Opening a Pipeline from Heaven

Recently one of the ladies in our church, Debbie, sensed an overwhelming call from God to get in her car and drive a thousand miles, one way,  to a little town in Iowa that had been hit by a severe tornado just the day before. She knew that the Lord was telling her to do it, and yet she wasn’t sure what she would do once she got there. She was stepping way out of her comfort zone, to say the least.

So Debbie came to visit me to see if possibly the Holy Spirit would confirm to me what He was asking her to do. At this point, the only thing she knew for certain was that she was supposed to go and the only thing she could think of to do was to take 30 blankets that had just been taken out of service at the motel where she works.

As she shared with me what God was calling her to do, I got a strong sense from the Holy Spirit that she indeed was supposed to go and then I suddenly got a mental image of a big pipeline coming down from heaven and being positioned over certain people from that little town in Iowa. What the Lord made known to me in that vision was that Debbie’s mission was to open up pipelines of blessing from heaven to that tiny little spot on earth called Thurman, Iowa.

What People Really Need

What God was revealing to me is that after a natural disaster many people will come to the aid of victims with soup and blankets but very few will come bringing the Kingdom of Heaven with them. As followers of Christ that’s exactly what we’re called to do. Not that there’s anything wrong with soup and blankets - they’re very important. But after disaster victims get help cleaning up the mess and get a warm meal and a warm blanket, what they very well may need is a supernatural touch from God. Maybe they need a physical healing or a download of His supernatural peace. Who will be there to minister that to them? Perhaps they need a powerful revelation of the Father’s love for them. Who will be there to minister that to them?

God made it clear to me that He wants to pour out His supernatural blessings from heaven to people in need here on earth. But one thing I know about God is that His provision does not flow to us simply because of our need, it flows to us because of our faith in Jesus. It’s not that God isn’t aware of our needs - He is very aware. It’s just that need isn’t what opens up the pipeline from heaven - it’s faith. If what I’m saying sounds wrong to you, think of it this way: If God’s provision flowed to us because of need, there would be no need in the world - right? And if you need more convincing consider this: Man’s greatest need is salvation - correct? So if God’s provision flows because of need, then everyone would be saved - right? So if need doesn’t save us, what does save us? Faith! God’s provision flows because of faith, not need.

In the aftermath of a natural disaster you’ll see many good-hearted people running around providing what man can provide. But what about the things man isn’t providing? That’s where God wants people of faith to step in and open up a pipeline from heaven to earth to provide the things that only He can provide. Miraculous physical healing, emotional healing, supernatural encouragement, financial blessings, freeing someone from the grip of the devil, maybe even raising someone from the dead. You won’t find those things in the back of a Red Cross van.

In Acts 3 Luke writes about the time Peter and John went to the Temple to pray and got hit up by a beggar who couldn’t walk. Instead of ignoring him or fishing around for some loose change, Peter looked him straight in the eye and said, “I don’t have any gold or silver for you, but I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” To the amazement of all those around (except Peter and John!) the man got up and began running around and hollering with joy.

In my opinion, the key phrase in this whole story is, “I’ll give you what I have.” So what do you think is more important to have - an extra five bucks or the faith to open up a pipeline from heaven and see a paralyzed man get healed? Are you more inclined to just hand over the cash and keep on walking or stop and open up a pipeline from heaven? Lots of people will hand over the cash, but who will bring heaven to earth? Will it be you?

Let’s be honest with ourselves. It’s less risky to hand over the cash than to risk the embarrassment of not having someone get healed. But one of the great truths I’ve learned is that faith equals risk. At some point you need to get over yourself and start taking some “risks” by stepping out in faith. It worked for Peter, it worked for Debbie, it works for me, and it can work for you.

But there’s one thing for sure - you can’t give away what you don’t have. If you don’t have any money you can’t give any away. And if you don’t have faith you can’t open up a pipeline from heaven. Peter knew what he had and he knew what to do with it. So how do you get what Peter had?

How To Open a Pipeline From Heaven

First and foremost, you need to know that it’s God’s will. So how do you know if it’s God’s will? Here’s an easy way to know: Take a look and if it doesn’t look like heaven you know it’s not God’s will. In other words, it’s God’s will to make things look like they would in heaven. That’s not just my own wacky idea - it actually came from Jesus when he taught us how to pray in Matthew 6. In Matthew 6:10 Jesus tells us to pray for the will of heaven to be done here on earth. So whatever situation you see on this earth, if it doesn’t look like heaven, then God wants you step out in faith and open up a pipeline from heaven until that situation on earth looks more heaven.

Secondly, you need to build up your faith by hearing the testimony of those who have experienced the blessing of an open heaven. The more you see of God’s supernatural power, even in someone else’s life, the less “risky” it will seem to step out in faith.

And finally, you need to take the plunge and just do it. Go ahead. Command healing in Jesus’ name. Cast out demons. Minister the Father’s love to a hurting heart. And if need be - raise the dead.

You don’t have to wait for a natural disaster to give of what you have. There are scores of hurting people all around you that desperately need an open pipeline from heaven right now. Most of those people don’t have a clue how to make that happen. But you do. You can use your faith to turn on the flow from heaven for someone else. It would be great if you would tell them, “I’ll give you what I have.”