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
Choosing Jesus: Embracing Radical Faith in a Changing World (#908 - Elim)
What if standing firm in your faith could radically transform your life in a society that often pulls us in opposite directions? Get ready to explore the powerful and ever-relevant impact of Jesus Christ as we navigate societal shifts in the UK and beyond. We invite you into a conversation about moving beyond traditional church attendance to embrace a deeper, more personal commitment as born-again believers. With historical insights aligning with biblical prophecy, we challenge you to remain anchored in faith amidst change and uncertainty.
Journey with us through the essential phases of Jesus's life, from the sparse details of His early years to His transformative ministry and the enduring controversy His name evokes. Rediscover the human experiences of Jesus, often overlooked by modern churches, and see how His role as a family provider shapes our understanding of His profound empathy and humanity. This episode uncovers the unparalleled influence of the Bible and stresses the importance of recognizing the Old Testament as a foundational precursor to Christ’s revelation.
As we approach a new year, we urge you to choose Jesus over cultural influences and expectations. By focusing on a personal relationship with Him beyond institutional confines, we highlight the boundless mercy and transformative power of faith in Jesus Christ. Embrace a radical commitment and anticipate witnessing miracles that transcend traditional religious practices. Step into 2025 with courage, conviction, and a renewed sense of identity, rooted not in worldly standards but in a profound alignment with Christ.
What if standing firm in your faith could radically transform your life in a world that constantly pulls us in different directions? In this episode of the Reverend Ben Cooper Podcast, we invite you to explore the profound and ever-relevant impact of Jesus Christ as we navigate societal shifts in the UK and beyond. Moving beyond traditional church attendance, we challenge you to embrace a deeper, more personal commitment as born-again believers, anchored in faith amidst change and uncertainty. Join us as we journey through the essential phases of Jesus's life, from His early years to His transformative ministry and the enduring controversy His name evokes. This episode uncovers overlooked human experiences of Jesus, highlighting His role as a family provider and the empathy that shaped His ministry. We also delve into the importance of recognizing the Old Testament as the foundational precursor to Christ’s revelation. As we approach 2025, we urge you to choose Jesus over cultural influences, focusing on a personal relationship with Him that transcends institutional confines. Step into the new year with courage, conviction, and a renewed sense of identity rooted not in worldly standards but in a radical commitment to Christ's transformative power. Witness the miracles that follow when faith is placed in Jesus, beyond mere religious practices, and discover how your relationship with Him can redefine your life and purpose.
Christian podcast, faith-based podcast, Bible study podcast, Jesus Christ podcast, spiritual growth, Christian living, Christian inspiration, Christian teaching, Christian encouragement, devotional podcast, biblical teachings, church podcast.
https://www.pastorbencooper.co.uk/
Welcome to Reverend 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 1, hashtag 2 and hashtag 3 under Christian Straight Talk hard-hitting, real-life conversations taken from our podcasts.
Speaker 1:Your financial gifts play a crucial role in supporting our radio ministry, helping us share the gospel through these podcasts and providing free copies of the Gospel of John and Bibles around the globe. Please pray for this ministry as we stretch out beyond the boundaries, as we walk by faith. If you'd like to support our mission, please consider clicking the support button on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Buzzsprout. You can give a one-time gift or set up a regular contribution of three pounds, five pounds, eight pounds or 10 pounds. You can also leave a legacy by clicking in the links within pastorbencoopercouk. Thank you for partnering with us in this ministry as we spread the message of hope far and wide through this radio ministry. So, whether you are on the daily commute or at home listening to our podcast, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, relax and enjoy.
Speaker 2:Shall. We look up If you've got a Bible. Let's turn to the New Testament. We're going to turn into the New Testament this morning, but we welcome everybody in the Lord's house. We welcome everybody online. Wherever you are in your life, wherever you are across the world, whatever is going on, we just want to say thank you to those that are downloading the tens of thousands of downloads online. We must say thank you so much. You know, we've hit over a thousand cities now. We're in a thousand cities beaming. You know, over 71 countries around the world.
Speaker 2:The Lord is good, the Lord is moving very, very powerfully and we thank God for everybody and wherever you are across the world. Just remember, and us in the Lord's house this morning, we belong to the kingdom. We don't belong to a building, we don't belong to a regime, we don't belong to an organization, we belong to the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is moving and we are living in very, very powerful times, very powerful times. We are watching things happen to the UK that we never thought possible. We are watching and listening to social networks, social media, that Christianity is being pushed out, that Islam, islam, that atheism is rising. You know that all these other world religions are rising. They might be rising statistically, through numerics, but they're not rising through the power that is within. There is only one God and his name is the I Am. There is only one God and his name is Jesus. You might be on the socials, you might be joining us wherever you are across the world at this moment in time, and we welcome each and every one of you.
Speaker 2:But we are entering into a brand new year. We are entering into a time that we've never been before, especially in the UK. Yes, we know we're beaming all across the world and so many people listening to us everywhere, but especially in the UK. We're stretching into an era that we've never been, that we've never pushed before, and it's really, really important that we hold into the word of God and, as Christians, as Bible believing believers, we can't label ourselves anymore as churchgoers. We can't label ourselves as churchgoers. We've got to tell the world that we're born again, because it's critical that we're born again. There's there too much of a looseness regarding the word a Christian. It's too loose. I go to church, I go to this, I go to that. We've got to tell the world that we are Christians, bible-believing believers. We can't just leave the door open, because when you mention church, the church is so far caught on a back foot like never before in the UK, because the church hasn't prepared us for such a time as this. At this moment in time, the cribs have been put away, the sins have been put away and they're getting ready for the next Advent. But, brother and sister, let me tell you loud and clear Jesus Christ is coming. Are we prepared for the second coming? The church is always getting ready and remembering the first, but it's not preparing the parishioners, it's not preparing the brothers and the sisters in the pews, it's not preparing itself for the second coming of Jesus.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you history. We are watching history. Just do what the Bible told. When you look at history and you read the word of God, you find that through the word of God, the word of God is just confirming everything. Historical events have only happened because the Bible said it was Jesus. Christ has been to this earth and we're going to read in just a few moments. We're going to turn to the word of God, but we've got to be careful that we are not driven by fear here in the UK. We've got to be careful that we are not driven by fear.
Speaker 2:Here in the UK We've got that word that has been floating around and the government ain't dealing with it and everybody is welcome as long as they say who they say they are. When you look at migration, when you look at the word refugee, there is so much more hidden under the fabric of that wording. We are living in a nation where we're starting to find the most popular name for a boy is Mohammed. We've got to be extremely clear where we sit in the world. We are watching what the scripture said and it's not because they are following, it's because it is the dictatorship, it is an occult. When you look at Islam, you look at Buddhism. You look at world religions, you look at atheism, you look at humanists. When you look at all this stuff, they are completely anti-Christ. So when you look at this nation, we're awash with a sweet shop of religion, but the church of Jesus Christ is rising, the kingdom of God is rising. But this morning's title for this sermon that we're in is simply Jesus, where you gone? Jesus, where you gone? When you look at the scriptures, you study Christ. When you study Christology and you look at the Lord, jesus Christ. There is so much on his birth. The scriptures and the historians have written so much about Jesus.
Speaker 2:I just want to take us to a text before we go any further, and I want to take us to the New Testament. We're going to go to the book of Acts, the book of Acts, chapter one, and I want to read from verse nine, and I want to just end the reading in verse 11. So we're in the book of Acts. The book of Acts is the birth of the church, not the birth of religion, not the birth of England, not the birth of Catholicism, not the birth of the Church of England. It is the birth of what we know, the church, the real church. But I believe many areas of the world, many areas of the world church, has lost this understanding of what the church is. We need to come back to basics. We need to come back to the fundamental points of what the word says, what the word says about the church. When you're in the book of Acts I believe it's around page 1093 if you're in a church Bible the book of Acts is the birth of the church.
Speaker 2:The power of the holy spirit came because jesus said I won't leave you as orphans. It's really interesting when you look at history, when you look at theological studying, when you look at christology, when you look at the extra biblical knowledge that's out there about jesus've got to tell the world that we're not sandal wearers, white sock wearers and strange people called Christians. We are Bible-believing, radical, born-again spirit-filled brothers and sisters for Christ. And if you really are that born-again Christian, if you really are born-again, you are having the hardest run of your life. Being a Jesus follower is the hardest thing you'll ever do To follow Jesus Christ, to follow the word of God, to let the world around you say I am a Christian. Not only am I a Christian, christ in me, but Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior and I am a born again Christian. We are watching numerics rise. We are watching the tables of content rise in other religions because it's an exercise of ticking boxes, that's all it is. Just because he's Mohammed doesn't say he believes. But when you are a Christian, you believe. When you are a Bible, you believe because God chose you.
Speaker 2:There's no, there's no use the word religion across the world like christianity to be a jesus follower and you've got to remind yourself you are a jesus follower and the uk is in an area it's never been before. We've got locusts on the streets. We have got world religions coming in trying to infiltrate uh, uh, get into the infrastructure of the political agenda because they want to turn it. But they can't turn this nation because this nation belongs to the god of israel. This nation is built in christianity. This nation comes from god. This nation is the power of the word of God. This nation belongs to Jesus. It doesn't belong to the government, it doesn't belong to any world religion, it doesn't belong to anyone, but it belongs to God.
Speaker 2:And the church needs to rise up and I'm not referring to the congregations, we're talking about the leadership needs to stand up for Jesus Christ and to preach the gospel and to tell the world you've got to be born again. John 3.3 is the most important part of the word of God you must be born again. That's what it's about. If Jesus wanted us to come into church, he would have changed the text that he wrote. He didn't say you've got to be a churchgoer. He didn't say you've got to come under the brand of El wrote. He didn't say you've got to be a churchgoer. He didn't say you've got to come under the brand of Elim. He didn't say you've got to come under the brand, because that's what churches are. They're building a brand. It's just like Costa Coffee, it's like Starbucks. It's just a bean over the door, it's just a sign over the door.
Speaker 2:You've got to tell the world yes, I go to church, but above going to church, I am a believer. I believe from Genesis to Revelation. I'm not worried about the numerics. If you're on social networks it could fear you with what's happening across this nation and what is going on. But I want to tell you this morning that Jesus Christ is in your life, whether you believe it or you don't. Jesus Christ has called you. Jesus Christ is with you wherever you are across the world in your life. It doesn't matter if you've been through hell and high water. God is with you. But the title this morning is Jesus, where you gone? So when you look at these scriptures in verse 9 of Acts, chapter 1, it says after this he was taken up before their very eyes and a cloud hid them from their sight. So often in our lives it feels like Jesus has hid himself. It feels like where you gone, jesus. But when you study Christ, when you look at the birth of Christ. Everything was kicking off. It was so loud about Jesus, the beginning of his birth, the prophecies, isaiah, hosea, and everything about the coming of the first Christ, the coming of the baby, coming of of this Jesus, the.
Speaker 2:The church is extremely clever and amazing how it, how it takes so much effort in the advent service, the run up, and then it wraps everything up, it puts it away in the church cupboard, in the religious cupboard, and then it expects to pull it out. But it's not teaching us how to get ready for the second coming. Because as you read Acts, chapter 1, and as you go further down the page, it says in the same way that he was taken, he shall return. And the church spends so much time, religion spends so much time on advent. Then suddenly, after the advent time, after all this, suddenly we're left hanging and we don't know what to do with ourselves. And then churches start preaching on revival and this and that and all that sort of stuff, when actually we've got to be prepared for the season that we're in. We've never hit such dark spots in the UK, spiritually dark spots.
Speaker 2:Are you ready for what is about to happen? But it feels like Jesus has hid himself. But this is nothing new under the sun. Because when you look at the scriptures and you look at Matthew, mark, luke and John, the birth of Jesus, and you look at what Herod and everything that was going on, everything was all focused on Christ. But then what happened? You know, when you read the book of Luke and you read Matthew and you get into the birth of Jesus and we're all very familiar about Jesus and it can be so pressed upon us your mind can, it can just disappear. But Jesus, where have you gone? Because there's an area of Christ's life that is very thin in the text. It is very thin when you look at Jesus's life. From after the point of Herod died Jesus.
Speaker 2:The scripture says very, very clearly in Matthew, chapter 2, verse 15, that God said out of Egypt, I will pour my son. So what happened? After the birth of Christ? And after everything that happened, we understand that Jesus was taken back into Egypt and he was hidden for about three years or so until Herod died. And then, once Herod died, the scripture comes alive and God says, through the Gospel of Matthew out of Egypt, I will call my son. But then suddenly we say Jesus, where you gone? We read of an event very, very quickly in the G of Matthew out of Egypt. I will call my son, but then suddenly we say Jesus, where have you gone? We read of an event very, very quickly in the gospels where we find that he's in the temple at the age of 12. But then suddenly he drops off at a page. Again he drops off at a page and you realize that he only lived about 33 years and three years at the last end of his life 30 to 33 approximately.
Speaker 2:He changed the world. He changed the world so radically. Governments hate him so radically. Religion can't get him so radically. The whole world is talking about Jesus so radically. The whole world is talking about Jesus.
Speaker 2:It's trying Islam, atheism, hinduism. It's trying to crush the name of Jesus. You can have all the names under the sun on your birth certificate, but there's only one name, that is the greatest name and he is the name of Jesus. And he turned the world upside down in three years. He didn't punch anyone, he didn't kick anyone, he didn't go to no gym, he had no social network. He, he had nothing about him that was attractive, according to the word. There was nothing in his appearance that he would be attracted to the human eye. But his name is the greatest name the world has ever heard. It is the name that causes the most trouble around the world. It is the name that heals, it is the name that sets free. His name is Jesus Christ. He is the saviour of the world. Yes, within the UK the most popular name at this moment is Mohammed. Just because it is statistically. It has to be that, because Islam has to prove that we are increasing. It's not increasing.
Speaker 2:Don't get caught by the lie of Satan. Let me tell you something. The greatest book in the world is the Bible and it's almost sold six billion copies globally. The next book down the chain is the Quran 2.5. It can't get near the Bible. Christianity is growing at such a rate because it can't be controlled. It is given. See, let's use the word Christianity. Christianity is given. You don't take it, and then suddenly you have to live this life from this regime and this cultural drive. Because this house belongs to this religion. We're all that following Jesus is the most greatest and the most powerfullest thing you'll ever do in the world. So the bible has sold almost 6 billion books.
Speaker 2:It's written over a time span of 1496 years. To write it. It is 3,500 years old. It has been written by 40 different authors, and the authors wasn't sitting in luxurious palaces, they wasn't sitting in offices, they didn't have people serving them. It was written on the run, while they was being chased out of town, while they was tired, while they was weary. The book was written while they was in prison, while they was in lockdown.
Speaker 2:The majority of the New Testament was written when they was in prison, when they was locked down, when John was on the island of Patmos, when he was in fear. And they took him to the island of Patmos because of why? Because of the gospel, because he was a believer. They incarcerated him and they chucked him on an island and they wanted him to die. But the greatest book came out of him the book of Revelation, the return, the book of Revelation that many want to skirt around, that we don't want to read it because it's too strong. It's too powerful. There is power in the name of Jesus. There's no power in Mohammed, there's no power in the name of Ben. There's no other name greater than the name of Jesus Christ. It is the only book that you will get saved from. It is the only book that you will get healed from. It is the only book that you will get freedom from your fears and your doubts. It's not about coming to church. See when the second coming happens.
Speaker 2:So when you look at the Old Testament, you look at the span of the Old Testament written. It was written about Jesus. It is written about the birth of Christ. You go to Genesis, chapter 3, verse 15, and already there's a redemption plan because of the fall of humanity, god has already got a redemption plan and that redeemer is Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is revealed through the gospel of John. The gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 14. And the water became flesh and made his dwelling among us. So the Old Testament was the foundation of redemption, presenting getting ready to reveal that Jesus Christ walked this earth.
Speaker 2:Do we realize there is so much extra biblical knowledge outside of the word of God? Through historians, through people that never even believed in him, wrote extra biblical knowledge and said that man walked on this earth. His mom, mary, gave birth, according to the book of Isaiah, 735 years before Jesus popped out of the womb of Mary. Popped out of the womb of Mary, isaiah is prophesying. Hosea is telling.
Speaker 2:The Old Testament has come true. It has told us about an advent. It has told us about kings. It has told us about great men and women are the word of God. It has told us about the greatest battles the world has ever seen. It has told us the stories of Moses, of Joshua, of Ruth. It has told us the stories of Moses, of Joshua, of Ruth. It has told us stories about Caleb. It has told us stories about these great men and women of the word of God that were used extremely powerful. God used them. We see the effect. We have the history to tell us. Right up to the cross it happened. And then we have another event, that is being. That is being written and has been written about the second coming.
Speaker 2:But the church hasn't prepared the church for the second coming. It has prepared us for the advent. It has prepared us for tinsel. It has prepared us for pagan uh tree worshipers. It has prepared us for the advent. It has prepared us for tinsel. It has prepared us for pagan tree worshipers. It has prepared us for the advent and it takes us back to advent every year. We're back at advent. We need to spend more time at the cross than we do at the crib. The church has got to get to the cross and it can actually leave the crib. Rather than bringing the crib out at Christmas, bring the cross out and tell the world. You've got to be a Bible-believing believer, you've got to be blood-washed.
Speaker 2:When you look at Jesus the title of this morning's sermon, where have you Gone, jesus? Because that's what it feels like. So Christ came into the world. The scriptures were fulfilled, he came in. Historians, writings, josephus and other writers have written outside of what we understand as biblical knowledge. Jesus lived and walked according to the scripture, but then suddenly disappears off the page. Suddenly we become born again, spirit filled, blood washed, sanctified, children of the living God, and that moment when we know that Jesus is alive and Jesus saved our lives, for those moments it's so real and it's so powerful. And then, suddenly, where you gone, jesus, lord? The church down the road is telling me right now that he's in the service, and I don't feel him in this service, lord. When I click on the social networks, they're having a revival down the road, but I don't feel revival here, lord. When I look at the social networks, there are people getting new legs, new eyes, new lungs. But, lord, where have you gone? Does it feel like Jesus has dropped off, dropped out of your life? Does it feel like what the scriptures actually say, that he was hidden? He was hidden behind the? It's quite an interesting scripture when you look at that and it says the angels came down and he was taken. Do you feel that Jesus has been taken? But let me tell you, he lives within. The Bible tells me very, very clearly greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. See, the church is already talking about the next advent, but we got to start telling the world about the second coming of the king, because he's not coming back as a baby, he's coming back as ruler and judge. He's coming back as the savior of the world.
Speaker 2:If you want to be a great man, if you want to be a great woman, if you want to find someone in the world to follow that will change your life, you follow Jesus. You don't look at these men and these women that are in the political and in business leadership. You don't look at the world leaders. You don't look at the men and the women that are on social networks. Certainly don't follow the Tate brothers. Don't certainly follow those people that are on there, you follow Jesus Christ. If you want to be a great man and a great woman, you follow Jesus. You find out who Jesus is because suddenly, suddenly, when you follow Jesus, something happens in your life. You can come to church forever and it's great to come to church, but it comes a time when I've got to say I want to follow this Jesus, I want to follow this man. The Bible says the man because we've got to understand the word became flesh. And to become flesh you've got to be a human being. To be a human being, you've got to feel pain.
Speaker 2:There is something that the church don't talk about the mystery of Jesus's life. Did you know that Jesus Christ was the head of his house at the age of around about 22 years old? Do you realize that his stepfather, joseph, died? Do you realize that Jesus had to go to work, that he had to get in a transit van and he was known as a carpenter? Do you realize that Jesus Christ experienced bereavement? Do you realize that Jesus knows what it's like to be fatherless? The church won't talk about that. It doesn't preach about that. It just wants to know about revival. Chuck another tenor in the offering and Jesus loves you. The bishops won't talk about that.
Speaker 2:Jesus lived a massive percentage of his life without an earthly father, and I can hear all those online, and I'm not talking about certain ones. I'm talking about ones that will pound me later on. Yes, but he is the father. I understand what the scripture says, but you've got to look at Jesus as the man. He went for every emotion under the sun. See his earthly father, joseph, his stepfather, however you want to word it.
Speaker 2:Jesus came from a large family. The Bible tells us that he had sisters and he had brothers. It's clear to see that Jesus was the head of the house. That's why, when he died on the cross of Calvary, he said to the New Testament writer you're going to look after my mum, mum, he's going to look after you. See, jesus was the head of the house. He knows what it's like to lose his father. That taught him how to be a trades person. He knew what it was like to wake up one morning and to know suddenly his dad Joseph was no more and suddenly he became the head of the house. And what Jesus had to do? He had to provide. If you want to be a great man, you're going to provide for your mom. If you want to be a great man, you're going to look after the women in your life from the dogs that are outside. Jesus had to look after his sisters and Jesus had to look after his mom.
Speaker 2:And the Bible says when Herod died, about two or three years after Jesus was born, he was taken into Egypt. Now we don't have time to unpack that, but the Bible says it talks about the Passover, and God said out of Egypt. I call my son. So when Christ came out of Egypt, as around about two or three years old, as a young infant, they still had to be careful of Herod's son, because Herod's son still wanted to kill Jesus. So what you find is that Jesus was taken by his parents and they went and lived in a little tiny village and they lived in a little community, but suddenly Jesus drops off the timeline.
Speaker 2:Do you feel that Jesus has dropped off your timeline of your life? Do you feel that Jesus has dropped off your timeline of your life? But there is a prophetic language that is very prophetic out there that is telling me that Jesus is sitting next to me every second of every moment and I'm having a visitation every moment, every day, every, and I've been called up to the heavenly realms and I'm having a conversation with God and and I'm doing this and I'm doing that, let Let me tell you Jesus won't leave you as an orphan. But what will he expect? He'll expect us to live by faith, because three times the Bible says within the New Testament the just shall live by faith.
Speaker 2:But the church generally, in a massive area, and the celebrity church, won't tell you that Jesus was the head of his house and he had to protect his mom and he had to protect his sisters and he had to look after his brothers. If you want to be a great father, if you want to be a great son, if you want to be a great man, you look at your house and you protect those that are in your house. Jesus had to protect his sisters. Jesus had to look after his mom. But suddenly Jesus drops off the page, three years of all these scriptures that we have. Suddenly he's in the star. Is there? The wise men, the shepherds? Herod wants to kill him. The old testament has just come true. It's all about Jesus, it's Jesus, it's Jesus, it's Jesus. And you'll go to many churches and it's always, and it should be, about Jesus, but they're telling you a fake Jesus, they're preaching about a fake Jesus.
Speaker 2:And and after three years, jesus was taken and he was dropped into a community and we don't read and we don't hear about him until he's 12 years old and he goes missing. And suddenly his mom and his dad so we know that Jesus had his father, his earthly father, joseph, up to his 12 years old, because they was frantically looking for him. And they found him. Where you been, jesus? I'm in my father's house. That's where we gotta be, in the father's house.
Speaker 2:But then, suddenly, after that, the text goes even more quiet. Suddenly you find Jesus disappears again. Jesus, where you gone? Do you ever feel like Jesus? Where you gone? See, the world was revolving, the world was moving. Herod's son was alive and well and he was looking and he was trying to find this Jesus. But Jesus was at home sharpening his saw, getting his chisels ready for work, making sure his mum was all right. See, when you study Jesus, the 30 years of his life are off the fabric of the page. But this is the living God, this is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. This is the great I am. And suddenly he disappears. Be real this morning. Do you feel that Jesus disappears? Do you feel you had that moment when the star shone in the east? And, yes, you realize that, jesus, when the star shone in the east, and, yes, you realize that Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior. Yes, I love God, I love Jesus. I feel him in my life. He saved me. I am a Christian, I am born again. Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. But then suddenly it feels like Jesus has walked.
Speaker 2:That's why it's so important to study the, the birth of the church in the book of Acts, because he says I'm going away, but I'm not going to leave you as an orphan. I'm not going to leave you as an orphan. I'm not going to leave you as an orphan. You are, you are not going to be left alone. You are my child, you are who you say I am, you are, you are saved, you are blessed and highly favored. See, when you study the book of Acts, when you look at the book of Acts, when you get in the book of Acts and you see the birth of the church, the birth of the church is so powerful when we talk about the birth of the church. We're talking about the power of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus said I won't leave you as orphans. I won't leave you as an orphan. God is with you. God is with you in your life, even though you go through the valley of the shadow of death and you might feel that you're fearing and you're worried.
Speaker 2:If you turn to Psalm 23, the most beautiful little psalm, tucked away six verses. See, god has given us the Word. God has given us the Bible. God has given us Scripture. God has given us this beautiful book. God has given us this amazing instruction. Follow the word and it'll be okay. Follow the instruction and everything will be okay. If you go and buy a piece of furniture, the most critical area at the beginning of that furniture is the instruction that you follow. If you don't follow the instruction to anything being put together, if you try and do it your own way, it will end up upside down inside out and you'll have pieces left over.
Speaker 2:But when you follow clear instruction, when you follow it and you follow one, two, three, four, when you follow the word of God, when you follow it and you follow one, two, three, four, when you follow the word of God. Suddenly God starts to build you. Suddenly you find yourself on the potter's wheel. Suddenly you find yourself being shaped by the master's hands. But in the text that we're in, it says that Jesus was hidden behind the clouds. He was taken and he was hidden outside of the eyesight. He was hidden outside of the human race. So, suddenly, where you gone, jesus? Suddenly, where are you, God? Where are you? You've been taken and he's been hidden.
Speaker 2:Do you feel that, as that book of Acts speaks loud and clear, do you feel that Jesus is hidden from you? Do you feel that you're hitting points and targets in your life and you're saying I've been to church, I've been there, but I still feel he's hidden from me. I still feel that I can't see him, I still feel alone, I still feel lost? The Bible says that you shall live by faith. I've got to live by faith. If you have a Bible, turn to the book of Hebrews, 11, verse 1. Now, faith is a substance of things hoped for. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Now faith is See.
Speaker 2:We looked at the word gravity. We looked at the word nature and wind the other week. School and education, nasa, science will tell you. You are on this earth and you are seated in your seat because gravity exists. You are on this world, everything is held down because of the power of gravity and we believe it. School tells us, education tells us, life tells us, just by what we see tells us. We believe in gravity. We can't see the substance, but we see the effect of what gravity does.
Speaker 2:It's very interesting the weather system that we know, the jet streams around the world. We watch the clouds move, we watch the rainfall. We watch the rainfall straight to the side, to the left, to the right. We watch it when the wind comes in. We watch fences blow over, we watch trees move and we know that that is the power of the wind. We see it and we believe it. It's the same as faith. We have the effect of faith Because when I look at you, you are a miracle. You are here not because of gravity and because of the biological process of life. You are here because God called you to be here.
Speaker 2:Like church understands science, it believes in science. It understands the power of electricity. It understands everything to do with science and the world. It stands where it stands because of gravity. It looks out the church window and it watches the weather system. It watches the clouds move and it knows the only way those clouds are moving by the power of the wind and the jet streams that are impossible to see. What pushes that along to the human eye? You can't see gravity, but you are the effect of it. We can't see Jesus, but we are the effect of it.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you God is real. He might be hidden behind the clouds. He might be hidden behind the clouds. He might be hidden somewhere, just like his parents had to take him and hide him out of sight, just like he had to be hidden for a while. He was taken out of the way and so often we are hidden for a while and suddenly we are accelerated. Our lives accelerate, jesus's life accelerated for three years. He turned the world upside down and it started with 12.
Speaker 2:The gospel message started not in a tent crusade, not with cameras, not with lights, not with news channels, but the greatest message, the greatest message the world has ever heard, was to Nicodemus, by the greatest preacher the world has ever seen, and his name is Jesus. And he didn't stand in a pulpit, he didn't stand under the power of the lights. He didn't stand on a podium with the world watching him. He stood in a room with one man in front of him and he gave this message and the message is heard and is still being heard globally. You've got to be born again.
Speaker 2:Governments are trying to erase Jesus out of their nation. Hr offices don't want you to talk about Jesus. But you can talk about everybody else. Education wants to remove him out. You can have every other religion, but you can't talk about Jesus. Herod from the point of his birth, birth. Authoritarians want to destroy Jesus, from Herod to his son, from his son all the way through the generations that are behind us and before us and around us right now want to remove Jesus Christ out of the equation of life. But you can't remove the creator of gravity. You can't remove the creator of the wind. You can't remove the creator of gravity. You can't remove the creator of the wind. You can't remove the creator of you. You can't remove Jesus Christ, the author, the perfecter of our faith.
Speaker 2:Hebrews 12, verse 2. See what it says Keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and the perfecter of your faith. Keep your eyes on the king. Keep your eyes on the Lord of Lords, but so often it feels like the sermon has been titled Jesus, where are you? He's everywhere, he's omnipresent, he's omnipotent, he's in all, he's about all. He drives the wind across the world. He made gravity. He made the fabric of the cotton in the fields. He created the leaves of the tree. He created every animal on this earth. He created everything that the eye can't see but you can only see through the magnifying glass of science. He created everything and the majority of the world is trying to disprove him.
Speaker 2:The governments around the world are destroying churches. They're telling the children that you can't talk about Jesus in this school. We've got to be into faith. If you are into faith, you're into devil worship. If you are into faith, you're into devil worship. The Bible says in the Old Testament do not become kin to the gods that they serve. Yes, but the HR office education has told me that as a Christian, as a Christian chaplain, I've got to be into faith. God said do not do what they are doing, worshipping foreign gods. We've got to be separated. The umbilical cord has got to be cut from interfaith Churches together, because churches together is dangerous in certain areas, because you'll have people in churches together, believing in stuff that the Bible says. Don't believe in that, don't be king. The Bible is extremely clear.
Speaker 2:A good character of a person can be corrupted by the surroundings. Just because you're born again, don't be like Samson that didn't want to leave Delilah's lap. Just because you are a born again, spirit filled, blessed and highly favoured brother or sister in Christ, don't think that the outside culture won't try not to shape you, because it will try to shape you, because it wants you to become a robot. It wants you to become a statistic. Religion and church wants you to become just a number, just a gift aid number. It wants you to become something that you're not.
Speaker 2:Are you prepared when Big Ben strikes at the midnight hour, when fireworks will be exploding, when the world is celebrating New Year and we're going to say I'm packing up cigars, I'm packing up cigarettes, I'm packing up this, I'm packing up that. I'm going to start the gym, I'm going to not eat chocolate, I'm not going to do this, I'm not going to do that? How many people are going to shout out when the fireworks go off? I'm going to tell the world that I'm a Jesus follower. I'm going to tell the world because let me tell you, those quick-fired stuff that we fire out at 12 o'clock midnight lasts for about two hours, because when we wake up in the morning we're back in the fridge. I'll start the gym next week, I'll do that next time, but at the strike at 12 o'clock, let the people around you this is my New Year's resolution, I'm going to do 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and we don't achieve nothing Say to the world around you this is my new beginning, not my new year's resolution, because I'm not kin to you lot. I'm born again. I believe in Jesus.
Speaker 2:So when the fireworks are firing, when the world is celebrating and lifting up the devil, who are you going to lift up at 12 o'clock in your life? Are we going to sing Auld Lang Syne or are we going to sing as Silas and Paul sung, hymns? Are we going to allow the crowd and culture and society grab hold of us and wrap us in, or are we going to stand up for Jesus in 2025 and let your culture, your world, know I follow Jesus. Tell the people in your church I follow Jesus. Tell your pastor I follow Jesus. Tell your denomination I follow Jesus. Tell the bishops. Tell the preachers I follow Jesus. Tell your denomination I follow Jesus. Tell the bishops, tell the preachers I follow Jesus.
Speaker 2:And as for you, preacher, I want to hear more about a cross next year. I want to hear more about the blood of Jesus. I want to hear more how I can become a better brother and sister in Christ. I don't want to be a better version of me. It's interesting that the cultural church will tell you to be a better version of you. The motivational preachers will tell you to be a better version of you, ben. I don't want to be a better version of me. I want to be a better disciple, because when I become a better version of me, I'm the flesh. When I want more of me, I'll get more of me. Me wants what the world is offering.
Speaker 2:And that great New Testament writer, paul, writes oh wretched man am I? Why do I do the things I hate and why can't I do the things that I know that I should be doing? I don't want to be a better version of me, of what social net the world tells you through social networks and everything like that. Learn to love yourself. Hang on, I can't love myself because if I love myself the way you're telling me to love myself and become a better version of me. I'll become a greater sinner and I'll love the sin that I'm living in. What I've got to do is I've got to humble myself, I've got to hide myself under the fabric of the world and I've got to follow Jesus, because when I've become a Jesus follower I'll use your terminology I become a better version because I'm becoming like Jesus and I start to move like Christ. I start to live my life like a born again, spirit filled, crazy, radical Christian that will stand out.
Speaker 2:Do you want to stand out in 2025? Follow Jesus. If you just want to be, you, just stay as you are and just blend into the crowd of New Year's Eve and get lost in society. Do you want to be herded along or do you want to have Jesus walk by your side and say leave your nets, come and follow me? There's a choice. We can stay in the crowd of religion and work and business. We can stay in the crowd of life, or you can say Jesus, I want you to pick me out of the crowd because I'm not going to be herded by this government, I'm not going to be herded by all this social justice. I'm not going to be herded by the world. I'm not going to be herded by religion, because to be a Jesus follower you've got to stand out. We can easily be churchgoers, we can easily become church goers. We can. We can easily become churchy people. But what? Let me tell you? The government don't want you to be this. The government don't want, don't want you to tell the world that you are a bible believer. The government, education, your school, your educators, the, the ones in education, will not want you to tell them.
Speaker 2:I believe in creation, I believe in the six day creation. And let me tell you this, sir or madam, whoever's teaching me at school today, university we are not billions of years old. That's a theory. I want to take you through a chronological fact that, through times and dates, we are only 6,500 years old as an earth. If you fire that one out in a classroom of life, you're going to be a target. We are not here because we're apes. If we have evolved from apes Because we're apes, if we have evolved from apes, why have I made it and my little mate chimp in the zoo hasn't made it? It doesn't add up. If we believe in evolution, my goodness gracious me. They've hoodwinked us.
Speaker 2:If you believe in survival of the fittest, that is what is survival of the fittest? The devil's work. Survival of the fittest is trample on whoever you're going to trample on to get to where you got to go. That's what the devil does, that's what religion does, that's what the world, that's what the government do. Survival of the fittest the strongest will survive.
Speaker 2:But the Bible doesn't talk like that. The Bible says come to me all of you that are weak and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. The Bible says that if you trust me, you will rise, you will run and not get weary. If you are a Jesus follower, you will find, no matter what your age is, no matter where you have come from. If you are a Jesus follower, you will find in your life that you will find an inner strength that you never thought possible. But Darwinism will tell you it's survival of the fittest. That's the most corrupt language schools have ever done to our children.
Speaker 2:Because God said let there be light, and there was. So if it feels like Jesus has been hidden behind the clouds, because that's how it is, because we're not looking to him externally, you're looking to him internally and Jesus Christ is living in your heart and Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior over your life. And we're coming to the table right now and as we come to break bread and as we take of the cup, as we stretch into 2025, as we stretch into a new year, do not be shaped by the culture you're in, do not be shaped by the family around you, do not be shaped by the relationships that are around you, do not be shaped by your workplace. When you go into your ivory towers of work, when you go into your big establishments of work, one of the most important things that they want you to do in that workplace is to adapt and adopt the culture that they have. The Bible doesn't say that in one thing. The Bible says we're free, but the workplace wants you to adapt to what they think is right. When you might have someone that's the CEO of that company that is a Jesus hater, you might have someone at the head of that business that you're working in that is of a foreign God god and they want you to live according to what they say is right and true. When you go into certain schools and certain areas of education and university, you will find it will have some obscured stuff over the walls. We want you to be whoever you want to be. You. You can identify to anything or nothing. You've got to identify to Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:When you look at Blue Water itself built for Muhammad, built for Islam you go in the chapel from the day of construction. You go in the chapel from the day of construction. You go and tell me what's got written and what's in the floor. Where's it pointing you to? There's no arrow telling you next is over. That way it's not an arrow in the floor telling you Costa Coffee. That way it's pointing you to Mecca. You go in there and try and find me a Bible. You go in there and try and put a cross on the wall or even find a cross on the wall.
Speaker 2:When blue water was built, it was built for the God of money. When you walk around blue water and you look at the inscriptions on the carvings and you look at the paving and you follow what it all says, do you ever feel dizzy in there? Do you ever feel lost? Do you ever feel chaotic? But if you go into the chapel, you will not find a cross. You will not find it is multi-faith, but the prime faith that takes it is Islam. They've got their washrooms for it. You go and do a bit in exploring. You go in there when they pray and you stand in the middle and you speak in tongues. You'll be lifted out by the security guards. You go in there when they're in full stretch in full prayer and you read Psalm 23, you'll be ushered out of the shopping center. Wake up, leaders of the church.
Speaker 2:When blue water was built, when it was on the blueprint, when it was on the table of being designed, it wasn't designed for Christianity, it was designed for Islam On the blueprint. It was designed for Islam on the blueprint. It was drawn in. When you look at the structure of it, when you go in, it's like going into a temple, with the pillars and the stone architecture and the way that you drop down and the way that you rise up and the way that it spins to the left and the right. It's shaped like the moon. When you look at it from the top have a look from the top you'll be shocked. When you look at the points. What are they shaped like? The domes that are on certain buildings, the domes you struggle to find across, that are on certain buildings. You struggle to find a cross, sisters and brothers. It might look Jesus has been hidden behind a cloud. It might look like that his parents have wrapped him up in swaddling clothes and brought him out of Egypt and he drops off the fabric of the page for 10 years and then he pops up.
Speaker 2:The whole world is talking about the bible. Governments can't stand him, education struggles with him. Humanists can't even mention his name. Atheists think we're clowns. World religions are trying to numerically climb above statistically, but that's only statistics. It is meaningless.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you that Jesus Christ is moving in ways that you can never thought possible. So, as we come to the table at this moment in time, as we break bread, as we take this cup together, I pray that, wherever you are across the world, you don't wait for the fireworks of New Year's Eve to say something that's critical to your life. Maybe it's the first time on broadcast across the world. Maybe it's your first time in church for many years. We're all the same because it's not about coming to church, it's about saying this Lord, if you're real, I want to follow you. Lord, if you're real, I want you to reveal yourself to me, because all I've had is everything from the world and it's caused me carnage and drama. Lord, I want a new life. I want a new beginning. I want to see, dear God, miracles.
Speaker 2:Does anybody want to see miracles? Does anybody want to see power and glory coming from Jesus? Do you want to see the blind seeing? Do you want to see the lame walking? Do you want to see the dead being raised? There is power in the greatest name. There's no power in Mohammed. There's no power in the name Kirstamah. There's no power in Mohammed. There's no power in the name Kirstama. There's no power in the name Donald Trump. There's no power in the name of all these world politicians. There is only one name that carries the greatest name. There is only one name that you receive salvation. There's only one name that will change your life forever, and his name is Jesus.
Speaker 2:So as we break bread, as we take of this cup, maybe we'll be thinking across the world what is all this stuff? This isn't religion, this is scripture. So, father, I thank you for this bread because it symbolizes the body of Jesus Christ, and he's broke bread. And he said this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And it says after supper, he took the cup and he had the two and he dipped the two and it became soap. And see the blood and the body you can't separate Because when you dip it in, what happens? The juice, the blood, whatever way it's in. So you can't separate. So that's why Jesus done it. He took the bread and he said this is my body which is broken. And he burnt bread and he dipped it in the cup, the redemption cup, and he dipped it in the blood that was being represented there by the wine. And as he done that, he gave it to the most holy person on earth. I've just lied for a minute. He gave it to Judas Iscariot, from our teeth. He gave it to Judas Iscariot. And as Jesus did that, as Jesus done this action, within seconds he done that. He dipped the bread and he gave it to Judas Iscariot. And the Bible says as he gave it to Judas Iscariot, satan entered into the body of Judas Iscariot, body of Judas Iscariot. So he wasn't the holy, he was the most depraved, vilest creature on earth. But shall I tell you something? Jesus didn't refuse him, my God, when you think about the depth of that text. And Jesus gave Judas the bread. And the Bible says in the Gospels that Satan entered into the body of Judas Iscariot at that point and Jesus looked in the eyeballs not of Judas, but he looked in the eye of the devil and he said what you're about to do, you do it quickly. He could not do anything until Jesus released the bread. He could not do anything until he handed it over and he said something very profound, very prophetic in the New Testament. He said, as he was in that place you've got one hour to do your darkness. See, authority is only given to darkness by Jesus, to darkness by Jesus. Father, we are not taking this bread because the Catholics do or really does. We're not doing it because the Church of England puts on a great spectacle of how to do it. We're doing it because Jesus told us as often as you gather in my name, so, lord, as we break this bread, as we take of this cup, father, we thank you that this bread symbolizes the body of Christ In Jesus' name, amen. As he took the cup, he took the cup of redemption and he said this cup is a new covenant. Take it whenever you gather in my name. Jesus, will you wash me of my sins as I just take this cup this grape juice In Jesus' name. Amen.
Speaker 2:Before we close, I want to invite everybody across the world. I want to invite everybody in the Lord's house, every one of us, just to put our hand on our chest and just say, lord, as we cross over in the 2025, I really want to be a Jesus follower. Lord, I want religion and church erased from me. Lord, I want significant change in my life. I can't do it, but I know you can. So, lord, I pray for everybody today, across the world and in the Lord's house, that we will just say Lord, I'm going to try this stuff, I'm going to follow you.
Speaker 2:That is the greatest, the most beautiful line you'll ever say. I'm not asking you to shout it out, but just do it from within. Father, I'm just praying for me, lord, that I will see miracles and my brothers and sisters in front of me will see miracles. I pray, lord, for each and every one of us, that this rest of our lives not this year coming, but the rest of our lives will be so powerful, lord, that we're not holding ourselves in just one year 2025, but for the rest of our lives on this earth, the rest of our lives, we will shout. In the name of Jesus, wherever we go, even when we're scared. We're going to tell the world I believe in Jesus, even when we don't know what to say. I just believe in Jesus, even when I'm at school and in the lecture room, even when I'm at work, in the first place of life, even when I've got certain people around me, I'm just going to say I'm a Jesus follower.
Speaker 2:So, lord, I just don't want a New Year's resolution for one year and then change it in the end of 25. I want to tell the world that I love Jesus now. I want to tell the world that I believe from Genesis to Revelation. I want to tell the world that he's the miracle maker, he's the creator of heaven and earth. I don't want to live and just limit myself in 2025 just because the fireworks are going off and just because old Lang's Iron is being played across the world. I want to tell the world that I'm not just going to live in 2025, but I'm going to live for the rest of my days on this earth, radically, for Jesus, as a braggadocious brother or sister in Christ. Amen.
Speaker 2:God bless every one of you and remind yourself it's not about being in church, it's about being in Jesus. We're going to have our last one. We're going to play our last one right now, and as we play this last one, we'll just have the Lord's prayer. And as we click out online, god bless everyone across the world. God bless everybody in the Lord's house.
Speaker 2:Don't just live in 2025, just for that year. Tell yourself I'm going to live for however many years I'm on this earth. I'm going to live for God, and when you live for God, your life will be so amazing. When you live for God, when you live as a disciple, when you live under the power of the Holy Spirit, god will take you to places you never thought you'd never get to on your own. God will do things in your life that you never would be able to achieve without him. He will put food on your plate. He will put electric in the system. He will do things that are beyond human understanding. When you just say Jesus is my Lord and my savior. God bless you in Jesus name, amen.
Speaker 2:Just to let you know, monday night, tomorrow night, we are online as always. Eight o'clock Monday night is normal online as always. Eight o'clock Monday night is normal. Uh, we are back again. New Year's Eve, 11 o'clock online, only New Year's Eve online service and then New Year's Day 8 pm, which is Wednesday, bible study will church will be open again Wednesday evening for Bible study. Eight o'clock online, eight o'clock in the Lord's house Monday uh New Year's Eve and uh Wednesday. There there are services running. 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.
