Overcoming in the Last Days

April 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,

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

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