How the Gospel Overcomes Addictions

This is Amy Thomas from the masculine journey podcast where we discover what it means to be a wholehearted man your chosen Truth Network podcast of starting in just seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing The Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network drugs, alcohol, crack cocaine addictions. You have a family member. Maybe who's struggling with something who's trapped is addicted their stock. It's a dead-end street, what you do you love this person with a keep going back to that well of addictions and even in recent history with this epidemic or pandemic or whatever or more people are addicted more more of you are going to bottle there is a man of God in Raleigh, North Carolina, North Raleigh, Wake Forest, North Carolina, who it's weird actually went to college. This man and we are drawn all lines here trying to connect how we have done what we done for the last 30 years or whatnot, but Doug love it.

You're a part of a ministry called converting hearts and this is your heart to reach those addicts.

There's hope for the addict is that we are saying that that's rice to week we we do with guys that have made mistakes physically right they gotten addicted to something chemical.

Either it's alcohol or drugs. And now, and they get down to the bottom so if you're dealing with somebody that is struggling and you try to help them financially and you and you're in your enabling their drug use. So the very first step is make sure that they hit bottom. They've got to make sure that they need help. So if they don't if they're not wanting to get out of their addiction, they they want, so they have to boxes that they want to get out.

They had to know that this is it, but biblically as we as we look at the Scriptures, if you don't work you don't need so you don't, you got you got two things going at that moment. So you don't hurt that person by enabling their drug use which would be destroying their life and and really is life or death.

They think they could be on the doorstep of that and you don't want to send them over that threshold before the people listening and I think everyone that I know know someone is an addict is struggling and you made a statement earlier lunch.

We were lunch with the pastor, you'll hear some noises were the school sports themed restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina, home to one of 5.7 FM the Truth Network station of wonderful affiliates. All of the country. The awesome AFR stations carry truth talk were so grateful that everyone cares her program, the Wilkins radio network similar stations. The program, but Doug, you said something pretty shocking with the pastor. He said we all have addicts, you're the head of converting hearts. That's a pretty broad statement. How is it that all of us, maybe have a besetting sin or struggle something edged. Jesus said the truth will set you free.

And of course some people took umbrage with that and said well how do you say that we would be set free. We've never been enslaved. Jesus said that if you commit sin you're a slave of sin and of course we know that we are all sinners, so we all are addicted to some form or fashion for sin and we need to break that infection and really we can't do it on her own.

Only Christ can well and so that's what that statement. That last statement, especially is. Is that what sets apart converting hearts to so many recovery programs and so many good ones out there, but you all are what makes converting hearts unique, picking up on that you know only this, I can set you free idea. Well, if the sense is you for your free indeed. So if it if if that happens, if it's a cart conversion. See most organizations or rehabs clean the outside of the cup and the dish and so our problems are in the heart so with idolatry lies right there so if if Christ hasn't converted the heart, then we will sin, and will sin from the heart and not you can't break that addiction if your want to hasn't changed enough so so if a guy if a guy wants to play defense. He can only play defense for so long.

I mean, in a sports analogy, if you got a football team is three and out right. You can only say no but for so long you can wear out, but you need something else positively live so we we introduce them to Christ and and that becomes a whole different of the purpose and probably speak until a little bit about the formatting converting hearts is not just curriculum or program yet. See check-in you bring someone you love is stuck and you take them to a farm in Wake Forest, North Carolina, was set about describing forth individual yeah well it's a living facility.

I mean, we would love for this to be the extension of a church ministry, but quite frankly, you don't want drug addicts and alcoholics to move in. Even you have no facility to take care of them so what we've done is we've set aside a farm.

We got a house there that will house 11 guys at any given time and what we do is we bring them in. They lived there. We wake up in the morning we do quiet time. We have three hours of Bible study every day. It's a it's a little bit more like seminary than it is drug rehab actually and and then it day. They have lunch and then they work on the farm and take care of animals we have chickens, turkeys have done units was high so it's good to kinda coupling the work effort work of your hands with intense Bible study and really what other were the here lot. Sadly, even ensures today's discipleship. How come that's important, I will. That's important because really there there there. Jesus said if I give you this. You can walk in newness of life.

Now they have to see it in action. So Paul said in Philippians 4 things that you heard and learned and seen in me, do these things practice these things and so we want to be having people live that out as an example and actually we got volunteers sometimes it come out to the farm that that are willing to disciple and so that that would be a an opportunity for others in this area to give Bob that's the voice of Doug Lovett who I went to school with many moons ago, but we reconnected a lot later and we both left North Carolina go to California for both men and Southern California girls and brought them back east and so so good. Talk to Doug, the pastor as well and he leads this ministry would heart about right now called converting hearts ministry helping addicts find freedom in Christ to discipleship, intense Bible study counseling. All that putting on a farm away from things they can work and they can find their way back to freedom. Doug quickly your story of how Christ values your testimony will we need to know shirt comes up from time to time, of how what Jesus done in your life where you are before Christ, how you got to Christ and and after that I thought I was a Christian at nine years old I prayed the prayer but my lifestyle didn't reflect that NSO my heart wasn't really converted. I found out how big of a sinner I was when I went to East Carolina University and now spent the first year there I joined a fraternity and not in any got really really crazy crazier than I thought I could ever be. And now and then Christ reached down when I was at my bottom and nine gave me new life and that and and he changed me completely and not set my goals and aspirations and a total different erection.

I wanted to be a fashion designer and and then and then I went to eat to the Masters college and now visit the campus. There got discipled by a bunch of guys including John MacArthur and non-well it's it radically changed my life while I know you been a part of this ministry that you you start converting hearts ministry, but now you're the director of it. I guess right and then what's the website for folks to learn more about converting hearts maybe have a visa listening call up there or maybe they have someone they need to admit to get help. Maybe the listing in your struggle in your stocking. Need to get away and get real with some godly men to get around you.

What's with the website yes converting hearts.org converting hearts.org and yet, please visit the site you'll hear stories of the guys that were in trouble. We deal with meth addicts heroin addicts cocaine addicts and alcoholics guys that feel like they don't have any hope they don't have any more life to live and not in Christ just moves in and radically transforms him government will gotta get out here but tell us one give one more word out there, someone's watching someone's listening to this broadcast podcast and they just happened upon it in their struggle and they are stuck there there going to binge drink tonight binge watch something they should watch just are stuck in in a pattern of habitual sin, we just communicate the gospel just real quick and the final 33 seconds year to someone and give them hope in Christ told you stated everyone out there really I would say to everyone look nearing a unique special situation because the way God brings us into salvation is the usually brings us down. He doesn't bring us up.

So if you're struggling. If you're if you're discouraged are your point where you don't know where else to turn. That's usually where God draws you and then then then the good news of the gospel is that there is hope, there is hope for newness of life and not quite honestly it's it's it's only found in Christ. Christ says I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me so so there's there's there's absolutely good news in an so that this salvation comes through his body died for us. Wages of sin is death.

The beautiful thing about our ministry is that I tell the guys all the time. Everyone that passes by his drunk on normal and then our guys understand their need their need for change. Some people don't really ever get to the bottom where they see they they have no other hope except turn to Christ NSO if you're at that point turn to him, he will not disappoint. Just all you have to do is call upon him, and believe in him and he'll save and get disciple by someone. It's farther along go disciple get someone younger than you and the faithless be disciple makers, the kingdom must be leading people to Christ converting hearts I know that your passion thank you for visiting the website over time. It's a converting hearts.org was a special thank you to a wonderful partner helping us advance the message. This program of the gospel in the thank you goes out to my pillow.com Mike Lindell, the inventor and CEO has now open his heart to say thank you as well. He wants to give you the opportunity to do what I've done I've slept on this pillow.

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