Ron Sawka Ministries
Sept 20, 2023; Tishrei 5, 5783
www.rwsministries.com
“Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, ‘I am strong’”(Joel 3:9–10).
“The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel” (Joel 3:16)
“And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him” (Mark 1:13).
A Song for Rosh Hashanah: Soak in the Grandeur and Goodness of God
Here is a song by Pete Sawka written specifically for Rosh Hashanah. It’s more like a soaking song than a praise song we would sing. I urge you to listen and view the video and words. It will be an amazing time of allowing the grandeur, the greatness, and the goodness of God to soak in. The video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyvdJ2a3sGY
The Harvest Is Ready and So Are We!
Happy New Year!
Sundown, September 15, was the start of Rosh Hashanah, or head of the New Year 5784. If you were like me, you might have spent time blowing the shofar, and may have eaten some apple dipped in honey—a declaration that God wants us to have a “sweet” or good year. I also spent some time listening to the Rosh Hashanah song (see above).
We sometimes call it the Hebrew New Year, but since it was instituted by God, maybe we should describe it as God’s New Year’s Day. I feel we honored Him by regarding and celebrating it September 16–17. Now, we are in the countdown until the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) on Tishrei 10 (Sept. 25), which marks the day that Jesus came out of the forty days of testing in the wilderness. Thus, this should be a continued time of watching and being aware of strongholds, weaknesses, and sins that the Lord wants to help us get rid of.
The Time of Harvest Is Now
I found myself prophesying in a recent meeting, “The harvest is now. The end-time harvest has begun and it is time for all of us to enter in. There is to be no more waiting, no more wondering if we are prepared enough or not. I felt the Lord say clearly we are ready. Enter in. We are as ready as we will ever be.”
After prophesying that, I was led to explain using the scriptures. Ever since the prophetic movement began in the late 80s/early 90s, we have seen Joel 3:9–10 (quoted above) being fulfilled. We discovered quickly that when we trained people in prophetic activation, they were not only able to hear the voice of God and prophesy, but that they also received a warrior anointing. They just automatically began to rise up and be very aggressive against the darkness, sin, and all the things of Satan. In other words, Joel 3:9–10, which called for the “waking up of the mighty man,” was being fulfilled and that the prophetic movement and activation played a major role in it. Let me say it again, we saw many, many, many people change from weak and passive into strong and mighty. Hallelujah.
But now, please note verse 16, which states, “The Lord also will roar from Zion … The heavens and earth will shake” I think it is very important to notice the chronological order. First came verses 9 and 10, about waking up the mighty men. After that comes verse 16, which is about the Lord roaring and His shaking of the earth and the heavenlies.
If fulfillment of the waking up/rising up of the mighty man began with the prophetic movement in the 90s, then we should ask when does the roaring and shaking of verse 16 occur? When will this begin to be fulfilled?
I think the answer is clear. The Lord is roaring now, and the earth and heavens are being shaken now. We can identify, perhaps, the shaking as beginning in 2020 when Covid began. I’m not saying God sent the virus, but I am saying He definitely used the virus to “shake” things.
And yes, God did shake the church and the people of God, He shook the ekklesia first, because shaking/judgment always starts with the people of God (see 1 Pet. 4:17). This shaking is actually good because it sets us free from hindrances and things we don’t need (see Heb. 12:27).
But God doesn’t stop with us, He promised in multiple scriptures that as the end draws near, He will shake the earth and the heavens. We are seeing this now. There are political troubles, economic troubles, and troubles in our cultures and societies. Increasingly, we are seeing governments and our societies adopt things that God hates—and turning against things that He loves.
It is this shaking (of the earth) that causes the average person to begin to think deeply and begin to seek. But God also promised to shake the “heavens,” and He is doing that. As surely as the earth’s population is being shaken now, so too are demonic principalities and powers being shaken. This results in them losing their hold and grip, which conversely results in the darkness increasing. This is because Satan now has to hurry. Once the shaking started, he knows he doesn’t have much time. Thus the negative acceleration we see all around us.
But we must remember that the end-time shaking is also tied to end-time harvest. More than anything, God wants a huge, huge harvest of souls. In other words, we need to see this “shaking” as a signal that it is the beginning of end-time harvest. Since the shaking has definitely started, we can also know with certainty the end-time harvest has also started.
Let’s revisit the timeline of Joel 3:9–10 and then 16. The shaking only begins after the mighty man (the ekklesia) has risen up. The scriptures in Joel that I have referred to make it very clear. First the waking up of the mighty man (the ekklesia, or every believer), and then the shaking.
God’s word indicates He will not begin the shaking until the mighty man, the ekklesia—the church, has been awakened and arisen as a warrior. And because God is now doing the shaking, it should confirm to us that the ekklesia has indeed been prepared. It has indeed been awakened and has sharpened its sword.
The conclusion? Since the shaking is already underway, then it can only mean that God esteems that we are ready. We believers may not feel ready; we may not feel prepared. But God knows that we are. That is what we too must believe and act on.
So as you move ahead into this new year, know that the harvest is ready, and so are we. Let us enter the harvest.
Thanks for praying,
Ron and Teddy
A New Beginning—Blessings for the Hebrew Month of Tishrei
Tishrei—The Seventh Month of the Hebrew Year 5784
Sept. 16–Oct. 15, 2023
Tishrei 1 is called Rosh Hashanah or “Head of the Year,” and Tishrei has three important dates.
Feast of Trumpets or blowing of the shofar all day long for the first two days (see Lev. 23:23–25), which is a call to all of mankind, including us, to wake up to the goodness and grandeur of God.
Day of Atonement (Sept. 25). See Lev. 23:27–32. Jesus is the one who carried our sins and sorrows and removed them from us “as far as the east is from the west” (Ps. 103:12).
Feast of Tabernacles. Tishrei 15–21 (Sept. 30–Oct. 6).
A more complete description of Tishrei may be found here.
Travel/Ministry Schedule
Sept. 22–24, Malaysia, Sibu, Hosanna Church
Sept. 25–28, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Agape School of Ministry
Sept. 29–Oct. 1, Malaysia, Bintulu, Canaan Assembly
Oct. 2–8, Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu
MPP (Mondays–Fridays, 6:00–6:45 a.m.)
Next scheduled days off: Sept. 25–29
Weekly Broadcast Schedule (Times are listed in Japan Time, UTC+9:00.)
Apostolic for Russia—Fridays, twice monthly: Oct. 13, 27, 7:00–8:00 p.m. Join us on Zoom (Meeting ID: 840 2016 0640, Code: 219951), or watch on YouTube.
Wisdom, Anointing, and Supply for the New Era—Apostolic for China—Saturday, Oct 14, 8:00–9:30 p.m. Join us on Zoom (ID: 823 7276 5237, Code: 878174)
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.
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!