Calling all RHEMA alumni, graduates and present-day students! There's a reason your attention was drawn to the ministry of Kenneth Hagin and RHEMA Bible Training Center. Your obedience was and is God answering the prayers of His saints who faithfully called for the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into the fields of the world. That would mean the nations, states, regions, cities and neighborhoods we all reside in.
As we answered that call to attend RHEMA, traveling perhaps many miles, undergoing most likely a number of hardships and situations to be overcome, sacrificing time and safety with family and loved ones, a guiding light for many, was the inner knowing and certainty, that eternity was in the balance and that people's lives would be forever changed. We even began to suspect that the results of our obedience could be the same as for Jesus from Luke 4:18-19 (Ampc):
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the good news of the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth delivered those who are oppressed - downtrodden, bruised, crushed and broken down by calamity; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord - the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.
John 14:12, of course, bears this out.
So, I'm wondering how it's going with the call of God on your life. It's always positive to stop and take a status check every so often, to make sure we are on course and fulfilling God's intended purpose for our lives. Jesus told the disciples on the way to the cross, "I love the Father and do only what He has instructed me to do." John 14:31 (Ampc) We read about the gifts and callings of God which are "without repentance", that God doesn't change His mind, in Romans 11:29. And, "we are His own handiwork, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Eph 2:10.
I saw a bumper sticker on a car many years back that said: "JESUS is Coming Soon - LOOK BUSY!!" It brings forth a smile, which was more than likely the intention of the author. After a bit of reflection, of course, we realize God hasn't called us to live, overtaken and overwhelmed by the business of life, but rather we can live on purpose and having His purposes as our top priorities. He has a tailor-made and specific plan for our lives that's fits perfectly with the gifts and abilities He has given us. And we have the possibility and privilege of finding that plan and walking on the path He has chosen.
Brother Hagin writes in his book, Following God's Plan for Your Life,
Believers who follow God's way may not always be able to see very far down the path, because following God is a step-by-step walk of faith and obedience. But despite the difficulties that lie on the path of obedience, such a great future in the Lord awaits those who choose to walk in God's ways!
The road of obedience is the one you must choose if you want to follow God's plan for your life. And as you choose to obey God, He will furnish you with the power and ability to climb over the mountains you are facing right now, as well as the mountains up ahead that you can't see yet.
Your path will grow brighter and brighter, and many other lives will be influenced for Jesus because of your obedience. For, you see, it is on the path of obedience where God reveals His glory and your strength is renewed day by day. And when you finish your course, and meet Jesus face to face, how glad you will be that you obeyed God! (pp 58-59)
Jesus is coming soon, sooner than we think, and He's bringing His rewards with Him. I would encourage you, wherever you are in life and ministry, to be faithful and courageous and step out boldly to do all God has shown you thus far.
Brother Hagin writes further,
Each of us will experience many crossroads in our lives - some more crucial than others. At each crossroad, we must renew our commitment to do the Lord's will, not our own.
That's why we must pray the prayer of consecration over and over in our walk with the Lord and dedicate ourselves to fully obey Him and His Word.
Pray this prayer of commitment to God from your heart: Lord, I present myself unto You. May Your will be done in my life. May I never forget that I have surrendered all that I am to You.
I commit myself to be one whom You can use - consecrated and separated unto Your purposes. I'll pay the price by denying the flesh.
If You call me in the nighttime, I'll get on my knees and pray. If I am never seen of men, and if I always work behind the scenes, still I will be faithful.
I lay aside all personal ambition. I'll be one who walks in the Spirit and in Your perfect will. In Jesus' Name, Your will shall be wrought in my heart, in my life, and in my ministry. Amen. (pp59-60)
We need to get new bumper stickers!! They could read:
"JESUS is coming SOON! ______ ______ " You fill in the blanks and let us know.
Warm greetings
from Rhema Norway
Dee Ramthun
Highly recommended books by Brother Hagin on the subject, besides the one mentioned are: Plans, Purposes and Pursuits, and Tongues: Beyond the Upper Room.