Pastor Darryl Manning's Message (Message Index) If you wish to be added to Pastor Manning's E-Mail or Mail List for Messages, please click here.

Open Heavens: Jesus and the Church (3 of 3)

February 18, 2001

Text:  Matthew 3:13

We have been studying a concept called “Open Heavens.” We found man’s rebellion gave Satan authority in the earth that is a covering over all people of the earth. Under this covering death and sorrow are a normal way of life. We found that God will “open the heavens” to those who love and obey Him. This brings about great blessing including healing and prosperity to those people. Today we will look at how the heavens were opened to Jesus and later to His disciples and the early church.

·         Mathew 3  ¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. ¹⁶When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.

·         Mark 1 ⁹At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

·         Luke 3  ²¹When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened ²²and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Most people casually look at these scriptures and think of the immediate heavens above the earth being parted for a moment and a dove coming lighting on Jesus. All accounts indicate Jesus is the one who saw the heavens opened. All accounts verify that what appeared was the Holy Spirit in the bodily form of a dove. Notice in Mark’s account, the heaven was “torn” open. This aligns with what Jesus spoke about in Matthew 11:12 ¹²And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

What was the direct cause of the Heavens being opened? Jesus told the reluctant John that His baptism was to “fulfill all righteousness.” This aligns with our understanding of Malachi 3:7 (see previous sermons on this subject) where God told His people they had “… gone away from My ordinances.” God told them “Return to Me, and I will return to you says the LORD of hosts,…“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. ¹¹ And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the LORD of hosts; ¹²And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts.”

When Jesus was baptized, He fulfilled the requirement of righteousness and the heavens were “torn” open by God over His son. These heavens were never closed over Jesus until just before His death when He cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.”

Now, lets take a look at what “open heavens,” meant to Jesus and His ministry. In John 5:19-21 we find that Jesus saying He only does what He sees the Father do.

¹⁹Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. ²⁰For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. ²¹For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. (John 5)

Was Jesus able to see directly into heaven and see the Father healing people, casting out demons, and raising the dead? Or was there a direct communication with the Father that enabled Jesus to see in His mind the Father doing these works. The answer is not clear but the results are that multitudes of people were healed and delivered from the devil’s dominion and some were raised from the dead.

This direct communication between Jesus and the Father are clearly shown in John 12: 27-30 Jesus did not need voices from heaven because He had a direct communication with His father. The voice came for the benefit of others.

²⁷“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify Your name.”  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” ²⁹Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”³⁰Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.

Under the “open heavens,” Jesus preached about the Kingdom of God coming to the earth. Great miracles accompanied this message giving people an understanding of what the Kingdom would bring. People in the new Kingdom would be free from sickness and disease. They would be free from death and the devil’s dominion. Jesus sent his disciples on preaching tours preaching the message of the Kingdom. He also gave them power to free people from sickness, disease, and demonic powers.

Returning from one such trip they reported, “even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”  Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (John 10:17-18) The “open heavens” were now being extended by the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom and by the miracles.

Unfortunately, the Jewish nation turned it’s back on the Gospel of the Kingdom and the blessing of “open heavens.” They rejected Jesus and killed Him. After Jesus’ ascension the church continued to operate in power under “open heavens” just as Jesus had told them. They continued to heal the sick, cast out demons and even raised some dead people.

Jesus never indicated the church would loose the “open heavens.” However, since the apostles died there have been a much smaller number of miracles and the church gradually got away from preaching the “gospel of the Kingdom.” The church preaches salvation and sometimes holiness and Pentecost but the Kingdom of God is seldom preached.

I believe God is speaking to this last day church to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom again. What is the Kingdom? Jesus told us to pray for the Kingdom of God to come and most Christians don’t even know what the Kingdom is. I will tell you this, the “open heavens” experience in Jesus day and in the day of the early church is the Kingdom of God in a limited area. Until we get the heavens opened over ourselves and our churches, we will never have people who have a strong desire for the Kingdom of God to come.

When God opens the heavens over His church in these last days all the sick will be made well. Dead people will be raised. Bountiful provision will be brought into the lives of the obedient. God will give the world one last opportunity to accept the Kingdom of God. The tribulation judgments will come upon the rest.

Are you sick of sickness and disease afflicting the church just like it does the world? Are you mad at the devil at every death? Apparently we are not sick enough or mad enough or we would pray for the heavens to open and the Kingdom of God to come. Let us pray for ourselves first, our churches second and for the world.

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.