Ron Sawka Ministries
July 12, 2023; Tammuz 23, 5783
“My soul, bless the Lord, and all that is within me, bless His holy name” (Ps. 103:1, CSB).
“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place” (2 Cor. 2:14, CSB).
“And a woman in the town who was a sinner … brought an alabaster jar of perfume and stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to wash his feet with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with the perfume” (Luke 7:37–38, CSB).
Thriving During the Dire Straits*
1. Be sure to speak out (testimony) whenever God answers your prayer or does something for you. Don’t be silent. Don’t be like King Saul and keep it to yourself and lose it. See Rev. 12:11; 1 Sam. 10.
2. No striving—When you come into His presence, be at peace and calm. This actually releases the Holy Spirit to begin to work in us. See. Ezek. 44:18; Gal 3:5.
3. How to bless the Lord, and what happens when we do…
How to Bless the Lord, and What Happens When We Do
Today I want to share the third part of this series on “How to shine even in difficult circumstances.” We are in the second of the three-week period known as the “dire straits.” As Christians, we know we’re not exempt from suffering and difficulties, but we don’t have to be ruled by them and can actually shine. As we do, God works powerful things in us (see James 1:2–7). One way to “shine” is to bless the Lord.
Very recently, my daily scripture reading took me to Psalms 102–104. The well-known phrase “Bless the Lord, O my soul” is repeated several times, and I knew the Holy Spirit was highlighting it for me.
Then on MPP we opened by declaring, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” Immediately, it was as if the Holy Spirit began to teach us the meaning of that, and what happens when we make our soul (our mind, will, and emotions) bless (or praise) the Lord.
First, He led us to 2 Corinthians 2:14. God always leads us in triumph in Christ. Simply put, this means that Jesus never failed, but always triumphed. Since we are “in Christ,” this potentially becomes true for us. As we follow Him, every tribulation or trial will eventually turn. What looks like disaster will in the end result in victory.
Second, as we know and believe this, there is a fragrance of the Lord’s presence emitted from us. This was true of Jesus. He always knew He was walking in victory and in step with the will of His Father. Thus a “fragrance” was emitted by Him. This fragrance draws people.
The Holy Spirit then led us to the story of Mary, who came into Simon the Pharisee’s house when he was hosting Jesus (see Luke 7:36–50). Simon was critical and unwelcoming. He didn’t even extend to Jesus the courtesy of water to wash the dust off His feet.
Mary was a woman who was known as a sinner (39). She most likely wasn’t invited to Simon’s house, but could enter because she was a woman of substance. She knew she had to come (drawn by the fragrance of the presence of the Lord?). She probably had no plan or any idea of what to do. She did, however, know that she wanted to do something for Jesus, because she brought the jar of perfume with her (37).
This is part of what it means to “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” We have no plan—no prepared method or predetermined style of approach. We just know we want to come near the Lord and bless/give Him something.
So Mary found herself kneeling at Jesus’s feet. She found her heart being profoundly moved. This was all totally unplanned. But as she was kneeling, she began to weep. The tears flowed and flowed. It’s like suddenly her heart was being opened and flooded with the love of God.
Amazing, isn’t it? As she poured out her tears, and then poured out her perfume, God was pouring His love into her. Two things began to simultaneously occur. First, she truly saw and recognized her own heart. As much as she saw her own sin, she much more knew she was being forgiven and washed clean. Romans 5:21 says, “But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” Her tears kept flowing. She wiped His feet with her hair, and then anointed Him with that perfume.
I believe that is what He wants to have happen for many of us when we start “blessing the Lord.” We aren’t to come with a plan or predetermined method. Just come, because actually it is His presence drawing us. Don’t be surprised if your heart is suddenly opened. As we pour out to Him, He will pour out to us. God’s grace is multiplied. We will find ourselves being cleansed and set free. Besetting sins and wrong habits become clear, but also are just washed away.
Again, don’t limit this to just sins/iniquities being forgiven. Also see it as the power of sin and iniquity being broken and washed away. Mary was delivered, and the power of demons was broken in her life. Just who this Mary was is a bit of a mystery, but several verses later, in Luke 8:2–3, we read about Mary Magdalene, out of whom seven demons were driven. I think this is the same Mary. As she came to “bless the Lord,” she found herself being totally saved, forgiven, and cleansed. Demons that had tormented her fled. Her life was completely changed and she became a prominent follower of Jesus.
During the abovementioned MPP, as people came to the Lord, He was melting hearts, cleansing hearts, and causing demons to flee. What a powerful weapon God has given us. Bless the Lord, O my soul. As we bless Him, He pours into us and changes us.
Thanks for praying,
Ron and Teddy
*“Dire straits” refers to a three-week period beginning on Tammuz 17 (July 6) and ending on Av 9 (July 27). Tammuz 17 was the day Moses smashed the original stone tablets because the people had already abandoned their covenant with God and were worshiping and dancing around the golden calf (see Exod. 32). And Av 9 is infamously known as the day Israel refused to enter the Promised Land (see Num. 13–14).
Since then, this three-week period has been referred to as the “dire straits.” Israel’s history is peppered with disasters that all occurred around this time. A few are as follows: destruction of Solomon’s temple in 423 BC (Av 9); destruction of Herod’s temple in 69 AD (Av 9); expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290 (Av 9); expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 (Av 9). World War 2, which resulted in the deaths of six million Jews, happened because of World War 1, which began on Av 9 in 1914.
Shining by Immediately Testifying Whenever the Lord Blesses You!
Tammuz—The Fourth Hebrew Month of 5783
June 20–July 18, 2023
The Lord immediately tested Saul. When He blessed Saul by telling him he would be king, and then confirmed it by many signs—the last one being Saul prophesied just as the other prophets—the Lord expected Saul to share these things. If Saul had clearly stated such to his father and uncle, his faith would have been strengthened; his confidence in the Lord and in his calling as king would have soared. However, Saul let his shyness or natural reticence take over. He kept silent. This led to doubt and loss of confidence in himself and in the Lord. Let us not do that.
As soon as you experience a blessing, be sure to testify of it! You will shine!
Blessings for the month of Tammuz may be found here.
Travel/Ministry Schedule
July 11–13, Hong Kong, Zebulon Apostolic Center
July 14–15, Singapore, Zebulon Apostolic Center
July 16–18, Kuala Lumpur, Zebulon Apostolic Center
July 19, Kuala Lumpur, Tabernacle of David
July 21–22, Hong Kong, Catch The Fire
July 31–Aug. 3, Incheon, Korea
Aug. 4–5, Seoul, Korea
MPP (Mondays–Fridays, 6:00–6:45 a.m.)
Weekly Broadcast Schedule (Times are listed in Japan Time, UTC+9:00.)
Apostolic for Russia—Fridays, twice monthly: July July 28, 7:00–8:00 p.m. Join us on Zoom or watch on YouTube.
Apostolic for China—Saturday, July 29, 8:00–9:30 p.m. Zoom: ID: 823 7276 5237, Code: 878174 Topic: Now Is the Time for Healing and Harvest
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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