Catch Your Breath

I'm going to invite you, if you can, I have a

word from the Lord to share with you today. We're

going to read two verses. First, in the book

of Genesis, chapter 2 and verse 7. Genesis chapter

Genesis 2 · chapter mention Genesis 2 · chapter mention

2 and verse 7. Man, I am so excited for what

God is doing. Praise the Lord. My Lord. God's

not done. Amen. I said God's not done. Genesis

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2. In verse 7, just one verse, and the

Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground

and breathed. Somebody say breathed. And breathed

into his nostrils the breath of life, and man

became a living being. God formed man and then

he breathed into him. Now let us fast forward

to the book of John chapter 20 and verse 21.

John 20 · chapter mention

John chapter 20 and verse 21 reads as follows.

John 20 · chapter mention

Then said Jesus to them again, peace be unto

you. As my Father hath sent me, even so I send

you. When he had said this, he breathed on them

and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.

Somebody say amen today. I'm going to preach

today with God's help. Catch your breath. Catch

your breath. Father, let's pray. Father, we love

you. Thank you, Lord, for your spirit that we

feel so powerfully in this place. But we know

we did not come just for an experience only,

but also to be fed your word that we might grow

and be edified and we might receive every spiritual

blessing that is for us. I pray God anoint every

ear to hear and receive anoint my lips of clay,

God, and put your word in my mouth. so that you

will be glorified and that you god would confirm

this word as you already have in this service

with accompanying signs feel somebody today lord

if not already with the precious gift of the

holy ghost lord we declare this in jesus name

somebody say amen amen amen you may be seated

in the presence of god someone say catch your

breath After a baby is born, there is a tense

moment of silence in the delivering room. Although

the baby has officially entered the world, he

or she cannot continue to live until they take

their first breath and let out that powerful

cry. And that cry is a bold announcement to the

world, a declaration that says, I'm alive. And

I've heard that cry twice in my life when I witnessed

the birth of my two children, and I can tell

you it is a cry, it's a sound that you never

forget. It's the sound of life. And in those

precious moments, those seconds feel like eternity

when you're waiting to hear that sound of life,

that breath enter into that child's body. But

once it does, everyone is at calm. The whole

delivery room, and of course, mom and dad feel

at ease that their child is going to live. Why?

Because they have caught their breath. There

is something powerful about breath. Studies show

that taking deep breaths can lower anxiety, reduce

stress, calm your heart rate. Taking deep breaths,

just methodical deep breaths can help Settle

your nerves. Maybe you've done that before during

a time of stress or fear or anxiousness. When

we're exhausted, when we're tired, we have to

catch our breath, right? And in order to find

rest, you need to take a moment, just catch your

breath. And we say that, right, when after a

long day or a time of work and you're just tired,

you're fatigued. Somebody might tell you, hey,

just catch your breath. Take a load off. Kick

up your feet. You know, just rejuvenate, recharge.

Get your breath back in your system. And these

are all very common moments in our life, but

there are some other more extreme examples where

breath means the difference between life and

death. When someone stops breathing because of

a... Medical emergency. A responder can perform

mouth -to -mouth resuscitation. And by sealing

their mouth over another's, I mean, I think that

would be the only occasion I'd want anybody to

do that. Can I get an amen out there? I mean,

if my life is on the line, brother, you can kiss

me if you're going to save me. If not... Stay

away. Amen. And that's just a holy kiss, I guess,

right? Like they did in the Bible. But they will

put their lips on the troubled patient and breathe

life back into them. And that lifeless body,

when it receives that breath, can be revived.

These are all instances in life which show us

the power of breath. Well, something very similar

happened in Genesis 2. God formed man, Scripture

says, from the dust of the ground, formed him

like clay out of the earth, and then breathed

life into him. But that breath wasn't just oxygen,

air, but it was the spirit of God. It was the

essence of God because God is living. And he

breathed his essence, a measure of himself, into

that earthen clay figure known as Adam and...

What we witness is divine resuscitation. Centuries

later in John 20, Jesus stood before his disciples

and essentially repeated the same process as

he did in Genesis 2. Scripture says he breathed

on them and said, receive ye. the Holy Ghost.

So we see a pattern of God breathing on his people.

And if you fast forward from that day in John

20 to Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

it happened again. But this time, it was through

a rushing, mighty wind that... swept and blew

through the upper room where the 120 disciples

were gathered in one accord, praying, tearing,

and waiting from the promise of the Father to

come. And as they were there in form, together,

in body, they were waiting to receive that life

-giving spirit that showed up on that day. And

when it did, It was like nothing they had ever

encountered before, even the time when Jesus

had breathed on them. This was more than just

a breath. This was a wind. It was God breathing

again upon his church. So from Genesis to John.

to the birthday of the church, what we see is

the willingness, the divine plan of God to breathe

his spirit, his essence, his air, that heavenly

air into a lifeless being, into his church, into

people. And this is what God... not only did

them, but it's what he continues to want to do

in our midst today. Somebody say amen. The Bible

uses two powerful words for the Spirit of God.

In the Old Testament, it's the Hebrew word ruach,

meaning breath, wind, or spirit. This is the

word often used. to describe the spirit of God

in motion in the Old Testament. This is the rock.

This is the spirit. This is the breath of God.

It is the same spirit that we read in Genesis

one hovering over the face of the deep of the

waters. It's the same spirit that came upon the

rock that came upon the prophets of old, who,

as the spirit of the Lord came upon them, would

do mighty acts. and mighty exploits in God's

name. It's the same spirit that quickened the

valley of dry bones and Ezekiel's vision that

caused this, these skeletons to come together

and to be a great army. It's that Ruach, it's

that breath of God that we see bringing dry or

dead things to life. That is the Old Testament

or the Hebrew word for the spirit of God. It's

a powerful word. When you think about it, in

the New Testament, we're giving a very familiar

term as well, like ruach. It is the Greek word

pneuma. Pneuma also means breath or wind. This

word is also used to describe the Spirit of God

in motion, to describe the Holy Spirit, pneuma.

Pneuma, what it's telling us, it's describing

something that is invisible. yet felt just like

the wind. The wind is blowing outside. You can't

see it with your natural eye, but you can see

the trees blowing and the leaves of racing across

the streets. That is a sign that the wind is

blowing. That is what like what Numa is, the

breath or the spirit of God. It's in the invisible,

unstoppable power of God in motion. It cannot

be seen, but it can be felt. This is what I want

to center and establish in our minds today when

we think about the spirit of God, the spirit

of the Lord or the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit

is the breath. It is the Ruach. It was Ruach

that filled Adam and caused him to become just

a form into a functioning man. It is the pneuma

that filled the upper room and that filled this

church with his spirit with the evidence of speaking

in other tongues. It is the breath of God. And

my good news to report to you today is that God

is still breathing. Somebody give the Lord some

praise here today. I said, God is still breathing.

He's still breathing on this earth. And we are

living in such a time today, church, as the prophet

Joel spoke of, that in the last days, God would

pour out his spirit. He would, in essence, breathe.

He would ruach, he would pneuma upon all flesh.

And it is my desire, it is God's desire, that

every person be filled with the ruach, with the

breath of Almighty God. How many of you are thankful

that God filled you with that ruach, with that

pneuma, with the breath of life? Come on, hallelujah.

I thank God today. That I have his spirit. Let

me preach to you three simple truths about the

breath of God, about the essence of God, about

the wind of God. First thing I want to preach

to you today is that God formed you to fill you.

Hallelujah. God formed you. I said he formed

you to fill you. When we look at Adam in Genesis

chapter two, Adam was but a form. He had form.

He had structure, but he did not have. a feeling.

He had form, but he had no feeling. He had structure,

but he had no spirit. He had a body, but he had

no breath. Let me put it to you this way. He

was complete on the outside. He had everything

right. composed and to the right specifications

on the outside, but he was lifeless. He was empty

on the inside. He had a form about him that looked

real. He had a form about him that looked everything

like what a human being ought to look like. He

had a form about him that looked genuine, that

did not look artificial, but that looked creative.

It looked like it was born of an intelligent

design. He had fingers, you know. He had lips

and he had a face and he had eyes and he even

had a mouth and he had legs and he had toes and

he had all. all the makeup and all the functionality

needed to live and to exist. But the one thing

he did not have was the essence of God to make

him a living, breathing human being. It wasn't

until Ruach, the breath of God, entered him that

he came to life. It wasn't until he received

the essence of God did that person go from being

just a dormant mechanical person to being a living

organism. Hallelujah. Hear me today. That formation

without spirit is dead. Let me say that again.

Formation without spirit is dead. You can have

form, but if you don't have his spirit, then

you're not really living. You can have form and

not be living if you're not filled with his spirit.

You can have form, You can have structure. You

can have the appearance of life. You can have

the appearance of vitality. But if you don't

have the Spirit of God living on the inside of

you and governing your life and controlling your

life and moving freely in your life, then you

run the risk of simply being an empty shell of

ultimately what you can be. Can I preach like

I want? If you don't have the Holy Spirit, God

wants to fill you today. And he wants you to

be so convinced of it that you speak with a new

tongue and you speak with other tongues. Oh,

thank you, Lord, for the evidence that we have

of a new tongue. Hallelujah. Oh, how many of

you are thankful for being able to speak with

a heavenly tongue? Hallelujah. Come on, why don't

you give God some praise today? You can have

a form and yet not be living. And if you want

to receive God's spirit today, God wants to dwell

in you. What could be better than to have the

living God, the almighty God, the creator of

heaven and earth and all the universe dwelling

and living in your heart? Hallelujah. What could

be better? And so there is no... You don't know

love like you could know love until his presence

fills you. You don't know joy like you can feel

joy when once his spirit fills you. The love

of God shed abroad in our heart through the Holy

Ghost. Oh, when we receive his spirit, we're

not just receiving a junior version of God. We're

not just receiving a little sprinkle, you know,

like a little pixie dust over our life. It's

not just a little, you know, a little energy

drink that we get, a little Red Bull. You know,

no, we're not just getting just a little pat

on the back. When you receive the Holy Ghost,

you're receiving God. Know ye not that your bodies

are the temple of the Holy Ghost? When you receive

him, you're receiving the full measure of God

in your life. Hallelujah. And there's nothing

sweeter and there's nothing better. So God wants

to fill you. And so we cannot be just have form

and have no spirit. But let me tell you, there

is also a category in the spirit. There's also

a category in the kingdom, in the church, where

even if you have received the Holy Ghost, if

you are not continually filling, if you are not

staying in the river of God, if you are not continuing

to allow the spirit to replenish you and to refill

you and to rejuvenate. If you're not allowing

the rivers of living water to flow out of your

belly, out of your life, then you can, even if

you have already spoken in tongues and filled

with his spirit, you can run the risk of going

into a place of being just having form and no

life. Paul talks about a type of believer. He

said having a form of godliness, but deny the

power thereof. And Paul said, of those of such

turn away. And so we've got to be careful, church,

and this is for every spirit -filled believer

today, that we don't ever get to a place where

serving God purely out of form, purely out of

mechanics, purely out of memory, muscle or muscle

memory, purely out of routine. We've got to make

sure that we keep that fire burning, and the

fire is hot. We've got to make sure that we keep

allowing God to breathe his spirit on us. Open

the vents and allow the spirit to blow in. Man,

I had to get the I had to get my AC worked on

the other day and I thought I had a major problem.

And, you know, it was get you know, I don't know

if you got AC in your house, but man, it gets

a little hot. It's like, well, I need to turn

off the AC. Even got a wall unit or something

to turn it off. And I had the guy come in and

he's like, you know, we're there sweat. We're

like, well, we don't know. We've gotten so used

to the AC and we're like, how do we turn this

thing? I'll pay you whatever you need. I need

this going to be a long summer. Hallelujah. And

I said, what is it going to take? And he did

all these things. I thought he was going to come

back to me. I thought he was going to tell me,

well, you've got this mechanical problem, you

know. You don't got enough fluid over here. I

got to replace wires. You know, you got a short

circuit over there. I thought he was going to

come back with this mechanical problem. And he

came back to me after a few hours and several

hundred dollars later. You know, he says, sir,

your only problem is you got an airflow problem.

I said, airflow? I feel air. I'm breathing. I

feel it. He said, no, no, no. And he began to

explain to me the mechanics of how the airflow

works. He said, let me take you to your filter.

my God. I looked at my filter and I about repented.

I said, Lord, I haven't been paying attention

to my filter. I got a question for you, saint

of God. How's your filter today? How's your,

you can't blame anybody. I don't feel the presence

of God. I don't feel miracles. I don't feel this.

I don't feel that. Maybe you've got to change

the filter on your life so that the breath of

God can flow. Don't make the mistake I made,

man. Pay hundreds of dollars just to find out

I need a new filter. Man, you could just get

the air flowing in this house. And the same thing

could happen to us. It's that we allow things

to collect on our filter. Woo! I feel the Holy

Ghost right now. Things to collect. You say,

but I didn't do anything. No, but what have you

been holding on to in your filter? Woo, my Lord.

What have you been allowing to collect in your

filter? And everything might appear. Because,

see, the filter's away somewhere. It's like,

the reason why I didn't know is because my filter

was somewhere in the back closet hiding behind

stuff. I didn't even know that it was. Oh, there

it is. That's right. I got a filter there. I

need to replace. And sometimes we can be like

that in the spirit. It's like, oh, yeah, I've

got this filter in my life. But listen, I don't

want any debris like disobedience, unsubmissiveness,

sin. I don't want. I don't want grudges. I don't

want bitterness. I don't want addictions. I don't

want promiscuity. I don't want any of these things

getting in the way of the filter of the Holy

Ghost because when that wind begins to blow,

I want to be right there to cast the wind. I

want to be able to cast my breath and show somebody

today you might need to change your Holy Ghost

filter. And say, God, renew me. You know you

gotta be renewed in the Holy Ghost? Say, brother,

I received it, yeah, okay, 20, 30 years ago.

But you know, you gotta be renewed, brother,

sister. God, he's a renewed, he's not a stagnant

God, the wind is blowing. We gotta be renewed.

In fact, there is precedence in the New Testament

of saints being refilled with the Holy Ghost.

You say, wait a minute, did they lose it? No.

But there's a refueling just like the oil in

your car. You got to get that oil change in there.

You got oil in there, but it's kind of like you,

you know, it's slowing down. And so that's why

Paul, to a group of already filled believers,

writes, be filled with the Spirit. Do not be

drunk with wine. Why does he have to tell people

who have already spoken in tongues and already

been filled with the Holy Ghost, be filled with

the Spirit? Why? Because if we're not careful,

we can lose the effectiveness of God's Spirit

flowing in our life. But today on Pentecost Sunday.

Oh, hallelujah. The Holy Ghost is being poured

out. I don't want to just raise my hands because

I'm supposed to. I don't want to just sing the

song because I know it, but I want this breath

of God to breathe on me. Oh, hallelujah. If you

want God to breathe on you, why don't you just

worship him for a few moments today? Hallelujah,

hallelujah. Come on, why don't somebody open

up your mouth and give God some praise? Oh, blessed

be your name, God. We need God to blow. Do you

know what I pray? I pray, God, blow in this church.

Blow in this church again. Blow in me again.

Every Sunday, God, I want fresh wind. Woo, my

Lord. I want you to breathe on me again, Lord.

And God, like that first responder, wants to

lean over the body of the church and the body

of your life. He wants to breathe into you and

resuscitate you. This is what God did with Adam.

It says the Lord blew into his nostrils. Hallelujah.

And when God blows his essence into us, when

God fills us and refills us with his spirit,

guess what happens? Number two, let me tell you,

let me preach to you, and I'll be just a few

more moments, but his breath carries his power.

His breath carries his power. When God breathes

on you, he's not just blowing hot air. Hallelujah.

God's not just breathing on you. You know, he's

not just breathing on you. I've had a few times

where people have prayed over me and they breathed

on me. And I said, brother, if you're going to

breathe on me, you could have at least put a

tic -tac in there first. Never mind. Hallelujah.

God don't have bad breath, brother. When he breathes

on you, come on. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. It's

fresh air. You know what I'm saying? It's fresh

air. But it's not just air like. just to cool

you down. With his breath comes his power. Hallelujah.

Jesus breathed on his disciples in John 20, 22.

Why? He said, because I'm sending you. I'm not

just breathing on you so you can feel good. I'm

breathing on you so you can do good. I'm breathing

on you so that you can be my ambassadors. and

help expand this kingdom that I've come to establish.

And this is what took place in that moment on

the day of Pentecost. In Acts chapter 1, verse

Acts 1:8

8, Jesus said, but ye shall receive power. Come

on, help me say that together. But you shall

receive power. After that, the Holy Ghost is

come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto

me, both in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria

and to the uttermost parts of the earth. God

breathes on us, not just so that we can feel

him or be filled with him, but so that we might

carry that power, that we might be anointed to

do good things for his purpose. God wants to

empower us to live. a holy life come on god wants

to empower to live a godly life god wants to

empower us to live an effective life god wants

to empower us to live a victorious life how many

of you want to walk in victory today praise god

and so with the power or with the breath of god

comes the power of god that word power is is

is significant in the greek it is the word dunamis

And this means ability, strength, or power. Oh,

my God. He said, you shall receive. This is what

he tells his disciples. You shall receive power,

but not just any power. You shall receive the

ability, dunamis. You know, that word dunamis

is where we get our word dynamite. Amen. Someone

say dynamite. Dynamite. Dynamite is that explosive

power. Amen. Like when they want to blow up a

mine somewhere or a mountain, you know, a marble,

to get that marble out of the mountain or get

that gold out of the cave, they will blow it

up with dynamite. And Jesus was telling his disciples,

he said, you're going to receive dynamite power.

I don't know if you need some dynamite in your

life, but I do. You know why I need dynamite?

Because there's some stuff that needs to be moved,

and it's not going to move until I use dynamite.

Come on, somebody say dynamite. There are some

devils that need to be dynamited out of our lives.

There are some situations that are going to need

to be dynamited or we're going to need some explosive

power. It's not going to happen in your knowledge.

It's not going to happen with your gift. It's

not going to happen with your human wisdom. It's

not going to happen with who you know or what

you have. It's going to take Holy Ghost dynamite

power in order to cause those things to move

where they need to go. When God brings on you

his spirit, you have got. power so that you can

walk over serpent so that you can lay hands on

the sick and see them recover so that you can

speak with new tongues how many of you want that

dynamite power here today come on somebody give

god some praise as the musicians come up ready

come on and somebody give the lord some praise

today that's the kind of power that i have i

don't have some kind of you know wishy -washy

power don't have just a religious power I don't

have just a sanctimonious power what I've got

in the Holy Ghost is dynamite power and if you've

got the Holy Ghost you want to lift up your head

you want to walk out of this place today knowing

that there's no weapon formed against you that

shall be able to prosper am I preaching to anybody

here today I said am I preaching to anybody here

today you want to walk out of this place knowing

that nothing shall separate you from the love

of god walk out of this place knowing that you

have been filled with dynamite power and with

the power of the holy ghost there is nothing

there is nothing that can stop you from living

the life that god has called you to live oh my

god the bible says that we ought to believe in

this power he said hallelujah that greater work

shall you do in my name paul said now to him

who is able to do i wish i had some help here

today exceedingly abundantly above all that we

can ask or think according to the power that

works in us i come to tell you today that when

you have the holy ghost you've got power somebody

shout power come on we can do better than that

somebody shout power i got the power i got the

power to walk right i got the power to talk right

i got the power to overcome i got the power to

lift up my head i got the power i wish somebody

here today would get a conviction in your heart

that you're not just anybody i wish somebody

here today would realize in your spirit that

you are a child of the living god i wish somebody

today could stand up on your own feet and say

God I want that power God I need that power God

I want that power I wish somebody here today

who's got the power of God living on the inside

of you I wish somebody would act like you got

it today somebody respond to that power today

Oh God breathe on me your spirit breathe on me

your power breathe it's not by power nor by might

but by my spirit says the Lord it's the Holy

Ghost it's the power of God we need it I wonder

if there's somebody here today that says I need

that power I need it in my family come on now

somebody I need it in my marriage I need it in

my spirit I need it in my mind I need it in my

soul Come on, somebody with the Holy Ghost. You

can begin to open up your mouth. You can begin

to confess with your lips the glory and the power

of God. Lift up your head, O ye gates, and be

lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King

of glory shall come in. I'm waiting on somebody

to respond. I'm waiting on somebody to let the

wind blow. life let it blow in your life today

let it blow in your spirit today let it blow

all the debris away come on somebody needs a

fresh move of God in your life today let it blow

all the junk away let it blow all the sin away

let it blow all the problems away let it blow

all the sick away let it blow all the stuff away

let it blow all the disease away let it blow

all the hate away let it blow all the bitterness

away let it blow all the sadness away let it

blow all the anxiety away let it blow all the

fear away let it blow all the depression away

let it blow all the sickness away let it blow

it away let it blow away let it blow away your

fear let it blow away your past let it blow away

your addiction let it blow away this let it blow

away that I wonder if there's somebody right

now under the sound of my voice that would stand

up on your feet that would lift up those holy

hands and let the Spirit of God blow say blow

breathe on me Holy Ghost breathe on me wife breathe

on my husband breathe on my family breathe on

my career breathe on my home breathe on my house

breathe on everything god i don't want it i want

everything to get the breath of god i want ever

i want you to breathe on my bank account i want

you to breathe on my career i want you to breathe

on my co -worker i want you to breathe on my

boss i want you to breathe on my brother i want

I want you to breathe on my mama. I want you

to breathe on my daddy. I want you to breathe.

Is there somebody right now? Come on. Where is

that hunger, church? Come on. You need God to

move that filter out of the way. You need God.

I feel something happening right now. Come on.

Come on. Come on. Lift those voices. Lift those

voices. Come on, somebody. Lift those voices

in this place. Come on, lift those voices in

this place. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

God is moving right now. The Spirit of the Lord

is moving. Come on. I need somebody to dig a

little deeper. I need somebody to let those tongues

ring out. Oh! hallelujah hallelujah come on would

you be praying right now would you be praying

right now would you be praying right now would

you be praying right now would you be praying

in the holy ghost when the day of pentecost had

fully come they were all with one accord in one

place and suddenly there came a sound from heaven

eyes up on rushing mighty wind and it filled

the whole house where they were sitting then

there appeared unto them divided tongues as a

fire and one set upon each of them and they were

all filled and they were all filled and they

were all filled with the Holy Ghost to speak

with other tongues as the Spirit gave them the

utterance. I've come to tell you that God is

still breathing. God is still breathing. God

is still breathing. He's still breathing. He's

still breathing. He's still breathing. if there's

somebody today you want god to fill you with

this spirit or you want him to refill you today

i want you to step out and come to this altar

step out in faith right now if you want god to

feel you you want him to refill you some of you

haven't spoken in tongues in a long time you

haven't spoken in tongues in a long time Some

of you speak in tongues. Listen, listen. You

know what the Holy Ghost told me one time? And

the bishop, you can correct me later if I'm wrong

about this. But the Holy Ghost told me one time

as I was praying, as I was thinking and meditating

upon the Holy Ghost. He said, you know, speaking

in tongues, sometimes we take speaking in tongues

as like validation that things are right in our

life. And then God told me that some people speak

in tongues, not because the Spirit of God is

moving and His will is being done in them. They

speak in tongues, hear me, because they know

how to speak in tongues. You see, after you have

done something so many times, you see it on the

internet, you see it online, people make fun

of tongues, right? And then they just start speaking

in tongues. It's like, whoa, how did they do

that? Holy Ghost wasn't on them, but they're

speaking this thing. And you see, that's how

powerful the mind is. And so you can just speak

in tongues because you know how to speak in tongues.

Because you've learned, you've trained your tongue

to do it. You've been doing it for so long. The

question today is not whether you can just speak

in tongues. The question is, is God breathing

and blowing through you? imitate tongues if he

wanted to. That's not just a flat rule that,

well, if I speak in tongues, it's all right.

God is moving. No, no, no, brother, sister. How

is your heart? Oh, how is your heart?