“Beyond the Material”

John 6:60-65

Hello friend and welcome to Hope for Today. My name is J. Mark Horst; I’m your friend
and Bible teacher. The program you’re listening to is produced by Heralds of Hope, an
international Gospel media ministry. Each week the Bible teaching broadcasts of Heralds of Hope
circle the globe in English and 21 other major languages.

If you’re tuning in to Hope for Today for the very first time, we welcome you. And if
you’ve been a regular listener for a long time, we’re glad you’re here too. If you’ve been blessed
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On each program we take a portion of God’s Word and explain what it means and how it
applies to our lives. If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, then, much of what we say will not make
sense to you. But you can understand if you will open your heart to Jesus, because He is the Way,
the Truth, and the Life. He has promised to reveal Himself to those who seek Him sincerely.

Now, if you’ve been tuning in regularly to Hope for Today, you know that we’re studying
from John’s Gospel. Our Bible teacher for this series is the late Dr. J. Otis Yoder, founder, and
president. Here he is with today’s teaching, “Beyond the Material,” from John 6:60 to 65.

In this life we are quite limited by location and the hard facts of life. I don’t really know
where you are, but wherever you are you are limited by your location. Being physical we deal with
the material of life. We are up against the hard facts of living from day to day. But our minds can
take us beyond the material.

The Lord has made it possible for me to travel in some 29 countries of the world.
Experiences of travel come before my mind right now from different places where I have been.
But in my mind, I am able to go BEYOND THE MATERIAL world. By our thoughts we can
transport ourselves far beyond our material surroundings. Jesus taught us some great truth on this
fact. I want to share it with you from

John 6:60-65.
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying;
who can hear it?
61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth
this offend you?
62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
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.
64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who
they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were
given unto him of my Father.

In this discourse Jesus brings together certain FACTS that prove we can live. He had been
instructing His followers of the necessity to eat and drink of Him if they would live. Let us consider
those facts together.

The first fact is

A Sensible Barrier.

These people who murmured at Him and said, "This is a hard saying," were
depending completely and entirely upon their five senses: touch, taste, sight, hearing and
smelling. They do form our material boundaries. We are aware of the things around us by
our five senses. This is a sensible barrier. The people said, "We do not understand what
He is saying." It was a hard saying; it was a hard statement; and it was hard for them to
break out of their five senses. To do so required more than touch, taste, sight, hearing
and smelling.

What does it require? My friend, it requires faith; it requires belief, which is an
experience beyond the five senses, beyond the material. Many a person has come up
against this barrier and stopped there. They have said, "I can't understand this," and turned
away. Now, my friend, you need not turn away because this is a sensible barrier, but it is
not an impossible one because by faith you can overcome and pass that barrier.

A second fact which Jesus brings together here is

A Spiritual Body.

Physical food is for the physical body; we all know that. Physical food for the physical
body is necessary; we know that, too. And yet Jesus said, "The flesh profits nothing.” In other
words, there comes an end to the physical body; death comes. We are certain by the word of Jesus
that He will raise that body again in the last day. At the same time there is an end to physical
existence, to our mortality. That is why: Jesus said, "The flesh profits nothing."

There is also spiritual food for the spiritual body. Did you notice in the text that Jesus said,
"It is the spirit that makes alive… The words that I speak to you are spirit and life"? That means
there is a spiritual body. Not only are we physical, my friend, but we are also spiritual. That is an
important truth for you and me to catch hold of. It is a fact that Jesus sets forth here when He said,
"The words that I speak to you are spirit and life." That means that there is another existence; there
is something beyond the material.

We have spiritual bodies. Do you know you have a spiritual body? How are you going to
feed that spiritual body? You know how to feed the physical body but how about the spiritual
body? It must be fed, too. But you can't feed that with physical food; it must be fed with spiritual
food. For the material is not all that basic. We need food for the body to be sure, the physical body,
but by the same fact we need food for the spiritual body. Jesus said the words that He has spoken
are that food. That means there is a spiritual body.

A third fact that Jesus brings together here is

A Supernatural Bridge.

Now, my friend, this is very, very crucial. Right here we must pay very close attention
because the crucial point is belief. Jesus said, "I know there are some of you who do not believe."
Oh, what a world is shut out of life by unbelief! What a whole new world is opened by belief! He
said, "I know some of you do not believe." Because they did not believe they shut out for
themselves a great world. They did not cross over that supernatural bridge that has been already
built. When Jesus further explained that the crucial way is by the Father, there an be no doubt
about that, He said, “Therefore I said to you that no one can come to me unless it was given to him
by my Father.” The very important bridge has been built. That’s exactly what a friend said to me
one time. He said, “The bridge has been built; it is Jesus Christ.”

Now don’t try to find another bridge or another way because there is no other. A
supernatural bridge has been built and you cross over it by faith. It is beyond the material. You too
must accept the supernatural bridge which has been built then you can go beyond the material.
We are made for this, we fit into it, once we have accepted the facts that Jesus brings together here.
The facts prove to us we are made for life beyond the material because our senses cannot overcome
the barrier. It is there, believe me. But there is also a spiritual body and a supernatural bridge by
which we can go beyond the material.

My friend, do you understand that there’s more to our lives than physical existence? If we
live 60, 70, or 80 years, that’s just a short time in comparison to eternity.

The apostle Paul wrote in First Corinthians 15:50; “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.” So, you see,
there must be spiritual existence in order to inherit or receive the kingdom of God. And that
spiritual existence is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. He gave His life on the cross so that
you and I could have this spiritual existence, eternal life.

My friend, I hope this teaching has blessed you. If you have questions, write to us here at
Hope for Today. We will take your questions to God’s Word and find answers for you.

The quickest way for you to contact me is to send an e-mail to hope@heraldsofhope.org.
That e-mail address is hope@heraldsofhope.org. Or you may write to Hope for Today, Box 3,
Breezewood, Pennsylvania 15533. Remember, you can request a printed manuscript or an audio
CD of this teaching, “Beyond the Material.” I’d be happy to send one to you.

And friend, if you do not have a Bible, and you cannot afford to buy one, please let us
know. We will gladly send a copy to you without charge. This offer is only for those who DO
NOT have a copy of God’s Word and cannot afford to purchase one. If you meet those
qualifications, you may request a copy of the Scriptures from us without cost.

Once again, the quickest way for you to contact me is to send an e-mail to
hope@heraldsofhope.org. Or you may write to Hope for Today, Box 3, Breezewood, Pennsylvania 15333. Remember; you can request a free copy of this teaching, “Beyond the Material.” It’s available in print or on an audio CD. Or ask for your free copy of the Bible if you do not have a
copy and can’t afford to purchase one.
Now, I urge you to tune in next week as Dr. Yoder continues our study from John’s Gospel
with an important message titled “The Final Choice.” You won’t want to miss it. And until then,
I urge you to keep looking for that blessed HOPE.