AN OPEN HEAVEN

Malachi 3:10-12
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says Yahweh of Armies, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough for. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field,” says Yahweh of Armies. 12 “All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says Yahweh of Armies. (WEB)

Most times when we hear today's Scripture passage spoken about, it is to teach us about giving to God. If we give our 'tithes' to the Lord, He will open up the windows of heaven to pour out a blessing so great that we will not be able to contain it. It certainly is one of the most encouraging promises in the Bible that speaks to the fact that we can never outgive God.

While this promise of provision in itself is wonderful, I want to focus on the part of this Scripture where God promises to open up the windows of heaven and pour out on a blessing so great, that there won't be room for us to contain it. Understanding that this promise was given to the Israelites in the Old Testament, let's move to the New Testament and read a couple of Scriptures that speak of the New Covenant's version of an open heaven and abundant blessings.\


First let's go to the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3:16-17...
16 Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. 17 Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (WEB)

In this intimate encounter between Father and Son, you will notice that the windows of heaven were torn open when the Father proclaimed His love for His boy. It was at this time that Holy Spirit descended as a dove and propelled Jesus to fulfill His destiny.

It is interesting to note that we do not read that the heavens ever closed after this encounter. I believe that Jesus lived under an open heaven all of the days of His ministry. Since we are in Christ right now, I believe we too live under the same open heaven today as Jesus lived under 2,000 years ago.

The next verse that I want to highlight comes from Ephesians 1:3...
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; (WEB)

If you look at this verse, it says that our Heavenly Father has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing that exists in heavenly places... because we are in Christ! Since we already live under an open heaven because we are seated with Christ in heavenly places, we are blessed with every heavenly blessing there is!

My prayer today is that we would all know that our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, has secured for us the unlimited blessings of living under an open heaven NOW. I do not believe it is only when we give to God that He opens heaven.

I believe we live under an open heaven right now because we are His beloved sons and daughters and He speaks the same words over us that He spoke over His Son at His baptism... “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”