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
Stories of Faith Surpassing Fear and Doubt (#1014 - Elim) 29-01-2025
In this powerful episode, we embark on a spiritual journey through scripture and prayer, offering insights and encouragement to help nourish your soul. We explore Philippians 4:6 and the miracles of Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood, uncovering how faith can transform lives, bringing peace, healing, and freedom. Whether you're struggling with anxiety or seeking greater spiritual growth, this episode will inspire you to deepen your relationship with God and embrace His guidance in every circumstance.
Show Notes:
Have you ever wondered whether faith can truly transform your life? If you’re seeking peace in the midst of daily challenges or wondering how to deepen your connection with God, this episode is for you. We invite you to embark on a journey of spiritual growth, starting with the powerful words of Philippians chapter 4. Through scripture and prayer, we explore how releasing anxiety and rejoicing in God can lead to profound peace, spiritual fulfillment, and the comfort of knowing that God is always near.
Philippians 4:6: Releasing Anxiety and Finding Peace in Prayer
In our fast-paced world, finding time to pray and reflect can feel like an impossible task. We dive deep into Philippians 4:6, where Paul encourages us to bring everything to God in prayer—our worries, our joys, our challenges—through prayer and thanksgiving. We explore how, when we do this, the peace of God transcends our understanding, guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Maintaining a consistent prayer life can be challenging when life’s demands pull us in every direction. This episode discusses the struggle of balancing a busy life with the call to pray without ceasing, sharing personal reflections and experiences on how prayer can transform your daily routine. Whether you’re facing anxiety, stress, or uncertainty, we assure you that God understands your struggles and is always ready to bless you, even when you feel distant or distracted.
The Role of Faith in Overcoming Anxiety
As we navigate the ups and downs of daily life, anxiety can often overwhelm us. We take a closer look at how Philippians 4:6-7 encourages us to release our fears to God, inviting His peace to reign in our hearts. By practicing gratitude and prayer, we open the door to divine peace that goes beyond our understanding. We also discuss how God’s unconditional love and grace are available to us, even when we neglect our prayer lives or feel disconnected from Him.
By reflecting on God’s promises and leaning into faith, we can overcome anxiety and find spiritual comfort amidst life’s challenges. This segment offers practical advice on integrating prayer into your everyday routine and embracing gratitude as a way to cultivate peace.
Faith and Miracles: Lessons from Jairus and the Woman with the Issue of Blood
As we continue our journey, we shift our focus to two profound stories from the Gospel of Luke that beautifully demonstrate the power of faith in action. First, we explore the miracle of Jairus, a synagogue leader who humbly seeks Jesus for the healing of his dying daughter. We discuss the lessons we can learn from Jairus’ unwavering faith, even when the situation seemed hopeless. Jairus’ story teaches us that faith can move mountains, and that God’s timing is always perfect.
Next, we reflect on the remarkable story of the woman with the issue of blood, who touches Jesus’ garment in faith and is instantly healed. Despite her social isolation and financial struggles, she found healing and restoration through a simple act of faith. We discuss how this story encourages us to prioritize faith over fear, material possessions, and
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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 formastorbencoopercouk. 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.
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Speaker 2:God bless you. Wherever you are this evening, whatever your life is looking like, whoever you are, whatever your name is, the lord jesus christ is with each and every one of us. We thank you so much for joining us, wherever you are across this world this evening. We thank god for your lives. What are you doing? Where are you, you know? Just push some stuff out on the socials, just so we know where you are. We want to say thank you to everybody in the world of podcasting that has, uh, just downloaded all this stuff, as the advert has just said. You know, it's absolutely mind-blowing and we thank god for your lives. Thank you that you're so faithful and so many people jump on the live streams and uh, download everything that goes on here. We are really, really blessed and may god bless your house, your life, everything about you, wherever you are this evening. We thank god for you, whether you're listening right now and you're live with us on this broadcast and whatever means you're capturing this. But we just want to say thank you so much to everybody in the world of podcasts, the downloads, and please continue to download everything that's going on there. We're trying different things at this moment in time. We're just trying to push the boundaries in certain areas. And also now, as the the timeline says, we have just clicked in and we've got the twitter account rerunning again, so we're on that, we're live streaming and to those that are with us and there's a few on there that we can uh see at this moment in time, just uh watching this live stream broadcast also on twitter.
Speaker 2:But may god bless you in the mighty name of jesus christ, we're going to turn straight into the book of Philippians, chapter four. We're going to go to Philippians, chapter four and this is a great little text, and wherever you are this evening, I pray that the fire of God and the love of Jesus Christ will be with you right now, in the mighty name of the father, the son, the Holy spirit. But we're going to drop into Philippians, chapter four. We're going to pick it up in verse four and we're going to go down to the end of verse seven and we're just going to take a moment, but then we're going to come back over. We're going to cross cross reference, sorry back to where we was yesterday and we was in the gospel of luke, chapter eight. You know about gyrus and a really interesting part that we picked up there and also the lady with the issue of blood. So we're going to be backwards and forwards in.
Speaker 2:We might be yo-yoing in and out the scriptures, but this evening, but wherever you are across this beautiful world, tonight, we want to say thank you. You know, for every one of you you can support us through prayer. You know, prayer is absolute critical and you can just click the buttons on spotify, you can click the buttons on amazon and all those different places and apple, and you can support the ministry just by clicking a couple of buttons. That'd be absolutely amazing. But thank you for your prayers, but thank you that you're with us. We thank you so much that you're with us.
Speaker 2:But let's get straight in without me rambling on, because I am a professional rambler. If there was an olympic uh medal to win, I would win that, no problem, because I am an olympic uh rambler. Here we go. Verse four, verse four my eyes are just looking at this right now. But welcome every one of you in the mighty name of jesus christ. And it says rejoice in the lord always. I say again rejoice now, lord. This is a hard scripture. Lord, rejoice always. Let your gentleness, whoa, hang on. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The lord is near.
Speaker 2:Now, really, I want to get to verse six, but I read the the first two out, just to get a bit of a a rhythm for setting the scene that we're going. And let me back up. Let me back up a moment. Rejoice always in the lord. I say it again rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus. What I find really interesting there at that particular moment?
Speaker 2:The scripture that we was in yesterday. It doesn't mention prayer in any way, shape or form. Prayer is critical. We understand that the Bible is so strong on prayer. Our faith is built on prayer. Everything we do is built on prayer. But for those that might be struggling at this moment in time, for those that might be really weary and really exhausted when we read these types of scriptures, especially from the New Testament, verse six, it says do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition. We think into ourselves well, dear God and Heavenly Father.
Speaker 2:Lord, I've had a really bad day today and, to be completely fair, lord, I haven't had a chance to pray. I haven't had a chance to get into the rhythm of prayer. Lord, my life is absolutely crazy. It's so fast, it's so furious that sometimes I find it difficult to get into that place of prayer. And what I love about Christ that he is not waiting for us.
Speaker 2:The Bible says, yeah, we have not because we ask not, but that we've got to make sure that we never take the text out of context. We've got to make sure that we understand the text is relevant for where we are in our lives and the way that we read the scriptures. Yes, the Bible says pray without ceasing, pray without ceasing. But what do we mean prayer? What actually is prayer? What do you think? Those that are online? What do you think prayer is? What do we think prayer is? What is prayer?
Speaker 2:Prayer isn't about coming into the building and closing your hands and making the prayer hands and prayer is your life. Prayer is the way that we think prayer is about thinking. Prayer is our thoughts. You know, I love the way that that we don't have to make a noise through prayer, that we can literally just have a conversation with god in our mind, from our heart to our mind, and we don't need to be in the lord's house, we don't need to be in a holy place. You know communication, you know our, you know our life. You know, is about prayer.
Speaker 2:But what happens when I'm exhausted and I'm really tired? Will Christ hold back the blessing from me? Will Christ hold back the miracle from me? No, he won't. We put so much weight sometimes on prayer that sometimes have you ever been in a position of praying? And when you're actually praying, your lips are going 10 to the dozen and you might even be in tongues, but you're actually not focused on what you're focusing on at that particular moment in prayer because your mind is over somewhere else. You know, what is really, really powerful is that we don't panic, you know, and so often we get ourselves into a rhythm of going. I haven't prayed today. Oh, my goodness, hallelujah, thank you, jesus, bless me, bless me, bless me. You know, prayer is powerful and prayer is key and it is absolutely fundamental to the word of God and Christianity.
Speaker 2:But what I'm trying to get to tonight is, if we don't have the energy and we're absolutely exhausted and we are worn out. God still moves in our lives and there is this area of in the pentecostal movement and in the evangelical uh rooms of of church and in the areas of that where we've got to be extremely loud. And if we're not prying for four hours, you know we're not a real christian. If we ain't speaking in tongues for six hours and we're fasting and standing on one hand, we're not really a real Christian. You know, prayer is critical. Prayer is fundamental to our walk with Christ Jesus.
Speaker 2:But what we've got to remember is that we will hit points in our lives where we have forgotten to pray. Why have I forgotten to to pray? Because life have been so furious and so crazy and so fast. How many times do we come into church and we we say we're having a prayer meeting tonight and we sit there in the prayer meetings. Thank god for the prayer meetings in the lord's house and uh, here especially. And we are really strong on prayer and I've been brought up on prayer, you know, and it's something that's really ingrained in me as a believer.
Speaker 2:But what I've come to understand through this journey of being a Christian is that prayer isn't about making a noise and giving a shopping list to Christ Jesus, because sometimes the heaviness of life, the weight of life, overtakes everything else. So what do I do? So if I haven't prayed today, does that mean Jesus has left my arena? If I haven't prayed today, does that mean that God is not going to look at me and give me a blessing because I haven't had this communication? No, the Bible says that Christ knows, that the Father knows, that the Holy Spirit knows. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. Every step is already ordained and every pathway and every place that our foot shall tread upon, christ knows the journey that we're in. And if you're a single parent family, if you've got children you ain't got children. You've got a job, you ain't got a job. You know, whatever life looks like, every one of us will hit crisis points and we might go from one to another. We might have so many plates spinning in our lives. We are so concentrating on spinning plates that we forget to pray.
Speaker 2:A pastor has said we forget to pray Sometimes. Guess what? I'm going to let you into a really little secret, don't tell anybody. But I forget to pray. Why do I forget to pray? Because the diary of life suddenly hits us. Suddenly hits us, not that I forget, forget about christ. We're not talking about forgetting about christ. We're looking at this great, biblical, powerful story of where christ answered what they required, but there was no prayer. We're going to drop into the backdrop of it. Now, really, this is really important for me to get over across the airways tonight. Prayer is powerful, prayer is needed.
Speaker 2:I'm not saying that we should not be praying. I would never, ever dream of saying a thing like that. What I'm saying is, when life comes at us and life throws everything at us and everything at us, sorry, and and everything comes to the house of you and everything is in your workspace, everything is in your relation, everything is pounding you like never before. And suddenly, father, I'm so sorry, lord, I was operating in fear, I was operating in doubt. But this scripture that we're in here as we read this. It says do not be anxious about anything. Lord, I'm really sorry, I've been anxious today, but the bible says don't be anxious about anything, lord. I've let you down. Today, lord, I've been worried. Today, lord, I've been, I've been really fearful. Today, lord, I've gone through the valley of the shadow of death and I don't really want the valley of shadow of death. And, lord, I've been fearful through the valley of the shadow of death.
Speaker 2:But the scripture says do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition. Lord, I haven't been bringing everything to you today in prayer, lord, I've been too busy. Lord, I've been hanging, lord, all the way through the valley of the shadow of death. I've been trying to get through the valley, lord, I haven't had chance to pray God. So, lord, are you going to hold back blessings? Are you going to hold back miracles? No, god won't. You know.
Speaker 2:This is the beautiful part about our walk with Christ Jesus. He knows when we're going to pray. He knows when we're in faith, when we're out of faith. He knows when we're going to worship and when we're not worshiping. He knows when we're going to live, uh, by fear, and we're going to dance around the fear drum.
Speaker 2:Look at these scriptures. They're beautiful. Do not be anxious about anything, lord. I'd love to be like this. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to god, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus. When you look at these scriptures here.
Speaker 2:You know, I actually believe that as we look at verse 6 in chapter 4, verse 6 of chapter 4 of the book of Philippians, as we look at this, do not be anxious about anything. Is there anybody on the other side of the lens or on the mic this evening, wherever you are across the world, actually would partner with me and hold hands and go? Do you know what, ben? Actually, today, these scriptures have been really the opposite end to my life, lord. I have been really anxious today. I've been anxious about everything. And Lord, the Bible says but in everything, by prayer and petition, lord, it hasn't been prayer, lord, I've been literally running through life like never before. And it says there with thanksgiving Lord, today my life hasn't looked like a thanksgiving prayer to you at all, lord. I've been in the thick of life, lord, I've been upset, I've been frustrated. Lord, I've been tearing my hair in pieces. Lord, I've had a bad air day. Lord. Today, lord, and especially what it says there, present your request to God, lord, I haven't even had chance to think about you today, god. But then it says and the peace of God will transcend all understanding and guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.
Speaker 2:Now let's turn to where we was yesterday. Let's turn to the gospel of Luke. I love this story. That's in Luke, this biblical fact. We're going to the gospel of Luke and we're going to pick it up in verse 40. I will read it through in its entirety and then we'll by God's grace, we'll come back and we'll unpack it and we'll see what's going on. But let's just read this scripture a minute. So we've just read the scripture from the book of philippians and it's talking about prayer and thanksgiving and petition and bringing it to god and speaking to god and asking god. Maybe we've had a day like this. Let's read this now.
Speaker 2:When jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him and it says there was expecting him and a man named gyrus, a ruler of the synagogue, came out and fell at jesus's feet. He pleaded with him and he came to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about 12 years old, was dying, and jesus on his way. The crowd crushed him and the woman who was subject to bleeding for 12 years came to him, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak or his garment, depending what you're reading from, and immediately the bleeding stopped. Who touched me? Jesus asked when she could not deny it and when she was standing in the crowd. Peter said, master, the people are crowding around you and pressing against you. And it says but jesus said someone touched me, for I know power has gone out from me. Then the woman, seeing that she could not hide or go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet in the presence of all the people around. She told uh, this, it's me that touched you. And it says instantly I was healed. When she said this to her, that the daughter of faith, you are healed, go in peace. Look at what it says go in peace.
Speaker 2:While Jesus was still speaking, someone came out from Jairus' house, the synagogue ruler your daughter is dead. He said Don't bother the teacher. Teacher, anymore hearing this, jesus said to jairus don't be afraid, just believe. And she will be well or healed, depending what you're reading from. At that moment, when they arrived at jairus's house, he did not let anyone go in with him, except peter, john and james and the father and the mother. All the people were outside wailing and mourning for her. Stop wailing. Jesus said she is not dead, but she is asleep. They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead, completely dead, capisce. And it says in verse 54,. But he took her by the hand and he said my child, get up. Her spirit returned and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them give them something to give her something to eat. And in the last part of this text it says her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
Speaker 2:When you look at these scriptures here, when you get an idea of what's going on. Prayer is absolutely critical. Prayer is so powerful it is almost impossible to describe within the language of church and faith. Prayer is fundamental and key to everything that we do. We know that the Bible says pray without ceasing. But when you look at these two miracles, what I find absolutely fascinating, it is before what we call salvation, it is before the cross. So when you look at these scriptures, it is before what we call being born again. So when you look at this, these texts that we're in, and when we look at this through the eyes of faith, now we're looking through the eyes of history as well. We're looking at the backdrop of this.
Speaker 2:Now you have the lady with the issue of blood and you have Jairus two ends of the scales of culture. But there is something that brings them equal in many, many ways actually, and the first thing that I want to mention is that not any one of them offered up a prayer. This is really important to understand. Now, what do you mean? Now the lady came to Jesus and she was absolutely spent out of everything that she had. There was nothing left in her purse. Everything had gone. She had just made that decision. Today, if I can just touch the hem of his garment, I will be okay, if I can get to Jesus.
Speaker 2:Now let's look at Jairus. Jairus comes to Jesus, the synagogue ruler, well-educated, well-oiled. Now he does not bring a prayer request. He comes to Christ and he cries out please come to my house, my daughter is dying. Please come to my house, my daughter is dying, can you help? Isn't it interesting? No-transcript is basically speaking to Jesus. So when we have a look at these scriptures, they are speaking to Christ and they are calling for Christ, and especially Jairus. Jesus addresses Jairus' situation. Now, when that person from Jairus' house comes out and they say, don't bother the teacher anymore, your daughter is dead, what happens to Jairusus?
Speaker 2:Gyrus goes into the fear drum. He absolutely gets so fearful because jesus, before he says anything, he says don't be afraid, because fear will take you away from prayer. Because what fear does? It messes our minds up and it changes the drumbeat of our walk with Christ. It's really interesting that prayer is critical. Prayer is fundamental. Prayer is the foundation of our life with Christ.
Speaker 2:But prayer, when you lift up the word prayer and you pull back that word, what do you find? It is words. So when we speak to Christ, however, we speak to Christ. It is a form of prayer. We don't need to be in the Lord's house, we don't need to be in the prayer group, we don't need to be in this area of. Yes, I'm going to a prayer meeting because this is where the scripture comes into being Pray without ceasing. Now, I always thought to myself how, in the name of Jesus, am I going to pray without ceasing? I've got to get out and put some bread on the table, lord. I've got to get out and do whatever you've got to do across the cultural divide that we have. I've got to get out. But, lord, you tell me pray without ceasing. Then, suddenly, the Holy Spirit dropped in my spirit something very profound and very simple and you, holy ones, probably already know. Online, prayer is just talking to Jesus. Prayer is just having a conversation.
Speaker 2:So when you look at the lady with the issue of blood and what she was doing, she was in a form of of prayer, because prayer is not putting your hands together. Prayer is coming from within. Worship is coming with it within. We don't need to be under the greatest worship band across the world to worship christ. You know when. When you sing psalms, when you, when you, when you pray, it is a form of worship.
Speaker 2:Prayer is critical and we have been indoctrinated within the church, within the west, that I have to get to a prayer meeting. Yes, it is critical that I get to a prayer meeting. But what is on the outside of that? Jesus still works in our lives without the word prayer on the fabric of the drumbeat. What do you mean? So, when we look at this scripture that we're in, jairus was not in the way that we call prayer. The lady was not in the position of prayer. They just had to get to Jesus and Jesus gave them their miracle. Jesus gave them their miracle, christ gave them their miracle. So this is what is profound and which is absolutely amazing in this situation that I find absolutely astonishing that prayer is irrelevant to what god is going to do.
Speaker 2:But prayer is key when I come into that area and that posture of prayer, because then I'm putting myself, lord, I thank you for the day. You know, lord, I believe that you're healing my life, in the name of Jesus. But when I'm in the rhythm of Psalm 23 and I'm walking through the valley of the shadow of death, when something happens in my life, fear accelerates my faith, because that is the natural way that I am. You've only got to look very clearly at the disciple that said, when they was on the boat, he said Lord, if that's, you call me and I will jump out of the boat. Call to me and I will come to you. But as you look at that great story, there was faith and there was fear. There was faith and there was fear.
Speaker 2:It was conversation, because prayer is actually conversation. Prayer is just speaking to Jesus. Even when we get like this, lord, I'm really scared. Will you help me in the name of Jesus? Lord, I need your help today. Lord, as I wake up this morning. Lord, will you help me in the name of Jesus, you know conversation is prayer.
Speaker 2:Speaking to Jesus is prayer. It's not so much of being in the establishment and being in the room, it's just coming to the realization that words are powerful. The book of James tells us how powerful words are. It says that the tongue is the smallest muscle in the body, but it will either bless or it will either destroy. You know prayer is powerful, conversation is powerful. You know we come out of the book of Philippians. We come out of the book of Philippians and it says very clearly present your request to God and within the church, within the West, we are so pushed over the way that I've got to get to the house of the Lord to pray.
Speaker 2:Well, you, wherever you are across the world at this moment in time, you know you can pray. You can pray right now in the name of Jesus. You can pray wherever you are, because prayer is speaking and we don't even need to move our lips. We don't even need to move our lips. You know you can be at home at this moment. You can be in the van, you can be walking the dog. Be in the bath, you can be. You know, ordering your food, you can. You can be running the hoover around the house. You can be cutting the grass, you can be doing whatever you need to do in life, you can be on the commute, you can be at work, you can be on your laptop, you can be indoors, you can be sitting at your sofa. Wherever you are. That is the time to communicate with the lord jesus, because prayer is speech, prayer is words, so we don't need.
Speaker 2:It's great to get in the lord's house, it's powerful to get in the lord's house, but the bible is extremely clear when you look at these miracles that christ delivered. Christ delivered a miracle to the lady with the issue of blood, and she didn't look at Jesus' face, she just knew that I just need to get to Jesus. And where is Jesus? Where is this Jesus at this moment in time? Where is this King of glory? Where is the great I am? Where is this Jehovah Jireh? Where is this Jehovah Nissi? Where is this God that created the heavens and the earth? Where is this King of Israel? Where is the creator of heaven and earth? He's living in your life. He's in your life, he's in the fabric of your skin, he's in your DNA. He created your DNA. He is your Lord and your savior, and he hears your heart beating, he knows your tears, he knows your fears.
Speaker 2:But the church within the West has created this culture of I've got to get into the building, I've got to get into this prayer rhythm, I've got to get into this way of. If I don't get to church and pray, my life will collapse. You can be laying on your bed, you can be in a hospice right now. You can be in the hospital. You can be walking the street right now. You can be in the gym, you can be wherever you need to be and you can communicate with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, because prayer is conversation and actually sometimes conversation never actually happens. But god knows, god knows your heart. See, if you're in psalm 23, and what do you mean in psalm 23? What I mean is if you're in the rhythm of the valley of the shadow of death.
Speaker 2:You know what happens is fear can override us, fear can over take us. Fear can accelerate the chemicals within the makeup of the human being and it can almost take our thoughts and it does take our thoughts away from Christ. How can you say that, rev? How can you say that when fear? So what are you saying, rev? That fear could have a greater pull than faith.
Speaker 2:I tell you it does sometimes, because you've only got to turn to the New Testament and look when that great disciple said Jesus I've already referenced this this evening jesus, if that is, you call me and I will come to you so he leaps out of the boat in faith, he walks on water in faith and he's in the presence of jesus christ. The king is before him. He is defying all logic, all science. He is defying all logic, all science. He is defying everything, because a human being is walking on water, he is walking by faith, but then, suddenly, out of nowhere, out of nowhere, fear comes in. And what was the gauge? What was the moment? What was that area of his life that took him from looking at christ? It was the size of the waves of life. Suddenly he realized it is dark. Suddenly he realized hang on, I am a human being and I am doing something supernatural that no human being can do without the power of God.
Speaker 2:Jesus says jump, son, come on, walk to me, and Jesus is calling you tonight. Jump out of your comfort zone and walk. Do you know? All things are possible to those who believe? When you look at the word of God. What is so powerful? The word of God, what is so powerful? Take a leap of faith, and it doesn't matter why we are walking in faith that suddenly our human nature kicks in. What would happen is this? It for a moment, the fear would take us off track. But Jesus Christ will not let us drown by the waves that are coming against the boat of life. Jesus will not let us. We will not drown. It is impossible for you to drown in the storm. It is impossible for you to sink. It is impossible for you to get swept away by the tide of life, because god has you. So prayer is really interesting.
Speaker 2:So we have this lady with the issue of blood and we have Jairus. Jairus comes out in fear. Jairus is in a mess because Jesus says to him Jairus, don't be afraid. So Jesus could see the fear in him. Because the one that came out of Jairus' house. He said your daughter is dead, don't bother the teacher anymore. He must have gone as white as a ghost. Even in the presence of Jesus we can literally lose the plot of understanding. But Jesus knows when fear kicks in. Jesus has got to step in. So Jesus says Jairus, don't be afraid, do not be afraid. So Jesus says Jairus, don't be afraid, do not be afraid.
Speaker 2:And wherever you are tonight, if you're having a Jairus moment, if everything looks like it's dying on you, if everything looks like it's failing on you, if it looks like that all the waves of life are crushing you, if you look like that lady with that issue of blood and what I mean by that is that we have spent everything that we've got. The money has run out, the time has run out, everything has gone. Everything has been washed away. I have nothing left. I have nothing left to give. I can't buy healing. I love the fact that her money could not buy the miracle. Jesus doesn't need money, but you will find yourself giving to fake preachers and teachers. Send us your money, give us your money and you will be well the first thousand people that send us $1,000. Tonight you are going to be healed in the name of Jesus.
Speaker 2:Sisters and brothers, there is a reason why that text is in the Bible, in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 8. She'd spent everything because you cannot buy the Holy Spirit. The Scripture tells us that. You know when you look at Simon the sorcerer, when you look at those two disciples when they was going to the house of prayer and they came up into that situation and they turned around and they faced that person, that human being that was laced in witchcraft and everything, and they had to address the devil's work. And then Simon the sorcerer comes out and he says how much will it cost for me to give you? And they said listen, simon the Sorcerer, you cannot buy the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It doesn't matter how much money you got. Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, cannot buy a miracle because money is not required. With Jesus, money is not required. Look what it says about the rich young ruler. It is impossible for a rich man, when he holds on to wealth, to get into the kingdom of heaven. It is impossible to buy a miracle. The richest person on earth cannot buy salvation. The richest person on earth cannot buy healing. This is why these scriptures are so critical. Prayer was not required at this particular point. Money was not required at this particular point.
Speaker 2:We're coming to the table in just a moment and as we come to the table this evening, wherever you are scattered across the world, I would ask that you look at the gospel that we're in tonight, the gospel of luke, chapter 8, verse 40, all the way down to the end of that text, to the end of the chapter, and just meditate and pray on that for a moment, because you won't find prayer in the format that we understand within the church, within the West. But what you find is that when you reach a point when you've spent everything and you've just got to get to Jesus, something happens. If you're like Jairus, well-educated, you've seen the riches of the world, you're in high esteem by everybody else, but then suddenly something happens to your life and you need the miracle. And even Jairus was operating in faith. Jairus was in actually no, I said that wrong. Jairus was in fear, not in faith. There was no faith in Jairus at this particular moment in time.
Speaker 2:The lady spent everything. She was absolutely skint. There wasn't a quid in her pocket, she didn't have any shekel. She didn't have her pocket, she didn't have any shekel. She didn't have any money, she didn't have anything on her. She had spent everything that she had had and Jesus did not hold back the miracle for her life.
Speaker 2:You don't need money in the kingdom of God, and even faith is not required. Faith is not required. Faith is not required. This is a big thing to hit tonight when you look at these scriptures. Salvation was not required because these miracles were happening before the cross of Calvary. So what do you mean? Salvation wasn't required. You know, salvation came in Access to God, as what we call salvation only comes after the cross of Calvary. There was no one that was born again before the cross. So when you look at this, this is all pre-cross, this is before the cross, this is before Christ goes to the cross of Calvary. So these people are not born again, they are ostracized.
Speaker 2:She's outside of culture, outside of society. She wasn't a born-again Christian. She had no money, she wasn't tithing, she wasn't doing a wave offering, she wasn't doing a gift offering, she wasn't filling in the form. Will you do gift aid, sister, with what you give? She didn't have absolutely nothing. The Bible says she was spent out, given out, and what she decided to do.
Speaker 2:I have no other choice but to get to Jesus. How do I get to Jesus? We're coming to the table. We get to Jesus through this, through the word. Money is not required. You can see what I'm holding up. I'm holding up the word of God and for those tens of thousands that download this stuff. I am lifting up the word of God. I am lifting up the word of God, the paperback version of the word of God. I am lifting up the book, and as we hold the book up, we lift up Jesus.
Speaker 2:All that's required is get yourself a Bible and, yes, it's great that we've got it on the devices that we have in our hands but get yourself a paperback version, because there is something powerful about a paperback version. Get yourself a living word of God and we will deliver you. We will get to you a Bible. If you need a Bible, just drop it on the social networks. It will get picked up by the pastoral team. The pastoral team will take your details and we will get you. I will go and post that Bible and we will get that Bible into the postal system and that Bible will reach your house wherever you are across the world. Your house wherever you are across the world. You know, get yourself in the word, because that is where your healing is, that is where your blessing is.
Speaker 2:Yes, we started out in a scripture that was very, very clear, you know. It says bring everything to Christ, bring everything to God with prayer and petition. That's completely important and that really is the rhythm of, that is the fundamental part of Christianity. The Bible says pray without ceasing. You know, the Bible is extremely clear. But prayer is conversation, prayer is conversation and we are coming to the table. Grab yourself a bit of bread, grab yourself a bit of grape juice, wherever you are scattered across the world.
Speaker 2:But the story with the lady with the issue of blood she did not come to a prayer meeting and seek Jesus. It says that she sneaked up on Jesus. She didn't even look at his eyes, she didn't even clock his face, she just said if I can just touch the garment, if I can just get near Jesus, I've got to get to Jesus. How do we get to Jesus? We get to Jesus through the living word, because he is the Bible, he is the word. The Bible is Christ. Christ is the Bible, he is the word, the Bible is Christ. Christ is the Bible, he is the living word. And the Bible says very clearly in the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 14, and the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. It is the scripture that will get you healed. Let's get to the table right now. So let's just remind ourselves, as we're just listening to the music, as we just listen to the rhythm of this music. Will you come to the table?
Speaker 2:But Jairus never prayed for his daughter to be healed. But he got his miracle. Jairus cried out in fear God, jesus, come to my house. The lady with the issue of blood did not go to a prayer meeting. She had no money. She did not put her money in the church envelope and drop it in the offering box. The Bible said she had spent everything. She's gone to every doctor in the land and she did not get healed.
Speaker 2:Come to the table. There's healing at the table. There's freedom at the table. Grab yourself a bit of bread. Grab yourself a bit of grape juice, whatever it is. Come to the table, father yourself a bit of bread. Grab yourself a bit of grape juice, whatever it is.
Speaker 2:Come to the table, father. Will you bless this bread in the name of jesus? Come to jesus, because it's jesus that is your healer. It is not the power of prayer. It is not the prayer that gets you healed. It is not the one that's laying hands on you. Yes, I understand what it says about laying on of hands and prayer in the New Testament. If you're sick, call the elders pray. Yes, I'm not taking anything away from prayer. I would never do that, because life, christianity, is built on prayer and built on scriptures. But what happens in that day when I've got no money and my faith has disappeared out of my boots and I'm in fear and I'm scared and I'm worried and I can't pray and I can't think how to pray. But I just know I've got to get to jesus. Jesus still answers father, bless this bread in the name of j Christ. Lord, pour out your spirit right now, lord, come, Holy Spirit, lord, stir us in the name of Jesus. Thank you for this bread that symbolizes the body of Christ. Amen, come to the table with us. Get to Jesus wherever you are. Let's take it a cup together right now, wherever you are.
Speaker 2:Maybe you've given up with prayer. Maybe you're saying prayer don't work. It's not about the prayer, it's about following Jesus. You know, prayer is beautiful, prayer is powerful, prayer is needed. Prayer is required by scripture. But what happens when I jump out of the boat? Christ saved him and he wasn't in a position of prayer. Christ allowed healing to transfer from him to the lady with the issue of blood.
Speaker 2:Jesus went to Jairus' house and Jesus see that Jairus was really scared and really worried and he was afraid. And Jesus is telling me and you tonight, don't be afraid, you're going to get your miracle even though you ain't been to church. You're going to get your miracle even because you haven't even prayed. Because I won't hold anything back, because I'm going to bless you because you're my son, because you're my daughter. I'm going to bless you because I love you. I'm going to carry you because I love you. I've saved you because I loved you. I went to the cross not because you prayed for me to go to the cross. Father, bless this cup in Jesus' name, amen. You know there is power in the blood of Jesus.
Speaker 2:As we just take a few moments and as we ponder, as we rest in the scripture, and then we think about the power of prayer, the church puts too much pressure on prayer and then it doesn't become a prayer meeting, it becomes a competition who is the loudest, who can say the longest prayer, who can pray in tongues? If I can't pray in tongues, I can't go to the prayer meeting. I'm embarrassed because I can't pray out. So suddenly, what happens? What happens? The prayer meeting becomes a stumbling block. The church can become a stumbling block. Jesus is not waiting for us to pray. Jesus has already got the miracle and the miracle is already happening.
Speaker 2:Prayer is critical. Prayer is really, really important. I'm not taking anything away from prayer. You know that I'm not doing that because I believe in the power of prayer. I've watched, I've seen prayer. I've watched it happen. I understand what the bible says about prayer, but I just want to make us feel comfortable.
Speaker 2:Tonight is when I can't pray, when I'm in a fearful position, when I'm doubtful, when I'm lost and I don't know what to do, because fear is overtaking me at this moment. And I've jumped out of the boat and now I'm walking in faith. And now my next step is going to be a step of fear. You know, conversation and words are prayer. So, wherever you you are, lord, I'm scared. Help me, jesus. It's prayer. Lord, I thank you for my life in the name of Jesus. It's prayer. We haven't got to be in the building. You've got to know that Jesus loves you tonight, wherever you are right now, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, I'm going to pray for every one of us as we come to the close. We've just got a couple of moments.
Speaker 2:So, father, I stand in the gap for every one of us tonight that is feeling wobbly, that is feeling doubtful, that is feeling lost, that is uncertain, that is weary, that is tired, and so tired that we can't even pray. I thank you, lord, for the power of prayer. I thank you, lord, that prayer isn't even required because God, because God has saved us, god knows our heart, god knows the situation, god knows everything about us. So, lord, I pray for all those that are worried about prayer and they feel embarrassed because they can't pray publicly. I thank you that you're not holding anything back from them, brothers and sisters, I thank you, lord, that you love them unconditionally. And, lord, for all the ones like me that are loud and vocal. Lord, help us to be more quiet, help us to realize that it is not the elongated prayer that gets the miracle, it is not the lip service, it is not the loudness of the prayer meeting. It is my heart condition, it is from within. So, lord, I thank you that your promises are yes and amen. And as we duck out of this podcast, as we disappear in just a few moments out of this online service, I pray that, wherever you are tonight across the world, please never, never, ever worry that if you do not join a prayer meeting because God sees your heart. Yes, we've got to encourage one another to pray, but prayer is communicating and words, words is all that's required, so you don't even need to put your hands together. A simple prayer like this.
Speaker 2:Lord, I feel really scared. Will you help me, jesus? Lord, the money's run out and I've spent everything. Lord, I'm cold tonight. Lord. Lord, the money's run out and I've spent everything. Lord, I'm cold tonight. Lord, lord, will you help me? Will you help me, jesus? Lord, I've got no money to fuel the house tonight. Lord, I've got no food in the cupboard. Help me, jesus. Lord, I've got to get to work tomorrow but, lord, I haven't even got a tenner for the diesel. Lord, we need shoes for the children. Lord, we need food. Will you help me? Lord? Thank God that Jesus isn't waiting for us to get into the building. Thank God that Jesus isn't waiting for us to get into that posture of prayer. He just says speak. God bless you wherever you are across the world. We're out of here in the name of Jesus Christ. We are gone right now. In the name of Jesus. We thank you for sharing, we thank you for staying. We thank you for being with every one of us tonight, in the mighty name of Jesus, alex.
Speaker 3:I just put a post up saying why do we say a prayer? We get to know god as we now read the bible and prayer. Reading the bible is how we hear from god, and prayer is now how we speak to him in return. This process of talking to god, listening to his voice and reading his words is how we spent quality time with our heavenly father amen, we're out of here.
Speaker 2:God bless every one of you. You heard our brother there just sharing uh his heart there. So it's important. You know we get in the word, we get in the word. You know there is power in the word of god. We'll see you soon. Take care, god bless. We love you all. Never give up. Jesus is with each and every one of us. We're out of here. We're going to see a man about a dog, god bless.
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 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, thank you.
