Reverend Ben Cooper's Podcast
Join Reverend Ben Cooper from Elim Swanley on a spiritual journey through life's profound questions, offering wisdom, insight, and a touch of humour in every episode. "Embarking on a soul-enriching voyage through the Bible's timeless wisdom and the Christian journey, with a diverse array of inspiring guests, Join us as we explore faith, life, and hope.
Reverend Ben Cooper's Podcast
Rekindling Hope Amidst Global Challenges - (#688 - Elim)
Ever found yourself grappling with fear and uncertainty, searching for a beacon of hope? Our latest podcast episode explores the timeless scriptures of Isaiah 41:10 and Hebrews 11:1, offering reassurance that you are not alone. We delve into the profound message of faith and hope, inviting you to find assurance in the unseen and trust in God's unwavering presence amidst the turbulence of today's world events.
Join us as we uncover the transformative power of faith, drawing deeply from Hebrews 11:1, and the relatable narrative of the prodigal son. Together, we explore the significance of breaking free from fear and embracing hope, particularly during challenging times that many believe to be end times. We discuss how surrounding yourself with positive influences can accelerate your spiritual journey and open your life to miracles and divine provision.
We close with a heartfelt call to spiritual awakening and renewal, focusing on the essential need to be born again in one's faith journey. As global conflicts challenge the spiritual state of the UK church, we stress the urgency of aligning with God's word over traditional practices. As we approach the Christmas season, we encourage a return to the true essence of faith, urging you to focus on the light of faith and hope that no darkness can overshadow. Thank you for being part of our Elim Church community.
https://www.pastorbencooper.co.uk/
Good evening and welcome wherever you are across the world this evening. We thank you so much for joining us. We do apologize if there is a little bit of blurriness going on on the screen, but may God bless you and strengthen you wherever you are across the world, in the mighty name of jesus christ. It is monday evening, it is bible study and, as we just get ourselves ready, grab yourself a cup of coffee, grab yourself a cup of tea, get yourself ready. Wherever you are across the world, we thank you for joining us for, uh, this bible study this evening. It is monday, it is eight o'clock here within the UK and we're just going to open up the Word of God. We're going to go to the book of Isaiah 41, verse 10. So, those that want to follow this through the Word of God, we're in the book of Isaiah 41, verse 10. And may God bless you and strengthen you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. We want to thank you so much from the very bottom of our hearts, just to let you know, uh, for all the tens of thousands of downloads, whether that's uh through reverend ben coper's podcast or through cst, whatever way you're capturing these services. We just want to say thank you so much and, yes, we do apologize for the little bit of blurriness that's going on. As long as the sound is okay, that is all that matters. But may god strengthen you and lead you and guide you wherever you are, in the glorious name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. What does your day look like? What is going on in your world? What is happening around you? We thank you for yesterday.
Speaker 1:So many people were joining us online yesterday and in the Lord's house and as we dive into the scriptures, yesterday we was in a very powerful scripture and I'm not saying I'm not taking anything away that the word of the Lord in different areas is not as powerful, because it's all the same. God says I'm the same yesterday, today and forevermore. But yesterday we was in John 3, 3. You must be born again. It's really, really critical that we understand that all that matters in our lives is that we are born again, that we are spirit filled, that we are blessed and highly favored and we are wonderfully and fearfully made, that we are born again, brothers and sisters, wherever we are across this world. But we're going to go straight into the word of god and we're in the book of isaiah 41, verse 10, and it says so do not fear. I love this, the way isaiah writes this great prophet, and he just delivers this straight the way to each and every one of us.
Speaker 1:Verse 10 of isaiah 41 do not fear. So do not fear, for I am with you. We want to let you know this evening, wherever you are capturing the broadcast, whether it's the podcast, whether you're on spotify, whether you are on alexa or whatever you are listening to this service through we want to let you know that there is no room for fear in your life. Yes, fear does drop in, yes, fear does come around, but we've got to sink ourselves in the word of God. We've just got to saturate ourselves in the scripture. And wherever you are at this moment in time, we pray from the very bottom of our heart that you will not allow fear, worry and doubt to grab a hold of you in your life. So the bible says in isaiah 41, verse 10 so do not fear, for I am with you. God is with you wherever you are at this moment, whatever is going on in your life. And then he says and do not be dismayed, for I am your god, I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Don't you find that really powerful when you really unpack that, when you look at that through the lens of faith? So do not fear. So do not fear Whatever is going on, whatever is happening, whatever is happening around your life, whatever is going on in your family, whatever is going on in schooling, in education, whatever is going on at work, whatever is going on in church and ministry, whatever is happening in our natural world. I really believe God is speaking loud and clear to us tonight that do not allow fear to cloud your vision. Do not allow fear to cloud your vision.
Speaker 1:We've got to make sure that we look with eyes of faith. Hebrews 11, verse 1. Got to make sure that we look with eyes of faith. Hebrews 11, verse 1. We've questioned this, we've looked at this, we've asked God about this, we've reflected through this, we've opened our eyes through this.
Speaker 1:If you have a Bible and you turn to Hebrews, if you turn to Hebrews right now and it sounds like a teabag, doesn't it? Hebrews, let's go to Hebrews, chapter 11. Where are we? Hebrews, chapter 11. Someone has taken it out of my Bible. Hebrews 11. Where are we? Hebrews, chapter 11. Someone has taken it out of my Bible Hebrews 11. There we are, hebrews 11, verse 1.
Speaker 1:Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. It's really clear and very, very important that, wherever you are scattered across the world this evening and the reference that we started off this evening's service is in Isaiah 41. And it is in verse 10 and it says so do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. And if you've got a Bible, run your eyes over to Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 1.
Speaker 1:Now faith it's really important that we understand the signs of the times that we are living in. When you look at Israel, you look at the news, you look at Sky News, bbc News, you look at all the news channels across the world, you see everything that's breaking out. You know, through government, through education, there's so many things happening. You know we've got to start looking at our lives through faith. We've got to start believing, because faith is obviously the complete opposite to the scripture that I've just read out in Isaiah. So, do not fear.
Speaker 1:So what do I do? You know, I'll keep my eyes on Jesus. It's so easy, isn't it, to say just keep your eyes on Jesus. Whatever you do, just keep your eyes on Jesus. But what is the practical answer? What is the practicality of doing that? How do I keep my eyes on Jesus? I don't have the privilege of having his autonomy, his physicality. It's not like we're going back 2,300 years when we're like the disciples and Jesus is in front of us and we can see him and we can walk with him and we can have a proper dialogue and a conversation with him. It's not like that. We are 2,300 years up the timeline and all we have and please don't get me wrong, but when I say this, all we have, and please don't get me wrong, but when I say this, all we have is faith.
Speaker 1:But faith is very, very powerful. Faith is the substance. When you look at Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 1, it says now, faith is being sure of what we hope for. You know when you really dissect that and you just take your time if you've got a Bible with you and have a look at it for yourself. If you've just got the phone or you've got some device in your hand. Just just flick over, maybe, to the bible gateway and just have a look at the scripture for yourself.
Speaker 1:It says now faith, faith is powerful, faith is life-changing, fear is powerful and fear is life-changing. So when you run the parallel of them two together, so in Isaiah 41, verse 10, and Hebrews 11, verse 1, now Isaiah says Now do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. So when Isaiah writes in Isaiah 41, verse 10, he says so do not fear, for I am with you. Fear will take you to a dark place. Fear will change your character for a while. Fear will make you think different. Fear will make you analyze things over and over again. Faith will take you to a different stage of your life. You know faith.
Speaker 1:It is by faith. We believe that God said so in verse 2, in Hebrews verse uh, verse 11, and it says this is what the ancients were commended for. By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at god's command. So what is seen was not made out of what was, uh, invisible. When you look at these scriptures.
Speaker 1:It is critical for us and for you and each and every one of us at this moment in our lives to understand. It is now faith, believe, believe in the word of God, believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. You know John 3, 3, you must be born again. That is the critical criteria that all God and through Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit, that's all they're calling us to be is that we must be born again. It is so important in our lives. It's not to be churched, it's not to be going to church every Sunday, it's not about the amount of preaching and the teaching, it's not how much I worship, it comes from above. And this should accelerate our faith and should catapult us into a different sphere of our lives, into a different position, because we've got to understand and I'm referring to myself, a bit of a rhetorical question going on here that I'm born again.
Speaker 1:It is by grace you have been saved, not by work so that no one can boast. That is the beauty of salvation, that is the power of the word of God, that it is by grace, undeserving favor. You know favor is powerful. Favor has dropped on me, favor has dropped on you, wherever you are at this hour, whatever your life is looking like, whatever your life is reflecting at this time, we cannot live our lives by fear.
Speaker 1:Fear does something very, very interesting. The devil is very clever the way that he uses fear, and fear will hold us in our history Every minute, every second, every millisecond that passes, history. We are creating history in our lives all the time. It is a continuum. We're always as the seconds go by, as the minutes go by, but what's really interesting? There may be people in your lives, there may be people in my life, there may be situations in our lives, there may be things around us that hold us in history. What if someone knows this about me? What if this was ever to come out? What about this? Because fear will always hold us back in history.
Speaker 1:But God has something. God doesn't want us to live in history. Where does God want us to live? He wants us to live in destiny, and that is before you. That is on the promised land, that is on the plains of Jericho. God has a greater plan for you than your history ever looked at.
Speaker 1:But we are so clever and we are so good at living in what was. If I keep living in what was I will be controlled by the people that was in my, what was in my yesterday, but we've got to make sure that we live by the power of faith Now. Hebrews 11, verse 1,. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Now faith. Now faith is what Is being sure, without any shadow, without any doubt, 100%. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for because hope is powerful. Hope is looking forward. Fear looks back.
Speaker 1:There may be people, there may be cultural things, there may be work things, there may be life things. There may be situations that happened in our history. There may be certain people in our history that want to keep us tied down to historical stuff. We have to break ourselves away from history. You know, as I just said, we are always creating history. There is always historical markers in our lives because we are always pressing forward. Time goes forward and time does not fall back. So as we increase further in our life, as we move further forward in our lives, we are creating history.
Speaker 1:But what we've got to be careful of is the devil can only keep us in our history because he does not know what your future has for you. It is only God. It is the only thing that we can correlate and we can understand that. The devil doesn't know what lies ahead and what promises there are, because the devil only has the insight to what I was. The devil only has the insight to what was in our lives. The devil can only hold us in history.
Speaker 1:Tonight is the night, wherever you are in your life, to break out of the historical stuff and realize that you are blessed and highly favored, you are wonderfully and you are fearfully made, and there is nothing according to the word of God in the book of Romans, romans, chapter 8,. When you read Romans, chapter 8, verse 1, there is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, do not allow, let's not allow, let's not allow people, let's not allow history, let's not allow events, let's not allow family, let's not allow work. Events, let's not allow family, let's not allow work, let's not allow anything in our history to hold us from progressive moves forward and then moves, progressive moves. I'm referring to faith. You know we got to move by faith. Faith, what is faith? Faith is believing for the impossible. You know we serve a god that calls the things that are not as though they are.
Speaker 1:Wherever you are tonight, I, I ask you from the very bottom of my heart to step out, to step out in life like never before, to ask God to cut the chains, to cut the umbilical cord, to historical event people's lives around you. Who are the circles that you are walking in? Are the people for you or are they against you? Do they encourage you? Do they nurture you? Do they encourage you? Do they nurture you? Do they help you? Do they uplift you or do they pull you back? And is there another agenda for those people in your life, for their gain? Are the people around you giving you joy? Are they giving you hope? Are they saying to you yes, come on, let's do it? Have they got your back? When, when it hits the fan, when absolutely everything hits the wall of life, who is there in our lives that would literally stand with us when the bullets are flying? You know, we've got to make sure that we understand that there are people in our lives that are there for not for our gain for, but for their gain, and you usually find these people that they will always hang around the historical stuff and they will try to keep me and you and whoever it is in history.
Speaker 1:But God wants us to break out of history and he wants us to accelerate forward in faith. We apologize for the bad signal tonight on the picture side of things, but you can listen to this stuff back and you get a real high quality sound, radio quality. You know, when it goes out through the world of podcasting you'll get a much better quality. But it's not the sound that we're looking for, it's not the visuals, it's what we want to hear. So, hebrews 11, verse 1, now, faith is being sure of what we hope for. What are we hoping for? Are we hoping that we're or are we fearful? Because hope is of God, fear is of the devil. It's critical for me, it's critical for you, to realize that we are living in the end days. Everything is breaking out.
Speaker 1:Yesterday, the scriptures that we were in yesterday, really powerful scriptures yesterday, referring to end times, referring to eschatology, the rapture of the church, the coming of Jesus Christ, that we must be born again. That is critical, that is absolute, paramount in our lives. It's not how many times we go to church, it's how many times we say Lord, thank you, lord, will you help me tonight, lord. Father, you are the King of Kings and you are the Lord of Lords. You are the great I am. You are worthy of all praise. You are the lily of the valley. You are the great I am. You are El Shaddai, you are Jehovah Jireh, jehovah Nissi, jehovah Shalom. You are my God, my provider, my King and my Savior. You are the everlasting Father. Lord, I thank you that.
Speaker 1:It is by faith I trust in you. It is by faith, lord, I'm going to step out. Lord, it is by faith you're going to get me across the river. It is by faith, I believe, that miracles are coming. It is by faith that you're going to provide for me. It is by faith. All things are possible to those who believe. You know Hebrews 11, verse 1,.
Speaker 1:Now, faith is being sure of what we hope for. Wouldn't it be great, wouldn't it be absolutely unbelievable, wouldn't it be just so braggadocious to tell the world I believe in the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I believe my life is about to change. I believe I'm going to be healed. I believe God is going to accelerate me. I believe God is going to take me from where I am in this pigsty of a life and God is going to put me into such a position. God is going to remove me out of this lifestyle. God is going to remove me. You know, I can't find the reference off the top of my head. My head is spinning at this moment in time.
Speaker 1:But if you remind yourself of that great biblical story of the prodigal son, it says the son asked for everything and he wanted everything and the father divided everything. The father gave him everything. He went out and he lived wild for many, many years and he done everything. He spent everything. He spent absolutely everything. Then he finds himself in the, in the field of pigs. He finds himself with pigs, eating with pigs. Let me tell you something.
Speaker 1:People have made lots of comments about this sermon I've done on this podcast and the title of that was Stop Eating With Pigs. We've got to be careful because there are pigs in our lives, just like the prodigal son. It makes me laugh. I've got to be careful because we don't have much time. Be careful who you walk with. Time, you know. Be careful who you walk with. There are swine out there. There are people out there that are just just interested in their own life.
Speaker 1:And the prodigal son realized that what am I doing? I'm in a pigsty of a life and I'm spending my time with pigs. So often we spend time with pigs, we spend time with people that are not interested in, and what does a pig do? A pig will eat itself to death. There are people out there that are gluttony, that are just interested in self-indulgence, that are interested in self-worth, that are prideful, that are boastful, that are not interested.
Speaker 1:And this prodigal son finds himself with pigs and sometimes, just like the prodigal son, what is the interesting part of that scripture? I believe the interesting part of that scripture when the son come to his senses. It says he came to his senses and he got out of that field of pigs and he went back to the father. What a story. We might be spending our lives hanging around with pigs. And we got to get back to the father's house. We got to get back to the father's house. We got to get back to the glory. We got to get back to Christ. So've got to get back to the Father's house. We've got to get back to the glory. We've got to get back to Christ. So we've got to be careful of the people that we hang around with? Are they for us or are they against us? Are they making us live in fear and live in history, or are the people around us edifying our walk with Jesus, encouraging us like Barnabas? Barnabas was a son of encouragement. Barnabas encouraged people around him to be Jesus followers. We need people around us that are Jesus followers, that will tell us and show us how to be Jesus followers.
Speaker 1:There are thousands of churchgoers you can go and you can go to church. I can preach and teach and do what I like, but if I'm not born again, it is meaningless. It doesn't matter how many times I go to church, it doesn't matter how many recordings we do, it doesn't matter how many times I sit in this studio, it doesn't matter how much I do it's. Am I born again? Am I born again? Am I born again? And so often, when we realize that we're born again, suddenly there is like a light bulb moment. There is like an electricity vault pushed through the veins, and so often we need that great awakening.
Speaker 1:Who are the people in my life? Am I getting strength from them? Are they pulling me down or are they encouraging me? Are they strengthening me or are they keeping me back from progressing as a Christian. Are they holding me in history or are they keeping me in the pig pen of life? I need to get out of the pig pen. I need to get out of the pig pen. I need to get out of fear. I need to get out with living with certain situations and certain historical events. You know it's really interesting. People love to remind us about history.
Speaker 1:Very, very rare do you get anybody that will tell you about your future? Very, very rare will you find anybody in your life that will tell you you're blessed and highly favoured? Very, very rare will we find people in our lives that will tell us and encourage us to go for the dream that God has dropped in your spirit? The majority of people in the circle of life will laugh at your dreams and your visions and will hold you back and say you can't do that because one, two, three, four, who do you think you are? You're not capable of doing that.
Speaker 1:Sister and brother, check the circles you're in. Analyze the people that are around you. Are they encouragers or do they keep me in the pigsty of life? Sister and brother, let's turn to the scriptures. We're in the book of Hebrews, hebrews chapter 11, verse 1.
Speaker 1:Now, faith is being sure of what we hope for. What are we hoping for, lord, I'm hoping, and I know that I'm going to get out of this pigsty of a life. And, lord, there are greater things, there is a better life. Lord, there is a better way and his name is Jesus. Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Jesus Christ is the great I am. Jesus Christ is worthy of all praise.
Speaker 1:Jesus Christ is calling you, wherever you are right now, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Are you born again? Are you born again? Is God calling you to a greater calling in your life? Is the power of God speaking to you right now, wherever you are, whatever your life is reflecting? You can go to the greatest church, you can go to the mega church. You can go to the biggest church on the earth. You can go to the mega church. You can go to the biggest church on the earth. You can go to any ministry, but unless you are born again, unless God calls you, unless you are born again, you won't see heaven. Hell awaits. There is power. In the name of Jesus.
Speaker 1:We are living in critical days, critical days. The UK church has flatlined. The UK church is burnt out. The UK church is in the area of trouble. The UK church cannot work for what is going on at this moment in time.
Speaker 1:We are in the biggest spiritual crisis we have ever seen since the cross of Calvary. We are in the biggest battle that we've ever seen in the stage of humanity. We've got wars, rumors of wars, we've got wars breaking out all over the place. We've got China, we've got Russia, we've got Ukraine, we've got America saying things, we've got Iran, we've got Israel, you've got Afghanistan, you've got Turkey being very quiet at this moment in time, there are things happening around the Middle East that is just making the Bible so loud and clear, not because we are waiting for the world to react, but what we have is the world is reacting and moving to the word of God. There is something so powerful about the word.
Speaker 1:Wherever you are tonight, I pray that you will read this scripture that we are in Hebrews 11, verse 1. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Now, faith, faith is powerful. Wherever you are tonight, I would pray and I would ask God God, will you suffer my heart? Lord, will you lead me to the cross of Calvary, lord, will you stir me like never before? Lord, will you bring me to a place of freedom?
Speaker 1:There are so many Christians, there are so many believers caught up in historical stuff, there are so many people caught in historical events and we can't seem to break out. Ask God to cut the chains of adversity tonight. Ask God to cut the chains of trouble. Ask God to break the shackles. There is freedom in Christ Jesus. The Bible says we shall soar on wings as of eagles. We shall soar high above the cloud line of life. We was not created to be slaves to the world. We was brought into this world to be slaves of righteousness. There is nothing more finer than being a slave to righteousness, to the king of kings and the lord of lords.
Speaker 1:If you have a bible, turn uh the scripture over and have a look at that great, great, great text and I don't have the reference, I'm just paraphrasing, but you will find it. Stuart no doubt will ping it up online when you look at the scripture of about the potter's wheel. It is critical that I stay on the potter's wheel. There are two areas of life as believers Bible-believing believers. Let me tell you this loud and clear Hell is real, heaven is real. You can go to church and you can dance around the handbag of church. You can say what you like, you can prophesy, you can preach, you can teach, you can do whatever you want, but unless you are saved, born again, you are not getting into heaven. But we have a church within the UK, as I said earlier, that is in the hospital room. It is in hospital. It has got so many intravenous drips being pumped into it trying to keep it alive.
Speaker 1:What we need is sound doctrine. We need the word of God, we need the power of scripture. We need to pray that God will raise up preachers that can preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, because the majority, 95% of the messages on Sunday mornings that are coming across pulpit are not fit for purpose. We need people, brothers and sisters, that will deliver a message from the hand of God. Look at that great preacher, jonathan Edwards. Look at Billy Graham. Look at Reinhard Bonnke. Look at Leonard Ravenhill. Look at those great uh, those great ministers of faith.
Speaker 1:You know there is power in the word of God, but it is critical where we sit as individuals to ask God, lord, tell me born again, lord. Will you just let me know tonight, lord, that I'm on my way to heaven. You know, you're sealed with the Holy Spirit, you're washed in the blood of Jesus. We're coming to the table in about four minutes. We only have 14 minutes left of this service. We've got four minutes and then we will come to the table. So, wherever you are, grab yourself some bread, grab yourself some grape juice. Whatever you have in your life at this moment in time a bit of bread, a cracker, a rye vitae or even a kebab, a bit of pita bread, even if you've got a burger laying in your car knocking around, whatever's going on. Grab yourself a bit of wine, a bit of grape juice, whatever it is, because it's symbolic. Whatever it is, because it's symbolic, it is symbolic. Hebrews 11, verse 1.
Speaker 1:Now, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. We got to start seeing different. We got to start seeing completely different. Don't, don't see as the church sees. Let me tell you this doesn't matter how big the church is, doesn't matter how large the auditorium is. It doesn't matter how many people are in that church. It doesn't matter how great the auditorium is. It doesn't matter how many people are in that church, it doesn't matter how great it sounds.
Speaker 1:All I want to know is that I'm born again. All I want to know is that I'm getting into glory, because when God calls me home, when God calls me home, I just want to make sure that Jesus says this to me well done, good and faithful servant. Now, that is nothing to do with preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well done, good and faithful servant. We're his servants, we're slaves to righteousness. What I do not want to hear Christ say to me, away from me, I didn't know you, sisters and brothers.
Speaker 1:It is critical. It is critical that we drop church, that we drop all that sort of stuff out of the bag and we focus on the cross of Calvary and you focus on being born again, and you focus and you unpack and you unravel and you open up the envelope of the text. I must be born again. Christ says to Nicodemus Nicodemus, you must be born again. That's all that matters in your life. Don't worry about Elim, don't worry about all them mega ministries, don't worry about Pastor Ben. All you got to do is make sure that you're born again. And being born again comes from above. We've got two minutes and we're coming to the table Two minutes. And remember when we come to the table, this has nothing to do with the church's teachings. It has nothing to do with the church. The church has taken it and completely prostituted it and changed it for something that it's not.
Speaker 1:If you want to know what the Passover is and remember, remember what we are doing. We are leading up to Christmas. You know we've got to be careful that we don't get caught in commercialized Christmas through the eyes of church. Once Christmas is over, then we're going to enter into pagan Easter. The church is so good at celebrating pagan Easter.
Speaker 1:The Bible doesn't talk about Easter, it talks about the Passover. So what we are celebrating in one minute is the Passover, the passing over of the angel of death. The world tells me God is love, but who was and who is the angel of death? God said I will pass over. When I pass over those homes and those houses in Egypt, the blood will be a sign. Sisters and brothers, we've got to be born again. All we've got to make sure is that we're covered in the blood. We're at the table, we're coming to the table, we're going to break bread as we sit, as we still.
Speaker 1:Wherever you are across the world, we thank god for your lives. We thank you for those 71 nations that we're in. We thank god to those 900 plus cities that we are in, broadcasting wherever you are, the most critical thing that you can ever do in your life is realize that you've got to be born again. Nothing else matters, nothing else matters. So we're coming out of the book of Exodus, chapter 12, when God gave very clear instruction. God gave instruction to Moses and Aaron how to take the Passover lamb.
Speaker 1:So when your church and when your pastors talk about Easter, they're talking about pagan Easter, and I don't belong to that church of paganistic traits. I belong to the kingdom of God and I've never heard my God talk about Easter. My God talks about the Passover because it's the passing over and the blood will be a sign. Not the Easter bunny, not the hot cross bun, not the chocolate that we're looking for, the good old easter egg egg hunt that the church does at easter. Brothers and sisters, we are living in powerful times. We are at the end of days. God is moving.
Speaker 1:Let's break bread, father. We thank you for this bread that symbolizes the body of Christ. And as we break bread together. Now, father, by your spirit, by your word, lord, will you drop? Will you drop? Drop, sorry, john 3, 3 in our hearts tonight. We must be born again. Don't worry about going to church, don't worry about ministry. You've got to be born again. With Israel and Iran, with Russia, ukraine, with China, with Japan, with all the stuff that is about to explode across the world, with the Middle East, sisters and brothers, where are we going when we die? There's one thing I'm sure of in my life I'm on my way to heaven. Father, will you speak loud and clear in the name of Jesus? But as we break bread, we thank you that this bread symbolizes the body of Christ In Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you, lord, thank you, lord.
Speaker 1:We've got eight minutes left of this service. I pray that, wherever you are, you've been with us this evening. We've been in the book of isaiah, 41, verse 10. We've been uh, speaking about faith in hebrews, 11, verse 1, and also we've been pressing into being born again. You must be born again, spirit of the living God. I thank you. That church will never get me saved. I thank you, lord. It's not the preacher, it's not the teacher, it's not the evangelist, it's not the the course, it's not the discipleship course. It is the blood of Jesus, it is salvation, and salvation comes from God alone. Before we take, before we take this cup, let me just mention this Jesus was on the cross of Calvary. Well done, pastor Ben, you got that right.
Speaker 1:Secondly, there are two men beside him, murderers, criminals, whatever way you want to look at them, men, I'm fascinated by this. One of them said to Jesus will you remember me when you come into your kingdom? Jesus, will you remember me Now? That thief, that murderer, that cutthroat, whatever way you want to label him? He never went to church. He never done an Alpha course, he never went on a crusade, he never spoke about Jesus, he never read the Bible, because the Bible was laying next to him on the cross. He never went into a cathedral. He never went to a convention. He never done anything like that. He never read a word, he was never baptized. He never spoke in tongues, he never had a meeting with pastor, he never sung a worship song. But what did he do? He said remember me. And Jesus said, within a twinkling of an eye you'll be with me in paradise.
Speaker 1:So, as we take of this cup, it's not about getting to church. It's not about doing an alpha course. It's not about doing the latest rigmarole. What the church is doing, that is irrelevant. That criminal that was on the cross was very possibly the first human being to get into heaven, because salvation hadn't finished visited sorry, visited the earth because Jesus was still alive, because he was still having a conversation, and he said in a twinkling of an eye you will be with me in paradise.
Speaker 1:Very interesting though, isn't it when you think about that? Because when you analyze that the Bible says that Christ went to Shola, because when you analyse that the Bible says that Christ went to Shola, he went to the depths of the earth. But God is telling you tonight me, hold on to salvation, wash me and cleanse me in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. We might as well give up with church. You might as well give up with all the courses. You might as well give up with church. You might as well give up with all the courses. You might as well give up with all that depth and all that stuff, because all that matters in our lives is something so simple that is taken outside of the bishop, the preacher, the teacher, me, taken outside of everything, and that is being born again. You must be born again. And Nicodemus had the David Beckhams and he went to Jesus. How can I be born again, come on? How can I get back up my mother's womb? You're talking crazy. Jesus said it's not about being born of flesh, it's about being born from above, because salvation comes from above. God's love is so great.
Speaker 1:The criminal, the cutthroat, the murderer never went to church, never was baptized, never spoke in tongues, never knew Jesus until he was dying. He never went to a convention, he never gave an altar call. He never done any literature, any writing in his life. All he said was Jesus, remember me. Let's pray, father, in the name of Jesus, wherever we are, I pray that salvation will visit us tonight, Lord, and we will work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
Speaker 1:Sisters and brothers, give church up and give Jesus a try. Forget church, forget all that razzmatazz, forget the weak, woke, pink gay church in the UK and follow Jesus Christ. Be a warrior, be a radical Bible-believing believer for Jesus. Forget about the church and follow the King of Glory, follow the great. I am the only king that never had an earthly throne. He was a healer, but he never gave anybody a pharmaceutical drug. He was a preacher and he wasn't, and he didn't go to a theological college. He's the King of Kings and he is the Lord of Lords. He is the great I am. He is Jehovah Jireh, jehovah Nissi, jehovah Shalom. See, the criminal on the cross proves something very profound Church is irrelevant. It is John 3.3.
Speaker 1:Nicodemus, you must be born again.
Speaker 1:God bless you, wherever you are at this hour. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ. We thank you for staying with us. We apologize for the bad visuals this evening in the last couple of services. We apologize for the quality of the visuals. We are just in the process of beating the granny out of talk talk, trying to get them to sort out this father. Forgive me for what I just said.
Speaker 1:Bless, talk talk in the name of jesus. But we have got internet trouble and you know what it's like, brothers and sisters, the gremlins are sitting on the line, the devil's chewing at the fiber, but you never know. God is going to do a miracle. But wherever you are, in the mighty name of jesus christ, never give up, never give in. The power of the holy spirit is with you. Wherever you are across the world, you can find all this stuff. So simple, so simple just go on to spotify, go on to iheart radio if you're in america, and all those people across the world. Thank you to everybody that listens. Uh, where are we, alex? We're in 96 countries, something like that, and we're, we're all over, all over the place this evening. I'm literally all over the place.
Speaker 1:God bless you, wherever you are, in the mighty name of jesus christ. May god bless you and strengthen you. We thank you for your time. We thank you that you stayed with us through these broadcasts. But, as I said, if you want to listen to the, the broadcast back, you can put your earbuds in. If you want to listen to the broadcast back, you can put your earbuds in and you can listen to them back, and they'll be up later on across all the platforms. You know we are so blessed to have you with us wherever you are. May God strengthen you. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ. We're out of here. I'm a vicar. Get me out of here. In the name of Jesus, god bless.
Speaker 2:We name of Jesus, god bless, we'll see you soon. Take care, but do you know that all the dark won't stop the light from getting through? Thank you for listening to Elim Church's One Least Latest podcast. You can find us on Buzzsprout, spotify, apple Music, iheartradio, google Play, alexa, mixcloud, facebook, instagram and YouTube.
