Time to Grow Up | Ephesians 4:11-16 | Arik Hayes

Summary

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Podcast Summary: "Time to Grow Up" | Ephesians 4:11-16

Podcast: 2819 Church
Host: Eric Hayes (Guest: Philip Anthony Mitchell, worship: Jarrett)
Date: September 29, 2025
Passage: Ephesians 4:11-16

Episode Overview

In this powerful sermon, Elder Eric Hayes exhorts the 2819 Church community—both in-person and online—to embrace genuine spiritual maturity, drawing from Ephesians 4:11-16 and related passages. The keynote is an urgent call for believers to "grow up" into the full stature of Christ, moving beyond convenience-based or immature faith to embrace the transforming and sometimes painful process of being conformed to Christ's image. The episode is rich with direct challenges, pastoral insights, and pointed biblical exposition, emphasizing both individual and corporate growth, practical discipleship, and the necessity of unity in the Body of Christ.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Honoring the Community & Model of Ministry (00:01–05:59)

• Eric Hayes begins by welcoming everyone—online disciples, in-person visitors, and even those exploring faith.
• Special honor is given to Brittany Timmons and the Serve M25 outreach, in which 1,000 Christians served Atlanta outside a Sunday context.
  • “It was not on a Sunday morning...you had to inconvenience yourself...and take some time out.” (02:21, Hayes)
• Reiterates the core values of 2819: Prayer, presence, and proclamation.
• Acknowledges the challenging, “weighty call” of steadfast gospel leadership and honors Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell.

2. Parallels: Marriage, Motivation, and Spiritual Depth (06:00–10:44)

• Premarital Ministry Parallel: Hayes shares his approach to premarital counseling—urging couples to honestly probe their motivations for marriage, not just their emotional attachment.
  • “Remove the word marriage... Because everybody has reasons why they want to get married.” (07:17, Hayes)
  • “Last thing you need to do is get married to somebody with a hidden reason... it’s going to get crazy in your household.” (08:20, Hayes)
• Draws analogy to Christian life: Many believers are clear on what they want from God, but few stop to ask what God wants from them.
  • “Too many of us have never stopped and slowed down to ponder and meditate on what God wants out of us.” (09:46, Mitchell)

3. The Call to Maturity (11:03–14:46)

• Scripture Focus: Ephesians 4:11-16. Emphasizes that apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers are given “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.”
  • "Who is to do the work of ministry?" Hayes challenges cultural Christianity’s mistaken idea that only pastors minister.
    • “The preacher does the work of ministry, don’t we?...so that they would share the gospel. When you have the same gospel in your mouth and in your Bible.” (12:10–12:43, Hayes)
  • “What is God calling us to? Maturity.” (13:18, Hayes)
• Maturity defined as attaining “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”—not just attendance or outward action.

4. Dangers of Immaturity (15:10–18:23)

• Immaturity leaves believers “tossed to and fro” by every new doctrine, trend, or hardship.
  • “Every TikTok video...because we are not mature and leaning into Christ.” (15:53–16:28, Mitchell)
• The tragedy: Ministry that is not aiming at Christ-centered maturity fails to protect against confusion and spiritual instability.

5. Corporate & Individual Responsibility (18:49–19:50)

• Maturity is both personal and collective—how we live impacts the health of the whole church.
  • “When each part is working properly, it makes the body grow... When we’re walking in what we've been assigned... we grow up together.” (18:49–19:11, Mitchell)
  • The suffering of the Body is linked to the disobedience or immaturity of its members.

6. God’s Deep Purpose: Conformity to Christ (20:18–26:26)

• Explores Romans 8:28–30, moving beyond favorite soundbites (“all things work together for good”) to the core purpose: being “conformed to the image of his Son.”
  • “God, what is your will for my life? To be conformed.” (23:12, Hayes)
  • “Fashioned, shaped, molded... only believers are being conformed to the image of Christ Jesus.” (23:29–24:06, Mitchell)
• Honest reflection: Conformity is often painful—idols and dreams are stripped away, the process is stretching and can involve tears.
  • “Sometimes you're just being conformed. Sometimes you're just being stretched.” (25:31, Mitchell)

7. Unity and the Broad Vision of the Church (26:50–28:24)

• Hayes urges unity in the Body, not division or competition among churches.
  • “We got way too many church buildings...if like five of y’all churches came together...that alone can start revival.” (27:27–28:24, Mitchell)
• Challenges both “miracles-focused” and “character-focused” camps to embrace the fullness of Christ.

8. Acceptance, Justification, and the Process of Sanctification (29:47–33:43)

• Explains theological concepts: Being predestined, called, justified = “just as if you never sinned.”
• Sanctification is a process, sometimes slow, always the Spirit’s work—not a race or competition.
  • “Time with the Lord doesn’t mean intimacy with the Lord.” (31:45, Mitchell)
  • “Maturity in God is not something you can force... It is something we are called to facilitate.” (32:41, Hayes)
  • Provides a practical approach: Continually “lay ourselves out and say, God have your way.”

9. Genuine Worship: Sacrifice of Self (43:25–47:52)

• Examines Romans 12:1–2: Our “spiritual worship” is presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice.
  • Not merely singing—“when it talks about worship in the Bible, it’s never connected to music...this is your worship.” (44:18, Hayes)
  • “It is reasonable to offer ourselves as living sacrifices.” (45:39, Mitchell)
• Challenges transactional faith: “Stop promising God you’ll be his child if he gives you x. You’re already my son.” (35:41–36:16, Hayes)

10. Final Charge: Guard Your Heart & Sustain the Journey (49:30–end)

• Exhortation to vigilance: “Above all else, guard your heart.” (50:09, Mitchell)
• Living sacrifice is a continual posture: “I just want you. My flesh likes it, my spirit hates it. Oh God, clean me up.” (50:26–50:53, Hayes)
• Maturity is a marathon—there will be backslides and recoveries; keep returning to the altar.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you love Jesus and you’re marrying an unbeliever, you are setting yourself up for unnecessary pain and possibly torment. And I love you, so I tell you...” — Eric Hayes (06:48)
• “Too many of us have never stopped...to ponder and meditate on what God wants out of us.” — Philip Anthony Mitchell (09:46)
• “Maturity in God is not something that you can force, however beloved. It is something that we are called to facilitate.” — Eric Hayes (32:41)
• “It is reasonable to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to him.” — Philip Anthony Mitchell (45:39)
• “Time with the Lord doesn't mean intimacy with the Lord.” — Philip Anthony Mitchell (31:45)
• “Above all else...guard your heart. Guard it for anything that does not sound like this, guard against it.” — Philip Anthony Mitchell (50:09)
• On worship and sacrifice: “When it talks about worship in the Bible, it’s never connected to music. Now, if you feel where I'm wrong, like, email me. I really want to know. But this is your worship. This is what is required of us.” — Eric Hayes (44:18)
• On unity: “You probably’d be a lot better if like five of y’all churches came together...Let’s come together as the body. That alone can start revival.” — Philip Anthony Mitchell (27:27)

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Timestamps for Key Sections

• Serve M25 & Opening Honors: 00:01–05:59
• Marriage/Salvation Analogy: 06:00–10:44
• Call to Maturity (Ephesians 4): 11:03–14:46
• Immaturity & Winds of Doctrine: 15:10–18:23
• Corporate/Personal Maturity: 18:49–19:50
• Conformity to Christ (Romans 8): 20:18–26:26
• Unity & Church Vision: 26:50–28:24
• Justification/Sanctification: 29:47–33:43
• Living Sacrifice as Worship (Romans 12): 43:25–47:52
• Guarding Your Heart & Final Charge: 49:30–End

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Conclusion

Elder Eric Hayes’ “Time to Grow Up” is both a direct challenge and a pastoral encouragement to live lives rooted in real, maturing faith. He dismantles surface-level or transactional Christianity, invites believers to the hard but holy work of transformation, and insists that true worship and abundant life lie in surrender and conformity to Christ. The sermon ends in communal prayer and worship—a poignant call to ongoing, ever-deepening devotion.

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Listen if you want:

• A practical, uncompromising dive into what real spiritual maturity entails
• Encouragement to stick with the long road of sanctification
• A biblical, Spirit-led recalibration for individuals and churches alike

Transcript

[Eric Hayes]

You may have a seat. Frank, you mind hanging out with me, brother? I appreciate you, man. Welcome to 2819 Church, beloved. Amen. My name is Eric Hayes. I'm one of the elders here. Thank you. I appreciate you. I appreciate you. I take that call seriously. We are a church that is a house of prayer, presence and proclamation. I want to welcome our online community, digital disciples. Some who may be in the building. Make some noise. Yeah, a couple. Couple. We'll get some digital disciples. Visit us from all over the world, all over the country, all over the state, I want to say, every Sunday. And I just wanted to acknowledge you, those that are in the room, those that are online. I want to welcome the unbeliever. This is a place where you can absolutely belong before you believe. Is Brittany in the building? Is she here? Okay. That's right. I want to honor her anyway, Right? So Brittany Timmons elites our outreach. And some of you aware, some of you are not. We have an initiative called Serve M25. And we mobilized. I got the numbers, approximately 1,000 Christians all over the metro Atlanta area yesterday for the sole purpose of doing the work of the ministry. We're going to get to that and being the tangible hands and feet. Feet of Jesus. And it was not on a Sunday morning. I said it was not on a Sunday morning. That means you had to inconvenience yourself and take some time out outside of just a regular check off the box Sunday and say, I'm going to inconvenience.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Myself to do what the body has been called to do.

[Eric Hayes]

So I just want to honor her. I want to honor her whole team. I want to Honor all of 2819 disciples and Christians that went out there. I just want to honor you guys. Right? And as is customary, and I will continue to do so, I want to honor the pastor of this house, Philip Anthony Mitchell. Amen. Amen. All right. There's no forcing, right? I'm gonna give you the space to do so if it's in your heart, because it's a weighty call. It's a weighty call to stay steadfast in the gospel in your assignment until we fall asleep in him or he cracks the sky to come and get us. I just want to honor him because he has kept his hand to the plow. Amen. Amen. As a church who are continuing to walk through the Book of Matthew, and we just finished up the series titled Entry and End Times, and I'll be preaching a standalone message that has been titled Time to Grow Up. Time to Grow up. By your head, let me pray for us. Holy Father, you know the hearts of men and women that are here, that are. That are tuning in. You even know which recording is going to go up? God? I don't, God, but you, you sent your word and your scriptures for a reason. And God, I just want to be faithful to this assignment. Help me be faithful to this assignment, oh God, to handle your people with care and with courage. To both confront and comfort. By your grace and by your holy spirit, God, I look to decrease so that you would increase in this hour. Jesus name we pray. Amen. So again, some of you guys know, some of you don't know. I used to teach premarital. Just a little plug. I know you guys been asking, sending emails, saying, hey, it's been a while. We've actually, we are redoing the curriculum. Just got pretty much the final rough draft. So just look for the announcement, right? So when it's time, you can jump in there, right? So one of the things, I'll give you a little bit this morning. Some of you actually won't make it to premarital. And that's okay right now. That's really okay. And this is why, right? So one of the things I do, like, really on, like the first. The first time that we meet, I slow you down, right? Because by the time you get in premarital, you've probably been with this person like a year, year and a half, two years. Y' all all in love, you done met the family, y' all had some conversations, y' all love each other, looked each in the face, Y' all really spent some time together, right? And you said, hey, man, this is.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

The person that I want to marry.

[Eric Hayes]

This is the person I'm really considering marrying. I want to be able to have.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

A covenant with this person. Like we both say, hopefully.

[Eric Hayes]

I'm going.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

To tell you, man, if you're a.

[Eric Hayes]

Believer, you bring somebody here and they. And we. We're not. We're not. And we're not God, right? But if we're not seeing fruit in their lives and we believe that they're unsaved, I'm gonna tell you, you shouldn't get married.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Why?

[Eric Hayes]

Right? Because everybody talks about being unequally yoked, and we use it in all other instances.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

We're talking about, what does Christ have to do with Balao? What does light have to do with darkness? What does a believer have business marrying an unbelievable. And that's just straight Bible.

[Eric Hayes]

Okay?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

How in love you are.

[Eric Hayes]

If you love Jesus and you're marrying an unbeliever. You are setting yourself up for unnecessary pain and possibly torment. And I love you. So I tell you, right? So just say you are believers. And I say, everybody says I want to get married. And they're probably looking at each other and they giggle and they smile and all that good stuff and it's beautiful, right? I said, ho, ho, ho, ho. Remove the word marriage. Because I can say I want to get married, you can say you want.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

To get married, but everybody has reasons why they get married. Everybody has reasons. They have benefits. They have. They have plans for the marriage. Not just getting married for no reason. It can be superficial.

[Eric Hayes]

Yo, she fine.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Okay?

[Eric Hayes]

It could be a reason.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Hopefully it ain't the main one, right? Oh, he tall, dark and handsome. Whatever. He got money or whatever. Or I like the house or I like the car. It could be, now I finally get.

[Eric Hayes]

To go home and bring somebody home.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And don't have a weird time at Thanksgiving explaining why I'm single. I want somebody to help me with these bills. I'm okay with going 50, 50. Listen, listen. But there are real reasons of the heart as to why you get married. And so often they haven't really shared.

[Eric Hayes]

It with each other.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

So, like, the first time I say, slow it down. I know you want to get married. Yeah. You love each other. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, write them reasons down, though, and don't front on them. This is not the time to be cute. Last thing you need to do is get married to somebody with a hidden reason, jump over the broom and then surprise them with it. Ah, this is why I really wanted you. Oh, my goodness. And it's going to get crazy in your household. And guess who they're going to call. They don't call me. Guess what? I'm going to take it.

[Eric Hayes]

I'm going to take it.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Because I love you.

[Eric Hayes]

Right? So likewise, man. I think if we're honest, man, like, we're very aware of what we want out of salvation. Aren't you very aware of what's in your heart, of why you're saved and what you want out of the relationship with God, Right. But too many of us have never stopped and slowed down.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

To ponder and meditate on what God wants out of us.

[Eric Hayes]

As we are the bride of Christ, we don't think about it. Our prayers will be different. How we handle hardship will be different. How you handle assignments will be different. How you handle people will be different. Or it would be so I just want to slow down, look at some scriptures, let's see what the Lord wants from us this morning. All right? And some of y' all may be ready to check out already. I. I say don't do that.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Right? Because we've already talked about his glory. The weight of his presence is so much more important than anything you want to check out over anyway. And if you intend to have a relationship with him, if you don't figure this out and hear him, it's going.

[Eric Hayes]

To be dysfunctional the whole time. So because I love you, I'm asking you, don't check out. Leave the live stream on. All right, family, we're going to jump into Ephesians 4, chapter. And this one is special to me because I find myself in this verse. Ephesians 4, 11, 16. Ephesians 4, 11, 16. And it reads, beloved ESV version it.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Said, he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to.

[Eric Hayes]

Equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Let's stop right there. Who is to do the work of the ministry?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Okay, let's make it plain, right? We talk about the apostles, the prophets, evangelists, and in cultural Christianity, we turn that upside down. We say, the preacher does the work of the ministry. Don't we? Don't we? Having some of us brought people to church to hear Pastor Phil, whoever's preaching, so that they would share the gospel. When you have the same gospel in your mouth and in your Bible.

[Eric Hayes]

To do the work of the ministry sounds like serve M25 to me. Keep going. Verse 12. To equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ. It says, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, say mature.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

To the.

[Eric Hayes]

Measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. What is God calling us to maturity?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And what does maturity look like until we grow up and we look like Christ? That should be our lean. That should be our aim. That should be what we are doing. He is our focal point. He is our idol. He is the one we should be imitating. And I want to say to any preachers in the building or listening, that's.

[Eric Hayes]

What we should be pointing everyone towards. And too many times in cultural Christianity, the prophet, the shepherd, the apostle, the evangelist points people to themselves and it is wicked and demonic. I said, this is personal to me. I find myself in there as a shepherd and a teacher, right? If I point you to to me or to anything else or anyone else other than Christ, I am abandoning my call.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

We are sent as gifts to the body to equip you to do the work of the ministry and to grow up in maturity into the full stature of Christ himself. And verse four says so that.

[Eric Hayes]

Verse 14, excuse me, says so that that means this, this is why verse 14 it says so that we may no longer be children.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Tossed to and.

[Eric Hayes]

Fro by the waves and carried about.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

By every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Stop. Does that not give you a picture.

[Eric Hayes]

Of what we see today in church?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Every wind of doctrine just knocks us off and now we out of church for six months. Now you're not sure your salvation. Every TikTok video you hear it. Because we are not mature and leading into Christ. I don't know about the Bible, I don't know about the validity of the Bible. I don't know about the integrity of the scriptures and I don't know knocked off.

[Eric Hayes]

Because in so many instances the goal of ministry is not maturity in Christ. And that's why he gave you pastors rather instead of those things. Verse 15. We should be speaking the truth in love. Speaking the truth in love. We are to grow up, say grow up in every way, say every way into him who is Christ, who is the head into Christ. Stop. That's what he's looking for as we're married to Christ. To grow up into him, to grow up to look like him. We got the same Holy Spirit that he has. But to walk as he walked. Scripture says he went about doing good again. Sounds like serve M25 to me. And what we should be doing all 52 weeks of the year because his part time Christianity gotta stop man. It's gotta stop, man. Just put on the Christian hat and.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Just take it off when we're inconvenienced or it gets too hot in the kitchen. No.

[Eric Hayes]

Verse 16 from the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped. When each part, say each part is working properly, it makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. I just want to extrapolate there, right?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

So we're talking about a personal maturity and then we're talking about a corporate.

[Eric Hayes]

Maturity with the body.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And I want you to consider when we lay off maturity in Christ, how.

[Eric Hayes]

We'Re weighing the body down.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Didn't it say let's come back, let's read it again, right, in verse 16 from the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is supplied. When each part is working properly, it makes the body grow. When we're walking in what we've been assigned, what we've been called to. Forgiving, loving, being steadfast. We grow up together. Want to know partially why the body is suffering? It could be because of our disobedience.

[Eric Hayes]

Me, you, and the person sitting next to you.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

So we just want to duck off and live in our flesh. We are not concerned with the health of the rest of the body. Selfish, living, fleshy lives behind closed doors.

[Eric Hayes]

Say, nobody knows, nobody sees. God sees, God cares. And it's affecting the body whether you know it or not. Let's go. Romans 8:28, 30. We're going to start with a very familiar scripture, but the other one's not so much. Romans 8:28, it says, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called according to his purpose. Let's stop. Can I read the amplified there in that verse?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I love it. It says, and we know with great confidence that God, who is deeply concerned about us, causes all things to work together as a plan for good for those who love God, to those who.

[Eric Hayes]

Are called according to his plan and his purpose. Oh, and we eat that up. Oh, we eat it up. It's one of my favorite verses. I like it. Don't you like it? Don't you?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Okay.

[Eric Hayes]

That's okay. We love it, right? He's deeply concerned about us. This is true. He is going to work all for the good of those who love him and are called according to his plan, his purpose. Right? But a lot of times, even when people like, they. They repeat that verse, when they get to the end, according to his plan and his purpose, they start mumbling.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

They don't really care about that. I just want you to work all good for me. They say that real bold. Work all things. Grab their ear, throw it back. All that good stuff, Right?

[Eric Hayes]

Right. Look at the next verse. 29.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

For those. For those whom he foreknew. Talking about believers, he foreknew us. He also predestined to be conformed.

[Eric Hayes]

Say, conform to the image of his son. Stop. I want to clean it up for you family like God. What's your will? For my life to be conformed, God, I just want to know.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

God, please reveal your plan to me, unto me, O God, even to be conformed. Get up. Read the Bible. It's right there. To be conformed. He already answered.

[Eric Hayes]

God, what is my.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Destiny that you sent me to the nations? Go to the nations, but be conformed first to the image of his dear Son. Or when you get there, they're just going to get your flesh conformed. What's that mean? Mean? Fashioned, shaped, molded. See, we are all image bearers of God.

[Eric Hayes]

Even if you're not saved.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

But only believers are being conformed to the image of Christ Jesus our Lord. And guess what? This is disciple talk. It will not feel good. A lot of the time it's not going to feel good. Be conformed. You know what it looks like sometimes literally idolatry. Being ripped out of your soul until you don't even want it no more. Dreams that you had that don't align with his will for you specifically being pulled away from you, God. Sometimes you will shed tears, God, I thought I wanted it so bad, God. It will pull it away from you, God. Because you are being conformed to the image of Christ.

[Eric Hayes]

A life of a real disciple. You gonna shed some tears. And sometimes it ain't got nothing to do with the attack of the enemy beloved.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Sometimes you're just being conformed. Sometimes you're just being stretched. And I counsel people and sometimes I wish I could give them a timeline, but sometimes I can't. I just know you being conformed to the image, when you hold on to his word, you hold on to his way.

[Eric Hayes]

There is confirmation happening. We're supposed to progressively look more and more like him, to love more and more like him, to forgive and not hold on more and more like Him. Let me talk to the camps. Right, right. We're talking about the power of Christ. Right. Some camp is all about healing the sick, raising the dead, miracles. And in other camps, all about loving and character. I see both camps in Christ. He was tender, loving and consoling and.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Pastoral.

[Eric Hayes]

Like a father. And then he also whipped sin, death.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And the grave while he was walking.

[Eric Hayes]

And through his death, burial and resurrection.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

All of this is done by the.

[Eric Hayes]

Power of the Holy Spirit. Some of y' all camps need to shut y' all church and get a bigger building and join because it's all Christ.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Are we talking about the unity of the faith?

[Eric Hayes]

We got way too many church buildings.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And I come from a small church and a storefront. So don't think I'm talking big because I'm at 2819. No, no, no. Some. Some of these churches at 15% capacity anyway. You weighing on the people to pay the mortgage in the name of tithes and offering. No, no, no, no, no. Hear what I'm saying? Yes. Supporting the ministry. But you probably be a lot better if like five of y' all churches came together. Say we got some minor disagreements, but we are seeking the unity of the faith. Let's come together as the body. That alone can start revival.

[Eric Hayes]

I'll read 29 again and I'll keep going. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed, say, conform to the image of His Son. And the last part of that it says, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And I'm not being sacrilegious, or Christ is to be worshiped, but too many of us place Christ all the way over there and just kind of call yourself a regular Christian when that's not the will of God. He is to be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters that look just like him in spirit and soul. You see how we mess this thing up?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

There's a big Christian right on the stage on the front row. And I'm just back here. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's not the will of God. You in the second and 58th row are to look.

[Eric Hayes]

And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. You were predestined, you were called, and you were justified. Let me stop there. Right? Justified. Fancy theological term. Justified in his presence, in layman's term. Just as if you never sinned. Right. And I love this, because the Bible confirms itself. Like one of the other times I was preaching, I was talking about being perfected while being sanctified. Y' all remember that same thing here.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

We're talking about you being conformed.

[Eric Hayes]

We have not arrived yet, but you're already justified. That's why I don't want you to check out, because you could take this.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And you're like, oh, man, you can get overwhelmed of things I have to do. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[Eric Hayes]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

We should all be partaking and facilitating and opening ourselves up to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification, in layman's terms, again, being conformed.

[Eric Hayes]

To the image of Christ. And guess what, family? That takes time. And it's unfair of some of you who just got saved or saved under under 5 years to compare yourself to those that have been with the Lord for 15, 20, 25 years. That's not fair.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

So. So also, I have to hold this tension because time with the Lord doesn't mean intimacy with the Lord. It does not. Well, I've been with the Lord 25 years. I don't really Care? Have you been intimate with him? Consistently submitting to him as Lord for 25 years. Then guess what?

[Eric Hayes]

That fruit will show. And at the same time, God could do a quick work in 30 days if he want to snatch that thing right up out of you.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Why? Why?

[Eric Hayes]

Because it's not about us. It's about the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

You know, the comforter, the one he sent.

[Eric Hayes]

I'll say this again, family. We talked about maturity. That's why I didn't want you to check out. Right? Maturity in God is not something that you can force, however beloved. It is something that we are called to facilitate. Right? So in essence, what we are doing is we are continuing, continuing to jump on the altar and lay ourselves out and say, God, have your way. Have your way. If I could change this, I would have did it already. God, have your way. I'm depending on the sanctified work of the Holy Ghost. Have your way, oh God. I invite you into my home. I invite you into my life. I invite you into my relationship.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I invite you into my business. I invite you into my ministry. I invite you into my heart. Have your way. I belong to you anyway. I am yours and you are mine. Sanctify me, oh God.

[Eric Hayes]

And if you continue to do that and continue to lean into him and continue to pray and repent and forgive and love and obey, what you will end up doing by the grace of God himself and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit himself, the same one.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

That raised Christ Jesus from the dead, the same one that hovered over the waters before the earth was formed form.

[Eric Hayes]

He will change us. You just make sure it's on his timetable, not ours. That's why I want to give you. Make sure you have a firm, secure connection with God through the gospel, that you are accepted and loved and also called to maturity and grow in Christ. You know what that does? It stops this transactional business.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

God, if you just give me xyz.

[Eric Hayes]

I first of all quit. Quit promising. Quit, quit. Just stop it. Stop it. He didn't ask for you to do it. Just let your yes be yes and your no be no. Don't be making no vows to God that you probably going to break anyway. Imagine one of my children, you know, God, if they came up to me, hey, dad, if you just get me.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

This bike, you know, I'll really be your son.

[Eric Hayes]

I'm seeing how actually I was a part of the creation process to even get you here. You're already my son, so that's not up for debate. It's all about are you going to be obedient or not and not attach it to some gift that I may want to give you anyway, when you.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Attach it to that. Now we're perverting our relationship with our Father.

[Eric Hayes]

It's dysfunctional to approach him that way. And I love. I'm going to read verse 30 in the Amplified. It says, and those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified, declared free of guilt of sin. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. Check this out. It says, raising them to a heavenly dignity. So one of my friends works in the government. He's actually over there in Africa. Right, right. And although, you know, I lead a political discussion here. Right, right. There was a time when a dignitary came in the room. It was respect. It was an important person, a dignitary.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Someone with prestige and a place.

[Eric Hayes]

We are now heavenly dignitaries. See how cheap it is to look for our approval from the world when we are citizens of heaven. Can I tell you something? People like, hey, elder, I say, hey, man, we practice honor up side and down here, right? But I'm. I'm okay if one time I ain't called elder or whatever. All right? What I'm not okay with is. Is if my name is not written in the book of life, I am not okay with that. But since it is, and those who belong to Jesus, your name is there, we have dignity in heaven. The government that supersedes all other governments, that's included in our salvation. Romans 11, chapter. We're going to go 11:33 to 12. 2. Oh, help me God. Verse 33 says, oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways.

[Eric Hayes]

Stop. I'll give it to you in the Amplified 33.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Oh, the depth of the riches in.

[Eric Hayes]

Wisdom and knowledge of God.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

How unsearchable are his judgments and decisions, and how unfathomable and untraceable are his ways.

[Eric Hayes]

Sometimes we need to be reminded who we're in relationship with. He is God. God Almighty created the heaven and the earth. Go read Genesis again.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Created man out of the dust blew breath into him, made him a living soul. God.

[Jarrett]

God.

[Eric Hayes]

Verse 34. And they're quoting the Old Testament there. It says, for who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor. Stop. Who has God called up and asked for advice? Would be tripping Sometimes he's God. He can trounce any type of human wisdom you got right now and change it. 35. Or who has given him a gift to him that he might be repaid. Hey, here you go. I gave you a gift. You can hear me back later on. No. 1:36.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It says, for from him and through him and to him. For from him and through him and to him. For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. All things.

[Eric Hayes]

Maybe not all things. To who be glory. Him be glory for how long? Forever. Amen. Now, family, as I close, I'm gonna jump into a very familiar passage of scripture, but I want you to look at it in context, all right? Now, in light of all of those things, we're gonna jump into 12:1. He says, I appeal to you, therefore. Stop at an old school preacher back in like 2004. He said, Whenever there's a fair a therefore, see what it's there for. Right? It's corny, but it's true. Right?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

If it's a therefore, that means there's something before it that is feeding into the statement that therefore is a result.

[Eric Hayes]

Is what was already said, right?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

To him be glory forever. Nobody's counseling him. He does not need to repay anybody for a gift from him to him all things. All right, now jump into 12:1 with me. He says, therefore, I appeal to you brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. I'm running out of time. I got to say this, and you can look it up.

[Eric Hayes]

Tell me if I'm wrong.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Email me.

[Eric Hayes]

Right?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It was a brother. He was saying. He was like, although everything that hath.

[Eric Hayes]

Breath can praise the Lord, when it talks about worship in the Bible, it's never connected to music.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Now, if you feel where I'm wrong, like, email me.

[Eric Hayes]

I really want to know. Right? But this is your worship. This is what is required of us. This is what he wants in the relationship. As the bride of Christ, I'll give it to you in the amplified. Therefore, I urge you still 121 brothers.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies, dedicating all of yourself set apart as a living sacrifice, holy and well pleasing to God, which is your rational, logical, intelligent act of worship. I don't know if I've seen that any other place. It says, if you just think about.

[Eric Hayes]

It.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

In light of who God is and to him be glory forever, it is reasonable to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to him.

[Eric Hayes]

I appeal to your intellect, to your rational selves. So when Jarrett sits there and he sings, take everything. I don't want it. I don't need it. God, I just want you. We're called to that heart posture. Not that you can't desire things, but don't you let anything become on par or on level to dedication to the true and living God. Check me out. You say, hey, man, I hear you, Elder. You done showed it in the Word. But I ain't there yet where I still got things competing. I'm not here to condemn you. I am here to challenge you to keep leaning into God, to find yourself soaking in his presence. Get here early for saturate, Lay yourself prostrate. Listen to worship music on the way. On a Tuesday morning, you start your own worship set. On a Wednesday afternoon, you crack the scriptures. On a Thursday evening, you go to squads. If you got time there. On a Friday night, instead of going out, you stay and repent. And you wring out.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Your heart. Why? Because he's worthy.

[Eric Hayes]

Because he's worthy. And that's what he wants out of us as the bride of Christ, to mature to that point. And guess what, beloved? It's going to take time. And. And guess what? You can get there. And you can let idolatry creep up in your heart. And guess what? You got to get back to ringing that thing out. So I want to set you up for the marathon, not the sprint. Because we're supposed to do this until we see him in glory. How? By the grace of God and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. I'll end with 12. 2. Once again, that. That word says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. That's what we've been talking about today. That by testing, you may discern what is the will of God and what is good and acceptable and perfect. Called to mature in Christ, beloved. And I'm over time, man. But I just want to. I just want to. I just want to carve out some space. This ain't. This ain't just a sermon, man. This ain't no show, man. You got to take this and apply this to your heart, man. Scripture in Proverbs says above all else.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

But another version, it says, with all diligence.

[Eric Hayes]

Another version says, with all vigilance, guard your heart. Guard it for anything that does not sound like this, Guard against it.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

We think. We think Vigilance think vigilante, like, like militant, like, does not line up. I don't. I don't want it. God, I just want you. My flesh likes it, my spirit hates it. I just want you. Oh, God, clean me up, God. I present myself as a living sacrifice. God.

[Eric Hayes]

By your heads you gotta wait for me to pray. You pray. You know what's in your heart.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I don't.

[Eric Hayes]

Sing.

[Jarrett]

Take everything. I don't want you, I don't need. I just want you.

[Eric Hayes]

Just want you, just want you.

[Jarrett]

I just want you. I just want you, want you. We just want.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

You.

[Jarrett]

I just want you.

[Eric Hayes]

I just want you.

[Jarrett]

Oh, I just want you. I just want you. I just want you.

[Eric Hayes]

I just want you.

[Jarrett]

So we say take everything.

[Eric Hayes]

Everything.

[Jarrett]

I don't want it, I don't, don't want, I don't need it, I don't need it. Won't you say every I don't want it, I don't want, I don't need it. I just want you. Oh, I just want you. You say I just want you. Oh, I just want you. Just want you. Jesus, you're all we've ever wanted. You're all we've ever needed. Just want you, Just want you, Just want to.

[Eric Hayes]

Holy Father, you have called us, you have redeemed us. You have justified us, you have glorified us. You have given us heavenly dignity. God, help us do our part. Help us do what you've called us to do, not by human strength, but by the sanctifying power and work of the Holy Spirit. Help us lay down our lives. God, help us seek to walk in a holy way. Help us not be ashamed of being set apart and being different and cave into the opinions of men. For the scriptures say the fear of man is a snare. We're only supposed to have reverential fear for you, God. God, I pray anybody that's condemned by this message, you would move in their heart and shift something. God. That they would see it as condemnation, but they would see it as a calling up to walk in what you want us to walk in and in whom you want us to walk in. And that is Christ Jesus. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Bless the Lord.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Amen. Amen.