The Breath of God

What if the reason you're stuck isn't a lack of effort...but a lack of God's breath?

Many believers are exhausted from striving, pushing, and trying harder, yet still feel spiritually dry and stagnant. In this episode, our host Paul, delivers a powerful truth from John 20: before Jesus sent His disciples out, He breathed on them.

Before the assignment came the breath.

Discover why God's breath and presence is the difference between merely surviving and truly thriving, what may be keeping you from experiencing more of Him, and how to position yourself for a fresh move of the Holy Spirit.

If you're hungry for more of God, this episode may be exactly what your soul needs right now.

Related Episodes

• Bible Studyhttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1113380/episodes/10259728
• Prayer https://www.buzzsprout.com/1113380/episodes/9523644
• Fasting https://www.buzzsprout.com/1113380/episodes/18288135

Transcript

Leadership 101

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Welcome and thanks for tuning in to Real People, Real Talk. Relevant conversations that take you from surviving to thriving. This is the podcast that goes there. My name is Paul Calco, and I'm your host. Now let's talk. Well, hello, Thriver, and welcome to Real People Real Talk, the podcast ministry that equips you to thrive spiritually, relationally, and mentally. Today's episode falls into that first category of spiritually. I want to share a devotional thought with you about something that every single believer desperately needs, and that is the breath of God. Let me encourage you right here, right now, even in the introduction with these words. Listen, when God breathes on a person, what was ordinary becomes extraordinary. What was weak becomes strong. What was dead becomes alive. And so with that being said, let's begin with the word of God. Give you some context to kind of set the scene here. Jesus encounters a few of his disciples after you know he has been crucified, he died, he was buried, and then he is now resurrected. So I'm gonna read for you John chapter twenty, verses nineteen through twenty two. Hear the word of the Lord. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for the fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then his disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Verse 21. Jesus said to them, Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And when he said that, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. Let me reread verse 22 for emphasis. And when he has said this, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. I don't know about you, but now more than ever, I both want and need God to breathe on me. I want him and I want you to have this desire as well, but I want him to breathe on my marriage. I want them to breathe on my ministry. I want them to breathe on my work. I want him to breathe on my personal ghost. To be honest, I want God to breathe on every area and aspect of my life. And once again, I hope and pray that you want the same. When I say God's breath, here's what I mean. Let's get a working definition at the top of this episode. God's breath that refers to his touch, his presence, his guidance, his favor, and his anointing. One more time. When I say God's breath, I'm referring to God's touch, to his presence, to his guidance, to his favor, and to his anointing. Hear me and hear me well. You would never accomplish anything significant without the breath of God. As a matter of fact, the Bible tells us, and Jesus tells us in his own words, apart from me, you can do nothing. Maybe this is a season where you're feeling stagnant and dry, feeling dry and stagnant in your career, or maybe your relationships, or dare I say, your spiritual life. Perhaps you've been trying harder, pushing harder, working harder, and just grinding, but nothing seems to be moving or getting better. That's because you need the breath of God. You may say, How can I receive the breath of God? That's a good question, and here's the answer. You position yourself for God to breathe on you when you enter into his presence, okay? In other words, when you carve out time to spend with him. With that being said, I both encourage you and challenge you to press into the presence of God on a daily basis. And when I say press into his presence, here's what I mean: time in the word, time praying, time fasting, time at the feet of Jesus, just soaking up time in his presence. Jesus breathed on his disciples as they were in his presence. Listen, my friend, as you get close to God, you put yourself in a position to be breathed on. It's imperative that everyone that names the name of Christ to do whatever it takes to get into God's presence on a daily basis. No excuses. As you draw near to God, you position yourself to receive what only God can give. Once again, every believer should make it a priority to get into God's presence on a daily basis. Sitting at His feet, soaking in His presence, and just spending time worshiping, praising, and honoring the Father. Let's revisit verse 21 and 22. And Jesus said to them, Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And when he had said this, Jesus breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. Before he sent them, he filled them. Before the assignment came the breath. Before the mission came the empowerment, and before the work came the presence of God. I think you know where I'm going with this. Here's a powerful reminder for all of us today. Before we can accomplish anything great, before we can accomplish anything worthwhile, before we can be successful in this life, we first need God to breathe on us. Many people are trying to fulfill God's purpose in their own strength. They're striving when they should be abiding. They're pushing when they should be praying, and they're grinding when they should be seeking God. So take some time to be at his feet, in his presence, so the Lord can breathe on you. And here's what happened when you're in his presence. God can breathe wisdom, He can breathe creativity, He can breathe fresh ideas, strategy, and so much more. Man, listen, like a fish needs water, I need the breath of God in my life. Like fire needs wood, I need the breath of God in my life. Like a tree needs soul, I need the breath of God in my life. Because it's the breath of God that empowers you, enables you, and equips you to do God's will. It's the breath of God that empowers you to answer his call. It's the breath of God that equips you to walk in his purpose. It's the breath of God that enables you to be a witness. It's the breath of God that will help you to thrive instead of merely surviving. The breath of God prepares you spiritually to withstand spiritual warfare. You may be wondering why you feel like you're losing. Maybe you just need a fresh breath because you can't fight this and do this on your own. You need a touch from God. Now let's go back to the first book of the Bible, Genesis, in chapter two and verse seven. Hear the word of the Lord. Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And the man became a living creature. Think about that. Before God breathed on Adam, he was simply a lifeless body, literally a dirty bag. It was God's breath that brought life. Without God's breath, everything in our lives will remain stagnant and lifeless. Without God's breath, dreams die. Without his breath, ministries can become empty. Without his breath, we simply just go through the motions. Because the truth is, apart from God, and without his breath, we're just dust. And that's something that should keep us humble. Everything that we have and everything that we are is because of God. Now I have two questions for you. The first one is reflective. What or who is keeping you from positioning yourself for God to breathe on you? Or I say it like this. What or who, including yourself, is keeping you from spending time with God? Think about that for a moment. What excuses come to mind? What are the distractions? Is it social media? Is it TV? Is it your phone? Is it busyness? Is it just spiritual laziness and spiritual apathy that you just don't want to do or feel like you have to do it? Or that's pride when you feel like you don't have to do this. Please don't allow anyone or anything to keep you from the presence of God. Secondly, it's more of a question, I just want to ask an answer to explain some things, but what will position you for God to breathe on you? Once again, it's time in the word, time in the Bible. Taking time to read God's word, taking time to meditate on God's word, and even memorizing the Bible and verses, um, and definitely obeying it. Um, if you don't know where to start, I would recommend starting the book of John, um, the Gospel of John, and just read a chapter each day throughout the month, okay? So spend time in God's word. God reveals himself through his written word, the Bible. So read it, meditate on it, and obey him. Secondly, we position ourselves

Developing Everyday Leadership Skills

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for God to breathe on us when we take time to enter into his presence to pray. I mean, spending time talking to the Lord. You're just in his presence, praising him, worshiping him, and just loving on him. And then another one is that a fasting. And fasting is when you go without food for a limited amount of time for the sake of drawing closer to the Lord. You can start small and maybe skip your lunch, and instead of taking a lunch break and going to get some food, you would use your lunch break to seek after God. Or you can go a couple days with no food or a couple days doing only one meal a day. There are various ways to do this. So as it relates to time in the word, aka Bible study, as it relates to the topic of prayer, as it relates to the topic of fasting, I have devoted entire episodes to all three of these topics where I take a deep dive into them. So I would encourage you to take a listen to them if you really want to position yourself for God to breathe on you. And I will leave those links in the show notes below. So here's my takeaway point. Right now, in this moment and beyond, I want you to be relentless on your pursuit of God and do whatever it takes to press into his presence so God can breathe on you, and then so God can use you in a mighty way. I don't know about you, but I want to be used by God in a mighty way. I want to conclude by just praying over you and speaking life over you. So here's my prayer for you. For those that are married, I pray that God would breathe on your marriage, that you two will fall more deeply in love with God each and every day, and that you two also will fall more deeply in love with one another each and every day. I pray that God will breathe on your job. I ask that he would enable you to be a light and that you would use your words and your actions to point people to him. I also ask that God would give you favor at your job, that we open up more doors of opportunity and promotion. I pray that God will breathe on your finances. I ask that he would empower you to be a wise and disciplined steward over what he has already blessed you with. And I also pray that he will expand your territory. In other words, I pray that God will bless you with even more all for his glory. I pray that God will breathe on your health. For those that are sick, I pray that God would heal. For those that are addicted, I pray that by the Spirit of God and by the breath of God that you will be delivered and set free from any and all addictions and bad habits in Jesus' name. I also pray that God will breathe on your health from a fitness perspective. I pray that you will have the discipline and the motivation to work out more and to eat wisely. But above all, I pray for you as Jesus prayed for Peter. I pray that your faith fail you not. I pray for you spiritually. I pray for your walk with the Lord. I pray that God will give you a deeper hunger and a deeper thirst for him. I pray that he will bless you with the discipline and the desire and the motivation to be consistent in your time alone with him in prayer and Bible study. I pray that God will give you a deeper desire to seek him and to love him. I pray that you will fall in love with the Lord afresh and that God will set your heart ablaze for him. Now I pray that God will breathe on you, and I pray that God will breathe on every aspect of your life, and that God will work everything out all for your good and for his glory in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen again. Well, thank you so much for tuning in today. I hope this message has inspired you and really encouraged you to go forward in your walk with the Lord. So be sure to share this episode with a few friends, those that you want to see thrive, those that you want to see also position themselves for God to breathe on them. And until next time, go be all that God has called you to be.