Keeping Our Words in Agreement With God
November Teaching Letter from Denise 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|Hello Friend,
I have had the topics of thankfulness and praise on my heart lately, and because it’s November, that is what I would like to write to you about today. But first, I’d like to say how thankful I am for the responses and comments I’ve received from many who are watching my programs and reading my emails. I read every comment and I want you to know how much it means to me to read how God is touching lives through the truth of His Word. I give thanks and praise to God for each one of my dear friends.
An Attitude of Thankfulness and Praise Shows Our Agreement With God
Adopting an attitude of thankfulness and praise is so very important — not only because it helps us maintain a posture of faith and positions us to receive from God, but because He deserves our praise! When the storms of life come, we can have confidence that we will be kept in perfect peace as long as our minds are stayed on Him (see Isaiah 26:3) — and the way we keep our minds stayed on Him is by using the words of our mouth to agree with God.The principle of keeping our words in agreement with God is key to our living a victorious life in Him. It is essentially what the writer of Hebrews meant when he wrote, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). To receive from God, we must keep our words in agreement with God without wavering.
For instance, let’s say that the flu season comes and you start saying, “Well, flu season is here. I’m probably going to get sick.” Or perhaps you say, “My husband [or wife] has the flu, so I’m likely going to get the flu, too — and then my children will probably get the flu.”
There is a big problem with that kind of speech! The words we say carry within them our expectation and faith, so when you use your mouth to say such things, you’re exercising your faith in the wrong direction! You’re actually saying, “I’m using my faith right now to believe that I and my children will get sick. I expect to get sick!”
Now, I know that’s not really what you want, but the principle of God’s Word is still true. You might say, “Oh, I’m just speaking the facts. The flu is contagious!” But, friend, I encourage you — don’t underestimate the effect your words have on the world around you. The Bible is full of scriptures telling us that our words have authority. Think about this — how did God create the world? He spoke. You were made in the image of God and that same power lives in you (see Genesis 1:26). How did you get saved? You confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Your mouth has so much authority and power; that’s why you do not want to use your mouth to confess things that actually bring destruction on yourself or others.
What we do want to confess is what God has said in His Word about the matter! We must get in agreement with Him and speak words of life over our situation: “By the stripes of Jesus, I am healed. I take authority over this virus in the name of Jesus! I hold the blood of Jesus over myself and over my family. Lord, I confess before You that You are our Shield!”
You see, that is using your mouth to bring God’s will on the scene. That is employing the authority of your confession of faith! Solomon warned us in Proverbs 18:21 that “death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” When we live with a positive confession of faith, the truth of God’s words in our heart and our mouth begins to work in our favor rather than for our destruction.
What You Say Is What You Get!
I want to tell you a short story about confession. Many years ago, Rick and I were living in the U.S., and we were out of God’s will. We had started a church that He hadn’t told us to start, and we were “eating the fruit” of doing things our way. We were so poor. We had very little heat in our house — absolutely no heat in the kitchen — and our refrigerator was empty.During this difficult and very lean season of our lives, I came across a book entitled, What You Say Is What You Get by Don Gossett. So I started reading this book about the power of my words.
I particularly took note of one story that the author related. It was about a man who was having a very hard time financially. He wasn’t able to adequately provide for his family, and his refrigerator was empty. So he decided that every time he passed by that refrigerator, he was going to do something different than he had been doing. Instead of saying or thinking, Oh God, what are we going to do?, this man decided he would look at his empty refrigerator and shout, “Praise God! Hallelujah!”
So from that moment on, every time the man passed by the refrigerator, he faithfully shouted, “Praise God! Hallelujah!” — and within a week, someone had blessed him and his family with groceries, filling up that refrigerator with food!
Well, as I said, our refrigerator was empty too. So when I read about that man’s testimony, I thought, I’m going to do that! From that moment on whenever I passed our refrigerator, instead of thinking or saying, “Oh, what are we going to do? Our refrigerator is empty!” — I just started praising the Lord! I’d say, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” and just keep on walking!
Well, the Bible says He inhabits the praises of His people (see Psalm 22:3). When we give praise and thanksgiving to God, we also give Him the opportunity to work in our lives.
A week after I started using my mouth to praise God and thank Him for His goodness to us, one of our church members called us out of the blue and said, “You know, God has put it on my heart to buy groceries for your family.” Then this person went out and bought so many groceries that our refrigerator and our cabinets were full!
Why did that happen? Because within my confession of praise was expectation and faith! Rather than use my expectation and faith to reinforce what I saw in my circumstances, I took God at His Word and agreed with Him. I got my words in line with His. And because I chose to point my faith in the right direction, my family and I experienced the promise of the Lord’s provision and saw His goodness performed in our lives.
The good news is that mine was not a “special case.” God wants to prove Himself faithful and perform His goodness in your life as well! He has given us “exceedingly great and precious promises” for every circumstance in life, and He wants us to be partakers of His divine nature (see 2 Peter 1:4). I encourage you, dear friend, to search God’s Word for those promises and determine in your heart and mind to agree with Him. The choice has been set before us all (see Deuteronomy 30:19), so rather than speak death, let’s speak life by keeping God’s Word — and thanksgiving and praise — in our mouths!
Thank you so much again for spending this time with me. I pray it has been a blessing and encouragement to you! If you would like more encouragement from the Word, I invite you to join me for my program TIME With Denise Renner on Wednesdays at 12:00 p.m. CT on YouTube and Facebook. You can also find me on the following:
• GospelTruth.TV — Saturdays at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. CT
• PTL — Saturdays at 3:30 p.m. CT
• Spotify, Apple, and Google — Mondays at 5:00 a.m. (new audio podcasts)
Will you let us know how we can pray for you? If you need healing or you have a special prayer request, one of our prayer partners is just a phone call or email away. Call 1.844.473.6637 or send us an email at prayer@deniserenner.org. We are believing for you to experience the fullness of God’s blessings in your life — including the healing power that is available to you today!
We are moving forward together,
Denise Renner
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