John 6:63 - The Power of Gods Word.
John 6:63 (NIV) The Spirit gives life; the
flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken
to you are spirit and they are life.
John 6:63 (NLT) The Spirit alone gives
eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And
the very words I have spoken to you are spirit
and life.
John 6:63 (TLB) Only the Holy Spirit gives
eternal life. Those born only once, with physical
birth, will never receive this gift. But now I have
told you how to get this true spiritual life.
INTRODUCTION
The Holy Spirit gives spiritual life;
without the work of the Holy Spirit we cannot even
see our need for new life (14:17). All spiritual
renewal begins and ends with God. He reveals truth
to us, lives within us, and then enables us to
respond to that truth. [Life Application SB]
POWERFUL TESTIMONY PEARL
The Birth of a Bookworm
By Seongyosa [missionary to Bolivia]
Bookworm [n]: a person unusually devoted
to reading and study: a person who prefers
reading to just about any other activity.
I never liked reading when I was young.
In fact, I was the worst reader in first grade.
So worst that my homeroom teacher then, gave a
dismaying prophecy that I would never learn to read
well and pass my English subjects with flying
colors.
Raised in an environment of grown-ups
with considerable generation gap, I ended up
reading newspapers and Readers Digest. Other than
my textbooks in schools, I never had books
suitable for my age and comprehension level.
To prepare me for school, my eldest
brother asked me to read my textbooks in advance.
Persuading me that it would be of great benefit to know
the lessons ahead of time before the subject is
discussed in the class. My brother has influenced me
greatly in this area of my academic literacy. He
would tell me to read the book from cover to
cover. Never start reading in the middle of the
book and to read only with eyes and mouth closed
(no finger-tracing every word.)
Sure enough, my reading comprehension
increased about a hair-width. Thats progress for
me!
Later in college, I saved my school
allowance to buy myself a book. I met a special person
who gave me lots and I mean lots of books. I
would say that that was the start of my love
affair with books. From that moment on, a desire to
acquire and read more books aflamed in my heart. My
dream of having my own personal library came true
just before my college graduation.
When I finally got a job, I would allot a
budget intended only for buying books. Little by
little the bookshelf is getting filled. Most of my
books were given to me as gifts, thats why I
treasure them so much. I told my family that if ever
our house would catch on fire, I would save my
books first before anything else. :-)
My poor ability to evaluate a book if
its good or not limits and hinders me when Im
buying or simply choosing from a library. Unless
someone more qualified recommends a good book to me.
Sometimes I would read reviews about certain books
before buying them but most of the times I would
just ask my bookworm friends for recommendations
and we would exchange books.
My brother introduced me to Max
Lucados book He Still Moves Stones. I liked
it. Later on, I bought several more of Max
Lucados books and added them to my personal library.
Although I love to read, I dont read
just any books. I prefer to read books that would
strengthen my mind and character and that would help
make me a better person. Ive put aside novels
or fictions for the peril it may cause me. As
the saying goes, Garbage in, garbage out.
This statement from my favorite author changed
the way I choose books to read:
"The readers of fiction are indulging an
evil that destroys spirituality, eclipsing the
beauty of the sacred page. It creates an unhealthy
excitement, fevers the imagination, unfits the mind for
usefulness, weans the soul from prayer, and disqualifies
it for any spiritual exercise." MYP272
Books have changed my life forever. It
helped me a lot during the times when I have no one
to answer my questions about life, depressed or
simply when I was bored or have no one to talk to.
It feels good to have something to say in group
discussions or in any conversation because youre not
totally clueless about what theyre talking about.
Of all the books that Ive read
nothing, NOTHING can compare to the BIBLE! Its not
only a spiritual guide, but it sharpens the
simple mind. Why and how? Because Gods word is
spirit and life!
the words that I speak unto you,
they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63
KJ
https://seongyosa.wordpress.com/2020/10/15/the-birth-of-a-bookworm/
COMMENTARY
The life of Christ, that gives life to
the world, is in His word. It was by His word
that Jesus healed disease and cast out demons; by
His word He stilled the sea, and raised the
dead; and the people bore witness that His word
was with power. He spoke the word of God, as He
had spoken through all the prophets and teachers
of the Old Testament. The whole Bible is a
manifestation of Christ, and the Saviour desired to fix
the faith of His followers on the word. When his
visible presence should be withdrawn, the word must
be their source of power. Like their Master,
they were to live "by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God." [Mat. 4:4.]
As our physical life is sustained by
food, so our spiritual life is sustained by the
word of God. And every soul is to receive life
from God's word for himself. As we must eat for
ourselves in order to receive nourishment, so we must
receive the word for ourselves. We are not to obtain
it merely through the medium of another's mind.
We should carefully study the Bible, asking God
for the aid of the Holy Spirit, that we may
understand His word. We should take one verse, and
concentrate the mind on the task of ascertaining the
thought which God has put in that verse for us. We
should dwell upon the thought until it becomes our
own, and we know "what saith the Lord." ....
By looking constantly to Jesus with the
eye of faith, we shall be strengthened. God will
make the most precious revelations to His
hungering, thirsting people. They will find that Christ
is a personal Saviour. As they feed upon His
word, they find that it is spirit and life. The
word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and
imparts a new life in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit
comes to the soul as a Comforter. By the
transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is
reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature.
Love takes the place of hatred, and the heart
receives the divine similitude. This is what it means
to live "by every word that proceedeth out of
the mouth of God." This is eating the Bread that
comes down from heaven. DA390-1
The creative energy that called the worlds
into existence is in the word of God. This word
imparts power; it begets life. Every command is a
promise; accepted by the will, received into the
soul, it brings with it the life of the Infinite
One. It transforms the nature and re-creates the
soul in the image of God. ED126
ILLUSTRATIONS
Look Up!
The film Les Miserables contains a
compelling scene where a prison guard says to Prisoner
24601, "Your time is up, and your parole's begun.
Do you know what that means?" The prisoner
responds, "Yes, it means I'm free." But the prison
guard harshly replies, "No! It means you get your
yellow ticket of leave. You are a thief. Look down,
you will always be a slave. Look down, you are
standing on your grave.
As I watched this scene unfold, I could
not help but think about what my life was like
when Christ came into it. I was a slave to my
junk and looking down in shame. He gave me more
than a "ticket of leave." He gave me a new
identify and an eternity of true freedom. Sometimes
the enemy will come to me and try to make me
believe that I'm still that old person, but I know
better.
What a gift we have been given! The past
is forgiven, our old identity erased. We are
free to be who God created us to be, servants of
the Most High God. No longer are we the subjects
of shame and abuse. No longer are we sitting in
the darkness shackled by our past hurts,
hang-ups, and habits. We are free! God has changed my
name from Worrywart, Shamed One, Addict,
Disappointment, Failure, and Lost Soul to Beloved Son,
Redeemed Soul, and Blessing. We no longer have reason
to look down. Instead, we look up into our
Savior's face.
Thank you, Father, for setting me free. I
will look down no more. In Jesus' name, Amen.
[Celebrate Recovery Daily Devotional by John & Johnny
Baker]
Rip in My Sails
Call me silly but one of my favorite
movies is Tommy Boy. Of course there are many funny
scenes, but one stands out for me. Tommy is sitting
in his sailboat going nowhere because there's
no wind. Then he says, "Hey, Dad, I sure could
use some help down here. Could you give me a
little wind to get my boat moving?' And of course
the wind picks up, and his sailboat begins to
move with the breeze.
In the past, I often made that same
request: "Hey, God, how about a little help down
here. I can't seem to get moving." But unlike
Tommy in the movie, nothing changed for me. I was
still dead in the water. I finally realized why!
My sails were ripped. Nothing happened until I
was willing to acknowledge the condition of my
sails and surrender myself to God. Once I did
that, the Lord restored and rebuilt my sails, and
the Holy Spirit (God's holy wind) was able to
get my boat moving again.
Sure, new rips happen from time to time.
But I now have a daily maintenance plan to
repairing those rips and keeping my sails functioning
properly. I do this because I want the full blessing
of the Holy Spirit in my life.
Father, as I come to you each day, show
me the rips in my sails and give me the
foresight to keep my sails maintained by daily
confessing my sin and forgiving those who hurt me. In
Jesus' name, Amen. [Celebrate Recovery Daily
Devotional by John & Johnny Baker]
CLOSING THOUGHT
The Power of Gods Word
Frequently the question is asked: Why do
God's children often fail to realize the great
value and absolute necessity of loving each other?
One answer is unbelief. Without faith there can
be no thought of the power of love within us.
True faith acknowledges God's loving care for us
and His power to work wonders in our hearts.
It is necessary to be deeply convinced of
our total inability to produce this love on our
own. We must have a burning desire to receive
this heavenly love into our hearts - a love that
is holy and can conquer sin and unbelief. When
we gain an insight into what God's Word is - a
living power in our hearts - we will be filled with
the love of God by the Holy Spirit, living and
working within us.
Are we ready to acknowledge our deep
sinfulness and yield our hearts unreservedly for this
love to take possession of us? Are we ready to
take time in God's presence in the confidence
that His Word will work in us as a seed of new
life? If so, then we will love Jesus and each
other with a love like God's love for us. [Andrew
Murray 365-Day Devotional Bible by Barbour]
ONE LINERS
Received into the heart, the leaven of truth
will regulate the desires, purify the thoughts,
and sweeten the disposition. It quickens the
faculties of the mind and the energies of the soul. It
enlarges the capacity for feeling, for loving.
COL99-102
The Bible is the seed of the new birth (1
Pet. 1:23), and the food of the new life, (1 Pet.
2:1-2). (Matthew Henry Commentary)
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
John 6:63 - The Power of God's Word.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2015/20150512-1729.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Parable of the Sower - Open Heart Surgery by
Ralph Ringer: https://vimeo.com/666314378
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Study
Guides:
https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/study/discover
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug
Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE
