Participants:
Series Code: UP
Program Code: UP180116A
|
00:14 Have you ever experienced acts
00:17 of worship outside the walls of your church? 00:19 Treating worship as a state of mind, as an attitude 00:22 that you engage in multiple times each day - rather than 00:25 just during a church service, that may be the treatment 00:28 that you need. 00:29 Applying worship as treatment is the focus of today's program. 00:32 And we'll be sharing ideas that you can use to improve 00:35 your health today no matter where you're starting from. 00:37 "The Ultimate Prescription" starts now. 00:59 Thanks for joining us here on "The Ultimate Prescription," 01:01 a program dedicated to helping us better understand 01:04 God's design for our lives and experience better health 01:07 by following His plan. 01:09 I'm your host, Nick Evenson, and I'm joined by 01:11 Dr. James Marcum for an excellent program today 01:13 in which we're going to be discussing how to apply 01:15 worship as a Biblical prescription. 01:17 Wow Nick, that's a great introduction and you really 01:20 put the pressure on by saying "excellent," so I hope 01:23 everyone considers this at the end of the program "excellent." 01:27 But, one thing I can say is worship is EXCELLENT! 01:31 You know, it's an excellent experience and I want it to be 01:36 everyone's most enjoyable experience as they start their 01:40 day or whenever they do it, but also continue 01:43 in the state of worship. 01:45 Now we've been talking, the last few programs, about 01:48 biblical prescriptions for life, 01:51 and if you think about the name of this program, 01:53 "The Ultimate Prescription," and I'm hoping our listeners 01:57 have tuned in... "The Ultimate Prescription" is not necessarily 02:01 lifestyle changes - even though that's important... 02:03 It's not necessarily modern medicine, though it's important; 02:06 the Ultimate Prescription is when we come 02:09 into a relationship with our Creator with Jesus. 02:13 That's the Ultimate Prescription because in there, 02:15 we're in a safe place and that's the Ultimate Prescription, 02:18 and we accomplish that through worship. 02:21 And as we discover that worship has unique 02:24 physiologic benefits that we can now quantify by looking 02:28 at the brain; by looking at the way lifestyle improves us; 02:32 by seeing how we change in our own hearts. 02:34 And today, we're going to talk about worship and all 02:37 the different aspects and how we can apply it. 02:40 It's going to be very, very interesting, Nick. 02:41 Yeah, you know as I was growing up, we spent a lot of time 02:44 at our church, you know, the church building with other 02:47 people there worshipping and all that, but I think sometimes 02:51 we forget that worship isn't just a service, 02:53 it's not just an act that happens 02:55 within the walls of our church. 02:56 Talk to us a little bit about different kinds of worship. 02:59 How can we experience it daily? 03:00 Well I like to look back at history for lots of things. 03:04 You know, how the history of medicine has been. 03:06 Well, let's think a little bit about the history of worship. 03:10 Let's go all the way back to Adam and Eve, okay? 03:14 Well, did Adam and Eve have a church that they went to? 03:17 Did they have a Bible to read? No. 03:19 No, but guess what? 03:21 They could talk to God directly. Yeah! 03:23 They could see the beautiful creation that was there. 03:26 They could depart from their work to take it easy, 03:29 to have the special time. 03:30 You know, so worship for them might have been... 03:33 part of it might have been nature; communicating with 03:36 God, talking with Him directly. Yeah! 03:38 Wow! What worship in that! 03:41 And let's move forward a little bit, what about Noah? 03:44 What about his worship? Right. 03:45 Well Noah, I'm sure he didn't have a church, other than 03:49 the boat, you know, and probably didn't have a 03:51 big congregation - though he preached but for him, 03:54 it might have been doing God's will was part of his worship 03:56 because he was building a boat for 120 years. Right, yeah. 04:00 He didn't have some of the things 04:01 that others might have had. 04:03 If we talk about Enoch, Enoch walked with God. Yeah. 04:07 When we walk with God throughout life, 04:09 I'm sure he was in worship all the time. 04:12 You know, a state of worship, of being with God, 04:14 having him so involved that God said, "Wow Enoch, 04:17 we're having such a great relationship, 04:18 why don't you just come on to heaven with Me?" Yeah. 04:21 So worship has changed over time. 04:24 We think about Christ and how He worshipped on earth. 04:27 You know, He went to the synagogue; He prayed; 04:30 He did acts of service; He healed. 04:32 So there are many different ways that we can worship. 04:36 Of course today, we worship in church; we worship in the word; 04:40 we worship in praying. 04:41 I have to sometimes do service on Sabbath, okay? 04:46 So I like to think of service as acts of worship. Right. 04:49 Some other people might like music... 04:52 that might be a way that they connect with God. 04:55 In fact, we think about when Christ was born, 04:57 all the music - the angels singing, you know, 05:00 that might be a way of worship. 05:02 Nature worship and there are so many different ways 05:05 that people connect with God in many different ways. 05:08 So we say this "worship" term, but in a physiological 05:11 standpoint, can you imagine... worship, you might 05:14 be calling it, "Well, when I worship, it's turning on the 05:18 anterior cingulate cortex to 8, using this to 3, this and this." 05:21 This is the chemistry of worship, this is what 05:23 it looks like and can you imagine 05:25 science now being able to explain 05:27 someday... well, for Nick Evenson, he should have 05:30 this proportion of this, this and this for ultimate worship 05:33 for ultimate brain nourishment. Okay. 05:35 This is the concoction that Nick needs to feed his brain 05:38 and to worship the best. 05:39 Now, will we get to that? I would doubt it. 05:42 But technology is heading in that direction. 05:45 So we want to teach people different ways that they 05:47 can apply worship to their lives and at least, 05:50 if nothing else, to think about the importance of worship 05:54 every single day as a way to feed the brain, 05:56 to turn down stress chemistry 05:58 in order to solve some of our problems. 06:01 What would you say is one of the most appreciated ways 06:03 that you worship every day? 06:04 Every day... well, every day I spend time asking God... 06:11 I warm-up to worship, okay. What's warm-up? 06:14 Well, you know, people warm-up to go to work... 06:16 I warm-up to worship - I get my body ready to worship, 06:19 and that might include deep-breathing; 06:21 it might include some stretching to active the brain. 06:25 It might be turning down some of the other stressors, 06:27 so I make sure there's no noise around me. Distraction? 06:30 Yeah, I don't have anything on, I like it quiet. 06:33 Some people like noise, some people like it quiet. 06:37 I don't like distractions; I don't like to see a lot of 06:39 things; I like it relatively, in a controlled environment. 06:43 And I'm not saying this is what's for everybody, 06:45 but I like to sort of warm-up my mind, 06:47 and I do this with a prayer. 06:49 And I ask the Lord... I say, "I thank You for being my 06:52 Lord and Savior;" I ask for forgiveness of my sins, 06:56 and to bring them up if there are specific ones. 06:58 And then I say, "And I want You to help me to 07:00 not remember the things I've done in the past. 07:02 You threw them in the sea, help me, I don't want 07:04 to activate those neurons again." Right, yes. 07:07 I also go through the aspects of prayer, you know - thankfulness. 07:11 Who wants to hear petitions all the time. 07:13 I want to thank God for the things He did and the more 07:16 specific I can get, the better. 07:17 I want to praise Him for being such a wonderful God. 07:21 Then, of course, I've asked for forgiveness of sins. 07:24 I go through my petitions, you know, the things I ask for. 07:28 I thank Him for the blessings and I say... 07:30 "God, these are the things I want, but if it's with 07:33 Your will... I want to petition You for these things." 07:36 But remember, God knows everything already! Right. 07:38 And then I ask Him to be Lord of my life and that's how I 07:42 start with that prayer, because throughout history 07:45 we've had different requirements 07:47 to come in front of God, 07:48 different things that we had to do in the New Testament. 07:51 Well Christ is what cleans us up - so we can come to 07:54 God in worship now. 07:56 So I want Christ to do what He needs so I can come 07:58 in front of God - what an experience and show Him 08:03 my worship; however, that might be... 08:05 So I start the day like that and then I ask the Holy Spirit 08:09 to keep me in a state of worship all day long, 08:13 and find various acts that I can do to stay in a 08:16 worshipful mode no matter what I'm doing. 08:18 Now I know that our minds get busy - that's the 08:21 conscious mind but our subconscious mind, parts of us 08:24 I want to continue to have the Holy Spirit in with me 08:26 all the time to help me deal with all the stress; 08:29 to help me deal with my bad genetics; 08:31 to help me realize I need a Savior on an ongoing 08:33 basis - it's just not a once-and-done. Yeah. 08:36 So this is kind of a unique perspective, I think. 08:40 It's probably not a very popular idea in the medical 08:43 field to use this. 08:45 What are some of the barriers? 08:46 Why don't you think more people are treating 08:47 with biblical prescriptions? 08:49 Well, I honestly think that there is truly a battle 08:53 going on in the world. 08:54 There is a battle between good and evil. 08:58 A lot of people don't realize it. 08:59 They don't even think about it, but I think there's 09:01 a battle between good and evil going on every day. 09:04 There's a battle for our mind; there's a battle for 09:08 our loyalty and that's going on at levels that maybe 09:11 we can't even understand. 09:13 So I believe that that's part of this big battle... 09:16 that there are distractions being made by the evil one 09:19 that keeps us away from worship or that wants us 09:22 to worship things we shouldn't be worshipping... 09:24 you know - the false gods of this world. 09:26 The substitutes. Yes, the substitutes, 09:28 and putting so much stress on our brain that's making it 09:31 harder and harder, and harder 09:33 for us to worship and find truth. 09:35 To have so many other experts out there throwing what 09:38 they think is right and I go to a lot of websites 09:42 and read books, Nick, and some of this can sound 09:45 really, really great! 09:46 You know and they have some great science and great 09:48 theories but then they throw one or two things in it 09:51 that doesn't make sense and so 98% truth can still be a lie. 09:57 So it's through the worship that I pray, "God, please 10:01 help me - just show me truth," and, you know, 10:03 I'm going to miss things sometimes because 10:06 that's just human, but as long as I'm in that relationship 10:09 His grace makes up for my weaknesses... 10:11 I know I'm always in that safe place. 10:13 Now how do you go about sharing this with a patient 10:16 who really could benefit from some of these biblical 10:18 prescriptions, but maybe they're unchurched; maybe 10:21 it's just a very foreign concept, like do they 10:24 find objection to it or how do you do it in a loving way? 10:27 Well, I don't do it to everyone, Nick. 10:31 I pray that God help me, Your will, you know, 10:34 help me to share the gospel, and sometimes it takes 10:37 time and a rapport. 10:38 So sometimes just by meeting someone's needs 10:41 and loving them, that's the first step... 10:44 Accepting them. And building a relationship... 10:46 Yes, building a relationship; listening to them. 10:48 Sometimes I'll be impressed to say, "Listen, would you 10:51 like to learn something more that I've learned?" 10:53 And, you know, most people say, "Oh, sure yeah, I want to know." 10:57 And then I'll show them some of the science, 10:59 science behind worship that I've learned and I'll ask them, 11:02 I say, "Well do you believe in God?" 11:05 And some people do not; some people do! 11:07 Now if they believe in the living God, I say, "Well, 11:09 did you know that there's health benefits both now 11:12 and forever in having a relationship - would you like 11:15 to learn more about this?" 11:16 So basically, this is presenting the everlasting gospel. Right. 11:20 Now some people say, "No, I don't believe in a god." 11:23 Then I say, "Well, would you be open to the 11:25 discussion of learning about it, 11:26 as it might improve your health?" 11:28 Some say "yes," some say "no." 11:31 So I try to plant seeds and I pray that the Holy Spirit 11:35 will help those seeds to grow. 11:36 Some of those seeds will grow; some of them won't grow. 11:39 So I just need extra help every day and I don't think 11:43 there's one exact formula, but the formula that I use is... 11:47 I pray to God and ask God to show me areas where I can. 11:51 Do I miss? Yes, I miss sometimes and I feel bad. 11:55 I say, "God, I had an opportunity, I missed this 11:58 chance to share the gospel, I'm so sorry. 12:00 Please help me to find ways to do it again and not be 12:04 such a - how do you say, "a wimp, coward," you know, 12:07 not to at least say something on Your behalf... 12:10 because You're the One that I worship, that I love; 12:12 I've asked You to be part of my life; 12:14 You're leading me - give me opportunities." 12:16 And sometimes it just might be by example. 12:19 You know, that might be the way you show people 12:21 God's love - it's just showing the way you live. 12:23 They might see something and the Holy Spirit might 12:25 touch that person's life, so there are many other 12:28 ways that we can spread worship without 12:31 getting into someone's face. 12:33 We can just show them how, 12:34 and we can let the Holy Spirit do things. 12:36 I was thinking about, you know, we're called to spread 12:39 the gospel - the good news. 12:41 And, you know, God doesn't need me to do this. 12:45 He could put a dream in everyone's mind simultaneously, 12:48 and do all that, and everyone could make a decision 12:51 right now regarding what they wanted to do with Jesus, 12:53 but He allows me to participate 12:56 in His work and I'm so grateful for that. 12:58 And as we do this, it helps us grow and us to help out 13:02 and it just does things that I don't even understand 13:06 both chemically, physically and, for me, eternally. 13:09 So I like to really throw that out to people and all those 13:13 that are watching - some people are already worshipping, 13:16 and some might have loved ones and there are different ways, 13:19 there's no exact formula but there are many things 13:23 that we can do and I think the point is that we're praying 13:25 about it - looking for ways that we can spread the gospel 13:28 and spread the physiology of worship. 13:31 And I found it very interesting because everyone wants to 13:33 feel better and have better health. You bet, yeah. 13:36 This is one that I use sometimes - "Would you like 13:38 to slow down the ageing process?" 13:40 "Oh yeah, "I'd like to do that." 13:41 "Well, consider Biblical worship." 13:44 Ah! You know, "would you consider that?" 13:46 And most people say, "Yeah, I would consider it. 13:48 Tell me how it works." And we go from there. 13:51 It's a very low risk treatment, why not give it a shot? 13:55 Now one of the ways that I like to worship, personally, 13:58 is in nature - that's some of the greatest times 14:01 when I'm walking on a beach or seeing something awesome. 14:04 And I'll tell people, there are some studies done 14:07 that show when we see awesome sights, that that changes 14:11 our physiology. 14:13 That state of worship lowers stress chemicals; 14:15 lowers cytokines, helps our body. 14:17 There's actually science that has been done, 14:19 out West that have proven 14:21 that awesome sights are a way to worship. Yeah. 14:24 I tell you what, we're going to take a quick break 14:26 and we're going to talk more about 14:27 awesome sights when we return. 14:28 So stay with us, there's more to come on the 14:30 "Ultimate Prescription" |
Revised 2019-04-02