Scripture: John 6:63-64
(6:63) “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing, The words that I speak unto you , they are spirit , and they are life.”
(6:64) “ But there are some of you that believe not.”
The words I speak to you they are spirit… And they are life…
They are spirit… And they are life…
Lets say that together… Because I want to get this scripture into your spirit because we are going to go somewhere today…
Let say it together 1… 2… 3…
(CONGREGATION) THE WORDS JESUS SPEAKS TO ME THEY ARE SPIRIT AND THEY ARE LIFE…
That’s what I want to talk about today… Life… Living…. If you want to place a title on this sermon you can just call it… “LIFE” …
I just want to talk about life and what God says when it comes to life…
And the reality of this issue or topic today is that there are many of us that need to deal directly with issues surrounding our life…
We are seeking answers to questions regarding our life…
We are dissatisfied and sometime disappointed with aspects of our life…
And we keep wondering when things are going to change for the better…
As we dig into scripture this morning you will notice that just a few scriptures earlier Jesus preaching to the people and as he express to them that He is the living Bread that has come down from heaven…
That whoever shall eat of this bread shall not die…
That if anyone eats of THIS bread, he will live forever…
He said that the bread that I shall give is my flesh and I will give it for the Life of the world…
The scripture that we just read together almost begins what constitutes the reaction of the people and his disciples to this message from a man who looked like them but spoke with the authority of God…
The reaction was wide… Some stayed and trusted… Some left… Some stayed and had unbelief in there hearts and had the same reaction as the Old Testament Jews … They murmured and gossiped…
Jesus had to say to them in verse 63 “the words that I speak unto you they are spirit… and they are life….
And as we do so often the people took what was being said to them and what was being provided to them for granted…
And southern mission I have been blessed… I’ve have been blessed to travel often and I know people all over this country… And the more people I meet and know the more I realize that we as a people really do take life for granted…
We take life for granted and we often do more of what that last group did rather than take the offer that is being presented to us…
He said that the words I speak are spirit and they are life…
PT I. “CAN’T GET RIGHT”
You know, A while back there was a movie that came out a few years back and it was called of all things LIFE…
Some of you may have seen it… It was a comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence….
And this movie LIFE was about two guys who lived a life of short cuts (you know) hustlers … And these two guys were unjustifiably sent to prison for life…
In fact they were sent to prison for a crime they never committed…
They were sent away for years and years for being in the wrong place at the wrong time…
And in this movie, they’re was a character who I want to focus on for a moment…
And in this movie call Life the characters name was “Can’t Get Right”…
That’s right… His name was “Can’t Get Right”….
Now can’t get right was a young brother who was also imprisoned with the main characters….
And they called him can’t get right because to the rest of the prisoners he just “Can’t get right”…
To them he couldn’t talk right….
Can’t get right, Couldn’t think right….
And to them, “Can’t get right” didn’t act right….
Now at first glance, when you looked at can’t get right all of these things would appear true…
When you spoke to him he wasn’t saying anything particularly wise… In fact he may not say anything to you at all…
If you asked him to fix something or do something he probably could get what you need done right
If you asked him to solve a complicated problem he would probably just stare to you …
And after you walked away from this brother you would probably walk away saying to yourself that brother “Can’t get Right”…
He just can’t get right…
But let me tell you something about “ Can’t get right” that maybe you didn’t know…
See in this movie they had a baseball team for the prisoners… And this baseball team couldn’t win a ballgame if there life depended on it…
In fact they were miserable…
So after all else had failed they called ole “can’t get right” and said listen we’ve tried everything else… So why don’t you try…
You know, almost as a joke…
So long-story –short “Can’t get right got up to that plate… The pitcher got in position… You know got into his stance…
Pitched the fastest ball he could right down the middle of the plate…
Do you know that “Can’t get right saw that ball and knocked it right out of the park…
And they pitched it again… And he hit it out again…
And they pitched it again and again and again … And each time they pitched it Ole can’t get right hit that ball right out of the park… And yes they were astounded….
Know why am I telling you this…
You see the reason I’m telling you this is because ole “can’t get right” …
You know that child that nobody thought acted right…
That nobody thought could do anything right…
That nobody thought was going to be somebody had a gift …
And you know, that by finding the gift in him…
By finding out that hit could place the bat on the ball…
By finding out that he had a special talent that was buried inside of himself…
“Can’t get right was released from prison and was able to begin a new life…
And You see we have some have some self-inflicted “can’t get rights” in the church…
Oh yeah, we have some self imposed “can’t get rights”…
But some of us will look at ourselves and just say “ I can’t get right”…
I can’t get right…
I can’t think right…
I can’t act right…
I can’t get right
My finances…. I can’t get right…
My employment situation… I can’t get right…
My vices and addictions… Can’t get right…
My boyfriend… Can’t get right…
My bills … Can’t get right….
My health… Can’t get right
My relationship with God…. Can’t get right…
My relationship with people… Can’t get right…
They told you that you were too young..
Too old, too experienced… not experienced enough… Too tall, too short, too this… Too that…
Yeah they told you all that stuff… Made you feel like you were crazy… Made you feel inadequate… Made you feel like less than the next person…
But they didn’t know you had Jesus…
They didn’t know you had a sip of the living water….
They didn’t know you had a taste of the bread of life…
Because Jesus told you (John 6:63) that the words that I speak… They are spirit and they are life…
Jesus told you John 1:4) that In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
Jesus told you that if you would lose your life for my sake… I would bless you with Gifts…
That I would bless you with my mercy…
That I would open the doors for you…
That I would give you life …
Life more abundantly….
Life that bears fruit…
Life that will reveal the gifts in you…
Life that will reward you one hundred fold…
Life that will flow rivers of living water…
I now him as The Bread of Life…
He’ll give you Life that knocks down the devil…
Life that tramples every obstacle…
Life that destroys every bondage….
Life that prevails over your enemies….
Life that makes you an overcomer…
Life that helps you speak to that mountain and it be moved…
Life that will make you more than a conqueror in Jesus mighty name …
Somebody give the Lord some praise in this house this morning…
PT II. ROLL AWAY THE STONES
Life… Life…. Somebody say it with me…. Life…
I want you to speak that out loud this morning because many of us want a lot of things… We want to do a lot of things… We want to see a lot of things….
But in order to do the things we just talked about you must have one critical ingredient to get from one place to another…
You must have life…
And the reason we don’t always see what God see’s for us is that we are missing that critical ingredient in our day-to-day existence…
Someone once said “ Life just gives me time and space; it’s up to me to fill it.”
Come with me to The 11th Chapter of John right around the 39th verse and you will see another example of what I’m talking about here…
Jesus said that the words I speak to you they are spirit… And they are life…
What is the opposite of life? That’s right Death… Life less ness…
Verse 39,
(11:39) “Jesus said, take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh; for he hath been dead four days.”
(11:40) “Jesus saith unto her, said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
(11:41) “Then they took away the stone from the place the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard from me.”
(11:42) “And I knew that thou hearest me always; but because of the people which stand by I SAID IT, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.”
(11:43) “And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice,
LAZ-A-RUS, come forth.”
(11:44) “ And the bible says that “he that was dead came forth…. And Jesus said, Loose Him, and let him go.”
Now there are so many principles that I can share with you in just these 5 verses of scripture…
But for the sake of time I just want you to focus on what Jesus is saying to you in regards to changing from a situation that is dead and bringing life to it…
You see, when you are without life… Your body will respond in a very specific way…
When you are without life… You are not moving because physically your body has stopped functioning…
You are not thinking because mentally your mind has become motionless… It no longer sends messages to the other parts of your body to make you do the things that create life…
And lastly, when you are without life … you are cold and stiff…
In other words, when you are life less … your heart … your body… and your spirit becomes frigid and is motionless…
Jesus says that when He gives you life he takes a dead, motionless on moving body and transforms it into a vibrant, motion filled vessel that is alive and directed…
And see, although we may not be physically dead… Some of us are dealing with emotional deaths, and psychological deaths and most importantly spiritual deaths in our lives and we are trying to figure out a way to get right…
Well let me give you something to work with here… Because When Jesus said, the words I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life… He meant it…
Now I won’t keep you long but I want you to focus on what Jesus says… Just look at the red letters in your bible in verse 39
First of all he says…
Take away the Stones…
If you are going to take yourself out of a dead situation we are going to have to take away the stones…
You are going to have remove some things that are keeping you from where God wants you to be…
You are going to have to get out of the cave that you have placed yourself in and roll away that stone of depression…
Roll away that stone of disappointment….
Roll away that Stone of procrastination…
Roll away that stone of shame and guilt….
Roll away that stone of unbelief…
Push back that stone of hurt and pain…
Roll away those friends that keep bring you to the wrong places…
Roll away those negative people in your life…
Roll away those gossipers …
Roll away those liars…
Roll away those jealous ones…
Know that he can be your rock and your refuge….
Your alpha and your omega…
Your high Tower….
Your present help in time of trouble…
Your resurrection power….
Your restoration power…
Your light in a world of darkness…
Your strength in time of weakness….
When you speak those words of truth…
When you speak those words of power…
When you speak those words of authority…
You can tell the devil get behind thee Satan…
Get back you ole devil…
No weapon form against me shall prosper
My enemies came against me they stumbled and fell…
I take it back in Jesus name… In Jesus name… In Jesus name…
And nothing shall separate you from the love of God… Somebody give him some praise…
PT. III. BELIEVE AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE…
It’s all about Jesus…. Tell somebody It’s all about Jesus…
Listen, “Life does not consist of what a person possesses, but in what possesses him.”
What is in us that is driving you to the next place in your life… In your work for God… In your ability to evangelize and bring people to know God…
In your personal situation and it’s solution.
Ok, I just have one more point I want to touch on and then we can make our way home this afternoon…
Lets go back to John 6:63 for a moment…
(6:63) “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
(6:64) “ But there are some of you that believe not.”
You see, When God told us that the words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life…
In the 11th Chapter we just left the Lord told the people “if you would believe, you would see the glory of God”
You know sometimes it may not seem like something is about to happen…
Just like Lazarus… It may seem like that body has been lying in that cave four days…
Nothing could save you now but a miracle of God…
But God tells what we have to do in these cases at all costs…
And he tells us in verse 64 why sometimes we can’t seem to get that breakthrough that we desire so often…
Jesus simply to us says to us: Children… Just Believe.
Baby, if you would just believe…
Son, if you would just believe…
If you would just believe that he is able…
If you just believe that He is a provider…
If you just believe that He is a healer…
If you would just believe that He can break the chains that are holding you back…
That he can open the doors…
That He can bring life and life more abundantly…
That he can save you from that situation that looks so bleak right now…
Believe that he can raise you…
Believe that He can protect you…
Believe that He can erect you…
Believe that He will make a way…
Believe that He bring the light of day…
Believe that He will work a miracle…
Believe that He will make the crooked road straight…
Believe that you can just lean on Him…
Just lean on Him
If the doctor can’t help you… Just lean on him…
If you family doesn’t understand… Just lean on him…
If your personal life weren’t what you would like it to be… Just lean on him…
If your finances are funny… Just lean on him….
Just lean on the master….
Just lean on the king….
LEAN ON HIM…
LEAN ON HIM…
LEAN ON HIM…
LEAN ON HIM WHEN YOU JUST TIRED…
LEAN ON HIM WHEN YOU COME UP SHORT…
LEAN ON HIM IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR…
LEAN ON HIM WHEN THE PAIN COMES BACK…
LEAN ON HIM WHEN THE PROBLEMS ARISE…
WHEN YOU’RE REJECTED…
WHEN YOU’RE PERSECUTED…
WHEN YOU’RE DENIED…
LEAN ON HIM YOUR SAVIOR
Just lean on HIM THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE AND LIVING GOD…
Just lean on God…
And all things… Somebody say All things… ALL THINGS…
(Romans 8:28) Shall come together for the Good of them who love God and who are called according to their purpose.
All things will come together…
All things will come together…
All things will come together…
God says to you that… The Words I speak unto you, they are spirit … And they are life…
(John 10:10) “That you have life more abundantly when you seek me…”
(Matt 10:39) “That He that loses his life for my sake will find it…”
(Matt 10:42) “That whosoever drink of this cup shall in no wise lose his reward…”
(Matt 10:41) “That he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive an righteous man’s reward.”
You can get right!
You can have life and not death…
You can possess the things that are rightfully yours…
You can roll away the stones
You can change your situation today….
If you just believe in his words…
Now I want you to think about this before you leave today and as the Pastor comes forward…
This is possibly a difficult question to answer but I want you to contemplate this tonight...
The so question is...
Is your life a dying life or a living death?
A dying life or a living death…
In other words, what are you going to do differently today…?
What is going to change since your tired of the same old games and arguments?
What is going to make you take the step forward toward greatness, power and authority over all things in your life?
I came here today to ask you to trust in God…
When Jesus when to Lazarus…
He commanded that the stone be rolled away…
He told the people you must believe in me and believe on Him that sent me…
He prayed to the Father and thanked Him…
And he spoke just three words…
The bible said He cried out with a loud voice… LAZARUS … COME FORTH…
And a child of God that was dead… Was made alive…
Today is your day… Now is the time for salvation saith the Lord…
Its your day to have life...
May God bless you forever and Ever Southern Mission
Reverend Rob Parker
Southern Mission Church
bparker@courier-journal.com
