Not Your Parents Religion

#149 Faith and Recovery: An Interview with Paul About His Journey of Transformation!

• Pastor Robert Young • Season 3 • Episode 150

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Have you ever wondered how unwavering faith can guide someone through the darkest times of addiction and recovery? Join us for an inspiring conversation with Paul, who shares his incredible journey of overcoming substance use through steadfast belief in God. Hear Paul's firsthand accounts of divine interventions and how scripture-based positive thinking helped him resist the urge to relapse. Experience the transformative power of faith as Paul recounts specific moments that reinforced his understanding of God's unconditional love, bringing abundant joy and purpose to his life.

Discover the profound impact of cultivating a deeper connection with God's spirit through meditation and quieting the mind. Paul and I discuss the challenges of silencing internal thoughts to hear divine guidance and how genuine spiritual connections can shape meaningful relationships and support systems. We also explore Jesus' criticisms of hollow religious practices and emphasize the importance of heartfelt faith over mere formalities. Paul's personal stories and practical examples highlight how recognizing God's voice in everyday interactions can transform one's spiritual journey.

Explore how spirituality extends beyond traditional church settings and into daily life and professional environments. We'll share experiences of serving God through various roles, emphasizing the freedom and fulfillment found in letting God guide one's path. From the historical context of AA's steps toward God to the importance of engaging with imperfect church communities, our discussion underscores the significance of entrusting everything to God. Paul shares his experiences of finding emotional balance and living in the freedom of being a child of God, encouraging listeners to extend spiritual practices into their homes for a fulfilling faith journey.

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Pastor Robert Young:

How can my faith help in my relapse and prevention journey? We will be talking on the phone with Paul next on the podcast. Ever wonder how and if the Bible has relevance for today? On this podcast we provide biblical answers to today's tough questions. Hi friends, I'm Pastor Robert Young.

Pastor Robert Young:

We have 30 plus years of church planting and mentoring other pastors, 30 plus years of training leaders in evangelism and discipleship. Our team of missionaries go into jails, rehabs, parks, street corners, coffee houses and any place unchurched people gather. We present the untainted gospel. We ask questions, give answers as we conduct surveys. We do this so that you can make a true, informed decision about Jesus Christ. And today our topic is; can my faith in Jesus help in my recovery? Hey friends, welcome back to Not your Parents Religion Podcast.

Pastor Robert Young:

I'm on the phone today with Paul and Paul is going to tell us a little bit about his recovery or relapse, prevention journey and his faith in God and how that has helped him, because we want to show you that faith in God is I'm sorry to say this, but it's a practical side to faith in God as well. Of course there's a spiritual side, the most important side, but like one episode that we did a little while ago about is the Bible still relevant. We played the devil's advocate, if you will, and we talked about how, even if you didn't believe in God, the Bible makes sense. Practically. Go back and listen to that episode. It's called Is the Bible Still Relevant? But today we want to talk to Paul about his faith journey and we're going to start out with some questions for Paul. Paul, say hi to all of our listeners.

Paul C:

Hello all listeners.

Pastor Robert Young:

Okay, well, Paul, let's get started. Tell me a little bit about how your role, or what role has faith in God played in your recovery or relapse prevention journey.

Paul C:

Okay, all right. Well, let me start a little before my recovery began, while I was still using it. I've always had a belief in God. Always, I've always had a belief in god, always. I was brought up in a home, uh, with a mother who had fellowship with him and my, my dad did as well. He's more so now, but so I've always believed in god, true, uh truly, but not it during during my drug. Uh, he was always there for me and he, he started making his presence known very clearly to me towards the end. You know, uh, just through some of the crazy situations I was in that I assumed would not have turned out well, and they turned out very well. Uh, it was without getting into much detail. I clearly seen his hand, yeah, yeah, situations I was in and, uh, it showed me how much he loved me, no matter what I, I was doing. Oh, my goodness, uh, it was, it was. It had nothing to do with what I was doing. He, he just loved me regardless.

Paul C:

Even in the midst of all of your stuff. No matter what. Yeah, what I did, what I'm going to do and what I've done in the past are relevant. He loves me regardless. I'm not saying that sinning is acceptable. I'm just saying that, set aside, he loves me. I have Jesus in my heart and he sees the finished work in me and he saw it even then. That was that was crucial to the beginning stages of my recovery.

Pastor Robert Young:

We like to say, especially in this recovery journey, things that happen sometimes. I said to myself when I was in my journey still am in that journey. That was too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence. Yeah, it was so blatantly obvious that it was God that.

Paul C:

Yeah, I don't. I don't necessarily believe in any coincidence.

Pastor Robert Young:

Right, right right.

Paul C:

But but those compound? Ok, let's say you do believe in coincidences, those compound coincidences that go together. It's impossible for them to be just a coincidence.

Pastor Robert Young:

Yeah, Okay, you're willing to do a specific moment or experience where your faith in God helped you overcome a challenge in your recovery and or relapse journey.

Paul C:

I'm trying to think A specific. You know, occasionally it just depends on what I'm thinking about. Now God says, think on on these things, things that are lovely and great and good. He says, think on these things. And occasionally I don't think on those things. I have other thought processes. I'm thinking about, uh, you know the street sometimes, you know being out there and you know I was kind of a street user. I ended up like really out there, wandering around, being a part of these different places where you go to use and stuff like that, just being out on the street. So occasionally I think about these situations and they would cause me to want to use.

Pastor Robert Young:

Yes.

Paul C:

But he quickly reminds you know, I kind of feel like I won out there, like, like, like it's kind of like a video game, not not the drug use is kind of like a video game, but like if you've ever played a game and you beat it and going back and playing it again, it's like you know, I've already, I've already beat that game. I'm not necessarily interested. Same thing about certain movies. You know, there's some movies you want to play over and over again and these kinds of moments, the ones that that are over and over again, have become more prevalent in my life. Okay so, I, I enjoy those things way more than playing that other game.

Paul C:

Okay so, and he reminds me of all these things, I mean, just, this is a life that I did not expect. You know, he does say life and life more abundant, and I, I definitely am grasping that a lot more than I would have before. Uh, I've never expected life to be like this, uh happy, uh joyous, even even when my uncle died and uh, but excuse me, both my uncles, my cousin, I, I, my, my friend chop, who worked for me, died of an overdose about a month ago. Wow, even, yeah, even when, even when they died, like you know, I know I got to have time with them and God's in me and he shines, so I you know it. Just it doesn't bring me down. Yes, like I can still have a joy even though these sad things happen.

Pastor Robert Young:

Wow.

Paul C:

And I've never had that, I've never, never in my life, my life, this word happy. I always thought when I used drugs I was getting happy?

Pastor Robert Young:

not at all not at all this happy I got was amazing there is a scripture that says that if we stay in God as much as we possibly can, that he would give us the peace, that passive, all that. We wouldn't even be able to understand why we had that peace, agreed, agreed.

Paul C:

Yeah, I mean I kind of got an understanding because he says that Right right. He says it's beyond understanding, and I get that.

Pastor Robert Young:

I think the thought is with everything that's going wrong in your life you— and I'm still able to be happy, right, right. You're still able to have joy and you realize that it's because God is revealing himself more and more in your life. Yeah, agreed, agreed, I agree on that definitely well, tell me um, how has your understanding of god and spirituality and for the lack of a better term evolved during your recovery process?

Paul C:

okay, I'm a big aa guy. Yes, I really. I really love it. I hate that they call it a program. Uh, they're the bible capitalizes. Uh, anytime they speak about god, capital g, he's talking about the god above. Anytime it's a lesser god or demon or some type of anything like that, it's a lowercase g. Well, in the a book that's the only other book that I know of that does it other than the bible they do it as well when they speak about god the father yes, yes and they're talking about jesus, because in the book it talks about, uh, becoming born again and stuff like that.

Paul C:

so it's specifically built on the god, not not necessarily a doorknob like they like to say, but you know, those kinds of things creep in to meetings and same thing at churches. We start grabbing in onto these weird things and bringing them along. But, um, okay, so so that's kind of helped me out a lot. Uh, kind of breaks it down for me. And you know, even though it's in scripture, like this is kind of like layman's terms book. You know, even though it's in scripture, like this is kind of like layman's terms book. It's like it explains some of the things. Like in the promises it tells us what, what God is going to do for us. Yes, that we could not do for ourselves. So I mean it really, did I stop sinning?

Paul C:

No, I mean, I'm a sinner but but but he no, I mean I'm a sinner, but, but but he the the things that have happened. The forgiveness that he's given, that is unearned. I did not earn it. He just gives it freely. So I'm seeing all these things happen that he's done in my life.

Pastor Robert Young:

Uh, despite myself there it is right there, isn't it Despite myself?

Paul C:

Despite myself. He does these things and acknowledging that is nice. It definitely takes a lot of weight off of me because I don't have this mold. Okay, I had a walk with God and there's nothing wrong with the way I walked before, but it was almost like a Mockingbird style walk. This is what I think a Christian man should be. This is what I think a Christian husband should be. This is what I think a Christian dad should be. This is what I think a Christian pastor should be.

Paul C:

So I put myself in all these different molds and I tried to fit myself Mockingbird style, based off of what I've saw and learned from others again, not that that's wrong, because I, my heart, desired god fully, but I got in the way. Wow, and, and, and he's. He set me free from that, you know, because there's a way that is right in the guy, in a man's eyes, that can lead you to hell, and that was definitely mine. Even though my appearance was godly, a form of godliness, I was dead spiritually and having him in me and I'm able to speak to him as a father, they come directly to him and I talk to them all through the day.

Paul C:

He's there with me he doesn't necessarily answer me, like, like paul, listen to thou, or you know, and it ain't necessarily a speech. You know because I got an inside voice. You know the voice that you're thinking voice. I have that, and it's not necessarily that either.

Paul C:

He speaks to me in a bunch of different ways, through the word of god, of course, of course, but also also in circumstance, and what we were talking about initially with all these supposed coincidences. He makes himself very clear, not always the same way, just just as, just as when, when he uh cured the blindness in the bible, there's what? Three, three separate incidences where he cleared, uh, cleaned, excuse me, where he cured blindness, and and he did it differently in all ways. It doesn't make one way better than another, it's just. This is just how god works, and god's not going to set himself in a mold that we, he's god, he's endless, and for us to even think that we know all his ways is impossible and man, and that idea is freeing, and so is the idea that I don't have to fit a mold, I can be me.

Paul C:

And what he wants for me. You know less of me, more of him. What he wants from me brings more of me out, and I'm happy. It's very freeing, very freeing. I feel free. Nothing, nothing is better than this, Nothing at all. Wow, A drug use cannot top that.

Pastor Robert Young:

Wow Okay.

Paul C:

Yeah, Thank you. There's no mind altering substance. None alcohol, weed, cocaine, none of that.

Pastor Robert Young:

Well, paul, has there been any um spiritual practices, uh, or rituals, that have been particularly helpful in your, in your whole process, your journey, your recovery journey?

Paul C:

You know, I have a hard time with that because I know religion is not bad, because Paul talks about it.

Pastor Robert Young:

Right.

Paul C:

I kind of think that rituals for me as an addict can become dangerous and be can become uh concealing, because now I'm locking myself in a repetition, maybe uh kind of like like taking a nap, like I feel like I would. Just you know it's, it's repetition, there's no more soul in that. I kind of like, uh, when situations happen, you know, now I stay prayerful, I'll talk to god throughout the day, so maybe that is is uh, is one okay, so that's kind of regular. But as far as a repetition, I don't necessarily do that. When I drive, I meditate. When I'm alone, I meditate so I quiet my mind and allow his spirit to speak to mine, because he says in prayer, don't use vain repetitions.

Paul C:

Yeah, and then moans and groanings which can't be uttered. Well, that's talking about with speech, with the tongue, but also the mind tongue. You know that mind voice, yes, yes, yeah. So if we silence all those things, then his spirit can speak to our spirit. We can't hear that. If I can hear that, is it really his spirit? Because he's specific in his word, with moans and groans which can't be uttered, which would mean it's silence. We can't hear nothing, it's quiet. So for me to intentionally quiet the mind, or request him to help me quiet the mind, because it's a real hard thing to do, I think intentionally, that's making the connection stronger. Not that he needs to make it stronger, but you know.

Paul C:

I need to be yeah for our sake and we need to be or I need to be quieted.

Pastor Robert Young:

I like that part where you said um well, you had the or. Sometimes we ask God to give us the strength to do something that we know we should do, that we don't necessarily have the strength in ourselves to do it.

Paul C:

Agreed, agreed and yeah, yeah, I agree, I agree with that Definitely.

Pastor Robert Young:

Well, let me ask you this has your faith in God influenced your relationships and support system, or how has it influenced your relationships and support systems? Well, do you have a support system influence your relationships and support?

Paul C:

systems. Well, do you have a support system? Support system, yeah, you know. God put these people in my life that are around me. Yes, some are for now, some are for a season. I don't know how long he's going to keep them around, but the ones that are here now, I consider them part of my support system. Again, whether they're for a season, god gives me words to speak to them about, and it's not always to shove stuff down people's throat. I don't like to do that.

Pastor Robert Young:

I was never about that.

Paul C:

Yeah, if they're willing and they want to hear it, I can usually tell, and when God puts it on my heart, I can tell as well. If they don't want to hear it, I'm very careful not to do that, but I still. I still see God shining and I hear him speaking to them, even though they may not get it at the moment. You know what I mean, so I get to hear that that's. That's kind of cool. Amen, amen, yeah.

Pastor Robert Young:

And that boosts me up, I mean. So I get to hear that that's kind of cool.

Paul C:

Amen, amen, yeah. And that boosts me up, I mean when I hear that. So, even if they're not getting it, I'm hearing God talking to them, you know. That's kind of nice man I like that I like being a part of him. That's my father. He thinks I'm amazing.

Pastor Robert Young:

Well, you said something very profound there, but it's so simple, I think, when we start to think of God as a father as opposed to thinking of God as a taskmaster or a person that grants our wishes or any of that kind of stuff.

Paul C:

You must do this to be mine. You must be this way to be mine.

Pastor Robert Young:

Or rub your lamp, you rub the lamp three times and he pops out and grits. Going back to the ritual things and I agree with you, the ritual things is more of religion as opposed to relationship.

Paul C:

Yeah, I agree with that. I'm very, I'm very iffy Not that I don't do those ritual things, and I kind of do. I have a hard time with that just because of the sourness of everything out there right now. I even have a hard time going to meetings just because all this stuff. It seems like as soon as we start sharing that, the group is overwhelmed with nonsense same with some of our churches just, yes, churches as well, and uh, just just for an example.

Paul C:

Uh, there's such a thing as group conscience. In an AA meeting, the group conscience is after somebody does a share, so it's a share meeting. They tell their story. It's usually 15 minutes to a half hour and after that then God speaks through the conscience of the group. We each share within three minutes and this is supposed to be the spirit. It's like speaking in tongues, but in our language, okay, not. But god speaking through our mouth and we all receive through the spirit. He explains to us what he's talking about. Through that. It's called a group conscience. He speaks through the conscience of the group.

Paul C:

Now AA has these meetings called the group conscience. Okay, so now there's a confusion. When people hear the term group conscience, they automatically assume that it's this meeting that they're doing once a month at these AA groups, and that is not at all what it means. It means that God is speaking through the conscience of the group, the group conscience, and because of this meeting, it brought confusion in and these kind of things, like I feel, cause separation in it and the ones that make.

Paul C:

You know, I'm brought back to the story of the sower and the seed okay you know the wayside and you know it, kind of you can watch it right before your eyes. So as soon as the spirit is speaking, yes, there are those who get it, but then there's those that hear it, and then they all of a sudden they take off, because they understand the group consciousness something other than what it is. So so that kind of stuff alone causes hesitation for me to enter into religious practices.

Pastor Robert Young:

Yes.

Paul C:

And that's one example, of course.

Pastor Robert Young:

Jesus. One of his chief complaints, if you will, about the religious leaders during his time was that religion, the rituals and all the traditions that they had, and they were going through the motions but didn't. It wasn't from the heart.

Paul C:

Yeah, it was. It was dead. You know, not that, not that the person. And here's where I struggle, because I remember myself back then I genuinely wanted a relationship with my father. Yes, I thought that I had to do certain things and I thought I even had a relationship with him, and not that I didn't, I did so. This is where I hesitate on that. My genuine desire for him kind of keeps me from doing those going to these religious places because it drives me nuts. I don't even want to see it. You know, I see through the groups that God brings here. You know, at work I get chances to speak with people and be with people that he brought in.

Pastor Robert Young:

Okay.

Paul C:

That job. That job didn't come because of anything I did. I'm just going out every day. He brought that job, he brought the people that are in that job, and whether it's just from me shining the spirit of God's light shining out of me without a word, whether it's that or conversation or whatever God chooses to do, this is where I see his work happening and I'm exposed to a lot of people, so it's not just. I don't necessarily think I have to go to a building where they practice religious practices.

Pastor Robert Young:

Now, paul, you've jumped ahead a little bit. Oh, okay, that is the topic of a different episode. Again, one of our most popular episodes about is the Bible still relevant, and it's talking about church. In fact, a caller asked me, you know, called in with a question, do I have to go to church? And because they were saying some of the same things that you're saying now. So that's a whole other episode.

Pastor Robert Young:

Yeah, I love the fellowship, don't get me wrong, Right right, I get that, I understand and what you're saying, if I'm hearing you correctly, your job, or the job that God has provided for you?

Paul C:

and my family. Events, events and everything, anything that has the people that are in my life here. Yes, yes, yeah, everyone around me. So any friendships I have, any relationships that I have, they are all God-founded. When I became born again, I entered the church and church is my life. It's in all my affairs, not just a Sunday event where I go with a nice suit and matching shoes.

Pastor Robert Young:

Don't forget the tie. Don't forget the tie.

Paul C:

Yeah, and you know, again, I'm not going against that. I remember being in that situation where I genuinely desired God and I did those things, yes, and I think that was part of my growth with him. So I'm not against that at all. But where I'm at now, I feel like I'm already a member of the church. He brings the people and I get to watch him do. I'm not bound any longer, I'm set free and again, not to sin, but to watch him do his work.

Pastor Robert Young:

Paul, I understand what you're saying because I have a similar situation. You know, I run a wellness center and I say to people all the time I'm a pastor, okay, it seems like God works at that wellness center, where I'm either talking to someone about some issue that they have or working out with someone, or whatever it may be.

Paul C:

Yeah.

Pastor Robert Young:

It's like he's working through me and for me and for whoever I'm talking to more so. And I love listen. Any place that God is, I'm going to be there, and God's everywhere. And I love listen. Any place that God is, I'm going to be there and God's everywhere, but I love it. So I definitely understand where you're coming from here. I definitely understand wholeheartedly.

Paul C:

Huh, initially the AA when they started out. If you read that book, the AA book which I have. Yeah, if you read it, the steps are to basically get us moving in the direction of god. I mean, it says so right at the beginning right right yeah, just go in the direction of god and hand over our power to god oh, that's a big one yeah and they didn't initially.

Paul C:

They didn't allow people that were in the disease, that hadn't come to God, fully come to these meetings that they had. These men had went through the steps, had a relationship with God. However, they understand him, still him, our father. They had to have that before they came in, otherwise you're bringing in confusion and that's that's what's happened. Everyone's allowed to talk there, whether they have God in them or not, and anyone's anyone seeking God can, can invent their own God there. There's many, there's many Jesuses out there right now ready to fulfill that, that request.

Pastor Robert Young:

Oh yeah, in fact, you can be your own Jesus nowadays.

Paul C:

Agreed, agreed. Yeah, there's many. God talks about that.

Pastor Robert Young:

Yeah.

Paul C:

But you know I.

Pastor Robert Young:

I heard what you said earlier about. We are not against church, obviously because the Bible tells us to, you know, not to forsaking of our assembly ourselves together Correct? Now, that doesn't have to be in a traditional setting, as you very well know.

Paul C:

Yeah, it's free, we're free. God can—I can deny that fellowship with that person if I want to. Yeah, but I. It seems to be a lot easier to just kind of go with what God had. It's ends up being a lot better.

Pastor Robert Young:

Yeah, you know I'm happier. So, paul, my, my, my pulpit now is the gym. Yeah, I know that sounds crazy. It sounds crazy but it does, cause it doesn't fit what we think it should fit.

Paul C:

But who are we to put bounds and, excuse me, who are we to put boundaries on God and his work? Who are we to give the definition of what a church means? God is the one who decides that, and whatever church or position he puts us in, that's where even the Apostle Paul was in person, in his own home, and he was able to serve the church from his home.

Pastor Robert Young:

You know, and that's in the last book of Acts, I believe the last chapter in Acts, and I've preached many sermons about that particular. He had rented a house, an apartment, whatever they had back then, and I remember before he he still had the armed guards around him but he was actually more freer to preach the gospel with under house arrest basically, and the scripture says that he received all that came to him and he he sat down and he talked with them about god, just reasoned with. I'm like man, isn't this something when it looks like he was bound but yet he was free?

Paul C:

but he was free, exactly. And and here we go, trying to put on what it is to be church right, what it is to be a Christian, and binding ourselves up again. I don't want to do that.

Pastor Robert Young:

And sometimes when we do these things well, all the time when we do these things they put that extra pressure on us and we know what happened. Those of us that are in this journey, this relapse prevention journey we know what happens when too much pressure gets on us, especially if we don't turn it over to God.

Paul C:

Yeah, we go to sleep and then we relapse. I mean, that's what a relapse is. We're no longer connected, we're in opposite direction. And now we're going based on our own mind, our own God or whatever, whatever the case may be, and that's not sufficient. That will not the gap. The missing piece that I was trying to fill is now filled, and why empty that?

Pastor Robert Young:

and put some chemical there. Who filled it?

Paul C:

Oh, my father did, he filled it.

Pastor Robert Young:

You said something else earlier. You said that, and I say this to people it's almost like it takes a weight off of my shoulders that I don't have to necessarily perform or or even to be strong enough to do it, when I know that if I ask God with a sincere heart, yeah, he's he's going to do it.

Paul C:

If I ask him for a loaf of bread, is he going to give me a stone? I really liked that one and he's not this is God we're talking about yeah, if I know what I can give my kids and I do I give them whatever I can. I love them deeply. I can't. God's love has gotta be infinitely larger than that you know, and I is the correct word again, I, I can nowhere get nowhere near close to the creation that he has made.

Paul C:

I mean, we got this earth, just just, for example, this large earth that I've never seen the fullness of. He created every detail, every crevice of all of that and he can see it all at once. So so, with that said, now, we got his love and I got a little bit of peace of that and what I can see of it. You know what I can see, you know, I mean it's, it's a beautiful love that God has given me. Thank, thankfully, um, that I can give to the people that are around me. God allows that, um, and and that, that being said, and I give good things, god, I know he's, he's a lot better than that and, uh, it's. That's as far as I can go with that. I don't know how far to go.

Pastor Robert Young:

Well, I think, when we again, when we, when God frees our minds so that we can begin to think of him as a father, I mean the best father that ever could be, and not to compare him to our earthly father per se, because some of us didn't have um good earthly fathers, but if we thought of god as a father and all that.

Pastor Robert Young:

That means that he's not there to purposely try to punish us or to withhold anything from us or or dads, and dads and moms may have done that what they believe are good.

Paul C:

I definitely do not call anybody my father, but him Father definitely does not mean anything but what he is. So when I say father, I'm clearly speaking of my father. I've never called my dad father. No, because he is not. He is not. It gets confusing. You start calling the same thing, excuse me, calling different things, something that they're not. So he is my father and I definitely see him as my father.

Pastor Robert Young:

There's no other father for me In what ways have your faith empowered you to persevere through difficult moments in your recovery journey?

Paul C:

And what way has they have to persevere?

Pastor Robert Young:

persevere as far as what's your spirituality or to make it through those difficult times, those extremely difficult times, those times when uh, for the lack of a better term when you're jonesing or when you want to go out and do things. You know what?

Paul C:

I, I, when I was out there on the street I've, I was able to feel, uh, depression, this un unbearable depression, and live in that, in the depths of that depression, is insanity. I, I can't really express how deep and lonely that depression is. I've never experienced anything to that level, um. And since that's gone and God has brought me through this, the last youth, which is almost five years ago I haven't experienced anything near that. I haven't experienced the sadness like that. I get sad. Of course, sadness usually is a selfish thing for me, because I mean it's all God's plan, all of it. So I don't necessarily persevere. I'm just grateful that I'm still here and he's my father and he loves me. Whatever happens, it's in his hands, everything, yeah, it's all in his hands, all of that.

Pastor Robert Young:

Now, that's some eye-opening truths right there. That is some eye-opening truths, and sometimes you just have to tell yourself when you're feeling some kind of way, those feelings are going to pass.

Paul C:

Yeah, and that's another thing. My relationship with God, my reality, isn't based on feelings.

Pastor Robert Young:

There it is. There it is. Yes, talk about it.

Paul C:

Yeah, feelings do come and they can overwhelm yes, and cause me to not see what's actually going on, right?

Pastor Robert Young:

But I can always.

Paul C:

I've asked him to remind me, you know, because the devil can steal, but he can't steal it. If I ask God to hold it, if I ask him for anything, he'll do it. And I asked him to remind me when those situations come up, and he does he does.

Paul C:

Sometimes I got to go to bed. I got to go to my room. You know what I mean. Sometimes I got to go to my room and I and I do that. I'll stop work in the middle of the day. I'll come home, tell my wife I'm having a rough day and I'll go up to my room, I'll close the door and I'll go to sleep.

Pastor Robert Young:

Sleep it off, yeah.

Paul C:

And I don't know if tomorrow's coming. That's what he says. So, whatever the case may be, when I do wake up the next day because so far I have I'm usually in a better place and those emotions have died down and thankfully I don't have the desire to do things that I used to do that bring no joy at all.

Pastor Robert Young:

They just bring me to the deep place of oppression. It's important for the listeners to realize that God does care about your feelings and your emotions. He gave them to you, so he he knows that they're there. But to allow those emotions to interfere with what we know in our heads and in our hearts can obviously take us back down a road that we don't want to go.

Paul C:

I do understand that. Yeah, I mean, you know the body's got to eat, we got to feed it Right and and we are fighting for spiritual there is. There's this thing called balance that we've talked about in the past. Yeah, and uh, I don't know how to do that. He does that very well for me. He does. He does it very well.

Pastor Robert Young:

And I can feel happy.

Paul C:

Yes, I can feel happy. You're free. Yeah, I can feel happy, I can feel sad, I can feel upset.

Pastor Robert Young:

Right.

Paul C:

I can have those feelings. I'm not bound to them and my decisions aren't based on them either. I can feel happy and still do the right thing. I can feel angry and still do the right thing.

Pastor Robert Young:

I know this might sound crazy, but I was just playing with one of my grandbabies a little while ago and I'm looking at this child and how they're just free because they know that granddad's going to take care of everything. Granddad's got it all in control. I can be free to be me.

Pastor Robert Young:

And if we ever got to the point where we believe or we trusted God that he you know, even with our emotions and our feelings again, that God's got it all controlled, and if we don't have to carry that burden so much ourselves. It's again like taking a weight off of your shoulders. Yeah, is again like taking a weight off of your shoulders.

Paul C:

Doesn't the Scripture say huh, there is no weight at that point.

Pastor Robert Young:

Right, right, it's just you're free to be a child of God and all that comes with that.

Paul C:

Yeah, without going into any detail, I mean, what's for Paul is for Paul, and that's what God has for me.

Pastor Robert Young:

Amen.

Paul C:

Amen, and what he has for me ain't necessarily what he has for somebody else.

Pastor Robert Young:

Right.

Paul C:

Right. For somebody to think that they need what Paul has to know that they're having a relationship, that they're having a relationship with God would definitely imprison them from having a relationship with God. They should definitely be freed from any of that stuff and just have that relationship their own.

Pastor Robert Young:

Amen, amen. So let me try to summarize some of the key points that we've discussed today and there's probably a hundred more points that we could cover and correct me if I'm missing anything, okay.

Paul C:

Okay.

Pastor Robert Young:

What stands out. One of the most things that stands out to me was the idea of having a relationship with God, as opposed to it being just some religious rituals and practices Not that there's anything wrong with those per se- Agreed. But when it's just a ritual and a practice or tradition and there's no heart in it, there's no, there's no connection there. You're still going to end up, probably. No, you're going to end up in a bad place.

Paul C:

I agree, I agree.

Pastor Robert Young:

Emotions and feelings are important to God because he gave them to us, but he does not obviously doesn't want them to overwhelm us and to deceive us, because sometimes they can literally deceive us.

Paul C:

Most certainly.

Pastor Robert Young:

I mean, you know, if our hands are not in God and we haven't given it to him, they can definitely deceive us. You know, you're riding down the road and somebody cuts you off and you feel like giving them a finger. Do you act on?

Paul C:

that? Of course not. You don't act on that. Oh, you don't oh.

Pastor Robert Young:

No, you don't act on that, Paul. Okay, you shouldn't have done that, no, you don't have to, Paul, if I told you the story of one day this is a number of years ago that I was in a hurry trying to go somewhere, and I'm going to get back to my points in a minute.

Paul C:

Yeah.

Pastor Robert Young:

And this car was just in the way and it wouldn't move. And we was on Expressway and I'm doing 70 and this car was doing like 50, maybe 55, you know the speed limit. Yeah, I said, okay, as soon as I get free and pull up next to that car, I'm giving this person I had never done anything like this before, but I'm just, I'm running so late that it's it's. It's never done anything like this before, but I'm just, I'm running so late. That is is taking me off and paul, believe it or not, traffic cleared and so I jumped into this to the left lane and I punched on the gas and I'm side to side with this car that had been slowing me down, keeping me in that lane for a good three, four minutes. I looked, paul, I tell you, God is my witness it was the mother of the church, the church that I was a part of.

Pastor Robert Young:

Paul. I turned my head back to the road, I punched on the gas harder to get out. Oh my goodness, and I'm saying, oh my goodness, what if I had given her the finger? And she looked over. It was the mother of the church, the sweetest woman you'll ever meet, yeah.

Paul C:

Yeah, god's been working with me a lot on that. I've definitely talked to him about that, yeah.

Pastor Robert Young:

So, my friends, I guess what we're saying here today and I got off point. I'm sorry about that. I got a little off topic Just a middle finger. So one of the takeaways here is don't give people the middle finger in traffic. Yeah, okay, I agree, we're not perfect. God knows that. And to be in relationship with God doesn't require us to be perfect. God knows that. And to be in relationship with God doesn't require us to be perfect Not at all, especially trying to attain that perfection on our own.

Paul C:

Yeah, what is perfect.

Pastor Robert Young:

Yeah, what is perfect.

Paul C:

Yeah, there's a way that I think is perfect and it's flawed, right right. But you know, right now, as I speak, this is perfectly where God wants me and our relationship is as perfect as it can be at this moment Amen, amen. And that's because of him, not me.

Pastor Robert Young:

Right, right. That's important to know. That's very important to know that it's not dependent on you and your efforts and your striving Agreed and you trying to make it happen. And I, as a pastor, dealt with that for years where I was, and Paul, honestly, I made things happen, I literally made things happen. But was God there?

Paul C:

One God was there. It may not have been his, but there was a God there, not the capital G. The little g yeah, the little g was there.

Pastor Robert Young:

Okay, what was one of our other points?

Paul C:

Now that I've completely got a lost topic here.

Pastor Robert Young:

Well, people that have been listening to this podcast For a while know that Pastor Young Often get off subject, but some kind of way it makes sense to you.

Paul C:

Yeah.

Pastor Robert Young:

A relationship with God versus just religion and rituals and traditions is what God wants. When we start to think of God as a father, because he is the perfect father, that can change our whole outlook on things. When we don't try to do it on our own, that takes a lot of the pressure off of us. Now there is a part we have to do in the process, but there's times when I don't have enough strength to do the part that I'm required to do that I say, lord, give me the strength to do that. You know, the Bible says faith without works is dead.

Paul C:

I agreed, agreed. Yeah, there's a daily reprieve I go through, so I guess there's somewhat of a. You know, usually it's not like at the end of the day. I do it usually after meeting with somebody or whatever. I go through this with God. Hey, did I? You know I may have messed up. You know God works all things to our benefit as well. You know all things to the good, no matter what we do. But still, you know, I don't want to be that guy that's sabotaging people. You know, I think I, I think I'm right all the time you know, and I know, I know that's not the case.

Paul C:

So you know, I definitely go to him on a regular uh, and it's usually after each event. Those, those events can add up real quickly If, if not, you know what I mean and then all of a sudden I'm tired and I'm sleepy, and you know. So those that constant, that constant friendship, that constant fellowship with him is important.

Pastor Robert Young:

Amen.

Paul C:

I think that's the most important thing to my recovery. Yes, yeah, it's that fellowship with my father.

Pastor Robert Young:

Yes, yes, yeah, it's that. Fellowship with my father, yes, yes. Well, paul, what advice or information would you like to offer those who are seeking to integrate their faith in God into their and this is a trick question into their recovery journey? What advice would you give to?

Paul C:

some of our listeners um to request from god, the capital god, the only the top god, to request from him um full fellowship and understanding with him, like a relationship. Ask him to bring that on. Amen, yeah, if, yeah, if you can ask him that, you know, basically he's putting his spirit in you. It's not necessarily what you may think of it, yeah, just so. Let me get back to the simple thing. Ask him to do those things to bring this relationship, your personal relationship with him that's unique to just you and him. Amen, amen, yeah, just you Amen, amen, amen.

Pastor Robert Young:

Well, paul, thank you for taking a few moments of your day to spend with us and the listeners of the podcast. I appreciate everything that you've said and what God is doing in your life, and I look forward to having you back on the show again. We can talk about other topics, those topics that we mentioned earlier.

Paul C:

Yeah, I'm definitely interested. Thank you for having me. I appreciate being able to share.

Pastor Robert Young:

He's definitely spoken to me a lot during our podcast today, amen, amen, and God bless you, and we will be praying for you and we'll see you shortly.

Paul C:

Thanks.

Pastor Robert Young:

All right.

Paul C:

All right, bye.

Pastor Robert Young:

Bye, bye. Ok, friends, we were just talking with Paul and some of the things that were said. We want to give you an opportunity to get to know this Jesus Christ yourself. Uh, you, you've heard how Paul has said that his faith in God has helped him in all of the ways that he talked about Some of the key points before I got off subject has helped him in his, his recovery process. But I want to say it's more than just us getting recovered, because we don't want to think of God as some type of um, self-help type of thing, some type of self-help type of thing. We want to think of God as, as Paul said, a relationship, a relationship with a father that's better than any father that we could possibly think of.

Pastor Robert Young:

So, listen, if you want that kind of relationship with God today, there's a simple process that's simply called the sinner's prayer. Now, what you simply do is ask God to forgive you of your sins and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. We know the Bible says that we've all sinned and come short of pleasing God. So let's say that prayer today. Repeat this after with me, father, I know that I am a sinner, but I repent of my sins. I know that I have done wrong in your eyesight and Father. I believe, though, that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the remission of my sins, and I asked him to come into my heart and to my life to be my Lord and my Savior. Father, I further ask that you would fill me with the precious gift of the Holy Ghost so that I can walk this life that's pleasing to you and have relationship with you, lord, because that's my heart desire. I'm not perfect God, but I know that Jesus, the Holy Spirit, is going to strengthen me to live a righteous life. I receive it now in Jesus' name, amen. Now, friends, if you've said that with a sincere heart, the Bible lets us know that your name has been written up in heaven in a book called the Lamb's Book of Life.

Pastor Robert Young:

But there's one more thing I need you to do for me, two more things, and the things that we talked about on the interview with Paul. We never said that church was bad or that anything was bad. It's just saying that there's issues with everything. But I want you to go find a church in your community that practice living for God in his fullest. That church is not going to be perfect. There's going to be some things that you see that are not right, but don't let that stop you, because the Bible tells us to assemble ourselves together with other believers, whether it's in a traditional church, a house church or whatever kind of church it is, if they are practicing true relationship with God. Join that place, be a blessing, give a blessing, but don't stop there. Do the same thing in your home with your own family, but don't stop there. Do the same thing in your home with your own family. Pray with your children, pray with your wife. Read the Bible with your children. Read the Bible with your wife or husband.

Pastor Robert Young:

Now listen. If you need any more information or clarification on anything that was said during this interview, do not hesitate to get in contact with us, and all of the ways to get in contact with us in the description box below. And I just want to say in if you want to take advantage of our 12 week program on relapse prevention, we have a program called Breaking the Cycle. It's a Bible based program that you can get in contact with us and receive information on how to be enrolled in this program. So do not hesitate to get in contact with us to learn more about this for the lack of a better term this program and all of the ways to contact us with us in the description box below. And I will see you next time. On Not your Parents Religion podcast, I am your host, pastor Robert Young, and may God bless you you.