I remember thinking when I started my internship last July that it seemed like a long final stretch to the finish line, but at the same time, knowing it would pass so quickly that at the end it would be as if I blinked my eyes and it was over.  Sure enough, the months have flown by, yet it’s as if I have lived an entire lifetime in just a few months.

John the Baptist said when Jesus came He would put an ax to the root.  The day I started my internship it was as if an announcement had been made in heaven that full permission was given to use the ax.  I faced my worst fears.  The challenges came without any warning.  It was like being in a meat grinder, because that’s what it took to get the roots out.  Oh, but how it has yielded the peaceful fruit of righteousness!!

–Mary

Recently Pastor Rodney has taught on the quality of the ground (heart) into which seed (the Word) is sown.  Most, if not all of us like to think that we have good ground; that we are always receptive to the Word.  Not only that, but after receiving the Word, we expect that we are able to protect it and have it grow and produce a huge harvest.

I recently had an experience that pointed out how sneaky Satan is.  After the service, a friend was very upset.  We heard the same thing, and I thought it was fine, but she took it very differently.  She was so upset that she thought about leaving the church.  We talked and I mentioned that Satan comes immediately for the Word’s sake and she needed to be careful of what was going on in her heart.  It took awhile, but she saw that that was indeed what was going on and settled down.  It turned out she did misunderstand what had been said and became offended.  She almost lost the Word that was planted in her heart because of it.

Unfortunately, this is not uncommon among believers.  In America, we are geared to worry and take offense.  In fact, this is the norm in our society.  We see it on TV, hear it on the news and even hear it from friends and family. If we are to overcome the wiles of the devil, we need to guard our hearts.  We cannot be ignorant of his devices to steal the Word. As mentioned in the parable of the sower, we can’t afford stony ground or thorns.  It is necessary to keep the heart soft and receptive.  Hosea 10 says to break up the fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.  We break up the fallow ground with the Word.  James 4:7 says to Submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. As long as we stick with the Word, it will help us keep our heart right.  When we keep our heart right, we receive more Word. The condition of the heart and the Word feed each other.

–Susan

Well, another month has gone by and it seems as though the blessings of the Lord just keep getting better and better.  There were some struggles over the last month but God is always faithful to His Word and to His children.  After a small car accident my vehicle was totaled. After some searching and prayer the Lord led me to a very nice vehicle that was everything I was looking for and it was at the exact price that I had prayed about.  This was a wonderful thing as my other car was really starting to have some major issues.  I have also been involved in a new bible study in one of the area communities.  God has been moving greatly there.  We are seeing a lot of young people show up and be touched by the presence of God.  The first week that we were there we saw 24 kids show up.  16 of them gave their hearts to the Lord and got filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues.  They really respond to love and the touch of God upon their heart.  We also just came through the Christmas season and saw a lot of good things happen for the members of our family here at the River Church at Tampa Bay.  With the start of the New Year we saw the Winter Camp Meeting kick into high gear.  Words cannot even begin to describe what happened.  It was truly one of the most powerful weeks of meetings I have ever been a part of.  God moved and miracles took place in a mighty way, the least of which were the number of people who gave their hearts to Jesus and are now on their way to Heaven.  We are seeing so many good things happen here at the River Bible Institute as well.  This is the largest class in the history of the school and many more coming in January.  It just never ceases to amaze me at the goodness of God and the lengths and depths that He will go to take care of those who are obedient to His voice and truly make Him the Lord of their life.

–Darrell

When Pastor Rodney started teaching on the word and the heart, and how we need to grow stronger roots in the word meaning stronger faith, it really spoke to me in a great way.

For some time God had been dealing with me in some areas of my life, especially for this new year and how I really needed to step it up spiritually. I needed to go to the next level in my relationship with Him. But God also spoke to me that I can’t take myself to this new level but that it will only come from my personal time with Him and even more time in His word.

And when this teaching started it got a hold of me. I knew that my faith could only grow stronger from more time in His word and getting more of the word in me. The enemy will always come to try to steal the word from me or to hit me with a storm, but the moment I put the pressure on the word instead of trying to defend myself, God will come through for me. The word can always hold the pressure from the enemy and this world that I can’t hold myself and the word will always perform and conquer every storm coming against me. So this teaching was for me to grow even deeper roots in the word of God, so that it can produce an even greater harvest in me and through me. This New Year for me is all about the next level and a deeper level in the word; so that my roots can grow even further and so that there will be no limits on what my faith in God can do.

–Sara

For me the first two weeks of the RBI revival, I was in Texas planning not to attend my second year of RBI. I had already signed up for another school there making other arrangements.

So coming into the second week of revival, I knew I was to come back. Like as if God shook me and woke me to come. Two days before I knew I was to come my oldest brother gave me his car, which I had been expecting a car because God had me saw my car into someone’s life last year in school. So then I was blessed with gas money to get down here and I and my younger brother drove down here in faith not knowing how it would work out or where we would live and arrived to Tampa at the end of the second week.

When we got here I felt the peace of God and have felt it ever since, because I obeyed the Holy Ghost. The full week that I was here was when Pastor Rodney preached all week on the subject of giving, and some people were like ok it’s good but do we need a whole week of it. And yes we do because money is everything in this world, things are everything in this world, we are constantly surrounded by it and challenged by it daily. So daily we have to give it all to God for it not to be a God in our life.

Rodney Howard Browne – So it really hit me hard and I can say that I will never be the same from that week and especially the day where it broke on the whole school. So I can say that I will never be the same again on giving and the heart of my giving. I can’t imagine myself not here this year and the breakthroughs that have happened and are still to come….Priscilla R.

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

The first few days I was here I really did not feel much, but I kept pressing in! A couple days later I was released  from a spirit of grief! Then, a few days later the power of God really touched me BIG TIME! Two consecutive days in the morning the fire of God came inside my body. The first time the fire was so overwhelming that I had to go outside for fresh air. The breeze felt like cooling water. God was supernaturally showing me the things of heaven! I felt as I was walking in the realm of heaven here on earth! It was like a slow dream like what you see in movies. I was mesmerized by the trees and grass and butterflies.

I walked down the side walk as if so high in Gods presence. I saw miracles happen right in front of my eyes! The next day my heart burned with an intense compassion. I literately felt my heart on fire and it was racing really fast! A glow came upon my skin, and my eyes grew wide from enlightenment. I’ve felt holy spirit possessed since I been here, and that’s very wonderful because that was my prayer before even knowing I was going to come here. I feel like my mind is soaking in the word and eating and loving it! I feel like my brain is growing! The spirit of God has kept me in perfect peace and we have walked simultaneously for days!  I have grown in boldness and my fear is driving out! The anointing has also hit me at night while sleeping and in places outside the church. I have been able to carry it out with me past these four walls and I will continue to put it into practice…Melissa P.

Rodney Pastor Rodney, after you offered our family the scholarships on Fourth of July weekend, the Lord told me to step out of the boat, not look at the waves, not to listen to the thunder, not to fear the lightening, to keep my eyes, mind and heart wholly focused on Him and to just RUN, that he would open the windows of heaven.

My wife and I were both working at Shands Hospital fulltime, the first time in our 17 ½ year marriage that we had a two person, full-time income, making the most money annually that we had ever made since being married.  Previously, one of us had either been in school furthering our education and my wife had been a stay at home mom with our two children.  The day we gave our resignations, we received a phone call from newly acquired friends that live in Ruskin, offering us the opportunity to rent a house of theirs for only $300 a month, the cost of the insurance.  We arrived at the house the weekend before school started.  Since coming to  RBI we have grown so much and even though we had to put our children into Florida Virtual School because of the atmosphere of the public schools they are zoned for here, we know and believe that this will be a wonderful year and that the Lord will continue to bless them and us.

RBI has changed my life completely.  I grew up in the church and in revival with this ministry since 1993 in Carpenters Home church.  That’s where I was saved, in those meetings.  But it wasn’t until years later when I went to RBI that I learned to fully grasped start to grasp the word and the things of God for myself.  Now that I have one year of RBI under my belt I know that I have a better handle on what Christianity is all about…. And what the heartbeat of God is all about…souls. And I now have a better view on the provision of God because I’ve seen it firsthand for me as well as other people that I have been able to help and bless along the way.

God’s birthed a whole new boldness in me that has blossomed in soul winning on the streets and on the phones as well.  I love to witness… where before I was too scared to even think of walking up to a stranger just to say hello.   God’s brought me out of my shell into what He’s had for me all along…and I know that it’s only the start of what He has for me.  He’s slowly showing me what my callings are in Him,  and that is something I’ve been believing Him to find out for a very long time.  I know that I am called to kids and  youth. And I’m also called to worship and teaching as well.  God is really showing me how He is building a strong foundation in me that will not be shaken when these end times come.  And so I’m determined to let the fire of God purify me now more than ever.  All for God, Nothing else, and def, nothing less. ….Melissa A.

I came to The River church last year February, and stated RBI in August 2010. Before coming here I had been a believer for almost ten years but had never experienced anything like what I saw in the River. The first was the soul winning script that made easy for me to lead people to the lord something I have struggled with for so long. The greatest day of my life was the RBI revival of 2010.

I got touch and laugh like a mad woman, what you have to understand is that before I came here I was a believer but bound Like Lazarus when he came out of the grave. I was bound with fear self pity confusion rejection just to name a few. But August 23rd 2010 something happened that turn my whole life around. Pastor Rodney called me out of the crowd and lay his hands on me and i started laughing, because I had hardly laughed before, my rips started cracking up I laugh for 24 hours.

I got home at almost midnight and my land lady was still awake when I walked in she looked at me and screamed and i was wondering what had happened to her so I ask her and she said immediately I walked in she saw light on my fore head and she shouted I have joy and she started laughing  before I know she was speaking in tongues ,You have to Understand that my Landlady is a staunch catholic and will even hardly laugh I was amazed with what I was seeing but did not have the time to figure it out because I was over whelmed with joy so we both laugh our heads off till 1 AM. Valentina A.

That is the things that keep rolling over in my spirit over and over. I’ve been in this move of God since 1994. I’ve touched by the Lord many times. But I’ve always wanted the shortcut. I wanted things to be easier. That’s the way I figures things should become easier once you came to the Lord, but I had it twisted when It came character, there is no short cut. That’s why many are called but few chosen. Bitterness, anger, backbiting, slander.

These things have no place in those who want to do great things for God. If you want your oil to be pure, you’ve got to get rid of the impurities. You can’t fight your own battles. The old life has to be left behind. Surrender is the key phrase. Yes it takes time but it can be done by the help of the Holy Spirit. I’m so glad the Lord called these meetings.

With us constantly being in the presence of the Lord, The Holy Ghost constantly shines the light on our darkness. But you’ve got to want change. I want change. I want to be awakened. I want to be revived. The Spirit of the Lord also letting me knows that everyone is important. The Lord makes no throw away people. The Spirit of the Lord reveals to me that we often say to people, has anyone ever told you that the Lord loves you. But now I really say it with conviction.

Testimony:   We went soulwinning on Friday; we found the complex but could not get in through the drive through gate. I got out of the car to go through the walk in gate and a lady was coming. She yelled hold the gate for me please. As she passed me, I stopped her and looked her in the eyes saying,” Has anyone told you today that the Lord loves you?” She said, “No.” I proceeded to say the script. Led her to Jesus and got her filled with the Holy Spirit.

The Clincher……… She said I saw you in a dream last night. She was crying, saying it was you in the dream. I knew you were coming.  Bless me so. I will never forget the Love of God knew that I would be there in that place for that woman at that time. That’s the love that makes me sing… -Dollean M