The Agape Love of God

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,

It’s already the month of March!

As I write to you, Denise and I are wrapping up our time of ministry in the United States. She and I are thankful that so many people were able to attend our meetings in various places across the country. We are so grateful for what the Holy Spirit and Word of God did in so many people’s lives during those meetings. But now our trip is coming to an end, and on March 4, we will celebrate the official launch of our newest Russian TV channel that God has put into our hands!

As I told you last month, this new channel (which is in addition to our international satellite channel) is specifically designed to reach across all of Russia and potentially into nearly every home. God has entrusted us to do some amazing things over many years, but this is one of the most important assignments He has ever given us, and we are thankful that He has trusted us to do it. But please pray for us, as we still need finances — especially for this first month of launching the channel. We also need continued divine favor to keep expanding our reach to as many Russian homes as possible!

In my last few letters, I wrote to you from the prophetic word the Holy Spirit gave to me for our friends and partners for the year 2024. Here it is again.

The year 2024 will be visited with turbulent episodes across the entire globe, especially in the realms of finances and politics and in the nations. These episodes will be of a sort that they will potentially cause those who are not rooted in God’s Word to be deeply disturbed. But for those who stay in faith…stay in peace…stay in love…stay in fellowship…and keep sowing seed for the sake of eternity — they will experience a supernatural power that will cause them to be unmoved, unshaken, well provided for, and to walk in a much-needed divine assurance, divine peace, divine power, and divine and supernatural victory. Yes, those who stay in faith, in peace, in love, in fellowship, and keep sowing seed for the sake of eternity will be blessed, empowered, joy-filled, and sustained, and they will miraculously thrive even if the world around them is tossed with a tempest.

I want to draw to your attention that the word above says those who stay in faith…stay in peace…stay in love…stay in fellowship…and keep sowing seed for the sake of eternity — they will experience a supernatural power that will cause them to be unmoved, unshaken, well provided for, and they will have a much-needed divine assurance, divine peace, divine power, and divine and supernatural victory.

One purpose of prophecy is to help us wage a good warfare. I wrote last month that Paul told Timothy, “This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare” (1 Timothy 1:18). So just as Paul told Timothy, we, too, need to pay attention to what the Holy Spirit has specifically spoken to us to help wage a good warfare!

Last month I also wrote to you about what it means to stay in “peace,” and today I am moving to the next part of the prophetic word for 2024, which is about staying in “love.”

What It Means To Stay in Love

In the New Testament, there are primarily two words for “love.” The first is phileo, and the second is agape. Let me give you the meanings of them both and then show you the difference between these two kinds of love.

The word phileo means to love like a friend and describes a reciprocal kind of love that is shared between two or more people. I call it the lowest kind of love because it can be forfeited if it is not reciprocated as expected. This phileo type of love says, “I’ll scratch your back as long as you scratch mine, too, but the day you don’t return the favor by scratching mine is the day I’ll be done sowing into this relationship!” Thus, phileo love has strings attached to it.

Unfortunately, this is the type of love that most people know in many of their relationships, including marital relationships, parent-child relationships, sibling relationships, and relationships with friends. Because this type of love is looking for a response, if the correct response is not returned as expected, it usually leads to disappointment and often even to the end of a relationship.

But there is a higher kind of love that is referred to in the Greek New Testament as agape, which is the highest and finest kind of love that exists.

The Greek word agape describes a divine love that gives and gives, even if it’s never responded to, thanked, or acknowledged. This lets us know that God’s agape love has no strings attached to it, and it can never be offended. God’s agape love occurs when an individual sees, recognizes, understands, or appreciates the value of an object or a person. Furthermore, agape causes a person to have an irresistible love that is so profound it knows no limits or boundaries in how far, wide, high, and deep it will go to show that love to its recipient. It is a self-sacrificial love that moves the lover to action. Clearly, agape love is unlike anything we could generate in our own strength.

The word agape describes the highest level of love that exists in the world, and it is the level of love that God wants every believer to walk in. It is a love so completely different from what the world offers that it is the word always used to describe the love of God. Indeed, it is a divine, supernatural kind of love that is both unconditional and sacrificial.

You may be thinking, I just don’t know if I have it in me to love on that level. But the truth is, you do because the Bible says, “…The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5). The word “love” in this verse is the word agape. That means, according to this verse, the agape love of God has been shed abroad in the heart of every believer — including yours if you’ve been born again. The words “shed abroad” describe a pouring forth, a spilling out, or something that is dispersed in abundance. In other words, the moment you surrendered your life to Jesus and made Him your Lord and Savior, God liberally and lavishly poured this agape love into you — and since you have it in you, if you’ll ask, the Holy Spirit will help you tap into and walk in this high-level love in all your relationships.

Let me give you an example of why you need this agape love to be operative in your life. Paul describes why we need it in First Corinthians 13:4 where he says that this kind of agape love “suffereth long.”

The words “suffereth long” are interpreted from the Greek word makrothumia, a compound of the words makros and thumos. The word makros means long and may indicate something that is long or of long duration. The word thumos means anger, but it also embodies the idea of swelling emotions or a strong and growing passion about something. When these two words are compounded to form the word makrothumia, it pictures the patient restraint of anger and, therefore, longsuffering. It can also describe forbearance and patience. Thus, “suffereth long” or “longsuffering” describes something that doesn’t easily give up or bow out.

A good, practical example of the word for “suffereth long” — the Greek word makrothumia — is a candle that has a very long wick. Think about it: A candle with a long wick is equipped to burn a very long time. You might say it is ready to forbear and patiently wait until a person finally comes around and sees the light. Someone who “suffereth long” is forbearing and patient with a person until that person finally grasps what is being communicated or taught.

The illustration of a long-wicked candle helps us see that a person who suffereth long does not easily give up or bow out. Instead, he keeps steadily burning and burning and burning. Spiritually speaking, he has a very long wick and has made the decision to hang in there and not give up — even though the other person is unresponsive and showing no signs of change.

Taking into account the original Greek meaning of this word, here is the Renner Interpretive Version (RIV) of this part of First Corinthians 13:4:

Love patiently and passionately bears with others for as long as patience is needed and does not easily give up or bow out….

Unlike frail, human love, which eventually says, “I’m sick and tired of waiting for this person to change. That’s it — I’m out of here,” God’s agape love never throws in the towel. The longer the struggle, the more committed agape love is for that person. It is totally supernatural! First John 4:16 tells us that “…God is love.” And the word “love” here is the Greek word agape, which means God Himself is pure love — that is, the highest and finest kind of love — and that explains why God has never given up on you even when you failed to reciprocate love back to Him as you should have done! Aren’t you thankful that God’s love has no strings attached!

As we sail through the end times, we may occasionally experience disappointments with others. Maybe we expected more of someone, or we were disappointed by someone’s failure to do something we thought they would do. But it is vital that we do not allow disappointment, hurt, or offense to cause us to move into isolation where the devil can defeat us. We need each other, especially in these times. So if you feel disappointed in someone, I think a wise approach to dealing with it would be to say, “Lord, if I’m backing off from someone because of disappointment, I acknowledge that it means I’m moving in a low level of love…for if I were moving in agape — Your kind of love — I would be more longsuffering. Please teach me to release the high-level agape love of God from my heart into all of my relationships and to love with no strings attached.”

God’s Spirit will speak to your heart and show you how to release bitterness and hurt before it becomes deeply rooted in your soul. This divine pleading is God’s grace trying to help you overcome the situation before it becomes more serious. Don’t ignore that work of grace!

God has shed His love abroad in your heart, and if you’ll tap into it and release it, the Holy Spirit will cause that agape love to rise up and pour out of you and make you more steady in your relationships. But your cooperation is required in order for God’s love to accomplish its full work inside you. God’s grace will set you free from the disappointments that have plagued your past relationships and will produce a divine love inside you that has no strings attached — the highest and finest kind of love — the same kind of love that God has repeatedly demonstrated that He has for you.

Don’t allow the devil to drive you into hurt and isolation because that is a trap that can be very difficult to get out of. If God has placed a relationship in your life, it means you need that person. Of course, the devil will try to bring disappointments to sour it, but God’s grace and love will produce a current of divine love so strong in you that you’ll stay steady in love and be unaffected regardless of what others do.

If we’ll obey the Word of God, we will experience a supernatural power that will cause us to be unmoved, unshaken, well provided for, and to have a much-needed divine assurance, divine peace, divine power, and divine and supernatural victory.

Next month, I’m going to write you about the importance of staying in “fellowship” in hard times. But the first step to staying in fellowship is not allowing disappointments to knock you out of the relationship and drive you into isolation. And to be freed of the temptation to break and run, you’ll need the agape love of God to operate inside your heart and soul.

Let me pray for you:

Father, I pray in Jesus’ name that you will enable my precious friend to release the agape love of God that has been shed abroad in his or her heart by the Holy Spirit. And just as You demonstrate longsuffering with each of us, I ask that this divine agape love will produce in each of us a love that has no strings attached and that is not moved by what others do or do not do. I pray this in Jesus’ name!

Thank you so much for letting me minister to you this month on this important subject that affects all of us. Please look for my letter next month when I will talk to you about what it means to stay in “fellowship” in turbulent times.

Please pray for Denise and me, our family, and our team as we continue doing what Jesus has commissioned us to do. Thank you so much for being the partner you are and for all you do to help us. We are here to do the work, but your prayers and gifts put “fuel” in the tank so we can keep moving forward. We are so thankful for the financial fuel you put into the tank of our ministry. I know it ultimately comes from the Lord, but He uses you, and for that reason, we really want to express our thanks to God and to you!

Please let us know how we can pray for you! We are always here. Just call us at 1-800-742-5593 or write to us at prayer@renner.org.

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 entire ministry team

P.S. Click here to view the new interactive Ministry Update page or click here to download the printable pdf flyer.

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