Our Place of Faith

August Teaching Letter from Denise Renner

Dear Friends,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Merry Christmas!

We love you and thank God for you!

We are your brother and sister, friends, and partners in Jesus Christ,

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

It is such a privilege to write to you. I’m so thankful for you, and I’m thankful that you are taking the time to read these words of hope and encouragement. I’m writing a new book entitled Jesus Wants To Heal You that is to be released in early 2024, and I’d like to share a few words from its pages with you. I believe these words are timely and can strengthen you today if you will receive them.

In Matthew 8:2 and 3, we see that it is the will of God to have compassion on us. He wants to heal our bodies; He wants us whole in every area. This scripture speaks of a leprous man who knew that Jesus could heal him, but he didn’t know if Jesus wanted to heal him.

And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

We need to know what the will of God is regarding healing, and we see it in this verse. We see what Jesus’ will was for this leprous man.

Just consider the realities of this leprous man in the hours right before he met Jesus. When this man first opened his eyes that morning, it was just like any other morning. He didn’t know this was going to be his miracle morning. He got out of bed in his same old routine — carrying the same familiar burden of pain, shame, and fear and the same horrible identity as a leper that he had carried for years.

But this man had a burning question in his heart. He had heard about Jesus’ healing the sick; he knew that Jesus was able to heal. But one thing he didn’t know — would Jesus want to heal him?

So this leprous man was set up to experience a second reality that day. At some point, he decided to push past his fear and risk going out in public to make the effort to find Jesus and ask Him the question he didn’t know the answer to: “Are You willing to heal me?”

Can’t you just imagine this disease-ridden, leprous man pushing through the crowds as they were screaming in fear and backing away from him, yelling out to each other, “Unclean! Unclean!” They were protecting themselves from this horrible stench and dreaded, contagious disease.

But, finally, the man reached Jesus. And when Jesus said to him, “I am willing,” Jesus’ words became this man’s place of faith. From that moment on, his faith was his reality — and the next reality that manifested was his answer.

That morning this man got out of bed still leprous, and that evening he went to bed healed and whole!

The truth is, we can get so caught up in the physical realm and think, I need to be real about this problem. It’s true that symptoms present us with one version of reality. But what about our place of faith? Is that not a greater reality? It absolutely is! And it leads to our answer becoming our new reality!

You may be facing a challenge, and perhaps you’ve been feeling trapped in the reality of the problem. But Jesus is inviting you to another place, the place called faith — because that is the reality that comes before the miracle! In that place of faith, Jesus is your Healer. You’re not an over-reacting believer who doesn’t face reality; you’re simply walking in the place of faith. That place is where you abide before your answer becomes your new reality.

When somebody believes, that’s the reality of faith. Yes, the problem is one reality, but the answer to that problem is another reality. And between the two is the reality of faith that doesn’t give up — faith that says, “I’m going to receive from God, no question about it!”

The man didn’t know that this was to be his life-altering miracle day. He just made a decision to get out of bed, get dressed, and leave his home to go look for Jesus. But God was working a plan.

This man knew Jesus could heal, no problem. The man had probably thought a lot about it before this moment: I’ve heard of this Jesus performing miracles. I believe He can heal me — but does He want to heal me? Then Jesus spoke three words to this man that settled that question once and for all: “I am willing.”

So for this amazing miracle to happen, there were only two questions this man had to settle in his own mind: Can Jesus do it? Yes, He can. And does He want to do it? Now I know — yes, He does.

Those same two questions we still ask today. Can Jesus heal me? And does He want to heal me?

Friend, I’m writing this to you. If you have sickness, pain, or disease — anything that’s trying to attach itself to your body — the will of God absolutely is to heal you. Can He heal you? Yes, He is the God of the impossible! He most assuredly can heal you. And He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so you can also know beyond a shadow of a doubt that today He wants to heal you, just as He healed the leprous man that day almost 2,000 years ago!

If a sickness goes on for a long time, sometimes we start to believe religious statements like, Well, maybe God doesn’t really want to heal me. Maybe I’m giving glory to God through my patient suffering. Or maybe He wants to teach me something through this sickness. But the answer to all three of those “maybes” is no, no, and no. None of those statements reflect the true nature or the will of our Father God!

God doesn’t want His children sick in order to teach them something. Sickness is ultimately from the devil and originates in this fallen world. So why would He use something from the devil to teach us anything? That doesn’t make any sense, because the Bible says that the devil is under our feet (see Ephesians 1:20-22; 2:6)!

Jesus defeated Satan through His death, burial, and resurrection, and that includes every sickness that he brings! Jesus doesn’t use Satan or his evil ways to teach us anything.

Does it bring glory to God when we suffer with sickness? No, Jesus took all of our sicknesses and diseases on Himself as He hung on that Cross.

I’m telling you right now, any sickness or disease that is afflicting your body or tormenting your soul for any reason is not giving glory to God. This is such good news. Jesus took that physical or mental affliction to hell, and He punished it — destroyed its power and its right to remain on you forever!

The truth is, Jesus hates sickness and disease. There is nothing in Him that loves seeing people being tormented or in pain or that enjoys watching people lose all their money because they have to pay doctors for medical care. That brings Him no joy. In fact, Jesus hates it — so much so that He offered Himself as a Sacrifice and suffered a horrifying death on that Cross to purchase our redemption and healing.

And even before Jesus was nailed to that Cross, He took that beating with a whip that had multiple cords with pieces of metal and glass tied on the ends. When those pieces of metal and glass came whipping around His body, they tore His flesh. The pain and torture Jesus endured during that cruel lashing of His skin is unimaginable. Yet the Word says it was that very whipping that purchased your healing and my healing: “…By His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

Psalm 103:2 and 3 confirm to us what the Father’s compassions and benefits include for us. He not only forgives all our sin; He also promises to heal our bodies from all sickness and disease.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases.

It is absolutely God’s will for you to be healed. It’s as much God’s will to heal you as it is to save you. His compassions are available right now for you. It’s as if there were a basket in front of you labeled “The Father’s Compassions,” and you could decide, I’m going to reach in that basket and take out the compassion called healing because Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that healing is mine.

I personally have been touched by Jesus’ healing power so many times in my life. That’s why I minister on this truth that He bore our sicknesses and diseases with so much passion and gratitude.

Friend, there is nothing in the will of God that wants you sick or in pain — nothing.

The Father’s compassions have already been poured out. They are yours for the taking! The will of God was to heal the leper, and the will of God is to heal you.

When Jesus said on the Cross, “It is finished,” He was saying, “I have just paid for cancer, for arthritis, for mental illness, for lung problems, for skin disease, for blood problems, for kidney disease. I have just paid for anything wrong with your sinuses, your throat, or your ears. I have just paid for blindness. I have just paid for it all. IT IS FINISHED.”

The Bible says in Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus endured, despising the shame for the joy set before Him. That joy was a demonstration of everything He was paying a price for to free us from sin and sickness.

Yes, it is Jesus’ joy to heal you. Always remember this, for it is your amazing, wonderful, and great salvation!

Do you need healing in your body today? Do you have an unmet need in your life or in the life of a loved one? Our team would be honored to join our faith with yours for the manifestation of what He has already paid for. Call us at 1.800.742.5593, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT weekdays, or email prayer@deniserenner.org. A faith-filled prayer warrior is waiting to hear from you.

I would also like to invite you to join me on my program, TIME With Denise Renner. It airs on Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m. CT on Facebook and YouTube and Saturdays at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. CT on GospelTruth.tv. You can also listen to my podcast on Spotify, Google, and Apple, with new episodes every Monday at 5:00 a.m. CT. Let’s continue to soak in His Word and saturate ourselves in His presence.

We are receiving our healing together,

Denise Renner

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