My One Thing: Mike Quarles

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Transcript

Steve: Hey, guys! Steve here with Belt of Truth Ministries. I’ve got Mike Quarles on the line today. Mike is the director of Grace Walk Recovery Ministries and author of multiple books on recovery including Helping Others Overcome Addictions which he co-authored with Steve McVey. Mike, thanks for joining us. I’ll ask you what I’ve been asking a bunch of folks and that’s “What is the one piece of advice that you would give to somebody struggling with porn addiction?”

Mike: Well, the one piece of advice I would start with this, stop trying to do anything to overcome your addictions. Stop trying to quit. And the reason I say this is I struggled with alcoholism for eight long miserable nightmarish years and this was after I had graduated from Seminary and served in the Pastorate. And I’ve tried everything in the world. I mean just multitudes of everything’s anybody told me to do or I could find out to do. And then one morning, my wife had kind of kicked me out of the house and I was driving out-of-town to visit some friends, probably the last group of friends that would even have me. And I was listening to some tapes about Bill Gillum on Romans 6. I was driving alone just listening to it, actually with a hangover that day. And Gillum was saying, “Look,” he started off with the first verse of Romans 6, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin.” And then Gillum says, “Look you’re dead to sin. I know you don’t feel like it. You don’t look like it. You don’t act like it but that’s the truth of what the fact is.” And actually, he went on to quote Romans 6 “For you have died and you’re freed from sin. And you’re dead too.” And the light came on for me at that time. Then I realized that there was nothing to do that it’d all been done through the finished work of Christ. I’d actually been a Christian for 18 years at that time and realized there was nothing to do but believe the truth. I didn’t have to do anything. For the first time, I really understood and believed Galatians 2:20 that the own self that I was has been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lived in me. You know there really is a secret and a mystery and a key to living the Christian life free from sin. And that mystery, that key is revealed to us by God. He says in Colossians 1:27 that “Christ in you is the secret mystery. Christ in you is the hope of glory.” You know for 27 years, I’ve been doing this recovery ministry and I’ve co-authored five books of freedom from addiction, and the truth of the matter is that I have never seen anybody find any freedom from any kind of addiction unless they believe Galatians 2:20. I mean it’s really as simple as that. It’s such a simple, basic truth we have. I’ve learned it, quoted it probably a thousand times but when the lights came on that day for me, I actually believed that truth, I was free from addiction, and have been for 27 years this year.

Steve: Yeah. I totally agree with you. It’s interesting you say that believing Galatians 2:20 is the key. And it just reminded me of something that I know. Neil Anderson and Steve McVey, the authors that you’ve co-write with, both of them I’ve heard say in their books, and this may have come from you that a lot of times you go wait until they feel something before they believe it and it doesn’t work that way. Faith is saying “I’m going to choose to believe that. I’m trusting that the feelings will come.” And I know that was my experience, and yeah, you choose to believe the word of God and then you start to experience it.

Mike: Well, you’ve touched on the major problem right there. Everybody is trying to get to the point where they feel like it. I mean I realized that day when I heard the truth that we’ve done the same thing we accused the liberals of doing of trying to abasing our theology on our feelings and our experiences. And of course, our feelings and our experiences tell us that we’re not dead to sin. But the word of God says we are the finished work of Christ and says we are in. The hardest thing in the world to do is really believe that. I mean to this day, I don’t feel like I’m dead to sin but I really know that I am. And it’s proved true in my life for the last 27 years that I’ve been free from addiction and had a relationship with the Lord that I never had before the first 18 years of my Christian life.

Steve: That’s awesome! Thank you so much for sharing that with us. Tell people where they can find out more about you and your ministry and all that online.

Mike: Okay. My website is Freedfrom.wordpress.com. And so they can find out we have many books and resources there that they can go to on the store on the website. And in fact, if anybody wants to call me, my cell phone is 404-2755122. I’m always glad to help anybody who wants to learn a little bit more about the truth that sets you free.

Steve: Okay. Well, I’ll be sure to put all that information, the show notes. You sure you want me to put your cell phone in the show notes as well?

Mike: That’s fine.

Steve: Okay. Well, you may get some calls from all over.

Mike: Alright.

Steve: Thanks again for your time, Mike. I really appreciate it and hopefully, I’ll talk to you soon!

Mike: Thank you, Steve!

Steve: Okay, see you!