I'll make a mistake and say the wrong thing." Please know that it comes from 23:57 a heart that loves this parish, and I'm on the same spectrum, and I'm closer to down here, 24:04 and I know it. So let's do this, if you're okay with this. 24:10 We'll deal with both ends of the spectrum, and everybody in between will get dealt with, 24:14 but we'll do it this way. Let's deal with the bad news first. 24:17 All right? I'm the kind of guy if you say, "Good news or bad news?" 24:20 give me the bad first. I just want the bad, just get it out of the way. 24:23 Then tell me the good. So we'll do the same. Okay? 24:25 Okay, bad news for Generation Z. Generation Z is born between 1995 and 2006, 24:32 between 13 and 24 years of age. Most of our college students right there, huge mental 24:38 health crisis going on. The American Psychological Association just this last year 24:43 came out with a report. I've got the title of the report right here. 24:47 It's called the "APA Stress in America Generation Z Survey." Here are some 24:52 important statistics. Let me run these by you. This is bad news, I understand. 24:56 We'll get over it. Okay, here are the opening words to that APA report. 25:00 Let's put them on the screen. All right. 25:03 "Headline issues," it's talking about the news. 25:05 Okay? Gen Z is big on news. 25:07 "Headline issues" such as immigration, 25:10 such as sexual assault, "are causing significant stress 25:14 among members of Generation Z, those between ages 15 and 21." 25:17 They really pushed the borders in for their particular survey, 25:22 "with mass shootings," talking about headlines, 25:24 "with mass shooting topping the list of stressful current 25:27 events, according to the 'APA Report Stress in America: 25:29 Generation Z' released in October." 25:32 Now here come the stats. All right? 25:33 Stats are on the screen, and by the way, 25:35 don't write these down because you have a study guide, 25:37 and everything is in there. We'll get to the 25:38 fill-in-the-blanks a few moments from now, 25:40 but here's the APA stats. "This generation 25:44 is significantly more likely, 27 percent, 25:47 than other generations, including millennials, 25:50 15 percent, and Gen Zers, 13 percent, 25:53 to report their mental health as fair or poor, 25:56 the survey found. They are also more likely, 25:59 37 percent, along with millennials, 35 percent, 26:03 to report that they have received treatment or therapy 26:06 from a mental health professional, compared with 26:08 26 percent of Gen Xers, 22 percent of baby boomers 26:12 and 15 percent of older adults." 26:14 Did you get that number? About one in three of this generation 26:19 describe their mental health as fair to poor. In fact, university freshmen 26:26 across this nation, higher than any entering class in the history of universities, 26:32 are indicating on university surveys, "I have mental health issues." 26:42 Now, listen, folks, come on. Come on. Come on. 26:44 I understand it's very easy for me to stand up front and throw, 26:47 toss around a few numbers, but behind these numbers are very real people 26:53 who attend this university and who worship in this university church. 26:59 We're not dealing with some sort of mental health theory. We're dealing 27:03 with an existential crisis that's going on at this end of the entry to the human race. 27:11 APA on the screen again, "More than nine 27:14 in 10 Gen-Z adults." So these would be 27:16 the twentysomethings. "More than nine in 10 Gen-Z 27:19 adults, 91 percent, said they have experienced 27:22 at least one physical or emotional symptom 27:25 because of stress, such as feeling depressed or sad, 27:30 58 percent, or lacking interest, motivation or energy, 27:33 55 percent. Only half of all Gen Zs 27:37 feel like they do enough to manage their stress." 27:41 We got a mental health crisis going on in a whole nation. Is there any help? 27:48 Is there any hope? Are you kidding? We wouldn't be in this. 27:50 If there were no help and no hope, I would stay away from this subject. 27:53 I'd keep it away with a 10-foot pole. Of course, there's help. 27:58 That's the bad news down here. Let's deal with the bad news up here, okay? 28:01 Make sure that everybody gets bad news today. Okay, let's go 28:05 to the Alzheimer's Association. Now remember, down here on the generational spectrum, 28:09 it's depression. Down here on the generational scale, dementia, 28:18 losing my mind. The Alzheimer's Association, most recent report, 28:24 5.6 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's dementia right now, right now. 28:31 In fact, put this on the screen. "By 2025, the number of people 28:35 age 65 and older with Alzheimer's dementia 28:37 is projected to reach 7.1 million Americans, 28:42 almost a 27 percent increase from the 5.6 million age 28:46 65 and older," today. 28:48 Wow. And then, by the way, by 2050, listen to this, 28:52 "The number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer's dementia may grow to a projected 28:56 13.8 million Americans." We're talking about a mental health crisis on both ends 29:03 of the spectrum, folks. How could we possibly ignore this? 29:10 In a book that my friends Dwayne and Lori Cofrig gave me the other day, 29:13 the title of the book, "The Alzheimer's Solution: A Breakthrough Program 29:17 to Prevent and Reverse the Symptoms of Cognitive Decline at Every Age," 29:22 written by a husband-and-wife team. They're both MDs, 29:26 Dean and Ayesha Sherzai. They are the codirectors of the Brain Health and Alzheimer's 29:31 Prevention program at Loma Linda University. From that book that 29:35 I'm reading three books on Alzheimer's. I read three books on Gen Zs. 29:38 Now these words on the screen from the husband-and-wife team, 29:43 "While every chronic disease you can think of is in decline, 29:47 deaths due to Alzheimer's have increased nearly 87 percent 29:52 in the last decade. The next decade could be 29:55 even worse. Ten percent of people 29:57 over the age of 65 will develop some form of dementia, 30:00 and people over the age of 85 have a 50 percent chance 30:05 of developing the disease. Alzheimer's may, in fact, 30:09 be America's third most-deadly disease, behind only heart 30:13 disease and cancer," and now comes this sentence, 30:16 "The question is no longer if we will develop the disease 30:20 but when." 30:22 Well, have a nice day. You too. I mean, please, did you have 30:27 to ruin our day? It's not a question of when. No, no, it is a question 30:34 of when. I'm losing it in front of you. This is bad. 30:40 Man, you like to do this privately where nobody sees it coming. 30:46 Oh, it's not a question of if. It's a question of when this is going to happen to me. 30:53 Mercy, mercy, depression at this end. Dementia at this end. 30:57 Is there any good news for any of us somewhere along this strip called the generation? 31:03 Yeah, there's great news, and the great news is how God is interfacing with us in this. 31:08 This is going to blow you out of the water when you see this. Now, you pull your study 31:10 guide out. Now, you pull it out because I'm going to share three parts 31:14 of good news, three good-news parts. You ready for these? 31:16 You don't have a study guide, hold your hand up. Here come these friendly 31:19 ushers your way. You got to have this. There are three parts 31:22 of good news. You can get the bad news. It's all there, but we're not 31:25 even filling in those blanks. Here comes the good news now. Hold your hand 31:28 up in the balcony. Hold your hand up down here. 31:31 Those of you watching on TV, we put it on the screen. 31:33 You see it there. There's our website, 31:35 www.newperceptions.tv. What's this about? 31:40 "A DIY," Gen-Zers know, a "Do-It-Yourself Guide 31:43 to Better Mental Health: Saving Your Sanity." 31:47 Saving your sanity. 31:49 "Is there any good news in that, Dwight?" You bet there is. 31:52 You go to that website, click onto that title. You'll have the same study 31:55 guide, all these facts and now three parts of good news. Here comes part number one, 31:58 good news, jot it down. Our depression, Jesus knows. All right? 32:06 Our depression, Jesus knows. Isaiah 53, Karen and I were just repeating this, 32:14 trying to repeat it by memory last night in our worship. Isaiah 53, it's the great 32:17 Messianic prophesy, the Old Testament, verse 4. Put it on the screen 32:20 for us, please. Isaiah 53:4, "Surely he" -- This would be the Messiah. 32:25 This would be Christ. "Surely he took up our" -- What's the next word? 32:28 He took up our what? He took up our pain, okay? He took up our pain, 32:33 just get that in your brain. He took up our pain. And keep reading, 32:36 and he bore our what? He bore our suffering. He is not septically 32:42 removed from the human race. He is in the thick of it. He took up our pain, and 32:48 depression is nothing but pain. We struggle through that pain. We struggle for the darkness 32:54 to somehow be relieved, and it doesn't seem to ever leave us. 32:58 He took up our pain. "Oh, He wasn't depressed." Oh, yes, He was, and I'm 33:01 going to prove it to you. In fact, you know what? God knew depression was coming 33:05 to the human race, and so one of the Psalms, oh, it is so down. 33:10 It is so depressive that you just got to kind of take a deep breath 33:13 before you begin reading it. It's Psalm 88, Psalm 88. Don't read it now. 33:19 I'm going to give you three verses: one at the beginning, one at the middle 33:22 and one at the end. It's filled with depressive language. 33:25 Watch this. So put it on the screen please, Psalm 88:1. 33:29 "Lord, you are the God who saves me." That's the only positive line 33:34 in the entire psalm. You just saw it. That's it. 33:36 It's all downhill from here. "You are the God who saves me." I acknowledge that, but, 33:40 "Day and night, I cry out to you." This is depressive language. 33:43 I am crying to you. Obviously, you're not hearing me. 33:47 Go to the middle of this. Go to the middle. Go to verse 14. 33:51 "Lord, why, why do you reject me?" Oh, that's depressive language. 33:57 I've been rejected. People are staying away from me. Why do reject me? 34:01 Keep reading. "Why do you reject me and hide your face from me?" 34:05 It's the language of depression. Here's the last line of the whole prayer, 34:09 "You have taken from me my friend and neighbor. Darkness is my closest friend." 34:17 ♪ Hello, darkness, my old friend ♪ ♪ I've come to talk 34:23 with you again ♪ You got to be a baby boomer to know that one. 34:29 Isn't that something? The psalm ends with, "The only thing I can talk to 34:32 is darkness," because that's depression. Everything is dark. 34:37 The great commentator on the Psalms, Derek Kidner, he writes -- You've got this 34:41 in your study guide. Speaking of this psalm, "There is no sadder 34:45 prayer in the Psalter." That's 150 psalms, "with its witness 34:50 to the possibility of unrelieved suffering as a believer's earthly lot," end quote. 34:57 Some of us believe that if you come to Jesus, this kind of health and wealth 35:00 gospel that's going on out there, and people are loving it. 35:02 If you come to Jesus, you'll never get depressed. If you come to Jesus, 35:05 you will never suffer. If you come to Jesus, there will be no pain in your life. 35:08 You're going to buy your way out of it. You're going to be on top 35:11 of the world. That is so wrong, it just makes you sick. 35:17 No, you can be a close friend to Jesus. In fact, you can be 35:20 Jesus and be depressed. Let me show you this. This is amazing. 35:26 Talking about depression, do you feel it now? Psalm 22, you'll 35:30 recognize the opening words. David wrote the words, and it's David's prayer, 35:34 but there's only one being in the universe that this psalm could truly 35:38 be prayed authentically by, and that's the Lord Jesus. Psalm 22 begins with the words, 35:44 "My God." How's it go? "My God, why have you" what? 35:49 This is depressive language all the way, halfway through, about two-thirds of the way 35:53 through, and then it switches. There's scholars who believe that Jesus was actually 35:57 praying this entire psalm. In fact, between services, someone came to me, 36:03 and they said, "Hey, listen, you know, Jacob Milgrom, the great Hebrew scholar 36:08 out in California, Berkeley, he told Roy Gane this, 'You know what's happening here 36:16 with Jesus on the cross? Jesus, by quoting the first line of Psalm 22, 36:22 is telling everybody nearby, "Listen, you want to understand about life? 36:25 Read the entire Psalm. Just read the Psalm."'" Scholars also believe that Jesus 36:30 prays the rest of the psalm under His breath. Is Jesus depressed on the cross? 36:36 Well, you've got depressive language in this opening line. Keep reading. 36:39 "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far 36:42 from saving me, so far from my cries," depressive language and 36:46 anguish, depressive language. "My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer by night." 36:51 "I find no rest." The oppression has set in. He is in the grip of it. 36:55 Go down to verse 6. "I am a worm and not a man." When you're in the grip of 37:00 darkness, you feel zero worth. You're like a worm. "I'm nobody. 37:06 Nobody cares. God doesn't care. My family doesn't care. My friends don't care. 37:10 I'm all alone," and too many people say, "I'm out of here." 37:14 Don't you ever go out of here. There's somebody in this universe 37:19 that has been where you are, and He will never leave you or forsake you. 37:25 He knows exactly what's happening to you. He got a mainline full 37:30 concentration in just hours, and by the way, He was depressed in the garden of Gethsemane. 37:35 This is Calvary. Watch this, the garden of Gethsemane. 37:37 I told you I'd prove this to you. The book "The Desire of Ages," 37:39 I bet you never saw this before. "Desire of Ages" on the screen, the night before Calvary, 37:44 in the garden of Gethsemane, "Christ's agony did not cease, but His" -- 37:48 What's the next word? But His what? "But His depression 37:53 and discouragement left him." He was depressed. He'll be depressed again 37:58 tomorrow on the cross clearly. Psalm 22 is a dead giveaway, but the discouragement, 38:04 the depression left Him. "The storm had in nowise abated." 38:08 It's not gone, "But He who was its object was strengthened to meet its fury. 38:12 He came forth calm and serene." A heavenly peace rested on His bloodstained face in Gethsemane. 38:18 "He had borne that which no human being could ever bear. He had tasted 38:22 the sufferings of death for every man, woman and child." He tasted it in Gethsemane. 38:28 Depression, he tasted it. It'll be worse tomorrow, Jesus. Our depression, 38:35 what did we just write down? Jesus knows it. Yes, He does. 38:39 What about our dementia? Does he know that too? You'll be surprised. 38:42 Watch this, write it down. Good news part two, our dementia: Jesus cares. 38:51 Consider these words of Jesus to Peter, the last words Jesus will ever speak to Peter. 38:58 They are these, John 21:18, "Very truly I tell you." Amain, amain -- 39:01 that's what it is in the Greek. So it's something very significant being said here. 39:05 "Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself 39:08 and went where you wanted." But I'm telling you, Peter, "When you are old, 39:13 you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you, and someone else will lead you 39:20 where you do not want to go." 39:22 Ladies and gentlemen, that is classic end-life dementia. 39:29 They're telling me I should be eating this. 39:31 "Come on, Daddy, open your mouth, eat this. 39:33 This is good for you." Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. 39:35 Why are you treating him like a kid? 39:41 End-of-life dementia, they're going to dress you. 39:44 You can't dress yourself. You don't even know how to put 39:46 on your socks anymore. You can't decide, 39:48 "Today I want to go here, and tonight I want to go there." 39:51 You can't make any decisions, buddy. 39:54 We make the decisions here. Your family is paying good money for you to be here. 39:59 Dementia, Jesus is describing dementia, though He's actually telling Peter how 40:04 he's going to die on a cross. Don't tell me Jesus doesn't know about dementia. 40:10 What is dementia? I like how Dr. Wes Youngberg, a lifestyle medicine specialist 40:15 puts it, in his fascinating new book "Memory Makeover: 40:19 How to Prevent Alzheimer's and Reverse Cognitive Decline in the Natural Way." 40:23 Now, Wes' dad, John Youngberg, is a member of this parish, and by the way, 40:27 there's a bulletin insert in your bulletin today. 40:30 If you want to get more of where Wes Youngberg is coming from, 40:32 just take a look at that insert, but let's put 40:35 Youngberg on the screen. I know Wes. 40:37 "I tend to think of dementia as a temporary" -- I like that. 40:41 He didn't put permanent. He said, "I tend to think of it 40:43 as a temporary cognitive impairment 40:46 associated with recent exposures to one of more dementogens." 40:50 Well, what are dementogens? Dementogens are substances 40:53 linked to dementia. They cause dementia. 40:55 So he says, "I like to think of it as a temporary 40:58 cognitive impairment. One or more dementogens 41:00 that collectively cross a threshold level, 41:03 leading to decreased functionality in judgment, 41:06 communication, organization and the normal functions 41:08 of daily living." 41:10 That's what dementia is, and not a baby boomer alive is looking forward to that. 41:14 We don't want that. Now I'm hitting the pause button. 41:19 Time-out. Time-out. Time-out. Time-out. I'm hitting the pause button 41:21 right here. This is going to feel like it was totally inserted. 41:25 Guess what? It was. I have nowhere else to use this. 41:29 So I'm using it right now with you because listen to this very carefully. 41:35 If you're down here, listen to this very carefully because I'm going to now insert 41:40 a dementogen, the substance linked to dementia, that you are going to have to 41:45 seriously consider eliminating from your diet now. This is out of the blue, 41:54 but I got to insert it. I'm going to go back to doctors Dean and Ayesha Sherzai. 42:00 They call it the poison of the 21st century, the poison. "What are you talking about, 42:06 Dwight?" I'm talking about bad news. Here it comes. 42:11 "If we had to name a single food that plays the biggest role in the development 42:17 and progression of Alzheimer's, it would be sugar." I'm so sad to have to announce 42:23 that. It breaks my heart, for me, not for you. 42:30 It would have to be sugar. 42:32 Keep reading. "Sugar is one of the most 42:34 destructive compounds we can ingest, 42:36 and we are consuming more of it now than at any other point 42:39 in human history." 42:41 In 1900, Americans consumed 5 pounds of sugar a year per American. 42:47 Guess what? In 2010, Americans consumed 190 pounds of sugar 42:51 per American, per American. We have been weaned on sugar, and we didn't know it. 43:02 Mercy. It's everywhere. By the way, 43:06 let me put these words because the food industry has pulled a big one on us. 43:11 I'm just going to tell you the truth. You want to talk about justice? 43:15 They don't want us to see sugar on the labels anymore because they know we're getting 43:17 smart on this sugar thing. 43:19 Watch this on the screen, from the same book. 43:22 "Sugar is the foundation of the standard American diet, 43:24 disguised as high-fructose corn syrup, crystal dextrose, 43:30 sucrose and many other scientific-sounding names." 43:33 It's all sugar. 43:36 It's all sugar, but they don't want us to know it's sugar. You know why? 43:40 Because it keeps us going back to buy that stuff. The fast food, junk food: It's 43:46 all sugar. They don't want us to know it, and now we're reaping. 43:51 We've sown the wind, and we're reaping the whirlwind with this generation and dementia, 43:55 early onset dementia now coming to a neighborhood near you. My, my, my, my, 44:04 my, it's everywhere. Did I say that? Pasta. 44:08 "No, come on, Dwight." Italiano. No, pasta. 44:12 Pasta sauce, yogurt, salad dressing, granola bars, coleslaw, potato salad, 44:19 my favorite because some of you have a wonderful recipe, we put just a little. 44:23 "It's not that much sugar, Dwight." Potato salad, pizza, 44:31 even ketchup. I've gone crazy. I'm driving Karen crazy 44:35 because I'm checking every label that she brings home. "Hey, hey, yo, yo, yo, 44:39 did you see this?" Oh, my, but do you know what? We laugh it off. 44:48 Some day, you'll thank me. You're going to have to start checking those labels. 44:55 That's the point, guys. You have to check at what it is you're eating. 45:00 Evidence is so great. I don't eat meat, but I hog off. I hog up on cheese and sugar, 45:08 two killers. I should have stuck to smoking and meat. 45:19 Breakfast cereals, do you know what you're feeding your kids? Have you ever looked at one 45:24 of those boxes, the little panel on the side? Sugar, unbelievable. 45:32 Is that there's no need to even say a word about ice cream and candy and fudge 45:40 and chocolate chip cookies and desserts of every delectable color and taste? 45:43 We are addicted to sugar. I'm sorry to ruin your day, but it's true. 45:48 We're addicted to it, but here's the very good news, good news, good news. 45:52 We can become unaddicted to sugar. You just quit eating it. 45:57 You will lose your taste for sugar. That's what they're telling me. 46:06 You will lose your taste for sugar. You got to hang in there. 46:13 Can I talk to Jesus about it? You sure may. In fact, I recommend you talk to 46:16 Jesus, just heart-to-heart you and Jesus, and have a real conversation about, 46:20 "I need strength because this is killing me." Guys, what's good for you 46:27 He wants. Is there sugar in fruit? Of course, it's natural sugar. 46:31 It's the refined sugar that's killing us, killing us. There's another book. 46:35 I got to tell you about it. It's written by Dr. Dale Bredesen. 46:40 Oh, a great title, listen to this, "The End of Alzheimer's: 46:42 The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline," who, by the way, 46:46 he endorses Youngberg's book. So I have three books. This guy endorses Wes' book. 46:52 He, too -- Wes has a chapter in his book called "Sugarholic." 46:56 Okay? But here is Berdesen -- 47:01 Bredesen, sorry, on the screen. 47:03 "Chronic inflammation" -- The brackets are mine. 47:06 This is the body's response to what it perceives is an attack. 47:09 All right? So it inflames. 47:10 "Chronic inflammation can arise when we regularly ingest 47:14 inflammation-triggering foods, such as sugar. 47:17 Sugar is like fire, a source of energy, 47:19 but very dangerous. Our bodies recognize sugar as poisonous, 47:23 and therefore rapidly activate multiple mechanisms 47:26 to reduce its concentration in our blood tissues." 47:29 Do you know that they are now calling Alzheimer's disease diabetes 3? 47:35 Everybody here, there are people who have diabetes 1. There are people 47:38 who have diabetes 2. They are now calling Alzheimer's number 3 47:41 because it behaves the same way. Sugar, heavy sugar intake into the system, 47:45 and when you have heavy sugar intake, the body goes immediately into 47:48 action producing insulin because it has to counteract what you're doing. 47:53 There's an enzyme that helps break down this insulin, and it's called IDE, 48:00 insulin degrading enzyme. So the moment that sugar comes in, 48:06 and we get this insulin spike. IDE goes to work, says, "I can handle this. 48:11 I can handle this," and begins to immediately start working, break it down, 48:14 break it down, break it down, too much, too much in the blood, too much, too much, too much. 48:18 But the problem is -- Now this is the killer. IDE is also critical in the 48:24 destruction of amyloid plaque. Amyloid plaque is what's produced in the brain 48:28 that causes Alzheimer's. IDE works on amyloid plaque and insulin, 48:33 but if you've got this big sugar high going all day long, IDE is over here. 48:39 It's like having a fire in North Berrien Springs, and the whole fire department, 48:43 and then we get a fire in South Berrien Springs. We got a fire going over here. 48:47 That's too bad. We got to stay with this. We can't go. 48:50 IDE has to divide its energies now because of the high sugar intake, 48:56 and so amyloid plaque just quietly gets produced, leading to dementia and disease. 49:04 We've totally thrown the system by our addiction to sugar, and the body says, "What are 49:11 we supposed to do now?" Three books, all of them unequivocal 49:16 in their warning against sugar, and if you're serious about mental health 49:19 and the avoidance of dementia, you have to seriously consider how to reduce refined sugar 49:23 from your diet, period. Now, look, if you'd like somebody that really knows 49:28 what they're talking about to stand in front of us, somebody that knows sugar and 49:32 nutrition and healthy lifestyle, if you'd be interested in that, on our Connect card, 49:36 you'll have a chance to put a little check mark there, and if I get enough check marks, 49:39 then I'm going to say, "Hey, we got to have somebody come in. There's a real interest here." 49:43 All right? Does Jesus care about our dementia? 49:46 Of course He does. Whether our diet caused our dementia, our genes 49:49 caused it, nature caused it, He care about our dementia, but Jesus cannot do 49:54 what only you and I can do. He can't remove sugar from your table. 49:58 He can't remove sugar from your cupboard. He can't remove sugar 50:01 from your desserts. He can't remove sugar from your fast food breaks. 50:04 He just can't remove the sugar. You go there. You want it. 50:08 You get it. We got to help Jesus. We have to help him. 50:15 Does that make sense? 50:21 Our depression, our dementia, but here comes good news part three. 50:24 I'm telling you this is really good news now because we have -- 50:27 What do we have? Our depression, Jesus knows. 50:30 Our dementia, Jesus cares, and now finally, jot it down, 50:32 our dependence, Jesus invites. That's what He's asking. 50:36 He's like, "Come on, I want you to depend on Me." 50:39 Whether you're a Gen Z or a millennial, 50:40 Gen Z or a baby boomer plus all the way down, 50:45 the most profound secret to mental health 50:48 is found in the seven-word credo that Jesus Himself lived by. 50:52 Let's put it on the screen, Hebrews 2:13. Read it out loud with me. 50:57 "I will put my trust in him," seven words. "You can trust me," Jesus says, 51:07 "with your depression. You can trust me with your dementia. You can trust me. 51:12 I'm not going anywhere. I will be with you through it all." 51:19 The classic ministry of healing on the screen. This is great, oh, my. 51:22 "If in our ignorance we made missteps." Oh, mercy, Lord, 51:26 we made missteps. We didn't know. We didn't know. 51:28 Nobody told us. "If in our ignorance we make missteps and mistakes, 51:32 the Savior does not forsake us." Hallelujah. "We need never feel 51:36 that we are alone." Praise God. 51:38 "Angels are our companions." God be praised. 51:42 The comforter, the holy spirit that Jesus "promised to send in 51:44 His name abides with us." And here comes a line 51:47 you never saw before, "Those who suffer most have 51:51 most of Jesus' sympathy." I want you to circle that in your little study guide 51:57 because you didn't have to fill it in. Those who suffer most receive 52:02 most of Jesus' pity and sympathy. Isn't that amazing? 52:08 Some of you going through a dark depression right now. You're not even outside 52:12 of your house. You're not even outside of your dorm room. 52:15 You're just watching this because you don't like showing up around people because 52:19 everybody else seems happy. Nobody understands the darkness you live under. 52:25 I want you to know there is somebody who understands, who Himself was depressed 52:30 and who says to you, "I don't care what's happening to you, girl. 52:34 I don't care what's happening to you, boy. I'm with you. I'll get you through this. 52:38 I will. I promise you. I'll get you through this." Most of His sympathy goes to 52:44 who suffer most. Isn't that great? Most of it goes to those 52:50 who suffer most, and maybe you today, my friend. 52:54 "Those who suffer most have most of His sympathy and pity. 52:56 He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, 52:58 and He desires us to lay our perplexities and troubles at 53:02 His feet and leave them there. 53:05 I will put my trust in Him." Dependence, oh, that's the good news. 53:15 That means you can put your trust. You can depend upon one person, 53:20 who, by the way, has a lot of friends working for him. I went over to the counseling 53:24 and testing center this last week, and they gave me a little tour. 53:27 It's beautiful, got a nice lounge and music and -- ah! Jesus has friends here 53:33 who specialize in darkness, and if darkness is in your heart right now, these friends 53:40 can take that dark, help that darkness to go away. The counseling testing center 53:45 is for students at Andrews University, but down the same hallway, 53:50 there's an adult counseling center for those in the community. 53:53 You can come in. And by the way, did you love those two stories, 53:57 about the guy that prayed for his roommate, just kept praying for him, 54:00 and he prayed him right through that depression? Look at, when somebody is 54:04 beside me, I can go through pretty much anything. That boy who said, 54:07 "I'm going to meet you every day at the end of the day," do you understand that? 54:09 "I'm going to ask you one question. What good thing happened to you today? 54:13 Tell me," and that friend of his came out of that darkness. Jesus has been to that darkness. 54:21 I want to end with this. Harvard University, Phil Pianci tells about a study published 54:28 in the American Journal of Psychiatry on Harvard undergraduates. 54:33 Okay? Students who experienced a religious conversion 54:36 in their student days, they found Jesus while they were at Harvard, 54:39 and they did a study of these. Now watch this. The students had, 54:44 I'm quoting now, "A radical change in lifestyle, shown by a marked decrease 54:50 in the use of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes," just dropped off 54:54 when they met Jesus. Number two, these same students 55:02 not only had that marked decrease, but their academic performance, 55:07 guess what, academic performance goes up. You meet Jesus. 55:10 Their academic performance improved, and number three, this is 55:13 the line we're all looking for, and number three, they seemed less prone to depression, 55:18 preoccupation with death and bouts of existential despair. In other words, mental health 55:26 got turned around when they came to Jesus. I'm inviting you, my friend, 55:31 whether you're a student at Andrews University or not, to come to Jesus. 55:35 This same Jesus can heal you of your mental health issues. 55:39 You think there's nobody that cares for you. 55:41 You think there's nobody that understands you. 55:42 Jesus knows what you're going through. 55:44 You just come to Him. He will step into your life, 55:47 if you give Him permission, and He'll begin the healing process. 55:50 I'm telling you there's nothing you can do 55:54 that would be more effective and powerful than to invite 55:58 the one who Himself drank the cup of depression 56:01 to its bitter dregs to become your companion. 56:08 Invite Jesus into your life. You're watching right now on a screen somewhere. 56:13 Invite Jesus into your life. It's as simple as saying, "Jesus, look at, I can't 56:16 get myself out of this darkness. I cannot get out. They've locked the door. 56:21 I can't leave this dark room." You ask Jesus. That lock is gone. 56:25 There will be somebody with you. Oh, it may take Him a while. Don't ask Him to do other than 56:33 He knows best to do, but He will take care of you. I promise you. 56:38 He will take care of you. No depression, no dementia, there's no depression 56:44 or dementia that can take you away from Him or that can take 56:47 Him away from you, and I am on that very good news. What do you say? 56:51 >> Amen. >> Come on. There's no better news 56:54 than that. Don't give up. Whatever you do, don't quit. 57:03 You're going to win, and Jesus will win through you. 57:08 Think of the last time someone said, 57:11 "I'm praying for you." Didn't it give you a sense 57:13 of peace and reassurance that somebody cares for me? 57:17 I know how I feel when I get an e-mail from one of our viewers saying, 57:19 "Yo, Dwight, I've been praying for you lately." There's nothing like knowing 57:22 someone is praying for you. So I want to offer you an opportunity to partner. 57:26 Let me, let us partner with you in prayer. 57:29 If you have a special prayer request 57:31 or a praise of thanksgiving you'd like to share with us, 57:33 I'm inviting you to contact one of our friendly chaplains. 57:36 It's simple to do. You can call our toll-free 57:38 number 877, the two words, HIS WILL, 877-HIS-WILL. 57:43 That friendly voices that answers, you tell him, 57:45 you tell her what your prayer need is. 57:48 We'll join with you in that petition. 57:51 May the God who answers prayer journey with you these next few days 57:54 until we're right back here together again next time. 57:59 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:20 ♪♪ |
Revised 2024-01-24