ACTS "Be of Good Cheer" - Part 2

Brett Meador: Why did Jesus say, dude, I want you to be of good cheer. Here's why. Your sins are forgiven thee. That's why Jesus says you can be of good cheer. Can I just say if you've accepted Christ and repented of your sins, you can be of good cheer today.
Guest (Male): Pastor Brett Mether rejoicing in the good news, our sins are forgiven and forgotten.
Brett Meador: If I have confessed my sins before God, my sins are forgiven. If you have no other reason in this world to be happy today, that is a huge one. He remembers our sins no more.
Guest (Male): Acts 23 finds Paul in a difficult place facing an uncertain future. But in the middle of it all, Jesus remarkably came to Paul encouraging him to be of good cheer, not only because God had even more plans yet to accomplish through Paul, but also that eternity is secured for all redeemed through the work of Christ. Here's Pastor Brett Mether encouraging us with today's word.
Brett Meador: Here in our text in Acts chapter 23, we start in verse 11. This is really something. Acts 23 11. It says, 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. What happens here? Well, if you remember, we left Paul where he left Caesarea and went into Jerusalem and for like 10 seconds he met some friendly people who said, oh Paul, welcome home. We're glad to have you back and Gentiles are being saved. Wonderful. But then the other Jews in Jerusalem found out Paul was in town. There was a riot. And they're like, this guy is forsaking the law and he's letting these Gentiles in and they freaked out. They wanted to kill him. The Romans, who are supposed to keep the peace, and the Roman leaders will be in trouble if they don't keep the peace. So, the Roman soldiers came and said, what's going on here? And they saw that Paul was sort of at the center of everything. And so they took Paul into custody and chained him up and were hauling him off to be flogged with a scourge like Jesus is whipping. That was the plan. He's there in a jail cell and this is the word the Lord gives and says, Paul, be of good cheer. One of the phrases I truly love in the Bible is be of good cheer. Jesus uses this phrase over and over again. I love that Jesus, when he says something like that, be of good cheer, he really has the power to back it up. Can I show you why Jesus has the authority to say this? And I want to show you five places where Jesus said, be of good cheer, and he backs it up with power and reason of why you can be of good cheer. The first one, in Matthew chapter 9 we have a story where Jesus first uses this beautiful phrase. Matthew chapter 9 starting in verse 2. It says, and behold, they brought to Jesus a man sick of the palsy lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, son, be of good cheer. Thy sins be forgiven thee. And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemeth. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether it is easier to say, thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, arise and walk. But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on the earth to forgive sins, then he said to the sick of the palsy, arise, take up thy bed and go into your house. And he arose and departed to his house. I love this. The religious leaders flip out when Jesus says, your sins are forgiven thee. Now, why did they freak out? Because they believed that only God has the power to forgive sin. Is that correct? Yes, it is correct. The only thing they missed the memo. Jesus is God. Jesus is God standing right before them and he says, your sins are forgiven. He, yes, has the power to forgive sins. But why did Jesus say, be of good cheer? Because you're going to walk again? Nope. Why did Jesus say, dude, I want you to be of good cheer. Here's why. Your sins are forgiven thee. That's why Jesus says you can be of good cheer. Can I just say if you're a Christian, if you've accepted Christ and repented of your sins, you can be of good cheer today. It's not just me saying, hey dude, cheer up. It's actually you saying, I can be of good cheer because guess what? If I'm a Christian, if I've confessed my sins before God, my sins are forgiven. If you have no other reason in this world to be happy today, that is a huge one. He remembers our sins no more. So, number one, you can be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven. Pardon. Number two, the second time Jesus used this beautiful phrase, be of good cheer. Are you still in Matthew chapter 9? We have a second time where he says this in verse 20 of chapter 9 Matthew. He says, and behold, a woman which was diseased with an issue of blood 12 years came behind him and touched the hem of his garment. For she said within herself, if I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about and when he saw her, he said, daughter, be of good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. Don't you love this? This poor woman who'd been with infirmity of this disease, of the issue of blood, and she'd been that for 12 long years. And man, when Jesus is touched by this woman, he turns around and what does he say? Stop touching me. No. He says, be of good cheer. You say, Brett, the Bible says be of good comfort. You shouldn't change the words. You know what's interesting? If you look at the Greek text of the New Testament, the Greek word in verse 2 for be of good cheer and the word comfort in verse 22, it's the exact same Greek word. So, it was actually the King James translation that changed it from cheer to comfort. When you look at the entomology of the word tharseo in the Greek, take courage, cheer up. That's the word tharseo in the Greek. So, Jesus says, you know, be of good tharseo, good comfort or cheer. Why does he say this to the woman who's sick, be of good cheer? Because he's about to heal her. How does Jesus have the power to heal? Did you know Isaiah the prophet tells us the secret? It says in Isaiah 53 5, but he, prophetically speaking of the coming Jesus, but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities and with his stripes, that is the whippings on his back, we are healed. The cross gives us the first be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven, but it's the cross that gives you the second one too. Be of good cheer because he has the power to heal you of your infirmities. You know, I 've got to say how many people today turn to other things rather than the power of Jesus, the power of God for healing. Healing emotionally, healing physically. We go to doctors and medicine and we almost turn to everything else before we turn to the the one as the healer. You know, medicine is good. I have to say that. I use medicine. You use hopefully use medicine. The Lord uses doctors and medicine. Jesus even showed us how he used, you know, substances that they thought to be medicinal in those days. Um so, God can use medicine and doctors. However, I'm concerned that we're a culture that we forget Jesus because well, the Bible's not science and what does the Bible really know? I'm sick. I need medicine. I need science. But if you're really honest, how's science treating us lately? Shouldn't we be the healthiest people on the planet, the United States of America? Shouldn't we with modern psychology and all the classes, all the universities of psychological instruction and teaching, shouldn't we just be on the cutting edge of happiness with all the money and effort and education that we have? Why are we the most messed up people on the planet? The answer's real simple. What we're doing is not working. Are you emotionally discouraged? The doctor's first answer often times will be, you need to take these medicines, these serotonin level altering drugs and it'll help you feel better. Dr. Marty Makary, interesting guy, professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, one of leading experts in medicine today. He wrote a book of a few months back called Blind Spots. When medicine gets it wrong and what it means to our health. Dr. Makary is sounding the alarm on how modern medicine over the past 50 years has had a terrible track record pointing out how pancreatic cancer rates have doubled. Obesity and autism increasing every year in children. Fertility is going down as well. Makary believes nobody is stopping to ask the questions that are the root causes. He states that in America we have the sickest population in the history of the world and the most overmedicated population in the history of the world. All doctors virtually will admit, yes, we are way overmedicated in this culture. Now, I have to say it again, not all medicine is bad. Medicine is important and and can be helpful. But can I just challenge you with this before just blindly taking medicine from a doctor's prescription, could you do something as a Christian that the Bible might just really hammer home really You might have a good doctor. Let's just say you do, but I know a better doctor. The Bible calls God the great physician. Did you know that? Well, what does he know about the human body? Oh wait, he made it. And he invented it. In the Old Testament, one of the names of God is Jehovah Rapha. That's the God that heals. He's the healer God. That's why you can be of good cheer. God can heal you. Oh Brett, you're just a crazy Christian who believes in miraculous healing. Yes, I am. I believe that with all my heart and I've seen it many times over where God has the power to heal people and he can do that supernaturally without medicine, but he can also do that with doctors and medicine. Either way, I'll take either one happily. But I think we sell short the power of God. Now, if you have sought the Lord, you you heard your doctor say, you need this medicine, and you have prayed about it and you've even sought maybe outside counsel, I think every person should have friends that when your doctor says, I think you need to have these serotonin level altering medications, then you should go to those closest to you and say, hey, this is what my doctor said. Brett, that's personal information. Again, the Bible says there's safety in a multitude of counselors. That doctor has only known you for 10 minutes. Your friends know who you are and what you're wrestling with and they can be there and stand with you. Whether it's after you've prayed and sought the Lord and then you've talked with your friends and if they're all saying, we feel like that's what the Lord would have you do and you've prayed about it, it's it's a little thing that Jesus invented. It's Matthew 6 33, but seek ye first your medical doctor. No. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. So, if you've done those things, you've sought the Lord and you have people that are close to you that affirm that that might be helpful for you, then you can do it knowing that this is what the Lord has led. You have a peace in your heart about what you're doing right now. You know, I wonder how many times we're taking medicine for something God wants us to seek him first about. And you know, why did God invent physical pain? Have you ever thought about that? See, I'm a little concerned that we're numbing the pain that God wants us to actually acknowledge. It'd be like this. This will be a ridiculous I I actually read this in a doctor's book once where he said, what if you walked into a doctor's office and you broke your arm and it's just kind of flapping in the wind and you know, there's a bone sticking out of your elbow and you walk in, I think I hurt my arm. And the doctor goes, oh man, compound fracture, blood. The doctor says, got just the thing and he gets out a syringe full of Novocain or something like that and just starts squirting up your elbow and right around where the bone's sticking out and it's like, ow ow ow. But eventually like, hey, I don't feel a thing. Feels great. And the doc's like, good, there you go. And you walk out of the doctor's office, wow, he's awesome. He fixed my problem. And you walk out. Is that doctor a good doctor? No, that person could die. Why? Well, there's arteries and bones and there's you could bleed out if you move in even just in a slightly wrong direction. You got to deal with it rightly. And guess what? God gave us something called pain. When you break your arm and you have a bone sticking out, you're like, ow. The implication, you got to fix that. You've got to make sure and make no infection. You got to clean the wound. You got to set the bone. You got to stitch up the wound. You got to put it in a sling and let it rest and let the bones grow and by the miracle of God and the way the human body works, that arm can be as good as new if you do it right. But if you just squirt some Novocain in it, you may not feel the pain, but you still got a problem. I don't think it's that much different when you're depressed or full of anxiety. There's pain and it's legit. I want to affirm those of you that wrestle with those things. They are very real. But I wonder if maybe some of that pain that you feel is something where God's saying there's a problem that is more than just making the pain go away and you got to fix that. See, David was a guy who had all kinds of depression. David said why art thou cast down, oh my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? But then he would say, hope thou in God. But can I just say, it's not just me saying this. This is science that's saying way too many people are misguided medically, whether it's psychology in the soul or even medicine. Seek the Lord first. He is able to heal. So, that's the second one. Be of good cheer. God can heal you and he has the power to do that and Jesus demonstrated that with the woman there in Matthew 9. Number three, be of good cheer. God is with us. Flip over to Matthew 14 22. It says a straight way Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship to go before him to the other side while he sent the multitudes away and went up into a mountain apart to pray and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea tossed with the waves so the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled saying, it is a spirit. And they cried out for fear, but straight way Jesus spake unto them saying, be of good cheer. It is I. Be not afraid. And Peter answered and said, Lord, if if it be thou, bid me come to thee on the water. And he said, come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him, oh thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Classic story in the Bible. Love the story. We you know, we all are in storms of life. There's so much we can talk about here, but the main thing I want to show you here is what Jesus says to the disciples. He says, be of good cheer. One of the things we're learning about these be of good cheer statements is Jesus in each case gives them the reason why they can be of good cheer. The first guy, be of good cheer. Not because your buddies brought you, not because you're about to walk, be of good cheer because your sins are forgiven. With the woman, it was be of good cheer, I 'm going to make you whole. You're going to be healed. In this case, he says be of good cheer. He does it because you're going to survive this incident. He doesn't say be of good cheer because your boat's not going to sink. Be of good cheer. You're going to be safe. That's not what he says. He says, be of good cheer. It is I. I am with you in this storm. And if I'm with you in this storm, you 've got nothing else to worry about. I love what Jesus says here. He's talking about his presence with these disciples. Without Jesus in the storm, the disciples would have stayed afraid and possibly perished. But because Jesus was there, they could know we're in good shape because Jesus is with us. Is Christ with you? If you're a Christian here, the Bible says, yes, he will never leave you or forsake you. Matthew 28 20 Jesus said, lo, I am with you always even to the end of the earth. The Lord's with you if you're a Christian. The Lord is with us always even to the ends of the earth. So, you can be of good cheer because of that. Number four, be of good cheer because he, Jesus, has overcome the world. Turn with me to John chapter 16. A classic verse that I'm going to confess to you when I was a younger kid, I used to read this with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. If you're reading the Bible with a chip on your shoulder, you got a problem. It's your fault, not the Bible's. I'll tell you what I mean here. I used to read this as a kid and I'd go, oh great, whatever. Not saying that's good. John 16 33 Jesus said, these things have I spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. And as a young guy I'd say, Like good for you, Jesus. I'm glad you have overcome the world, but you just said it right here, in this world you will have tribulation, but I have overcome the world. That's the way I used to read it when I was a young kid and the Lord showed me that I missed the first part of that verse. These things that I've spoken to you that in me The preposition there is huge. In me, when you're in Christ, you might have peace. In the world If you're in the world, you have tribulation. But if you're in me, you have peace. And he says, good news, I have overcome the world. You say, well, that's good for you. No, it's good for us because we're in Christ and because he won the victory, we also cross the finish line with him. The disciples are freaked out in this story because of what's coming. Jesus is telling them about how he'd be taken away and killed. They might have felt like this wasted their three years following Jesus only to You know, they're going to be scattered. But Jesus is basically saying, you know, you guys are going to scatter and you guys are going to make mistakes and you are in trouble. You are going to have tribulation, but I have overcome. You're in me. So, even if you do fail and scatter, guess what? Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. I have lived a life, Jesus might say, where I've not been seduced by Satan. I've not been conquered by sin. I have not been tainted with sin. I have overcome and because you're in me, therefore you will overcome as well. There's a You know, I always say there's a Old Testament picture for every New Testament truth. I think there's a great one in this. When Goliath was towering over David in the valley of Elah, send me your champion. If I beat your champion, you will be our slaves. But if your champion beats me, then we will be your slaves. David reaches down in the brook there in the valley of Elah and pulls out five smooth stones. Why five? Did you know Goliath had four brothers? Maybe he got five. I'll take on the whole family if I have to. But David puts those five smooth stones and then he goes and takes out one stone, sinks it into the forehead of Goliath and Goliath is down for the count. David jumps up on the body of Goliath, pulls the sword out of his giant sword out of his sheath and chops off Goliath's head. That's the part you didn't color in Sunday school. You know what I mean? He carried this head around. Now, one of the things you might miss in the David and Goliath story, what did the Israeli soldiers do at that point once he cut off the head of Goliath? Well, what happened? Remember the slave thing? Once David killed Goliath, the Philistines went and they ran. And the Israeli soldiers, they just ran after them and killed them and just picked up all the spoil from that. Because David won the battle, he won the victory. So, the men weren't fighting for victory. They were actually fighting from victory because David the champion whooped on Goliath. So too our champion, the good shepherd, the son of David, Jesus Christ, he took on the Goliath of my sin, of my failure. He took on the Goliath of Satan and his demons and the world and its system and he beat them so I get to just have life perspective from enjoying the victory. The Christian race is the only race where you start at the finish line. No wonder Jesus says be of good cheer. Number five, last. We go back to our main text, Acts chapter 23. Would you flip back there now? Be of good cheer because the Lord has a plan and a purpose for us. Keyword purpose. Verse 11 again, and the night following, the Lord stood by him, Paul, and said, be of good cheer, Paul. For as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also in Rome. Why is that a good cheer thing for Paul? Because God says, you're not going to die here in Jerusalem. Be of good cheer because I'm going to have you go all the way to Rome and preach the gospel. So, Paul had courage now to say, this isn't the end for me. You have a plan and a purpose and you might feel at a at a place where you're in jail, where you're at a dead end, where you feel like you're going to die, but the Lord says, be of good cheer. You're still kicking. You're still alive because I have a plan and a purpose for you. Don't forget that Jeremiah chapter 29 11, for I know the thoughts I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. This is the Lord that we serve. I don't know about you, but you might have problems in this world. You might be going through troubles, but I've just given you No, Jesus is just giving you five reasons you can be of good cheer because your sins are forgiven. Pardon. Because you can be healed by the Lord. That's power because God is with you, his presence, because he's overcome the world and you are in Christ. What a great proclamation. And then you can also be of good cheer because God has a plan for your life. That's what the Bible says.
Guest (Male): Pastor Brett Mether closing our study reminding us of the many reasons Jesus gives to be of good cheer despite whatever circumstances come our way. An assurance in today's word of the promise of a future and a hope. And I invite you to stay right there as Pastor Brett will join me here in a moment. If you've missed any portion of our time today, you'll find all of his messages online at todayswordradio.com. Today's word is the radio ministry of Athey Creek Church in the Portland, Oregon area where Pastor Brett Mether is the senior pastor. Each day Pastor Brett will dive deep into God's word with a verse by verse look in description. We invite you to find out more by going to todayswordradio.com. All right, I have Pastor Brett with me. You know, Jesus shared many parables during his earthly ministry which is really a story with a lesson built in. In fact, he gave dozens of parables when he was here on earth. Brett, do you have a favorite parable of Jesus?
Brett Meador: Yes, I do. I think because I'm a Bible teacher, I have to go to the parable of the sower of the seed. It's helpful for me. You know, when I teach the Bible, I've noticed there's different kinds of soil in the congregation as I'm teaching and some of the soil is the wayside and it's hardened, trodden down by people and the birds of the air pluck out the seed of the word and the thorns choke out some of the seed. But I do love the parable because Jesus talked about how some of the seed did take root and found fertile soil, actually 25% which is an interesting number because there were four conditions of soil and only one of those four were actually bringing forth much fruit. So, when I teach the Bible, I see that ratio sometimes. There's people that they come to church, hear the word and the seed is plucked up by the fowls of the air which is Satan, the enemy. Others choked out by the cares of the world like the thorns or off from the wayside. But I love to see the 25% and I found that ratio really does seem accurate that 25% of the people that here start to bring forth really good fruit. So, that's an encouragement to me. So, as a Bible teacher, I think the parable of the sower might just be my favorite.
Guest (Male): Well, thank you Pastor Brett for sharing that and it's always good to get to know you a little bit better and some of your favorite things in this situation, your favorite parable of Jesus. Well, if you'd like more information about todayswordradio or Pastor Brett Mether, you can visit our website at todayswordradio.com. Well, that's all the time we have. Next time Pastor Brett will reflect in Acts chapter 23 where fierce division broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees and the Apostle Paul's defense before the Jewish Council. Today's word with Pastor Brett Mether is an outreach of Athey Creek Church in Westlin, Oregon.