Becket Cook Testimony of Redemption

The transcription is a testimony of a man named Beckett Cook who shares his journey of being a former homosexual and how his life was transformed after coming to faith in Jesus Christ. He talks about his struggles with his identity, his successful career in the fashion industry, and the emptiness he felt despite his achievements. He shares how he encountered Christians who shared the gospel with him, attended a church service where he heard the message of salvation, and experienced a powerful encounter with God that led to his decision to follow Christ. Beckett emphasizes that his identity is now rooted in Christ and that he has found true joy and fulfillment in his relationship with God. The transcription also encourages listeners to share their own testimonies and reach out for prayer and support. I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. Yes, I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. I promised Him that I would serve Him till I die. Now I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. I was alone and I was a sinner too. I heard a voice from heaven saying there is work to do. I took my life to stand and I joined that heavenly band. And I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. Yes, I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. Welcome to Testimonies of the Goodness of God. It's a pleasure having you all with us today. And I really, really appreciate the feedback and the amount of listeners we've had in the last couple of podcasts that we've put out there and the new members of our Facebook page. We have graciously and by the grace of God reached well over 100 followers and over 100 likes. We're heading for 200 hopefully here pretty soon. And don't forget if you want to drop us a line just send us an email to keygoodnessofgod at gmail.com. Keygoodnessofgod at gmail.com or as a couple have done leave us a message there on Facebook Messenger or a comment on the daily devotional prayer scripture we have or any of our posts including the podcast. We post those when they are first put out. The first place you'll see them is audio.com or our Facebook page Testimony of the Goodness of God. And of course we give all the glory and praise and honor to our God and Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the people who are listening on a regular basis and leaving us those wonderful comments and suggestions. And we've had a couple of prayer requests from people who have been listening and we've had a couple of prayer requests. So thank you very much for participating. That's what we're looking for. And if you have a wonderful testimony that you would like to share with everyone, please let us know by dropping us an email or leaving your contact information there on Messenger and we will get back with you as soon as possible to set up a time to get an interview done and share what I am sure is a wonderful testimony of how great God is and has been in your life. Today friends we are excited to have Beckett Cook to give us his testimony. It's a wonderful testimony about how God changed his life. Beckett was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and he moved to Los Angeles after college to pursue a career in writing and acting. He eventually wound up as a set designer working with the world's top photographers on fashion shoots for magazines like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar and for ad campaigns including Gap, Louis Vuitton and Nike. He's also been recognized and worked for Oprah and other celebrities there in Southern California. His life was transformed in 2009 as you will hear from his testimony when he was invited to a church and came to faith in Jesus Christ. He's a former homosexual and now spends much of his time in ministry speaking on the issue of homosexuality at the churches, universities and conferences. He also has a book titled A Change of Affliction, A Gay Man's Incredible Story of Redemption. It's a wonderful testimony of how he through Christ was able to turn his life around and start living for the Lord instead of living in sin. Friends we hope you enjoy the testimony today and here is Beckett Cook. I thought the whole purpose of my life, the meaning of my life was finding true love in another human being and a guy and finding success in my career. So at a very young age I knew that I was attracted to the same sex. I had to keep it to myself. I dated girls in elementary school, I went to study with girls in high school, I dated girls but it was all a facade. After college I ended up moving to LA to pursue acting and writing and kind of a creative, more of a creative field. I just came out to everyone. That's when I fully embraced homosexuality as my identity. After each relationship with a guy and after it would end I had total amnesia that how it all ended and I would think oh the next guy is going to be perfect and the next guy is going to be amazing and of course like two years later it's over. There's cheating, infidelity and it's over. At this point in my life I was very successful in my career as a set designer, production designer. I was doing covers for Vogue and for Harper's Bazaar and I worked with a lot of pop stars like Katy Perry and Paris Hilton and Oprah. Everyone you can imagine. I worked with them and I also started my own men's fashion line that was successful. Our clothes were in LA, New York, Paris. I went to all the shows, I went to all the after parties. I was at this one after party in Paris and I remember just everyone was there from the fashion world. I think Kanye was there that year. I was kind of looking out over the crowd, it just struck me so profoundly. I was like is that all there is to life? Just going to parties for the rest of my life? Is this what it's all about? And I really started to panic that night. I was overwhelmed with a sense of emptiness. I got back to LA and got busy with work for about six months. I was at a coffee shop in Silver Lake with my best friend and he was gay too. We noticed, shockingly, that there was a table next to us with Bibles on the table. This was the first time I had seen a Bible in public in Los Angeles ever. By that point in my life I was a practical atheist. Finally I just turned around and I said, are you guys Christians? They laid it out for me. They told me what they believe, they told me the gospel. So what does your church in Hollywood believe about homosexuality? They were just like, well, we believe it's a sin. What's interesting about that is, number one, I appreciated how frank they were and honest. They invited me to church the following Sunday. I was like, I don't know if I'm going to go to your church, but I'll think about it. Then the following Sunday I wake up and I'm like, I guess I'm just going to go to this church today. The pastor comes out and he starts preaching on Romans chapter 7. Something strange started happening. Everything he was saying, every word he was saying, every sentence he was saying, started to resonate as truth in my mind and my heart and I didn't know why. I was on the edge of my seat, literally on the edge of my seat. It was the first time I had really heard the gospel and understood it. Before he left he invited people to get prayed with on the side of the church. I go up to this guy, stranger, and I say, I don't know what I believe, but I'm here. He said, okay, let me pray for you. He laid hands on me and prayed for me. It seemed really intense and long. I just remember thinking, why does this straight dude love me so much? It seemed so loving what he was saying and praying. All of a sudden the Holy Spirit floods me. God has revealed himself to me in that moment. He's like, you're now adopted into my kingdom. Welcome. I was like, whoa. I just started bawling, hysterically bawling. In that moment I knew to the core of my being that being gay was no longer who I was, but I didn't care. I just met Jesus Christ. Some people might say that I'm just depressing who I really am, but they don't get it because I lived that life for a really long time. I marched in gay pride parades. I marched in gay marriage equality parades. I was super gay. I tried that for 30 years. This is actually really who I am now. My hope is that people will realize how much more amazing it is to deny yourself and follow Christ rather than to just give in to sin now just to satisfy some immediate need. It's not a happiness from the world. It's a joy that comes from Christ. With God, I feel this unconditional love from him that will never leave. He'll never leave or forsake me. I'm happy to leave that dead man behind because he's worth it. What a wonderful testimony, friends. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. These testimonies that we share, I hope it touches all your hearts. I hope you are given that opportunity to play it and let another person hear the goodness of God, hear what God can do for one person in their life, to hear how God takes care of us when we ask him to, how God will work with us and get us through our transgressions, and how God will turn our lives around. No, it won't happen overnight, friends. It may not even happen in a month. But I will assure you, if you try to move forward with the Lord Jesus Christ as your pilot, as the one that's going to walk with you and hold your hand and guide you down that narrow path, if he's the one that you will let lift you up and take you out of these worldly things, if he's the one that you want for the rest of your life, it will be done. But it's on you, friends. I can't do it for you. Your preacher can't preach it for you. Your teacher can't teach you. Your mom and dad can't lift you up and do it for you. Oh, we'll all pray for you, and we'll all be there right there with you, put our hands on you, talk to you, and help you. But you, friend, you, you don't know him. You're the one. You're the one that has to believe. You're the one that has to believe in him crucified and rising again in three days just for us, that God sent him here to die for our sins, that we may be saved of this world, that we may become righteous enough to live out our eternal life with God in the presence of God. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Friends, if you want to know him, I'm telling you, drop us a line at tgoodnessofgod.com. Tell us where you're at. Tell us about how you want us to pray for you, and give us your testimony of how God has been in your life, the greatness and the goodness of God, and we'll share it with everyone we can. And friends, if you know someone that's got a beautiful testimony, let them know about us. Let them listen to us. And again, drop us a line or let us know there on Facebook Messenger or on our Facebook page, Testimony of the Goodness of God, and we will certainly reach out and get it, or get the testimony recorded and put out for everyone else to enjoy. So we hope you have enjoyed it today, friends. And always remember, stay blessed.