Let Everything That Has Breath 8/9 Pastor Philip Keller

Psalm 150 brings everything to one clear call: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” The text lifts praise out of a church song and puts it into the lungs. Praise belongs in the sanctuary, in the mighty heavens, with instruments, with movement, with loud clashing cymbals, and with every living thing that still has breath.

Genesis 2 shows that breath did not start as biology only. God formed man from the dust and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Ruach, the breath of God, makes human life a divine deposit. Every inhale says God has not finished his work, and every day with breath in the body means there is still purpose on the earth.

The picture of the slow leaking tire shows how spiritual life can lose air little by little. A small leak ignored becomes a daily problem. Sin, prayerlessness, old hangups, addiction, compromise, and neglected obedience can slowly drain anointing, integrity, and spiritual strength. God’s people can end up spiritually deflated when the leak is never brought to him.

The Holy Spirit stands as spiritual oxygen for the soul. Oxygen cannot usually be seen, but without it the body cannot live. In the same way, the Spirit sustains the believer from the inside out. A Christian life without the Holy Spirit becomes like a body without a soul, trying to move but missing the breath that gives power, guidance, strength, and real life.

Praise becomes the right response to borrowed breath. The name Yahweh is pictured like an inhale and an exhale, meaning breath itself becomes a witness to the Lord. Even when life is hard, the person who can breathe still has reason to bless him. Praise is not only singing. Praise glorifies God, magnifies him, and makes problems smaller by making God bigger in focus.

The enemy tries to steal breath and steal praise. Anxiety, depression, sickness, fear, gossip, complaining, and wrong words all try to suffocate what God gave for glory. James calls the believer to submit to God, resist the devil, and draw near. Breath has a mission: to worship, witness, work for the kingdom, and lift up the name of the Lord.

Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones shows that God can breathe again where life looks gone. Dry bones can rattle, come together, stand up, and become a vast army when the breath of God enters them.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Breath is a divine deposit God’s breath makes human life more than survival or chance. Every inhale carries the reminder that life has been touched by the Creator and is still being held by him. The person who still has breath still carries purpose, even when that purpose is not fully understood yet. [11:16]
• 2. Small leaks become deep losses Spiritual deflation often starts quietly, like a tire losing air a little at a time. Neglected prayer, tolerated compromise, old addictions, and delayed repentance can slowly drain what once felt strong. God’s mercy is not an excuse to ignore the leak, but an invitation to bring it into the light before the soul runs flat. [15:10]
• 3. The Spirit is spiritual oxygen The Holy Spirit sustains the soul the way oxygen sustains the body. Religious motion can continue for a while without fresh breath, but deep life cannot. Scripture, prayer, worship, and obedience are not empty routines when the Spirit uses them to keep the soul alive and strong. [18:23]
• 4. Praise belongs to every breath Psalm 150 does not limit praise to music, mood, or convenience. Praise becomes the use of breath for its highest purpose, glorifying God in speech, worship, witness, and daily life. Even pain cannot erase the call, because the breath that remains is still borrowed from heaven. [25:02]
• 5. Dry bones can breathe again Ezekiel’s valley shows that God is not intimidated by what looks dead, scattered, or far gone. The Word of the Lord and the breath of the Spirit can bring structure, strength, and life where only bones remained. Revival is not hype, but God breathing life back into what has lost breath.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:58] - Gratitude After Vacation
• [03:30] - Introducing Deep and Wide
• [06:13] - Psalms and Proverbs, Vertical and Horizontal
• [08:18] - The Church Needs Depth and Reach
• [10:09] - Psalm 150: Let Everything Praise
• [11:16] - Breath in the Lungs Is a Gift
• [13:45] - The Slow Leak Illustration
• [18:23] - The Holy Spirit Is Essential
• [22:24] - Breath Reminds the Soul to Praise
• [27:27] - A Personal Weight Around Breath
• [32:03] - The Enemy Steals Breath and Praise
• [34:30] - Use Breath for Its Highest Purpose
• [36:59] - Dry Bones and New Life
• [41:18] - Open Hands to Receive from God

Bible Reading

Psalm 150:6
“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!” [10:41]

Genesis 2:7
“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.” [11:37]

Ezekiel 37:1-10
“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered, ‘O Lord GOD, you know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.” [36:59]

James 4:7-8
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” [33:18]

Observation questions

1. In Psalm 150, where is praise happening, and what kinds of sounds, instruments, and actions are named before the psalm ends with “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord”? [10:41]
2. In Genesis 2:7, what two parts are brought together when human life begins, and what does God do that turns dust into a living creature?
3. In the picture of the leaking tire, what signs showed that the problem was getting worse over time, and what spiritual leaks were named alongside that illustration? [13:45]
4. In Ezekiel 37, what changed in the valley before the breath came, and what finally happened when the breath entered the bodies? [36:59]

Interpretation questions

1. Psalm 150 connects praise with breath, not only with music. What does that suggest about praise as a daily way of living, speaking, and responding to God, not just a church activity? [25:38]
2. Genesis 2:7 shows that breath comes from God. How does that shape the way a person should think about life, purpose, and the value of each day they are given? [12:44]
3. James 4:7-8 says to submit to God, resist the devil, and draw near to God. How might that help explain why wrong words, gossip, fear, and compromise can become spiritual suffocation if they are left unchecked? [33:47]
4. Ezekiel’s vision shows bodies formed but still without breath until God moved. What might that say about the difference between having outward form and having real spiritual life? [38:14]

Application questions

1. Breath is a gift from God and a sign that purpose remains. Where is it hardest right now to believe that life still carries purpose, and what would it look like to thank God for breath even in that place? [13:06]
2. Small leaks become deep losses. What quiet leak may be draining spiritual strength right now—prayerlessness, compromise, an old hangup, addiction, delayed obedience, or something else—and what would it look like to stop ignoring it this week? [17:30]
3. The Holy Spirit is spiritual oxygen for the soul. What has helped you breathe deeply in God before—prayer, Scripture, worship, repentance, obedience, serving—and which of those has been neglected lately? [18:23]
4. If praise makes God bigger in focus and problems smaller, what situation in life right now most needs praise instead of panic, resentment, or self-pity? What could praise sound like in that situation? [25:47]
5. The enemy wants to steal breath and praise through anxiety, fear, sickness, complaining, gossip, and wrong words. Which of those pressures tends to choke your spiritual life the fastest, and how can you submit that area to God in a real and honest way? [32:03]
6. James says to draw near to God, and he will draw near. What is one clear step of drawing near that needs to happen in the next few days: confessing sin, turning off a harmful influence, asking for prayer, making time to worship, or something else? [33:18]
7. Dry bones can breathe again. Where does life feel dry, scattered, or far gone right now—faith, family, joy, calling, peace, or hope—and what would it mean to ask God to breathe there again instead of giving up on it? [36:16]