Text: 2 Corinthians 6: 3

This is an open letter to the church members at Corinth. Paul is calling them,
and by extension, us to an open life, to an open heart and he gives an open
invitation. An open life, if you're a professing Christian, this is what you are to
have, an open life, an open heart, and there is an open invitation given to you
and also to be given by you.

An Open life

Paul says in 6:3, we put no obstacles in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be
found with our ministry (ESV). In his epistles, he frequently tells us about his
life, what he is thinking and why he is doing what he is doing. He is willing to
be read by all men as if he was an open book, to be examined by
the facts.

You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. — 2 Cor 3:2-3

In his ministry, he consciously avoids all causes of offense that might
reflect badly on Gospel work. In 6:4, he says he uses every effort to commend
himself as a servant of God rather than a self-seeker. Paul talks about the
specifics of his ministry, how he dealt with obstacles or in-coming ‘fire’ hurled
at him. How he handles gospel work and his motivation and attitudes that
sustain him. And he gives his readers the method by which they can judge his
track record and testimony.

An Open heart

An application here is that those who are sent to preach and teach must open
their own hearts themselves toward those that they seek to lead to Christ. They
must be willing to make time for fellowship with others. Paul pleads for all our
hearts to be open to what God will teach to each other and most importantly
to the Lord Himself. I've opened my heart, you are not restricted by me, but
you are restricted by yourself. You have put obstacles upon your own growth.

An Open invitation

In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also. — 2 Corinthians 6:13

Paul says I have been open with you in life and heart. Now I exhort you to be
open to me and to each other. In your life and heart, it's your turn now. It's
your opportunity to respond. It's your opportunity to change your direction,
maybe just with respect to one particular person or member, or maybe just
with respect to one particular teaching in the Scripture where you've been
resisting for too long. He's saying, I invite you, and I invite you to open your
life, open your heart to Him and to His saints. You owe it to the Lord Jesus
Christ, to your relationship with Him and to this church. And this is the way of
blessing for all of us.

Closing

Have you opened your heart to Jesus? Believers, we can all open our hearts
more to Jesus and more to each other. Many professing Christians think they
believe in Christ yet they've never repented of anything. But what if you are
familiar with Jesus but you don't have a personal relationship with Him? The
first and urgent thing is to open your heart to Him and come to Him today.

Speaker: Bro. Andrew Gan