Chains Crushed, Purpose Set Ablaze, with Steve Hopper

In this inspiring episode of Living Testimonies, we sit down with Steve Hopper—a man whose life journey proves it’s never too late for a comeback. At just 17, Steve found himself confined behind prison walls. Two years later, still incarcerated, he met Jesus and accepted salvation—but his true breakthrough didn’t come until he was 47, when he experienced full, radical surrender to God’s calling on his life.

Today, Steve is one of the most sought-after speakers in the professional circuit. He’s delivered hundreds of powerful keynotes and workshops at corporate events, leadership conferences, schools, churches—and even correctional facilities. As the author of From Prison to Purpose, he’s shared his story on TV, radio, and in leading publications, challenging audiences to turn their setbacks into comebacks and to win life’s most important game.

Join us as Steve unpacks how he transformed decades of pain into a purpose-driven mission, how he maintains momentum in his faith-filled walk, and how you too can step into God’s plan for your life—no matter your past. If you’ve ever wondered whether your mistakes define you, this episode will remind you that freedom and purpose await when you fully surrender. 

Link to connect with Steve Hopper:

Steve Hopper Speaks

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Transcript

Israel Caminero: 0:04

Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode. I'm grateful for your support and for being part of this community. If you've been enjoying the podcast so far, I'd love it if you could take a minute to leave a review. Your feedback helps me reach more people and share these inspiring stories with others. Let's spread the word. Please share this podcast with your friends and family, and if you haven't already, be sure to like and subscribe for new episodes. To stay connected and up to date on all the latest news, updates, and exclusive content, head over to my Facebook page, Living Testimonies. While you're there, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter. The link is on the page. Thanks again for listening, and I'll catch you in the next episode. Welcome to Living Testimony, Stories of Faith and Redemption. I'm your host, Israel Caminero, and I hope everyone that's listening is blessed and doing well. With me today, I have my brother in Christ, and his name is Steve Hopper. Can you introduce and say a little bit about yourself to everybody?

Steve Hopper: 1:27

Hey Israel, hey everybody. Just super blessed and honored to be here. My name is Steve Hopper. I'm based out of Tampa, Florida. I am an international speaker, author, and influence coach. Um, and so I'm just excited, humbled, and honored to be here with you, brother.

Israel Caminero: 1:44

Hey man. Hey man, thank you. Thank you for taking the time to be here. And you're in sunny side, Florida, and I'm in cold, cold Cleveland, Ohio. It can't make up his mind whether it wants to be cold or hot.

Steve Hopper: 1:58

Oh my goodness. Oh man. We're in the 30s. Yeah, we're we're about to go in that miserable hot season down here, though, bro. So it's gonna be we're gonna be wishing we were in cooler weather here in a few months. But yeah, it's pa it's it's paradise down here. We can't complain.

Israel Caminero: 2:13

Yeah, I don't know about that. We're in our thirties today, thirty, low thirties. So I don't know if you want that type of weather, but I don't.

Steve Hopper: 2:21

I don't. All right.

Israel Caminero: 2:23

Well, he's here to share his testimony, but before he does, I'd like to pray over us, uh him specifically, and I'd like to say, Heavenly Father, I thank you for this opportunity to come together and lift up the name of Jesus. I thank you for Steve and the journey you've brought him through. You've been present in every moment, guiding, protecting, and preparing him for such a time as this. Lord, I pray that you would fill him with your peace and boldness as he shares his story. Let your Holy Spirit speak through him, by touching hearts and drawing people closer to you. Let every word bring glory to your name and hope to those who are listening. May this testimony be a light in the darkness, a reminder that no one is too far from your love. Bless this time and use it for your kingdom and your purpose. In Jesus' name. Amen. All right. No problem. So, all right, Steve. Let's jump right in. Can you take us back and share a little bit about what your life was like growing up?

Steve Hopper: 3:23

Yes, absolutely. With pleasure. So I grew up uh here in Tampa, Florida, started playing football when I was probably about five years old. It was what I wanted to do with my life. I didn't want to grow and be a fireman, policeman, doctor. I wanted to be a football player, and I had natural talent, skill, and all that good stuff, and throughout the years, uh uh, you know, gained that additional skill to match the natural talent and you know, got into high school, and you know, the opportunities were were there for the taking to you know, possibly go to the next level, etc. Uh but one night, my senior year in high school, I would make a split-second decision that would change the course of my life forever. I got invited to a high school keg party down on a private beach uh here in Tampa. Uh showed up at this beach, hundreds of teenagers, uh drinking, partying, doing what we had no business doing at 16, 17 years old. And at this party, a fight broke out. Uh an hour argument broke out between uh one of my friends that came with me to the party and a teenager from a rival high school. Uh, within moments, a huge fight broke out. Um I engaged in that fight. Somebody yells cops, everybody runs to their cars and takes off. We didn't didn't think anything of it again. It was another Friday night, another party, like we had been in those situations before, but this one was going to be different because three days later, the local sheriff's department showed up at my parents' home with a warrant for my arrest. One of the teens that I had hit during that Friday night altercation had slipped into a coma. And at that moment, Israel, everything changed. It was like the clock stopped ticking in my life. My father took me down, turned me into county jail, you know, thinking ultimately that, you know, that they were gonna, my parents were gonna be able to bond me out and and and that we would, you know, attorney up and and and be able to figure it all out and get it all worked out. Uh, but what my dad didn't know and I didn't know at that time was that uh the next morning the judge was actually gonna revoke my bond because they didn't know if this young man was going to live or if he was gonna die. They didn't know if they were gonna charge me with murder or attempted murder. And so I sat in the county jail for 90 days, my senior year, waiting to find out um what was gonna happen. Um he was in a coma for three months, but after that three-month period, I called home one night, my mom answered the phone, she informed me that that he had come out of the coma and that he was gonna live, and it was the best news I'd ever heard in my life. But as a speaker, when I speak at our high schools and our middle schools and our colleges, I always try to impart on our youth that when you make bad choices in life, there are almost always gonna be bad consequences that come along with them. And to make a long story short for your listeners, for that one split-second decision, for that one swing, that one lapse in judgment that Friday night at 17 years old, uh, the consequences were gonna be great. Um they sentenced me to 10 years in Florida State prison at 17 years old.

Israel Caminero: 7:00

Wow. Ten years. Yeah.

Steve Hopper: 7:04

Wow. Yeah. And you know, nothing in life had prepared me for the world that I was entering. I got sent to one of the worst prisons in the state of Florida at the time. The gang violence was daily, the riots were almost weekly. They've since then shut that place down. You know, I watched people stabbed to death, beat to death right in front of me. It was a far cry from you know anything I'd experienced growing up. And uh, you know, I fought fought for my life on numerous occasions, you know, during that first uh year of that incarceration. It was about a year in my in my incarceration that it was lights out time, it was 9 p.m. and the steel door closed, slammed shut on that prison cell, sealing, sealing me in for the night. And it was so dark in the cell, you you really couldn't see a foot in front of your face. And this particular night, the weight of the world just came crashing in on me. I felt every emotion that you could imagine. It just coming in on me and consuming me to the point that I crouched down in the corner of the cell and just pulled my knees tight to my chest and began to cry. And it was, you know, I was feeling every emotion from hopelessness, helplessness, fear, regret, remorse, like I mean, you name it, it was just weighing on me. And for the first time in my life, the thought of suicide crossed my mind as I sat there in the corner of the cell, you know, contemplating like my life, the fact that everything I'd hoped for, worked for, dreamed for, thought I was gonna do what my life was gone, was never gonna return. I was one year into a 10-year sentence that had been held. I didn't think I was gonna survive the next nine. You know, I just uh as I sat there, I felt like my life had no meaning and it had no purpose. And so for the first time in my life, the thought of suicide crossed my mind. And as I was sitting there contemplating how I was gonna do it, um, I remembered something. It was something that my grandfather had said to me when I was a kid. I used to spend my summers at my grandparents' house. My grandfather and grandmother owned a bunch of property in North Florida, and I would spend my summers there, and during those summer visits, my grandfather was always preaching at me, trying to talk some wisdom into me. He was a Christian. I'll never forget he would get up at breakfast every morning and open that daily devotional and read it, and I would just sit there like, oh, here we go again, you know, like uh, you know, one ear and out the other. I had my own agenda. Yeah, I didn't want to hear any of that. I didn't want to hear any of that religious stuff. And um, but one summer during one of those visits, my grandfather got my attention and he said, Son, just promise me one thing. And I said, Yeah, granddaddy, what is it? He said, Just promise me that if you're ever at a dark moment in your life, your back's against the wall, you don't feel like you have any way out. Just promise me that you will drop to your knees and cry out for Jesus. And I said, Okay, granddaddy, sure, whatever you say. And at that time, I thought I was just pacifying him, um, and then it had just you know gone in one ear and out the other.

Israel Caminero: 10:28

Right.

Steve Hopper: 10:29

But that night, as I was sitting in the corner of that cell, Israel, contemplating taking my own life, I remembered what my grandfather had said to me. And I was there, I was in a dark place, my back was against the wall, man. I felt like there was no light at the end of the tunnel. I felt like I had any way out. At that point, what did I have to lose? And so I took his advice that night and I spun around on my knees, laid my face on that dirty concrete prison floor, and cried like I never cried before in my life. And when I called out his his name in an instant, uh, all of those other feelings that I was feeling, they just subsided, and those feelings were replaced with feelings of peace, joy, and purpose. Like I knew in that moment that God did have a plan for my life, and he had a purpose for my life. And so I went to sleep that night, man. I slept like a baby, woke up the next morning, had a new lease on life, but unfortunately they didn't come and open the gates and and say, Hey, great job. You know, you gave your life to Christ, we're gonna go and let you out of prison. No, right. I still had nine years to do. And so I just uh, you know, I began to really deep dive into a lot of personal development stuff and ended up doing seven years on the 10-year sentence. So I went in to prison at 17, got out when I was 24, and I can tell you that you know, throughout that entire incarceration, God was just He was with me every step of the way, protecting me, you know, guiding me.

Israel Caminero: 12:10

That's good. Definitely. I had a question. So were you tried as an adult at 17?

Steve Hopper: 12:17

Uh yeah, absolutely. Uh, because it was a violent crime, because I was, you know, so close to the age of 18, they definitely adjudicated me as an adult. Yep. Yeah, man. Threw the book at me. Yeah, there have been a lot of uh I mean ultimately, you know, I mean, we're not gonna discredit the situation here at all. You know, I put right another teenager in a coma and uh ultimately, you know, hurt him, hurt his family, and I mean it was not in my mind. I was not trying to kill him or anything to that effect, you know, it was a it was a high school fight. Yeah. But there had been a lot of that going on at the time, and um they were making an example out of somebody, and and I became that example.

Israel Caminero: 12:59

Yeah, yeah. I mean that's why I was asking because at 17 usually you go to juvenile jail, but or detention, I should say. But you were saying you went to prison, so they were definitely trying to show probably some of your friends or something, like, hey, we're not gonna tolerate this. Yeah, yeah. So absolutely. So when you were backed up in that corner at 17 and you surrendered your life to Christ, were you radically changed at that time? Did you follow God even after you got out of prison at 24?

Steve Hopper: 13:33

This is uh this is such a great question, man. And and I love that you asked this question because it leads me into the second part of my testimony, you know. Uh, was there a radical change that night? Yes, absolutely, in the sense that I felt God's presence, which is something I had never felt before. I I felt his peace, uh, I felt uh the joy and understood in that moment that he had a plan and purpose for my life. So that in itself was was was definitely a radical change. Now, when I got out of prison, I would love to tell you that I just continued on my path with the Lord. But Israel, I got out back out into the world, and you know, the devil never shows up with a pitchfork and a red cape and horns. He shows up as all of the things that look good, look appealing, seem okay, you know, and I began to uh you know chase all of the things that the world had to offer. And the more and more uh I began to chase and focus on the things of this world, my relationship with him, his voice, the the feeling of his presence got more and more distant. And uh and ultimately the enemy was able to, you know, to get that foot in the door and ultimately lead me down some pass. Um I ended up you know having, you know, I was chasing money and success and women and you know, all the things ultimately that I had you know missed out on for so long, right?

Israel Caminero: 15:23

Right.

Steve Hopper: 15:24

And you know, I ended up you know having you know success, I ended up having failure in the business world, I ended up having, you know, uh two failed marriages. Um I was definitely, you know, God will bless us in the midst of our chaos and our bad decision making. Uh, but you know, I had got four beautiful children out of uh of those two uh failed marriages. But um, you know, after that last failed marriage, um I really, you know, the divorce was was brutal. Uh uh it was it was just a really, really difficult situation. And I found myself at the end of myself. You know, that divorce was was not only financially devastating, it uh affected my relationship with my children, and uh it wasn't it wasn't a clean break. And ultimately I came to the end of myself, and it was at that point when I came to full surrender, bro, where I said, you know, God, I have gone astray, I have done it my way, I have changed, I have chased the things of this world, I have walked in my own understanding, I have done things in my will and not your will for me. Um I haven't read your word, I haven't, you know, I just haven't been in relationship, and and and I'm just I am I'm at the end of myself, and I fully surrender my life to you, everything. I don't want to make any more decisions without your guidance, I don't want to make any more relationship choices without your guidance, I don't want to make any more business decisions without your guidance. God, I'm giving you my relationship with my children, I'm giving you my finances, I'm giving you everything. I did I just want to walk in your will for my life. And when I did that, the spiritual blindness was removed from my eyes, bro. Like I began to gain a an understanding and a you know that the you know that peace that I felt that night in that cell, it came back, but it came back tenfold, bro. Um, and and and I and what accompanied it was just a just complete desire in my heart to just know him more, to know him better, to live for him, to walk in his will and purpose for my life. And just amazing things began to happen after that moment.

Israel Caminero: 18:13

That's so good. Looking back, how do you see God's hand through all the years in between salvation and surrender versus when you were living in the world?

Steve Hopper: 18:25

You know, I see God's hand everywhere in all things. You know, when I made that full surrender, he ultimately really just brought my purpose, my calling, all of it. Just he he just he just made it crystal clear for me, which was something that you know I had really you know searched for and seeked most of my life. It's what most people wonder and seek and search for. You know, ultimately, you know, if we want to know our purpose in life, you know, we go to the person that gave it to us, you know, the one that created it, created us. And hey, yeah. And so, you know, when I made that full surrender, um he he he really just began to just make it clear what it was that that I was gonna go and do and um you know my purpose in being here. And you know, as I look back on my life, I realized that even as I was out there making the decisions that I was making and not in relationship with him, and not you know, living by his word and living in his will for my life, he was doing things and preparing me in ways that were ultimately going to get me ready for my purpose, for that surrender moment, etc. You know, he was uh just all along. I mean, he was there, he he never left, bro. Right, even though I was in a relationship with him, he was he was. There. He was protecting me ultimately. You know, we have this thing called free will, right? You know, God doesn't want, uh, he didn't create us to be robots, uh, you know, in any way, shape, or form, and he gave us free will and because he wanted us to be in genuine relationship with him. He wanted us to love him out of out of our own choice and out of our own out of our heart, you know, and you know, he put that desire in all every single person created to know him, and that's why people go down so many roads uh in religion, and they go down so many uh paths seeking uh purpose, and because you know we're all created with this, you know, this underlying desire to be in connection with a with our creator. That's right. And and so many people go down so many different paths trying to find it, bro. And uh, you know, we we we have a podcast as well called You know Kingdom Influence, and we're constantly interviewing people on our podcast that you know went went through all sorts of stuff trying to seek this entity that they knew was there all along. And ultimately, you know, Jesus says that I am the way, the truth, and the life. Um and uh you know, there is only one God. And uh and Jesus is the way to God, uh, the only way to God, um, based on what he did for us at the cross. And so, yeah, man, it's uh so yeah, God's presence was there all along. I know it's a long answer to your question, but as I look back on my life, I can just see, man, you know, that every situation, you know, like you know, God doesn't put us in bad places. We put ourselves in bad places. The enemy can entice us to go down the you know bad roads and make bad choices, and uh, but ultimately at the end of the day, you know, God is there saying, Oh, you know, I mean, I could just imagine him sitting up there going, that is not what I would like for you to be doing right now, but you know what? Let me see what I can do to teach you from this, you know, to get to to better get you prepared and and and ultimately uh you know come back to me.

Israel Caminero: 22:24

That's right.

Steve Hopper: 22:25

You know, the the you know, the source of your life. And so, yeah, man, he was there all along. He was there all along. And and you know, so I would I would sum up that whole journey, man, like the prodigal son, you know. Um, he was there waiting for me to come back and and say, Father, I screwed up, I did it my way, it didn't work, you know. I don't deserve to be in your presence. I don't deserve to be taken care of by you, but I'm I'm here. And he's and he's going, Are you kidding me? You know, you're my child.

Israel Caminero: 23:03

That's right.

Steve Hopper: 23:04

You know, here's a ring. Let me put this ring on your finger, let me put this robe, let me put some new sandals on your feet. You know, go grab that, go grab that you the the fattened calf. Let's have a feast.

Israel Caminero: 23:16

That's right.

Steve Hopper: 23:17

Because my child is home, my child has returned. And that goes for everybody that's listening out there. It doesn't matter where you've gone, what you've done, what decisions you've made, how far away you have strayed. He is there at the top of the hill, waiting for you to come back.

Israel Caminero: 23:40

That's right. You know, I I I say that all the time too. And it's you know, from experience, he is there. He is there all the time. But like you said, we do have free will, and he does prepare us for things to come. But he's waiting, like you also said, for us to surrender, surrender to him, and he's never left our side. Could you imagine if we surrendered and he would be like, nope, you know, like I'm not accepting it. But he's waiting there with open arms, open arms, like you said. You know, so that's right. So that's what's right. God is just wonderful.

Steve Hopper: 24:27

And you know, the enemy, you know, he is such a liar because you know, he wants us. I mean, ultimately, if he can keep us from making that decision, then he wins, right? If he can keep us from going back, and you know, if he can keep us from coming to to know the Lord, receiving salvation, surrendering our lives. I mean, he can he can keep us, you know, and and and and so he he'll he'll entice us with stuff, and then he'll condemn us for the bad choices that we make. And and really, you know, with the intention of of making us think that we're not worthy or that God is not gonna receive us or or whatever, you know. But God's love, man. I mean, you can't even do I mean you it it's hard to, I mean, it's hard to put his love into words. Jesus was the best example that we can just of God's love for us, man. To lay down his own life for us, for all of us.

Israel Caminero: 25:31

That's right.

Steve Hopper: 25:32

So that we would overcome death. That we'd be free from sickness and poverty and all of the things that have plagued us since the fall of Adam and Eve.

Israel Caminero: 25:43

That's right. I think that this is what I think. Let's say you were Christian and you gave life to God and you backslide. I think we beat ourselves up more than God does, you know, because we already know the goodness. Even though we backslid, we already know the goodness of God. So we we're, you know, we feel shameful and we feel like we let him down and things like that. And I think we beat ourselves up more because of that. But he like I s like both of us said earlier, he's not gonna never accept us back.

Steve Hopper: 26:23

Right. So Yeah, I mean it's it's it's as simple as calling out his name.

Israel Caminero: 26:29

That's right.

Steve Hopper: 26:30

And just and just asking him.

Israel Caminero: 26:33

Absolutely.

Steve Hopper: 26:34

Yeah, I mean, yeah.

Israel Caminero: 26:37

So I know you're doing big things now. My audience probably doesn't know you're doing big things now. But if you can share with them how your life has changed since you fully surrendered to Christ, that would be great.

Steve Hopper: 26:52

Amen. Well, I will tell you uh right off the bat that God put an amazing, amazing woman of God in my life. Um, you know, during one of the darkest moments of my life, she spoke life into me, uh, reminded me that I was the the head and not the tail. Uh she really was uh played an intricate role in uh bringing me back to that full surrender. Um my uh, you know, one of the things that God said to me during that surrender was that He would He would restore everything the enemy has stolen. He specifically said that my children would come back and my relationship with them would be restored. And so uh you know, I'm just proud to say that you know uh He is faithful and uh His word is truth. So He definitely He brought my children uh back and uh and now uh they are on their journey with the Lord as well And so it's just been it's been great. Um uh Kingdom Influencer uh uh was was was birthed and born. Uh you know, one of the things that I've been doing for for many, many years has been uh speaking and coaching and writing books. And so uh he put uh Kingdom Influencer on my heart. He also put Kingdom Influencer on Sylvia's heart, who is uh my fiancee. We're actually uh getting married in in June. Congratulations, and so super excited about that. Yeah, man, getting excited about that, and and so her and I have uh gone into business ministry together, and you know, he put Kingdom Influencer on our heart and based uh the vision off of Revelation 12, 11, which is they triumphed over him, him being the devil, by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus, and by the word of their testimony. And so uh he's uh put a desire in our heart to really just help us not only use our stories, but our expertise and knowledge and business and marketing and speaking and writing books and and obviously in his word, uh uh Sylvia is a graduate of Karas Bible College. I'm in Karas Bible College right now, fit uh you know, halfway done uh with mine. And so uh we're just taking everything that he's given us uh through our experience, and we're just raising up more kingdom influencers. Uh we're helping people with uh sharing their testimonies by becoming published authors. Uh we're helping people with their public speaking so they can go out and and begin to uh you know share their stories uh from stages, events, you know, to organizations, whatever God calls them to, and uh and so much more. Uh we have a ministry uh part of it as well. Uh we are doing discipleship as part of the program, uh missions is part of it, uh live events. So we did uh last year we we started doing live events. We have the Made for More conference, uh, which we uh are taking on the road now and uh that you know going to different uh churches, organizations, venues, uh whatever cities uh God is calling us to to go and just spread this message that you were created for more. Uh you were created for more than you're doing right now in your life. You were created to accomplish more than uh than you're accomplishing. And this is not new age. Uh this is not uh new age uh you know uh stuff that we're speaking here. This is you know, in God's word uh that he has uh created us uh you know wonderfully to walk with a power and authority through Jesus. Um and and so we're just just going out there and spreading the message, man, empowering people to to step into God's calling and purpose for their life.

Israel Caminero: 31:09

Amen. Amen. Blessed, right? You know, you went from a seventeen year 17-year-old imprisoned boy, and look what you're doing now. You know, you're blessed. And in case congratulations on your about to get married to Sylvia Puentes. If that name sounds familiar, she was on the podcast before, I believe it was around episode 20. Powerful testimony, if my listeners remember or want to go listen to her testimony. I believe it's around episode 20. And she's a wonderful lady. I'm glad I've met her. I'm glad I've met you. And I I'll also have links to all that information he just shared on the description of this episode, in case any of my listeners want to go and check you out or email you or listen to the podcast. I wish I was in Florida. I'd come, I'd come check it out, but unfortunately, I'm quite a mile away.

Steve Hopper: 32:08

Hey, brother. Well, we're uh, you know, listen, we're uh we uh God keeps putting Ohio on our heart as a location for a future made-for-more conference. Uh for some reason, he just keeps connecting us, and uh, we think we already know what that reason is. He just keeps connecting us with people in Ohio. Oh wow. Um, and so there's no doubt in my mind that he that Ohio is is is gonna be on the calendar in the very near future for Kingdom Influencer to bring that made for more conference to Ohio. And uh and so you'll be you'll be a part of that, bro.

Israel Caminero: 32:54

Amen.

Steve Hopper: 32:54

You'll be a part of that. So that's exciting, man.

Israel Caminero: 32:57

I'm here. I'm a phone call, email away. Let me know.

Steve Hopper: 33:02

We're gonna plan it for a time when it ain't real cold up there, bro, because you know we're from Florida, so we don't we don't want to deal with that cold.

Israel Caminero: 33:09

Maybe you want to come over here when you hit that heat wave, right? But it'll be it'll be warm over here too.

Steve Hopper: 33:14

So we don't go into shock or nothing, you know.

Israel Caminero: 33:17

Right.

Steve Hopper: 33:18

You know, down here, you know, down here in Florida, um, I don't know if you've ever seen this on your social media or anything like that, but it's the craziest thing. You know, we got we got iguanas down here in Florida.

Israel Caminero: 33:30

Yeah.

Steve Hopper: 33:30

And these iguanas, you know, they climb up in the trees. And when it gets cold, like, because you know, sometimes it gets cold down here, you know, and the temperature will drop down to, you know, in the 30, 40, whatever. These these guys just free, they they just pass out. They just literally pass out, they just fall out of the tree. Oh wow.

Israel Caminero: 33:50

And they fall.

Steve Hopper: 33:51

And so you'll be you'll be walking down the street and iguanas will just be falling out of the trees. They just completely, they just they just like go into hibernation or something, man. Just fall right out of the tree. It's crazy.

Israel Caminero: 34:01

It's raining iguanas.

Steve Hopper: 34:03

So we don't want that to be us, man. We don't want to come to that cold weather, bro, and be freezing in this, you know.

Israel Caminero: 34:11

Right now, Cleveland can't make up his mind. But getting back to you, yeah. What would you say to someone who feels like it's too late for them to turn their life around?

Steve Hopper: 34:23

Well, ultimately, um, as I, you know, just discussed really in my testimony, you know, um, it's never too late. It doesn't matter how far you've gone, how many decisions you've made, it doesn't matter what your age is. My father passed away several years ago. I had an opportunity to witness to him on his deathbed, you know, you know, and I don't suggest anybody waits until that moment, right? But it's never too late to receive the salvation and everything else that was given to you on that cross when Jesus took it all. When Jesus took it all. I would encourage you that that's a decision that you want to make sooner than later. Because when you make that decision and you begin to walk in his will for your life, his will is always going to be greater than our will. Because he's a loving God, he's a loving father, he is a loving father, he is a he is a fully alive God, he is a fully present God. Like, I don't make any decisions, Israel, anymore, without consulting him. Like, I mean, I talk to him all day, every day, even on the little things. I'm going to him and saying, What do I do here? What do I do here? And when you get in tune with the Holy Spirit, ultimately, you know, the Bible tells us when we confess with our mouths and believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord, that He's the Son of God, He died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, and He rose on the third day, we receive the Holy Spirit. We receive the helper that Jesus promised. That's right. Paul says that we have the same spirit as believers, we have the same spirit that rose Jesus from the dead living inside of us right now. And so, as believers, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God. It was the same Spirit that uh, you know, that gave Jesus the power to go out and and to and to do all of the many miracles that he did. You know, and so we receive that through Jesus' sacrifice. We receive that spirit. It's never too late to make that decision, and it's never too late to start walking in the will and the plan and the purpose that God has for your life. If you're still breathing, he ain't done with you yet. No matter how old you are.

Israel Caminero: 37:06

That's right. Yeah. That's totally right. I remember going to a walkworthy men's conference through Moody Bible, and it brought me to tears because at the end they did an altar call, and there was this guy that got up with a walker and gave his life to Christ at his age, and he had to have been at least in his 60s, 70s, and it just brought me to tears. Like, God, like it's never late. Like, look at this guy, he can hardly walk up there and he's given his life to Christ. It was such a great thing to see.

Steve Hopper: 37:45

It's a beautiful thing. It is such a beautiful thing.

Israel Caminero: 37:48

But I want to thank you, Steve, for taking the time to be on the podcast once again. But I do have a few more questions. One of the questions is Is there a specific Bible verse or verse? I should just say, is there a specific Bible verse that carried you through your darkest time or even today, like a life verse that you could always go back on and read when you're having a bad day, and what that verse is and what it means to you.

Steve Hopper: 38:36

And you know, that's always his plan for us. It's been his plan for us since day one. Uh, no matter what we're going through, where we go, what decisions we make, his plan for us is never to harm us. It's never it, you know, it's never ever ever to harm us. That's not part of his plan. Again, it goes back to being a loving father, right?

Israel Caminero: 39:07

Right.

Steve Hopper: 39:07

No loving father wants any harm brought to their children. And so uh that and then ultimately, you know, that he that he knows he knows the plans he has for us. Plans to prosper us and give us a hope in a future. It's still evident today in every aspect of my life. It was evident when I was going through tough times, it was a scripture that I leaned on, and it's just having faith that he's there and he's got a bigger plan for us. And it's a good one. God's plan for us is never a bad one.

Israel Caminero: 39:42

That's right. It's never a bad plan. Never never. It's not. It's not absolutely correct. It's always that other guy that plans are bad for us. You know, the opposing person.

Steve Hopper: 39:55

And that scripture, that scripture, by the way, is uh Jeremiah twenty nine eleven. If people want to go and and uh look at that and meditate on that.

Israel Caminero: 40:07

Good scripture and good verse. Now we're going to my back to the past section of the podcast. And what my back to the past section is, if the Steve from today can go back in time and talk to that 17-year-old or even younger Steve and let him know things that he didn't know then, but he knows today, what would you say to him?

Steve Hopper: 40:33

I would say to him, and I've said this already in the podcast, God's will for your life is so much better than the world's will, anybody else's will, or your own will for you. And if you just trust in the plan that he has for your life, if you just stay in relationship with him, he will show you his will for your life, and ultimately get in the word because the word is where it's all laid out for you. It's all there. Everything you need to know about how to walk in his will for your life, how to receive all the promises that he has for you, uh, it's all there. It's all there in his word. And I would also say this, you know, that uh there's gonna be a lot of choices in life. Some good, some bad. Some of those choices are just downright ugly, right? But at the end of the day, when when we take that last breath, there's only gonna be one choice that's gonna matter, really.

Israel Caminero: 41:50

Right.

Steve Hopper: 41:51

And that's gonna be whether or not we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Because one or two things are gonna happen when you take that last breath. And that's gonna be based on that choice right there.

Israel Caminero: 42:06

That's right.

Steve Hopper: 42:07

That's gonna be based on that one choice.

Israel Caminero: 42:10

That's right. Thank you for that. That was good.

Steve Hopper: 42:14

It's either etern it's either eternity with God in heaven, or it's etern eternal separation from God. And that's hell.

Israel Caminero: 42:26

Right.

Steve Hopper: 42:27

So amen.

Israel Caminero: 42:28

I'd rather choose eternity.

Steve Hopper: 42:31

Oh, bro. Bro, you'd be crazy not to, right? Right. That's why uh that's why we've been called to go out and share this message with as many people as we can, because some of them are just like they're on the fast track. I just uh, you know, had a family member here recently, man, that uh got married and and decided that uh she didn't want any religion and didn't want God in any way, shape, or form present at her wedding. And I just shook my head, you know, like man, wow. Like uh, do you even do you even know what you're saying right now? You know? So but you know, we just gotta keep gotta keep speaking the truth out, man, out there to everybody, man.

Israel Caminero: 43:09

Right, you gotta keep praying, you know, praying for her too.

Steve Hopper: 43:12

Amen. Amen.

Israel Caminero: 43:14

Thank you, Steve, for taking the time to be here out of your busy schedule and just joining me on the podcast. And like I said, I'm honored, man. And like I said before, I'll have uh links to all his information on this description of this episode. If any of my listeners or followers wanna reach out to him and go check them out again with his fiance Sylvia, they're they're a tag team, right? You guys tag team everything together. So now they're gonna be soon to be united under under one. So that's right.

Steve Hopper: 43:50

That's right.

Israel Caminero: 43:51

Congratulations against to you and her, uh, you know, for thank you for that, and I hope that it's a wonderful wedding. I don't hope. I know it's gonna be a wonderful wedding. I apologize for that.

Steve Hopper: 44:02

Oh yeah, yeah, man, yeah, man.

Israel Caminero: 44:05

Before we close out, if you want to share anything else, but if you don't, could you pray over us?

Steve Hopper: 44:13

Absolutely, man. Lord, I just first and foremost, I thank you for my brother Israel, Lord. I thank you for his obedience, Lord. I thank you for the desire that you've put in his heart to spread your message uh far and wide. Lord, we know that our stories are just part of the much bigger story, which is your story. And I just think uh thank you for my brother Israel and for his obedience, Lord. I pray, Lord, that you will bless him, that all the promises, Lord, uh will come his way, Lord. Um, I pray that you will prosper him, Lord. I pray that you will give him good health, Lord. I pray that you will give him understanding and knowledge and discernment, Lord. I pray that you will fill his heart with the uh the peace that is unsurpassable that you speak about in your word, Lord. I pray that you will fill him with all the fruits of the Spirit, Lord, and that you you will guide his his his thoughts and his his heart and and his every mood, Lord. And you'll just bless him with all the blessings uh that you want uh to give to him, Lord. Uh and we pray for everybody that's listening right now. If you haven't made a decision, Lord, you know, if you haven't made a decision to know this Jesus, if you don't know this Jesus that we've been talking about, uh make that decision today. It's uh nothing crazy or fancy that you have to do. You just call out his name and ask him to come into your life, ask him to take over your heart and to guide you and to lead you. Let him know that you want to be in a relationship with him, let him know that you want to know him. And Father, we just pray that you will move in the hearts of those that are listening to this, Lord, that you will show them, that you will show them that you are real, that they will receive an encounter with you, Lord, that is absolutely undeniable, Lord. We just pray that for everybody that's listening right now. We pray, Lord, for those that are listening right now that are are uh can uh uh you know just uh understand and and uh uh you know my testimony, Lord, uh they're they're the believers that uh you know uh you know at some point asked Jesus, got saved, maybe they got baptized to church, and then uh they got caught up in everything in this world, Lord, and they've strayed from you and uh and they're feeling like they need to come back to you, Lord, that you'll just bless their heart, that you'll just immediately speak to their spirit, let them know, Lord, that uh that you're that you're there, that you've always been there, and that you keep no records of wrong. The slice, the the the slate's been wiped clean by your son, and that you you're prepared to throw that robe on them, put that ring on their finger, give them those new sandals, and have a feast uh in in in their honor, Lord. And so that's how much you love them, and just remind them that that's that you've always been there. And Lord, we just pray all of these things in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, amen. Amen.

Israel Caminero: 47:28

Amen. Thank you for that prayer. Thank you very much for being here again, and taking the time to share that powerful testimony, and thank you for everything you're doing for the kingdom. Um you too, bro. That's what we're here for, right? I see life saved, and that's right. That's what we're trying to do as best as we can. Some people are hard-headed, some people are not, but eventually they'll get there. That's what I want to see, is everyone get there.

Steve Hopper: 48:00

Amen. That's what he wants to see too. He has he has no desire for any anybody to perish.

Israel Caminero: 48:08

That's right. And right now I just want to give a shout-out to all my followers and listeners. Thank you for the outpouring of love that you've shown me throughout this podcast journey. It's not my podcast, it's God's podcast. I'm just a vessel that he's using. In order to just bring people stories for you to hear them, and it's their story, but it's his glory, as I always say. We're here to glorify God while doing it. And I just want to say until next time, God bless you.