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We
are definitely living in unstable times - a time filled with difficulty,
danger, and risk. Living in the last days requires that we have a greater
sensitivity to the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit will lead us only if we give
Him this right – He knows the way we should go. He understands how to avoid
every trap and obstacle along the way - we will have wisdom to know every step
we need to take in the days ahead. All we have to do is obey God’s
instructions, and He guarantees us blessing and provision even in difficult
times. Stand on the Word of God — exercise your faith. As you listen to the
Holy Spirit and obey what He tells you to do, God’s supernatural blessings will
kick into action, and you will soon find a river of supernatural provision
flowing to your life
Rick
and Denise Renner
Before I get into the meat of this letter, I
want you to be among the first to know that our meetings in the United States
this summer have been canceled.
About a month ago, we learned that
international flights from Russia have been halted due to the coronavirus
situation.
Because of that, Denise and I had no choice
but to cancel all our meetings this summer — the first time we’ve ever had to
do this for one of our regular trips to the States.
Thank you so much for praying for God’s
wisdom for us as we navigate this interesting season we are all living in all
over the world.
People have been asking how the situation is
in Russia.
Although the impact of this virus in Russia
has been significant, in the midst of it all, God is moving mightily in the
lives of so many people as we continually reach out over the airwaves to preach
and teach the Gospel, which is truly Good News!
But at the same time,
this is the greatest hour for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A massive harvest is
coming into the Church all over the world. Statistics prove that right now,
more people are coming to Jesus worldwide than at any other point in history.
The Spirit of God is
swinging the Gospel sickle, and millions upon millions of souls are being swept
into the Kingdom of God. Praise the Lord!
This is one of the
greatest signs in evidence today that we are near to the coming of Jesus (see Matthew 24:14).
But right in the
midst of all this, events have occurred throughout the earth that have shaken
the nations of the world and filled men’s hearts with fear.
I am convinced that
part of this worldwide assault has been the devil’s attempt to put believers in
fear so they will retreat from this worldwide Gospel advance.
Although we need to
be wise and do what we can to protect ourselves in times such as these, we do
not need to react in fear.
Fear is never the
answer, for it results in blurred thinking and bad decisions.
God’s Word promises
us a sound mind if we will claim it.
When Timothy was facing hard times, Paul told him, “For
God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a
sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
This verse says that
God has given us a “sound mind.”
This comes from the
Greek word sophroneo, and it is a compound of the words sodzo
and phroneo.
The word sodzo
is the Greek word for salvation. It means deliverance, protection, and
soundness.
The word phroneo
is the root for the word mind.
When these two words
are put together, as they are in this verse, the new word is translated sound
mind.
The idea presented by
the word sophroneo is a mind that is saved and protected or a
mind that is sound.
It is just the
opposite of a mind given to fear, panic, or unfounded and unreasonable
thinking.
This word describes a
mind that is thinking correctly!
Because God has given
us a “sound mind,” we can think correctly about how to live in these
last days — a time that Second Timothy 3:1 predicted would be “perilous.”
The word “perilous”
in that verse is the Greek word chalepos, and it literally means
something that is difficult, dangerous, or filled with risk.
This is a prophetic
warning to let us know that those who live in the very last of the last days
will be confronted with a strange period of time like mankind has never seen
before.
It will be a time
filled with difficulty, danger, and risk.
Today I want to give
you what I believe is a sensible approach to living in these last days.
To ensure that we are
doing all we can to remain in the blessings of God, these are the steps my wife
and I apply to our own lives.
These are the Holy
Spirit’s orders to Denise and me, and now I am passing them on to you as
they’ve been given to us.
Living in the last
days requires that we have a greater sensitivity to the Spirit of God.
Romans 8:14 declares
that one of the privileges of being a son of God is that the Spirit of God will
lead us.
The word “led”
in this verse is the Greek word ago. It is the picture of someone
extending his hand to you so that he can gently lead you.
In these last days,
we must be led by the Holy Spirit.
However, the Holy
Spirit will lead us only if we give Him this right.
Oh, how many times
the Spirit of God has wanted to be our Leader, but we went our own way and
ultimately suffered the consequences!
He knew exactly how
to lead us past every attack. He knew how to avoid each strategy of the devil.
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would “… shew you
things to come” (John 16:13).
The word “shew”
is the Greek word hodegeo and is the word for a guide who shows a
traveler the safest course through an unknown country.
This means the Holy
Spirit is our Guide. He knows the way we should go. He understands how to avoid
every trap and obstacle along the way.
When we are going
into an area where we’ve never been before, the Holy Spirit wants to show us
how to take the safest route.
He knows exactly how
to get us safely to our destination.
The Holy Spirit often
stopped Jesus from going to certain regions because the Jews were waiting to
trap Him.
To avoid these traps,
the Holy Spirit would guide Jesus another way.
The Spirit also
warned Paul not to go to certain places for the same reason.
Also, in the book of
Acts, the Holy Spirit warned the Early Church in advance about persecution,
famine, and other trials.
The Holy Spirit knows
the future and wants to enlighten us with all the information we need in every
situation. This is part of His ministry to you and me.
If the Holy Spirit
speaks to you and tells you to do something specific, then obey Him!
Do you remember the
account of when the death angel passed through Egypt and took the firstborn of all
the Egyptians?
The reason Israel was
unaffected was that the Israelites obeyed the instructions God gave them to put
blood on the doorposts of their houses.
They brushed that
lamb’s blood on the doors of their homes just as God had ordered.
Later when the death
angel came, he passed by every home where he saw blood on the doorposts. In the
end, not one of the Israelites was touched!
But what if Israel
had disregarded God’s instructions and tried to protect themselves another way?
Would their efforts
have worked? Of course not.
God told them how to
be protected. All they had to do was obey. If they did what God told them, they
were guaranteed protection and blessing.
They were untouched
because they walked in obedience.
Weeping, crying, and
mourning were heard in Egypt, but not in the land of Goshen where the children
of Israel lived.
They found protection
in their obedience to the Word of God and the Spirit of God.
As we obey the Word
of God and listen to the Holy Spirit’s leading, we will have wisdom to know
every step we need to take in the days ahead.
All we have to do is
obey God’s instructions, and He guarantees us blessing and provision even in
difficult times.
But if we try to take
another approach, there is no guarantee for us to claim.
We must do what God
says if we want to be assured of His divine blessing and protection.
As a spiritual leader
and friend, I want to encourage you to increase your level of faith, especially
if you are facing challenging times.
Stand on the Word of
God — exercise your faith.
Listen to the Holy
Spirit and obey what He tells you to do.
As you do these
things, God’s supernatural blessings will kick into action, and you will soon
find a river of supernatural provision flowing to your life.
There is no doubt
that we are living in some of the most challenging days the world has ever
seen.
But you can face
these times victoriously because God has given you a sound mind; He has given
you the promises of His Word; and He has given you the leadership of His
Spirit.
Never has there been
a more crucial time for you to operate in faith and not fear, and to believe
for a mighty move of God to take place on this earth!
Today I’d like to
lead you in this prayer:
Lord, as an end-time believer, I need to be filled with
faith and not with fear.
Help me fill my heart with Your Word, stand on Your
promises, follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, and exercise my faith more
than ever before!
I know that fear has blurred my thinking in times past,
but it will NOT have any place in my life from this day forward!
Instead, I release my faith and confidently expect to be
a partaker in the last and greatest harvest of souls ever to be reaped for the
Kingdom of God!
Holy Spirit, help me rise to the occasion as I become an
instrument God can use in these last days. I pray this in Jesus’ name.
Please remember that
we are here to pray for you.
You can reach us by
phone any work day 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT — or you can email us at
prayer@renner.org, or submit your prayer request online.
Just as soon as we
hear from you, we will swing into action to lift your concern to the Lord in
faith.
It is one of our
highest joys in the ministry to pray for you and to see Heaven’s best
manifested in your life!
While I’m talking to
you in this letter about being led by the Spirit in the last days, I want to
tell you about my new book Last-Days Survival Guide — A Scriptural Handbook To
Prepare You for These Perilous Times.
This book is at the
printer as I write, and I am excited to let you know that it will be available
soon!
Right now, for a
limited time, you can purchase this book at a prerelease discount of 30 percent
off the retail price! Just go online to our store or call our Tulsa office to
order your copy, or copies, today!
Denise and I love you
and thank God for you!
We are your brother
and sister, friends, and partners in Jesus,
Rick and Denise
Renner
along with Paul,
Philip, and Joel and their families
OUR VISION is to take the Gospel both to our nearby world and to the ends of the earth, proclaiming Christ, and warning and teaching every man with all wisdom, in order that we may present every person fully mature in Christ Jesus. – Colossians 1:28
Rick and Denise met
while they were each on an individual quest to wholeheartedly follow God’s plan
for their lives. Rick was a college student, growing in his teaching ministry.
Denise was a talented vocalist. She chose not to pursue a course that
held the prospect of performing with the Metropolitan Opera so that she could
instead pursue a relationship with Rick and fulfill her heart’s desire to enter
full-time ministry.
Rick
and Denise’s friendship has led to a lifelong love and a powerful partnership
in building the Kingdom of God. After a decade of ministry, first as pastors
and then as itinerant ministers, Rick and Denise Renner embarked on an
adventure of a lifetime. In January 1991, the Renners and their sons — Paul
(then 8), Philip (then 6), and Joel (then 2) — left behind all they knew to
relocate their family to serve the region that only weeks earlier had become
the former Soviet Union.
Rick
and Denise remember kneeling together as a family and kissing the ground when
they arrived at the airport in Latvia on that cold January day. In that moment,
they all committed their lives to the will of God and to the people of their
new homeland. The following year, Rick moved forward to launch and establish
the first of its kind — and eventually the largest — Christian television
network in that region of the world.
Over
the years, Rick and Denise pioneered three churches, a Bible school, and a
ministerial association that serves thousands of Russian-speaking pastors
throughout the former USSR as well as parts of the Middle East. As Rick began
training and mentoring leaders in the early days, Denise also developed a
women’s ministry that is actively involved in changing the lives of women and
their families today. Specifically, they minister to the needs of orphans,
women prisoners, the homeless, and drug-and-alcohol addicts.
Rick,
Denise, and their children began as a small circle of five, willing to go
beyond their comfort zone to reach the uttermost parts of the world. Today that
circle includes their sons’ wives, eight grandchildren, and a large ministry
staff that helps the Renners extend their reach as they exalt Jesus Christ as
the Hope of all nations.
https://renner.org/the-holy-spirit-will-help-you-in-these-last-days/
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