The Breath of God

John 20:21-22 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace is unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so, send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

God chose to make Man in His image, and to follow this molding of self-imagery, He released breath into humanity. Molding made the Man. Breath gave him life. For only following Heaven’s exhale could Man inhale for the first time. It is fundamental then to not overlook an essential reality: the first man could not receive breath until God released it. The human race found life through the provision of God’s Spirit.

Thousands of years after this installation of mankind on earth, the Heavenly Father wrapped His Son, Jesus Christ, in the flesh of man and sent him to live among the human race. Amazingly, Jesus was rejected, reviled, and ultimately slaughtered by the original creation, Man. But after being placed in a tomb, dead in body, Jesus was resurrected by God’s Spirit; The Holy Spirit. And, post-resurrection, Jesus once again departed Earth for Heaven.

Interestingly, in the storyline of Jesus’ departure, we see an exciting event. Following Resurrection from death, Jesus called His disciples near -- and mimicking his Father’s encounter with a formed, but lifeless Adam -- God’s Son breathed on His closest followers.

In humanity’s original development, God made Man in his image to work the earth’s soil and care for it. Likewise, Jesus crafted disciples into his image to work the earth’s population and care for it. But, just like the temporal aspect of the first man, the spiritual side of the disciples could not live until they had also received the breath of God. It is then in the full context of Scriptures that we learn God’s breath, through Jesus, is released to each of us through the empowerment of God’s word and infilling of the Holy Spirit.

It is essential to consider this reality: if you are trying to live life or do ministry without God’s breath – the Spirit of God – then you will perpetually feel like a fish out of water. But, you do not have to live life from a state of spiritual suffocation. Surrender every aspect of your human existence to God and receive into your life the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead! Invite Heaven to exhale so that you might inhale: power, love, and a sound mind! Your ministry’s resuscitation is one prayerful act of surrender away.

Noah: Surviving the Storm

Rich Holmes spoke at our church last Sunday and delivered an incredible message. Sections of his outstanding message’s content were from a book he wrote on the subject of Noah. As a result of having Rich with us, and because our church has been utilizing some of his content creation for our most recent series, this week I thought it would be appropriate to share an excerpt from his book as an encouragement to you,

“God wants to set you free from what you believe you are not. Some things that have defined you and limited you, God is saying it is time to move beyond and rise above them and let this be your uprising moment. The future is NOW; God is calling you to build. Do not allow any limitations to hold you back anymore. Realize God has chosen you. If God is for you, what storm can come against you?”

With Easter arriving and Pastor Rich’s encouragement in mind, we can celebrate that nothing can define or limit us outside of God’s will. Jesus’ victory over the enemy and His Resurrection out of a borrowed tomb was the most significant UPRISING of all time. Now, as followers of Jesus, even death, hell, and the grave has no hold on us!

This week is going to be a great week of celebration for Christians all across the world. Don’t miss this season of victory to move beyond the enemy’s restraints in your life and, empowered by the Holy Spirit, experience your UPRISING!

RISE above the enemy’s limitations and definitions of you. Gripping the promise, “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” For, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead now dwells in you!

Onward and upward!

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If you would like to get your copy of Ps Rich’s book, you can do so here.

Keep Building

Noah’s call to build the ark was no small assignment. The ark measured 510 feet long, the same as one and a half football fields. The roof was more than 50 feet from the ground; tall enough to house three inner decks. The storage capacity was the same as 450 standard semi-trailers. In all of history, few wooden ships have ever come close to the size of Noah’s Ark. As a result of this massive construction project, many believe it took Noah about 75 years to complete his work!

The construction of the ark was not a quick job. It was a challenge-filled PROCESS!

Noah didn’t walk away from his prayer time with God, and suddenly the ark appeared. As much as God wanted an ark built, he didn’t give Noah a ready-built boat. God didn’t send angels to build the boat for Noah. Noah had to build it himself. It was seventy-five years of BLOOD, SWEAT, and TEARS.

If you have ever tried to build something -- a successful business, athletic prowess, a long-lasting marriage -- then you know that it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process that requires blood, sweat, and tears. The same is true of the call of God. If God is calling you to build something, you have to understand that he’s not going to snap His fingers and make it happen for you. It is going to take BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS.

The process of building the ark did not deter Noah. He heard God’s call and did not deviate from it. But how was Noah able to endure through all of the blood-spilled, sweat-filled, and tearful days?

Check out this message from week 3 of our new series, Noah: Surviving the Storm, as Pastor Eric, in conjunction with his friend Rich Holmes’ study on the subject, reveals five things that we must do to endure like Noah did and see the completion of what God is calling us to build.

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family…” (Hebrews 11:7 NIV)

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES | TRANSCRIPT

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My friend Rich Holmes wrote a great book on the subject of Noah, and his content inspired several of my thoughts on this subject. Get Rich's book here.