How’s Your Breath?
Genesis 2: 4 – 7; John 20: 19 – 23; Psalm 150: 6
Introduction
When we were living in
That was my first time to be involved in a Revival with such a big name evangelist. Of course, I had virtually no contact with Jay Strack. I worked with his representatives. But throughout the process of planning that Revival, I was impressed by the way they did things. They did everything right.
They had everything you would ever have to worry about listed in one handy-dandy checklist. All I had to do is follow the list and get each item accomplished by the suggested date.
There were two things in particular that impressed me. First, I was impressed by the way they handled their money. Since evangelists have such a bad reputation for the ways they handle money, they took extra precautions to guarantee that nothing unethical would happen.
Second, I was impressed by their attention to details. A perfect example was the material they sent me about what to do when somebody made a decision in the Revival. They sent me a training manual and asked me to lead sessions with every person who wanted to be a counselor, so they would know what they were doing.
That counseling manual taught us that every counselor should follow the three B’s of counseling. First, everyone needs to wear a Badge—that makes you look official and shows the person making a decision that we have put a lot of thought and preparation into this counseling. Second, everyone needs to bring his or her own Bible—that makes you look prepared and shows that everything we say in counseling will come from God’s Word. Third, everyone needs a Breath Mint!
When you are sitting knee to knee with a person who is ready to make a Profession of Faith, the last thing you want is for your halitosis to stand in the way of God’s Holy Spirit.
Did you know that breath is an important concept in Scripture? I am not talking about Bad Breath. I am talking about normal, everyday, ordinary breath. We read about breath throughout the Bible, in the Old Testament, New Testament and even in the Psalms.
I am not going to attempt to read every Bible verse about Breath, because it would take too long. But I do want you to read three Scriptures with me… Genesis 2: 4 – 7…John 20: 19 – 23…Psalm 150: 6…
Genesis 2: 4 – 7
5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground,
6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground--
7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
(NIV)
Breath as Life.
In the beginning, God created everything in the heavens above, the earth below and the things beneath the earth. Genesis is very clear to us that it was not difficult for God to create. All God had to do was to Speak…And at the sound of God’s voice, everything that was made came into existence. God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. God said, “Let there be waters to separate the dry land.” And there was water.
But then we come to the Sixth day of creation. And things were different on the Sixth day. This was the final day of creation. This was the day that every other day was building toward. This was the day when God’s final creation and ultimate purpose was revealed. This was the day when God created the very first man and woman.
I want you to notice that when God created Adam and Eve, God did not simply speak and human beings were created. No! God was much more personally involved in creating Adam and Eve.
When God created things and stuff, God spoke… “Let there be light.” But when God created people, God touched and fashioned and sculpted and built. In fact, the Sixth Day was the first day of creation, the first day of all history when God got his hands dirty.
This leads me to ask a question…What will you get your hands dirty for? There are a lot of people who get their hands dirty as part of their daily work. But for most of them, their work is something they love. This is one of the interesting things about becoming a parent. Girls who would never get dirty suddenly become mothers who have to touch some of the most disgusting things they ever imagined. Why? It is because they love that little baby.
And God loved us so much that he could not remain distant and far away. He could not simply summon human life into being. No! God stooped to the earth and got his hands dirty to make a man and a woman.
Yet even after God had invested himself so heavily to lovingly fashion Adam from the dust of the ground, Adam was not a living being until God did one more thing. We read in Genesis 2: 7 that Adam was not alive until God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life. This is the very breath of God.
Again, this is different from what happened on the Fifth Day. On the Fifth Day, God said, “Let there be dog.” And there was dog. “Let there be hippopotamus.” And there was hippopotamus. “Let there be porcupine.” And there was porcupine.
In the animal kingdom, life comes as a direct result of the spoken word and spoken will of God. God willed it, and animals had life. In the human world, life comes as a direct result of the breath of God.
Human life comes from the breath of God. Human life is different. Human life is sacred and should be treated differently than animal life. God breathed life into all human beings, and it is never our place to take away that God-given life.
Breath is an important concept in the Old Testament, because the Hebrew mind associated Breath with Life. Life is found in the Breath…And both Breath and Life come from God.
We also read about Breath in the New Testament. In fact, there is a strange story about Breath found in the story of the Resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus appeared to the disciples for the very first time, guess what he did…Jesus Breathed on them.
John 20: 19 – 23
20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
(NIV)
Breath as Spirit
At first glance, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense that Jesus would breathe on his disciples. But it all makes sense if we would just understand the significance of the words that Jesus spoke after he breathed on them. We read in verse 22 that after Jesus breathed on the disciples he said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
There is an interesting thing that happens in both Greek and Hebrew. Greek is the language of the New Testament, and Hebrew is the language of the Old Testament. In both of these biblical languages, the word for Breath is the same as the word for Spirit.
In Hebrew, it is the word ruach. In Genesis 1: 2, we read that the ruach of God (Spirit of God) was hovering over the face of the waters. Then, in Genesis 2: 7, we read that God breathed the ruach of life (Breath of Life) into Adam’s nostrils.
In Greek, it is the word pneuma. We can see some parallels in English. For example the English word “pneumatic,” which is an adjective describing tools or tires that are operated by air, and the English word “pneumonia,” which is an infection in the lungs. We read the words of Jesus in John 3, the pneuma (wind / breath) blows wherever it wills and so it is with the pneuma (Spirit) of God.
I believe there is a connection between the two biblical stories we have just read this morning. First, we read the story of the Sixth Day of creation, when God breathed life into Adam’s nostrils for the very first time. Then, we read the story of Jesus who rose from the dead on the third day and when he saw his disciples for the very first time, he immediately breathed the Holy Spirit into their lives.
I believe the connection is very simple. When Jesus rose from the grave on the very first Easter, God gave us a brand new life! Through faith in the Risen Lord Jesus, we can be re-created into a new creation with a new life.
Just as human life began when God breathed into Adam, Christian life begins for you and me when the Risen Lord Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit into us.
Christian life is not like ordinary human life. Christian life is the only life worth living. It is Abundant Life, that through the presence of Jesus in our lives we can handle the stress, the pain, the struggles and the hard times of life. It is Eternal Life, that through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord we have the promise of life that goes beyond the grave—Eternal Life with Christ in heaven.
When you and I accept Jesus as our Savior and place our faith in Jesus to be the Lord of our lives, we are supposed to live a different kind of life. What is this life supposed to look like?
Psalm 150: 6…Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Conclusion: Breath as Praise
Remember, Breath is a very important concept in the Bible.
To have Breath is to have Life. This means very simply…If you have Breath, then you are alive. And if you are alive, then it is your purpose in life to Praise the LORD. Human beings were created to Praise the LORD.
To have the Holy Spirit is to have the Breath of God. And if God gave us Breath, then we should give our Breath to God in Praise.
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