Redemption from Addiction

Listen to Stephen Thomas share his story of redemption from porn and sex addiction. Which started from an early age of feeling neglected and isolated. Stephen is an extroverted person and desired relationships with people but had trouble navigating how to effectively approach them because pornography viewing was the way he thought people talked to each other. But God met him right when he needed him. He spoke through other people in dreams and visions to bring him into right relationship and Stephen found his identity in Christ. Stephen is now a counselor who helps other walk through these same issues. He can be reached at the following links:https://www.stephenthomasconsulting.com/wstephenthomas@gmail.comhttps://www.facebook.com/StephenThomasConsulting

Listen to singer songwriter, Stephen McWhirter share his testimony of redemption from addiction. He was transformed from a long addition to crystal meth into a worship leader. Stephen is best known for his association with Iron Bell Music. Songs like "God That Saves", "My Confidence", and "Belong to You" are most well known. Now Stephen has partnered with Jason Clayborn who has been nominated for several music awards. https://smjcmusic.com/https://www.youtube.com/stephenmcwhirterhttps://open.spotify.com/artist/1DIpWfeb5YTJmmvSy5TSL3?si=QsgromlvTGSuetMyPYo2Kg&dl_branch=1https://www.facebook.com/stephenmcwhirtermusichttps://www.youtube.com/c/IronBellMusic

Listen to Eddie share his testimony of overcoming porn and sex addiction, to now being a licensed counselor who has spent the last 20+ years helping people, specifically men, overcome their own battle with the same issue. Eddie has written several books titled "Going Deeper: How the Inner Child Impacts Your Sexual Addiction ", "Removing Your Shame Label: Learning to Break Free of Shame and Feel God's Love" , & "Why Men Struggle To Love: Overcoming Relational Blind Spots"Eddie has revealed a lot of the key elements that have a tremendous impact on helping individuals struggling with this area of addiction.   

My guest this week is Sue Bowles who experienced a long battle with an eating disorder. Sue also talks about some struggles with her own identity while fight the urge to have to please people. Her story begins with a traumatic experience at seven years old. Through Sue's recovery, she has written a book titled "The Space Between". Sue is also a life coach and has a passion for helping people. Here are some reference links to learn more about Sue and her story:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sue-bowles-a8649913http://bit.ly/2Ry6ubx (FB - My Step Ahead)http://www.instagram.com/MyStepAheadhttp://bit.ly/2U30v02 (Twitter - My Step Ahead)https://www.facebook.com/suebowlescoaching/https://youtube.com/channel/UC4DmlBMM91B-Jsa9Ww3h5BAhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/1695541839/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_cEbTDb8XSD8Q0suebowles.com

Listen to Dave's story of redemption from alcohol and cocaine addiction that found him at a very young age. How he reached rock bottom from multiple overdoses and becoming a person that no one wanted to be around because of his unpredictable personality. Through a simple prayer of "God, if you're real - HELP ME!" - Dave was transformed from the inside out.

Mark Chapter 10 contains the story of blind Bartimaeus being healed because of his faith. He pursued Jesus unashamed and desperate. Joe and Matt break down this story and how it relates to addiction healing and recovery.

Dennis Andros joins the podcast this week with Joe Young and I to share his testimony of being addicted to many different types of drugs including opiates, nitrous oxide, DMT, and other forms of hallucinogenic drugs. It led him to encounter demonic spirits that were seeking to kill him. Dennis ultimately called on the name of Jesus out of desperation from this torment. And Jesus encountered him in a powerful way and called him into deliverance ministries.Dennis Andros' YouTube channel link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaN02zpGvEFUzSz8kn5DdTATikTok Account: https://www.tiktok.com/@dennis_andros?lang=enSchedule call link belowVenmo:@Dennis-AndrosPayPal:DevilsAreDefeated@gmail.com

Co-host Joe Young is joining me today to talk about how we create idols in our lives, how that relates to addiction, and what are some practical steps we take to avoid those pitfalls in our daily lives out of obedience to serving God with our lives.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmnCLNTZJclrkUvd2vT8OtA

Rachel McCants joins the podcast to share her testimony. Rachel is an author and has a ministry of uplifting daily encouragement to share with people. 

My guest this week is Dr. Robb Kelly. Listen to Robb's amazing story of recovery from alcoholism to becoming the "Gordon Ramsey" of the addiction treatment world. Robb's treatment centers offer a 98% success rate, which is absolutely remarkable and unheard of. His faith in God is the single most important attribute to his success in helping people change their life. Make sure you listen to the entire episode. https://youtu.be/cc4zT4YDa8khttps://robbkelly.com/

What are some questions you should ask yourself as you make the big step into getting help and having a new life of recovery? In this episode we will cover a few questions that may be worth asking yourself to make sure your recovery is sustained. I also share what my experience has been like in recovery. Thanks for listening. 

In this episode, I am sharing a message that I felt compelled from the Lord to share with you all. I think that the information I share with you may give you some new insight into the mind of an addict. 

This week's episode is Joseph's testimony of how he overcame so many different battles in his life. Joe beat T-cell Leukemia at a very young age, then had several years of on-again, off-again battles with addiction to various forms of opiates. Joe has been sober for 5+ years now and is very active in ministry helping other people experience Jesus through addiction and recovery programs. It was a complete honor to have him as a guest on the podcast this week. 

Who wants to talk about pornography addiction???Nobody does...that is until now. This is a hard topic to discuss and rightfully so. It is probably the most shameful and humiliating topic that I can think of. I really felt that the Holy Spirit was really pressing on me to bring this discussion to the surface because if we don't address the elephant in the room and bring some solutions to the table, it will continue to get worse. My prayer is that you will find some comfort in knowing that many people struggle with this issue and that there is also redemption from this addiction as well. This will be a topic that we will have several episodes on in the coming weeks ahead. 

This week's episode is the testimony of Aaron Mark who battled addiction and severe anxiety. He was treating his anxiety with "spice" and marijuana but still wasn't finding happiness and fulfillment in his life. That is until he found Jesus and experienced the true meaning of having a personal relationship with Him. Listen to Aaron's testimony of redemption, not only from addiction, but from anxiety and depression. 

Listen to my own personal testimony about addiction. Holy Spirit made a way for this week's episode to be my own story. I hope that my testimony helps many of you who may have a similar experience of having an addiction to prescription pain medication. I want to give a special thanks to Jared Coker for taking the time to interview me and allow me to share my testimony. https://www.facebook.com/RedemptionFromAddictionPodcastmatt@redemptionfromaddiction.orghttps://redemptionfromaddiction.buzzsprout.com/

Listen to Mike's powerful testimony as he journeyed through what was an addiction to crack cocaine. This addiction took Mike places he never wanted to go, even to the point where his dad had to pay a ransom to keep him from being killed by a drug dealer.  But when he made the first step into recovery, almost immediately he heard from the Lord of how much he was loved by his Heavenly Father because there was already a ransom paid by Jesus on the cross for Mike's life. And suddenly his desire for crack cocaine went away and his new addiction became Jesus Christ. Mike has spent the last 17 years of his life in the ministry and is soon to be completing his doctorate in a theology study. Mike is a man of strong conviction and is determined to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. 

Listen to Brandon's testimony of how he overcame his addiction to alcohol. Brandon is a close friend of mine who I owe a debt of gratitude because of his influence in my life in helping me see that it is okay to be vunerable and talk openly about addiction. Addiction is a difficult topic for many people; even people who are in recovery.  Thank you Brandon for the fellowship and the friendship. May the Lord continue to bless you and your family. 

Episode #2 is the testimony of Ronnie who struggled with addiction to various substances for a period of about 4 years. His drug of choice became crack cocaine. Ronnie's addiction remained a secret to those that knew him during that time - even his newly married wife! On top of that, Ronnie continued to uphold his responsibilites as a Sunday school superintendent and his full-time job as a part of the hospital staff. That is until his secret life in the dark was brought to the light...Listen to Ronnie share his testimony about his struggle with addiction and how he found Redemption from Addiction.

Matt Dixon is an old friend who struggled with a 10 year addiction to different types of substances. In the end, heroine became his stronghold to overcome. Listen to Matt share his testimony about how Jesus met him in his addiction and became the center point to finding redemption from his addiction.