Mark chapter 6. The title of the message today
is, Be of Good Cheer. You see it in verse 50? Mark
chapter 6 verse 50. Be of good cheer. Be of good
courage. So they all saw him, it says
in verse 50, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with
them, and said unto them, Be of good cheer, it is I. Don't
be afraid. Now this word here in the English,
it's two words. Be of, where it says good cheer. In the original, it's one word.
One word. And it means courage. It means
comfort. It means confidence. It means boldness. Every believer resting in and
looking to the Lord Jesus Christ and trusting Him for all salvation,
peace, and righteousness before God has every valid reason and
a compelling reason to be of good courage. to be of good cheer,
to have comfort in Christ. We can have boldness as believers,
confidence in Him, courage before Him, and comfort in the Lord
Himself who is almighty to save, who is all-wise, He never makes
a mistake, who is all-knowing, He knows our hearts. He knows everything about all
of us, our thoughts, every one of us. He's all-wise. He's all-knowing.
Who is all-sufficient to supply our every need according to His
riches in glory? Who does all things well? Believer, be of good cheer. Be of good courage. Hebrews 4.16
says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Be of good cheer. Be of good
cheer. Abraham said, When pleading with
the Lord for mercy, shall not the judge of all the earth do
right? And whatever our God does, He is right. He never makes one
mistake. Whatsoever the Lord please, that's
what He did. And whatever He does is right. Psalm 135 says this, Whatsoever
the Lord please, that did He in heaven and earth, seas, and
all deep places. We see this truth repeated throughout
Holy Scripture, several times in Scripture. Our faithful, from
our faithful, unchanging Lord, He speaks this word of truth
to His people when He sees His own in trouble, when He sees
us in distress, when He sees us with heartache, when He sees
us with need. His word to His own people is,
His own children is, be of good cheer. I'm in charge. I know all about it. I'm able
to save to the uttermost. Don't take alarm. I'm in control. I'm in charge. Be of good cheer."
Now in our story today, the Lord had fed this multitude, 10, 20,000
people. All did eat and all were filled
and He sent the multitude away. It says in John chapter 6 verse
15, about that same story when Jesus therefore perceived that
they would come and take him by force and that that day they
wanted to make him their king. He departed into a mountain himself
alone there to pray. He constrained his disciples
to enter into the ship. As it says there in verse 45
of Mark 6, he constrained his disciples to get into a ship
to go across to the other side unto Bethsaida. And they did
so. And he went up into the mountain
to pray there alone. Now get the idea of what's going
on here. He has fed the multitude with five loaves and two fishes. How can that provide for 15,000
people? He's the Lord. He provides all
things. He rained manna from heaven for
40 years and sustained 2 million people in the wilderness for
40 years. Dinner on the grounds that afternoon
was not a big chore. God controls all things. He fed the multitude, sent them
away, He told His disciples to take ship and go to the other
side, and He went to the mountain to pray alone to intercede for
us. When they went to sea, He went
to pray. He went to pray for them. You
see, He is our intercessor. He ever lives right now to make
intercession for us. Now you think about that. He
is our mediator. He ever lives right now. He sees
us. He knows us. And He intercedes
for us with His power, with His blood, with His presence before
God Almighty. For me. He's my intercessor. Just as the Lord is doing this
day, He's praying for His disciples, even though they're at sea, He's
watching over them. He has an eye upon them. And
we're told that the disciples did as they were told. They took
ship, they were in the midst of the sea, and as they were
going along, verse 48, He saw them toiling and rowing for the
wind was against them. They had a strong headwind. It
says in John chapter 6 verse 19 that they had rowed 30 furlongs. That's about 3 miles. They'd
been rowing for 5 or 6 hours and they'd only gone 3 miles. The headwind was strong and they
were rowing and toiling. And that word there, toiling,
means that they were in torture. It actually means pain. It actually means torment. The word actually means they
were vexed. I mean, they were hurting. They
were rowing and in pain and toiling, about to give up all hope of
ever reaching the other side. And the Lord is watching them
in their struggle, in their toil, in their pain. Now watch this.
Who controls the wind? Who put them in the boat? Who
sent the trial? Who sent the wind? He holds the
wind in His treasure house. Someday He opens the door and
the wind does blow. And here, these disciples are
in the midst of that sea, toiling, troubled, and in pain. And it
says in verse 49, Now look at the last part of
verse 48, about the fourth watch of the night, verse 48, he saw
them, he saw them, for the wind was contrary, and about the fourth
watch of the night he cometh unto them. Now this is in the
middle of the night, in the middle of the morning, it's three, four
o'clock in the morning. Walking upon the sea, and would
have passed them by, he saw them, and he came to them, walking
upon the water. The Lord is sure to come to our
aid when we're in trouble. In the hour of trial, He said,
I'll never leave you. I'll never, no, never forsake
you. The same eye which saw the disciples
that day. Now you think about this. Our
Lord never changes. The same eye that beheld them. He's over here in the mountain
praying. They're out in the middle of the sea. How can He see them?
He's God Almighty. He has an eye to His own. Just
like you mama and daddy, when they're out in the public and
they have them little ones running around, mama's always got her
eye on those babies. And the Lord Jesus Christ always
has His eye on His children. The same eye which saw the disciples
tossed on the sea is ever looking at us. We're never beyond their
reach. of His care. Our way is never
hid from Him. He knows our heart. He knows
our pain. He knows our anguish of soul,
our heartache. He knows. He knows all about
us. I want you to turn and read this
scripture with me. Psalm 139. Psalm 139. And this is a promise, a precious,
precious promise to the believers. Psalm 139 verse 1, O LORD, Thou
hast known me and hast searched me. Thou hast searched me and
known me. Thou knowest my down sittings and my uprisings. Thou
understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassed my path and
my lying down. You are acquainted with all my
ways. There's not a word in my tongue,
but Lord, Lord, O Lord, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it all together. Thou hast set me behind them
before, and laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me. It is I, I cannot attain unto
it." Now, you read the rest of that psalm sometime, but the
point I'm making, he ever has his eye upon his children. And he says to his children,
be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. Because he
is faithful to his children, he comes to us in love, in a
time of love. Having loved his own which were
in the world, he loved them until the end, John 13, verse 1. Because
he is our merciful Savior, because he is merciful to his own, he
comes to us with great pity in time of trouble. Psalm 103 says,
like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth
them that fear Him. He knows our frame. He knows
that we are but dust. Because He is our Almighty Lord,
He comes to His own with all saving power. He is able to save
to the uttermost all that come to God by Him. He ever has His
eye upon His own. Because He is our merciful Lord,
because He is our faithful Lord, because He is almighty Savior
to His people. If need be, now listen, if need
be, He will overcome all obstacles, all barriers, all oppositions
to come to His own. Even in that hour, we find the
Lord Jesus walking out on this water. overcoming those natural
barriers and obstacles. Why? To get to His own. To get
to His sheep. To save them. To comfort them. To speak to them. Be of good
cheer. Be of good cheer. Now the skeptic
would say, well the laws of physics says that's impossible for man
to walk on water. The law of faith says with God
all things are possible. Nothing's too hard for the Lord. The same Lord, now listen to
this, you think about this, the same Lord who divided the Red
Sea, he divided the sea that day to deliver his people Israel,
when they cried unto the Lord and Moses said, stand still and
behold the glory of God. And the sea divided. The same
Lord who divided the Red Sea for Israel to walk over on dry
land is the same Lord who walks upon the sea to comfort His own. Psalm 78, don't turn, let me
read it to you. Marvelous things did He in the
sight of our fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of
Zoan. He divided the sea and caused
them to pass through. He made the waters to stand up
as a heap. He divided the sea, and they
walked over. You see, no obstacle is too difficult
for the Lord to overcome. Be of good cheer. Be of good
cheer. He does not change. Job 9 verse
8 says, Who alone spreads out the heavens, and He treads upon
the waves of the sea? This is our God. Isaiah 43 verse
16, Thus saith the Lord, Which maketh a way in the sea, and
the path in the mighty waters he makes a way. Now, you look
at verse 49 and 50. At first when they saw him, it
says in verse 49 in our text, when they saw him walking upon
the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit and cried out and
they all saw him and were troubled. And immediately he talked with
them and said to them, Be of good cheer, it is I. Be not afraid."
Be not afraid. At first when they saw Him, they
were terrified. They thought they had seen a
spirit. They didn't recognize Him. They were troubled in their
heart. And immediately, He speaks to them. His sheep, they hear
His voice. And they do follow Him. He went up unto the ship, verse
51, it says there, He went up unto them in the sheep. He saw them, He talked with them,
and He went up unto them in the ship, and the wind stopped, and
the sea stopped rolling, and there was a great calm. And they
were amazed beyond measure and wondered in themselves. Now,
they found comfort in two things. They found comfort in two things.
In His Word and in His presence. And we find comfort in those
two things. In His Word and in His presence. By His Word, it says there, He
talked with them. Oh, how His words comfort the
hearts of God's people. His Word is a comfort unto our
hearts. That is to the believer. You
remember those two men that walked on the road to Emmaus, and the
resurrected Lord drew near to them, and He talked with them.
And here's what they said when He was about to depart. Didn't
our heart burn within us when He opened unto us the Word of
the Lord? They found comfort as He declared
unto them that these things must be all things written in the
Scripture, in the Law, in Moses concerning me, my death, my glorious
resurrection. These things must be. And they
found comfort in His Word that day. Paul said this in 1 Thessalonians
chapter 4, Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Psalm 119 verse 50 says, This
is my comfort in my affliction. Here is my comfort in my affliction.
Preacher, where do you find comfort? In time of heartache and trial.
Thy word hath quickened me. Thy word hath made me alive.
You see, he talks with his people. He reveals Himself in His Word
unto His people. That's why we make much of His
Word, much of His truth. They found comfort in two things.
His Word, He spoke to them. Grace flows out of His lips,
the Scripture says in Psalm 45. And then they found comfort in
this, His presence, His presence. He said, It is I. Be not afraid. And He went up unto them into
the ship. His presence. He said, I'm your
Savior. I'm your Lord. I have come to
comfort you. I have come to deliver you. Don't
be afraid. I'm in control over all things. To the believer, this is where
we find refuge and comfort in a time of crisis, in a time of
calamity, in His Word, in His presence. Many good examples
preserved for us throughout the Word that demonstrate to us that
God's people find comfort in His Word. In the life of the
Apostle Paul, when we just read a minute ago from Acts chapter
23, when he was about to be pulled in pieces before that Jewish
council, the Lord stood by him and said, Paul, be of good cheer. You must continue preaching the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember he said you must
preach also in Rome? Well, do you remember what happened
in the later part of the book of Acts, it's recorded, when
Paul took ship and started toward Rome? Remember there was a great
storm that came up and the ship was about to come in pieces and
it did. And the Lord, the angel of the
Lord, stood by Paul and said, Paul, be of good cheer. No one's going to lose their
life. And Paul used that message to
comfort those in the boat that day and said, I believe God,
sirs. Be of good cheer. No one is going
to lose their life. We're all going to be saved.
Now let me give you some other examples. when the Lord speaks
to His people who are in trouble, and He speaks a word of comfort
unto them. In Matthew 9 verse 2, the man
who was paralyzed, do you remember? And he had four friends who brought
him to where the Lord was ministering that day, and they couldn't get
in because of the crowd. You know what they did? They
went up on the house, and they started taking off the roof.
And they let their friend down on that bed in front of the Lord,
down through the roof. You remember what the Lord said?
Here's what he said. Behold, they brought to him a
man sick of the palsy, lying on the bed. And Jesus, seeing
their faith, said to the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good
cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. How about Mark chapter 10? Don't
turn, let me just read it to you. Blind Bartimaeus. Blind,
couldn't see. He heard a commotion. He heard
the Lord Jesus was passing by. And he said, Thou Son of David,
have mercy on me! And those around him said, Thou
Bartimaeus, won't you just hush a minute? And he cried out all
the more, Lord Jesus, have mercy on me! And the Lord stood still. And you know what he said? Here's
what he said. Be of good comfort. Be of good
comfort. The Master is calling for you. Be of good cheer. It's the same
word. Same word. In Luke 8, verse 48, the woman
that had the issue of blood, remember we studied about that
a week or so ago, and she came in the crowd behind the Lord,
and she said in her heart, if I could just but touch Him, I
should be made whole. And the Lord said to her, daughter,
be of good cheer. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Our departing Lord told His disciples
on the eve of His crucifixion, when He had them gathered together
in that room, and He was giving them the final instruction before
He went to Calvary's tree to put away their sin, to make atonement
for the sin of His people, and here's what He said, These things
have I spoken unto you, that in Me you might have peace. There's
His Word and His presence. In the world you shall have tribulation,
but be of good cheer." Same word, same Lord, same person. Be of
good cheer. I have overcome. That's our hope. That's our comfort. That's our
encouragement. Let me encourage you who believe
the gospel to be of good cheer. No matter what the day may hold,
we know who holds the day. no matter how bleak the outcome
may seem, and sometimes they seem like there's no hope, no
matter how severe the pain may be, no matter how hopeless the
situation appears to be, for you who believe, the Lord says
to you, be of good cheer. It is I. Be not afraid. If you belong to Him in that
eternal covenant of grace, if you're purchased by His blood
redemption, if you're called by the effectual Grace of God,
you have every reason to be of good cheer. The Master calls
for you. Be of good cheer. Search the
Scriptures and see if it's not true. All things work together
for good to them who love God, to them who are called according
to His purpose. Be of good cheer. Be of good
cheer. God said, Rejoice in the Lord
always. Again I say, Rejoice. Be of good cheer. In the good
news of the gospel, in the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ,
in the good news of the gospel is this, the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. Are you a sinner? Huh? He came to save sinners. Are
you in darkness? He's the only light. He commands
the light to shine in our heart to give us a light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Are you lost?
He came to seek and to save the lost. Are you hungry for the
bread of life? He said, I'm the bread of life.
Are you thirsty? Does your soul pant up like that
deer after the water brook? He's the water of life. He said,
come unto me all you that are thirsty and drink Are you weary? He said, Come unto me, all you
who are weary and who are laboring in your sin. Come unto me and
rest. Are you poor? I am poor and needy. David said
that repeatedly over and over. I am poor and needy, yet the
Lord thinks upon me. Are you poor? He is the riches
of God's grace. God who is rich in mercy for
His great love wherewith He loved us even when we were dead and
in sin. Are you under trial, heartache,
pain? He's our peace. Are you weak? Yes, I am. He's our strength. God is our refuge and strength
of every present help in trouble. Are you dying? I am. I speak, you know this, now listen,
I speak as a dying man. But I speak to dying men. I speak
as one who may never speak again. Are you dying? He's our life. He's our resurrection. Are you
near the grave? Yep, I am. All of our days are
but a hand breath in His sight. He said, because I live, you
live. Believers have every reason to
be of good cheer in Him. Be of good cheer. Now, I said
for the believer. For the believer resting in the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God to you is, be of good cheer. Not so for the rebel. Not so
for the unbeliever. Not so for those who are going
about to establish their own righteousness. The unbeliever
has no reason to be of good cheer. The unbeliever has every reason
to be concerned. Deeply concerned. Here's what
the scriptures teach. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. Be of good cheer. He that believeth
not shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. The gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord, but the wages of sin is death.
Our Lord said in John 8, 24. I said therefore unto you that
you shall die in your sins, for if you believe not that I am
he, you shall die in your sins. Now let me give you four reasons
why the unbeliever has no reason to be of good cheer. In closing,
let me give you four reasons why the unbeliever, and I'm going
to give you the flip side as I give you the bad news, I'm
going to incorporate in this some good news. Four reasons
why the unbeliever has no reason to be of good cheer. Number one. Now you listen to these. You
can write them down if you want to. There is a holy God I cannot
please. That's right. There's a holy
God that you cannot please and I cannot please. In the flesh
shall no man please God. You have no reason to be of good
cheer if you're resting in the deeds of the flesh. But here's
the good news for the believer. Christ our Redeemer, Christ our
Substitute, He did please God. He did please God as our Substitute. In fact, God spoke from heaven
and He said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. God has never had pleasure in
burnt offerings and sacrifices. Those blood sacrifices never
put away sin. But He does have great pleasure
in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're a believer
resting in Him, be of good cheer. But for an unbeliever, there's
a holy God I cannot please in myself. Secondly, there's a holy
law I cannot keep. There's a holy law I cannot keep.
The law says, Curse is everyone that continues not in all things,
but they're written in the book of the law to do them. There's
that holy law that condemns me as guilty before God. Those who
are unbelievers, that law of God stands in judgment against
you. And that law of God says one
thing, guilty. Guilty as charred before God.
But here's the good news of the gospel for the believer, and
the reason the believer can be of good cheer in Christ. Here's
the good news for the believer. Christ did obey the law for us. He said, I didn't come to destroy
the law. I came to honor the law of God. In the fullness of
time, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the
law to redeem them that are under that law. That's the good news
in Christ. Be of good cheer. He kept the
law of God for us. If you're in Christ, you've honored
the law of God. Faith honors the law of God as
it looks to and sees it fulfilled and satisfied in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Here's the third thing. Reasons
why the unbeliever cannot be of good cheer. There's a holy
God I cannot please. There's a holy law I cannot keep
and satisfy. Thirdly, there's a righteousness
I cannot produce. What does God demand for acceptance? The best you have? The best you
can do? Oh no! God demands perfection. I can't produce it. And no man
can. There is a righteousness I cannot
produce. There is a righteousness which
God requires. Perfect holiness. Psalm 24 declares
this. Who shall ascend unto the hill
of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands. and
a pure heart who's never lifted up his soul to vanity, who's
never sworn deceitfully, he shall receive the blessing from the
Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. But I can't
produce that. In myself, I don't have clean
hands. In myself, I don't have a pure
heart. I have a wicked heart, a deceitful heart. But the good
news of the gospel is this. There is a righteousness, oh,
a blessed righteousness provided in the gospel. It's a righteousness
which is of God. You know what that righteousness
is? It's of God. It's a person. He
is the Lord, our righteousness, and in Him I stand complete. I have a perfect righteousness
before God, provided by His merit, provided by His obedience. That's
the good news of the gospel to the believer. be of good cheer
in Christ Jesus. The gospel says he came to give
us that righteousness that we couldn't produce. He came to
give us that righteousness that heaven requires, that God demands,
that you must have. Do you have a perfect righteousness?
The unbeliever would have to honestly say no. I'm nothing
but unrighteousness. But the believer can say, yes,
I have a perfect righteousness. There he is. The Lord Jesus Christ. And he's been imputed to me.
He's been charged to me as all my righteousness before a thrice
holy God in Christ Jesus. I told you there were four reasons
why a believer cannot be of good cheer. There is a holy law I
cannot please. There is a holy God I cannot
please. There is a righteousness I cannot
produce. And lastly, there is sin. There is sin I cannot put away. You see, for the unbeliever there's
no good news. If you're resting in what you've
done, what you have, what you are. There is a sin I cannot
put away. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. The Scriptures declare the soul
that sinneth it shall surely die. What are we going to do? I've got to account for my sin.
Sin brings forth death. What are we going to do? We're
going to look to the Lord Jesus Christ who appeared once in the
end of the age to put away sin. by the sacrifice of Himself,
and He did it completely to the total delight and satisfaction
of God's holy law and justice. In Christ Jesus, now because
the Lord Jesus Christ died for all the sin of God's people that
were laid on Him, God Almighty said, their sin and their iniquity
will I remember no more. They don't exist. You see, for
the unbeliever, there's no good news. Your sins still are on
you. For the believer resting in Christ
Jesus, my sins are all gone. They're all taken away. They're
all taken away. The just died for the unjust
that He might bring us unto God. God made Him to be sin for us
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believes. That's the good
news. Believer? be of good cheer, resting in
Christ Jesus. Salvation is freely given in
Christ Jesus to the rebel, to the unbeliever, resting in himself. Woe unto them that seek salvation
apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord said, I am the way,
I am the truth, I am life. No man comes unto the Father
but by and through and in me alone. Be of good cheer. If you're a believer resting
in Christ, you have every valid, compelling reason to be of good
cheer in Christ. All things have been freely provided
for us to stand before God, accepted in the Beloved. If you're an
unbeliever resting in your own merit, in your own flesh, I've
got Terrible news for you. Woe is unto you who believe not
the gospel. The wrath of God. He that believeth
on the Son hath life. He that believeth not the wrath
of God. The wrath of God abides on him.