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Jesus People Podcast
Dr. Pete Sulack: Faith, Cancer, and the Way the Body Was Designed to Heal | JPP Episode 54
00:40:18
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- [00:00]
Dr. Pete Sulak
November 25th, the Monday of Thanksgiving. In 2024, I was diagnosed with a stage 4 brain cancer, and the doctor told me I had a 1% chance to still be alive in eight months. And here I am today, a year later. I feel healthier than I've ever felt my whole life. And honestly, I feel like the Lord's used it to punk the devil.
- [00:18]
Podcast Host
Let's. Guys, welcome to the Jesus People podcast. We have Dr. Pete Sulak on the podcast, who I've been following for a while, watching your videos, and fascinating stuff, fascinating story. So thanks for coming to Dallas, man.
- [00:48]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Man, it's an honor to be with you. It really is.
- [00:50]
Podcast Host
Yeah.
- [00:50]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah.
- [00:51]
Podcast Host
Well, we were talking a little bit before, and as often happens, it's like, what? We need to stop. Yeah, stop. Let's save it for the podcast. So many interesting things, so many overlapping passions and interests and experiences. And you're a fascinating guy. So, I mean, just give us a little bit of your background. And you were diagnosed with cancer about a year ago?
- [01:12]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yep. November 25th, the Monday of Thanksgiving. In 2024, I was diagnosed with a stage four brain cancer. And the doctor told me at a 1% chance to still be alive in eight months. And here I am today, a year later. I feel healthier than I've ever felt my whole life. And honestly, I feel like the Lord's used it to punk the devil.
- [01:30]
Podcast Host
Let's go.
- [01:31]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [01:32]
Podcast Host
That fires me up. Okay, so, yeah, tell me how this last year's been. Look, what was it like getting that news?
- [01:39]
Dr. Pete Sulak
You know, it was very surreal. You know, previous. Now, looking back, you know, hindsight's 20 20. In probably 18 months before the diagnosis, I knew that something was off. And two of our boys got married within four months. Last one, two weeks before my diagnosis. And. But I noticed kind of after that second wedding that I started dropping things. I really couldn't throw a baseball. It would go sideways. Couldn't serve a pickleball into the court for the life of me. My kids would laugh at me just saying, hey, dad, you know, you're getting old. But I knew something was off. And my wife's staff would finish my sentences, which she always does, but she was a little bit more frequently than usual. And I didn't know if I had a mini stroke. But the Monday of Thanksgiving, my brother actually said, hey, I think you need to go to the emergency room. It's Thanksgiving week. Just figure out what's going on. And after eight hours in the emergency room, the doctor came in and said, Dr. Pete you know, I don't know how to tell you this, but what they thought at the time was a glioblastoma. They said you have a very aggressive form of brain cancer. And, you know, it ended up being diagnosed a grade four diffuse astrocytoma. Still very aggressive. And the doctor at MD Anderson said I had a 1% chance to still be alive in eight months. Months. And here I am today and feeling healthier than I've ever felt my whole life. Yeah.
- [02:58]
Podcast Host
Wow. Why? What hat. Like, what did you do to.
- [03:01]
Dr. Pete Sulak
You know, that's the. The question that everyone asks is, you know, how did you know? How did you get this cancer? I mean, you've lived a healthy lifestyle, a chiropractor by trade. You know, we. We're big into holistic care. And so whether, you know, I've been around the world 25 times, so is it parasites? Is it ionizing radiation from cell phones? Is it stress? Is it, you know, a wisdom teeth that was infected? Or was it just an assignment that the enemy tried to take me out? I feel like it was a combination of all of them. And. But honestly, other than salvation and my family, it's the greatest gift I've ever been given. You know, I was reading this morning in First Peter 4:10 about stewarding the gifts. And, you know, the Apostle Paul in Romans talks about having gifts differing according to grace given to you. Utilize those gifts. And for me, it's actually one of the most incredible gifts, this diagnosis, because one, it sets a foundation. You know, it allows you to understand, like, what is it that you truly believe? Like, do you believe the God of the Bible? Or, you know, do you believe a doctor's diagnosis? And I'm grateful for the doctors that we have and the diagnosis that we get, but we live according to a truth that trumps the realities of this life, and we get to walk by faith and not by sight as children of God. And so, but it allows you to really dig deep and see what is it that you truly believe? Do you believe that the God of the Bible, who is our Jehovah, Rapha, who is our healer, is who he says he is? And I've come to realize that he absolutely is. Wow. Wow.
- [04:36]
Podcast Host
Okay, so what was your protocol like then? Like, what did you start doing? Yeah, because obviously, it's a shocking moment. I'm sure there was a grieving process for you and your family and all of the stages of grief I'm sure you experienced. And then what did you start to do? As someone who is holistic in Their thinking. I'm sure you were getting recommendations from the doctor. I'm sure you were getting recommendations from every which way. How did you start to parse that out and think through how am I going to heal from this thing?
- [05:06]
Dr. Pete Sulak
You know, receiving the diagnosis was a shock absolutely to both Steph and I. And. But, you know, it's interesting because there's a supernatural peace that came over us. And like the Lord said, son, I. I have this taken care of. And I remember walking out of the office and the Lord said, son, it's not unto death, but I'm gonna open up a brand new harvest field for you. Of cancer patients. Go inspire them, give them hope and introduce them to the love of God. And I pray that I'm doing that effectively. And. But it's just, that's such a huge privilege. But, you know, we obviously told our family, and our whole family came in through the night on Thanksgiving to spend. Spend the Thanksgiving with us. But I remember the first two people I called were outside of my brother. I called Dr. Josh Axe. And it was convenient because Josh's wife Chelsea and my wife Steph are first cousins. And then Jordan Rubin's one of my best friends. We've written books together. And so there's the first two people that I called. And we kind of created a game plan and says, okay, how are we going to go after this? Number one, we're going to make sure your diet is impeccable. Supplementation, detoxification, oxygenation, and faith being the capstone, making sure we never lost perspective. And then I was actually encouraged to become my own patient and incorporate a program and a protocol that I created for my wife probably five years earlier. And that's really how I began to approach it. Um, and just, you know, lord, we need wisdom. You know, the hand of the diligent rules and is made to prosper. And so diligence is all about wise counsel, a divine working effort. And that's really how we try to approach it. Wow.
- [06:48]
Podcast Host
Okay, so you call two pretty heavy hitters there.
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Dr. Pete Sulak
I mean, that's.
- [06:54]
Podcast Host
Yeah, like Axe and Ruben, those, those guys are in terms of like holistic kingdom minded doctors, thinkers, they're. They're at the top there. So take us through. You said you had, you had the capstone of faith. Obviously you had detoxification, you had diet.
- [07:12]
Dr. Pete Sulak
You had supplementation and oxygenation.
- [07:15]
Podcast Host
Oxygenation. Can you take me through those and tell me within each of those buckets what were you doing?
- [07:22]
Dr. Pete Sulak
You know, so if you look at cancer in general, cancer needs a Fuel source. And so typically the primary fuel source is glucose. It also needs inflammation, is a lack of oxygen. And so what we realized is that you can have an impeccable diet. And we want to make sure we had an impeccable diet. But if you're incorporating healthy foods that you have a sensitivity to, it's going to create an inflammatory storm. And so we want to make sure that my diet was right. And I lean towards keto because of brain cancer, but people ask me all the time, well, what's the best diet for certain types of cancers? A personalized diet, in my opinion. And so we ran a food sensitivity test, we ran blood work just to make sure that we knew that the foods that I was putting in my body were right for me. And that especially because I felt like I couldn't. I couldn't afford to guess. I needed to get it right. I needed to go all in when it came to what I was putting in my body. And my, my goal wasn't to treat cancer. My goal was to establish the train of my body in such a way that cancer was just no longer hospitable in my body. And so that's really how we've approached it. That's how we kind of help navigate this for other people dealing with cancer as well, is we're not there to replace our oncologist, their medical team. We're actually there to be just a support system synergistically working together to make sure that the foods that you're consuming, the supplements you're consuming are right for you. And so those five pillars of diet, I want to make sure it was personalized based on my blood work supplementation. I wanted to make sure that we were blocking, you know, certain cancer fuel pathways and making sure that we are factoring in my DNA and factoring in nutrient deficiencies. And then, you know, we looked at oxygenation. And so because cancer hates an oxygenated environment and it thrives where there's no oxygen. You know, things like hyperbaric oxygen therapy, high dose vitamin C, an ozone sauna, different things that we did. Hydrogen water, just simple things to oxygenate, the cells starve. Really, the fuel sources in just incorporate foods and supplements that put cancer basically on notice and made it unhospitable in my body.
- [09:41]
Podcast Host
Wow. Hold on. Explain the sauna again, because I'm thinking about putting a sauna upstairs. An ozone sauna?
- [09:48]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah. So an ozone sauna. You know, one of the things that I use early on in care is an ozone sauna that has, you know, it's ozone and pmf. And, you know, there's a lot of amazing saunas out there right now. And so the biggest thing is how do we activate the good cells to become strong, and how do we create vulnerability amongst the cancer cells? Yeah. And ozone saunas were one of the greatest things that we did for that. Wow. Yeah.
- [10:16]
Podcast Host
Okay, dude, this is fascinating. So one question I have for you. So if I don't want to get cancer later in life and you here sitting in remission from cancer, what advice would you give me? Or what advice would you give yourself 10 years ago, not knowing you were going to get cancer, to not get cancer.
- [10:34]
Dr. Pete Sulak
I think the biggest thing is we've all been given gifts according to the grace given to us. One of those gifts is our health. And I'm not supposed to find my identity in my gift giftings. I'm supposed to steward the gifts. So my identity comes from the fact that I'm a son or we're daughters of the living God, creating the image of light, likeness of God. But we're called to steward the gifts on our life. And when we steward the gifts, it means we honor them and we get to partake in the fruit of those gifts. But when we fail to steward those gifts and take care of the gifts that we've been given, it essentially means we dishonor those gifts and we reap the consequences. And so when it comes to our health, I think for me, years ago I kind of had to come to Jesus meet kind of moment in my office where the Lord said, son, I need you to humble yourself and become teachable. Because I didn't know anything about nutrition. I had one of the largest chiropractic clinics in the world, but really knew nothing about the ins and outs of foods and supplements and so forth. And I felt like the Lord said, son, you really need to humble yourself and become teachable. And so I can be strong where you are weak, and I can surround you with people that are strong where you are weak. And so I went on a journey really to not out of vain, you know, not from a vain perspective, but a stewardship knowing that, you know, the harvest is plentiful, the laborers are few, and there's many people in the body of Christ specifically that are not fulfilling the call of God in their life because they haven't stewarded their health. And so they haven't taken care of their health. And they're sick and dying and have all these issues. And it's like the person on the worship team, you know, that doesn't have their health. They can't just express the gift on their life as effectively as they could if they had their health. And so for me, it was all about stewardship.
- [12:22]
Podcast Host
And.
- [12:22]
Dr. Pete Sulak
And my encouragement for anybody is one of the greatest gifts you've been given to fulfill the call of God in your life is your health. So make sure you steward it well and just seek counsel and pay attention to the foods you put in your body and the supplements that you take. And so many people, they live for that next meal. But my encouragement is, let's begin to eat for resilience, eat for health, eat for. So that we can steward the temple of God.
- [12:50]
Podcast Host
Right. So if I don't want to get cancer in 10 years, give me a few things that I shouldn't do. And give me a few things that I should do.
- [12:57]
Dr. Pete Sulak
I think the biggest thing is we just, you know, you have to cut off the fuel source for chronic inflammation and chronic disease and cancer. And that sugar, I think there's so many people just eliminating sodas, I think eliminating alcohol just because it breaks down to sugar. I think, you know, for me, my diet's become cleaner than ever. I thought I was eating clean before, but it's gone to a whole nother level. And so for those that can afford it, I think if you can personalize it, that's the epitome. Like, that's the trump card.
- [13:28]
Podcast Host
Through blood work.
- [13:29]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah, through blood work and everything else. But if not, I mean, just simple things like white sugar, white. The pastas, you know, rice and potatoes. Just white potatoes. White rice, white sugar. I mean, just eliminate those. I think switching over to sprouted. Switching over to things like slipping me right now, but switching over like a sweet potato, that. That you make those sugars a little bit more complex, those carbs a little bit more complex. And for me, like, this is. This was new to me a few years ago, and now I feel like, okay, Lord, the assignment of my life is to empower a generation, especially of cancer patients. Yeah. To just go crush this thing. And for those that don't have cancer, to prevent it and make sure that they never get it.
- [14:19]
Podcast Host
Right. Right. What are some hidden ones, like, outside of diet that you're like, whether it's an aerosol or like pesticides or. Shoot, you were mentioning earlier to parasites. So what are some that we wouldn't normally think of because, you know, you think of sugar and alcohol, and that's going to obviously breed cancer in your body. But what are some hidden ones?
- [14:42]
Dr. Pete Sulak
I think parasites. You know, I've been around the world 25 times and if you talk to most doctors, they'll say, oh, parasites has nothing to do with cancer. But I think it's not even that parasites necessarily cause cancer. But you know, anti parasitics work on the same pathways. And so parasites really kind of their mechanism of action is similar to a cancer cell. And so if you can basically counteract that, I think, what does that mean? You know, I think, you know, almost like reverse engineering it. And so, you know, I'm on, I've taken anti parasitics and so there's natural anti parasitics like black walnut and wormwood and artemisinin, which are great. But there's also some over the counter or prescription like off script medications like ivermectin or mebendazole, which are proven very, very effective at creating a vulnerability of cancer cells. And so for me, like it was, hey, the prognosis was so grim that I knew I had to go all in. And so that meant pulling out all stops. And so I did off script medications, I did natural anti parasitics, I went all in on my diet, I went all in on oxygen therapy, all in on my faith and really dug deep and says, okay, what is it that I truly believe? And when you get squeezed, it's a revealer of the thoughts, intents of man. And it was, hey, when I got squeezed, when the doctor gave me this diagnosis of cancer, did it carry a yoke with it or did it bring a peace? And fortunately it brought a peace to me. Like the Lord says, son, I'm going to get it. Because so often I think, we think faith is something I have to do to muster something up like, okay, I'm going to just stir up my faith. But faith is an impartation from the living God that says it is. So it's when the convict the word of God and his promises become the conviction of our heart. And the litmus test is it brings rest to us. There's a rest for the people of God when they live by faith. And so living from that vantage point is just such a gift and such a privilege that God's just graced me with.
- [16:44]
Podcast Host
Wow, that's beautiful. Yeah, those, those five things you mentioned with the capstone of faith, I think that's, you know, you can show that in studies now that people who have faith, they're going to heal quickly. Wow, that's beautiful. Yeah. Dr. Austin Lake and I have started a community. It's called the Kingdom Path to Wellness. Everything from Sabbath to supplements, where we will do Blood work. We'll look at your personalized diet. We'll look at how are you doing meal times with your family, and what does your pantry look like? We got to have you on. We got to have you join one of these webinars and talk about cancer protocols and all that. And if you guys are interested in that, we'll put the link in the show notes for the Kingdom Path to Wellness and. And the goal. For me, the reason why I really wanted to do this with Dr. Lake, even though I'm not like a holistic doctor or anything like that, I come from more of a mental health background, is I think we're so segmented. You've got like an ankle doctor, and you've got an orthopedist, and you've got, you know, an oncologist, and you've got all these different, you know, pieces. And you'll go to this doctor for this and for. But. But so much of. I think Western medicine is looking at a problem saying, how do we diagnose that problem once the problem's already happening? Instead of saying, how can we live in the kingdom of God, which is the rule and reign of Christ, and we're having three meals a day and snacking throughout the day and having a drink at night, and all of that is time spent where we are, especially here in America, not doing our temple any good. We are decaying our temple through what we're putting in our body, which I think is really what the enemy's plan has been from the beginning is, let's give you something that looks good, tastes good, feels good, but it's actually going to kill you in the long run? What are the spiritual implications of what you've learned this last year of having cancer and the self discipline to now be like, I've got to lock it in. I've got to step into this from a spiritual standpoint, from a kingdom standpoint. What has he been teaching you?
- [18:32]
Dr. Pete Sulak
I think you know, 1. What's the conviction of my heart, you know, and being very transparent with the Lord in my walk with the Lord. And it's a personal relationship with God. We don't always have it all. Right. You know, there's times in our life that we lose perspective. There's times in our life that the doctor's diagnosis gets up in our business, so to speak, and it drowns out the reality of who we are as children of God. And so it's making. Okay, what's my reality? Is it the, you know, the reality of this world, which are the facts of life? Or is it the reality of the kingdom of heaven, which is truth and the Word of God? And you know, when truth becomes the conviction of my heart, it trumps the reality of this life and it trumps the facts of this life. But what is truth? Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. The entirety of the Word of God is truth. Promises are truth. And who I am now that Christ has come is truth. But it's allowing the meditations of my heart to be pleasing unto him and allowing them to get rooted deep down inside my heart to say, okay, what is it that you truly believe? You know, in Hebrews 4 it says, hey, you know, there's a rest for the people of God when they live by faith. But if you don't, like, if you're yoked or burdened by this life, you don't have to fake it till you make it. The word of God comes and divides soul and spirit. It's a discerner of the thoughts and intents of a man. And if you're yoked by this life, you don't have to fake it like the Lord is a re. He sees everything he just said in that moment. Come boldly into the throne of grace to attain grace and mercy and time of need. Come, get my perspective again. Come and fast those things that, you know, uproot those things that got in the crevices of your heart and live from the vantage point of heaven. And so I think there's so much power in prayer and fasting, but not as what maybe the world has assumed prayer and fasting to be. Prayer is not begging God. Prayer is coming boldly into his presence to gain his perspective again. And fasting is not just, hey, I went on a 21 day Daniel Fast, which I'm huge advocate for. I'm a huge advocate of water fasts and everything else. But fasting is, hey, I got things in my heart that are drowning out truth and have become what I'm convinced of. And so search me God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there's any offensive way in me and lead me in the way of everlasting Lord and uproot those things that have gone in to drown out and choke off truth of your word. What's his word? His word says he's my healer. He says he's my provider, he's my banner and protector, my strong tower. He's my refuge and strength. If he is for me, it doesn't matter what comes against me. But Making sure that's not just lip service, but it becomes what you're deeply rooted in, the conviction of your heart. Dang.
- [21:17]
Podcast Host
You mentioned something in the beginning of that beautiful explanation of how to walk in the kingdom, how to renew your mind, how to take thoughts captive, how to live in the truth. You said that truth can trump facts. What do you mean by that?
- [21:34]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Well, so we're born into this world and I mean, let's go back all the way to Genesis. And God created the heavens and the earth, and God created mankind in his image and his likeness in man was in relationship with God. He was in union with God, in communion with God. He knew the ways of God, he knew the heart of God. But then obviously we know in Genesis 3 that through one man's disobedience, sin came in the world. Through Adam's sin, sin came in the world. And you know there's a scripture in Matthew that says Jesus came to save that which was lost. Not who was lost, that which was lost. Well, what was lost in the garden? A godly nature and a heavenly perspective. Well, godly nature is love and a heavenly perspective is faith. So faith and love were lost in the Garden of Eden. And so we were born into this world self centered, living according to this earthly reality of the facts of life. What governs my senses, what I see, what I feel, what I hear, what the doctor says, what my bank account says. And so I'm living according to this earthly kingdom, but in Christ, I become a new creation. When I surrender my life to Christ, I become a new creation. I'm a citizen of heaven now. And now I've been given the privilege to be an ambassador of heaven on the earth, right? And so I have the privilege to come to represent heaven on the earth. And what did Jesus restore? He restored his nature, which is love, and restored his perspective, which is faith. But faith isn't something that you know, that I know Scripture. Intellectually, faith is when His Word, the entirety of the Word, becomes the conviction of my heart, where truth and just to reiterate what truth is, truth is Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. His Word, the entirety of the Word of God is truth. Who I am now that Christ has come is truth. The things that he says about me are truth. My identity is truth, his nature, Heaven is truth. But when truth, not just because I know it intellectually, but when it becomes the conviction of my heart, what I'm fully convinced of that trumps the fact that means I'm walking by faith and not by Sight. So I'm in the world, but I'm not of the world. I've come to represent heaven on earth, and that gives us a diplomatic community as children of God. So when the word. When circumstances don't line up, when the doctor says, hey, you have a 1% chance to be alive in eight months, my God says, no, son, it's not unto death. Right. Because we have a relationship with God. It's a word spoken in due season, imparted into my spirit. And it says, wow. It's a rock that the gates of hell cannot prevail against. And it says, okay, Lord, let's go. Because I'm in communion with you as your child. I'm a son of the living God. And now I lived this life out by stewarding the gifts that were on my life.
- [24:33]
Podcast Host
Oh, Dr. Pete's cooking, dude. Let's go, dude. That fired me up because it's so practical.
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Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah.
- [24:41]
Podcast Host
Like you're saying, it's like the truth is the. Is the foundation. It's the solid rock on which we build our life. So when Jesus was asked by Pilate what is truth, he didn't say anything because truth was standing in front.
- [24:55]
Dr. Pete Sulak
In front of him.
- [24:56]
Podcast Host
He was the embodiment of truth. And what you're saying is that truth invades every single part of our life because it's the heavenly perspective. Right. It's literally bringing the kingdom to earth, which I think a lot of times we, like, compartmentalize our lives, and we're like, oh, well, if I want to go get the truth, if I want to go have faith, then I go to church. It's like, no, no, no. Like, I'm gonna. I'm gonna eat right. Based off of what is truth?
- [25:19]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah.
- [25:20]
Podcast Host
What is the kingdom? What is the rule and reign of Christ in my heart, One thing that blew my mind, I heard a pastor say this a while back as he was talking about these words like evangelist and gospel and apostle and all these things that we just kind of flippantly say and we think are just like these spiritual words. But those words existed before Jesus came on the scene. The gospel was proclaimed by an evangelist who would go from the battlefield back to the hometown to proclaim the good news that the war had been won.
- [25:51]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah.
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Podcast Host
So that evangelist, like the guy who ran to Marathon. Right. 26.2 miles or from Marathon, I don't remember. He would proclaim the good news of the gospel. The war has been won. Send out the apostles. So then. And these were jobs. These were job descriptions, like chiropractor and so they would send in the apostles to that newly conquered territory and they put up banners and they put up all the different things so that if the king ever stepped foot in that newly conquered territory, he would feel just as at home in that newly conquered territory that he did in Savior.
- [26:18]
Dr. Pete Sulak
That's so good. Yeah.
- [26:19]
Podcast Host
So when Jesus is saying to pray, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, that's an apostolic prayer.
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Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah.
- [26:27]
Podcast Host
He's saying, bring the kingdom. We're not trying just to get to heaven, we're trying to pull heaven down here. And that's what I'm hearing you say is truth.
- [26:34]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah. And I think that's the biggest thing is like the Lord's called us to replicate ourselves. This is the way we know that you're a disciple of Christ is that you walk in love. Well, that's the nature of God. And so, so often, you know, I think we struggle with what's discipleship. It's living a Christ centered life, a Christlike nature that doesn't take record of wrong, that doesn't allow sin against me to produce sin in me. Right. And allowing that to be the reflection of my life so that it rubs off on you and you. And we begin to replicate the image of Christ because the enemy right now is replicating his image and he's doing it through the body of Christ. Self centered, egotistical, you know, entitled rather than selfless. Where I'm crucified with Christ, it's not I who lives anymore, but Christ who lives within me in the life that I live in the natural realm. I live by the perspective of heaven. You know, I often ask the Lord, I said, lord, you know, in Hebrews it talks about that many died in faith. I go, they wouldn't have died if they were in faith. But what the Lord showed me is he said, son, they never lost perspective. They died with always living from the vantage point of heaven, knowing that they were only passing through this life, this life wasn't what they were living for, that they were the Lord's, they were crucified, living sacrifices for the Lord there to represent the kingdom of God and to bear his image and expose people's worth and value. That's all that we're called to do, is go steward our lives, be a blessing and expose the world's worth and value. Because for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. And so he's no respecter of persons. And so that's the most amazing Thing that. Just to know that, hey, I'm living on borrowed time, so to speak. I've asked the lord for another 50 years of borrowed time, but to go represent the kingdom of God.
- [28:27]
Podcast Host
And I'm sure you're closer to that than you've ever been in your life.
- [28:30]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah.
- [28:31]
Podcast Host
Because you stood death in the face a year ago. The scripture that comes to mind in Proverbs is, teach me to number my days, that I might gain a heart of wisdom.
- [28:37]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah.
- [28:38]
Podcast Host
That we literally gain a heart of wisdom by understanding that we're gonna die soon. That, you know, in the grand scheme of eternity, you and I, like, we're not like, let's say that you die in 20 years, I die in 50 years.
- [28:49]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah.
- [28:50]
Podcast Host
What's that, 30 years in eternity? It's nothing. You know what I mean? And so you're a fool. It's. Jim Elliott said, he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
- [28:58]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah.
- [28:58]
Podcast Host
And so to live our lives as an ambassador, as representative of Christ, as soldiers for Christ who have already lost their lives, and just to be like, okay, Lord, what's the mission here? How can I hear your voice more clearly? How can I live out the kingdom of God in a more full way while I'm here? Because I'm going to stand before you one day.
- [29:17]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah. You know, it's interesting. When I had the MRI at the 11. So it's been a year now since I was diagnosed, but at 11, 10 and a half month mark, I had another MRI. And I remember going into the hospital and they put me in the waiting area, and I got into my gown, and I was about to go back, and I've had a number of MRIs, and I get have. I have a tendency to get claustrophobic, and it's just not a pleasant experience. I've had one MRI, and it was like an hour and 45 minutes long, and one right after I, you know, came out of surgery. And so I remember, you know, just becoming a little bit anxious. And they rolled me back, they put me back into the tube, and I felt like the Lord grabbed my hand, and I felt like I was in Psalms 23. Beside still waters, where there's rest for my soul. And it was the most peaceful, enjoyable experience I've had in a long, long time. And I was with the Lord. I really felt that. And I remember the Lord whispered, and he said, son, if the cancer is.
- [30:18]
Podcast Host
Back.
- [30:20]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Will you still represent me and bear my image and live from my perspective and live this out by Faith, even if in death. And it was a hard question for him. And I said, yes, Lord, to live or die, I will do it by faith. From your vanish point, and long story short, I came out and the diagnosis was, there's no cancer. It's clear. So I'm very, very grateful for that. But it was kind of a come to Jesus meeting. Like, okay. Like, because even in that, he says, I said, yes, Lord, I will. I will represent you regardless if I die or not. And then I felt like, whiskey, go, okay, because it's going to come back clear. You know, it's. You don't have to worry about anything. But I think the Lord was saying, hey, because there's many people that, you know, unfortunately, the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. God comes to give life and give it more abundantly. But there's many people that, you know, my encouragement for is, hey, you might have one month to live. Go represent him. Go bear his image. Go love people, Go and just enjoy life. Let the joy of the Lord be your strength and watch what God does with your life.
- [31:35]
Podcast Host
Wow, man.
- [31:35]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah.
- [31:36]
Podcast Host
Dylan Mandel, who, you know, he. The Lord whispered to him when he had gotten his diagnosis, this is not life or death. This is life or life.
- [31:47]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah.
- [31:48]
Podcast Host
And brought him to, I believe it was Philippians 1, where he says, for me to live is Christ and to die, like, what. What can you do to me? You know, like, you're gonna kill me and I go spend eternity with the Lord. Like, what this cancer is gonna take me? Like, who? You know, in the grand scheme of things, like, yes, we grieve it. Yes, we mourn it. Yes, it's something that is heavy and is hard and is sad and is confusing. And at the same time, when we bring down that heavenly perspective. You know, I watched Dylan when. When Dylan, he got the MRI results that the cancer was back, and I was with him and I watched. It was like all the air got sucked out of the room. So I just looked over at him and he's on his email reading the results. And I watched him just be devastated. And then he gets up, and I don't think he'd mind me sharing this. He. He gets up from the kitchen counter and doesn't say much. He walks outside, puts a towel down on the grass, and for about two hours, I just watch him just like, worshiping, praying on his face, praying, like, almost like pounding the ground at times, like warfare prayer. And I'm just kind of waiting inside, just occasionally peeking out at him. And he walks back into the house. And he just goes, what are we up to now?
- [33:07]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah.
- [33:07]
Podcast Host
And I'm like, you got to be kidding me. Like in a couple hours for your perspective to shift. It's like he went to war with fear.
- [33:16]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Yeah.
- [33:16]
Podcast Host
He's like, I need to get this out of me. I need to realign with the kingdom of God. And I just. It was, it was. I'll never ever forget that moment.
- [33:24]
Dr. Pete Sulak
But it's a perfect depiction of what God has called us to. He said, son or daughter, you don't have to fake it till you make it like life is going to happen. Sometimes it's going to hit you over the side of the head and it's going to. You're going to lose perspective in that moment. But you don't have to fake it in that moment. You don't have to act like you have it all together in that moment. Come boldly into my presence like Dylan did. Come get on your face with me so I can give you perspective once again so that you can go live out this life as more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.
- [33:56]
Podcast Host
Amen, dude. Amen. That's so cool. And that invades what you eat, that invades how you treat your wife. That invades your thought life. And I think that's what's so practical because I think a lot of people, they're like, how do I practically live out the kingdom of God? Well, what were the two things you said? The perspective of heaven. And it was like truth and faith.
- [34:17]
Dr. Pete Sulak
It's. So it's the nature of God, which is love.
- [34:20]
Podcast Host
The nature of God, which is love.
- [34:21]
Dr. Pete Sulak
And the perspective of heaven, which is faith.
- [34:23]
Podcast Host
Yes.
- [34:23]
Dr. Pete Sulak
And so those are the things that were lost in the garden of Eden. Right. With sin. Because man became self centered and took on this earthly reality. But when we are, we were born again. Right. When we come in the kingdom of God, when we surrender our hearts to Jesus, we're new creations and we're citizens of heaven. Right. So new creations, I take on his nature again. I take on his DNA once again, which is love. And I become a citizen of heaven. So I take on the vantage point of heaven, which is faith. Wow.
- [34:52]
Podcast Host
And yeah, you think about faith and love and that, that is very practical because that invades everything. That invades every aspect of life.
- [34:59]
Dr. Pete Sulak
That should be the litmus test of our lives as children of God. Do they walk in faith according to the vantage point of heaven? And do they walk in love?
- [35:06]
Podcast Host
Yeah.
- [35:07]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Or are they self centered? You know, because that's the opposite. Like Jesus came to Free us from ourselves, not free me from you. He came to free me from me, to remove that self centered nature so that he could literally fill me and satisfy me in his nature. A blessed life is not, I have a nice house, a blessed life, so satisfied in God that I don't need anything else. And I take on his nature, which is love in an abundant life. I believe because he's come to give life and give it more abundantly. Isn't I have multiple houses. It's I'm so satisfied in God and so blessed in God that I can't contain it anymore. I have to go let the overflow of my life bless others.
- [35:45]
Podcast Host
Right.
- [35:45]
Dr. Austin Lake
Are you looking to optimize your life towards the kingdom of God? Well, the best thing you can do is to get into the word of God and get in the community of God because iron sharpens iron. That's why me and Dr. Oxenlake have created a community called the Kingdom Path to Wellness where we will do everything from Sabbath to supplements. We'll look at your pantry, we'll talk about your parenting. No matter what stage of life you're in, this community is for you. So click the link in the show notes if you're ready to go to the next level and charge hard after the Kingdom of God. We believe it's going to be a blessing to you and we believe you can be a blessing to us as well in this community as we chase after God's heart.
- [36:17]
Podcast Host
And I think the practical implication of that is what areas of my life do I have scarcity? And what areas of my life am I seeking? Self. And we've got this culture now that we literally have a magazine called Self, Right? We, everything is about, oh, just express yourself. What is your truest identity? All of these different things. It's, it's the enemy again, twisting the fruit and being like, God knows that this isn't going to harm you. You're going to be like him. It's literally creating the image of God in ourselves. When the kingdom reality is no, how do I become selfless? How do I empty myself? And then how do I walk into faith, which ultimately is the greatest form of humility, is to walk in faith because you're yielding it to him. You're saying, I'm not in control of this life, I'm not in control of this cancer, I'm not in control of my children. Lord, how do I turn this over to you? And that will produce the love and the faith that you're talking about will produce the fruit of the kingdom of God, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, meekness and self control. And so I think that is the practical outworking of it. And so people might look at your life and be like, how, how do you have the faith? You do. How do you have the peace? You do. And I mean well, let me just ask you that, like how do you have that?
- [37:27]
Dr. Pete Sulak
I think it's just relationship, you know, just no one that my life isn't my own, it's the Lord's and God has blessed me. Like I have a wonderful wife and four boys and two daughter in laws and extended family and God has been so, so good. Like if I die today, like I'm going to be more alive than ever before. So you're not going to have to feel sorry for me. But I'm just grateful that I can go represent him right now for as long as he gives me, like for whatever that looks like to just steward the day and just make sure that I'm faithful today. Like I wake up and I'm not waking up hoping not to sin, waking up hoping to have a good day. I'm waking up enjoying the fact that I'm a son of the living God, of the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. And today's gonna be an amazing day because it's the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it and experience the goodness of God and it's just, it's the greatest privilege ever, man.
- [38:20]
Podcast Host
Beautiful man. Thank you, man. Well, how, where can people find you?
- [38:24]
Dr. Pete Sulak
I think the easiest way is just follow me on social media. RPET Sulak D R P E T E S U L A C K and if you put protocol in any one of the comments on any one of the videos, they can actually download my free 87 page protocol. It's everything that I've done in my journey and I'd love to be able to walk with you and just encourage you and inspire you along the way.
- [38:46]
Podcast Host
Amen, dude. Well, I'm going to go type in protocol because I want to check that out. But what an honor. Thank you for coming to Texas. Thank you for being on the Jesus People podcast. How can people be praying for you?
- [38:55]
Dr. Pete Sulak
The biggest thing is just, you know, to steward the day that God would give me continually wisdom, that he would give me wisdom in the things that we're trying to navigate and wisdom to steward my health effectively and just live this life for the glory of God.
- [39:10]
Podcast Host
Amen. Well guys, please be praying for Dr. Pete Sulak to that end. And would you mind just closing us in prayer for the viewer here?
- [39:16]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Absolutely. Heavenly father, Lord, we come before you and I just thank you for everyone that's watching today. I thank heavenly father for their life. I thank you for their worth, value, significance as a child of the living God. And Lord, I ask that you would just bless them. And bless them indeed, Lord. And Lord, I just take authority over every assignment that's come against their life, Lord. Lord, that your word says that no weapon formed against us can prosper, no evil can befall us where the enemy tries to use it for harm. I thank you for turning around and using it for your glory, Lord. And so, Lord, I just ask that you bless every single one that's watching those that are dealing with cancer or chronic illness, Lord, I take authority over that spirit of cancer right now, spirit of infirmity right now in the name of Jesus Christ, Lord. And I just lose healing virtue. Let resurrection power and life dunamis dynamite miracle working power be loosed upon their lives, Lord, for the glory of God, I commend every lying symptom to bowser in the name of Jesus Christ and Lord, that our lives would reflect you and that we would know the love of God for each and every one of us in a personal, personal way. In Jesus name, amen.
- [40:11]
Podcast Host
Dude, you're the man. Thank you.
- [40:13]
Dr. Pete Sulak
Bless you, brother.
- [40:13]
Podcast Host
Means a lot. Guys, thanks for tuning in the Jesus people podcast. We will see you guys next week.