Introduction

Welcome, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. As we gather here today, let's prepare our hearts to receive the Word of God. We are about to open the pages of the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians, specifically chapter 6. We stand on the precipice of a grand adventure, not of our own design, but one crafted by the hand of God. We are about to embark on a spiritual expedition, not into the unknown, but into the heart of our Creator, the heart of our Savior, and the heart of our shared faith.

In the words of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, "The Christian life starts with grace, it must continue with grace, it ends with grace. Grace, wondrous grace." And so, as we turn to 2 Corinthians 6, let us remember that we are not just reading words on a page. We are encountering the grace of God, a grace that is as real and as powerful today as it was when Paul first penned these words.

[Read passage]

Let us pray.

Father God, as we prepare to delve into Your Word, we ask that You would open our hearts and minds. Help us to understand Your message for us today. Give us the wisdom to apply Your Word to our lives, and the courage to live out Your truth. May Your Word be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Harvesting Together in His Field

In the passage we just read, Paul uses the metaphor of a field to describe our Christian life. This field is not just any field. It's God's field. And we are not just any workers. We are co-workers with God. We are invited to work alongside Him, to participate in His work of salvation, to share in His labor of love. This is a profound privilege and a tremendous responsibility.

When we think of a field, we might think of a place of hard work: There's plowing, planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting. It's not easy work. It's often backbreaking and sweat-inducing. But it's also rewarding. There's nothing quite like the joy of seeing the fruits of your labor, of seeing a tiny seed grow into a bountiful harvest. This is the joy that awaits us when we labor in God's field.

We are not alone in this field: We are working together with God. He is the master gardener, the one who knows the field better than anyone else. He knows where to plant, when to water, how to weed, and when to harvest. He knows the field because He created it. And He knows us because He created us. He knows our strengths, our weaknesses, our talents, and our limitations. He knows exactly where we fit in His field. And He invites us to work alongside Him, to learn from Him, to grow with Him.

This is not a solitary endeavor: We are not lone workers in God's field. We are part of a community, a team of co-workers. We are called to work together, to help each other, to support each other, to encourage each other. We are called to be united in our labor, to be one in our purpose, to be one in our love for God and for each other. This unity is not just a nice idea. It's a necessity. It's the only way we can accomplish the work that God has entrusted to us.

This unity is not always easy to achieve: It requires humility, patience, forgiveness, and love. It requires us to put aside our differences, our disagreements, our personal preferences, and our selfish ambitions. It requires us to put the needs of others before our own, to consider others better than ourselves, to serve rather than to be served. This is the kind of unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17. This is the kind of unity that Paul exhorts us to pursue in Ephesians 4. This is the kind of unity that we need in order to harvest together in God's field.

This unity is not an end in itself: It's a means to an end. It's a tool that we use to accomplish our mission, to fulfill our calling, to bring glory to God. The ultimate goal is not just to be united, but to be fruitful, to produce a bountiful harvest for the kingdom of God. This is the purpose of our labor, the reason for our toil, the reward of our effort. This is what it means to harvest together in God's field.

How do we do this?: How do we work together with God? How do we achieve unity with each other? How do we produce a bountiful harvest? The answer is found in the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 6. We do it by enduring hardships, by demonstrating purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God. We do it by using the weapons of righteousness, by facing honor and dishonor, slander and praise. We do it by being true in the midst of falsehood, by being known in the midst of obscurity, by living in the midst of death, by rejoicing in the midst of sorrow, by enriching others in the midst of poverty, by possessing everything in the midst of having nothing.

This is the way of the cross: This is the way of Jesus. This is the way of the Christian. This is the way to harvest together in God's field. It's not an easy way. It's a narrow way, a difficult way, a costly way. But it's also a rewarding way, a fulfilling way, a joyful way. It's the way of grace, the way of love, the way of life. It's the way that leads to a bountiful harvest, a harvest of righteousness, a harvest of peace, a harvest of joy, a harvest of love. It's the way that leads to the heart of God, the heart of our Savior, the heart of our shared faith.

Harnessing the Power of Unity in Christ

As we move forward, we find ourselves standing on the solid ground of unity in Christ ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO