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 Peace and Fulfillment in Psalm 23: A Journey of Faith Amidst Modern Chaos (#808 - Elim)
Can tranquility and fulfillment truly be found in our modern, fast-paced world? Join us as we explore the timeless wisdom of Psalm 23, a scripture that continues to resonate deeply with those seeking solace amidst the chaos of digital life and material pursuits. This episode promises to enrich your understanding of how the Lord, our shepherd, guides and comforts us through life's trials, providing peace and fulfillment that transcends the superficial promises of technology and materialism.
As we journey through the chapter titled "The Shepherd," we contemplate the profound relationship between faith and spiritual fulfillment. In a world where material desires and social media often leave us feeling empty, understanding Jesus as our shepherd offers a path to lasting peace and joy. We discuss the importance of seeking truth and spiritual growth through a personal relationship with Jesus, while cautioning against the limitations of solely relying on religious institutions for spiritual nourishment.
Navigating life's valleys can feel overwhelming, yet this episode reassures us that faith is our constant guide. Through reflective discussions in chapters like "Walking Through the Valley of Trouble" and "The Gathering at the Table," we emphasize resilience, unity, and the spiritual nourishment found in faith and community. Join our spiritual gathering as we discover the strength and guidance available to us, turning life's challenges into opportunities for growth and embracing God's presence as a source of divine goodness amidst any adversity.
Christian podcasts about spiritual fulfillment, exploring Psalm 23 for modern Christians, Jesus as our shepherd in digital chaos, finding peace through faith in God, Christian insights on materialism and social media, spiritual nourishment through Jesus, understanding Psalm 23 in today's world, how faith helps in life's trials and valleys, growing spiritually through scripture, seeking solace in the Lord’s guidance, Christian podcasts for overcoming adversity, spiritual growth and personal faith journey, discovering unity and resilience in faith, walking through life’s valleys with God, Christian reflections on modern challenges, deepening your relationship with Jesus, and podcasts about God’s presence in adversity.
Christian, faith, Jesus, scripture, Bible, Psalm, prayer, worship, spiritual, growth, guidance, shepherd, peace, resilience, truth, community, hope.
https://www.pastorbencooper.co.uk/
Welcome to Rev Ben Cooper's podcast. We are a radio and podcast ministry based here within the UK. Your support is vital through prayer and through sowing a seed of faith. We are so thankful to have so many people around the globe downloading and listening to our podcasts, whether you are on Spotify, apple Podcast, google, alexa, amazon Music and so many other platforms. For more information about our ministry, please find us on pastorbencoopercouk. We would love to hear from you as you partner with us as we reach the world for Jesus Christ. Please send us an email through our contact form on pastorbencoopercouk. Also, you can find our latest books on Amazon under hashtag one, hashtag two and hashtag three under Christian Straight Talk hard-hitting, real-life conversations taken from our podcasts.
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Speaker 2:Wherever you are at this moment in time, sit back, whatever your life is looking like, whatever is going on in your world, you know never give up. You know the Lord is with each and every one of us as we just gather, as we rest as we be still. The Word of God is power, the Word of God is life, the Word of God is hope. We're going to jump into Psalm 23, but welcome to everybody in the world of Audible who's listening, across the world and wherever you are capturing this live stream service. We thank you. To those that are in the world of podcasts tens of thousands of downloads, uncountable, you know, downloads that are going on. It's absolutely amazing, but we're going to be in Psalm 23. Psalm 23,. The Lord is good, his mercy endures forever. And as we just rest as we be still, as we just come before God and just stretch out our hearts, we're living in really, really powerful times. And what we've noticed this evening as we stream this service, there's been lots of issues with Facebook, lots of issues with Instagram, you know, and some other platforms that are out there. Whatsapp went down at a few about seven o'clock. Things are happening, you know, very unusual things, and we're on a. We just set this new channel up really, really quickly, just this YouTube channel up, extremely quick because we got we're on a 90 day ban on our church one. So there's a lot of things happening at this moment. So we've been able to be very, very careful. What how I speak, just to keep us live streaming. So we are in Psalm 23, but we welcome everybody around the world and we pray that you'll share out these podcasts, share out the links, you know, send it to your loved ones, your friends, your church leaders. But let's get straight into the scripture. Six verses, extremely simple this evening. Nothing too heavy, nothing too crazy this evening, but Psalm 23. And wherever you are in your life at this moment in time, it's critical to remember that the Lord is with you. The Lord is with you, the power of the Holy Spirit is with you, the glory is with you, the love of Christ is with you, the Holy Spirit is with you and we welcome you this evening just to gather with us around the word of God and as we just be still and reflect and look at life itself and say Jesus, will you lead us? Will you lead us? Will you lead us, father? Will you lead us in paths of righteousness, will you guide us through the waves of life, will you guide us through trouble and situations?
Speaker 2:So Psalm 23 is a beautiful psalm of David and we find this an extremely comfortable and a comforting psalm. And as you look at that verse 1, it says the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul, he guides me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. And it says even though I walk through I'm just going to read that again Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup runneth over. But surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. You know that Psalm, probably one of the world known Psalms, the Psalm that is probably said the most, that is looked at the most, that is spoken about the most. The Psalm is a beautiful Psalm and as you look at that, you know, and as you take that in, as you reflect on that, the Lord is our shepherd. He's our shepherd, he's our king, he's our rock, he's our redeemer, he leads us. You know, we are living in very, very powerful times.
Speaker 2:It's really fascinating to see what's happening across the electronic world, so to speak. When you look, you know there are things happening with these major platforms. Are the authorities just dabbling, doing tests? Are they just tampering? Not so much tampering, but are they just touching a few buttons just to see what happens? Look how quick it can stop church service. Look how quick it can stop important messages get through. Look how many people, all of us, rely on that platform of WhatsApp itself. Look how they can stop. They can just shut things down at one, two, three presses of buttons. How quick can they stop communication around the world If World War III was to break out? How much can they stop the human being seeing so much real information coming over? So this is really critical for where we are, that we understand that the Lord is Ash Jeopard, and he's the one that leads us, he is the one that guides us. But we are living in the age of electronic and power. We're living in the age where we are completely, almost reliant reliant on social media, reliant on WhatsApp and Messenger all that where work comes through, where communication comes through. It's very interesting, isn't it, that the communication could be just severed at any particular moment in any given time.
Speaker 2:Monitoring what words are said, monitoring how and what comes across the airways what they will allow, will they allow the truth or will they shut the truth down? Will they allow the wokeness? The wokeness will press out, the wokeness will continue, because that's what they want. They want to talk about the rainbow people. They'll want to talk about that side of things. They'll want to talk about all that stuff. But when you talk about the truth, you, they can shut you down a click of a switch. You know, if you've got a ministry, a prayer ministry on whatsapp, imagine that you've got a large prayer ministry and they start to pick up the algorithms. We're not going to let the Christians pray. We'll click that group off the social networks on all the platforms. They're Christians. We'll flick them off. You know, it's happening before our very eyes.
Speaker 2:You know, I think there is a very interesting time. Coming to Christian preaching, I believe that the truth will try to be shut down, but the Bible says you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. And we just pray that. As this end time harvest, as this end time season is blowing across the world, I pray that every one of us will ask the Lord for wisdom and for strength to lead us, because we can only be led by the Lord, because the Lord is our shepherd. As the psalmist says, the Lord is our shepherd.
Speaker 2:It's very clear what the psalmist is writing about the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want. See, when we're on the social networks, when we're on all the electronic devices, we're always in want because it can't fulfill and satisfy the spirit that is the edifier in our lives. It's really really important that as we walk with Christ, as we lean into Christ, as we touch Christ, as we touch the hem of his garment, that we understand that the power of technology can't feed us and can't strengthen us. But that's why Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life. And when you look at these platforms and thanks be to God that we quickly, quickly, got this YouTube account up and running really really quick, so we could just continue to move slightly and try to push forward. But what's really, really important is that we that we never give up, that we continue to press in and we we dive in the word of God and we stretch in the word of God. The Lord is.
Speaker 2:It's critical that we understand that the Lord is our shepherd. I shall not be in one. He makes me lie down in green pastures. Sometimes the Lord forces us and leads us to take rest. He places us in areas. He makes me lie down in green pastures and it says there, he leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. We're in a time of restoration. We're in a time of restoring. There are many people that are being restored and lifted up and carried and and pressed into new areas, new beginnings. He makes me the six verses, six power pack verses in psalm 23 the lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in one. It's critical to come to that understanding and that press and that clear vibe that the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want. I will be in want and a continuation of want. All the time that I'm in materialism, all the time that I'm pressing into the world, I will always be in that position of want when I'm leaning more into the world rather than leaning into Christ. The Lord is. I got to really get that and understand that the Lord is my shepherd. What is a shepherd? A shepherd is someone that is responsible for the flock, that would lead and nurture and protect and guide and feed and water and strengthen.
Speaker 2:We are lacking shepherds from pulpits. We are lacking shepherds in churches. But we can rely and we can put our life in Christ because he says the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. We can put our reliance into ministry and into pastors and to certain leaders across the world, and we will find that we will always be in want. We can put that and that weight and that pressure on to ministry, into religious circles and even into the bigger churches and the area of ministry. We can still feel that we're in need of want, that we are lacking that. What are we lacking? In need of want that we are lacking that? What are we lacking? Large churches, religion will leave us in want, but when you realize that it is Christ.
Speaker 2:Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. When we come to that realization that it has to be Jesus first, there is no other way but Jesus. There is no other way but Jesus. He is the King, he is the Redeemer, he is the Great I Am and he is worthy of all praise. And when we lean into Jesus, it's critical for each and every one of us to come to the realization that he is our shepherd, the shepherd that will lead us, the shepherd that will protect us. The shepherd will take us to the truth. The shepherd will protect you at night. The shepherd will lead you into good days, new beginnings. The shepherd will take us to the truth. The shepherd will protect you at night. The shepherd will lead you into good days, new beginnings. The shepherd will take you to higher pasture. The shepherd will make sure that you're well nourished, you're well fed, that you're taken care of and, the most critical is, the wolves will not get to you the animals on the outside.
Speaker 2:What do we mean by that? We can equate that and we can look to that very clearly within the context of the church and with the context of religion, where we see very, very clearly and we've got this in the world of celebrity, church and all that stuff that goes on where there are wolves dressed in sheep's clothing, where they're not what is perceived to be. When you know, when you look at that, we have many shepherds that are not really shepherds. We have many leaders that are not leaders. We have many preachers that are not preachers. We have many evangelists that are not evangelists. We have so many people in the ministry that are not fit for delivering the word of God.
Speaker 2:So we got to seek out and make sure that the Lord, first and foremost, is our shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. Religion cannot be our shepherd. I cannot. To a certain degree I can lead us and to take us to certain areas of our lives, but there comes a point when we have to come to the Lord and we have to lean into Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Speaker 2:He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords and he is the shepherd. He will lead you into new beginnings. He will lead you into hope. He will lead you into fresh days, new beginnings. He will lead you through the night. When you look at a shepherd, the shepherd will rest at the entrance of the sheep gate. He will wait. He will make sure that everybody's in. He will make sure that everybody is there. He will take you to fresh pasture. He will protect you when the wolves are out, when the dogs are out. He will. He will take you to new beginnings and he will take care of every situation. Because the lord is the shepherd. He is the great I am. He is worthy of all praise. He is the king of. He is the great I am. He is worthy of all praise. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and we understand that he is everything that we require to get through this life.
Speaker 2:So, first and foremost, I need to recognize that Jesus Christ is the God that created heaven and earth. I need to recognize that God is Christ. I need to recognize that the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is the comforter. I need to understand about the deity the deity, the Father, the Son, holy Spirit, but they are interwoven, that the fabric of all three. They just move seamlessly in together. You cannot separate them. But yes, you might look at the separation at the cross, but that was that was from the man. That was something completely different. But you can't separate Christ, the spiritual Christ, to the father, because the bible is telling us so clear I and the father are one. So if Jesus says we are one, we are one. So when you look at this scripture it is really critical for the Christian, for the Bible believer, believing believer, to hold in the word of God and realize that Jesus Christ is the shepherd. And I shall not be in one when you put Jesus Christ first.
Speaker 2:The Bible says in the New Testament seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and everything else shall be added unto thee. It says. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. The world, life and the way that the world and the rhythm of life will take you to very noisy destinations. The world will take you to places of chaos. Culture will take you to very noisy destinations. The world will take you to places of chaos. Culture will take you to an unusual place. Life will take you to an unusual place, but Jesus Christ is the shepherd and he will lead into new beginnings and he is the door, he is the bread of life, he is the great I am, he is the word of truth and he will take you to a place of freedom. He will give you hope like no one else can. And he says in verse two he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me, jesus leads, the Holy Spirit leads, god leads. That's why I'm a follower.
Speaker 2:So that's when the text comes into the realm of what we're talking about when Jesus was walking on the shoreline of Galilee. The realm of what we're talking about when Jesus was walking on the shoreline of Galilee and he said drop your nets, come and follow me. When you follow Jesus, jesus is the spearhead, he is the safe space. If you are with us in the church and you turn to Psalm 91, you will see that you know you will find protection, you will find rest, he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, he who walks with God, he who rests with High, he who walks with God, he who rests with God, he who stands with God.
Speaker 2:See, when you mention the name of Jesus, god through Christ and the Holy Spirit have to protect. When you speak the truth, they have to protect you. They have to honor their word because their word cannot return void. So that is critical. If the church could understand that God there is, church could understand that there is something about God, there is something that God cannot do and he cannot lie, because the Bible says that God cannot lie. His word has to come to fulfillment. It will only come to fulfillment when the believer speaks the word. When you speak the word and you make sure that the word and it's done with the Holy Spirit come together, then we have, we see, an execution of God's word. That's why we have no fulfillment of what I would say certain areas of preaching and teaching, because it is spiritless. It is spiritless. It is driven by education, it is driven by educators.
Speaker 2:But when the Spirit of God and the Word of God move in that powerful way, because when you look at the birth of the church in the book of Acts, what was the mixture, if I can use that terminology, what was there? Two elements. Jesus too, was there. What was that? We have Jesus at the birth of the church. Jesus is the living word. Jesus said wait, I've got a gift for you Wait for the. I want you to wait, I want you to take time and I want you to wait in the upper room. I will not leave you as orphans. He says wait. So when the word and the spirit come together, when you think about this, when you bring this together, you've got Jesus, you've got the Holy Spirit. When you've got Jesus, you've got the Spirit. When you've got the Spirit, you've got Jesus. When you've got those two, without any shadow of any doubt, you've got God right in the center of the mix of everything. Because you can't dissect, you can't cut away, you can't amputate God, father, son, holy Spirit, you cannot. They blend together.
Speaker 2:So when you look at the psalm in Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. We will never be in want. But the preachers will put that word in want and they will put the money value on it. The Lord is my shepherd. I will never be empty of money. I will always be brimming over. I will always have plenty. I will always have materialism.
Speaker 2:God doesn't speak through Christ, through the Holy Spirit, about having materialism. He doesn't tell us that. What does that mean in Scripture? That I will not want for food and water and I will not want for fulfillment and peace. See, if I'm looking for peace, I've got to go to Jesus, not to the socials. If I'm looking for hope, I go to Jesus, not to the social networks. If I'm looking for restoration, I go to Jesus and I don't go to the socials. If I'm looking for hope, I go to Jesus, but I don't go to the socials. But primarily, we always turn to the socials and we turn to the internet to try and find the answer and we get engaged and we get caught up with the social networks and we get caught up with materialism, we get caught up everything that's happening in there.
Speaker 2:But Jesus just says come to me, all of you that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. It's the place that I have to go first. Jesus is the first point of call. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is the first place that I will find rest in no human being, but through Christ Jesus. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters. There is no drama in Jesus. There is no drama in Christ. There is no fighting, there is no family feuds, there are no cultural divides, there are no issues in Jesus, there is peace. He says that when you look at that, he makes me lie down in green pastures.
Speaker 2:Very critical for an animal. This is Very critical because we're talking in agricultural, we're talking in farming, we're talking in the analogy of what, what we have in front of us, because David was the shepherd, but not only was he a shepherd of the sheep and what he had to become, that shepherd and that shepherd boy before he could become king. It's critical for every one of us to understand that we become and God creates us and deals with us in the dark space. While we're fighting bear and lion, while we're fighting the enemies of life, that God strengthens us and God leads us and God takes us, and God does his great work in the field. David was mature, david grew in the field.
Speaker 2:David accelerated in every area of his life when he was in the field and God was preparing him for the kingship. God was preparing him for ministry, god was preparing him for everything in the field when he was on his own. And that's what God does to us. He prepares us when we're on our own, not when we're in the congregations, not when we're bouncing up and down in the mega congregations. In the church and all the worship is ripping through. God prepares us for future works for life. God strips us back in the field. God stripped David back in the field. He protected David in the field. But David had to go into battle. But no one sees battle. No one ever knew he had a battle. No one really knew that he was fighting lion and bear. We only understand that because David was vocal about what happened to him in the field.
Speaker 2:It's very interesting what God does in the field. God prepares you in the field. He gives us responsibility in the field when it's dark, when it's wet, when it's tiring, when it's wet, when it's tiring, when it's exhausting. When his father, jess, and his brothers were all at home sitting around the campfire, but he's up on the hillside and the others are watching Netflix and they're indoors, all warm and cozy. And you're in the field of life just thrashing your way through, trying, and you look through the windows and everybody's indoors. But why am I in the field? Because God is preparing and God is working. Those that are in the field, those that he calls. He doesn't call them to go in palaces, he doesn't call them to go in cathedrals, he doesn't call them straight away to put them in pulpit.
Speaker 2:There are years and years, hours of nighttime on your own in the field, fighting your thoughts, fighting the bearer of thoughts, fighting the lion of unsuccess, trying to protect yourself, being alert in the darkness. David could not completely fall off to sleep at night because he had to stay alert. And that's what we have to do. We are living in dark days and we need to be alert. We cannot fall asleep in the field of life. We understand through the New Testament there was three that fell asleep on Jesus's watch. They was tired. Jesus says your eyes are heavy, couldn't you just watch and pray? It is critical that we don't completely fall asleep in the field of life. Yes, we get our rest at certain times in the evening, or whatever we are doing and wherever we are. Yes, we need that time for us to sleep. But David, he could not completely sleep because he had to stay alert. And this is spiritually for us today that we need to stay spiritually alert. We cannot afford to sleep in the darkness and in the field of life because the bear, the lion, the hyenas and everything and the dogs of life will come out and grab us while we fall asleep in life. We've got to be alert. The bible says be like the watchman on the wall. Be the watchman on the wall watching. Be your alert, you're ready, you're sharpened.
Speaker 2:The bible says iron sharpens iron. It's critical that the. The bible says iron sharpens iron. So what we mean by that is that I've got to be around people. You got to be around brothers and sisters, not the quantity, it's the quality. You just need one or two that are, that are sharp in the work. There are too many, too many churches that are blunt, that have plastic swords, and when the temperature starts to rise, the sword that they carry, that they're trying to tell you is the sword of the spirit melts under the pressure and the temperature of the atmosphere. What you need to make sure is that you've got someone, someone around you that is sharp in the word. We don't need the crowd of religion, we don't need the crowd of ministry. What we want. The Bible says iron sharpens iron. A brother or a sister that is in the word of God will sharpen you and sharpen me and you will sharpen them. Iron sharpens iron. It's no good having someone that is sharp and someone that is blunt and someone that is rich in the word and someone that doesn't agree with the word. That's what the Bible also means about being unequally yoked. That is critical that we have to be extremely careful for.
Speaker 2:I don't know why. I don't know where all this comes from. I maybe I'm a bit ignorant in this, maybe I'm a bit laid back and not too sure why this has been trending for so long and so areas that we got to find ourselves a spiritual director for one. When you hear people say, I've got to get a spiritual director, when you use the word director, you're using a worldly terminology. When you're using the word spiritual, are you talking about Lucifer? You'll find yourself a Luciferian director for sure. But the Bible doesn't use the terminology director. So we've picked up business language and we've put it within the church context.
Speaker 2:I've got a great spiritual director and this and that. Why don't you just go to Jesus? Someone ask me or someone tell me and someone say why do we need a spiritual director? What is the purpose of having a spiritual director? Is it costing us money? Yes, primarily. Yes, it costs. Why do I need to find a human being that calls themselves a spirit. If someone is labeling themselves, again being very, very critical. But we got to be. What makes you a spiritual director? What makes you a director? A director is someone that is a head of a company, that is in a business situation and we have business terminologies right within the seat of the church.
Speaker 2:I am not and I will never go to a spiritual director. I go to Jesus. If Jesus wanted us to have spiritual directors and areas of that, he would have said you will know your spiritual director and he will set you free. The Bible says you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. So if I've got an issue, yes, it's good to go to the elders and the pastors and talk and pray through. I get that because that's the fivefold, that's the ministerial way through the scripture. I get that to talk that through scripture.
Speaker 2:But the Bible doesn't talk about spiritual directors. It doesn't talk about evangelists the way we talk about evangelists. It doesn't talk about theologians like we talk about theologians. It doesn't talk about prophets how we talk about prophets, pastors. It doesn't talk about bishops how we talk about bishops and apostolic bishop, with this and with that and five colors, billion eight it's, it's irrelevant to scripture.
Speaker 2:So if you have a spiritual director, I would, I would tell you this back out, just say I'm not coming to you no more, because Ben said I need to go to Jesus first, because Jesus says I am the way, the truth, the life. So Jesus is first. But then what I do is I find myself that someone that is iron, because iron sharpens iron. See, when you've got a spiritual director, straight away they're put on what they're put on a pedestal. When we put labels on the tin that we walk in and work in, it elevates the human.
Speaker 2:Yes, I am a pastor. Yes, I am a reverend. Yes, I am the clergy. Yes, I am a spiritual director. Yes, I am a prophet. Yes, I am an evangelist. Yes, I am. I am a prophet. Yes, I am an evangelist. Yes, I am. I am apostolic bishop fred, george, brother, sister, I've got every title under the sun that must make me closer to jesus. No, it doesn't. Actually titles take us further from jesus.
Speaker 2:Jesus says just come to me, whoever you are. He didn't say ben, I want you to go to theological college, I want you to study yourself until you make you wear yourself out and then, when you've worn yourself out and you're stressed out, then and then, and then I will see you in the office. Jesus just says come to me. All of you that are weary when you look at the thief on the cross, the thief had no, no moments. He had no moments in his life to go and get a doctorate. He had no moments to call on the local bishop. He had no moments to go down to the church and say come on, I'm just about to leave the earth. Can you show me the 12 steps to heaven, in the name of Jesus? It's really, really important that we understand that it's Jesus first, it's always Jesus, and every preacher under the son of Jesus and every leader should tell you and everyone should go to Jesus first. What do you mean? Go to Jesus? What we mean is take time out where you are, open up the Bible and say Lord, I've done this, I've done that, I'm doing one, two, three, four, five, six, whatever it is. Lord, lord, I just need you.
Speaker 2:Jesus didn't have a spiritual director. God doesn't have a spiritual director. The Holy Spirit doesn't have a spiritual director. We do not need spiritual directors. We do not need these men and women that are elevating themselves and putting themselves in the throne room next to Jesus. Well, many of them have given him the elbow and knocked him off the throne and put themselves in that position. Many people look what Jesse Duplantis has said.
Speaker 2:God came down and asked me my advice. What is the best thing to do here, jesse, how would you deal with this? My goodness, gracious me, lord, give would you deal with this? My goodness, gracious me, lord, give me help. You've got these preachers and these teachers actually living upstairs when they've really got a sandwich, missing out their picnic. God doesn't operate like that. God does not need a man, god does not need a woman to get his message over. God does not need a church, because he is the church, he is the message, he is the living word, and God uses us as ambassadors, he uses us as slaves of righteousness. We, we are. We are to deliver the message, not to expect anything else, but to just to give the word out. It is.
Speaker 2:It is really important that we we cannot lift up pastors. We can. You do not lift me up in any way, shape or form. That will be the complete wrong thing to do. We do not lift up the priest, the local clergy. We do not lift up the preachers. We do. We cannot lift up a human being, we cannot lift up Mary, and we understand we cannot not lift up any human being and put them in the position of that spiritual lead.
Speaker 2:It has to be Jesus. Because Jesus says I am the way, the truth, the life, and he says the Lord is my shepherd. If God wanted us to have a spiritual director in our lives, the scripture would have read like this the Lord wants us to have a spiritual, he's my shepherd and I shall not be in want. See, you've got to go to Jesus. There's no other way. There's no other way to the Father. There's no other way for salvation to come. There's no other way for miracles to fall. There's no other ways.
Speaker 2:You can go to the largest church in the UK, you can go to the biggest congregation, but it doesn't mean to say that they're following Jesus. You can go to the cathedrals, you can ask to speak to the bishop and you won't have no chance doing that. You can go wherever you want and whoever you lift up. That you think that they're the answer. They're not the answer. They're just human beings, because we're all human beings. There's no one greater than anybody else. There is only one high priest and his name is Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Speaker 2:We're coming to a close in just a few moments and as we stretch in the word of God, we've got about four minutes and we'll come to the table. At about 35 minutes in we'll come to the table and we'll come to the table. But about 35 minutes in we'll come to the table and we'll break bread together. It says the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul, he guides me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. Even though I walk through the valley with my spiritual director, I will be okay. No, even when I walk through on my own, because no one will come to you when you're in trouble. When you're walking through the valley, it's just you, yourself and I. But then you've got Father, son, holy Spirit, so there's really six of you. So the God that you serve is in the valley of trouble.
Speaker 2:And what we need to remind ourselves that we haven't even had chance to, to to exercise that scripture, to exegete that, to open it up to, to throw the door open, to lift the envelope over, is in verse 4 of psalm 23. Even though I walk, where am I walking, jesus? Because the celebrity state of church tells me that, lord, money is on its way. My pockets feel fat already now, but, lord, I'm actually skinned. I'm actually struggling, because the Bible says even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, death smells. It's got a smell, it's got aroma, it's got a presence, it's got a cloak. When you look at that scripture, even though I walk through, remind yourself you're just walking through. Oh, death, where is thy sting?
Speaker 2:Even though I walk through the valley of trouble, the valley of despair, the valley of lack of, the valley of loneliness, the valley of doubt, the valley of fear, the valley of uncertainty, the valley of uncertain days, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of, it's really important for me to come to the realization that I'm just walking through, I've got to walk through, like I've got to go through the refiners fire. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, even though I've got to go through this dark tunnel, this place of uncertain days, even though that it's cold and it's bleak and it's wearing and the sun has dropped away and it's very hard to see, I'm going to keep walking because I've got to realize that when I'm in the valley I don't go by what I see, because when I'm in the valley of the shadow of death, there will be shadows and there will be a stretch on my life. But if I close my eyes and I go back to Hebrews 11, verse 1, now faith is, now faith is, and the Bible says the just shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith that we don't live by sight, but we live by faith. We live by trusting in the valley of when it's dark, when it's wet, when it's stormy, when it's doubtful, when it's painful, when there's sickness, when there's there's, when there's breaking of limbs, when the body is broke, when the finances are broke, when the credit card is busted, when the overdraft is is singing, help me, help me, help me.
Speaker 2:When the bank is calling in the debt, when the mortgage company is breathing down your neck, and when christmas is looming, when everything is pressed down and the kids are shouting out give me me, give me, give me more, give me more when materialism is screaming down your ears and when you've got people in your life and people in relationships, people on the outside, people on the inside, when you've got people screaming down you, when I'm walking through life and life itself, I will fear no evil for your rod and your staff. They comfort me. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We're coming to the table. We are about to come to the table. We are about to break bread now, right now, in the name of Jesus. So, if you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, break bread with us tonight in the name of Jesus, as you break bread with us right now, in the name of death. Break bread with us tonight in the name of Jesus as you break bread with us right now, in the name of Jesus.
Speaker 2:Father, we thank you that as we come to the table, we break bread. Lord, I thank you for the valley as we break bread. I thank you for the valley of despair. I thank you for the valley of darkness. I thank you for the valley of darkness. I thank you because the valley doesn't actually belong to me. The valley is not mine. The valley is not part of my life. The valley has no value over me, the valley will not shape me, the valley will not dictate to me, because the word shapes me. But I've got to go through the refiner's fire. And as we go through the refiner's fire, at the name of Jesus Christ, we thank you that there is power in the greatest name in heaven and earth. So, lord, I thank you that this bread symbolizes the body of Christ. And as we break bread now, lord, and as we break bread now Lord, come Holy Spirit, restore our hearts, restore our minds, but bless this bread in Jesus' name Amen.
Speaker 2:The Bible says in the same way. After supper, he took the cup. When he had given thanks, he said this cup is a new covenant, this cup is a new beginning. As often as you come together, do this in my name. So, Lord, as we gather in the church tonight, as we gather as brothers and sisters, as we gather online, as we gather on Audible, in the world of podcasts, whether on Spotify, buzzsprout, you know, iheartradio as we gather across multiple platforms to listen to the scripture, lord, we come together as brothers and sisters in Christ. We don't come dear God, as the world labels us. We come as disciples. We come as hungry. We are hungry for truth, we're hungry for word, we're hungry for Jesus. So, lord, tonight I thank you that my sins are nailed at the cross. Our sins are nailed at the cross and we're free in the name of Jesus. And tonight, lord, will you strengthen this body of ours? Will you strengthen this body of ours, lord? Redeem us, jesus. Come, holy Spirit, but cleanse us from the crown of our head to the sole of our feet. Amen. Jesus is your Redeemer, he's your shepherd, he's your shield, he's leading you beside quiet waters, he's restoring you at this moment. He's the guide that takes you in paths of righteousness for his namesake. Even when I walk through the valley of pain, the valley of darkness, the valley of uncertainty, even when I walk through that valley, I will fear no evil Because God is with me, the Spirit is with me, the Word is with me, power is with me and I'm walking through and I'm going to walk through in faith. I'm going to walk through in hope. I'm going to walk through in love. I'm going to walk through in glory. I'm not going to walk through in fear. I'm not going to walk in doubt. I'm going to walk through in glory. I'm not going to walk through in fear. I'm not going to walk in doubt. I'm going to walk in hope.
Speaker 2:God is preparing a table before you in the valley, in the presence of your enemies, in the presence of those that are trying to tear you down, in the presence of financial trouble, in the presence of family issues, in the presence of financial trouble, in the presence of family issues, in the presence of cultural stuff, in the presence of history. God is preparing a table before you. It's before you and it is before your enemies, and God is allowing you to sit down and your enemies to watch what God is about to do. So take rest in the valley of trouble. Take rest in adversity. Realize that he feeds me right in the middle of them anxious moments. He awakens my spirit to the word, he opens up my mind. He brings me to a place and says don't worry, I'm with you, do not fear, I'm in the valley.
Speaker 2:I actually created the valley. I know the valley because I created all things and all things consist. So don't worry about the valley. It's just training ground for you. It's just an assault course. It's just a place where I'm going to strengthen you. It's just a place. Take it as an area of exercise, spiritual exercise. Take it as a time when you'll be strengthened in the valley, and I'm preparing a table before you in the presence of your enemies.
Speaker 2:And not only am I going to prepare you in the valley, I'm going to anoint your head. I'm going to anoint you in that dark time. I'm going to anoint you in the field. I'm going to show the world around you that my love is over you. I'm going to show the world around you that goodness will flow through you. I'm going to show the world around you that the world cannot touch you. I'm going to show you that all things are possible to those who believe. I'm going to show you that everything is permissible.
Speaker 2:But wherever you are across the world this evening, let's gather in the name of Jesus. Father, we thank you for the power of the word. We thank you for the power of the word and as we come to you tonight, lord, as we take ourselves out of this, as you, dear God, bring a full stop to this. Father. We thank you to all those, lord, that have struggled to stay online through this turbulent evening of internet, of social media trouble. But, father, we thank you for Audible, the power of Audible. We thank you for Spotify. We thank you for Apple Podcasts. We thank you for all those platforms that we still stream. We thank you, lord, for radio. We still stream. We thank you, lord, for radio that we're streaming on at this moment in time.
Speaker 2:We thank you, father, for what you are doing in the name of Jesus, but the Lord is my shepherd. So, father, I pray for everyone that is listening to the sound of my voice that they will hear the goodness of God, that they will feel the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, I thank you that we are not relying on cameras and technology, because your word is across the world. The world is talking about Jesus, the world is talking about the King. So, brothers and sisters, we thank you for joining us this evening for this live stream service. Brothers and sisters, we thank you for joining us this evening for this live stream service. We thank you for those that are listening to this, hours and days and weeks and years later on. May God bless you and strengthen you. For those that are on the commute at this moment that are listening to the podcast, god bless every one of you in Jesus name Amen.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to us today on Reverend Ben Cooper's podcast. We hope you found inspiration and guidance in today's audio. Remember the journey of faith is a continuous one and your questions and thoughts are important. You can send us a text or an email and we will get back to you. So, wherever you are around the world, thank you for listening to our podcasts and radio ministry. For more information about our ministry, please find us on pastorbencoopercouk. Please support us with prayer. Also, you can sow a financial seed into this ministry. You can also leave us a legacy to support and continue the work of this radio ministry. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and share it with others who might benefit. Until next time, stay blessed.
