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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