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
Finding Rest in Unwavering Truth (#704 - CST)
What if the tools you've been relying on to face life's challenges were just plastic swords, melting under pressure? Join us as we explore the profound concept of spiritual equipping, drawing inspiration from David's victory over Goliath, and revealing how surrendering to Jesus, the ultimate shepherd, can truly prepare us for spiritual warfare. We take a hard look at the societal shifts in the UK, where God has been replaced by government and materialism, leading to decisions made without spiritual insight and the struggles that ensue. By aligning with divine purpose and guidance, we can navigate the complexities of modern life with strength and clarity.
We also tackle the current landscape of Christianity, grappling with the unexpected election of an atheist as head chaplain at Harvard University—a move that starkly contrasts with the institution's Christian roots. As humanism rises and technology advances, we question whether personal truth is eclipsing religious truth and express a longing for leaders who can guide us back to foundational Christian values. Concerns about the church's focus on societal trends rather than traditional teachings are highlighted, urging a return to messages with spiritual depth.
Finally, we confront the epidemic of unfulfilled potential and the quest for peace, especially in a world burdened by mental health struggles. Through stories of figures like Billy Graham, we highlight the peace and relief found in surrendering to Jesus and the grace of salvation. Amidst societal pressures and the tragedies of depression, we offer hope and solace, encouraging listeners to trust in divine guidance as a source of peace and rest. Join us on this journey to embrace true purpose and find peace in God's unwavering truth.
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https://www.pastorbencooper.co.uk/
Good morning. Good morning, we are back across the mics. It's Simon and it's Ben. God bless you. Wherever you are, the Lord is good. His mercy endures forever. Remember, as we always say here, you've got to understand about being born again. You know, it's cst, it's straight out the barrel of truth. We've got some new stuff coming down the tracks. You know there's lots of stuff happening. Everywhere. The lord is using simon. Things are happening here in the church. Great things are happening. But wherever you are, never give up. God is with you.
Speaker 2:Come on, simon, we're in yeah, good morning, it's great to be back with you. Uh, ben uh across the mics and, um, I'm actually sitting across the mics from from the reverend ben cooper what do you think? What do you think about? That I don't know if I like, what do you think about it? I don't know, that's not a good thing. You know it's not a good thing, tattooed vicar all I want to know be as he tried his best.
Speaker 1:He was born again. He's made it to heaven. You know, titles are dangerous, aren't they? They're dangerous.
Speaker 2:The Bishop of Swanley. Here we are yeah, we're in, ben. The title today is Equipped because wherever I go and wherever you go, ben, there's a common theme, isn't there? Men and women are struggling like mad. They're struggling like you've never before. We appreciate, you know, because we are struggling, we are going through some stuff you know, oh God. And if you're not equipped to deal with this, it's going to run you over.
Speaker 1:You're going to go under.
Speaker 2:Ain't you In?
Speaker 1:such an interesting word, the word equipped. What does it actually mean? Am I equipped? Am I fit for purpose? Is the church fit for purpose? Is is our relationships fit for purpose? Who am I? Where have I come from? Where am I going? Being equipped, it's like david, isn't it? It's david saul was equipped, but he wasn't fit for purpose. David was equipped, but the equipment that he had when they went down the valley. You know what we think that we are equipped with and what we think we are equipped for is not exactly what god wants us to look like well, you know, ben, we've said this on many occasions If we don't stand for something, we'll fall for anything Completely.
Speaker 1:Here's the thing.
Speaker 2:You get many of these men's groups that are out there. You get many people from the pulpit saying you've got to be mighty men and women of value, you've got to be strong, you've got to be this, that and the other, and it's nonsense and this will relieve a lot of people. Thank you, it's nonsense. We are just sheep. We are all just sheep following an almighty shepherd and that's what we've got to do.
Speaker 1:That's what we've got to do and realize that he is the shepherd. And what we've got to understand it is when jesus called those at the shoreline. He said come and follow me. That is the thing. Because we equip ourselves. We equip ourselves with plastic swords, with plastic instruments, and when the fire gets hot, what happens to plastic it?
Speaker 2:melts. You know, paul says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they're mighty before God. Because what it means, ben, is that we surrendered to Jesus, and Jesus when he steps into the battle, then the enemy's run. So if you're trying to do this by yourself, you're in trouble. You can only do this through Jesus. Listen, ben, you know I Googled this and Google's marvellous. So every day we're in an everyday battle and we believe on this podcast that we are in the biggest spiritual battle since the cross, completely it's coming at us from all angles and if we're not equipped, do you know, ben, an adult makes something like 35,000 choices every day.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness. And then each of those choices as a consequence, don't it, ben?
Speaker 1:each and every one. Goodness, no wonder we're in a mess so many of them.
Speaker 2:Choices are in life's battle and it's the biggest, as we said, the biggest spiritual battle. And if we were to have a feedback session, if we could see all your faces and feedback and we went what are you struggling with? You know there would be literally we and feedback and we went what are you struggling with? You know there would be literally we would not stop. We could be here for a week with stuff that people are actually struggling with right now and many people make choices, Ben, without even thinking of the consequences.
Speaker 1:Completely, completely true, and it comes back to that biblical arena, didn't it? David and Goliath and Saul. I've got to make sure that I know that the equipment that I've equipped myself with is okay, or because the consequence if David went down the arena in what Saul said, this is the equipment that I have for you, this is what I want you to carry. It's not fit for purpose. David would have got slain. Sometimes we've got to check the equipment that we're dressing ourselves with, because what you're saying is the consequence of going into a situation or making a decision has such an effect on our lives.
Speaker 2:Totally, totally affects on our lives. Because if you look at the outside world, ben, especially in this country, in the UK maybe a bit different in other places around the world, but in this country they push God out of everything Completely. They've abolished God, if you like. Yes, they've taken him out. And so if you abolish God, what becomes God? The government becomes God, the governmentish God. What becomes God, the government and self becomes God, doesn't it and stuff around me becomes the gods.
Speaker 1:I have gods everywhere finances, work, career, everything, everything, cars, materialism, social network. That's probably one of the biggest gods, because we're well. I'm not saying everybody's on it, but do you know what I mean? That's the biggest Well your mobile phone.
Speaker 2:Ben, that's the god, isn't it it?
Speaker 1:rules us, it rules us.
Speaker 2:I think most people are on a mobile phone. I see them all the time walking and talking and scrolling through. Yes, and it's a distraction. And the enemy is just sitting back laughing because you're being distracted by all of this stuff, because you're in a battle and he's won. He's taken you out. He's taken you out. If you're sitting there scrolling through your mobile phone, if you're sitting there watching box sets on the TV one after another, binge watching or whatever, watching sport, it's taking you out because you'll never achieve the purpose that God made you for. That's correct and that's so important?
Speaker 1:yeah, because who are you in Christ and what we do with the socials, the box sets on the TV and stuff. We're looking for a place of escapism, we're trying to escape certain things in life. We're trying to escape, we're trying to get away from certain situations that have happened through the day and we absorb ourselves in other stuff and we get saturated by the world rather than we should be saturated by the gospel of Jesus Christ. When I, when I get into the word, when I jump into the arena of work, life, relationships, I'm equipped because the word has equipped me for every scenario that life will throw at me through the devil. You've only got to look at Job. When you look at Job and what Job went through, you know it is a strip back. I actually believe that we're in such a strip back and the church isn't fit for purpose because the church isn't equipped, is it? Leaders have not equipped themselves for this end time warfare that we are experiencing across the world? We, we are not equipped, you would have.
Speaker 2:This has not just happened, but it's been a slow process A frog in the boiling water syndrome.
Speaker 1:I reckon about over 100 years. This has been brewing 100 years in the making to where we are.
Speaker 2:You're probably right. Yeah, it's about that. It's been a drip, drip, drip, but all of a sudden Drip feed.
Speaker 1:We're at the door of serious trouble.
Speaker 2:Look at this the University of Harvard was built and established Ben to train Christian ministers right. So now an atheist has been elected as head chaplain.
Speaker 1:Head chaplain, and you know that I know the drill.
Speaker 2:I know that. And he said we don't look for god for answers, we are our own answers.
Speaker 1:There you go you know, crawl back up your backside and disappear. You know how can literally how can you have an atheist chaplain that believes in nothing after we close our eyes that there is nothing, that there's no hope. This is the world is crazy. So the church is not ready for where we are. The church is not equipped. It has been equipping people with a with the gay pride flag. It has been equipping people for the same sex marriage. It has been equipping us for wokeness and the church has lost the sword of the spirit.
Speaker 2:But nothing is new, Ben, is it? Nothing new under the sun, Although it's a bit stronger maybe now, but in Judges, Ben, it says 21-25. It says everyone did what was right they thought was right In their own right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because there's no king in.
Speaker 2:Israel, Because there was no. That's right.
Speaker 1:At the end of Judges. I think that's a really powerful and a really scary text. Each man done what was right in his own eyes, for there was no king in Israel. And that is the question God, don't pass us by, like when Jesus was walking on the lake and they shouted out Jesus. If that's you, don't pass us by, like when Jesus was walking on the lake and they shouted out Jesus. If that's you, don't pass us by. Will God pass this nation by? Has he handed us over or is he sifting us? Is he sifting this nation? We've got a leader that is completely hell bound. We've got leaders you know.
Speaker 1:If you look at the church, we're talking about equipped. What does it mean to be a Christian? To be equipped Ephesians to be dressed and to be ready to be bold, to be braggadocious. So when I look at the church, what is the church equipping me in the church generally? Is equipping me into marry whoever, anything goes. It's more interested in the gay pride. It's hiding scandals of abuse under the rug. Leaders, when was the last time we heard a leader preach hellfire and brimstone like never before, as if it was their last message on earth?
Speaker 2:You see, Ben, you don't get it. You don't get them sort of leaders stand up, so you don't get like the don't. You don't get them sort of leaders stand up, so you don't get like the David Wilkerson do you. You know the all these guys that that even they was around quite recently, but we don't, we don't get them. They do. You know certain churches. You know, I believe, times Square Church with Tim Delina, carla churches.
Speaker 2:You know, I believe, time square church with tim delena, carla conlon yeah, but they're dropping off they are dropping off and and if you said to to anyone, you say what's the biggest threat to christianity and the people that go, oh, it's the islam, islam, and and and yeah, you know, islam is a threat because it is spreading and it is is moving. But the biggest threat, I believe, is humanist, the humanist movement, where it puts us at the centre. So, instead of ten commandments, the humanists have ten commitments.
Speaker 1:Isn't it interesting? They love to copy these atheists. They love to copy. They couldn't come up with their own understanding. They couldn't come up with their own idea or their own way. They have to copy. They couldn't come up with their own understanding. They couldn't come up with their own idea or their own way. They have to copy. You're copying Jesus.
Speaker 2:But Ben, it's insanity what's going on now.
Speaker 1:It's crazy.
Speaker 2:And it looks like, you know, if we look across the pond, you know, with Donald Trump being elected, it looks like the rhetoric coming out of there is that they're going to correct a lot of this. But we'll wait and see. But it's insanity because you've got men and girls sports. You've got, you know, drag queen story time coming into schools. It's total insanity. The Bible says Ben in Proverbs 14, 12, there's a way that seems right to man, but it leads to death.
Speaker 1:Death or destruction. So that word equipment, simon, equipped equipped is speaking to the individual. So we get equipped by the people around us. So when you look at life, no wonder we're getting the battering, because the people around us are not, they're not equipped, the church is not equipped. To be equipped is knowing who you are in christ jesus. How many men and women that are in marriages that shouldn't even be married. How many men and women that are in leadership that shouldn't even be in leadership. So we've got devastation in homes, we've got devastation in churches, because we've got men and women delivering messages that are not fit for purpose. They're bringing a message that is educational, or we could go a little bit further. Now we have been equipped with what that are not fit for purpose. They're bringing a message that is educational, or we could go a little bit further.
Speaker 2:Now we have been equipped with what AI, artificial intelligence. That's what we got with sermons Totally, and so when you remove the spirit out of the church, then what's the point?
Speaker 1:And you move the spirit out of life itself. You move the spirit, then what's the point?
Speaker 2:And you move the spirit out of life itself. You move the spirit. Then man replaces the spirit, he becomes God. Truth becomes personal, ben yes. So it's my truth, it's my truth, it's me. It's not God's truth, it's not. Jesus is the truth you know.
Speaker 1:No, it's my truth. It's whatever I believe in.
Speaker 2:Yes, and humanism says you can embrace whatever you want to embrace.
Speaker 1:It does.
Speaker 2:And it says one of the Ten Commitments is situational ethics, which means I can tell you something today and if the situation changes tomorrow.
Speaker 1:I can lie and tell you it's all right, it's a lie.
Speaker 2:It's a lie, Ben. We shouldn't be surprised, because the Bible outlines this, Ben, in 2 Timothy 3, 1 to 5. Have you got it up there, Ben?
Speaker 1:I've got it yeah, yeah, and I know I haven't no, go on Read it. I've got John. I was dabbling in John. You know, being equipped is so, so important. You know, and I pray and I respect church leaders and everything that goes along with that.
Speaker 2:It's time now to equip the congregations with the armour of God. So this is where we are, ben 2, timothy 3, 1 to 5. Mark, this Is that the one. Yeah, yeah, go on.
Speaker 1:Let's flick it open. Come on, let's get the word open. It says right 2 Timothy 3, verses 1 through 5. But mark this there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves yeah, thank. People will be lovers of themselves, yeah, thank you. Be lovers of money, thank you. Boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy without love, unforgiving, slanderous without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash conceited lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power, have nothing to do with such people. I ain't going to church on Sunday, ben, we're in it, ain't we? We're in it. Sodom and Gomorrah is on the table.
Speaker 2:Ben, just like you said. So if all of a sudden your street or your home was being attacked and someone threw you a gun and an at and maybe a bulletproof vest or something you ain't got a clue You're going to be taken out. So if you're not properly equipped and properly, trained.
Speaker 1:I'm not trained.
Speaker 2:If you're not trained, you're not properly equipped, you know, then you're going to absolutely be taken. And it's the same in the spiritual world. And, like you said, there's church leaders. They're not seeing it, ben. They're living in a life in a world of lollipops and unicorns and Santa Claus. You know they ain't.
Speaker 1:Look, how can this be? We've all seen it. There's nothing new under the sun. How can a man get in a pulpit with a beard? Well, that's all right, he says. But how can a man get in a pulpit with a beard? Well, that's all right, he says. But how can that man get in the pulpit with a beard and then wear a dress? And I'm not talking about a cassock. How can he wear lipstick? How can he be dressed as a woman? He's a man with a beard in a pulpit, dressed in a dress, looking like a woman, and deliver the message. Right, this is the crazy carnage that we have.
Speaker 2:It's insanity. And Ben, it's like, almost like it's the king's new suit of clothes. Oh, isn't he great, Isn't he marvellous? No, it's insane.
Speaker 1:Oh, he's found himself. It's insane.
Speaker 2:And Ben many men, I think, who go to church. Many women who go to church are sitting there in silence, scared.
Speaker 1:They're not sure what to do. Many women who go to church are sitting there in silence, scared. They're not sure what to do, they're dumbstruck. They're like when we look at congregations and we see what's going on, I really believe that god has his hand on congregations and what I. There's a line, there's a division, and what that division is is there's a line from the pulpit to the congregation where leaders haven't equipped the congregation. God is bypassing leaders and there are many leaders that are going to hell and there are many leaders that are not going to make it because they haven't been the true sheep, the shepherd. Sorry to the sheep, to the sheep. So we're in serious trouble as leaders.
Speaker 2:Ben we say all the time on this podcast that the quote that Joe Rogan, the biggest podcaster out there. He says men are living a life of quiet desperation.
Speaker 1:Ben, completely true, that is, and that's coming from a man that is not a believer or whatever you look at that. But they are noticing. Men and women coming back to the congregations are in church, dumbstruck, not because of uneducated, but because of what is going on, like hypnotised.
Speaker 2:You, at this moment in time, are doing far more funerals aren't you yes. Far more funerals than you've ever done, and I guarantee you, ben, that the majority of people that you are speaking over there, their end of their lives, have gone to the end of their lives, ben, with their music still inside of them. Completely. They haven't fulfilled their godly purpose on this earth.
Speaker 1:That's right, and the storyline is I wish I had done. Yes, yes, I wish I had done, yes, yes, I wish I had done.
Speaker 2:Ben, how many times did you hear that in the?
Speaker 1:hospital Honestly, uncountable Honestly, I could almost say it and they go. I need to tell you something. I go. Let me tell you what you need to know. How do you know? Because it's sitting in so many human beings' lives. I wish I had a done. You know, sisters and brothers, wherever you are across the world, we are not equipped for the warfare that is happening at this moment. And we need to be equipped and we need to be equipped.
Speaker 2:Oh, we've just painted quite a dark picture, ben, haven't we? But there's hope, but there's hope. Praise the Lord. There's hope Because, why? Because Jesus is alive and God is still on the throne.
Speaker 1:Our Heavenly.
Speaker 2:Father is still on the throne, he's still in command and it doesn't matter who's in power. It doesn't matter who's in charge, it doesn't matter. He knows what the situation is. He's got the world in the palm of his hands. But, ben, you were right as you opened up this podcast. We have got to get back to basics. It's got to be Christian faith 101. We've got to get back to John 3.3.
Speaker 1:He can't escape the fact that we've got to be born from above. It's not by work so that no one can boast Isn't that a lovely scripture. It is by grace you have been saved. When we realize it is by grace, it takes the pressure of a ministry off building his church, doing this, doing that, because we can't build the church. We've just got to realize that we are slaves to righteousness. You can't use that word slave, you can't put that analogy. I am a slave to righteousness, I am a servant unto jesus christ. And when we realize that, when we serve jesus and we serve him, we suddenly find identity, we suddenly find the love of god. We suddenly find that we are equipped. We know what our destination is. How many people like the underground on london? When you look at the london underground crisscrossing everywhere, trains flying everywhere that's like us. We're flying everywhere, but we don't know where our next destination is really. You're looking at the map of life and it's chaos.
Speaker 2:People are searching for their destiny. People are searching for their purpose. Well, let me tell you what your purpose is. If you're a born again spiritual believer, your purpose is quite simple is to follow Jesus. That's the purpose. And you're a born-again spiritual believer, your purpose is quite simple is to follow Jesus. That's the purpose. That's it. And we're talking to men and women, we're talking to everyone out there and we're talking to men and women.
Speaker 2:If you've been in church five minutes or 50 years, it doesn't matter, because Billy Graham that wonderful story that Billy Graham told about the bishop Billy Graham told about the bishop. He's got all his gear on. I love that, come on. And he's going back from a Billy Graham conference and he gets tapped when he's on the bus in Chicago by a lady and she says are you born again? He said well, I'm a bishop, I've got all the gear on, you know, purple robes and a ring. She said no, are you born again? He said. When I got back to my apartment, I looked at John 3, 3, fell on my knees and cried my eyes out because I knew that I haven't been living a life that has been born again. I've accepted Jesus as my Savior, but not my Lord. Such a difference, such a difference I've got to Lord.
Speaker 1:Please tell me about being born again. You cannot see, you cannot enter. Isn't that so beautiful? What a safeguard that is. That jesus takes all the pressure off a man. He takes all the pressure away from us. That, wherever you are across the world, in ministry, out of ministry, just capturing these podcasts, I love the fact that we cannot work. It's not by work, so that no one can boast. It doesn't matter how many times we run around naming it and claiming it all for the church. Jesus is just asking us and telling us just come and follow me, trust me. It's total surrender. Because when total surrender comes in suddenly the title of today's podcast I know that I'm equipped because he equips me?
Speaker 2:Oh, totally. So you just you give your life totally to Jesus, surrender completely and fully to Jesus, and he will fight your battles. He said come to me all of you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. He doesn't. So we come to him with all our struggles, all our problems. It's beautiful. We don't turn away and go. You know what? I'll deal with this by myself, jesus, I'm okay, you know, because if you go down that route and I know many men that have- I'm down it all day long.
Speaker 1:Your life, come on, let's be honest. But your life will be a train wreck. It can be a car crash of a day, isn't it A car crash when we take on the battles and the jigsaw puzzle of life and we're trying to get our lives to look like what the box says, and then we tip the jigsaws out and we've got bits and pieces missing. How many of us have got bits and pieces missing from the jigsaw of life Because we're trying to work things out ourselves, we're trying to make things happen. That is so dangerous, isn't it trying to make things happen, you know? Trying to make relationships work, make church work, make ministry work, make money work, make. We're trying to make stuff work because what we're looking for, we're looking for peace. Peace is the is the number one thing that you will get from god. When jesus stepped into the arena of thomas's uh life doubting thomas. Peace be with you, thomas and it's very difficult.
Speaker 2:It's very difficult. Peace is is is what we're all searching for in it.
Speaker 1:You know everyone it's very to rest.
Speaker 2:Especially as a guy in this world, because people expect you to do so much and you're thinking to yourself it's all coming on top. Well, it'll all come on top if you don't get your priorities right, and that's what we're seeing. Give this life, give your life over to Jesus, and we're going to talk about priorities perhaps in the next bit, ben. But you know I come back to one very sad thing. You know, jesus is on the God is on the throne. That is the truth, amen. But one sad funeral you did recently was a young man with a young family, yes, who, I think. He threw himself in front of a train.
Speaker 2:And the note was something like was it? You'll be better off without me.
Speaker 1:You're better off without me. Yeah, think about that for a minute. You'll be better off without me. That is a note that is left. Quite a few times People think that they're better off out the arena.
Speaker 2:Would a family be better off without?
Speaker 1:No, no, it's like where does this come from? It comes from not knowing who you are. Depression and fear and suicide, and all that stuff is such major conversations at the moment. But there is hope. There is hope.
Speaker 2:And we're going to talk about that in in part two.
Speaker 1:But first of all, ben you, can't know the truth, and the truth will set you free amen.
