Let Him Breathe Upon Me
Acts 17:16-34
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. {Mars’ hill: or, the court of the Areopagites}
23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. {devotions: or, gods that ye worship}
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. {hath given...: or, offered faith}
32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
33 So Paul departed from among them.
34 Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
I’ve entitled this today, “Let Him Breathe Upon Me”.
What we need, as a people of God, is to let God breathe into our lives.
Just as Jesus blew upon the Disciples, He will blow upon us.
We have heard the song “Breathe Upon Me, Holy Spirit”, church, we need to ask Him to breathe upon us.
Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill and he perceived. In other words, he saw that they were superstitious.
Paul had passed and he saw all of their devotions, he is talking about what they were worshipping.
As Paul was walking by, he found an Altar with the inscription to the unknown God.
By addressing the situation in this way, he could not be accused of preaching a foreign God to them.
He understood that the people were worshipping this in ignorance, they never understood what they were doing.
This also refers to them acknowledging that maybe they did not have the last words on Gods; actually they did not have any words at all.
Paul then went on to present God as the one who made the world and all things that are in it. This presents God as the Creator of all life.
He also presents God as one who does not dwell in temples that are made with hands, He is bigger than that.
Acts 17:25
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
The second commandment forbids the making of any graven images of God, or the worship of any form of statue.
The people needed to understand that God needed nothing; He is the one who gives to all life, and breath and all things.
Acts 17:26
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
What this is saying, is that all man originated from one man and that man was Adam.
And hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
All times beforehand has been appointed, and the bounds of our habitation.
You being here right now, the life that you live has been appointed by God for the day that you live in.
See, God does appoint and He sets boundaries in our lives.
Paul was telling the people of Mars Hill that God had placed them there for a reason and whether they wanted to accept it or not there were boundaries to be kept.
Acts 17:27
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
Mathew 7:7
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Paul is appealing to the action of logic and common sense when he was addressing these pagan gods.
Paul wanted the people to know that God was close to His creation.
Acts 17:28
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring.
This proclaims God as the source of all life.
Hebrews 1:3
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Acts 17:29
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Paul is saying here that God is not a device of man, but all of the Greek gods were.
In verse 30, he is telling the people that now Commands man every where to repent.
Acts 17:31-32
31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. {hath given...: or, offered faith}
32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
In verse 31 it is referring to the coming of The Great White Throne Judgment.
Verse 31 also says: in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained;
Righteousness is in Christ Jesus in what He had done at the cross for their sins.
Acts 17:32
32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
Some believed while others did not.
I’ve entitled this today: “Let Him Breath On Me”. Here is why I preached this today.
Dream 11-23-03
I was dreaming God’s breath was blowing in my face. I was waking up and I felt the warmth of it as it was blowing.
Interpretation
God’s breath represents the Holy Spirit.
I literally felt the warmth of it as it blew in my face.
Acts 17:25
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
God gives life and breath to all.
John 20:22
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Mathew 7:7
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Are we serving other gods?
Are we superstitious?
Do we need to come to life in Christ?
Ask, Seek and Knock!
Closing
Let’s sing the song “Breathe Upon Me, Holy Spirit”.
If you are interested in seeing some God given dreams go to our website: http://www.ourchurch.com/member/w/windoffaithdrea/
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