The Grave Made A Mistake...

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

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

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

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

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. 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

Matthew 28:2–6

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

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

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.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

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. 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.

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purpose, live in power, and grow in grace.