I think is very, very blessed. I was blessed by it. And like
last week, you could kind of, if you ever get the time to talk
to David Pledger, thank him for giving me direction. And then
this week, Tom Harding had some really good things in his bulletin.
So I just lifted them right off the page. And I've got a partial
outline from him. We're going to look at Proverbs
17, 15, and then we're going to look at several different
verses with one central theme, one central theme. The title of this message this
morning is in every situation, every circumstance or every event,
be of good cheer, be of good cheer. Now that's easy to stand
up here and say that when the refrigerator is full of food,
the electricity still works, you basically can go where we
want to go, do what we want to do, and if you have the money,
you can spend what you want to spend, how you want to spend
it. If you don't have that kind of money, that puts a little
restriction. It doesn't matter. Any situation in life, be of
good cheer. Now, what I'm not talking about
when you pray for something and then the Lord takes you out of
it. You know, everybody's going to
be smiling and happy when things are going their way. But we're
going to see several texts of scripture where it's not going. It's every situation, every circumstance. And our Lord says, be of good
cheer, be of good cheer. But before I look at that, I
want to look at what Proverbs, this is no new concept. This
is throughout the whole scripture. In Proverbs chapter 17, the first
part of verse 22, a merry heart, a cheerful heart,
does good like medicine. You know, you don't feel good?
Things aren't going, you know, I woke up this, I was fine this
morning. By the time I got to church,
I was cranky. I was aggravated. If you'd asked me, I couldn't,
probably couldn't pinpoint it. You know, it's our mind works,
our heart works. So I just need good medicine.
And what we heard this morning and what I heard back there from
the book is good medicine. A merry heart. does good like
medicine. Turn back one page to Proverbs
15 and look with me at verse 13 to kind of bring it to our
word, the word cheerful. Proverbs 15 and first part of
verse 13, a merry heart, there we go again, maketh a cheerful
heart. countenance. Now, I'm not saying
that James, every trial, or Peter, when we're tried with a difficult
time, is joyous. It's difficult. I'm not saying
that. I know that you're laying in
your back in the hospital or you know, you're laying on the
side of the road after, you know, whatever. I'm not saying that
that's the joyful situation. However, the believer, as we'll
see when our Lord, our Lord's own words, several situations
happen. He said, he always said, be of good cheer, be of good
cheer. So I want us to look. at some
varying situations and see what our Lord and His Word says to
His people regarding be of good cheer. Turn with me for our first
text in Matthew chapter 9. Matthew chapter 9. And verse 1 and verse 2. Now you're
going to find yourself, if you're a believer this morning, you're
going to find yourself So in one or of all of any of all these
situations these circumstances I Pray that we would be found
in them Matthew chapter 9 verses 1 & 2 and Christ entered into
a ship and passed over and came into his own city and behold
They brought to him Christ a man sick of the palsy Lying on a
bed. Can't do anything. Can't move. And Jesus, seeing their faith,
said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. Thy sins be
forgiven thee. Why are we in this text to be
of good cheer? Well, primarily our sins are
forgiven us. That is the start. That's the starting point. If
everything from this point on goes backwards in our way of
estimation, if it goes wrong by our way of estimation, if
it goes bad by our way of estimation, we could say He has forgiven
us our sins. Can we say that? Can we say that?
If you belong to Christ here this morning, it is all owing
to a covenant honoring God and his darling son, the main honoree
of that covenant. And of course, the blessed Holy
Spirit, which led you and guided you and me to such a cheerful
state. was we're just like this man.
From birth, nature, practice, behold, they brought him a sick
man of the palsy. We are born sick. We're born
out of our right mind, our sin, in our own place, our own time
from birth. We are unable to assist. We're unable to help or to do
anything good in God's holy eyes. Neither was this man. He had
to be brought to the Savior's feet. We hear the word, this
man heard the word, we heard the word of truth, and we are
made anew through grace. I ask you and I ask myself, what
is there not to be of good cheer about? See, a lot of times, and
I wish I would do this more often, but we need to step back and
look at the most simplest things first. We get too complicated,
we ask complicated questions. We want to know why this is going
on, we want to know why this is going on. The man could have
asked, why didn't he ask Christ? Well, why do I have the palsy?
Why am I in this sickbed? Why am I this way? Son, be of good cheer, thy sins
be forgiven. It's almost as though all these
other issues are not issues at all. They're not issues at all. It's like that parable we saw
a couple weeks ago, if not last week. You know, who sinned? That
this man was born blind? Who sinned? And he said, no,
that's not it. It's not it. It's that the Son of Man, the
Son of God may be glorified. And that's why I don't have the
answers to all these things. It's the Lord what seems right
to Him. So why could Our Savior say in
this horrible situation, be of good cheer. Well, I say, what
is there not to be of good cheer about? God's grace is like himself. It's sovereign, it's effectual,
it's sufficient, and it's irrevocable. According to Romans 11, God's
calling and gifts of God are without repentance. If he has
redeemed you by the blood of Christ, you are redeemed. Do you believe upon him? Secondly,
let's turn to Luke chapter 8. Look at another circumstance,
another situation, another event. Luke chapter 8. Start reading verse 43. Luke
chapter 8, you're familiar with the story. Verse 43. And a woman, having an issue
of blood, 12 years, which she had spent all her living upon
physicians, neither could be healed of any." That's what we
do. That's what we do. We'll take this medicine. We'll
take that medicine. The doctor recommends that. I
don't, nah. We take this one. We do this
one. We spend money. We spend money. We spend money
for health, for sustenance. Never, not any better. Going
to the wrong place. Couldn't be healed by any. Nor
can we. We may try all these fantastical
evangelical schemes of man. Well, this woman, she'd had enough. She came behind Christ and touched
the border of his garment, and immediately her issue of blood
stayed. She got healed, and Jesus said,
who touched me? When all denied, and Peter, them
that were with him said, Master, the multitude throngs thee and
presses thee, and sayest thou, who touched me? And Jesus said,
somebody had touched me, for I perceive that virtue is gone
out of me. Now, I wanted to look that up,
but that's over my head. What does that mean? I don't
know. I don't know. So I moved on. And when the woman
saw that she was not hid, She came trembling, falling down
before him and declared unto him before all the people for
what cause she had touched him and how she was healed immediately. And Christ said unto her, daughter,
be of good comfort. That word in the Greek is cheer.
Be of good cheer. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace. Go in peace. Indeed, sin was confronted, sin
was exposed, sin was conquered, and she confessed, which is what
we do. She confessed, and then she heard,
go in peace. I would say, and I hope you would
agree with me, that peace and cheer go hand in hand. If you
have peace, you have every reason to be of good cheer. Now this
word cheer could be translated courage. Courage. Why? Because there's no more
condemnation. We should move forward as soldiers
of the cross, move upward and onward, pilgrims of Calvary. We know that there's no peace
or healing in any other than the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
one name given among men under heaven. That's it. Look. I tell you, if you have not trusted
Christ to look to him this morning, knowing that you've been bitten
by your own sin like those in the wilderness and live in him
and be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. Our next passage,
our next situation, our next event, John chapter 16. John
chapter 16. We'll start reading in verse
32. John chapter 16, verse 32, the
last two verses of this Chapter John 16. Behold. The hour cometh, this
is Christ speaking and is now come that you shall be scattered. That's not a good thing. Every
man to his own and shall leave me alone. That's not a good thing. Lord, to whom shall we go? And
yet I'm not alone, said Christ, because the father is with me.
And then he tells his disciples, why these things have I spoken
unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world, in
the world, you shall have tribulation. But, be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. I have overcome
the world. Is this world lying heavy on
your hearts? This world is always for war.
And David in Psalms 120 says, we're for peace, but they're
for war. Are you reconciled to God through the mediator, the
anointed one? The world says, no, we will not
have this man to reign over us and therefore continue on in
their tribulations. There's daily trials the believer
faces, daily nonsense we encounter, daily tribulations, daily misunderstandings,
even amongst brethren. But we must remember, he has
overcome the world, therefore, be of good cheer. Be of good
cheer. Now, this would be a tough, Christ
is getting, you know, he's getting ready to leave. Every man's gonna
leave him alone. But he spoke these things that
we would have peace. Let not your heart be troubled,
as he said in another place in John. In the world you should
have tribulation, and we do. You have to deal with the world.
If you work in this world, you have to deal with it. If you're
retired in this world, you've got to deal with it. You're going to have that. But
be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. Be of good
courage. He has overcome the world. Acts
chapter 27. Now, if there was an event, a
situation, or a circumstance which would cause me much anxiety
and much anguish, this would be it. Acts chapter 27. We will
start reading in verse 14, so it will bring us up to speed
and keep it in context. Paul's on his journey towards
Rome. He's on a ship, and not long after they left the port,
there arose, verse 14 of chapter 27 of Acts, a tempest wind called
urocladon. And the ship was caught and could
not bear up into the wind. So we let her drive. And running
under a certain island, which is called Clauda, we had much
work to come by the boat. So they're struggling to keep
this boat afloat. Well, you know what's going to
happen. It's going to crash. It's going to hit rocks. It's
going to disintegrate, and then everybody's got to make it to
shore. Verse 21, but after a long absence of food, Paul stood forth
in the midst of them, believers, unbelievers, and said, Sir, you
should have hearken unto me and not have loose from creep. and
have not gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to
be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's life
among you but the ship. For there stood by me this night
an angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, saying, fear not,
Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar, and lo, God hath given
thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sir, Be of good
cheer, for I believe God that it shall be even as it was told
me. Paul hadn't gone through I've
gone. Paul hasn't been through what I've been through. Paul
doesn't hurt like I hurt. Paul doesn't have financial difficulties
like I have. I say he does. Shipwreck. And let's play on this word.
All that that means, shipwreck. Perhaps this morning, or perhaps
before, perhaps after, you're going to suffer physical shipwreck. Or what men falsely so call accidents. There's no accident. You know
that. That's just a term we use. I'm not going to get on anybody
for that. It's just a term in our vernacular. But what if you
have physical shipwreck? You can't do what you used to
do What if you got a long hospital
stay What if the Lord's got to take
one of your legs Well, I'm physically I'm healthy,
okay, that doesn't affect me so much I've been sick every
now and again. What about monetary shipwreck? Oh, I play the stock
market. My money's safe. My money's secure. I got enough setback. I ain't
got any worry. In this world, you never know.
Don't boast. My cousins told my mom one time,
we got enough money, we'll never spend it. And I told my mom,
I said, if they get sick with a major illness, it's gone. So everything's drying up. Oh,
now I got a trust in the Lord. What about spiritual shipwreck?
What if we are in right now in the spiritual shipwreck? We know
what we're supposed to do. I don't care. I'm going to go do what I want
to do. They put you in a tough place
like Jonah. I don't want to go preach. Jonah is going to go
preach to Nineveh. Unsure what will happen? All
the props get pulled out? It's easy to thank God. As I
said in the earlier part of the message, it's easy to thank God
on a sunny day. It's easy to say God's in control
and watching over me when the situation turns out okay. Do we not have this word at our
fingertips? Go to the word. I don't have much wisdom. You
can call me anytime, but I may not be able to help you. I'm
not like some of these other pastors that seem to have a good
answer in due season. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.
Do we not have from this book his guarantee of protection?
He said he'll never leave us nor forsake us. Do we not quote
and have Romans 828 memorized by heart? All things work together
for good. All things. Well, he says twice in verse
22 and verse 25, I exhort you to be of good cheer. Now that
in a movie or in today's society, and even back then, if that would
have been, if Paul would have been within striking distance
of one of these sailors, that would have provoked a smack. Don't talk to me like that. I'm
familiar with my nature. I'm familiar with getting aggravated.
And now I exhort you, he wasn't being smart, to be of good cheer. For there shall be no loss of
any man's life among you but the ships. And he wasn't a mariner. He didn't know anything about
sea legs. They did. And then he tells them
again, wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer, for I believe God. Some acquaintances of mine in
forestry were fighting fires out in California, which is pretty
tough out there. And the man that was explaining
it to me, the man, his supervisor, said they were right in the middle
of it, and everybody was worried. They were walking and pacing,
and the foreman, he said, Trust God. And that guy said, trust
God. You know, who's God? And he just
started cussing them. Now the Lord took the wind and
made it go away from them. Otherwise, they'd probably all
been killed. The believer has a guarantee
to be of good cheer. Good courage. Fight the good
fight. Walk by faith and not by sight. Sometimes everything that can
go wrong or awry does so. But this is a storm. This is
just like these guys here, where faith is tested, yet make sure
that patience will have its perfect work. God's working in us both
the will and the do of his good pleasure. And if it's his good
pleasure to take you home at that moment, you're gonna go
home, but you'll be delighted to do so. If not, by God's grace,
look through the trial and the tribulation and see, and again,
be of good courage. Our last text is Matthew 14. Matthew 14. We'll start reading in verse 22. and go to 27. Matthew 14 started in verse 22. And straightway Jesus constrained
His disciples to get in the ship and to go before Him unto the
other side, while He sent the multitude away. And when He had
sent the multitudes away, Christ went up into a mountain apart
to pray. And when the evening was come,
He was there alone, but the ship with the disciples was now in
the midst of a sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the
night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when
the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled,
saying, it is a spirit. And they cried out for fear."
Now, this is a different event. This is a different situation.
This is a different circumstance. It's different than Acts, it's
different than John, it's different than Luke. This is its own unique
situation, like our own unique personalities. Some people can
handle things, others can't. But it's all by God's grace that
we do any of it. The fourth wind the night, it
was walking on the seas, they cried out with fear, but straightway
Jesus spake unto them saying, be of good cheer. It is I. Be not afraid. It is I. Be not afraid. Here's another
situation. Here's another event. In the
lives of any believer, be not afraid. He's saying, but believe,
but trust in me. But come to him. Be of a ready
mind to take what he says simply on what he says. Be not afraid. Be not afraid. It is I. Be of good cheer. Be of good
courage. Don't look for more. Just simply
take what He says. Child of God, child of grace,
simply take what He says to you and apply it. Whether anybody
else understands it, whether anybody else believes it, be
of good cheer. We do not know what a day may
bring, but we know who owns the day. Now I must remind myself,
I've got it in parentheses, a day, we're not talking about the daylight,
we're talking about 24 hours. That's what a day is called.
Is there any more than 24 hours? Is there any less than 24 hours?
No. He owns every minute, second,
particle, atom, He owns it all. Be of good cheer. Be of good
comfort. Be of good courage. Are we not
safe in our Redeemer's hands? Are we not safe in the shepherd's
fold? Are we not tucked away in that everlasting covenant
which David tells us is ordered in all things and sure? That's
language. I love the language of scripture.
It's absolute in him. Yes, in us, no. But that's why
in all these passages of scriptures, and there's more, he could say,
be of good cheer. Yes, brethren, life, in closing,
is rough and tumble. And we try to keep our children
from it, but they're gonna go through it. They're gonna go
through it, just like we went through it. That's why we, above
all things, desire our children to understand and believe the
gospel, trust Christ. our neighbors, our friends. I
thought about this the other day. Some old friends, old acquaintances
I had working for the city of Cape. Boy, I wish some of those
men would trust Christ. They'd be such an ally. Didn't you know people like that?
They'd be such an ally. I talked to them and talked to
them and talked to them. They don't believe. They made
fun. Whatever happens, So life is not how we often see it. It's rough and tumble. But I
can tell you through the word, I can tell you on the basis of
the authority of Christ and his word, be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. Why? Revelations 19 says, the Lord
God reigns. He reigns, not presidents, not
governors, not mayors, He reigns and he's for us. He's not against
us. Brian, would you close us?