The Silence of Saturday | Pastor Jason Ridley

0:00This message comes to you from Community Worship Center 7-day Adventist Church. It is our prayer that this word brings guidance, strengthens relationships, inspires outreach, and draws you deeper into worship. At Community Worship Center, our motto is Let's Grow Together. May this message encourage your spirit and ignite your faith. So the gospel of Matthew, what book did I say? The book of Matthew, chapter 28, what chapter did I say? Chapter 28 and our reading and hearing, just one verse, Matthew, chapter 28, verse 1. And the word of God says, Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb. Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn,

1:03now Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord at this time as we consider for the next few moments the message entitled, the silence of Saturday, the silence of Saturday, by your hands with me now. For the speak to a heart now like only you can, is our prayer in Jesus' name that every love of the risen Christ say, Amen, Amen, and Amen, the silence of Saturday. There are days in life, moments in life, seasons in life, when we're living what I call in between.

2:04Brothers and sisters, that's the time when we're experiencing life after the diagnosis, but before the healing. When we're experiencing life after the loss, but before the restoration, when we're experiencing life after the prayer, but before the answer. It's a place where we've experienced a tragedy. We've experienced some trauma, but we have not yet experienced triumph. And if I'm honest today, brothers and sisters, it's the in between that we oftentimes experience, but we don't oftentimes talk about. As a matter of fact, even in our text today, it's barely even acknowledged. For most of the gospel writers gloss right over it

3:08and go straight from the tragedy of Friday to the triumph of resurrection Sunday, but none of them speak or acknowledge the silence of Saturday. In the gospel of John is not even mentioned. In Matthew and Mark's account, they just acknowledge that after the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and the others went to the tomb. And in Luke's account, he just simply acknowledges the fact that they prepared spices and fragrant oils for the burial, but they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandments. This acknowledges that they did what they were supposed to do, while not acknowledging their lived experience and how they felt emotionally in that moment. And speaking of the Sabbath, it was supposed to be a high Sabbath.

4:12It was passed over week. But in that moment, the followers of Christ were not feeling jovial because of the remembrance of their great deliverance, but in this moment and season, the collective feeling is that this is their greatest disappointment, their greatest defeat. Imagine the scene, brothers and sisters. Friday was loud with pain. The crowds shouted, crucify him. He was hung up between two thieves. Before he took his last breath, he cried out, it is finished. They are unaware that resurrection Sunday will be loud with victory. The stone will be rolled away. Angels will proclaim, Jesus will rise from the grave and all hope will be restored.

5:21But right now for the disciples, for Mary and the other women who were following Jesus, it's Saturday and Saturday was silent. No miracles, no voice from heaven, no clear sign on what God was doing, just confusion, grief and questions hanging in the air. Because hear me, brothers and sisters, understand the trauma of what the disciples and others have just experienced. Everything they thought they knew collapsed, not gradually, but in a single afternoon. For three years, they had followed Jesus Christ with absolute hope.

6:21They had left everything, careers like fishing boats and tax booths, families and stability, even their reputation. They didn't just believe in him, but they built their entire future around him. They had seen him calm storms. He all manner of disease and sickness. They had even seen him raise the dead. They were convinced he was the Messiah, the one who would restore Israel. He was a ruler over pro-oppression and establish a kingdom. When they watched him arrested, it did not make sense. When they saw him beaten, it felt wrong. But when they saw him nailed to a cross, something inside them broke.

7:24It wasn't just death. It was humiliation, defeat and public shame. To them, they weren't just losing a leader. It felt like they were losing everything. They believed that God was doing. And there's someone who is gathered here today on this Sabbath day. Or maybe you're tuning in from somewhere around the world. But you're in worship and yet all the while you're living through a season. You're living through the experience of a silent Saturday. Not literally, but in this season you've lived through and experienced the tragedy and trauma of Friday. But you've yet to experience the triumph of resurrection Sunday. And right now your Saturday is silent and the season is filled with despair and confusion.

8:31It's filled with silence and waiting, waiting for a miracle, waiting for a call back, waiting for an acceptance letter, waiting for a change to take place, waiting for a healing, waiting for a deliverance. Waiting for a breakthrough and you cry out to God both day and night. But there is no answer. There is only silence. It's as if God is not even listening as if he's still lying in the tomb. And we're stuck dealing with the silence in the aftermath. But I've got good news for us today. You see, even in the midst of the silence of your Saturday season, yet everything will turn out in your favor.

9:35And the reason is because God does some of His greatest work in silence. So hold on today and for the next few moments, I want to share with you three points to encourage you when you're experiencing the silence of Saturday. The first point I want to encourage you with today, brothers and sisters, is that the silence does not mean absence. Listen, sometimes one of the hardest things to handle is not the trouble. It's not the pain. It's not even the loss. But it's when God seems to go silent. You see, we've been taught how to celebrate. We've been taught how to praise. But nobody has ever really taught us how to handle a God who won't say anything.

10:35And if we're honest today, the silence will mess with our minds. Because when God is speaking, we feel secure. Am I right or wrong? When God is moving, we feel confident. But when God is silent, that's when doubt starts talking. That's when questions start rising. That's when our faith starts getting shaky. And this, brothers and sisters, is when thoughts of abandonment and feeling as if God has left us begin to creep in. And this, brothers and sisters, is when we begin to associate God's silence with the belief that God is absent. And for many of us, hear me now, for many of us, we don't even realize, but these feelings, this perception originates in the fact that some of us have a distorted view of God,

11:49stemming from the effect of our relationship or lack thereof with our biological fathers. Many of us come from homes, myself included, where our biological fathers were not present, they were not around, they were absent. And when the belly McMurdoch states that our earthly dads will sometimes let us down, they may have abandoned us, failed to protect us, or even been abusive. And when that is the case, it's very difficult not to perceive our Heavenly Father through the same lens. And this is important to understand, because this is what makes it so easy for some of us when we're going through a season in life, when God is silent.

12:59When we're experiencing a silent Saturday, where we're stuck in between yesterday's tragedy and tomorrow's triumph, but yet God is silent. It's easier for us to assume or believe that the reason he is silent is because he's not there, he's unavailable, he's not interested, he's absent. But I'm here, brothers and sisters, to correct that thinking today. You see, just because God is silent does not mean God is absent. Let me say it another way, God's silence does not cancel God's presence. As a matter of fact, God can be quiet and still be completely involved. And when God is silent, he is strategic in his silence. What am I trying to say? Sometimes God is not silent because he's absent, but he's silent because he's intentional.

14:06You see, he's trying to keep us from messing up what he's fixing up because if he told us everything he was doing, we might try to interfere with it. If he showed us every detail, we might try to control it. If he explained the whole plan, we might not even trust him enough to follow it. So sometimes, brothers and sisters, God says, I love you too much to explain it. I'm just going to work it. Look at that silent Saturday. Jesus is in the tomb. The disciples think it's over. The women are grieving. Hope looks buried. And heaven says nothing. But what they didn't realize is that, wow, Jesus was in the grave. God was not inactive because God was defeating death.

15:10He, God was stripping the grave of its power and God was setting up resurrection all in silence, which means the silence wasn't empty. It was full of unseen activity. Some of us right now are in a silent Saturday season. It's uncomfortable because you don't have fresh instructions. You don't have clear answers. You don't have visible progress. All you have is silence. But let me give you this picture. Have you ever, and I know you have, because we all, everybody in here, best off on Amazon. Have you ever tracked the package and it says in transit? No updates. No movement you can see. No exact time of arrival. I don't know if you're going to be able to, but understand today just because it's not updating doesn't mean it's not moving. It's still on the way. Come here somebody. I just need to tell you to hang on in the midst of the silence because your blessing is in transit.

16:25Your breakthrough is in transit. Your answer is in transit. Your deliverance is in transit. Your healing is in transit. Your change is in transit. Your comeback is in transit. Your belt back is in transit. God just hasn't updated you yet, but it's still on the way. Let's stop interpreting silence as rejection. Let's stop interpreting quiet as abandonment. Let's stop letting the enemy convince us that God has walked out on us because he's still there, still covering, still keeping, still blocking, still making a way, still opening doors. Even when we don't see him, and he is your shout butted in sisters, when God finally breaks the silence, we're going to look back and realize that every tier had a purpose, every delay had a reason, every silent night had a plan behind it, and God was there the whole time.

17:49That's why you don't look like what you've been through. That's why after all you've gone through, you're still in your right mind because God had always been there right beside you. Let's hope that as an assistant the first, the first, the first word we hear, find here, that encourages us. Can you put me a little more on my monitors? Is that the silence is not absence? But the second point, brothers and sisters, I want to encourage you with when you're experiencing the silence of Saturday, is that the silence is where faith is formed. You see, Saturday doesn't just test your faith. It develops it. If we're honest, we don't like silence.

18:57We like movement. We like answers. We like results. Can I get this fan on up here? We like to know what God is doing, how he's doing it, and when he's going to do it. But the silence of Saturday teaches us something uncomfortable, and truthfully, how many of us really like to be uncomfortable. But Saturday teaches us something uncomfortable. It teaches us, brothers and sisters, that God will allow us to sit in a new season. Thank you, where we have no new word, no clear sign, no visible progress, and the question becomes, what do we do when you don't see anything happening? Because, understand, Friday gave them trauma, but at least Friday made sense. You see, they saw him die. They heard his last words. They witnessed the cross.

20:07Sunday would give them triumph, and that will make sense too. But Saturday, Saturday didn't make sense. You see, Jesus had promised resurrection, but nothing was happening. And now they will force to wrestle with this reality. Do I still believe what he said even when I don't see it yet? And that's what real faith is. Faith is not based on what you see. Faith is anchored in what God said. I'll say it like this. Faith is believing on Saturday based on what he told you on Friday until you see it come to pass on Sunday. You see, because anybody can have faith when it's visible. It's easy to shout when the direct deposit clears. It's easy to praise when the doctor gives a good report. It's easy to trust God when the door swings wide open.

21:15But can you trust him when the door stays closed, when the phone doesn't ring, when the situation doesn't change, when the test comes back positive, when the marriage reconciliation does not happen. Can you still say, God, I trust you even when my reality doesn't match your promise. And somebody here right now, you're in a silent Saturday season, and your struggle isn't just what you're going through, but your struggle is what you don't understand. Because you know what God has said, but your life doesn't look like that yet. And if we're being real today, that kind of tension will stretch your faith. It will make you question, make you wonder, make you wrestler, but hear me right now.

22:18But tension is there. The tension is not there to break your faith, but it's there to build your faith. Let me say it this way, but it's just there is when a seed is planted. It disappears. We don't see growth. We don't hear progress. We don't have proof that anything is happening. All we see is dirt. But under the surface, something is breaking open. Something is developing. Something is being pushed toward life and watch this. The seed has to stay in the dark before it can live in the light. And some of us are frustrated because we're in a dark season, but I've come to declare to you today, you're not buried, you're planted. And if you're planted, growth is already in progress.

23:20And here's what I want you to get. You see in the silence of Saturday, a Saturday faith teaches us three things. First, it teaches us how to trust without confirmation. You see, we don't need a sign every day just to know God is faithful. Secondly, it teaches how to hold on without clarity. You see, we don't have to understand everything to believe God. And thirdly, it teaches how to stay consistent without results. You see, just because it has not happened yet doesn't mean it won't happen. Listen, I know it's harder. I know waiting is uncomfortable. I know silence is frustrating. But don't miss what God is producing in you because when God brings you through a silent Saturday season, you won't have just a testimony.

24:21But you have a stronger faith and faith that says, I've seen God keep me when I did not understand him. I've seen God move when I could not track or trace him. I've seen God show up after I almost gave up. I need somebody right now who's in a silent Saturday season to declare out loud. My faith is growing. My faith is getting stronger. And when you come out of this season, you're not coming out weak. You're not coming out empty, but you're coming out with a faith that can handle whatever comes next because your silent Saturday season produce something in you that the triumph of Sunday couldn't give you by itself.

25:29So don't rush your Saturday silence. Don't despise the silence because God is working. God is forming something in you that only the waiting can produce. And then lastly, brothers and sisters, the last point I want to encourage you with when you're experiencing the silence of Saturday is that the silence sets the stage for surprise. Understand today that many times what feels like delay is actually divine set up. Listen, here is the danger of the silence of Saturday.

26:36If we don't understand it, we will mislabel it. We'll call it failure when it's really formation. We'll call it delay when it's really divine timing. We'll call it the end when it's really a set up because the truth is this. God often does his greatest set up work in seasons that feel like nothing is happening. Look at the text. Jesus is in the grave. The stone is sealed. The soldiers are posted. The disciples are hiding. Everything about the scene says it's over. Everything about this silent Saturday suggests that the story is finished. But what they did not realize is that God was setting the stage because God has a way of letting things look final so that when he moves, you know it couldn't have been anybody but him.

27:50You see, if Jesus had gotten up too early, they would have questioned it. If the stone had already been rolled away, they would have explained it away. But God let it sit long enough. He let it get quiet enough. He let it look dead long enough so that when resurrection came, there would be no confusion about who did it. And there's somebody in here today who God has allowed your situation to sit longer than you expected. And you've been asking God why hasn't it changed? God why hasn't it moved? God why hasn't it happened yet? But I'm here to tell you that he's not ignoring you, but he's setting it up. Because when God gets ready to move, it's not going to be smaller, it's not going to be subtle, but it's going to be undeniable, because God specializes in what I like to call suddenly.

28:52I know it's not a word, but you know what it means. One moment nothing is happening, and the next moment everything is shifting. One moment you're crying, but the next moment you're celebrating, one moment it looks dead, but the next moment it gets up again, one moment you've thought you bombed the interview, but the next moment you're being offered the job. And the only reason it feels sudden to us is because we couldn't see what God was doing in the silence. Let me say it this way, I know we've all seen a movie before. If you notice, oftentimes right before the biggest scene, everything goes quiet. No music, no dialogue, no movement, just silent. And if you don't understand storytelling, you'll think something is wrong with the movie. But if you watch some movies before, you know that silence means something big is about to happen.

29:59The director pulls the sound back to build the tension so that when the moment hits, it hits harder. And I just want to tell somebody today that God is the master director of your life. And if things have gotten quieter, it's not because your story is over, but it's because God is setting up the biggest scene yet. Somebody declare a setup in this place. God is setting it up. And I declare right now, your silence has an expiration date. Your waiting has a due date. Your silent Saturday season is about to give way to a triumphant Sunday because every now and then God will let it get quiet just before he does something loud. And speaking of loud, I wish I had a few folk in here who don't mind opening your mouth, who don't mind lifting your voice and giving God praise in this place.

31:09Let the redeemed of the Lord say so declaring my season may be silent, but I'm loud because he kept me. I'm loud because he brought me up. I'm loud because he didn't leave me up. I'm loud because he delivered me up. And I'm loud because he saved me. The song writer says, Jesus paid it all all to him. My old sin has left a crimson stain, but he washed it white as snow all because they hung him high. And they stretched him wide and he hung his head. And for me, he died. That was on Friday, but that's not how the story ends because then came Sunday and bright early.

32:21I said and bright early Sunday morning before the sun could rise, before the doubters could wake up, before the enemy could celebrate. There was a rumbling in the grave. There was movement in the tomb. There was power in the silence and the same Jesus that was carried in there. And I said, he got up. I said, he got up. He got up with all power in the palm of his hand. Power over death. Power over the grave. Power over strongholds. Power over addiction. Power to break change.

33:28Power to heal. Power to deliver. Power to restore. Power over everything that tried to hold me down. And that's why I'm loud today because I'm still standing all because because he lives. I can face tomorrow because he lives on my cheer is gone because I know who holds my future and life is worth. I said, life is worth the living. Just because he lives in spite of the silence, in spite of the setback, in spite of the scars, in spite of the sleep this night is worth living.

34:39Yes, because he lives. That's the shout right there. It's because he lives because he lives. We can handle the silence because he lives. We can face giants because he lives. We can rise in our pain because he lives. We can sing in the storm because he lives. We can walk through troubles. We can walk through sorrow. We can walk through heartings because he lives. We have strength. We have hope. We can testify anybody got a testimony. I thank God because he's mercy in direct forever. His grace, his sufficient, his love, never fails. His youth is either. His burdened life. His joy is everlasting. His plans are perfect.

36:03His ways are not always. And his blood cleanses me. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me hold again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus for it reaches to the highest mountain and it flows through the lowest valley. That blood that gives me strength from day to day. Today, today, today, today, today, for day to day. And we'll never lose this power. Hallelujah!

37:28If we'll never lose, it'll never lose. It'll never lose this power. Somebody say, say, say, yeah! Hallelujah!

38:28If you know it reaches to the highest mountain and the blood flows through the lowest valley. If you know that the blood will give you strength from day to day. If you know that you know, it will never lose this power. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

39:57Come on, put your hand together. You know God is worthy in this place. Brothers and sisters, brothers and sisters, the reason we can go with this water grave is because Jesus went to this cross. He gave his life and then went down into the grave, got up Sunday with all power in his hand. And because of that, we've been given the opportunity to have life today.

41:15And we praise God for the four beautiful souls that are going down in the water grave today. But you know, brothers and sisters, typically we do baptism early in the service. But I say, let's do it after the sermon today. Because I believe the Holy Spirit is moving in this place. And there may be a soul here today. Holy Spirit has touched your heart. You thought you may be coming for Easter service. And maybe you're one of those individuals who come two or three times a year. But conviction is grabbed a hold of you today. And it's saying it's time to come home. We want you to know that there's room for you with a cross. You may have been struggling in through a silent season.

42:20But God has brought you here for this moment. And the biggest surprise for you today is you being restored to the faith. All this is all it takes is for you to say yes to Jesus. And you can get baptized right now. Don't worry if you didn't come prepared with a change of clothes to get wet in because we have whatever you need today. And you'll still be able to leave this place dry in the clothes you can't. But you can say yes right now to the Lord. If you hear, you say, Lord, I want to join that number today. There's room for you at the cross. I want you to raise your hand right now wherever you are in this place. If you're on the lower level, if you're in the balcony, you can say yes. Is there one that wants to join the number today?

43:25Is there one? Is there one? I mean, I've been holding the pill long, but you can say yes to him today. Is there one? Maybe you hear today, but you say I don't know about today, but I know I do want to be baptized. And I need to get right with God. Maybe it's for the very first time. Maybe it's you coming back home. But you're here in this place. You see individual station throughout the congregation. They have a card for you to fill out. We want you to raise that hand. Raise your hand. They'll come to you now. You're able to fill out your card. For those online, there's a link in the chat. Just click on that link now.

44:29Just click on that link and you can fill out your decision. Come on, let's sing that you know the song as I'm taking speaking. Just raise that hand if you're here. To the lowest. Whoever you are, just raise your hand. You want to say yes to Jesus. We're now going to hold this bill long, but you can make your calling an election sure. It will never lose this power.

45:38Come on, everyone. For it reaches. Come on, if you hear me, make a decision for Christ now. Come on, stand till you feed everyone. Dig in, you can begin to set up. The lowest valley. We're going to make one last.

46:47We're going to make one last call. The hour is late. You want to say yes to Jesus in this place. You see those individual stations in the crowd now? Just raise your hand. You can fill out your card now as I pray this moment. Let's find our hands. Follow me. Thank you. We thank you, God. For the message today. Because so often so many of us, God, we're stuck in between the tragedy of Friday. But we have not yet reached the triumph of resurrection Sunday. And we're stuck in a silent Saturday. We thank you for encouraging us with this word today. We thank you for blessing us.

47:53For those who are in the valley of decision and who need to make decision for you. I pray, God, that before this resurrection weekend ends, even this day, that they will make that calling an election sure, even if someone feels impressed while the baptism is taking place to make a decision for you. We invite them to do that. And for those who may have already filled out the cards, wanting to say, I want to do it, but in the future, we thank you for the decisions that have been made today. This is our prayer in Jesus' name. The Church said, Amen. Thank you.