Open Heaven

Just so you know, Wayne gave me these flowers.

He's getting sensitive in his old age, but that's okay.

Okay guys.

Ryan's, poor Ryan, he's doing more than I'm doing.

Ryan, you want to preach after this?

Sue, how many days left?

One week and two days.

Sue retires in one week and two days.

To start off the next chapter of her life.

Welcome back. It's good to see you here again.

I've been asking where is she?

Glad you're back.

While Ryan's distributing, I was talking to Bahrain how God just takes care of things supernaturally

and how sometimes we are the ones who get worried with the little things we're doing.

And there was a couple there who had come for the morning service and then they had an evening dinner to go to

and they were supposed to take a cake for the dinner.

And the couple go home, the lady puts the cake in the oven, doesn't put on the right temperature

because she doesn't do much baking.

And so they are ready for the meeting in the afternoon, so pulls out the cake and then puts her finger or a knife

or whatever you put in a cake and finds that the outer crust looks baked, but the inside is still like mush, raw.

And so she thinks, well, there goes my cake.

And so she turns the oven off and decides to forget it and they turn the oven off and they come for the next service

and then they've got to go for dinner.

But somewhere along the line she tells her husband, I don't know, I just feel that because we've chosen not to stay behind

and God does supernatural things like we heard this morning, that this cake will be okay.

And so they finish the service and then they go back and they're thinking they should buy a cake.

And so instead they go home and they open the oven and it's completely baked.

They can't understand it.

How does a cake that was completely mush get completely baked?

So she sent me the story saying, when you teach, you tell a lot of stories.

Here is a God story that I thought I'd share.

I thought I'll share it with you guys.

Guys, God is so into you taking things that are inanimate and changing them.

Remember, he made the axe float.

He does stuff like this. We've got to trust him with inanimate stuff.

Got to trust him with that. He has the ability to do that.

Okay, so we're going to talk about an open heaven.

And I'm going to start reading from Genesis 28, 12 to 19 and then we'll take it from there.

Father, please help. Oh God, these are things you know.

We on earth are trying to figure out how you think and how you see.

So Spirit of God, come teach in Jesus' name. Amen.

So Genesis 28, 12 to 19, I'll skip some of the blessings on Jacob in between,

but I'll read the stuff that happens before the blessing and after.

So here's what it says. Genesis 28, 12 to 19. I'm reading from the message.

And he dreamed, as in Jacob dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set upon the earth and the top of it reached to heaven.

So the ladder was set upon the earth and the top of it reached to heaven.

It wasn't set up from the heaven. It was set up from the earth, reaching into the heavens.

And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Again, strange language. It's not descending from heaven and then ascending back to heaven.

It's the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

They were going up first and then coming down.

And then there was this blessing that God pronounces on Jacob.

And then if you go further down, it says Jacob woke up from his sleep and he said,

God is in this place truly. And I didn't even know it.

He was terrified. He whispered in awe. Incredible, wonderful, holy.

And then he says, this is God's house. This is the gate of heaven.

Jacob was up first thing in the morning.

He took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil over it.

So here's my first question. What was the first thing he did?

He took the stone and he poured oil over it.

And he said, God is in this place truly.

And I didn't even know it. He was terrified.

So he took the stone and he poured oil over it.

So here's my first question, guys.

What do you envision?

For a moment I thought you were going to bring me water, but thank you.

Yeah, I'd really like some.

Because otherwise I might drink from that thing and throw the flowers out.

So what do you envision an open heaven to be, guys?

What do you envision an open heaven to be?

In your mind, what's an open heaven?

What's an open heaven?

God's blessings.

God's blessings on?

Everything.

On everything.

So here are the questions.

First question is, what do you envision it to be?

All the holy people can see this.

What do you envision open heaven to be?

That's the first question.

Second question, what happens when there is an open heaven?

What happens when there is an open heaven?

And the third question is, how do we create an open heaven where we live?

So how would you answer that?

How do you create an open heaven not where we live, here on earth,

or however you want to put it.

So how would you, what would your response be?

Because a lot of people talk about stuff like this nowadays.

Yeah.

So what do you envision open heaven to be?

So she said blessing, which is kind of true, but could you back it up with scripture?

So Solomon did pray that, oh God, when the heavens are shut because of our disobedience,

and then he did pray, and the heavens can be open when we are obedient.

So yes, God's blessings.

Anything else you want to add to it?

Exceeding abundance.

Okay, exceeding abundance where things just overflow, like at the feeding of the 5,000.

Anyone else?

More than one type?

Okay, Revelation 4.1, and behold, I saw the heavens open and the Lamb,

and He said come up higher.

What else?

Thanks.

What else?

Go ahead, Ruth.

Matthew 3.16, when Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened,

and He heard a voice and He saw the dove descending from heaven.

So what does that mean?

So we are talking about actual instances of open heaven in the Bible,

but how do you envision open heaven?

What happens when there is an open heaven?

God's presence is right there.

Anything else?

Sorry?

There is a revealing of something new.

Sue?

You can hear His voice?

Yeah.

Eden was a place where there was hardly any separation between heaven and earth.

Anything else?

How do you create an open heaven where you live?

Sorry, say that again.

Obedience?

Yeah.

Critical factor if you want to create an open heaven.

What else?

Believing.

Believing what?

Believing that Jesus is with you.

Okay.

He is through you.

Amen.

Presence.

Presence.

Climb the ladder.

Climb the ladder.

Climb the ladder.

What else?

Okay.

Now, this wasn't a trick question, but it's kind of a trick question.

All these questions are kind of wrong.

This is how the world usually talks, as in what do you envision an open heaven to be?

What happens when there is an open heaven?

And how do we create an open heaven?

So I would say, because I've asked the same questions,

and I've answered the same questions in the past,

if I look at the teaching we did on open heaven about three years ago,

these are the questions we asked and answered.

But I'd say that the questions in a sense are wrong,

because the open heavens is not a place, it's not a portal, it's not an event.

This is what's critically, because what's happened is,

the church has begun to see, the church will look at, not the church, just say Acts 29.

Acts 29 in the past, so let's not even blame Acts 29.

The pastor of Acts 29 in the past has asked the same questions

and come up with answers where it almost seems that if we are obedient,

then an open heaven opens above us.

Or if we do something, an open heaven opens above us.

The question is wrong, because it's not a portal, it's not an event, it's not a place.

So then what is it?

Guys, at the end of the day, you are God's house, you are the gate of heaven.

You are the open heaven that people will experience.

You are the ladder.

Because at the end of the day, I mean that day, Jacob was in the Old Testament,

he wakes up and he says, this is God's house and he calls it Bethel.

He says, this is the gate of heaven, and rightly so.

But that Jacob and this Jacob are miles apart.

That Jacob had nothing on this Jacob.

That Jacob did not have heaven itself living in it.

Some of the songs we sang today were very deliberate.

Heaven is in my heart.

God is here, God is here.

God is where? In a place? No.

This is a building.

So at the end of the day, the open heaven is not something we create over ourselves.

The open heaven is who we are,

and it is God's means of creating in the lives of other people

an ability to have heaven enter earth.

We become the ladder.

We are the ladder that should allow people to both ascend towards God

and for things from heaven to descend into their lives.

That is what we are. We are the gate of heaven.

We are the gate of heaven.

Things from heaven come down to the earth through us.

God uses angels in the process, but

very rarely do you hear it being taught

that we don't have to create something over us

because we have been created that way to become that for somebody else.

People have to use us to ascend to heaven.

I think I said this line long ago.

For many, God is a distant comet,

and you are the telescope.

For thousands on earth, God is a distant comet.

For thousands on earth, God is a distant comet,

but you are the telescope.

You are the one that allows people to ascend this ladder and access God.

Any thoughts on that?

Because when you begin to think like that, every morning you get up

with this sense that

I owe the world...

Let me put it this way. You owe the world a life,

or I owe the world a life that is filled with the Holy Spirit

if they are to encounter God.

I owe the world a life that is filled with the Holy Spirit.

Forget the fact that you need it yourself,

but you owe the world a life that is filled with the Holy Spirit

because that's the only way the world can have an encounter with God.

I love what's this guy, Jacob does in the morning.

He wakes up, he takes a stone, anoints it with oil.

Got to get away from that dullness

which causes us to not wake up to the fact that God is here.

I mean, today when I was singing it, I was more aware than any other time.

Not that God is here in this building,

but that God is present amongst his people in his fullness,

that God is in Jacob. Heaven is in my heart. Why?

Because Christ is in me.

I owe the world a life that is filled with the Holy Spirit.

I owe it to the world.

Jesus owed it to the world to prosecute a life that is filled with the Holy Spirit

because if he didn't, the world would not have an encounter with the Father.

The world cannot have an encounter with the Father except through us.

Why? Why can't God do it directly?

Man gave his rights away to the world,

and through man, God will bring the earth back.

God's not going to send angels to do this.

Man lost it, man will regain it.

The first Adam lost it, the last Adam came and bought it back.

And God is raising a man who is not going to be able to do it.

God brought it back.

And God is raising a man called the body of Christ here on earth

so that this may be accomplished.

Any questions, any thoughts?

Just like Jacob woke up, wake up, recognize,

they recognize that, ah shucks, God is in this place.

And think of this, there is not a single place you can go to where you cannot have an open heaven.

Right now, if I, another point I want to make, I'll make that quickly before we come back to this.

Guys, you have to operate not from your measure, but the fullness of God.

Very often we operate from our measure.

We operate from the best that we are.

The best that you are is really, really poor.

And the stronger you are at something, the more you operate from the best that you are.

What is your greatest strength?

That is where you'll find yourself operating more from your measure.

You know, we always use and need God in the areas that we are not good at.

But we rarely need God in the areas that he has given us expertise in.

And that is when you start operating out of your measure.

And when you operate out of your measure, the world misses out.

Because I have to move from my measure to the fullness of God.

Move from my measure to the fullness of God.

Do I teach well? Great!

That is your, Jacob, when you're teaching at your best, it's still your measure.

Move from that to the fullness of God.

And the church will begin to hear things that you have never thought of or spoken before.

Because what does Jacob become then?

He becomes the gate of heaven here in this room right now.

And an open heaven is suddenly created in this room.

Because Jacob refuses to walk in his measure or his expertise of teaching.

And he moves into the fullness of God.

Now you become a conduit.

Now anything can happen.

Truths can begin to spill out that I'll be hearing for the first time.

Same with worship.

In every area this is how we should go.

I mean, remember this line.

I've memorized this line.

I say it in my sleep.

I say it when I wake up.

I will not operate in my measure.

I will move from my measure to the fullness of God.

I will move from my measure to the fullness of God.

So, Father, here I am.

I love worship.

I've done worship a million times.

But here's what.

Today you get everything that I am to the extent that I can give it.

And I really want to so that everything happens not in my measure but in the fullness of God.

Anything can then happen.

And the first line that I said.

I owe the world a life that is filled with the Holy Spirit.

I owe the world a life that is filled with the Holy Spirit.

I owe both the world and I owe God a life that is filled with the Holy Spirit.

If the world is to have an encounter with my Father.

This is why in John chapter 16, Jesus put it this way.

John 16 · chapter mention

Listen, I chose you and I appointed you.

Why? So that you may go and bear fruit.

And what kind of fruit?

Fruit that remains.

And what will happen if you become someone who bears fruit that remains?

Ask anything and my Father will do it for you.

Anything. Why? Because you suddenly move from your measure.

You were called, you were appointed so that you may bear fruit.

What kind of fruit?

God kind of fruit. How?

Through the God who lives in you.

And what will happen?

You will move from your measure to his fullness.

And then what will happen?

Ask anything.

It's in our measure that we ask for stuff that sometimes is so screwed up.

And then what will happen?

Ask anything.

You ask for stuff that sometimes is so screwed up.

And you can move into the fullness of God and ask for things that are brilliant.

Wake up, recognize, don't be dull.

Engage his incredible awesome holiness.

Worship.

Wake up, recognize, don't be dull.

Engage his awesome incredible holiness.

Yes.

Guys, one of the things that happens to us, and I know I said this I think two weeks ago,

is that we, and I'm talking about many of us as mature Christians here,

read the Bible a lot.

We pray a lot. We worship a lot.

We've gotten into the disciplined way of reading the Bible, worshiping, praying.

We have disciplined Christian lives.

But here is something that you need to now change.

As you get older and as Christian life becomes something that God begins to engage you more and more,

one of the things that happens to Christians is the diet that they were consuming five years ago

is the same diet they are consuming right now.

But the problem is the output in your life has increased, but the input hasn't increased.

So what happens is what Jacob was doing in 2012 was sufficient for what was required then.

But in 2017 when Jacob's responsibilities have increased, when his travels have increased,

when his comings and goings have increased, what Jacob forgets is,

I can't survive on 2012 quantities.

The input has to increase if the output must stay solid.

And that we don't do, eh?

When you look back at your life you will find that even though you have disciplined reading,

it hasn't necessarily increased in quantity.

And when it comes to God, quantity is important because quality you'll never have a problem with,

because it's God quality. But quantity is important.

Quantity is important.

Quality is good anyways.

Quantity is important.

So then it requires that I read more, engage in more, worship more, be awed even more by his incredible holiness.

And that's what Jacob does once he realizes his error really.

And present yourself every morning to be anointed for divine daily service.

Present yourself every morning to be anointed for divine daily service.

I'll say that one more time.

Present yourself every morning to be anointed for divine daily service.

for divine daily service.

But Jacob isn't the Holy Spirit in us, why do we need anointing?

What you're doing is saying, Spirit of God, I prepare myself

and completely move from my fullness,

my measure to your fullness. Here, just anoint me for whatever comes my way today.

Help me to know where to read, what to say, give me the wisdom that I need

because I'm going into this day and the world is going to have an encounter with the Father

and I owe it to the world to be filled with you.

Oh, I thought this color goes better with me.

White flowers, colors, what's happening to you Wayne?

I must move from my own measure towards his fullness

and then I'll go from leaves to nectar, from caterpillar to butterfly.

I love that change.

I move from leaves to nectar, from being a brilliant caterpillar

to even an ordinary butterfly would do.

Guys, when you move from your measure to his fullness,

you move from leaves to nectar.

And when you move from leaves to nectar, something else happens.

You stop being a brilliant caterpillar

and you end up being this ordinary but beautiful butterfly

and maybe someday an extraordinary butterfly.

It's so important to go from leaves to nectar now, eh?

Your diet must change.

Any questions?

Like, Mariam says, if you want this to become more practical,

say, Jacob, can I, can you give a practical example?

Yeah.

Guys, I'll give you one example for instance.

I love hearing God, love hearing God.

It's my favorite, thank God it's one of my favorite things to do.

And I started that about 28 years ago.

But at some point I knew that there was another place beyond hearing

that you could go to.

And many of you probably know this already and practice it,

but for me, here are the leaves to nectar place,

where you go from hearing God to knowing,

where you know something about God and you don't even need to hear it.

And when you know, now you're operating at a completely different place,

you're not looking for confirmation, you walk in assurance.

You're not looking for confirmation, you walk in assurance.

You're not looking for a verse to jump out at you to confirm what God is saying.

You remember who God is and how he's done things in the past,

you know his nature, and you begin to walk in the knowing of God,

not even in the hearing of God.

This is what I meant by suddenly jumping from leaves to nectar.

God is continuously saying, hey, this is your measure, move into my fullness.

I've got so much more, Jacob, so much more.

For the next billions and billions and billions of years, it'll be like that.

Or simple thing like, all this time, people have spent so much time looking at

how do we create an open heaven over the city?

How do you create an open heaven over the church?

And to suddenly come to this conclusion that you don't create an open heaven,

you are the open heaven, you are the ladder that has been set from the earth to the heaven.

You are God's house.

You are the gate of heaven.

Tomorrow when you go somewhere, you are the gate of heaven.

People can actually access heaven because of you.

When they climb the ladder of your life, may they see God?

May they not see some other idol sitting on top of the...

and behold, I looked and there was an idol.

No, there was God.

No, there was God.

Guys, in John 14, verse 18 to 20, actually, verse 20, towards verse 20, Jesus makes a statement.

John 14:18–20

Hey, he says, this is how it works, Jacob.

I, Jesus, I'm in the Father.

And then he says, Jacob, you're no longer outside me.

You're no longer outside me.

You, Jacob, are in me and I, Jacob, am in you.

Which means then you have to redraw this picture where it's Jacob, Jesus, Father, and Son.

Father.

Just that one statement you can spend hours on, eh?

This is why in Colossians 2.10 it says,

the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwelt in Jesus and you...

and listen to what it says in the ESV, it says, and you are filled in him.

It doesn't say you are filled with him.

It says you are filled in him.

How strange a sentence is that?

You can say, hey, Bernice, you are filled with something.

You never say to Bernice, you are filled in something

unless she is in a womb where she's surrounded by something and that something is inside her.

This is what it says in Colossians 2.10.

The fullness of God dwelt in its entirety in Jesus, in a body, in Jesus' body.

And then it goes on to say, and you are filled not with, but in.

The point is this, no longer is it I am in the Father and the Father is in me.

This is not a conversation any longer that applies to Jesus.

This was before he died.

He could say, the Father and I are one, I am in the Father and the Father is in me.

That was great, but it no longer applies because there's a new thing that happened.

Jacob is no longer outside God.

What has happened is Jesus said, hey, Jacob, I am in you and you are in me and I am in the Father.

Therefore, if Christ is in you, and I said this two weeks ago,

if Christ is in you, then in all things you must have the expectation of God's glory either breaking into your life or breaking out of your life.

Guys, if you can write this down and go home and think it, because we cannot wrap our heads around this.

Just think of it for a second.

If Christ is in you, and we call Christ the hope of glory, the very word hope means expectation.

If Christ is in you, then in all things, all things, it doesn't matter whether they are disastrous things, good things, destructive things,

diseased things, nice things, bad things, ruinous things, prosperous things, in all things, regardless of who caused it.

If Christ is in you, then in all things you must live with this constant expectation of God's glory either breaking into you or breaking out of you.

Once this settles in, it's very hard to stay down.

It's very hard to look at something and say, this won't change.

It's very hard to say, this is impossible.

It's very hard to not expect a miracle.

It's very, very hard, because who are we talking about?

We are talking about the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

And what has happened?

Jacob, he lives in you and you live in him.

And if he is in you, then you cannot but in all things have an expectation of God's glory.

And when God's glory breaks in, things may change.

Things might, you may have to change things, but it will break in and it will break out.

Where every time you pray for any situation, any person, you cannot but expect something to happen.

When this lady came and she can't get up if she lies down, and it's been going on for years,

and I know this for a fact because she's my cousin's husband's sister,

so I knew it wasn't some kind of a story, it was real.

When she comes out, there is this absolute expectation that, Father, it is going to happen.

And so Jacob, what when it doesn't happen?

Then, Father, it is going to happen.

But what when it doesn't happen?

Then, Father, it is going to happen.

But what when it doesn't happen?

Then, Father, tell me when to stop.

It is going to happen.

But then what if it doesn't happen?

No one's saying stop.

Then, Father...

Then, Father...

Because it is the...

In all things, you have this expectation that God's glory is going to break into your life

or break out from you into someone else.

Very hard then to stay in a place of brokenness.

Very hard.

Very hard.

Jesus' life is waiting to burst out just like it was waiting to burst out of the tomb.

You think that he did that only once?

You think that's not his nature?

It's waiting to burst out, especially when darkness, when anything decaying,

when anything that has death in it, covers the Jesus within you.

Jesus is just waiting to break out.

No tomb, no stone that tries to seal him in can ever hold him back.

It's just waiting to burst out and burst out with radiance, with brilliance, with earth-shattering sound.

This is why when we sing that song,

Be still and know that I am God,

that verse when you look at the rest of the psalm, you know what it says?

It says, the mountains tremble, the earth shook.

The stillness that we talk about that comes, comes because of a bursting forth of God.

And then the stillness comes.

You've got to be convinced of this, guys.

The joy of the Lord will suddenly become your strength again and again and again and again.

Go ahead, Dana.

You can be absolutely confident of the expectations being met in your life,

because you are in control of your life.

In other people's lives, sometimes the expectations that you have aren't met because they have a part to play.

But in my life, expectations can be met because I am, I am in control of my free will.

I am in control of my free will.

I can change it to match God's requirements.

But I can't do that in Sheldon's life or Benita's life or Maeve's life.

I can't do that because they have their own will involved.

Go ahead.

I was actually married to something about one and a half months ago.

I fully practiced God for it and I knew that it would come true.

But what happened is I was anxious about it.

So as I was anxious, I was reading James 1 and 2 and I realized that, you know what, I am practicing so much.

But yet again, I am anxious, so why am I anxious?

And I said, God, I am going to just let it go now and forget about it and not bother, not bother with anything.

I believe it a lot.

In the afternoon, I get a call that, don't, don't, shouldn't you forget about it?

I love the question that, which kind of exactly goes along with what Marcus is saying.

When you are afraid, ask yourself, if I did not have fear, how would I live this moment?

If I was not afraid, how would I live this moment?

It is such a relief when you realize, oh shucks, so it's possible to live it like that and I'm bound here by fear.

So why not unbound myself and live like that?

Guys, you can have high expectations.

Because if you are, if Christ, the hope of glory undermines you, your expectations have to be high.

If Jeevan or Jacob lives in you, no of those expectations.

But if it's not Jeevan or Jacob, but it is, it is, it is not Jeevan or Jacob,

but if it's not Jeevan or Jacob, but it is Christ, you gotta have high expectations.

Sue has to have such high expectations looking forward to the rest of her life.

Jacob has to have such high expectations as July 17th comes along and another year starts.

Rest, rest.

I'm afraid.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.

I knew you weren't throwing something at July 17th because you wouldn't do anything like that.

So the point is, guys, this is the way to live.

Remember this.

I've been thinking about this so often.

I'm saying, father, show me no, show me no, show me no.

Show me no as in, come on, show me something about this that I haven't seen yet.

That you are in the father and the father is in you.

And then you go on to say, but hey, Jacob, just something else happened after I rose again.

What, what, what, what?

Now you are in me and I'm in you too.

And I'm in the father and the father is in me.

So it's this oneness that Jacob, I was praying for in John 17.

That oneness has happened.

He's, he prayed that in John 17.

It was his last will and testament.

Oh, God made this happen.

And he made it happen.

Now he says, can you learn how to abide there, Jacob?

Can you learn how to abide there?

Who makes all this possible?

The one, the one thread that runs through Jacob, Jesus and the father.

Holy Spirit.

The spirit of the father and the spirit of Christ now has saturated and become one with my spirit.

He runs right through.

Guys, say la.

I could spend the rest of this day just saying, say la.

Ponder on it.

Think about it.

So what are some of the requirements to continue being this open heaven, the gate, the gate of heaven, the house of God here on earth?

You've already mentioned it.

So I'll just come through it quickly.

One is Matthew 3 16 that Ruth mentioned where it says that when Jesus was baptized and he says I'm doing this because I need to be obedient.

When Jesus was baptized, Matthew 3 16, he went up from the water.

Immediately he went up from the water and behold the heavens were open to him and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.

So one of the things that you and I have to understand is if we are obedient, God empowers.

If you are obedient, God empowers.

If you are obedient, God empowers.

If you are obedient, God empowers.

It's very hard to be obedient.

It's not easy.

If you're living as a monk on Gouse Mountain, it's easy.

But when you're interacting with people in the world, it becomes harder and harder.

On this trip, there were two or three occasions where I had to choose to want to be obedient to this.

What do people think?

And when I was obedient, I was empowered, empowered.

The spirit of God comes upon you.

He descends from the heaven.

The next thing if you want to be obedient, you have to be obedient.

The spirit of God comes upon you.

He descends from the heaven.

The next thing if you want to be an open heaven on a continuous basis here on earth,

gosh, I'm so grateful that we can be this, that every time we gather together,

we don't have to create an open heaven.

Heaven comes through.

Just think of it.

It's crazy, man.

The second scripture is Acts 7 56.

Behold, this is when Stephen is being stoned.

Any man that's seen when the servant gets stoned by the guys in the vineyard,

I've never seen so many stones fall on one person mark.

Acts 7 56.

Behold, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

Behold, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

Guys, when you begin to decide every morning that this is who I will be for God and for the world,

Acts 7 56 points towards an open heaven being a person through whom God exerts government,

God exerts intercession, and God exerts power.

Here is Stephen being stoned.

He looks up and he sees an open heaven and he sees Jesus seated at the right hand of God.

And that is a place of power, that is a place of government, and that is a place of intercession.

One of the things God wants to use you and me for tomorrow is exactly this.

Tomorrow I'm meeting a couple who are Eric and Penny's friends.

I've never met them before.

I just know their names.

One of them is Angie and the, I forgot her husband's name.

I'm meeting them.

Angie and?

Kevin.

Kevin.

And so I'm meeting them tomorrow.

And I'm so looking forward to the fact that I can be the gate of heaven tomorrow,

that they can access things of God tomorrow, that things of heaven will flow,

that power can be released, that intercession can be done, that the Holy Spirit will empower,

that revelation will flow.

The same applies to you.

Joan might go and meet somebody who needs comforting.

And while she's there, she's no longer going to operate from her measure.

She moves into God's fullness.

And now the one called the Paraclete, the Comforter, flows through with such, such strong comfort.

This is how it works each time.

Sheldon sits on a piano with a little Jewish boy.

He's teaching how to play the piano.

And as he sits there, he moves from his measure of being a piano teacher to the fullness of God,

who is now a musician, who is now a father, who is now the God of the, even the physical descendants of Abraham.

And as he starts playing, things begin to happen.

Where is the limit now?

This is called Christ unlimited in session.

Christ unlimited in session.

Through whom?

Through us.

What are we creating?

Heaven on earth.

How?

Through being the open heaven here on earth.

People begin to access God.

Is there a greater, more wonderful reason for living?

I mean, in your occupation, do you realize how blessed you are to have this inside knowledge

and now work in whatever situation you are in?

And then when things get tough, to be able to stand up like Daniel, like Joseph,

and be obedient, even at the cost of losing a job, because what is a job in the eyes of God?

It's like peanuts. It's not...

Yeah, peanuts would be right.

What a wonderful way to live.

This is called seeking first.

The rule of God and his right ways.

This is what it is.

And all other things will just be added.

Peanuts.

But let him burst forth.

Let no tomb in your life encase him.

He was not meant to be kept in a tomb.

He cannot be kept in a tomb.

He cannot be kept in a tomb.

Allow him to burst out in the area of sin, in the area of darkness, in the area of heaviness,

in the area of thoughts that plague you, in the areas of torment,

in the areas where there is a ceiling in my life, where I can't think past,

because of past experiences or future fears, where there are ceilings.

He was born and he lives forever to burst every such limitation.

This is what he... This is who he is.

Absolute victor.

For we are more than conquerors through Christ.

Because he is and this has happened.

What do you say about Rachel's baby?

If Rachel was here and you looked at her stomach, what would you say?

Is the baby out? No. Is the baby in her? Yes.

Is the baby filled with whatever she is filled with? Yes.

Filled with yes. It's literally being wound in Jesus.

Filled in him.

It still blows my mind.

Not filled with him. Filled in him.

Colossians 2.10.

The fullness of God dwells in its completeness in Christ in bodily form.

And you, some versions say are complete in him, others say and you are filled in him.

Surrounded by your glory.

Do do do do do do do. Do do do do do.

Okay, going on.

The next verse and we'll just look at these three verses.

This was what Wayne was talking about when he talked about Revelations 4.1.

Where John sees this and he writes it.

It says, after this I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven. Ah!

And the first voice which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said,

come up here and I will show you what must take place after this.

The third thing that we become when we realize that we are the gate of heaven.

Is God begins to say, okay since you are now beginning to practice this, come up and I'll show you more.

Let me reveal a little more of my nature to you.

Let me reveal what is going to happen.

Let me show you a little more so that you can be more useful.

When you begin to live like this, you become a person that God wants to show more to.

Because he is finding you faithful with what he has already given you.

And he keeps showing you more. Keeps showing you more.

Here is John and he says, okay now that you see heaven open, don't just be satisfied with it.

That's what happens with us. Say, have a worship time. Ah! What a wonderful worship time.

Hey! The intent of worship is now that God has magnified himself.

Not that he grew any bigger, but your eyes have opened and you see him for his bigness.

He says, now that you have seen my bigness, come up higher.

Moses, come up the mountain man. And what do you want to do?

I want to see your goodness of God. Sure, come up the mountain.

And listen, I'll hide you behind me but I will show you my glory.

He asked to see his goodness. God shows him his glory.

And God is saying the same thing.

Guys, every time we worship and we will get to worship now before we finish.

All that worship does, you know, when I first started as a Christian,

I would come to church early, half an hour early and I would start worshiping. Why?

Because I was taught that God inhabits the places of his people.

Come early and start worshiping and God will come and dwell there.

So by the time people come in, they'll be touched by God.

No, all that happens is worship. Is that your eyes open.

And you see the God who was already there.

So if you come early and start worshiping, he will come and worship you.

If you start worshiping, your eyes will be more open. That's all.

And then once your eyes are open, he hates it when people stop it.

Oh, marvelous God. No, now come. I want to show you more.

I want to show you more. Behold, I've opened the door. Come. I'll show you more.

When you live like this, you will never ache for revelation

because revelation will be the food that you eat.

And it will be biblical. It won't be off the wall.

And it won't be information. Any revelation that is not demonstrated in your life,

it's not revelation. It's just information.

It must be demonstrated.

Only when it's demonstrated, does it become God.

Word made, flesh.

Any word, any part of the word that is revealed to me must become flesh.

Otherwise, it's not complete.

The word became flesh. The word of God must become flesh in me.

And then when that happens, he says, okay, let me show you a little more.

It's a marvelous way to live, guys. Guys, we're being invited into the best time of our lives.

I'm not just saying that because of this teaching. I just know it.

I just know it. That we are coming into the best time of our lives.

You are so fortunate that you can claim that at 24 and 25.

I had to wait so many blooming years.

But you get to have that at 25 and 35. That is so unfair.

But blessed are you.

Be the ladder on earth, eh? Be the ladder on earth so that heaven can ascend and descend.

I just want to touch on that and then conclude.

Guys, it's fascinating how it says, and Jacob saw angels ascending and descending.

You would think they would be descending from heaven and then going back.

Instead, he just turns it around and he says they were ascending and descending.

And so it has the same tone that Genesis 1 verse 5 has where that also bugs me.

Genesis 1:5

But it's a good bug. As in it says there, and then there was evening and there was morning and it was the first day.

It never says there was morning and then there was evening the first day.

It turns it around. Then there was evening and then there was morning and that was the first day.

Same here. They were ascending and they were descending.

So why were they ascending and descending?

I would suggest a few things. One, guys, new beginnings emerge.

New beginnings emerge only when you conclude your old responsibilities.

New beginnings, that's just something on the side that I want to extract as a principle and then we'll go on to why.

New beginnings emerge when you faithfully conclude old responsibilities.

New beginnings emerge when you faithfully conclude old responsibilities.

New beginnings emerge when you faithfully conclude old responsibilities.

How you finish somewhere is how you will start somewhere else.

How you exit is how you enter.

So for many Christians we want something else to happen.

But that something else does not usually happen till what you were initially given is concluded well.

So I'd suggest that these are strong suggestions.

You can't make theology out of it.

But I think what I'm saying is true.

One of the reasons angels were ascending and descending, guys, when you ascend you're giving an account of tasks completed.

One of the things angels do, he gives an account of tasks completed.

One of the reasons angels were ascending and descending, guys, when you ascend you're giving an account of tasks completed.

One of the things angels do is, okay, let me just write it down and then we can talk about it.

One of the things they do is give account of tasks completed.

Another thing they do is, I'll explain it after I write it.

Another thing they do is bring new commissions that need to be initiated.

And the third thing, one, two, and the third thing they do is they ascend having gathered new truths revealed by the church.

The last few lines as I go lower on this board are basically unreadable, so just ask.

Taking this serious.

They ascend having gathered new truths revealed by the church.

They ascend having gathered new truths revealed by the church.

Guys, in the book of Daniel it talks about angels being watchers.

We won't go there right now, but here's the thing.

One of the things angels do, and we are surrounded by thousands and thousands of them, Hebrews 1.14 puts it this way,

Jacob, aren't angels ministering servants sent to the saints to help them with their inheritance and the work that they have to do?

We just don't see them, so we've got zero idea.

What we see is these little babies with wings.

It just gets me.

Which? Oh, I thought the babies.

So one of the tasks that angels are charged with, if you have angels that have little babies with wings, I'm not offended by it, I'm just saying that's not who they are.

I think angels would shudder at the thought that they are being represented as little babies with wings.

But here's the thing. Guys, one of their tasks is to give account of tasks completed.

Sometimes they are called watchers in the book of Daniel, but tasks that are completed, they give account for.

You see this in the Old Testament where God would send angels to report on a city or report on things.

And so how does it work today? I don't exactly know.

Why does God need angels? Isn't he all-knowing? Yes, he's all-knowing.

So how does it all work? I don't know the mechanics.

But we will find out. We've got another 20 or 30 years together as Acts 29 before some of us die.

But we've got 30 years. So give account of tasks. OK, don't be frightened. 40 years.

Give account of tasks completed. That should be good enough, right?

I'll be 92. Yeah. I was only thinking of myself.

Give account of tasks completed. One of the things angels do is they give account of tasks completed.

And the second thing they do is they bring new commissions that need to be initiated.

I mean this happens, this happened even to Jesus. When Jesus was in the desert, it happened.

It was Jacob in the Old Testament. It happened multiple times.

The strange thing is Jacob meets these angels in Genesis 28. In Genesis 32, guess what happens?

He's going to meet Esau. He's just left Laban. And Genesis 32, verse 1 and 2 says,

Genesis 32:1

And then the angels met him. And he looked at the angels and he said,

This is a double camp of angels. Now in Hebrew thought, it says God does not travel with less than 60,000 angels.

Now this is Hebrew thought. Not Hebrew thought. It's what's written in their,

whatever books they are called. I forgot the name of the books. No, not Torah.

Midrash. It's probably written in their commentaries that God doesn't travel with less than 60,000.

So when Jacob says this is a double camp, what some commentators say is that Jacob must have seen about 120,000 angels.

Doesn't matter. You see one, you usually fall on the floor and you're shaking.

So 120,000 is a huge number. But the point is this, guys, God gives the account of tasks completed.

Angels give account of tasks completed to God. They bring you commissions that need to be initiated.

And the third one is so cool. First Peter 1.12. In First Peter 1.12 it says angels don't know.

They know God, but they just can't wrap their heads around Jesus Christ and salvation.

So one of the things that happens when there's teaching like this that is happening is that angels actually hang out

to figure out what is being taught. The manifold wisdom of God being revealed in the church.

And they take these truths back because they cannot fathom Christ. I mean, read it. This sounds so unreal. You've got to read it.

First Peter 1.12. I mean, I could have stopped without going to the angels, but this chapter was about angels.

So I don't want us to be thinking of the angels thing. I just wanted to throw this in so that we are aware of a little bit

that's happening that we don't normally hear of. First Peter 1.12.

It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, but when they spoke of things that have not been told to you,

by those who preach the gospel to you, by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

So angels long to look into these things. And there's another scripture in First Corinthians which says,

in Ephesians which says, that the manifold wisdom of God is being preached to the

principalities and angelic hosts. I'll find it for you. Can someone Google it?

Manifold wisdom revealed. Ephesians 3.10.

Crazy, huh? When you want a scripture, you don't have to flip your Bible. You can Google it. Ephesians 3.10.

Ephesians 3.10.

If you want to flip your Bible, you can Google it. Ephesians 3.10.

It says there, starting from verse 9,

And to make plain to everyone in the administration of this ministry,

which for ages past was kept hidden in God who created all things. His intent was that now through the church,

the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms

according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The point is this guys, when you combine Ephesians 3 with 1 Peter 1.12, you realize that the angelic hosts

really don't have a clear idea of what happened on the cross.

And so one of the things that they do is listen to the manifold wisdom of God being revealed in the church.

And that is something else they gather and take from the earth.

1 Peter 1.12, starting at verse 10.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who, 1 Peter 1.10, concerning the salvation,

the prophets who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with greatest care,

trying to find out the time and the circumstances to which the spirit of Christ in them was pointing,

when he predicted the sufferings of the Christ and the glories that would follow.

It was revealed to them, we are talking about prophets in the Old Testament now,

it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you when they spoke of the things

that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

And then it goes on to say, not only were the prophets in the dark, even angels too,

to listen to this because they do not comprehend it.

Hey, Jesus never said to an angel, I'm in the Father, the Father is in me and you are in me and I'm in you.

It's reserved for the highest form of creation, man.

We are for a little while lower than the angels.

They are ministering servants sent to help those that are inheriting salvation,

as in the ones that have already become saints and the ones that will become saints.

They help us with the work of ministry, just as equippers in the church equip the saints for the work of ministry.

Angels also assist in the work of ministry.

We just don't see it, but it's happening so often and these are not angels that are running around with your car.

That's all we think angels do, when you drive fast they fly faster.

No, that's not their job.

So much more.

Psalm 91 verse 11, he gives his angels charge over you.

Psalms 91:11

Psalm 103 too.

He gives his angels charge over you.

I just thought I'll touch on angels a little.

Yep.

Why do we need angels charge over us?

That's exactly what I asked.

That was my first question.

Why can't, why does he need them? He can do it without them.

Why does he need them?

Do you have any answers?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

The answer was we've got 30 or 40 years to find out.

Yeah.

There is an Italian basilic book, in their last year.

They say for Christmas they host by a year by year.

I was lucky this month, last year there were no other books.

They're changing every year.

And what they say of this basilic is we only wanted to work less by angel, not by human.

I was lucky this month, last year I was lucky to host by the book.

I talked more about angels.

They were preaching about God and Jesus Christ.

I was lucky to host by the book.

I was lucky to host by the book.

I was lucky to host by the book.

I was lucky to host by the book.

I was lucky to host by the book.

And it was amazing.

Yeah, one of the things that we've got to make a clear distinction between

is that anything that is spoken has to be completely biblical.

Because even in Israel there were myths about angels.

One of the myths that we read in the Bible is that there was a pond called Bethesda.

There was a pool called Bethesda.

And that every now and then an angel would come and stir up the waters

and the first person who steps in there would get healed.

And so there would be these thousands gathered around the pool of Bethesda.

And so Jesus comes there and he looks and you know the rest of the story

how he asks the guy, how long have you been?

Guys, don't for a moment think that that was a God thing.

God will never create a pool around which thousand people sit

and send an angel to stir it up and watch how lame and crippled people

drag themselves climbing over each other to jump into it.

That is an anathema to who God is.

That's not God's nature.

Only a wicked God would have a lottery system

that allows one person to jump into a pool once every year.

So that incident is given in the Bible not to say that Bethesda was a place where it was really happening.

All it was saying was this is what the Jews believed.

Everything we hear has to be interpreted through the nature not just of God

but the nature of Father God.

If you don't see him as Father God, we'll get it wrong.

You can't even see him as just God.

You have to see him as Father God.

And when you do that, you see, oh shucks, this was a myth.

This was a myth.

That's the beauty of knowing him as Father, eh?

And so even, I mean, Peter had to put it this way,

even if an angel came and told you something that is different from the gospel that I'm preaching to you,

do not believe it because very often Satan comes masquerading as an angel of light.

So got to be aware that whenever, I mean, I just touched on angels,

but I'm going to ask what's his name, Wayne, to cut it off before the angels.

And we can talk about angels another day.

I went for this message because we are talking about it right now.

But one of the things, guys, is whenever an angel was sent,

it was to choose that already had been spoken by God.

Angels were never sent to give prophetic words.

Angels were always sent to give words that were already spoken of prophetically.

Just think of that for a second.

Word, yeah.

This is, yeah, this is such a cool thing.

No angel can bring you a prophetic word because it's a gift given by the Spirit to us, not to angels.

Angels can bring words that were prophesied and relay it again to you,

or angels can come and say, hey, you received this.

I'm here to remind you so that you may be encouraged.

So when the angels ministered to Jesus in the desert, what was happening was Jesus knew he was led into the desert by whom?

The Holy Spirit.

And so he's ministered to.

That's the beauty of it.

An angel can never bring a message from God that has not already been spoken about in the Word,

or spoken to you prophetically or revealed to you biblically.

That's a strange, that is a good measure, right?

Good measure.

That is such a plumb line.

And so we need to hold that.

We need to hold that.

Anytime we need to hold that, that is this something that the Bible has said?

Is this something that has been revealed prophetically?

Because an angel will never bring a new message.

So with Paul, angels would turn up and help him.

But Paul already had that blinding light meet him on the road to Damascus.

And everything that was said was said then.

And then they would strengthen him.

Very cool.

And then the other thing that the angels did with Jacob was after God woke him up and showed him this vision and said,

listen now, this is what I'm going to do with you.

And then the angels came to him at Mahanayim where he was going to meet Esau and so on.

So let me take you, go ahead Diana.

When angels come like that, the angel of the Lord was also present?

Christ pre-incarnate was present?

Yeah.

So it was Christ who was speaking it?

Yeah.

Guys, so let me take you back to the few sentences before we talked about angels.

I think it's necessary to talk about them, but the focus has to turn back to Christ.

So here's the things I wanted to tell you.

One, an open heaven is not a place, an event or a portal.

It's you.

You are God's house.

You are the gate of heaven.

You are Bethel.

Be an open heaven on earth starting when we leave.

Two, you owe the world a life that is filled with the Holy Spirit.

If the world is to encounter God, you owe the world a life filled with the Holy Spirit.

Fill yourself with the Holy Spirit whenever you're heading out.

Do it multiple times a day if you have to.

All you're saying is, Spirit of God, I know you're so willing to take whatever I yield.

So again and again I come and say, here's a yielded Jacob.

Really accomplish everything you want to.

I don't want Jacob's mind, Jacob's personality, Jacob's idiosyncrasies, Jacob's prejudices,

or Jacob's preferences to get in the way of God's way of doing things.

Third or fourth or whatever, I must move from my measure to his fullness.

Sela, I must move from my measure to his fullness.

Never operate out of your measure.

At best you are slightly better than filthy rags.

Fourth, no longer does Jesus say, I'm in the Father and the Father is in me.

End of sentence. No.

Now he says, I'm in the Father, Jacob, the Father is in me.

And here's what happened after I rose again.

I am in you and you are in me.

You are filled in me.

This is your true condition.

And therefore in all things, Jacob, you must have the expectation of glory breaking into you

or breaking out of you to touch somebody because I, Christ, the hope of glory live in you.

Therefore...

The Spirit who has become one with my spirit, Romans 6.17.

Amen.

Amen.