Be of Good Cheer is a sermon reminding us to be cheerful because our sins are forgiven, He is with us through troubles, He is not finished with us, and we belong to Him.

Key verses:
Matthew 9:1-2
Matthew 14:23-27
John 16:32-33
Acts 23:6-11
Acts 27:21-22

Right now, let’s go over to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 9, and we are going to read verses 1 and 2.

By the way, what I just talked to you about is called the omnipresence of God. He can be all-present; He can be everywhere at the same time. He is omniscient, all-knowing, He’s omnipotent, all-powerful, and omnipresent – He can be everywhere at the same time.

Matthew 9:1: “And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.”

“His own city” – that would be Capernaum.

Matthew 9:2: “And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.”

I want to talk to you for just a few minutes tonight about that little phrase “be of good cheer.”

Changes in Our Lifetime

We were talking, some of us after the morning church today, just outside the door, about how that things have changed here. Some of the folks are younger than some of the rest of us, but we’ll leave that as that. But someone said to me, “You’ve probably seen a lot of things change in your lifetime.” Boy, I have. I’ve seen a lot of things change. I’ve seen a lot of things I never thought would happen happened.

I remember when people were talking about putting a man on the moon. But then I saw it happen. A good friend of mine in high school said, “Do you realize that in our lifetime we’re going to see two great celebrations? We’re going to see the 200th anniversary of the United States of America, and we are going to see the turn of the century.” He was right, but both of those things are decades behind us now. We are way past both of those things. The first one was in 1976 and the last one, the second one, was in 2000. So, we’re decades past all that.

Yes, we’ve seen a lot of things. Some of you have seen things that obviously I haven’t. We’ve seen a presidential assassination, something I hope we’ll never see again. We’ve seen so many other different things happen. We’ve seen wars come and go. We’ve seen so many different changes. We’ve seen changes in society, changes in fashion.

I was talking to the Sunday School class this morning, and Jeremiah Glaude came in with a beautiful pair of white shoes on that reminded me of a story, and I shared it with them, a true story. Back in the ‘70s, I don’t know what started this fad, but it was a fad. Evangelists were wearing – a lot of evangelists, I’m sure not all of them, I’m sure you can think of some who weren’t, but a lot of evangelists were wearing white patent leather loafer shoes. Some of you are thinking, “What is a white patent leather loafer?” Some of you are old enough to know what I’m talking about.

I was at a friend of mine’s home, and he was an evangelist. He was getting some things out of his closet, cleaning his closet a little bit, and he picked up a shoebox. He says, “I don’t remember this. I wonder what’s in it.” I said, “It’s a pair of white patent leather shoes.” And he laughed. He opened the box, and it was.

Now, that was a fad. It came, and it’s gone. I don’t think most evangelists today even know what those shoes look like. But the point I’m trying to get across to you is this. A lot of things have come, and a lot of things have changed.

I used to like; I’m talking about a long time ago, not recently; I used to like to watch the six o’clock news. I don’t watch the six o’clock news anymore. Why? It’s depressing. It is. It’s depressing to watch it. I don’t enjoy it at all. I pay a little more attention to newscasts this time of year because it’s hurricane season. I want to know. You know there is one out there right now. You know that, right? It’s probably not going to get close to us, but there’s one out there, and there’s probably more before the season is over. So, I want to know about hurricanes because if one is coming, I want to be ready for it.

But the fact that I’m trying to get across to you is that things do change and sometimes we get depressed and go through struggles. We have health challenges, we have financial challenges, and we have family issues that go on. We lose family and friends. So many changes in our life.

The Omnipresent God

And yet, through it all, one who is omnipresent is with us. You remember the story about Daniel and the three Hebrews that were put in the fiery furnace, then there was the fourth man in the fire. Even old king Nebuchadnezzar who did not know the Lord at that time, came to know the Lord later, but at that time, he didn’t know the Lord, and he believed in other gods and kind of thought that he himself was a god. But he looked in there and said, “Didn’t we put three men in the fire?”

And I’ve said this often because I believe it is true. The men around him said, “Yes, yes, oh king. We put three men in the fire.” They would have said that if they put six men in the fire or if they put two in there. They would never have disagreed with him. Why wouldn’t they disagree with him? He would probably have them killed for arguing with him. Why? It was just the kind of man he was.

But the thing I want you to see is this. “I see four men in the fire and the form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God.” Some people change that and say, “He meant the son of a god, son of one of the gods.” Well, it’s not what he said. He said, “It looks like the Son of God.” Now, you have to ask yourself, how did unbelieving Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar ever know what the Son of God looked like before that? I’m going to submit to you that he didn’t. He didn’t know what the Son of God looked like before that. But when he saw this fourth one in the fire, he says, “That’s got to be the Son of God. When I look at Him, it’s got to be.” He saw something there that he had never seen before. That’s got to be the Son of God.

Did people in the Old Testament know about the Son of God? Oh, my goodness, yes, they did, and we pointed this out many times. You’ll find it in Psalm 2, you’ll find it in Proverbs 30, you’re going to find that people of the Old Testament knew that God had a son, and believed that God had a son, and talked about the Son of God. So, when Nebuchadnezzar says that he’s right on target.

But notice something. We brought that message, the story of Daniel, many times. The Lord did not stop those men from going into that fiery furnace. They knew that if they didn’t bow down to the idol that Nebuchadnezzar had set up, they knew that if they didn’t bow down to that idol, they would be cast into that fiery furnace, and they wouldn’t do it. They stood firm on their faith. They stood firm on their faith in the Lord. They trusted Him.

As a matter of fact, when they were sent to the fiery furnace, they did not know if the Lord was going to deliver them. As far as they knew, they were headed to their death, and they did not change. As you know in the story, the Lord didn’t save them from going into the fiery furnace. That’s such an important part of the story. He didn’t stop them from going into the fire. He could have.

If you and I were writing the story, He would have. How would He have done that? He would have sent a tornado and blown the fire out. Maybe he would have sent a flood and washed the fire away. Maybe he would have brought in an attacking army from somewhere else and defeated the Babylonians on the spot. Maybe He would have sent an angel down to deliver them. He did that in the Book of Acts, but that’s not what He did. He allowed them to go into the fire. But He went with them in the fire.

To me, that’s the most important part of the story. It was important that they stood for their faith, don’t get me wrong on that. That’s very important that they stood for their faith. But the most important part of the story was they went into the fire, and He was in there with them. He never promised them that they wouldn’t go into the fire. And He never promised that to you and me either.

So, I want to point out just a few places here where Jesus said, where the Lord said, “Be of good cheer.” Now, “be of good cheer” what does that mean? That means you are going to walk around with a big broad smile on your face all the time and never take that smile off. Well, I think there are some people like that. Some of you can think of a person like that right now, always smiling, always smiling, and that’s great. If you’re that kind of person and you smile all the time, that’s good. But I dare say most of us are not like that. Most of us are not just smiling all the time. Now, you may smile a lot, and that’s good. It’s a good thing to smile. But most of us aren’t smiling all the time. I’m looking out and don’t see very many smiles. I see one right there. I don’t see very many smiles tonight, but that’s okay.

I read this one time, “You meet somebody without a smile, give him yours.” Think that through a minute, and you’ll get it. But I thought about something in a newspaper cartoon I saw years ago. There were two characters in the cartoon and one of them had a big broad smile on his face and the other said, “I thought you were having some hard times.” He said, “I have been.” The other says, “You’ve got a big smile. What’s got you smiling so big?” He said, “Well, you’d smile big too if you had 400 crickets sitting out your window singing cheer up all night.” Think about it, you’ll get it.

Your Sins are Forgiven

But I want you to see why the Lord says, “be of good cheer” and in what cases He says that and see if some of it doesn’t apply to you. I think it likely will. So, in this story, again, verse one:

Matthew 9:1: “And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.”

Matthew 9:2: “And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.”

“And Jesus seeing their faith” – a key statement there “seeing their faith.”

“And Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” Now, you know they challenged Him on that. Not the disciples, not the friend that brought him in, but the Pharisees there. They challenged Him on that. They said, “What do you mean your sins be forgiven thee? Who are you to forgive sins?” And that is an important part of this story also. But what I want you to focus on right now is He said, “be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.”

Can I encourage you to do that? Be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven. That ought to put a smile on your face. Your sins are forgiven. You are no longer a slave to your sin. You are no longer lost and without hope and without God in this world. You are no longer going to that place that we call Hell. I don’t hear much about that anymore.

I listen to Christian radio quite a bit, not 24/7, and I don’t hear much said about Hell. I understand to a certain degree why they wouldn’t. It’s not pleasant to talk about. I don’t know, there probably are some somewhere, but I don’t know personally any preachers who enjoy preaching about Hell. It’s not a pleasant topic, and it’s not fun to talk about, but it’s real.

You know, it’s not fun to talk about death either. Let’s just not talk about death and a lot of people don’t. “I don’t want to talk about it. No, no, no, don’t talk about that.” But honestly, folks, we need to think about it. Not to be gloomy, not to be depressed, but we need to think about it so that we are prepared.

And we need to talk about Hell because you don’t want people to go there. And I’ll go a step farther. God doesn’t want people to go there. He’s putting up roadblocks to keep people from going there. People climb over the roadblocks and go there anyway.

But you should be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven. You’re not going to Hell. You’re not in the bondage of sin, and you are now a child of God. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” And if you’ve trusted Him as your Savior, you have been born again, you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, and you are part of God’s family. You are now a servant of God.

One day, you will leave this life, and you’ll step into home. The home is going to be Heaven. Be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven. “Your sins,” Isaiah 59 says, “separates you from your God.” Your sins have separated you from your God. If your sins are forgiven, that wall of separation is gone. And now, as the writer in Hebrews says, “You can come boldly into the throne room of God.” You’re welcome there. You’re admitted there. So, be of good cheer because your sins are forgiven.

Be Not Afraid

Then I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 14 for a second instance of this. We talked about this same story this morning when we looked at John chapter 6. This is Matthew’s version of the story, verses 15-21, the story of the feeding of the 5,000. Again, Matthew’s account of some of the same events we saw in John chapter 6. But Matthew 14: 23 says:

Matthew 14:23: “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.”

John didn’t give us this detail that He was up there praying, but we told you about it this morning.

Matthew 14:24: “But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.”

They were in trouble, and it didn’t look good. Again, Peter, James, and John, at least, and Andrew, were all sailors. They made their life and their living on the Sea of Galilee. They’ve been through storms before. They knew it better than most people would. Not all the 12 were sailors, not all the 12 would know those things, but those four would. They were afraid. It didn’t look good for them. It looked like their boat wasn’t going to make it.

I’m reminded of when I was a teenager. A friend of mine’s brother owned a boat. But the brother was out of town, and my friend said, “Hey, let’s take my brother’s boat out.” He didn’t have permission to take his brother’s boat out. I want to make that clear to you. He said, “Let’s take my brother’s boat out.” And we did. We took the boat out and took it out on the ocean there, and the sea was rough that day. And boy, those waves were big, and this was not a very large boat. Somebody’s going to ask me, “How large was it?” I don’t remember how many feet long it was. It was decades ago, about a half-century ago.

But there were four or five of us in the boat, and the sea was so rough we were starting to get sick. So, we decided we’d better head back in. As we came into the inlet, this would have been the Hillsboro Inlet, if you know where that is. As we came into the inlet, a wave hit the boat, and the boat tipped up on its side. And I promise you, I saw the bottom of the water, and I thought we were goners. And then it came back down. We got that boat back where it belonged really quickly. And when the brother came home, he wasn’t really happy about all that. We didn’t have permission to take that boat out.

Why did I tell you that story? Because I know what it’s like to be out at sea and get scared. That’s why I’m telling you that story. Because I got scared that day. But they were afraid, verse 25:

Matthew 14:25: “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.”

Matthew 14:26: “And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.”

We talked about that this morning. Who else would it be walking on the water out there but a spirit? If you’re in danger and you’re about to die, and a spirit’s coming, why? Probably to come and get you. Wouldn’t that be a logical thought? That’s it, we’re gone. They cried out for fear.

Matthew 14:27: “But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”

You be of good cheer because your sins are forgiven. You be of good cheer because you are a child of God, and He is with you when you have trouble. He’s there just like when He was with those three fellows who went into the fiery furnace in Babylon. He is with you. He never promised you that you are not going to have trouble. We’ll see that in a moment.

But He is with you when the sea is rough, and you can’t handle it anymore, when there are storms all around you, and when the spirit looks like it’s coming. It’s not a spirit, it was the Lord. And if He came to take them home, that would have been fine too, wouldn’t it? Yes. But He was coming. He was there all the time. He knew exactly where they were. He knew exactly what was happening to them. Just like He knows exactly where you are right now and exactly what’s happening to you right now. He was there. He was with them.

Find Peace in Jesus

Now, go back to John. I told you we would be going back to John, John chapter 16. In John chapter 16, there is a promise, and it’s a promise I want you to know. I quote this here from time to time, but it’s a promise I want you to be able to hang on to. There are so many promises in the Bible, great promises.

We had a book in the library back there that had all the promises of the Bible. Isn’t that something, all the promises. We had that book here, All the Promises of God by Herbert Lockyer. If it is still there, you are welcome to take it and read it. If it’s not still there, I’m sure you can find it online.

But here in John 16, there’s a lot going on. Chapters 14, 15, 16, and 17, all lead up to the crucifixion. In verse 32, Jesus says to the apostles, and this is the night before the crucifixion:

John 16:32: “Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”

Now, here’s the promise:

John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Jesus knew what was coming, they didn’t. He had told them He was going to be crucified, but they didn’t understand it. They certainly did know it was going to be in a couple of hours. They didn’t understand that. He had told them, and He spent a great deal of time preparing them, but they didn’t understand. But He knows the time is at hand. It’s about to happen.

He’s saying that He’s telling them these things so that they can have peace in the world. In Jesus, you have peace. But in the world, you shall have tribulation. Now, that’s the promise I was talking about. You are promised to have trouble in this world; you are. Like the old Gospel song says, “The world is not my home, I’m just passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.”

And so, everybody has trouble in their life. Sometimes, God uses trouble to do great things in our life. Sometimes trouble helps us to see things a bit more clearly. Sometimes trouble strengthens us. Sometimes trouble challenges but then strengthens our faith.

But here Jesus says [paraphrasing], “In the world ye shall have tribulation but in me, you shall have peace.” In Him, you have peace, but in the world, you’re going to have trouble, you’re going to have tribulation. “But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” What He’s telling us there and the promise that He’s giving us, besides the promise of getting trouble, is that He is greater than whatever trouble you are having. He is. He is greater than all the trouble you’ve ever had, are having now, or ever will have. He is greater, and in Him, you can have peace, so be of good cheer. Have peace.

God is Not Finished with You

A couple more, and we’ll go to the Book of Acts and finish up. In Acts chapter 23, Paul is in Jerusalem. He’s gone there, and he’s gone to the temple to worship. There have been people following Paul around all through Asia Minor. They have been wanting a chance to get him. Why did they want to get him? Because people were turning to Jesus as He was preaching. They didn’t like that.

Some of them saw him in Jerusalem, and they caused a riot. The Romans who were charged with keeping peace in the area came in, and the Roman captain, thinking that Paul was the instigator of it all, he wasn’t. He was the victim, they thought he was the bad guy. I’ve seen that happen before when there’s trouble going on, and the one who is the victim is the one who gets blamed for what other people were doing, and they arrested him.

Paul and the Roman captain get into a conversation, and Paul asked if he could speak to the people, and he did. Then he ends up at the council of the Sanhedrin. Verse six:

Acts 23:6: “But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.”

We talked about that last Sunday night. The Pharisees believed in Heaven, they believed in Hell, and they believed in the resurrection. The Sadducees believed none of that. They were those “when you’re dead, you’re dead” people. There’s nothing after that. Now, both of these are prominent Jewish sects in New Testament times, and both are prominent Jewish sects today.

There are many Jewish people who believe in Heaven and Hell and all of that. And there are many who believe when you’re dead, you’re dead. The best you can hope for is to be well remembered. That’s who the Sadducees were. Paul picked up on that, he recognized them. So, “he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.”

Acts 23:7: “And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.”

Acts 23:8: “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.”

Acts 23:9: “And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.”

Acts 23:10: “And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.”

Paul knew that if he talked about the resurrection, those two groups would start fighting with each other, and they had a big enough fuss that the Romans stepped in. Now, where is Paul? He’s in the castle. Oh, he’s living like a king. No, he’s in the part of the castle where they put the bad people. Verse 11:

Acts 23:11: “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.”

Do you see that? Where’s Paul? He’s in jail. You know, he may have been released for a little bit of time. In Rome, he was in his own house for a period of two years. The end of the Book of Acts tells us that. He might have even been released for a little while. Some people think he was and took a trip to Spain. The scripture does not say that. But for all practical intents and purposes, he was never a free man after this. From here, he goes over to Caesaria, and from there, he goes on a journey to Rome and was in Rome for the rest of his life. Finally, they execute him in Rome. Keep that in mind when we read verse 11:

Acts 23:11: “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.”

Paul was going through a difficult time, and it would not soon be over. But the Lord was with him as we have seen in these previous passages.

Acts 23:11: “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.”

[paraphrasing] “You’ve witnessed here. You’ve testified for me in Jerusalem. Paul, you are going to go to Rome.” Here’s what I want you to see. Paul is in danger, he’s under arrest, but the Lord is not finished with Paul. He is not finished with him. He’s going to use him again, and again, and again. He wrote his final epistles in prison in Rome, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, all written in the prison in Rome, and a couple of others. The Lord wasn’t finished with Paul.

It looked bad, he got arrested. Those people out there that he got to fighting, many of them wanted him dead. As a matter of fact, when they went to transport him out of Jerusalem, there was a squad that swore they weren’t going to eat again until they killed him. I guess they starved to death, but they didn’t kill him. They wanted this man dead, but the Lord said that he was not finished with Paul. He had more for him, it’s not over yet.

And I’m going to tell you in your life, when you feel like this is it, you can’t take anymore. When you feel like you’re in a jail cell, or people wanted to get you, destroy you, the Lord’s not finished with you. “How will I know when He’s finished?” When you breathe your last breath, that’s how you’ll know. The Lord wasn’t finished with Paul yet.

You Belong to Him

One more, chapter 27, and then we’re finished. This is Paul on the way to Rome. We won’t read the whole chapter; we don’t have time. A great story. But they end up shipwrecked. Like that night on the ship in the Sea of Galilee, they are out in the Mediterranean and there is a storm, and it looks bad. Verse 21:

Acts 27:21: “But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.”

He told them not to set out again, but they did.

Acts 27:22: “And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.”

“And now I exhort you to be of good cheer” – every other time we’ve seen this, it was the Lord saying it, now it’s Paul saying it. Paul says that none of them were going to die, all would survive this night, but the ship is going to sink. And it did. It crashed into the rocks and was torn apart by the waves. The ship may sink that you’re on, but you belong to Him. Paul knew that. Even if the ship sinks, you still belong to Him.

Be of good cheer. Be of good cheer because your sins are forgiven. Be of good cheer when you have trouble. He is with you. He’s there. Know that trouble is going to happen but know that He is greater than all the trouble you’re having and know that He is not finished with you yet. There’s more, there’s more. Even if the ship sinks, you still belong to Him.

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Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much. Help us to be encouraged and strengthened. Help us, Lord, to be of good cheer. Help us to know and trust you with everything that is going on in our life, those things that have happened, and those things that will happen that we don’t even know about yet. Help us, Lord, to be of good cheer.

Heads are bowed, and eyes are closed. Somebody would like to come forward and pray you are welcome to do so. If there’s a spiritual need in your life, I’ll be down front. I’ll kneel with you and pray with you and help you. You come while we sing. Father, bless and move during the invitation time we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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