Silent Saturday || Victory Church [Holy Week #6]

Hello everybody and welcome to victories holy week experience. Thank you for hanging out with us today It is a very very special today that you have your unique be experiencing with us. My name is Steven How do we I'm here with Liz Mendoza and I'm excited to introduce you to our special guest today Israel Piotr Hi, I'm Israel. I'm one of the pastors over in the pastoral care department Yeah, and also over staff health and we're glad that you are here with us because what we're getting into today is It's it's a really big day of processing what it was like for the disciples after they have Experienced losing their Savior in that moment. So after we watched last night's video we had some people comment afterwards Hey, I wasn't able to watch it. How can I I'm a little late joining? How can I watch it later on? Well great news every single one of our nights are ready and available on demand You can find them over on YouTube to be able to join back and watch with whenever you like over the past couple of weeks But one of the things that I'm excited about is not only is it us here But we've been hearing some great comments and participation from all of you as well Like right now we have on Facebook Rita Bradley Rita. It's been a little while since I've seen you It's great. Whenever you join us online. I'm glad that you're here. And we also have miss Arrington Thank you for joining along with us So if you if you have some family members or friends that you would like to invite to be a part Click the share button whether you're on Facebook or YouTube or the website. Let's see on website right now We have AJ good to see you friend. We have Pamela and McD's Frank from the bank as well. Amelia Lou glad that you're here and just a little while We're gonna be taking comments and wanting to see your questions This is not just for you guys to watch with us, but you're in spirit experiencing it along with us. So, please comment Please ask questions. It's gonna be it's gonna be a great time together and the video I think I know I say this every night and you're thinking Steven you have to say that no I don't and I mean it this one is Probably one of my most favorite to watch because it just it drew me in More than I think any of the other ones that I love each one maybe for different reasons This one is this one is very very special and you're gonna love it as well Because it speaks to some things in our hearts that not a lot of areas Are addressed and I think I think you're really going to appreciate it. So let's take a moment now and watch it together You

It's Saturday Jesus just died on the cross a few hours ago and His body is now laid in this tomb He's quite literally dead Yes, he's spiritually alive But nobody can see that part All we see is his body wrapped in cloths motionless And I feel like of all the days of Holy Week. This is the one day that we just kind of brush right past Because we know the rest of the story so we don't feel the weight of Saturday We know that this tomb isn't the end of the story. We know that the grave doesn't have the final word But the disciples didn't know that Yeah, Jesus had told them everything that was gonna happen But they didn't understand and all they knew on this day was that Jesus had died on the cross yesterday Now he's in the grave And With his death all their hopes all their dreams all their aspirations Had died with him too in that tomb The story's over. I mean, after all, what do you do when God's dead? And that is the question of Silent Saturday. What do you do when for all intents and purposes, you look around at the world around you and you see no trace of God in your world? What do you do when it looks like evil has won the day? What do you do when you cry out, God, where are you? But you're met with deafening silence.

Well, C.S. Lewis, many of us know him as the author of the Chronicles of Narnia. He was one of the greatest theologians of the last century. He experienced his fair share of pain. When he was a little boy, his mom died of cancer. He was severely abused by a school teacher. In World War I, he was wounded, and then his wife died of cancer. And it's into that tomb of pain that he writes this, and he says, where is God? When you are happy, you will be welcomed with open arms, but go to God when your need is desperate, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside, and after that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become. There are no lights in the windows. It might as well just be an empty house. Was it ever inhabited? It seemed so once, and that seeming was just as strong as this. What can this mean? Why is God so present, a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent, a help in times of trouble? That is the cry of a bleeding heart, and that is the cry of silent Saturday. This is the day as Christians we don't like thinking about.

Where is God in the hard times of life? Why does God seem so insanely quiet sometimes? Why are there seasons of life where it just feels so dark, feels so depressing, like God is a million miles away or that God is dead? And I know it's not true. I know God's not dead, but sometimes my soul aches like he is, and that's the pain of silent Saturday. So what do we do on a day like that? Well, C.S. Lewis also wrote something called The Screwtape Letters. It's a conversation between two demons about how they could sabotage Christians, and we catch the two demons mid-conversation where they say this. They say, our cause is never more in danger than when a human no longer desiring but still intending to do God's will looks round upon a universe from which every trace of him seems to have vanished and ask why he has been forsaken but still obeys. Listen, I know there's more going on here than I can see. I know my feelings can betray me. I know that even when God is silent, that he is not absent. So on the dark days, when it feels like God is dead in a tomb, I will still obey, and I will still love,

and I will still worship, and I will still say that he is good. After all, one of the things that God does best is bringing dead things back to life. And I know this in the deepest place of who I am, that sometimes when God is silent, it's simply because he's at work behind the scenes writing a greater story than we could ever imagine. So to everyone this day who feels stuck in silent Saturday, I have good news because Sunday, Sunday's coming. Sunday is coming. But for the disciples, they they didn't know that. All they knew was the loss of their friend. Yeah. And as we start to process this together, I really want to see your comments in the in the chat, if you have anything that you feel like you want to even ask a question about. I've known Pastor Israel for a long while, maybe about 15 years now, and he is like the best counselor. You have sat with people who have been going through grief for years and years. And the way that you handle that, the way that you care for people's soul is the best. So maybe as Pastor Johnson was talking, you were even having some grief of loss before, even stirring up as we process what it was like for the disciples. I'm reminded of the moment when John, who was the only disciple, who at least stay close to Jesus during that time of the crucifixion. He was close enough where the Lord said to him, John, I want you to take care of my mom. And I had this thought that maybe John was staying close enough

because he thought that that maybe Jesus would have turned the tables before his death in some kind of way. Maybe he would do what they were jeering at him. Take yourself down at the cross, save yourself. But when he heard, hey, this this is it. Take care of my mom. That's his way of saying, you know, I'm he probably heard it as in Jesus is leaving, like really leaving. And then all of them were going through this, this grief, this loss, this trauma. What do you feel like was in the disciples minds or hearts? How were they processing that day? Gosh, you know, I feel it's safe to say that just experiencing intimate fellowship with their master, their rabbi, their friend, and then immediately seeing their pastor, their their savior. Their savior shredded on a cross. I can only imagine that the disciples are experiencing some of the worst trauma and a sense of failure trying to figure out what just happened. You know, the big statement of it's not supposed to be this way. Yeah. I mean, even when we saw that video with Pastor Johnson, it even sends chills up my spine to say the phrase God is dead. But to witness it. And to only know that truth. Yeah, because we have the friendly remind. Well, I say friendly. It's it's good news. Yeah. We even pastor left the message with we know Easter is coming. Absolutely. They didn't. They had no clue they. And here's the interesting thing is they didn't know.

When that would be answered, we know, we know it's Sunday, but they didn't have a timeline set out for him. There was no guarantee. They're still they're still processing through the moment. They're still the last conversations are still echoing in their mind. The smell of his perfume is still lingering in the air from Mary. Memories are they're still running through. I remember when Jesus gave me the authority to cast out demons. All that's still running fresh in their minds. They have no idea what's happening. The pressure, I imagine they felt, too. Yeah. Yeah. Because maybe I'm imagining at the Last Supper, food was present. Yeah, they're with their friends. Absolutely. Jesus is telling them, please remember me when doing this. Break the bread, drink, drink the wine. I'm imagining and hoping that they held on to those words, but what if they didn't? Because they thought, obviously, we know they did. But they thought, you will never leave me. What do you mean? Even Peter was like, what are you talking about? You know? Right. Right. Well, all that data, all that information, all that goes out the window. Yeah. I mean, they're on a roller coaster. Yeah. I mean, nobody can process linear information when you're on a roller coaster with no seatbelts. And that's exactly what's happening with the disciples. They are going through this roller coaster with no safety harness, trying to make sense of what just happened. Yeah, even as I'm looking at some of the comments, you guys feel the exact same way like Paul and Harry Carter put down that they were feeling remorse. They had to feel so incredibly lost.

They were saddened. Like even when Peter was crying, he said he wept. He wept bitterly at the thought of betraying and then throw through everything on top about he could never say he was sorry. Like the law. Yeah, he thought that's it. That's all Jesus knew was what had happened. Yeah. Or even the other comment that just popped up. Why couldn't I protect him? That's great. I'm sure all these things are going through their mind. And the fact that they were also in and they weren't home, they were from other surrounding cities, so it's not like they could go hide at their at their house. They had to go back. Lead to the upper room that they were using for the dinner They probably ran back there to hide because it was also Passover so people couldn't be walking around you weren't allowed to travel on that day. You're scattered essentially It was we know that on sunday morning when uh, when mary went to go When when even when she got to the tomb, even though he'd said i'm coming back i'm coming back Even when mary got there and the body wasn't there. She's like, oh no, it's gone So saw the gardener she thought it was jesus and could you tell me where this body where they took his body so I can Help repair it because she didn't even anticipate even though there was an empty tomb there She didn't anticipate him right or when she went back to tell the disciples. Sure They were so in grief so at the thought of he's not coming back when she said he's alive. I saw him. No, you didn't No, you you did you did not see him They were that much in grief and they were still hiding in that upper room area. Yeah, so it's The thought of what they were feeling even when the answer to prayer came The grief is so strong. They couldn't even see it initially, right? That's Yeah, so when we think about how how we process grief what

We have walked so many people sure through this area before as we think about what grief looks like what what is An an encouragement you give to somebody when it's still like fresh right then in the moment whoo, I mean Grief comes from god. Um grief isn't we have to remember something and understanding the story It it points out the truth that grief Is passage not permanence? Grief is something we have to go through Our bodies are designed to go through grief to go to the shock To go to the sadness to go to the anger the denial and then back again, and it's often it's not linear It's almost like this infinity loop You know, we accept it one day and we're back in denial the next day and we feel crazy But it's the body's natural response of dealing with hardship and trauma And it's it's for us to be able to go through and grow so it's never meant to be permanent It's just passage But the good news is is for us as christians and as believers Is that we're promised this that we're not promised that we're we're never not going to go through grief We're promised that we're never going to go through it alone Yeah, we will always have companionship and I think And if I may hear i'm thinking I think about In luke 24 the the walk to emmaus This seven mile journey, right? These two disciples are talking about the trauma and the hurt what they heard Okay from from from this massacre that jesus died. Yeah, and then all of a sudden a third figure joins them and as they're walking they finally meet and they settle down and they take communion and they fellowship and they break bread and then He vanishes Jesus vanishes and it's jesus coming back and it's it's interesting what's happening here. It's jesus

Being true to his word That those who are broken-hearted Will never suffer alone That he draws near to the broken-hearted And what you see jesus doing is staying true to his word that in a temporary Momentary time of suffering That he joins us and it's not this ethereal idea of joining us He's not just this phantom. It's he is viscerally present with us Scripture says it like this. He was so present with them that they could feel their in their inmost parts burning and coming alive Yeah wow and so yes Trauma does cause our nervous system to go offline And we feel panic. We feel all the emotions from shock to denial to anger Right to bargaining but ultimately Jesus has the final say And he joins us And in his presence Our nervous system can actually feel him Like jesus leaves behind his visceral presence with us And so we have to do both Both can coexist grief And hopelessness While also hanging on to god's truth his promise and the hope that he will draw near Yeah That reminds me. Um, i've heard of this day and it's i've heard it to be one of the most overlooked. Um days of holy week Um, because we're getting ready for good friday

All the services come Usually the same service and some christian circles or other church circles. Um Then we're just getting ready for easter sunday Um, I oftentimes I'm very, uh, I try my best to sit with Holy Saturday or some call it a silent Saturday. Um, I've heard of it cause you reminded me of something. Um, Holy Saturday helps remind us that there's a room for both doubt and faith. So even what would you say to the person or even what would you say to that as far as like inviting doubt? Yeah, I think we have to get rid of that old rhetoric that faith and doubt can't coexist. I think we need to understand that. Yeah, we, there can be parts of us that are like, I'm not sure about this. I don't know what's happening, but at the same time, because the spirit of God dwells in us, that there, that there is hope. We just can't see it yet. We are, you know, quite often it, it takes our minds and our bodies so long to catch up with what's already been done on Calvary. We, it's hard for us to understand that he is resurrected, that he is alive, that God is not dead, but actually with us, with us now in this moment. And part of the, the, this, the sitting and the silence is to both reflect on Lord, like, how can I just be at peace with my humanity and my spirituality, that my humanity is doubtful, but as a son of God, as a daughter of the Lord, that, that, that you're with me, that you're with me, that I'm not alone grieving. Pastor Dawson had that quote from C.S. Lewis, that, that the gist of it was when we're able to still obey, even when we feel like we can't see God in anything, but we're like, all right, we, we have all of this doubt, but we still hold on to, all right, Jesus, I don't, I don't see it, but I know, I know that even though I can't even tell that I know that you're there and I'm questioning that you're there, I'm saying faithful to you.

What, what a level of worship that is to give to God and how much I'm sure that he is just so proud of us when we bring that doubt to him and in the middle of that grief. And he invites it as well. Like, there's nothing that he can't handle. So as far as like our doubt or our unsureness or our, like, he's ready for it. And with, with my own sons, whenever they bring their, their hurt or their pain or their doubts, like whenever I make a decision as a dad and they don't like it, I love it when they bring that to me, you know, as opposed to go and hide it and stew in it. And I was like, nah, bring all of those emotions to me. Trust me, my, my shoulders are broad enough to take all of that. And I love to process it with them. And if I feel that as, as an earthly father, I can only imagine how our heavenly father will sit with us. And there's something that Chip said on YouTube that I think is a big part of how we process it is that I, I can't imagine after seeing the suffering and the loss of this man who loved them like no others. And then he's literally gone and they still stayed in Jerusalem. Right. They still stayed. Right. Even though they could have ran back to Galilee, ran back to wherever else that they were from, they, they still stayed. And I, when we, when we sit with the Lord in the middle of this grief is, uh, I think a powerful thing to see. All right. So I have one more question that I want to run by you, Pastor Israel. Would you maybe give us like a, an idea of, of what we can do when this video is over in preparation for tomorrow? What's something that we can do to help make, to help sit in this moment for silent Saturday, for us to not just look past it.

I think that's a great point, Liz, about how, because we know the end of the story, we just run right past this and can miss some of the deep truth of scripture and our relationship with the Lord in this time. What would you recommend to us after this video is done to really help to think and process? Honestly, I exactly what we're called to do on this day. Um, stillness and silence being still connecting to what, um, the disciples were feeling, connecting to what you might be feeling, even whatever tragedies are happening in your life right now, where you might be asking the same question, where is God right now? What's happening? I'm trying to figure it all out in our human nature. We are sense making creatures. We're trying to figure out what is going on when there's tragedy, when something strikes us, um, that seems too heavy of a burden to carry. Um, we're trying to figure out what just happened. Where are you, God? I think part of what we can do is just sit in silence and stillness and knowing that the consequences. of that trauma has been purchased, has been bought, has been paid for on the cross. Amen. And that there is a comeback story, and that Jesus has the final say over our trauma narrative, that His words rule supreme, that His sovereign words are coming, and He is going to show up. He is with you now, and He will make His presence known. It's interesting that you say that, because I always wonder, so His body's in the tomb,

Jesus, what are you doing? I mean, are you in Abraham's bosom? Are you in Sheol? Are you in heavenly realms with the Father? What are you doing? But I know, this is what I know for sure. I know that when we were most doubtful, when all we had was the memory of His presence, and the last visual of Him being on the cross, that Jesus was doing His most profound work when He was silent. Wow. And I believe that in our own trauma stories, that when we feel that God is silent, if we can just trust that God is doing His most profound work right now. That reminds me of something that Paul and Harry Carter just put on the website, which is Holy Saturday is a great reminder that silence of God doesn't equal the absence of God. Right, yep. Yeah, and it's when we can sit in that moment, when we create a space, the Lord fills it. So we encourage you guys, as we log off, there's a great time to sit back and really reflect in that time with the Lord. And just as a reminder, we have services that actually are going on right now, and I've had a chance to sit in them. They are powerful, ones that you don't wanna miss

as we celebrate Sunday. So that means tomorrow at nine, 11, and one at all of our campuses, we have space for you. So if you wanna see where they are, here's a QR code that you can scan to be able to get directions to whether it's Norcross, Hamilton Mill, North Cobb, or even Midtown. And let me tell you, we've got extra chairs out. We would love for you to come out, bring your family. I took some photos with my family today, some of our Easter photos. It was a very, very special service, one that I know would bless you and bless your family, even if you have some that live out of state. And it's a great way to even invite them to be a part online as well. We've actually probably have the best online presentation that we've ever been able to put together just for you and your family and your friends tomorrow at nine, 11, and one o'clock. But if you are in the Atlanta area, please come up and say hello to us. I had a couple people say hi to me today at the four o'clock service. He said, one was from South Carolina. They actually drove down to be a part of service. And then here's a little bit of a heads up as well. We're still going live tomorrow for Holy Week at 7 p.m., but it's a special video. It's one for people that maybe weren't able

to make it on Sunday. Maybe you've invited some people to be a part of service and they aren't able to make it. We recommend that you invite them to be a part tomorrow night at seven, as Pastor Johnson has a gospel presentation all about Easter ready to go tomorrow night. It's something that's gonna be very special, even that you can share after the service is done. All these videos, you can find them on YouTube and even share them and invite your friends. And thanks, Israel, for being a part of today. It's been a great and rich and deep conversation. We know that it blessed all of you, and we're blessed that you would spend this time with us. We'll see you at services tomorrow. Bye, everyone.