Reverend Ben Cooper's Podcast
Reverend Ben Coopers podcast, offers an inviting space for listeners to explore Christianity and spiritual growth with wisdom, humor, and a deep commitment to biblical truth. Through Rev. Ben's engaging conversations with guests, the podcast not only explores the timeless wisdom of the Bible but also tackles the pressing issues of life, faith, and hope in a way that is accessible, thought-provoking, and enriching. Whether you’re seeking spiritual nourishment, answers to life’s big questions, or simply a place to reflect on your faith, the Rev Ben podcast is a valuable resource on your journey.
In each episode, Rev. Ben guides listeners through profound theological reflections, personal stories, and practical insights drawn from the Bible and the broader Christian tradition.
Reverend Ben Cooper's Podcast
Faith Over Fear: Embracing Courage in Challenging Times (#003 - Elim Rev)
Have you ever felt paralyzed by fear yet yearned for the strength to overcome it through faith? We're inviting you to explore this intense intersection between fear and faith, inspired by our personal reflections and powerful scriptures like Isaiah 41:10. We're opening up about how fear can strike from everyday anxieties, like fearing spiders or overthinking, but also how faith offers a path to serenity and courage. Join us in a heartfelt discussion on the transformative power of divine presence, especially during those isolating times we've all faced, like the COVID-19 pandemic.
We share our personal journeys of sensing a divine presence and the challenges of expressing these spiritual encounters in a skeptical world. Imagine feeling a comforting sensation that defies explanation—a warmth that reassures you in moments of doubt. We dive into the beautiful, sometimes humorous, complexities of intertwining faith with modern life, reflecting on biblical stories like Peter walking on water. Through playful banter and profound insights, we illustrate how these ancient lessons are profoundly relevant today, offering guidance and strength to tackle life's challenges.
As you listen, you'll be encouraged to embrace faith as a tool for overcoming both small and large fears. We're reflecting on how scripture reassures us of God's unwavering support, reminding us that we're never alone on this journey. Let's celebrate the peace and courage that faith can bring, encouraging us to live boldly and confidently. We wrap up with deep gratitude for our listeners, who join us from around the globe, sharing a message of hope and faith.
https://www.pastorbencooper.co.uk/
Good evening and welcome. Thank you so much for joining us this evening. It is Monday evening. Good evening and welcome. Thank you so much for joining us this evening. It is Monday evening, it is Chatterbout, it is the 27th of March and it is 5.40. 20th to 6th here in the UK. Wherever you are across the beautiful earth, may God bless you and strengthen you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. It's Chatterbout and we've got Mrs Chat on the other side of the table. I am the chattiest chatterbox of Chatsville.
Speaker 2:It is a beautifulatsville. It is a beautiful day. It is the first proper full day of summer. It is UK time.
Speaker 1:Praise the good Lord above.
Speaker 2:Because the bad blocks change. Oh man, everyone goes. No, I've got to get up, but yeah, it's beautiful outside. The sun is shining, the skies are blue. Usually when we come into this room it's starting to get dark. Yeah, are blue usually when we come into this room, it's starting to get dark.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sun's out, sun is out. You can see it shining through there through the studio windows. Look at that the lord is good wherever you are this evening. Thank you so much for joining us at this hour, you know, and we thank you from the bottom of our heart for sharing all these podcasts out across this beautiful earth and to everyone in the world of Puzz, buzz, sprout, spotify, amazon Music, alexa.
Speaker 2:Puzz Sprout.
Speaker 1:Buzz. I should say Buzz, Buzz, Buzz.
Speaker 2:Buzz Sprout Spotify.
Speaker 1:Oh Lord, we're tired. Are you listeners ever getting tired out there? Because we get really tired.
Speaker 2:I'm so tired, I'm so tired, you know they say that you have bags under your eyes yeah I've got like a shopping trolley under one and then one of them ones that old ladies carry.
Speaker 1:No, you don't, yeah you look, all right, you look I look all right, but I'm tired, but I'm tired, right. Brother and sister, we got a word for you. We don't know where you are across the earth, but, um, we pray that you are all well and you are just trusting in the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. We've got a word tonight, and the word is fear.
Speaker 2:Do not fear.
Speaker 1:Oh, do not fear, do not fear, do not fear. Yeah, okay, yeah, do not fear what is fear?
Speaker 2:Fear is what is fear.
Speaker 1:An unpleasant and strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.
Speaker 2:All right, lucian Freud, where did you get that from? Dictionary no his name's, not Lucian Freud Dictionary.
Speaker 1:I just read it out of the dictionary All right, Mr Freud.
Speaker 2:Look at that. All right, Carl Jung.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was a real bit of philosophy then, wasn't it? Yeah, An unpleasant offering strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.
Speaker 2:Yeah, actually I went to a counsellor and she said that fear is being scared of a tiger that might come into the room, but you don't know if it's actually going to come in or not.
Speaker 1:That's a good way of putting it. It is, isn't it? Yeah, fear, so it's anticipation, yeah, of overthinking of the possibles that could happen, that actually don't happen.
Speaker 2:Don't happen and it's. A lot of people fear a lot of things and a lot of time and energy is wasted doing that. Because Lord, our God, says multiple times in the Bible fear, not Fear not Do not fear.
Speaker 1:And brother and sister, wherever you are at this hour, we just want to take you to isaiah 41, 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. What a fun packing, powerful, superhero scripture is that one? Do not fear, why, lord, because I am with you. How is god with us? He's with us through the living word. He's with us in his presence. He's with us because he's omnipresent, he's in all, he's about all, he covers all and he is about all. God is everywhere. But do you find it difficult I'm asking myself and lay the same question, and anybody that's just listening to this do you find it difficult to keep in faith most of the day? Do you find that you spend a bit of time, maybe, in fear, a bit of time in faith, or not even actually thinking about Jesus?
Speaker 2:Actually yeah.
Speaker 1:It's everything, isn't it Because we're human beings?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're human beings and we get tempted by our naughty, naughty minds. Yeah, pressure's at work, I've said many a time since Saturday, I'm trying to be Christian, but I'm trying to be Christian. But what's that? But what's the?
Speaker 1:but. The but is life.
Speaker 2:I'm not trying to be Christian, but I'm trying to be.
Speaker 1:Christian. But what's that? But what's the but I am a Christian.
Speaker 2:I'm not trying to be Christian. I am a Christian, but I'm also a human being, so let's clear this up, right, so we are Christians, but we are human beings.
Speaker 1:No but we are human beings?
Speaker 2:No, we are Christians and we are human beings. Yeah, okay, we are.
Speaker 1:Christians and we are human beings. Yeah, okay, we are Christians. And what Christians are we? We're John 3, 3. You must be born again. So let's remind ourselves that we are saved, we are blood washed, we are children of the living God. God loves us. All is well, but my mind just plays havoc with me.
Speaker 2:Oh, wretched man am I.
Speaker 1:Amen, and nothing can separate us from the love of god. But fear is a is a big thing at the moment, isn't it? It's across the schools, it's across the world, it's across work. How many people are fearful of work and money? I think a lot of people are fearful of money at the moment because it really rules, doesn't it? It feels like it's a nasty beast it rules.
Speaker 2:It's actually it's a big cause of my own fears at the moment. Worry, have I got enough? But, also, I think I was watching the news the other day and I was like this is like plague time.
Speaker 1:It really is. This is like plague time.
Speaker 2:Because we've had our own plague of COVID.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And then we've had the absolutely atrocious earthquakes. Then we're getting tsunamis, tornadoes. This week Whole towns are being flattened.
Speaker 1:I see it, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Speaker 2:And those people are the people that have been affected by those things. There's no causality for it.
Speaker 1:You think the damage it's hard, I don't bear thinking about it. I know they've still got their lives and all that, but it's hard I don't bear thinking about. I know they still got their lives and all that, but it's torn their homes to pieces. It's taken their family away. It's taken all their, their pictures, their memorabilia, all that.
Speaker 2:Imagine having everything wiped away from you your whole life a crazy tornado comes in, says you know um those things will molder molder and rust, so don't take them with you. But like you were saying, like you know, you've got your whole life.
Speaker 1:Imagine that having your whole life taken before your eyes in a matter of a few hours, everything you've worked for, everything mortgages the lot you know there must be. People must be. That must be an awful feeling to have everything stripped away.
Speaker 2:Not knowing what you're going to wear.
Speaker 1:No clothing, no, your family's heirlooms and stuff. That's what I mean.
Speaker 2:Every memory that you've got that's attached to a physical thing gone.
Speaker 1:It must really drive people to a point of really being fearful on what is the hope and what is the future, and fear of what is People like hiding in bathtubs to try and get through that?
Speaker 2:Did you read that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know it can't.
Speaker 2:Our faces look quite fearful. I know I'm quite fearful thinking about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah exactly but but come on, do not fear. So there's a lot of things across the world, Like you said. We've got earthquakes, we've got wars, rumours of wars, We've got leaders rising up and really giving it.
Speaker 1:Billy Bigfeet Nicely said Thank you, jesus, you pulled that back really nicely Billy Bigfeet dancing around their podiums giving real big, powerful well, real big speeches. So that's wars and rumours of wars. We've got plagues. We've got desolation. We've got plagues, we've got desolation. We've got children rising against parents. We've got everything under the sun that the Bible says about the last hour. So no wonder. And then you've got the governments and you've got everything that's breaking out. No wonder there is fear. Fear of what, if A lot of people are thinking, aren't they into the future? What's Christmas going to be like? I know we haven't just left it. God blimey, that's a bit naughty saying that wouldn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, come on, Leave it out. I'm just recovering from the last one. Yeah, don't, don't.
Speaker 1:Financially recovering.
Speaker 2:I think people have got their internal fears as well, because we've got those external things. But you know Joe Bloggs, sitting on his sofa in Bexley heath I'm gonna just pull that up yeah, he's not thinking about, maybe, what's happened in afghanistan or whatever. He's thinking about the fear of how's he gonna keep his children safe and how's he gonna pay the mortgage and how's he gonna, yes, get through the next day without crushing under the weight of his own fears, of his own personal anxieties, you know yeah, his own feelings, his own emotions, and then you've got people that are frightened to say things because they might be walking on eggshells in their lives.
Speaker 2:They don't want to upset a certain person because they might what place issues? Domestic violence incidences. We've got people that are so frightened of their own demons that they're trying to necrotize their lives, but the bible tells us bringing it back around there, see come on, bring it back that god will always be with you.
Speaker 2:So even when you're in your moment of fear, he's not, probably not, going to take that, that circumstance away from you. In my mind you I've never known him to take a circumstance away from me like that no, I'm just trying to think that no, nothing's been taken away. But you will have a sense of strength.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and not always get the peace that you think that you will get through it, even as a believer, even as a Bible-believing believer, knowing that Jesus is real, as you said, and as that great apostle wrote three times, I plead with the Lord that you would remove it from me. But he didn't. He said my grace is sufficient for you. So, learning to walk in grace, learning to live in grace and not live in fear and worry, it's really difficult when you live in a world that is all for itself, not for Christianity, and that's all the stuff that you said. So fear is a very big noise at the moment and it's easy to catch a bit of fear in it. It's like catching a cold.
Speaker 2:How many times I know you've said this before on a Sunday in service. How many times does the Bible say in some form or another don't be afraid, do not fear 365. That's one for every day of the year.
Speaker 1:Exactly. Now, that is some not coincident, is it? I'm doing that face? Now, that is some not coincidental, is it? I'm doing that face? Look, that's not some coincidence, is it when you think about it?
Speaker 2:Because we're human beings and we fear we're fallible, aren't we?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And fear drives us. Sometimes, love drives us and fear drives us.
Speaker 1:They both drive at the same time really, Because you can be in a real loving relationship, loving home, and you feel home and you feel loved and you feel that. But then you've got fear from the outside world what if they stop loving me?
Speaker 1:or yeah, or, or just what? What if I lose my job? How many people are worried about that in the moment? Worried, and they're working really hard and they're slaving the way to the, to the system of this economic beast that's out there that's just trying to rule us and just trying to bring us to this place of slavery. Are we slaves? Do you think we're slaves? Yeah, we are, aren't we? Yeah, it hasn't been abolished has it no.
Speaker 1:It's still here, isn't it? It feels like it's really hard work. Life is really hard paying the bills.
Speaker 2:It's something like 1% or 3% of the world's wealth. No 90% of the world's wealth. No 90% of the world's wealth. 90-something percent of the world's wealth is owned by a very small percentage of people.
Speaker 1:Unreal.
Speaker 2:And it's to those people that we are slaves. But what I find interesting in the Babel Are we talking about a Babel? We're going to read about the Babel, isaiah no. Are we talking about a bubble? We're talking about the bubble, isaiah. No, is that it doesn't say please don't be afraid, or please don't. Or try and think about it this way. It is an order Command.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do not, it is a command Do not, do not Fear not Be not dismayed. Look at that, so do not fear. Isaiah 41, verse 10 said do not fear, for I am with you. That's the absolute powerful statement, isn't it then, people go? Well, we wasn't alive. Then. We didn't have the very physicality of jesus christ, we didn't have the these miracles that moses was seeing, that isaiah, we didn't have this very present, powerful god do you not sometimes right? Sorry to interrupt.
Speaker 2:Now go on do you not sometimes get that feeling like I know, when I was in church the other day and I said I feel dizzy with the presence of god, and it hit, I feel it yeah, yeah, yeah do you not sometimes get that feeling like he's there beside you and you can feel?
Speaker 1:it.
Speaker 2:You can feel it Like a physical presence. You can feel it yeah. And it's like tingles tingles up and down.
Speaker 1:The Holy Spirit.
Speaker 2:My side An outpouring of the.
Speaker 1:Holy Spirit. No, it's good to talk about it because People think you're a crank when you say things like that.
Speaker 2:They do.
Speaker 1:They think you're a crank when you say things like that they do. They think we're off their rocker.
Speaker 2:I was talking to someone in the pub on Saturday night Like there's all this music.
Speaker 1:Fifteen Stellas later, and I was talking to this girl and my friend Connie in the pub. Connie. Yeah, connie, that's a fair old name for a pub girl.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she's, a good girl, she's a good girl, that's it. Music was playing. Well, that was Scar, so it was more like oh, okay, yeah, anyway, she was asking me about church and what happens and la-la-la-la-la. And when I said to her, you know, throughout the whole of COVID, I never felt really alone because I had him with me.
Speaker 1:She went.
Speaker 2:oh really, what do you mean? You could see her eyes lighting up a little bit, His layer on it, but then, when I explained, and then you know, I started to come into church and then I heard the voice saying to me you better get yourself to church, girl.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I could see this moment of like, are you all right? And I felt myself feeling a little bit like should I be saying this?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know, you can touch a boundary sometimes, can't you?
Speaker 2:When you're both looking at each other going.
Speaker 1:Should I say more?
Speaker 2:She's one of my close friends, so I can say whatever I like to her, and I know that she won't judge me, but big up, connie, if you're out there.
Speaker 1:Big up Connie, 15 Stellas.
Speaker 2:She doesn't drink Stellars, she drinks gin 15 gins. That's more like it 15 gins Connie 16, but there you go. Yeah, there's that thing of like being afraid to talk about the more….
Speaker 1:Spiritual side of life.
Speaker 2:I don't mind talking to people about my faith, I don't care about that. But the thing about saying I actually felt the presence of god standing next to me, or I or jesus, it's jesus that I feel standing next to me. If I'm honest with you, and then saying I heard god's voice, that makes me sound like you're off your nut yeah, or I worry that.
Speaker 2:Uh, it makes me sound like I'm super arrogant, because who am I? Who am I that Jesus would stand next to me and who am I that God would say in a voice that I recognised you better get yourself a church girl. And it changed my life and it brought me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it did, didn't it? It took me round. Amazing. Yeah, you think about it. There's no press of religion, was there? There was no press of any outside influence, no one dragging you, putting their arm up your back. It was all through the Holy Spirit. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, god, was prompting you and leading you.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I find that absolutely amazing, that there was no prompting from any human being, no, from any human being no, no, gospel, given no arm up your back, you know? Evangelistic tightening of the thumb screws.
Speaker 2:Did you give me that 10 grand? Put it in my account that time.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, the Lord told me to give you this. That's not true. That's not true, but that's really interesting, isn't it? When you think how you came to faith without an evangelist, without the preaching of the gospel? Because this is fact, isn't it when you think about it no preaching of the gospel, no evangelistic program coming in, no great preacher on the telly.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:When I say just that's awful to think it's just the Holy Spirit. Oh Lord, sorry, don't strike me dead. What do you like? You had an encounter with the deity, the Father, the Son and the Holy.
Speaker 2:Spirit.
Speaker 1:And Jesus visited you. So that's so scripture. Jesus came to you, but even though you're born again and you're blessed and highly favoured and you're carrying this anointing and you're blessed beyond understanding and Jesus is with you, you're not an orphan, you're saved by God. All them great scriptures we still get fearful. We still get fearful, yeah, because we have a skin. Yeah, totally, and we live in this world that is driven by media and social media, and if you keep looking at social media and you get all this stuff, the news and fear is quite easily to be triggered, isn't?
Speaker 2:it, yeah, but there's also like fear of the dark or fear of spiders.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's I mean really. Let's put it that way. Do you know what I mean? Okay, I'm in my house, yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm on my own.
Speaker 2:Yeah, massive, great spider comes crawling across the floor to me really quickly. You know the way they do, like that, and you're like at that moment, yeah, that very moment when the fear is running right up my spine and I can feel every hair on the back of my head going all the way up to my forehead, standing up on end, yeah, yeah that's the time when I have to, I have to, at that point, lean in to god so to to say all these other things about.
Speaker 2:You know, I didn't feel alone. Those are deep-seated fears, but the actual terror fear. I think that's also what is being talked about.
Speaker 1:It's very easy to look that we are these supernatural Christians that never get cold, that never get ill, that are always jumping up and down praising Jesus and we're always in church mode and we've got these beautiful flags waving. But the reality of being a believer is going through storms, is having phobias of. I don't like mice, I can't bear them. I don't like little rodents like that. I know a few little rats in my life.
Speaker 2:Welcome little rats. I don't like moths, actually that's my fear.
Speaker 1:So there's a fear, isn't there? So is that fear the same as the fear that the Bible talks about? Of course it is, because fear is fear, isn't it? If you're fearful, you're fearful. If you're faithful, you're faithful.
Speaker 2:And when we think about it both a phobia and the fear that we're talking about in terms of long-term fears irrational, exactly, completely irrational.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You're never going to be attacked and eaten alive by mice. It's not going to happen.
Speaker 1:I know.
Speaker 2:And you're never going to be eaten by a spider or moths or moths yeah, they're never gonna suffocate me in my sleep at night. Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 1:when you think about what a human's made of. It's made of all these different emotions, yeah, and the bible says do not fear. It's a clear understanding from god. God is with us, but we are built up. Our makeup is that we might be fearful of rodents, we might be fearful of the lack of money, we might be fearful of just living. We might be fearful of so many things. I don't think that there can be a real, true Bible-believing believer that can actually categorically say I don't have no fears. Because if someone says that to me, excuse me, but I think that you're not telling the truth. Yeah, you're not human, because the only one that didn't fear was jesus, the only one that wasn't fearful was jesus, because when you look at the disciples, all of them had experiences of betrayal, upset, fears, doubts.
Speaker 1:They was human being.
Speaker 2:Jesus said his moment of fear in the garden.
Speaker 1:Well, true, you could say that, but was it fear, I suppose you could say, because he was sweating droplets like blood. So was that anxiety? But then you look at anxiety and you look at fear, and you look at all this stuff. He was a man though, the man Christ Jesus At that point he was a man, and the Bible says that he's experienced everything, every feeling, every emotion. So yeah, of course. So there are many people that live on the edge of their nerves, don't they?
Speaker 2:Yeah, anticipating of what's going to happen or something. But then what Jesus proves to you in that garden experience is that he had that moment of fear, but he was obedient to God's command yeah. God commands be strong and courageous. Oh, there's a banger, joshua, joshua One nine Boom. Have I not commanded you?
Speaker 1:I've told you son.
Speaker 2:Be strong and courageous, do not be frightened, do not be dismayed, because the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.
Speaker 1:He's with us wherever we go. But the big but that we've removed the but out of tonight's conversation. When you look at all the characters in the Bible, every one of them obviously was in the 66 books we are on the outside of the 66 books. It was written that was their life happening. They was experienced Christ, they was experienced the Holy Spirit, they was experienced the. They was experienced christ, that was experienced the holy spirit, that was experienced. The book was being written about them for them.
Speaker 2:Model things on our lives, though, isn't?
Speaker 1:it. So for us on the other side of the cross, I think it's it's so harder for now, for where we live, to be a christian than what it was back then. Because if you look at the disciples, they had him for three years but even so they still didn't believe. But they had the autonomy, they had this body, christ. They had this physical man, jesus christ. They could look at him, they could eyeball him, they could walk with him, they could they see miracles.
Speaker 1:But for us, but only in that small corner of only in a small little corner of the world, yeah, of the world, in a small corner of the, only in a small little corner of their life. The world, yeah, yeah Of the world.
Speaker 2:Only in a small corner of the world. You think the rest of the world, people that were waking? Up thinking there's something else going on here.
Speaker 1:But the spring of Christianity came out of them 12 and out of the book of Acts. So they was the nucleus, they was the hub, they was the center pin of everything. So they had. What was it like to actually look at the physical Jesus? Oh, stop.
Speaker 2:Stop it.
Speaker 1:You know, it melts my heart. You know, it does when you think they had the physical Jesus, they had this man, they had this great talker, they had this great thinker, this great person, this person beyond human understanding, that he was the daddy of daddies, he is our father, he is everything, he is everything. But they still was fearful.
Speaker 2:Of him.
Speaker 1:Well, just life.
Speaker 2:Was he human yeah?
Speaker 1:So even when they went fishing at night, it said they went fishing.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:And they was on the boat and they said is it a ghost?
Speaker 2:I'm just going to go off for a minute. I'm off down to the garage.
Speaker 1:Just going to get another scratch card boys? No, he didn't gamble.
Speaker 2:No, sorry Jesus he went down to go and get a four-pack of Monster Monster. Because he wanted to stay up. No, monster the caffeine drink. Because he wanted to stay up.
Speaker 1:So he's on it.
Speaker 2:So he went down to the garage to go and get a four pack of Monster and a copy of the Guardian.
Speaker 1:He's got to read the Guardian, hasn't he?
Speaker 2:He's got to read the Guardian, because he's the saviour.
Speaker 1:He redeems us oh, come on.
Speaker 2:What's going on? He's going to get like a solar light, because they always have those down there, don't they?
Speaker 1:Yeah, they'll have a solar light.
Speaker 2:please A screen scraper and some Maltesers.
Speaker 1:Would Jesus have driven a transit? Yeah, because if you think he was a carpenter.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:If you think Jesus, well, not think. The scripture tells us that he come from a carpenter's family, a building background, all that sort. Come from a carpenter's family, a building background, all that sort of stuff. They just had probably a little old car on an awesome.
Speaker 2:Now they I reckon he would have had a really beat up old range rover yeah, he could have done, not a land rover because they're posh no range rover. Range rover one that has the exhaust going up the side of the front window yeah, yeah, yeah, running all the devils over and and mud all up the windows. Yeah, have that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. I wonder if he would have paid for petrol, because he makes petrol, he makes all that. I ain't going to the garage at night, mum, but Jesus, you've got to get some fuel in the morning. Hang on, mum, she's filled, yeah.
Speaker 2:With the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:With the Holy Spirit, with the Holy Spirit, he's running on the high-octane spiritual powers.
Speaker 1:Goodness gracious me. So the scripture says do not fear. So Jesus was fearful. The Bible says he was sweating droplets of blood. God tells us very clearly. And Jesus said to those on the lake do not be afraid, you know it is I. And that disciple said Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you and I will walk to you. It is I. So even the disciple, the moments, them glimmers, them, handful of heartbeats. He jumped out of the boat. He began to walk on water. Imagine that.
Speaker 2:Imagine it, though.
Speaker 1:Imagine it, you're like whoa, oh, I'm doing it, I'm doing it, I'm doing it, I'm doing it.
Speaker 2:I'm really doing it. I'm really doing it, I'm really doing it. Four steps Am I doing this? How am I doing this? That's it. It's the how.
Speaker 1:How Imagine that? The question and he walked.
Speaker 2:That question, the command of God.
Speaker 1:A human being walked on water. You know, you've got the magicians that do it across the Thames, ain't you? You've got all those.
Speaker 2:What's his name?
Speaker 1:Dynamo, dynamo, dynamo, with probably glass under the house.
Speaker 2:Quality, though Quality, it's good. I do like illusions. I do like illusions. Come on Illusions.
Speaker 1:You wouldn't know what he's walking on something. Exactly he ain't got no super juice.
Speaker 2:You won't know Jesus.
Speaker 1:He ain't got pumped up trainers that keep him floating.
Speaker 1:He could be walking on synchronised swimmers underneath and they're just putting their hands up or dolphins Maybe he's got a load of dolphins over there. So when you think about, jesus called that disciple. The disciple jumped out of the boat. He kept his eyes on Jesus. He walked and walked and walked and then suddenly his eyes came off of Jesus and he looked at the elements of life that is for us today.
Speaker 1:We look at the elements of life because we do walk on water, because we are walking by faith, and the Bible says that the devil is under our feet. You know, you've got the power and the strength to trample on the great lion and the cobra and everything. You know. The devil is under our feet, strength to trample on the great lion and the cobra and everything you know. The devil is under our feet. But when we look at the tide of life and the storms of life, very easily we drop into fear. We drop into fear, we drop into this place of fearful thinking, fearful attitude, anticipating. Hang on a minute, I'm walking on water. What if? What if? What if? It's the question in what if?
Speaker 2:what if? What if? What if it's the?
Speaker 1:questioning yeah, what if the buts, what if the maybes, what if? What am I doing? What's going on? So over-anticipating, over-thinking, over-engineering life will automatically bring fear in, because we're trying to navigate our way through and you can't navigate your way through, you've got to go by faith. Faith will bring peace. You know, perfect love drives out all fear.
Speaker 2:Gorgeous.
Speaker 1:We love that, don't we? One of my favourites, we absolutely love that I love that one.
Speaker 2:Oh, it touches my heart. Listen to this one.
Speaker 1:Go, go, go go.
Speaker 2:Because it relates to what you just said.
Speaker 1:Go Gadget.
Speaker 2:Go go Gadget, go gadget proverbs.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 29 25.
Speaker 2:The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in their lord is safe proverbs. What that is proverbs 29 25.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 29 25.
Speaker 2:Read it again, let's have it the fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the lord is safe. I like that.
Speaker 1:Let's just rest in that a minute.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Let's just think about that, just read that first section. The fear of man lays a snare. So the fear of man, the fear of governments, the fear of life, the fear of work, the fear of life in general, it lays a snare out for us, to trap, us, Trap. Oh God, how trapped are we that?
Speaker 2:lames you, doesn't? It Hobbles you yeah. That's the kind of snare they're talking about and it restricts your stretch as a human being.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we wasn't created to be muzzled like a dog. Oh, oh easy, that's getting rough. You know, we're freedom. We're freedom when the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. You know he wasn't created to be kept in a box and to be who the Son sets free. He's free indeed. Yeah, Amazing stuff. But what we have done? We have created a fearful world. We have created it. We have created all this stuff. Humanity has created a place of fear.
Speaker 2:It's very difficult to break free of that though I'm not being funny Unless you go off of the….
Speaker 1:How can you, how can you break free of society?
Speaker 2:Go and live on a Scottish island that hasn't got any electricity.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but when you think about it, you've got to have money, haven't you? So you think of life… no, because you could be self-sufficient. Okay, but yeah, all right. Okay, I see what you're saying, but to get to that position, you've really got to have super rich parents, or literally just… You've got to have been gifted something, been gifted something To reach a position of complete self-sufficiency, relying on no one, but like out in the wild in a log cabin or somewhere.
Speaker 1:What would that feel like to know that you're not a slave to the system and you ain't got to get the work, you ain't got to pay the rent, you ain't got to pay the mortgage, you ain't got the poll tax a shoe in front of you. You'd be knackered.
Speaker 2:You would, wouldn't you? Yeah, because you're like got to get up, got to clean the sump, got to go and sort out the generator and make sure that it's got this. Go and fight the bear. Got to sharpen the axe so I can chop the wood.
Speaker 1:Oh, but you're going to.
Speaker 2:The bear.
Speaker 1:Chop in the wood. Chop in the wood. I've got to go and Chop in the wood, catch some food. A complete different lifestyle, wouldn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but then you know, before we had things like the wheel, there were cultures that did that, but they put their gods into the trees and the nature and the this and the that.
Speaker 1:Yeah gods of the forest.
Speaker 2:So imagine being that kind of self-sufficient, having that kind of self-sufficiency like, for example, the Native American Indians. Yeah yeah, but also having God.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's interesting the Native Indians, isn't it, when you think about their freedom, that they have so indigenous right out in the middle of nowhere just living free, sitting around the fire at night.
Speaker 2:Well, they hoped to, until the Westerners came over and went. No, no We'll no, no. We'll have that Anyway.
Speaker 1:We'll take that. We'll have your feathers.
Speaker 2:Fear not little flock.
Speaker 1:Look at that, Fear not little flock Luke 12, 32.
Speaker 2:Little flock, yeah, luke 12, 32. Come on, that's a great text. Fear not little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Speaker 1:It's great. I love the scripture. I am someone that loves all these scriptures.
Speaker 2:I've got a big smile on my face.
Speaker 1:Massive smile, but I'm going to bring a but in Go on. But we've got to transfer the reading from our ear gate, our eye gate, actually to our lifestyle.
Speaker 2:I know, I just like the fear, not little flock. I'll be honest with you Because it makes me feel like he's my shepherd. He is, and what does a shepherd do he?
Speaker 1:shaves the sheep he takes care of the 99. Of course he does, yeah.
Speaker 2:Takes care. If one is missing, he's going to find you and he's going to bring you down, and and he's going to find you and he's going to bring you down.
Speaker 1:He'll stop everything else and bring you and find you and look after you and take care of you. He is our shepherd. But we are living in a very fast, a very fluid, a very brutal, a nasty I would say quite a dangerous culture within the UK.
Speaker 2:I'd say there's a lot of things happening in this nation that are good, but I'd say there's a lot of things happening in England that are really dark and bleak, when you think of the majority of people that I know are atheists, have different spiritual beliefs, some are of a different faith, but that's quite rare as well. Yeah, so would it be fair to say and I'm asking this question, I'm not asserting this, but actually we live in more of a pagan nation now.
Speaker 1:Do you know what I mean? We've got a pagan nation.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's a nation of everything, isn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like a washing machine of religions. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't even like calling them religions to a degree, do you? It's difficult how to label it, doesn't it really?
Speaker 2:Yeah, because paganism is a religion in itself. It is yeah.
Speaker 1:Druids. You know, when you look at all that everything that's going on, all the witchcraft, wicca. I've done a funeral today. I took a funeral service today and in the funeral service, after I'd done all that, a lady come up to me and went oh, I'm a witch and she's having a conversation with me as if it's just like normal sort of practice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, one of my friends is a wicker.
Speaker 1:And you're talking away and all that, and I was just listening. A wicker, a wicker, yeah, and I know quite a few actually.
Speaker 2:Wickers are basket. Certain places I work Wickers are faith.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. Certain places that I work there are a few there and other places I know, and they are around more than we actually understand. It's not this Harry Potter stuff, you know what I mean. It's actually real life. People are practicing witches, black magic, all this stuff. So we are living in a very oppressive spiritual place For Christians. Yeah, for Christians. Yeah, for Christians. Yeah, everyone else thinks that they've got it right. That sounds awful to say, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:Everybody thinks they've got it right and they think that we think that we've got it right. That's the thing. But fact is.
Speaker 1:I know I've got it right. I know that I've got it right and that sounds really arrogant, but they'll say the same thing.
Speaker 2:They'll say the same thing. They'll say I know that.
Speaker 1:I've got it right. No, but the big but, because we can bring a but in. There's no other religion, there's no other faith that has a book like we got, Our book, our book.
Speaker 2:There's no other faith that redeems people in the way that ours does.
Speaker 1:Our book tells you history Washes your car, washes your clean, washes your clean, yeah.
Speaker 2:Is there another? I don't know this. Is there another? Faith that washes you clean in this way. No, no other faith.
Speaker 1:You don't have a faith leader that has gone to a brutal death, that has given. There's no father that has given his son as a sacrifice to die for the whole world. When you look centred on love, you might find a couple of strange, wobbly ones where there's been some crazy person and something's gone wrong and it's all gone crackers, you know, like that thing out in America are you talking about the Tory party? I'm talking about the Tory party, I'm talking about all of them. They're all nutty, you know what I mean, so you will find very possible.
Speaker 2:There are other political parties Just saying that. Sorry to interrupt.
Speaker 1:No, it's all right Not interrupting. It's just general chat, isn't it? Chat about, chat about, chat about chat about. But I think it's important to understand, as a christian, the bible that we have has been written over thousands of years. It's not been written by man. Now they go oh yes, it is, but it's holy spirit inspired. There is a complete and absolute difference in every scripture that you find.
Speaker 1:Man was used as the instrument and, as man was being used as the instrument, god was writing his script yeah, that just blows my mind when you think about, because the, the people that we read about, they was actually living their life, but their lives were already written about and they was walking this journey that they thought they was in charging. But everything, everything this, every step, every footstep they was walking in, was carved out for them because the book had told us. And so when you look at their lives, the craziness of it, look at the profits, the price some of them profits Well, I'm not kidding you, you would have locked them up today because I was off their rocker. I'm not kidding you, you would have locked them up today because they were off their rocker. They were ostracized, put aside.
Speaker 2:Fear.
Speaker 1:Fear. So fear is a big thing. So many other religions use the fear button to get people in Truth.
Speaker 2:You're going to go to hell if you don't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or some other form.
Speaker 2:You're going to have to be reincarnated a thousand times, unless you.
Speaker 1:Or they use the fear of if you don't marry me through this arranged marriage, you'll be out on the street. So, basically, people use religion for and you always find that it's never the women's way around, it's always the man. The man is always winning in religion and the women are always the second class. Not even that. You know so you. So you look at it. So why? Why would man always want to be up the front doing it's not when you think god created man and woman and they both was in the garden and they both was there and the bible tells very, very clear.
Speaker 1:So when you look at all that, and we understand what the scripture says about men and women as individuals, but you won't find the scripture or where god tells you to put a woman down. No, he, absolutely. That is just not written in the script.
Speaker 1:That is not in the scripture, that is not around, but so fear. So you've got fear of the world and you've got many people that are in fearful religions. And they're in that religion not because they're having a spiritual encounter, but because they are fearful of what the order and what the leaders are saying. So fear is across the whole earth. It is a.
Speaker 2:It's happening in Iran. You know those women.
Speaker 1:Oh damn me.
Speaker 2:Women that are in fear of expressing themselves.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because of religion.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Tells them that they have to be a certain way. It's like what, what? I don't get it. I just don't get what. I don't get it, I just don't get it, I just don't get it.
Speaker 1:So fear drives women to go into a religion because of what the man is going to do, because of the fear of what? The fear of their life. Yeah, the fear of their life, absolutely. We're coming to the end of this one. Well, we haven't even took off on. On isaiah 40, verse 10, it says so do not fear, for I am with you. I love that jesus is with you if you are fearful.
Speaker 1:We understand what it's like to be worried about money. We understand what it's worried to be about, worried about work. We understand what it's like just to worry for the sake of worrying. And sometimes we worry and we anticipate and we, we, we have our lives road mapped out in front of us and if we don't hit these marker points in our mind, we worry about it, when actually the life that we've got in our mind is not always the life that is expected of us to live. So when we don't hit these markers, these areas of our lives, we start to worry. Work is a worry, life is a worry, relationships are a worry. Have I got enough money to get the car to work this week? I was talking to a gentleman yesterday outside the church and he said cool. I went in a certain sandwich shop and he said I'll have a coffee and a sandwich and it cost nine quid. And he went. I worried I was going to pay for it. Yeah, in london he works in town.
Speaker 1:So there's worry and fear and how am I going to pay for that? Am I going to? I've got to pay for it. Yeah, In London he works in town. So there's worry and fear. How am I going to pay for that? How am I going to pay? I've got to pay for that. That's like a tenner out my pocket.
Speaker 2:It's like I think people are walking around like, and their feet are treading out rhythms of fear. It's like constantly questioning and doubting how, why, if, how, why, what? Constantly. But how, why, if, how, why, what, constantly. But the thing that we've talked about today is that those questions. If you question God, if you question the Lord, he's commanding you. He's commanding you. Yeah, like, do not fear, it's not a choice. If you just go into on Google.
Speaker 1:Google.
Speaker 2:Google and you just put in what does the Bible say about? Do not fear. I urge you to do it. If you're in a fearful situation, I urge you to do it because it just commands you all the way throughout Do not fear.
Speaker 1:Do not fear. Do not fear.
Speaker 2:Why are you afraid? Do not be afraid.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Constantly as you said 365 ways to say don't be afraid so what is the remedy?
Speaker 1:the remedy is Jesus. We get that.
Speaker 2:I love that the remedy is Jesus. The remedy is Jesus.
Speaker 1:The remedy, the redemption. He is the redeeming king. So the remedy is Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the light. It's easy to say all these scriptures and I can hear everybody going yeah, we say them, we know that, but I've got to live differently. The only way we can do this is coming into complete surrender, and that is another difficult thing to surrender yourself to Jesus.
Speaker 2:Trusting sorry, my tummy's rumbling, but trusting as well that God will find a way for you.
Speaker 1:He will find a way.
Speaker 2:It might be not the way that you expect.
Speaker 1:And that's another fear. People are fearful of change. Yeah, change, fearful of change, fearful of life, you know, and we've got to be encouragers, we've got to encourage each other to keep pressing in. You know the scripture that comes to my mind we spoke about earlier. The scripture says perfect love drives out all fear. So God drives out all fear. So god drives out all fear. But I've got to be in him to win it. I've got to be in him to win him. I've got to be in it, I've got to be in jesus. How do we get into jesus? Scripture every day, every moment. It's scripture. It's scripture. It's scripture reading and listening, praying and walking and trusting and just having a conversation with jesus.
Speaker 2:Not putting your head in the sand. No, not putting your head in the sand and going don't worry, it'll be all right.
Speaker 1:But just knowing God will resolve this for me. Yeah, that's right. God will resolve this for me, god will make this way for me.
Speaker 2:If the resolution is, I'm going to learn a lesson from it and then I will find my own way out of it. That is God showing you a way out of it. Yes, right, you know he's not going to sweep the things that you're afraid of away, no, but it will give you the strength to be able to learn your own way through them sometimes.
Speaker 1:The great writer of the New Testament. We come to a close. The great writer of the New Testament was in a storm and he was on a boat, a big vessel. He was a prisoner. He was going to see the law. He was at Saul 14 days, 14 nights and the furious no, sorry, he was at more. Let's say more than that, but the storm was for 14 days, 14 nights. They couldn't see anything. It was absolutely horrific for them. But an angel came and stood in the middle of the boat, spoke to Paul. Now you would automatically think that God will go let's take him off that vessel, let's calm the storm. He didn't. The angel dropped in right in the center point of it all, spoke to him and said you will reach your destination.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You will reach your destination. Do not fear. Hold tight and then just disappeared. That's what I mean. So God doesn't take all this life stuff away. He strengthens us in the situation and if anyone is out there listening that is worried about how do I know god is strengthening me? Read the scripture. Just read and read and read la, we're done, you're going to take us out I'm going to go back to asaya, asaya 41, 13.
Speaker 2:So three verses later come on, let's have him, for I the the Lord, your God, hold your right hand. It is I who say to you fear not, I am the one who helps you.
Speaker 1:Praise God. What do?
Speaker 2:we say about that.
Speaker 1:God is good. All is fluffy. Now it's time to get out of here. Get a slim, fast kebab. You know, I'm born again. Get me out of here. I'm born again. Get me out of here. I'm born again. Get us out of here. Wherever you are across the earth, may god bless you and touch your heart. Do not fear, do not be dismayed, for I am the lord, thy god, and I am with you wherever you go. He is with us. Let's live in faith. God bless. We thank you so much. Take care and everybody across the world, the thousands of downloads across this beautiful malteser that we walk in. God is with you, hold tight, god bless.
Speaker 2:Thank you for listening to Ealing Church from this latest podcast. You can find us on Buzzsprout, Spotify, Apple Music, iHeartRadio, Google Play, Alexa, Mixcloud, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
