God bless you. Thank you so much for joining us. You're joining Steve and myself as we gather across the mics today. And Steve is bringing a big word a big word repentance, repentance to the table, wherever you are, you can find us on multiple platforms. We thank you so much for sharing and following and just looking and listening and everything that goes along with these podcasts. A really interesting way of reaching people is the spoken word and it's always been around but we thank God that we're able to encourage him to guide and to lead and however you look at that, so Steve is with us for these 45 minutes and we'll see what God has for us as he says afternoon now. God bless Steve we're in it's over to you, my friend.
Steve:Got to look at Repentance but not so much repentance to ward salvation, but repentance as a Christian, in turn how we have to stay in a repentant Yeah, condition,
Reverend Ben Cooper:turning away from sin.
Steve:Well, yeah, turn away from sin. But primarily, the idea of the repentant condition for the Christian Yes, it is turning away from sin, but it's turning towards God. It's constantly looking at him. So that if we do stumble, and by stumbling, we turn away from Him, we make sure that we turn back to him. Repentance is either the turning towards God or returning back to God. If we look at repentance in the Old Testament and up through to the Gospels, when Jesus was saying, Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand and John the Baptist, basically what they were saying is get back to God returned to God, I love that ignore what you're hearing, ignore. basically ignore the Pharisees, which is basically what John sent you like, you bunch of vipers, he tells you. The ideal defense about the idea from both the Lord and from John the Baptist was get back to God ignore Man, forget about man, get back to God, return to God return to God. And then when the word goes out to the Gentiles, we see something very interesting. We find that the Gentiles are included. Jesus, in actual fact, in Isaiah is promised, giving you the Lord says to him, to give you the nation of Israel is insufficient, I will give you the nations of the world for your inheritance. But there's something interesting about repentance that probably not a lot of people, not a lot of people notice. But repentance is actually a grace of God says that He wants all men everywhere. Yeah, to repent.
Reverend Ben Cooper:So is it a position that we are in and we should be in? Majority of our life? People might go well, I understand his repentance, as you might have said about turning away from sin. And I'm not saying but then you enter areas of pride and unforgiveness. So there's always a position of Repentance isn't there? Yeah, that's right. If you can't be perfect, you're
Steve:looking at God. You're seeking the Lord. He's talking to you through His Word. He's showing you things in his life. So he's showing you things in your life, which he doesn't want, which you're not necessarily conscious of. And so he starts wiggling these things out. One of the problems that we deal with constantly is pride. Pride is a big one. It really is. It really is, it's and it's only as good reveals things in his word that we that we're able to deal with these things, otherwise, we just kind of spun off down the road, and everything's alright. So I'm gonna read a couple of these. This is from x 5x, chapter five. Yeah, and verses 29 through 32. But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you murdered by hanging on a tree, him God has exalted to His right hand, to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him. So we see that repentance is a gift from God to Israel, that they might turn back to him. Again, in x 11. We see the same sort of thing but this time it's not indepted Gentiles, and we picked up
Reverend Ben Cooper:the book of James,
Steve:notice his accident, oh, sorry. And we'll pick it up 15. And as I began to speak, this is preacher, I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning, then I remember the word of the Lord, how he said, John, indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. If therefore God gave them the same gift as he gave us, when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was either I could withstand God, when I heard these things, that when I heard these things, they became silent and they glorified God's saying, then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life. So this, this is a part of the greatest part of the call, this is part of salvation, that it's not something that you dream up. This is a gift from God, given to us. And finally, just to kind of overthink the putting a little bit but just to underline it and understand if we got to two Timothy, two Timothy, and two, it's 24, through 26. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all able to teach patience in humility, correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and strike the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. We understand that repentance is given by God, yes, I called your men to repent. But like all of these commands, if we look at the commands of Jesus, when He says, you know, looking upon a woman, you've already committed adultery, if you've got hatred in your heart, so all the commands that He commands us, they are beyond our ability to, to achieve to achieve, we can't yet know if we think we can we fool ourselves. And so we come back to God, and we say, Lord, I'm a sinner, and I can't, and I need your help. I can't do this. I understand. I understand that your laws are good. I understand your commandments are good understand the richness and the truth and the wonder of them. But I can't meet your demands I can't rise to and I need your grace in your your mercy to be able to find gracing you to live this life that you command.
Reverend Ben Cooper:So the setting of the bar, yes. for setting the bar is impossible.
Steve:Yes, that it is impossible. That's the point. Is it impossible? Yeah. Certainly church, Christ.
Reverend Ben Cooper:That's exactly the meaning of it. And then you'll hear people go, Well, if he's got he wouldn't do that sort of thing. Well, he would. And the other area of what we're looking at here, is that you could put I can hear people saying it, I can see them actually saying it right now. They're listening to this and that people that I know, I've heard him actually say this, that it's impossible to do. Yeah, I know, that's impossible to do. But by His grace and His mercy, all things are possible to a degree, aren't they? But it's recognizing that within oneself,
Steve:they're not. They're not. They are not achievable in any degree, other than we are found in Christ. And he has done the right things. And his righteousness is imputed to us. Yeah. And we are able to stand because of what he's done in us. And then we see our minds cleansed by the Holy Spirit, so that we find that we do not look upon a woman with lust, we find we do not hide, we find that we do not do these things. Why? Because we are why we are born again. And being transformed into the likeness of Christ. Because we could not do it in and of ourselves.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah. So you can I could almost hear certain people that are mixing where they go, well, well, if that's the case, that's what you believe in God has set you up to fail anyway. No, that's not actually the case. You've already fired. You've already found God. God hasn't set anything up. It's the fall in the garden, because that's what you have to look at, isn't it? It's the fall humanity.
Steve:There's that point in. In Exodus where a God says to Pharaoh, I have rage raised you Yes. That you might, I might be glorified. And it talks in there about how he is how he Holden's how Pharaoh's heart. Yeah. All right. The point being is that Pharaoh's heart was already hard. And God said, Okay, if that's what you want, I'll give it to you. That's what I'll give you. All right. And that's what we see. It's not a case of God setting us up to fire what God is setting us up for, is to cry out what must I do to be saved? Exactly. It's not a case of Jesus is your body and your power and solve all the problems in your marriage and your kids and all the rest of it. It's going to do it unless we preach. You are under the wrath of God. And no matter what you do, first and foremost, no matter what you do, you cannot achieve what his demand is. In actual fact it says I think it's songs seven he is angry with the wicked all day long. Okay, he's same wine with the wicked all day long. We, when we were in the kingdom of darkness was seen as wicked. Yeah, okay. That's it. Um, we were under that curse, but by the grace of God through Christ, He chose us for salvation before the foundation of the world. Yeah, he sent his son and brought the Holy Spirit through the Holy Spirit brought faith to us to believe in what Christ has done, so that we stand back and we say, this life I live it is not I that live, but Christ is within me. And yeah, I live in the life I live, I now live to the glory of the Son of God. You know, if God sets the bar high, he set the bar high with the Jews. Completely complete righteous. See, the thing is we we got this idea of Jesus being our pal, buddy and amigo. Yes, he is He is our friend. There's no two ways about it. And we are called Friends of God. But
Reverend Ben Cooper:but there's a different interpretation that isn't there, because the church is telling you very clearly in certain areas of ministry that you're his best friend, and he's looking to you. And he's asking you, and what's your opinion on this, and that's something that we've got no time for that. But that's what's been preached and pushed across big mega churches. And God is looking to you as a friend, but not in the way of Scripture because of the misinterpretation of what that actually means. So then that throws people off kilter straight away, because if God's my friend, everything's all right,
Steve:okay. Let me just read this, this last one from Timothy. Sorry, I've already read the one from Timothy, let me read this from Hebrews. Hebrews 12, and he's talking about Esau. Okay, we pick it up in verse 16. There's a warning from whoever has written this. I'll pick it up in 14 It's just pursue peace with all people in holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, looking carefully, lest anyone fall short with the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble. And by this many become defiled. Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food, sold his birthright. For you know, that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. And this is the point about repentance, repentance is a grace of grace of God. He draws he gives the ability to repent to his children. But until such time as we are brought, like gyla when the earthquake hit and Silas and Paul, were in there, and he was going to kill himself and posted on and I don't know, don't wait, what must I do to be sighs interest
Reverend Ben Cooper:in learning?
Steve:What must why she came to the article understanding, right? Yeah, I've used it time and time again with with regards to John Newton, amazing grace. He was brought to that crisis of faith, he was shown by God in no uncertain terms, there was nothing he could do that would ever save him and he cried out what must be saved. And it's it's this crisis of knowing that you cannot save yourself the face that you have is given to you by God.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Everything is given every given given given I mean we've
Steve:got the got the Armenians that think that their face saves them know your face doesn't save them faith doesn't save you fight he's given that you might understand your site are not saved because I believe I believe because I'm saved. Right? There is a difference
Reverend Ben Cooper:a big massive difference in enormous difference,
Steve:but Job Oh, your old job.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Let's not turn a job. God. Load our fine
Steve:job. Very, very comforting. I find job
Reverend Ben Cooper:yeah, I can see where you're coming from. And
Steve:job for us. Is one has gone before us to give us an understanding. I we know what happens if we've definitely walking to and fro on the earth and God says you see myself a fight with the devil. Have you seen him down there?
Reverend Ben Cooper:Have you looked
Steve:at him? He only loves you because of everything you've given him? He only loves you because of his own luxury consider. And guess what? What's in your hands? The only thing you can't do is you can't
Reverend Ben Cooper:call God it makes me want to get under the table.
Steve:The only thing you can't do, but God said have you selling goat the enemy sense is wind and kills the children in the house. ALC sends the civilians and destroys all his flocks, and all the riches of job in a single day wiped out gone. All he loves stripped off. And he says something interesting. He says the thing I feared the most is come upon me. You know, this gives you an indication of something within job, the thing I feared the most come upon me. There's an indication here that Joe wasn't trusting God in the way he should. Because he was fearful that all
Reverend Ben Cooper:this water or I'm going to lose the lock, yeah.
Steve:But Joe never condemned God, he brought his case before he cried out before him. And even to the extent where his wife said, Look, Curse God and die. Forget about it. And Josh said, no, no, no, no, I know my God. I understand I do. And then he goes through crying out saying, Look, I've done all these writers, I've done this, I've done that I'm, you know, I've made a covenant with my eyes. I would not look upon a woman. I've I've blessed my servants. I've done this and he in
Reverend Ben Cooper:numbers. Enormous, isn't it? What he's done? Oh, yeah,
Steve:he numbers all his righteous Axe. Axe and through it all, God declares, Yeah, him righteous. He
Reverend Ben Cooper:says, He's righteous. Then we
Steve:get the Job's comforters come along, secretary job, you must have done something wrong. There must be something wrong. You've done it. You've done some look. dig around, doesn't do this and so on. So and after a while, of course, young Ellie, who comes along and Leu if you look at it is a type of Christ. And Job is like us. We think, God I was just living.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah, we think we think you know,
Steve:children. Yeah,
Reverend Ben Cooper:well, you got to give me a lot. Yeah, you got to give me a lot. And Leu
Steve:comes along and says, Look, job. God can do as he pleases. Oh, that's a word God can do as he pleases.
Reverend Ben Cooper:God can do what he wants when he wants, and how every one then, and doesn't answer to anybody
Steve:that picks up. The narrative in chapter 14 says, Would you indeed, and all my judgment, would you condemn me that you might be justified? Have you on on like God, or can you thunder with a voice like is, then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor and array yourself with glory and beauty, disperse the rage of your breasts. Look on everyone who is proud and humbling. Look at everyone who is proud and bring him low, trick down the wicked in their place, hide them in the dust together, by in their faces in the hidden darkness, then I will also confess to you that your own right hand can save you. Then he goes on to enumerate various things of what he's done with regards to his creation. And then in 42, Job says, I know that you can do everything, that no purpose of yours can be withheld from you. You asked who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, let me speak. You said I will question you, and you shall answer me. I have heard of you by the hearing of my ears. But now I see. Sorry. Now I see you. Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. And like repent later on in that God rebukes early phase and the other fella he says you you've not done right. The other two you're not done right by my friend job. Oh, you have not done right by my friend, my
Reverend Ben Cooper:friend. That's a deep
Steve:will. Again, the problem with the church in the present day is we
Reverend Ben Cooper:I'm a friend, we have no understanding concept
Steve:of God's holiness. Now. We are. So that was that term. We are familiar with him familiar. And so we become contemptuous of him. And we have no understanding of and God has become no more than a genie. We rubbed them their box out and it gives in actual fact, that was something that Jim Johnson from.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah, I heard that. Yeah, yes. Spirit to me
Steve:is like the GTIN of Disney's Aladdin blue and he's sneaky and he's funny. That yeah, he's an abomination. Right. Yeah, that is foul, and it's a stench. Okay. Yep. And when you look upon God like there was such familiarity. You don't understand His Holiness, right? We take take their old John. John was the disciple that Jesus loved and he, he would lean upon his breast that the meal table, and Jesus loved him. On the island of Patmos, as an old man, Jesus appeared before him, and he fell down like he was dead. The holiness of Christ was so great, so powerful that he fell down, but God, Jesus in his graciousness, says, Stand up, stand up. But we have forgotten the holiness of God. We have, we have forgotten the fear of God. And we seen I'm sorry, I know I'm gonna upset people who have already done it, but I don't care. We sing songs that are an abomination. Or we do. Yeah, we do. They are an abomination. And, Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, he wrote to the Corinthians, he said, I don't understand you. He said, you've got a man there that lives with his father's wife, basically, he was committed in incest. Yeah. And what I did is that they, they dealt with it, they said, This is wrong. We dealt with dealt with this. And then in his second letter, which he writes to him in chapter seven, he says this, For even if I made you Sorry, sorry, with my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it. For I perceived that the same epistle will make you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow leads to repentance, for your mate, sorry, in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation, not to be regretted. But the sorrow of the world produces this. Wow. This idea of repentance in the church, it's,
Reverend Ben Cooper:it's not biblical, is it? Well, it's
Steve:the number of features that will very well meaning preachers, they will preach their time, and they will say something like this. Now there might be people here that don't know the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, all you got to do is just turn to Him and ask for his forgiveness. And Silopi my savior, bring my king wash reclaiming your precious blood. And so that sealed the deal. And if but if there is no, if God in all His Holiness has not been brought out before the people, yeah, then what there can be no real repentance. All you've got isn't, is a man who has a form of godliness but denies the power of Yeah. And over these past years, it's been, we want miracles, we want signs and wonders, we want signs and wonders, we want miracles. And I believe that the gifts are for today. But we have abandoned our fear of God we have abandoned honoring him, and glorifying Him, worshipping Him. Certainly in the West, I mean, you know, you deal with the area of the persecuted church, and how men and women in the east and also down in Africa, are suffering intensely i because of their faith, right. Now, the thing is that they can stand behind a horse because they are yielded to the mighty God in all holiness, Love and Honor towards him. If you've got people that were in lockdown two years ago, crying that they couldn't go down and get a beef burger,
Reverend Ben Cooper:what are you going to what are you gonna do when you're like the
Steve:Koreans and you got to eat grass?
Reverend Ben Cooper:And you the, the fact and the stories and the ministers that were involved in in the persecuted church really puts fear into me of God, how are they surviving? Was it Yeah, and it makes me look at me and think
Steve:it's exactly what it's supposed to. You're supposed to look inside yourself and understand, you may not where you need to
Reverend Ben Cooper:be not by a mile.
Steve:So one of the other problems that we've got in the church, I spoke to you about the fact that I was late watching an online prophecy conference from California, and that it was sounded really good. And I really blowing a trumpet. And I was saying beware. Watch out things are changing Warning, warning, warning warning. Yeah. And they were doing what Prophets did they warned. They will be called prophets, biblical prophets, they won't. And so they said, Watch out now you must get before the Lord, you must deal with these things in your life, you must deal with whatever you've you've, you've let it slide you whether you've got anger issues, or whether you've got lust issues, or whether you've got greed issues, you've got to deal with these things. You must deal with them before God now, at the same time, a little bit further down the road in the same state in California. You went to another prophecy conference, and they were filled with dreams and decreeing and declaring and you know, where we're going to work gods. Were going to take the SIS, yeah, we're going to take the city, we're going to take the land. And all we've got to do is just dream. Because you really think it was Tommy 10? He said, God is the great dreamer.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Oh, hang on. Yeah. Oh, hang
Steve:on. It's a great dream. What what, what kind of lunatic Are you? And this is it, you see damage? He's like, God, I take Christ, and I drag him down to a man's level.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah, to a fairy.
Steve:I drag him down. Myth. And that's why it's so nice. People get away with you know, preaching the tribe. You're you are gods. It's dreamy.
Reverend Ben Cooper:It's feeding the flesh. It's just not. It is abomination. Steve, I want to draw you back a moment that sit in really prodding me. When you read out from job. God said, He's my friend. Yes. That was off that everything had happened after everything had happened. Yes. That's right. We'll go back to it and read it out. So when you think about that, God said, Lucifer, Satan. Look at this one. He's righteous look. Look at him. And then, once everything had been stripped from him and everything had happened, and God said, That's my friend.
Steve:Strangely enough, in this particular translation, which is the New King James actually says, servant but I'll say the site was after the Lord had spoken these words to job that the Lord said to LFS tonight my wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job as now therefore, take yourself seven bulls and seven rams, go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. My servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly. Because you have not spoken what is spoken to me what is right as my servant Job did?
Reverend Ben Cooper:That's really interesting. Steve what you're writing because God is dealing with them too.
Steve:When it's those three of them?
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah, the three of them sorry they're dealing with them. But and he's not dealing with what Lucifer as done isn't isn't that an interesting part of the text?
Steve:Because all Lucifer wants to do he just wants to destroy is this comes about
Reverend Ben Cooper:the church the church is God is dealing with these three you haven't done and you've taken my name and you're doing and saying what I'm not Lucifer as Ron Ron right and done what he's done. And God is telling me you free have got to do a sacrifice because of what you said about me. Lucifer has done what he's done God has given him the hand to do God has given him the the rope to go as far as he can go and do what he's gonna do. And God's this this this God that we serve, you cannot work him out. He's a ministry but he's gonna do what he's gonna do we
Steve:do not approach him sovereign. So that pleases his god he can do as he pleases but we get this idea oh, no, no, no if you long enough, but God says Come let us reason together Yeah, I guess he's gonna lose that conversation.
Reverend Ben Cooper:I don't Yeah,
Steve:the point is unless we deal with God in who he is, the righteous and holy the wonderful majestic, superb supreme
Reverend Ben Cooper:the depth of this is all about looking at myself and my understanding a my thinking and who am I who am I in this holy God? What part why is he saved me What is always about
Steve:oh yeah, I mean oh that he slay me number of times. Why me?
Reverend Ben Cooper:Why me? Why me why me?
Steve:I don't understand. But the thing is for instance this this what's going on globally at the moment all right. There's an awful lot of research there there was there was at work there was doing this there was doing that he's in there is at work there's no two ways about it. I've no no compunction to say no to devil ism work, but God is in call I'm troll, and he's spoken about akin to rap. And people make this make a big thing about one of the temptations that Jesus went under which Satan. Satan said, it took him up to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world. And he said, All this has been given to me and I will give it to you. If you bow down and worship me, and Jesus said, Get behind Me, Satan. It says in the word that you should worship the Lord your God known Him shall you serve. Now he could have actually turned around and said, Can you go back and read Daniel, when I sent a watches down to Nebby conyza. And I say to him, God, reigns in the kingdoms of men, and he gives it to whomever he pleases, even the least of men. So whilst we understand that Satan is the king, or the the god of this world, whilst we understand that he runs around, seeking whom he may devour, we know that he goes around blinding people, I think, I'm not sure part of Paul says, he goes around blinding unbelievers. We know that he steals from the when we know that the parable of the seeds that you sit steals seeds in such a way. So we know that he's at work, we understand that we're not foolish. We know that he is behind every single deception. There is, yeah, we know what's going on with regards to the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, on all these people coming together, we understand this Satan's at work there. And he's whispering in ears and so on and so forth. Above it, all of it. Oh, God is in control. Again, he we've had this drought. We think Satan
Reverend Ben Cooper:sent the drought. No, no
Steve:holds God. I mean, in actual fact, one part of job when God is saying, you know, what you think runs the weather job? I do. I run a winter. All right, why send the winds, I send the snow I send you I saw it. Me. I own it. I mine.
Reverend Ben Cooper:I am God. And that's it.
Steve:It's done. That's it. It's done. And whilst as I say that the devil can only do what God allows him to do. But yeah, he's definitely still a servant of God. He doesn't he doesn't like that. All right. He doesn't like the idea that he's a servant of God. But that's what he is, is a servant of God, because He is limited. And he can only do what God allows him to do. And we see that clearly in the text. Yes, very clearly. You know, first off, go down there, steal your take away from him, whatever you like, but leave him alone. And then he comes back, and then our scheme schemes. They say alright, can't touch the skin. And he gives him these boils. But jokes still doesn't turn away from God. He doesn't curse God and die he's a woman tells him to do. He holds on in Aries, in despair, he doesn't understand he's crying out to God, I cannot
Reverend Ben Cooper:imagine. I cannot get there. I cannot even understand this. This, this strong. Man, how, but by grace by I don't know, is such an enormous
Steve:job a better man than he was. And that's frightening, right? God wanted to make jokes about men. And he was and that's why he picked the fight with the devil. Because there were things in job that he wanted out. Job was not listening. And the problem for so many Christians may is we don't die not listen, it. We ended up chasing after our own desires. We even encapsulate them in the wonderful words and say, God has told me to do this really well, you better go away and check it out really seriously. And if you don't understand you better get in a place of prayer with other people and check it out. Really. I mean, you said the other week about people coming up to us. I've got a word from God, I've got a word from God in the morning, and the problem being is that we can also be deceived, deceived by a parent words from God that we get in our ears or in our mind and make it up ourselves. And we have to wonder, all right, if it's of God, if it really is of God, what is the purpose of it? And it may well be that just God he's going to test you and he's gonna break you and he's gonna job you all right? Yeah, yeah. And he's gonna take you through like job, but because you're in his hands, because you'd be you're making because your salvation is assured through the blood of Christ. You might lose all things but you will never lose your salvation call. But there are people out there of course that say that you can but there we go. Yeah, that's up to them. No, no, because they in themselves, deny the sovereignty of God and they become their own saviors. So I've got little, yes. But so this, this whole area really, of repentance is a constant According towards God's anyway actual fact it's also asking God to constantly shine his light upon our soul because we do see is the heart is deceptive above all so
Reverend Ben Cooper:yes and it's not a one off one off word is in no it's not I should always be living in a a understanding Lord help me Lord I've looked strange I've walked strange I've said this I've engaged in that helped me Lord on helped me I'm so although we're not mentioning the word repentance we're the communication that we have with the father is Lord help me well because
Steve:you're in a so you're in a posture of repentance in as much as your turn towards
Reverend Ben Cooper:God all the time all the time your your your
Steve:this when you begin to read the word God begins to convict you of things in your own heart. If you turn why you're going to have problems best sit there and let God reprove you. If we look at the seven churches in the book of Revelation to five of them, he actually says repent, repent, repent, repent. And in the last church in Laodicea. He says, Those whom I love, I chest eyes, we come back to Job combat and those whom I love, I chest eyes.
Reverend Ben Cooper:So as a father,
Steve:precisely, we come back to Hebrew, Hebrew, if you are a child of God, then you will come under His discipline, be prepared for that if you're not being disciplined, you better consider whether or not you're a child of God. So God brings
Reverend Ben Cooper:us to repentance, God opens our heart, God stirs us God is all God. Because no human being no one can actually be in control of that whatsoever.
Steve:And in actual fact, picking up something which I said earlier about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There's so many people that think that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are just there is that you just reach into a bag and take them out. And like don't read what the Word of God says, No, the Holy Spirit gives a gift at any given time that he wants to give it to whomever he will give it for whatever purpose He wants to give it. So
Reverend Ben Cooper:everything in this word is given. Yes, it is. It is handed over. It is given it is pressed into the past, I may simply
Steve:if we look at the food that we eat, is given by God given all right, everything that we stand up and is given God, we are under him. He is our sovereign God, He is our Lord and King.
Reverend Ben Cooper:I think we're living in a time when we should be looking at that, and maybe studying what is the sovereignty of God. Because when I understand the sovereignty of him, I come to a place of I hand it over the sovereignty of God on handing it to him.
Steve:Sovereignty will go quite simply if he can do what he believes is, that's the sovereignty of God. And I have no right to complain. No right job, I can go before Him and cry out, Lord. Why? Why? I don't mean why me but what's going on? What must I learned from
Reverend Ben Cooper:helped me to understand what are you saying to me in this? Yeah.
Steve:I've said, I've said this, about the job that I had a 28 years down, down a dark wood river crossing. I hated every moment. And I cried out Lord set me free never did. I mean, even at the time, I used to say, Lord, I understand that you're using this to deal with me, but can we do this somewhere else? No. No, that's not where I've chosen for you to be. And that's where you're gonna be.
Reverend Ben Cooper:And that takes some serious doing to go, okay. So
Steve:seriously, at the end of the day, what you're going to do, you're going to take your soul in your own and go wandering off.
Reverend Ben Cooper:They do what people do, and then they and they, they believe their own ministry. They say God is calling me and they make their own ministry and they walk into something and I
Steve:remember people coming up to me saying you should step out and fight. We'll fight for me. Yeah, he's believing what God says faith. He's not stepping out and open. He's gonna back me up. Now. That's a nonsense. Yes, it's true. You're led by this. First of all, you're led by the Spirit to do things. You're led by the Holy Spirit and when you're led by the Holy Spirit, and you know, you're being led by the Holy Spirit, then God will quote back you up. I mean, it's a horrible way of saying things, but you will never lose
Reverend Ben Cooper:the way we understand it, though, isn't it? Yes. It's the way we understand.
Steve:See the other thing is today with regards to lots of ministries people want bums on seats.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah, yeah, that's what it's about bums on
Steve:seats, but we want to fill this look, I'm after obedience. Do what I tell you to do.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Not interested in building used to be an old guy.
Steve:And he's obviously he went along. But there was this old boy that used to walk up and down Bexley street with a sandwich board. He ain't when we went up and had a chat with him one time we had to go up and have a doing all my Alright, hey, I'm fine. Thank you very much. And we spoke Raymond said, you know about this ministry said, it's hard. He said, This is hard. He said, But this is what God has called me to do. And it's extraordinarily difficult. I mean, you know, what he was doing was carrying a sandwich board up and down. It was a forward ballot. But people were ignoring him. People were turning away. People were laughing. Yeah, yeah. And he never saw the fruits of his labor. Now, all right, Canada, there might well have been people that were saved, and probably were because of some of the things that the tracks that you handed out, but he never saw it. But he was obedient, Faithful Word of God. God said, Go and do this. And he did it. And that's it. It didn't argue with him. He just done it, he just did
Reverend Ben Cooper:it. There's take a lot from that just got
Steve:a steal, why it has to be if you're a servant of God,
Reverend Ben Cooper:it's not going to be easy. It's not going to be easy.
Steve:I remember. One chap, when I, when I was first saved this guy, we're talking about service. And he said, what services like this, God has saved you and you're standing in his presence. And you'll say, Lord, is there anything I can do for you to stand here? And you don't know can I go over there and outlet plug? What will get you a drink order and I stand here? Well, what can I do stand here, and eventually the penny drops. He wants to stay there stand there will be busy about many things. But what he said is stand there. And there's it says in word that he who is fighting a little I know that you can be trusted with a lot stand. If you can stand there. Just stand just stand, stand, just stand but just stand and after 40 years of standing, oh, now's the time, off you go. Now's the time,
Reverend Ben Cooper:obedience.
Steve:And the reload is fully used before a rushed out into the desert because he killed Egyptian. Then another four years of preparation before he could come back and use the children of God out of the land. Joshua, before he could lead the children he walked 40 years with Moses, Jesus 30 years of preparation, you know, we get this idea that they someone saved and yet you can go off and you can do this, or no or unknown that there are mature there are men and women that mature extraordinarily quickly. And there are and there are there. There are several young pastors around at the moment are very, very sound wonderfully mature. But there's an awful lot that arm
Reverend Ben Cooper:No, timing is critical, very much an understanding that God's time in Venice. His ways are not our ways.
Steve:And that I think one of the problems is we've got too many Yes, men. Yeah, let your Yes. We've got too many years. But no, no, it's not that so much. But we've got too many estimate. See, somebody says I want to do something. So nation do that. Okay, God is saying you shouldn't do that. Oh, you're gonna spank me, but you, but I'm just counseling you. You need to be a bit careful about this, you know, you need to watch him. And we suffer as well. I mean, in this country at the moment that the church is just scattered hither and yon.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Very, very scattered,
Steve:and we are not able to meet together as we should. And the church suffer so much from it. He's got any Yes. Is he allowed it? Yes.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Do they know about? Yes. Yeah.
Steve:And we have to in that in this period of time, seek Him for the grace to stand as he wants us to stand and do what he wants us to do when He commands us to do it. Not when we decide always is a good idea. It's gonna do
Reverend Ben Cooper:I'm gonna go do this. Yeah, yep. Very true. Steve, again, again, again, we thank you so much. The word is repentance. That is the title of today's podcast. And as Steve has brought the scriptures, many scriptures to the table wherever you are today. Continue to follow Jesus. Repentance. That is the word Steve, we thank you so much. God bless everyone. Check it repents. You can find us on many platforms. Thank you so much for all the shares and everything that goes out regarding the podcast. Yeah, you can find us on that. Yeah, we're waiting for the Jesus trying. Come on, Lord. You know, God bless every one of you. Thank you so much. And wherever you are, never give up repentance will a beautiful word. Repent. Come back. God bless. Amen.