Breathe On Us

Breathe On Us

Reading- John 20:19-23 Text- John 20:22

Breathe- (Ruah) Air in motion/ as a rush of air. To blow or breath on/ Wind/ Seems to mean the gentle, refreshing evening breeze so well known in the near East; “ And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the Garden in the cool {literally “Breeze”} of the day

1- A Communication of the Holy Spirit to them, though not full endowment.

2- A foretaste of the great Pentecost - “The presence of the Lord among them was a slight and temporary fulfillment of his promised returning to them. The imparting of the Spirit now was just a foretaste of that which they should receive at Pentecost.” Adam Clarke

3- Cometh from Jesus- “Christ breathed into his apostles the Holy Spirit. Thereby showing that the Holy Spirit proceedeth , as from the Father, so also from Him; as the breath of man procedeth from him.” Matthew Pool

4- Ultimately breath signifies activity and life- God breathed life into;

A- Adam (Gen 2:7 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. {5301})

B- The Old dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-101 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. 4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. {7307})

C- The Disciples- Here to Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4 1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance {4157})

5- “Oh Lord Revive Thy work” Hab. 3:2 / Breathe on Us

“We too often flog the Church, when the whip should be laid on our own shoulders… our own want of revival is in some measure the cause of that want in the church at large.” Charles Spurgeon (Sermons Vol 3 Sermon V P 74-75)

6- “Friend how doth thy soul prosper” A salutation in Spurgeon’s day

Examine ourselves; HOW IS THE - 1. Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 3-11) 2. Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23)

3. The Additions (2Peter 1:5-7)

4. Charity (1 Cor. 13:4-8)