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
in progress. Romans chapter 12 verse one
through 2. Thank you for John.
Appreciate you guys. You just track along with me.
We're going, we're going to move all throughout the night.
I I want to share Romans chapter 12, chapter 12 verses 1 and 2,
chapter 12 verses one and two. I think that's where I want to
go. Didn't say I want to go, let's
go to Matthew. After that, which was around
July of July of 2024, I was at my office and and the the Lord
really began to speak to me about this year elevate.
This year Elevate. We were going through evolve and
young. I've said this, but I don't know
if I said this publicly, but 2024 was just a hard year for
me. That prophetic word.
Evolve was tough. It was tough to live out.
I was trying to preach as as much as I could.
I was trying to, but it was hard to digest.
I'm like, there's some words God give you that.
She's like, I don't like this one.
It's it's like medicine you get from your parents and not, not
all of it is a cherry flavored. Sometimes it, it is Castor oil.
It's, it's it, it don't taste good, but God knows it's good
for you. And so the Lord gave me this
instruction and he began to talk to me about the technology that
we need for the future. He said there's a technology for
every area in gift. There's a technology for the
Apostolic. There's Apostolic technology,
prophetic technology, evangelistic technology,
pastoral technology. Tell me there's a technology for
emerging and for emergence. There's a technology for
leadership. There's a technology for
fellowship. I'm going to say it again,
there's a technology for fellowship, he said.
Oftentimes this is the Lord game.
He says we struggle and not give things and graces because we
don't know the technology of what we are in and what we have
or where we are. So the question becomes, how do
we find good success? We find good success when we
search the scriptures for the technology of where we are, the
technology for the age, technology for the period of
time, technology for the era that we're in.
There's a technology for every dispensation.
I think the problem is we are willing to become students of
the past instead of proving students of the present.
And if we can say students of the present long enough, we will
receive the technology for that day.
I think COVID really showed us the digital divide.
It showed us how how easy there are those who have some
technology and those who do not. So this is various social
economic backgrounds is also in that same predicament where a
certain spiritual level, certain types of people have different
technological skills and are able to advance at different
levels. So we have to learn the
technology of an elevated space. We have to learn the technology
of an elevated place. The word for this year is
elevated. Help me out.
Turn to the neighbors. Elevate, elevate.
So because we have to elevate, we have to change up a tad bit.
Brother, Brother John, when I was younger, I can remember my
grandmother's house. We had this Rotary.
It's good to see you. We had this Rotary telephone,
right? We put our finger on the number.
We will roll it all the way over to the cling and then put our
finger in another number. It might have been 3 and it
didn't go as far, but we rolled it every time.
I remember as a child in Glenn doing that.
But but then I remember Braylon. I mean, I was around your age,
right? I was around almost 8 to 10 that
we went from that Rotary phone to a handheld phone.
Oh, are y'all? Are y'all with me?
You you tracking we we, we had that thing and you know it, it
would go but only so far huh. Unless you had, you know, the
corded phone. Y'all know them long cords.
But we had that handheld, you know had that long antenna.
They thought you were somebody. 2000s come in by 2K and all of a
sudden Spritz got this, this this little phone.
I never forget Jennifer Michelle having that phone.
Yeah. And I'm telling you, we thought
we were somebody for real because this one, a car phone,
this 1A Rotary phone. But this this was a cell phone
now, huh? What you talking about?
A cell phone we keep on going from early 2000s to mid 2000s.
We go from from that type of cell phone to to the Motorola
Razor phone. Thank you.
I about forgot the name of it. The rate that's sleek, you know,
slender cell phone. And now they got iPhones and and
praise the Lord, there is no other cell phone.
That's all right. I got plenty of all the night.
Hallelujah to God. No, no, my, my point of, of
proving that and going through that is tech.
There's a technology for every age.
It is still a telephone, right? At the end of the day, it is
still used for communication purposes.
I might have learned how to call using the Rotary phone, but I
can't use a Rotary phone. Oh, come on, open your mouth.
Can't, can't use it right now. What is it going to plug into?
Houses aren't even built for that design and specification.
So. So we got to tap in to the
technology of the day. Thank you for John.
Help me out. Turn to the neighbor.
Turn it. Tap into the technology of the
day. All right, so we got to tap into
the technology of the day. To tap into the technology of
the day. There are some things that we
must recognize and realize. But I, I want to read what I
tell you. Romans 12/1 and two who got it,
read it for me. I beseech you, therefore,
brother, by the mercies of God, that she presents your bodies of
living sacrifice. Come on here.
I love it. Prayer is not just a spiritual
exercise, it's a technology. It's a divine system of
communication, activation and transformation.
Just as technology in the natural world changes, also, we
must be mindful of technology in the spirit realm changes as
well. You ready?
OK, make sure you sit down. I just clicked off my notes.
AW told it says prayer is not preparation for the battle, it
is the battle. Prayer is a fuel for the journey
of life, providing energy, strength and direction.
Whether life brings moments of extreme joy or deep despair,
prayer sustains and empowers us. So questions I want you to think
about tonight. It's who taught you how to pray?
Who taught you how to pray? Kensley, I want you to think
about how do you engage with the technology of prayer
effectively, Effectively, how do you pray?
Well, we got to understand the technology or the functionality
of prayer. You ready?
Number one, it is to be connected to God.
Remember, I say connected to God.
I don't like your voice. Come on, say connected to God.
Connected to God. We've got to establish intimacy
with God. That's that's not connectivity.
Again, we got to establish intimacy with God before we get
deep and heavy tonight you got to establish intimacy with God.
I'm going to say it again before we can go deep tonight, you got
to establish intimacy with God. So when we establish intimacy
with God, check this out, we can then upload requests.
We can then upload requests. How we do that?
We do that through supplication, through intercession, and we
also do that through petition. And this is where we get stuck
sometimes because we upload our request, right?
And after we uploaded, and thirdly, we got to download the
revelation. That's where we receive God's
wisdom, knowledge and instruction.
So we got Bishop Belton tonight. Hallelujah.
And when we do that, then we have to upload the spirit.
That's the renewal, empowerment, transformation.
And then this last piece, that's where I want us really to get.
And that's the transference of power.
That that is where there is an activation of faith, activation
of healing, activation of deliverance of gifts.
Miles Monroe says prayer is the most powerful tool that humanity
has been given to affect the heavens and the earth.
The most powerful tool given to us.
So how do we how do we begin this intimacy with God.
It's through consecration at the very root we on day three of
fasting it's lit. Hopefully you have established
your own regimen, your own thing that you've given up.
It is not me prescribed. This is establishing intimacy
with God. In doing so, we go to Romans
12/1. And two, that you got to present
your body as a living sacrifice. That's a night you will have to
sacrifice your body. The yawns, because they're going
to come, the weariness, the tiredness, it's going to come.
As the Lord knows, I won't be at my bed.
You have to sacrifice it. The hunger, you have to
sacrifice it, right? Let me do so.
Then we put ourselves in position for God to then
download or send back something to us.
That's going to be absolutely great.
So, so let me give you some some components of this technology
tonight that we're going to use. Matthew chapter, chapter 18,
verse 19 and 20, Matthew chapter 1819 and 20.
I'm going to give you a lot of scripture.
Ain't got to flip to it until I tell you I ain't trying to wear
your fingers out quite yet. I believe you.
We got we got a way to go. Matthew 18, I believe 19 and 20.
Thank you, sister Princess, I'm telling you I appreciate you.
It says. And again I say unto you, that
if 2 of you shall agree on earth as touching anything, that they
shall ask, and it shall be done for them of my Father which is
in heaven. For where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Is that your Bible said, I heard you turning Second Chronicles,
chapter 20, verse 2122. I preached it on Sunday,
preached it on Sunday. And when he had consulted with
the people Jehoshaphat, he appointed singers unto the Lord.
And that should praise the beauty of holiness as they went
out before the army, and to say, praise the Lord for his mercy
endureth forever. And when they began to sing and
to praise, the Lord sent ambushments against the children
of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Sierra, which would come against
Judah, and they were smitten. You ready?
I got two more for you. Psalms 47 and one.
It's one of my favorites. Psalms 47 and one.
Oh, clap your hands, all ye people, shout unto God with a
voice of triumph. Psalm 47 and one.
Acts chapter 1625 and 26. Acts 162526 I'm giving you some
work, kids, that you met me. Acts 162526 says.
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto
God, and the prisoners heard them, and suddenly there was a
great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were
shaken. And immediately all the doors
were open and everyone's bands were loosened.
Number one, we got to recognize the power of verbal agreement
and prayer and praise. Tell me out.
Turn to the name and say, neighbor, you got to open your
mouth. Braylon missed it.
Come on one more time. Turn to the name and say, hey,
neighbor, you got to open your mouth.
You got to open your mouth. We have to come into verbal
agreement and prayer and then praise.
Matthew 18, verses 19 to 20 establishes agreement, gives
unity in the Spirit. So when we verbally agree in
prayer, we agree by saying, Amen, uh huh.
We agree by saying, yes, Lord, thank you, Clarence.
We agree by saying let it be. So we agree by saying Jesus.
All right. We are spiritually aligning our
faith with God's will when we verbalize together our
agreement. Now I've said this before, but
silence is this is the sound of the enemy.
Whenever there is silence, it is the sound of Satan.
So it is important that we open up our mouth.
It's it's, it's important that we speak up.
Glory to God, thank you, praise them.
Let me tell you another not only does a verbal agreement in
prayer and praise establish unity in the Spirit, but say it
activates the authority of heaven.
That's good right there. It activates the authority of
heaven. And in Jewish tradition,
witnesses were required to establish a legal matter.
So when we agree in prayer, we are bearing witness to the
promises of God. When we say yes, Lord, we are
saying, I cosign, uh huh. Yes, Lord, we say Amen.
Let it be so. Lord, we are literally
activating the authority of heaven on earth.
In the early church, Acts 4 and 24, we find that there they
lifted their voices with 1 accord.
When they lifted their voice with 1 accord, the Bible says
that the place that they prayed in was shaken.
That if we want heaven to kiss earth, if we want this world to
be impacted, we have to verbally agree with God.
Lord, I'm sorry, I feel my help are coming.
That that sometimes we struggle because we say everything except
for what God says. I'm sorry I feel them coming in
the roof and when we don't say but God says then we don't have
the echo of heaven on earth. Can I tell you something?
Thank you. I feel them.
I'm sorry. I issue right now is God has
already spoken, but he's trying to use you and my voice to now
say what he has spoken. But when we do not actually
articulate his word, it gets stuck in between heaven and
earth. So now we struggle with
frustration because God is trying to get a word to the
earth, but we appear. Come on, huh?
I'm sorry. He came in the room on me.
So, so we got to, we got to open up our mouth.
We, we got to verbally say, yes, Lord, it is.
So we got to say, Lord, have your way.
We got to say the Lord is my shepherd.
We, we got to literally open our mouth.
I'm getting ahead of myself, but but we have to say that because
of where we are at currently. Where we at currently.
All right, so I told you, number one, that with the power of
verbal agreement and prayer, one establishes unity in the spirit.
2 it activates the authority of heaven.
But thirdly, it allows for praise to break chains.
It allows for praise to break chains.
Now, the truth of the matter is that you don't praise the way I
praise. I don't brace the way you brace.
But what we have to do is praise.
Can I? Another issue we have, Braylon,
is we don't engage in togetherness verbally or
physically. So it allows our neighbor to
stay in chains. And we don't realize that when
we come together, whether it's in church, at work, at home,
that sometimes your silence is allowing the enemy to reign in
the lives of those around us. I told you tonight, it's just an
intensive for you. So God is charging us tonight,
before we ever get deep into this, to realize we've got a
one. Open up our mouths.
We got to clap those hands. We got to move our bodies.
Because if not, your silence is allowing the suffering of your
neighbor. I'm sorry, OK?
I just want to teach a little bit.
Get set the stage #1 #1 the power of verbal agreement and
prayer. And praise 1 establishes unity
in the Spirit agreement. Agreement 2 activates the
authority of heaven 3 and also finds that praise breaks the
chain. So let's talk about this
clapping thing I told you in Psalms 47 and one.
I love the scripture. Shout unto God with a voice.
Clap your hands, I'm sorry, all your people, and shout unto God
with a voice of triumph. Here we find that clapping is a
weapon of warfare. I'm sorry I'm trying to come
back down since Jack, because I feel I'm all me heavy.
I'm trying to push them back. Clapping is a weapon of warfare.
It is not just something that's going to put a little pain in
between your hands, but clapping is a weapon of warfare.
Let me give you some scripture. Let me give you some scripture.
Second Kings chapter 13, verse 1718 and 19.
Read it on your own time because I got to give the mic up.
My time's almost done. I said 45 minutes an hour, and I
was going to be done with my first one ready.
Second Kings chapter 13 verses 17 through 19 it's it's a good
story. It's an easy 1 you could use it
for your devotion. 1 morning the private the prophet Elisha
instructed the king to strike the ground with arrows
symbolizing victory. Clapping is a prophetic
declaration of triumph. Matter of fact, clapping is not
just for rhythm. It's a spiritual weapon.
The the word for clap is is takah.
I must say, Takah, listen to this.
Say it one more time. I want you to hear taka.
He ain't saying T say taka, she said Taka.
Taka means to strike or drive in.
To strike or to drive in clapping is a prophetic art or
act of striking down the enemy's plants.
So when I said come on, let's clap our hands, it ain't just me
telling you a filler for the service.
That ain't just me to pass some time.
We are literally doing a prophetic gesture.
Every single time we clap our hands, we are striking down the
enemy's plans, right? OK, now let me give you another
one. Clapping is also a sound unto
heaven. Check this out for a reprieve.
Have you ever have you ever you might not might not.
Have you ever been to a show before?
And at the end of the show you think, my lamb, that thing was
good. And you get the clapping and you
clap and you clap and who was on stage comes back on stage.
The our clapping is a repriver for heaven that we literally say
God, encore, encore, encore, do it again, God, do it again, God.
So our clapping is just ain't clap, clap.
No, no, our Clapper is saying do it again, Lord, do it again,
Lord, and strike down the enemy's plans.
Oh my God, ain't that good. OK, I got to move over because I
ain't got but a few minutes left.
Clapping is a weapon of warfare. But then also we got to lift our
voice in warfare. Now the voice is another weapon.
I told you earlier, you open up a mouth, but the voice is a
weapon to silence the enemy. It's it's, it is a weapon to
silence the enemy. Now let me break it back down.
Bring it back down so you can hear me again.
I told you that when you are silent, that is the sound of the
enemy. But check this out.
But when we use our voice, we then silence the enemy.
I ain't got time to go there. I feel them.
But I'm a I'm a leave it alone that we have to use our voice to
then shut down the enemy. Now y'all know like I know
sometimes the enemy, he don't come with a audible sound.
Sometimes he come in a little letter.
Y'all know how that letter can say a whole lot to you so you
got to go and you got to use your sound against that too.
Every those thoughts. Is that not what the word say
that try to come contrary to the word willed way of God.
It's just the cast. We cast it down by speaking the
word thank, thank you. That was I needed that right
there. So we got to use our voice, our
voice. You ready?
Joshua chapter 6, verse 20. Joshua chapter 6, verse 20,
Glory to God. Hallelujah.
Joshua chapter 6, verse 20. Because the text we all should
know, I'll be to you well, the old school be to you Sunday
school. I said it, I thought about it.
That's antiquated Joshua chapter 6, verse 20.
The Israelites shouted and the walls of Jericho fell down.
The sound in the natural caused a shift in the supernatural.
I'm going to say that one more time.
The sound in the natural caused a shift in the supernatural.
But I feel that Randy borders coming on me that sound does not
die. Sound reverbs.
It keeps on going until it can no longer be measured.
I think it was National Geography who had had did this,
this study of sound, and they showed that sound when it is
utilized in the earth, when we give sound, put off sound that
it looks like bounces on the earth, that it almost looks as
if somebody just jumps on the earth.
Can I tell you that every single time, Dickenhauser, you open
your mouth and you give God your sound that physically God can
see your sound? That a prayer.
Oh, I feel like going there, Dick, help me that a prayer that
you might have prayed 10 years ago could be bouncing around you
and God literally sees you. Can I tell you that your sound
is so important that allows God come here because you need some
Bible right? To inhabit, to live in, to
dwell, to step in. Why?
Because your sound allows God to locate you.
Save it me, Bradley, I said your sound allows God to locate you.
So you can't just get caught up in your own self.
I'm sorry, this thing is good. You can't get caught up in your
mind. You got to come out of your mind
and let God come through your mouth.
You in the room. I said you got to get out of
your mind and let God come through your mouth because God's
trying to respond to himself. I'm sorry.
I'm not the guest tonight, but I
feel his glory. God's trying to come to us and
He's trying to do that through us.
So when we don't allow God through us, we live with this
constant battle that is not ours.
I'm sorry. I just I'll give you the profit
a little later. But but but we live with this
that we should not fight in, we should not deal with because God
loves us so much. So he wants his reflection, He
wants his sound, He wants his essence, his being not to just
be in us, but to come through us.
OK, I'm going to leave it alone. I'm going to give it over.
So we got to lift our voice. We got to clap our hands and we
got to do it together. We got to do it together.
We, we, I'm going to say again, we've got to do it together, not
not just in church, but but your family.
You got to do it together. You're going to have to practice
at the house. We're going to have family time.
We're going to pray. You're going to say Amen.
You're going, we're going to pray.
You're going to say Jesus, you're going to pray, You're
going to say thank you, Lord. I'm a prayer and I'm going to
say thank you, Jesus. I'm a prayer and I'm going to
say, yes, Lord, we've got to get in the habit of doing this if it
is. I mean, literally, I've been
feeling this for a long time. If we do not get in the place of
training and discipling, we will lose more time than we have
living in this earth. I'm sorry.
There's, there's an extreme importance that we allow our
family groups to come back to the point of being trained and
this spiritual warfare tactic of clapping using our voice
together, is that OK? The technology of prayer
incorporates all of this. So when we're praying, it's more
than us closing our eyes. It's more than us using our soft
voice that that, come on, stay with me, that when we pray, we
have to actually engage completely intentionally.
You can't allow something distract you, but you're going
to have to lock in with yourself and with your neighbor.
And when we do that, we are able to get from God immediately what
we need. I know folks are like God don't
speak. He does speak.
The problem is we can't hear him.
Why? Because we in our minds, we in
ourselves. Come home, Dick, Andy, go teach
for me tonight. But we we do, we get stuck in
ourselves and it causes us to lose time.
Time is not who, let me say it's another way.
God is not bound or constrained by time, but he gives time as
you come here, you're ready. He gives time as something for
us to use as a tool. The issue is anything you don't
know how to use becomes a weapon.
So time becomes weaponized in our life and we say Lord, five
years done went by Lord 20 years of no, because we got to learn
how to come in. But they say redeem the time and
that what your Bible say we got to do that.
How do we do that for I got to get myself together.
I'm going to get myself all that together.
You ready to come back in baby now.
So I'm going to go into a short period of prayer.
I want you within yourself to really go to God.
We, we, we got to do some repentance first.
We, we got to 1st go to God and say, Hey, let me get rid of some
of this. I want you to let all that go.
I want you to talk to the Lord for yourself.
Then I'm going to shift in prayer and just go with this the
the Spirit. 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 www.myrockhill2.org and click
Next Steps to get connected, join a ministry, or give your
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you know is ready to grow too. And remember, no matter what
comes your way, you were built to elevate.
Until next time, walk in purpose, live in power, and grow
in grace.