How To Guard Against Spiritual Attacks

July Teaching Letter from Rick Renner

Dear Friend,

I am so excited about what I’m about to share with you in my letter today. This is going to be really helpful to you — it’s filled with common sense about what you need to do to keep the attacks of the enemy OUT of your life!

But first, let me ask you how Denise and I can be praying for you this month. This is not a cliché statement. We genuinely want to know how we can pray better for you! Every day — every morning and every night — I spend time praying for our friends and partners. Every day when I wake up and when I go to bed at night, the Lord hears me talking to Him about you and my requests for Him to move mightily in your life. That’s why if you have a specific prayer need, it would be great to know it. It will help Denise and me and our team pray specific and focused prayers for you!

And THANK YOU again for your continued prayers and the purposeful seed you have sown into the Ministry Expansion Project. Your heartfelt, fervent prayers and incredible generosity are propelling our endeavor to acquire a larger building for our Tulsa office and to get the Moscow studio closer to the goal line. The progress is so exciting! You are always welcome to take a look at the “progress thermometer” at renner.org/expansion. And if you feel led to give toward this step of faith we’re taking, please do what the Holy Spirit is asking you to do and join our giving team! We are so thankful for everything our friends and partners are doing to help us reach this goal.

But today I want to minister to you about being on guard against spiritual attacks because as you grow in your spiritual walk, attacks on your life may begin to escalate. The adversary doesn’t want you to grow. Spiritual growth in your life equals real trouble for him and his dark kingdom. He would much prefer that you remain infantile in your spiritual life so that you can inflict on him no serious damage.

Satan is well aware that your growth in God’s Word and in the power of the Holy Spirit poses a grave threat to his domain. So he may attempt to make a preemptive strike against you to slow down your growth. Do not be surprised by such strikes!

In regard to these kinds of attacks from the devil, the apostle Peter said, “Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world” (1 Peter 5:9).

These attacks are attempts of the adversary to drive you back from your land of promise. He doesn’t want you to obey God’s Word and experience blessing. This is exactly why the writer of Hebrews told his readers, “But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions” (Hebrews 10:32).

I want you to understand that a fight nearly always follows illumination — revelation knowledge of God’s Word and His will. That’s why it’s so important for you to realize:

Satan comes to challenge you when you are gaining new ground. He strikes with an unrelenting force to shove you back into spiritual despair. He wants you to retreat and back off from the frontlines of battle! But by knowing ahead of time how the enemy works, you will be mentally prepared to deal with such challenges. Your knowledge of how and when Satan attacks will equip you to deal with these assaults more intelligently. So it’s also important for you to realize:

If you are mentally prepared and alert to the way the enemy operates and to the potential of an attack, you have already eliminated half the battle. Mental preparation removes the element of surprise. This will always give you the upper hand against the enemy.

This is what I want you to understand: As long as you do nothing for God, you can be confident that you will not face this kind of opposition from the enemy. However, when you begin to do what God has called you to do and you start experiencing a measure of success, you must stay mentally alert and aware of his tactics!

Remember that the violent winds that swept in to destroy Jesus and His disciples came at the very moment when Jesus’ ship was headed toward the shores of the Gadarenes (see Mark 4:35-41). Once Jesus reached the shores, He was going to cast a legion of demons out of the demoniac of Gadara. This would be one of the greatest miracles of His earthly ministry. Satan knew that Jesus was going to perform this miracle, and he knew he was about to lose a prized possession — the demoniac. Therefore, the enemy struck with all his fury to abort the miracle-working power of God.

In the same way, the devil loves to strike Christians today when they are about to come to the shores of their own “Gadara” where the miracle-working power of God will be loosed in the lives of the people involved.

But be confident that no matter what attack the devil levels against you — whether he attacks the church leadership, assaults the church finances, or causes strife and discord to erupt among church members — “…greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Satan hates the Church of Jesus Christ, and he hates you! And when you are illuminated and are determined to do God’s will, you become a menace from Heaven that has invaded territory once secured by the domain of darkness. To discourage you and stop you from making further inroads in this earthly sphere, the devil may make an effort to attack your progress.

But stay on track and stay in the fight! If you stay the course and let the power of the Holy Spirit work through you — and if you stand firm on the promises of God’s Word — no attack will find success against you. That is what you are promised in Isaiah 54:17, which says, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper…”!

If you feel like you’re under some kind of attack and need spiritual support, remember we are here to pray and intercede with you. Call us at 1-800-742-5593 or email prayer@renner.org Denise and I and our team feel a spiritual responsibility to undergird you with fortified prayer, so please be sure to let us know how to pray for you. And please do the same for us! We really cherish your prayers, and we are so thankful for your faithful support of our ministry.

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

The Roman Centurion

A Teaching from Denise Renner

Dear Friend,

First of all, I want to say THANK YOU for all the wonderful feedback I’ve received from my School of Cinderella series on Rick’s television program. And THANK YOU to everyone who is taking part in the School of Cinderella through my Facebook page. I’m enjoying our time together!

I want to write to you this month about a story found in the Gospel of Luke that I believe will help us find many answers to our questions and needs today. The story begins, “And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die” (Luke 7:2). This Centurion — a high-ranking Roman soldier — had 100 men under his authority. No one gets this kind of authority over 100 men by accident. This Roman Centurion must have worked very hard and earned the respect of those over him to have this position of authority. But when death threatened his beloved servant, the Centurion had no authority. He had no power over this sickness that had taken his servant to a point of death.

How many rock stars and movie stars, millionaires and billionaires, and rulers and leaders had great authority over others, but when sickness or death came to them, they had no power over it. There is only One who has power and authority over death — and His name is Jesus. And still today, He is doing miracles and meeting death at its intimidating presence and saying, “No, not this time. You have no authority here! This one will live longer. Death, you cannot have her.”

But this is the situation of not having authority that the Roman Centurion found himself in. Though he had a lot of power, authority, and prestige as a Centurion, he did not have power and authority over the sickness and death that was trying to take his servant. Verse 3 says, “So when he heard about Jesus….” What did he hear? The Bible doesn’t say, but we can imagine he had heard about the miracles that Jesus had performed. Why else would he have asked Jesus to come heal his servant?

Verse 3 continues, “So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant.” The Centurion went to the trouble to ask elders of the Jews to plead with Jesus to come and heal his servant. Think about how amazing that is — that he would send Jewish elders to Jesus to ask for a miracle. Romans despised Jews, and the Jewish elders hated Jesus. Nonetheless, the Roman Centurion sent Jewish elders; he used his authority and they obeyed.

The elders went to Jesus and begged and pleaded earnestly. It’s interesting that these Jewish elders told Jesus that this man (a Roman, no less!) was worthy and deserving. They pleaded with Jesus saying that the Centurion even loved their nation and had built them a synagogue (see Luke 7:4,5).

Jesus was on His way to the Roman Centurion’s house, but He never saw the Centurion or the servant. “Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, ‘Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, “Go,” and he goes; and to another, “Come,” and he comes; and to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it’” (Luke 7:6-8).

The Centurion and the dying servant never looked into Jesus’ eyes; they never felt His loving touch. But the Centurion knew the power of the spoken word and had sent a message to Jesus to just say the word. The Roman Centurion believed if Jesus would just say it, it would happen.

So we have to assume that the Centurion’s friends were just standing there waiting for Jesus to “say it.” So what did Jesus “say”? We don’t know. Although His response is not recorded, verse 10 confirms, “And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.”

Here is my question for you and me: Does God’s Word have such a place in our heart as to stop death at its door? What was different about this Roman Centurion? He heard about Jesus, he believed, and asked for Jesus to say the Word.

Jesus marveled at the faith of this Centurion. He was amazed! “When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, ‘I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!’” (Luke 7:9) The Centurion simply believed the Word.

I want to say to you today what Jesus said to Thomas in John 20:29: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” That’s you! You do believe even though you have not seen. And because of that, Jesus calls you blessed!

Hebrews 11:27 agrees: “By faith he [Moses] forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.” Moses also had faith in the One he couldn’t see.

Friend, keep believing His Word. Do you need healing? He is your Healer (see 1 Peter 2:24). Do you need a miracle? He is your Miracle Worker (see Luke 7:18-23). Do you need peace? He is your Prince of Peace (see John 14:27). Do you need finances? He is your Provider (see Philippians 4:19). Jesus and His Word are one, and He is the only One you need!

The Centurion knew who to look to for the answer. He wasn’t seeking the answer from the religious leaders — he passed right over them. They didn’t have the power he needed for this critically ill servant to be healed. No, it was Jesus who had that power, and it is the same today. The only one with the power to heal, to deliver, to save, and to provide is Jesus.

Look how eager Jesus was to come and heal. And He is the same yesterday, today and forever (see Hebrews 13:8). He is still eager to come to you through the power of the Holy Spirit and bring to you the answers that you so desperately need.  What is it you need? He paid for it all on the Cross to get it to you. Our part is to ask Him and to believe Him — just like the Centurion.

Thank you for spending this time with me. I believe this message is very important for all of us. As always, please let us know your prayer needs and if God is doing something special in your life — let us know because we want to pray with you, and we want to rejoice with you. Just call us at 1-800-742-5593 or email us at prayer@renner.org.

We are moving forward together,


Denise Renner

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

June Teaching Letter from Rick Renner

 

Dear Friend,

We are definitely living in interesting times — and how important it is that we keep our eyes on Jesus and not be moved by what we hear and see in the news. Even when it looks like the world around us is falling apart, Jesus is still seated on the throne and He remains Lord over all! Because I believe we must remind ourselves and encourage each other concerning this truth, I want to tell you right from the start in this letter to keep your eyes on Jesus!  

Part of encouraging each other includes praying for each other. James 5:16 says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, so that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” The meaning of the word “faults” in this verse includes struggles and challenges of any type. We are commanded to undergird each other in prayer — and if we do it in faith, as this verse says, our prayers will avail much. The Amplified Bible says, “The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God — it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].”

I want you to know that we want to put our “heartfelt and persistent prayers” to work for you. This verse promises that such prayers accomplish much — and that they are dynamic and can yield tremendous power. Denise and I really believe this is true. So please, let us know how we can be praying for you right now. As always, we’ll keep confidential whatever need you share with us.

And again, I want to say THANK YOU for your friendship and partnership with our ministry. Your regular monthly gifts empower this ministry to fulfill its God-given assignment. But right now, we are taking new steps forward in our Ministry Expansion Project. This huge step of faith will provide our Tulsa office with a larger building and much-needed space to extend our own reach to the many precious people who are reaching out to us. It will also help enlarge and update our TV studio in Moscow so we can expand our reach by television and the Internet literally around the world. If you would like to be a part of the giving team on this project or to get an up-to-date look at how many square feet have been secured so far, please go to renner.org/expansion. I do not have words to express how thankful I am for your prayers and your generous giving to help us achieve this goal!

In my letter to you last month, I wrote about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. But today I’d like to take it one step further and speak to you about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. If you don’t know about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I urge you to go to renner.org and order my book called Why We Need the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Although it’s only 96 pages long, I believe this book will really take you into new spiritual territory!

Sometimes people say, “I’m not special enough to be used in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” But wait — First Peter 4:10 says, “As every man hath received the gift….” In this verse written by Peter, he was referring to the spiritual enablements each believer has received from the Lord that empowers him or her to minister to others.

In fact, the words “every man” are translated from the Greek word hekastos, an all-inclusive word that literally means every single person, no one excluded. This undeniably means that every person who has been born of the Spirit and who declares that Jesus is Lord has been supernaturally graced or endowed from on High with divine gifts — including the gifts of the Spirit! This means even the person with the lowest self-esteem is mightily gifted by the Spirit of God; he is simply unaware of the powerful gifts that reside within him.

But First Peter 4:10 goes on to say, “As every man hath received the gift….” The word “received” comes from the Greek word lambano, which means to receive into one’s possession or to take into one’s own control and ownership. It carries the idea of taking hold of something; grasping onto something; or embracing something so tightly that it becomes your very own. As used in this verse, it means that it’s our responsibility to accept and take ownership of these gifts as our own.

Then the verse adds, “As every man hath received the gift….” The word “gift” is a translation of the word charisma, derived from the word charis, the Greek word for grace. But when the word charis becomes charisma, it doesn’t describe only grace, but it speaks of grace-given gifts. Specifically, the word charisma denoted individuals who were graced and favored with a divine touch that enabled them to do something supernaturally. The charisma they received means God equipped them with supernatural abilities. If you have been born again, this includes you!

First Peter 4:10 also charges us, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” The word “steward” is from the Greek word oikonomos and was specifically used to describe the household manager for an upper-class, wealthy home. By using the word oikonomos in this verse, the Bible tells us that God has made us the stewards of His own personal treasures. That means He expects us to give Him glory by allowing these gifts to operate through us to meet the needs of those around us.

Taking all these Greek words into consideration, First Peter 4:10 could be interpreted:

Every single one of you without exception has received a grace-given gift. Embrace what God has placed inside you. Take ownership of it, and do your best to develop and use that gift to meet the needs of one another. God has entrusted a great deal to you by placing such a special gift in your life, and He is depending on you to be faithful with this important responsibility.

This means God has given YOU spiritual gifts and He expects you to let them operate through you for the purpose of meeting the needs of those around you. Those gifts are inside your spirit, just waiting for you to step out in obedience when the Holy Spirit prompts you so they can begin to manifest for the blessing and benefit of others.

So make the decision — if you haven’t already done so — to yield to the Holy Spirit’s leading and to release the divine gifts God has placed inside you. And if you are hungry to know more about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, be sure to order my book Why We Need the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

I’m so thankful that I learned to let God’s gifts work in me, and as I walk with the Lord, I want to become an even more yielded vessel for Him to use. It makes me shudder to think how many people are loaded with spiritual gifts, but because they never learned about them, they have never experienced the treasures laid up inside them. Don’t let that be you!

Please remember that Denise and I and our team want to put our prayers to work for whatever you are facing or whatever is on your heart. So please let us know how we can be praying for you right now. And remember to pray for us too. Thank you for being an amazing partner. We are so thankful for you!

We love you and thank God for you!

Rick and Denise Renner
along with Paul, Philip, and Joel and their families

On Eagles Wings

A Teaching from Denise Renner

Dear Friend,

Today I want to write to you about the power of waiting on the Lord. In Isaiah, there is a beautiful yet powerful verse that says, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). Today I want to focus on the part of this verse that says we will “mount up with wings like eagles.” But let me pause for just a moment to give credit to Col Stringer’s beautiful book On Eagles Wings where I gathered some of the information I used in this letter.

The eagle is such an accomplished flier that he can soar above the storms and even cyclonic conditions with complete mastery of flight. Other birds are thrown and tossed around by these powerful winds — but not the eagle. Aircraft designers have been unsuccessful in trying to copy the eagles’ slotted-wing structure. The eagles’ feathers are tapered at the tips to form slots, and these slots act like shock absorbers.

So, if we are waiting on the Lord, drawing on the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we are like the eagles’ wings which have shock absorbers. Let me explain. When something hits us and tries to knock us out of our place or maybe tries to steal our joy or our peace, the mighty Holy Spirit on the inside of us acts like a shock absorber, and instead of being thrown around, we stay steady.

A direct quote from On Eagles Wings says, “In conditions which would be difficult for a man to stand, an eagle can hover as steady as a rock, the wing tips moving constantly and automatically to make adjustments to the air currents.”

Friend, that’s you and me! We can be just like that eagle if we are waiting on, leaning in, and listening to the Holy Spirit. Even in the fiercest of storms, He is making adjustments in us to keep us as steady as a rock.

Take for example the eagles’ eyesight. Eagles can see five times better than humans. But God gives you and me eyes to see with understanding and mercy through the power of the Holy Spirit. In a tense situation if someone was railing on you, it would be natural to want to rail right back. But you and I have eyes like the eagle. We can see deeper into the situation, and with the wisdom of God, know what needs to be said (or not said), and extend that person grace.

And some eagles can fly at speeds of 200 miles per hour. When they see their prey from far up in the sky with their powerful eyesight, they dive down to attack the prey. While diving at 200 miles per hour to get their food, something miraculous happens: At 15 feet away from their desired meal, their wings instantly spread out and their sharp talons come out. This instantaneous spreading of their wings acts like brakes to slow their flight speed so they will be able to catch and secure their food.

Likewise, in our relationships with other people, especially difficult people, there might be times we have to put the brakes on. Say, for example, you are moving along quite nicely in your day — everything is going well and you’re getting done all that needs to be done. Then all of the sudden you see something that needs extra attention. There’s a problem, maybe a very serious problem. For us to be successful in our relationships, we have to be ready and willing to interrupt our flight and put the brakes on. Like an eagle puts the brakes on, we have to put the brakes on to not only deal with the situation, but to also put the brakes on any strife or contention that may try to arise. We have the power and authority within us to do this.

We find a great example of this kind of power and control with Queen Esther. She was ruling as queen and “had it made.” But for Queen Esther to save her people, she had to move out of her comfort zone, spread her wings of authority and put the brakes on. She stopped to listen, fast, pray, and humble herself. But waiting on the Lord like eagles — like Esther — we must put our brakes on and spread our powerful wings of authority to accomplish what needs to be done. We, like Esther, must move out of our comfort zone and listen and lean in to hear His voice. Like Esther, who put her brakes on and saved a nation, you and I, by listening and waiting on the Lord, put on our brakes to stop strife or walk away from offense or fear to embrace courage. We have powerful influence in our choices, and we need to recognize this power like the powerful wings of the eagle.

Do you need to put your brakes on like the eagle, spread your beautiful wings of authority and grace in the Spirit and be able to do the right thing? My friend, the Word says those that wait upon the Lord are going to rise up like eagles! You have in you the Spirit of God to rise up like an eagle, to see like an eagle and give mercy and understanding to difficult people, to hover in a storm like an eagle, and to put the brakes on and spread your powerful wings and listen to hear the exact instruction to make powerful change.

If you have prayer needs or a testimony you want to share with us, please let us know. Just call us at 1-800-742-5593 or email us at prayer@renner.org. Friend, by the powerful Holy Spirit inside of us, we are all called to rise up with wings as eagles. It’s time to soar!

Moving forward together,


Denise Renner

Ministry of the Holy Spirit

May Teaching Letter from Rick Renner

 

Dear Friend,

Greetings in the name of Jesus! Today it’s on my heart to minister to you about the ministry and power of the Holy Spirit. Right now all over the world, many Christians are getting ready to celebrate Pentecost — the day when the Holy Spirit’s power was poured out on the Early Church. So it’s a good time for us to remind ourselves about the Holy Spirit’s powerful role in our lives.

But before I get to what’s on my heart, first I want to say THANK YOU for believing in us and for being a friend and partner with our ministry. And I want to also let you know that we are forging ahead by faith to purchase our new “ministry home” in Tulsa and to keep constructing our new TV studio in Moscow. We are so thankful for our partnership together — and we are exceedingly grateful for every extra gift you have given or will give to help us achieve this victory for our ministry (you can go to renner.org anytime to see our progress). As I told you, it’s not about buildings — it’s about having adequate space so we can effectively minister to the people who are reaching out to RENNER Ministries in need of resources from the Word of God, prayer, and spiritual support. If you want to give an extra gift toward this victory, we’d be so thankful to God for it. And we thank God for YOU so much! 

In Philippians 1, Paul told the Philippians how thankful he was for their partnership with him. In verse 7, he said, “Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.” Paul knew that those Philippian partners were “partakers” of the grace of God on his life and that they would share in his eternal reward because of what they financially gave for him to be able to accomplish in his ministry. And that’s exactly how we feel about you because of what you do for our ministry. Together, we are making a difference in so many people’s lives!

Would you please let Denise and me and our team know how to pray for you or for whatever you are facing right now? In First John 5:14 and 15 we are told, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” Wow! We are confident that when we pray according to God’s will, it releases answers into our lives. And when you tell us your need, we’ll align our prayers with God’s Word and believe for a mighty river of answers to flow into your life. So please let us know how we can pray for you! Simply call us at 800-742-5593 or email us at prayer@renner.org

As I noted above, many Christians everywhere will be celebrating Pentecost this month. But as I think of the Holy Spirit, my mind always goes to Second Corinthians 13:14, where the apostle Paul wrote, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”

Unfortunately, many Christians live and die never knowing the fellowship and companionship of the Holy Spirit. They’ve heard about the Holy Spirit and may even know doctrinal answers regarding the Third Person of the Godhead. But knowing about the Holy Spirit and personally knowing Him in daily fellowship are two very different things.

In the Early Church, there wasn’t a New Testament for believers to turn to for direction, guidance, and answers. When believers assembled, there might have been teaching or readings from the Old Testament or from an apostolic epistle. But for the most part, the Early Believers relied completely on the Holy Spirit. In the First Century, the Church experienced demonstrations of God’s power, miracles, healings, mass evangelism, the full operation of the fivefold ministry gifts, and the gifts of the Spirit in amazing abundance.

We all look back to the Early Church in admiration, longing to see the power of God manifested at that level — and beyond that level — in our own generation. But today we are privileged to have at our continual disposal not only the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, but also the Word of God — an invincible combination in our arsenal that the Bible calls “the weapons of our warfare” (see 2 Corinthians 10:4,5). So why don’t we see the same level of God’s resurrection power and glory consistently manifested in our midst today that the Early Church experienced?

There may be many answers to this question, but one answer is certain: Far too many Christians today have come to lean on their own understanding and intellectual abilities at the expense of consulting the Holy Spirit for His guidance in their lives. They assume they already know what He wants them to do. And because they don’t depend on and yield to the leadership of the Holy Spirit the way the Early Church did, they miss opportunity after opportunity to see His power released in their lives.

There is no substitute for the Word of God — for the true power of the Gospel (see Romans 1:16). But neither is there a substitute for the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in the Church. In fact, these two go together as one. If the Spirit’s presence and power are removed, all that’s left is orthodoxy and religious works. But religion will never raise the dead, cast out demons, heal the sick, or turn cities and nations to Jesus Christ!

In my own life and ministry, I continue to learn more clearly every day how imperative it is for me to maintain intimacy and moment-by-moment communication with the Holy Spirit, no matter how knowledgeable I am of God’s Word. If I hadn’t cultivated a rich, solid relationship with the Holy Spirit during my early years of traveling in ministry throughout the United States, I would have been extremely skeptical, and may have even disobeyed Him, when He called me to move with my family to the former Soviet Union.

Without the help, guidance, and comfort of the Holy Spirit, Denise and I have no doubt that we would have become spiritual casualties at many junctures in our journey during those early years when we lived in Latvia and traveled throughout the former Soviet Union. Furthermore, we’ve stood and watched in awe as His power has moved through our ministry to eternally impact the lives of millions of people — saving them, healing them, performing miracles in their lives, and delivering them from Satan’s bondage.

The Holy Spirit has manifested Himself in ways we had only dreamed of in years past before our adventure in the former USSR began. For instance, in the years since we arrived in the former Soviet Union in 1991, He has enabled us to reach millions of souls through a weekly television program; establish multiple churches in the capital cities of Latvia, Russia, and Ukraine; launch a Bible school to train leaders to serve in a multitude of churches; and hold crusades and meetings in the various regions to build up and strengthen local works — and now to bring the teaching of the Bible to people around the world by media from Moscow. Friend, this is miraculous!

The key for me has been to learn to work with God’s Word while simultaneously flowing with the Holy Spirit. It’s a learning process that each of us must pursue in order to grow in God and fulfill His purpose for our lives. And we can trust the Holy Spirit in that process. He never leads us contrary to the Word of God; rather, He confirms and supports it. After all, He is the One who inspired its writing! (See 2 Timothy 3:16.)

With the Bible in our hands and our hearts — and with an open spiritual ear to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying — we are equipped with what we need to never fail. No people and no generation have ever been so blessed as those of us who live in this glorious Church Age!

I urge you to pray and ask our Heavenly Father to reveal the ministry of the Holy Spirit to you. I am confident that as you yield to His life-transforming work, you will experience the same power that the Early Church experienced as they leaned on the Holy Spirit. Isn’t that what your heart longs to experience?

What an honor to write to you today about the power and ministry of the Holy Spirit. I know that by learning to develop a supernatural fellowship and companionship with Him, you will be launched into a marvelous new adventure and spiritual journey. And please remember that if you have any special prayer needs, we are here for you and we WANT to pray with you. Please call us at 800-742-5593 or email us at prayer@renner.org.

Please also pray for Denise and me, our family, and our entire team, as we steadily press forward to get God’s Word into hungry hearts that are crying out for it. Your prayers and support are so vital to our fulfilling this great mission!

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

The Battle Belongs to the Lord

A Teaching from Denise Renner

Dear Friend,

Have you ever tried to fight a battle that wasn’t yours to fight? To stay strong in these last days, we have to know what is and what isn’t our battle. We need to ask questions like, What am I supposed to do, and what is God supposed to do? — because He is the only one who can really change impossible situations.

Maybe you’re in a difficult situation, and if God doesn’t move, you don’t know what will happen. Then, my friend, you are in the perfect place for a miracle! You know that God is the only answer. But God wants a partner and you’re the one.

Have you ever tried to fix things yourself and it didn’t work — or things even became worse? We sometimes do that when we’re faced with battles. We try this or that, or we tell the Lord, “I can say this,” or “I can do that,” and think that will fix it. We may even suggest to Him what He should do. We try to fix the problem in our own effort, and we don’t get the results we were hoping for. So now what?

In Second Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, was threatened from enemies on every side — even “from beyond the sea” (v. 2). Although it didn’t look good for him and the land of Judah, the king knew who to turn to for the answer. “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:3).

Jehoshaphat knew that God was the only answer. He reminded the people of Judah of the power, strength, and might that belong to the God they served. “Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:13).

And the Holy Spirit responded through a prophet saying, “…Listen, all you of Judah and your inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat!” (v. 15) Notice that the first word the Spirit of God said was “listen.” And this applies to us now — our first instruction is always to listen. We are asking a question, so we need to listen for the answer.

When we listen, we have to put aside what we think. This is so necessary, because if we hold on to our plans and our opinions that didn’t work, how are we going to hear the best plan from God? We have to listen on purpose and hear the instruction from the Spirit of God.

Second Chronicles 20:15 continues, “Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude [problem], for the battle is not yours, but God’s.’” This means we need to step aside and let God move.

Whose battle is it, then, in the tests and trials of life? The truth is, we seek Him, and we believe — but He is the one who does the work. We pray and we believe, but He is the One who heals. We pray and we believe, but He is the One who provides. We pray and we believe, but He is the One who protects.

So I want to encourage you this month to pray and to believe with all that is within your power to do, but make room for the One with the greatest power of all. Put high expectancy on His ability to move and change things. See Him as the One with the power to bring change, to bring deliverance, to bring healing, to provide financial blessing, and to bring comfort and confidence to your heart so you can trust Him to fight this battle.

Are you in a particular battle right now? If you need prayer or encouragement, please call us and let us know how we can stand and pray with you. Just call us at 1-800-742-5593 or email us at prayer@renner.org. The Bible says that we can put our trust in Him and that those who trust in the Lord will never ever, ever be ashamed. Let your heart begin to rest as you see God win the battle right in front of you.

Taking ground one day at a time,

Denise Renner

Really Redeemed

April Teaching Letter from Rick Renner

Dear Friend,

As you get this letter today, I am praying for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to come upon you in a special way. I know God wants to touch you in a powerful way — and I’m praying for that divine touch to come to you right now in Jesus’ name!

Before I dive into my teaching this month, I feel the need to tell you about a development in our ministry.

On both sides of the world, our ministry is “bursting at the seams.” Denise and I are in awe of what the Lord is doing. The ministry in the former USSR continues to grow and increase in ways we could have never predicted. We are filming almost nonstop each weekday to produce quality TV programs, Home Group programs online, and a host of other programs for our Internet Good News Church in Moscow that air in the Russian language to a potential audience in the tens of millions. And now we are seeing a massive response from viewers in the English-speaking world too. Denise and I and our sons are nearly speechless at what the Lord is doing in our midst.

We know that God wants us to reach our arms around the globe with the Good News of the Gospel of Christ and with teaching from the Bible that people can trust. There are multitudes who are starving for teaching that will put a foundation underneath them, their families, and the people around them whom they love. And I know God has called us to shine the light of God’s Word into their lives! But our current equipment, TV studio, and U.S.-based offices are insufficient to keep up with the growth we are experiencing.

I RARELY ask for special giving from our friends and partners who already give so generously to support our vision of preaching the Gospel and making disciples of all nations. Our long-time partners know us and understand that we carefully steward all the funds we receive to stretch them as far as they can go to fulfill the vision He has given us.

But right now, we need your help.

We urgently need to expand our offices in Tulsa and Moscow because we are bursting at the seams with response from people who are reaching out to us. We are in desperate need of a larger studio in Moscow and a new building in Tulsa. In Moscow, we must construct a new studio while the weather is warm because once cold weather starts again in this part of the world, the building process will have to stop. We have already begun construction of a new TV studio in Moscow on property adjacent to our offices, and we absolutely know that God’s hand is on us, helping us! And in Tulsa, where we are reaching people who need our help with prayer, ministry, and resources, we desperately need a larger building — a new “ministry home” — to serve RENNER Ministries for years to come.

The total amount of space we need for both buildings in Moscow and Tulsa is approximately 50,000 square feet. If you are interested in knowing more details, I urge you to go to the home page of renner.org, where you can read more about this ministry expansion. If many people join hands with us to do this, it can be achieved quickly and victoriously. Again, I rarely ask for help with special financial projects, but today I am asking you to please consider giving into this urgent need in our ministry.

Because you are a partner, I felt you would want me to honestly tell you about this need. If you want to be a part of the giving to make this happen, please go to renner.org and click “Give” and then choose “Ministry Expansion Project.” You’ll see a short video in which I share more about how our ministry is growing and helping people.

Your current giving is what enables us to reach our arms around the world with the teaching of the Bible. But now we need extra gifts to help us with this extra push. If you are unable to sow beyond what you’re already giving, we are SO THANKFUL for what you are doing to make a difference in people’s lives! However, if you can give extra to help us right now, we’ll be so thankful — but if you cannot, please pray for us!

As I write this letter, I am sitting near Denise, and we were just talking about how thankful we are for our friends and partners who support our ministry with their prayers and finances. When we call people “partners,” we genuinely mean they are partners in the work God has entrusted to us. I often say that we can do the work, but our partners financially put fuel in the tank so we can get the message of God’s Word to those who are crying out for it. I want to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU AGAIN for all you do for this ministry and for the Kingdom of God.

This month, in which most of us will celebrate Easter — or have already celebrated this holiday — I believe the Holy Spirit wants me to talk to you about what it really means to be “redeemed” from the hands of the enemy. Let’s begin with First Corinthians 6:20 which says, “For ye are bought with a price….”

The New Testament words “bought” and “redeemed” come from the same Greek word. I’d like to take you into a Greek word study to help you really understand what the Bible means when it says you have been “bought” and “redeemed.”

The primary word translated “bought” and “redeemed” in the New Testament is the word agoradzo — a term that was used to describe the marketplace. But it was most frequently used to specifically describe the slave market — a dreadful and deplorable place that should have never been permitted. Human beings were paraded in front of potential buyers and then placed on the trading block where they were auctioned off like animals, old furniture, or even unwanted junk.

Before the nauseating process of buying, selling, and trading human beings began, potential buyers were allowed to check out the “merchandise.” The slaves’ heads were shoved up and backward; their mouths were forcibly jerked open; and their teeth were inspected to see if they were rotten or in fairly good shape.

As if this wasn’t inhumane and degrading enough, slave-buying customers were also encouraged to kick and hit the “merchandise” in order to determine the slave’s level of physical fitness. And to discover the slave’s temperament, buyers slapped them, cursed at them, and spat in their faces. If a slave could swallow his pride, grit his teeth, and hold his temper during such humiliating abuse, the buyer assumed he could be used to the point of abuse without giving his owner any kind of trouble.

In short, slaves were deemed to have no real human value and were viewed to be no better than animals. According to the thinking of the day, they were just another kind of workhorse. Their only purpose in the world was to serve the demands that their current owners exacted of them.

With all this in mind, we can see that the Holy Spirit has told us something extremely important by using the Greek word agoradzo to describe “redemption.”

You see, the world Jesus came into had become an utterly deplorable place — it had become a global “slave market.” Satan had gripped the hearts of men and filled their natures with violence and destruction. With each successive generation after Adam, spiritual death drove people of all nations, tribes, and ethnic groups deeper and deeper into slavery and total depravity.

Thus, the world that Jesus Christ was born into more than 2,000 years ago was a world of complete captivity. Through Adam’s disobedience, this spiritual death had seized the nature of all mankind. As Paul said, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).

Our bondage at that time was so complete that Paul states we were “sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). The word “sold” is from the Greek word piprasko, and it literally describes a transfer of property. By using this word, Paul clearly tells us that mankind — and that includes you and me — were in the hands of Satan’s total ownership before Jesus Christ came into our lives.

Like slaves in the slave market, we stood helpless before the devil as he slapped our lives around — hitting us, kicking us, spitting upon us, and abusing us in every way he possibly could. Our “slaveowner” tried to damage our self-image, kill our bodies with various kinds of sin and vices, and mar us emotionally. When he was finished using one form of bondage on us, he would place us back on the trading block to be auctioned off again. Soon another form of bondage would overtake us and begin to make its own destructive mark on our lives.

We were passed from one bondage to the next in a never-ending cycle of defeat. Each day we lived, whether we were aware of it or not, this hellish ownership took us further downward and ever deeper into the captivity of sin and total depravity — lock, stock, and barrel, from the inside out, from the beginning to the end, every inch from head to toe, backward and forward and up to the brim.

This is the very reason Paul repeatedly told us in Scripture that we were previously “the servants of sin” (Romans 6:17,20). The word “servant” is taken from the word doulos, which is the most abject term for a slave in the Greek language. One expositor has explained that the word doulos describes one whose will is completely swallowed up in the will of another.

This means that prior to our salvation experience, we were “swallowed up” in the will of Satan. We may have intellectually thought we were in charge of our own lives and that we were the ones calling the shots. But in reality, we were abject slaves to sin, and our destinies were being orchestrated by an unseen, diabolical spirit that wanted to destroy us.

Our prior slavery to the devil was so deep-seated that our nature became intrinsically meshed together with the seed of rebellion, which is at the very core of Satan’s nature. Rebellion against God ran deep in our blood and became ingrained in our human disposition. Eventually the gulf between God and us was so vast that Scripture declares we became “…alienated and enemies in [our] minds through wicked works” (Colossians 1:21).

In this verse, the Holy Spirit vividly portrays how destitute our spiritual condition was before we were born again. It was into this stinking, sinking, deteriorating, death-permeated, demonically energized world, where all of humankind was being auctioned off by the devil into various kinds of slavery and bondage, that Jesus Christ came some 2,000 years ago. God sent His Son into the enemy’s “slave market” with one purpose in mind — so Jesus could secure man’s deliverance from Satan’s bondage once and for all!

As I’ve stated, the words “bought” and “redeemed” are both from the Greek word agoradzo — and this tells us that Jesus came to redeem us from this miserable state of bondage. Jesus was the Buyer — and He paid the highest price ever paid for a slave when He paid the price of HIS BLOOD for you and me.

What Jesus did for us is so magnificent that when the 24 elders fall before the throne of God and begin to worship, they sing a song about Jesus’ work of redeeming us from Satan’s slave market. Revelation 5:9 says, “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed [agoradzo] us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.”

It’s imperative for us to understand that the words “bought” and “redeemed” — from the word agoradzo — portray both our spiritually bankrupt condition in the “slave market” of the world before Jesus Christ set us free and Jesus’ redemptive work to remove us from that terrible place. No wonder the psalmist proclaimed, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy!” (Psalm 107:2)

All of this is what Jesus did for you when He gave His blood on the cross of Calvary. He paid the highest price ever paid for a slave and purchased you out of Satan’s control. As Revelation 5:9 says, He redeemed you to God with His own blood!

Today I urge you to take a few minutes to stop and thank God for Jesus’ work of redemption in your life. Obey Psalm 107:2 and declare out loud:

I am the redeemed of the Lord…He has redeemed me out of the hand of the enemy!

Wow…that really is worth shouting about!

Thanks for letting me share this message with you today. Please let it sink deep into your heart and mind and let the Holy Spirit really give you a revelation of it. And remember, when you need prayer, we want to be included with those who pray for you. We feel a great spiritual responsibility for our partners. In fact, part of our God-given responsibility is to pray for our partner’s specific needs. So please…let us know how we can  pray for you!

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

A Heart of Praise

A Teaching from Denise Renner

Dear Friend,

I want to write to you today about an event recorded in the Bible that brings home an important point about our worship of God. This moment in time was so huge in God’s love story to us, and the account of the words that were spoken at this event are only mentioned one time in the Bible. Let’s take a closer look at the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey as the people cheered and worshiped Him.

The story starts to unfold before our eyes in Luke chapter 19: “Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’” (Luke 19:35-38)

The Bible tells us that a large crowd had gathered and they were screaming and praising God. Can you imagine this scene? Jesus was riding into town on a donkey, and a great number of people were praising Him and laying their clothes on the ground so He could pass over them. Then something happened to interrupt this celebration.

Luke 19:39 informs us, “And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, ‘Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.’” The Pharisees didn’t like seeing Jesus being exalted, and they instructed Him to “rebuke” His disciples. In essence, the Pharisees said, “We don’t like this. Now, do what we say and make them stop cheering!”

And Jesus’ response was absolutely amazing. He said, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out” (Luke 19:40). Jesus was declaring, This moment is so important for all mankind’s redemption — every man is about to be purchased. I will become the sacrificial Lamb, and their sins will be forever paid for. I am going to die a sinner’s death, and I will be their Substitute. And I will make it so whoever calls on My name will be saved from their sins and they will be with Me forever. There WILL BE PRAISE! Even if My disciples stop cheering, the rocks under your feet will immediately begin giving Me glory.

How important is it to God that we praise Him? Let’s take a look at three examples of kings who refused to glorify God — and God definitely had something to say about it. First, in Daniel chapter 5, even though God was revealing himself to King Nebuchadnezzar, this king soon became so full of himself that he was not glorifying God. Daniel 5:20 reveals, “But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.” The next verse informs us that after Nebuchadnezzar was dethroned, he lost his mind for a time; he became like a beast, was living with the wild donkeys, and ate the grass alongside the oxen.

And then we read of another Babylonian king, King Belshazzar, who also refused to give God glory — and God noticed. Daniel 5:23 says, “…and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.” That night there was strange writing on the wall which pronounced the king’s demise. Belshazzar’s kingdom was taken from him and he was killed. God saw that this king refused to glorify Him, but rather, gave and received glory to himself.

You may be thinking, Denise, that’s the Old Testament. Yes, but let’s look at that final example from the New Testament. Acts 12:21-23: “So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’ Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.” Herod also had a bad habit of thinking himself more highly than he ought.

So, what are we to learn from these stories? God sees who gives Him glory. He notices if we are self-deceived and pat ourselves on the back for our accomplishments, and then hold back our praise to Him.

Let’s go back to the Pharisees in Luke 19. What was happening in the hearts of these Pharisees that they wanted to stop the praise and adoration for Jesus? What was in them that they would say to the Savior, “Rebuke your disciples and tell them to be quiet”?

Could it have been fear rearing its ugly head in the Pharisees? Or jealousy — that Jesus would get more praise than them? Maybe envy, offense, judgment, hate, or pride? Do any of these false ways have such an effect on us that we hold back our praise to Jesus? Do we resist bringing Him glory in our daily lives because our flesh gets in the way? I’m not just writing this to you — I’m preaching to myself also.

Psalm 19:10-13 in The Passion Translation really describes how the Scripture is there to protect our heart from departing from any false way.

“The rarest treasures of life are found in his truth. That’s why I prize God’s Word like others prize the finest gold. Nothing brings the soul such sweetness as seeking his living words. For they warn us, his servants, and keep us from following the wicked way, giving a lifetime guarantee: great success to every obedient soul! Without this revelation-light, how would I ever detect the waywardness of my heart? Lord, forgive my hidden flaws whenever you find them. Keep cleansing me, God, and keep me from my secret, selfish sins; may they never rule over me! For only then will I be free from fault and remain innocent of rebellion” (Psalm 19:10-13 TPT).

Do these verses touch your heart? God is so loving and gracious to us that He has given us these precious words to help keep our heart in the right place.

Friend, I realize this letter is rather sobering, but it’s time for us to be strong in these last days. We have to guard our heart with all diligence as Proverbs 4:23 admonishes: “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

These are the truths that God has been stirring in my heart the last two weeks and I especially wanted to share them with you. These truths we have talked about in this letter will help us continue with joy in our journey with our Savior.

In these times of such instability, I think it causes us all to take a deeper look at the place that the worship and adoration of Jesus has in our hearts. I humbly submit this letter to you that, with me, you would ask yourself these important questions: Like the Pharisees, has my heart become hardened and my praise for God stopped? Or is my heart seeking after Him that He would show me any false ways in me? (See Psalm 139:24.)

Thank you for spending time with me. And please let us know if you have any prayer requests. I want to encourage you to contact us if you have a prayer need and would like someone to stand in faith with you. Just call us at 1-800-742-5593 or email us at prayer@renner.org. We are moving forward together!

Your sister in Christ,

Denise Renner

Overcoming Betrayal

March Teaching Letter from Rick Renner

Dear Friend,

Greetings in the wonderful name of Jesus!

Before I get into my teaching today, I want to thank you for signing up to receive your first teaching letter from me. Welcome! I’m so glad you decided to join our family of deeper readers. I spend hours writing these letters each month, sharing my heart and the insights gleaned from my studies in God’s Word. I pray that this letter, and every letter I write in the future, truly ministers to your heart and strengthens your walk with God.

Soon everyone will be getting ready for Easter — that hopeful and much-anticipated time when we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection! In His selfless act of love, He laid down His life on the Cross to forever conquer sin and death. And one event in particular that preceded the crucifixion of our Savior is what I want to speak to you about today.But before I share with you what’s on my heart, I want to remind you that we are here to pray for you. PLEASE…never think this is just a cliché with us. We are absolutely serious about praying for our partners and friends. James 5:16 (AMP) says, “The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God — it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].” Not only do Denise and I pray, but our team earnestly calls out in faith-filled prayer for God to move in the lives of our partners. We truly believe that our prayers are dynamic and can have tremendous power. So, please, let us know how we can pray for you!

It is in this season that the Church around the world celebrates the Cross and the resurrection, but before Jesus went to the Cross, He was betrayed by a disciple. The act of betrayal is what I want to talk to you about today.

But first, I want to ask you: Have you ever felt betrayed by a friend or by someone you dearly loved? If you have:

It’s painful when a friend betrays you. It’s even worse when the person is your best friend or someone you’ve known and trusted for many years. Jesus certainly understands this, because He was betrayed by someone in His inner circle.

Betrayal is something that has happened to people since the beginning of time. It is simply a fact that the devil is a master at distorting and ruining relationships. He knows how to lure people into situations where they end up feeling hurt or offended; then he coaxes them into nurturing their offense until it mutates into strife that separates even the best of friends and the closest of family members.

Don’t forget — Satan was kicked out of Heaven because of his unique ability to create confusion, discord, and strife. Heaven is as perfect as an environment can be. Yet even in that perfect environment, the devil was still able to affect one third of the angels with his slanderous allegations against God. Angels who had worshiped together for eons of time now stood opposed to each other over issues the devil had conjured up in their minds.

That should tell you how clever the devil is at creating discord and strife! If the devil is persuasive enough to do this with angels, think how much easier it is for him to deceive people who live in a far-from-perfect environment and who wrestle daily with their own imperfections and self-image!

Satan watches for that opportune moment when a person is tired, weary, or exasperated. Then he waits until someone does something that person doesn’t understand or agree with. Suddenly it is as if the devil shoots a fiery arrow of rage straight into his or her emotions! Before long, strife, bitterness, unforgiveness, and division begin to mount. Friends who once stood side by side and cherished each other now stand facing each other as hostile rivals.

If this sounds familiar, know that this same scenario happened to Jesus! After working with Judas Iscariot for three years, the devil found his way into Judas’ soul, turning him so sour against Jesus that this disciple became His betrayer.

What opened the door for this deception to occur inside Judas?

In John 13:2, the Bible gives us powerful insight into the way the devil establishes a foothold in people’s minds. Looking back to John 12:3-7, we can read that Mary had brought a pound of spikenard and poured it on Jesus’ feet. Judas thought her act of love was a waste of money and took issue with Jesus about it. But Jesus told Judas to leave Mary alone and allowed her to continue. John 13:2 then tells us, “And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him.”

What was the exact moment that Satan put this thought into Judas’ heart? Apparently, it was when Judas became offended at Jesus about the spikenard. Perhaps Judas didn’t agree with Jesus’ decision, or maybe he didn’t like the fact that Jesus told him to leave Mary alone in front of the other disciples. Or maybe it was because Judas was a thief. As the ministry treasurer who stole regularly from the moneybag he held, he probably didn’t like it when money was spent elsewhere instead of being placed in the treasury!

Whatever the reason, it was at that moment of disagreement and offense that the devil found an open door into Judas’ heart.

Especially notice the phrase “…the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot….” The words “put into” come from the Greek word ballo, which means to throw, to cast, to thrust, or to inject. This word ballo carries the idea of a very fast action of throwing, thrusting, or injecting something forward, such as the throwing of a ball or rock, or the forward thrusting of a sharp knife.

It is significant that this word was used in this context, because it tells us how quickly the devil moved to inject a seed of betrayal into Judas’ heart. When the seed of betrayal was injected, it went so deep that it turned Judas — one of Jesus’ closest associates — into a deceiver and a betrayer. Judas became the epitome of a disloyal and unfaithful friend. And when Satan finally penetrated Judas’ mind and emotions with this seed of betrayal, he injected it so hard and fast that it became deeply embedded or lodged in Judas’ soul.
John 13:2 could therefore be translated:

There is no doubt that the word ballo means the devil quickly seized an opportunity to inject a seed of betrayal into Judas’ heart. Judas was so offended by Jesus that a window to his heart and emotions opened, even if only for a brief moment. When the devil saw that opening, he moved like lightning to penetrate Judas’ mind and emotions in order to sour a long-term relationship and turn a trusted friend into a betrayer.

Satan was able to use Judas as his instrument because Judas allowed the enemy to drive a wedge between him and Jesus. Rather than let go of the offense and forget about it, Judas let the issue become a big deal in his mind — something so blown out of proportion that the devil was able to use the offense to lure him into the ultimate act of disloyalty. Because Judas didn’t take his thoughts captive, the devil succeeded in tainting this disciple’s view of Jesus. This then led to a disastrous effect on Judas’ relationship with Jesus.

It’s important that you learn how to recognize those times when the devil tries to inject a seed of division into your heart. He wants to drive a wedge between you and the people you love. Rather than let him get away with this evil tactic, make a decision to resist every temptation to get angry and offended. By resisting these thoughts, you can take a stand against the devil and protect your relationships.

This is very different from the usual message of Easter, but these are the circumstances that led to Jesus’ betrayal before He went to the Cross. There is so much to learn from the disastrous mistake that Judas Iscariot made when he allowed the devil to use offense to turn him into a betrayer. We have all been hurt by others — and it’s probable that we’ve all been a source of hurt to someone else at some point in the past.

But we must determine to never let any issue get so blown out of proportion that it turns any of us into a disloyal, lying, betraying friend. And if you are hurting because someone has recently betrayed and hurt you, choose the route of forgiveness. Remember, what you sow is what you reap — if you sow forgiveness now, you will reap forgiveness from others when you need it in the future.

If anyone understands betrayal, it is Jesus — and if you are hurting from a disappointment you suffered in a relationship, Jesus will heal your heart. Go to Him and He will pour a healing balm into that wound!
I pray the words in this letter have ministered to you — or that they will help you minister to someone else who bears the wounds of a disappointing relationship.

Please remember that we want to pray for you — and please remember to pray for Denise and me and our team as we do what God has called us to do. It’s not just us — it’s us and our partners all working together that will get the job done, fulfilling God’s marvelous plan to reach people with help from His Word!

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

Breaking Through Obstacles

A Teaching from Denise Renner

Dear Precious Friend,

The Bible says, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 NKJV). Jesus wants to give us a full and abundant life, but our adversary, the devil, wants to steal as much from us as he can — and he will use many different obstacles to discourage us and stop us from receiving that life and the blessings God has provided for us.

Today I want to talk to you about a very powerful story of breaking through the obstacles to receive what we need from Jesus.

In Mark 2:1-12, we find an important example of people breaking through obstacles to receive what they so desperately needed from Jesus.

In this passage, we find that the word got out that Jesus was in a house in Capernaum, so a large number of people had gathered in and around the house to hear Him speak. The crowd was so large that “there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door” (see Mark 2:2). The hungry crowd was straining to hear Jesus’ preaching.

In verse 3, it says that four men approached the house carrying a paralyzed man on a bed. The men were intent on getting their friend to Jesus. As they got close to the house, they were met by an obstacle — the multitude of people prevented them from getting anywhere near the Lord. They had arrived believing they would get their paralyzed friend to Jesus, but they couldn’t even get near the door! What would they do? Would they give up and go back home?

Friend, what will you do when you hit an obstacle? Will you give up and say, “It’s not worth it. It’s too hard”? Will you think, I have tried this many times before and it never works. There are too many obstacles that are trying to stop me. I can’t do this!

The reaction of these four friends was quite different. They did something completely amazing and very much out of the ordinary. In essence, they said, “If we can’t get in through the door, we’ll go through the roof.”

They may have thought, What? We can’t do this! This is not our house. What will the owner of the house do to us? Who will pay for the damages? What if we drop our friend? There were so many challenges — but it did not stop them.

They climbed up on top of the house, and verse 4 says that they “…uncovered the roof where He was….” But that was only the first obstacle to getting their desired result.

Verse 4 continues, “…So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.” Can you imagine what this looked like? Everyone was listening to Jesus when, suddenly, they heard the roof breaking apart and saw particles from the roof falling on Him. All eyes would have been staring up through the hole in the roof right at those four men and their friend.

Then the man was lowered on a bed right in front of Jesus. All the people saw was this paralyzed man on a bed. Jesus saw all this, but He saw something else too — He saw the faith of these four men. Can you imagine how seeing the friends’ determination — getting through the crowd, breaking through the roof, then lowering their friend down to Jesus — must have grabbed Jesus’ heart?

We don’t know, but Jesus could have been thinking, These men believe so strongly that I can heal their friend that they risked everything to get him to Me. Jesus then says something amazing: “Son, your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:5).

Now, if we had been there that day, we may have thought to ourselves, This isn’t a sin problem. This is a paralyzed man and a broken-roof problem. So why is Jesus talking about sin? But Jesus saw the condition of the paralyzed man’s heart. And Jesus saw the faith of the four men.

Sickness does not separate us from God, but sin does. Everyone saw this man’s physical condition, but Jesus saw the condition of his heart. Jesus has the same power to heal someone as he does to forgive someone. The same blood it took to forgive you and me also heals us.

We see in Isaiah 53 that the suffering Savior did not just take our sins, but that same sacrifice and horrible death brought healing to our bodies as well. And we see it again in Psalm 103:3: “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases.” Jesus came for the whole man. He is so kind.

We don’t know why Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven you,” but with sin usually comes guilt, condemnation, and sometimes shame. He didn’t want that man just to be healed in his body, He also wanted him to be healed in his soul. Jesus came to bring salvation to the whole man: spirit, soul, and body. And He is the same today.

So what obstacle is trying to stop you from receiving from Jesus? It may take extra time and prayer and refusing to stop, but what you so desperately need could be just on the other side of the roof! The enemy wants to stop you from breaking through and receiving the abundance that Jesus wants to give. But it is the enemy that has to move out of the way — not you.

My friend, don’t let anything stop you from believing and growing in your faith and receiving for yourself and your family. According to the riches of His glory, He has provided for your every need (see Philippians 4:19). Those provisions are there for you to receive them.

Thank you for spending this time with me. And I want to encourage you to contact us if you would like someone to stand in faith with you. Call us at 1-800-742-5593 or email us at prayer@renner.org. We look forward to being your “friends on the roof” — joining our faith with yours to help you break through the obstacles so you can get what you need from Jesus.

Your sister in Christ,


Denise Renner