Sunday Setup – 2 Corinthians 6:3-18

[Music] [Music] [Music] Hey, Cross Church. Welcome to the Sunday setup. This is our weekly time where we gather together digitally across our platforms on Instagram and Facebook and YouTube. And if you're maybe you're listening to this on a podcast, but we gather together digitally to read the passage we're going to preach through this Sunday and pray over it as we prepare our hearts for God's word inside our church for us to go out and then to practice it during the week. But today we're going to look at 2 Corinthians chapter 6. Uh we're going to pick up in verse three. We're going read 3-18. So if you have a Bible or if you just would like to listen and follow along, here's what we read from the words of the Apostle Paul. 2 Corinthians chapter 6 starting in verse 3. He says, "We are not giving anyone an occasion for offense so that the ministry will not be blamed. Instead, as God's ministers, we commend ourselves in everything. by great endurance, by afflictions, by hardships, by difficulties, by beatings, by imprisonments, by riots, by labors, by sleepless nights, by times of hunger, by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, through weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, through glory and dishonor, through slander and good report, Regarded as deceivers yet true, as unknown yet recognized, as dying yet see. We live as being disciplined yet not killed. As grieving yet always rejoicing, as poor yet enriching, many as having nothing yet possessing everything. We have spoken openly to you, Corinthians. Our heart has been open wide. We are what? not withholding our affection for you, but you are withholding yours from us. I speak as to my children. As a rep proper response, open your heart to us. Do not be yolked together with those who do not believe. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What agreement does Christ have with balile? Or what does an un a believer have in common with an unbeliever? And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, "I will dwell and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." Therefore, come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch any unclean thing and I will welcome you and I will be a father to you and you will be my sons and my daughters to me says the Lord Almighty. This passage powerfully captures some of what Paul and those he was with as he is starting churches, the brutality and the hardships that they experienced. And there's so much to go through here, but I I want to call our attention uh into as he's going through all these things that are hard. In verse 10, in all this hardship, when he even talks about grieving, he says they're always rejoicing. And here's our first prayer prompt. As Paul reminds us that uh life can be hard sometimes our ministry when we are making Jesus known, it is hard, yet we always rejoice. And here here's our first prayer prompt is God we rejoice in you despite. God we rejoice in you despite. Pray that prayer to our God as we talk about how we rejoice in him despite the trials and the troubles that happen in our lives. [Laughter] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Laughter] [Music] God, we rejoice in you despite the hardships that happen in our life. God, we rejoice in you despite the conflict that we get as a result of sharing your gospel, of sharing your truth. God, we rejoice in you despite the obstacles that might be put in our path. God, we rejoice in you knowing that you are good no matter what our culture pushes back. But God, we don't just rejoice in you because you are good, but God, you also call us to action. And as we continue on in this passage in the second half, Paul talks about how even though we endure trials, we rejoice, but we also are called to be separate. We are called to be different. We're called to be holy as we've talked about being rooted in holiness in this series. And in the second half, he talks about us being sons and daughters. And I love in verse 18 that we are sons and daughters to the Almighty. That we are separated from the world around us. And here's our prayer prompt is God let us be your sons and daughters too. God let us be your sons and daughters. And being our sons and daughters of God means that we are trying to live by his word. It means we are representing Christ. It means we are making Jesus known. God let us be your sons and daughters too. To your neighbors, to your workplace, to your family. Pray that prayer to God as God let us be your sons and daughters too. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] God, let us be the sons and daughters to the hurting world around us. Uh a first to our families, that we represent you the right way, that we model for you, that we be forgiving, God, that we restore relationships. God, let us be sons and daughters to our workplaces, that we represent you the right way, that we stand out from people among us. And God, let us be to our neighbors and and to the hurting around us and even to the prideful, even to our enemies. God, just let us be your sons and daughters that are separated from the rest of the world. And people want to know what is the hope that we have. God, I thank you for this time, Lord. I thank you that you are good and I thank you that you are the power for us to endure, to push forward, but to make you known. And God, I just thank you for all that you do. And we lift this up in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you guys for joining us today. We'll see you Sunday.