Ron Sawka Ministries
July 24, 2024; Tamuz 18, 5784
“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth” (Ps. 96:1, emphases added).
“My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (Ps. 45:1).
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
Don’t Forget the “Mephibosheth” Harvest Time
Last week, I wrote that now is a “Mephibosheth” time of harvest, and we need to continue to keep that truth in our hearts. Just picture how David suddenly was “moved” because of his covenant with Jonathan to seek out any of Jonathan’s offspring to show them kindness. Likewise, God is moved by His covenant with you to seek out your loved ones to extend kindness to them. Let’s be in expectant faith!
Sing a New Song to the Lord? Here’s How
Most of us are familiar with the exhortation to “sing a new song to the Lord.” That phrase occurs multiple times in the Bible. It’s something we probably all readily agree with, but beyond waiting for a gifted songwriter to compose something new, or learning and singing the new praise songs being published, there’s not much most of us can do… Or is there?
Since these exhortations (e.g., Ps. 33:3, 40:3, 96:1) aren’t just written to musicians but to every one of us, then the Lord must have had in mind a way to do it for even those of us who are untrained or unskilled in music. By now, many have discovered that way is to simply sing directly to the Lord with words from our hearts.
This is what David and many of the psalmists did. They just started singing spontaneous words from their hearts. They didn’t figure out what they would say/sing ahead of time. They just began singing, and found “[their] tongue [was] the pen of a ready writer” (Ps. 45:1). As they began to sing, they found the Holy Spirit was just giving them the words. They discovered the truth of “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Ps. 81:10, emphases added). They were doing what Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:19, “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”
In fact, they were singing prophetically. Don’t feel intimidated by the use of the word “prophetically.” This is for all of us to do. Do it often, maybe even several times a day, especially when you are by yourself. Remember also that Jesus said, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). This is the kind of worship the Lord is seeking, “for the Father is seeking such to worship Him” (John 4:23).
Lately I have been doing this regularly. I will stop what I’m doing and sing to the Lord—in English, not in tongues or my prayer language. Yes, singing in tongues is one variety of “spiritual songs” mentioned in Ephesians 5:19, but I’m not talking about that right now. Sing in your own language, trusting the Holy Spirit to give you the words. He will. I do this for a few minutes throughout the day, and I urge you to begin doing so immediately. Here are a few things you will likely discover:
1. You immediately will be shifted into worship. I find all thoughts of lack, worry, or concern just get laid aside, and this all happens in a matter of seconds. What is happening is that we are feeling the filling up of the Holy Spirit inside of us, which is what Paul says will happen when we sing “spiritual songs” (see Eph. 5:18–19).
2. Miracles of salvation will begin to happen. Many of us have been limited in our understanding of the power of praise, perhaps because of translation of certain verb tenses. For example in the NKJV, Psalm 98:1 states, “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things” (emphasis added). This makes us feel that our praise is a thank you for something already done. Notice the verb tense in the NET, which states, “Sing to the Lord a new song for he performs amazing deeds. His right hand and his mighty arm accomplish deliverance” (Ps. 98:1, emphases added).
It’s clear that as we praise and worship it’s not only about things the Lord has done in the past, but that while we are praising He begins performing those deeds and accomplishing deliverance. In other words, as I praise and worship, God moves on my behalf. Psalm 50:23 makes this clear in every version. The NKJV states, “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.”
3. Increase and blessing will come. We should all want our lives to be fruitful. We should also all want prosperity so we can do the things God calls us to do as well as to help others.
Psalm 67:5–6 states, “Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us.” No one can guarantee exactly what will happen, except I know there will be a shift into blessing and increase.
So please start worshiping the Lord by singing directly to Him from your spirit (heart). Do this by yourself, but be sure to sing out the words. Don’t worry if your words stumble or are halting. Just do it. The Holy Spirit will help you. Do this several times a day. As you sing a new song to the Lord, He will do new things for you.
Thanks for praying.
Ron and Teddy
Tammuz—The Fourth Month of the Hebrew Year 5784: July 7–August 4, 2024
Three Strategies for Going Through Difficult Times!
We know this fourth month is a time to be watchful. This month also teaches us how to shine as we go through difficult times.
Since the main purpose of teaching on the Hebrew months is to help us have and hold Biblical mindsets, here are three strategies or mindsets that will help us:
1. Joy—“Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You” (Ps. 40:16, 70:4).
2. Keep talking and speaking—even if only to yourself—about how good God is—Those same verses go on to say, “Let such as love Your salvation say continually, ‘The Lord be magnified!’”
3. Hope in God and His mercy (continually expect something good from God)—“Hope” is a very misunderstood word, and its power often grossly ignored. Psalm 33:22 clearly shows that God will pour out His mercy and help on those who are expecting (hoping for) it. It states, “Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.” In other words, if there is no expectation or hope from us, then probably not so much mercy/help will be poured out by Him. Let’s also remember the following promise from Romans 5:5, which states, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Praying for One Nation Every Day
I hope you are joining us and praying every day for your city, your nation, and another nation each day until Passover next spring. Today I was led to pray for Burma, a nation the Lord put on my heart back in 1992 and to which I led a prophetic team from Japan.
This prayer strategy comes from Apostle Karen Dey (New Zealand/Sri Lanka)
Click here to read Apostle Karen Dey’s document.
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