Real Life Community Church Richmond, KY
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 Service Our Sunday Morning services include a time of dynamic, blended 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. Come casually or formally dressed… however you are most comfortable. We hope to see you soon!
Real Life Community Church Richmond, KY
Acts | Part 29 | Your Job Is Not Just a Job—It's a Divine Calling
We read the story of Lydia, a successful businesswoman in Philippi, and connect that to how our everyday work can become a powerful piece in God's kingdom purposes. Her conversion story reveals the beautiful integration of faith and vocation that should characterize every Christian's life.
• When Paul shared the gospel, "the Lord opened her heart" to receive the message
• After her conversion, Lydia didn't change careers but changed her purpose
• Her entire household was baptized
• Lydia used her home and resources to support the early church's mission
• Every job is a divine calling, not just religious vocations
• Christians should be exemplary employees, working "heartily for the Lord"
• Our workplaces are mission fields where we can demonstrate Christ's character
• Martin Luther: "The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on shoes, but by making good shoes"
• No one should ever be surprised to discover you're a Christian based on your work ethic
We want to see revival come to our city. For that to happen, we need to move outside the four walls of our church and see our workplaces as mission fields where we can glorify God even in the most mundane parts of our lives.
And we're in Acts 16 and verse 11. Acts 16, verse 11. So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace and the following day to Neapolis and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in the city some days and on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and we spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul and after she was baptized, in her household as well, she urged us saying If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay. And she prevailed upon us. It's the word of God for the people of God. Let's try that again. All right, you may be seated.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, christians sometimes compartmentalize the spiritual and what you might call the secular by seeing faith and ordinary life in kind of separate spheres. So, for instance, you know, some see what happens on Sunday at church and maybe their private devotional time with the Lord, as in a different category than the more ordinary areas of life, such as vocation, recreation, family. But do you know, the Bible does not frame our lives in that way. The Bible does not see in the life of a Christian the secular versus, you know, the spiritual. Instead, our lives are lived as an integrated whole, lived for the glory of God and under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:Well, today it's Labor Day weekend. How many have off work tomorrow? All right, good for you. I just found out yesterday my wife has to work. I'm pretty bummed about that. But today I want to point out how our work can be and should be deeply spiritual. And you know, when I had originally planned to do this special Labor Day service, I thought well, I'm going to go to Proverbs and talk about work. You know from some of those verses. But I love this.
Speaker 1:You know, we're preaching through the book of Acts, kind of section by section. And it's amazing because, by God's providence, today we come to the story about a businesswoman, an entrepreneur, named Lydia, and through her story we're going to see how every job can be used for the kingdom of God, every vocation can be used for the kingdom of God. So let me just give you some background as to where we're at in the story. So last week we saw that Paul and his new ministry team, which is Paul, timothy, silas and Luke who wrote the book of Acts they set out last week on Paul's second missionary journey. Now, remember that they set out and they had no idea where they were going. Paul thought that he was going to be ministering in Asia Minor, which is modern day Turkey. So they traveled by foot hundreds of miles and every city they would come to it says the Holy Spirit would forbid them to go into that city and do ministry. And so finally, after again traveling hundreds of miles, they come to this one city and they're sleeping. And Paul has a vision, and the team concludes from that vision that God is calling them to go across the sea into what is modern day northern Greece, to a place called in that day, macedonia. And so in today's text what we find is that Paul, silas, timothy and Luke, they arrive in Macedonia and they come to this Roman colony very influential city called Philippi. And so that's where we pick up.
Speaker 1:So look again at verse 13. And on the Sabbath day he went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who would come together. Now, if you've been with us through Acts, you know that every time Paul and his team would go into a new city, where would they start out Synagogue? But in order for there to be a synagogue in any city, there had to be a presence of 10 Jewish males, and apparently that was not the case in Philippi at this point. Not enough Jewish men to have this synagogue. But how many know? You can have church anywhere when believers come together. You know churches, you know the whole community gathering together in a church. That's preferable. But listen, you can have church anywhere when believers come together. How many know the presence of God is with them? And so this group of women. They are hungry for God and they're not going to let the lack of a physical synagogue stop them from worshiping together. And so they meet outdoors. Here we are today. They meet outdoors and they come together to pray.
Speaker 1:And so Luke tells us that this is a group of women, and then he points out particularly one woman by the name of Lydia, and then he's going to tell us Luke is about Lydia. Look at verse 14. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. So Luke tells us three things about Lydia. He tells us where she's from, this place called Thyatira. Thyatira is back across the sea and it's in Asia Minor, and Thyatira was a pretty happening place. As a matter of fact, one of the seven letters to the churches in Revelation was written to Thyatira. Well, thyatira was known for its dye gilds and particularly their purple dyed goods, and in that day I mean purple clothing. Linen was very, very expensive and so it was usually reserved the purple clothing for the wealthy and for, you know, royalty Anybody wearing purple today. No royalty here. All right, good to know. So that's where Lydia is from, this wealthy place.
Speaker 1:And Luke goes on to tell us that she is an entrepreneur, entrepreneur. All right, she's a businesswoman. And so what has happened is Lydia has gone from you know, she learned this trade in Thyatira and she opens a remote location in Philippi and she sells these purple goods. Now we know that she was a very successful businesswoman because, as we're going to find out, as we read in verse 15,. She has a home big enough to support the Apostle Paul and his whole team. Imagine like if a traveling ministry team came to real life and I asked you, could you house four, five, six people I mean, how many? Would have a pretty crowded house if that were the case. Right, I would, but she is a profitable businesswoman.
Speaker 1:Finally, luke tells us that she is a worshiper of God. Now, what does that mean? Well, this is not a Jewish woman, she is a Gentile, much like Cornelius, back a few chapters. And this is a woman who is not fully converted to Judaism, but she is hungry, hungry to know the God of Israel, the one true God. And so Paul comes to Philippi and Lydia, at this point, hears the good news of Jesus Christ that through Him, she doesn't have to go through all these rules and regulations, but through Jesus Christ, because of His death, his burial and His resurrection, that she will put her faith in him, she can know this God of Israel. What great news. Amen, that's true for anybody listening today. Listen, jesus Christ is not one of many ways to know our great God, ways to know our great God. He is the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father, but what? By him. And so Lydia, this day, normal prayer meeting, she hears the best news of her life. Well, how does she respond? She says sign me up, like she doesn't wait, she doesn't need to hear another sermon. So here's what happens.
Speaker 1:Look at verse 14, the second part. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized and her household as well, she urged us saying if you judge me to be faithful to the Lord, lord, come to my house and stay. And she prevailed upon us. Isn't that great that god opened her heart. Do you know? The bible says that none can come to the father unless he draws them? If you are here and you are a christian, can I suggest to you that you did not find God. God found you. Okay, god has never been lost, he doesn't need finding. We seek Him. Yes, lydia seeks Him, but she could not find God in and of her own self or her own morality or what have you. But this day God saw her seeking heart and he found her and he opened up her heart to see the beauty and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's something we're celebrating. And so we know she responds in faith because the text says she gets baptized Immediately. She doesn't wait, she doesn't wait, she doesn't go through some catechesis, she gets baptized immediately. She wants to identify with Christ in that way.
Speaker 1:Now, here's the main point I want to make today, as it concerns our work especially. Think about this. I want us to contemplate this what changes in Lydia's life after she saved, like? What's the difference in her life before coming to Christ and after coming to Christ? What changes in her life? And here's my answer. You ready Shake your head if you're listening to me.
Speaker 1:What changes in Lydia's life after becoming a Christian? Nothing and everything. Nothing changes. Yet everything changes.
Speaker 1:Well, pastor, what do you mean? Nothing changes on one hand. In other words, think about this Lydia doesn't sell her large house. Lydia doesn't change professions. Lydia doesn't, you know, leave the people she hangs out with so much, for Lydia stays the same.
Speaker 1:You know that was not true for the apostle Paul. Remember Paul when he was on the road of Damascus, like he meets Jesus right, and in that moment everything changes New vocation, he becomes an apostle, new friends, new friends, new community, new mission. Everything changes for Paul. And you know there are some people whom the Lord calls to change everything. If you're called, you know you become a Christian and you're called to vocational ministry, be it pastoring or, you know, to be a full-time missionary somewhere. It's like everything changes for you, everything but the normal Christian.
Speaker 1:When you become saved in some ways, practically speaking, nothing changes for you. It's like if you get saved today, if you're not a Christian and I hope you do get saved today Tomorrow or, let's say, tuesday, you go back to work. Today, you both go back to the same home. So on one hand, with Lydia, nothing changes, but on the other listen, everything changes. Let me tell you what I mean.
Speaker 1:Lydia's ordinary life is reshaped, completely reshaped by the gospel, which means now she is infused with new purpose, extraordinary purpose, if you will. Her life is no longer just about making a living and kind of getting through life. Her life now is wholly and fully about the kingdom of God and bringing glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. So if you're saved, you know, not a lot has to change practically speaking, but in another sense, everything changes, whereas your life now, if you are in Christ, your life is not about you, it is about the Lord Jesus Christ, and it'll be the best life. I'm not saying everything's perfect in your life. We still go through trials and troubles and tribulations, but how many know there's nothing like living for Jesus, amen. So Lydia's life, on one hand, changes. On the other, everything changes, and we know. Everything changes spiritually, because what happens immediately her life becomes about getting the gospel out to others. Lydia's life has been transformed and now she wants to to see others lives transformed as well. And if you're a true christian, you ought to want to see others' lives transformed as well. And if you're a true Christian, you ought to want to see your family's household transformed, the people at your work. You ought to want to see their lives transformed.
Speaker 1:Notice what happens in the text. Immediately, it's not just Lydia that's baptized, but it is her entire household. Now we don't know that she was married. She could have been married and had children. She could have where she was wealthy, had servants, it doesn't matter. The point is this Lydia went home, changed in her home, then became a missionary field, and so her whole entire household was saved and baptized. Isn't that amazing? I would argue that her mission, endeavor to lead others to Christ, extended beyond her home because the church in Philippi, we know, becomes a very prominent church. The book of Philippians, whole book of the Bible, is written to this church in Philippi. Isn't that great news? Well, how did that happen? Well, we believe that the church continued for some time meeting in Lydia's home, which suggests to me I think we can presume that when Lydia went to work she didn't compartmentalize her life. She kept living for Jesus and talking about Jesus. When she went to the supermarket, she began to still talk about Jesus and live for Jesus.
Speaker 1:Can I suggest to you today that your place of employment, that your home, that the supermarket, these are mission fields. You don't treat these more mundane areas in life as normal anymore. You may not be called to go to Uganda or Hong Kong or Turkey, but I can tell you this you and I, we be called to go to Uganda or Hong Kong or Turkey, but I can tell you this you and I, we are called to share the gospel within our spheres of influence. If you're a stay at home mom, god bless you. You have the most difficult job on the planet. Your home is a mission field. Your main job is to lead your children, mom and dad, both in the admonition of the Lord. If you are a college student or a high school student or a middle school student or an elementary student and you know Jesus Christ, that school is a mission field. And if you are out in corporate America or you work in McDonald's or you work in the grocery store, it doesn't matter, those people the Lord cares about in that place of employment is a mission field. Do you agree with me? We need to start seeing our jobs as mission fields.
Speaker 1:Pastor Hunter, here he works a full-time job and he sees his work as a mission field. And it's interesting several years ago Hunter started ministering to one man and started a one-on-one Bible study. Do you know at its peak, that still continues today. Do you know? At its peak he had over 30 people showing up for a Bible study and a secular job. And do you know? At least three people, three men, came through that study to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, have given their lives fully to him, have been baptized and have been plugged in home churches around the state of Kentucky. Isn't that great? And you think, well, hunter's a pastor. You don't have to be a pastor. You can be a Lydia and make a gospel, eternal difference in your community, in your home and in your place of employment. In your home and in your place of employment Isn't that wonderful to think about. Your job is the mission field. So that, in one sense, is how Lydia's life changes. But there's another way in which her life changes and that is this.
Speaker 1:Lydia, as we said, is likely pretty wealthy and she doesn't give up her money. She doesn't say, well, I'm a Christian, I can't have this money anymore, and just say you know what? I'm not going to get paid anymore, or I just want to move to poverty level. She doesn't say that, but here's what she does. She uses her resources that the Lord has blessed her with for the good of the kingdom. She uses her resources for the good of the kingdom. Think about this. She opens her home. She's a busy lady. She opens her home to this missionary team, which would have meant in that day she would be responsible for feeding them and providing for them. This was a great inconvenience. I mean, how many of you, the day you got saved, would look at the preacher Maybe he's a traveling preacher and he says, hey, come to my house, stay as long as you need and bring your whole team. But she doesn't think twice about it because automatically the Spirit does something in her life and she realizes all that I have belongs to God and I want to use it for His glory.
Speaker 1:We know too that she gave generously, monetarily. And we know this because you know that Paul, two times in the book of 2 Corinthians alone mentions how generous the Macedonian church is. So I believe that generosity started with Lydia and then it transferred to many other people within her community. And you know we can use our resources for eternal good. I mean we waste money, our resources for eternal good. I mean we waste money on such frivolous things. But you know, when you give to ministry, when you give to missions, when you give to the poor in the name of Christ, your money has eternal value. You may not make a big paycheck, but you might have a home where you can host a small group or hold a neighborhood Bible study or just a get together where you can show people the love of Jesus.
Speaker 1:I have great friends who used to go to this church until they moved. They have two children and they're pretty well off. You would never know, they don't flaunt it, but they had a really when they lived here. They had a very large house with two kids and you might look at their home and say, well, why do they need this big home? Let me tell you why they purchased a home that size Because they wanted to host their neighbors, they wanted to host small groups and they were always showing hospitality to anyone who would come to their home and they made an internal impact on many people's lives.
Speaker 1:Business people, let me say this to you Don't ever feel guilty for your business being successful. I want your business if you're in our church and you own a business, I want you to be extremely successful. I want your cup, as it were, to be running over with blessings. There's no problem. It's not money itself that is the root of all evil, it's the love of it. So the question is if God blesses your business, what are you going to do with that money? Are you going to share it with your employees? Are you going to give to ministry and missions? Are you going to use it so that our missionaries can reach the 3.5 billion people in the world who have virtually no access to the gospel? You see, on one hand, nothing changes. Her paycheck stays the same, but on the other hand, lydia's life changes dramatically Because now she says my resources, god, are your resources. Here are the implications. As I close, number one I want you to know this. For each of you, your job is a calling. Okay, shake your head if you're listening, because I want you to get this. Your job is a calling. Do you know that? I believe Lydia and her vocation was just as important to this kingdom mission as Paul and Silas' part in it, because without Lydia there would not have been a church in Philippi. Without her funding, paul and Silas and Timothy and Luke could not have gone on Martin Luther the great reformer and Timothy and Luke could not have gone on.
Speaker 1:Martin Luther the great reformer you know when he grew up in the Catholic church and you know he was a monk. He became a monk and he was taught by the Catholic church that you know that the office of priest or bishop or a nun or a monk, like those, were spiritual, divine vocations and callings. But what he was taught, erroneously taught, was that every other vocation was kind of subpar to that role of priest or monk or whatever, that those were just jobs in not calling. Until luther got a hold of some text in the new testament, and particularly when he began to study, like in first peter, about the, uh, the priesthood of all believers. He realized this and hit him one night. He said listen, every single vocation in the life of a believer is a calling from god and can be used for his glory. Let me just quote him. He says this the maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays, not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps, but because God loves clean floors. Can I get an amen to that? The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship. Do you know?
Speaker 1:Every job, as mundane as it may be, is necessary for human flourishing and God cares about that. All people are created with dignity and the image of God and, whether you are, you might be serving food, or you might be cleaning floors, or you might be making shoes, or you might be an executive, or you might be in customer service, you might be in construction. Whatever you might be in customer service, you might be in construction. Whatever you do, do it well and I want you to know it is a calling in your life. It's not just a job, christian, don't think your job is just a job. It is important and it is an opportunity and it is a calling. I know we have some college students who work at McDonald's and, though I'm not advocating eating at McDonald's, I would say this your job is important. You have a ministry there. Whatever you do, it is a calling which says this we ought to be the best employees out there. Can I get an amen? Christians, you ought to be a star employee in your company. Why? Let me read you from Colossians 3, 23 and 24. Company why Let me read you from Colossians 3, 23 and 24.
Speaker 1:Whatever you do, work heartily for the Lord. Did you get that? So you don't show up to work with a bad attitude, lazy, uninterested in your work. Whatever you do, work heartily for the lord, not for men, knowing that from the lord you will receive an inheritance as your reward. You are serving the lord jesus christ.
Speaker 1:I don't know what you think about your boss. This is being live streamed, so don't tell me. Fair enough enough. Here's the thing. Do you know who your ultimate boss is? If you're a Christian, it's the Lord Jesus Christ. So before you go into work and you complain and you grumble and you have a bad attitude and you just kind of halfway do your job. Just remember you're going to answer to your boss, which is not who you think it is, it is ultimately the Lord, jesus Christ. What a witness that is when we give ourselves like that, in the name of Jesus, to our companies. That means that we should show up on time. We do more than is expected. We don't complain or gossip. We're loyal.
Speaker 1:If you're an employee, that means you honor your superiors. If you are an employer, you honor your employees, pay them well, take care of them, be patient with them. Your job is a calling. So here it is when you come to Christ. In one sense, for most of you, nothing changes, but in another way, everything changes, and I hope you'll think about your job this week. From the stay-at-home mother to the social worker, from the construction worker to the CEO, your job is a calling and it is an opportunity and it is a mission field. Final thing I'll leave you with you know, have you ever worked with somebody for a really long time and one day they mentioned something about church or the Lord, and you go, or praying or something? You go. I didn't know you were a Christian. Wow, can I suggest to you that no one should ever be surprised at your job when they discover you're a Christian. If they're shocked, you're not doing something right. So let's go out.
Speaker 1:This week we want to see revival come to our city Amen. For that to happen, we're going to have to move outside of the four walls of our church. We're going to have to see Walmart, kroger, meyers and your places of employment as mission fields. And so let's treat our vocations and your places of employment as mission fields. And so let's treat our vocations and everywhere we go as that very thing, as mission fields, and let's seek to glorify God in even the most mundane and ordinary parts of our lives.
Speaker 1:Can we do that? Let's pray God. We thank you for the gift of life, lord. We thank you for spiritual life, for opening our hearts to the beauty and the power of the gospel. We thank you for saving us. Lord Jesus, father, today, here's what we would ask God we ask that, if there's one here watching online that doesn't know you as Lord and Savior, that you would do to them what you did to Lydia and what You've done for us, that you would open their hearts that they may see the beauty of Christ and may they, like Lydia, repent and be baptized for the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:Father, today we ask, as we go, prepare to go back out into the workforce, that we would see our jobs as callings for the one who is discouraged because maybe they don't make a lot of money or maybe they see their job as unimportant. May they know today, may they be encouraged, that their job is a calling. And people are watching, and people in the world are hungry. They don't know what they're hungry for, but they have this God shaped chasm in their hearts. We are the ones to tell them how those chasms can be healed and satisfied Only through the Lord, jesus Christ. Let us be a blessing to our employers and our employees. In Jesus' good name, amen.