Divine Provision

March Teaching Letter from Rick Renner

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas and greetings in Jesus’ precious name! Christ came into this world “in the fullness of time” to redeem mankind from sin and to reconcile us to the Heavenly Father (Galatians 4:4,5). And what a great salvation it was and is that God wrought for us in Christ (see Hebrews 2:3-18)! Denise and I and our family wish you a warm and wonderful Christmas season and the best new year of your life in 2022.

Today I want to talk to you about opportunities and adversaries, but first I want to say thank you for being such a faithful partner with our ministry. As I told you in my letter last month, our ministry is bursting at the seams, and I am so humbled that God would use Denise and me, our family, and our team to minister to the many people who are reaching out to us every day.

Every soul is precious, and it is our heartfelt desire to convey that truth to every person God brings to us — that they are precious to Him and to us. And your gifts are so vital to our ability to touch every one of these treasured souls! So today I want to say a special thank you for all you do with us to take the trusted teaching of the Word of God to people in Russia and all over the world. From the depths of our hearts, Denise and I THANK YOU!

This month is the last month of the year — and I know you are probably preparing for Christmas and many different kinds of gatherings. But in addition to Christmas, it’s also almost 2022. As we come to the end of this year and to the beginning of a brand-new year, the Holy Spirit keeps telling me to “stay on track” with the assignments He has given us. I hear Him saying that even if we hit bumps along the way, everything will be all right if we’ll just stay on track and maintain our God-assigned territory — the many opportunities and assignments He has given us to inspire, strengthen, and equip believers with the sound teaching of the Bible.

But I’ve learned over the years that opportunities and adversaries usually go together — and today I want to encourage you to undergird yourself so that you can stay on track with what God has asked you to do this month and in the coming year.

Over the course of our ministry, we’ve had many great, effectual doors open to us to do the work of the Gospel. I’ll never forget when I received an opportunity to minister on television in the former Soviet Union. It was as if a great door had suddenly swung open to an entire vast territory — a door that had never before been opened for anyone else — and I knew I was experiencing something miraculous. By faith, Denise and I stepped through that door and began to preach the Word of God on television in this spiritually starved corner of the world.

Given the former socialist-communist campaigns against the Gospel in this particular region, this opportunity was as miraculous as the Jordan River dividing for Joshua and the children of Israel. But with this great open door also came a slew of adversaries, specifically dispatched by Satan to instill fear and doubt into my heart. The devil desperately wanted to prevent me from touching the lives of spiritually oppressed people, so he positioned evil people with insidious plans to try to block my view of what God had in store for our ministry.

I’m telling you that it was like the children of Israel looking at the Promised Land from the far side of the Jordan River. From that perspective, they saw only the fruitful land of blessing that lay before them. But once they entered the Promised Land, they had to fight giants of every kind before they could possess that land and enjoy the blessing. In much the same way, if Denise and I had taken our eyes off the Lord during that tumultuous period — or if we had focused only on the problems and forgotten about the fruit we were pursuing for God’s Kingdom — I’m sure we would have backpedaled to get out of the situation!

But we knew this was a God-given opportunity and worth the fight, so we fixed our gaze squarely on the Lord. Girded with the armor of God and the power of the Spirit, we pushed through every obstacle and possessed the ground that God called us to take. As a result, millions of souls began to hear the Gospel for the first time. We knew that only God could have opened this door!

In First Corinthians 16:9, the apostle Paul wrote about the strategic doors of opportunity that open for the Gospel and the adversaries that usually accompany them. He said, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.” Notice that Paul used the words “great,” “door,” “effectual,” and “is opened” to describe the opportunity that had been set before him.

The word “great” in this verse is translated from the Greek word megale, which means gigantic. The word “door” is the Greek word thura, which typically refers to a door, but in this context, denotes a rare opportunity. The word “effectual” is the Greek word energes, and it depicts something that is powerful and ready to be set into motion. Finally, the phrase “is opened” is the Greek word anoigo, which describes something standing wide open. In other words, the door in question couldn’t be any more open! Thus, an alternate translation of Paul’s words in First Corinthians 16:9 could be rendered, “A gigantic, powerful opportunity is already set in motion and standing wide open….”

Paul continued by saying, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me….” You see, Paul knew that the particular door he was referring to had never been opened to anyone else, and he stood in awe of the unprecedented opportunity. Walking through these kinds of doors is impossible without divine assistance, and Paul was fully aware of God’s role in the matter. That is why he specified that this door had been opened “unto me.”

Paul’s prayer request in First Corinthians 16:9 was not for a door to open because it had already opened. His prayer request was to receive God’s wisdom to deal with the numerous adversaries who were trying to come against him. Paul used the Greek word antikeimenoi to describe the vast number of “adversaries” that were sent to attack him. This Greek word describes something that was piled high and lying all around him. In other words, he was dealing with more than a few minor opponents. On the contrary, it felt like opposition was stacked high on every side!

I’ve learned that the enemy will try his best to keep you from stepping through the gigantic doors of opportunity God desires to open for you. Satan is afraid of what will happen when “his” territory is invaded by someone fully equipped with a full arsenal of spiritual weapons. So know this: God will open doors for you — but He needs you to make a determined decision that you will walk through them, no matter the opposition, with the help of His Spirit.

By opening the door, God has already done His part, which would have been impossible without His assistance. Now He beckons you to come, dressed in the whole armor of God and in the power of His Word — and proceed through that effectual door into new territory. It may look like enemies are everywhere, but it is simply a fact that the devil and his forces flee and collapse when they are subjected to a show of strong faith!

As I mentioned earlier, many great and effectual doors have been opened to us over the years to do the work of the Gospel. In each case, we knew these doors were unique to us and had never before been opened for anyone else. And just as Paul experienced opposition, there were plenty of enemies that came against us with each opportunity. But because we obeyed God, the devil was forced to move out of the way, and we walked right into the virgin territory that God had opened for our ministry.

Even if you think your situation looks threatening right now, I want to tell you that God is with you. He wants to supernaturally open new doors for you — doors that have never before been opened for you. He is not beckoning you to walk through these doors so you can fail. He is with you every step of the way, and He will empower you to defeat every foe and bring Him glory in that new territory that is yours to possess in Jesus’ name!

Your open door may be an opportunity to shine the light of God’s Word and God’s love to your family or friends during this holiday season. It may be a door that will open to you in the new year. Regardless of when it is or what it is, the same God who opens doors will empower you to walk through them — and then He’ll be right with you to give you the wisdom and strength needed to overcome any giant that tries to meet you on the other side.

I know this is not a typical December, “Christmas-style” letter, but this is what was on my heart to share with you today. I want you to always know that if we can join you in prayer, we would be delighted to do so. To be honest, we are praying for you anyway, but when we are alerted to know exactly “how” to pray, it increases our effectiveness as we pray for you. So if you have a special need, please either call or write to let us know how we can get in agreement with you for God to show Himself mighty to you according to Jeremiah 33:3, which says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

And please pray for us as we continue marching forward by faith to push back darkness, to shine the light of God’s Word, and to take territory for the Kingdom of God. Together — as partners — we can make a difference in the lives of throngs of people who are crying out to God for help. They are waiting for God to respond to their prayers, and God wants to use us — you and us together — to bring them the answers they desperately need.

But before I close, I want to say we are specifically asking God to do something special for you this month and before the end of the year. I don’t know what it is, but that is what we are praying. We are asking God to do something special that will bless your life! And please, please pray for us as we continue pushing ahead to build our studio in Moscow, to finalize the purchase of our new headquarters in Tulsa, and to continue to minister effectually to every precious soul Jesus brings to us!

Merry Christmas!

We love you and thank 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 and their families|Dear Friends,

At the first of the year, I told you that I heard the Holy Spirit say, The year 2023 will be filled with divine surprises, divine provision, and divine revelation for those who will receive it.

Because the Holy Spirit spoke that word to my heart, I felt impressed to write to you in January about how to receive divine revelation. Then last month, I continued to write to you about how to prepare your heart to receive whatever kind of divine surprises God wants to surprise you with in 2023. Today, I am writing to you about divine provision and what role you play in receiving it. I believe you will be so encouraged by what you read!

But before I move to the subject of divine provision, I first want to thank you for how God has used YOU to provide for this ministry. I often say that a car with no fuel can’t go anywhere — and, similarly, a ministry can be a good ministry, but if there is no “financial fuel” in the tank, it can’t get the ministry to the people who need it. But you are among our God-called partners who put fuel into this ministry’s tank so we can get the life-changing teaching of God’s Word to people who need it. And for this, Denise and I, our family, and our team want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

At this moment, we are stretching our faith to do all that Jesus has asked us to do. This is His ministry, and we are obeying His orders, so we trust Him to give us all the resources we need to do what He has given us to do. But because you are part of His divine supply to fulfill this vision, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to you!

But today I want to talk to you about how God wishes to surprise YOU with divine provision. Let’s begin with an amazing and miraculous account of divine provision to demonstrate that God knows how to get provision to His children right on time!

The Magi Show Up Exactly on Time!

The Bible tells us that God spoke to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary and Jesus and to flee to Egypt to escape Herod’s murderous plot of the Christ child. Egypt was one of the most luxurious nations on the earth at that time, and as a foreigner, Joseph would have had no legal right to work there. And because the holy family would be in “flight” the whole time they were there in order to avoid Herod’s spies, Joseph wouldn’t have had the opportunity to work. Living in Egypt would have been so expensive, requiring a massive amount of money to live there, especially for a foreigner and his family. And because the family wouldn’t be able to live in a single place for very long during that period, but would rather be on the move, they would need a lot of money for travel, food, housing, and protection along the way.

But God knew all this in advance, and He supernaturally orchestrated the arrival of the Magi just in time to deliver the financial resources needed to meet His own Son’s needs while the holy family was in flight in Egypt. God arranged for the Magi to show up to provide the surprising resources the holy family would need for their time in that country.

Matthew 2:11 says, “And when they [the Magi] were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”

How wonderful is the timing of God, who supernaturally orchestrated events so the resources that would be needed would show up at the very moment He was going to instruct Joseph to take his family and flee into the expensive land of Egypt.

This makes me think of God’s promise in Philippians 4:19, in which the apostle Paul wrote, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Before we go further, we must first consider what this famous verse really means.

In Greek, the word “supply” means to make full, to fill completely, or to be filled to the point of satisfaction and overflowing. It is the very word used to describe any kind of container filled and packed to the point of overflowing. The use of this word emphatically means God wants to meet our needs so fully that they will be satisfied to the point of overflowing.

This brings us to the next word in this verse. How many needs does God want to meet? In Philippians 4:19, Paul wrote that He will meet “all” of them. In the original language, this is an all-encompassing word that leaves nothing out and means whatever the need is, God intends to meet it.

But what kind of “need” was Paul referring to in this verse? The answer is found in the Greek text. The word translated “need,” or “needs,” depicts any deficit or any need that must be met. Thus, whatever deficit we may be experiencing, God wants to meet it — in fact, He sees it as a need that must be met!

The word “riches” pictures a wealth so great that it cannot be tabulated. The word “riches” in this verse pictures abundant, extreme, vast riches, opulence, and wealth. The use of this word tells us that God wants to extravagantly meet the needs of His people.

The following is my interpretation of this amazing verse.

Renner Interpretive Version (RIV) of Philippians 4:19

But my God will supply your needs so completely that He will eliminate all your deficiencies. He will meet all your physical and tangible needs until you are so full that you have no more capacity to hold anything else. He will supply all your needs until you are totally filled, packed full, and overflowing to the point of bursting at the seams and spilling over.

The truth is that God’s people need to upgrade what they think about God meeting their needs. He does not want to give enough for you only to skimp along in life, but He wants to surprise you by lavishly meeting all your needs until they are totally filled, packed full, and overflowing to the point of bursting at the seams and spilling over.

This kind of need-meeting is demonstrated in the way God extravagantly met the needs of Jesus and His parents for their long trip into Egypt. The holy family experienced the reality of Philippians 4:19. And God will do this for anyone who is willing to obey what He tells him to do — and that includes you.

A Coin in a Fish’s Mouth!

But here’s another astonishing and surprising way that God manifested supernatural provision in the Bible. I’m thinking of one occasion in which Jesus and one of His disciples needed money to pay taxes, and God provided their need in an amazing way. In Matthew 17:24-27, we read:

And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?

Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

God supernaturally provided a need in this moment with a coin in the mouth of a fish! In verse 27, Jesus told Peter that if he would go retrieve a fish from the water and open its mouth, he would find “a piece of money” in it for him to use to pay taxes.

In Greek, the words “a piece of money” is the word a four-drachma coin, which was equal to approximately four days of wages at that time. That was the equivalent of nearly a week’s worth of salary in the mouth of a fish!

Peter could have said, “Lord, You must be kidding. No one finds money in the mouth of a fish!” But if Peter would do what Jesus told him to do, the Lord had a surprising provision waiting for him on the other side of his obedience. But again, it required Peter’s willingness to do as Jesus instructed him.

Over the years, Denise and I have learned that if we will listen to the Lord and follow His instructions carefully, He can — and He will — provide for us in ways that our minds cannot fathom. In fact, when He speaks and tells us what to do, our minds may be tempted to argue with Him at times — but if we’ll just obey Him, He has provision waiting for us in places we would have never expected. The same is true for you too. In fact, I am sure that much of what you need right now will be discovered when you obey the Lord’s explicit directions to you!

I told you that today I wanted to talk to you about how God wishes to surprise YOU with divine provision. And I also want to tell you that God is absolutely faithful. He has no shortage of whatever is needed to meet your needs. Just as He provided for the holy family with a surprising provision, and just as He supplied a coin in the mouth of a fish, God has exactly what you need, and He is waiting to lavishly meet your needs right now.

If you need someone to pray with you about a need you are facing, please reach out to us! We will pray and release our faith together with you for God to miraculously move and surprise you with divine provision to meet every need in your life, whatever that need may be. Just give us a call or send us an email or a letter, and I promise that we will genuinely release our faith for God to move mightily in your life! And please…remember to pray for us too!

We love you and truly thank God for you!

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!

Thank you for your prayerful support and your kind words! Today I can hardly imagine my deep state of depression. But there was a time I felt dejected, sad, grieved, hurt, and crying endless tears for years. At times, I felt like closing my eyes and never opening them again. But I thank God for you — now I have a great desire to live and to never go back to living in that terrible state. I have already begun working on my mental health, and I believe that with God, everything is possible and that He can turn what was a very bad state of mind into good! THANK YOU for praying for me! May God bless you all!

Oksana

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