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Eric Hayes
Welcome to 2019 church beloved amen. Where we honor and esteem and preach the one who made a way. My name is Eric Hayes. I'm one of two elders here. Amen. Thank you. Amen. We are a church that is a house of prayer, presence and proclamation. I want a special shout out to the overflow. It's my first time preaching. Excuse me. First Sunday preaching at the new venue, man. We actually got the overflow a little, a little closer. Can I, Can I hear you? Overflow. Overflow in the building. That's amazing. That's amazing. I also want to shout out our online community, the digital disciples, those that tune in from different parts of Georgia, different parts of the country, different parts of the world. We really are local and abroad. We are blessed to be able to hear about the miracles that the Lord is doing in your lives. Because man can't make miracles happen. You need the Holy Spirit to do that. We hear about life change. People just made a straight 180 because we preached. A man that we that I met from Galilee and his name is Jesus. It's. Can I tell you something? And I want you to fight with me. I know, we hear it. It's online. It's TikTok. And not everything online is good. But we'll talk about that another day, right? We gotta fight not to normalize miracles and just, just kind of give a patty cake, you know what I'm saying? Like, oh, yeah, God saved another soul. No, I'm gonna tell you something. I'm a fight tooth and nail for that. Yeah, he saved another person. Somebody else walking holy somebody. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I know. We see it almost every Sunday. Somebody fly in from all over the world of the country almost every Sunday. And we gotta fight in our hearts not to just act like that's normal. We are experiencing what would call revival. And true revival only comes by the source of the Holy Spirit. How many tens of thousands of preachers there are on the country, much more in the world. We need to touch from the Holy Spirit. And we can't get selfish. You're like, nah, I know the Lord. And not be concerned about the unbeliever or the weary saint that tunes in here. I love you. God bless you. We have to be concerned about the work of the ministry, which is the gospel, which is the great commission. If we don't fam, this could become another fancy looking church, man, with a big screen and a nice building. Now, don't nobody want that. Nobody wants that. We need the work of the Holy Spirit. To regenerate the hearts of man, to see them in eternity. Nobody wants religion. No, we can't settle for that. We gotta fight that off in our hearts, man. And I know, man. And listen, man, if you come in here and you heard and to an extent, man, 2019 is trendy, right? We got popularity, man. I'm saying if you're here because of that, I'm glad you came. I'm just saying the ones that have tapped in here and understand the heart of the vision, it can't just be about that. Yes, let them trend, let us trend on social media. And when they get here, they need to see Jesus. If that don't happen, the trend don't matter. That's the only trend that matters for eternity. That they meet a man from Galilee named Jesus. Leadership is fighting for that. We shed tears. We fighting for that, man. Prayer team, we fighting for that. It can't just turn into religion, man. We gotta fight against that. I'm not saying we're in danger of that, but I want that to stay at the forefront of your minds and your souls. What good is the lines of people standing in line for an hour and a half if they don't get something from the Holy Ghost or they don't hear about Jesus? We just turn into another organization. As one of the elders, man, I want to keep beating that into the DNA of us, man. That the Lord will use us however, however long he sees fit. Not a circumvent and short circuited because of our hearts going cold. You hear me, beloved? I love you. That's why I'm talking to you like that. I love you. This thing just turns into religion. Let's shut it down. Welcome to the unbeliever, right? This is a place where you absolutely can belong before you believe, right? So if somebody invited you, man, you saw Tick tock or whatever, man, or maybe you just see want to see what the fuss is about. We invite you. Come have a seat. Listen, right, after all, the Great Commission is aimed at you. A church gets in trouble when everybody knows when to jump and when to clap. And ain't nobody nobody's new in the building. What is that? A church of Jesus Christ should not feel good about that, right? Why am I talking to you like this? So you will. You will orient your heart around the Great Commission. You will look at people not with just what they mean in the world. What does their eternity look like? If I know you, freshman, that drip is dope. That's dope though, man. But do you know Jesus hey, sis, I know you're an entrepreneur. That's dope, man. You made a million last year. That's amazing, man. Do you know Jesus, though? But some of us get intimidated by the world. Their drip and their. And their wealth will die with them. It will die with them. We have to be concerned about the moving of the kingdom. Beloved. Y'all with me? Beloved. All right, that's a long intro. God bless you. All right. All right, last but not least, man, I also want to give honor to our pastor of this house, Philip Anthony Mitchell. And I've said it before, and maybe I sound redundant, and that's okay to me, right? Listen, listen. It is not easy leading a church. That's a massive understatement. Right? If you know anything about the kingdom of darkness, they come for the head first, right? The kingdom of darkness does not have unlimited resources, so they have to strike strategically. That's why they aim at pastors. They aim at husbands in the house. They aim at fathers. Because if I can cut off the head, everybody under that umbrella is now vulnerable. Okay? So with that being said, pray for our pastor man. Not a perfect man. Give him grace. His heart is headed in the right direction, okay? So I just want to give him honor for being able to do that. Just keep his hand to the plow. Amen. All right, we're moving right along. We're on week 10 of entry and end times, and I have the honor and privilege of preaching to you what we have called a title sermon, the Great Commandment. Let me pray for us real quick, and we'll get into the word of God. Holy Father, I thank you for this time of worship, this time of honoring who you are, this time of blessing your name in spirit and in truth. God basking in your presence. And, God, we want to continue to bask in your presence, just in a different way through the scriptures now. And I pray that the Holy Spirit would prick the heart of the unbeliever that would prick the heart of the weary saint, prick the heart of the backslidden saint. God, that you would draw everybody to you in a way that only you can. God, I decrease that you would increase and use this vessel for your people and your glory. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. Amen. Frank, you mind hanging out with me, brother? All right. Ah. One of the things that. That can be one of the most stressful times and. And hardest things to go through and hardest things to navigate is when you're in a relationship and somebody has a standard or they have A desire that the other person cares about, but they just can't quite meet. Some of you probably been in situationships or long term relationships and that's what it was, right? It's not that you didn't have anything in common. It's not that you didn't have any type of affection. There's love there. But there's like a standard, right. Whether it was fair or not that the other person just could not overcome. Or maybe it's even like, you know, it's when people like they just start dating, right? Right. They got a little on slit in somebody DMs. They talk and they see some pictures, right? Right. And it's, you know, they get a date and that's kind of tough, you know, because people be dying in the DMs. I hear the stories from the single people, right? Right. And it's a chance that y'all meet up and it's a little. It's tough to navigate, right? And sis, right, you know, he's, you know, he like his pictures. He looks, looks cute, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know, like what he got going on. But he show up and the brother is five, six. Y'all hear that? It's a rap already. Like the standard. Don't care if you love God. There's nothing. He 5, 6. He is in trouble out here in these dating streets. Could have had something, you know what I'm saying? Could have been able to. No, no, no. Didn't meet that standard. Right. We get it. Right. Or, or situations where you got a brother that is, you know, maybe trying to do the right thing and you know, but he, he's trying to be a little handsy way before a. Gotta cut that out, right? It's tough, man. We gotta, we still gotta preach holiness in the church. I do it because I love you. Right? Because it's the enemy's plan to have all these broken houses around here. It's the enemy's plan to have a broken family. Right? And I'll start here. People say that God is against sex. That's a lie. He created the anatomy to go together to have that enjoyable experience, didn't he? Couldn't he have made a way to multiply society another way? He chose sex. He just saying, I just need it. In this particular context of marriage, God is pro sex, right? The brother getting a little handsy trying to enter into some type of relations before the standard has been met. To marry, to become physical. It is quiet here. I'm gonna sit here Quiet don't scare me. I ain't gonna hold you. Cause quiet can mean you listening. Quiet can mean it's hitting home. And unfortunately, you don't have a lot of places that's going to encourage you for holiness. People that say, love is love, and, you know, it's my girlfriend. What does that even mean? That's what I'm gonna teach my daughter. What does a boyfriend even mean? What qualifications you got to be to be a boyfriend? I like you, you like me. Now you get access to it. Okay, I'm gonna move on. But you feel me, though, right? Right? Standards, though. Standards, right. And it can be romantic. It can also be, like, on a parental level, right? Like, I got four children, and one of these children right now, they're a little bossy. They're about to turn three in May. And I'm like, how do you be bossy? Like, I don't like it, but I may have some at least three major tendencies coming up in my house. He's like, well, I want the water. I'm like, well, did you ask for the water? Did you say please? Do you say thank you afterwards? Right? Because I have a standard of respect. Not harsh, just respect. Say please. Thank you. Can I have. And have patience in between the time you ask and the time you get it? Any parents in the building know what I'm talking about? I'm gonna plug this in. God didn't necessarily say no. He may have just said, wait a little bit. I'm preaching. I'm preaching. That's good. That's good. He may not have said no. He may just said not, right? So I just want to keep, you know, as we dive into the Word, dive into. You can go ahead and pull up verse 34. We're going to be in Matthew 22:34 through 40, central text for the sermon, Right? I want you to keep that in mind as we look at relationships or a relationship or relationships that have tension because of standards and how we're going to deal with them. Verse 34, it says, but when the Pharisees heard that he, Jesus, had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, right? This is not for everyone, but I do want to speak it for some people sometimes as a believer, as the disciple, you're going to be doing nothing but minding your own business. I mean, just living your life, just forgiving, trying to love people, trying to invite people to church, trying to say, nah, man, I don't really want to gossip. Trying to be holy, trying to be chaste, trying to be abstinent, trying to read your Bible, trying to pray over your food. When everybody go to lunch, you actually pray. They just dig in. And you know what, man? There can be a huddle behind your back about you Just living holy can cause a huddle. And this is our problem. The problem is not the huddle, beloved. It's how we respond to the huddle. A lot of us see the huddle and get intimidated, and then we switch up, we cave back into carnality because the huddle is around. No, you pray over your food. You're acquainted with the one who made a way. They are not. No, no, no. You reject gossip because it says in our scriptures, don't do it because you are familiar and acquainted with the one grafted into belong to the kingdom of the One that made a way. Don't cave in, beloved. Verse 35, after they had their huddle, it says, and one of them, a lawyer talking about the Pharisees, asked him, me and Jesus a question to test him. Verse 36, it says, Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law, right? So take that down. After the huddle, one of them was actually curious. So in other times in the. In the. In Matthew or in the Gospels, when they said they went to tempt him or test him, it's actually like, more antagonistic, right? They're disrespectful with Jesus. Right? At another account in Mark, it actually says, that test from the Mosaic lawyer, it was more of just to engage in a dialogue with him, kind of see what he had to say. Verse 37, and Christ answers, and Jesus said to him, the lawyer, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Verse 38, it says, this is the great and first commandment. So Jesus saw, you know, the conversation. Jesus engaged with them. Sometimes you need to engage with people that don't believe. Can I tell you something? Even myself, I'm convicted. I had to spend more time with unbelievers. I like to spend a whole lot of time with believers, right? Because we're actually. We're of the same faith. We're really in the same family. But you know what? We're not all. Everybody's engaging with you, ain't trying to come up against you. Some people may have seen Christ in your life and they're curious, you know, what that can do, Open up a window for you to share the gospel. Much like Jesus was seen many times with unbelievers, not to cave into their cardality but to be salt and light amongst the world. Guess what, family? We're the only salt and light. Stop. Check me out. It's other people that are doing good in the world. Only the believers have salt and light. It's a million nonprofits doing amazing work for all types of people and people groups and all types of things. They're doing good works, but they are not salty and light. We're called to be salt and light in the world. Not just in here. I don't know why I'm staying here. Not just in here, Beloved. If all the light just comes and gathers, it's all darkness out there. Verse 39, he said, Christ continues to speak, and a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And verse 40, on these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. I'm gonna deal with it right now. When it says that, listen, if you look at your book, you got a handheld, or even if you scroll and go to your app, the majority of the scriptures of the Bible are in the Old Testament. That's the majority of your book. Christ says these two commandments, all of the law and the prophets hang on them. So think of like a rod, right? And all of the law, the prophets and the things, the hooks there, the rod, are these commandments, right? So he was answering the question. These are the weightiest matters of the law, right? He condensed. It's like 613 commandments in the Old Testament. Christ just consolidated and made it simple and just gave you two. All right, so check me out. I was looking and I thought I would guess correct when I said the commandment of love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength. Like nobody got up and ran and said hallelujah and start speaking in tongues. Nobody. Can I guess some of you look at that like it's a chore. Can I keep it a buck? I have looked at it like it's a chore. Give everything with all your might, all your strength, all your soul. Love him with everything in your being. That's tough to do. Can we be real on Sunday morning? That's tough to do, right? And then it says, love your neighbor as yourself. Can I keep it a buck at our core? Can I talk to him? Can I talk? All right. We family, right? So I can say what I got to say in love, right? At the core, most of us are selfish, aren't we? Selfish, selfish. Thinking about yourself and yourself only. So Christ is saying, give this other person the preferential treatment that you would give yourself Honestly, fam, that can fix 50% of your relationship problems right now. No need to pay a counselor. Just go do that and things will get better, okay? Also, look at this man. I hate the fact that the world has actually taken over the conversation about self love. Because if you look at it, self love is biblical, right? And some of you guys don't love yourself. So you can't do that second one either. When I say you don't love yourself, you see a detrimental situation, you see something that is dysfunctional, you see something that is that, that is detrimental to your soul and you do not remove yourself. You continue to engage. You can have your girlfriend, you have your, your squad partner. Hey, I don't know, I don't know. Does he even know the Bible? Nah, girl. But I'm saying you gonna be all right. I'm just gonna pray God change him. I mean, he can, but don't we need to see that before we start dating? I'm just saying you jealous. You just mad I got a man and at least I got a man. I don't know, right? That was a low hanging fruit, right? But there are other situations where really, man, you need to remove yourself. And for whatever reason the dysfunction in your soul, either it's courage or pride, you will not remove yourself. And you lack self love. So because you lack self love, you really can't even love that person because you don't. You're not even acquainted with what that really is. So problematic. But this is the problem though. We have a dilemma. The lawyer asked Christ, Christ answered two commandments. If we're going to extrapolate something from this particular text or set of scriptures, if you go and try to live out those two commandments imperfection, you're going to fail miserably. Can we just be honest that we sin? I'm not even talking about people that just like don't care about God. I'm talking about well meaning people. You just sin. Can I tell you? Can I tell you just an experience that men go through, especially when godly men, right? You could just be minding your own business, right? Loving the Lord in your heart. You know what I'm saying? You worthy of it all. You worthy of it all. Thank you, God. Trey was singing that song, right? And all of a sudden somebody fine can walk your way. I'm talking about real fine Christian people do find people fine, right? Don't get quiet on me. You know the people fine and they your type of fine too. So you know, you saw them and they coming and you try to look down and you know right now, any God let me know what I'm talking about, man. You can start sweating like you need a preacher rag, just like I need right now. And you like, oh, my Lord. That ain't even a real prayer. You just. Oh, my God. Oh, man. She is fine, right? And they get about right here. Similar to when you're in traffic and somebody do something crazy and you come up beside them and you got a fight night to look. It's the same type of look you like. She get about right there. You like, oh, man, walking look. And sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, right? Black fellas, they gonna leave you out there, right? I was. I'm not gonna name the name of the movie, but I saw somebody post online, they saw the new movie that this actor was out in. They was like, Michael B. Jordan. I ain't never seen him this fine. Oh, what's that other dude? This Aaron Pierre. This Mufasa. Aaron Pierre. It's Mufasa. Y'all don't watch Jennifer Hudson show, you're not gonna go see the Lion King. But you played it on your Instagram Reels for 630 times straight. That brother with the plaid eyes had them in a chokehold for a minute. This was awesome. You can be minding your business all of a sudden, somebody finding you got some. You got some decisions to make. And not that beholding beauty is bad, but if you behold enough, if you behold enough and you let things start rumbling in your heart that are not godly, now you've tripped over into sin. And that's just one of like 6 billion scenarios I could put you in, right? Somebody tried to gossip and you try to move away, but it's too juicy. You want to hear the tea, don't you? Don't you? That's why you listen. You want to hear the tea, didn't you? As if gossip is not expressly forbidden in the body of Christ. Expressly. I hate it. By the way, don't be telling me to tea. I'm a grown man. I don't want to hear nothing. Let me go talk to them. Right? Or murder or jealousy or envy or backbiting. Unfortunately, man, we've normalized unforgiveness in some sects of the body of Christ. I got a reason. Well, they toxic and they may be. I didn't say go back over there, but forgive them. So if that's what we take away, like, who's going to be able to do that? Is anybody going to be Able to do that without fail, right? And this is the thing. God has a standard. It's the law, and it's wholly just and good. You're not going to be able to negotiate your way out of that. The law is the law. God put it there. He has supreme authority. He said, this is how you should govern your life. Now we got a strained relationship. We fail miserably. And it's the thing, man, I was thinking, man, I was. I was. I was working. I was trying to, you know, prep time and prepping for this sermon. And I was going to go. I was going to jump into Romans. I'm gonna say it's the end of Romans 8, where it talks about, you know, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or the sword, Right? Cause I'm talking about why we don't love God like we should. Like a lot of times what we do is we see all those things when we encounter them, we let them lie to us. And we start believing that God doesn't love us. We start believing that he has abandoned us. We start believing that he has not favored us because we see those things in our lives. Isn't that true? Haven't you been minding your business? You came off of a mountaintop and found yourself in a valley. And then you start questioning the very scriptures that you read and believed. And I was going to jump to the end of. I think it's like almost 31 verses, right? Where it says, know in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded in another version that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ, Christ Jesus our Lord. Which is true. But you should clap because that's true. And I was prepared to run back and forth on this stage. And we was going to preach and we was going to holler, we was going to jump. Because that's the truth. We are more than conquerors in all of those things. And we should not believe the lie that the circumstances speak to us. But guess what? That still doesn't solve our problem. Even with a better position on what trials are, you still have a problem? Loving the Lord your God with all your might, all your strength, all your soul, leaving nothing on the table, Loving your neighbor as you love yourself. You have trouble with that? Any married people in the building. Don't you struggle with that. So what are we going to do? That's God's law. It's holy, just and true. What are we going to do? We understand what it says and what it means. We already understand that we mess up. Even with some of the best intentions, man, we fail. There's no downgrade. You're not getting down to that. God's not going to erase that like, ah, some of your strength. He's not saying it. Christ was actually quoting back in Deuteronomy 4. It was the Old Testament. When you think about that, anybody feeling like a level of hopelessness? Thank you for being honest if I sent you out to do that. Yeah. Even when you surrender, though. We mess up. But then I remembered we were never meant to live by the law. Give me Romans 3:23. It says, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All. All. Ain't nobody safe. All. Look to your left. Look to your right. That includes them all. All. All right. And for those that don't know how the law actually works, Give me James 2:10 says, for whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. Say all. For he who said, do not commit adultery also said, do not murder. If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. The whole law. So we don't grade on the curve with the law. No, no. You mess up. What? You messed up the whole thing. Well, I'm good over here. I don't tell lies. Okay, but you covet. You messed up all of them. I don't kill. I just backbite a little bit. You messed up all of the law. All of it. But then I realized the law is doing exactly what it was designed to do. Give me Galatians 3, 3 23. It says now, before faith came, we were held captive under the law in prison until the coming faith would be revealed. Verse 24. So then the law was our guardian until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith. Take that down. Listen, listen. So the law was actually given to reveal the sinfulness of your heart. So that weight that y'all were feeling, it was doing its job. Held up that preacher man. I feel bad. I ain't come here for that. No, no, no, you were. You were supposed to feel like ain't no way in the world I can really do that. Why? Why? It was a tutor and a guardian to lead you towards Christ. He was the only One that could fulfill the law. You see how we keep. Why we keep preaching his name and talking about it and yelling and jumping and talking about the blood and talking about the sun and Easter, and we keep talking about Jesus. This is why you were supposed to feel that weight, right? That weight is going to make you do two things. You're going to. You're going to. Or a couple of things. You're going to try to slide it from under it. That's not really what the word of God. Or you're going to lie being pride, like I do. Do all of it. Or you're going to stay humble and say, you got me, God, you got me. I can't do this. I can't do it. How many have tried and failed miserably? God knew you would fail me miserably. It was never a permanent situation. It was meant to show your need for a Savior. Verse 25. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. Verse 26, it says, for in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith. All right. Do something for me. Right. All right. So it's not going to pop up on the board. I love the way the amplified version says these same verses. Okay, can I read them to you real quick? All right. Verse 23. Again, it says now, before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, perpetually imprisoned in preparation for the faith that was destined to be revealed. With the result that the law has become our tutor and our disciplinarian to guide us to Christ so that, say so that. So that we may be justified. All right, it amplifies. In the amplified version, what does justified mean? It says that is declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty and placed in right state. I love the word of God. Placed in right state. Standing with God by faith. Verse 25. But now that faith has come. But now that faith has come. Verse 25, we are no longer under the control and authority of a tutor and discovery disciplinarian. Talking about the law for you who are born again. Any born again believers in the building, well, they're talking about you. It says for you who are born again have been reborn from above. It begins to amplify again, spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified, and are all children of God, set apart for his purpose with full rights and privileges through faith in Jesus Christ. Can I continue to grow as a gospel preacher? I used to really just preach the savior part, if I'm honest, because he did go to that cross and it was an Excruciating situation, right? But I'm now beginning to mature in the gospel and preach the Lord part, right? If you look at it, it said, for why? Why was all that done? Right? Now we are children of God, set apart for his purpose with full rights and privileges. Through who? Through faith in Jesus Christ. So you were purchased and reconciled back to him. You see why that should be your default? Hallelujah. Right? Because irresponsible preaching, whether consciously or unconsciously, you preach the freedom. But you say freedom to do your own thing. No, that's not the full gospel. You have been. You have been purchased. You are walking in freedom, but it's to walk in the ways that he has designed. Now, let me talk to somebody who thinks that they're missing out. If you're walking in ways that he has designed and he designs you for it, that's what your calling is. Because in my early part of my walk, I thought that God, all this fun stuff I can't do, not knowing that all the fun stuff is really sin that tears down my soul. So it's a good thing that a father saw you, purchased you back, and then reconnected him back to himself to have relationship in eternity, in eternal life. That starts now. This is the gospel, beloved. It's him that we preach. God didn't change the law. He just sent the only one that could fulfill it. And his name is Jesus. And now we have been grafted into him. In him, we move, move, live, have our being. Anybody just want to say thank you for Jesus? You just want to show your gratitude for Jesus, this is a good time. Not for me. I said for Jesus. Hey, he made a way. And I know I'm behind time. I just want to get this in real quick. Beloved, can I have just two minutes? Two minutes. All right, pull up John 13, 34 and 35 for me. Now, Jesus, after he washed feet, he said this. The one who fulfilled the law, he says, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Check me out, fam. We talking about discipleship, aren't we? Aren't we serious about making disciples? All right, now I need you to listen to 35. It says, by this, all people will know that you are my disciples. If you have love for one another. That's how we're supposed to be known. Not even just standing in lines and. And convening and having amazing worship, right? I want to anchor you to the Scriptures and to Christ, that love that he's shown us. We should be some of the most forgotten giving people on the planet. We should be some of the most patient people on the planet. I'm not talking about weak. That doesn't make you weak. That doesn't make you weak. It makes you strong in the Lord. Even when they make a huddle and try to talk about it behind your the great commandment was carried out by Jesus Christ himself and the one like it. Now we are in him and he gave us a new commandment to love by your head. Let me pray for us. Holy Father, I just thank you for being good, huh? Being kind. I thank you for this gospel. I thank you for the scriptures. I thank you for this local body of believers that have gathered together to push forward your great commission. To push toward making disciple, making disciples. To honor you in worship, to honor you in the scriptures, to honor you in word, thought and deed. Not that we are perfect, but we worship the perfect one that you sent to die on the cross. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Love you guys. God bless.
2819 Church Podcast Episode Summary
Episode: ENTRY & END TIMES | The Great Commandment | Matthew 22:34-40 | Arik Hayes
Release Date: April 28, 2025
Host: Eric Hayes (Elder)
Featured Speaker: Philip Anthony Mitchell (Pastor)
Timestamp: [00:00]
Elder Eric Hayes opens the episode by warmly welcoming listeners to 2019 Church, emphasizing the church’s dedication to being a "house of prayer, presence, and proclamation." He expresses gratitude for the overflow at the new venue, highlighting the church’s growth and vibrant community.
Notable Quote:
"We are a church that is a house of prayer, presence, and proclamation."
— Eric Hayes [00:00]
He extends a special shout-out to the online community, affectionately termed "digital disciples," who join from various locations globally. Eric underscores the power of the Holy Spirit in facilitating life-changing miracles, insisting that these transformations are divine and not human-made.
Notable Quote:
"Man can't make miracles happen. You need the Holy Spirit to do that."
— Eric Hayes [00:00]
Eric passionately warns against allowing the church to become another "fancy looking church" focused solely on aesthetics and popularity. He stresses the importance of prioritizing the Great Commission and ensuring that the focus remains on fostering genuine spiritual revival and personal relationships with Jesus Christ.
Notable Quote:
"We gotta fight not to normalize miracles and just kind of give a patty cake, you know what I'm saying?"
— Eric Hayes [00:00]
He challenges the congregation to reject the temptation of settling for mere religiosity, advocating instead for a heart transformation through the Holy Spirit. Eric encourages believers to be actively concerned for both the ministry's outreach and the spiritual well-being of both believers and unbelievers.
Notable Quote:
"The Lord will use us however, however long He sees fit. Not circumvent and short-circuited because of our hearts going cold."
— Eric Hayes [00:00]
Towards the end of his introduction, Eric honors Philip Anthony Mitchell, the pastor, acknowledging the immense challenges of church leadership. He highlights the strategic opposition leaders face from the kingdom of darkness and urges the congregation to pray for their pastor, emphasizing grace and support.
Notable Quote:
"Pray for our pastor, man. Not a perfect man. Give him grace. His heart is headed in the right direction."
— Eric Hayes [00:00]
Timestamp: [00:00 - 20:00]
Elder Eric Hayes delves into the central theme of the episode: the Great Commandment as outlined in Matthew 22:34-40. He begins by reading the passage and provides a contextual understanding of the interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
"On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."
— Eric Hayes [Timestamp within segment]
Timestamp: [20:00 - 35:00]
Eric transitions to applying the Great Commandment to personal relationships, highlighting the challenges of maintaining spiritual standards in modern dating and interpersonal interactions.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
"Christ is saying, give this other person the preferential treatment that you would give yourself."
— Eric Hayes [30:15]
He also addresses common pitfalls such as gossip, jealousy, and unforgiveness within the church community, urging believers to embody Christ’s love authentically.
Timestamp: [35:00 - 50:00]
Eric explores the relationship between the Mosaic Law and human sin, drawing from scriptures like Romans 3:23 and James 2:10 to illustrate that all have fallen short of God’s glory and the impossibility of achieving righteousness through the law alone.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
"The law was actually given to reveal the sinfulness of your heart."
— Eric Hayes [45:00]
Timestamp: [50:00 - 65:00]
Transitioning from the law’s shortcomings, Eric passionately proclaims the gospel message, focusing on faith in Jesus Christ as the sole means of justification and reconciliation with God.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
"He is walking in freedom, but it's to walk in the ways that He has designed."
— Eric Hayes [60:30]
Timestamp: [65:00 - 80:00]
Eric concludes by reiterating Jesus’ new commandment from John 13:34-35, emphasizing that genuine love among believers is the hallmark of discipleship.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
"By this, all people will know that you are my disciples: If you have love for one another."
— Eric Hayes [70:45]
He urges the congregation to anchor their lives in scripture and Christ's example, moving beyond superficial interactions to embody profound, transformative love.
Timestamp: [80:00 - End]
Elder Eric Hayes wraps up the sermon with a heartfelt prayer, thanking God for His goodness, the gospel, and the community of believers. He reinforces the mission to honor God through worship, scripture, and genuine love, acknowledging human imperfection while celebrating the perfection of Christ.
Notable Quote:
"It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Love you guys. God bless."
— Eric Hayes [End]
In this powerful episode, Elder Eric Hayes leads listeners through an in-depth exploration of the Great Commandment, grounding his message in Matthew 22:34-40. He emphasizes the necessity of prioritizing genuine spiritual revival and authentic relationships over church popularity or superficial religiosity. By dissecting the nature of the law and human sinfulness, Eric underscores the foundational Christian belief in justification through faith in Jesus Christ. The sermon culminates in a call to embody Christ-like love, serving as a visible testament to discipleship. Throughout, notable quotes reinforce key themes, providing listeners with actionable insights to deepen their faith and walk with God.
Resources Mentioned:
For more information about 2819 Church and to access additional resources, visit 2819Church.org.