Ron Sawka Ministries
July 26, 2023; 8 Av, 5783
www.rwsministries.com
“Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you. Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed” (1 Pet. 4:12–13, ESV).
“Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead” (2 Cor. 1:9, NKJV).
Note: This will be the last Weekly Update before summer break. The next update will go out on Wednesday, August 23. Also, MPP ends Friday, July 28, and resumes Monday, August 28. Please check below for other schedule details.
Prophetic Activation and New Apostolic Centers
I am writing this week’s update waiting to board the plane home to Japan. Thank you for praying for me during this four-stop journey: Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong Catch the Fire. I have been doing what I always do—teaching people how to hear the voice of God and to prophesy (prophetic activation), and bringing breakthrough and advance so that apostolic centers can grow and flourish.
Why is prophetic activation so important? First, it is for all believers. Second, as believers learn to hear God’s voice and use the gifts of the Holy Spirit, they grow rapidly in confidence and boldness. Third, they want to be used of the Lord. Fourth, they want to be used to help bring in the massive end-time harvest that we are now entering. Yes, I have been doing this training ever since I learned it from Bill Hamon and Christian International in the 1990s. Everywhere I go, people continue to be hungry for it. Also, I am finding many, many, many who “overlooked” it before—or who perhaps viewed it as only one of a variety of good things—have changed their stance. They now see prophetic activation as something absolutely necessary to fulfill the destiny and calling the Lord is giving them. They know that without it, they won’t be able to advance as God wants them to.
What about “apostolic centers?” Yes, these seem to be springing up everywhere, and are proving to be surprisingly effective. When I first wrote a book about apostolic centers, I, like most people, envisioned apostolic centers as large places for large groups. They were to be places of: 1) worship and praise; 2) demonstration of miracles and healing; 3) places of impartation; 4) places of training (especially activation) of each and every believer; 6) places of great freedom and a sense of family; 6) and places where every believer learned to spontaneously be led by the Holy Spirit for Kingdom impact wherever they were. Most of us envisioned that correctly, because that is what is happening now in apostolic centers as they spring up in various nations.
What we didn’t see, however, was that many apostolic centers would be small—sometimes very small. These “small” ones are led by someone with an apostolic calling, but are usually “covered” by another, more mature apostle. The membership and attendance is fluid and flexible, but with a great sense of family and belonging. There is a definite vitality, a freedom, and just an incredible sense of faith and trust in the Holy Spirit—far beyond what I see in a lot of churches. Most of my ministry on this trip was connected to these types of new apostolic centers. They are definitely energetic and vibrant! I believe that increasingly we will see these are the primary vessels for bringing in and nurturing the end-time harvest.
New Faith and New Birthings Because of Dire Straits*
We have come to the end of the three-week period known as the “dire straits” (see below). These dire straits were a time for us to shine and glow because of our covenant with the Lord. You may ask, “Why does the Lord want us to go through such a time?” Here are some things to remember:
1. Trials and tribulations aren’t strange and unusual. We read, “Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you” (1 Pet. 4:12). We are to rejoice in them because God can do deep things in our lives and in the lives of others during them. We are exhorted to rejoice as we share in the sufferings of Christ (see 1 Pet. 4:13a).
2. God’s ultimate purpose is that we don’t trust in ourselves, in our own strength, or in our own health, but only in Him. Paul wrote, “Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead” (2 Cor. 1:9).
3. Sufferings/tribulations are often also “birth pangs” of new things He is birthing in us, as well as for us. The second part of 1 Peter 4:13 states, “So that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.” This means the end result of the suffering or difficulty (including dire straits) is that God’s glory—and His victory—will be revealed. Something will be birthed. Therefore, let us all be expectant at this particular time. What new things await us?
Thanks for praying,
Ron and Teddy
P.S. As of July 10, Teddy is at her family home in Ohio, USA, with her mother, who is now 95.
P.P.S. It was great to spend two days at the end of this trip in Guangzhou with my middle son, Andrew, and his family.
*“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.
The Lion of Judah is Roaring—Rise Up and Roar with Him
Av—The Fourth Hebrew Month of 5783
July 19–August 17, 2023
It’s the month of the constellation of the lion, and therefore also the month the lion roars. The Lord, the Lion of Judah, is roaring for us (see Joel 3:16). We are still in the “dire straits” (Tammuz 17–Av 9 [July 6–July 27]), but we must shine brighter and brighter. Notice the Lion of Judah is roaring. It is symbolic of declaration of ruling and even attacking and conquering the enemy. Paul said that in all these tribulations, we are “more than conquerors” (Rom. 8:37), and Daniel prophesied that we would shine as the end approaches (see Dan. 12:3). If the Lord is roaring, then so should we. Let the roar—the shout of victory—rise up in you. Roaring is also connected to birthing of new things.
Blessings for the month of Av may be found here.
Travel/Ministry Schedule
July 31–Aug. 3, Incheon, Korea
Aug. 4–5, Seoul, Korea
MPP (Mondays–Fridays, 6:00–6:45 a.m.)
After this Friday’s MPP, we will take a summer break. We will resume on Monday, August 28.
Weekly Broadcast Schedule (Times are listed in Japan Time, UTC+9:00.)
Apostolic for Russia—Fridays, twice monthly: July 28, August 25, 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. Next will be August 26
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
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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Japan
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