Ron Sawka Ministries
May 2, 2023; Iyar 11, 5783
Counting the Omer: Day 26
www.rwsministries.com
“He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake” (Ps. 23:3).
“Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God” (Ps. 42:11, CSB).
“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (1 Cor. 10:11–13).
Counting to Pentecost—Today is the twenty-sixth day of 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. Now we must keep going and overcome all snares. Let any crisis be a time of viewing the miraculous way God takes care of us.
Let the Lord “Restore Your Soul”
The phrase, “He restores my soul,” from Psalm 23:3, was one of the great keys to King David’s success. David had to go through more discouraging and deadly problems than just about anyone. Yet he kept his eyes on the Lord and His promises. No matter what the setback or problem was—no matter how “down” he felt—he wouldn’t allow despair or discouragement to rule him. And regardless of the duration of a problem, ultimately David came through victoriously. Not only that, but it seems each seeming problem or setback eventually turned out to be a stepping stone to promotion.
He was human of course, but was seldom dragged down by his “soul.” Many times he wrote something akin to, “Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil?” Yet each time, he made the right choice: “Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God” (Ps. 42:11, CSV). He did this again and again. No matter how long the problem lasted, he kept His eyes on the Lord. The result was victory, growth, and promotion.
How unlike the children of Israel. In the forty-nine days between Passover and Pentecost, they faced a multitude of problems. We could say that each circumstance was engineered by God as an opportunity to learn to trust Him. He wanted them to see that He had an answer for each issue if they would only trust Him.
But they would not. They gave in to the demands of their “soul,”—to what they could see or feel. When they felt danger or deprivation, they immediately gave into fear and worry. Instead of growing in faith, peace, and joy, they lived in a continual negative cycle. They ran into a problem and immediately complained. God answered and helped them. They rejoiced momentarily, but then slipped back into patterns of living in their own strength. When a problem again arose, once more they went into worry, fear, and unbelief. In the end, that entire generation died (excepting Joshua and Caleb) without entering the Promised Land.
As we continue to count down toward Pentecost, we must be sure to profit from the Israelites’ negative examples. With our minds, we must continually make the choice of trusting God. Let Him restore our souls until we come to the place where we automatically look to the Lord—each day and all day long—and live in joy and thanksgiving. We will find faith and expectancy increasing.
Thanks for praying
Ron and Teddy
CTF Asia Fire Conferences—With Duncan and Kate Smith and Mike and Rachel Sawka
Theme: Receiving the fire of the presence of the Lord and being part of the great end-times harvest
Japan, May 5–7
Taiwan, May 12–14
Iyar—The Second Month of Hebrew Year 5783
Understand That Now Is the Time to Move into Healing
April 22–May 21, 2023; Counting the Omer (Days 16–45)
Blessings for the month of Iyar may be found here.
MPP (Mondays–Fridays, 6:00–6:45 a.m.)
Scheduled Days Off
No MPP during Golden Week, May 1–5
No MPP May 23–26 (Ron will be on a ministry trip)
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, 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.
Travel Schedule
May 7—CTF Japan Conference
May 14–16—Kaohsiung CPE, Taiwan
May 17–18—Youchang Presbyterian Church, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
May 19–21—Light of the World Church, Tainan, Taiwan
May 21–25—Mindanao, Philippines - Our God Reigns International
May 26–27—Zion APC, Taipei, Taiwan
May 28 a.m.—Light of the World Church, Taipei, Taiwan
May 28 p.m.—Taoyuan CPE, Taiwan
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.
Giving
You are welcome to give to Yarn Alive via giving to Ron Sawka Ministries. Please clearly mark your designation. Thank you.
Bank Info and Online Giving (From Any Nation)
You can give online by credit card or debit card at https://give.mogiv.com/app/giving/rwsministries.
In addition to online/credit card giving, which can be used from any nation, you may give via the following:
Japan
Japan Apostolic Fund Supporters should give directly to CTF Japan. Also, Yarn Alive donations can be given directly.
Direct Bank Transfers from Overseas
Account name/number: Ronald W. Sawka 93642377
Bank name: SMBC Trust Bank
Address: Nishi Shimbashi Square 1-3-1 Nishi Shimbashi, Minato Ku, Tokyo Japan 105-0003
SWIFT code: SMTC JPJT
Intermediate bank name and SWIFT code: Sumitomo Mitsubishi Bank Corp. SMBC JPJT
USA
CTF World USA, 2304 Page Rd, Durham, NC 27703. Please make out the check to CTF World. Be sure to clearly designate “For Ron Sawka Ministries.” If it is for Yarn Alive, please notify us separately at info@rwsministries.com.
Singapore
POSBank 149-42129-7 (account name Ronald W. Sawka)
Taiwan
Bank: China Trust
Account Name: Ronald Wade Sawka
Account Number: 42854 0413470
Korea
KEB HANA BANK 249-890619-84307 Ronald Wade Sawka
Canada
Since we do not have a Canada office, we suggest you use the credit card option https://give.mogiv.com/app/giving/rwsministries. (Unfortunately, the receipt is not tax deductible for Canada.)
Apostolic Fund Supporters
Apostolic Fund Supporters are the backbone of our support system, and we feel you are so important. Therefore please know that we:
Pray for you regularly—if you have needs/requests, please let us know.
Send you a weekly recorded prayer.
Want you to contact us whenever you feel a need arises.
Yes, I Commit to Being an Apostolic Fund Supporter for 2023 (US $1,200 for the year)
Name:
Number of pledges:
Family members you want prayer for:
Nation:
Email:
Also please be sure to attach a recent photo of you and your family (if applicable).
Please send us this information to info@rwsministries.com with the subject line “2023 Apostolic Fund Supporter.”
Thank you for your giving!
Comments