Encouragement

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"Be of Good Cheer"

A little boy told his Mom that he was going to be in an Easter play at church. His Mom asked, "What part do you have?" He replied, "I'm to clap my hands and cheer!"

When we think of the Christian message, from start to Heaven, we need to spread CHEER by 'life, lip and limb'.

John 16:33: "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world"

John 14:27: "Peace give I unto you, not like the world give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Even Jesus' last recorded words from the Cross, were words of cheer....."It is finished".

After He had risen from the dead, He gave the Great Commission to us, recorded in Matt. 28:29-20 closing with 'Lo, I am with you always!'

The Bible is full of recorded words of Faith, Hope and Cheer.

MOSES at the Red Sea in Exodus 14:13: "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord" ....and at the right time he said, "Go forward".

Later under Joshua, they went 'clean over the Jordan'....and took the Promised Land, including Jericho.

After all JOSEPH went through, he said to his brothers, "God brought good out of bad." (Gen. 50:19-21)

RUTH said to Naomi, "Thy God shall be my God". ESTHER realized that she had come to the kingdom for this very time. (Esther 4:14-17)

DAVID said to the giant Goliath, "I come to you in the name of the Lord."

Later in Psalm 37, he tells us that in order to be in good cheer, we must 'trust in the Lord, delight in the Lord, commit our ways unto the Lord and wait on the Lord and rest in Him.'

These do not 'say' good cheer, but down deep they knew that their relationship and fellowship with the Lord would bring them through.

During a time of great opposition to PAUL and The Gospel, the Spirit of God spoke to PAUL...."Be of good cheer Paul for as you have testified of me in Jerusalem, so must you bear witness also in Rome." (Acts 23:11)

Years later, God fulfilled this when PAUL was taken prisoner to Rome.

During a storm and impending shipwreck, PAUL spoke the message of God, "Be of good cheer for I believe God that it shall turn out as He said". (Acts 27:25)....AND IT DID!

The key to all of this is in one other place where the word 'cheer' is used. It deals with attitudes and actions...."Let us give cheerfully and not grudgingly for God loves a cheerful giver".

Remember, "God is able to make all grace abound toward you that you may always have all sufficiency in all things and abound to every good work." (II Cor. 9:7-8)

Here are some of God's good works through PAUL, in difficult situations:
Acts 24: His trial before Felix
Acts 25: His trial before Festus
Acts 26: His defense before Agrippa
Acts 27f: In Prison in Rome

This is why PAUL (from prison) could have some Godly cheer....and write the 'Prison Epistles' with joy as the theme. (For example, read Philippians)

Augustine said: "Faith is to believe what we do not see...and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe."

PAUL's motto could be: "I walk by faith and not by sight". (II Cor.5:7) In verses 6 & 8, he uses the word 'confident' twice.

C. Oswald Chambers wrote about 'Be of good cheer': "God does not give us overcoming life; He gives us life as we overcome!"

James 1:2: "No matter what, count it all joy." This is not a superficial joy, but a deep-down spiritual joy.

In the book, 'His Part and Our's', J.S. Baxter gives a good contrast between the worlds' joy and the Christians' joy:

The World's Joy........................The Christians' Joy
Outward................................Inward
Changeful..............................Constant
Seeking................................Found
Merely Human (surface).................Partakes of the Divine (Deep)
Self-seeking...........................Self- sacrificing
Superficial............................Deep and full
Fails to survive life's rises..........Unfailing
In the material........................In the Spiritual
Might be 'happy'.......................Blessed and cheerful

Jesus' first word in the Sermon on the Mount was 'Blessed' as He gave the Blessed Attitudes.

The word for 'blessed' in the Greek is 'makarias'.

This word describes the 'Joy of Jesus' which has it's secret within itself, that joy which is 'completely independent of all the chances and the changes of life'.

The 'hap' in happiness means 'chance'. Human happiness is something which is dependent on chances and changes of life -something which life may give and which life may also destroy.

The Christian 'blessedness' (cheer) is completely untouchable and unassailable. 'Blessedness" does not prophesy some earth shaking event yet to come, but rather offers 'congratulations' upon what now exists. John 16:22 says: "Your joy no one takes from you."

Sometimes we Christians don't show much outward joy because the inner joy is not being fed by daily devotions. (Proverbs 15:13-15 and 17:22 speaks to this)

Here are some quotes: "If you have Jesus' joy, tell your face about it. But if not, talk to God."

"Joy is not the absence of suffering and sorrow, but the presence of God".

"Joy is the flag that is flying from your heart/life when the King is in residence" (present and in charge).

"Dream big and don't let satan or anyone nor anything take your dreams away."
(Follow your God-given dreams and enjoy the trip.)

As we rejoice, relax and rest in the Lord, He relieves, renews, restores, and releases cheer to others. It is the joy of in-flow, up-flow and over-flow.

I was working on this paper when the termite man came to check on evidences we found in the wood fence next to our house. He measured the outside of our house, then told us that the treatment is going to run about $1200. (We also had some plumbing problems that day).

I laughed as I thought about the title of this paper I was working on! Life has 'good news' and 'bad news', but we have to be ready for both!

There's an old song, "Life Gets Tedious, Don't It?" It talks about how bad things can get, then closes with....'And now I'm getting dandruff". (That one doesn't bother me....because I don't have enough hair left to have a problem with dandruff.)

When times got rough my late father-in-law, Jim Harris used to laughingly say, "And the queen bee ran away with the tumble bug!"

Jim had a good sense of humor, but he also had a deep abiding faith that saw him through some extremely difficult times of physical pain.....as well as 'trying times' during the drought when jobs were hard to find.

The faith that Jim had in his Lord is what we all need to have, so that WE can 'be of good cheer'...no matter what comes our way in life.

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