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Open Heaven | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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  Genesis chapter 7, verse 11. Genesis 7, 11. In
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  the 600th year of Noah's life, in the second
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  month, the 17th day of the month, on that day...
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  All the fountains of the great deep were broken
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  up. And the windows of heaven were opened. Father,
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  I'm asking you, even as you have confirmed already
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  through several prayers during our prayer time
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  and through Pastor Blessin's prayer. You've confirmed
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  the word of the Lord to me. And I ask God that
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  in this place, that the windows of heaven would
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  open. I ask God that you would speak to our hearts
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  through your word. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
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  Hallelujah. I apologize this morning, you're
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  not getting me at my best. I've been in bed for
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  three days, and this morning I woke up and I
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  said, oh, praise God, I can function. And so
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  I am the first day back functioning today, and
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  I'm still feeling a little bit weak. So thank
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  you for praying for me. But I wanted to start
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  with this passage because this is... the first
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  passage in the Scriptures where the windows of
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  heaven opened up. And here it was a physical
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  resource, the resource of rain. But heaven opened
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  up. Up until this point in time, it had not rained.
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  The earth was watered by the dew of the earth.
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  And God had told Noah to build an ark. And so
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  Noah was building an ark for something that was
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  in the minds of everybody he was preaching to,
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  and perhaps even in his own mind, he was building
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  an ark for an impossible situation that was to
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  come. I'm going to flood the earth. Well, Noah
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  had seen the dew on the ground and he had seen
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  the waters of the land and he knew what water
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  was. But there was resource that was necessary
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  that was not in the natural. And when earth's
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  resources run out, God opens. The heavens. Amen?
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  And so here, we see that when heaven opened up,
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  the water was released. When there is an open
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  heaven, there is an abundance for whatever God
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  wants to accomplish. I want to read some other
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  scriptures here. Psalm 78 verse 23 says this,
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  Yet he had commanded the clouds above and opened
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  the doors of heaven. Now this is not referring
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  to Noah. This is referring to the Israelites
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  later on when they needed food in the wilderness.
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  And what do you think came out of the open doors
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  of heaven when they needed food in the wilderness?
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  It was not water. It was manna. He rained down
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  manna on them to eat and given them of the bread
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  of heaven. Men ate angels' foods. He sent them
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  food to the full. Hallelujah. Because when there
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  is an open heaven, there is an abundance for
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  whatever God wants to accomplish. I'm believing
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  God in 2026 for an open heaven in this place.
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  I'm believing God in 2026 for an open heaven
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  over your life. I'm believing in 2026 for an
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  open heaven in Lincoln, Illinois, in central
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  Illinois. I'm believing for an open heaven in
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  the United States of America. Hallelujah. Because
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  we don't just need laws to change. We need hearts
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  to change. We don't just need what man can do.
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  We need what God can do. The provision on this
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  earth, the provision of the good ideas of men
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  can carry Carry us to a certain place. But the
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  resources for what God wants to do, we don't
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  have. We need the heavens to open up. We need
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  the heavens to open up. An open heaven is a place
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  of incredible abundance. Some of you need heaven
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  to open up over your homes. We're going to believe
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  for that today. So, number one, an open heaven
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  is a place of abundance. Secondly, an open heaven
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  is a place of incredible spiritual activity.
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  Genesis 28, verse 10. Now Jacob went out from
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  Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to
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  a certain place and stayed there all night because
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  the sun had set. And he took one of the stones
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  of that place and put it at his head. And he
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  laid down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed.
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  And behold, a ladder was set up on the earth.
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  And its top reached to the heaven. And there
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  the angels of God were ascending and descending
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  on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and
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  said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, your father,
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  and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie,
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  I will give to you and your descendants. Also
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  your descendants shall be as the dust of the
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  earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west
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  and to the east, to the north and to the south.
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  And in you and in your seed all the families
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  of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with
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  you and will keep you wherever you go and will
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  bring you back to this land for I will not leave
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  you until I have done what I have spoken to you.
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  And Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely
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  the Lord is in this place and I did not know
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  it. And he was afraid. and said, how awesome
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  is this place. This is none other than the house
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  of God, Bethel. And this is the gate of heaven.
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  And he arose early in the morning and took the
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  stone that he had put at his head, set it up
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  as a pillar and poured oil on top of it and called
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  the name of that place Bethel. The house of God.
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  Spiritual activity is happening when the heavens
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  open up. And so he was sleeping, but it wasn't
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  just a dream. It wasn't just food that he ate
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  that night. He was experiencing the power of
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  God in that moment. He was experiencing God speaking
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  to him and encountering with him. And in fact,
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  when he awoke from his sleep, he was still fully
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  aware of the presence of God and trembling in
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  the fear of the Lord as Jacob met for himself.
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  The God of his father, Isaac, and the God of
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  his grandfather, Abraham. It came to Jacob in
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  the place of an open heaven. I can think of a
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  few other people that have experienced an open
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  heaven like that. You think about Saul in Acts
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  chapter 9. He is just headed on the road to Damascus.
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  And what happened? Heaven opened up. over Saul.
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  And he came to this place where God struck him
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  and began to speak to him and changed his life
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  forever. Because the place of an open heaven
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  is the place of spiritual activity. The place
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  of an open heaven is the place of revelation.
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  You, friend, are not going to go to heaven. Because
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  your dad knows Jesus. You're not going to go
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  to heaven because grandpa follows Jesus. You're
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  going to go to heaven because you have an encounter
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  with Jesus. You need heaven to open up over your
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  life. You and I need heaven to open up over our
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  lives. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Here, Jacob heard
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  God's calling for himself. And he realized, I
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  can't skirt along any longer just based upon
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  daddy's faith. I need my own. It's the place
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  of revelation. Do you know that we're supposed
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  to pray for the heavens to open? Isaiah chapter
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  64, he's praying. Oh, that you would rend the
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  heavens and come down. What does that word rend
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  mean? It means to tear open. Oh, that you would
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  tear open the heavens and come down. And come
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  down. That you would what? that the mountains
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  might shake at your presence. What's he saying?
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  That your presence might manifest here on the
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  earth. That your presence might manifest here
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  on the earth, even as it is in heaven. Rip open
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  the heavens so that the earth will start to look
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  like it is up there. Rend the heavens and come
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  down as fire burns brushwood, as fire causes
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  water to boil, to make your name known to your
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  adversaries that the nations may tremble at your
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  presence. Hallelujah. That reminds me of a New
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  Testament moment in Acts chapter 2 when the heavens
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  opened up. And fire came, just like Isaiah prayed,
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  and separated, and a tongue of fire came on each
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  of them. And as they prayed in the Spirit, as
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  they prayed in tongues, the nations around them
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  that had assembled heard their own languages,
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  and they said, oh God, what must this be? And
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  many of them trembled in the presence of God.
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  Lord, we need the heavens to open up. We need
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  the heavens to open up in Matthew chapter 6.
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  When Jesus taught us how to pray. In verse 10,
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  what did he say? Your kingdom come. Your will
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  be done on earth. As it is in heaven. We need
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  the heavens to open up so that the activity that
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  happens here on the earth will reflect heaven.
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  Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh, I feel the presence
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  of the Lord in this house. Right now. I want
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  you to hear what happened. When Jesus prayed
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  in Luke chapter 3. After he was baptized. In
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  verse 21. It says this. When all the people were
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  baptized. It came to pass that Jesus also was
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  baptized. Now listen to this phrase. And while
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  Jesus prayed. The heaven was opened. Do you think
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  that that's a coincidence? I believe that not
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  only while Jesus prayed the heavens was opened,
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  but because Jesus prayed the heavens were opened.
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  Hallelujah. And what happened when the heaven
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  was opened? Spiritual activity began to happen.
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  The Holy Spirit came in the form of a dove and
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  descended and came to rest on each of them. And
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  the Father spoke, this is my son. With him, I
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  am well pleased. The heavens opened up. Why do
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  we... often open the altars for people to receive
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  prayer during worship because the heavens are
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  open. And when the heavens are open, spiritual
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  activity is released. Do I understand that all
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  the time? I don't always understand it, but I
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  know that this is not just an Old Testament thing.
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  It is Old Testament, New Testament. God wants
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  to interact with people. Hallelujah. When Stephen
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  was being stoned, and the Bible says he stood
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  up and looked, and what happened? He said, behold,
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  I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing
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  at the right hand of God. And then he prayed,
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  God receive my spirit. Don't count this sin against
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  them. And Jesus standing in the heavens received
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  Stephen. The heavens were opened up. Hallelujah.
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  We should pray for the heavens to open up. There's
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  three things. that the Scriptures attach to an
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  open heaven. And the first one we've already
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  talked about, prayer. And I'm kind of setting
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  this up because we're starting our week of fasting
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  and prayer on the 7th of January. And we are
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  going to pray every gathering. We're going to
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  be praying, God, open up the heavens. Amen? We
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  are believing for Him to establish an open heaven
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  in this place. Now, the church is not the building.
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  We understand that. But there are locations in
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  the earth where God's... where the heavens open
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  up. There are locations usually where people
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  have been fasting and praying and seeking God's
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  face. In those locations, there is oftentimes
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  an open atmosphere that is very easy to enter
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  into an open heaven. When God begins to pour
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  revival out in a location, why do you think the
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  people flood to that place? It is hopefully not
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  because of a man. It's hopefully because the
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  heavens are open in that place. The heavens are
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  opened up. Why did people flood to Brownsville
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  in the 90s? It was because... People had spent
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  seven years seeking God for an open heaven and
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  God heard their prayer. And for the next seven
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  years, the heavens were opened in that place.
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  Five million people came to that church because
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  the heavens were opened. I've experienced...
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  and open heaven in a church for six months. Everything
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  that God did, we could not even recount to you.
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  It was so outstanding. So many lives changed
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  and healed. God, open up the heavens. Open up
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  the heavens. The second thing that is attached
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  to an open heaven is obedience. Obedience. You
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  want God to open heaven over your finances, over
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  your life? You have got to walk in obedience.
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  Listen to Deuteronomy chapter 28. These are the
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  blessings for obedience. It says this in verse
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  12. The Lord will open to you His good treasure,
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  the heavens. Because you're obedient. When we're
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  obedient to God, we can expect the heavens. To
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  open up on us. And again here, like Noah's day,
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  it was attached to something physical. Rain in
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  due season. The things that we need. In James
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  chapter 1, it says that God is the giver of every
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  perfect gift. It comes from the Father of heavenly
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  lights who does not change. In 2026, I believe
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  that the heavens are going to open up over America.
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  The heavens are going to open up over Illinois
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  even. I believe that with my whole heart. The
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  heavens are going to open up over Faith Church
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  because he's called us to more, friends. He's
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  called us to reach more for his kingdom. He's
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  called us to do more for his kingdom. He's called
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  us to do that which we cannot provide. We don't
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  have the resources to do it. But God does. And
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  they're going to be released over us. Hallelujah.
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  Why? Because of obedience. We see this again
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  in Malachi chapter 3. That the heavens open up
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  not just for obedience, but a very specific kind
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  of obedience. Obedience in giving. Bring the
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  tithes into the storehouse. that there might
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  be food in my house. And test me now in this,
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  says the Lord, if I will not open up for you
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  the windows of heaven. When you bring your tithe
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  to the storehouse here, that act of obedience.
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  is sowing into a mighty, mighty move of God.
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  It is not just about making sure you get enough
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  to get by. It is not merely about obedience.
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  It is. But it is about positioning you, positioning
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  the church to be in the place where God opens
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  up the heavens. Hallelujah. And that is about
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  provision for your life, but it is about, oh,
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  so much more than that. It is about spiritual
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  activity happening. It is about God moving in
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  your home, in your situation. Hallelujah. You
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  are positioning yourself by obedience. You are
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  positioning yourself by prayer. You are positioning
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  yourself by generosity. And those three things
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  together. Position yourself to be where the heavens
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  are opened. You say, well, pastor, who am I?
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  I'm not a prophet that you know of. I'm nobody
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  special. I love Ezekiel chapter 1 verse 1. And
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  this was before Ezekiel ever wrote down any prophecy.
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  He wasn't known yet. He was in exile. A nobody.
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  It came to pass in the 30th year, in the fourth
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  month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was
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  among the captives by the river Shabar. Shabar
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  means far off place. I'm in a far off place with
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  prisoners. I'm not in my home country. I'm not
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  living in the place of blessing. As far as I
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  can see, nothing is going right. Separated from
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  my family, most likely. And in that far off place,
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  the next sentence says, the heavens were opened
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  and I saw visions of God. Nobody else would choose
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  the river Shabar. Nobody else perhaps would choose
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  to be in the position you're in. Maybe you would
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  say, I don't even choose the position I'm in.
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  But God sees right where you are. He sees your
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  faithfulness when nobody else does. He sees your
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  prayer in the secret place that nobody else sees.
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  And he will reward you openly. In the place of
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  Shabar, the heavens were opened and I saw visions
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  of God. God's chosen you. That's been the theme
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  of several of my messages lately. God has chosen
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  you. God has chosen you. When Jesus got done
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  in Revelation 3 with the final church, had rebuked
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  Five of those churches had John write down all
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  the words to seven of them. And then he turns
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  to John in chapter 4. And he says, hey, John.
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  Because the Bible says John saw an open door
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  in heaven. Revelation 4 .1. He saw an open door.
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  And John heard a voice that said, come up here
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  and I will show you things to come. A place of
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  revelation. John, I don't know how he did it
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  in his dream, if he just floated up or if he
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  had to climb up. to get there. I don't understand
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  it, but he got himself to the place of the open
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  heaven. And it was there that God began to reveal
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  to him the rest of the revelation. We need God
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  to open up the heavens. You might feel stuck.
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  Do you know what you need? You need God to open
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  up the heavens. You might feel like Isaiah did.
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  There's so much more. I don't want to just hear
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  about what you used to do. I want to see it in
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  my time and in my day. How many of you have heard
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  of the revivals of the past? How many of you
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  are content just to hear about the revivals of
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  the past? I hear about what God, in fact, even
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  the present, what God does around the world.
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  And I get jealous because I don't want it to
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  just happen in the far off corners of the world.
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  I do want it to happen there, but I want it to
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  happen here too. I want God to move in power
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  here. Hallelujah. I want him to move. I want
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  him to move. An open heaven can be over one life.
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  It can be over a people. And I believe that God
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  wants this to be a place of an open heaven.