Winter Bible Seminar 2010
A Week to Remember
In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, the seasoned minister encouraged his young colaborer in the faith to “. . . stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands . . .” (2 Tim. 1:6 Amplified).
And like the Apostle Paul, Kenneth W. Hagin exhorted those who attended Winter Bible Seminar 2010 to stir up the gifts God has placed in them and fan into flame the fire of the Holy Spirit.
“God has called me to keep the Body of Christ in remembrance of the move of the Holy Spirit, faith, the power of God, and the authority of the believer,” Rev. Hagin boldly declared during opening night of this annual week-long gathering.
In the 10:30 a.m. sessions each day, Lynette Hagin also encouraged the congregation to stir themselves up in their giftings and take their places in the Body of Christ. She exhorted them to stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice by keeping their flesh under control and walking in the Spirit. “God is calling His people to walk in the Spirit,” Lynette said. “We’ve got to clean our vessels out to be used in His service—to reach the highest level we can with Him.”
Members of the RHEMA Singers & Band reunited once again and “stirred up” the congregation with some of their most popular songs. Whenever they stepped forward on the platform, the crowd jumped to its feet and joined in the lively praise and worship. It wasn’t unusual to see many people in the congregation take off running while they were singing.
Monday evening, Kenneth W. Hagin stirred up the crowd to contend for the faith. He noted that Christian values have come under attack, and we must not become so politically correct that we tone down the Gospel so we don’t offend people. Now is the time for us to defend the faith.
Things continued to “stir” on Tuesday evening. When the RHEMA Worship Team sang “Very Same Power” by Ricardo Sanchez and Israel Houghton, the power of God moved throughout the RHEMA Bible Church auditorium and chains of bondage disintegrated off of many. In his message, Rev. Hagin exhorted the congregation not to allow secularism to reduce the fire of God in their hearts to glowing embers and smoke.
He urged them instead to come to the altar and stay there until God’s fire ignited in their hearts once again.
People often think of a Holy Ghost meeting as having a lot of running, dancing, and shouting. Wednesday evening was clearly a Holy Ghost meeting, but people sensed the strong presence of the Holy Spirit in quietness and holiness. After a time of singing in the Spirit, Rev. Hagin called the congregation to the altar to kneel and pray. “God is dealing with people tonight,” he said. “And it’s in atmospheres like this that the still, quiet voice of the Holy Spirit speaks.” Many hearts and lives were changed as people basked in the presence of a holy God.
To begin a very full Thursday evening service, Kenneth and Lynette Hagin honored the lives of 10 ministers from RHEMA Ministerial Association International who went home to be with the Lord over the past two years. The Hagins presented family members with a rose and a plaque honoring their loved ones. Thursday was also RHEMA Day, with special “double-up” offerings received for RHEMA Bible Training Center USA.
John Grunewald, director of RHEMA Bible Training Center Europe, and Matt Beemer, who is spearheading the opening of RHEMA Bible Training Centers in the UK/Northern Ireland, England, Egypt, and Nigeria, shared what God is doing throughout Europe and in unreached areas. Kenneth W. Hagin then exhorted the congregation to stir up a desire to have the gifts of the Spirit operating in the Church. The evening concluded with the ordination of 17 men and women.
The weeklong seminar concluded with a healing service on Friday evening during which the Hagins ministered with a strong healing anointing. What a time of refreshing Winter Bible Seminar 2010 was! Those who attended were stirred in the things of God. They returned home to spread the spiritual fire in their hearts to others through sharing the good things the Lord has done. It was truly a week to remember.
God has given me a message for this hour, for the day that we are now living in. He has called me to keep the Body of Christ in remembrance of the move of the Holy Spirit, faith, the power of God, and the authority of the believer.
The Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy to “. . . stir up the gift of God . . .” that was in him (2 Tim. 1:6). Adam Clarke states in his commentary that the “gift” that Timothy had received was the Holy Spirit. And through the Holy Spirit, Timothy received a particular power to preach and defend the truth. In the same way that Paul encouraged Timothy to stir up God’s gift in him, Christians today must stir up the gift in them.
We cannot neglect the Holy Spirit, Who lives inside us. For many of us, however, other things can become priorities in our lives. But what God has placed in our hearts must be more important to us than anything else.
It is imperative that we continually stir ourselves up in the things of God. When many Christians first heard the message of faith and the authority of the believer, it burned like a fire in them and changed their lives. However, as they continued to grow in the things of God, some let what they had learned die down. But we need to get back to strong faith and walking in the authority of the believer.
The Apostle Paul was a seasoned minister who experienced much persecution and opposition throughout his ministry. And he understood that his followers would experience persecution also. Paul was aware that human emotion—when left unchecked—could cause Christians to abandon their faith.
What young Timothy experienced is no different from what Christians experience today. Although Timothy fought the good fight of faith, he experienced fiery trials. And in his second letter, Paul reminded Timothy that he could overcome trials and opposition by remembering what God had already done for him.
Christians can become weak in their fight of faith when they haven’t stirred themselves up in the things of God or when they haven’t refired by adding fresh fuel. When we burn wood in a fireplace, sometimes the fire burns down and we have to use a poker to stir it up. Afterwards, the fire bursts back into flames.
Some of us need to take the Word of God and stir ourselves up with it. Once we do, the power of the Holy Spirit will burn brightly in us once again.
One way to stir ourselves up is by talking about how big God is. It’s by saying things like, “Our God is able. Our God is mighty. Our God is willing. Our God is awesome!” Sometimes we forget what God can do and desires to do for us. And that’s exactly what the devil wants. Satan knows that if he can keep us from stirring ourselves up, he can keep us from receiving from God.
Too often in the hour of trouble, we forget what the Word of God says. We begin saying things like, “What am I going to do now?” rather than, “No weapon formed against me will prosper” (Isa. 54:17). We should be saying, “I can’t go under for going over. I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).
No matter how hopeless a situation may look, we need to remember that God is a waymaker. He came through for us before, and He will come through again. God can do what no one else can do. He opens doors that no man can shut, and shuts doors that no man can open. God can change the desert into a garden. He makes the crooked places straight. He can turn our mourning into joy and restore everything the enemy has stolen.
Quitting is never an option. Instead, we’ll stir up the gift of the Holy Spirit within us and watch God do the impossible!
Impacting the World
“RHEMA and the Hagin name are more well known outside the United States than they are inside the United States.”
Kenneth W. Hagin made that statement during Thursday night’s service of Winter Bible Seminar and there is a reason why he said it. According to RBTC Dean Tad Gregurich, by January 2011 there will be 80 RHEMA campuses around the world, and only one of those is in the United States. RHEMA Brazil alone has 29 campuses with one being located in Angola, West Africa, while RHEMA Peru has 18 campuses positioned in Peru and Chile.
Matt Beemer and his wife, Julie, are in the process of opening three new RHEMA Bible Training Centers in Egypt, the United Kingdom/Northern Ireland, and Nigeria. He said, “When we started going to Nigeria, I was shocked to see the influence this ministry has had on that nation. They say about 90 percent of the pastors in Nigeria have read Brother Hagin’s books, and pretty much every bookstore, whether secular or Christian, was started from Brother Hagin’s books. There is a church [in Nigeria] that seats 50,000 people, and they have three
services on a Sunday. When the pastor found out I represent RHEMA Nigeria, he talked to me for 15 minutes about how Brother Hagin ministering to him was the key to his ministry taking off. He said, ‘As long as RHEMA exists, I will be a partner.’”
And the Medal Goes To . . .
kids|unlimited
As adults who attended Winter Bible Seminar stirred up the fire of the Holy Spirit, children (kindergarten–5th grade) lit their “torches” for Jesus at the “Winter Bible Olympics.” In the Olympic-themed kids|unlimited auditorium—complete with snow-covered trees, flags from countries around the world, and a winners’ platform—kids were divided into teams (countries) each night to compete for gold, silver, and bronze Winter Bible Olympic medals. “We use fun as a way to minister to the kids,” said Denise Burns, Children’s Minister at RHEMA Bible Church. “We’re learning about the Word and having a great time.”
Each night, children were encouraged to stir up the gifts and talents—the star quality—that God has placed on the inside of them. “Don’t hide those gifts,” one teacher said. “Just as you have to shake a snow globe to see the snow, you’ve got to stir up your gifts and the Holy Spirit on the inside of you.” And that’s exactly what the children did as they worshipped, sought the Lord, and saw themselves as the winners God created them to be. As one child said, “God’s given me gifts and talents, and I’m gonna use them.”
By the end of the week, 45 kids gave their life to Jesus, the same number were filled with the Holy Spirit, and all of them were pumped up and ready to take Jesus to their world.
If you were not able to attend Winter Bible Seminar 2010, you may purchase CDs, DVDs, or MP3s of the messages online at www.rhema.org/store.