BE OF GOOD CHEER
11 MAY 2021
Beloved, I have a Golden News for you: Jesus Christ has overcome the world. However His victory requires our response because He actually did it for us. In other words, we must respond with a good and cheerful spirit because the hope and glory of the supernatural life we have in Christ is rooted in the truth that Christ has overcome the world on our behalf.
Reference: John 16:33 King James Version (KJV) "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 spent time with His disciples sharing a lot of thoughts together and in the process, Jesus was able to explain many things to them. He used to speak to them in a figurative language but at this time, he spoke to them plainly, reminding them that He came forth from the Father and was about to leave the world to go back to the Father. At that moment, His disciples were glad that He was speaking plainly and using no figure of speech!
Jesus was going away and soon, everyone of them would be scattered, each to his own, and would not physically see Him again. For this reason, He began to lift their spirits. Jesus knew what the world is made of. So His teaching, admonitions and encouragements for His disciples were unified in His statement and He made them clear, without using any parables. We are Christians in the world, but the world is full of wickedness and tribulations, which means, the world does not support a joyful and trouble-free life for Christians. In fact, Jesus made it clear that choosing Him as Lord is living battle ready, as long as we are in the world.
Trials and tribulations are evident in the world but Jesus said, "in me you have peace", which means that we must be conscious of our life in Christ, in order to experience true peace in the world. Regardless of the fact that we are in the world, we carry a different atmosphere because we function in another realm called Christ, and the peace we find in Christ is eternal. Thus, we can withstand any trial and tribulation in the world. Besides, the awe-inspiring truth God has designed for us is that Christ has overcome the world. Jesus conquered and subdued all the powers and authority of this present world, which means, the world is under His control.
Now what is our response to what Christ has done for us? Our response is to "be of good cheer". We are to act accordingly by developing a cheerful and dazzling spirit. What does "be of good cheer" mean? First, its an amazing and wonderful invitation to experience the victory of Christ in our lives and in our world. Second, it is a choice we must make to be courageous and confident in Christ, which in turn will have a glorious impact in our Christian walk on earth. Third, it is Christ, offering us the greatest opportunity to reign and rule as overcomers in this life.
"Be of good cheer" is a super-important quality of a born-again Christian in this world. This is a vital quality we must develop as Christians, if we must function as overcomers in this world. To activate this quality and walk in the realm of overcomers in Christ, we must habitually echo the words of Jesus. In other words, always speak as He has spoken and His glory as the world overcomer will be revealed in your life. The Bible says, "...we live like Jesus here in this world" ( 1 John 4:17 NLT). This means that you have overcome the world too. In fact, 1 John 4:4 says this about us, "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (NASB).
John 17:22 also reads, "I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one" (NIV). This is Jesus Christ Himself giving us the advantage and grace to function in the world as He did. Beloved, we are overcomers in this world, and there is nothing the enemy can do about it. In addition to this, we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. We are able and worthy carriers of Christ's glory and victory on earth. Therefore, "being of good cheer" is the present-moment realisation of the "overcoming mentality" in those who have an extraordinary oneness with Christ.
As the very essence of God, through His self-sacrificing love on the cross of Calvary, Christ overcame the world of sickness, disease, poverty, negativity, fear, rejection, depression, lack, death, wickedness, sin and bondage. And guess what, He did it for us, Hallelujah! Therefore cheer up, we have overcome the world in Christ Jesus. Shalom!
Scripture Reading - Romans 8:37; 1 John 2:13; Revelation 12:11; 1 John 5:4-5.
Guided Prayer: Dear Father, thank you for the gift of eternal life and glory of your supernatural love in me that makes me an overcomer in this life. Of a truth, the greater One indwells me. Therefore I wonderfully maintain and function with a cheerful spirit, knowing that in any given situation, the storms of life and the tribulations of this world have been rendered powerless by the victorious Christ resident in me. By my overcoming power, I grow stronger in the Lord and more rooted in faith, thereby experiencing the real victory of Christ in my daily life in Jesus' Name, Amen!
