ASI 2011: Inspired to Finish Strong

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ASI 2011 Seminar: Health

Allen Lloyd

Eliminating the “C” Word

And you might wonder why we call it the C word.

Well, 1 of my areas of medicine is in regards to endoscopic procedures.

And 1 of the things I've learned through the years when we're describing for people we get a lot of 50 year olds that are referred by other physicians to do a colonoscopy on them, 1 of the screening tests that's recommended by the American Cancer Society.

And sometimes they don't even know why they're there.

They just know that the doctor sent them for their procedure.

My doctor says I just need to get this done.

And so I'll explain to them what we're looking for today are growths or polyps that can turn into the C word.

And if we remove them in the polyp stage, then you don't have to worry about the C word as far as the colon is concerned.

And those patients know right away what I'm talking about when I talk about the C word.

And for whatever reason in our area of the country, they prefer it to be mentioned that way.

If you actually say the word itself, there's almost a fear that saying the word might actually bring it about.

And so it is kind of 1 of those four-letter words of medicine, even though it's more than four-letter words, where we tend to do the abbreviation instead of actually saying it, because it is a very feared disease for good reason.

Many people, of course, have recognized their relatives go down significantly, change their appearance, have all sorts of pain and discomfort, and die a pretty gruesome death.

And it is a common death and 1 that in many cases can be prevented.

If we look at the rising death toll, cancer has now surpassed heart disease, the number 1 cause of death in the U.S.

Heart disease by and large kills older individuals.

The more you age, the greater the chance of atherosclerosis or heart disease.

But cancer of course is the second leading cause of death in children.

And it is now the number 1 killer in younger people.

The impact of cancer in America is pretty significant.

1 out of every 2 men will get it at some point in their life.

And currently, 1 out of every 4 deaths in this country is due to cancer.

So when you go to your local funeral home, 1 out of 4 individuals that are there are there due to cancer.

And of course, this is 1 of the reasons why it is such a major problem in our society, is due to its commonality.

There's 2 standard approaches to prevent cancer complications and death that are talked about in the medical literature extensively.

The first 1 is knowing and acting on the 7 cancer warning signs.

And the second is knowing and undergoing the appropriate screening tests.

These are the classic 7 that they're called, cancer warning signs, but depending on the particular type of cancer, there obviously can be some others as well, but these are the ones that are advertised and marketed to the lay public that they need to be aware of.

If that change occurs, where you're used to having a bowel movement every day and now you're having it 4 times a day and that persists for more than a week or 2, it may need to be checked out or if constipation suddenly starts.

Or the same can be true for bladder either way.

And if they're not healing, they really need to be checked out.

You might be surprised how many individuals, Speaking of the fields of colonoscopy, that come to me that have put up for rectal bleeding intermittently for quite some period of time, just because they thought it was a normal part of their existence, or they attribute it to hemorrhoids or whatever, And when it gets out of control, where all of a sudden they're needing blood transfusions, et cetera, then they show up to finally find out why they're having the bleeding.

And of course, often that can be very late in the process, and by then, if it is cancer that's causing that bleeding, it could have had a much more likely chance to spread to vital organs.

Of course, unusual bleeding or discharge from other areas may also be abnormal and need to be checked out.

Thickening of a lump in the breast or elsewhere is obviously abnormal.

Many people don't get checked out for this.

And 1 of the things that's important to realize is this really underscores the most rapidly rising cancer in our society today.

Does anyone know what the most rapidly rising malignancy is in America?

Esophageal cancer is a very deadly cancer.

It's dramatically increasing in our society.

And studies show that if you have reflux symptoms for more than 5 years, you're at a marked increased risk of getting esophageal cancer.

And that's because first you get reflux, then as it persists, the mucosa can change into what's called Barrett's esophagus.

And then Barrett's esophagus can then change and go into malignancy.

And so it's important that you don't just take over-the-counter Prevacid or over-the-counter Prilosec or get prescriptions for these type of drugs over the course of years, and think that just because you're a refluxer you need to do that, you need to really get it checked out to make sure that you don't have Barrett's esophagus.

Because of course at that point, intervention can be taking place to prevent you getting the actual malignancy.

And of course, once malignancy of the esophagus occurs, it's very rapid death.

Normally within a year in most cases, despite what therapeutic measures are being utilized, at least the traditional therapeutic measures.

If food gets hung up before it goes down, that's abnormal.

Change in color, change in the shape or the thickness, et cetera, needs to be checked out.

And this is underscoring another malignancy that's on the rise in America today.

It's melanoma, the deadly type of skin cancer.

Nagging cough or hoarseness, if that persists after several weeks of having a cold and you still have it, needs to be checked out because it could be a malignancy.

Now if people would actually do what this recommends, if people with these symptoms would have them checked out promptly, what percent of cancer deaths could be spared in America today?

It turns out about 5 percent of cancer deaths could be spared.

That's quite a few when you're, you know, considering over 500, 000 deaths from cancer.

That's over 25, 000 individuals that would be saved every year if people would pay attention to this.

But it's also good to keep this in perspective.

So somewhere between 25 and 50, 000 people could be spared if they paid attention to this list and if they got these symptoms checked out rather promptly.

But because cancer is often an asymptomatic disease, In other words, people can feel healthy, they can look healthy, they're very active, but cancer is growing and is multiplying in their system and they have no clue about it.

The American Cancer Society recommends that people on a regular basis undergo screening tests.

Now screening tests means that you have no symptoms whatsoever, but you're undergoing tests to see whether you might have a cancer in an early stage to have an intervention done to prevent it from actually causing death or spread.

A physical exam is recommended with a caregiver with attention to thyroid, lymph nodes, oral cavity, skin, testicles, and ovaries.

Normally this is recommended on about an every 3 year basis, but depending on the age and the individual, sometimes it might be recommended on a lesser interval than this.

A stool slide test is now recommended for microscopic blood in everyone on a yearly basis starting at about age 40.

It's a very simple test to start it earlier.

And Of course, this is to try to detect the second leading cause of cancer death in this country, which is colon cancer.

And of course, colon cancer doesn't always start out with microscopic bleeding, But it can get to that stage, and that's what we're trying to detect there.

Colon cancer, of course, can occur at any age.

Just a few months ago, I diagnosed an 18-year-old with colon cancer.

It's not extremely uncommon to have younger individuals.

Dan Gabbert

Triumph in Trial: Responding to Life’s Difficulties God’s Way

I Am so grateful That you have promised in Psalms 107 verse 20 that you sent your word and you would heal us and deliver us from our destructions We're so delighted to be your children, have these moments together.

We're asking for your blessing upon this time, your angels to fill this room and your spirit to labor with our hearts, including mine, that we might continue to grow in grace and in the victorious knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Come my people into thy chambers and shut your doors about you.

Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment until the indignation be overpassed.

I want you to understand this before I actually get into the how-to's.

But everything in this experience here on earth is centered around knowing God as He really is.

John 17, 3, and this is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ to Thou is sent.

Personally experiencing eternal life is based upon that.

There are 2 awesome destiny deciding gifts that God has given us.

He's given us the power of choice, the freedom to choose and decide, and the power of faith.

The power of choice, of course, Joshua communicating to the Israelites, choose you this day whom you will serve.

Everybody has total freedom to exercise that.

Each human being is given the freedom of choice.

It is his to decide whether he will stand under the black banner of rebellion or under the bloodstained banner of Prince Emmanuel.

Every human being possessed of reason has power to choose the right.

In every experience of life, how many experiences?

God's word to us is choose you this day whom you will serve.

Everyone may place his will on the side of the will of God, may choose to obey him, and by thus linking himself with divine agencies, he may stand where nothing can force him to do evil, Amen?

Faith is actually the ability, the ability to trust someone or something that you cannot verify with your senses.

Can't touch it, can't taste it, can't feel it, can't even see it.

God has given every man and woman a measure of faith.

Otherwise, they could never believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

But what people choose to do with their faith is their choice.

Faith is the gift of God, but the power to exercise it is ours.

Just like a motorized vehicle, I use this illustration, you know, you can have the most beautiful car, but if you don't put the right fuel in, the car sits dead.

It is exactly the same thing for faith and power of choice to work.

And this is so vital, centered around knowing that eternal life is based upon knowing God.

The fuel for power of choice and faith to function in the spiritual realm is information.

The enemy, Satan and his angels, are working 24-7 to offer humanity false information about God's ways, God's character.

He's a liar, a murderer from the very beginning.

His entire life before the cross was a picture of God the Father.

That's what he came to reveal to us and the cross was the epitome of God's character of love.

Philip was wondering about God the Father and Jesus.

He says, have I been with you for so long and you don't realize, he that has seen me has seen the Father.

Everyone will decide, they've got to decide what information about God's character they're actually going to put their faith in that they're going to trust.

Our privilege in Call as Christ Ministers, and I think this is why ASI is such an awesome and exciting thing, is simply Because our call, Jesus' prayer just before He was crucified, praying for His disciples.

As Thou has sent me into the world, even so I also sent them into the world.

Another 1, our privilege, Matthew 5, 16, Let your light so shine, by the way, the light of your life, not only your words, but your responses to life.

Let your life so shine before men that they may, what?

See your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world is a revelation of His character of love.

The children of God are to manifest His glory in their own life and character there to reveal what the grace of God has done for them.

When, big question, leading now into triumph in trial, when does the loving and powerful character of Christ shine the brightest?

It should shine all the time, should it not?

However, in its beauty and luster, people don't perk up until they see a Christian in trial, and they see that the response of a living Christian is different.

Arise and shine for thy light is come and the glory, the character of the Lord is risen upon you.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, gross darkness the people.

I think we're kind of in that, don't you think?

And what an awesome thing it is to be in a position where he can actually arise upon you.

His glory, his character shall be seen upon you, and the Gentiles shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of thy rising." Awesome.

What kind of dark conditions do Christians have the privilege of revealing God's character of love?

I think this is why Paul wrote it, particularly as we move closer to Christ's return.

Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, killed all the day long, we're accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

That used to bother me a lot, but it's talking about the wicked.

We're accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

David DeRose

Energizing Your Witness: The Adventist Lifestyle Message Rightly Utilized

Father in heaven, we come before you recognizing our need for you to be our teacher.

No one's here to just learn human thoughts.

We really are here at ASI because we want you to direct in every aspect.

We pray that this meeting, this session, would be no exception, that you would help turn our minds to things that would be most profitable for our ministry, for our families, for our churches, and for the world.

Well, it really is grabbing the attention of the world.

What I'm talking about this morning is the Adventist lifestyle, the Adventist way of life.

And you'd almost have to have your head buried in the sand not to realize that something is happening in the media when it comes to the Seventh-Day Adventist health message.

We don't have to go back all that far in time.

Just about 7 years ago, 6 years ago, depending on how good your math is, in November 2005, National Geographic ran this cover story that attracted the attention not only of Seventh-day Adventists, but of many throughout the world.

The title story, the cover story of this particular issue, The Secrets of Living Longer.

And in that particular periodical, they focused on Seventh-day Adventists, among the longest lived people in the world.

Here's if you even today went to their website.

You'd still find this posted, The Secrets of Long Life, and listen to what they say.

Residents of Okinawa, Sardinia and Loma Linda, California live longer, healthier lives than just about anyone else on earth.

What do they know that the rest of us don't?

If you were to read that article or go onto National Geographic's website today, you'd find things that sound quite familiar.

But here, in a mainstream journal, speaking about Adventists and longevity, not smoking, eating a healthy plant-based diet, following an active lifestyle, and then keeping the Sabbath, a weekly day of rest that they emphasize in National Geographic as having special benefits in part, at least they attribute it, to the social connectedness that happens on that particular day.

But something very interesting in this very article, those 3 populations that were highlighted, the Japanese in Okinawa, the Sardinians in the Mediterranean, and those Adventists in Loma Linda, a striking difference.

For you see, if you look at the Sardinians and the Okinawans, what we find is that the younger generations are not living as healthfully as their elders.

The unique population, in fact, in all of those groups are those in Loma Linda where it seems they're not losing their longevity advantage.

They're talking about Seventh-day Adventists and their health benefits.

Dan Buetner, the author of that National Geographic article, later came out with a book, many of you have seen it, in 2008, The Blue Zones.

It was subtitled Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who Have Lived the Longest.

Again, front and center in Buetner's book, our Seventh-Day Adventist in Loma Linda, California.

It didn't stop there though, because U.S.

News on their website, when they picked up this theme of longevity in looking for lifestyle habits that could help you live longer, 10 health habits that will help you live to 100.

Number 8, live like a Seventh-day Adventist.

Well, what did Deborah Coates think of Seventh-day Adventists?

Americans who define themselves as Seventh-day Adventists have an average life expectancy of 89, about a decade longer than the average American.

1 of the basic tenets of the religion is that It's important to cherish the body that's on loan from God, which means no smoking, alcohol abuse, or overindulging in sweets.

Followers typically stick to a vegetarian diet based on fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts and get plenty of exercise.

They're also very focused on family and community.

The next year, 2010, PBS and outlets throughout the country carried this film, The Adventists.

Many of you have seen it, whether you watched it on nationwide television or whether you picked up a DVD copy.

A non-Adventist filmmaker features Seventh-day Adventists in this documentary that he describes as speaking about abiding faith, cutting-edge medicine, and longer, healthier lives.

Well, here we are, 2011, and the interest has not abated.

But before we jump there, listen just to what some people said about Doublemire's film.

I was interested most in the emphasis this religion puts on both the spiritual and physical bodies in regards to total wellness.

I'd recommend this film to friends and family of all faiths looking to learn more about this religion and its impact on living longer, healthier lives.

The Seventh-Day Adventist Church is in the spotlight today, and it's not because the Review and Herald is carrying articles, I mean, they are, it's not because of vibrant life, it's because The mainstream media has caught this enthusiasm about something about the Seventh-day Adventist lifestyle.

And as I indicated just a moment ago, this interest is continuing to this day.

What we find in 2011, Here we are, April of 2011, and Newsweek magazine.

Perhaps some of you saw this story that was picked up there.

Newsweek was interested also in the subject of longevity.

And their article, we might think, was having some spiritual overtones because they call it how to live forever.

Unfortunately, they didn't catch the broader message that God's entrusted to our church.

They were just speaking about living longer on this earth.

But they put together a graphic, a very interesting graphic, an infographic, some would describe it as.

And it kind of goes through the life cycle.

Some of you can see the profile of a toddler there and then as we go up in years.

If you notice, those of you that brought your field glasses or have extremely good vision, you'll see that the first 1 here is you are a female.

Of course, We don't have too much choice in that matter.

We have no choice just to set the record straight.

But this does have a bearing on longevity as far as scientific research.

Look at what the second factor, If you from infancy were to choose factors that would help you live longer, you would choose to be a woman and you would choose, according to Newsweek Magazine, to be a Seventh-Day Adventist.

We may be feeling very good about the media coverage.

But this lay interest continues to build, and I think there's some very significant implications that we want to look at today.

Some of you, no doubt, regularly read Mental Floss.

I'm not a regular reader, but this is the magazine, if you don't know, in the online edition where knowledge junkies get their fix.

This is the most recent issue of Mental Floss.

And they're again picking up on this story, want to live to 100, move to 1 of these 5 areas.

These so-called blue zones, we were talking about 3 earlier.

And first on their list, Loma Linda, California.

And you see some of these familiar places that we've been speaking about.

Here's what you need to do if you want to live a long time.

Focus on your family more than work and other stresses.

Stay moderately active and stay socially involved.

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ASI 2011 Seminar: Health

Eliminating the “C” Word

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