Hope is Possible No Matter the Struggle

00:01 - Speaker 1So I met Bradley, actually through his sister. Me and his sister had been talking. She was telling me that her brother was a heroin addict. I'm an ex-heroin addict, so naturally our paths had crossed. And just kind of encouraging him, loving him, you know, for me 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. 00:24 - Speaker 2Welcome to the Ignite with Barry Meguiar 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. 00:39 - Speaker 3We're here with Louie Wright and Bradley Chester. These guys have a shared passion with me. I've been working with Teen Challenge for 50 years. I've been working with drug addicts for 50 years. Most people don't know that part of me, but I love Teen Challenge and so I really admire you two guys because you're sharing your faith, but you're sharing it with kind of the toughest of the tough, right. I mean, these are broken individuals and you have one right beside you, right? Is this right, brandon? Tell me that story. Right, quick, you're sharing your faith with your second generation, right? Yeah, how did that happen? 01:18 - Speaker 4So I had met Louie. He helps out addicts and he goes and outreaches to them, and before I met him I didn't really have much faith in me. 01:30 - Speaker 3What was your? Concept of God before you met Louie. 01:34 - Speaker 4Honestly like he was just some guy floating in the clouds, Like I didn't really know much of him. 01:40 - Speaker 3Didn't think a lot about him. Yeah, did you think there was a? 01:43 - Speaker 4God, 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 met Louie, I remember him praying over me and just feeling like this overwhelming sense of like relief and that everything was going to be okay. Wow. 02:00 - Speaker 3Kind of his first prayer For the first time. Yeah. 02:03 - Speaker 4And I remember looking at Louie and just thinking like well, 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 shoes so you can understand. 02:17 - Speaker 3But a team challenged a lot that way too. It's a drug addicts helping drug addicts to be free. Once they get free, they wanna help others get free. You've been doing that with your life. It's contagious. So how'd you meet Bradley to begin? 02:28 - Speaker 1with. So I met Bradley, actually through his sister. Me and his sister had been talking. She was telling me that her brother was a heroin addict. I'm an ex-heroin addict, so naturally our paths had crossed. And just kind of encouraging him, loving him, you know, it was 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. 02:52 - Speaker 3Let's go back to this. 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. 02:59 - Speaker 1Yeah, I didn't have to point out everything that was wrong with Bradley. 03:03 - Speaker 4He knew right. 03:04 - Speaker 1He just needed to be loved. Bradley needed to know that he was lovable. He knew what he was doing wrong. 03:11 - Speaker 3Yeah, he needed to know. Every drug addict knows they're doing wrong and they should clean up, but it's hard for them to do that. 03:19 - Speaker 1It's kind of interesting because I mean my own brokenness, things that used to turn my stomach God has healed those things. But 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. 03:27 - Speaker 3See God's using what you went through and now you're using those stories to bring the rally to the throat. 03:35 - Speaker 1The very thing the devil used to try to kill me, God's using to kill people. 03:39 - Speaker 3Isn't that wonderful? Yeah, that's amazing. It's gotta make sense. 03:42 - Speaker 1Well, that's just how good he 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. 03:50 - Speaker 3Yeah, so now it's passed down. There's a mantle on you now, yeah, and so you're passing it on. You're a second generation guy here right here. 03:58 - Speaker 4Just 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 him and he just started crying and I told him you know, it's possible, it's totally possible, and he's always writing me online and asking me to pray for him Now. 04:35 - Speaker 3you were buds before, you were like his homie before, and now you're praying for him. That had to be a shock. 04:41 - Speaker 4Yeah, and you know, three, four years ago I never would have expected that, but it's just. Could you imagine yourself years ago praying? 04:50 - Speaker 3Absolutely not. You'd be the one praying for him. I mean, is that not crazy how God changes us and just puts us in an entirely new place? 04:59 - Speaker 4Yeah, years ago, you know, I was hopeless and lost. And now, today, I know that I went through all that from my testimony in order to let people know that to be the light. 05:10 - Speaker 3Yeah, there are probably some people watching this right now that are fighting addictions. Okay, let's speak to those people right quick. They just can't get beyond it. They've tried, tried, they've wept, they've tried to serve God. They're in that cycle. You know what that cycle is like. You try, you can't get out of the cycle. Um start with, you know what would you, what would you say to that individual? Right now there's got to be some of those um adults that may be 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 standpoint, which, which is the only way, it's a spiritual battle, sure. 05:45 - Speaker 1Well, I think praying for willingness right, because this is the deal is God wants to set us free absolutely, but we have to partner with his decision. He's not just going to take control of us and force 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, there's tons of places to get help, like Teen Challenge, right. What a great organization. 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 and step into it. 06:22 - Speaker 3You've got to really want to, don't you? So praying for God for the willingness to do it. Sometimes you just and I'm thinking of particularly individuals right now they know the truth, but somehow they just haven't come to just saying I'm lost. I just you know you get to that place, whatever. It's different in every person's life. 06:43 - Speaker 1I think everyone finally gets to a place where they get that gift of desperation, 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 or just die right. 06:59 - Speaker 3So, Bradley, for the person that's us, that has addictions, fighting addictions right now, what would you say to that person? I? 07:08 - Speaker 4know from experience that you can't do it on your own and he can. So you just have to let him and you have to have trust in him and faith in him. He can do it all. 07:18 - Speaker 3Yeah, he can move mountains, he can do it all. 07:20 - Speaker 2I mean he could help with addiction, definitely he can. 07:23 - Speaker 4Me and Louie are both, you know, prime examples. 07:26 - Speaker 3We used to say give him Jesus in the morning and do it at night. You know, and he wants to set us free. You should know the truth and the truth will set you free. I don't care what the addiction is. Thank you, guys. Great to hang out with you. Keep doing what you're doing, okay, all right, thank you, appreciate it. 07:41 - Speaker 2If 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 ignites your faith. See you next time on the Ignite with Barry Meguiar podcast.