2819 Church - Witness Protection | Colossians 3:1-11 | Arik Hayes

Episode Date: June 23, 2025

In this powerful standalone message, Elder Arik walked us through Colossians 3:1–11, calling us to live as those whose lives are hidden with Christ in God. We were challenged to put to death the old man and put on the new self; one that reflects Christ in every way.

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 wanna shout out to the overflow. Thank you for being here. I wanna 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 wanna welcome you, and last but not least, I always wanna 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 the recording 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 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? Alright, and I also want to give an honorable mention to the honor to the pastor of this Ecclesia, Philom Anthony Mitchell. You can stand, you don't have to but you can.

Alright. Alright, I want to honor the one who started this under Jesus. It's about the gospel then, it's about the gospel now. I just want to honor him here. And I just want to give also a quick honorable mention if you would allow me. Actually, I want to shout out my wife right now. Mrs. Haynes. I'll make a quick check on like it. I'll make it quick, but I will shout it out.

You know why? I'll tell you why. Right? If you're in ministry, you gotta call it 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 front.

We've had some hard years, right? We're living in an easier situation now and not because everything is going well, even. So thank you for holding me down so I can hold the pulpit down, hold the people down. Thank you. This is Hayes. Amen. If you don't like it, I'm going to move on. All right. Mrs. Hayes, amen. She don't like it, I'm gonna move on. Alright, okay. As the 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 by your head and allow me to pray for us. All right, holy father I thank you for being good to us and kind Kind through the cross Kind and 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 and will be God. I pray that I wouldn't be decreased and you would be increased. During this time, Jesus, thank you, pray. Amen and amen.

Stay with me, brother. All right, family, so when I say witness protection, when I say witness protection, there's a couple things that come to mind, right? All right, sometimes it's actually the innocent people that are trying to get away Right innocent people they just caught up in in somewhere like they have somebody close to them That's that's involved in some some 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 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 that you're trying to get to a new life.

And you're trying to make a deal. All right now, if I make this confession of sins or crimes, sins or crimes, and you go before the judge, but 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 or the DA office or whatever they say, okay Okay, even though you did it and you were caught We're gonna let you in the witness protection

right and we're gonna do is we're going to create for you a whole new identity a Whole new life a Whole new residence. A whole new occupation. We're even going to fund it or provide, either fund it or provide, and you're 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 Not all my which are about the ones who did it I Mean they got the tape because usually we don't really confess and today showed evidence Back when I was young and I was my mom she's watching God bless you. I had to stay and 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 Think I'm gonna be able to get out of this one Okay, you got me Can I cut a deal So I suppose you keep that in the background of your mind as as a context as we jump in here another thing as we Jump into the scriptures here 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 gonna be very hard to walk fully in 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 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 wanna say that. Give me Colossians three chapter, third chapter. Give me first and second verse we're gonna do it together right this is Paul speaking

To the church at Colossus Verse one 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 two 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 on 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. This is 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. 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 gonna read it with emphasis same verse. I'm give you some emphasis for you have died and Your life is hidden with Christ in God Give me some time. So so so so you died 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 happened 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're being held We've been sustained the Holy Spirit comes to live on the inner side 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 needed 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. Nope, nope, terrible hider. I can come get you. 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.

witness protection. And too many of us beloved, I just want to come in 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 gonna read it again. We live as if 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 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 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's making us and molding us Into the image of his son But some of us are going through stuff Too many of us at too many times

Because we are in witness protection. We have been hidden with Christ in God But we're trying to pop out and be outside and do brunch on the enemy's territory acting like the enemy territory acting like the enemy. You mean you went through all of that. 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 veins, and you're trying to pop out and be outside. Trying to do brunch. Posting about 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 in 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 the green pastures and still 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 up beloved because some of us you heard that and you said hallelujah And 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 what in context I was reading It was actually in verse 2 it's not gonna come up but just listen to me Colossus 2 1 through 3 I was reading this in context before we got to chapter 3 it says for I want you

to know how great a struggle I have for you this is Paul speaking and for those that 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 3 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 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? God and if you feel that way then come to condemn you I want to highlight that in your heart though right you know what's gonna help you dive it into the scripture saying God changed my heart I'm tripping this 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 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 he is 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 this 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, I'm saying gotta come here preach and one of them is a little aggressive. That's a lot of them a little aggressive

Alright, Tyler's are aggressive. She just kind of I'm like right in between you know the sink and everything she come and nudge the way in there Look that bit little bit with an attitude That's a pick me up little bit with an attitude. That's a pick me up. I know you got stuff to do, pick me up. I wanna be with you. Didn't have nothing in my hand. She just wants to be with her father.

Can I say you have misplaced affection, beloved? Phew. You're trying to do everything. You look at them. You know, what's the calendar? Who outside? What we doing? Where we gonna be? Ah!

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 4 again in its entirety. It says when Christ who is your life appears, say appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Let me solve that. That's 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 help you beloved as you because I've been 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 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 season 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 feel in the blank. What's in the hand? With him in his glory. You feel in the blank, you know what's in your heart, I don't.

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 cut off and you are dead to the world, as it 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 verse five. It says, put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you. Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness

which is idolatry. Say idolatry. Let me stay here. One, I want to give you a well-rounded 360 teaching here. There's some evil in your sin nature that you still have. You got to 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 the squad 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 pastors talking about ringing 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 passions evil but sinful passion evil desire and greed Which is a kind of idolatry being here because it replaces your devotion to God Listen this is where Christian is 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 someone 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 6 My my my Actually, we'll do 6 and 7 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 seven says, in these you too once walked when you were living in them. I needed a 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 book 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 do them once. Get up, repeat, God I was trippin', move on. We're talkin' about those who habitually live in those things, so much so, they are identified by the name. Jesus. so much so they are identified by the name. Now just talking about people that fornicate, fornicators. That's what they do. Now 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. You can 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 throes 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 Immanuel's veins that was shed on the cross that made you righteous He made you righteous. He made you holy. That's why I could call you that he is a living God what he says goes Someone said it's not what they call you to what you answer to And what you answer to a call yourself you will identify with The Corinthians Paul was talking to church Corinthians. There was a little while 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 verse the voice of God He did not condemn them. He he reminded them of where they are seated He reminded them that they have 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 gonna go home with my wife and my children Are we gonna cook we go eat we gonna 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. That will fulfill you. Only I satisfy. Give me verse eight. And he keeps on with the rules of the new program of witness protection. Verse eight, he said, but now you must put them all away. Anger, wrath, malice, that's an old school word. Think malicious, slander, obscene talk from your mouth.

Give me verse nine. 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 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 where we were out in the world doing crime and sin. Again, this is not about a list of to-dos. 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 nine said, you have put off the old self with its practices. Verse 10, and 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, you know, 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 construction and I did demolition.

Anybody flip the 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 in 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 we'll give you sound teaching where you can go and be a disciple of Christ do not lay down and sin Where you can go and be a disciple of Christ do not lay down and 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. It's cracking the floor here. I'm done with this. Oh, doesn't that sound crazy? Don't you see the value in that house? What did I 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. That need work.

Lift about four inches. I got a plan for that. Yeah, we're going to paint this white. Oh yeah, the stairway going to go up like this. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. But what about, 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 could absolutely be a Christian that is putting to death your 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're filling 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. He says, and here there is not Greek in you, circumcised and uncircumcised.

Barbarian, Scythian, slave, nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Most of us in here are brown skinned. 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 back to some of y'all Pentecostal, doesn't matter. Some of y'all wanna run around the whole place just like me. Some of you just wanna sit there and say, hallelujah.

As long as it's genuine, it doesn't matter if you just got out of prison or you will exact got a fortune 15 company. Does it matter? Christ is all. He is our everything. And he is in all. He is our everything and He is in all. Y'all with me beloved? By your head let me 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. God I pray that that would encourage others that they could be sincere and broken at the

same time and be used by you. God help us enjoy the benefits of our new life in 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 one 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