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
Apostle Paul's Journey and Today's Church Challenges (#1024 - Elim)
In this powerful episode of Reverend Ben Cooper’s podcast, we dive deep into the faith journey of Apostle Paul, a man who endured relentless storms of life yet found unwavering courage and divine support amidst the chaos. Paul’s trials, from shipwrecks to beatings, mirror the personal struggles many of us face today. As we reflect on his story, we also confront the stark realities of the persecuted church globally, with 365 million Christians displaced due to their faith. This episode invites you to see beyond the physical realm, to discover the hope and faith that God provides to guide us through life’s most challenging storms.
In our exploration, we take a hard look at the spiritual turbulence affecting the modern church. From the seductive allure of the prosperity gospel to the deceptive nature of social media, we see how easily believers can be swayed. This episode serves as a clarion call for the global church to anchor itself firmly in Scripture and the power of prayer, particularly in the practice of the Lord’s Prayer. We highlight the critical role of prayer warriors in the church today and encourage a return to authentic worship, emphasizing that only through genuine prayer and trust in God’s presence can we weather the storms of our faith journey.
As political winds shift in the UK, we draw comparisons to the story of Jonah and the lessons he learned about repentance, obedience, and trusting in God’s will. Just as Jonah was called to speak truth in the midst of corruption, we too must stand firm in our faith, calling for a return to Biblical principles that guide the church and the nation. With the anticipation of Christ’s second coming ever more urgent, we challenge the notion that a church filled with ritual and religious formalities guarantees God's presence. Instead, we advocate for a faith community centered on Jesus Christ, undivided by societal or cultural barriers, as the true place where God's presence dwells.
This episode underscores the importance of focusing on personal faith rather than outward religious appearances. It reminds us that our connection to Christ is not defined by the physical walls of a church building, but by our personal, intimate relationship with Him. We encourage believers to embrace true freedom and hope in Jesus, looking beyond the traditional structures of the church to discover the power of faith that transcends societal norms.
With a firm emphasis on deep Biblical truths and relevant scripture references, such as Philippians 4:13 (“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”) and Romans 8:18 (“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us”), this episode reminds listeners that no matter the storm, God’s promises provide hope and strength.
Whether you're navigating personal struggles or striving to deepen your spiritual journey, this podcast episode calls you to realign with God’s Word and rediscover your faith journey. Join Reverend Ben Cooper in this exploration of divine strength, biblical wisdom, and the pursuit of true freedom in Christ. Through this transformative message, we aim to guide you toward the hope and peace found in the promises of God. Be inspired to stand firm in your faith, trusting in the power of prayer and the authority of God's Word, ering courage.
This episode also extends an invitation to become part of our growing Christian community through the Christian podcast network, where you can engage with believers worldwide and further explore the depths of
https://www.pastorbencooper.co.uk/
Welcome to Reverend Ben Cooper's podcast. We are a radio and podcast ministry based here within the UK. Your support is vital through prayer and through sowing a seed of faith. We are so thankful to have so many people around the globe downloading and listening to our podcasts. 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. 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 morning and welcome to everybody, wherever you are across the world. As we just gather around the word of god, we're going to turn to the book of acts, chapter 27. Acts, chapter 27, verse 13, through to 15. And as we get into the scripture this morning, as we just, you know, trust in god and just to give you a bit more stats, people have been asking um, we thank god for what god is doing. You know where we are, uh, being placed, uh, in the world of streaming and everything that's going on there. So we're in 76 countries at this moment and we're in 1015 cities around the world. So, wherever you are situated around the world, whatever your name is, you know, thank god for the downloads, for the live streams, thank you to everybody in 1015 cities absolutely crazy. And all those nations 76 nations. Thank god that you're there with us. May god bless you and strengthen you in the mighty name of the father, the son, the holy spirit, and, wherever you are, may may the hand of god be with you. Very, very interesting.
Speaker 2:Open doors has just brought out the World Watch List. See if I can just quickly ping this up the World Watch List 25. Very, very interesting. Go on to that if you're following the persecuted church, it's well worth following. It's still sitting at number one in the top 50. You know, just going to read the top 10 out the World Watch List you know, open Doors, go on there you find that the persecuted church around the world 365 displaced uh, million displaced christians globally, 365 million running for their lives. Number one, the worst place in the world if you're a christian, is north korea, somalia, yemen, leban, lebanon uh sorry sudan, eritrea, nigeria, pakistan, lebanon, sudan, eritrea, nigeria, pakistan, iran, afghanistan, india, saudi Arabia is climbing as well, and number 13 is Myanmar. So if you're interested in the world of the persecuted church, we would encourage you to get in there and have a look. Yes, the screens are a little bit blurry today We've got a bit of internet trouble, but the audio is okay. So may God bless you and strengthen you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. We pray that, wherever you are, that the hand of God will strengthen you and carry you.
Speaker 2:For today's title, as we're in the book of Acts, chapter 27, verse 13 through to 15, is that there is an angel standing beside you. There is an angel standing beside you. There is an angel standing beside you, coming from the scripture that we're in really, really interesting, this beautiful story about this great man that was called for a great calling to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. When you look at his life, paul's life, he was shipwrecked, he was broken, he was beaten. But we're in Acts, chapter 27, verse 13.
Speaker 2:And the titles come from verse 27. And I'll read that verse, sorry, verse 23. It says there, last night, an angel of God, who I serve, stood beside me and said don't be afraid, there are angels assigned to your life. You know, when you look at this world in which we live, we looked at the very practicalities of the world. We look at the mechanism of the world. We look at the way the world functions through the physical way. But there is a world out there that is greater than this natural world and that is that spiritual world and there are angels assigned to your life. And it's very interesting, this story. We've podcasted over it, we've we chewed the fat over his text loads and loads of times, we've sermonized in it, we've unpacked it, we've looked at it, we've opened up the, the fabric of this text. I find it absolutely fascinating that God keeps us in the valley. He doesn't extract us from the situation, but he strengthens us through the situation.
Speaker 2:So when you look at this great story, this biblical fact of Paul's journey, this journey that he had to go on to, we're on a journey, our life is a journey and we've got to get to a certain destination and sometimes we don't know what that destination is. The Bible says in the book of Jeremiah For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord plans to give you a hope and a future, not to harm you in any way. But as we read this, let's just read these first few verses. We're just going to read from Acts, chapter 27, verse 13 to 15. And it says when a gentle south wind began to blow. And it says there, they thought they had obtained everything that they wanted. So they weighed anchor and they sailed along the shore of creek verse 14 before long, before long, the wind of hurricane force called the northeaster swept down from the island. The ship was caught in that storm and could not go ahead in the wind. So we gave way to it and we was driven along. When you look at that last part of that text that I've just read out, we was driven along.
Speaker 2:When you look at the world at this moment. As Christians, as Bible-believing believers, we are driven along by the same wind that hits the devil worshippers. We are driven along by the same wind that hits the whole world. So when you look at the political agenda not that we do politics from the pulpit, we don't do that but we have to mention the certain areas of number 10 down in street and everything that goes along with that, because we're referencing what's happening in the end times. It's important that we see what's happened. But when we look at the storm that Paul was caught in, we are caught in a severe storm.
Speaker 2:This nation is like that ship. We are being driven along by really dark political agendas. We are being driven along by certain areas of this nation that we cannot jump out of this ship. We cannot leave this island. We cannot get away from what this government is bringing to the door of many, many people's homes. So what do we do? We've got to hold tight. We've got to trust in the word of God. So we are being driven along by an evil agenda coming out of many areas of life. So we've got to hold on.
Speaker 2:But there is an angel that has been assigned to you, and that angel, through the scripture, through the word of God, is telling you't give up. But our prayer is Lord, will you remove me from the situation? Will you take me out? Lord, will you put me in a greener pasture? Lord, will you do this? Will you do that if you have a bible?
Speaker 2:Turn to Psalm 23, one of the probably the most famous psalms. In the word of God, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters. It's very interesting, the beginning of the psalm the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. We're going to understand that we're not in one. Paul was not in one. He was in a vicious storm 14 days, 14 nights.
Speaker 2:God sent an angel to speak to him and God is telling us this morning through the word of God do not be afraid, because there are storms and there might be just one storm that is pressing the door of your life, or you might have many storms just pressing against every door, every window of your house. You know you've got to hold on, you've got to stand strong, you've got to trust the word of God, you've got to believe. You've got to believe for the miracle that as the waves of life come crashing over the boat, as the waves of adversity, as the pressure of life, the financial pressure, the pressure of family, the pressure of relationships, the pressure of church, the pressure of living, sickness and health and everything that goes along with what's happening in the world, we've got to hold on, because there is a storm and that storm is driving us and we so often try to resist the storm. Sometimes we've got to go with the flow, not that we accept. Now this is really really important, that we don't accept the outside environment, because sometimes we can't do anything with the outside environment. What we've got to do is say God, I understand that there is a storm in this nation and it is raging at this moment in time. The government, life itself. What's happening on the streets of London? What's happening in schools? What's happening in colleges, workplace areas?
Speaker 2:If you are a Christian, there is a storm beating at your house. If you are a Bible-believing believer, if you believe in this word, if you believe in the word of God, there is a storm just coming just because you are a believer. And then when you step outside your house and you go to work, and you work in an ivory tower, or you work in an area where it's just full of HR issues and it's full of tradition and it's full of wherever you go. Wherever you go, if you are a Christian, there will always be a storm against you. There will always be that northeaster blowing against you, and when you're tired and you're weary, you have to just give way to it. Not that we give into it, not that we accept it, but we just say God, at this moment in time, what I'm going to do? Lord, I understand that I've got to go with this flow, but the flow is not going to take me out. This storm is not going to take me out because my God has a greater plan.
Speaker 2:And what does God do through the adversities of life? When you look at storms, you can use the analogy of the valley of the shadow of death. When you look at that great scripture that the Lord is my shepherd, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. But you can be in serious want when you're in a storm. And then the Psalmist goes on. He says the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul, even though I walk through.
Speaker 2:We got to realize that we are on a walkthrough, that we are walking through and the shadow of death cannot get you. If you look at the scripture, the shadow of the shadow has no power. The shadow has no authority. All authority sits within you. Why does it sit within you? Because the king sits within, within you. It's not through our own autonomy, our own strength and our own skill set and our own capabilities. It is through the power of the living word of God. And we got to realize that there is greatness, there is power, there is anointing living within you.
Speaker 2:But if you've got a storm breaking out, sometimes we've just got to let the storm carry us along, because what the enemy meant for harm, god will turn for good. See, when you look at the beginning of this journey of Paul, he told them don't go this way, don't go that way. If we go that way and this government have been told many, many times, don't take this nation this way what way they're taking us to different agendas around the world that it came away from the Word of God, when we came away from the Word of God, when the government came away from Scripture when the government came away from faith, when the government came away from the Bible because it used to be in that Many, many years ago. This government that we got now is completely antichrist. But there was a time when, when the government looked at the word to lead this nation, as soon as you come away from instruction, and Paul said if you don't listen to me, we are going to hit some things on the journey of life. And this is what's happened. We've hit some things, not because of our fault, but because the leaders that have gone before.
Speaker 2:Even in the church itself, even in pulpit pits itself, even in the area of church, we have been driven by a storm that we should never have got caught in. The weak, woke, gender issue another area. And then we've had many, many storms blowing the door of the church, the prosperity gospel, the fake name it and claim it, the storms that have that have driven us through through life itself. But God is with you in the storm, god is with you in your situation. As you look at that. It says there before very long, a wind of hurricane force. I actually believe there is a wind against this nation at such a severity it is almost knocking us over. It is pushing us so hard. There is a wind against the door of life and it is driving everything to your house. It is driving you back. It can almost drive you back from Jesus, but it can't drive you back from Jesus. But it can't drive you back from Jesus because you're grafted in. But what it does, it drives our mind.
Speaker 2:See, the devil is extremely clever, the way that he works things through politics, through life, through finances, through materialism, through social media. You know, if you look at social media, you look what China owns TikTok. When you look at that, every social media platform is the devil's literature. Every platform that is out there that we scroll on and we live and we focus our lives on, every time we go on that, you're going on the devil's playground. Social media is the devil's playground. Tiktok is owned by one of the most dangerous governments in the world. We look at the world watch list. You look at all that stuff. Social media is such a dark place. But the Bible says the devil prowls around like an angel of light. So he tries to make the dark things look bright and beautiful, but he can't do that. So every social media yes, it has its good points. It has areas where certain things are great and wonderful, but the majority of that area is the devil's playground.
Speaker 2:So why, as a Christian, why did I dabble in the devil's playground when I've got clear instruction, clear instruction, and God has told us through the scripture, he told Paul, tell those sailors, tell those that know how to lead that ship, don't go that way. We have been told time and time and time again through the word of God, through pastors, pastors don't go that way. But suddenly it's been knocked out. And even now, when you look, many people that are in pulpits this morning are leading us in the wrong direction, leading us in the wrong way, because come away from instruction, come away from what God's teaching is, come away. And when you come away from instruction, come away from what God's teaching is, come away.
Speaker 2:And when you come away from God's word, when the storm comes at you, when the storm comes at you and you're tired and you're weary, see, it is the word of God that increases faith. It is the word of God. The just shall live by faith. It's mentioned three times in the word of God. Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word of God. Faith will only increase, not through worship, not through prayer, but through the Word. Faith rises when you're in the Word, so when you get in the Word and then you get in prayer and you get in worship.
Speaker 2:If you are looking for a prayer that is dynamite that will blow the devil to pieces, is the Lord's prayer. If you are struggling to pray because not only are you reading the word but you're praying through the word, the only prayer that we need in our lives is the prayer that Jesus Christ gave us in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 6. If you're praying that prayer and you're reading Matthew, chapter 6 and you're reading that prayer the Lord's prayer, our Father, if you pray that and you believe that and you get that in your spirit, even if you can't pray, you're worn out, you're tired, the Lord's prayer. It's the only prayer that the God of Israel, through Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, has given all humanity. It is just a few verses, it can be said in minutes, but the power and the authority through that prayer is just beyond human understanding. If you are tired and weary, if you are exhausted and you've got the storms of life, I would encourage you just to pray.
Speaker 2:You know that prayer in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, the Lord's prayer, our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom, come thy will be done. When you pray that prayer, thy kingdom, come Thy will be done. When you pray that prayer, you're stirring the word of God, you're stirring scripture. God has to answer, because the Bible says whatever God says has got to come forth. Because the Bible says his word cannot return void. So if I'm praying and speaking his word, his word cannot come back to me empty. He's got to deliver. He's got to deliver. So when you pray, you know this church is built on prayer. Thank God to the prayer warriors, thank God for our brother that leads the prayer in his church, thank God for the prayer warriors and the prayer meetings and everything that goes on through prayer, because prayer is powerful and I'm not taking anything away from prayer.
Speaker 2:But when you pray with the scripture, when you pray with the word, suddenly something happens. Because this is what happens You're speaking the word, so you're praying the word. God has to deliver. So when you read the word, what happens? Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of God. So when you speak the word, you are hearing. When you hear the prayer of our father, when you pray that prayer, suddenly you're hearing it. God's word is coming alive.
Speaker 2:When you pray that scripture, god has to move. And as you pray it, suddenly something else happens. You start to enter into worship. It says my people will worship in spirit and in truth, because when you're in the word, you're in spirit. When you're in the word, you're in truth. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.
Speaker 2:So when you look at Paul and the prayer for every one of us, the prayer for every one of us is when the storm's beating us, lord, remove the storm. But when you look at these biblical texts, what you find is God strengthens the believer, the disciple, the human being in the storm of life. So, whatever storm you got beating against the boat, and the scripture says that the waves were so strong it was pounding the vessel and it was starting to break the vessel down. Let me tell you, the waves that this government have created, the waves that the church has created over the years by coming away from instruction, are starting to break down the government and are starting to break down the church. We are watching the church running for the hills. We are watching the church disappearing off the face of the UK because it's come away from instruction. But what we have? We have men and women and children, boys and girls, young adults, whatever we call ourselves hungry for truth.
Speaker 2:Because church, the vessel is being broken down, the doors are open and everything is going on in the marketplaces happening within the church and the majority of them. Everything is going on. But when you look at the scripture Solomon's, when you look at that beautiful temple that God told them to create and God dwelt, he lived. His presence was in that place. But as soon as the doors opened and the Jewish leaders came in and they got in the corners and they brought their own plans. The Bible said that God's presence left his house. So you can have people in the Lord's house.
Speaker 2:But it doesn't mean to say Jesus is there, you can have activity and you can have religious stuff going on. It doesn't mean to say that the God of Israel is going on. It's very clear that God is a jealous God and the second coming of Jesus is just around the corner. He's coming back. The King is coming back. Jesus Christ is coming and he's not coming back for the building. He's not coming back for healing. He's not coming back for what we call religion. He's not coming back for the fine art that is dripping all the way through. He's not coming for the money that the church of england have got, cafolisum have got. He's not coming back for anything like that. He's coming back for you. He's coming back for the individual, the one that is tired, the one is like paul at this moment in time, that is living a life and everything is breaking out.
Speaker 2:Because this is what the scripture says in the last days. The book of joel and the book of acts tells us in the last days, I'll pour out my spirit on all acts 2, joel, chapter 2. You can find that and have a look to see what it says. But amongst that, what is going to happen? As there's an outpouring of the spirit, the waves of adversity will get stronger, because it says in the last days, there'll be wars, rumors of wars, there'll be famines, there'll be desolation, there'll be plagues. Covid19 was a man-made plague. When you look at what's happening through the health authority at this moment, when you see what is going on through sickness and disease, when you see everything that is happening. We have got diseases like we never thought we'd have in the UK. Things are happening, we're getting unwell very, very quick and one after the other there's something happening in the atmosphere of life. But the Bible says get ready For the second coming of Christ. There has to be these scriptures to be fulfilled.
Speaker 2:And if you was to look in the book of Exodus, when you look about the plagues, the plague of darkness, the plague of darkness was so powerful and God says Moses, stretch out your staff. And he stretches out his staff towards the sun and to the heavens above. And when he stretched out his staff, darkness fell across Egypt. Egypt is a very dangerous place. Egypt is a very satanic place. Egypt is mentioned more times than you can count in the scripture and darkness fell over Egypt, the plague of darkness. But what the scripture says? Everyone that lived in that nation? It was so dark you could not see in front of your hand. But the Israelites had light, Very, very interesting. God dropped darkness on Egypt. There is darkness across this world. This UK that we live in, the British, whatever it's called it, has never been so dark. But there is a light that is brighter than any darkness and his name is Jesus. He is the light of the world, but there are storms breaking out on the vessel of life.
Speaker 2:If you look at the analogy of the scripture that we're in, it says they was fearful that they wasn't going to make it. Are you fearful that we ain't going to make it? Are you fearful of all this world religions overtaking? And all we're hearing is the numerics. Islam is increasing. It's increasing. The only reason it's increasing is because as soon as a child is born, straight away they're in Islam, but it's not when you're a Christian, because God calls you. It is something completely different. Islam is measured by the measure of. It is statistically measured. It is not a faith, it is an ideology.
Speaker 2:When you look at Buddha and everything that runs along with that, when you look at Hinduism, if you was a Christian now in Pakistan, in certain areas of Pakistan, you would be in serious trouble if you was carrying a Bible down the street. If you was in Iran, if you was in Afghanistan. Somalia, sitting at number two Somalia is such a dangerous place to be as a Christian. When you look around the world, it is only Christians that are coming under threat. When you look at what is happening, the persecution of Christians. But Jesus says as they persecuted me, so will they persecute you. But there is a light in the storm. There is a light in the storm and his name is Jesus and he is the savior of the world and he is the king of kings and the Lord of lords. The waves may be crashing, life might be crumbling, church might be fading, but Jesus is building his kingdom. Jesus is building his church. Jesus is building this end time harvest. God is moving powerfully in your life. God is healing you. God is setting you free. God is calling you not to church, he's calling you to him.
Speaker 2:We have never seen a cross migration of denominations that we've never seen before. People are crisscrossing churches. Not only have we got a crisscross of human beings around the world, but we've got it in churches as well, where we're looking for truth. We are hungry, we're looking for freedom. Are you looking for freedom right now, in the name of Jesus? Are you looking for hope right now, in the name of Jesus? Have you come to the end of the tarmac and it looks like the road has run out and you're sailing in this vessel and 14 days and 14 nights it was dark, it was bleak.
Speaker 2:They was throwing everything out of the pram. They was chucking everything over the edge. We've got to get rid pram. They was chucking everything over the edge. We've got to get rid of it. They was chucking it over the vessel trying to lighten the load. And that's what we do we try to chuck stuff out to lighten the load. The only way we can lighten the load is come to the cross and say Father, I'm in a storm at the moment and I'm being driven along by someone else driving this vessel, even though that we're in the UK. We have no control over this political weak agenda that is going on.
Speaker 2:But what you have within you is the power of the Holy Spirit the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and through the power of prayer, through the power of the scripture, through the power of hope, through the power of what God has for you, step out from the crowd. Don't be driven by the storm and the wave of the crowd. Don't get caught in by what the crowd is saying. Follow Jesus Christ. Stand alone in the face of adversity, stand alone in the storm of adversity. Stand up for Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is coming. He is the coming King.
Speaker 2:The second coming of Jesus is right before our very eyes. You've only got to look at America. You've only got to look at the other areas, the other states. You've only got to look at the book of Daniel. The prophecies are loud and clear before our very eyes. Do you need healing this morning? Believe. Do you need a miracle this morning? Believe, even when the storm is telling you you'll never be healed. Even when the storm is telling you you'll never have no money, you'll never have a job, you're never going to move forward. You'll never, never, never move forward. You'll never, never, never.
Speaker 2:Don't listen to the storm of the world. Don't listen to the world. Trust God. What is God saying to you? What is the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit saying to your heart? And so often, what we find?
Speaker 2:Sometimes, when we hit these storms, we get so far carried away downstream and across the lake of life. It is so vicious. We lose ourselves in the storm. We lose our understanding of life. Our minds become really complicated. We overthink, we overanalyze we, we over prepare, we, we put too many butts in our lives and ifs and maybes and what abouts and possibilities. We put so much in our lives and ifs and maybes and whatabouts and possibles. We put so much in our lives and we put this block on ourselves when God is saying do you want the chains to come off? Do you want the chains of fear to come off? If you want that, ben, you've got to jump outside of the boat and you've got to start to believe that you can walk on water. You've got to believe that God is calling you. God is calling you, god is calling you. God is calling you to salvation, god is calling you to healing.
Speaker 2:And in these scriptures that we're in, in verse 23 it says Paul said last night, an angel of the God that I am look what it says, quote in the old scripture there when it says last night, the angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said don't be afraid. Tell yourself about Psalm 91. Remind yourself of Psalm 91, for he will command his angels concerning you to lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against the rock. Tell yourselves that there are angels assigned to your life. Tell yourself that this sickness will not do a Lazarus on me, that I'm coming out of this grave and these grave clothes are coming off and I believe in miracles because my God has called me, my God has chosen me, and just because the storm is so vicious, I am not going to drown in this storm. I am not going to allow this storm to cover me. I'm not going to allow this vessel.
Speaker 2:The UK is breaking down around our feet. Society is breaking down, church is breaking down. You can see through everything society, culture, life, every culture is breaking down. You can see through everything. Society, culture, life, every culture is breaking down because the waves are coming against your culture, my culture, your life, our lives. The storm has been brewing for so many years and it's the storm of end times. God is in full charge of every storm.
Speaker 2:If you have a bible, turn to the book of Jonah and look what it says. In Jonah, chapter one, round about verse four and God brought a storm. And God brought a storm to his life. God brought a storm to his life. Why did God bring a storm to Jonah's life? Because he was running.
Speaker 2:When the UK keeps running from God and I'm talking about the engine of the UK when the UK as a nation, politically, when this nation keeps running from God, and what do you mean it's running from God. How is it running from God? Because it's taking the teachings out of schools. It's ridiculing us if we're Christians. It's allowing things to happen that are against the word of God.
Speaker 2:So the weight sits at number 10, downing street. That is the one that is leading the nation. Whoever it is, wherever time they're in, those leaders are leading us away from Jesus. It's fact, it's clear, it's true. And not only are the leaders leading us and the nation, they're leading the church, because many of the policies that come out of the political arena, everything that comes out, is embedded into certain areas of religion. Because the church of of england is own, controlled, measured by government bodies. It has no freedom. It has no freedom. So number 10 is is steering this ship and all the time this ship is being steered away from the gospels and from Jesus. God is a jealous God and he won't bring revival to the nation. He'll bring judgment and when he brings judgment, he'll bring a storm. So that's what we're experiencing. The leaders are driving this vessel away from Jesus and God will break this vessel down to get our attention. God will break parliament down, god will break the monarchy down. God will break anything down and anyone down if they are taking his children away from him.
Speaker 2:Jonah is the classic in the scripture I ain't delivering, I ain't doing and I ain't going where you want me to go. I'm off and see you later. God went, you're all right, but I'm going to follow you. God is following the UK. And you watch society. You look at society. Anything is permissible in this nation. You can cross dress, you can cross genders, you can do whatever you want. You can trample on people. You can. You can hurt, you can inflict pain. The government is swerving all that stuff that I mentioned earlier. It doesn't know how to address that Islamic situation that we spoke about earlier. It's scared of it. So what we have? We have so much uncertainty.
Speaker 2:This nation is being broken down second by second, moment by moment, just like this vessel that they were sailing on. Just like this vessel, the storm was beating against the boat and God in the book of Jonah brought a storm to his life. He brought a storm to him to get his attention. God is getting the attention of people in the UK. People are starting to have their eyes open. I'll get to church, but when we realise we get to church, church isn't really cutting it anymore. So what's after church? Because church has always been so. There has to be more than this church. And there is, and his name is Jesus. Because church is being broken down and there is, and his name is Jesus. Because church is being broken down.
Speaker 2:The leaders within most denominations have taken us away from the cross of Calvary. They have brought in different teachings, wrong teachings. They have been bringing so much stuff in for years and years and years. We're coming to the table in a minute, we're going to finish this service and when? When you look at what, what is happening in this nation? So you got the government taking us away. Religion and church has taken us away and brought celebrity church, which isn't scripture, bought cultural church, what isn't, which isn't scripture, and it's brought weak, woke church, which isn't scripture. So when you look at the church, it is extremely weak and it is being broken down. And God is breaking the church down because that's what the Bible says in the last days there'll be a great falling away, but what's going to happen? God is raising a remnant out of the shipwreck of the UK, out of the shipwreck of church, out of the shipwreck. There are going to be survivors because the churches are being broken down, religion is being broken down, government is being broken down. Look at the strain that is on the leader at number 10. He has changed as soon as he jumped into the bed at number 10, he changed the next morning the strain and the weight and the carry because it is so steeped in satanic activity.
Speaker 2:This nation worships foreign gods. It worships foreign gods. Look at Bluewater. Look at the shape of that temple over there. Look at it from above. It is a temple to money. It is a temple to foreign gods. Social media, the devil's playground. Gods, social media, the devil's playgrounds. But we will spend hours in the devil's territory and we wonder why, god, why haven't you answered my prayer? Because, ben, you spent half your life on social media. Don't dabble with the devil's literature. When you speak the word of God and you get in the word of God, it changes everything. Are we going to survive the shipwreck of church? Are we going to survive the shipwreck of the political agenda? We will.
Speaker 2:If you're born again. If you're John 3.3, your name's stamped in the book. John 3.3, the greatest sermon the world has ever heard. The greatest sermon the world has ever heard you must be born again. He doesn't talk about church, he doesn't talk about religion, he doesn't talk about Elim, he doesn't talk about the fabric and the mechanisms of church. He just says you've got to be born again. Nicodemus, that is so beautiful that the greatest preacher, jesus Christ, the greatest teacher, jesus Christ, the greatest man that ever walked this earth, said you must born again.
Speaker 2:And we know what the bible says you've got to be born from above, because it comes down from heaven and it rests on you. You are born again because he chose you. You are here because he chose you. You are free because he chose you. You cannot wrestle salvation. You can not go to church. That's simple. Don't go to church. But what we don't realize is that you can't stop Jesus getting to you, because Jesus will get you on the other side of the world. You can do a Jonah, you can run, so you can say I ain't going to church anymore, I'm not bothered with church. It's boring, and I completely agree with you.
Speaker 2:The church in the UK is finished. We've got showmanship Sunday mornings in the larger church, all the razzmatazz and all this and all that going off smoke machines, this dark rooms, great big screen. We've got all this showmanship Sunday mornings. But I want more than that. I want Jesus Go to the larger churches. It's all cracking off croissants, lattes, everything's happening in the church, calf and all that. Join this network group.
Speaker 2:If you're in a church that talks about a network group, that's business, because the word network comes from business terminology. The Bible says go and make disciples. It says don't say go and network with one another. But many churches network. I'll give you my business card I'm networking, I'm crossing. What a load of baloney is that Churches talk about network. Let's have this group and we're going to network this afternoon. It's the business terminology. Jesus doesn't use that terminology.
Speaker 2:If a church that you're in is talking about networking, get out. There's no place for you to be. You want to be in a church that is in prayer, that is fierce, that is pressing forward. It's not about the numbers. Numbers are irrelevant. It's about Jesus. Church is dumb. Church is literally dumb Networking. Church is literally dumb Networking. Honestly, if you hear that type of language, that's business and you will find the larger the church, the more they talk about network. Because network creates revenue, revenue gives pastor a beautiful wage. Networking is business. Beautiful wage, networking is business.
Speaker 2:I'm being absolutely so serious about the terminologies that are reflected in the business world, that are mirror imaged in churches, because they're organizations, organizations, father, we thank you. Father, we thank you for the bread. And when Jesus sat around the passover table, he didn't say we're going to network together. Go out and network. What was the great commission? What was the great commission going to all the world? Spread the news of j Christ seriously, networking is business. Business sits outside church Because if you're networking, you're going by your own skill set, you're going by your academic level, you're going by business acumen, because networking is business, by your academic level.
Speaker 2:You're going by business acumen because networking is business. But when you're in church, you've got to go by faith, I've got to go by faith. So, father, we come to you by faith right now. In the name of Jesus, lord, I ask you that you will remove certain terminologies from our speech. Networking, lord. Please remove that, because we want to speak by faith. When you're networking, you're growing your own profile. When you're networking, you're growing your own social media account. When you're networking, you're looking for a dollar at the end of it. When you're networking, it's something for you at the end of the networking.
Speaker 2:Lord, I want to live my life by faith and as we come to the table right now, I thank you, father, that as I break bread, I want to live by faith, not by the business card. I want to live by the scripture. I want to live radically for Jesus, lord. I want to live, lord and people knowing that I am a Christian, a Bible-believing believer. That hasn't got anything right, but he's got one thing right he believes in Jesus. That's all I want to be known for. He's a Jesus follower, he follows Jesus. He tries so hard to follow Jesus. So, father, bless this bread as we break it together, as brothers and sisters in the kingdom, not in a network group, not in a cultural church, not in a coloured church, not in a network group, not in a cultural church, not in a colored church, not in a class church, not in a celebrity church. But I want to sit around the table and just when all hope, and I want to feel the presence of jesus. Bless this bread in Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 2:The church in the UK has been networking for too many years. Too many business cards have been passed around, too many. Come to my club and I'll come to your club. Give me this and I'll give you that that's business and it needs to be left outside of church. When we come into church, we come in faith.
Speaker 2:The Bible says the just shall live by networking. No, it doesn't. The just shall live by faith, by absolute faith, raw faith, by absolute faith, raw faith, radical faith, faith that will take you and see the impossible be impossible. Faith that will take you to the Goliath. And you've got no armory and you've got no business cards left and you've got nothing else to do. And you have to stand there and go God, and you look at Goliath and you look at these walls that are so tall, so high. You can't get under it, you can't get around it. But God is telling you I'm going to drop that. And you've got to stand in the face of adversity and look at the wall of Jericho and hear God say in your spirit I'm going to drop that, I'm going to take you in. So, father, I pray that you will take us in.
Speaker 2:In the name of Jesus, holy Spirit, I ask you that you will build this church on the word of God. I ask you, lord, that you will build this church on the word. And whoever is the next leader in after me, lord, the next pastor that's coming in. I pray, lord, that he will be a radical Bible-believing believer and he will stand on the word of Jesus Christ. So, lord, I pray that you will build this church on the scripture. I pray that you will build this church on prayer, on word and on worship, not on healing, not on the leadership. Lord, that we will not build. Lord, we will not be worried about what other churches are doing. We're not networking. Lord. I pray, in the name of Jesus, that this church will be found in the Scripture, that this church will be found being built off the rock that all of our lives are built off of. Jesus. Cleanse us from the crown of our head For the soul of our feet in Jesus name. Amen.
Speaker 2:Sisters and brothers, jesus Christ is coming back. Jesus Christ is coming back, the second coming of Jesus. He is coming back for the Bible believing believer. He's not coming back for religion. He's not coming back for the denominations. Wouldn't it be interesting to think that when Jesus Christ takes us from this earth, this church will stay here? All this will be the same when he comes back? He's coming back for the born again. He's coming back for the radical. He's coming back for the one that steps outside of the crowd, even when their body's in pain, even when their mind is all over the place, even when I've got no money, lord, I believe that there is breakthrough. I believe that there is breakthrough. I believe in the name of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:God, build this church.
Speaker 2:Build this church, god.
Speaker 2:God doesn't need me, god doesn't require me.
Speaker 2:God is building his church.
Speaker 2:Build your kingdom in the name of Jesus, father.
Speaker 2:We thank you for this morning.
Speaker 2:We pray, lord, for the power of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 2:Lord, as you build your church.
Speaker 2:Build this church, lord.
Speaker 2:Build this church, father, on the foundation of Scripture.
Speaker 2:Build this church on prayer. Build this church on worship. Build this church, father, god, on you alone and you only, not on any man, not on any human being. Do not, father? Come on Jesus. Build your kingdom here, lord. Build your kingdom across this nation. Build your kingdom in every church. Build your kingdom in every denomination. Lord, let your kingdom come in power. Lord, shake the roof of this church, shake the foundations of this church. Shake this of this church. Shake this church, lord. Come on, god.
Speaker 2:We thank you, lord, for the online church. We thank you for the sisters and brothers scattered across the world. In the name of Jesus, bless that. We thank you, Lord, that we don't need to be in the building. We just got to make sure that we're in the Lamb's book of life. Bless us all. We pray. Strengthen us, lord, for the days that lie ahead, for the storms, father, that are around us, keep us strong. But, lord, we thank you that there is an angel that stood beside me in the face of adversity when everybody else left me. When everybody else left me hung. Everybody else left me hung, dried and quartered. God sent, because that's what happens, god sends. Bless everybody here today, all those are away, all those that are not well lord, all those, everybody online today.
Speaker 1:Strengthen us, lord by the power of the word of god In Jesus' name, amen, 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.
