"Be of Good Cheer" by Neal Pollard

Good things continue to be happening here,

and it's an indication of all the, the love and effort that's being put

forward by this congregation to be what God wants us to be

in this community. You may have remembered that a couple of months ago,

Kyla Ballou was baptized into Christ on a Sunday afternoon.

It was exciting. A lot of her family came, and among

the folks who were present was her boyfriend who had been attending

church services with her. Immediately thereafter,

2 of our elders, Roger and Russell,

set up a Bible study with Brandon and began studying with him. And,

uh, this afternoon at 3 o'clock, he put

on his Lord in baptism. And so yet another soul has been added

to the kingdom. That says so much good. That talks about the importance

of an invitation and how when someone reaches

out to someone else, that they will often say yes. And It encourages us

to try to do more of the same, but it also is exciting to see

shepherds who are willing and able to sit down with

a soul and to study with them. And so we know that God gets all

the glory. We give him proper credit, but we're so grateful to have men

who oversee this church who also are capable

in the Word like they are. I want you to

think about the dearest, most important person on

this earth to you. Who is no longer here?

Do you remember the last words that you spoke to them?

And do you remember the last words that they spoke to you? Perhaps they stand

out because you remember something about those words. When we

think about the last words that Jesus spoke to his apostles as a

group, there are a lot of different places that we may look, but with regard

to the last instruction that he gives them before he goes to the cross and

he dies, We just read, at least according to John's Gospel,

the last words he says en masse to all of these men.

And he says, these things I write unto you that in me you may have

peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be

of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

Those are the words in John chapter 16 and verse 33.

John 16 · chapter mention

And yes, a case could be made that not long after this, on the same

night that Jesus is speaking to the whole group in the Garden of Gethsemane,

and we don't know exactly what he said, I don't know what he says,

but in essence, he says, you stay over here and I will go over

here and I will speak to the Father, Matthew 26:36.

Matthew 26:36

And then we see that shortly thereafter that, when he comes back after praying

and the Jews come out to arrest him, that Peter takes a sword

and he cuts off Malchus' ear, the servant of the high priest. And Jesus

rebukes him. He speaks out to him.

And then we go all the way to the cross, and there's Jesus hanging on

the cross. And as he hangs there, he looks down, and at the foot of

the cross, there is his mother And there is the apostle whom he loved,

John. And you remember, he speaks to John on

that occasion, giving him instructions and her with regard to

him. And then we go on the other side of the crucifixion

and the death to the resurrection, and there are the multiple appearances that Jesus

makes to the apostles, included in which are some rich teaching. You remember in

Luke chapter 24, and then at the very end of the

Luke 24 · chapter mention

40 days when Jesus is about to go back to heaven, Jesus speaks

more words of comfort to them as he is ascending in Acts

Acts 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1 and verse 8 and Matthew 28 and verse 20.

But there is a special sense in which this is the

end of the classroom discussion where the teacher is with his pupils,

and this is the words that he wants to leave them with before

they're about to go through that collective trauma of his being led away from

them. Jesus wants them to know that while it

won't seem like it in just a short period of time, that they need

to be of good cheer, that even though everything seems to be in doubt,

Do you notice how he says it here? I have overcome

the world. Not a hand has been laid on him.

He has not gone through that overnight interrogation.

He has not stood before Pilate after having been

through the mockery of justice with the chief priests of the Sanhedrin.

He has not been beaten in a way that would kill some

individuals. He has not been mocked in front of Herod.

He has not gone through the indignities and the pain of hanging on the cross

for 6 hours until his life is laid down, John 10:16 and 17.

John 10:16

And yet he says, I have overcome the world.

Now, whenever you look at a large body of text in the Bible, it's good

for you to maybe walk through that and see if there are some

repeated phrases that can help you to understand what's being said in the overall context.

And that can be done in John chapter 16. And when you

John 16 · chapter mention

do that, there are at least a couple of phrases that I want you to

take notice of. One of them is this phrase that he says to them repeatedly,

these things I have said to you.

Now, if you'll walk through the chapter, notice what he attaches to that. He says

in the first place, these things I have said to you that you

may not stumble, verse 1.

And then he says, these things I have said to you that you may remember

that I said them to you, verse 4. And then he

says the third time, these things I've said to you and sorrow has filled your

heart, verse 6. In verse 25,

He says, these things I have said unto you in figurative

language. And then in the verse that we have just seen, He says,

these things I have said unto you that in Me you may have peace.

He is wanting them to know why He is saying the things

that He is saying to them, some of which had to be very hard to

hear. And then there's another phrase He says in the middle of that chapter.

He says, these things— He says, a little while.

As Jesus is trying to gear them up for what's about to happen,

he says in verse 16, a little while you will see me not.

In the same verse he says, and then a little while you will see me

again. And they don't really understand what he's talking about

and he has to explain it. And so from verse 17 through 19, he tells

them why he is saying a little while.

And so these things function in a way that we'll see as the lesson unfolds

tonight. But there are also— there's something else you could do. Print off sometimes

a chapter of the Bible. You could do this with John 16. And when

you print it out, you're going to find that there are some repeated words.

And when you look at those words together, they also play a role.

When the Holy Spirit moves a writer to keep saying a word over and

over again, he's saying it serves an important role.

So as you walk through John 16, you'll find him 8 times saying

the world. Well, that's important because they're going

to be left behind in the world and he's going to go away and they

feel like the world is winning and he wants He wants them to see the

place the world is playing in all that's going on. But I want you to

notice the contrast to that. He mentions 12 times the

Father. 13 times he mentions in

some way the Holy Spirit with some synonym or with

that word, the Spirit. And then what I find remarkable is that 48

times in the 33 verses that make up this chapter, he says either

I or my. He is wanting them

to take their focus on what's going to just be enveloping them and suffocating

them in a few moments, the world. And he wants them

to put their focus on God, on the Godhead,

because if they're going to make it, they're going to have to focus in the

right place. That's why the last thing that he says to

them is, be of good cheer, I've overcome

the world. We consider the fact that Jesus has laughed,

has lived with, and has led these men over figurative

and literal mountains and valleys all over Israel. And now they have come

to Jerusalem and things are about to take a dramatic change.

There in Jerusalem, Jesus, after— you remember the discussion in Matthew 16

when Jesus asked the apostles saying, who do men say that I the Son

am? Peter gives the right answer. He's the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus Jesus praises him for that answer. And having

that understanding, Matthew 16:21

Matthew 16:21

says, from that time Jesus began to tell them how he had to go to

Jerusalem and there suffer many things of the elders and the chief priests

and the scribes, and to be killed and to be raised again the 3rd day.

Are these words of good cheer? Not to Peter,

because Peter rebukes Jesus for saying them. Matthew 16

and verse 22, And so Jesus is saying, the things

that I'm saying to you, I want you to take cheer in,

to understand that I overcome the world. And because it doesn't seem that

way, they're going to have to have faith in the promises of Jesus

that they're seeing and hearing him say he's about

to die. And he's saying, I want you to believe in me. Everything that you

have seen me do, the faith you've had in me, I want you to continue

to have that. John 16 was not primarily written

to you and me. It was written primarily to them. We make application

from it. But 2,000 years this side

of the cross, we still need that same encouragement to

be of good cheer. Because as they were looking at things,

it doesn't look like it is as Jesus is painting the picture.

And as we look at the world and its ways, and it seems like they're

winning in blowout fashion, we need to understand that Jesus has

overcome the world. What I want

us to do for a few minutes is I want us to look at John

16, and because what Jesus says is true,

I want us to see 4 things that are true in our lives today.

Be of good cheer, Christ has overcome the world.

Well, what does that mean for us? Number 1, be of

good cheer, Christ has overcome the world, therefore you

may not stumble. That's how Jesus begins this part of this discussion

with them. Now, as we look at the book of John, John 1 through John

12 is a passage or is a part

of the Gospel of John that's Jesus' public ministry. Jesus is

teaching everyone and is doing so through the signs and through the teaching that he

does. And John 13 through 16 is his private discourse where

he speaks to the apostles specifically. And then John

17 is his prayer to the Father, and John 18 through 21 is

his atonement for us. In John chapter 16,

John 16 · chapter mention

Jesus says, these things I've said unto you that you may not stumble. In the

context, why might they stumble?

Well, Jesus tells us, they're going to cast you out of the synagogues.

He says, there's an hour coming when everyone who kills

you will think that he's doing a service to God. And this they will do

because they have not known the Father or me. We read that in verse 2

and verse 3. The mission is first going to the apostles,

and he is telling them that there's going to come a time shortly after these

events when they're going to want to tell the world. They're going to

want to share the good news of Jesus' saving grace, and they're

going to be surprised that not everybody embraces that and believes

that. In fact, he says, they're going to make you an outcast, and beyond that,

there's going to come a time when they're going to kill you and think that

they're doing a service to God. Does that make you think of anybody in the

New Testament? Immediately my mind goes to Saul of Tarsus in Acts

Acts 23 · chapter mention

chapter 23 and verse 1. Even after he's a Christian, he looks back with the

Jews and he says that I have lived with a clean conscience unto this

day. Paul was one like many others in the book

of Acts that thought that they were doing something right when they were hurting

the cause of Christ. So Jesus says, these things I

say unto you that you may not stumble.

That word stumble is a very interesting word. It's from the Greek word skandalizo.

And that word skandalizo, can you hear the word in that, scandal?

The word itself means to be angry and offended

at what someone says or they do.

Now, this word is going to be used about 20 times in the New Testament,

and I find it interesting the way that it's sometimes used. For example, in 1

1 Corinthians 1:23

Corinthians 1:23, the Apostle Paul is

saying, that the preaching of the cross is a stumbling

block to the Jews. That word stumbling block

is our word. The preaching of Jesus is a scandal.

It offends people. It makes people angry that we

would believe that something so— was so necessary as an innocent

one dying because we are guilty and we need a price

to be paid in our place. Now, But the Bible

nowhere says that we cannot stumble.

In fact, when we think about the parable of the soils in Matthew 13:21,

Matthew 13:21

Jesus talks about those on the wayside are those that have

no root in themselves, and in time of affliction and persecution because of the

word, immediately they fall away. That word

fall away there is from our word skandalizo.

Sometimes when we're seeking to follow Christ

there's an offense because of that, we fall away. Who does that describe?

Well, sometimes it describes a new Christian who

comes excitedly out of the water having their sins forgiven and

are trying to live the Christian life. And then something comes along

and they stumble and immediately

or gradually they disappear from our midst.

But think about how it may also describe someone who has been a child of

God for some period of time. And then some personal trial comes

into their life, or maybe they're overwhelmed by a sin problem that

takes over for them, or maybe there's some adversity, and in the midst

of that, they turn away. It's not a popular truth, and it's certainly

not one that's shared by a lot of the religious world, but the Bible makes

it very clear that a Christian can fall from grace. Paul says

as much in Galatians 5 and verse 4. He says, you who are trying

to be justified by works of the law, you have fallen or severed

from grace. Then the Hebrews writer says, if we sin

willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice

for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation

which shall devour the adversary. He that despised Moses' law died without

mercy under 2 or 3 witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment do you suppose

he shall be thought worthy who has trodden underfoot the Son of

God and done despite of the Spirit of grace and has counted the covenant with

which he was sanctified an unholy thing? Hebrews 10:26-28.

Hebrews 10:26–28

26 through 29. Peter says that if one has

obeyed our Lord and become a part of Him and has turned away

from Him, the latter end is worse with him than the beginning. That's the

truth of Scripture, 2 Peter 2:20 and 21.

2 Peter 2:20

We know that. And yet what I want us to consider

in light of what Jesus says is that He has done everything

He can short of overtaking our will,

To help us not to stumble.

Jude ends his book by saying, now unto him who is able to keep

you from stumbling and to cause you to stand in his presence with rejoicing,

with great joy before his glory, Jude 24.

Have you stopped to think about all the resources that

God has given us, that Christ has given us so that we'll stand

and will not stumble? Jesus says, these things

I'm saying unto you that you may not. Okay, Lord, what have you done to

help us in that? I want you to think first of all about the spiritual

resources that he gives us to keep us from stumbling.

As I thought about this, I thought, what's the best way to illustrate that?

And I thought about one chapter of scripture. I know

it's a chapter that was so significant that we studied the entire chapter for a

quarter some years ago, but I want you to think about Romans chapter 12.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

In Romans chapter 12, Paul regards this

Romans 12 · chapter mention

as the transformed life. He says, be not conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And think about

the resources we find in this one chapter. What can help us not

to stumble? Verse 3, be humble. What can

keep us from stumbling? Verse 5, be united.

What can keep us from stumbling? Verses 6 through 8, be active.

Verse 9, be good. Verse 10,

be devoted to one another in brotherly love.

Verse 12, be devoted to prayer.

Verse 13, be generous and be hospitable.

Verse 15, be empathetic. Verse 17 through

21, be forgiving. Now you take all of those

resources one by one and you incorporate those into your life and see

if that doesn't help you to stand. And by the way, that's not even all

the resources that are in that chapter. But what Jesus is saying is,

in whatever direction that you turn, I'm giving you something that will help

you to make it. But then he also gives us spiritual

blessings to keep us from stumbling. Again, we talk about that. Perhaps the

passage, if we were to reflect on it, that we would think about first

of all would be Ephesians 1:3.

Ephesians 1:3

There the Apostle Paul says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus

Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places

in Christ. Now, if we were to try to examine

just in that one book, 6 chapters, relatively brief.

Have you thought about maybe studying the book of Ephesians sometime

from this standpoint? Go through and count all the spiritual blessings

that are found only in Christ. I'm confident

I may have gotten it wrong. I would encourage you to go home and

count them. And if you have a different number than me, let me know what

it is. I counted 36 blessings to be

found in Christ that help us to make it.

When we go back to chapter 1, verse 3 through 14, we see the Godhead

blessing us in a great way, that the Father selected

us, he chose us, that the Son saved us,

and the Spirit strengthens us.

God is blessing us, and in John chapter 16, we see some

John 16 · chapter mention

of these blessings, and he is indicating to us, if you think that

you're blessed in this life, think of all the blessings that I have prepared for

you after this life. And so there's the spiritual resources, but then there's

also the spiritual blessings that he gives us to keep us from stumbling.

But then there are the spiritual alternatives that he gives us that keeps us from

stumbling. You think about the fact that you— when you're

faced with giving in to sin or submitting to God, you can always choose

what's right. I love for us to give an emphasis to

Joseph in Egypt in Genesis chapter 39. You remember that Potiphar's

Genesis 39 · chapter mention

wife had him hemmed in a pretty tight corner, and yet he got

away from that and he ran away. We have here an example that

God is telling us that you'll never be in a situation where

you can't escape. How about 1 Corinthians 10:13? There has

1 Corinthians 10:13

no temptation taken you but such as is common to man,

but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted above

what you are able, but will with the temptation provide a means of escape that

you may be able to bear it. Walk through the New Testament and see that

we are encouraged to flee fornication, 1 Corinthians 6:18.

1 Corinthians 6:18

World says culture has changed so much we can't expect that of anyone,

that that's just following your feelings and that there's no way

around it, but Paul says you can flee it. Flee idolatry,

1 Corinthians 10:14, that it

1 Corinthians 10:14

may not be a stick or a stone, it's anything that comes between us and

God, run away from that. 1 Timothy 6:11,

1 Timothy 6:11

flee the things that are contrary to the man of God life.

2 Timothy 2:22, flee youthful lusts.

2 Timothy 2:22

And at the same time, he tells us, resist the devil

and he will flee from you, James 4:7.

James 4:7

You know, championships are often lost not because of

years of failure, because of momentary lapses.

For the baseball fans in the group, Bill Buckner, one of the best defensive baseball—

first basemen of his time, played most of his games games with the

Chicago Cubs, had thousands of chances, and some of them were incredible

defensive stops. I don't know how many Gold Gloves he won.

Then there's Steve Girard, one of the best soccer players we have, has handled thousands

of passes successfully. Lindsey Jacobellis was

blowing out the competition in the 2006 snowboard

event in the Olympics, and all of them are remembered not for their

career, but they're most remembered for a moment where they blew

it. I'm not suggesting that we

are going to flush everything away and we lose all hope if we,

we blow it, if we have a momentary lapse

and we stumble. But so many have squandered so much because

they have overlooked what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:12, therefore let

1 Corinthians 10:12

him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. What Jesus

is saying to his followers here in John 16 and what he says to us

is, I'm writing these things so

that you may be kept from stumbling, so that you can understand

that you don't have to trip on the bumps on the narrow road

on your way to heaven. Be of good cheer,

Christ has overcome the world. Number 2,

be of good cheer, Christ has overcome the world, therefore you may remember.

Verse 4, he is wanting us to understand

that we're not exempt from difficulties in living the Christian life. He's wanting these

men to recognize this, but he wants them to be able to

look back on this moment that the worst that the world can do to

us does not have to catch us by surprise.

Man, they have been riding the waves of victory for the 3+

years that they have been together, and now it's about to change. And when they're

in those valleys of trial, he wants— he's driving a stake in the ground,

and he wants them to be able to look back and to remember The words

that he's saying to them, you may remember.

I don't know when all of this changed, but— and it depends on what kind

of device you have, and I can speak more to Apple than I can to

PC devices or Androids and that sort of thing, but just

think about all the passwords that we have stored and we have saved

in the keychain. It's on my phone or on my

computer, It's just dozens of them.

And you know what they tell you is that you don't want to make your

passwords predictable, and so that means that they're not memorable.

And so when you make these passwords up that are so obscure,

you got to take all this time, you got to go to all this trouble

and all this inconvenience to try to retrieve that password that you

made up just to do it again. And think about how that's changed

the way that we interact with others. You know,

I can tell you my phone number from my 3rd grade,

377-1007. And maybe you have

a number that you can remember that well. I do know my number, but barely.

I know Cathy's because she's had it 20 years. I don't know any of our

3 boys, and I bet she doesn't know my number. It's stored. You don't have

to remember. You know, it is possible for us to forget

things in this life and we don't pay a price.

But Jesus is talking about the extreme importance

of remembering, remembering the things that can have tragic

consequences if we forget. Remember Jesus is teaching

us about the rich man and Lazarus and the rich man

did well in life and he had someone in his sphere of opportunity and

he did not reach out to him. And as the result of that,

the Lord holds him accountable and the rich man and Lazarus die

and Abraham speaks to the rich man and he says, son,

remember that you in your lifetime received your

good things and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he's comforted

and you're tormented. New Testament writers are going to say,

I want you to remember about the second coming of Christ and the

time of judgment, 2 Peter 3:2 and Jude 17.

2 Peter 3:2

Peter only too late remembers what Jesus warns

him is going to happen that very night in Matthew 26:75.

Matthew 26:75

You know, some of what the Lord wants us to remember is helpful and

exciting. As we walk through the New Testament, here's what scripture says.

It says, remember the sinful past that Christ saved you from,

Ephesians 2:11-12. The Apostle Paul

Ephesians 2:11–12

is about to die in prison, and he is in chains, and he

says, remember Jesus Christ and the gospel are not

changed, 2 Timothy 2:8. The Hebrews writer

2 Timothy 2:8

is going to say, remember your leaders and imitate their faith, Hebrews 13:7.

Hebrews 13:7

There are some things the Bible holds up for us and says,

if you'll remember this, it will help you, it will encourage

you, motivate you to keep on living in the way that brings

peace. But sometimes he says to remember some things that we

need to remember because it's dangerous if we don't.

The 7 churches of Asia that he writes to. The first one is the church

at Ephesus. In Revelation 2:5, he says, remember therefore

Revelation 2:5

from where you have fallen and repent and do the things that you did at

first. But memory is so important. And so

Jesus says that when it gets hard,

will you please remember? Look, in me you have peace, but as

long as you're in this world, you're going to have tribulation.

Before we leave this point, I'd like for you to keep in mind that

when life and faith get very hard, will you remember a few things?

First of all, will you remember that it does not last

forever? His anger is but for a moment,

but his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may

endure for a night, but shouts of glory come in the morning.

When you're going through something very difficult, you may feel like that there is no

end in sight and you'll never see the end of that trial, But we

have this assurance in scripture that when life and faith is hard for you,

will you remember that it's going to come to an end?

When you are finding it very hard to endure in your faith,

will you remember that you're not alone? That passage that we

looked at a moment ago in 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, in verse 13, it says

1 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

that these temptations are common to man. Others understand

what you have been through. I think about when Leah came forward this morning.

And all of those folks that surrounded her and encouraged her,

it's yet another reminder. We do that because we love

the one that goes forward, and we also are expressing to them that we understand.

Maybe the particulars, the specifics are different for us than they are for

you, but we know what you're going through. We've been

there. And doesn't it help? Not that somebody has to say that,

but to know that they do know. And then when

faith is difficult for you, realize that you're not the first one to

go through that. That's the passage we referred to

a moment ago. When you think about what Jesus said, that you're— I'm going to

be with you always, we see that there are others who understand.

We also see that when life and faith is very difficult, that the

Lord is our helper. And I love what that passage says in Hebrews 13:6,

Hebrews 13:6

the Lord is my helper. What shall I fear? What will man

do to me? Foxe's Book of Martyrs tells us that except

for the Apostle John, every one of these apostles are going to die a violent

death for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and throughout the ages that has happened.

And while that may not happen to us, we may pay a severe price for

our faith, and so what Jesus would say is, be of good cheer.

I have overcome the world, therefore you may remember when

faith and life is hard, it's not going to

end that way. But I love that third promise,

be of good cheer, Christ has overcome the world, therefore the Holy Spirit

will help you. This is one of those key words, you remember, that we see

in John chapter 16, and when we look at the help,

John 16 · chapter mention

he is called the helper in verse 7, and we see the help that he

supplies to them, and while the help he supplies to the apostles is

a bit different than the help that he gives to us, the principles are the

same and the truth is the same. The Holy Spirit helped

the apostles, and the Holy Spirit helps us.

First of all, he was going to help them to convict the world, and he

does that for us. He says he will convict the world of sin

and righteousness and the judgment.

Now, he does that through the— the Holy Spirit did that through the word

that he gave those men that they shared with the world.

He convicts the world today through the message that tells us about sin

and righteousness and the judgment. Judgment.

But then he says he will also guide you into all truth.

The Holy Spirit's work is as a bridge.

Jesus has begun for 3 years. He has ministered

with them. He has taught them. He has mentored them. And now he says,

I'm about to go away. And as I go away,

the Spirit is going to come and he's going to guide you into all the

truth. Think about what Jesus has taught about the truth. He says,

I am the truth, John 14:6. He says,

John 14:6

I'm the arbiter of truth. If you continue in my word,

then are you my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth and the

truth shall make you free. He brought grace

and truth, John 1:14. By Christ,

John 1:14

truth came, John 1:17. And Jesus would

John 1:17

say in John 8:45-46, I tell the truth.

John 8:45–46

And so they were guided into the truth. Now they were guided into the

truth in a different way. He says in that moment, Mark 13:11,

Mark 13:11

when they arrest you and they bring you before them, don't worry

beforehand of what you're going to speak because in that hour it will be given

to you, for it will not be you who speak, but the Spirit who speaks

for you. It would be nice. I could

have saved myself several hours if the Holy Spirit was just going to give me

my message in this moment. I didn't have to study that, but the Spirit

gave us the Word that we can study and absorb and internalize

and then share. Publicly and one-on-one.

And so many has been the case. I've heard it even recently as

this week where somebody is saying— somebody who's been a student for a long time

who was in a study with somebody, it's remarkable how often you

bring to mind in those moments what you need.

But Paul tells us how the Spirit was going to give us the word in

1 Corinthians 2, verse 12 and 13. He says, we have not the spirit

1 Corinthians 2:12

of the world and human wisdom, but the Spirit of God combining spiritual

thoughts with spiritual words. And so we have the same comfort

and assurance as the scriptures give us

the Spirit's guidance into all the truth.

Anything that matters to life and godliness, it's in the

word. The Spirit has supplied it. 2 Peter

2 Peter 1:3

1:3. And then he will help us because he will disclose those

things which are to come. Again, think of

the Spirit's work in this all the way to the present. Jesus, when He's

on earth, He talks about the future. He talks

about the destruction of Jerusalem in Matthew 24. He talks about eternity

in the parables of preparation. He talks about heaven, hell,

and the judgment. But then the Spirit moves the apostles

to write us more about the future. And aren't you thankful

that the Spirit moved these men to write about the things which are to come?

What joy to go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and to read

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

about the resurrection of our bodies and what it's going to be like in the

end in those new spiritual incorruptible bodies. You think

about Paul in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 or 1

2 Thessalonians 3 · chapter mention 1 Thessalonians 4 · chapter mention

Thessalonians chapter 4, or Peter in 2 Peter chapter 3 telling us

2 Peter 3 · chapter mention

about the second coming of Christ, or to

read the words of John in Revelation 20 through 22 when he talks

about the judgment and heaven and hell. Think about the impact

that those words had on Felix as Paul talked about righteousness

and temperance and the judgment to come. Or those folks

up on Mars Hill in Acts 17:30-31, he has appointed a day in which

Acts 17:30–31

he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained.

But think about how much comfort it had to bring the apostles. The Spirit

tells us why we're here.

And what's after here? And he tells us through his word

so that we can share that with others, and then he helps us because he

will glorify Christ. The Spirit came to shine a

light on why Jesus came. Jesus came to save us,

Luke 19:10, and when we share the

Luke 19:10

message, we're glorifying Christ. He helps us through the message

that changes lives. There's something that's hard to

describe when you share with somebody the truth of the gospel, and they

see that, and they come to understand what it means in their

life and the difference that it makes.

Jesus is saying, be of good cheer, I have overcome

the world, therefore, the Holy Spirit will help

you. Isn't it wonderful to know that God has given us a resource that can

help us make it all the way home by his Spirit in the inner man

who strengthens us, Ephesians, chapter 3, and verse 16?

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

And then fourth, he says, be of good cheer. I have

overcome the world. Therefore, your heart will rejoice.

This is the way that he ends the chapter. Remember again,

they're about to go through some mourning. They're about to grieve,

but Jesus is telling them that that grief can be transformed.

And really, if you pan out and you look at the entire chapter,

what he says in the entire chapter was going to transform

their present grief into future joy. That first

of all, he says, having access to all the truth is going to have a

transforming power to take them from grief to joy.

To know that this message that he has left with them, that the Spirit was

going to bring into their remembrance, was going to supply them what

they needed in every situation. And it does the same thing for us.

It transforms tears into triumph,

but then also having the presence of Jesus will transform our

grief to joy. Jesus says,

in a little while you won't see me, and then in a little while you

will see me again. He is first referring to the crucifixion

and the burial, his death, and then he's referring to his post-resurrection

appearance. Can you imagine? In fact, you don't have to read the gospels, the impact

that his death has on them. They all go each to their own home.

Jesus says, the hour is coming and is now here when each of you will

be scattered to his own home. Verse 32,

they're dejected, they're confused, they're disillusioned,

they're afraid. What they thought was going to be has now not

come to pass. It hasn't gone the way that they thought that it would.

But when they see Jesus again, the impact is

a joy that was so immeasurable that they

took it to all the world. That doesn't mean that they've grasped it in the

moment. They're going to forsake him and flee that very night, Matthew 26:56,

Matthew 26:56

but after the resurrection, for an example, think about

Peter and John who are flogged by the Sanhedrin

Council, and they go away from that rejoicing that they should suffer

shame for his name. The presence of Jesus in our life

is different than it was for them when he came to them personally, but Jesus

reminds us, lo, I'm with you always, even to the

end of the world. You'll never take a step without Jesus' help in your life.

But then he says, the love of the Father, the Father himself,

he will transform your grief into joy. He says, ask whatever you will of

the Father and he will give it to you, verse 23. You have the Father's

love, verse 27. You know, we have the

ability to call God our Father because of what

Jesus is about to do. You are of God,

little children, have overcome them, for greater is he that is in you

than he that is in the world, 1 John 4:4.

1 John 4:4

Whoever overcomes, we overcome

by faith. And who is he that overcomes but he who believes that Jesus

is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4-5. No matter how deep

1 John 5:4–5

the valley of struggle or adversity is,

there's going to be a transforming joy that

comes because not only of the promises of Christ, but the truth that

he gives us access to. The presence of Jesus in our lives

and the heavenly Father, and the world can take everything away from us, but it

cannot take that. These are

the important words that Jesus wanted to leave the apostles. And I

find it interesting, this is a very favorite word of Jesus. He likes to use

that word that's translated, be of good cheer.

It literally means, take courage. Do you know

this is the word that Jesus uses in Matthew, chapter 9, and verse 2,

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

when he heals the paralytic? He says to him, Be of good cheer, and he

heals him. And then in Matthew chapter 9 and verse 22, there's a woman

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

who has an issue of blood. She's hemorrhaging for 12 years. She very stealthily reaches

out and she touches the hem of his garment and she's healed immediately. And when

Jesus speaks to her, he says, take courage, be of good

cheer, Matthew chapter 9 and verse 22. And then there's the apostles on the stormy

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

Sea of Galilee and at the height of the storm when they're so afraid,

Jesus in Matthew 14 and verse 27 says, take courage, be of

good cheer. Blind Bartimaeus, one of the most pitiful characters

in all the gospel, in Mark 10:49, Jesus chooses to say to him,

Mark 10:49

take courage, be of good cheer.

We leave this wonderful cocoon of fellowship that we have with

one another here, and we're about to go out into the world. And as we

leave the presence of one another and we leave this special time

of rallying and strengthening, We need to be reminded

what Jesus says, his parting words,

be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

I don't know if you know who that is. This is a picture of him

when he was a bit younger. His name is Arland Williams Jr.,

and you'd have to be of a certain age to know who he was,

to remember this, but maybe you're old enough, some of you, to remember

an event that took place with Air Florida Flight on

January 13th, 1982, a plane crash

caused by weather that crashed into the icy Potomac. There were 74

passengers on board. Only 5 survived,

and 4 of them survived because of that man, Arland Williams Jr.

If you watch the footage on YouTube, you'll see how a helicopter

lifeline drops its ladder, and it's dropped for him first.

And he passes it along to someone else. He does this

several times, and 4 of the folks that he helps and

he passes off that lifeline, they survive.

If you read about Arland Williams Jr., the thing that really

is remarkable to me is by all accounts, he was terrified

of swimming. He was afraid of the water,

couldn't swim. But Arlin Williams Jr.,

when he was tested and tried in a way that we'll

never hopefully have to imagine, he showed courage.

He showed selflessness. He didn't overcome the waters. He's the

only one in that crash that died by drowning,

but he showed great courage.

You know, scripture tells us that the things of this

world may physically overcome us, may even emotionally overcome us.

We don't have to be spiritually overcome. We can overcome.

It's interesting to read the book of Revelation. If you read at the end of

every one of those 7 churches of Asia, there's a promise: to him that overcomes—

we even sing it in our song— to him that overcomes, the crown of life

shall be. Jesus is telling us he wants us to overcome.

The last words he wants to leave with us before he goes to the cross

is be of good cheer. I have overcome the world,

therefore you may be kept from stumbling. Yes, it's a possible—

a possibility to fall from grace, but our Lord

has done everything he can so that that doesn't have to be the case for

any of us. He says, be of good cheer. I've overcome the world so you

may remember, and the

Holy Spirit will help you. And your

heart will rejoice. Even if you're in a season of

grief, it can be transformed into joy.

Now, after this, Jesus goes and he sheds his atoning blood for us

so that we may have access to all of that, those resources,

those blessings, and those alternatives.

He says, I will go as far as free will will allow,

and then I want you to respond. He wants us to respond.

It may be that you have not yet put Christ on in baptism.

In light of all that he's given, he says, give yourself to me.

Luke 9:23-26. Believe that I'm

Luke 9:23–26

the Son of God. Mark— John 8:24.

John 8:24

Repent of sins. Luke 13:3.

Luke 13:3

And be baptized. Mark 16:16. And if you're

Mark 16:16

a child of God and you've been overcome by this world, and the things

that have been challenging you have overcome you,

come back to me. That's where I want— I want you to make it.

If you need to respond to his call, won't you do so right now as

we stand and sing?