Points for Contemplation:

• What does it mean when the heavens are opened? What kind of person will you become once the heavens are opened? What must you do to open the heavens?

• What is a testimony? What is the relationship between bearing witness and the opening of the heavens? Are you someone who frequently has testimonies?

The Opening of the Heavens Determines the Good or Ill of Your Destiny

Many problems arise in life because the heavens above you are not open; they are dark. If this is the case, you live in darkness and will find life arduous. If the heavens above you are opened, the Holy Spirit will descend upon you, and you will receive power and be able to perform miracles. These things may sound miraculous to some. We must not live in the natural realm but in a supernatural one, ensuring that our lives are transcendent. The Christian faith is not just any faith; it is a transcendent faith.

Whether the heavens above are open determines your destiny! If your destiny is unfavorable, the first issue to resolve is the opening of the heavens, allowing heavenly messengers to enter your life and bring all the good things of heaven into it. If God’s heavens are not opened, but the devil's heavens are pressing down on you, you will live a hard life.

Many people ask: Pastor, why are your prayers answered? It is because the heavens above me are open, and my prayers can reach the throne of God. God can send His angels to come down and resolve all my problems. Some may find this incredible, but spiritual matters cannot be contained by the human mind. Our knowledge of earthly matters is already limited, let alone spiritual knowledge. Spiritual knowledge is related to revelation. Once the heavens are opened, revelation from above descends upon us.

Why do we always use prophetic revelations when studying the Bible? It's because these revelations come from God. Experience tells us that the first half-hour of prayer is difficult, but afterward, time seems to pass quickly. This is because the heavens above us have opened. The opening of the heavens is a great blessing; it is the spiritual world opening up to you, which can resolve the problems in our lives. Know that all your problems are closely related to the spiritual realm, and the answers come from there as well.

We experience spiritual matters every day. In Jesus Christ, there is a great grace: because Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, the heavens are opened above. If the heavens above you are not opened, you might as well not be alive. Everyone must receive this grace of the opening of the heavens. How do we obtain it? By paying the price of prayer.

Jesus’ Incarnation is a Tremendous Grace

When John wrote the Gospel of John, he received a revelation: the Word that created all things in the universe in the beginning was Jesus. The first chapter, verses 1-5 of the Gospel of John, tell us that the Lord of the universe came to earth, revealing God through His words and deeds.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

Jesus raised the synagogue leader’s daughter from the dead; He took her by the hand and gave her back to her mother. This is because Jesus is the Lord of life; life is in Him.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

This means that the Creator of the universe came among us and showed us through His actions that life is in Him, that He is life itself, and this life is the light of mankind. When life enters us, we are no longer without hope. If your life is without hope, you need to choose to follow Jesus because you know that without Jesus Christ, there is no hope. Many people in this world are without hope, especially those at a low level. They do not know what it feels like to reach the summit. When you reach the peak of power, like Qin Shi Huang seeking the elixir of immortality, you will find yourself helpless; you need God.

People living in darkness have no hope; in darkness, their spiritual eyes are blind and cannot see hope. Because people live in darkness, they need God. If your life is empty, chaotic, and shrouded in darkness, you need the Spirit of God to move upon you; you need light. God wants to restore our original glorious life and save us. This is a very challenging task, like trying to explain something to a blind person.

When all humanity was enveloped in darkness, Jesus Christ became incarnate and descended into the world, revealing the essence of life to those of us living in darkness. Our physical eyes are very limited and can only see physical things. We are also vague about the spiritual realm; many things in the spiritual realm we cannot understand, yet they are real.

People are Reborn from the Spirit and Become Children of God

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (John 1:12-13)

When you accept Jesus, you become a child of God. God has reborn us once more; this is what John Chapter 3 talks about rebirth. Once a person is reborn from the Spirit, he is someone with the heavens opened above him. He has authority and power in his hands and can do what Jesus did. I often perform miracles because I am a child of God. God has given me the authority to be a child of God, a child of the eternal God. I would not trade my identity as a child of God for anything because it is the authority of heaven and earth.

Among us, almost all the girls who had problems with menstrual pain have been healed, because authority can break curses on people and solve women’s menstrual problems. Genesis says that because Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, women were cursed and suffered the curse of pain in childbirth. Because we have authority in our hands, we can break this curse.

Seeing and Testifying is Bearing Witness

What is a testimony? A testimony is seeing and then testifying. A faith without a testimony is a deadly faith. If a religious faith does not know what a testimony is and cannot prove the truth and reliability of the faith with facts, that is very sad. The testimonies among us are real and alive, all testifying to this incarnate Jesus Christ. Everyone should often bear witness for God. This chapter gives the example of John bearing witness for God. John is miraculous; he was sent from God.

He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him everyone might believe. (John 1:7) He bears witness for Jesus Christ; he saw the Spirit of God descend on Jesus Christ.

I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One. (John 1:33-34)

John saw, but many do not see. The spiritually blind cannot see; only those whose spiritual eyes are opened can see and bear witness to the spiritually blind. The consequences of giving a testimony to a blind person are twofold: either they believe, or they do not. So to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Once you become a child of God, your spiritual eyes are opened.

Faith can open a person’s spiritual eyes, but people are quite stubborn. We have all been spiritually blind, knowing nothing about the spiritual realm, only knowing how to make money and work, and as a result, we have earned ourselves a lot of trouble. One day, you suddenly realize that the road you are walking is not the right road, and then you turn back and believe in Jesus Christ, whom we have testified about. At this time, you are released and then see God working in you. This chapter mentions the word testimony many times. Testimony is what those who have seen do for those who have not seen.

If you have experienced God, you must bear witness to those who have not seen God. When they hear it and hear it often, they will begin to receive it, just like MW sister’s father. Know that when the Spirit of God descends and descends upon us, it means that the heavens are opened. Why do many people who come among us, when I lead in prayer, I say, the Holy Spirit fills me, Hallelujah? Because the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we receive power, and our spiritual eyes can see. If you are spiritually blind, then your faith and religion are useless; it is useless if the heavens are not opened.

The Spirit of God Redeeming Us is Key to Opening the Heavens

The Holy Spirit descends upon us; in essence, the Spirit of God descends, a grace bestowed upon us through the redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ. Many believe in Jesus Christ for our redemption, but they stop at belief, and the heavens above them remain unopened. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon us is an indispensable step. The Spirit of God descended upon Jesus, and Jesus will baptize us with the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit of God descends upon us, we too must emulate Jesus and baptize others with the Holy Spirit. What Jesus did, we also do; this is all biblically grounded.

If Christians lack the step of baptism in the Holy Spirit, they essentially lose the essence of Christianity. For years, this is how people have preached the gospel: believe in Jesus, be baptized, and it ends there. This is not how it's done in the Bible. In the Bible, people believe in Jesus, are baptized, and then receive the Holy Spirit. Receiving the Holy Spirit is a crucial step.

John said, “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.” (John 1:32). We can only understand this passage through faith. Often, the foundation of Christian faith is faith itself. If you do not believe, you cannot proceed.

For example, I tell a sister, You will become a top student. But this sister asks me, Pastor, are you saying this based on faith? I reply, Of course, because I saw it, I tell you. Believing or not is up to you. I often see wonderful revelations during prayer, and then someone might question, Pastor, did you really see it? This troubles me because I cannot record it, nor can I be certain I did not missee. Therefore, I emphasize that Christian faith is fundamentally based on faith.

The Price of Opened Heavens is Jesus' Crucifixion

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!' (John 1:29)

This means that Jesus Christ came into this world to be crucified, to become the sacrificial lamb, bearing our sins, carrying our sorrows, and bearing all our pain. The price of the opened heavens, or rather, the grace of opened heavens, comes from Jesus' crucifixion. Jesus' crucifixion is itself grace.

If you feel that the heavens above you are open, yet you are unwilling to pay the price of even praying, then you will not be able to receive the grace that comes after the heavens are opened. Jesus willingly laid down His life, dying for us on the cross, so that we can be free and the heavens above us can be opened. If you can receive such grace but are unwilling to pay the price of even praying, then you are truly shortchanging yourself.

A brother asked me, Pastor, how can you pray for so long? This brother's optic nerve was dying. I asked him, I have prayed for all those with eye problems, and their eyes have been healed, do you believe? He said, with a face full of doubt, that he believed. I told him it doesn't matter if he doesn't believe, as long as he desires his eyes to be healed. He said, I desire it. I then had him place his hand on his eyes and led him in prayer.

Previously, his vision was blurred, but as I led him in prayer for five minutes, he took his hand away from his eyes and could see clearly. Three months later, he told me that his optic nerve had fully recovered, but he still said he could not pray for that long. He was still unwilling to open the heavens above him.

In reality, God has prepared exceedingly abundant grace for us. I encourage everyone to pay the price of prayer, to open the heavens above you, and then all the wonderful things in the kingdom of God will happen to you. If you cannot even manage to pray and attend gatherings, is that not very regretful? The Lamb of God atoned for our sins; this is key to opening the heavens. Many religions do not believe that Jesus atoned for us, so they slowly atone for themselves. Before they finish atoning, they commit new sins, and they live in a vicious cycle for life, so the heavens above them will never be opened.

Forsaking Worldly Hope is Necessary to Follow Jesus

Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, 'Look, the Lamb of God!' When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, 'What do you want?' They said, 'Rabbi' (which means Teacher), 'where are you staying?' 'Come,' he replied, 'and you will see.' So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. (John 1:35-40)

John's two disciples, they merely saw where Jesus was staying, and then said, We have found the Messiah (Messiah means Christ, Savior). Not because they saw something, but because they believed, because their teacher John said, Look, this is Jesus Christ, and they believed.

Why did these two believe? Because these two saw through the essence of life; they knew they were living in darkness and without hope. If you, like these two disciples, are living in darkness, living without hope, then I tell you, Look, Jesus is the Lamb of God. Because your sins will be washed away by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and you will see the heavens above you open.

Then they waited in hope and began to follow the Lord Jesus as witnesses. Later, the New Testament speaks of what Jesus Christ did in them, and these people were also doing what Jesus Christ did, including John, who baptized people with the Holy Spirit wherever he went. Therefore, encourage brothers and sisters, from now on, wherever you go, baptize people with the Holy Spirit, so that their spiritual eyes may be opened and they may witness the glory of God.

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, 'Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.' 'How do you know me?' Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, 'I saw you while you were still under the fig tree, before Philip called you.' Then Nathanael declared, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.' Jesus said, 'You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.' He then added, 'Very truly I tell you, you will see 'heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.' (John 1:47-51)

In other words, the opening of the heavens is because Jesus Christ offered His body.

Conclusion

Four thousand years ago, Jacob had a dream in which he saw the heavens opened and a ladder, with the angels of God ascending and descending. After he woke up, he said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven. Those who said these things were those who had lost hope in the world. If you feel that living in this world is full of hope, then you will not be able to follow Jesus. Unless you have given up all hope in the world and placed all your hope in Jesus Christ, then you will see the heavens opened, with the angels of God ascending and descending, doing God's miraculous work. When we pray, people will be delivered because the power of God will descend from heaven; this is the opening of the heavens.