Ron Sawka Ministries
April 26, 2023; Iyar 5, 5783
Counting the Omer: Day 20
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“And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed” (Exod. 17:11).
“And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner” (Exod. 17:15).
Counting to Pentecost—This is the twentieth 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 crises be a time of viewing the miraculous way God takes care of us.
Overcoming the Snare of Negativity and Complaining!
One of the themes of this Hebrew month is to understand so we can see and avoid the usual snares. Probably one of the most common snares is negativity. Negativity has a way of sneaking up on us. Even though we may have experienced breakthrough and received the promise of God, if we aren’t careful, negativity easily arises. Without realizing it, we are thinking and reacting the same way as before. Soon, we are back to where we started. It’s like negativity overturned the breakthrough.
It was this same negativity that so severely hindered the Israelites. After they were set free from Egypt, the Israelites faced a series of problems that the Lord always miraculously solved for them. But they never learned from the miracles. Every time, beginning with the obstacle of the Red Sea, they gave in to negativity and fear and complained. They complained at the Red Sea, but the Lord did part the waters. Three days after that miracle, they came to the bitter waters of Marah. There was no expectancy of a miracle. Instead, they complained. And again, the Lord did a miracle and healed the water (Exod. 15:25). A month or so later, they ran out of food and again complained. They accused Moses of bringing them into the wilderness to die of starvation. But God graciously came through with the miracles of manna and quail. Actually the manna continued daily from then on for forty years. But at the very next crisis, when they were out of water, they once again complained. Yet again, God did a miracle. Moses struck the rock as the Lord had commanded and water gushed forth (Exod. 17:1–7).
It’s easy to shake our heads at the unbelief and negativity of the Israelites, but we often do exactly the same thing. How many of us have experienced great blessing and breakthrough, and then the very next day regard the same old problems as we did exactly before? I noticed this about myself a few days ago. God had given marvelous breakthrough, but the very next morning I was worrying about the next meeting.
I realized I had fallen into the same old trap. By that negative thinking—by that thinking in the same old way—I was actually completely disregarding and negating the victory the Lord had given the night before. So I quickly repented and thanked the Lord for the next breakthrough. And sure enough, there was breakthrough. It was even greater than the one before.
How can we overcome slipping back into negative thinking? During MPP, an amazing prophecy came forth. The Amalekites attacked Israel from the rear (see Exod. 17:8–16). This is what negative thinking is like. It sneaks up on us. Joshua was sent to fight while Moses stood on the mountain and prayed. We read, “And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed” (Exod. 17:11). The Lord told us lifting our hands in praise was likened to what Moses did. If we would immediately choose to lift our hands (physically or figuratively) and praise, we would find the Lord releasing angels to help us, just as He did for Joshua when Moses’s hands were raised.
Yes, our praise is a signal to the Lord, and He does send His angels. This is why Moses built an altar and called it “The-Lord-Is-My-Banner” (Exod. 17:15). As soon as we lift our praise, this banner is raised. His angels are sent! Immediately!
So next time you catch yourself falling into the same old thought patterns, just stop and raise your hands (physically or figuratively) and praise Him. You are raising a banner, the Lord Himself. You will experience immediate breakthrough.
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.
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 Ministries International, Inc.
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
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