Hello and welcome to eating church when you're joining myself, Reverend Ben Cooper for today's podcast. Yeah, thank you for joining us it Steve and it's myself here at Ealing churches, we just pond the fruit of Scripture. And it's always more than upon the with Steve, he will take us in and he will keep us there and he will bring us out in the right time. And the right moment we thank you for joining us wherever you are across the world. We thank you for the the downloads of 1000s of downloads, we must just say thank you for that. We're going to be looking into Psalm 86. We're going to be into Romans chapter nine and Romans chapter two God willing, we're going to be led by Steve which he will be led by the power of the Holy Spirit and the title of today's podcast is God's patience or long suffering. Steve, thank you for coming in today. We appreciate your time. We appreciate your your gift in your ability that God has us to open up God's word. So here we go. My pleasure. Glad to be Amen.
Steve:Yeah, good, long suffering.
Reverend Ben Cooper:That is, uh huh. How do you start with that? Right, so you're gonna start with that one long suffering? Well, it's, um, it's a bit of a, it's a difficult one to get into, isn't it? God's long suffering God's patience?
Steve:Again, like, a lot, we've got this, like, two or three aspects of it. There's his long suffering with us. I can remember Jesus sign in the order that they're at Psalm coseboc. Allah gonna put up with you. Yes,
Reverend Ben Cooper:that's Yeah, he wasn't there. Yeah.
Steve:How long? Now? He would have said it earlier for
Reverend Ben Cooper:you so true. That that's just brought that back to my mind. We looked at that scripture not long ago, didn't we? How long have I gotta put up with you? And that is to do with the text? Isn't it the part where the man comes up to the disciples, and he says, I want you to, to pray Hill, my
Steve:your, your disciple up basically goes up. Jesus says, Ask your disciples, they can
Reverend Ben Cooper:do it. I couldn't do it. And then he said, How long have I got to put up with you? You know, how long? You know, that made me smile? actually. Yeah. How long?
Steve:So it is that, you know, showing you that even the patience of God can be tested at times. Yeah. But there's the long suffering towards the saints. And as long long suffering towards those who are not saints, yeah. So he is he has this patience. And we'll, we'll have a little bit of a look at it. But if we look at Psalm 86, first of all, and verse, verses 13, to 16. This is a psalm of David. That's an excellent song. It really is a wonderful song, got some great theological, and great theological questions and challenges in this particular. So if people are willing to go for it, but in 1316, it says, For great Your mercy toward me. And you have delivered myself from the depths of shell
Reverend Ben Cooper:cough,
Steve:Oh, God, the proud have risen against me and a mob of violent men assault my life, and I have not set you before them. But you, oh Lord, or God, full of compassion and gracious, long suffering, abundant in mercy and truth. Oh, turn to me and have mercy on me Give your strength Your servant, and save the son of your maidservant Oh, this has got echoes of Jesus of Yes. On the cross and Bollywood during his life when he was facing mobs of violent men at various points along the way. But so often with David being a prophet, it doesn't only apply to him, but it's looking forward to the Lord. The other one, what I'd like to look at is Romans nine. It's dependent on how you read it can be quite controversial. So we're Romans 920-224-2224.
Reverend Ben Cooper:What if God
Steve:Yeah, in in noyon, it's why Oh, God, Paul challenging? Yeah. People who understand God has not rejected Israel, and that the whole area of his purpose in call an election and so on and so forth, is there. And these two verses have been used very powerfully over the years, in one direction or another. So what if God wanting to show his rest and to make his power known, endured with much long suffering, the vessels of rest prepare for destruction And he might might know in the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had prepared beforehand for glory, even assume the cold, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. Now, this is there's two points here that have got absolutely nothing to do with what we're looking at. But I want to look at many way you will notice that the vessels of wrath, prepared for destruction, were not prepared beforehand for destruction. So this idea of a double predestination that's often spoken of, yeah, God predestined some for hell on some for heaven. The ones that are going to help are, we are, we spoke about this the other week, children of recce everybody, every single one of us who are born into this life are children of rest, and we are all prepared for destruction. And it's only in God's grace that he drew takes us out of that, because he prepared us beforehand for glory. It's our own sin that propels us into a place of disruption.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yes.
Steve:So, you know, this idea. I mean, at the end of the day, if God didn't choose anybody, and we all went, hell,
Reverend Ben Cooper:day, that's still sovereign, will he still sovereign,
Steve:and he's still gonna stick a finger in his face. And so why not allowed to do that? Again, this is what Paul he deals with this in Romans nine. But we've got two aspects of long suffering here. The one with David, and reflecting in Jesus, declaring God's long suffering and his mercy. And also, in this one, his long suffering and mercy are always those that are prepared for destruction. And I'd like us to look at Romans two, which kind of gives a little bit of an understanding on on that.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Roman, and it's
Steve:it's 2224. And it's the preamble is that Paul is talking to those people that are setting themselves up as judging jury on a person's life and are guilty of perpetrating sins when they're wagging their fingers at the moralizing of the memorializes. And he says, pick it up in 21 years, therefore, who teach another Do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal? Do you still you who say do not commit adultery? Do you commit adultery? You will pour idols Do you rock temples? You who make your boast in the Lord, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? For the name of God is blessed famed among the Gentiles because of you as as it is written? And not just read the wrong thing? I'm sorry, I've given it's four to 10 I'm supposed to be reading
Reverend Ben Cooper:now, but it feels very relevant. Today we'll go back and have a look for
Steve:or do you despise the riches of goodness forbearance and long suffering? Not knowing the goodness of God leads you to repentance, wow. But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart, your treasuring up for yourself, rest in a day of rest and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render each one according to his deeds, eternal life to those who who by patient, continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor and immortality, that to those who are self seeking, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness indignation, wrath, tribulation and anguish on every soul of man who does evil of the Jew first, and also the Greek with glory, honor and peace to everyone who works what is good to do first and also to the Greek, for there is no partiality we've got so that's the way we get this reflection from Romans nine, basically saying, you know, you're responsible for what you do
Reverend Ben Cooper:your your actions, yeah,
Steve:you're responsible for your actions. So you're preparing yourself for hell. At but don't you know that God's long suffering? It's supposed to lead you to repentance. You know, you're not here to moralize. You're not here to wag the finger at people. No, God is extending his patience over the church period over the 6000 year period, is extending his patience. It runs out sometimes we see that in the flood of Noah, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but we've covered this before their particular situations.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Don't worry where it talks about God's kindness intended to lead you to repentance. Yes. We're pretty clear that the repentance is it has to be within All the time, we have to be bringing it to God all the time. It's a continuum, isn't it? It's that place that not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead us into repentance. So his kindness and his wrath and his mercy and His strength and his goodness and his judgment, his intention is to lead us to the, to the cross, yes to repentance to say, Lord, I'm sorry, I forget. But if that doesn't happen, and we become stuck in our ways, and we start to continue to enjoy in the in the lifestyle that we are living, then there is a different side to God that we will say,
Steve:it's not necessarily enjoying, enjoying the fruits of essence. It's just rejecting the mercy in the love of God, straight out of the bag, just just pure rejection.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah, just pure rejection, he
Steve:doesn't matter. Wherever you go. In your own site, you've got a good life or a bad life. But if you're rejecting what God has offered you, For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son. If you reject him, Well,
Reverend Ben Cooper:there is consequences. There. Yeah, yeah. How is very, very real.
Steve:And as I say, we have this game, we run into this. This difficult situation, almost paradoxically, the sovereignty of God, and free will of man, that man is responsible for his actions. And if it wasn't for God, entering in and bringing salvation to the church, and those that become part of the church. We're all destined for hell. Yeah. So we have this tension of God's sovereignty, and man's free will, and it's there you can't run away from it is difficult. And you can either err completely on the side of man's free will. And yet, again, something that we've gone into before with regards to palladium, we end up in a place of stupidity, or we end up going the other way to the double predestination aspects of some teachers have an ex, a right wing, right wing coward, isn't it? You know, walking with God is is is difficult. It's it's different. It's complex.
Reverend Ben Cooper:I'm glad you're saying that. And challenging, very, very challenging. I
Steve:mean, he he was challenged by God in our own Why? In accordance with the the road down which he commands us to walk, yeah. His challenge for you is not the same as me. And for me, it's not the same for every individual as a different challenge.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yes. A different walk with God. Yeah. same word. Same god, yes. But an individual Walk of down the road of righteousness, vary individually. But then we serve the same color. It's just, it's mind blowing, to try and grasp that, that he loves us individually that each and every one of us individually care for love for and all that stuff that the side of his family is a father. Yeah, he knows us. So it can't even go there to get that. Well, no, I mean, it's like you can't and it's a stopper. He stopped on that for me.
Steve:My wife comes from a big family there was there was eight of them.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah. And
Steve:when a mom, it was four girls and four boys. And when a mom was trying to call that one negotiate, she's calling about how I mean, I mean, yeah,
Reverend Ben Cooper:yeah, yeah. But knowing them individually.
Steve:But God never goes that way. You go. There you go. So you've been you know, this long suffering, this patience is extended towards us. Who are believers? For us if we're more conscious of it. Because we're more conscious of our failings. We're more conscious of our sin. Yes, we're more conscious of our need of him. We're more conscious of the fact that you know, there are times we just don't get it. We just don't
Reverend Ben Cooper:get it. We literally just don't gay. Yeah. And it's
Steve:coming back to what I was saying earlier about Jesus, you know, what am I gonna put up with you? I'm seriously I say, tongue in cheek, but I think if I had been there, he would have said it an awful lot sooner.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah, you know, but what stays referencing is I've got it in front of me, Matthew 1717. He says, You unbelieving and perverse generation. Jesus replied, How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you bringing the Boy over to me you can like feel the the frustration is usually
Steve:talking to them because the unbelieving generation is you having a puppet is disciple yeah repotted appropriately staying around.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah, but uh, both of us but it's a bit of both, isn't it? It's everyone in the audience around him. And you can bring the boy over to me. It's like, just come over it gets fun. I love that it puts a smile on my face how long we're gonna stay with you. And I'm not gonna put up with you. Really Jewish, isn't it? What are you doing? What are you applying? You know, Shrike down the barrel? no messing about no money cuddling just what am I going to put up along? This is Christ.
Steve:It's it's an indication of his patience and as much that he doesn't turn around and would a blink of an eye. wipe them out?
Reverend Ben Cooper:No, it doesn't chastise them. He doesn't lie about it wasn't wasn't no light, just like you said just removed them off planet Earth. It was just like, Oh, here we go.
Steve:Yeah, here we go is straining himself. I mean, that's part and parcel of God's patience. And he's long suffering. He is restraining himself. I mean that. Yeah, we look at the the Romans nine. Quote again, it speaks there that you know God is holding back. He's He's holding these Ras back here. And he patience and long suffering. He's holding back. He's waiting. He's waiting and waiting. Now. Many of us believe that we're entering the last day so we know that he's patience is running out.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah. So there's the clock is ticking. The clock is ticking. And there comes a point where he says Enough is enough. Enough Enough. And we can see a bit of that. Where is it? Where were Moses says, where God says I want to just wipe you off again. And Moses is gonna hang on can we can we can we do it? It's very, it's very, very interesting that it can we do a deal? Come on, hang on, hang on chesty Moses, was he testing? Exactly. Because we've had some deep conversations about not commanding God. But when you when you look at that Moses says, Come on.
Steve:Well, he doesn't come on him does he doesn't say money, he come on Have mercy wherever you are a merciful God.
Reverend Ben Cooper:So but then we're saying is he? Yeah, it's a deep text, isn't it? Come on God, you are a merciful God, is he reminding him is, like you said, Is God just pulling that out of Moses? And we never know what his intention was? You know, I
Steve:it's it's, it's one of those quotes. It's often used to, I think, divide the God of the Old Testament regarding the new tax
Reverend Ben Cooper:code. There is no division. No.
Steve:I think probably. There's an there's a great deal going on there with regards to Moses, laying down things for future generations. We see, for instance, it reflected if we go backwards to Abraham, when God says, Abraham is my friend, should I not tell him what I'm about to do down in, in Sodom and Gomorrah? And Abraham starts to intercede, you know? Yeah. For them if there's 50, down which What? Everybody, everyone at 4030 2010. And so, how much is God? not playing? It's not a case of playing. But how am I stretching? God, stretching? Abraham, stretching, Moses, stretching us
Reverend Ben Cooper:stretching? Yeah, see now what our reaction is, but then we say, but he knows what I'm going to.
Steve:Yeah, but he doesn't get it. Let's look, how do we get that thing about God is that he is not a puppet master? Yeah. So he will lay down challenges for us. And he will cause us to be stretched, but he won't. We don't dance on the end of string for him. No, no, no, no, no. We become part and parcel of what he's doing for talks about being co workers.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah. As a tech co worker,
Steve:yeah. I mean, this is reflective in Moses, his intercession in Abraham's intercession? Yeah, they are. Working alongside with God chatter relationship
Reverend Ben Cooper:is open, free speech of a free flow. of Yeah, conversation. Yeah. That's a that's a powerful place to be.
Steve:And that's part and parcel of we've we've covered this before with regards to the gospel. God has chosen to bring the gospel to be preached by men, there comes a time when it's angels that will preach the gospel if we read Revelation, but during this particular period of time, he has chosen that men should preach the gospel. It's not that he needs men. No, it's the gospel, indicating the angel in Revelation. He doesn't even need the angel to do that. But as I say, he's not a puppet master. He is when he gives life. He wants to us to be partakers of that life and to live in the fullness of time in the fullness of Yeah. And, you know, God is mystery anyway. Yes. Living with God is a bigger mystery. Working for God is an even bigger mystery. And these things are there for a purpose and a reason. And it's for us to ask questions, not question. No, you know why you're doing it in that sense?
Reverend Ben Cooper:Why loaded? Or why a lot? Yeah. Well,
Steve:with Abraham, he goes in there and says, look, you know, you're gonna wipe these people out. But what happened this year? If there's 50 writers in 150? I'll hold my hand back. Well, what about folding? You know, you get inside data, Abraham nudy. Always not well, down in southern, no doubt, it's seen lots and lots of luck. And you know, what was going on down here? So he's kind of pushing it on No, my machine. If he, if he had gone down? For Yes, he would have gotten our design back. But as I say this, this idea of our relationship with God,
Reverend Ben Cooper:it's a real mystery is a very, very deep question our relationship with this invisible, but very real, loving, God that is loving, merciful. Judging, jealous. And when we work for him, and he uses us, sometimes the stillness of the heavens makes us go, God, I need you more. You got to take me deep. Yes. Oh, yeah. And we need I need patients more. To hold my place and to be still and know that he's gone. Yeah, but his patients and my patients are completely different. Yeah. But areas,
Steve:yes. But in our transformer, transform, I find our patients increases and increases.
Reverend Ben Cooper:So it's a journey, isn't it? Yeah. It's such a journey of long suffering.
Steve:I mean, the way God has chosen to do it for me, I suppose from the very beginning, he could have just waved his hand or turned everybody into something that you want them to be. But he chose to do it in a particular way, which challenges the the very intellect of man. And man's understanding to the very core Does, does and and beyond.
Reverend Ben Cooper:To live by faith, something that is not touchable, tangible, completely. A belief system. Yes. You can't see it. But you've got to believe it.
Steve:Yeah, it's it's also not a blind faith. It's Bice, it's a, it's based on the Word of God. It's a case of being blind faith. Now, it's a case of looking at the word. And as someone who is not saved, rejected, out of hand, and so on, by interested to the child of God, who looks at it and says, I don't understand this. I need to understand. And in each why in each turn of for each person, we see the patients of God at work. Yeah, yeah. Patients of the man who rejects him, he does destroy him. Patients as a child of God who is is just dense and doesn't understand. The patients with demand, the child of God who thinks he knows your own ends got me reined in. You know?
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Steve:You know, it's
Reverend Ben Cooper:so complex, isn't it? Yeah. So complicated. It's so deep, that God knows each and every one of us beyond human understanding. And the amount of believers that are on the planet Earth plus what he has to deal with, on top of everything to do with with it. Oh, gosh, the control of the weather system, the stars, the stretching out the universities, it's just too much. And then I've got my little bit of trouble, when really it's nothing is it? Nobody is everything to him?
Steve:Well, it's, it's the world in which we live is our world. And I'm talking about Persia
Reverend Ben Cooper:personally.
Steve:And God is interested in in that world, that world.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah, our relationship, our walk, our understanding our life, to the very detail of each part of our lives very much. And then you multiply that by what we're talking about, and all that that goes on outside humanity, nature and creation, and everything. It is beyond me is beyond my
Steve:What is it? I mean, it's one of the reasons I think the Condor prompted Paul to say, you know, now we understand in part then we shall fully even as we are fully know, yeah, we see through a glass darkly or through a mirror dimly. We're in a mirror dimly.
Unknown:Our
Steve:the Bible in itself is extraordinarily challenging in so many areas. So much so that it's agitated some people to go and kill somebody else because they don't agree with what it says. Yes, we go back to the the wars between the Catholics and the Protestants and people being chucked in bonfires and yeah, yeah. Even now people across the world are being killed because they believe in the Word of God and others don't. And we're seeing that increasing more and more
Reverend Ben Cooper:very, very rapidly.
Steve:The
Reverend Ben Cooper:hatred towards the Word of God is growing. He can feel it in the air Canyon, even for the actions of just the government. They don't need to say anything. It's the actions that the world is doing. Yeah, you can feel the the hatred, or Yeah, I
Steve:mean, the I don't know if you picked up that signal I sent from direct your living 10 about scientific America. Now I didn't creation is racist. Relation ism is racist. Yeah. You know, whoever wrote this thing. Where'd I get this idea from? I don't know. I like doing as much that I it was, it was generated, I think in the last century, they're talking about the marker cane being sung. When God marked Cain, he made him a black man. Alright, because he might have a black man. He instigated a racist aspect within the creation. And Christians who believe in this are racists Well, I've never seen that. And I've I've nobody knows what the mark of Cain is.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Anyone no one knows what the man is.
Steve:And seriously, when we get to Noah's Flood, exactly. The whole of kinds. inheritances wiped out gone,
Reverend Ben Cooper:completely wiped out the earth. Totally.
Steve:Nothing left. This gives you this is from a publication called scientific America, which is not very scientific, because you know what to do his homework, but this in itself gives you an indication of how people are hating the Word of God not even gonna read it, you know?
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah, yeah. But it's to be expected isn't it is to be expected in the era in which we live, you know, with this, with this persecution.
Steve:One of the reasons I think this is this idea of long suffering of God. This is what he demands of us that we are to be long suffering, long suffering is long suffering. And if we look at the growth in persecution towards Christians, God commands that we are to love those who persecute us. Yeah. And pray for those who despitefully use us. We've touched on this subject many times, and we have to look within ourselves and understand, Lord, I can't do this. Am I able to do this? I'm sure there are Christians that have been brought to that point where they can. It's, it's not an impossible, what is impossible for you not impossible for God. But with this increasing persecution, we are to bless those that
Reverend Ben Cooper:persecute persecute us.
Steve:And this is part and parcel of Christ Himself. He bless those that persecuted Father, forgive them, Father, forgive them, they do not know what they're doing and his anger are crossing. They're abusing him and killing
Reverend Ben Cooper:him. I know know what they're doing.
Steve:Yeah. And so this now, that is the incredible patience of Christ yourself across.
Reverend Ben Cooper:This is a demand for us. So in the suffering church, the persecuted church, we see the long suffering of Christ. Yes. Yeah, very clearly, the long suffering of Christ. Pray
Steve:against things that we've said before. You cannot face these brutal gyrations without crying in the flesh.
Reverend Ben Cooper:You can't do it. You can't do it. The flesh will fight back. The flesh will do anything to get out of that. Yeah. Yeah, but the long suffering of Christ for what they've done to me, expect it upon yourself.
Steve:Yes, he said. So.
Reverend Ben Cooper:He said that very clearly, then, that scripture. So the persecuted church is the root cause we say the real Church of Jesus Christ. When we look at what's
Steve:not necessarily the real church, but it's certainly the forerunner of how a church be that somebody wants said, a world traveled Christian said, I've met many Christians in my time. In the West, but it was only when I went to the east that I met true Christianity. Wow. Yeah. And it's the outworking of the truth of the Word of God. We, for various reasons have lived in a society, and the guy who died by God, we've lived in a society that has been protected by the Judeo Christian. Yes, ethics wonderful. So we've lived in a blessing. We've lived in a blessing and, you know, very grateful for that blessing. But now things are changing, is turning. Yeah, we can't become angry about that. We have to understand that this is God's timing. This is God's plan. He's doing it, there's a reason for it. What we have to do now is come back to him. So look, Father, you gave me the strength to live there that time during this, you're now leading me into a new place, I am going to need a different kind of strings. Yeah, different kinds of love. Yeah. a fulfillment of love, if you will, as I see my brothers and sisters, yes, China, for instance. Yeah. I need now to live in that blessing, that anointing for whatever. But isn't it that way. But I need to live like that. Because I can see what's coming down the road
Reverend Ben Cooper:here that is very, very important. And very true. What Steve just said there because I need to be careful at the monks I'm fine. I'm getting angry very quickly with certain decisions that are made in certain areas of life, culture, government, religion, churches, and alarm at that place of saying, God, I need you to give me more patience. I need you to help me to understand because I can't understand. But all I do know, is that it's your word. Yes. But I actually can't cope with some things. I'm getting a bit.
Steve:No, some time. Well, I used to get very angry. Okay. And gradually, the Lord said, you know, you get involved in things you shouldn't be involved in. Amen. Yeah. You're getting wound up about politics. You shouldn't be interest. Yeah, what's going on in politics? And I'll take that and
Reverend Ben Cooper:step back from that. Yeah, I've got a lead that I've got to leave it. I've got to
Steve:leave it. But maybe when it comes to the point, you know, we're supposed to be living in freedom day now. Whatever the government chooses to do on must seek God to do what he wants me to do. Yeah, here, regardless of what the government chooses, regardless,
Reverend Ben Cooper:yeah, you should know the truth and the truth will set you free. Christ. We're already free. Yeah. But they're trying to let us know that we can make you free. We'll set you free, will give you we'll let you off the leash for a little while. We want some bricks back. So we're gonna pull you back.
Steve:Yeah. It's really a case of knowing that the political systems are controlled by Satan around here, whether it's the democratic governments of the Western war, the autocratic governments have used. Every single government is in the pocket of Satan and the fallen angels. Every single one. Every single government, whether it accept it or not, I really don't care is under the dominion of the powers and principalities. Yeah. And he's out working the plan that's there that's
Reverend Ben Cooper:already written about. Yeah, they're just fulfilling. Yeah, what the scripture says,
Steve:and it's it. We're not there, to wrestle with flesh and blood, but against those principalities and powers. And the way we do it is not engaging in politics, but engaging in preaching the gospel.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah. is very, very true. You know, there's a there's a spiritual press against Christians. Oh, yes. And it's not coming from the norm. The guys and girls on the streets is coming from policies and political agendas. identity will eventually fade down into the streets, it will feed into the street. And we've we've seen that we've already just mentioned the persecuted church, but that the government's are clearly against a Bible believing believer. Yes. Not the world, not them around them. No other religion but purely Christianity.
Steve:Yeah, I think what you said there is about believing Christian one who stands on Word of God and believes that it is the word of God revealed. The born again, blood washed site. Yeah. Because you're going to get the woman sitting on the back of the beast. You're going to see the One World Religion. Yeah, you're going to see, I mean, some of the stuff that's been coming out wrong recently, you know. There's an awful lot of Catholics can't believe it. So
Reverend Ben Cooper:Stretch it out. what's what's all about? There's an awful lot ring don't like, press quite interested in it as a stirring within the story. Yes. There's a military aspect there is a church that you really do not like what this guy's up to now. It's interesting watching. Yeah. Cuz
Steve:then on the other side, you got people like the Archbishop Moses and the Archbishop that want to sign up.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah. And we'll have some of that. Yeah, we'll have some crazy stuff.
Steve:Yeah. And we do the the laws that are being passed both in America and here and in Australia and Canada. Yeah. They are mitigating against our belief in the Word of God. They are was not able to come and arrest me at the moment. The application of the law is such that if I step out a line or say something in public, they can come and arrest me. Yeah, because my opinion differs from theirs.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah. And so do you think that that's where they're gonna twist it to hide? hate speech? Yeah, of course.
Steve:They're much more interested in Knightsbridge and dealing with real criminality. Yeah,
Reverend Ben Cooper:you know, it's easy in it deal with a doula Christian that's speaking at the Bible. Yeah, we're doing that is easy.
Steve:Let the robber Robin murder a murder. But we get it. We get the bloke who says you know, there's only two sexes.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah. Or we're gonna rest Yeah. You can't say that.
Steve:You can't say. I mean, the pursuit of nothing against I mean, I didn't ever watch the game so I'm really not interested but the Euro Cup final? Yeah. The three lads Mr. penalties. Yeah. ended up getting in the neck and did yeah. Yeah. Which let me say from the outset is evil and corrupt. Yeah. Oh, man. No, no, no, I don't give you black white, green, pink, yellow. You're dying mister girl you want to you want to grow about the fact that a footballer misses a go grump about it. But don't get down at the fact that he's a black footballer, especially nothing to do with it. Yeah, nothing to do with hate. That's hate speech. That's how I spend. I'd like to know how much money they spent on trying to hunt down people who did that. But
Reverend Ben Cooper:yeah,
Steve:all right. But when we come down to the assault on young girls up in the northeast, exactly, England, yes. The police constantly have turned away and so no, we're not gonna reverse don't know where they are investing. Investigate. Yeah, no. And that's still going on.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah. And then it makes it makes you bake the differences. who's involved in it?
Steve:Well, that's another nother opener. See, the other problem about that is that they're very reactions. Yeah, please. liberal woke. Yeah, whether you will people by their actions, they are encouraging racism.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Definitely.
Steve:Because they sign up. We're interested in you because because you're black. Yeah. Because you know, there's something really special about you because you're black, and we couldn't care less about you because you're what it's all crap. It's all gross. All rubbish, sign everything. It's all rubbish. It's all nonsense. Every life is every lie. Yeah. And if they want to investigate the people that have already got the three legs missed the penalties, please do so. But please don't forget. Don't forget what other people?
Reverend Ben Cooper:That's correct. Yeah. I would say don't do it. The human trafficking that goes on. Yeah, the the vile stuff that goes on against women, the the right, the beating that all that. All that all that and we know that that's working, we know that there are areas that are doing a great job in that. But that's where our focus should be. In that, well, we know we're living in an upside down world. And
Steve:precisely then it's going to get more
Reverend Ben Cooper:upside down. It's going to look more more barmy.
Steve:This is where we end up.
Reverend Ben Cooper:But only to the believer, though, isn't it?
Steve:Well, yeah, I mean, unfortunately, you know, this business of the the, the woke situation has bled so much into the church, our work wise, there are people that I know that were once good friends of friends rising. But seeing some of the stuff that they've been pushing out, and what they're believing in and I'm thinking, Well, sorry, where you coming from? Well, Papa, you know, the climate change mob and all the rest of it, and we should be
Reverend Ben Cooper:activists. And yeah, and I'm thinking so hang on a minute. Let's just keep in the Word of God.
Steve:This is the thing this is this is where God challenged me. Stay out of politics, Diane, climate, stay out and Aspire. Concentrate on a word of God, you're going to get persecuted because you concentrate on a word of God. But if you start going down those other lines, you're I'm not gonna give you patience for that. Now will give you patience while you stay in the word Yeah, and deal inward and work out in love towards your men. Which you can't take a political stance No. But the the enemy wants us to do it because by doing that, it takes our eyes off of the way
Reverend Ben Cooper:to x arrows. The word and it, it puts the onus on the flesh in the flesh gets angry. We were going down rabbit holes that we shouldn't even be going then chasing things that we shouldn't even bother him with. I'll just become a
Steve:millionaire speak out about certain things if they're wrong. But yeah, it doesn't matter who speaks it out. You know, we can't speak out from a political point of view. No, we speak out from a god, God's point of view. Oh, well, those are all lives matter. God says that I've created two sexes. This is what I, you know, and we stand on this, then the world comes to us and says, No, you can't believe that. And so we're tough. Guy, I believe this is what? We're gonna lock you up on how you're gonna have to lock me up.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah. Huh.
Steve:You know that? That's a given?
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yes. That's to be expected. That's to be expected because the disciples were locked up.
Steve:Yeah. And it's a few of them. It's that persecution that will come and is coming. So don't wait. This is again, coming back to as long suffering of God that we need sighs preparation. Yeah. What is this idea of looking at God that we've been doing? We've been looking at these aspects of God over the past few weeks. What it should be doing is looking at those aspects of God. Yeah, then. As Darrell Paul says, The word is a mirror into which we look dimly. So when we look at that aspect of God, and and what do we see in reflection for ourselves? Well, I don't have that. And I don't have that. And I don't have that. And I see that error regardless of whether there is persecution coming. I need to change. I,
Reverend Ben Cooper:I need to change. Yeah.
Steve:I mean, it's more urgent now. Because what I do see come in, but irregardless of what's coming, I must be changed. As I spoke to you the other week about when I started reading people, like oh, in Banyan and stuff, like, I looked at them, and there was stuff coming off the page, then I knew that I didn't have what they had. And I wanted and he was hungry For I was hungry for that. And it was basically a hunger for change itself. Yes. If anything, has changed him in my understanding now, it's known that there are lots of crit there are a lot lots of Christians that aren't preparing themselves.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah. Yeah, we had this conversation never died that way after church, you know, the responsibility sits on me now. Yes. As a believer, yes. It is, is upon me. My decisions are critical. Yeah. So I'll go in wise, Godly counsel. Yeah. And I need to make sure that I really seek that I gotta keep trying to fleece out. Lord is this view is this the right way? Lord, I knit because I can't go well, the denomination that we said about you gave me a god. She enticement in the garden. This is all this. It's it's a blame culture.
Steve:Yeah, it's a blame culture.
Reverend Ben Cooper:It's their fault, not mine. Yeah. But now the devil made me do it. The devil made me do.
Steve:But no, we have to, in in, in season and out season had to borrow something from the Bible, we have to be conscious of what we are not much more so than what we are, we have to be conscious of the fact that we saved them. We are Christ's, but we have to be conscious of what we do not have in him, What am I lacking? What am I lacking of God. And the more I look at that, the more I become more as he wants me to be here because if I'm looking here and again, my one of my, one of the very difficult areas for me over the years has been the area of love. I know that I do not love Okay, as I should. And it's been there for me for many, many years. Here we go this again, irregardless of what's coming down the road, because many, many years ago, I wasn't seen as coming down the road. But it's still a major problem for me that I see within me that I do not have that love, which God commands me to have. Yeah. And I am in desperate need for him to doing me that which I desire for him to do. So. I will reflect him. Yes, again, irregardless of what's coming.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah,
Steve:you know, I'm I fall off the tweet tomorrow. So you know, yeah. But from the point of view of Christians today, there are lots of Christians aren't preparing themselves now in the right way. You know, you've got you've got people out in America called preppers. They know things are going wrong. So they bring in lots of food and guns and ammunition. I'm sorry, lads, that I'm prepping, prepping,
Reverend Ben Cooper:you know, as well as water.
Steve:Precisely. You know, you want to throw it out fine. It's up to you in preparation for what's coming down is that when they persecute when they kill when they despitefully use. I am supposed to bless them, and I
Reverend Ben Cooper:was supposed to love them. And that's cool. Ross was on the cross Father forgive them. Yes. That's where I've got to be.
Steve:Yeah. And you can't do
Reverend Ben Cooper:it because
Steve:I forgive him. I forgive I forgive, you know, it shows. Like I was crying. I was calling Tinkerbell Tinkerbell face. Yeah. You know the story of Tinker Bell Yeah, for those that don't. We have a thing in England called a pantomime. And every year, somebody does pick it up pain. Point. Tinkerbell drinks a lot of poison. It's meant to be for PETA, and she's dying. And Peter says to all the people in the audience, do you believe in fairies in regards? Yes, if you do clap, and the louder you're clapping, then Tinkerbell is going to come back to life. And everyone. Clap Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap. And the harder they clap, the harder they clap, then the light grows greater and greater and Tinker. And when I say like Tinker Bell fight. That's it. That's it. You know, just try harder and harder and clap harder.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah, they don't work out what was fairy towel?
Steve:Yeah, precisely. That's his fairy tale. He's called. You can't cannot face the things which many of our brothers and sisters across the world facing by gritting their teeth.
Reverend Ben Cooper:The law of declaring and declaring, declare and decree
Steve:declare and decree that the Chinese government has collapsed,
Reverend Ben Cooper:there is still a work. Still going very strong. So it can only be done by the power of the Holy Spirit by the power of God's Word by, by me as an individual calling on God. Yes, that is it. That is that simple, isn't it?
Steve:This is recognizing our need of him. And every single Christian as they grow, yeah. They are more conscious of that need.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah, we Yes, we are. The more we grow, the more we want to be like him.
Steve:Yeah, the more the more we grow, the less we know.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Exactly. It's so true, isn't it? And I that trouble me for a long time until we had a conversation. And you think now what I'll call it, the more I know, the less clever I am. Because
Steve:you there's a greater dependence upon God. Yeah. Rather than your own understanding. You know, our conversations over the past few weeks here. If anything has come out of any worse, that's of God, because hey, man has given he's here in the conversation. He's Yes, he's here amongst us because to have gathered in his night. Yes. And so he's guiding our conversation a man and if there's anything good Richard's come out of it, what the Holy Spirit is guiding us to do through our understanding through the understanding is laid down over the years, over the years, the years.
Reverend Ben Cooper:Yeah, very interesting stuff. Steve, you've really taken on a great journey today. We've reached at that 15 minute level. And we thank God for Steve life and his family. And we, we do pray that we will just continue as we will continue impressing the Word of God, may God strengthen you. And the title of today's podcast was God's patience we got into psalms 86. We're going to Romans nine and Romans chapter two, the long suffering the patience of Christ and you've heard the discussion and is there any feedback please, please come back to us here. Thank you for listening to us. You've been listening to Steve and myself here in alien church, have a great rest of the day wherever you are across the world. We thank you for the downloads. We thank you for the listening. We thank you for staying with us for lockdown. We will continue to push and to push harder on the online service that we do and just just stay in the Word of God. God bless Have a good day. Bye bye.
Close:Thank you for listening to Elian church one this latest podcast. You can find us on buzzsprout Spotify Apple Music iHeartRadio Google Play Alexa mixcloud Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.