CROSS TO COMMISSION | Grave Situations | Matthew 27:57-66 | Arik Hayes

Summary

Podcast Summary: "CROSS TO COMMISSION | Grave Situations | Matthew 27:57-66"

Podcast: 2819 Church
Speaker: Arik Hayes
Date: March 9, 2026
Scripture Focus: Matthew 27:57-66

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Overview

In this episode, guest speaker Arik Hayes concludes 2819 Church’s years-long journey through the Gospel of Matthew with a sermon titled "Grave Situations.” Focusing on the period between Jesus’ crucifixion and His resurrection, Hayes explores how believers should process death—both physical and spiritual—and what it means to confront grave circumstances with hope, faith, and community. He shares personal and biblical stories about loss, grief, and resurrection, ultimately pointing to Christ’s victory over the grave as the source of a Christian’s confidence and commission.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Opening Remarks & Honoring the Pastor

[00:00-02:09]

• Hayes greets the congregation warmly, welcomes both attendees and online listeners, and specifically acknowledges “unbelievers,” making clear the gospel is for them too.
• He honors the lead pastor, Philip Anthony Mitchell, for his faithful, consistent service—even before the church was widely known.

2. Personal Story: Touching Moments with Loss

[02:51-06:21]

• Shares a recent family experience: traveling for his brother’s wedding, while coping with the death of his closest aunt. He contrasts joyous and grave experiences occurring in close succession.
  • "If you live long enough, you can have some amazing situations in one hand and then have some tough ones in the other." [02:54]
• Describes family traditions around grief and funerals, vividly recalling the affection he received from his Aunt Dot, whose love was felt and remembered by many—emphasizing the power of lasting, genuine love.

3. Biblical Examples of “Grave Situations”

[06:21-11:21]

• Old Testament:
  • Elisha’s Bones (2 Kings 13:20-21): A dead man is revived when placed on Elisha's bones, demonstrating the lingering power of God in a person’s life.
    • "Don't you ever underestimate the spirit of God in a person's life." [08:05]
  • Moses’ Burial (Deuteronomy / Jude 1:9): God Himself buries Moses; even in death, there’s a spiritual struggle—Michael the Archangel contends with Satan over Moses’ body.
• New Testament:
  • Jesus’ Burial (Matthew 27:57-60): Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy disciple, takes great care to fulfill prophecy in Jesus’ burial, connecting to Isaiah 53:9.
    • "Even after His death, prophecy is still being fulfilled with Jesus." [10:26]

4. The Paradox of the Resurrection and Facing Unmet Expectations

[11:21-19:23]

• Hayes highlights the challenge of believing in resurrection while staring at loss:
  • "He that said, 'I am the resurrection and the life.' His body is currently in a grave. How would you feel?" [12:14]
• Expands on the story of Lazarus (John 11:17-25) and Martha’s struggle between faith and disappointment.
  • "Sometimes it's just not going to work out the way you think it will." [13:54]
• Addresses the danger of faulty spiritual foundations and misunderstanding God’s promises.
  • Shares the story of a young woman whose extended unemployment drove her to question her faith.
    • "Six months, 180 days... and now you don't want a relationship with the only one that can save your soul. You know what that tells me? She had a faulty foundation." [16:55-17:16]

5. Belief, Doubt, and the Reality of Death

[19:23-23:40]

• Jesus’ conversation with Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life..." (John 11:25).
  • Hayes challenges listeners: "Do you really believe that whoever believes in Him shall never die? Some of you think you do, but you don't." [21:50]
• Honest reflection on fear of death and the need to truly trust in Christ’s promises.
  • "Most of us, when we're presented with death, get afraid... we're actually just not sure that Jesus is going to catch us on the other side." [22:24]

6. Gospel Call: Spiritual Birth and Death

[23:40-27:35]

• Speaks directly to “unbelievers,” explaining biblical death is both spiritual and physical—only in Christ do we escape “the second death” (eternal separation).
  • "Either you are grafted into Christ... or you will go to the lake of fire. I know. Don't. Don't we wish there was like a middle ground?" [24:49-25:19]
• For believers, physical death is merely “sleep,” as eternal life is secure in Christ.
  • "Absent from the body, present with the Lord. Body, nap time." [27:09]

7. Worldly Life vs. Eternal Life in Christ

[27:35-29:47]

• Hayes contrasts fleeting “bags” of worldly success with the immeasurable riches found in Christ—joyfully emphasizing the security and satisfaction in salvation.
  • "Everything the world wants to offer you steals from you. On the back end, you may smile on the front end. On the back end you're losing." [28:15-28:31]

8. Encouragement for Believers Wrestling with Sin

[29:47-33:56]

• Unpacks Ephesians 2:1-7: Christians, though once “dead in trespasses,” are now made alive with Christ, not by good works but by grace.
  • Challenges proud or judgmental attitudes among believers:
    • "That's why I can't stand no haughty believer... only want to judge in the place they're perfect." [32:07]
• Encourages those struggling with sin and condemnation: to keep trying, keep getting up.
  • "Christ died for your ability to try again." [30:53]

9. The Gift of Christian Community & the “Ministry of Presence”

[36:35-41:38]

• Reflects on the loyalty of the women at Jesus’ tomb as a template for true Christian community, especially for those with abandonment wounds.
  • "There are some people in the body that will not leave you. They'll go with you to your grave." [37:52]
• Urges listeners to move beyond the “bystander effect” and intentionally care for others with acts of kindness, presence, and practical help.
  • "If you see somebody struggling, can you give them a $10 gas card?... Even when someone is dying in an area, as our pastor says often, sometimes people just need the ministry of presence." [39:09-40:55]

10. The Enemy’s Futile Resistance & Christ’s Unbreakable Victory

[41:38-45:50]

• Returns to the end of Matthew 27: the religious leaders attempt to secure the tomb, conspiring to prevent resurrection.
  • "How evil and wicked are they? They won't even leave Christ alone in the grave. He's dead. They still try to conspire against him." [43:09]
• Proclaims the inevitability of Christ’s resurrection and the futility of all opposition:
  • "They could have put 10,000 soldiers on guard... It wasn't gonna work. He's coming out of that grave." [44:10]
  • Encourages believers: "Whatever your enemy sets up for you, it won't work... we live forever in Christ." [44:24-44:49]
  • "O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? Because ours is in Christ Jesus." [45:27-45:50]

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Selected Memorable Quotes

• On Loss and Hope:
  "If you live long enough, you can have some amazing situations in one hand and then have some tough ones in the other." [02:54]
• On God’s Providence:
  "Even after His death, prophecy is still being fulfilled with Jesus." [10:26] "Is there a heavenly Father that sees the end from the beginning?" [11:47]
• On Spiritual Resilience:
  "We cannot link the temporal with the eternal. We cannot judge the eternal on what we see." [18:27]
• On Faulty Faith:
  "She had a faulty foundation... She heard bad preaching." [17:16-17:20]
• On True Belief:
  "Do you really believe that whoever believes in Him shall never die? Some of you think you do, but you don't." [21:50]
• On Assurance in Christ:
  "Absent from the body, present with the Lord. Body, nap time." [27:09]
• On the Futility of Opposition:
  "They could have put 10,000 soldiers on guard... It wasn’t gonna work. He’s coming out of that grave." [44:10]
• On Victory in Christ:
  "O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? Because ours is in Christ Jesus." [45:27-45:50]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Personal Loss & Family Grief: [03:09 - 06:21]
• Elisha's Bones & the Power of God Beyond the Grave: [06:29 - 08:13]
• Moses' Burial & the Battle over Bodies: [08:24 - 09:21]
• Fulfillment of Isaiah’s Prophecy in Jesus' Burial: [10:26 - 11:21]
• Martha’s Crisis of Faith (John 11): [12:14 - 15:58]
• On Disappointment and Faulty Foundations: [16:55 - 18:27]
• Explaining Spiritual Death and Life: [23:40 - 27:35]
• Pastoral Exhortation for Struggling Christians: [29:47 - 33:56]
• Community and “Ministry of Presence”: [36:35 - 41:38]
• Religious Leaders' Efforts to Block Resurrection: [41:38 - 44:15]
• Declaration of Victory Over Death: [44:24 - 45:50]

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Closing

Arik Hayes’ message delivers a sobering yet hope-filled call to trust Christ in “grave situations.” He encourages faith in the face of loss, full assurance of resurrection, and ongoing compassion for others, rooted in the finished work of Jesus. By reminding listeners that "whatever your enemy sets up for you, it won't work" [44:24], he calls both believers and unbelievers to ground their lives in the gospel—the only truly unshakeable foundation.

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Transcript

[A]

You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. Frank, you mind hanging out with me, brother? Welcome to 2819 Church, beloved, how you doing today? Okay. I said, welcome to 2819 Church, beloved, how you doing today?

[B]

I know it's hot. We're going to get through it, though.

[A]

All right.

[B]

We are a church that is a house of prayer, presence and proclamation. Beloved, I want to welcome our online community, those that are here in the building today and those that are across the camera.

[A]

Digital disciples, we love you, we plan for you, we pray for you. We look to see more of you more often in the coming year.

[B]

And I want to welcome the unbeliever today. Yeah, welcome to Unbeliever, for it is about you. The gospel is about you as well.

[A]

All right, got something we're going to talk to you about in the. In the sermon. Please stay tuned. And as is customary, we want to honor the pastor of this ecclesia, Philip Anthony Mitchell.

[B]

Amen.

[A]

No pressure.

[B]

Just want to give you an opportunity to show honor.

[A]

Amen. Amen. For to keep your hand to the

[B]

plow, faithfully, not perfect, but faithfully, consistently over years and years, way before everybody

[A]

knew our church

[B]

in anonymity on the backside of the mountain to do that.

[A]

I think that is worthy of honor.

[B]

So we're actually finishing up our walk

[A]

through the book of Matthew in a series we titled across the Commission. We've been in this three years and some change now, and I have the

[B]

honor and privilege of preaching the next

[A]

message to you that I've titled Grave situations. Grave Situations. Bow your head one more time. Let me pray for us. Holy Father, I just thank you for everybody collected in the building. Everybody collected online, God. And you, you even know which experiences want to go up as far as a recording? God, I just thank you for the opportunity to serve your people with this word, your scriptures, the revelation of Christ, God, I seek to decrease in this hour that you would increase in me. And then this last section of the assignment. Have your way, God. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

[B]

Right. So, family, if you live long enough,

[A]

it's funny, I can say that I got a little gray in my beard now.

[B]

If you live long enough. I know that I've experienced and some of you have experience and some of you are.

[A]

Have yet to experience.

[B]

You can have some amazing situations in

[A]

one hand and then have some tough ones in the other. Right?

[B]

So it's actually on Valentine's Day, we

[A]

travel, me and my wife, my children, my family, we went to Cleveland, Ohio,

[B]

Midwest in the building today.

[A]

Good to see you. Right.

[B]

And I was able to witness my

[A]

baby brother get married to his wife. Right? Holy matrimony.

[B]

I got a new sister named Autumn

[A]

and my brother's name Adriel. Right. That was a blessed occasion.

[B]

Unfortunately, about 48 hours before we left

[A]

the A, we were notified that we would be burying my aunt, my closest aunt on my mom's side in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

[B]

So much like many of you, if

[A]

you've ever had a close death, like,

[B]

you may find yourself, like people say, don't go to work. You may want to go to work

[A]

just to keep yourself busy, right?

[B]

So while we were up there in Cleveland and you know, with the kids

[A]

and with the in laws,

[B]

it was

[A]

a good time, right? And. But unfortunately, as we started to pack up after about three or four days being in Ohio, it started to hit me. I gotta go to Jacksonville. That's my hometown. And we gotta bury my aunt die, right? And unfortunately, family, it's death. You don't know until you go through it.

[B]

The death announcement really just starts to grow.

[A]

Grieving process, right? So now you got to travel to your hometown. And many times you end up walking into the very home of the place where that person used to live. And, and depending on your context, definitely

[B]

in the, the black context, they'll have

[A]

like a viewing of the body. Sometimes they'll have like a wake, right?

[B]

And if you really, really close, they'll actually invite you to the funeral home so you can actually view the body

[A]

just to make sure the makeup is good.

[B]

Now, my mama didn't ask me, but

[A]

I was not going. I was like, I'm only going to look at my Aunt Dot once, right? And then you look at it, family,

[B]

you're having reflections, you have all these, these thoughts and memories. A lot of times that's what you. You're left with, the memories. Me being three, four, five years old, man, I don't know if you had an Aunt Dot like mine. I hope you did, right? When she hugged you, she, she meant

[A]

it like she hugged you like she

[B]

was never going to see you again, even though she would see you tomorrow. And she had sound effects with her hug, she would grab me like this, she go. And I felt that hug.

[A]

And many times I needed it. You ever been around somebody, they.

[B]

You felt like they love you? Some people you just know they love you, but they, she was type of person, you felt like it.

[A]

And little did I know. I thought that was just her experience with me. When we got to the funeral with her Grandchildren, other people that had been around her. Everybody was saying very similar things, how loving she was. Right.

[B]

These are the types of things that

[A]

are surrounding grave situations and burials and death. Right?

[B]

And just before you write this off and say, hey, man, that's all this man made emotion like, there are sometimes some spiritual implications surrounding grave situations as well.

[A]

All right, let's look at one of the first ones. It's the second kings, 13th chapter, 20th through 21st verse.

[B]

We're gonna be digging in our Bible today.

[A]

Beloved. Just want to give you a heads up. I hope that's okay with you. All right.

[B]

Second Kings 13:20 says, so Elisha, the man of God, died, and they buried him. Now, bands of Moabites used to invade

[A]

the land that the children of Israel

[B]

had in the spring of the year. And as the children of Israel they were, as a man was being buried, behold, they saw a marauding band of Moabites was seen, and the man was thrown into the grave on top of Elisha. And as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and

[A]

stood on his feet. We can't just gloss over that. Okay, okay, imagine.

[B]

Can I try to put myself in the text when I preach it right? Imagine being the type of people you rolled up to this person, you rolled up with this person to this grave site, and he was dead. You're assigned to actually bury him. And you were probably about to dig his own burial site, but you saw something that scared you. So now you say, let's do something real quick. And you lowered them down on Elisha. You got to believe that that was not their first choice. They would honor the man of God. And as they were trying to evade danger and also do something with the body, it hit the bones and he stood up.

[C]

Don't you ever underestimate the spirit of

[B]

God in a person's life.

[C]

Elijah is dead and gone, but they touched his bones.

[B]

And it was an Old Testament resurrection,

[A]

Second instance grave situation. It says in Deuteronomy that God himself buried Moses.

[B]

God himself buried them in a valley. And it says, nobody even knows the exact place to this day. But then let's jump in here, Jude 1 9,

[A]

where you got an angel

[B]

and Satan, it says, but when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous

[A]

judgment on Satan, but said the Lord rebuke you. Wait a minute.

[B]

I didn't even know that Satan wanted

[A]

dead bodies until this verse

[B]

puts a Different spin on the adage, who got the body, doesn't it? And as we jump into the cortex,

[A]

we're talking about another grave situation. It's the one of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We're going to jump into Matthew 27:57 verse and go to 60. 57 reads, when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named

[B]

Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.

[A]

We'll put a pin there.

[B]

He went to Pilate and asked. Other translations said he begged for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body.

[A]

And it says that he wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And it says, and he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.

[B]

Couple of points here. I just want to point out. Even after his death, prophecy is still

[A]

being fulfilled with Jesus.

[B]

Pull up Isaiah 53 and 9.

[A]

I love the book of Isaiah. My last son middle name is Isaiah because it talks about Christ hundreds of years before he shows up.

[B]

Isaiah 53, 9, it says, and they made his grave with the wicked

[A]

and with a rich man in his death,

[B]

although he had done no violence and

[A]

there was no deceit in his mouth.

[B]

So we're talking about Christ here. No deceit in his mouth. He had done no violence. He actually hung between thieves. So the original assignment was with the wicked. But God had someone else to come in.

[A]

A rich man named Joseph came and tended to the body.

[B]

People talk about the Bible.

[A]

The Scriptures aren't dependable. Christ is dead.

[B]

How could he make that happen?

[C]

He's in the grave.

[B]

How is he pulling strings with that

[C]

or trying to navigate?

[B]

Or is there a heavenly Father that

[A]

sees the end from the beginning?

[B]

That is the alpha and omega. That is navigating. That was navigating for Christ to fulfill all the prophecies and also navigates for your own life. We have the same father, by the

[A]

way, But beloved, look at the juxtaposition here. I don't want to skip over it.

[B]

He that said, I am the resurrection and the life.

[A]

His body is currently in a grave. Now, I know we know how this ends, but just stay here with me. How would you feel if you were looking at the one that said, he's the resurrection of the life? You've seen him heal and now he's in a grave.

[B]

Let's jump into when he actually said that.

[A]

It'll give us some. Give us some insight.

[B]

Let's go to John 11, 17, 25.

[A]

Turning the Bible today. Amen. And amen. John 11, 17, 25. We'll start in 17. And it reads now, when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Another grave situation.

[B]

18 Bethany was near Jerusalem and two miles off. About two miles off. And many of the Jews had come

[A]

to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their now dead brother.

[B]

Verse 20. So when Martha heard that Jesus was

[A]

coming, she went and met him. But Mary remained seated in the house.

[B]

Martha said to Jesus, lord, if you

[A]

had been here, my brother would not have died. I'll stop here for a second.

[B]

And many times, because we have a

[A]

finite mind and we're still getting revelation from God, I want to be able to talk to disciples and let you know sometimes it's just not going to work out the way you think it will. Okay?

[B]

And that seems like it's not really revolutionary, but how many of us have had our. Excuse me, have taken a detour in our Christian lives because we had our heart set on a certain outcome and it didn't happen. And you said, God, this is not fair. You did not love me and you went off. Isn't this a prime opportunity for her to do that?

[A]

Right?

[B]

Now let's talk about how she reacted. I'll read verse 21 again. It says, martha said to Jesus, lord, if you had been here,

[A]

my brother would not have died. 22 shows us that she's still in faith. But she said, but even now, say, but even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. I just want to stop here, beloved. I want to encourage the saint.

[B]

When things don't go the way you think they should, to not get on

[A]

your heels when it comes to your faith. Okay?

[B]

It's also easy for you to look at the promises of God. Put God in a box, say, God, I know this is how you're going to move. And he don't move like that. And you question whether he's actual stable, thank God. You question whether he's dependable because you had it figured out that you were like, God, I'm looking for you right here. And he moves over here. And now you're disappointed. And now you don't want to go to small group. And now you don't want to show up and serve. And now you won't be on the praise team no more. And now you don't want to pray. And now you don't want to post. And now you done with Christianity. I want to say this Beloved. I got to talk to Disciples because I saw something online. And if the lady. If she sees. This little girl, sees. I do not want you to think I'm picking on you. But it's actually indicative of what we deal with. She actually said, right. And I can say, because I got

[A]

some gray in my beard, she says, I've never.

[B]

And this was her heart.

[A]

So I'm not picking on her. You hear my heart?

[B]

I'm not picking on her. But some of you gonna actually.

[A]

It's gonna resonate.

[B]

She said, I've been unemployed for six months and I never wanted to not

[A]

be a Christian anymore so badly. Let's examine that again. We're not picking on her because some of us can resonate. Right?

[B]

I've been unemployed before, and one day feels like five weeks. I need a check. Right? Can we talk like we family? The rent is still due on the first. Okay? You don't have anywhere to go. The walls can start closing in on you.

[A]

But family? Six months, 180 days. That's only a halfway around the sun. And now you don't want a relationship with the only one that can save your soul. You know what that tells me? She had a faulty foundation.

[B]

You know what I think happened?

[A]

She heard bad preaching.

[B]

Because there's no way in the world we could talk about a trial that's 180 days long. And now we're trying to put off the eternal God.

[A]

Or is there a way?

[B]

Or have we done it? Or are some of us doing it right now? I thought this relationship was going to end in marriage. We was together for three years. I went and got another Master's. They still don't want to hire me. I don't want to be a Christian no more. I thought I was going to have a bag. I'm still struggling. I don't want to be a Christian no more. I was going to open a church. I thought a thousand people would show up. It's only two. One of them is my mama. I don't want to be a Christian no more. We laugh, but raise your hand if you got your own story. Finally got a wife now she don't like me. I don't want to be a Christian no more.

[A]

We cannot link the temporal with the eternal.

[B]

We cannot judge the eternal on what we see. We have to judge the eternal on what we do not see before. It is the foundation of everything that you do see. When the earth was void, God was still God. So when a tree pops up and it gets cut down, we can't be upset by what we see and then

[C]

try to judge God on something that

[B]

actually he created and he has a plan for. Does that make sense, beloved? And I didn't say this. Any other experience.

[A]

That's for somebody in here.

[B]

This is disciple talk.

[A]

I'll jump back into verse 23. After she said, I know whatever you ask from God, God will give you. Verse 23. Jesus said to her, I'm so glad that he engages with our humanity. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Verse 24. She said back, Martha said to him,

[B]

I know that he will rise again

[A]

in the resurrection on the last day.

[B]

Stop. Here she is. This is another fault. How she think it's going to happen? Yeah, I know you're going to do that over there. Wait, consult him. Some of us are in jail because we just.

[C]

I consulted him.

[B]

We know he got a plan to get the brother. Now she's like, oh, yeah, we'll see him over there. No,

[C]

consult him. She's about to miss out on a resurrection.

[A]

What are you missing out on? Because you don't consult him.

[B]

Say that again. You could be missing out on the very supernatural power of God. Miracle right over here. You return. You just refuse to turn to the right. You just want to look right here.

[A]

Verse 25. He said to her again, and this is also encouragement.

[B]

I want you to know you don't

[A]

have to have it all together to talk to Jesus.

[B]

Some of us like girls. You wrong all over the place. Just letting the Master talk.

[A]

He's still engaging with her. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.

[B]

And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?

[A]

And beloved, I just want to present that to you.

[B]

Do you believe that?

[A]

No, no, no.

[B]

Do you really believe that whoever believes in him shall never die? Some of you do, some of you don't, Some of you think you do, but you don't. And I'm going to throw out something that's going to probe your heart. If someone.

[A]

We're actually going to present you with death right now, would you be afraid

[B]

I'mma ask over here? Because we got to talk like we family.

[A]

Okay?

[B]

Right.

[A]

Most of us, when we're presented with death, get afraid.

[B]

Right? Let's not talk about the people you're gonna miss. Right. Some of us, at different times of

[A]

our lives, we're afraid, but we're actually just not sure that Jesus is going to catch us on the other side. And we have to lean into the scriptures like they're the actual words of a savior, instead of just suggestions.

[B]

Because if you don't lean in and seek to actually absorb and believe, it'll

[A]

show in your life.

[B]

It'll show. He'll have an assignment. You'd be like, now, I don't want

[A]

to go over there, or they persecuting

[B]

over there in Botswana.

[A]

I think I'm good.

[B]

Not to say you shouldn't want to live, but do you believe? If you went on the battlefield, would he catch you in persecution?

[C]

This is disciple talk.

[B]

We have to lean into the words

[C]

of Christ at all times, as if he's a living savior and will back up everything that he said.

[A]

Let me talk to the unbeliever for a second. I'm glad you're here. You're considering the claims of price. You can belong before you leave, believe. But let me tell you something. According to the scriptures, you are dead. You are dead. What you mean, Elder, I just walked in here. Yeah, let's talk about death.

[B]

In the Bible, we talk about two types of death. At the very beginning, when Adam. When he. When he bit the apple, he said, when you, Christ said, or God said, when you bite the apple, you shall surely die. So he bit the apple. Did he pass out from death? Did he die physically?

[A]

No, he did not.

[B]

But he did die spiritually.

[A]

And beloved or unbeliever, you are dead spiritually. And I love you enough to tell you that there is no gray area. Either you are grafted into Christ, you

[B]

believe in him, you are sealed with his Holy Spirit, you have biblical faith, and he's coming back to get you, or you will go to the lake of fire. I know. Don't.

[A]

Don't we wish there was like a middle ground? Doesn't that make it easier to deliver?

[B]

Hey, man, you could be saved. Or you can kind of hang out in the middle ground.

[A]

Or then you can be over there with the devil.

[B]

Isn't that an easier presentation of the gospel? I've been doing this two experience. When I say this, it gets cold in the room. Because when I say that, you know what you start doing? Checking your heart. So I don't care about no amens.

[C]

I want you to check your heart. Are you with them or not? It is the most important thing in your life.

[B]

For every man

[A]

without Christ. You are born, you live, you die, and you are done. Born, live, and you can have some fun while you live. You can rejoice. You can get the bag.

[B]

You can go places, you can get accolades. They can love you, but you're gonna

[A]

die, and then you're done.

[B]

But the believer

[A]

has been born. They've done some living, but somehow, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have been born again. And we've been grafted into Christ and

[B]

we've lived some more, and we won some and we lost some. And either we're going to be alive when he cracks the sky or. Or we're actually going to

[A]

fall asleep. Why do you say fall asleep? In the Scriptures, believers don't even taste what they call the second death, which is the eternal separation from God.

[B]

When we sleep, as long as we're in Christ,

[A]

We can call it nap time. We just go to sleep absent from

[B]

the body, present with the Lord.

[A]

Body, nap time. Because Jesus body is in the grave. Here we skip the second death. You actually don't even taste death anymore.

[B]

Even when your lungs expire, you actually get to meet the one who loved you and paid for your sins on the cross. I got a saying. Don't threaten me with a good time. I'm gonna keep it a buck with you. Listen, I got young babies, me and Nia, we almost coming up on 11 years, and that's amazing. And I want to be here,

[A]

and

[B]

I'm assigned to some of y'.

[C]

All.

[B]

And I love Ryan and I love you, Trish, and we work together. Heck. Dear Leck, I love you guys. Outside of that, the world has nothing for me.

[A]

World ain't got nothing for me. It ain't got nothing for you either. You just don't believe it yet. A lot of you, there's nothing for me. Everything the world wants to offer you steals from you. On the back end, you may smile

[B]

on the front end.

[A]

On the back end, you're losing. I was talking to a good brother, a little brother in the Lord.

[B]

He was talking about how he went

[A]

back to the street life for a little bit. He talked about how it actually destroyed him.

[B]

You may have seen them high, high, fast, life, money, all that, whatever.

[A]

He knew that it destroyed him because he had tasted and seen that the Lord is. Let me say it a different way. Let's go to Ephesians, second chapter, first through third verse.

[B]

And we're talking to the believer.

[A]

But the unbeliever is going to see themselves in this verse. Set of verses.

[B]

This is Paul speaking to Christians. And he said, and you were say, were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the

[A]

course of this world, following the prince

[B]

of the power of the air, which is Satan. The Spirit that is now at work

[A]

in the sons of disobedience. Let me stop there.

[B]

You may be disobedient sometimes as a

[A]

believer, but you ain't no son of disobedience.

[B]

I want to encourage somebody falling that ain't getting it.

[C]

All right.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

At least you're getting up and trying and you're leaning in and you're trying to access the grace of God and

[C]

you're trying to repent and you're trying to figure it out.

[B]

But you're not a son of disobedience. You're a son of God that needs to get it together like the rest of us need to get it together and still be conformed to the image of Christ and lean into the spirit

[A]

instead of the flesh. Beloved, it takes some time to do that. I just want to encourage you.

[B]

I want to talk to the person

[A]

that's trying that the enemy is eating

[B]

them up with condemnation at night.

[A]

Keep trying.

[B]

Keep trying. Keep trying. Keep trying, beloved.

[C]

Keep trying.

[B]

Beloved. Get up again.

[C]

Keep trying.

[B]

I'm talking to you.

[C]

Get up again. Christ died for your ability to try again.

[B]

I've been there. First five years of being saved

[A]

before

[B]

I got a handle on this thing. I was saved then. We just want to feel saved when we win way more than we lost. But how do you even get access

[A]

to the Holy Spirit to start winning? You got to be saved.

[B]

You saw the enemy can lie to us. You wouldn't be reaching for the Holy Spirit and his grace if you didn't have something fighting on the inside of

[A]

you against the flesh.

[B]

Verse three, he said, among whom we

[A]

all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

[B]

And I want to say this in

[A]

front of the unbeliever, man.

[B]

That's why I can't stand no haughty believer. You know, the ones that only want to flaunt they flawless record in front of you that only want to judge in the place that they're perfect. What about this? Now don't worry about that.

[A]

Bless the Lord.

[B]

Hallelujah. But this right here, I ain't been

[C]

jealous all day,

[B]

but you gossip all night.

[C]

Can't wait to hear the tea. That's gossip.

[B]

That's one of them little sins that nobody talk about. You won't talk about prostitution and sex and only fans homosexuality.

[C]

God cares also about jealousy and backbiting and envy and gossip and hate and discord amongst the brethren. All of it is in the book.

[B]

That's right. You just want to be judged when you show up.

[C]

Good.

[B]

It says we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, didn't we?

[A]

Carrying out the desire of the flesh and the mind and still battling. And we're by nature children of wrath. By nature like the rest of mankind. Go back to the unbeliever. If you're not saved with Christ, your nature is children of wrath like the rest of mankind. That's the truth, beloved. And there's no middle ground.

[B]

Now you're about to see some believers.

[A]

Actually we're about to rejoice a little bit. We're going to read 4, 7.

[B]

And you about to see the believers

[A]

rejoice because this is salvation. We actually get to walk in verse four.

[B]

But God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses. We were dead at one time. What did he do when we were dead?

[C]

He made us alive. Alive Together with whom? Together with Christ. How? By grace you have been saved. Lest any man should boast.

[B]

Give me that next verse.

[C]

And it say, he raised us up.

[B]

With who?

[C]

With him. Christ. He said he seated us. With who? Christ. We're at in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

[B]

Give me that last verse

[C]

so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches. The immeasurable riches. The immeasurable riches. The immeasurable riches. That's the bag I want the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us. Towards us. Towards us where? In who? In Christ Jesus. Our Lord. Bless his name.

[B]

That's the bag I want.

[A]

Immeasurable riches.

[B]

Look at somebody say, I got that bag and I got it in Christ. An unbeliever.

[A]

That can be you. You see that eruption of praise that just happened? We just talked about the salvation that our Lord and Savior, the Jesus. We keep jumping straight up and down about. He gave it to us, didn't say we worked. It said by grace.

[B]

That's how you got it. By grace, in faith.

[A]

That's why we belong to him. Jump back to the cortex. Verse 61. Matthew 27:61 reads, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there sitting opposite the tomb. So Joseph closed the tomb after putting Christ in and all of the other disciples had fled. But there were two people that were still there. I want to talk to the person that has a very raggedy past when it comes to abandonment. Some people were supposed to show up for you and they didn't. They were supposed to actually love you. And they abused you. They were supposed to actually raise you, and they neglected you. Whether it's physical, emotional, it doesn't matter. And unfortunately, too many of us carry that baggage into community and cast that same thought on our brothers and sisters. I just want to point out there's some people in the body that will not leave you.

[B]

They'll go with you to your grave.

[A]

Look, here we have Mary as. There's two Marys there. When the tomb was sealed, when the tomb was closed, we'll get to the ceiling later. They were still there. Can I tell you something? I got four children, and I don't have babies no more. They're actually toddlers, and they keep moving around. Beloved. We just can't get them to sit down, pray for the Hayes household. Amen. And on top of chasing them around and raising them, and we love it. I get to peek around corners and see something I think is extremely beautiful. When I'm not even looking, I see them being kind to one another. And I can't tell you if you're a parent, if you experience it, you know, if you don't, you don't. It warms my heart that they would take care of each other. And we gotta have more of those testimonies in the body.

[B]

Right?

[A]

I'm not talking about have somebody be codependent on you and you trying to actually be their savior.

[B]

No, no, not that. There's only one savior. He's Jesus. I'm talking about doing what you can,

[A]

when you can, as inspired by the Holy Ghost. I'm not asking you to give $2,000, but if you see somebody struggling, can you give them a $10 gas card? I'm not saying take them to Ruth. Chris, can you give him a $10 chick fil a? I would take.

[B]

I would take it.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But that's something, because a lot of times we get so overwhelmed with everything

[A]

that we don't do anything. Right. It's actually something I want to say

[B]

in sociology or psychology.

[A]

It's actually the bystander effect.

[B]

If someone would just fell down and hurt their knee, and it was like 25 people, 25. Some people walk by. Everybody would essentially say, somebody else will do it.

[A]

And we do the same thing in the body. Somebody else will do it. Somebody else will pray for them. Somebody else will send them a scripture. Somebody else will just take time to give them a hug. Somebody else will think about them in their prayer time and send them a song to encourage them. Somebody else will check in on them and let me just throw this in here, beloved, we.

[B]

We texting like crazy. You know, you can actually still dial

[A]

people and call them.

[B]

Y' all know that still work, right? You mean you actually. Look, we're saved. Nobody remembers them anymore as far as numbers, but you actually have no saying. And it rings and they actually pick up and you talk to them live. I'm being facetious, but sometimes we don't

[A]

want to be inconvenienced with a live call.

[B]

We just want a quick text.

[A]

And if you just lost your mother, wouldn't you want to call? Or an in person hug?

[B]

Hey, I'll take the text too. But sometimes we need to inconvenience ourselves more. Not to the point. We're all actually on the other side of the ditch. And now we try to. We got a savior complex. That's a ditch on both sides of the road. I'm talking about being kind. I'm talking about acting like the body. Even when someone is dying in an area, as our pastor says, often, sometimes people just need the ministry of presence. You don't have to have 65 scriptures right here in the Greek and Aramaic. No, no, no. Just.

[A]

Not everybody is going to leave you, beloved. But if you don't believe that, you won't even lean into community. You'll be a bystander in the body of Christ. And we need to change that. All right, last portion of scripture. Let's go to verse 62. Y' all getting anything out of this, beloved? All right, verse 62. It says the next day, that is after the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, sir, we remember how that imposter said while he was still alive. After three days, I will rise. Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people he has risen from the dead. And they said, the last fraud will be worse than the first. Pilate said to them, you have a guard of soldiers. Go make it as secure as you can. So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and stating the guard, I got a few thoughts and I'm going to close here.

[B]

First of all, how evil and wicked are they? They won't even leave Christ alone in the grave.

[C]

He's dead. They still try to conspire against him and lie and call them a fraud.

[B]

On top of that. No doubt some, if not all of them heard of all the supernatural things that happened when Christ died on the cross.

[A]

That pastor preached about last week where

[B]

the Curtain was torn from the top down. The earth shook, the rock was torn. Believers literally got up and walked the street.

[A]

Here they are still calling him an imposter. I talk about him being a fraud.

[B]

Now I can't preach the resurrection.

[A]

That's not my lane. I'm trying to stay in the lane that I've been given. It's not my assignment. But we know how this thing ends and it's not gonna work. They could have put 10,000 soldiers on guard. It wasn't gonna hurt. They could have sealed it with steel

[B]

and vibranium, for that matter.

[A]

It wasn't gonna work. He's coming out of that grave.

[B]

Oh, he's coming out of that grave. Oh, he's coming to secure our salvation. He's coming out of that grave. He's coming out of that grave.

[A]

My family, you know what that means ultimately for us who are in Christ. Whatever your enemy sets up for you, it won't work.

[B]

Ultimately, at the culmination of all things and, and trust and believe, some of us are going to see the goodness

[A]

of, of the Lord amongst the land of the living.

[B]

And we're going to taste and see that the Lord is good on this side. But definitely at the culmination of all

[A]

things, we live forever. We live forever. We have eternal life now, which is to know the true and living God. And it stands for now when we go through nap time, when he raises us and we meet him in the middle of the air and we are with him forever.

[B]

Beloved, it's not going to work against you.

[A]

It's not going to work.

[B]

I don't care how you feel.

[A]

I said it's not going to work. So now, beloved, we can confidently say, oh death, where's your sting? Oh grave, where is your victory?

[B]

We can look at death in the face and say, oh death, where is your sting?

[A]

O grave, where is your victory? Because ours is in Christ Jesus. By your head, let me pray for us. Holy Father, I thank you for being good to us. I thank you for this assignment. God, I thank you for how you moved amongst your people in worship and in word. Help us always give honor to the fact that Christ died, that the resurrection and the life he died in his body sit in a tomb so that we would never experience the second death and that will always be alive in him Jesus name we pray. Amen. God bless you.