What is an “Open Heaven”?

Do you live with an open heaven?

One night I had a dream where one angel was telling another angel to “move the golden hole.” Hmmn . . .

It was like there was a “hole” or “window” in heaven that they moved over a young man we know. He was in his 40’s and not yet married, although he desired to be married.

I knew instinctively that he was going to be blessed and would be married soon after the “window” of heaven had been “moved” above him.

And, yes, he was soon married after I had the dream.

This got me thinking. What causes God to open heaven for us? What can we do that moves God or the angels to move “the golden hole” above us? What are some of the ways that God opens heaven?

I was able to spot several instances in His word that specifically state the heavens opening.

1. Tithing – Malachi 3:10

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”

2. Water Baptism – Mark 1:10

“Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;” Matthew 3:16

“After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him,” Luke 3:21

“Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened.”

3. Prayer – Acts 10:11

“On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground.”

4. Full of Holy Spirit/martyrdom

“But being full of the Holy Spirit, he (Stephen) gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;” and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:55,56

5. Seen by Jesus

Jesus answered and said to him (Nathaniel), “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” John 1:51

6. Divine Dreams

He (Jacob) had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Gen 28:11

7. Divine Visions

Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I (Ezekiel) was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. Ezekiel 1: 1

After these things I (John) looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” Revelation 4:1-2

And I (John) saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. Revelation 19:11

8. Divine Call – Acts 9:3

As he was traveling, it happened that he (Saul) was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;

9. Divine Provision – Psalms 78:23,24

“Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven; He rained down manna upon them to eat and gave them food from heaven.”

There are many ways to get under God’s “open heaven” (God’s abundant blessing) mentioned in His word that don’t specifically call it an “open heaven”. See how many you can find. Hint to get you started: Matthew 5: 2-12.

Photo by NOAA on Unsplash

Jesus had a habit of dropping gems. Be not afraid! Take courage. Lo I Am with you. Gems that we love to hear . . . but easily dismiss.

Here’s a gem for today. Take care what you listen to Mark 4:24.

This week I felt pressure to mow a thistle patch before the thistles went to seed. I knew deep down that the thistles were too tall for our mower. But did I listen to my “early warning system,” aka the Holy Spirit?

No, I was listening to the pressure from the thistles as they began to bud. I could hear the thistles as they began to flower. And I knew I’d be in trouble, big trouble, if those thistles went to seed and spread their seeds all over our property.

So What did I do? I tried to mow in spite of that inner knowing. Consequently, I ended up breaking a belt on the mower. I repented for 2 days of lost time and $55 dollars of lost time and money.

Will I ever learn to take care what I listen to?

The stakes get higher as we mature and get into greater service. That is to say, To whom much is given much is required.

By your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Mark 4:24

We who have a big dipper–will receive a big earful from God. Those with a little dipper, will receive small doses from heaven.

Next comes a huge warning. For whoever has, to him shall more be given Mark 4:25. And he will have extra. And he who has little ears, will only receive a pint-sized download from heaven.

But watch out! No one is ever static. We are either growing or diminishing in our capacity.

Let’s apply this to faith. We are either exercising faith and getting stronger faith, or our “faith muscles” are getting flabby. And some will even lose what they now have.

Apply to joy. We are either growing in joy or going downhill in the joy department.

Apply this to finances, home relationships, willingness to serve, or hunger for God.

Or apply this to power before God. This week I spent time getting filled with the Holy Spirit by means of talking in tongues. The same day a lady called on the phone who had a terrible headache. By faith, I dealt with the headaches and the devil. (That was the need in her particular case.) She received partial deliverance. Enough deliverance to start coming to church services.

What are you listening to? How large a measuring cup are you using?

These stories are published by the Family Leader Foundation based in Des Moines, Iowa. Greg Baker leads the Church segement of the Family Leader. Thanks to Greg Baker for publishing these events which show God as Chief Reconciler.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5.

1. Governor Reynolds and Mayor Cownie Join Prayer Vigil at Des Moines Police Department

Last night, we were blessed to help host a prayer event with Al Perez, Des Moines Metro pastors, and governing leaders just outside the Des Moines Police Department. Governor Kim Reynolds, Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie, Chief Wingert and DMPD officers, and over 100 African-American, African, Hispanic, Asian, and white pastors from all across the Des Moines Metro joined together to pray for peace, justice, unity, and righteousness for our schools, city, state, and nation. 

Pastors praying for Governor Reynolds	Pastors praying for  Des Moines Police Officers

2. God Answers Two Police Officers Prayers Through Two Hispanic Pastors

On Sunday night, an African-American Des Moines police officer and a white police officer prayed that the demonstration outside the Des Moines Police Department would remain peaceful. An hour later, right as time reached curfew, Pastors Ian Rojas and David Sixtos, who are part of the Church Ambassador Network, were able to negotiate an agreement between police and demonstrators. Both sides agreed to kneel for two minutes to honor George Floyd and others who have fallen to injustices. Following the kneeling, demonstrators left just a few minutes past curfew.  

Des Moines police officers kneel with protestors

3. Officers Kneel with Protestors and Pray Lord’s Prayer Together in Fort Dodge

Check out this video of Fort Dodge police kneeling with demonstrators and reciting the Lord’s Prayer together (link is to a Facebook video, you may need to log in to Facebook to view): 

These past few days continue to illustrate the consequences of sin from not only this generation but many generations before us. A member of our team shared how these very racial issues we are facing today are largely the same issues he faced growing up in the 1960s and 1970s. They were not new then either. Since the beginning of time the enemy has used what the Bible calls factions and divisions against us. These factions ultimately keep prideful attention on ourselves, and off of our Creator. These very factions become the root of some of our deepest sins in history, American slavery, the Jewish holocaust, and the genocide in Rwanda as examples. 

What an incredible God we serve! As we learned during the initial days of COVID 19, God has and will continue to use His Church. It is an honor to partner with you!
Greg

— 
Greg Baker
Executive Vice President,  The Family Leader Foundation 
Director, Church Ambassador Network

JOSEPH.

He was the favored son of twelve, and his dad made him a colorful coat. He wore it–big mistake. Then he had a dream about his brothers bowing down to him, and he told them. Big mistake #2. They were jealous and hated him, finally selling him as a slave. So much for a fancy coat.

He could have been bitter, but instead he did what he could for his new boss. Captain Potiphar could see that Joseph was trustworthy and gave him charge of his home. Then he got framed by Potiphar’s wife for wisely refusing her advances–and landed in prison.

But the same thing happened. Rather than turning resentful and becoming a victim, he did what he could. The guard could see that he had character and put him in charge of all the prisoners. We are told, “Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it” (Genesis 39:22).

So while he kept going down and down, from son to slave to prisoner, he accepted his situation without growing bitter or hateful, and the Lord gave him success.

Then he interpreted dreams accurately for the butler and baker and asked the butler to remember him before Pharaoh when he was reinstated. He forgot. Again, he could have grown so resentful as to become unusable to the Lord or to people. But he maintained his positive spirit in the presence of pain rather than surrendering to doubt or depression, which would have blocked his ability to perform his duties.

When Pharaoh needed an interpreter for his two dreams, the magicians and wise men all failed. Then the cupbearer remembered the young man in prison, the Hebrew–two lousy years later. Joseph could have been consumed with unforgiveness, blocking him from the ability to interpret dreams.

Not Joseph. He was up for the challenge, and he became the second most powerful person on the planet. Had he given in to discouragement, which would have been understandable, he would have sacrificed his future. Way to go, Joe!

JOSHUA.

Moses is dead. He had totally dismantled the most powerful nation of the world with ten plagues in two weeks. He managed to wipe out the Egyptian army with one wave of his rod. He was the human instrument for signs and wonders of colossal proportion never seen before or since on the planet. He took a nation of two million on a hike for forty years through barren land.

During that time their shoes and clothes did not wear out. They were served up breakfast from heaven–every day. He made water flow from a rock two times. He spoke with God face to face on a regular basis.

Now Joshua is taking over. “Okay, go for it, Josh.” Hard act to follow? No. Forty years of hard acts. Joshua is told to bring the nation across the river and into a hostile land that would be theirs–if they can overcome the nationals who have other plans for them, some of whom are giants.

God speaks to Joshua, at least hesitant about his job description if not shaking in his sandals: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

That word is repeated three more times in the same chapter. Really? Don’t be discouraged? With what he has been handed? Impossible command. Who could obey it? How could he not give in from time to time? Come to think of it, what command from God is possible? How about, “Pray without ceasing,” or “Rejoice in the Lord always,” or “Have no anxiety about anything?”

Every command is an impossibility. If they were not, we could pull off the Christian life without the aid of the Holy Spirit. Joshua put his trust in the right place, and he carried out his assignment to the fullest. Good going, Josh!

DAVID.

When he as a fugitive returned to Ziklag with his fighting men, they found that the Amalekites had raided their camp, burned it and had taken captive all the women and children. The men wept “until they had no more strength to weep” (1 Samuel 30:4).

“And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul…But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (6b). He asked the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” The Lord answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue all” (8). He went after the enemy with six hundred.

An Egyptian was found that tipped them off on where the Amalekites were. They attacked them by surprise and recovered everyone and everything! Way to encourage yourself in God rather than giving in to despair. Nice save, Dave!

PAUL

When Paul and Silas came to Philippi, they went to a place of prayer down by a riverside and spoke to a group of women. One of them, Lydia, opened her heart, was baptized together with her household, and convinced them to stay at her house.

Going again to the place of prayer, Paul and Silas were met by a demonized slave girl who made her owners rich by fortune-telling. After days of annoyance, Paul commanded the demon to leave. The angry owners dragged Paul and Silas to the magistrates, who along with the crowd tore off their clothes and beat them with rods. Then they threw them into prison and fastened their feet in stocks.

So what should you do if you were badly beaten unjustly, uncomfortable with stocks, and sleep eludes you? At midnight Paul leaned over and asked Silas if he knew any good worship choruses. They sang while the other prisoners listened.

An earthquake shook the foundations of the prison and opened all the doors. The jailer assumed that he had lost all the prisoners and drew his sword. Paul stopped him saying that no one had escaped. Amazing for Paul to have that kind of authority with all the prisoners. This made the jailer fall before Paul and ask how he and his household could be saved. After the wounds were washed, the happy jailer and his family were baptized. A new church in Philippi, one that Paul felt especially close to, was launched out of great suffering. Nice call, Paul!

John Adams’ Warning to America

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” President John Adams to Massachusetts Militia, October 11, 1798.

Who Was John Adams?

The second president of the United States of America, Adams was blunt and forthright. A founding Father of the nation, he became an early critic of Britain’s treatment of America. Willing to take unpopular stands, he even represented British soldiers accused of murder during the Boston Massacre.

Though not a signer of the constitution, he strongly favored independence and was an advocate for the Bill of Rights. (Adams could not sign the constitution because he was in England representing American interests at the time.)

Adams was a devout Christian; even his opponents considered him a highly principled man.

He married Abigail Smith. Their correspondence is still admired and read today for insight into social and political matters of the time.

Why is John Adams’ Warning Important for Us Today?

Adams’ warning sounds an alarm for America today. He knew the limitations of democracy and a democratic constitution. In the same address, he warned, “We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion.”

John Adams saw the Christian religion as a restraint on human passion. He realized that self-government was ineffective without morality based on Christianity.

If America shrugs off genuine Christianity, our constitution will not work according to Adams. What does that say about America today?

During his long life, Adams warned about rioting and bloodshed akin to the French Revolution.

We all know our country faces trouble and division today. Adams tells us why: because we have thrown off morality and Christianity. (The use of the term “religion” in Adams’ day univeraly meant “the Christian religion.”

You can read Adams address in entirety here.

But should the People of America, once become capable of that deep simulation towards one another and towards foreign nations, which assumes the Language of Justice and moderation while it is practicing Iniquity and Extravagance; and displays in the most captivating manner the charming Pictures of Candour frankness & sincerity while it is rioting in rapine and Insolence: this Country will be the most miserable Habitation in the World. Because We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition, Revenge or Galantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-3102

What Should We Do About Adams’ Warning?

We need revival. Nothing short of supernatural revival will stem the tide of of destruction that Adams warned about.

We need the humility and prayer and repentacne that allows God to send revival.

We need to know God loves us enough to send us warnings, to give us time to take action.

One time I drove up the hill in our town called Mark Twain Overlook. As I gazed over our city and the Mississippi River, I was surprised to hear the voice of God speak to me.

“As long as you are in this town, believe Me for revival.”

Do we really need John Adams’ warning to America? The Bible has already warned us many times. Read the book of Judges. Read Isaiah. Read the Gospels. God’s warnings are clear.

Still, when an American president warns, it’s worth listening to and taking action.

Are you a part of a prayer group in your church that calls on God for revival? If not, could you start one? Is your faith stirred up for revival and renewal?

Do you see what will happen if God does not send revival?

What is the Purpose of Government According to the Bible?

The purpose of government is seen in three scriptures.

Government is related to authority and all authority is from God.

For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God (Romans 13:1). Scripture declares God has established governmental authority.

Why? What are the purposes of government? And why am I addressing this question?

I’m writing because one young man recently stated as he wrote to me, “I hate government.”

I’m also writing because there is a greater need to understand government and it’s God-given purposes. We need to know the purpose of government, its extent and limitations.

I’m writing because not many others are addressing government from a Biblical point of view.

What is the Purpose of Government?

The one explicitly stated purpose of government in the Bible is to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good (1 Peter 2:14).

Some see punish and praise as the only Biblical purpose of government. There are however, other inferred purposes for civil government.

Let’s go back to the garden. God set Adam in the garden to cultivate it and keep it (Gen 2:15 NASB) Or to work it and watch over it (ESV). The Hebrew word for work or cultivate is abad. Abad is translated 227 times out of 290 occurrences in the King James Bible as to serve.

It may seem strange to consider the Garden of Eden as the initial government that God ordained. I am not the first to think this, however. Dispensationalists, as well as others, consider the garden as the original government of God on earth.

The view of government as “servant” or “minister” aligns closely with the New Testament reference in Romans 13:4. Here the Holy Spirit declares through the apostle Paul For the government is God’s servant to you for good (ESV).

Therefore, I conclude the first purpose of government that God established was “to serve.”

The Hebrew word for keep or watch is shamar, which means to keep, to watch, to guard, to protect.

Notice that these passages do not tell exactly how government is to serve or protect. That can change in various circumstances or times. These passages give a lot of leeway in what governments can or cannot do. The Scriptures offer many opportunities for people of all political persuasions to implement government policies.

1 Tim 2:1-8 shows a third intention of God’s plan for government: that you may lead a quiet and peaceful life with all Godliness and dignity. God ordained government to help keep peace and quiet in society, to keep the populace undisturbed and undisturbing of others. The governments job is to protect and defend people.

Godliness (eusébeia) means piety toward God, reverence and respect. The job of governors and those in authority is to operate in an attitude of fear of God.

Honesty (semnótēs), sometimes translated gravity or respect, is a necessary characteristic of a servant of God.

In Summary, What are the Purposes of Government?

According to the Bible, our source of truth and the revelation of the mind of God, the purpose of government is to serve; to punish evil and praise good; to guard and defend; and to promote peace and quiet, Godliness and honesty.

It seems to me that any other purpose can be included in the above.

If you see otherwise, please let me know and include the Scripture reference to go with it.