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
Perfect Love Conquers Fear (#1036 - Elim)
https://www.pastorbencooper.co.uk/Have you ever felt like you don’t quite belong? That discomfort isn’t accidental—it’s meaningful. In this powerful episode, Pastor Ben Cooper unpacks the life-changing truth from 1 John 4:18: “Perfect love drives out fear.” This message offers listeners the opportunity to find freedom from fear, anxiety, and insecurity. As we explore God’s transformative love, we will learn how it can overcome our fears and reveal our true identity in Christ. This episode is especially relevant for believers around the world navigating a fast-paced, pressure-filled world.
Key Discussion Points:
- Fear and the Christian Experience—A Universal Struggle:
One common misconception in the Christian community is that believers should never experience fear. Yet, even Jesus faced moments of intense fear, particularly in Matthew 26:38-39, when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” Jesus’ vulnerability in moments of distress shows that fear is a natural part of the human experience. Pastor Ben reassures us that experiencing fear doesn’t mean a lack of faith. Instead, it’s an opportunity to experience God’s perfect love, which is the antidote to fear. - The Lifelong Journey Toward Perfect Love:
Pastor Ben emphasizes that experiencing God’s perfect love is not instantaneous but a lifelong journey. As we grow in our relationship with Christ, His love gradually transforms us from the inside out. The more we surrender our hearts to Him, the more fear and anxiety are replaced with peace. This message is essential for Christians around the world who are seeking spiritual growth and transformation. God's perfect love is a gift, and embracing it over time helps us break free from fear’s grip. - Breaking Free from the World’s Labels and Expectations:
Society’s labels—whether tied to success, appearance, or social status—often dictate our sense of worth. Pastor Ben challenges us to reject these pressures, citing Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” In a world constantly defining who we should be, the discomfort we feel when we don’t fit in is a sign that we are meant to be shaped by God’s love, not worldly standards. As Christians, we find our identity not in labels, but in Christ, who calls us His children. - Discovering Your True Identity in Christ:
Pastor Ben urges us to find our true identity in Christ, rather than in the fleeting labels society places on us. While the world tells us who we should be, God has already defined us as His beloved children. Embracing our identity in Christ frees us from fear and empowers us to live out our purpose. This truth resonates globally, as people from diverse backgrounds face societal expectations that often conflict with their God-given identity. - Living in Peace in a Fear-Filled World:
Pastor Ben reminds us that God’s perfect love offers a peace that transcends understanding, especially in a world marked by fear and uncertainty. Philippians 4:7 speaks of this peace, saying, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” This peace is available to all believers, regardless of life’s challenges. Embracing God’s peace means walking confidently in His love. As we live in peace, we become a testi
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Speaker 1:Your financial gifts play a crucial role in supporting our radio ministry, helping us share the gospel through these podcasts and providing free copies of the Gospel of John and Bibles around the globe. Please pray for this ministry as we stretch out beyond the boundaries, as we walk by faith. If you'd like to support our mission, please consider clicking the support button on Spotify, apple Podcasts. Thank you, £10. You can also leave a legacy by clicking in the links within pastorbencoopercouk. Thank you for partnering with us in this ministry as we spread the message of hope far and wide through this radio ministry. So, whether you are on the daily commute or at home listening to our podcast, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, enjoy, yeah good morning, good morning, good morning wherever you are.
Speaker 2:You can see I'm on my own today. Someone is having a driving lesson. Won't say that it's don't well to let know who's having a driving lesson today. And we got one that's not well and we got one that is away. So it's just me. I'm afraid, wherever you are across the world, it is just me today. It is me myself and and there are another three in the room Father, son, holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, but God bless you wherever you are across the world. We thank you so much for joining us, for downloading the podcast, for those that are on RB Christian Radio, for those that are watching on this live stream, whether you're at work, whether you're at home, wherever you are at this moment in time, the internet is holding out, but God bless every one of you.
Speaker 2:Let's get straight into the message this morning. And we are going into, uh, john, and we're going into one john. We're going into one john, chapter four, one john, chapter four, not john, chapter four. But we're going to go to john. We're going to go a little john. He's only a little tiny little john. So we're going to 1 John, chapter 4, verse 18.
Speaker 2:You know, love is so powerful, isn't it? The love of God, the love of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. And I pray that wherever you are at this moment in time, because this scripture is a beautiful scripture in the way it just tells us about the love of Jesus, the love of the Word of God, the love of the Holy Spirit, the love of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and we want to let you know, wherever you are at this moment in time, that perfect love drives out all fear. So, if you are with me, wherever you are scattered across the world, we thank you so much for your support. We thank you for those that are downloading all this stuff, wherever you're listening to it, whatever servers you're on as we're connecting this morning. May God bless the world, wherever you are scattered across this world today. May the Holy Spirit lead you, may the word of God guide you. May our God, the God of Israel, just strengthen you today.
Speaker 2:Are you fearful? Are you worried? Are you doubtful? You know it's a big word at this moment. It's been around for many, many, many years, from day dot. It's nothing new, the word fear. It has been around for such a long time. But we need to just keep speaking about it, not to be embarrassed about it.
Speaker 2:The disciples were fearful, and even the savior of the world, in the garden of Gethsemane, hit extreme points of extremity of fear. Fear, you know, is a very powerful emotion. We understand it. We understand that well, we don't to a certain degree. But you know, what we've got to make sure is that we get ourselves in the Word of God and what we can't allow ourselves to do is to be ostracized by the process of the fear that is around our lives. We might be having social anxiety, we might not be able to leave the house, we might not be able to go to work. We might be having, uh, social anxiety. We might not be able to leave the house, we might not be able to go to work, we might be fearful of living, fearful of dying. We might be fearful in many ways.
Speaker 2:But what I love about the scripture, you know, the scripture deals with fear and the root to deal with fear. What is the key? It is the word of god. We thank god for the doctors, the nurses, the pharmaceuticals. We thank god for all the processing and everything that goes along with that and the systems that are out there to deal with that. But you know what? The real key, the real root, the real area of it is simply the word of God. It is the scripture. It is the word of God that really, really will help us in our lives. It is the word.
Speaker 2:So, if you are with me at this moment, whether you're on radio, whether you're on visuals and good morning to everybody on podcasts wherever you are at this moment, I want to let you know that I have days, some days where I hit high points of fear and doubt and worry and and this we need to be honest and we need to be factual we we can't allow, uh, the system of the world to to get us to hibernate, that when we go to church and we live life, that we've always got to be jolly, because you can't always be jolly, you can't always be cheerful there, because the the situation of the world when, even when you look at where we live, we're living and we're getting prepared for eschatology, the rapture of the church, jesus christ is the coming king. He's coming back. Jesus Christ is coming back. And whether you are at work today, whether you're at home today, whether you're just pottering about whether you've got the lawnmower out, the sun has come out across the studio windows, you know whatever you may be doing, whether you're shopping, whether you're hoovering, whether you're working you know whatever you are doing, whether you're just indoors or maybe you're having a cup of tea and a coffee at this moment in time and you are really scared. It's okay. It's okay to be scared.
Speaker 2:Jesus was scared. Jesus hit points in his life, and Mary Joseph as well. So you take that. You take the son. I'm referring to him as Jesus, as the son now, the son of not just the living God, but the son of Joseph and the son of Mary. Jesus had times in his life.
Speaker 2:The Bible gives us clear documentation, gives us clear reference point, very, very clear that Jesus hit points of fear. We hear and we read that Mary hit points of fear and Joseph hit points of fear. You know, when you read the majority of the characters in the Bible, you will find that the majority of them hit days and moments of fear. So what we've got to allow ourselves to do is to pause a moment and say, actually, there's nothing wrong with me. There's nothing wrong because we get labeled. You know, we get labeled.
Speaker 2:It wasn't like in Jesus' day, when you got all the labels under the sun coming out and and it's so quick to label someone at this moment in time what? What we have to do is label ourselves right now. We're christians, we're bible believing believers. Even if you've woken up this morning, and you've woke up and you've been drenched in sweat and fear. If you're at work and you're scared of life, do not allow the label, the clinical label that you have been given, to dictate to you. Realize who you are in Christ. I thank God for the world of the clinics. I thank God for the world of all the stuff that goes on in medicine. Thank God for science. I thank God for all that. But what I'm saying is is don't allow the label to define you, don't allow the label to control you. Now that goes across every area of life. That goes across every platform of every situation. Not just fear cultural labels, age labels, retirement labels, church labels, denominational labels, places where we live. We are labeled wherever we are. As soon as we're birthed, we've got a postcode. As soon as we're birthed as well, you've got a geographical number on your back. As soon as you're birthed, you've got that number, that national health number. So we've got to be careful of labels, because labels come from the world and God knows you and I want to tell you now through this scripture. Now let's go to 1 John. As I said earlier, we're in 1 John, chapter 4.
Speaker 2:If you have a Bible, grab yourself a Bible. If you cannot get a Bible and you need a Bible, please hit us up on the socials, find us on the social networks. You can find us, you know. Check us out on RB Christian Radio. Look out for Elim Church. You know. Check us out on rb christian radio. Look out for elim church. You know, just type in pastor ben, all that sort of stuff. You will eventually find us. We are easy to find. We are not hidden away in the ball rushes. We are not like moses, we are out there. So if you need a bible, if you need a little gospel of john, you know, if you need a gospel of john, we will get you a gospel of john as well. If you need a bible.
Speaker 2:But, brothers and sisters, wherever you are and there's so many watching and listening wherever you are at this moment in time please, the greatest gift that any one of us will give out is a bible, is a word of god, give a word of god out wherever you are today. But if you're at work and you're listening on your headset, if you're listening through your earbuds and whatever you're listening through, you're able to just to grab a break. I really do appreciate. And everybody here that ministers through the studio and everyone in this church and everyone in this ministry and everyone in the congregation, you know, and uh, that's what you don't see online. We thank god for everybody that's in this house. You know all the way through, for the volunteers, everything, every activity, everything that goes on. We want to say thank you because we all belong together, just because we're on the other side of the lens or you're hearing us on the other side of the world, and welcome to those that are joining us on the other side of the world.
Speaker 2:You know we gotta. We gotta stand up for jesus. Now is the time to stand up for christ. Christ is coming. He is the redeeming king. As I always say, it's not that we shouldn't be getting ready for christmas. We should be getting ready not for the birth of jesus, but the second coming now. Fear now. What we've got to understand is in the last days there will be terrible times. So in the last days and with the great falling away of the church and the church is falling away what we've got to look at is what will happen.
Speaker 2:As I look at the church and as I look at ministry and as I look at the scene of religion around, look at ministry and as I look at the scene of religion around the UK and just the just the brushstroke of church, I will find that it is declining, but not the kingdom of God. So as I look, I could get fearful in the decline of the church and everything that goes on. And the churches are being sold off and they're becoming this and they're becoming that they're turned into flats, they're turned into houses, they're turned into, uh, mosques and all sorts of things like that. You know. But what I cannot allow is what I perceive and what I see to uh to affect me, because what I see and what I perceive, and when I use perception, what it does, it controls me. I've got to go by faith. You know we're so open here in this ministry and fear is obviously the opposite of faith. So, wherever you are at this moment in time, put it up, be bold, put it up on the socials. Put it up on these live streams, put it up there. Just say look, brothers and sisters, I have days where I'm fearful. Because I have days where I'm fearful, I have days where I get really scared. You know certain historical events. You know it still tries to control me and I have to really dig deep in my faith.
Speaker 2:So the scripture that we're in this morning is coming from 1 John, 1 John, chapter 4 verse, verse 18. There is no fear in love, but love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment for there. Who fears is not made perfect in love. Now we've got to be careful here, because when I read that I could look at that text and go hang on a minute. I'm fearful and I'm in fear. And the bible says there is no fear in love. So maybe I'm not born again. Don't go down that rabbit hole of that thinking. What it is saying is there is no fear in love.
Speaker 2:Jesus, when we keep getting to jesus, worship through prayer, through listening, through reading Jesus, jesus is the chain breaker. God will break every chain. But what we're going to understand is that we are made up of natural beings. We are human beings. We are human beings having a spiritual experience. We are experiencing the supernatural in this earth suit that we walk Now. We was created just like Christ. We was brought into the world just like Jesus. We was brought into the world like every human being under the sun. And the bible says in john you know, the bible says in john uh, the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We're going to enter into a time of prayer in a moment, but what I want to tell you this morning is that perfect love drives out all fear. Perfect love Now, this is going to be a journey, and this is a journey. It's not a microwave Jesus. There's no such thing as a microwave Jesus.
Speaker 2:You might go to the celebrity church, the mega church, and they're bouncing around on their pogo sticks, floating in and out on their holy segways, giving it large and all that sort of stuff. But Christianity and following Jesus is a journey. Following Jesus can be tiring. Following Jesus can be exhausting. Following Jesus can take you to a place where you say God, I feel like I don't fit in, lord. I feel like I don't fit in, lord. I feel like I don't fit in, lord. I feel like I'm a round peg trying to go into this square hole, lord. It doesn't fit. This doesn't line up. And if you was with us the other day when we was in church, the title of the sermon the other day, it doesn't line up. It was about Mary and Joseph and Christ, the story of those three human beings, because they was human beings and Jesus was a human being being, fully God, fully man. But Jesus is telling us this morning.
Speaker 2:I know what it's like to be fearful. I know what it's like to be anxious. I know what it's like to lose a parent. I know what it's like to have to go to school. I know what it's like to lose a parent. I know what it's like to to have to go to school. I know what it's like to grow up with siblings. I know what it's like to have a single parent as a mum looking after me. I know what it's like to enter into a young adult and have to look after the house, because that was the tradition and that's how it was for jesus. So fear, fear hit Jesus, fear hit his mum, mary, and fear hit his dad, also Joseph.
Speaker 2:We see that very, very clearly in the New Testament. We find that and it's very, very clear to read. So we're going to enter into a time of prayer and I pray that, wherever you are, whether you're on the radio with us at this moment in time, we welcome you across the world. For those who are on visuals with us, god bless every one of you and I pray for you. I pray for you this morning that the love of god will drive out all fear, because it you know, when you look at the word of god let's just read this before we go into a time of prayer together and it says very clearly there is no fear in love. Now it's really important. Now I get fearful, but I'm still a Christian. You get fearful and you are still a Christian. What it isn't saying and we got to be careful that we don't take the text out of context there is no fear in love.
Speaker 2:Now, in certain areas of church and the stupid stuff that goes on in church and religion they will tell you through certain areas of preaching that you will never be sick and you'll never be unwell. If you are sick and unwell, it means that you're not safe. Well, that is complete rubbish. So we've got to be careful of that. And also there are preachers out there that are saying that we should never be fearful. If we are fearful, we are not Christians. Now, that's completely wrong teaching, because Jesus feared, his mum feared, joseph, his earthly father feared.
Speaker 2:Jesus shows extreme fear in the Garden of Gethsemane. You know? You look at the characters in the Bible, it is our makeup. But what I got to do is when I come to the realization of understanding, yeah, I'm going to have fearful days, I'm going to have days of worry and, lord, there's no money. Lord, where am I going to get some food for the children? Lord, I need some petrol. Lord, I need to pay the gas. Lord, I've got to pay this bill and I've got to pay that bill.
Speaker 2:Just life. When we understand that life is really hard and we are living in the last days, we're living in the second coming of Jesus, I want to let you know this morning that Jesus Christ knows all your fears. Jesus Christ knows all your worries, he knows everything that's going on in your life and my life. He knows my fears, he knows your fears, he knows our doubts, he knows everything about each and every one of us and I pray this morning that the fire of god will be over you, that if you're at work, if you're at home, if you're on the school run, if you're commuting, if you're traveling, if you're just sitting, uh, and listening to this. Wherever you are, whatever you are, and however you're capturing this service this morning through coffee and prayer. It might might just be me, but the Lord is speaking to every one of us today and the Lord is blessing the brothers that are not with us today. The Lord is blessing everyone today because he is omnipresent and he is everywhere and he is in all things.
Speaker 2:And I pray this morning whatever you are going through, whatever you are experiencing, however low you feel today, we're going to enter into prayer in just a few moments. However low you may feel and doubtful you are, I pray that you will just feel a refreshing breath from heaven, that the wind of heaven will change on your life. And it says in verse 18 there is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, you know. It tells us that Jesus is perfect love. And it tells us as well in the Bible that we will have hard days, we'll have days of stress, we'll have days of straining, and you might say to yourself well, ben, I've had a life, I've had a lifetime of it, I've got to this age in my life and I'm struggling to find peace. Let's get ourselves right into the Word. It is the Word of God. It's creating that space to read the Bible and if you are and I know that you are, and I know that we go in seasons of reading and we're able to read and we're not able to read, and we find time to pray and we find time that we're able to spend.
Speaker 2:Being a follower of Jesus is a season, and when I mean seasonal, it's not that we dip completely in and dip out. It depends on the circumstances of life, and that was the same for Jesus. But what I want to let you know this morning is that Jesus Christ is with you and now we're going to go and pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, we ask you, lord, that you will touch our hearts and our minds today, that the love of God will be so strong over our heart, lord, that you will strengthen each and every one of us and wherever we are scattered, lord, that we will come, lord, and we will find a place to rest, and it will be in the word of God, because we know that perfect love drives out all fear, because Jesus is perfect and Lord, we pray, lord, for anxiety. Today, we pray that fear will break. Today, we pray that the Holy Spirit will come into our lives in such a powerful way that we will feel the love of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit. So, lord, as we're in prayer, as brothers and sisters across the world, as we join, as we rest, as we capture, dear God, the Holy Spirit, lord, father, we thank you that there is no fear in Christ. But Jesus, you experienced fear, but you dealt with that. You carried on moving forward. So will you give us the strength to move forward today? Will you give us the strength to push on? Will you give us the strength to hold on tight to the word of God, because the Bible says perfect love drives out all fear.
Speaker 2:I want to encourage you wherever you are across this world, through coffee and prayer this morning. Yes, I might be on my own. Yes, the brothers are out. I pray that wherever my brothers are yes, the brothers are out. I pray that, wherever my brothers are today and wherever you are today, that the power of the Holy Spirit will carry you through and the glory of God will strengthen you right down to your core. I pray that the word of God will come alive. If you're in a vehicle, I pray that you will be able to put the word of God on, hear the word of God and listen. If you're at home, put the word of God on. Go into Psalms this morning, put Psalms on and just listen to it in the background of life. If you've got an Alexa and you're able to get the Alexa to put the word of God on, listen to Psalms. Put the radio on, listen to worship. Get into the word of God, get into the scripture. Allow the power of the Holy Spirit to carry you wherever you are. In the name of Jesus.
Speaker 2:Father, as we're in prayer today, we realize that perfect love drives out all fear, that your word drives out worry. Your word drives out doubt. Your word drives out pain. Your word drives out all fear. Spirit of the living God, as we come to you this morning, lord, we believe sickness has gone. Are you fearful about your health at this moment in time, father? We pray for health this morning. We pray for all those that are worrying about their health, their mental health, their physicality, lord, their body, lord. We pray, lord, that the love of Jesus will drive out all the fear about health anxiety today, that you will deal with health anxiety today. Those that are worried, father, those that are in pain. We bring Lord sickness and disease before the cross of Calvary and we say thank you, holy Spirit, that there is power in the name of Jesus and Lord, your word says perfect love drives out all fear.
Speaker 2:In John, in 1 John, chapter 4, verse 18, grab yourself a Bible and read what it says for yourself Perfect love drives out all fear. If you are going through fear, if you are in doubt through prayer this morning, grab yourself a Bible, open up to Psalms and allow Psalms to wash through you. Put worship on if you are driving, if you are commuting, if you're at home working, if you're out working, if you're still in bed and you can't get out because of social anxiety. I pray that that will break today. Are you fearful about going to work, father? We break that fear about going out the front door. Lord. If you're frightened this morning, sisters and brothers, whoever you are, about going out your house, let's bring that to the cross of Calvary.
Speaker 2:Lord, we pray for those that are fearful today about leaving the house, those that are worried about catching COVID, those that are worried about going into society again, those that are worried about going to school, going to work, those that are worried about going into society again, those that are worried about going to school, going to work, those that are worried about just living in this world. Father, we pray that you will break that worry, at the name of Jesus, and all fear will go today, lord, we're we're coming today, lord, to the cross and, lord, we're really asking, lord, that you will deal with fear, that you will deal with night tremors, lord, lord, that you will deal, lord, god, with sleep issues. Are you having sleep issues this morning? Can you find yourself just wrestling?
Speaker 2:You're so tired, you're exhausted. Even when you wake up, you know you're not getting enough sleep. It doesn't matter what time you go to bed, you're not really sleeping. You're in and out, you're bouncing in and out of sleep. You're thinking about things. You're waking up tired. You're waking up dreading the day. Have you got that feeling of dread?
Speaker 2:Let's bring dread to the cross of Calvary, father. We bring that atrocious word today to the cross of Calvary. We bring that word dread to the cross and, father, we want that to be gone. That dreadful feeling of being down and low and weary and just exhausted in the bones, that we have Lord in the skin, that we walk in. Father, we pray that you will break that in the name of Jesus, that we will find complete freedom through the power of your word, that we will find completeness in the name of Jesus, that we will find hope in the name of Jesus, that we will understand that the word of God is love, that the word of God is power. So that word dread we pray that dread will be broken in our lives, in our thinking. We pray, Father, for our thoughts. Today, we pray for our mindset. We pray, lord, that our mindset, lord, will be turned around.
Speaker 2:Father, if we're in the mindset of fear, if we're in the mindset of doubt, if we're in the mindset of fear, if we're in the mindset of doubt, if we're in the mindset, dear god, of uncertainty, lord, will you break all that today, in the name of jesus, will you? Will you destroy the work of the enemy? Holy spirit, we call on you today. Holy spirit, we need you in our lives. Holy spirit we need, we want more of you, lord. We're hungry for jesus. We want more of you, lord. We're hungry for Jesus. We want more of God. We want more of the power. We want more of your anointing, we want more of your love.
Speaker 2:Father, will you touch lives today, lord? I know that you're stretching out, lord, I know that you're touching those people listening on radio, watching on visuals. I know, lord, that you're speaking to hearts today in the area of podcast. I know know, lord, for those ears that are hearing lord, this message today, the message of hope. Perfect love drives out all fear. Spirit of the living god, we claim peace. We believe that the word of god is bringing peace to our hearts.
Speaker 2:Today, lord, we all need peace. Do you need peace today, on the other side of lens, on the other side of the mic, as you're listening to this, do you need peace? Are you craving for peace? Is your life really hayward? Is your life really just obscured? Are you spinning too many plates? I know what it's like to spin too many plates. We know what it's like to have too many things spinning. Have you got too many financial things spinning and and it's getting out of control? Have you got too many things spinning in the world of work and you can't control it? Have you got too many things spinning in just general life? Too many plates and we can't keep the plates spinning. Holy spirit, will you help us, lord, to remove certain things in our lives that are causing us to take our eyes off of Jesus?
Speaker 2:Father, we pray today, lord, for that enormous word that is across the world fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of what is, fear of what may be, fear of the lack, of the lack, of, the fear of health issues, the fear of living and the fear of dying, the fear of being alone and the fear of being in a crowd of people. The fear, dear God, of what lies ahead. Father, we break that work, lord, and this morning, lord, we pray for such an outpouring of your spirit over hearts, over minds, today, that we will feel the power of Jesus. I want you, brother and sister, I want you to feel the power of Jesus. I want you, brother and sister, I want you to feel the love of Jesus in your life like never before. I want you to feel the word of God just resonating in your spirit. I want you to feel the Holy Spirit resting in you wherever you are, across the world.
Speaker 2:Capturing this broadcast, I want you to experience, not just to experience. I want you to walk with God like you've never walked before, because that's what I want for my life. I want you to experience, not just to experience. I want you to walk with God like you've never walked before, because that's what I want for my life. I want to walk with Jesus like I've never walked with him before. I want to read the word like I've never read it before. I want to live in the word like I've never lived in that word before. I want to live my life completely under the banner of Jesus. So, father, we want to live outside of fear and we want to live in the love of God. We want to live in the love of the Holy Spirit, we want to live in the love of words.
Speaker 2:So, this morning, through prayer, through supplication, through pain, through worry, through doubt, we come to the cross, lord, and we deal with anxiety today. Anxiety, lord. We bring every label before you, father sorrow and pain, bereavement, lord, we tackle that area of bereavement, father. We ask you, father, for those that are going through loss. They've lost their loved ones, their friends, their families, those that have lost someone in their life. Father, we pray, lord, for those that their hearts will heal in the name of Jesus, those that have lost a loved one, a friend, a colleague, a child, a mom, a dad, whoever it may be in their lives. Whatever that connection, however, they were woven together through the tapestry of life.
Speaker 2:Father, we pray for those that are going through bereavement now, the fear of losing that person in their life, the fear of not hearing their voice, the fear of not seeing a text come through anymore, fear of not having a phone call, a fear of not being able to see them. Father, will you remove all these areas, father, of these fearful moments, and, lord, will you place peace into people's hearts that are struggling with bereavement? Lord, we pray for that very heavy area of loss, lord, that area of mourning, that area, lord of grief, that time, father, where everything seems obscured and fear comes in the door the fear of losing someone, father, the fear of not being able to talk to that person, to have the physicality of that person in their life, lord, we pray, father, for those that are going through loss today. Lord, that you will deal with that. In the name of jesus, spirit of the living god, we come to you today. Lord and lord, brothers and sisters, we know this is a very heavy word, the word suicide. Father, we pray now, lord, for all those that have lost their life through that thatrocious word of suicide, those, lord, that have gone to them. Extremities. Father, we pray for the families that are left behind through that. Lord, that you will bless the families. Lord, the unknown territory that the church really doesn't want to deal with. Father, we come against that word suicide and, lord, we thank you that the Scripture says this is really important. If you have lost someone, if you have lost and you know someone that has died through, uh, suicide and taken their own life, this is really, really important.
Speaker 2:The bible says in romans nothing can separate from the love of god, nothing can separate. It's an enormous conversation and maybe we will get back into the wheels of talking about this. You know suicide. You know if you've lost a christian or someone uh in your in your life through suicide and you're questioning and you're thinking to yourself has that person, what is the situation? What, what is god and how is that seen? The Bible is extremely clear Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Nothing. What does nothing mean? Nothing simply means that everything is under the sun Every activity, every thought, every action, every area of life, everything, nothing, life, nor death, fear, nor doubt. The book of romans tells us nothing can separate us from the love of god that is found in jesus christ. So, lord for those that we have lost through suicide. For those that we have lost, lord, through that anguish of suicide.
Speaker 2:We pray, father, right now, for those that are just going through that motion now, losing loved ones, friends, work, colleagues, however that is in their lives. Father, we pray that they will find peace. Father, we pray that they will find peace. Lord, we thank you that your scripture says nothing can separate us from the love of the love of God. So, those that are dealing with suicide in their lives, those, dear God, that have had the thought of taking their lives, father, remove that thought in the name of Jesus, for those, dear God, have hit that point. That hit that point. What is the purpose of me being on this earth?
Speaker 2:Spirit of the living God, we ask you to bring peace to that heart today, that person, father, god, that is trying to find a way out. Lord, save them, redeem them in the name of jesus, bring them into the pen. Lord, will you wrap your loving arms all those around that are that are trying to escape the world. Father, will you wrap your arms all those around, those that have lost someone, that have taken their own life? Will you let them know, jesus, that nothing can separate that person from the love of god that is in christ jesus? For those that have experienced suicide, for those that have hit that point as an individual, when you've looked at your own mortality and you put that into the arena of your thought pattern, I pray that you will find rest and jesus Christ will just give you sure hope, because there's always hope. It's the spirit of the living God.
Speaker 2:We claim that scripture this morning. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. If you know someone that has lost their life, that has taken their life because of suicide and they was a Christian, a churchgoer let me tell you they've made it into heaven. Let me tell you they've crossed over the river, because nothing can separate us. When you look at life and life itself, you know Jesus is the saviour of the world. And for those that have hit extremities, the extreme levels, looking at their own mortality, I pray and I believe God is drawing you back. So we prayed about a lot this morning and we're continuing to go, but we're going to come to the table in a few moments. So we've mentioned health issues, we've mentioned suicide. We've mentioned the love of Christ, the love of God. We've mentioned so much this morning love of christ, the love of god. We've mentioned so much this morning. So, lord, we pray for those that are just lost in the world. We pray, father, for those that just feel complete loss, that the love of jesus will be over them.
Speaker 2:Do you feel lost this morning? Do you feel that you don't fit in into your culture, to your workspace? Have you got an attitude like this? I just can't be bothered. What is the purpose? What is the reason? What am I doing on this earth? Does anybody grasp me? Does anybody understand me? Does anybody get me?
Speaker 2:Do you feel like you're sitting on the fringe and you can't break into your family? You can't break into work, you can't break into education? You're always. You feel like you're sitting on the outside of life and, as you're looking in, it just feels so obscured that you can't fit in. You was birthed into a certain culture and all of us, all of us across the earth, whatever color, whatever tribe, we're all birthed into a, a way of life. Do you feel that you, that you don't fit in and another, another thing to really reference, that you actually don't want to fit into, that lifestyle is the culture and the color of of our lives, trying to get us to live in a certain way. For me, for me, for when I look at where I've birthed and where I've come from, and and my foundations and where I've come from in life, it tries to shape me and I didn't want that. But we go along with the shaping. The only one that should be shaping us is the master, the master's hands, and that great prophet says that I went down to the potter's house and I watched the master work in the clay. I pray that God will work us like clay, that the master's hands will shape us.
Speaker 2:I don't want to be shaped by my color. I don't want to be shaped by my color. I don't want to be shaped by my academia. I don't want to be shaped by financials. I don't want to be shaped by being a male. I don't want to be shaped by being a reverend. I don't want to be shaped by religion. I don't want to be shaped by the world. I don't want to be shaped by family. I don't want to be shaped by relationships. I don't want to be shaped by the church. I don't want to be shaped by the government.
Speaker 2:The list goes on and on and on, and everywhere of life tries to shape you and creates someone that you're not. Have you lived a life of a hidden identity? And I'm not bringing gender into this, I'm not talking about gender issues. I'm talking about the area of you just don't fit, I can't comply, I don't fit in. You look at cultural trends. You look at the way we've all been brought up, every one of us, whatever color we are, however our language is, wherever we are birthed, across the world, culture tries to shape us and it is good to a certain degree, but then it gets taken out, it gets taken away of what it should be and suddenly we get turned into these humans that we, we are not meant to be. And then suddenly that brings on life pressures, that brings on cultural pressures, that brings on areas of such complex conversations. Have you ever just wanted to be you? Have you ever just want to be you and live at peace? But lifestyle and culture and color and finances and job and postcode doesn't allow you to be you.
Speaker 2:The trends of social media, the trends of social media. Social media is a very driving area of culture. It has a culture. It has a way of shaping humanity of culture. It has a culture. It has a way of shaping humanity. Whatever age we are, whatever color we are, whatever tribe we are from, whatever language we speak, the social network is a very dangerous place to try and fit in. Social media is just a show. Take it with a pinch of salt. Just smile and go know what. Don't allow the trends, because the trends are driven by a different force. Don't allow the trends of the world. Don't allow the trends of social media. Don't allow the pattern.
Speaker 2:Have you noticed that culture changes over time? But what doesn't change is the gospel of Jesus Christ, because he says I am the same yesterday, today and forevermore. Jesus Christ never changes. Culture changes, currency changes. You look at currency. You look at the sterling. You look at the way money changes. Look at the euro. Look at the US dollar. Look at culture. All of our cultures have. Look at the us dollar. Look at culture. All of our cultures have changed over the years. Schooling and education. That that changes all the time. Politics. Politics uses situational ethics and it changes from morning to afternoon because it wants to change the situation, to sit the political agenda, but the kingdom of God never changes. Jesus never changes because Jesus isn't a culture, he isn't a trend, it isn't a hashtag, it is a kingdom. Jesus says I am the same yesterday, today and forevermore. So what happens?
Speaker 2:This conversation that we started this morning about the scripture says perfect love drives out all fear. If I'm spending all my time on social media and I'm not getting in the word, I'm being shaped by the culture of social media. If I'm allowing to be around a certain demographic of people in my life, if I'm allowing to be around a certain demographic of people in my life, that demographic, and then people are shaping me and bringing their views and their understandings onto my life. If I work in a certain area of industry, that industry will shape me into what the industry wants me to be, you know. So everything tries to shape me. So we are living in a time where we have lost our identity. You know we have lost our identity. The church has lost its true identity. The church is trying to get a mega church. Jesus never talks about a mega church. Jesus never talks about having hundreds of thousands of people in congregations. Jesus just says come and follow me, come and follow me, just be a Jesus follower. I want to encourage you to open your Bible. I want to encourage myself today to open the Word of God.
Speaker 2:If you are in a fearful place, are you fearful of your work? Are you fearful of your culture? You fearful of your culture? Are you worried about your family? Are your family controlling you, controlling, dictating through the culture, through the color, through the tide, of where it's come from?
Speaker 2:Many people, many of us, have lost our identity through the work pattern. Through the culture of work we get our identity when we are in certain areas of work, of school, social media. We think that that is how we are, are identified. It is not I pray this morning that you will realize that you are a son and a daughter of the most high. That is who you are. It's not what the world says Now. The Bible says I'm trying to do this prayerfully because this is coffee and prayer and I hope you're enjoying your prayer and your coffee this morning wherever you are, but don't allow the cultural trends of the world, of the world.
Speaker 2:Whatever color you are, whatever color I am, whatever ethnicity I am, whatever color you are, whatever color I am, whatever ethnicity I am, whatever ethnicity you are. Wherever the demographics are that are on our birth certificate, wherever we was brought into the world, that space that we was brought into will try to shape you. The government try to shape you. The government try to shape you from your first breath. The cultural tide, wherever you were birthed and I were birthed, that the family and everyone tries to shape us.
Speaker 2:But what has happened? We have lost our identity and the church has helped us lose our identity. Because we go to church and we're bored. We go to church and we're fed up. We go to church and we're going out the same. Because the Bible, the word of God, isn't preached as it tells us it should be. Because what has happened? Religion and life, the cultural tide of religion and church has changed. How many times have you heard? The Bible isn't up to date.
Speaker 2:The Bible needs to catch up to the world. No, no, no, no, no, no. The word of God is yes and amen. The word of God is power and authority. The world needs to come under the submission of what the word says. The world needs to come under the hand of the eternal God. The world needs to come under the gospels of Jesus Christ. Culture needs to come under. You know, gender says in many areas that the Bible is a dinosaur, an absolute life from hell. The Bible tells us everything. Whatever the Bible says, the Bible is fact. It is fact, the Bible. Let me put this across the airwaves, whether it's on radio, whether it's on podcast, whether it's on live stream. At this moment in time, you know we have almost. We have got just 15 minutes left and 12 seconds.
Speaker 2:I want to let you know that the bible has no errors. There are no errors in the word of god. The word of god is fact. The world is wrong. Humanity is wrong. The church is wrong. Culture is wrong. Life is wrong. The word of god is completely accurate. The births and the dates in the word are accurate. The history is accurate. The scripture is accurate. The years of the earth are accurate. The creative way that god spoke this world are accurate, and they are that.
Speaker 2:People may say, yeah, well, that's just your opinion. It's not my opinion, because I don't have an opinion on the word. I have a belief. An opinion is of the world belief. I believe in the word. Believing is stronger than any opinionated person. Be careful of those people that are opinionated, that have got an opinion on every situation under the sun. I have a belief and the word of God is without error.
Speaker 2:The Bible says perfect love drives out all fear. Again, as we come to the table in just a few moments, we've got a few minutes. We're coming to the table, so we've got three minutes. So I want to encourage you, wherever you are, to grab yourself some grape juice, grab yourself a piece of bread and get yourself ready as we break bread together, as we take the cup together, wherever you are situated across the world, we've got about three minutes. So let's just pray, let's just take ourselves up to this point through prayer.
Speaker 2:Father, in the name of Jesus, we come to you right now, spirit of the living God, wherever we are across the world, on radio, on podcast, on visuals. Father, we thank you that we belong to the kingdom. We belong to a global kingdom. The kingdom of God stretches around the kingdom. We belong to a global, a global kingdom. The kingdom of God stretches around the world. The kingdom of God is deep within. The kingdom of God is over every one of us. So, lord, this conversation that we've had this morning. Father, we thank you. That perfect love drives out all fear. That perfect love breaks fear. That perfect love destroys the work of the devil. That perfect love breaks every sickness, every disease. That the love of jesus is over us.
Speaker 2:Today, spirit of the living god, we pray for breakthrough in every area of our lives. That the power of the holy spirit will lead us in paths of righteousness for his namesake and lord. As we come to the table, we bring our thoughts today, we bring that private space to the cross. Lord, we bring that place of our mindset to the cross. And, lord, I bridge the gap for every one of us. I bridge the gap for those that are tired and can't pray, for those are exhausted, for those that can't take of the bread and the wine today, lord, I bridge that gap, tired and can't pray, for those that are exhausted, for those that can't take the bread and the wine today. Lord, I bridge that gap today and I say Lord, touch that heart and that mind today. Spirit of the living God, let the glory, let the peace, let the love of God rest on them now, in the name of Jesus, wherever they are, at work, at home. Lord, bring peace, bring rest. Rest, father. We thank you that your word is life.
Speaker 2:Brothers and sisters, we've been talking about fear and the, the extremes, and just just tapping the uh, the, the drumbeat of fear this morning, and I and I spoke about uh, a pattern. Maybe we don't feel that we sit, we fit in and we don't sit in society. This is the reason why because the scripture says something really, really profound and very prophetic. It says do not conform to the pattern of the world. It is because you are born again. You will never fit in, you will never, I will, I will never. You will never fit in. You'll never fit in to that place. You will never fit in to that work situation. You will never fit into that education, you will never fit into them situations that are of the world. You fit in because you're grafted in to the kingdom of god. So fitting in doesn't apply to the kingdom, because the kingdom is within every one of you and the word of God is, but we don't fit in to the world.
Speaker 2:How many times do we try to fit in? We fit in, we try to force ourselves in. We might force ourselves into a friendship group, we might force ourselves into a club, force ourselves into church, we force ourselves into business, we try to get ourselves in and when we're getting ourselves in we don't feel comfortable because we're sisters and brothers of the kingdom and we've got to realize that we are grafted into the kingdom. I have to seek him first. When I seek him, I will come to the realization that I am not brought into this world to fit into what the world has for me. Yes, I have to go to work and there are criterias where I've got to step in and I've got to go through certain aspects of life. I've got to step in and I've got to go through certain aspects of life, but what I've got to realize is that I won't fit into the culture and the trends of work and life and the devil's playground, because I wasn't brought into this world to fit in to the world. I was brought in for the kingdom and in to the kingdom. So this is why we lose our identity at work and in church and we lose our identity in church.
Speaker 2:The church tries to create someone that we're not. It tries and the church has created so many fake and false pastors and preachers and teachers, fake churches, fake ministries, because that they are creating a culture. They, they are trying to create church. Jesus Christ calls us. Jesus Christ calls us into the kingdom first. We are all called into the kingdom. We are all saved, we are all transformed. We are all saved by the cross of Calvary.
Speaker 2:God doesn't want us to go and create a culture in church and this is such a difficult and a complex word. Culture, it is used in church. Another word is a very dangerous word in church If you're in a church and it's talking about networking, networking groups. We've got to get a culture rhythm here. You are creating a business atmosphere. You are creating a party. You are creating an atmosphere that is not of the kingdom of God. The Bible says we've got to come to the cross of Calvary. Church is trying to create an atmosphere. Work is trying to create a culture and an atmosphere Society in the world is creating. All the time.
Speaker 2:Whether you're at work, whether you're at home, wherever you have been birthed, the culture is always trying to shape you. The area and the demographics that you live is trying to shape you and get you to comply to the local way of living, the wider way of living, the society. But Jesus says hang on a minute. Hang on a minute. You're clay in my hands and I'm going to shape you. And I'm going to shape you into the one I want you to be, and that is a wrestle on its own. That is a wrestle because it makes us feel like that we don't fit in. And if you feel like you don't fit in, that's because Jesus is telling you come away from that. I didn't bring you in to try and get you to fit in to what the world is doing. I brought you in for my good work and my good pleasure. We belong to him and we're coming to the table.
Speaker 2:Don't be shaped by your culture, your workspace, your life, your family. Don't be shaped by your history, your workspace, your life, your family. Don't be shaped by your history, and that is another area. We just don't have the time. We've got less than seven minutes. You know to get out of here. You know. Don't be shaped by anything.
Speaker 2:The Bible says do not conform to the pattern of the world. Do not conform to the pattern of the world. We've got to go to work. We've got to. We've got to the Bible. Jesus says go into of the world. Do not conform to the pattern of the world. We've got to go to work, we've got to. Jesus says go into all the world. But see what he says about the Great Commission. We don't fit in. You wasn't created to fit, I wasn't created to fit, we are not. We should not be trying to fit in to what the world is doing. Do not comply.
Speaker 2:This is where fear comes from. This is where fear starts. Because we get jobs, we get careers. You know, the world says get a mortgage. The world says get this, get that, get HP, get strapped up, blah, blah, blah. All that sort of stuff. Jesus just says come and follow me. We got to get back to the basic, fundamental teachings of the word of god in the uk. We got to get back to the word of god. Every one of us has got to ransack the word. Come on, let's get to the table.
Speaker 2:Father, in the name of jesus, we thank you for this bread that symbolizes the body of christ. And as we break bread together now, in the name of jesus, father, we are blessed and highly favored, wonderfully and fearfully made and we recognize that this bread is symbolic to the body of christ. Come, holy spirit. Come, holy spirit. Pour out your love over each and every one of us. Pour out your spirit over us today, lord. Pour out your love over us today, in the name of Jesus. Lord, we thank you that we do not fit into the world, but we are grafted into the kingdom of God. You belong to the kingdom.
Speaker 2:The Bible says as we started out, you know, just under the hour, just under an hour ago, we started out in 1 John 4, verse 18. Perfect love drives out all fear. The love of God. Keep pressing the scripture, keep walking in the scripture. Keep reading the scripture. Keep standing on the word of God, even when it doesn't fit to what is happening. Believe and believe and believe. Bless this bread as we take this together as brothers and sisters that are gathering across the world in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Speaker 2:I pray that the power of the Holy Spirit will really lead you today. I pray that the fire of God will just burn everything off of us today, burn everything off that is weighing us down. So, lord, as I come to the cross, I thank you for the cross, lord, and I pray, lord, that the cross will strengthen me. The cross, lord, will carry us. Bless us. We pray, lord, in the mighty name of Jesus. We love you, lord. There is power in the name and I recognize right now that this cup is the redemption cup. Cleanse me from the crown of my head to the sole of my feet In Jesus' name. Amen. Washed in the blood of Jesus, washed in the blood Washed in the crimson tide, in the blood of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:Christ, wherever you are, we pray that the fire of god will rest over you today, that you will feel the love of jesus at work, at home, whether you're commuting, whatever your time zone is across the world. We thank god for your life. There is power in the name of jesus and, as we come to the close of this service, we thank you for wherever you are, and it's important for me to keep saying that, wherever you are today, whatever you are doing and wherever you are, may God bless you and carry you. We will see you this evening back online and in the house of the Lord. Tonight we'll be back on uh, we will back in podcasting. We're back on streaming at eight o'clock and just before that. If you want to link in just a bit before that there'll be worship, you can link into that, but the visuals will go on around about eight o'clock somewhere about there tonight as we get back, as we study the word of god.
Speaker 2:So let's just pray. Father, in the name of jesus, we thank you for your word. We thank you for your love, your mercy, your power and, as we come to you today as human beings saved by grace, we thank you for the love of God that is over us. We thank you, lord, that the love of God, the perfect love of God, drives our all fear. So, lord, wherever we are, will you lead us and carry us? Will you strengthen us today? Bless us. We pray. You're worthy of all praise. Healing. Be over us. Let the fire of god sit within us today. Spirit of the living god, will you carry us. Thank you for, wherever you are, for joining us today. May god strengthen you and carry you. We will see you this evening. Take care and remember keeping the word of god. And whatever your day looks like, it's a victorious day because jesus christ is with you. Amen, god bless. Day looks like it's a victorious day because Jesus Christ is with you. Amen, 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 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.
