======================================================================== DESPERATE CRY FOR A WIDER OPEN HEAVEN by Gbile Akanni ======================================================================== Summary: Gbile Akanni passionately calls believers to a desperate cry for a wider open heaven, emphasizing the necessity of prayer and faith to receive God's promised revival and blessings. Duration: 30:47 Topics: "Revival", "Prayer" Scripture References: Psalm 102:13, Ezekiel 47, 2 Chronicles 1:4-10, Luke 3, Acts 2:1-4, Matthew 3, Genesis 28, Acts 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In this powerful prophetic message, Gbile Akanni calls believers to a season of open heavens, urging them to pray with desperation and faith to receive God's promised revival and blessings. Drawing from biblical examples such as Solomon, Jesus, and the apostles, he highlights the importance of recognizing and responding to God's visitation. The sermon challenges listeners to avoid missing their divine opportunities and to prepare their hearts for a transformative encounter with God. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Living Seed Media brings to you God's Word, which is his comprehensive equipment for changing lives. May the Lord impact your heart as you encounter his Word. For further inquiry or counsel, contact Peace House, PO Box 971, Boko, Benue State, Nigeria. Telephone numbers 0703 03636 59 0703 76811 98 Email address lsmediaatlivingseed.org or visit our website at www.livingseed.org Let us sit back and listen as the servant of God brings forth the Word of Life. Father, we ask you to help us to pray. We have a need to pray. Let the spirit of grace and supplication come upon us. Help us to pray. And may you hear our prayers. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. This morning we have a need, a very clear need, to pray as the Lord has come to us to declare his intention. His intention to open the heavens unto us. We have a need to pray about it and to receive it. This MLR, I believe, is not a routine MLR. It's not a joke at all, as God has come ahead of time to state to us what he wants to do. This MLR is going to really be a definite encounter with God. And I want us to prepare our hearts for that. Because if God will not open the heavens, he will not come to us to announce it. But it's one thing to announce it, it's another thing for the people to receive it. That is our need for prayer. We are in a season. We are in a season of open heavens. We are in a definite season when God's heart is open to his people. God has decided to favor Zion. In Psalm 102 verse 13, God came to us a few years ago. He said, you will arise and have mercy on Zion for the time to favor her. Yes, the said time has come. And from that time, we have seen God meticulously doing things and moving us from one stage to another. We have seen God actually beginning to do what he says he will do. It's a season we have already entered. It's not even just that we are going to be praying for revival. It has started. It's just that God is moving us from one stage to another. God is moving us. You see, he talked in Ezekiel chapter 47. When the stream, when the water from the sanctuary started flowing, it just started flowing like a spring. Just water, little water flowing from under the threshold of the temple, right from the sanctuary. It was not noticed. But move 1,000 cubits further, it came to the ankle. And another 1,000 cubits, it came to the knees. And another 1,000 cubits, it came to the waist. And another 1,000 cubits, it came to a stream, a river that one cannot cross. So, something has started. You may not notice it. But it's beginning to be noticeable. It is beginning, maybe it's already at the ankle or the knee level now. But something is happening. What God is announcing to us when he says, you will see greater things than this. It means that we have reached a stage where God wants to move us to another level. A higher level. Sometimes when we talk about revival, we expect something to move like the mighty rushing wind. We expect something, a rain that will overflow, but you have had this morning. It may not come like that. He said you may not see wind, you may not see rain, but this land will be filled with water. So, God can do his work the way he likes. Don't let anything make you doubt that God has not started something. It may not be noticeable yet. But it is coming to the ankle level. It's coming to the knee level. And we need to receive it by faith. As we have seen God a few years ago, he announced to us, he said, I'm calling you into a greater task. Little did we know that God will blow everything open within one year or two. One year. And then, you know, the COVID that was like a negative all over the world became a positive for us. We see God expanding his work beyond ordinary water that flows under the door. It came to the ankle level, and before you know it, to the knee level. Very soon, it will become a river that one cannot cross. But we need to receive it. And as God has come to us to announce it, we must pray that the Lord who has brought us into this season of revival, he will make progress with us. The heavens that he wants to open, he wants to open it wider than before. He said you will see greater things. It means there are great things. Now there are greater things. You will see greater things than this. You will see the heavens opened, and the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. It's a wider door he wants to make available for us. And we must pray it down. We must receive it from above. When God opens the heavens, he does not open it arbitrarily, you know. Yesterday the Lord came to us, and he spoke seriously to us that if you are looking for these open heavens, it requires a desperate cry. We need a desperate cry. God does not throw his good things to dogs. We need a cry to heaven. You as a person, you need to cry for it. If the place where God has brought you has become too narrow for you, and you are crying and you know that, oh no, I'm not finding things easy again. I'm not the way God wants me to be. I'm not where God wants me to be in his purpose. Then you will cry a desperate cry. Even a gentile lady cried, and she received what she needed from the Lord. How much more, we as children, that God is calling to the table to eat. We must cry to heaven. And it is as the heavens open to individuals, that it will open to cities. He does not just come from heaven and land on the city. It is people that bring revival to their city, to their generation. That's why you as an individual, and myself, we would need to cry to heaven for our own lives. That the Lord will open the heavens to us, and we will not miss it. It's a cry that we need to cry. It's not something to joke with at all. We are in for an encounter with God in this place. That living this place, indeed, hereafter, we shall see heavens open. You will recollect that in the time of Solomon, he was also praying. When he became king, he knew that he did not have what it takes to rule the people of God, though he was in the position. He had the position. Many of us are in position, but you are just occupying space. You don't have the wherewithal to fulfill the purpose of God in that position. Professionally, traditionally, in every aspect of human endeavor, even those who are preaching the gospel, we are crying. We don't have what it takes to bring solution to the problems of the people sitting before us. Our hands are yearning. Our hands are crying. Things are happening to people right under us, and we have nothing with which to handle them. It's a desperate cry we need now, now that the Lord has come to announce that he is ready to open the heavens unto us. So, no more. The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 1, verses 4 to 10. I will read quickly. But David had brought up the ark of God from Cajajerim to the place David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. Now the bronze altar that Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Ho, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the Lord. Solomon and the assembly sought him there. And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of Niti, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. On that night, God appeared to Solomon and said to him, What shall I give you? And then you know what Solomon asked. You know what happened. Solomon was seeking God before that open heaven came to him. We can't approach this matter casually. And you cannot afford to be discouraged because of the deplorable situation of your life, or of the situation around you. No, this is not the time for that. This is the time to raise a desperate cry for a wider door, a wider open heaven over your life, over my life. Solomon was praying, seeking God, and God appeared to him. And that great experience he had happened to him. God gave him wisdom. He gave him an understanding heart as large as the sand of the seashore. And we know what happened. We know how he executed that first judgment that shook the entire earth. Wisdom from above. And you know the Bible says, in his time, 40 years, there was peace in his domain. When Revival comes, there is peace. When God gets someone who will bring heaven down, there will be peace in your domain. Whether professional domain, or political domain, whichever domain. There will be peace. There will be joy. There will be prosperity. There will be miracles. And there will be, you know, multiplication of disciples. Those are the results of open heavens. When the heavens opened unto Jesus, you will discover that he also was praying. In Luke chapter 3, the Bible said, he prayed, while he prayed. After being baptized, while he was coming up, he was praying. And the heavens opened unto him. And the voice came from on high. Bringing introduction, a divine introduction to Jesus. Again, you know the results. You know that all through his time, there were great miracles. The disciples multiplied. There was even peace in Israel. All through his time. There was prosperity. There was joy. There was joy. People experienced God and God's power. Because heavens opened to a man. We need to cry. You need to cry. Don't depend on, oh, let it open to Brother Gbile. What of you? You are a child of God. You must eat, so that crumbs will be available for other people to be fed. And for their problems to be solved. When the heavens opened unto the apostles. In the book of Acts chapter 2 verses 1 to 4. And the Holy Ghost came upon them. You also know the results. Heavens opened to individuals. And the result is very clear. And, you know, as they received that open heaven. And the Holy Ghost came on them. You see the thousands that were converted. You see thousands upon thousands every day being added to the church. And in a short while, disciples multiplied greatly. Greatly. That was the result of open heavens. We have a need to pray. Because we are in that season now. We are in the season of open heavens. And once God has made the announcement, it is important for us to receive it. To cry for it. And make sure the heavens open to you. Because in Matthew 3, the Bible said about Jesus. Heaven opened unto him. There were thousands being baptized. But they were not praying. But this man that was so desperate. Crying for open heavens. The heavens opened unto him. It can open to you in this meeting. Let this meeting be the beginning of your own open heavens. And if you have had it before, let God make it wider. God is bringing us to a wider space. He wants this stream to go to, not only to ankle deep, to knee deep. He wants it to be waist deep. He wants it to become a river that none can cross. We are going to be praying. It is one thing for God to open the heavens. It is another thing for it to be brought down to the earth. When individuals receive it. We must not miss this open heavens. Because if we miss it, our generation is in trouble. And the generations to come, we don't know what will happen to them. Each of us must receive it. That's why we have a need to cry. You remember that God came down. God came down and made an announcement. As he is making to us now. He made an announcement to Jacob. When Jacob was going to get a woman to marry in Paddan Aram. He slept on the way because the sun was set. And the Bible says he dreamt a dream. And there was a ladder from heaven down to the earth. And God came to announce to him what he was about to do. That was in Genesis chapter 28. Look at what God announced unto Jacob. And what he made out of it. Genesis 28. You see, he said, Jacob went out from Beersheba and went towards Haran. So he came to a certain place. And there, stayed there all night because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head. And he laid down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth. And its top reached to heaven. And there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham your father, the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, I will give to you and your descendants. And so on and so forth. Look at what God came to be saying and announcing to Jacob. But at the end, what did Jacob make of it? He misunderstood it. Actually, he didn't understand it. And he misvalued it. He didn't value it. Everything was valued at give me food, give me water, keep me in safety. Look at the great promise. The great open door, open heaven that God opened unto Jacob. But he didn't make anything out of it. And he missed it. That's the greatest trouble of it. He missed that open heavens. And so for the next 20 years of his life, he walked in darkness. He married in darkness. He had children in darkness. There was trouble in his house. There was incest. There was an idol worshipper among his wives. He was in darkness. Will you go from this and go back on your own way and begin to walk in darkness? God forbid. That's why we must cry and pray for God to open the heavens and that he will help us that we will not miss it. When it comes to you, because it comes to individuals, you know, we don't just pray general prayer. God will come to our nations, but he will pass through you. You must first focus on your life. Receive it first. And say, Father, when you come to me to announce what you want to do with my life, may I hear you clearly. May I not miss it. May I say like Mary, Lord, let it be to me as you have spoken. If you miss it, that was what Jacob missed. And he walked in darkness for 20 years. He took God's mercy to come back to him. Of course, that cost him his hip. His hip was dislocated for life. You don't have to be injured before you will enter the purpose of God. We must pray. When it was time for God to open the heavens unto Peter wider, because on the day of Pentecost, it was opened. Then God came again in Acts chapter 10 to make it wider. In chapter 2 up to chapter 9, it was only in Jerusalem and Judea that Peter was operating. But the keys of the kingdom that God gave him was meant not only for Judea. It was meant for Samaria and for the outermost parts of the world. But he didn't understand. So God came knocking in Acts 10. And God showed him that vision. The heavens opened. If you read that scripture, you will see again. The heavens opened. And that great sheet descended. And God says, Peter, rise, kill, and eat. He said, not so, Lord. I've never eaten anything unclean. God said, I'm opening a door. Arise. And three times he denied it. And so God took away that thing to heaven. May God not close your heavens. May he not take away from you back to heaven what he means to bring to you in this meeting. You will cry to God. He wants to open wider your heavens. If he has opened it before. And if not, he wants to open a, you know, heaven unto you. He wants to pour you a blessing. You will pray, God, don't let anything. Don't let any tradition. Don't let anything at all. Unbelief. Don't let whatever it is. Don't let ambition. Sometimes it's ambition that will make people to miss the open heavens. This is what I plan to do. God, you cannot now dissuade me to do another thing. Ambition that will plunge you into darkness. You will beg God. Lord, help me. Don't allow me to miss the heavens that you want to open to me. Jesus lamented over the Israelites. Over Jerusalem. In Luke 19. From verse 41 to 44. Oh, he lamented. Because God came to announce these open heavens to them. The shepherds, they saw it. They told the story around when Jesus was born. And all through the time of Christ, the announcement kept going on. Going on. Unfortunately, at last, they missed it. And Jesus cried and lamented and wept over Jerusalem. Saying, in verse 42, if you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that are made for your peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you, and close you in on every side. And level you and your children within you to the ground. And they will not leave in you one stone upon another. Because you did not know the time of your visitation. Luke is a crime for you not to know today that this is your time of visitation. If you refuse to heed that and receive what heaven has in store for you, there is also a hereafter. There is a hereafter, not only for you, but even for your people. For the church congregation in which you are. And for the nation where you come from. That's the worst part of it. You will call on God. Father, don't let me miss these open heavens over my own life. Lest my people come into trouble. Lest my life enter into darkness. You will call on the Lord and say, Father, may I not miss it. Father, open the heavens unto me. And when it comes, when the time comes that you are going to begin to speak to me. Because open heavens comes with an instruction of what to do with it. Lord, don't let me miss it. Don't let me be deaf to you. Don't let my heart be hardened. Don't let any ambition take me away. Oh Lord, let it be to me as you have spoken that I will see greater things. Let it be unto me as you have spoken that the heavens will be opened unto me. Let it be that Lord, as I carry you about among men. Oh God, I will see greater things. You will call on God to receive it first. And call on God that when he comes knocking, you will not miss it. You will not miss it. Those who miss it, whatever is the reason, is a difficult situation. Jesus did not miss it. And he brought great improvement, great prosperity, mighty miracles upon his nation. You can see it in the lives, even of the apostles. Miracles, multiplication of disciples, even Solomon. Brought great prosperity to his kingdom because the heavens were opened to him. You have a need to pray. Lord, open the heavens to me. That is the first cry. Because the children must eat first so that there will be crumbs for others to have their problems solved. The nations, ah, you don't know what that means. That when God's people, when God opens the heavens to God's people, even in the story of the United Kingdom, it is children of God that brought prosperity to UK. It was when the heavens were opened that discoveries, scientific discoveries, the industrialization that broke out, it was then that it came. It comes normally with great things from heaven. You will call on God. Father, open the heavens to me. Let my people also not be unfortunate because of me. Open the heavens to me. And Lord, may I not miss it when it comes. Lord, take away every unbelief. Let there be no ambition, no ambition, no tradition, no unbelief, nothing will hinder me from receiving this open heavens in this MLR, my brother. There is time to everything. God has tied it to this MLR. Don't say I will pray when I get home. Oh, it is now, now, now that God is saying this is what I'm going to do here. We need to be desperate now. You will call on God. Lord, help me. You will also pray, Lord, may I not misunderstand it. May I not misunderstand this open heavens when it comes to me. And may I not misvalue it. Help me to have the right value on eternal things. Don't allow me to use it for something else. As Solomon did. He used the open heavens eventually to marry a thousand wives. And eventually the kingdom was torn from him. You will also beg God ahead of time. Don't allow me to misuse, to misunderstand the open heavens that you are bringing to my life. Don't allow me to misvalue it. You will call on God for your life. We are praying for ourselves first. Because we are the ones that God wants to deal with. You will call on the Lord that as the heavens open unto you, you will become a channel. A channel for it to flow to your people. To your church congregation. Your church denomination. Let it flow to your nation. To your tribe. To your kindred. Let it flow to your profession. Oh, let there be help upon the face of the earth as a result of the open heavens God will grant you. It is this divine visitation that we are calling upon God for. We have come for a divine encounter. Since God is ready. He was the one who first announced it. We are not even the ones. He came and said you will see greater things than this. You haven't seen anything yet. You have not seen anything yet. You will see heavens open. What a great blank check. Father, may I not miss it. You will call on God that over your own head the heavens will be opened. We are going to be praying now that when God is passing around distributing his open heavens, opening heavens to people. Let some portion fall on me. Let some portion fall on me. Let my head not go dry. Lord, open the heavens unto me. Don't allow me for whatever reason to miss it or misunderstand it or misvalue it. You will call on the Lord for your life and the Lord will answer our cry in the name of Jesus Christ. Shall we go to God in prayer? ======================================================================== Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/gbile-akanni/desperate-cry-for-a-wider-open-heaven/ ========================================================================