Dear Friends,
I greet you in the wonderful name of Jesus!
Today I have a message on my heart for you, but before I get into it, I first want to express my thankfulness for your partnership with our ministry and wish you a happy Easter — Christ is risen; He is risen indeed! Denise and I are endeavoring to do all that Jesus has asked us to do (which is a lot), and we are able to do it because of the grace of God through Jesus Christ and because of faithful partners who pray for us and who give financially. This is precisely why the word “partners” is not a cliché to us. When we call you a “partner,” we really mean it because what we do is linked to the giving of our partners. So I really want you to know how very thankful we are for everything you are doing with us!
What I want to share with you today is that we are living in a critical time — but the Holy Spirit prophetically predicted in the New Testament that at the end of the age (the time we are living in right now) a spiritual storm will once again slam against society as it did in the early days of the Church. This is exactly what Early Christians faced when the pressures of the ancient world threatened to devastate the newly forming Church. It is vital that we heed the Holy Spirit’s warnings in Scripture and understand what is ahead. But remember, the Holy Spirit didn’t tell us this to scare us; He did it to prepare us, and it is imperative that we hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us.
In addition to understanding that a spiritual storm will slam into society at the end of the age, we must remember the Holy Spirit’s wonderful promise in Joel 2:28: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.”
This explicitly says there will be a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit’s power in the last days. Just like a mighty outpouring of God’s Spirit occurred at the beginning of the Church Age, it will occur again at the end of the age. In fact, it will be the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the history of the Church — reserved specifically for the difficult and challenging times we are entering. For those who are committed to Christ and refuse to give way to the spirit of the age, the greatest levels of power the Church has ever experienced will be released.
But…in the earliest days of the Church, when persecution against believers was extraordinarily acute, those Early Christians could not be deterred. If anything could have stopped the Church, it would have been the storm that raged against them. But Jesus promised, “…The gates of hell shall not prevail against it [the Church]” (Matthew 16:18). Although waves of persecution have come and gone many times over the past 2,000 years of Church history, every turbulent episode has proven Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:18 to be true — the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Church!
God has always had a remnant who will not bow to pressures — and in these last days, He will have that remnant once again. Are you one of them? Are you among those who refuse to compromise? If yes, you will experience previously unknown levels of the power of God as a result of your commitment to stand by truth. But in the midst of these end times, we must remember Jesus’ words in Revelation 2:17, where He says: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh….”
The word “overcometh” is derived from the Greek word nikao. It refers to a victor, a champion, or one who possesses some type of superiority and can be translated to conquer, to defeat, to master, to overcome, to overwhelm, to surpass, or to be victorious. This word was often used to portray athletes who had mastered their sport and ultimately reigned supreme as champions in their games. It could also describe a military victory, in which one foe fought against the other.
It is also important that the tense of the Greek word translated “overcometh” speaks of a continuous action. It isn’t acceptable to win a single battle but then lose the war because of a slack, unguarded attitude. Christ is calling on each of us to remain victorious. In this verse, He is admonishing each of us to be permanently and consistently undeterred in our efforts to overcome and to obtain a lasting victory over sin in our lives. This means Jesus is calling on us all to be overcomers, and it is to be our continual and unrelenting goal to maintain victory in every possible sphere of life as long as we are on this earth.
In these last days, we need to make up our minds and be committed to being “overcomers” regardless of what is happening around us. If we will take the Bible as our absolute authority and allow it to thoroughly equip us, we will victoriously sail through these times and take our God-ordained position in His plans and purposes. Just as the waters of the flood lifted Noah’s Ark and caused Noah and his family to float during a time of unprecedented crisis, God’s Word will cause us to be buoyed up above the perils of this hour and will enable us to float when it seems everything else is sinking.
In moments when you feel pressure trying to bear down on you, you must grab hold of God’s Word and look to Jesus to draw your strength from Him. You can be victorious in this hour. Jesus calls you (and each one of us) to be an overcomer. To do that, we must dig in our heels and make it our continual and unrelenting goal to maintain victory in every sphere of life! This is what was on my heart to share with you today!
Before I close, I want to tell you that we are here to stand in prayer with you for any area of your life where you need to experience Jesus’ power! Maybe it’s in your mind, your emotions, your family, your relationships, your finances, your job, or your church. Whatever it is, I promise you that Jesus has all the power you need to experience His victory in that area of your life. It would be our greatest honor to pray with you — and we promise that whatever you share with us will remain confidential. So please…either call, go online, or write to us so we can know exactly what your need is, and we will stand in faith for Jesus to move mightily in your life and in your situation!
And today I have a personal prayer request for you.
In the first weeks of May, I will be traveling to eastern Turkey to film for ten days at a site that many believe contains the actual ruins of Noah’s Ark. It is very remote and hard to reach, so I am asking you to pray with me for divine protection and success as we go there to film as I teach. I am extremely excited about this, and I am thrilled that I will be able to show you this amazing site in future TV programs. Would you please join with me in prayer for this?
Once again, thank you for all you do to help us take the trusted teaching of God’s Word to people all over the world. You are a very important partner in this work, and I am so thankful to God for you!
We are your brother and sister, friends, and partners in Jesus Christ,
Rick and Denise Renner
Along with Paul, Philip, and Joel Renner and our ministry team
Testimony From RENNER MINISTRIES!
From time to time, we share testimonies we receive at the ministry in Moscow to inspire your faith and to encourage you that your support is touching and changing lives. Whether it’s the multitudes via television and the Internet or the few on the streets or even at a church altar, God is enabling us to “make disciples and teach all nations” in every region of the world!
My dear ministers, I have known you and your ministry for a long time. Twenty-five years ago, my granddaughter was born in Ukraine with a dislocated hip. I shared with you about it and asked you to pray for her. Today I want to testify to you. My granddaughter recovered, grew up, and became a beautiful and healthy girl. She graduated from the university, received a Master’s degree, with honors, in Poland, married a good guy, and gave birth to a son. All is well. I thank God and you for your prayers, and I thank the doctors. Praise the Lord! His mercy endures forever!
Vera, Belarus