Ron Sawka Ministries
April 19, 2023; Nissan 28, 5783
13th day of Counting the Omer
www.rwsministries.com
“Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord” (Lev. 23:16).
“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9).
Counting to Pentecost—This is the thirteenth day of counting the omer—counting the fifty days before Shavuot/Pentecost (May 26). In Nissan, we have crossed over into the new that God has for us, and we have been refreshed by the breath of God. How do we know this? After His resurrection, when Jesus first met with the eleven, “He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:22). It was a new beginning. They still had to grow and overcome hardness of heart and unbelief, but the breath of God helped them, just like it helps us now. We are in a new beginning, and are to be counting with expectancy toward Pentecost. We are His people. He wants us to know, understand, and receive all the blessings of His covenant with us.
What to Do If We/They Aren’t Healed?
It seems as if there is increasing urgency to pray for the sick. The end-time army for the end-time harvest is both a prophetic army (“So I prophesied as He commanded me … and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army” [Ezek. 37:10]) and a healing one (“He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease” [Matt 10:1]). So we are to pray for the sick, not just in meetings, but wherever the Lord leads or gives an opportunity to do so.
Most Christians are eager to do this, but sooner or later will run into the problem of someone seemingly not getting healed when we pray. What are we to do? What are we to do if we get sick and aren’t healed even though we’ve prayed? Several thoughts are as follows:
1. Whenever in faith we pray and ask for healing, the Lord does hear, and something happens. We may not see it, and the one receiving prayer may not see or sense anything, but something happened. The author of Hebrews writes, “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward” (Heb. 10:35).
2. There are times when healing doesn’t seem to happen. Elisha died from sickness. In 2 Kings 13:14, we see, “Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die.” And Paul had a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7). Yes, some will argue that this didn’t refer to sickness, but it certainly does refer to weakness. When we are sick, we are weak.
3. There is an extra grace upon us. Regarding that “thorn,” the Lord said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Don’t think of this as “second best.” Rather, see it for what it is—a special level of blessing.
4. We should actually rejoice. Paul then goes on to say, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities” (12:9). We should not feel we have a lack of faith, or a failure, but rejoice.
5. When we rejoice, the power of Christ “rests” upon us. Note the language. It is because Paul chooses to rejoice “that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (12:9).
6. Yes, rejoice. Paul concludes, “Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs … for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (12:10).
7. Know that God uses this to increase our authority and power. Jesus “learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Heb. 5:8). And James 1 states, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials … that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (1, 4).
So be sure to pray for the sick (including yourself) whenever you have a chance to, knowing that the Lord always answers. Something does happen. But if you don’t see it, then don’t throw away any confidence. Rather, choose to rejoice because the Lord is working.
Thanks for praying
Ron and Teddy
Understand That Now Is the Time to Move into Healing!
Iyar—The Second Month of the Hebrew Year 5783
April 22–May 21, 2023; Counting the Omer (Days 16–45)
Blessings for the month of Iyar may be found here.
Weekly Broadcast Schedule (Times are listed in Japan Time, UTC+9:00.)
Apostolic for China—Saturday, May 27, 8:00–9:30 p.m. Zoom: ID: 823 7276 5237, Code: 878174 Topic: Pentecost Celebration—Receiving His Fullness
Apostolic for Russia—Fridays, April 28; May 12, 26, 7:00–8:00 p.m. YouTube
Apostolic Center Training—Tuesdays, 8:30–10:00 p.m., English/Chinese, registration required.
Prophetic Praise with Pete—Sundays–Thursdays, 10:00–10:30 p.m. YouTube
MPP—Mondays–Fridays, 6:00–6:45 a.m. YouTube
Note, I usually post links to my public Facebook page.
Resources
Ron’s new book, How to Activate Prophecy and Revelation Gifts, the first title in our new “Apostolic Center Training Series,” is intended as a tool for training others in prophetic activation. It is now available for Kindle. Print copies can also be obtained from our office in Sano. Contact info@rwsministries.com for information about ordering copies, or to obtain any of the four books from the “Building Apostolic-Prophetic Foundations” series, which are also available on Kindle:
• Judah Goes First: The Power of Apostolic-Prophetic Praise
• Activated to Prophesy: The Essential Experience for This New Church Era
• Apostles and Apostolic Anointing: Raising Up the End-Times Believers
• Apostolic Centers: Wineskin for the New Era
For English or Japanese books, contact info@rwsministries.com.
For Chinese books, chinese@rwsministries.com
For more information or to connect with our ministry team, please write us at info@rwsministries.com or info@mppjapan.com.
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