Breath of Fresh Air

Thomas was crushed by Jesus’s death. He was unable to believe, according to the way he was thinking, that Jesus had really raised from the dead. He was unable to believe it because he was convinced that no man could come back to life – it had never been done before.  He only believed what he could see.

He saw the cross. He saw Jesus die.

That was as far as he could go. But when he saw the evidence – everything changed!

This wasn’t a tweak in his life. This was a forever change.

His life changed, His way of thinking changed. The way he did life changed.

How did this change come about?

Let’s look at John 16

5 “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. 6 Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. 7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.

Jesus knew they would be overcome with grief. Jesus knew they would be scared. Jesus knew they would be discouraged. Jesus knew there would be some doubt.

In John 20 – the passage we looked at last week where Jesus visits them for the first time He said, “peace be unto you.”

22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

What this means is that he blew life into them. Like a breath of fresh air.

The word breathe used here is the same one used in Genesis 2 where God breathes the breath of life in Adam’s nostrils.

GOD GAVE THEM LIFE!

They were discouraged now they had courage

They were scared now they had confidence.

They had doubt and now they had faith.

There is only one way to describe what happened to them – God breathed life into them.

They were filled with Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dominated their life.

• Not fear
• Not discouragement
• Not doubt

This is what the Holy Spirit does – he breathes new life into you.

The disciples, at one point in their life, was feeling sorry for themselves. They met together in an upper room not knowing what to do, where to turn, or where to go. They were totally clueless.

They were unable to believe. They just couldn’t see beyond their circumstances. They couldn’t see beyond their sorrow. They couldn’t see beyond the moment.

Then God breathed new life into them.

• Not to make them better people.
• Not to make their life easier.
• Not to make their circumstances easy to deal with.

He breathed new life into them so they could give their life away.

Their outward appearance didn’t change. They were still the same ordinary people they were when Jesus walked the earth. But now they were ordinary people whose life was now dominated by or filled with the Holy Spirit.

What do it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit or dominated by the Holy Spirit?

First of all we need to understand that the Holy Spirit is not an IT. The Holy Spirit is a person.

To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to have a constant awareness of Jesus living in your heart. You are constantly aware that Jesus is wherever you are. Because he will never leave you or forsake he is always with you.

If you are constantly aware of His presence in your life – I guarantee you He will cause you to think differently, cause you to change the way you do life cause you to change the way you see life.

Think about this for a minute. When a person comes into your life that you love and care about you begin to change. They begin to influence you.

When you are being dominated by the Holy Spirit, the awareness of Jesus in your life will cause you to change your life.  It is not something you have to change it is something you want to change.

When your life is dominated by the Holy Spirit:

• Your selfishness will turn into otherness
• Your pride will turn into humility
• Your envy will turn into kindness
• Your doubt will turn into hope
• Your anger will turn into forgiveness.

You don’t have to do these things – you want to do these things. There is a burning inside of you that says these changes need to happen in my life. This is what it means to be led by the Holy Spirit. Because of His dominating presence in your life, change is something you desire not something you have to do.

When you are filled with the Holy Spirit – He recalculates your life.

I love GPS’s – I have never gotten lost since we bought a GPS. What I love about them is that when you do make a wrong turn. It recalculates your direction. It never says you’re an idiot for going the wrong direction. No it loving gets you back on the right track.

I remember being lost on some county roads in the middle of a torrential down pour. I had no idea where to go. All I knew was that I was lost and I didn’t know what direction to go. So, I put in my home address in and hit go ….. it recalculated the way I needed to go to get home.

We all make wrong turns. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit it doesn’t mean you will stop making wrong turns. He lovingly reminds you that you have made a wrong turn and gives you the direction how to get back on the right track. 

The Holy Spirit gives you the power to say you’re sorry to God and to others when you make the wrong turn – and really mean it. Because when you are filled with Him you are aware that you messed up.

When you are filled with the Holy Spirit – He empowers your life.

Ephesians 5

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

What does it mean he will empower your life?

As  you learn to trust  Him – he will give you the inner strength through his Spirit. You have to learn to trust in Him. Just like you do in any relationship. When you get married you don’t automatically trust the person you married. You have the desire to trust them but that trust has to be developed.

As you learn to trust Him He will empower you. Christ will make his home in your  hearts as you trust in Him.  The more you trust Him the more he can empower you.

And when you understand how wide, how  long, how deep his love is – you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

God wants to breathe new life in each of us.

• He wants to turn your doubt into faith.
• He wants to turn your fears into courage
• He wants to turn your pride into humility.
• He wants to turn your anger into forgiveness.

Will you let him dominate your life?