Hope is Possible No Matter the Struggle

So I met I met Bradley actually through his sister me and a sister we've been talking she was telling me that her brother was a heroin addict I'm an ex-herendom addict so naturally our paths have crossed and just kind of encouraging him loving him you know it's for me it's it's the natural thing to do because someone did that for me somebody loved me till I learned to love myself and it's love it's love welcome to the ignite with Barry McGuire podcast where Barry's book and passion for spreading God's love are guaranteed to ignite your life now listen in and prepare to have your life ignited we're here with Louis Wright and Bradley Chester these guys have a shared patient with me I've been working with Teen Challenge for 50 years I've been working working with drug addicts for 50 years most people don't know that part of me but I I love Teen Challenge and so I really admire you two guys because you're a man you're sharing your faith but you're you're sharing it with the kind of the toughest of the tough right I mean these are broken individuals and and you have one right beside you right is this right rather than he you're telling that story right because you're sharing your faith and with your second generation right yeah how did that happen so I had I had met Louis he he helps out addicts and he goes and outreaches them and before I met him I I didn't really have much faith in me and what were your what were your concept of God before you met Louis um honestly like he was just some guy floating in the clouds like I didn't really I didn't really know much a lot about it yeah and did you think there was a God I thought there was but I wasn't too sure on you know just how it worked because you know being an addict that's kind of the last thing on your mind of course and when I when I met Louie I remember him praying over me and just feeling like this overwhelming sense of like relief and not everything was gonna be okay wow and for the first prayer for the first time yeah and I remember looking at Louie and just thinking like well he he was in the same predicament I was and I mean like it works you know he's real because look what God did for him you walked in those so you can understand about team challenge a lot that way too and drug addicts helping drug addicts be free but so get free they want to help others get free you know and you've been doing that with you contagious so so how'd you meet Bradley to begin with so I met I met Bradley actually through his sister me and a sister had been talking she was telling me that her brother was a heroin addict I'm an X heroin addict so naturally our paths have crossed and just kind of encouraging him loving him you know if it's for me it's it's the natural thing to do because someone did that for me somebody loved me until I learned to love myself and it's love it's love right let's go back to this yeah it is this common commonality of love we need love we need the love of God we're desperate the world's desperate for God's love I didn't have to point out everything that was wrong with Bradley he knew right he just needed to be loved Bradley needed to know that he was lovable he knew what he was doing wrong yeah yeah we need to know every drug addict goes or do it wrong and he should clean up but to talk through them to do that it's kind of interesting because I mean my own broken as things that things that used to turn my stomach God has healed those things but those have become almost the point of entry now for people right he got using what you went through and now you're using those stories to to bring the relics of the throat very thing the devil used to try to kill me God using God in that wonderful yeah that makes it makes it well that's just that's just how beauty is right all things yeah God will work all things to the good of the people who love him right and that means even my mistakes yeah so now which passed down there's a battle on you now yeah just so you're passing it on your second generation guy here right here just just like how Louie did with me now for me being homeless and being an addict on the streets I know so many of them out there and so now every time I see them I get to just let them know that how much Jesus actually loves them and that there is actually you know it's possible and I can be the light to them actually recently I was on I was on my lunch and I had ran into one of the guys that I was out there on the streets with and he seen me and I bought him some food and I just started praying with them and he just started crying and I and I told him you know like it's possible it's totally possible and he's always writing me online and like I want asking me to pray for you know your buds before yeah you're like his homie before yeah and now you're praying for him to be a shock yeah I and you know three four years ago I'd never would have expected that but it's just could you imagine yourself years ago praying you'd be the one praying for him I mean is that not is that that crazy how God changes us and it just puts us in an entirely new place yeah years ago you know I was hopeless and lost in and now today like I know that you know I went through all that for my testimony in order to let people know that you know to be the light yeah they're probably some people watches right now that are fighting addictions okay let's speak to those people right quick they just can't get beyond them they just they've tried tried they've wept they tried to serve God they just they're in that cycle you know what that cycle is like you can you try you can't get out of the cycle um sure you know what what would you what would you say to that individual right now there's got to be some of those adults and maybe functioning in life and people don't know but they're they have this addiction and how do they get set free for that addiction from a spiritual standable which is the only way it's it's a spiritual battle sure well I think praying for willingness right because this is the deal is God God wants to set us free absolutely but we have to partner with his decision he's not just gonna take control of us and enforce us into this we have to move our feet and so God absolutely wants to bring healing into people's lives he wants to bring restoration but we have to partner with him and so I think a little bit of it is moving your feet so if you need help yeah there's there's tons of places to get you know yeah like teen challenge right what a great organization yeah great organization it's free you can walk in there it's totally free and just getting help right you have to move your feet are ready to do it yeah yeah yeah train for God for the willingness to do it sometimes you just and then I am thinking of particularly individuals right now they know the truth but somehow they just haven't come to just just saying I'm lost I just yeah you know you get to that place whatever that is different never first of light I think everyone everyone finally gets to a place where they get that gift of desperation yeah where it's like hey I mean I had no choice when I got sober my prayer was God fix me or kill me you know and so for me it's like you get to a place where you either get better just that right yeah so so Bradley for the person's listeners I has a diction fighting addictions right now what would what would you say to that well I know from experience that you can't do it on your own and he can so you just have to you have to let him and you have to have to have trust in him and faith in him and he can do it all yeah he can move mountains he can do it all I mean he could help with addiction that really I mean me and Lou are both you know prime examples so we just say give him Jesus in the morning and tonight you know and he wants to set us free you should know the truth and the truth will set you free thank you guys great to hang out with you keep doing what you do okay thank you if you enjoyed today's episode let us know and don't forget to subscribe rate and review to help us reach more listeners remember sharing your faith ignite your faith see you next time on the ignite with Barry McGuire podcast