Living Under an Open Heaven
Selected Scriptures
Psalm 144:5, (NLT)
Open the heavens, LORD, and come down. Touch the mountains so they billow smoke.
Isaiah 64:1, (NLT)
Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in your presence!
Mark 1:9-10, (ESV)
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opening and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
Matthew 27:50-51, (ESV)
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
Mark 1:10,
And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw
the heavens opening and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
John 5:19, (NIV)
"I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing,
Luke 5:17b, (NIV)
And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.
Mark 1:10,
And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opening and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
1. An open heaven requires a change in our thinking
Matthew 4:17, (ESV)
From that time Jesus began to preach saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Matthew 4:17, (ESV)
From that time Jesus began to preach saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Matthew 4:23, (ESV)
And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
2. An open heaven happens when the Spirit descends on us
Acts 10:38, (NLT)
And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
Philippians 2:6, (NLT)
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.
Acts 10:38, (NLT)
And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
Acts 1:8, (NIV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
3. An open heaven requires a sensitivity to the Spirit
John 1:32-34, (ESV)
And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
Ephesians 4:30a, (ESV)
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God
1 Thessalonians 5:19, (ESV)
Do not quench the Spirit.
