Welcome to the official podcast of Rock Hill Baptist Church 2
where we are focused on glorifying God, spreading the
gospel, and making disciples of Jesus Christ right here in the
heart of Greenville, SC. Each week we bring you a life
changing word from our Senior Pastor, Pastor Matthew D Long
Junior, or one of our anointed guest speakers.
We pray this message strengthens your faith, deepens your
understanding, and empowers you to elevate in every area of your
life. Let's join the service already
Matthew chapter 28, verse #1 says, and the end of the
Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the
week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the
Supplica. Verse 2.
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the
Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone
from the door, and sat upon it. Verse 3.
His countenance was like lightning at his remnant, right
as snow. For and for fear of Him the
keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
Everybody say dead men. Verse 5 And the Angel answered
and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that you seek
Jesus, which was crucified. Verse 6 He is not here, for he
is risen as he said, Come see the place where the Lord lay. 7
And go quickly tell his disciples that he is risen from
the death. And behold, he goeth before you
into Galilee, and there shell ye see him, lo, I have told you.
And they departed quickly, if I say quickly, quickly, and from
the sepulchre with fear and great joy, and did run to bring
his disciples word. And as they went to tell his
disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail.
And they came, and held him by the feet, and worshipped him,
and then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid.
Go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee and there shall and
they shall see me again. The word of God for the people
of God. Thanks be unto God.
If you mind you, take your seat today.
I'm going to preach very quickly, shortly, briskly from
the thought the grave made a mistake.
Let's see if I can get a few people.
Just help me ride real quick. Help me out.
Turn to them and say, hey neighbor, the grave made a
mistake. Under brothers and sisters,
there are some mornings that do more than start a day.
Now. There are some mornings that
shift history. There are some mornings, Deacon
Glen, that do not just bring sunlight, they bring sight, they
bring strength. They bring a sound from heaven
that tells earth what you thought was over is not over
after all. And my dear brothers and
sisters, this is the kind of morning before us in this text.
DJ. This is not just any sunrise.
This is not just any visit to the cemetery.
Matter of fact, this is not just any procession of pain.
No, this morning when sorrow got interrupted, this is the morning
when grief got confronted. This is the morning when Death
Deacon Hauser discovered it had touched somebody it could not
hold. And if we're honest, many of us
know what it is like to walk into a morning carrying a heavy
spirit. We know what it is to get up
with tears in our eyes and pressure on our chest.
OK, matter of fact, there's a few of us who really know what
it is like to keep moving while our heart is still hurting.
OK, maybe I didn't find. Yeah, maybe, maybe it is that
that moment to to wake up and have to keep going in public
with a smile while I'm bleeding in private.
We know, but it is like to come to church just up on the outside
while carrying so much disappointment on the inside.
But I came to preach to somebody who has walked with something
heavy. I came to tell you can't tell
you. Came to tell you for the one
who's buried hope for his buried joy, who might even buried some
confidence, peace or expectation.
I came to tell you that when God gets ready to move, the grave
does not get the last word. I thought you would holler a
little better right there. And that's where we find
ourselves, in between the black and white pages of the book
before us, or the electronic device of which you may be
reading from. And Matthew's Gospel, chapter
28. But Jesus has now been
crucified. He has been beaten, He has been
mocked, he has been pierced, and now he has died.
Oh, he died. Yeah.
Didn't he die? He he died, he died and now he
has been laid in a borrowed tomb.
The stone is sealed and the soldiers are posted and the
situation looks grim, bleak and even final.
The chapter appears closed, but heaven has a way of stepping
into closed situations and opening with everybody else
thought was finished. My dear brothers and sisters, I
want to let you know that the grave made a mistake and it's
here we find just a few movements worth exploring
together. Are you reading number one?
We find that they came carrying grief, but God was already
working the morning. OK, Matthew chapter 28 verse #1
says in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the
first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to
see the sepulchre. Notice.
Notice my friend, I have the text opens.
It says as it began to dawn. That means the light was coming
but it was not fully there yet. The sun was rising but the scene
was still dim. Morning was breaking, but
clarity had not completely arrived.
Because there are some seasons in life when it is just simply
dawning but not yet day. There are some moments in when
God is God is moving, but we cannot fully see it's Yeah,
there are. There are times when darkness is
lifting, but the evidence has not fully presented itself or
appeared. There are seasons when all we
can say is I know something is shifting, but I can't explain it
yet. And here your Bible says that
these women came to the tomb with love in the hearts but
grief on their minds. And according to the other
gospel accounts, they were carrying spices.
They were. They came ready, came ready,
came ready. They came ready, prepared for
death. They came expecting to deal with
a body. They came ready to honor what
they thought was over. Balloons in hand, T-shirts made,
they came ready. That means they were faithful
but hurt. Again, it shows us that they
were devoted but disappointed. They were present, but even
pained. My new brothers and sisters,
there is something powerful about that because many people
think faith means never hurting. I'm gonna say it again because I
don't think you heard me. I said sometimes, sometimes we
have this misnomer that faith means never hurting.
But these women prove that real faith can still show up with
tears in its eyes. I don't like your voice.
Help me out. Turn to neighbor.
Say neighbor. It's all right to cry.
It's all right to cry because
real faith can still walk while the heart is broken.
Real faith can still move toward God while carrying pain.
And And here's the very first lesson from the text.
Just because pain is in your hands doesn't mean God is absent
from your morning. You ain't gonna help me work.
It's all right. They came carrying spices,
Sister Shirley, but heaven had already scheduled a surprise.
They came expecting a funeral, but God was preparing A
revelation. They came ready to anoint a dead
Jesus. But Jesus had already settled
that death would not keep him. And maybe that's where some of
us are at this morning. This afternoon we came to this
season caring what we thought we would need for something dead
became caring spices for a relationship we thought was
over, became caring spices for a dream we thought was buried
became caring spices for a ministry we thought that was
finished became caring spices for a version of ourselves we
thought would never rise again. But I've got a word today to
tell somebody in the room that you should not, you should not,
you should, you should not bring permanent language into a place
where God is still working. I don't like your response.
Are you away? Come back here.
I said you should not bring permanent language into a place
where God is still working. And you must know that the enemy
wants us to believe that night has the final say that I want
you to know that Dawn, it's proof that darkness has a
quitting time. That shouting grounds right
there because darkness has a quitting time.
Come here, David, reaping may endure for a night, but joy,
joy, joy, Jesus, joy, joy, joy. Morning has an assignment.
And some of us need to hear this plainly.
The fact that it is still dim does not mean that day is not
coming. The fact that it is too hard
does not mean help is not on the way.
The fact that tears are still falling does not mean God has
forgotten. But I just want you to know it
actually means it's dawning. It's dawning, it's dawning it's
dawning it's dawning. I better keep on moving.
Y'all don't like my preach. It's all right.
I hear we find the second movement of the text in Matthew
chapter 28 verses 2 through 6. It says, And behold, I like that
word, Behold, behold, says, there's more to be seen.
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the
Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone
from the door, and sat upon it. Verse 3.
His countenance was like lightning, and his remnant, his
clothes right as snow. For and for fear of him the
keepers did shake and become as dead men.
And the Angel answered and said unto the woman, Fear not ye, for
I know that you seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 For he is
not. Y'all ain't got your Bibles
over. Look at you.
He is not here, for he is risen as he said.
Come see the place where the Lord lay.
Well, friend, the very second movement of this text worth
exploring together is the stone was moved not for his escape.
Come here, but further evidence. I know that's a lot to write.
Let me give it to you again. I said the stone was moved not
for his escape, but further evidence.
The text says there was a great earthquake.
Friend, family, don't don't miss that right there.
Don't miss that. Friday the earth shook when he
died, and then on Sunday the earth shook when he rose.
I'm gonna say it again. I said Friday the earth shook
when he died and Sunday the earth shook when he rose.
Creation was trembling because the Creator was doing business.
The ground responded because glory was in motion.
And this is not a quiet little events in the corner.
This is literally heaven invading earth.
This is divine power breaking into human history.
This is not resuscitation. This is resurrection.
This is not somebody barely breathing again.
This is the Son of God getting up in victory.
And when the Angel arrives, he rolls back the stone and then
sits on it. Y'all don't know when to shop?
I said. He rose back the stone and then
sits on him. He sat on what had been shot.
He sat on what had been sealed. He sat on what had been used to
block access. In other words, Heaven took a
seat on the problem. I wish you had just a little
more energy because I would tell your own self to write your own
self a note in your own phone and to remind yourself that
Heaven is going to sit on the problem.
And some of us, some of us have been staring at stones.
Stones of fear, stones of death, stones of diagnosis, stones of
shame, stones of opposition, stones of grief, stones of
systems bigger than us, stones of doors closing in our face.
But the text says your Bible says that God can sit down on
the very thing that was stressing us out.
The stone that was big enough to block the tomb was not big
enough to block my God, come here.
I hear you. My mom, my mom would say he's
too big to get over here. He's too wide to get around.
He matter of fact, and he's too large to get underneath.
He's God by himself. I better get on out of here.
But the text says here that there was a seal, a seal placed
on the stone. The seal was official enough to
satisfy Rome, but it was not official enough to stop
resurrection. Those guards were strong enough
to intimidate people with their badges, but they were not strong
enough to stop prophecy. And the keeper shook and became
your Bible says as dead. The living men, the living men,
the living men started looking dead and the dead Jesus was
alive. I don't know if you're reading
the same Bible I'm reading. I said the living man started
looking dead and the dead Jesus was alive.
That's divine reversal, Sister Hauser.
That's even a holy irony. That is God saying, I know how
to flip a situation. And I came to give you that.
The stone was not moved so Jesus can get out, but by resurrection
power. He did not need help getting up,
but the stone was moved so he can get in and see.
But the stone was not moved even for his escape.
The stone was moved simply for evidence.
Let me say it another way because he still seemed a little
skeptical. God remove some things in our
lives, not because He needs an opening, but but because this
out you ready? But because we need
confirmation. He will open doors so we can see
what He has already done. He will shift barriers so we can
witness what heaven has already settled.
And because some doors are not opening so we can escape, some
doors are opening so we can see. That means resurrection is not
just an event to admire. It's not just a day to put on
your bright colored pastel suits.
It is not just a day to have eggs and chocolate, money and
fun. That it is not just a day to hop
along with bunnies and rabbits. That is not just a day to gather
at somebody's house and tell more lies.
That it is not just a day to celebrate the yardbird being
fried. But resurrection is a truth that
addresses fear. No y'all don't know when to
shout. I came to tell you that this is
the day to allow all your fears to know that I'm coming back
better than ever. Fear says it's over but
resurrection says I'm still God. Fear says the stone is too big
but resurrection says I move but people cannot manage.
Fear says death one but resurrection says look again.
And then the Angel here in the text says with some nerve,
Deacon Davis, he's not here, for he is risen as he said.
My friend, those 3 words are large enough to make anybody
have church all by themselves. Those 3 words as he said, those
3 words as he said, Those 3 words as he said, he rose as he
said, he defeated death as he said.
He fulfilled prophecy as he said.
He kept his word as he said, and that means if he kept his word
in the grave, he can keep his word in every area of our life
as he said. Here's here's my homilotical
highlight for you. The resurrection is proof that
God can be trusted in places where human logic runs out.
Because if he said it, the grave cannot cancel it.
If God said it, hell cannot block it.
If God said it, time cannot rot it.
If God said it, time cannot drown it.
Matter of fact, if God said it, Sunday will eventually answer
Friday's problems. I better get on out of here.
I said I was going to keep you for a few minutes.
And here we find NOW Saints, our third movement of the text.
It's in Matthew chapter 28. We read it already starting at
verse #7 Your Bible says and go quickly and tell his disciples
that he is risen from the dead. Lord, I can shot right there,
and behold, he goeth before you into Galilee, and there shall
you see him. Lo, I have told you.
Verse 8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre, with
fear and great joy, and did run to bring his disciples.
Word 9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Lord
Jesus, Jesus met them saying, all hell, and they came and held
him by the feet, and worshipped him. 10 And I'm gonna be done
Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid.
Go tell my brethren that they'd go into Galilee, and there shall
they see me. Well, my brothers and sisters,
you've endured me long enough, and I think you're hot, just
like I'm hot, so we might as well leave together in a few
minutes. But I want you to know that the
very third movement of this text is the risen Christ turned to
mourners into messenger. I said the risen Christ turned
the mourners into messengers. I love this part because the
text says they left the tomb with fear and great joy.
OK, all right, you're going to act like that.
It's OK. I got you.
Got you, got your Sunday mask on today.
But that's real life right there.
Fear and joy, trembling and testimony, shaking and shouting.
Because sometimes when God moves, we do not instantly
become calm. Sometimes we are still trying to
process what heaven has done. Sometimes our emotions have to
catch up with our miracle, and even sometimes our feet are
running while our minds are still catching up.
And sometimes we are blessed and bewildered at the same time.
But come here. The good news is this God, God
can still use people who are processing.
Lord, you miss your shout again, I said.
God can still use people who are processing.
They had fear and great joy, and still they ran with the message.
They were still trembling. They were still trembling.
I'm going to save one more time because I don't think you hear
me, I said. They were still trembling, and
still they testified. They were still trying to
understand it, and still they obeyed it.
That means we do not have to have every answer before we
carry the announcement. We do not have to understand
every mystery before we tell what God has done.
And as they went, Jesus met them.
Lord, you mess, you missed it again.
You missed it again. Come here, let's try it again, I
said. And as they went, Jesus met
them. Could it be Jesus has not shown
up because you have not moved? Are you in the room?
Did you go to sleep on me? It says as they went, Jesus met
them. He met them in motion.
Come here then. He met them in obedience.
OK, come on to the edge of your seat.
He met them while they were carrying the message.
And there may be somebody listening who has been waiting
for the Lord to meet you while standing still.
But there are some encounters that happened while we are
obeying. There are some revelations that
come while we are moving. There are some manifestations
that show up while we are on the way.
And your Bible says right here in verse #9 that Jesus says all
hail. When they saw him, they held him
by the feet and worshipped him, thank God.
Can I spend 2 minutes? Let me take two minutes right
there. And they saw him, and then they
heard him. And then they held, told him
Lord. And then they worshipped him.
That means the resurrection is not theory.
And it's not even a rumor, OK? It's not even a metaphor.
It's not wishful thinking. They touch him.
Yeah. I just need to pull this out for
you. So you see it in your Bible.
I know we like to talk about 8 days later in the upper room and
they gather, but it's right here.
Your Bible says that they touched him.
They had so much going on that they were able to stop in the
moment and touch them. Can I suggest today, my dear
friend, as Kennedys coming down, that we all should take some
time to touch Jesus. We should touch them with our
praise. We should touch them with our
worship. We should touch them with our
love. At some point we ought to stop
and hold. Hold him, hold him, hold him,
hold him, hold him. They worshipped him, they
encountered him. And I got to let you know that I
love our faith. Our religion I believe is not
built on good advice from a dead teacher.
Easter let me do a little theological work that a
Christianity is built on the victory of a living savior.
Cause your Bible says Jesus says to them in verse #10 be not
afraid. Go tell my brother, look at that
grace, look at that, look at that.
He does not saying go tell those failures.
He doesn't say go, don't go tell those who ran away.
He didn't say go tell those who had hit.
He said go tell my brothers. Yeah.
He doesn't say go tell those quitters.
Yeah, but he does say to them, go tell my brothers.
You do know? You do know that after denial
Jesus still calls them brothers. You do realize that after
failure, Jesus still calls them brothers?
You do realize after fear, Jesus still calls them brothers.
And that means the resurrection is not just about power, it is
also about restoration. Peter denied him, but
resurrection had a word for him. The disciples ran, but
resurrection had a word for them.
And maybe somebody in the room has failed, fumble, fallen,
drifted, doubted, or even messed up, backed up and found yourself
broken down. But I've got good news today to
let you know that the reason Christ Savior has a word for all
of his brethren. He still comes for the ashamed,
and he still calls the wounded. He still restores the fallen,
and he still sends the shaking, and He still uses the people who
have been through something. And then he tells them, He tells
them, look at this. He tells them to go to Galilee.
Lord Jesus, Galilee is the place where calling was cultivated
after he came out of the wilderness in Luke chapter 4.
He then goes to Galilee. Galilee is where ministry took
shape. Galilee is where they first
walked with Him in a deeper way. In other words, resurrection
does not just bring relief, it reactivates assignments.
Lord, I'm preaching better than you shouting.
He gets up and then sends them forward.
He rises, then restores purpose. He defeats depth and deploys
disciples. And my friend, I need you to
know that means this is bigger than a shout.
This is bigger than a dance. This is bigger than a tongue.
Matter of fact, it's bigger than a Sunday outfit and a brim hat.
This is bigger than a holiday service because erection and
resurrection means we cannot stay at the tomb.
Glory to God, Hallelujah. Resurrection mean we can't stay
at the grave, but we have to carry the news.
We have to live like death, loss, and we have to move like
Jesus lives. Matter of fact, we have to love
like hope is alive and we have to serve like the Kingdom is
real. But let me get on out of here.
But I can let you know the day that an empty tomb is not the
end of the sermon, but it's the beginning of an assignment that
as you go and sit around your kitchen table with your friends
and family today or you go to no, you're not going to cracker
as you go to whatever restaurant you go to.
I need you to know that I'm reminded of a story about a
little girl who was sitting beside her grandmother and by
her grandmother worked on a piece of embroidery from
underneath all the little girl 'cause she was not loose
threads, tangles and colors going in directions that made no
sense. The little girl said grandma
that looks like a mess, but the grandmother told her come around
here and look at it from my side baby and that the child had
moved and looked from above what seemed like a mess.
Underneath was a beautiful crown sticks together with care and
that's what Friday looked like from underneath.
It looked like nails and blood. It looked like thorns and
darkness. It looked like lost Dick and
Glenn. It even looked like the end.
But Sunday morning was God turning the fabric around.
Now we can see what Friday was really doing.
Friday was not fill him. Friday was payment.
Friday was not defeat. Friday was redemption.
Friday was not the end. Friday was the cost.
And they let my Jesus all up. God got this heal.
And you know that they stretched him wide, and they drove nails
through his hands and through his feet.
They lifted that cross between earth and the sky, and blood
came running down. You know, it ran down until the
sun refused to shine. And the veil in the temple was
torn from top to bottom. The earth begin to quake.
And Jesus hang on that cross from the 6th to the 9th hour,
Braylon said. But really what time was It was
from noon to 3:00 PM. And he hung down to and justice
was satisfied. And you know what happened?
He died. Yeah.
Yeah, he really did. He died on that cross.
And he died until the centurion had to testify.
He died until a borrowed tomb had to be received.
He died until all the hell had started celebrating too soon.
But I'm so glad that on early, early Sunday morning, I was up
around 2:00 this morning because I said I want to get up with
Jesus. Early Sunday morning, before the
sun fully warmed the sky, before the city could clear it's
through, before the diners could rewrite the story, before the
enemies could secure the scene, Jesus got on up.
Lord, I'm sorry, I got happy. I said Jesus got on up.
He got up from that old grave. And then he is Jesus arise and
arisen from what should have kept him out and kept him under.
But with a mighty triumph over his foes, he got up.
And because he got up, hope can get up.
And because he got up, joy can get up.
And because he got up, peace can get up.
And because he got up, that dreams can get up.
And because he got up, fallen people can get up.
And because he got up, the church can get up.
And because he got up, our future can get up.
And because he got a witnesses can get up.
And because he got a praise ought to go up.
Because the grave made a mistake.
It thought it was holding a victim, yeah, but it was really
housing a victor. It thought it was receiving a
body, but it was really witnessing glory.
It thought it had the final word, but Jesus got it with all
power in his hands. And I'm so glad on this Eastern
Day that he got up with enough power for you and me.
That even with my failed self, even with my flawed self, that
he got up with enough power to cover me on Monday when I put
myself to my own misery. Yeah, he got up with enough
power. Yeah, to keep me on Tuesday when
I keep trying him with my bad self.
That he got up with enough power for Wednesday, when I act a
little wonky with him. Yeah, he got up with enough
power for Thursday, when I keep trying him yet again.
But I'm so glad that even though Friday seemed like a problematic
day for Jesus, he got enough power for Friday, when I
frighten my own self, and Saturday when I make my own
self. Sad.
But it's something about that. Sunday, yeah.
Sunday morning, yeah. He got up with enough power.
Yeah. To bring me back to his house
again, to remind me yet again that he's got enough yes for my
flaws. He's got enough yes, for my own
temperament. He's got enough yes for my own
ways. I mean, he's, he's bigger than
anything I can think of. He's larger than anything I can
imagine. And I'm so glad today that the
grave made a mistake. I'm just wondering, is there
anybody in the room today I can say, Lord, thank you, that the
grave made a mistake? A lot of people got up on
Friday, but I'm concerned about the one on Sunday, because the
one on Sunday he got up at all power, all power in his hands,
healing power, saving power, redeeming power, forgiving
power, reviving power. I got to stop.
I got to stop.
He got up at all power, all power in this.
The grave made a mistake. I made a mistake.
I want you to know there is nothing that can hold you if
they can't hold him. That's why we ought to thank God
today. We ought to thank God for the
cross, but we ought to thank God for that grave.
Because things come in life to try us, to tempt us, to test us,
to challenge us. I want you to know that just
like Jesus overcame the grave, we too can overcome holding
contraptions. We too can.
Yeah, we too can overcome, but tries to contain us in this old
life of us, some life of ours. Sometimes sickness and disease
acts like a grave and try to hold us bound.
You know those those those doctor notes sometimes seems to
be a contraption to hold our hearts hostage.
Sometimes our kids and our family members, our business
sometimes seems like it's it's a contraption to hold us down.
But I want you to know that just like Jesus, we too can get up
from the grave on a Sunday morning.
Listen, you may not know Jesus and the free partner of your
sin. I invite you to get to know him
for yourself. I had to do is pray this short
prayer to me, said Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus come into my heart,
save me. I want to be saved.
Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross of me.
Lord Jesus, thank you for rising out of the grave for me.
Lord Jesus, thank you for soon coming again for me in Jesus
name, Amen. Come and put those hands
together. Believe by faith that someone
just received Jesus into the heart.
Thank you for tuning in to the Rock Hill Baptist Church 2
Podcast. We pray today's message planted
something in your spirit and gave you the strength to keep
growing here at the Rock Hill Baptist Church 2.
We're a growing church, and growth starts with one step.
If you're ready to go deeper, visit us online at
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And remember, no matter what comes your way, you were built
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purpose, live in power, and grow in grace.