John 6:63- It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, the are spirit, and they are life.
Introduction. We place so much emphasis today on what to trust. We often ask ourselves what is the most risk free entity we can invest our trust in today. That’s a very good question. As I was driving home from work Friday and was listening to the radio, the radio news came on and the correspondent stated that the stock market had fallen over 200 points in that one day. Reports come in frequently about rising oil costs and gas is being predicted at 4 dollars a gallon by spring. We see each day the increasing deterioration of our tangible world, and perhaps this is a point of grief and depression for the world at large, but for the Christian, it should not be so. Our Lord Jesus Christ, has given us great hope, for which we have great grounds of rejoicing. This is hope we can trust in.
I. We have hope because we have life. Jesus said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth.” That means “gives life.” Before we received that spiritual life, we just merely exist physically. For 26 years I merely existed in this world. But in July of 2001 I was made alive by the Spirit of God. I was gloriously saved wholly by divine grace. And so it is with each of us. Before we become saved by the divine grace of God we breath, our God given blood flows through these veins, we think, we move, we feel, we interact, but if we could peel away the corrupt layer we call the flesh and view what’s on the inside, we’d see a hollow inanimate being, completely and totally void of true spiritual life. This is where we were before the Lord saved us. I found a statistic last night while researching for this message on life expectancy. I discovered that the average life expectancy of men is 72 years, and the average life expectancy of women is 78.8 years. With this stat in consideration, I’ve nearly lived half my life. So we can see, these bodies will not last. One day these bodies will die, and return to dust. Sunday night while visiting Bro. Marion Davis, who is great preacher of the gospel, he began to speak of his final preparations concerning his funeral. He is making plans on leaving this world soon. He said, “these are not things that we like to talk about, but we must talk about them anyway.” He’s 79 years old. He’s already outlived his life expectancy by over 7 years. He knows his time is drawing to a close. The life of these bodies may come to an end, but the life that the spirit gives is eternal. 1 John 5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” Believing on the Son of God stirs an unshakeable hope. He is the source of eternal life.
II. We have hope not in the flesh. Jesus said here, “the flesh profiteth nothing.” The flesh is that which is directly opposed to the spirit. It is the symbol of everything that is external. It is opposed to the will of God. The flesh lusts after the world, while the spirit craves the things of God. Jesus is saying here, “as far as eternity is concerned, your flesh is useless.” Isn’t it ironic that we spend so much time nourishing our flesh, feeding our flesh, and polishing our flesh. And all so often, like selfish parents neglect a child, we neglect the very nourishing of our eternal souls. Our souls need to be fed, beloved. This feeding comes from the bread of life. Jesus Christ said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven.” We need more of Him in our daily lives. We need that nourishment for our valuable souls. The external things of the flesh serve only one purpose and that is to take our focus and attention off of the Son of God. So easily we get wrapped up in who’s fat and who’s thin, who’s beautiful and who’s not so beautiful. I say let us focus our eyes on Jesus and hone in on his loveliness, and when we begin to do this he will establish a heavenly line of nourishment from the master’s table in heaven straight to the heart of our souls and we’ll begin to let the world go by and fill ourselves with the presence of his glory. Is our hope in this flesh? NO! Paul said in Romans 7:18, “For I know that in me (that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing.” Our hope is not in the flesh.
III. We have hope in the words of Jesus Christ. "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Jesus speaking here mentions his word as being spirit. The words of Jesus Christ are like a current of air, as a breath from a mighty God with mountain moving power. So are the words of Jesus Christ. It is by the very words of Jesus Christ that we live. When tempted of the devil in the wilderness for 40 days he told Satan, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word the proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” It was by our sins and the trespasses we’d committed against God’s law that brought us into our lifeless existence in which we drifted aimlessly wheresoever Satan manipulated. Satan led us, like a man blindfolded and pulled about by a string, the devil was the puppet master of our souls, but thank God one glorious day, something sharper than a two-edged sword swung down and cut the rope of disillusionment and exacted away the blinding covering from our eyes, and like Bartimeaus said in the Bible, you can call him a sinner, you can say whatever you will, but there is one thing that I know that can never be denied in my heart, and that is that fact that I once was blind, but now I see. His words are spirit, his words are life, his words are as cold water to a thirsty soul, they can help you in times of need, they can deliver you in times of peril, they can soothe you in times of distress, they are the words of Jesus, and no greater counsel will one ever receive in this world.
Conclusion. If you want to know where life begins, it begins at Calvary. It begins at the cross. It begins where a loving Savior was lifted up above the earth, on two old cross beams and pierced through with three old rusty nails. It was no ordinary sacrifice. IT was the greatest sacrifice. The Son of God who was the word made flesh made it possible for your soul to live in the eternal bliss, peace, joy, and comfort of heaven. Oh, I can see the blood, trickling down his brow. I can see the tears fall from his cheek. I can see the great love in his eyes. Love for you. Love for me. Through pain, agony, and torment he held faithful to the end. If you’ve trust to invest, look no further. You can trust Jesus Christ.
