Michigan Camp Meeting 2022: Knowing the Time

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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Simply Divine! Concept Cooking for Creation Living

Nicole Braxton

Vicki Griffin

01 Breakfast Bonanza

You are about to enjoy a presentation recorded at the 2022 Michigan Conference Camp Meeting held at Cedar Lake, Michigan.

We pray that the Lord will bless you as you listen.

Father in heaven, thank you so much that we can be here together.

Lord, you have said that 1 will chase a thousand, but 2 will put 10, 000 to flight.

We are asking for a communal visitation of your Holy Spirit that you would teach us that you'd stand by our sides abide with us teach us help us to have hope Hope in our habits hope in our hindrances Hope in our heartaches and hope for heaven because it is hope that is the foundation of growth.

We thank you that we can press together to gain strength and courage for the days to come.

So we're gonna be talking a lot this week about brain-body connections.

So I'm going to begin the program each day with just a few PowerPoint slides, and if we have time, I'm gonna close with some very interesting information about brain-body connections that I think are very extremely essential.

We're gonna learn patterns of eating that make your colon happy.

And when your colon is happy, the rest of you is going to go right along, those messengers of well-being, which we will talk about.

So how many of you have sensed and just felt in your inner spirit that we are entering into really intense times, where we need to turn every setback into a comeback?

We need to have our wishbone exchanged for backbone.

How many of you feel like you're being pulled through a knot hole?

And So we're talking this morning about strength through the storm.

It's the joy of my life to do public meetings.

And I'm seeing more and more people show a greater and greater interest in the truths of God and changing their lives so that they will have strength to get through.

Because you know, here's what we all know.

That if we are putting our weight on popularity or property or power or whatever it is that we have relied on, those are very heavy weights on very thin wires and those wires are beginning to snap and we need to flee to our God, amen, and we need to teach other people how to do so because he is our only strength.

So the Bible says in this world, Jesus said in this world you will have what?

And there's that prayer that Jesus didn't pray, I wish he had, but he didn't.

He said I pray not that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from evil and we're gonna see what some of those brain-body connections are this week and they are critical.

God assures us that 1 day life storms will be over.

He says cheer up I have overcome the world And it begins with him overcoming it in you and in me.

And we need the strength to fight this battle.

We are not in a playground, we're in a battleground.

And God has given us the weapons here's the here are the questions that people have when they come to public meetings when you go to the grocery store when you talk to strangers this is what this is what people are talking about this is what they're thinking this is what they're asking if there is a God can he bring growth out of grief, what do you think?

He says, I will be with you in trouble, I will deliver you and honor you.

These things are intensifying in the world today and God has given us tools to relieve suffering.

We can't eliminate it, we are not prognosticators.

1 of the things that irritates me most about some health presentations is when people give a prescription that is going to cure everything, fix everything, and make you just so slap happy you just won't even be able to stand yourself.

But would you agree with me that we can reduce unnecessary self-inflicted suffering?

Whether it's in the stewardship realm, the relationship realm, the health realm, God wants to add value to your life at every single level and I'm really grateful for that.

And then what isn't fixed, he gives you grace to shine with whatever that deficit is I'm thankful for that how about you so God has engineered you and me for renewal restoration and recovery if that wasn't true I would just say let's just give it up and go to Chuck E.

But God has designed the human brain even in adulthood with a powerful capacity to do what?

Reshape itself, learn and grow new connections.

So he can help us to gain new thinking, new habits, new perceptions and it creates a little bit of pain doesn't it?

Isn't change, doesn't change involve a little bit of pain?

But staying the same causes some pain too doesn't it?

So in either case there's light at the end of the tunnel.

When we go through the discomfort of forming new habits, it creates a little bit of uncertainty.

And I've been reading some things on brain resiliency and uncertainty actually is connected with creativity and joy.

So he knocks us off the mountain, doesn't he?

We like things to be certain and done in a certain way.

So God creates uncertainty in our lives so that we can be more creative.

And there is light at the end of the tunnel through the discomfort of change and forming better habits and that light is Jesus Christ.

He says, I am the light of the world and he wants his light to shine in us.

Now if we choose not to, I run a lot of addiction programs, I was a runaway, drugs, bulimia for 20 years, a whole mess.

And so I understand that there's also a light at the end of the tunnel if you choose the pain of staying the same, and it's a train, and it's coming to get you, it's gonna run over you.

So how many of you right now wanna just say yes?

Yes to God, yes, when you show me something new, this doesn't surprise God, but I'm just gonna say yes.

That's kinda like an Italian contract, you just say yes, an offer that you can't refuse so God has engineered you your brain with a capacity to reshape itself learn and grow new connections what a blessing that is I mean you think about that man at the pool of Bethesda.

He was paralyzed from the neck down with no 1 to help him for how many years?

Helpless, hopeless, worthless, paralyzed.

The context of the story in John 5 tells us that it was his own course of life that brought him to that place.

Jesus asked him, do you want to be made whole?

And he started having fellowship with his troubles, explaining all the problems.

He found him later on in the temple, and he said, behold, to this man, he said, behold, you are made whole.

Go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.

What could be worse than being paralyzed from the neck down with no 1 to help you?

Well, I asked my husband Dane that question 1 time on a business trip and he didn't even hesitate.

He said being paralyzed from the neck up and not wanting help.

Thank the Lord he's engineered us for improvement.

Jesus said he wants us to have a more abundant life, a more stable life, a more steady life, a stronger life.

New nerve cells are born in the brain every day in regions especially affected by depression, stress, and addictions.

We're going to discuss that later on this week.

We want to walk out of this door and remember this with every human being we come in contact.

Although a man may have sunk to the very depths of sin, Christ is able and what?

He will set free the captive that is held by what?

02 Simply Satisfied: Where Have You “Bean”?

Father in heaven, thank you Lord that these dear and precious people have come today.

We love them, you love them, and you have an amazing plan.

You have a divine destiny for every human being.

You have a divine plan for life, a divine disposition to work in us, and you have a delightfully divine lifestyle to give us courage and strength and the ability to handle stress.

You can go to our website, LifestyleMatters.com and there's actually a 13-session series called Living Free that we did at Hope Television.

They're 13 sessions of 30 minutes only, which is short for me.

And they have these incredible testimonies.

And what we give you, we want you to have the discussion guides, the worksheets.

People are suffering so much and you don't even have to do the PowerPoint although I'll give it to you.

But you just watch this 30-minute program, have a discussion and love on people.

And people are more responsive than ever before.

And I had to do little short segments because of the testimonies and other elements.

And it's just excruciating because they surrounded me with furniture so I couldn't move, and I had to read a script.

So it's not my prime performance, I'll tell you that right now.

But I was able to cover incredible topics.

Remember, addiction recovery is more important than ever before.

We have 400% or something like that increase in addictive problems.

A hundred thousand people died last year of drug addiction, overdose, 80% fentanyl.

Is it possible to have other kinds of addictions besides drugs?

Sure, what about I mean, what would some of those things be?

Email on our phone right before we turn the light out.

You know, is the queen inviting you for lunch?

So what happens is we just keep getting these dopamine hits with every ping and every like, and then so we do this dive and it actually creates tension and fatigue The Bible says you will know the truth and the truth will set you free This is the will of God even your sanctification.

That whoever does that again, you get to sing a solo up here.

No, we're not into the shame, blame, no, we're not doing that.

So anyway, addictions, food addictions are probably the main addiction and then behavioral or other process addictions.

And I want to get to the roots of that because the addicted brain is fighting hard, but we need to learn how to fight smart.

The first time I ran away from home I was 5 years old.

By the time I was 11 I was doing drugs, smoking, running away from home, beaten up, bad, abandoned, whatever, in my own mind.

I didn't know God, I didn't have a worldview for him, of the truth of God.

And so it is in my soul that it's the truth that sets us free.

When I learned the truth about who God is and what happens with justice and wickedness and all those things, I just said, I could believe in a God like that, but I can't believe in a God that would torture people forever.

And so I'm grateful today that God has put it on my heart that we need to carry the truth with us.

Because it is the truth that sets us free.

And so it's not just about worshiping food or a lifestyle, it's about worshiping the God of that lifestyle.

It's about walking with Him as He strengthens us to actually want to do his will?

How many of you want to love him as much as you think you do?

And he's going to run us into situations where we disappoint ourselves and him.

But that's so that he can show us and learn to strengthen us.

So how many of you are committed to just keep saying yes to God?

So the addicted brain is fighting hard, but we need to learn to fight smart.

And this morning I want to share 1 piece of that that's very, very important, and that is the brain-gut connection.

And this PhD atheist doctor that did this six-hour program, she had no idea that she was preaching the gospel.

All some saint has to do is step in with what the Word of God said.

There are Many who are by nature doing those things that are in the Word of God and they don't even know it yet, but they will know it, won't they?

So today we're going to talk about mind-body-health connections and see how God has built so many backup systems.

When I'm doing research, I'm looking for that God.

And the more I find out who he is in science, the more I love him.

And the more I worship him, and the more I want to walk with him in obedience.

Even the cheapest computers have backup systems, don't they?

And God has built amazing backup systems into your and my life.

And so the way that we care for our bodies affects mental health and function, including what?

Did you know that every cell of your body has clock genes?

And So yesterday we talked about breakfast.

And you know, I'm the 1 that's going to go home and go, well, why didn't you say that?

And what were you thinking when you said that?

I have to turn it off and take a Calgon bath.

But why do we want to have a good, healthy, amazing breakfast?

Your brain needs those unrefined carbohydrates and all that nutrition.

And we're going to learn about that in a minute here.

But another reason is that according to the clock genes and cortisol levels in the morning, that is when your body wants that fuel and it wants to use it efficiently, it wants to burn it.

If you eat the same meal at night, it's going to want to store this fat because of these varying metabolic processes that are different in the evening.

And so God is all about these beautiful patterns.

03 Simply Prepared: Have Your “Roughage Ready”

Dear Father in heaven, thank you Lord for this beautiful time we can have together, beautiful people, consecrated place.

Thank you that you have a divine destiny for each 1 of us.

A divine destiny, no matter how long or short our lives are.

Thank you, you have a divine plan for every day of living.

And a delightfully divine way to live and think.

So we pray that you would work these things in us and even though the driving rain can hurt and seem so bleak at times, like trials that rain upon us, it brings forth beautiful flowers and we're thankful, Lord, for whatever it takes to prepare us to meet you face to face.

Okay, if this is a little blurry, you've been eating too much sugar.

I have something that I do in my head when trials multiply, and sometimes they do.

I use what is called the Zacchaeus method of seeing Jesus.

What did Zacchaeus do when he couldn't see Jesus?

He was pressed by trials, he couldn't see, he was crushed by the crowd, he had a deficit in that particular situation, being short was his deficit, and so he had to overcome that deficit that was causing a problem, he was pressed on every side, he had to climb a tree in order to do what?

And so for me, you know, we, 1 pastor said, pastorettes preach sermonettes and that produces Christianettes, you know, and we can, we can devotionalize ourselves to try to just survive every day.

And believe me, there are devotions I read every single day for the here and now.

But how many of you believe that God wants us to be able to look at the big picture from God's point of view?

And that is the prophecies that he's given us.

They're beautiful, they're gospel, they're pictures of him.

So if you haven't read The Cross and Its Shadow for a while by S.

Haskell, if you haven't read Daniel and the Revelation by Uriah Smith in a while, If you haven't read the Seer of Patmos or Daniel the Prophet by S.N.

Haskell, go to Cedar Reader, get some of these old books.

And devotional time is amazing, it's important, it's wonderful.

But we want to stop having to ford every river and fly like some eagles, right?

That they can fly over those rivers, and studying these deep and beautiful, amazing truths, Heaven's point of view on this planet is going to help you to escape the pain that you have to endure in God's way.

Because the only way out of a storm is through.

And so there's 1 thing I know about every 1 of you, even if I haven't spoken to you.

You're either just coming out of a trial, you're in 1, or 1 is coming.

I want to share with you this morning, There are things that I carry with me all the time.

And of all the topics I present, this is 1 of the most important.

Because without this, everything else is gonna collapse.

And I've held addiction programs, and I've had guys, 1 guy in particular, he tattooed from the top of his chin all the way down to his ankles, sat in the meeting on this topic and cried like a baby.

He said, Vicki, I've been in jail for years.

And it was all because I didn't have a recipe for solving problems.

There are a lot of amazing people who are just failing.

They don't know how to deal with problems, failures, setbacks.

But God wants us to learn how to turn every setback into a comeback.

He wants our wishbone to become backbone.

And I'll tell you personally, 1 of the reasons this is my favorite topic of all is because I was a runaway.

I didn't have a recipe for solving problems either.

I only knew to either do drugs or overeat, because I was bulimic for 20 years from age 11 to age 31, or just crash and burn.

Isn't it just amazing that God can weaponize our worst weaknesses for his mighty glory and to save souls?

And when I gave my heart to God, it wasn't pretty.

I don't even love you a lot yet, because I don't know you.

But now I know who's in control here, and I just want to spend the rest of my life paying the devil back for what he has done to me.

And I have even repossessed cars, so watch out.

Do not pray for tasks equal to your strength.

Then the doing of your work will not be the miracle.

Whether they know it or not, all are weary and heavy laden.

All are weighed down with burdens that only Christ can remove.

The heaviest burden that we bear is the burden of sin.

If we were left to bear this burden, it would crush us.

He's watching over you, trembling child of God.

04 Quick Cuisine on the Go

Father in heaven, thank you for this time that we can spend together.

We are grateful, Lord, to be able to do a work on the sunny side of the cross right now, and that when we do anything to encourage anyone heavenward in any way, you have said that this is laying up treasure in heaven and bringing brightness to our own hearts.

We thank you, we ask your presence with us today.

I wanna share something with you that I carry with me in my Bible.

There are certain things that...and it's funny, it's so important to me that I check and recheck to make sure it's still there.

Do you have anything like that that you do?

It's kind of little...it's a little, you know, well.

This is from the introduction to thoughts from the Mount of Blessing.

And it's incredible because, as I said earlier in the week, if we understood the evil that's in this world, it would truly kill us.

And the news channels are just flooded with devastating, horrific things at every level.

Series

Simply Divine! Concept Cooking for Creation Living

02 Simply Satisfied: Where Have You “Bean”?

Transcript

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Parent Conference

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