Hi, I'm Darrell Bailey. Thank you for tuning in for our Sunday morning message here, Service for Christ. As we get ready for Easter next Sunday, the Lord permitting, we want to talk to you about ghosted, when heaven went silent, but love spoke louder. Take your Bibles with us over to Matthew chapter 28. Go ahead and turn your Bibles over with us if you would. Take that time as we look at the wonderful Word of God. You see, from the silence of despair to the proclamation of hope, the resurrection narrative transforms our circumstances of God's presence and His purpose. Here as we look today, April the 13th, 2025, the 15th of Nisan, 5785 of the Hebrew calendar. You know, Judaism, when they celebrate Easter, it is in eight stages with two Seders. And so as we get in to the word of God in Matthew chapter 28, verse six, that makes a very powerful point that as we look at, in Matthew chapter 28 verse 6. I'm going to put it up here in a minute. But before we do, let's go into the word of prayer. And then we're going to talk a little bit about what are we talking about when we say ghosted. And so we're going to explain that we're going to spell it with an acronym and then get into the message. Because as I was watching this one day, I thought about what if what if we ghosted God? And many people do. They totally ignore God and cut him completely off. Or what if you thought God or Jesus ghosted you? He never will. But I want to talk to you about that. And so Let's get into a time of prayer and let's ask the Lord to bless us. Heavenly Father, we come before you today, Lord, carrying the questions of silence and stories of heartbreak and hope. And Lord, some of us have felt ghosted by heaven, left in the dark, wondering where you were when life broke apart. But today, God, we gather not just in memory of silence, but in celebration of the louder voice of love. You are the God who does not forget, even when we feel forsaken. You are the God of the empty tomb and the risen hope. And so we open our hearts and our word today to look at what you did on resurrection Easter Sunday as the power stirred within us and as we shake off the weight of despair and awaken our spirits to the truth you were working and speaking in a silence but you were loving us to life because when you went to that cross father we take this moment that's sacred and we let your spirit fall fresh, and may every soul that's listening to this message leave knowing that even when heaven goes quiet, love never stops speaking. In the mighty name of our risen King, Jesus Christ, we pray, amen. And so I'm glad here as we look at the subject of Matthew chapter 28, verse six, He's not here for he is risen as he said, come see the place where the Lord lay. Well, when we look at the scriptures and we realize that here of all that the women during the time of Easter, this verse is the heart of Easter itself because the women came to the tomb expecting to find Jesus dead. buried and gone. But the angel gave him a very shocking news. He's not here. He's risen just like he said he would. And so there's a moment after the cross, after the suffering, when heaven felt silent and Jesus was gone. Hope felt lost. But what they didn't know was that God was working behind the scenes. And in the silence of Saturday, love was moving. Redemption was unfolding. And on Sunday morning, love spoke louder than death, louder than fear, louder than the silence. And the empty tomb proves it, because God didn't ghost us. He didn't abandon us. He fulfilled his promise and Jesus rose and that changes everything. And so if you ever felt like heaven was silent in your life, remember this. Silence doesn't mean absence. Delay doesn't mean denial. And the same Jesus who rose back then is still speaking, still loving and still showing up today. As I talk about this, I think about the movie Ghosted. I'm not going to give away the movie because I don't want to spoil it for someone that hasn't watched the movie, even though that I don't approve of everything that went on in this movie. The thought from this movie of how that this 2023 film ghosted, we see the individual Cole Turner, a farmer, who falls for Sadie Rhodes only to be left in the dark when she disappears without a trace. And this modern day ghosting mirrors the feelings of the abandonment and the confusion that many experience in relationships. And yet, just as Cole discovers Sadie's true identity as a CIA agent, we're reminded of the ultimate revelation. Jesus Christ, though once thought lost, is alive and present in our lives. This movie will take a turn that you'll never expect, and so I'm not going to give it away. But this movie inspired me to think of more of Easter. I know that's crazy, but I remember when I was in high school and I dated this girl that was that was in her father was in the military. And so she went to all these different schools for many, many years. And We went out on a date and you know what, I was just my same self. But the next day I was already working on a job and she showed up with some flowers. Well, I didn't know how to take that being a boy, that a girl would bring me flowers the next day after a date. I was kind of, oh my goodness, I was embarrassed. And you know what? I wanted to, I wanted to ghost her. I wanted to fall off the face of the earth because she came to my job and brought flowers to me. And you know, I don't know what everybody thought about that. I didn't even know what to think about it. And so it scared the living daylights out of me. And definitely I wanted to ghost her. But she was a sweet girl, and of course, it didn't last long because she went back to her old boyfriend. And absolutely, that was exactly who she went back to from a spring for me to her boyfriend and left me were no date for the prom. Well, when we all look at things today, we are kind of reminded about what happens when the definition of ghosted, the modern day meaning of ghosted, because to suddenly cut off all communication with someone, especially in a romantic or a social relationship, without explanation or ignoring all attempts to reconnect. I wonder if you've ghosted somebody or somebody's ghosted you. I know that's not a good feeling. Well, Cole, He was on the farm and he kept running to his phone because he didn't get no response back. And he thought, oh, my goodness, he he does something else. I won't say about the movie to give it away. But he all of a sudden he he thinks, oh, my gosh, you know what? Maybe she has ghosted me. And so, the example of ghosted is, we were texting every day and then he ghosted me out of nowhere. Well, another one, I thought we were friends, but she ghosted me after our last conversation. And so, the origin and the culture, where does ghosted come from? Well, the term comes from the idea of someone disappearing like a ghost. It's especially common in the digital communication, texting, messaging apps, and social media. And it's often associated with the emotional avoidance, the fear of confrontation or the lack of interest. And so that spiritual application when we ghost God and the pain of silence. Have you ever been ghosted? Well, we look at the first one. Many people ghost God and they cut off their prayer, their worship, and the obedience, and they feel hurt, confused, or uninterested. And likewise, they may feel like God has ghosted them when he's working behind the scenes all alone. Well, the pain of the silence. Have you ever been ghosted? Well, one day everything's normal. The conversations, they're flowing. The connection feels real. Ting, ding, ding, ding. The text is just coming through. The relationship seems strong. And then silence. No replies. No calls, no texts. They vanish like smoke. You keep checking your phone wondering, what did I do? Why won't they answer me? Well, we look. What if Jesus ghosted you? What if one day you cried out in desperation, Lord, I need you, and all you heard was silence? What if he looked at your life and said, you only come around when you need something. You don't speak to me unless you're in trouble. You ghosted me first. Treating Jesus like a spare tire. Well, you know what? Sometimes, let's be honest, some of us treat Jesus like a spare tire and we only remember him when life goes flat. You might show up to church on Christmas, maybe Easter, or even the occasional Sunday, but when your calendar isn't packed, I want to pass on that our Pastor Keith Dempsey says, it doesn't matter how long it's been church, come on and be with us. It's coming next Easter Sunday if the Lord doesn't come back. Come on and be with us at Bethel Crossroads. Amen. We'd love to have you over there. Come on. And so, you post a Bible verse when life gets rocky, but you've ignored the one who wrote the book. You say, I believe in God, but He's not your Lord. He's your last resort. How sad. We ghosted Him first. It's not that Jesus walked away from you. It's that you've been ghosting Him for years, and God never ghosted us. Because, and yet, here's the miracle of grace. Even when we ghost God, He never ghosted us. Even when we drift, deny, delay, and disappear. Jesus still shows up, knocks on our heart's door and says, behold I stand at the door and knock in Revelation 3 20. And so when we look at the acronym the G of ghosted, grave defeated. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? In Paul's first Corinthians 1555, Jesus conquered the grave, and it didn't hold him, and it won't hold us either, praise God. And the H of the ghosted, hope restored, blessed be the God and the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, which hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead in 1 Peter 1.3. You see, the resurrection is the reset button for our souls, bringing back hope where it was lost. And when we continue to spell the acronym of ghosted, the O overcame sin, but now once in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. In Hebrews 9 26, you see, sin was strong, but grace was stronger. Jesus ghosted guilt. forever hallelujah and then the s of ghosted salvation secured praise the mighty name neither is there salvation in any other for there's none other name under heaven whereby we must be saved in acts 412 salvation isn't a maybe It's a done deal for all who believe, praise God. And so the acronym of ghosted the T, the tomb is empty. He's not here for he's risen, as he said, come and see the place where the Lord lay. In Matthew chapter 28, verse six, the stone wasn't rolled away to let us out, Jesus out. It was to let us in to see he's gone, praise God. And so, the E of ghosted, the eternal life promise in 1 John 2, 25, and this is the promise that he hath promised us, eve and eternal life. Easter isn't just about the one morning. It's about a forever future, praise his mighty name. And then we get to the very last of the acronym of ghosted. G-H-O-S-T-E-D. The D stands for devotion demanded. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. Romans 12, 1. Because he gave his life, we give him ours. And he didn't ghost us, so we don't ghost him. And so, Jesus may have been ghosted by the grave. but he rose with glory and now he ghosted our sin and our shame and our death praise his mighty name and so we see the silence of Saturday because in it have you ever felt abandoned by God only to realize that he was working behind the scenes for your redemption hmm I'm glad when we look and realize That question carries so much weight, almost like it's born from a very personal experience. Because if I could feel the way every one of us, we go through the crushing sorrows and the overwhelming grace, the sense of being abandoned by God, it's such a lonely place. And so the silence of Saturday, We look in Matthew chapter 27 verses 62 and 63 that we look and realize that the Word of God tells us setting a watch, the silence of Saturday. Because now the next day that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees came together under Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive, after three days I will rise again. Command, therefore, that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away. And saying to the people, he is risen from the dead. So the last era shall be worse than the first. Pilate said to them, you have a watch, go your way, make it as sure as you can. So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone and setting a watch. And it goes on of the risen Savior, praise God. You know what? Listen, when we look at the silence of Saturday, the term sabbaton, it signifies that rest. Yet this Sabbath was filled with unrest for Jesus, his followers. And so the woman that was in route to an Easter service, she tapped her Uber driver, startling him, and he confessed it was his first day driving after years of operating a hearse. And the unexpected can jolt us, much like the disciples were jolted by Jesus's death. The silence of Saturday. We look and we see that through that silence of Saturday, in our silent Saturdays, we trust that God is orchestrating a resurrection. And so The crucifixion, Jesus' death on the cross, left his followers in despair, much like Cole's confusion when Sadie vanished. And the burial, Jesus' body was placed in a tomb, sealed and guarded, symbolizing the finality of death. And the silence? For three days there was no word, no sign, only grief and uncertainty. But imagine waiting for a loved one who promised to return, only to hear nothing for days. The silence is deafening. Well, Not only the silence of Saturday, but the power of the resurrection Sunday. Hallelujah. That if the Lord comes, don't come back next Sunday, the 20th, praise God, we'll be looking at Resurrection Sunday. And I'm glad that many of you may have felt abandoned by God only to realize that he was working behind the scenes for your redemption because In Matthew chapter 28, verses 5 and 6, the Word of God said, And the angel answered and said unto the woman, Fear ye not, for I know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, as he said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And so the angel's proclamation shattered the silence. He's not here, for he is risen. And the risen translates to quam. of the Greek and oh so as we see meaning to arise and stand up signifying victory over death praise God a child asked was tasked with reciting he is not here he is risen mistakenly said he's not here he's in prison even in error the truth remains Jesus broke the chains of death praise God and so embrace the resurrection's power to overcome the personal trials and the tribulations that we all go through on a daily basis. And so, assurance of salvation as Jesus' victory over death guarantees eternal life for all believers. And the empowerment for living, the resurrection empowers us to live boldly and purposefully. and the promise of his return. Just as Jesus ascended, he will return to take us home. I'm glad that Pastor Keith Dempsey was talking about the rapture, amen, and in Revelation 19, and how that the Lord's coming back, not as he was before, but he's coming back on a white horse. He's coming back as a conqueror, praise God. And so, on that thought, I'm glad. Think of a soldier returning home after years of service, bringing joy and relief to all who awaited his return. You know what? When we see the silence of Saturday, the power of resurrection Sunday. Thirdly, we see the commissioning of the disciples because during that time they felt so abandoned and they realized that maybe they were working and locking the doors and they were scared to death. They felt like they didn't know what to do. But I'm glad that the Lord is always working behind the scenes for our redemption. And I'm glad in Matthew chapter 28, verses 19 and 20, the Bible says, Go ye therefore teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you. And lo, I'm with you always, even under the end of the world. Amen. Listen, I want to invite you to come and be with us at Bethel Crossroads this coming Easter. That's right. Directly a quote from our pastor, Keith Dempsey. Come and be with us. If you ain't been in Eastern a long time, come on and be with us. We'd love for you to come and be with us. And I thank God when we look at the Greek word that means to make disciples, indicating an ongoing process of teaching and guiding. We want you to come and be with us. We want to make you a disciple of Jesus Christ. You know, in Ghosted, Cole translates from a passive participant to an active agent in the mission. Similarity believers are called active discipleship. And we want to get you active. We want to get you in the family of God this Easter. We want you to be commissioned and come in with us and get in the family of God and not miss out on the great rapture, when the church is taken to the marriage supper of the Lamb, praise God. And so, when we look and realize that the angel's message, that the angel's declaration to the women at the tomb was a message of hope and triumph over death. And the empty tomb, the absence of Jesus' body, confirmed the miraculous event of the resurrection and the personal encounters that Jesus appeared to Mary, Madeline, and the disciples, proving that he was alive. It's like receiving a letter from a friend that you thought lost, only to find out they've been safe all along, waiting to reconnect. You know what? As I close out, I wonder, have you experienced the ghosting of God's presence in your life? You know, many of us, you got to remember that he's always near and he's ready to reveal himself to you. Listen, I know that if you'll just reach out to him, I'm telling you, he's looking for you to reach out. And I'm telling you, he has the answers that no one else has. He has the keeping of your soul that no one else can provide. Are you living in the power of the resurrection? Listen, Why don't you get on board this Sunday? Embrace the new life that Christ offers and walk in his victory with the rest of us. Amen. Don't wait for the tribulation. Don't wait for all things to break loose and you're looking for the exit sign and you'll never find it because you're going to be caught in a mess that you wish you'd got out of but you won't be able to. Are you sharing the hope of the resurrection with those that are around you? Have you invited somebody to Easter this Sunday? Let the joy of Easter inspire you to spread that good news, praise God. And so, as we get ready and close out, if you felt distant from God, know that He has never, ever ghosted you. Romans 10 9 assures us that if we confess and believe, we will be saved. Come forward. Let the resurrection power renew your spirit. I hope and pray that you can come and be with us this coming Sunday. And so I hope and pray that I want to pray with you right now as we pray together. I hope and pray that this coming Easter that you'll realize that the Lord loves you more than anyone else could ever love you. And so, right before I start my closing of music, I want to pray without it. I want to ask you to pray with me, Lord. I want to thank you for your sacrifice, for your triumph, resurrection. Forgive us for the times that we've doubted or turned away. Help us to live in the power of your resurrection, sharing your love and your hope with a world that is in need. And all of this, may the peace of the risen Christ be with those always to go forth in strength, sharing his love and his resurrection power with all that encounter him. We ask every bit of this in the powerful, powerful name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you so much for tuning us in. Ghosted when heaven went silent, but love spoke louder. From the silence of despair to the proclamation of hope, the resurrection narrative transforms our understanding of God's presence and purpose. Praise the mighty name of Jesus. Happy Easter coming to you.