(Luke 23:50-54 NIV) Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

(Revelation 1:17-18 NLT) When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look--I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

• Saturday tells us while we're waiting, Jesus is still fighting for us.

(Daniel 10:12-13 NIV) ... "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, ...

1. We wait patiently.

(Hebrews 6:15 NLT) Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.

• When something is happening to you, God wants to do something in you.

(James 1:3 NLT) For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

(Romans 5:3-4 NIV) Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

2. We wait with hope.

(Romans 15:13 NLT) I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

• Don't give up!

(Galatians 6:9 NLT) So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.

3. We fight consistently.

(Ephesians 6:14 NLT) Stand your ground, ...

• Prayer is not just a conversation with God. Prayer is also standing your ground.

(2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV) For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

4. We fight confidently.

(Philippians 2:8-10 NLT) he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesusevery knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,