My wife and came here from Finland to spend a second year at RBI. During the first year we didn’t have much. We shared an apartment with two other students and we usually walked to school. That was four years ago. This time God has blessed us more than enough!!!
Before we came from Finland, we agreed to switch cars with two FinnishRiver members, who went to Finland to minister for 9 months. Then a friend of ours received us to her home until we can find a permanent solution. After one week I got a part-time position at the IT department of RMI, which made it possible for us to live in our own apartment this time! We are so grateful for that! Then when we talked with some friends of ours, they told us that they are starting a traveling ministry and that they are selling all their furniture! So now we’ve got all the furniture we need also! God is so good 🙂
We are so thankful to God that we can be part of a church that is full of the fire of God and whose focus is souls! There are not many that kind of churches in Finland at the moment. Here we can both receive from God and serve Him, and be part of the Great Awakening! This is really an oasis for us!! We feel that God called us here to get refreshed, get full of the word and the fire of God and then be launched to our destiny…..Heimo T.
During my internship I am seeing some of my harvest from things I have sown in the past. There were so many things that I was diligent and faithful with since I started my walk with God five years ago. One example, I cleaned toilets all second year and kept my heart right, and now I am trusted to clean things that no one else can even know about. So when students come up to me and tell me they can’t do this and they don’t want to do this I can tell them, hey look! I have done just about everything since I have been here in school so it kills their excuse of not wanting to do what they are supposed to do. I’m finding myself living the phrase “My breakthrough is someone else’s breakthrough”. This encourages me to keep pressing forward to overcome so many areas that need to be dealt with in my life for other people’s eternity!
Internship has been a great stretch on the flesh as far as sleep. It is one thing when you are working a job and money is your motivation, but this is for the renewed man’s walk with Jesus. The flesh wants to have a nice ride back and forth from the house to school. That had been a great lying down of the flesh in my life because I have always had a ride and never walked anywhere. God is really stretching my faith for a car but me walking and being with him is more important than me having a car right now.
The second year at RBI has been worth all the trouble! I have had the privilege of listening day after day to great Bible teaching. The word of God has been molding my heart in an awesome way! Of course, I have learned many different things but the greatest affect on me has been the teachings on the Christian character. I have come to realize that many of my problems are directly caused by the lack of character.
I have always kind of thought that character is something that you are born with and that there is little you can do to change it. That is of course a lie of the enemy! Personality is what you are born with, but character is being developed all the time. I have come to understand how essential Godly character is in life in general but especially in the ministry! If you don’t have the character to keep yourself pure and to take care of your family properly, how can you even dream of having a full time ministry? Being a father of two little children is good training for the ministry because it takes character.
The word of God has been like a sword or a flashlight that has been penetrating me during this year at RBI. I have been changed enormously! There are still things to deal with, but I am so glad for what God has already done through the power of His Word! I feel like I have been given the equipment to work with my character, and most of all the Word has motivated me to change! It isn’t fun to die to your flesh, but that is the only way character is being built. Doing the right thing isn’t easy but it is always worth it! I am being built up strong!
Because of the Word of God being sown in my heart I have been delivered from my past (abuse, hurts, lost, unanswered questions, insecurities, fears, feeling unloved). Before Jesus, the Word being sown in my heart, I would stuff all my pain deep down inside to the point I would almost forget they were there; almost becoming numb to them. Once I opened my heart to the Lord and said the prayer of consecration there was no more hiding and tucking away my past. As I opened my heart to him I wanted to be more in his presence which meant being in the fire and all the un-pure garbage inside being drawn to the surface as he refined me and I wanted to be more in his Word which meant conviction to all the things that are unseen and hidden away in my heart. Having all these things revealed to me hurt badly but it had to be done and I’m glad it was. All the things I thought I let go and had no feelings towards came to the forefront and I was forced to deal with them. The way I dealt with them was only through the Word of God. As I meditated on his Word I could feel the chains of bondage falling off (Romans 6:18) my insecurities began to diminish (Psalm 139:13-14 ) and I finally begun to realize someone does love me and that I am not worthless but have a purpose in life (Jeremiah 29:11). Without the Word of God in my life I can tell you that I would be unable to stand.
When people hear the word of God and do not understand it, the devil comes and snatches the word and takes it away from their hearts. This is the seed that was sown along the path.
The seed that fell on rocky ground refers to people who hears the word God and immediately receives it with joy. But since they no root in themselves, they endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word of God, immediately he stumbles and quickly falls away from God. The seed that fall among the thorns refers to people who hear the word of God, but and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word of God out, and they become unfruitful. But the seed that fall on good soul refers to people who hear the word of God and understand it and they indeed bears fruit.
I have the opportunity to be a part of so many amazing things here at the ministry: leading worship, winning hundreds to the Lord on local high school campuses, youth events, and tent revival meetings (just to name a few). I wouldn’t trade the experience here for anything! As I’ve already stated, third year really has been a time of stretching, shaping, molding, walking in love, and learning how to totally rely on the Lord, but what’s even greater is the impression that’s been placed in my heart for this generation – applying everything I learned in first and second year to reach a lost and dying world. I can’t shake it!
I am so thankful for this school, and for what the Lord has done in my heart. The Lord is so good!
God has done so much in my life this past year as an intern here at RMI. As a second year student, I was complete set against becoming a third year intern. I attended the intern information meeting just to ease the pressure from my classmates, however in the meeting the Lord spoke to my heart – showing me myself as an intern underneath Pastors Allen and Kristin. That said, I was the first person of my friends to turn in my application for internship.
Since I’ve started as an intern here in iM: Student Ministries, my life has been completely transformed. I’ve seen my faith grow to whole new levels! I’ve been able to believe God for things that I never thought that I could: my finances, my monthly rent, groceries, transportation, etc. I’ve been stretched on every side! Even greater than that, is that my relationship with the Lord has been strengthened. Â I have learned to trust Him; to really hear His voice.
The Word of God being sown in my life has totally transformed me into a new person. As the Word was sown into my life through different vessels it seems to reveal more and more areas in my life that I needed to line up with God’s Word. The Word revealed to me many areas of my life that I was operating in fear my whole life. Though it was a battle as I began to read more of the word on God’s love and care for us and heard powerful preaching at the River church, freedom came to me. I was not only able to be more effective for God in preaching the Gospel but I became free from all fears. I now can say I truly trust God to deliver me from anything that comes my way because he is faithful to perform his word and God cannot fail. As I read more and more I see different areas of my life line up with the will of God. My family notices the change and now sees me as a man of God. Even at work where I was once known as a sinner but now I’m seen as a Godly person. The Word being sown into my heart has also helped me to make soul winning a lifestyle as I began to see the purpose of the church and believers in Christ Jesus. I am also working on becoming the best husband I can be as a result of the Word being sown into my life. As I begin to get in the Word and act upon it my life and everyone around me has been changed. I’ve even seen my brother, sisters, and cousins come to Christ as a result of me acting on the Word of God. I am new man today because of the Word of God. I’m happy to say I am the righteous of God in Christ Jesus.
One year ago if you had told me that I would be in River Bible Institute, I would have wondered what you had been smoking, but here I am. My wife and I watched “The Great Awakening” many nights over the last year and decided to stop on our way to south Florida where we have spent our winters since 1992. We came to the winter camp meeting where we spent 7 wonderful spirit filled days and nights.
We are still here.
We have known of The River Church for many years for we see it every time we go home to Michigan when we travel on I75 north bound. I saw Pastor Rodney on TV when he was at ORU and the memory of what he did burned permanently in to my memory.
My wife was moved to go to the altar and from there she ended up in the River Bible Institute room and before she knew it she had enrolled us in the River Bible Institute. You must understand she was being led by God. After being told this I said “you did what?” But the more I thought about it the more God worked on me and the more I liked the idea.
Staying here would mean no fishing (for fish) I thought. But now I get to do fishing for God’s lost children and there are many more opportunities and wonderful teachers to hone your skills. The feeling you get when you see a lost child of God accept Christ is indescribable and there is no limit to the number you can catch. We also have the best bait; Gods Salvation, the Holy Ghost, peace of mind and the Love of Jesus
I am so glad to be here in the school. It is getting even better. Until I came to Tampa, I felt almost like a Muslim-Christian. Just lately I have been feeling the freedom and flow of the Spirit. Even after finishing the first year of school. I guess it takes a while to be detoxed spiritually! Pretty much up to that time I was religious and doctrineted properly. Even after the first year I was still not very open to the flow and the move of God.
Over the summer break and God’s continuous work in my heart I came hungry and thirsty for this school year. Especially the first week of school was awesome. Even the introduction of pastors was enough to smack me!
We moved Tampa to basically to come to school. There is not any reason for us to live here other than the River really. But after being here it is more than enough reason to stay here! I often feel like about the school and church that i have found a treasure chest and want to share with everyone. We are telling our loved ones to come and even just sit under this ministry for a week and see what we are talking about. It is so precious to me. I thank God for such man and women of God and their impact in our lives. Not only by teaching in the class but every way they live and conduct their lives. I have lot to learn from them. Thank God that he kept them for such a time like this and for us.
I am so excited to see and receive what God has for me this year. i go to school with expectation every day. He has still a lot of work to do in me. You never know what will take place that day. Even just last thursday the Spirit of giving broke out and everyone was obedient to God. Some people even broke their alabaster box. I am looking forward to see might things happen this year in students life…..Hicran M.