Hope For The Incarcerated--Johnny Rhodes Testimony

After several Return trips in and out of incarceration and various addictions, Johnny tells his story of experiencing God's Grace and deliverance.

You can write us at Remember the Prisoner Podcast 

C/O Calvary Church Many  
105 Peterson St  Many, LA 71449

Sincere apologies to those who might have written to our old address. Your mail was lost.

Transcript

Hope for the Incarcerated

A Conversation with Jack and Johnny Rhodes

Jack:
 Hello, everyone. This is Jack, and today I have a great friend with me who I believe is going to be a tremendous encouragement to you. His name is Johnny Rhodes.

Johnny can relate to what many of you are going through. He has experienced both the dark side of life and the victory that Christ brings. He is an overcomer today, but he wasn't always living in victory. He knows what it's like to be on the underside of life.

I've asked Johnny to share some of the most important truths he has learned—truths that I believe will encourage you as an offender or an incarcerated individual and help you allow the Lord to raise you up.

Before we begin, I'd like to pray.

Father, in Jesus' name, I lift up this broadcast to You. We know that apart from You we can do nothing. The good news is that we are not apart from You—we are in You, and You are in us. Unless You build the house, those who build it labor in vain. Lord, we simply want to be faithful and obedient. Your Word says that without faith it is impossible to please You. So we place our confidence in You, trusting that You are in control and that You will bless this time together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Johnny, why don't you share what the Lord has placed on your heart?

Johnny:
 Amen. Thank you, Jack. I appreciate the opportunity to be with you today.

To everyone listening, I greet you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that God will inspire hope in your heart and strengthen your faith.

I understand what it's like to be locked up.

For many years I struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism. During that time I was arrested eight times for felonies, convicted of four felonies, and spent nearly four years in jails and prisons.

That is not an easy way to live.

Part of that time I was already a Christian. I had been born again, filled with the Holy Spirit, and yet I was still trapped in addiction. Drugs and alcohol became the vehicle that repeatedly carried me back into trouble, back into jail, and back into prison.

Today I want to talk about hope.

There was a time when I had none.

Every time I was released from prison and placed on parole, it wasn't long before my thoughts, my decisions, and my behavior led me right back into the same destructive lifestyle.

I fought it.

I resisted it.

While I was incarcerated I prayed, fasted, and read my Bible.

But after I was released, I found myself repeating the same cycle all over again.

There were reasons for that.

But eventually I found hope.

That hope came through a fresh revelation of God's love.

No matter what condition we find ourselves in, we are never beyond the reach of God's grace.

I truly believed I was beyond His reach.

I was wrong.

Jesus Christ really did die on the cross for our sins.

He really was buried.

He really did rise from the dead on the third day.

He truly is the risen Savior.

When I think about that, I'm reminded that death itself could not hold Him.

Death pursues every one of us.

It pursues addicts.

It pursues alcoholics.

It pursues all humanity.

Yet death could not hold Jesus.

Hell could not defeat Him.

The grave could not contain Him.

He is alive today.

Because He lives, there is hope.

I'd like to turn to Romans chapter 4, because Abraham teaches us some remarkable lessons about hope.

Because Jesus died, shed His blood, and rose again, God has established spiritual truths for every believer.

When those truths became real in my own life—when I began to see myself the way God sees me—everything changed.

I stopped seeing myself as a hopeless crack addict.

I stopped seeing myself as a convicted felon with no future.

Instead, I began to understand that in Christ I am redeemed, born again, forgiven, restored, delivered, and blessed.

I am a child of God.

Jack:
 It just keeps getting better.

Johnny:
 It really does.

For many years—even after becoming a Christian—I still defined myself by my past.

I thought,

"Yes, I may be saved, but I'm still a crack addict. I'm still a convicted felon. I can't get a decent job. My life is ruined."

As long as I continued seeing myself that way, that's exactly how I lived.

But God renewed my mind through His Word.

I discovered that my past was no longer my identity.

My identity is found in Christ.

I learned that I am loved by God.

Accepted in the Beloved.

Completely forgiven because of Jesus Christ.

As those truths became real to me, everything began to change.

The chains of addiction were broken.

Alcohol.

Drugs.

Sexual immorality.

Every stronghold that had held me captive lost its grip.

Today I walk in freedom.

That old vehicle that always carried me back to prison has been demolished.

I don't travel that road anymore.

Praise God.

Let's look now at Romans chapter 4.

Part 2 – Hope Against Hope (Romans 4)

Johnny:

Let's read a portion of Romans 4:17–21.

"As it is written, 'I have made you a father of many nations'... God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did... who, contrary to hope, in hope believed... He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform."

Amen.

There is so much in this passage.

When these truths became real to my heart, I began walking in the freedom Jesus Christ purchased for me.

Verse 18 says that Abraham, "contrary to hope, in hope believed."

At first that sounds confusing.

How can someone be contrary to hope and yet believe in hope at the same time?

The answer is found in understanding the word hope.

Biblical hope means a confident expectation of an outcome.

In itself, hope is neutral.

You can expect something good.

Or you can expect something bad.

Both are forms of expectation.

In Abraham's situation, everything in the natural said there was no possibility that God's promise could ever come to pass.

He was nearly one hundred years old.

Sarah was ninety.

She had been barren all her life.

Yet God had promised that Abraham would become the father of many nations.

Naturally speaking, that was impossible.

So Abraham chose to reject the expectation that came from his circumstances.

He stood against that hope.

Instead, he embraced the hope that came from God's promise.

He believed that if God had spoken it, God was able to accomplish it.

That changed everything.

Jack:

That's good.

Johnny:

Now let's bring that into our own lives.

For thirty years I lived in addiction.

Crack cocaine.

Alcohol.

Jail.

Prison.

Homeless shelters.

The streets.

Everything around me told me there was no way out.

Psychiatrists told me,

"Johnny, you're too far gone."

Counselors told me,

"You'll never beat this."

People said,

"It's in your bones. You'll always be an addict."

Eventually, I believed them.

After all, I had tried over and over again to quit.

I wanted to stop.

I wanted to change.

But every attempt ended the same way.

So my expectation became,

"This is who I am."

"This is how I'll always live."

"This is how I'll always die."

Then something happened.

I encountered the love of God in a fresh way.

The Lord revealed to me that He truly loved me.

He showed me that His forgiveness wasn't partial—it was complete.

He showed me that through the New Covenant and the blood of Jesus Christ, His power lived within me.

Not merely to forgive me...

but to transform me.

That revelation changed my entire perspective.

Instead of fixing my attention on my failures, I began focusing on God's promises.

Like Abraham, my attention shifted from my circumstances to God's faithfulness.

That change didn't happen overnight.

But once my heart was anchored in God's promise instead of my past, everything began changing.

The chains of addiction were broken.

The consequences of my old life no longer defined my future.

God began pouring His favor into areas that had been devastated for years.

Today, my life doesn't even resemble the life I once lived.

People who knew me years ago hardly recognize me.

Not because I became a better person.

But because Jesus Christ transformed me.

Hope changed my life.

For years my expectation had been,

"One day I'll be back smoking crack."

"One day I'll be back drinking whiskey."

"One day I'll be back in prison."

That was my future because that's what I expected.

But when God revealed His love, my expectation changed.

Now I believe God has a purpose for my life.

I believe He has a future for me.

I believe His plans are good.

And that's exactly what I want every man listening today to understand.

You may be in jail.

You may be in prison.

You may feel like your future has already been written.

But there is a God who loves you.

A God who is rich in mercy.

A God who forgives completely.

More than that—

He redeems.

He heals.

He restores.

He transforms.

He doesn't simply pardon sinners.

He makes them new.

Jesus Christ is our only hope.

And I stand before you today as living proof that His grace still changes lives.

Jack:

The cross is where our forgiveness is found.

There is no other source of forgiveness.

And because Jesus was raised from the dead, we have hope—not only for eternal life, but for a completely new life beginning today.

His resurrection means that the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead now lives within every believer.

That gives us confidence that one day our bodies will be transformed.

But it also gives us confidence that our lives can begin changing right now.

Hope for the Incarcerated

Part 3 – Fixing Our Eyes on Christ

Johnny:

Amen.

That's exactly right.

Romans 4 goes on to say that Abraham "was not weak in faith."

Why?

Because "he did not consider his own body, already dead... nor the deadness of Sarah's womb."

That statement changed my life.

The word consider means more than simply recognizing a fact.

Abraham certainly knew he was old.

He knew Sarah was old.

He wasn't pretending those realities didn't exist.

The word means that he did not fix his attention on those circumstances. He refused to make them the focus of his thinking.

That's an important distinction.

There are circumstances in life that are very real.

We don't deny them.

We don't pretend they aren't there.

But we also don't allow them to become the center of our attention.

Abraham acknowledged the facts, but he fixed his eyes on God's promise.

That's where faith lives.

For those of us who have been incarcerated, there are plenty of circumstances that try to define us.

Some people say,

"You'll never change."

"No one will hire you."

"You'll always be known as a criminal."

"Your life is over."

Those voices are real.

Those obstacles are real.

But they are not the final word.

God has spoken a greater word over those who belong to Christ.

When I stopped staring at my failures and started looking at Jesus, everything began to change.

My faith grew.

Not because my circumstances immediately changed...

but because my focus changed.

The promises of God became greater than the problems surrounding me.

Jack:

Amen.

Johnny:

Paul says Abraham "did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God."

I love that phrase—

"strengthened in faith."

Faith grows stronger as we continue looking to Christ.

Unbelief grows stronger when we continually focus on our problems.

The object of our attention matters.

If all I think about is my past...

my failures...

my addictions...

my disappointments...

then discouragement becomes inevitable.

But when I continually look to Jesus...

to His promises...

to His faithfulness...

my confidence begins to grow.

That isn't positive thinking.

It's biblical faith.

Biblical faith isn't pretending life is easy.

Biblical faith is believing that God is greater than whatever we're facing.

Verse 21 says Abraham was

"fully convinced that what God had promised, He was also able to perform."

Notice where Abraham's confidence rested.

Not in himself.

Not in Sarah.

Not in favorable circumstances.

His confidence rested entirely in God.

That's where our confidence must rest as well.

When I finally understood that, I stopped trying to change myself through my own determination.

For years I relied on willpower.

I made promises.

I started over.

I failed.

Then I promised myself I would never fail again.

And I failed again.

Eventually I realized that my confidence had been misplaced.

Victory isn't produced by human determination.

Victory comes through trusting the One who has already overcome.

Jesus Christ never asks us to become stronger than our addiction.

He calls us to trust the One who is stronger than every addiction.

That changes everything.

Accessing God's Grace

One of the greatest truths I've learned is this:

We access God's grace by faith.

Grace is God's power at work in our lives.

It isn't merely His forgiveness.

It is His ability working within us to accomplish what we could never accomplish on our own.

By faith we receive His promises.

By faith we receive His strength.

By faith we receive His peace.

And by faith we begin walking in the freedom Christ purchased for us.

I'm standing here today as living proof that God's promises work.

They're not theories.

They're not religious slogans.

They're reality.

No matter how dark your circumstances appear...

no matter how many mistakes you've made...

no matter how many times you've failed...

Jesus Christ is still able to redeem your life.

Don't misunderstand me.

I'm not saying we ignore reality.

If you've broken the law, the consequences are real.

If relationships have been damaged, healing often takes time.

If trust has been lost, it usually has to be rebuilt.

But we don't fix our minds on those realities.

We fix our hearts on Christ.

He is the One who forgives.

He is the One who restores.

He is the One who transforms.

As we continue trusting Him, He begins renewing our minds through His Word.

Little by little...

day by day...

our thinking changes.

Our desires begin changing.

Our choices begin changing.

Our lives begin changing.

And before long, people who knew us before Christ begin seeing a completely different person.

Not because we've become perfect.

But because Christ is faithfully transforming us into His image.

That's the hope I want every man listening today to embrace.

No matter where you are...

no matter where you've been...

Jesus Christ has not given up on you.

And if you will place your faith in Him and continue fixing your eyes on His promises, He will do in your life what only He can do.

He is faithful.

And what He has promised...

He is able to perform.

Hope for the Incarcerated

Part 3 – Fixing Our Eyes on Christ

Johnny:

Amen.

That's exactly right.

Romans 4 goes on to say that Abraham "was not weak in faith."

Why?

Because "he did not consider his own body, already dead... nor the deadness of Sarah's womb."

That statement changed my life.

The word consider means more than simply recognizing a fact.

Abraham certainly knew he was old.

He knew Sarah was old.

He wasn't pretending those realities didn't exist.

The word means that he did not fix his attention on those circumstances. He refused to make them the focus of his thinking.

That's an important distinction.

There are circumstances in life that are very real.

We don't deny them.

We don't pretend they aren't there.

But we also don't allow them to become the center of our attention.

Abraham acknowledged the facts, but he fixed his eyes on God's promise.

That's where faith lives.

For those of us who have been incarcerated, there are plenty of circumstances that try to define us.

Some people say,

"You'll never change."

"No one will hire you."

"You'll always be known as a criminal."

"Your life is over."

Those voices are real.

Those obstacles are real.

But they are not the final word.

God has spoken a greater word over those who belong to Christ.

When I stopped staring at my failures and started looking at Jesus, everything began to change.

My faith grew.

Not because my circumstances immediately changed...

but because my focus changed.

The promises of God became greater than the problems surrounding me.

Jack:

Amen.

Johnny:

Paul says Abraham "did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God."

I love that phrase—

"strengthened in faith."

Faith grows stronger as we continue looking to Christ.

Unbelief grows stronger when we continually focus on our problems.

The object of our attention matters.

If all I think about is my past...

my failures...

my addictions...

my disappointments...

then discouragement becomes inevitable.

But when I continually look to Jesus...

to His promises...

to His faithfulness...

my confidence begins to grow.

That isn't positive thinking.

It's biblical faith.

Biblical faith isn't pretending life is easy.

Biblical faith is believing that God is greater than whatever we're facing.

Verse 21 says Abraham was

"fully convinced that what God had promised, He was also able to perform."

Notice where Abraham's confidence rested.

Not in himself.

Not in Sarah.

Not in favorable circumstances.

His confidence rested entirely in God.

That's where our confidence must rest as well.

When I finally understood that, I stopped trying to change myself through my own determination.

For years I relied on willpower.

I made promises.

I started over.

I failed.

Then I promised myself I would never fail again.

And I failed again.

Eventually I realized that my confidence had been misplaced.

Victory isn't produced by human determination.

Victory comes through trusting the One who has already overcome.

Jesus Christ never asks us to become stronger than our addiction.

He calls us to trust the One who is stronger than every addiction.

That changes everything.

Accessing God's Grace

One of the greatest truths I've learned is this:

We access God's grace by faith.

Grace is God's power at work in our lives.

It isn't merely His forgiveness.

It is His ability working within us to accomplish what we could never accomplish on our own.

By faith we receive His promises.

By faith we receive His strength.

By faith we receive His peace.

And by faith we begin walking in the freedom Christ purchased for us.

I'm standing here today as living proof that God's promises work.

They're not theories.

They're not religious slogans.

They're reality.

No matter how dark your circumstances appear...

no matter how many mistakes you've made...

no matter how many times you've failed...

Jesus Christ is still able to redeem your life.

Don't misunderstand me.

I'm not saying we ignore reality.

If you've broken the law, the consequences are real.

If relationships have been damaged, healing often takes time.

If trust has been lost, it usually has to be rebuilt.

But we don't fix our minds on those realities.

We fix our hearts on Christ.

He is the One who forgives.

He is the One who restores.

He is the One who transforms.

As we continue trusting Him, He begins renewing our minds through His Word.

Little by little...

day by day...

our thinking changes.

Our desires begin changing.

Our choices begin changing.

Our lives begin changing.

And before long, people who knew us before Christ begin seeing a completely different person.

Not because we've become perfect.

But because Christ is faithfully transforming us into His image.

That's the hope I want every man listening today to embrace.

No matter where you are...

no matter where you've been...

Jesus Christ has not given up on you.

And if you will place your faith in Him and continue fixing your eyes on His promises, He will do in your life what only He can do.

He is faithful.

And what He has promised...

He is able to perform.

Hope for the Incarcerated

Part 4 – A Living Testimony of God's Grace

Jack:

The cross is where our forgiveness is found. There is no other source of forgiveness.

And because Jesus was raised from the dead, we have hope—not only for eternal life, but for a completely new life beginning today.

His resurrection means that the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead now lives within every believer.

That gives us confidence that one day our bodies will be transformed, and it also gives us confidence that our lives can begin changing right now.

Johnny:

Amen. That's exactly right.

Abraham wasn't weak in faith because he refused to fix his attention on his circumstances. He acknowledged that he and Sarah were old, but he didn't allow those facts to become greater than God's promise.

The same principle applies to us.

There are real circumstances we face after prison.

There may be rejection.

There may be broken relationships.

There may be difficulty finding employment.

People may remember our past.

Those realities exist.

But they do not determine our future.

Our future is determined by the promises of God.

When I stopped focusing on everything that was wrong with my life and began focusing on Jesus Christ, my faith became stronger.

It's by faith that we access the grace of God.

It's by faith that we receive His promises.

And I can tell you from personal experience—it works.

The grace of God is real.

No matter how hopeless your situation may seem, don't allow your circumstances to become the focus of your life.

Acknowledge them, yes.

But fix your eyes on Christ.

As you continue trusting Him, He begins doing what only He can do.

He forgives.

He redeems.

He gives eternal life.

He renews our minds through His Word.

And then He begins transforming every area of our lives.

I have seen Him do it.

My marriage has been restored.

My family relationships have been restored.

Today I have the privilege of sharing the love of Jesus Christ with others.

Instead of stealing from people so I could support my addiction, I now have the privilege of giving them something that can change their lives forever.

What a transformation.

What an amazing Savior.

I love Jesus Christ with all my heart.

He saved me.

He set me free.

And if He could do that for me, He can do it for you.

Jack:

Amen.

Things certainly are different.

And I'm glad I met you on this side of your testimony instead of having to keep my hand on my wallet while you walked by.

Johnny:

(Laughing.)

Praise the Lord!

Me too.

Glory to God.

He has been so good to me.

Jack:

Johnny, thank you for being with us today.

I know this conversation is going to encourage many people who are listening.

We'd love to have you back again before long.

Johnny:

Thank you, Jack.

It's been an honor.

I appreciate the opportunity to share what the Lord has done in my life.

My prayer is that everyone listening will discover the same hope that transformed me.

Jesus Christ truly is enough.

Jack:

If you'd like to contact us, we'd love to hear from you.

You can write to:

Jack
RTP
c/o Calvary Church
Many, Louisiana 71449

May God richly bless you, and remember this:

No matter where you've been...

No matter what you've done...

No matter how impossible your circumstances may appear...

There is hope in Jesus Christ.

Because He lives, your story does not have to end where it began.