Truth For Life
A series of 24 talks by Dr Mark Sandoval, a medical doctor, about healing in body, mind and relationships, and about God's love.
Truth For Life is a series of 24 talks given by Dr Mark Sandoval and recorded in New Zealand. It was made by Revelation 18 Media in 2024. Each talk is a little under an hour.
Dr Sandoval says that what we see depends on the lenses we wear, and the series offers a new set. Its message is that the root of much disease, and of our deepest struggles, lies in the mind and in our relationships, not only in the body. It teaches that real healing and freedom come through surrender to God, forgiveness and love.
Our teaching rests on the Word of God and on the Law of Life, as taught by Dr Horst Müller and Dr Mark Sandoval. This series is that teaching in Dr Sandoval's own words. His book, The Law of Life, is the written form of it.
The videos are on their way
We are preparing the 24 session videos for this page, and they will be added here. Until then, the summaries below tell you what each session teaches.
This series is teaching, not medical advice. Everyone is different, so if you have a health concern, or you are thinking about a big change, please talk with your doctor first.
The 24 sessions
The sessions are in four parts. Open any session to read its summary, its key points, and a verse named in its teaching notes, in the King James Version.
Part One · Sessions 1–6
Foundations
What truth is, how thoughts work, the causes of dysfunction, and knowing God and ourselves.
Session 1: Truth For Life
Dr Sandoval opens the series by saying that what we see depends on the lenses we wear, and he offers a new set. Medicine, he says, is excellent at diagnosis, emergencies and surgery, but he was taught the risk factors for disease, not its cause, and without the cause you can only manage symptoms. He proposes another dimension to disease, the mind, and tells of patients whose health changed when they let go of resentment and forgave. He shares his own story too: years of struggle that turned only when he stopped trying to rescue himself and surrendered fully to God. He asks each of us to apply the message to ourselves first, and to be patient, because the journey is worth the destination.
Key points
- How we see shapes what we find. A new perspective opens new solutions.
- Healing means getting to the cause, not just managing symptoms.
- The mind and our relationships powerfully affect the body.
- Real change comes through surrender to God and forgiveness, met by His love, not punishment.
- Apply this to yourself first, and be patient. Freedom is worth the journey.
A verse the teaching notes suggest
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 8:32 (KJV)Session 2: What I Didn’t Learn in Medical School
Symptoms are like the fruit and leaves of a tree: easy to see, but only the surface. Dr Sandoval follows a problem down the tree, through our behaviours, our needs and our beliefs, to the sources we draw from. A symptom is like a fire alarm, part of the solution rather than the problem, and silencing it does not put out the fire. Everything works by one law, the Law of Life: nothing lives from itself or for itself, and everything takes in order to give. Every effect has a cause, so remove the cause and the effect fades. He ends with a question: every cell needs fuel and a spark from the brain, but where does the brain get its spark?
Key points
- Symptoms are the surface. The cause is deeper, so trace it down the tree.
- A symptom is a helpful warning, like a fire alarm, not the real problem.
- The Law of Life: everything takes in order to give.
- Every effect has a cause. Treat the cause, not just the effect.
- We need love, and we take it in by thinking.
A verse the teaching notes suggest
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Galatians 6:7 (KJV)Session 3: What Are Thoughts
Everything works by law, and truth, Dr Sandoval says, is information that puts things in the right order so that they work. Feelings come from chemicals in the brain, but thoughts do not: a pill can change how someone feels, but it cannot make them think in a loving or honest way. Chemicals only react, while people act and choose, so we are more than a body; body and spirit together make a soul. The mind feeds on information, and we become what we feed it on. No person can be the full source of love for another. That Source is God, which answers the question left open in session 2.
Key points
- Everything works by law. Truth is what puts things in working order.
- Feelings come from chemicals; thoughts do not.
- Chemicals only react; people act. So we are more than a body.
- You are body and spirit together, a soul, with real spiritual needs.
- You become what you feed your mind on, and the true Source is God.
A verse the teaching notes suggest
“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”
1 John 4:16 (KJV)Session 4: Getting to Know God
Dr Sandoval calls it the oldest smear campaign of all: a long attack on God's character. To see what God is really like, he turns to the Bible. God has no needs and only gives; He made us because He wanted us, not because He needed us. He knows everything we have ever done and loves us anyway, because He is love, and His love does not rise or fall with our behaviour. At the cross His mercy and His justice meet, and His forgiveness is offered as a free gift, to be accepted rather than earned.
Key points
- There is an ancient smear campaign against God's character, and it is a lie.
- God made you because He wanted you. He has no needs; He only gives.
- He knows the very worst about you and loves you anyway.
- His love, patience, justice, mercy and forgiveness never change.
- The angry god people run from is not the real God, who offers Himself as a gift.
Key text in the teaching notes
“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19 (KJV)Session 5: Finding Your True Identity & Value
Most of us define ourselves by what we do, who we are related to or what we are good at, and all of these can be taken away. Dr Sandoval says our true identity comes from our Creator: each of us is a child of God, made in His image, with no limit to how much we can grow. Value, he says, is set by the price someone is willing to pay, and God came as a helpless baby and died on a cross for us. So each of us is priceless, and we should treat our own body and mind, and every other person, as precious to God.
Key points
- You are a human being, not a “human doing”.
- Your true identity is a child of God, made in His image.
- There is no limit to how much you can grow in God.
- Worth is set by the price paid, and God paid everything for you.
- Treat yourself, and everyone else, as the priceless creation you are.
Key text in the teaching notes
“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”
Psalm 139:14 (KJV)Session 6: The 5 Causes of Dysfunction
Everyone judges by some standard, and whatever standard we use, we feel sure we are right. Dr Sandoval shows that we cannot be our own measure: a whole view of the world can fit together and still be upside down. The standard we need is outside us and never changes: God's law of love, which is to take everything we need from God and give freely to others. He then names five causes of disease: inheritance, injury or surroundings, chemicals, the mind, and the enemy. Most often, he teaches, the cause is in the mind.
Key points
- Whatever standard you use, you think you are right, even when you are wrong.
- You cannot be your own measure. Your view of the world can be upside down.
- God's law of love is the standard: take in order to give.
- The five causes: inheritance, injury, chemicals, the mind and the enemy.
- Most often, the cause is in the mind.
Key text in the teaching notes
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
Isaiah 8:20 (KJV)
Part Two · Sessions 7–12
The way back
The biggest problem, and the way back to God: salvation, surrender, confession, and growing in the Vine.
Session 7: The Biggest Problem 1
We were made to take everything we need from God and give it freely to others, and what we give depends on our source. The fall began when Eve trusted the serpent's promise of a greater gain over God's love. The root of sin, Dr Sandoval says, is one lie: “I can be my own god.” With that lie we give in order to get, depend on people instead of God, and end up trying to control them. We are born with this fallen nature but carry no guilt simply for having it, and the way out is not trying harder but a new heart.
Key points
- You can only give what you take. Change the source, not just the behaviour.
- The fall was trusting a “greater gain” over God's love.
- The root of sin is the lie “I am God”.
- We inherit the fallen nature, but bear no guilt simply for having it.
- Freedom is a new heart: depend on God, and stop controlling others.
Key text in the teaching notes
“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.”
Jeremiah 17:7 (KJV)Session 8: The Biggest Problem 2
The fallen heart is deceived, and a person who is deceived does not know it. Treating ourselves as our own god, we give in order to get, take things personally, try to control people and lock ourselves into bitterness, all while feeling sure we are fine. Dr Sandoval says bitterness makes us our own prison guard: to go free, we must let others go free. God will not force the truth on us, so He lets trials show what is really in our hearts. When we see it, we can ask, as David did, for a clean heart, and God promises a new one.
Key points
- The fallen heart is deceived and sees things backwards.
- When we make ourselves our own god, we give to get and must control others.
- Taking offence and ownership breed stress; judging breeds bitterness.
- Bitterness makes you your own prison guard.
- God lets trials show us our heart so that we will ask Him for a new one.
Key text in the teaching notes
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26 (KJV)Session 9: The Plan of Salvation
Our fallen nature cannot fix itself, any more than a corrupted computer can repair itself with the same corrupted system. So God came as one of us: Jesus shared our human nature yet stayed joined to His Father. On the cross He took on everything our life is, and He offers us everything His life is: His record, His power and His freedom, not only forgiveness. We receive this by faith and then learn to walk, like a small child, falling and getting up again. God does not condemn us when we fall; He works in us, over time, to change what we love.
Key points
- The fallen nature cannot cure the fallen nature.
- Jesus came as we come, but stayed joined to His Father.
- On the cross He became our sin and gives us His righteousness.
- The cross gives more than forgiveness: His power and His life.
- Growing is falling and getting back up. God never condemns; He changes the heart.
Key text in the teaching notes
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV)Session 10: Acceptance & Surrender
Like a garden hose, we can only give what we first take, so faith comes before works, and works simply show our faith. Salvation is a gift we receive because we need it, not a wage we earn, and faith accepts it on the strength of God's promise, before we feel it. Dr Sandoval tells of Charles Blondin, who crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope pushing a wheelbarrow: believing he can do it is not enough; faith gets into the wheelbarrow. Surrender is not defeat but glad agreement that God's way is better. He ends with his own turning point, when he gave God everything and prayed, “Whatever it takes.”
Key points
- Faith takes before works give, and works show faith.
- The gift is free, given because we need it, not because we deserve it.
- Accept it on God's promise, before the feeling comes.
- Surrender is glad agreement, not defeat.
- Faith gets into the wheelbarrow.
Key text in the teaching notes
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Ephesians 2:8–9 (KJV)Session 11: Confession, Repentance & Restitution
The Holy Spirit shows us where we are wrong to turn us around, not to crush us, and it is seeing God's love that changes our sorrow. Dr Sandoval suggests asking God to bring our wrongs to mind, writing them down, and taking the whole list to Jesus first: freedom is found at the cross, not in the apology. Then, where it is right, we apologise to the people we have hurt, for their sake, with no excuses and no mention of what they did. Repentance is a gift and a process, like turning a large ship, not a punishment we give ourselves. Where our wrong cost someone something, we make it good.
Key points
- The Spirit shows everyone their wrong, to turn us, not crush us.
- Take your wrongs to the cross first. Freedom is there, not in the apology.
- Confess only what you did, only to those affected, and apologise for their sake.
- Repentance is a gift and a process, not a punishment.
- Make it right where your wrong cost someone something.
Key text in the teaching notes
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9 (KJV)Session 12: Connecting To & Growing in the Vine
Using Jesus' picture of the vine and its branches, Dr Sandoval explains that we have no life in ourselves: Christ is the root, and we connect to Him by faith. We do not first become good or fruitful in order to connect. Fruit is the result of connecting, not the cause, so we come just as we are. Growth is slow, like a child learning to walk, and God is the Good Shepherd who carries us, not an angry judge. If love or patience is missing, the answer is not to try harder but to look to our connection with Him, and the true sign of that connection is the fruit of the Spirit, above all love.
Key points
- A branch has no life of its own. Only the root gives life.
- We connect to Christ by faith, just as we are.
- Fruit, growth and strength come from being connected; they are not the way to connect.
- Growth is slow, and God carries us like a Good Shepherd.
- The fruit of the Spirit is the real sign of being connected.
Key text in the teaching notes
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
John 15:5 (KJV)
Part Three · Sessions 13–18
Living free
Negative thoughts, temptation and addiction, our true identity, and love at home in marriage and parenting.
Session 13: Overcoming Negative Thoughts
The mind is the battleground, and every thought is either truth or a lie, or a mixture of both. God's word is creative: when He speaks, it is done, and so every command in the Bible is also a promise of the power to obey it. A thought is only a suggestion, like a billboard we drive past, and once we see a lie as coming from outside us, it loses its grip. We cannot beat a thought by trying not to think it, but we can replace it with God's word. Dr Sandoval's tool is simple: find the promise that answers the lie, pray it back to God in faith, and keep using it.
Key points
- The mind is the battleground. Weigh every thought by God's word.
- God's word creates and restores, and His commands are promises.
- A thought is a suggestion. Name the enemy's lie as coming from outside.
- You cannot fight a thought, but you can replace it with truth.
- Claim the promise, pray it in faith, and keep using it.
Key text in the teaching notes
“bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”
2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV)Session 14: Dealing with Temptation & Addictions
Temptation, Dr Sandoval says, is a pull to find life in anything other than God, and it always appeals to a real need. Every addiction grows from one empty place, a lack of love, and follows a cycle: need, suffering, relief that never satisfies, guilt, and round again. Willpower and punishment can change behaviour without changing the heart, so people often swap one addiction for another. To help someone caught in addiction, give them hope, but do not rescue them from the natural consequences. The real cure is to be filled with God's love, and a temptation can be read as a hunger telling us to feed on that love.
Key points
- Temptation pulls us to depend on anything but God.
- Every addiction grows from a lack of love.
- Consequences can change behaviour without curing the heart.
- Help people caught in addiction with hope; do not rescue them from consequences.
- The cure is to be filled with God's love.
Key text in the teaching notes
“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
Jeremiah 31:3 (KJV)Session 15: The True Identity
A child of God belongs to God and draws everything from Him, and that brings freedom. What others say and do comes from what is in them, so it need not wound us, and we can feed on God's love instead of people's approval. Dr Sandoval contrasts “eaters”, who take from people and live for themselves, with “feeders”, who take from God and give to others. We came with nothing and leave with nothing, so we are stewards, not owners, of all we have. Even suffering becomes a gift we can use to comfort others, and nothing reaches God's child except what His love allows for our good.
Key points
- You are not your own. You belong to God and draw everything from Him.
- What others say and do is about them, not you.
- Feed on God's love, not on people.
- You are a steward, not an owner. You came with nothing and leave with nothing.
- Suffering becomes a gift God uses, and He lets nothing through except for your good.
Key text in the teaching notes
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 (KJV)Session 16: Free to Love
Love is not something we make ourselves. We receive it from God, its only source, and pass it on, which is why real love can love everyone, even enemies, without needing anything back. Dr Sandoval explains God's jealousy as love: He wants to be our only source because every other source harms us. Love bears all things and answers evil with good, so if we cannot bear evil, the place to look is inside ourselves. And love never forces, not even towards good; Jesus left people free, and on the cross He prayed for those who crucified Him.
Key points
- Love is received from God and passed on. He is its only source.
- Real love loves everyone, even enemies.
- God's jealousy is love: He wants to be our only source, for our sake.
- Love bears all things. Not being able to bear evil shows the evil inside.
- Love never forces, not even towards good.
Key text in the teaching notes
“We love him, because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19 (KJV)Session 17: Marriage
Marriage works, Dr Sandoval teaches, when both partners draw what they need from God and give to each other: a husband or wife is a channel of God's love, never its source. Marriage is a lifelong covenant, and it exists to fulfil God's purposes together rather than as an end in itself. The marriage vow is made to God, and each partner answers to Him. Authority in the home means serving, not ruling, and it never overrides the other person's conscience. When a marriage is built on the spouse instead of on God, it breaks down, and the cure is to turn both hearts back to God.
Key points
- Your spouse is a channel of God's love, never your source.
- Marriage exists to fulfil God's purposes together.
- The vow is made to God, and you answer to Him for how you treat His child.
- Godly authority serves. It never overrides another's conscience.
- Keep your family's private matters private, and build on God, not on each other.
Key text in the teaching notes
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
Genesis 2:24 (KJV)Session 18: Fundamentals of Parenting
The aim of parenting is not simply well-behaved children, but children who learn to take what they need from God and to govern themselves by His love. Children are born with a sinful nature, so forcing good behaviour alone can make them good only on the outside. Dr Sandoval encourages parents to discipline as Jesus would, leading the child to Him, and never to discipline out of frustration. Children belong to God, and parents use His authority for the child's good: love and forgiveness first, with fair and consistent consequences when they are needed. Above all, parents show and teach their children how to depend on God themselves.
Key points
- The goal is children who govern themselves, not just good behaviour.
- Help children take God, not you, as their source.
- Discipline as Jesus would: lead them to Him; do not just force behaviour.
- Children belong to God, and you use His authority for their good.
- Love and forgiveness come first. Teach them to depend on God.
Key text in the teaching notes
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)
Part Four · Sessions 19–24
With others, and a calling
Boundaries, health by faith, stewardship, hard relationships and conflict, and an eternal calling.
Session 19: Sphere of Action & Healthy Boundaries
Your “sphere of action” is your own self-government: what you think, believe and choose, and the words and deeds that come from it. You are responsible for it, and not for anyone else's. Dr Sandoval says that stepping into God's sphere, trying to control circumstances and outcomes, brings stress, and stepping into another person's brings conflict. No one can truly pressure you unless you believe they control what you need; only God does, and He lets nothing reach you except for your good. A healthy boundary, he teaches, keeps me out of your sphere. It protects God's purpose for a life, not the self.
Key points
- Your sphere of action is your own self-government: your responsibility, and no one else's.
- Stress comes from stepping into God's sphere; conflict from stepping into someone else's.
- No one can pressure you unless you believe the lie that they control your needs.
- God changes the inside together with you, and lets nothing reach you except for your good.
- Healthy boundaries keep me out of your sphere. They protect God's purpose, not the self.
Key text in the teaching notes
“For every man shall bear his own burden.”
Galatians 6:5 (KJV)Session 20: Health by Faith
Dr Sandoval returns to health and teaches that much disease has its foundation in the mind. The mind was made to feed on truth, and when it feeds on lies, the body can break down. So when someone is ill, look for the cause; there is no one to blame, because no one does this on purpose. He still urges good habits: water, exercise, temperance, good food, sunshine, rest, fresh air and trust in God. The Bible, he points out, speaks of disease alongside sin and of healing alongside faith, and he presents the gospel, received in its fullness, as the deepest cure.
Key points
- Much disease begins in the mind. Look for the cause, not just the symptom.
- No one is to blame, and no one does it on purpose.
- The Bible speaks of disease alongside sin, and of healing alongside faith.
- Every trouble traces back to one root: the false belief “I am God”.
- The gospel, received in its fullness, is the cure.
Key text in the teaching notes
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Proverbs 4:23 (KJV)Session 21: Stewardship vs Ownership
Everything in creation is a channel: it takes from God, gives to others, and keeps nothing for itself. The question is whether we live as owners (“it is mine”) or as stewards (“it is God's, and I answer to Him”). Dr Sandoval shows how the owner takes things personally, tries to control, fears loss and burns out, like a hose that thinks it is the well. The steward takes from God, gives freely and holds things loosely, because nothing was ever his to lose. We bring nothing into the world and take nothing out; all we have is held in trust from God for a time.
Key points
- Everything is a channel: take from God, give to others, keep nothing.
- Owner or steward is a matter of identity, and identity drives behaviour.
- The owner takes things personally, controls, fears loss and burns out.
- The steward holds everything loosely. Nothing was ever his to lose.
- All we have is a trust from God for a time.
Key text in the teaching notes
“the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Job 1:21 (KJV)Session 22: Dealing With Difficult Relationships
One principle runs through every hard relationship: take what you need from God, not from people, and remember that the other person belongs to God too. Dr Sandoval applies it to addiction, hurtful words, unfaithfulness, grown-up children living at home, and crime and abuse. Love the person as they are, without making change the price of your love, but do not shield them from the consequences they need. Hurtful words harm us only if we accept them as our own. In crime or abuse, get to safety and involve the authorities, and always tell an abused child that it was never their fault.
Key points
- Take from God, not from people.
- The other person belongs to God, and their wrong is against Him, not you.
- Real love loves people as they are. Change is never the price of love.
- Never shield people from the consequences they need.
- For crime and abuse, involve the authorities God has put in place.
Key text in the teaching notes
“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”
Romans 2:4 (KJV)Session 23: Resolving Conflict
Conflict, Dr Sandoval says, does not come from having different points of view, but from the “I am God” heart that tries to control others. Jesus was often in conflict but never caused it: He exposed the error, not the person, and He never used force. The cure is a new heart that controls only itself and leaves others free. He gives practical help for hard conversations, disagreements, false accusations and anger: ask whether a conversation is for your sake or theirs, stop arguing even in mid-sentence, answer accusation with a consistent life, and let God calm your own anger first.
Key points
- Conflict comes from sin, not from different points of view.
- Jesus was in conflict but never caused it. He exposed the error, not the person.
- The cure is a new heart: control yourself, and leave others free.
- Arguing is a kind of force, so it is always wrong, even when your point is right.
- Answer accusation with a consistent life, and let God put out your own fire first.
Key text in the teaching notes
“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”
Proverbs 15:1 (KJV)Session 24: An Eternal Calling
The series ends with mission. Dr Sandoval tells of a missionary doctor's family in Chad and what the work cost them, and asks what makes people leave comfort and safety for strangers. His answer is love. Jesus was the first missionary, who left heaven and went to the cross for us. Those who know how much they have been forgiven love much, and that love carried the gospel across the known world in one generation. The work is not finished, but the first need is not to go but to come: let God change the heart, and the going follows.
Key points
- Jesus is the first missionary, and you were the joy set before Him.
- Those forgiven much love much, and that love cannot be stopped.
- The call to go follows a changed heart, never the other way round.
- The work of sharing the gospel is not finished.
- The first need is to come to God. Then you cannot help but go.
Key text in the teaching notes
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
Isaiah 6:8 (KJV)
Questions about the series
If you have a question about any session, or about anything in the series, write to us. We are glad to hear from you.
Email usTell me when the videos are addedBack to free resources