Real Life Community Church Sermons
Real Life Community Church, is a church located in Richmond, Kentucky. Our fellowship is comprised of authentic followers of Jesus Christ who aim to glorify God in all that we do. We have a desire to reach our community, meeting both the physical and spiritual needs of those who are hurting.What to Expect in a ServiceOur Sunday Morning services include a time of dynamic, contemporary worship. We have a full praise band, consisting of real Christ-followers who are committed to worshiping God, not just through song, but in every area of their lives. Each service will include a relevant, Bible-based message, that will inspire and challenge those who hear it, in their walk with the Lord. Come casually or formally dressed… however you are most comfortable. We hope to see you soon!
Real Life Community Church Sermons
Abide | Part 4 | For the World | John 15:1-27
What if Christians are called not just to reach heaven but to bring heaven to earth? Join Pastor Chris May as he unravels this transformative idea, drawing from Jesus’ profound teachings in John 15. We explore the mission of believers to abide in Christ, bear spiritual fruit, and navigate the inevitable challenges that come with following Him. Pastor Chris passionately discusses the Christian mission to turn the world upside down by God's spirit, urging us to avoid the 'escapist mentality' and embrace our role in transforming the culture around us.
The following resource is brought to you by Real Life Community Church in Richmond, Kentucky. We hope you're both challenged and encouraged by this message from Pastor Chris May.
Speaker 2:Christians are not of the world, but we are for the world. That's the principle we're taking two weeks to look at, started last week unpacking the very first part of that, namely that we are not of the world. Jesus in John chapter 15, we've been unpacking this for several weeks but Jesus tells his disciples to abide in him. He tells them that when they do that, that they will bear much fruit. They're going to do all these great things in his name. And then he even says as you just heard that Dina read he said I no longer just call you servants, but I call you friends. I mean that's just that's great news. Through Jesus, I mean that's just that's great news Through Jesus, we as well can bear spiritual fruit and we are friends with King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Then the passage takes a little bit of a turn in verse 18. And, as we looked at last week, jesus begins talking about the fact that the Christian life, though glorious in many ways, is not all cupcakes and rainbows. Can I get some people who've been saved a little while to say amen to that? As a matter of fact, jesus says because you are not of the world. You're in the world but not of it. He says to his disciples he says you're going to suffer, you're going to be hated for my name's sake. See, we are in the world, but we are of a different kingdom. Colossians 1 said Paul writes that we have been brought out of the kingdom of darkness and into his glorious kingdom of light. So we live by a different set of principles in the world. We behave differently than the world and we serve a different Lord than the world and consequently we are hated. So you know what happened in Paris a few weeks ago. The mocking of the last supper should not shock us. Jesus warned us of these things and much worse things, by the way, that are to come. So we are not of the world. But today I want to focus on this truth we are for the world. We are for the world, the world. We are for the world. Again, looking at the Kind of a bird's eye view of John, chapter 15. Jesus talks about the necessity of believers bearing spiritual fruit. Remember Jesus says he says I am the true vine and you are the branches. So we are in a barren land, a dark world, amongst a confused people. But Jesus means for us to bear life, giving fruit that will change the world. We are not of the world beloved, but we are for the world. And so let me give you kind of the big idea today. And so let me give you kind of the big idea today. Here it is. We live in a post-Christian culture, or at least a post-pretend Christian culture. And here's the thing what do we do in our culture? I believe we are called to transform that culture Without allowing the culture to transform us. Okay, I believe this is quite a task, that we are called to transform our culture Rather than letting the culture transform us.
Speaker 2:In Acts 17. It's a great chapter. Some of the apostles are doing all the preaching Jesus and they're kind of working miracles and just planting churches, and some of the unbelieving religious leaders. Do you know what they accused the apostles of In the early church? Of? Of turning the world upside down. Beloved, we who are full of God's spirit, we have been called and empowered to literally turn the world upside down, or maybe we could say right side up. Well, if we're going to grasp this principle, I believe we have to do something very important. We must rid ourselves in the American church of what theologians, particularly NT Wright, refers to as the escapist mentality. This is very important.
Speaker 2:Western Christians have come to believe that the essence of Christianity and the main point of salvation Many of you if I were to ask you this question, you'd write this answer down Is to go to heaven. Now, to be sure, heaven is a beautiful, wonderful place, but the New Testament actually says very little about what that is. We know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, but the final hope that we have in Christ is that you go to the end of Revelation. I don't know why we've missed this for so long. It's very clear you go to the end of the book of Revelation and you do not see believers going to heaven. But what do you see? Heaven coming to earth. Listen, god has not abandoned his creation. He hasn't abandoned us, nor the created world, and so Christ means to redeem creation itself, and that's what he will do when he returns. And so we cry come, jesus, come, come and turn this around. That's what's going to happen when the Lord returns. Now, because many American Christians believe that the main goal of Christianity is just to get to heaven, they have what's called an escapist mentality, meaning that they look at the world and say, oh, this rotten place, I just want to get out of here. But I don't think that's a biblical aim, because we're not of the world but we are for the world.
Speaker 2:Let me just take you over one or two chapters to John, chapter 17. In John chapter 17, we see Jesus' priestly prayer. He's praying right before his crucifixion to the Father, and he's praying in beginning or in verse 15, he's praying for his disciples and I want you to hear what he prays. Look at John 17, verse 15. Jesus says, father, I do not ask that you take them out of the world. Pretty clear. He didn't say, oh Lord, give them to heaven as quickly as possible. He said I pray don't take them out of the world, but keep them from the evil one. In other words, let them stay in the world I've got purpose for them here but keep them from the evil one, don't let them be of the world. Look at verse 18. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are here because Christ has sent you into the world.
Speaker 2:The kingdom is coming to be consummated in the end, but the kingdom is not only future. Jesus inaugurated the kingdom here and now through his death and resurrection. And so, right now, here's what the scripture teaches. And so, right now, here's what the scripture teaches we're not to sit back and kind of become spiritual hermits and just wait for heaven. We are called to build for the kingdom now, and notice, side note, that I say build for the kingdom. This is very important. We do not build the kingdom, christ builds the kingdom. We build for the kingdom, we work for the kingdom. Christ builds the kingdom. We build for the kingdom, we work for the kingdom. All right, so you have that mindset that the the point of Christianity is is not, uh, ultimately about going to heaven, but it is about heaven coming to earth. And we, right now, wherever believers are, there, ought to be little pockets of heaven, so to speak, or at least a foretaste of what the end will be like for those who are in Christ. And so, with that mindset, how then do we change the culture? Let me give you a few ways. Number one to risk being redundant if we're going to change the culture, we've got to abide in Jesus, because this is really important.
Speaker 2:Jesus says in this one chapter, 11 times he gives this imperative to his disciples and to us Abide in me 11 times. You think he was trying to make a point, maybe? Maybe? I mean, if you want to get your kids to listen, how many know you got to sometimes say it 11 times, or 100, right?
Speaker 2:Jesus says something shocking in the middle of the first part of John 15, where he's talking so much about abiding in him. Why do we need to abide in him? He tells his disciples apart from me this is shocking you can do nothing. What do you mean? We can do nothing? Well, we can do stuff right, we can maybe help people and we can go to work and accomplish things, but what Jesus means is you can do nothing. That ultimately matters. You cannot bear lasting fruit.
Speaker 2:But he says if you abide in me, your works, what you do on this earth, will matter and they will make an eternal difference. Like life is difficult, and if I'm going to struggle and toil to work and to serve people, I don't want those works to be burnt up one day. I want them to have a lasting effect. And the good news is they'll have more than just a lasting effect. They'll have an eternal impact. Such great news.
Speaker 2:Understand this you and I cannot change the culture. It is only Jesus who can change the culture. What's that mean? It means that we abide in Christ, meaning that we are connected to Jesus in such a way that his life organically just flows from us. If we're going to change Richmond and the American culture and if we're going to turn the world upside down, like the disciples, then we've got to be able to say what Paul said and live this out I've been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. That's what it is to abide in Jesus. It means daily you yield yourself fully to him and you walk by the power of the spirit. That's how you change the world.
Speaker 2:Number two To change the world, we must stand with other believers. Beloved this Christian walk. Another misconception in America, because we're hyper individualistic. Another misconception is that Christianity is about me and God or about you and God. It's not. It's about we and God. We become part of the body of Christ and that's why it's not the same and we shouldn't unless we're ill or something, you don't sit at home and watch church on the live stream, and I realize there's some people watching doing that this morning. It's the Holy Spirit who convicts. Let me just remind you of that. But listen, it's not the same I want you to.
Speaker 2:I want to point you to two verses in our text. Look at John 15, verse 12. Jesus says this is my commandment that you love one another as I've loved you. And now look at verse 17. These things I command you so that you will love one another. Jesus talks about this constantly, about his disciples loving one another. He sent them out, remember, one by one, how many, two by two. He sent them in groups. And we see that same pattern throughout the book of acts, generally speaking. So jesus says twice, as recorded in john 15, that the disciples are to love one another, to lay their life down for one another, in fact, and he says that right before verse 18. Which says the world's going to hate you.
Speaker 2:Do you know how Well you do know, if you've been a Christian for any time, it is extremely difficult To constantly, 24-7, live counter-culturally, to think differently and to behave differently than the world. It's, it's exhausting to have people who are of the world, who are so antagonistic against us all the time. It's exhausting. And what I think Jesus is saying it is the Lord Jude talks about, god is able to keep us from falling, but the way he does that is through very ordinary means, and one of the means that God uses to keep us even in the face of the worst persecution Is one another. It is amazing. I mean, during the week you might get exhausted Because you might be the only believer at work, or one of few, you might be the only believer young people at school.
Speaker 2:But I want you to know, oh, I want you to know, that when you lock arms with other believers who are full of God's spirit, the gates of hell, when you are in Christ, will not prevail against you. I mean, we just encourage one another, we spur one another on to good works. We've got to do life together, and being together is an example to the world. It is a signpost of what heaven is going to be like. This is why Jesus says if you have aught with your brother, leave your gift at the altar, go be reconciled and then come back. This is important because we're supposed to be modeling what new creation is going to be like when we will be in perfect unity, and so when we stand together and we forgive and we stick side by side, no matter what it says to the world. There's a new humanity, there's something better out there for you, there's a new kingdom and there's a king, king Jesus, who unites people and brings peace amongst the people. So we've got to stand together. Number three we can change the culture through acts of sacrificial love. Essentially, that's what it is to bear spiritual fruit.
Speaker 2:Jesus uses the phrase bear fruit, or bearing fruit, seven times in this text and the idea of bearing fruit is, I believe, pretty clearly. It means to continue Jesus' works, his ministry on the earth. He went to the Father and I want you to go back one chapter now, to John 14, and he gives his disciples these shocking words John 14, look at verse 12 truly, truly or verily, verily. If you have the King James, I say to you whoever believes in me so he's not just talking to the apostles, who did he say he's talking to? Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and greater works. What Greater works than these will he do? Because I'm going to the Father? What's he mean?
Speaker 2:I don't think he's talking about greater works in quality. I mean, jesus is pretty hard to beat there, but I think he's talking about greater works in quality. Jesus is pretty hard to beat there. But I think he's talking about quantity, because in Jesus' earthly ministry he was bound by time and space. He was in one city at one time, right One city, one place. One time He'd go from town to town. But now he says you're going to do even greater works in quantity.
Speaker 2:Because now, think about this we have believers across the globe, little pockets of the kingdom of God all around the world. This is what it means that the Lord's glory would cover the earth. The kingdom expands as more and more people come to the saving knowledge of Jesus and we all across the the world that are supposed to be not again being hiding and being coming as spiritual hermits, but we are to continue the ministry of Jesus. And what did that look like? He preached the gospel. I'll talk more about that in a second.
Speaker 2:He healed the sick, and while I believe in physical healing and we should pray for healing for people, jesus did more than that. When he healed somebody, for instance the leper, he didn't just heal their body, but he restored them to the community because they were outcasts. Jesus' presence listen everywhere he went, it was a healing presence. Is your presence a healing presence everywhere you go, or are you always stirring up trouble, always mad, always angry? We're to be a healing presence to the world. Jesus fed the hungry, ministered to the sick, met the needs of the most marginalized, and we're to be doing that's to be our business. I think the Catholics are to be committed for this. They do such a great job at caring for the poor, and that's not just the call of Catholics, it's Protestants as well. Do you know that?
Speaker 2:Historians tell us that one of the main reasons that the church grew centuries ago Was because of their acts of sacrificial love? For instance, when a disease, let's say a pandemic or epidemic, would come in to a town or community, the healthy people you know what they would do. See, ya, they would run for the hills and leave the sick behind to suffer Lest they get sick themselves. Historians tell us that even some doctors, many doctors, would do that. I'm out of here, but you know what the Christians did At the expense of their own life. Some of them did not get sick, but many did, and many of them died in these cases. But they would run to the sick People that they had no obligation to help, and this astonished the watching world of unbelievers and it piqued their interest. Jesus said that would happen. In Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said Let your light so shine before men that they might see your good works, people seeing your good works, that they might see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Speaker 2:We can change the culture through acts of sacrificial love. Number four we can change the culture by speaking the truth. Got to speak the truth. Beloved, I don't care how nice you are, how many good works you do, that's all great, but you've got to eventually speak the truth. Let me give you two ways in which we're called to speak the truth in this culture. Number one've got to eventually speak the truth. And let me give you two ways in which we're called to speak the truth in this culture. Number one we're called to proclaim the gospel. We're called to proclaim the gospel In verse 27 on our text, chapter 15,.
Speaker 2:Jesus says to his disciples you will also bear witness to me because you've been with me. We were created in what? In God's image? We were to bear his image. I mean this is Genesis language. Jesus says again that image-bearing vocation has been restored. You and I, if we are in Christ, we are to bear the image of God everywhere we go and we are to proclaim the gospel. Matthew 4, jesus went about. This is the summary of his message preaching the gospel of the kingdom. We need to invite people into the kingdom of God, to tell them that there is a new king, there is a king. He's king of kings and lord of lords. It is God, the Son himself and invite people into that kingdom and invite people in to that kingdom.
Speaker 2:I know that we all want quote-unquote Christian laws, like we want laws against certain what we consider immoral acts right. But do you know? Cs Lewis said this. He said, you know, we want a good nation, right. But he said, to have a good nation, you've got to have good men and women, by the way. And he said you cannot get good men, you cannot make good men by law. So laws are, I mean, they're not bad, but they're not going to transform a culture, because laws don't change the hearts Of people. Fair enough, but let me ask you this.
Speaker 2:I was thinking about this what part do we play in it, pastor Ben? What part does the church play in this? Like, I don't think it's all the progressives. And let me tell you why. Because I've been a Christian For over 40 years and I can tell you this I've been around Christian for over 40 years and I can tell you this I've been around a lot of Christians and I tell you we've not been real serious this morning and commit to do something. If 100 adults in this church would commit to this year, lead one person to Christ, I'm going to keep preaching the gospel entirely. One person to Christ, and then in that year you disciple that person, you person to Christ, and then in that year you disciple that person you want to Christ and you teach them how to win somebody else to Christ and then next year you lead, say that.
Speaker 2:I want to quickly mention that we can speak the truth. I think it is incumbent upon us to speak against damaging, dehumanizing, cultural lies and we speak the truth in love. And I know and I've wrestled with this, I know that many say well, you can't be political in church, but the gospel is political, because the gospel is an announcement that Jesus is king, which means you're not, it means Biden's not, trump's not, and so on and so forth. It's political. I was reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's biography, written by Eric McTaxis, I believe, and he pointed out in there something that just shocked me. Do you know? There were very few in Germany during the Holocaust. There were very few pastors in churches, very few pastors that stood up against the Nazi regime and fought for justice. And you know what they said oh, we just won't be political, we're just going to teach the Bible. Well, I don't know how you can teach the Bible and not stand up against someone like Hitler, a monster like that, and fight for the justice of the people.
Speaker 2:Let me just give you a couple examples, current examples. So you know that June is now called Pride Month. Now we know that homosexuality and all that's a sin, but let's just leave that on the table for a minute. Pride Month we know from the truth of God's word that it's not good to have pride in any form, because pride comes before a fall. It is quite literally from Satan on. Pride is the road to hell, and not just eternity I'm talking about. In your life, you want to bring hell into your life. Be prideful, I mean, try it. Just see how that goes for you. And so we need to lovingly tell people this is not a good idea. This is not a good idea to have any type of pride month, and then you know what else. This really bothers me.
Speaker 2:The hyper-progressives are suggesting that they are the friends of the LGBTQ community. We're for you that they are the friends of the LGBTQ community. We're for you, but you know what they've done. By focusing so much on their sexuality, they have reduced every homosexual's identity to their sexual preference. Do you know how dehumanizing that is For any of us to be reduced to our sexual preference? That is awful and it's dehumanizing. What about the transgender fluidity? I never thought I'd see this in my lifetime. Do you know?
Speaker 2:There are hyper-progressives who are arguing that a seven-year-old should be able to make it is actually a boy or the girl. They're saying you need to raise them With what is it? Gender neutrality or binary? What's it called? Yeah, you need to be gender affirming. That's not a good idea, christian or not? Listen, you should not let your seven year old Decide his or her menu for the week, because they're not going to be real healthy at the end of the week. They are confused. They don't know who they are. You're the mom, you're the dad? You tell them what gender they are, all right. And if you don't know how to figure that out. I can find some kindergartners who can counsel you. Actually, I can find probably some preschoolers who can counsel you and help you.
Speaker 2:How ignorant and people are buying into this and it's incumbent upon the church to lovingly stand up and say no. I mean, can you imagine, if we don't do something, the pain and the mental health issues that adults are going to have who grew up in this culture? Years down the road? I mean, we can't even fathom. It's already happening, by the way. We've got to stand up for truth. Finally, if we're going to change the culture, we've got to pray. We've got to pray. We've got to pray In verse 7, jesus he actually says this in another, the same thing in another verse as well, verse 7 though if you abide in me and my word abides in you, disciples ask whatever you wish and it'll be done for you. That's a good deal.
Speaker 2:We hear that, and it makes some of us uncomfortable, because we've been in churches and we've seen the TV preachers, the prosperity teachers, say that hey, blank check, they've perverted this, they've perverted it. Here's what they say. They say well, if you have enough faith, you ask Jesus for whatever you want. By the way, mercedes, come enough faith. You ask Jesus for whatever you want. By the way, mercedes, come on somebody. Audi, you want a new house, a bigger house, a nicer car, boat. That's not off the table, blank. Check Whatever you want, because Jesus is a genie in a bottle, if you have enough faith. Oh and, by the way, you've got to sow into my ministry. You know, if it's not working, you're probably not giving enough. It's hogwash Talk about standing up for truth. Some of us need to stand up against the word of faith prosperity movement because it's damaging the church. We've got to pray. We've got to pray.
Speaker 2:Jesus says let's read the verse again. Watch this. He says verse 7, if you abide in me and my words abide in you. You don't hear that part too much, right? You don't hear that too much, okay. So what's he mean? Ask whatever you want and you'll have it. I'll tell you what it means. He's saying if my word abides in you and you abide in me, what are you asking for? You're asking for what Jesus wants, and this is in the context of bearing spiritual fruit. So here it is.
Speaker 2:When you get up in the morning, you say Lord, our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Here's what you're asking, lord. I want that to be real to me today. I want to bear spiritual fruit. I want to help your kingdom spread throughout the earth. So, lord, here's what I pray Would you open a door for me to share the gospel? Would you give me a seat on the city council so I can teach the truth in the midst of all these horrific lies? Lord, would you give us people in the highest places who will stand up for truth? Lord, would you give me opportunity to sacrificially love somebody today so that they might look to you? You're not praying, lord. Give me a Mercedes. You're praying, god. Help me to give as much away as I can. And then, when you pray like that, the Lord is pretty willing to answer your prayers. We've got to pray and I'm telling you, prayer will change a culture.
Speaker 2:I went to Nikki and I went to a conference about, let's say, two months ago now. It was led by Mark Batterson, who pastors a church in DC, and Mark Batterson was talking about his church and I didn't know this. It's a very successful church, but he had planted another church and it failed. It just closed and it didn't take too long for that to happen. He was discouraged and he felt the Lord, for whatever reasons, they planted a church in the DC area. So he went and he planted church number two and it was not going well for the first year. He said he had a core people, a core attendance of about 19. Actually a core group of 19. But he said a lot of Sundays there were only eight or nine show up. You know how church people are. And he said he was so discouraged. He said that he learned to close his eyes during the music because if he opened them he'd get upset seeing how few people were there. And then he said one day, one day the Lord laid on his heart to do these prayer circles and to go around Washington DC and just pray, pray for the city, pray for revival, pray for favor, pray for a building, all of these things. And so the core group of people from this church began to do this regularly. 15 years later this church became one church with seven campuses reaching over 10,000 people in DC and are making an incredible difference.
Speaker 2:And he said, mark Batterson, he said I found out real quickly what I could do on my own. But he said, with the Lord, it's amazing what can be accomplished. Okay, here's what he said, and this stuck with me. This stuck with me. He said if we will do the little things like they're big things, God will be do the little things like they're big things. God will do the big things like they're little things. Now, prayer, to be sure, is not a little thing, but we, you know, it seems like, ah, prayer is not this major, like we're not building buildings and all this stuff. So let's just, for the sake of illustration, let's just say prayer is a little thing. If we'll commit to that, and we'll commit to the word and just come into church and doing what God's asked us to do, he'll do the big things like they're little things. I just believe it. I believe it. We've got to pray.
Speaker 2:I'm going to close right here. I'm going to close right here. I'm going to leave you with three tasks, or just points of application. Let's say Number one if you're here and you're not a true believer, you're not connected to the vine. I'm not saying that you're not religious, but if you're not truly abiding in Jesus Christ, if he's not transformed your life, if you've not repented. I invite you into the kingdom today. Oh, it's so wonderful. It's not easy, but it's wonderful If you're here and you're a Christian. Two points of application for you.
Speaker 2:Number one I want to encourage you to daily, starting tomorrow morning. I want you to get up in the morning and pray the Lord's prayer and say Lord, would you open a door for me today to build for the kingdom, whatever that looks like, open my eyes to needs, give me somebody to share the gospel with and give me the boldness to do it by your spirit. And then I'm going to ask you to do one other thing. On Wednesday nights we have prayer meeting here, and the Lord laid it on my heart. You've got a little flyer in your bulletin. Lord laid it on my heart to do that very thing. Actually, he laid this on my heart months ago at this conference. But we're going to do a prayer walk on Wednesday.
Speaker 2:For those of you who don't want to go out, we'll have an elder lead some prayer here. But for the rest of us, we're going to go walk the campus at EKU. We're going to walk Main Street. We're going to pray revival over the city. We're going to do the little things like the big things and we're believing for God to do the big things like to the little things Beloved by the Spirit of God. Through Christ, we can change this culture If we just get serious.
Speaker 1:We are not of the world, but we are for the world. Let's live like it. Myrealchurchorg Real Life Community Church is located at 335 Glendon Avenue in Richmond, Kentucky. We invite you to join us for worship Sunday at 1045 am or Wednesday at 7 pm. Visit us online at myrealchurchorg.