Reverend Ben Cooper's Podcast
Reverend Ben Coopers podcast, offers an inviting space for listeners to explore Christianity and spiritual growth with wisdom, humor, and a deep commitment to biblical truth. Through Rev. Ben's engaging conversations with guests, the podcast not only explores the timeless wisdom of the Bible but also tackles the pressing issues of life, faith, and hope in a way that is accessible, thought-provoking, and enriching. Whether you’re seeking spiritual nourishment, answers to life’s big questions, or simply a place to reflect on your faith, the Rev Ben podcast is a valuable resource on your journey.
In each episode, Rev. Ben guides listeners through profound theological reflections, personal stories, and practical insights drawn from the Bible and the broader Christian tradition.
Reverend Ben Cooper's Podcast
Faith's Crossover: From Biblical Transitions to Modern Spiritual Journeys (#1005 - Elim) 06-01-2025
Experience the spiritual crossroads of faith as we explore the concept of "crossover" and its profound implications within biblical narratives. Ever wondered how the Israelites' crossing of the Jordan River can resonate with your personal spiritual journey? We'll not only uncover how this pivotal moment symbolizes transitions and transformations but also draw parallels to modern-day spiritual challenges and how faith guides us through them.
Journey with us as we discuss the ultimate transition brought forth by Jesus Christ's sacrifice, bridging the gap between the Old Testament law and the new covenant of grace. This episode offers a deep dive into how the crucifixion marks humanity’s most significant crossover from darkness to light. Reflect with us on how these divine transitions not only fulfill ancient promises but also renew our understanding of redemption and purpose in today's world.
Celebrate the power of faith and redemption as we highlight the early church's inclusivity, emphasizing the vital roles women played in its formation. We'll touch on the transformative shift from living by sight to living by faith, a change that redefined the lives of believers post-Calvary. As we gather to break bread, let the essence of prayer and worship remind you of the Spirit’s continuous presence, guiding us through life's uncertainties and aligning our paths with God's divine purpose.
Experience the spiritual crossroads of faith as we explore the concept of "crossover" and its profound implications within biblical narratives. Ever wondered how the Israelites' crossing of the Jordan River can resonate with your personal spiritual journey? In this episode, we uncover how this pivotal moment symbolizes transitions and transformations in the life of a believer, drawing powerful parallels to modern-day spiritual challenges and how faith guides us through them.
Journey with us as we discuss the ultimate transition brought forth by Jesus Christ's sacrifice, bridging the gap between the Old Testament law and the new covenant of grace. This episode offers a deep dive into how the crucifixion marks humanity’s most significant crossover—from darkness to light. Reflect with us on how these divine transitions not only fulfill ancient promises but also renew our understanding of redemption and purpose in today's world.
Celebrating faith and redemption, we highlight the early church’s inclusivity, emphasizing the vital roles women played in its formation. As we reflect on how Jesus Christ changed the trajectory of the world with His death and resurrection, we also discuss the transformative shift from living by sight to living by faith—a change that redefined the lives of believers post-Calvary. In doing so, we explore how spiritual growth and discipleship are central to the Christian experience.
As we gather to break bread, let the essence of prayer and worship remind you of the Holy Spirit’s continuous presence, guiding us through life’s uncertainties and aligning our paths with God’s divine purpose. Whether you're a church leader, an advocate for spiritual growth, or someone seeking hope and healing, this episode offers biblical insights into how faith can help us navigate the challenges we face.
Throughout the episode, we draw lessons from scripture on how believers can find purpose through faith and align their lives with God's calling. Through Bible study and Christian living principles, we examine how we can move from seasons of uncertainty to spiritual breakthroughs in our walk with Christ.
As we reflect on the power of prayer and the importance of Christian community, we invite you to embrace God’s promises, step into the light of Hi
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Welcome to Reverend Ben Cooper's podcast. We are a radio and podcast ministry based here within the UK. 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:Good evening, good evening, we are back. We are back Wherever you are scattered across this world. We thank you for being patient this evening. We hope the sound is where it should be at this moment in time. So let's get straight into this. You know, time is not on our side now. So we're going to go to the Old Testament. We're going to go to Joshua, chapter 3, joshua chapter 3, verse 1.
Speaker 2:And, as I said earlier on, we're just looking at the word crossover. The word crossover is extremely, extremely important. Wherever you are across the world, you know, every second, every moment, it's a place where we are crossing over. Every time we are moving forward, there is always a crossover. But, as you know, and as I said, and as we've looked at just over the not too distant past, we have been talking about the word crossover moving from where we are and where God wants us to be. Now, that can be a very difficult thing. You know, the Bible says the just shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith. So when we move out, as you see these scriptures in a moment we are following the word and we're following the word by faith, because the scripture says we don't actually know the journey that God has for us because we go by faith. So that can be quite a difficult one. But in this amazing text that we're in at this moment in time, in the book of Joshua, chapter three, verse one, let's read it together Joshua, chapter three, verse one, it says in the morning, joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shithrim and they went to the Jordan where they camped before crossing over. You know, the whole world has been crossing over from 24 to 25. There's been celebrations around the world, everything's been going off and all the stuff that goes on across New Year's Eve around the world. But, as we are very, very aware, that is just a calendar event, that is just a time change. That is just from 24 to 25, and that's great to recognize that, it's great to have all that sort of stuff.
Speaker 2:But the greatest crossover the world has ever seen, as we understand, is coming out of the scripture. You know, the greatest crossover the world has ever seen we are what we are looking at one at this moment in time, where we are getting ready to cross over the river jordan, we are getting ready to cross over into the promised land, into new, new beginnings. But the greatest crossover and the only crossover I would say that we have actually seen that has matched the first crossover, and that was in the Garden of Eden, where we crossed over. So there was a point when God created the heavens and the earth and everything was absolutely beautiful and powerfully, and we crossed backwards, we went to the wrong side and then Christ at the cross, he brought us back to the right side. So there's been two crossovers, two spiritual crossovers. We are looking at a physical crossover and when you look at the Garden of Eden, when God said whatever you do, you've got dominion over everything. You know the land, everything is yours, whatever you do, just don't touch from that. That's all he asked. You know the land, everything is yours, whatever you do, just don't touch from that. That's all he asked them to do. Just don't do that. So we see, the first crossover was when humanity went into the crossover of sin, from good, from perfect, from everything being well, to suddenly crossing over into the wrong side. And then suddenly we find Christ at the cross. He's bringing us back from that sin, he's bringing us back from the Torah, he's bringing us back from the law, he's bringing us back from all that stuff that was impossible to do Everything that went on in the Old Testament, you find that we was ramping up and we was actually just waiting for the power of God and the second crossover. The second crossover.
Speaker 2:There are three crossovers according to the word. The first one is in the book of genesis, where humanity fell when it went backwards. That was a crossover. The second crossover is when christ said it is finished and the human beings, the human race, crossed over from from sin into life and god, through christ, made it accessible to see the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords through our God and our Lord, jesus Christ. So the crossover is mentioned three times in the scripture.
Speaker 2:But as we are in the book of Joshua at this moment in time, we are watching a physical crossover, but I'm just referring to the spiritual crossover. So the first spiritual crossover was when Adam and Eve fouled in the garden and they fell back and there was a crossover from perfection to sin. The second crossover is in the word of God, where we hear Christ when he says it is finished and what happened was Christ took human beings, christ took everything, christ took all the Old Testament and he crossed it over from a place of uncertainty into hope. So, when you look at the scriptures, that we are really looking at three really powerful crossovers, but the one that I just want to focus on at the moment was when the Israelites were getting ready to cross the River Jordan, and what's really really profound and very prophetic in these scriptures that we're in at this moment in time. It says early in the morning, joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shiphrem and went to the Jordan. They camped before crossing over.
Speaker 2:There is a very interesting part of this text. It says that they camped, they got themselves ready. They was ready for the crossover. They was ready for the next move. They was ready for the crossover. They was ready for the next move. They was ready for the next place. They was ready for the next stage. They was ready for the next journey of their life.
Speaker 2:Are you ready for the next journey of your life? Because God is crossing you over. God is taking you from an area of trouble, but so often we have to look at the face of adversity before we actually see the victory. So, when you look at the fall of the garden, everything was perfect In the fall of the garden. Before the fall of the garden, god created everything and everything was absolutely perfect and everything was just about absolutely right in the eyes of God. But what happens? We find that the human race took everything back into sin and this is why we've got the cross, because through the cross, jesus had to bring it back.
Speaker 2:So we talk about gardens a lot. We talk about the first garden, the garden of Eden. We talk about the second garden, where Christ, you know, was talking about redemption and and it's really really important to understand that there is a correlation between the Old Testament and the new testament it is fundamentally so important for us as bible believing believers, that we grasp that salvation and redemption started in in the old testament, right back in the book of genesis, chapter 3, verse 15. That's where god put the redemption plan. He talks about enmity. So so when you look at Joshua and the Israelites getting ready to cross, the Bible says that they sat at the face and they was at the point of the crossover. But God's timing is extremely different to our timing.
Speaker 2:So crossover, what does it actually mean? It's a very simple word. It's an easy word to understand. We know what it means. You know many New Year's Eve services in churches, all that sort of stuff. They crossing over. The world was crossing over everywhere around the world crossed over from 24 to 25 and we understand through the world viewpoint in the world that new year's eve is just a crossover, simply from 24 to 25 and obviously we're going to have 25 to 26, and then 26 to 27. We understand it's just a date. It is not a biblical push what we experience on New Year's Eve. It is just a world event. We're crossing over. It is just a calendar date.
Speaker 2:But there is the greatest crossover the world has ever seen and that was when God, through Christ, took us from the law, took us from the Torah, took us from the Old Testament and he made access. He made access to what he made access to the Father. But what we find in the book of Joshua, chapter 3, what we are looking at, there was another crossover. There was a physical crossover. So what we find in the book of Joshua, chapter 3, as we are reading, reading and he says get ready to cross over. But as you go further, I just want to read a little bit further on time. He's not on my side so I'm going to quickly press on.
Speaker 2:It says in verse 2 after three days, the officers throughout the camp giving orders to the people. When you see the ark of the covenant of the lord thy god and the priests who are the liberty called priesthood carrying the, it says move out and get out from your positions and follow it. There's a lot in that text. There's so much in that text. So the crossover, the word to crossover, we cannot make the crossover without something that is so critical. There is only way that we're able to cross over is that when the word has gone before. So the word is the first, it is the last. He is the bright morning star. So the word is the first, it is the last. He is the bright morning star, so the word has to go first. You know, there's no way on God's earth that that river Jordan, there was no way, it was impossible to cross. The only way and the only time that they was able to cross, that was when the word went first and the Levitical priesthood was extremely obedient to the instructions that they was given.
Speaker 2:This is where we come into this text. We need to be extremely obedient to the word of God, that we follow the clear instruction. What is God saying to you right now, at this moment in time? Is he leading you into ministry? Is he leading you into new pastors? Is he leading you through the valley of the shadow of death? What is happening in your life at this moment in time? I would like to put it like this I think every one of us are facing trials and tribulations and certain issues in life, and we are looking at many river jordans, and the only way that that is going to part is when we wait for the word to give us the clear instruction. And what we have here is Joshua told the Levitical priesthood as soon as you move out, as soon as you start marching, the Israelites will follow suit.
Speaker 2:The word of God always goes first. This is such a glorious text about crossing over. There was no way that the Israelites, there was no way that the Levitical priesthood were going to be able to cross this river without the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. There are challenges and there are areas of our lives that are impossible for ourselves in the flesh without allowing the Word to work through us. So what we've got to do is when the word speaks, the word is always speaking. If we read the word of god, the word is alive and sharper than a double edged sword. The word of god is always fluid, it is always moving. The word of god never goes backwards. The only time that we see a backward motion is when human beings go backwards. And we see a backward motion in the garden of eden, when the human beings fell backwards. And we see a backward motion in the Garden of Eden when the human beings fell because they decided to come outside of the instruction of the word. God said whatever you do, everything is yours, but please do not touch, do not take from that. Whatever you do, everything else is yours. See, when we come out of instruction, we fall back and you find the two human beings fell back. They fell back.
Speaker 2:And what we have in Genesis, chapter 3, verse 15, we have what we call the recovery plan. And what is that? That is the plan of redemption. Redemption is so powerful. Redemption cannot be found, it cannot be bought it, it cannot be be sought of by a human being. It comes from salvation, because salvation is redemption. Salvation is about being redeemed. Salvation means to be saved. Salvation means to be set free. Redemption means to be bought back, to be bought back with a price. And what was the price that we was bought with. We was bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. It wasn't 30 pieces of silver. We understand that Judas Iscariot, he tried to sell Jesus. We understand that, through the word of God, that the money was given back.
Speaker 2:But what's really important here is that I believe God is getting ready and he is preparing you for the greatest crossover of your life. You are leaving history, you are leaving culture, you are leaving certain situations, you are leaving areas of your life that you thought that you would never leave, and you lived and you worked and you moved in certain cultures, certain lifestyles, certain areas of whatever it may be, within just life itself, and you thought that that was it. Let me tell you this God has a greater plan for your life, but God is getting you ready to cross over. You know, again we talk about New Year's Eve. The whole world was preparing. The touchpapers of the fireworks were lit, the skies were lit up with unbelievable displays across the world, and we crossed over from 24 to 25. And many people wouldn't have even felt any change, any significant change, just the sense of euphoria, just the sense of adrenaline. We've crossed over from the old to the new, but actually it is just a calendar date.
Speaker 2:Do you realize that we are in a perpetuous move all the time of God crossing us over from sin to life, from sin to life, from fear to faith, from doubt to blessing? You know, we are always in a position of crossing over and this displays this scripture that we are in in Joshua, chapter 3, verse 1 through to 5. It is preparing us for a crossover, a physical crossover. We see so many areas of the Word of God, of spiritual crossovers, but what we need to understand is that the spiritual crosses over before the flesh and the physicality can move forward. So that's why it's important.
Speaker 2:If you read that scripture, let's just back read that a moment. We're in Joshua, chapter 3, and I'm going to pick it up from verse one and it says early in the morning, joshua and all the israelites set out from shifram and they went to the river jordan where they camped before crossing over after three days. I find that really profound. I find that very prophetic. Uh, that they camped for three days. How many days was jonah in the belly of fish? Three. How many nows was there that put Christ to the cross of Calvary? Three. How many days was Christ in the tomb? Three days. Three is extremely important. There is something significant. And we're not talking about numerology. We're not lifting up the numbers and we're not doing numerology. We're not worshipping the numbers. It is just a correlation, the way that the word speaks so very, very easy and so very, very clear. So it says there before crossing over, after three days, the officers went through the camp giving orders to the people.
Speaker 2:When you see the Ark of the Covenant Now this can bring a bit of confusion to the human being, or should I say the believer in Christ Jesus the Bible says when you see the ark of the covenant moving, you are to step out from where you are. Now they had the privilege of the physicality, of having the levitical priesthood and having the ark of the covenant on their shoulders, so they had something to focus on and they was being led to the river jordan. They was able to move out because they had a very physical presence to follow. Now this is where the new testament comes into our lives. Now the bible says, in three particular areas within the new testament, the just shall live by faith. Do you find it very difficult to live by faith? It's okay for the israelites. It was okay for the new testament writers because they had Christ in their visual. They had Christ in their forefront, they could touch Christ, they could see Christ.
Speaker 2:When they was camped for three days at the River Jordan, they had the privilege of looking at the Ark of the Covenant. So they could sit back, they could recline and they was told as soon as you see that move, you follow it. The Bible says drop your nets, come and follow me. That was a very simple thing for the disciples to do because they was drawn to Jesus. They had the physical Christ, they had Christ in front of them. So they was able and Christ drew them. So this is where Christianity about being born again, spirit filled can get a little bit complicated and a little bit wobbly in our lives because we don't have anything in the visualization to follow. What we have is the word. So we have to be in the word and we have to listen to the word, because the Bible is very clear what it says within the New Testament Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of God. So faith comes through hearing the word, not watching the word. So they had faith back in the days of Joshua that when the Levitical priesthood, lift up that ark and they march forward. We are to move out. See, this is easy, because they was following physicality. We are to move out. See, this is easy because they was following physicality. This isn't easy for us, because the just shall live by faith.
Speaker 2:Hebrews 11, verse 1. If you have a Bible, please turn to Hebrews 11, verse 1. And it says now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Now, lord, that froze my little eyeballs in the back of my head when I think about that scripture. Hebrews 11, verse 1,. Get yourself a Bible, have a read, don't just go on what I say. The Bible says test every spirit, test everything.
Speaker 2:Hebrews 11, verse 1,. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. Where does faith come from? We understand that, christ, when we get saved. Where does faith come from? We understand that, christ, when we get saved. Um, faith is dropped into our spirit as a seed, uh, just as a mustard seed. Just a tiny seed, just a glimmer, just a tiny amount of faith. But the bible says, within the new testament faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of god. So I need to hear the word of god. For what? For my faith to rise? I don't have the privilege like j, my faith to rise. I don't have the privilege like Joshua and Caleb. I don't have the privilege like the Israelites, where they were able to sit back and just let the ark do the talking. What we have, sorry, is that we have to go by faith and we are living in a fallen world. We are in a fallen world. We have a government that is completely anti-Christ. We have a government all around the world that is not interested in Christianity. We have certain areas of world religions coming at the word of God and if you are a Christian, you know you might be living the hardest days of your life, because it requires faith, not visualization. That's why the scripture says now faith. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Oh, my goodness. Now hebrews 11, verse 1, really takes us into the depth of faith itself, where we need to rely on the sovereignty and the power of god. Again, take you back to joshua's days. They had the physicality to watch. They didn't even have to think about what they was doing because their eyes carried them. They just watched the ark. Now we understand. We're at the cross of Calvary. Now we understand the crossover.
Speaker 2:So the greatest crossover that we have ever seen was not 24 to 25. It's when Christ said said it is finished. Not when the commentators, not when big Ben was striking a midnight a few nights ago, not when everyone was shouting out old Lang Syne and singing all that razzmatazz. It wasn't all that stuff that was going on. The greatest words that the human beings ever ever heard at a crossover night is when Christ said it is finished. Because when he said it is finished, he took us. He crossed us over from the Torah, he took us from the law. He took us from the Old Testament. He took us from the depths of the Old Testament where balls, where sacrifice of animals wasn't enough. That's when the scripture says there is one sacrifice, once and for all. Jesus Christ is the only sacrifice for the remission of sin. He is the atoning sacrifice, he is the atonement, he is the King of Kings, he is the Lord of Lords. So the greatest crossover the world has ever seen wasn't the last few days, it wasn't the firework displays across the world, it wasn't all that stuff, the razzmatazz. The greatest crossover the world has ever seen. But it is one of those crossovers that we just let go by, we don't hold on to it too much is when Christ said it is finished. Because what do you mean about a crossover, pastor Ben? What do you mean a crossover, pastor Ben? What do you mean? How was that a crossover?
Speaker 2:The Old Testament and everything was bearing down at Christ on the cross. When you look at the cross, the greatest event the world has ever seen not the birth of Jesus, but the death of Jesus, because the birth he had to be birthed, he had to come in so that he could go out. So the greatest event wasn't the birth of Jesus. The greatest event was Jesus being sacrificed, because when he was sacrificed, he brought back what the Old Testament wasn't able to do through heifer, through bulls, through goats and through sheep, through the sacrificial act of what animals had to go through. And the Bible says there was one sacrifice once and for all, and his name is Jesus. So what we find is the greatest crossover the world has ever seen was when Jesus Christ was on the cross over 2,300 years ago and he said it is finished.
Speaker 2:We are looking and we are reading a physical crossover in the book of joshua, chapter 3, verse 1 to 5, we are watching the, the israelites following the ark of the covenant. Then, suddenly, what we have in the new testament, especially in in the synoptic gospels, in all of the testaments actually, we find that Christ is taking human beings. He is taking the old, he is bringing it into the new. And when he said it is finished, you can imagine what it must have been like. Or try and imagine the sun stopped, the heavens moved, everything happened, the graves opened, certain amount of the dead came back to life. Things happened that you can't explain. See, everything was waiting for Christ to cross us over from darkness into light.
Speaker 2:And that is proved through the scripture, where the seven I am's are recorded and Jesus says I am the light of the world, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the light of the world. I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. No one had accessibility to the God of Israel until the cross of Calvary. No one could get that access. No one could get access. How do you know that we have access? I've just quoted that beautiful scripture. Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Speaker 2:So when Christ was on the cross of Calvary, when he said it is finished what he was doing, he was repairing. He is the redeemer, he is the redemption plan. And what we find on the cross of Calvary, we find the finished work of Genesis, chapter 3, verse 15, because that's when we start to read the physicality of redemption suddenly coming into being. But then, when Christ gave up his life on the cross, it says that he gave up his spirit, he bowed his head and the scriptures were fulfilled. So what we find at that particular point, humanity crossed over. It wasn't 25 to 26. It wasn't 24 to 25. It wasn't 25 to 26. It wasn't 24 to 25. It wasn't 23 to 24. It wasn't any calendar event that we have experienced ever in our lives, because that is just the calendar within the West, within the world, just crossing us over. It is just numerics, it is just time change. That's all it is. It is just a world view of time changing, it is just the world clock moving on.
Speaker 2:But the greatest crossover was when I was crossed over from sin to eternal life. The greatest crossover was when God took you through salvation from sin to eternal life. You know God has crossed us over and we're running out of time. We've got to come to the table in just a few moments. If you're with me, wherever you are, at this moment in time, I'm so sorry that I've got to rush this tonight. The 50p is about to run out very, very soon, but we are looking at a crossover and we are not referring to a New Year's Eve crossover. We are referring to two types of crossover that I've referenced. We're talking about a physical crossing over and to see the promise.
Speaker 2:Sometimes, or should I say the majority of life, we have to go to the edge of uncertainty before the promised land comes into our lives. Sometimes we have to go to a certain area of life, and the Bible says that God told the Israelites when you see the Levitical priesthood carrying the Ark of the Covenant, move forward. You move out from your positions. As believers, we are not meant to stay in seasons too long. We have to move out and follow the word of God. Where is God leading you to? Where is God taking you from and where is God placing you? What is the plan in your life that God has for you. How do we find that plan out? We follow the word of God. God, what are you saying to me today, lord? What are you telling me today? It is by faith. I believe, that all things are possible to those who believe. Now we have crossed over. We have crossed over. We have been this privileged human race. After the cross of calvary and the ones before could never receive salvation. But when Jesus Christ said it is finished with that, according to the word, he bowed his head and he gave up his spirit. The human race crossed over into a place that was impossible to get to without the redemption work of the cross of Calvary. So we've got to remind ourselves we are redeemed. We are redeemed. God has a plan for your life. God has a plan for your life.
Speaker 2:It might look like that all of us, many of us, are standing in the river Jordan and the torrent of the lack of money, the lack of family, the lack of life, the torrent of the financial pressure, the exhaustion of being a human being. Standing in the River Jordan took everything those priests had in their physical being to hold it, and so often it takes everything we've got in our physical being to hold it steady. They was carrying the ark externally. And then suddenly we find on the fabric of the page in the book of Luke, chapter one, the angel of the Lord speaks to Mary and he says you have found favor. Let me tell you this If you are in the eyes of the Lord and you are born again, there is favor on your life. Prepare yourself, prepare yourself for what God is about to do, because favor, favor is powerful, favor is life changing, favor changes everything.
Speaker 2:But so often I get caught in the doom and the gloom and the darkness of life around me, and the gloom and the darkness of life around me, and I don't realize that, through this darkness, through this walk, that God is the light of the world and the Bible says let your light shine. If you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, I pray tonight that you will feel the love of the Father, the love of the Holy Spirit and the love of the Son, because you are redeemed and you have been crossed over. You have been taken from sin to eternal life with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and God is with you wherever you are at this moment in time. You know we've crossed over from 24 to 25, and we've got to remind ourselves that New Year's Eve, every New Year's Eve, is not a spiritual move of God. It is not mentioned through the biblical interpretation. It is not a spiritual move of god. It is not mentioned through the biblical interpretation. It is not a biblical move. It is just a area of life where we are crossing, numerically, from one year to another. Yes, I understand what it means. But the greatest crossover and we are always experiencing a crossover in our lives because we are always being redeemed Redemption is about crossing over.
Speaker 2:Redemption is about having a new beginning. It doesn't matter what we think about ourselves and how we look at ourselves when we realize that we are blood washed. We are children of the most high. God is with us and you are born again. You are always in the rhythm of a crossover from glory to glory, from faith to faith. It's about changing mindset. It's about changing the way that we think, the way that we look at life, and not looking backwards, not looking to the left, not looking to the right, but looking forward. The Bible says the just shall live by faith. So the Bible says that we don't live by sight.
Speaker 2:But when you go back to New Year's Eve. Everything was visual, everything was visual visualization. So we was taken visually by the fireworks into 25. The Old Testament when you look at the Ark of the Covenant, that was visualization. They was taken into the promised land.
Speaker 2:But now, now, because of the cross of Calvary, and after 40 days after the cross, on Ascension Day, jesus Christ said in the book of Acts he says I will not leave you as orphans, I will send to you a counselor. Then suddenly there is another visualization. But after the holy spirit came on the day of pentecost, jesus, where are you? Have you ever felt like? I think it's in the, in the gospel of uh, in in the book of acts, in acts, chapter one, where it says um, he, he was taken up. He was taken up into the heavens and he was hidden by the clouds. Do you ever feel like Jesus is hidden? That is because we've got to live by faith.
Speaker 2:So everything before the cross was visualization. Everything was visual, everything was seen. I see it, so I move. I see it, so I believe it. Now, after the cross of Calvary, it's changed from sight to faith and we're on the other side of the cross and some of us might go. Do you know what I would have loved to have been around in the Old Testament, because it's easier to go by sight. I see Jesus, I see the ark, I see the miracles. I believe.
Speaker 2:But now, because of the cross and 40 days on Ascension Day, when Christ ascended and the Bible says that he was hidden by the cloud, we understand that the Holy Spirit fell in the book of Acts. And the Holy Spirit, when you look at that scripture, we find that that is the last time of the visualization of the glory of God. Now everything from the birth of the church is done and has to be done by faith. We're coming to the table in just two minutes. Just give me two minutes. We're going to come to the table and we're out of here. So the Holy Spirit falls in the book of Acts, the birth of the church. The Holy Spirit breaks out and it seems to be like tongues of fire that comes down and separates on each and every one of them. And just remind yourself if you are a woman.
Speaker 2:Tonight the Bible explains something extremely clear, something really really clear. In the book of Acts, at the birth of the church, it tells us. In Acts, chapter one, it says that the women were already in prayer and the men joined them. The women were already worshiping. The women were already in prayer. Let me say this to you If you are in a church of color, if you're in a church of culture, if you're in a church of any type of church, and the women are pushed to the back, to the left, the right, you've only got to see it in world religions. That is not scripture, because at the birth of the church of Jesus Christ, the women were already at prayer and the men came and joined them. And when the men joined them in prayer and worship, what happens? The Holy Spirit fell. There was no segregation. There was no move to the left and the right.
Speaker 2:If you are in a church, let me tell you this If you are women in the church, you have every right to go right down the front of that church and sit at the front of the church. You can lay on the floor. There is no criteria. There is nothing in the word of God that says that the women are going to be kept at the back. You know it's even when you look at world religions. I don't even have a chance to go into all that tonight, but the reason I'm mentioning that is because the birth of the church and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is that the women were already in prayer and prayer is worship. Worship is not necessary having music. Worship is in the Word of God. You know, worship is powerful. It is through the Word and I've mentioned this many times.
Speaker 2:If you're in a church, if you are in a tribal, if you are in a color church, and it's one color and it's one tribe, let me tell you that church, that, and it's one color and it's one tribe. Let me tell you that that's not biblically healthy. We need, uh like, like the sweets, all sorts. It's got to be a mixture of every one of, of every color, of every tribe. That is extremely important. But if there is a set regime where it is a certain way and you can't go as a woman down the front or you are feeling very, very awkward about going down the front because it's mal-dominated, that is not scripture.
Speaker 2:Because in the book of acts, chapter one, it says the women were already praying at the birth of the church and the men came and joined them and, and when they joined together and they prayed and they started to pray with the women. Suddenly something happens. There is something powerful about a praying woman. The Holy Spirit falls. But for some unknown reason that I don't have a chance to go into at this moment, is that men think I'm going to call it a day there.
Speaker 2:Come on, let's come to the table. Spirit of the living day, god, spirit of the living God. You know, wherever we are tonight, god, we break bread and I've got to be honest with you. I can't break bread with you tonight because I've spilt the bread and the wine on the podcasting table right there and the bread has gone soggy. God, what am I doing? In the name of Jesus, father, wherever we are across the world, we come to you tonight, lord, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ and Father, we break bread together right now, wherever we are. And, lord, we thank you for the power of the word of God, because the Bible says as often as you come together, do this in remembrance of me.
Speaker 2:So, wherever you are again, you know, I'm not frightened of saying this if you are in a church and you're not breaking bread at every service, you need to ask the leadership why are we not breaking bread? It's got nothing to do with the size of the church. It's got nothing to do with the culture of the church. Jesus said as often as you gather together, do this in my name, and church is supposed to be done in the name of Jesus. So, at every service, whether there's one or two in the church or whether there's just one in the church, whether there's a thousand in the church, it's irrelevant, because the church should be breaking bread and taking the cup at every service, there is no excuse. So, father, we break bread, even though I've got soggy bread. We break bread tonight, lord, and we believe this bread symbolizes the body of Christ and Father, we are going on the instruction of the Word of God and Jesus tells us, around the Passover table as often as you gather together, do this in remembrance of me. So tonight, lord, we break bread and we thank you for this bread that symbolizes your body right now, in the name of Jesus. So, father, bless this bread in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 2:The Bible says in the same way, in the same way, after supper. He says this cup is the new covenant, so powerful. What Christ was doing. He was bringing the Old Testament alive into the new. He said I've waited eagerly, eagerly, I've awaited to do this. And he's the one that put the redemption plan in place, right back in Genesis, chapter 3, verse 15. God with Christ, because you can't separate Father, son, holy Spirit, the deity that we serve. Put the redemption plan in place in genesis, chapter 3, verse, verse 15.
Speaker 2:And christ is the fulfillment of the redemption plan. And he says I've been waiting all this time to participate with you. And they must have looked at each other and scratched their heads and gone. What's he going on about? This is the passover. This has been around for over a thousand years, but what the disciples didn't realize? That jesus christ is the passover lamb.
Speaker 2:So, father, thank you for the bread and as we take this cup, lord, we believe that this cup symbolizes the blood of jesus. Will you cleanse us, will you wash us by the blood of Jesus, from the crown of our head to the sole of our feet, in Jesus name, amen, sisters and brothers, wherever you are, seriously, seriously, the greatest crossover we have ever seen and we've ever experienced was from death to life. It wasn't 24 to 25. It will never be a New Year's Eve. There will never be a crossover when God took me, a sinner saved by grace, and he took me from the pit of despair and he put me on the other side of the cross. That's the same for you, the greatest crossover the world has ever seen, from death to life. Wherever you are. As we kick out of this, I pray that God will bless you and strengthen you and you will realize that we are always being crossed over. We are always being taken from faith to faith. We are always being drawn out and placed in. There is a way, and his name is Jesus, and I pray for each and every one of you tonight that you will feel the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit in your life and you will realize the greatest crossover any human being can experience is crossing from hell to heaven, crossing from religion to being born again. May God bless you tonight, wherever you are.
Speaker 2:We're out of here. We thank you so much, wherever you are across the world, for the tens of thousands of downloads. We are over a thousand cities now. We're in a thousand cities. We're over 73 countries around the world. It is just beyond my brain, beyond my human reasoning, but I just want to say thank you to everybody that is with us when we have good internet, bad internet, when it goes wobbly, when the sound is atrocious. We just want to say thank you so much for bearing with us and staying with us. The lord is with you, wherever you are this evening. Never give up. And just one last thing before we click out of here. God has dropped a dream in you. God has dropped a dream in every one of us. God has dropped an impossible dream to be fulfilled by flesh. God has something great for you. Live by faith in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. God bless you, 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.
Speaker 1:No-transcript. No-transcript. 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.
