: 0:01

It's time now to get the hell out of your life. A weekly broadcast with real people sharing real struggles and offering real hope. Today's show will encourage, inspire and empower you to face life's challenges with a bold confidence and renewed hope. Now let's join our host, ron Myers. The promoter.

Ron Meyers: 0:22

Hello, my friends, it is so good to be with you today. Are you ready for some encouragement, some empowerment? Well, my story today is all about that, because it focuses on something that is so powerful to each of us forgiveness, redemption, how much we're loved and the freedom we have when we walk in the finished work of Jesus. My guest today, bobby Hayden. He was a rock and roller and even as a child, people knew he was destined for great things when he appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. And after you hear Bobby's story, I will share some things to remind you how free, how forgiven and how much you are loved. A supercharged monologue. But first, bobby, what's your story?

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 1:20

Well, at a very, very young age, five or six years old, I started piano lessons and I started climbing up on the piano stool and I wrote a song called the Son of Abraham. I was raised Catholic and, to tell you the truth, at that age I didn't know Abraham from Peyton Manning, but for some reason I wrote this song called the Son of Abraham and my mother heard me singing this particular song on the piano every day. And then she got out the Frank Sinatra records, the Judy Garland records, the Al Josen records, and she started training me every day after school to sing along with these records, because she was a big fan of Judy Garland and all the Broadway shows and the old standards. So I started singing these songs around my hometown of Evansville, indiana. And one thing led to another. I went to Chicago and I was runner running up on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour. And one thing led to another and we found ourselves in New York at the Johnny Carson Show, the Milton Burroughs Show.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 2:35

I came to Nashville, I did the Grand Ole Opry and I was a legend in my own mind by the time I was 10 years old singing these old standards. And then the Beatles came on, the Ed Sullivan show and I sit there on that Sunday night and I said mom and dad, that's what I want to do and they didn't agree with that decision. So they kind of pulled the plug a year later on my musical career and because I I had a big, big void to fill from that euphoric feeling of show business and traveling the country and I became addicted to applause at a very young age and, as you might have heard or you might know, it doesn't really work out good for a lot of child stars. They usually end up going through something. So I ran away at 16, started playing in rock and roll bands, wound up in Hollywood in 1980, and then the party started A big party huh.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 3:36

They call it the Glitterfield Halls of MTV.

Speaker 4: 3:40

Wow.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 3:51

And I moved in with some guys in Hollywood in 1980, and they went to work for Ozzy Osbourne. Wow, and I played all those gigs around town with all the well-known bands Poison, motley Crue, guns N' Roses. Randy Castile played for Ozzy for 13 years and so the touring started. The party started and in the 80s there was a pandemic cocaine problem and we were snorting cocaine. It was a social thing. However, I didn't know the seeds that I was planting. Same thing with alcohol. The drinking became a social problem, but later on it became alcoholism. The cocaine became an addiction. The lifestyle became an addiction. My life was all about me, ron, me, me and me, and it led to a very, very dark place.

Ron Meyers: 4:51

Listeners, if you just tuned in. Bobby Hayden Jr, a child prodigy, started as just a rock star on TV as a youngster, grew up into many of the national acts touring with them, and then one day somebody introduces you to heroin, wasn't it in Detroit?

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 5:10

Yeah, it was the late 80s and the pandemic cocaine problem had actually led into trying to relax at the end of the day, and the heroin became popular. It became popular in Seattle, it became popular in Los Angeles and it was a way of just unwinding and sedating yourself from all the hoopla and the gigs and the accolades. And it was life in the fast lane and all of a sudden this heroin kind of slowed it down. But in the meantime the addiction that it brought it took over my life. Heroin became my mama, my daddy, my girlfriend, my career, and the people in Los Angeles recognized this and a lot of those people gave up on me.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 6:01

So the gigs throughout the 80s got smaller and smaller and by the 90s I went to Michigan because the classic rock scene became big around the country. So I was doing a lot of classic rock shows with Mountain, and Quiet Riot was actually considered classic rock, considered classic rock. And that's where I became addicted to heroin in Detroit and ended up taking a bus back to Los Angeles in 1998 and went down into Skid Row, purchased some heroin and went to sleep behind a row of bushes and stayed there behind that row of bushes for actually a year before I got me a cardboard box.

Ron Meyers: 6:44

So you lived behind a bush for a year and then you got a cardboard box and lived in that. For how many years?

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 6:51

I was downtown Los Angeles, in Skid Row, for nearly eight years and I would like to take a minute and just paint a picture of the darkness that I was set free from. When you're homeless, ron, you don't bathe for a year at a time. You stand on the side of the freeway with a sign that says I will work for food and you stand there all day, all afternoon and most of the night, to feed this addiction of heroin. There's a big downtown Los Angeles. Heroin is very, very easy to get. It's sold on every street corner and when you're addicted to heroin you have to be close to it. So it just takes over your life.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 7:36

I injected heroin eight to 10 times a day. My arms were so scarred with needle injections that I had to revert to my legs. So I would take the needle, stick it right through my blue jeans into the muscles of my legs every day, five to ten times a day. Well, my body was totally scarred. I had poison oozing out of my legs. Bus drivers would see me on a corner waiting for the bus and they would notice who I was and they would drive right on by. So I started waiting on buses that never came and when I would go to the hospital, they would for such things as scabies or fleas from sleeping on broken-down mattresses. They would make me stand on the sidewalk.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 8:26

So this idea of life I had in the 80s of being this rock god for lack of a better term. I had became a broken man pushing a shopping cart with aluminum cans, standing and begging on the side of the road for eight years and one day, near death. A homeless man came up to me and said Bobby, you are dying, you need to pray in the name of Jesus. And Ron, I looked at him and said dude, I know who God is, I'm a Catholic. And he said well, bobby, how's that working out for you? And right then he pulled out that Bible and started showing me verses about speaking the name of Jesus out my mouth. He told me, ron, that there would be a cashless society one day. And that's what got my attention, because all my dealings with people on the side of the road to get money for my addiction was always cash. So I thought to myself wow, if there's no cash, how in the world am I going to afford my heroin that I live off of and keeps me moving around? And so God used just the right things to capture my imagination to find out more about this man named Jesus.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 9:47

So this man named Mark that was talking to me came by my camp every night and I ended up calling him Jesus. I would ask my friends. I said, hey, have you seen Jesus tonight? And they go no, he hadn't been around a couple days. And then a couple days later he'd come back and we would read verses, just easy verses. Like I am the way, the truth and the light. No one goes to the Father except through the Son. So this word of God was getting on the inside of this broken, heroin homeless man myself. And one day, in a dumpster I was hiding from the police and I was injecting heroin and I was eating pizza garbage out of the dumpster and the ants were biting me on the inside of my throat and I couldn't scratch them. Ron and I had came to the end of my rope, like where God's office usually is, and I cried out in the name of Jesus, send me some hope, send you some hope. I just needed some hope. I was broken. I couldn't do it anymore.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 10:51

And the only thing that I could virtually yell out of my mouth while I was breaking in this dumpster and crying my eyes out was if you're real, in the name of Jesus, send me some hope, Because that's what this guy had told me to speak his name out my mouth.

Ron Meyers: 11:08

We want to get back to how you met, how you were transformed, but that song, the Same, is Beautiful. Tell us a little bit about that song that you wrote.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 11:15

Well, I was in Indianapolis. I came back to Indianapolis to visit my family. All the relationships were renewed. I actually met Jesus in 2008,. And I was saved.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 11:31

And when I got back to Indiana, I continued my walk and my music just started changing. From writing songs like Baby, baby, you're my Baby, baby, honey, honey, you're my Honey Honey, I just dove a little deeper and these songs started coming. Dove a little deeper and these songs started coming. And the clergy around town and people that have mentored me, they started coming to my house and they said, bobby, where are these songs coming from? And I told him, I just.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 12:01

And one man told me one day. He said, bobby, when there's an earthly brokenness, there's a heavenly openness, and I never forgot that. And when God does a big thing in you, he does it because he's got a big thing to do through you. And my life flipped upside down. I told this story on many Christian TV programs Our Power 700 Club, starts and Farm, the Ministry, cardboard Box, ministries. And it just hasn't stopped, ron, when it looks real dark to someone out there, what it actually does, ron, it causes one to start looking for the light switch, and that light switch in my case was flat out Jesus.

Ron Meyers: 12:49

So that hope that came to you that day in a dumpster and transformed your life and that was back in 2008, you said is when you came to Jesus.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 12:59

Yes, and I might as well say this. I've had no triggers. I haven't had a drink of alcohol. My heart did a 180, and the desires of my heart changed. And it all started just by walking through that door that said Jesus on it. It just changed my way of thinking. Revelation started coming to me about things that I missed and where I actually was on this planet, and it just I just got to know. Let me just back up and just tell you what really happened In 2007,.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 13:36

While in that dumpster, I cried out in the name of Jesus, send me some hope. The very next day, a man knocked on my cardboard box by the name of Mr Esperanza, and he said I'd like to put you on a bus to a rehab in Phoenix, arizona. I got on that bus, ron, and when I got to that rehab, they told me that Esperanza in Spanish actually means hope, and that's the way God communicates with you, way God communicates with you. He started showing me beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was pursuing me and that he loved me, and I just started reading the word and finding out. I didn't understand a lot about the Bible, ron, but I noticed there were some red parts in the back and I just started reading them red parts and when I got to that rehab they had me on 140 milligrams of methadone One day. I just decided you know what, I'm not going to take this methadone every day and I started decreasing on my own. 30 days later I was cigarette-free, alcohol-free, methadone-free for the first time in 40 years.

Ron Meyers: 14:45

Hallelujah.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 14:46

I was 100% clean. I was 55 years old when this happened.

Ron Meyers: 14:51

And you are a fireball for Jesus today. You haven't turned back. You have a ministry called Cardboard Ministries and we'll give that contact information in just a little bit. But, bobby, there's people listening right now that are dealing with addiction of some sort in their life and they have no hope or no even time to mess with God, they think. But now they're divinely listening to this program. Talk to them. What would you tell that person?

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 15:15

I would tell that person to simply open that Bible and get alone with Jesus and just learn about Jesus. Read the scriptures, read the Proverbs. When I read verses like my people are being destroyed for lack of knowledge. I was being destroyed and the knowledge I was missing was about Jesus, and he'll give you back the years that have been wasted. All these verses started speaking directly to me. But if you don't open that book and surround yourself with people that know the real Jesus and through them Jesus will love that hell right out of you.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 15:59

So many times I wish that I could just start over and reprogram and reboot my brain so I didn't know anything about drugs. I was looking for that freedom, and where the Lord is, there is freedom, and who the Son sets free is truly free indeed, and I found out who I was in him and that he was my dad. It's as easy, ron, as you just need to find out who your daddy is, who's your daddy, and once you do, your thinking starts changing. And remember correction is not rejection. See, I had that mixed up. I thought correction that people were rejecting me, but it's actually a better way for God to show you how to deal with things.

Ron Meyers: 16:45

Bobby Hayden Jr, a rock star, heroin addict, today on fire for Jesus, has a ministry Cardboard Box Ministries. How do they find more information about you and your music, Bobby?

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 16:59

We're on social media cardboardboxministriesorg Facebook. Bobby Hayden Jr. It's very easy to find on Facebook. I do a lot of churches, a lot of shelters. All I do now, ron, is just show up with this inside of me and it's as easy as just putting your arm around a guy and say, hey, listen, it's going to be all right and he will love the hell out of them people right through me and it has nothing to do with me, it's all him.

Ron Meyers: 17:32

One of the questions that I ask all the guests is how do you get the hell out of your life?

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 17:39

It's a one step program. Admit to yourself you may have missed a memo or two and you find out about this man 2,000 years ago by the name of Jesus, who went to the cross and gave his life so that we will have a life more abundantly. And if you can receive that love, it's a done deal. He will love that hell out of you and he starts eliminating your termites Because, ron, one thing I do know for sure we all got a lot of termites.

Ron Meyers: 18:12

When I return. Five tips on how to have a supercharged day.

: 18:18

You're listening to Get the Hell Out of your Life with your host, ron Myers. Real stories, real struggles and real hope.

Speaker 4: 18:27

In life on earth, we will have troubles and challenges, some more serious than others. Being a follower of Christ doesn't mean life suddenly becomes a bed of roses, but Jesus is always there to help us get through it all. My name is Mark and this is the Journey. Several years ago my wife was diagnosed with cancer. We walked through it together, through doctor's appointments that never really gave us the news we hoped for. It was excruciating watching what cancer would do to her body over the next six years, and even more heartbreaking to know my son and daughter would lose their mom. I wrestled with God for two years after she died, trying to understand why he would take her from us. People commented often on how strong I was. Looking back, I realize it was Jesus who carried me through those days of sorrow. He was my refuge and strength. I didn't know what to do except to call out to him.

Speaker 4: 19:25

In the Psalms, david referred to the Lord as a strong tower. He says in Psalm 141, I call to you, lord, come quickly to me, hear me. When I call to you, my eyes are fixed on you. In you I take refuge. Life is tough and we all encounter difficult circumstances, but Jesus is our strength. He's our peace. When the storms of life come roaring in, he's a high tower where we can take safe refuge. David said my eyes are fixed on you, lord.

: 20:20

Good advice for us today, the Journey.

Speaker 5: 20:25

Does God speak to us today? If so, what does he sound like? Thundering roars, crashing waves, a booming megaphone? Maybe, sometimes, but maybe it's not quite as Hollywood, dramatic as all that. Maybe it's a little more simple. John 10, 27 says my sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me. In the midst of all the noise and questions, god is speaking and we can hear his voice. We just need to learn to recognize it. So what does he sound like? He sounds like love, like reconciliation, like kindness, wisdom, hope, truth. Do you know those sounds Then? Maybe you hear His voice more often than you think. Maybe you're being led by Him more than you realize. Maybe God is speaking to you and you actually are listening. You just didn't know it.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 21:38

The time of how you're living will change it.

: 21:41

Welcome back listeners. Get the hell out of your life. Get the hell out of your life.

Ron Meyers: 21:52

Welcome back listeners. Here are five truths that, if you focus on these as you start your day, you can have a supercharged day. Number one focus on total forgiveness. Remember that you are totally forgiven past, present and future. Remember that you are totally forgiven past, present and future. Hebrews 10.14 tells us. For by one offering, he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. This truth means that, as a believer, you are fully forgiven and sanctified and you can rest in the assurance of your perfect and eternal relationship with God.

Ron Meyers: 22:26

2. You are a new creation in Christ, with a new heart and spirit. Second Corinthians 517 tells us. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is past and behold, the new has come. This truth emphasizes the transformative power of being in Christ. As a believer, you are not defined by your past or your old self. Instead, you have been made new, with a new identity and a new heart. This truth means you are entirely accepted and loved by God.

Ron Meyers: 23:02

Number three freedom from the law. You are free from the law and its demands because you are under grace, not law. Romans 6.14 tells us, for sin shall no longer be your master because you are not under the law, but under grace. This truth highlights the freedom believers have from the power of sin. Being under grace means that you are no longer bound by the law's demands or sin's dominion. Instead, you live in the freedom and the empowerment that grace provides. Number four union with Christ. You are one with Christ and nothing can separate you from his love. Romans 8, 38, 39 tells us. For I am convinced that nothing, neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. This truth offers you assurance of the unbreakable bond between you and God's love.

Ron Meyers: 24:16

Number five empowered by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in you, empowering you to live out your true identity and bear the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5.22.23 tells us that. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. This verse describes the qualities that the Holy Spirit produces in the life of a believer. This fruit reflects the character of Christ and is a testament to the transformative power of his presence in your life. Well, friends, if you focus on those five truths each day, you can have a supercharged day. How do you get the hell out of your life?

Speaker 5: 25:05

Get on your knees and cry out to the Lord. He hears you, right where you are.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 25:10

How do you get the hell out of?

Ron Meyers: 25:10

your life, well, you replace it with Jesus. We got to be born again, born of the Spirit, and that's by trusting Jesus.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 25:16

Christ, turning from our sins and trusting Jesus. You find out about this man by the name of Jesus, who went to the cross and gave his life so that we will have a life more abundantly, and if you can receive that love, he will love that hell out of you. You trust in him and you let him love the hell right out of you.

Ron Meyers: 25:35

How do you get the hell out of your life? Oh gosh, jesus, jesus.

Bobby Hayden Jr.: 25:39

Jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

Ron Meyers: 25:44

No one comes to the Father except through him. So how do you get the hell out of your life? Record a voice memo and email it to me, ron, at the promoter dot org, and you can help encourage a person listening to get the hell out of their life.

Speaker 4: 26:03

Ron, we'll be back in a moment to wrap up today's conversation. We want to encourage you today with God's promise to you. It comes from the book of Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and the future. That's God's promise to you when you choose to commit your plans and future to him Now back to Ron.

Ron Meyers: 26:36

Well, friends, my time is up. Thank you so much for joining me today. Share this program with your friends. It's on any podcast platform. It's called Get the Hell Out of your Life. I'll be back next week with another great episode. In the meantime, remember this I love you, Jesus loves you, and when you give Jesus your heart, you not only get the hell out of your life, life gets good. Give the hell out. Give the hell out.

: 27:07

Give the hell out of your life. Today's show is proudly underwritten by the Christmas City Gift Show. Mark your calendars for November 7th through the 9th and experience the magic inside the Christmas City Gift Show inside the Mississippi Coast Convention Center located on the beach in Biloxi, mississippi. For more information, visit christmascitygiftshowcom. If you would like to be a guest and share your story of God's amazing grace, visit our website, thepromoterorg and click the Share your Story tab button. Thanks for listening, and if you would like to listen to previous episodes, click on the podcast tab at thepromoterorg. Join us next week for another edition of Get the Hell Out of your Life Real stories, real struggles and real hope.