Drug Addict Finds Peace at Charis Bible College - Johnny Rhodes – A Grace Encounter

About this sermon

From a young age, Johnny Rhodes was set up for a life of rage and addiction. Spinning from abuse, Johnny sought solace in drugs and alcohol, unknowingly kicking off a spiral of addiction for the next 30 years. Ignoring the anger and growing addiction, Johnny pursued his dream of being an emergency medical doctor, regularly encountering drug addicts and alcoholics desperately trying to fill their own voids. He had trained for 11 years as a doctor, but when he lost his medical license, he ended up homeless and visiting shelters and soup kitchens right along side the same patients he used to treat. Johnny was in and out of 15 different drug and alcohol facilities, saw countless psychiatrists and psychologists, and had several counselors tell him that he would never be free from his addiction and that the best he could hope for was a quick overdose. He was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Intermittent Explosive Disorder. He was on and off anti-depressant, anti-psychotics, mood stabilizers, and was told that he was headed down a road that was headed straight to jail. He wouldn’t believe what they told him, until he found himself sitting in a cell. He met Jesus in jail and was born again, but his life continued a cycle of finding what he was wanting and then destroying it, over and over again. Johnny felt God was angry and disappointed in him, so he never felt truly free. His life was a rollercoaster of bad times and good. During a good period of life, he met and married Jeannie, but even her constant encouragement wasn’t enough to hold him up. Johnny and Jeannie really felt that God wanted them together, but they encountered so much trouble throughout their relationship. Shortly after they were married, Johnny fell back into his addictions. It was at this time that Johnny landed at his 15th rehab center. It was a faith-based facility and Johnny met three men in particular that had something different about them. He later learned it was God’s love and authority resting on them. One day, one of these men placed a book on Johnny’s bed for him – Self Centeredness: The Source of All Grief, a book by Andrew Wommack. It was the first time he had heard of Andrew. A couple weeks later, Johnny was praying and saw Andrew’s name pop up in his mind in neon letters. Asking the Holy Spirit why he was seeing Andrew’s name, Johnny simply heard, “School.” Asking his friend to tell him about “Andrew Wommack” and “school,” his friend told him how Andrew Wommack was the founder of Charis Bible College and that the main campus was out in Colorado. As soon as he heard this, Johnny knew that’s where God was calling him and his wife to be. Jeannie had been pleading with God to do something, so when Johnny said they were going to Bible college, she knew that God was giving her the desires of her heart. They were excited about moving out to Colorado, but the excitement soon faded as Johnny fell back into his pattern of addiction once again. Two days before school started, he sat in his living room with a fifth of whiskey and a pile of cocaine, drowning in hate and self-pity. Jeannie knew that if they just made it to the school, God would move. So, she dragged Johnny in, but just as worship started, Johnny exploded. He yelled that none of this was real – Andrew was fake, the people there were fake, the school was phony. He stormed out of the school in a rage and started to walk home, but just as he reached the top of the stairs, he hears God say to him, “If you do this today, you’re going to die. Drugs and the devil are going to take you out if you leave here today.” Johnny was so angry because all he wanted to do was go home and get high, but he was stuck there at the top of the stairs. He decided to go back inside, and when he saw his wife and the other students worshipping God with abandon, he envied their freedom. He chose to lift his hands in praise and as he did, 30 years of rage and everything that had been choking him began to fall off. God told Johnny that He wasn’t mad at him. He never threw him away. Johnny was transformed in that moment. Johnny and Jeannie both graduated Charis Bible College and began working in the call center for Andrew Wommack Ministries, sharing the truth that changed their lives. Johnny’s life is nothing like it used to be. He hasn’t been depressed, full of rage or self-pity, nor has he had that driving desire to drink or get high. Thanks to our partners, one man who was trapped under addiction for years is now living in complete freedom – and he’s just one example of how Charis is changing the lives of students. Today Johnny is restored, his marriage is redeemed, him and Jeannie have purpose, and it’s thanks to the partners of Andrew Wommack Ministries and Charis Bible College. #andrewwommack #charisbiblecollege #johnnyrhodes #addiction #graceencounter

Topics

• Grace
• Peace
• Bible Study
• Overcoming Obstacles