From the Pit to the Promise (Resurrection Saturday)

Saturday represents a pretty interesting time in the life of the disciples. And what was happening, all their hope was dashed. And a lot of people do wonder where was Jesus at during this time? So the title is From the Pit to the Promise.

From the Pit to the Promise, and that has a lot of practical application for us today. Trust me on that. But I don't wanna get into the theological debates on where exactly was Jesus, because some of you will know there's different passages.

We do know this from gotquestions.org, the clearest indication we have in Scripture of where Jesus was in between His death and resurrection is what He said to the thief on the cross. Truly, truly, I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. However, many of you know 1 Peter, where Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, having might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit.

And then it goes on to say, He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison because they formerly did not obey. When God's patience waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. And some take this to mean that Jesus, sometime between His death and resurrection, went to hell, went to Hades, and made an announcement of some type to the spirits imprisoned there.

With this interpretation, the spirits Jesus addressed could be either demonic or human. If these were fallen angels, what Jesus proclaimed was probably a declaration of His victory over Satan and his hosts. So, looking at the different commentaries, I realize, you know what? All we have is scripture.

He said, today I'll be with you in Paradise. That scripture, actually, when He went and preached to the souls, it could have been a time where He did that in victory before His resurrection. We know He didn't go to hell and suffer like some people have taught.

It could also mean that back in Noah's day, there was the preaching of the gospel. But that's not really my focus tonight because when I talk about from the pit to the promise, their waiting time was not full of hope. Many of us, when we're in that waiting time, although it's difficult, we at least have some hope.

They didn't have a lot of hope. Their Savior's gone. Their conquering King has been crucified.

I mean, can you imagine? Talk about disappointment. And that's what Saturday was for, I believe. One reason, of course, fulfillment, different things.

But just that time, that waiting time. And I remind us often that waiting time is not wasted time. Because we often think, let's raise our hands and just see how many type A personalities are in the room.

Morgan, you're not, I don't think. You guys aren't being honest. There's a lot more.

Do you like to wait? Let's get it done. I don't wanna wait. I want to know things now.

But God's economy deals a lot with waiting. And that silence, I can't imagine, I mean, seeing Him on the cross, that silence was deafening. The cold night, the chill in the air, and Jesus is gone.

I mean, just let that sink in for a minute. All hope in their hearts was gone. Because the shadow of death had passed and the finality has come.

He is dead. It is over. Of course, last night I read where the sky went black.

And of course, you know, He gave up. It basically says He gave up. The King James says He gave up His ghost.

He gave up the spirit. It's a Greek word there. Tetelestai means it is finished.

It's done. I've completed what I've been called to do. And like Paul, I finished my race.

I finished what needed to be done. But I can imagine when that happened, because there might have been some hope in the disciples' hearts. We don't know.

We don't have commentary on it. But when they saw that He was finally, when He finally died, you can imagine, wasn't this the Savior? Wasn't this the Savior? So their hearts, no doubt, are failing. Their dreams are dying.

The demons are rejoicing. Trust me, the demons are rejoicing. Because the Bible says, had they known what they were doing, they would have never crucified Christ.

I'd love, God's got so many backup plans. You worry about the judge and jury. Take it to the Lord.

He's got the judge in His back pocket. He can influence the jury. He can sway the courts.

The parole panels. Whatever God wants to do, He can do. And the demons rejoice in temporary silence of God's messengers.

And we see the cross look like defeat before it became victory. The tomb looked final before it was found to be empty. But I wanna give you some practical application tonight, because I know many of you come hungry for more of God.

We don't come to play church, most of us. We don't wanna just check it off our calendar. We need to hear from God.

We are desperate for more of God. We need to seek Him. And you guys, it's really a compliment to you, but I know they're talking about all of us, but a lot of people, not a lot, but I run into people sometimes, and they're like, man, I would go to West Side, but man, you're just too deep.

What's the opposite of that? Too shallow? Man, it's just deep, man. The worship and the messages, it's just too deep, man. Well, what would the early church say to that? You're following Christ too passionately, you guys.

That's really what it is. Right, don't shake me out of my comfort zone. Don't make me give up my addiction.

Don't convict me. I just want, I want smooth words. And so many times when people, for the very first time, come under the sound of Holy Ghost preaching, they are mortally offended.

They are convicted. They are upset because the white light of the Spirit is convicting them. And it's our heart to be passionate for God.

And in developing that passion, the waiting time is so crucial. The waiting time in our lives. Those times where God is silent.

Those times where the prayers are not being answered. The times where you're waiting for something to happen, but it's not yet happening. Has anybody been there? That waiting time is, you can go insane if you're not grounded in the Word of God.

You can, because you try to second guess. And then here comes fear. Here comes doubt.

And now I gotta rush ahead. And it's a very difficult time for believers even, but it has such an important purpose. Such an important purpose.

Waiting, but again, it depends on where our attitude is, because I've seen some people go south really quick during the waiting time. I've had enough of God. I'm done with Him.

Bitterness sets in. And they get, so many people are mad at God. And it's because that waiting time, they don't understand.

What waiting time can do though, it can weaken pride. Don't you know your pride needs to be weakened and broken down? There's a lot of pride in, when I know things are going a certain way. Things are falling in line.

Look at what I've done. And when God says, wait, all your dreams, all your admirations, all your goals, the waiting time, it begins to weaken pride and develop humility. You start to rely more on God.

You start to trust more in God when things aren't happening like you thought. And then as a result, it begins to strengthen your faith. Strengthen your faith.

It also builds trust and it deals squarely with fear. It really, the waiting time is what shapes you. The waiting time is like the weight room.

Spiritually speaking. It's what shapes your character. It's what develops your spiritual muscle.

Psalm 46.10, I don't think I put this up there. I added some things actually this morning. But one of my favorite verses, it says, be still.

Be still and know that I am God, that I am the Lord. It's almost like, hey, sit down. Quiet, turn off your phone.

Be still, listen, take some time. Be still and know that I am God. And it's, again, all these, so many directions I could take with this.

But if you look up be still in a Hebrew concordance where you can see what these actually, these words mean in Hebrew, it's a very interesting word. It can mean relax or let go. But it can also mean drop your weapons.

Relax, be still, drop your weapons. Drop your front. Drop your fighting.

Be still and know, and you will know that I am God, the sentence structure. That's how you know who God is. Drop your weapons, drop your pride.

Drop, cease from all this activity, and then you will know who God truly is. It's basically a call to stop frantically trying to control outcomes and instead trust God to act. And on Saturday night, they couldn't do anything.

I don't think they slept very well, do you? Talk about confusion. We think we have it tough sometimes. But you don't give up everything and follow the Messiah, and then the Messiah dies.

And the Bible's not, it's silent on this, but many of these men, I believe, probably could have been charged with some type of insurrection at some point or brought charges against them, or they had to be very careful with their families and maybe shunned in the community. And so this Saturday was a very dark season. I like 2 Corinthians as well.

God's strength is made perfect in your weakness. God's strength is made perfect in your weakness. Did you know that God's power is most effective in you when human strength fails? That's when God works the most, is when human strength fails.

When you say, I don't have the answer. I can't handle this. I don't know what to do.

Anybody been there? When all hope is gone, and your Word is all I've got, I still believe, I still believe that you can bring water from that rock. God, I trust in you. Because God's power and our strength, they actually compete because in our strength it's really rooted in pride.

I can handle this. I got this. I can take care of this.

But when we understand how weak and damaged we are in a desperate, desperate need of Him, as you lower yourself, that filling of the Holy Spirit begins to strengthen you. That's why you can walk in the boldness of Christ and strength because of your weakness. It's those people that are puffed up that are not very strong in the Lord.

In Psalm 121, we use this often here. I'm sorry if I don't have much of the verses up. I had to get the notes out early and I work on sermons the day of and it becomes challenging.

Psalm 121, many of you know, I will lift up my eyes into the hills. Here's what to do during that waiting time. I will lift my eyes unto the hills.

Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord which made heaven and earth. And there's different commentaries on this as well. Personally, I think when he says I look to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Maker of heaven and earth.

It shows it's a shift from the physical. I look to the hills where normally armies would be coming down to help me. Where I would get some reinforcements.

You ever watch those old cowboy movies or those old military movies where, oh, look who's coming. Or Mel Gibson's Braveheart. Here they come, the cowboys.

Oh, I look to them, here they come. Here comes my help. But it's a shift from the physical to the spiritual.

I look to the hills. There's nothing there that can help me. So my eyes are fixed upon God.

So I begin to look at him. That's where my help comes from. The help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

What army can come against me when I position my eyes in the right direction? I look to His strength and His strength alone. There's a song I just heard a couple days ago. It said, He met me there on the floor when I had nothing, nothing more.

No strength to stand, no prayer prepared, just empty hands, and Lord, You met me there. Have you ever had Him meet you at those deep moments? That's special. That's special when He meets you.

I feel for people. I really do. It breaks my heart that don't have that deep, intimate relationship with the Lord.

And often that comes through pain. I wish it was the opposite. But pain is often that mechanism that drops us to our knees.

And I know not everybody can relate. I understand, but for those who can, but for those who can, I think, I don't know, was it Wednesday or maybe last night we sang that song? Not for a moment was I forsaken. The Lord is in this place.

Come, Holy Spirit. Dry bones awaken and you get to that spot where you say, not for a minute was I forsaken, even in the darkest hour, even in the deepest trenches, when it's even, when God seems silent, when nobody is on my side, when all hell is breaking loose and you don't get the news you want, not for a minute was I forsaken. Oh, yeah, there is a Saturday, but don't forget about Sunday morning.

Don't forget about the resurrection. And you strengthen yourself in the Lord. You become strong spiritually when weeping meets worship.

That's how you fight back. Did you know that's how you fight your spiritual battles? God, help us. Our gun safes are full, but our prayer closets are empty.

We think we can fight this battle with pride and money. And I'll tell them off. I'll text them.

We get through these dark nights through weeping and through worship. We fight back. God gets his best soldiers in the highlands of affliction.

And we talk about revival often. We want it. We desperately desire it.

We need it. But that often happens when men and women weep over the condition of their cold and callous hearts. That's when revival really hits a church.

That's when people are awakened spiritually. Did you know that? Listen, I've seen this more times than I can count with so many people coming through our doors over 16 years now. Actually, is it today almost? 10 years here at this location.

Today, I believe. And then six years before that and all the different prayer requests and all the different things. And you see, people don't experience a mighty working of God's Spirit without that brokenness and that humility.

They need to weep over the condition of their cold and callous hearts. They need to weep over the condition of their cold and callous hearts. Guys, if your heart is cold and callous, that's not a good thing.

If you're lacking compassion and you're indifferent, that's not a good thing. There should be a passionate desire for God. Now I think we can use the slides.

Isaiah 64.4, one of my favorite verses, at least the last half. For from the days of old, no one has heard, nor ear has heard, and the eye has not seen a God beside you, Lord. Here's what God does.

He works, He works, and He acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. God works and He acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. And I had a whole list.

I didn't want to bother you with more slides. How many people waited in the Bible? And that's when they were developed. That's when God's sovereignty took shape.

That's when their character was developed. That's when they were able to change course. Abraham waited, Moses waited, Joshua waited.

We can keep going down the line. David? Man, what a story. Hey, 16-year-old, come in from the field.

Now by the way, you're anointed king of Israel. Yeah, next month, next year, you're going to have to fight some giants. You're going to have to go against Saul.

You're going to have to work and worry and fear and run and develop courage and trust in the Lord your God. And then when that character is developed, you'll be able to take that office that I've called you to. What about Joseph? Had these incredible dreams.

Decide to share it with some jealous brothers. Be careful who you share your dreams to. There's a lot of dream killers.

Lot of dream killers. And did it happen right away? No, he was sold into slavery. That's God's will? And then he goes into jail.

Potiphar's wife, and now he's in jail for a couple years and interprets dreams and then finally gets out. And he tells his brothers, don't worry what you intended for evil, God made for good. Did Ezra have to wait for anything? Zerubbabel, the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

How about Nehemiah? Was there some waiting going on? Isaiah. I mean, if you're going to write those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, it might tell you a little bit about their waiting time. That waiting time is so important.

That's where character is developed. That's actually where your relationship with the Lord is strengthened. Because if you go from the promise to the reward or the dream being fulfilled and there's no waiting time, there's no character being built.

It'd be like taking a little baby and taking them and then holding them up and then letting them go. They would just fall because they didn't learn how to build those leg muscles and during that waiting time before they could finally jog. It takes time in the same way, spiritually speaking.

And so just some Scriptures I wanted to share to encourage you tonight, Psalm 27. Wait for the Lord. Wait for the Lord.

Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. I just thought about this this week. I made the mistake, okay, I know some of you have done this before.

Don't look at me the wrong way. Are you ready for this? I clicked on some news sites. I turned into negative Nelly in about 10 minutes.

The world is falling apart. I mean, you can get so down. This poor girl tried to commit suicide and she couldn't and then she went to court to try to get assisted suicide and her dad had to go to court to try to keep her alive and the dad lost.

And it's like, why did I just read this? And now you know. But then you see this is happening and this is going on and this, it's like, and you just, and you have to balance it out with God's Word. I don't think we are meant to absorb all that negativity.

Isaiah, but those who hope in the Lord, another translation says, those who wait in the Lord will renew their strength. This is how you renew your strength. Are you dying spiritually? Are you dying spiritually? Here's how you renew your strength.

Wait on the Lord and when you wait, you worship. You don't just sit there and look at TikTok. That's not waiting.

Waiting is actually removing all the distractions that pull me away from the Lord and I focus on Him. Picture a waiter bringing the things and those who wait upon the Lord renew their strength. James says, be patient therefore, brothers.

Just like the farmer waits. Wait, wait, be patient. Hebrews, now faith is confidence in what we hope for.

It's assurance about what we do not see. Psalm 37, commit your ways to the Lord. This is a little bit different than what I prefer, but it says commit your ways to the Lord and your thoughts will be established.

I believe God can actually change your thoughts and you begin to think more like the Lord. The more, what you begin to read and listen to and watch, it begins to shape your mind, your thought. You don't think like the Lord.

That's why you snap at people. That's why you're rude. That's why you can't control your tongue because you're feeding on those things that pull you away from God.

And when you commit your works to the Lord, you trust in Him. He establishes your thoughts. Philippians, of course, we know, be not anxious for anything, but in every situation with thanksgiving and God will guard your hearts.

And Isaiah, you will keep Him in perfect peace whose mind is steadfast because He trusts in you. Perfect peace because His mind is set on you. Be still and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. So on this topic of from pit to promise, it means when you're in that pit, like Joseph was, I guess, would be a good example, or like Jesus was, they say, they thought.

But there's usually a pit before the promise because it's that pit, it's that difficulty that begins to build you and begins to shape you and begins to form you. That's when it gets rid of all those things you used to trust in. All the idolatry, the false things, it begins to, it cleans your heart.

And it's hard, but you get to a point where you begin to thank God. Have you ever thanked God for the struggle? Lord, thank You for the pit. Thank You for that dark night of the soul because now my eyes have been opened.

I have a passion for You. As I wait on You, You will begin to renew my strength. Leonard Ravenhill once said, "'There is no such thing as a painless Pentecost.'" For those of you who don't know, Pentecost is when the Holy Spirit fell upon the church, the church was born.

The believers go from just trying to be Christians, they don't even know what that means, and now they have the Holy Spirit. And many people talk the same way today that there is a powerful experience that a person can have with the Holy Spirit. Yes, you have the Holy Spirit.

We talk about often as a believer, but does He have all of you? And I can tell you, as a pastor, the vast majority of Christians do not have the fullness of the Spirit. How do you know? Just watch what comes out. Watch what comes out in their actions, in their attitude.

But there's no such thing as a painless Pentecost. It costs something. The disciples waited days in an upper room before they received that downpour.

Jesus fasted 40 days and began His ministry in the power of the Spirit. Those who wait on God will renew their strength. What happens is the rain begins to form and the downpour is inevitable.

Because here's the thing about waiting. You're also building an appetite for the Lord. You're not just sitting there, just twiddling your fingers.

How do you even do that? I don't know. You're pursuing. You're waiting on God.

There's an appetite that's being formed. There's a desperation that's being sought after. And it's in that time that you are strengthened.

You can never take away hope. You can never take away hope. And so that was the point of tonight, is just encourage the church, encourage believers that waiting time is not wasted time.

That as a believer, you can say this as a believer, those dark moments don't last forever. I love how he said, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. The point is he's getting through the valley.

He's getting through the valley. But pastor, that's not true. What about if you die? Well, yeah.

Like with the thief, today you'll be with me in paradise. I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Either way, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, the Lord is there, He comforts me.

You can never take away hope. And that's why we love that song, Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.

I was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see.