"This is my beloved Son in him I am well pleased."
Is what Paul meant in 2Corinthians 12:2 when he talks about the third heaven also what is meant by an open heaven?
2I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.3And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
But walking under an open heaven sounds unrealistic to many of us--
Maybe the reason we have not attempted to embrace this type of intimacy is because we need to weed out some wrong thinking. As a man or woman thinks so shall they become.
I used to think I became holy by praying more, reading the Word more, fasting, or other good works. But then I discovered I am holy. I am the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus. Reading God's Word and spending time doing these good activities only unveils to me by revelation or renewing my mind that I am just as holy now as I will ever be since the moment the Holy Spirit came to dwell on the inside of me.
Another misconception is I must do something special to draw or attract heaven to myself. When Jesus said, "It is finished." the earth shook and the temple veil was torn from top to bottom signifying that there was no longer a separation between heaven and those on earth. We know God's Word says we can enter boldly to the throne of grace. Jesus paid 100% of the price so we could have access to the Father and to the benefits of heaven.
Other than just believing God and taking Him at his Word there is nothing I need to do to draw heaven to myself. We know the Word says that without faith it is impossible to please God.
But faith is just believing what God says in His Word.
Take a minute and ask God for a fresh understanding of the parable Jesus told in Luke 15. After the son had been starving and living with the pigs it says that he came to his senses and realized that in his Father's house he could at least beg to be a servant and get something to eat. So dirty and smelling really badly he went back to beg for mercy.
But ask yourself, did this man do anything special to draw the love of the Father to himself? No, the Father simply lavished his love and favor and authority on him just because he was a son. Was it the son's repentant heart that made the Father heap his love toward his son? No, the son thought he could repent and grovel at the Father's feet to allow him to get back in his good graces but the Father never gave him a chance to speak of those things. The son was thinking he would talk his Father into allowing him to be his servant just so he could be in his Father's house once again. But the Father just hugged him and kissed him and poured out all his goodness just because he was a son.
The other son who came in from the fields just didn't get it. He had been striving to please the Father and didn't understand why this wasteful son would be given favor when he had been out voluntarily laboring in his Father's fields. Maybe we should think about the whereabouts of that second son for a moment. Maybe he was not meant to be out laboring like the other servants. His place should have been at his Father's side in the house as a son. The second son was just as messed up in his thinking. He was acting like a servant. He is a son!!!!
A son is to be one of authority carrying out his Father's business. Not outside like one of the servants doing the work of a servant. Jesus said he no longer calls us servants but friends. Jesus was trying to show us by this parable that we belong in our rightful place as sons of God.
In Mark 4, Jesus gives another example to his friends that THOSE WHO HAVE-- MORE SHALL BE GIVEN but those who do not have, even that which he has shall be taken away. This seems a bit disturbing. If we don't have something, how can it be taken away? But if it is a PERCEPTION OF LACK --we think we don't have it--then it is taken away. (more examples of this principle are in 1Kings 17 Elisha asked the widow what she had and in Matthew 15 when Jesus asked the disciples what they had.)
If I think I don't have an open heaven then it is taken from me. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND if I believe the Father has lavished me with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus and I start taking advantage of this open heaven lifestyle then MORE SHALL BE ADDED TO ME. I do believe God has given this to me and I'm getting ready for more to be poured out to me. WOW!!!! That is good news! Kingdom living is so much richer than we can imagine!
