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Amen, my elder. Welcome to 2819 Church, beloved. Amen and amen. Amen. It's a blessing to be before you today. My name is Eric Hayes. I'm one of two elders and we are a church. Excuse me. We are a church that is a house of prayer, presence and proclamation. Again, prayer, presence and proclamation. Just want to shout out to the overflow. Thank you for being here. I want to shout out to the online community, the Digital Disciples. Thank you for joining us live. Thank you for joining us on this recording. If you see it here, also want to welcome you. And last but not least, I always want to stop and make a special announcement to the unbeliever. If you're in here and you're leaning in, if you're watching live, if you're leaning in, if you're watching a recording and you're leaning in, we want to welcome you. This is a place where you can be a part of our community and belong before you believe. Right. So if you're still wrestling with the claims of Christ. I don't know, man. I don't know. I hear it, but I don't know. I still got some questions. Ask them again. The Great Commission is about preaching the gospel to the unbelievers. I just want to make sure you feel welcome here. Okay? All right. And I just want to give an honorable mention to the honor to the pastor of this ecclesia, Philip Anthony Mitchell. You can stand. You can stand. You don't have to, but you can. Right? Right. I want to honor the one who started this under Jesus was about the gospel then, it's about the gospel now. Just want to honor him here. And I just want to give also a. A quick honorable mention, if you would allow me. Actually, I want to shout out my wife right now, Mrs. Hayes. I'll make it quick. Say don't like it. I'll make it quick, but I will shout her out. You know why? I'll tell you why. Right. If you're in ministry, you got a call to your life. You can make a marriage choice that can make your life hard, or you can make a marriage choice that can make your life easier. Right. I don't get a bit of fun. We've had some hard years. Right. But we're living in the easier situation now. And not because everything is going well either. Right. So thank you for holding me down so I can hold the pulpit down, hold the people down. She don't like it. I'm gonna move on. All right? Ok. All right. As a church, we're continuing to walk through the book of Matthew in a series we've titled Entering End Times. However, I've been given the assignment to deliver a standalone message today, and I've titled it Witness Protection. Witness Protection. Please bow your head and allow me to pray for us. Right. Holy Father, I thank you for being good to us and kind of kind through the cross, kind in the fact that we have common grace, the activity of our limbs, air to breathe, the freedom in this nation to come and worship the fact that we messed up and you didn't throw us away. God, we messed up and you didn't throw us away. You did not abandon us. You do not treat us as our sins. Deserve. I thank you that you use fallible men like me and others that are listening. You've chosen us and you know, everyone that is involved in this moment, it will be God. I pray that I would be decreased and you would be increased during this time. In Jesus name we pray. Amen and amen. Stand with me, brother. All right, family. So. So when I say witness protection, when I say witness protection, there's a couple things that come to mind, right? Sometimes it's actually the innocent people that are trying to get away, right? Innocent people, they just caught up in somewhere. Like they have somebody close to them that's involved in some nefarious or some illegal activities, and they're just innocent. And they're just trying to make a confession, make a deal and get away with. Right? But often it's not the innocent ones. It's the ones that have been guilty of doing crimes. I mean, sins. I mean, crimes. I mean sins. Oh, you were caught, right? But you better change your heart for whatever circumstance that is. And you're trying to get to a new life and you're trying to make a deal. You try. All right? Now, if I make this confession of sins or crimes. Sins or crimes, and you go before the judgment, you want favor. You don't want to do time for your sins. You want favor. And you've already been caught. And somewhere in the judge's heart or the DA office or whatever they say, okay, okay. Even though you did it and you were caught, we're gonna let you into witness protection, right? And what we're gonna do is we're going to create for you a whole new identity. That's good, sir. A whole new identity life, a whole new residence, a whole new occupation. We're even going to fund it or provide. Either fund it or provide. Are you going to be set up in a place that you did not earn, for you earn judgment, but you've been given favor and opportunity for a new life. The guilty ones I'm talking about, we're talking about the ones who did it. I mean they got the tape. Cuz usually we don't really confess until they show the evidence. Back when I was young and I was with my mom, she watching, God bless you. I had this thing to say, Die with the lie. I know you did it. I ain't do it. I know you did it. I didn't do it. It wasn't me. Well, the tape shows the record of heaven shows the evidence, shows the testimony is that you were there and dare I say, you enjoyed it. And then we have a change of heart. I don't think I'm going to be able to get out of this one. Okay, you got me. Can I cut a deal? So I just want you to keep that in the background of your mind as a context as we jump in here. Another thing as we jump into the scriptures here, One of the key themes in scripture in the New Testament that is very important. It's very important. If you don't get it, it's going to be very hard to walk fully. And what Christ died for in the New Testament, in this gospel of grace, right? If you read the New Testament, you'll very often see a theme of you were you died with Christ and now we're raised with him. Anybody seen that in the Scriptures? Right, right, right. We died with Christ and now we're raised with him. Okay, I just want to say that give me Colossians 3 chapter, third chapter. Give me first and second verse. We're going to do it together, right? This is Paul speaking to the church at colossae. Verse 1 says, if then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Verse 2 says, Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. Take that down. If we've been raised with Christ, which means we have faith in him, we're supposed to set our minds. Things that are above, set our minds on things that are eternal. One translation says, set your affections. So do a quick survey of your heart. Where are your affections at currently? Didn't come here to judge you, wanted to inform you and encourage you to do the right thing. Because a lot of our sorrow is because our affections have been set, either on purpose or by default on earthly things that are already corrupted and will topple and fall. It says Where Christ is seated at the right hand side of the Father. So our heart posture, our mind posture should always be looking up, reading the scriptures and looking up, praying and looking up, coming together and having godly community and looking up. Yes, wind and waves are there, but we are looking up. All right, so the question you say, why should I do that? I'm going to take a little time on this next verse and give me some grace to unpack it a little bit. Is that okay? All right, give me verse three. Verse three says, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. I'm going to read it with emphasis, same verse. I'm going to give you some emphasis. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Give me some time. So you died. That's the thing. As we learn about new life in Christ, there are things that happen that we were not aware of. You got saved. You're not seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, right? We are being sanctified, we are being held. We've been sustained. The Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of us. And we live by the power of the Holy Spirit, by grace, all that is going on. But guess what, beloved? You also died. You died to this world. You died to this world's way of doing things. You died to worldly standards. You died and your life now has been hidden. Anybody play hide and go seek back in the day? I did you ever seen a terrible hider? It's like me trying to hide behind this right here. They ain't gonna see me. Can't see me. No, no. Terrible hider. I can come get you. No, no, no, no, no. You were hidden with Christ. And not only were you hidden with Christ, you were hidden in God. Not to be found in witness protection. And too many of us. Beloved, I just want to come and love on you a little bit. Love and correction. Too many of us, in too many instances, we live as if the verse says we have our own separate lives, unhidden, without Christ and outside of God. I'm going to read it again. We live as the verse says. We have our own separate lives, unhidden, without Christ and outside of God. And I come to encourage you and correct you at the same time with a hug and a rebuke, right? Some things are trials you have been assigned by God. You ain't getting around them. Just part of the game, right? To ultimately mold you more into the image of Christ. That's what trials are for, okay? Not to just break you. No, no, no, it is to mold you into the image of Christ. And some of us need to bow our knee in that process so we feel that pressure. And I want you to say that he is the potter and we are the clay. He is making us and molding us into the image of His Son. But some of us are going through stuff, beloved. Too many of us at too many times, because we are in witness protection. We have been hidden with Christ, in God. But we trying to pop out and be outside and do brunch on the enemy's territory, acting like the enemy. You mean, you went through all of that? All. All that was paid on Calvary to allow you into witness protection, all the people that were involved, all the prayers, all the nails in his hand, the blood in Emmanuel's legs, and you trying to pop out and be outside, trying to do brunch, posting about it. This is my location with mimosas in the enemy's camp, acting like the enemy. And you get knocked upside your head spiritually. And this is why. It's hidden with Christ and God. Your life is hidden. Does that give you some peace? It's hidden. Who knows the lay of the land? Hidden. The one who can really get you to green pastures and steal waters and restore your soul. Some of you are looking for a promotion and after the bag, and that's cool, but you need to relish in the fact that you've been hidden with Christ in God. You with me, beloved? Give me verse four. Oh, my. And it says, when Christ, who is your life, say, who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Christ, it says, is our lives. Can I scan the room, beloved? Because some of us, you heard that and you said hallelujah. Some of them, some of you, you heard that and you compared it to being outside and you felt cheated. And that's a problem. Can I give you another verse in context? I was reading? It was actually in verse two. It's not going to come up, but just listen to me. Colossians 2, 1, 3. I was reading this in context before we got to chapter three. It says, for I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you. This is Paul speaking. And for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face, Colossians 2, verse 1 through 3. Verse 2 says that their hearts may be encouraged being knit together in love, talking about community, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery. It says, which is Christ. Now, verse Three. This is what it says. In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge? Again, hidden in Christ. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Not only are you hidden with Christ, you're hidden with all the wisdom and treasures with Christ in God. And we seek after other things. What in the world are we searching for? What's better than that? You won't dare say it out loud if you just came out of worship because you're sober now, aren't you? Just beheld him in all his glory. God, you really are my everything. And now you're sober, you won't say, yeah, man, that career in the stock market, that's better than all the wisdom and treasures in Christ Jesus. I gotta get married to them. That's better than being hidden with Christ and all the treasures. Anybody got something they think really rivals rivals. All the treasures hidden with Christ in God. And if you feel that way, I didn't come to condemn you. I want to highlight that in your heart though, right? You know what's going to help you dive it into the scripture saying, God, change my heart. I'm tripping. This ain't really better than you. She ain't really better than you. He ain't ready. It isn't better than you. I'm tripping. Change my heart. I need help. Guess what? He'll help you. He'll help you. You know, God is very familiar and used to dealing with the human heart. I would say he has a PhD in IT times a billion. Don't be scared to pray to our Father about what's wrong in your heart. Don't you know that he knows? Don't you know that he wants that to change more than you do? For your good and his. So if you find yourself on the negative side, it's not to stay there, it's not to be condemned. No, he wants you in his presence. Let's get ready this morning. And one of my babies, they all about here, right here. They just, I'm trying to, you know, get ready, you know what I'm saying? Got to come here and preach. And one of them is a little aggressive, actually a lot of them a little aggressive, right? Tyler's are aggressive. She just kind of, I'm like right in between, you know, the sink and everything. She come and nudged her way in there, looked at me a little bit with an attitude. I said, pick me up. I know you got stuff to do. Pick me up. I want to be with you. Have nothing in my hand. She just wants to be with her father. Can I say you have misplaced affection, beloved. You're trying to do everything you look at. You know, what's the calendar, who outside, what we doing, where we gonna be fleeting. If anything steals from you. Time, money and attention and energy. Trying to have a good time, low key. Trying to feel something in your soul that only the presence of God can. He is our life. I'll read verse four again in its entirety. It said, when Christ, who is your life, appears, say appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Let me solve that. That's may not necessarily clear. And more than one scholar believes that's a reference to his second coming to come back and get us. So those that relish in Christ, that have wrapped our lives in him, that have real biblical faith, when he appears, we will appear with him also. He's coming back to get us. And I'm helping you, beloved, as you, because I've been saved 20 something years, right? A large, large number of our church percentage. You ain't been there, right? You're still getting, you're still renewing your mind to the things of God. And I'm with it, right? But I want you to do something. When you look to sin or go according to your flesh, compare it to being with him in his glory when he comes back. Even seasoned saints compare it to being with them. When the sky cracks and those that are dead in Christ rise and we meet him in the air. I don't care what, you fill in the blank, okay? What's in the hand with him in his glory. You fill in the blank. You know what's in your heart, I don't. What, what do you put here and move like you do not have witness protection now? We were just discussing our new lives. Oh, how magnificent it is. And I come to inform you, beloved, with your new life, as you. As you cut off and you are dead to the world. As a witness protection, they show you some rules that you have to go by. You go here, you stay here, you check in here because you have a new life. And if you mess up the rules, you show yourself to the very enemy that you were trying to get away from. So as we walk into new life, this is what it says. Give me, give me verse five. It says put to death. Therefore what is earthly in you? Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil, desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. Say idolatry. Let me stay here one, because I want to give you a well rounded 360 teaching here. There's some evil in your Sin nature that you still have, you gotta deal with it. We all have to deal with it, right? And if we talk about what needs to be done, Christ did what needed to be done on the cross to secure your salvation, to love you, to bring you into the fold. Right now this is our responsibility. Put to death. We should have a lot more funerals. Matter of fact, put it on, put on the squads here, check in or whatever, check in with somebody. What funeral are you having this week? Too much living to the world going on. You always hear about pastor talking about wringing out his heart. That's what he's talking about, right? You never completely get away from it, right? So you have to put to death these things. Amplify says put to death and deprive of power the evil longings of your earthly body with its sensual, self centered instincts, immorality, impurity, sinful passion. Not all passion is evil, but sinful passion, evil desire and greed. Which is a kind of idolatry key in here because it replaces your devotion to God. Listen, this is where Christian. It's a key place where Christianity is different from other religions. Other religions give you a list of things to do. And although there is a list, it's not about doing the things, it's about where your devotion and worship goes. So if you are engaged in idolatry, you are taking your love and devotion and adoration from the true and living God and giving it to something or some else. It's not so much about what you're doing, it's about who you're worshiping while you're doing it. And we're in witness protection and we owe all to the one that saved us from the evil life. Give you another reason. Verse six. My, my, my. Actually we'll do six and seven together. It says on account of these, the list of things I just read off, the wrath of God is coming. Let me stop with six. That's reason enough to just leave it alone. Just leave it alone. Give me, give me that next verse. Verse 7 says in these you too once walked when you were living in them. I needed the next verse because I want to talk about it. Just because you do one of those things, you trip, you fall. That does not mean you walk in them habitually because let's keep it a buck. I know Christians still deal with that list, you know, I know God knows, okay, you still have problems with some of those things in that list. But the thing is, it's not just to, to do them once. Get up, repent, God, I Was tripping, move on. We're talking about those who habitually live in those things. So much so they are identified by the name. Not just talking about people that fornicate, fornicators. That's what they do. Not talking about telling a lie, a liar. That is your identity. That's why it's important to read the scriptures and know that your name has been changed with your new identity. Even when you feel like you don't deserve it yet. Hallelujah. You could be a born again believer dealing with sin and God still calls you holy. You know why? Because you did not earn your way to holiness. It was the blood of Jesus Christ that made you holy. In the middle of the thrones fighting for your life, he still calls you righteous because you did not earn your way to righteousness. It was the blood of Jesus Christ that came out of Emmanuel's veins that was shed on the cross that made you righteous. He made you righteous. He made you holy. That's why he can call you that. He is a living God. What he says goes. Someone said, it's not what they call you, it's what you answer to. And what you answer to or call yourself, you will identify with. At Corinthians, Paul was talking to church Corinthians. They was a little wild. They was doing some wild stuff. You know what Paul said? He said, hey man, don't you know that you are a temple of the Holy Spirit? That's how you can start to know the voice of the enemy versus the voice of God. He did not condemn them. He reminded them of where they are seated. He reminded them that they had been purchased. He reminded them that the very spirit of God lives on the inside of them. That'll make you clean yourself off if I remind you. You know what reminds you the most? The word of God. I'm reminding you now, but I'm going to go home with my wife and my children and we going to cook, we going to eat, we going to live the rest of our week. Some of you will look at the recording, right? And it will remind you. But have your own relationship with God. We're gonna keep saying it until he take us away from here. Have your relationship with God. Have a relationship with the scriptures. With God through the scriptures. Listen to the nudging of the Holy Spirit. And sometimes you have to get quiet to hear it. You're not called to that. They don't really love you. I love you. That won't fulfill you. Only I satisfy. Give me verse 8. And he keeps on with the rules of the new program of witness protection. Verse 8. But now you must put them all away. Anger, wrath, malice. That's an old school word. Think malicious slander of seeing talk from your mouth. Give me verse 9. Do not lie to one another. Seeing that you have put off, say, put off the old self with its practices. There was a death. Christ was raised by faith and our belief in Him. We died and we raised with Him. So now we put on the new self, the new man, the new life. We take off the old thing. But with the old man there were practices that we walked in when we were out in the world doing crime and sin again. This is not about a list of to do's. It's about a relationship with the One who did it for us on the cross. And since we believe that now we walk in the ways that he has called us to. Christianity is not a list of to do's. It's just not a list of commands. You have a relationship with the holy and living God our Father through Christ. Verse 10, verse 9 said, you have put off the old self with its practices. Verse 10. And you have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator. It's being renewed. Listen, when I study, I look at it at least three versions of the scripture. Typically I added a fourth, right? In the new American Standard Version, when it said being renewed, it said literally in the footnote, being renovated. That was good to me because I did some little bit of time in. In construction and I did demolition. Anybody flipped a house in construction, right, Being renovated, that means there are plans to build something new. And with renovation is a renovator. And the renovator is God our Father. Even with your fervor, it's still going to take time. Renovations do not happen overnight. I've been this thing two decades and some change. Guess what? I'm still being renovated. Anybody that preaches to you is still being renovated. So even though you see some cracks in your foundation, do not let the enemy come in and tell you that it's not. None of it is worth it, or none of it is working, or you're not worthy, or God doesn't love you, or you're not saved. No, no, no, no, no. I'm still being renovated. So there's a tension. Yes. Live holy. Live holy. Want to give you sound teaching where you can go and be a disciple of Christ. Do not lay down in sin against such things. The wrath of God is coming. Cut it out. At the same time, you are being sanctified. You are working and walking out your salvation to look like Christ. And along the way you will have cracks in your foundation. And you have to know that you are still being renewed. Wouldn't it look crazy in the middle of a house flip? I just walked away talking about the walls, ain't done cracking the floor. Here, I'm done with this. Oh, that sound crazy. Don't you see the value in that house? What they say the after repair, after renovation value. But the renovator sees it the whole time. He sees it the whole time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's messed up. I got a plan for that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Any work lift about 4 inches, I got a plan for that. Yeah. We're gonna paint this white. Oh yeah. The stairway gonna go up like this. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. But what I don't care what it looks like. I have a plan for the renovation. I am the renovator. It belongs to me anyway. We belong to him. Quit placing your value. What man is saying to you, get in the book and find out what he has already said about you. It'll change what you identify with. And what you identify with, you move towards. I'm not trying to stir up something. That's why people say, man, can I be a fill in the blank Christian? No. And let me unpack it. You can absolutely be a Christian. That is putting to death. You'll fill in the blank. Absolutely. I may not have that proclivity, but guess what? If we take all the things that we wrestle with, there are people that deal with all manner of things. I do not deal with gambling. There are people that are struggling with gambling. Right. Lack of self control. By the way, if you look at how to tie that in the scripture, right. I used to deal with lying. I don't deal with that now. So you want to identify what you'll fill in the blank and then put Christian. That doesn't work. We identify with Christ and his holiness and his love and his resurrection and his body. So that anything that does not align with him, we are putting to death. Once again, what funeral are you having this week? But even if it ain't all cleaned up, the renovator, the Holy Spirit, God our Father has a plan. And when perfect appears, we shall look like him. I'm closing. Frank. Verse 11. He says, and here there is not Greek in Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian slave, nor free. But Christ is all and in all, most of us in here are brown skin. It's not about that culture. And I am a black man. I don't have to deny that. Right. I love that we see people that don't look like us don't come from the same. Even some of y' all Baptist, some of y' all Pentecostal, doesn't matter. Some of y' all want to run around the whole place just like me. Some of you just want to sit there and say hallelujah. As long as it's genuine, it doesn't matter. Doesn't matter if you just got out of prison or you a exec at a Fortune 15 company. Does it matter? Christ is all. He is our everything and he is in all y' all with me. Beloved by your head. Let me pray. Pray for us. Holy Father, I thank you for being good to us and good to me that you would even use this broken vessel. Wow. God, I pray that that would encourage others that they could be sincere and broken at the same time and be used by God. Help us enjoy the benefits of our new life and witness protection. Help us identify with the godly things that you have given us. Help us walk in our new identity that you have set up for us, which was so costly because it cost the very blood of Christ to set up as you would reach the 1 during the week that is listening to this message that it would not be about me or the voice of a man, but that they would have a funeral because there was already a death in Christ. And when he was raised, we were raised. And now we sit in him in heavenly places on the right hand side of you right now. Help that revelation hit our souls and everything that's attached to the new man and new identity in Christ Jesus. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. All right.