Newsletters

Condition to Conviction

(The Forge Newsletter_April_2013)

"This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and mouldy. "And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey." (Joshua 9:12-13)

We often are confined and crippled by our conditions or situation in our decision making, like Joshua, although he took courage at the beginning to lead his people to cross the Jordan and to conquer the impossible Jericho.

1. If we are over-confident or too busy, do we enquire of God?

Joshua must have learned how to enquire of God when he was Moses' assistant.(Exodus 33:7,11) But he did not enquire of God when the Gibeonites came to the Israelites to ask to make a peace treaty. After Joshua conquered Jericho and Ai, he might have been over-confident, or very busy, though he was afraid of leading people after Moses' death.(Joshua 1:6-7) Or he might not have had enough time to enquire of God or might have felt that he was able to manage things without God's help.

2. If we have clear proof or conditions, do we enquire of God?

The Gibeonites brought their own words and proofs; dry and mouldy bread, torn wineskins, and worn garments and sandals. Joshua and the leaders sampled their provisions but did not enquire of the Lord. The conditions of bread, wineskins, garments and sandals convinced them. So the leaders of Israelites didn't need to enquire of the Lord about the Gibeonites' words. So they were deceived by listening to them and seeing the conditions of the Gibeonites.

3. Our conviction should not come from any condition of man, but the word of God

Joshua should have remembered that bread and clothes were not their guidance in their journey of faith. The Israelites should have known that the condition of the clothes and the bread were not reliable evidence of anything; they travelled and lived in the desert for forty years, but their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. (Deut 8:4) Every morning they gathered fresh manna from the ground, which, when they disobeyed God and kept it till the next morning went rotten overnight, but when they kept it for the Sabbath as God commanded, stayed fresh. (Exodus 16:20) God provided fresh bread from heaven daily, fresh water from the Rock, protected their feet, and their clothes from wearing out for forty years.Therefore our conviction should not come from any condition of man, but from the word of the Lord.

4. We are created to eat not only FOOD but also WORD in order to be fully alive

God created human being to live on food, but not food alone. We need food, and also God's word in order to be fully alive. Adam and Eve ate the fruits, but they didn't eat (listen or heed) His word. The Lord God commanded Adam, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." (Genesis 2:16-17) If they had eaten the word of God, they would not have eaten from the tree of knowledge. Instead they ate the fruits, which means that they despised the word of God and didn't eat His word. As a consequence, they died. Man cannot live on food alone but on every word from the mouth of God. (Deut 8:3)

5. If we are humble before God, we must be hungry for the word of God

God humbled the Israelites, causing them to hunger and then feeding them with manna to teach them that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.(Deut 8:3) If we are not hungry, we don't eat. Also if we have something else to eat, we might not feel hungry for the word of God. Often the word of God convicts us to obey regardless of the conditions of man. If we don't enquire of God and listen to (obey) him, we will be confined and crippled by the conditions of man, rather than be released by the conviction of God. Likewise the Israelites enslaved the Gibeonites, but actually the Israelites were bound by their slaves. Later Joshua was asked by the Gibeonites and had to fight for them. (Joshua 10:6) The conviction of God comes from listening to the word of God and it releases us to go beyond our conditions. Our condition confines us so we don't move into the purpose of God. But the conviction of God releases us into the purpose of God despite our conditions.

[ The Journey of Faith : Condition to Conviction ]
As is often the case, some of us didn't have enough finance to come to join this journey of faith into The Forge. So we prayed and asked. According to our condition and situation, we couldn't make this journey. A few of us, however, have been convicted by God and his words. While we were praying and asking, two Christian donut-sellers were convicted to support two Koreans' airfare, £680, for the Middle East journey.

Now the two Koreans are coming who didn't have money; one from Korea and the other from the Philippines. They are coming for the whole journey; Wales and the Middle East. Also one Eritrean British lady did not have enough money to come, but she has been convicted by God and an anonymous person has sent over £100, so now she is coming too, although she still has to get two weeks off from her work. Please, pray for her. One of the previous applicants sent £100 for a certain person's fee as well.

Last year, at the first school, we all prayed for our family car and God has answered amazingly. We received £10,600 gift from a young couple from abroad. I prayed for two and half months to know about the money's purpose. Now we given away £5,600 and we are going to use the rest of money £5,000 + (?) to get a 7 seater car for our family and this ministry.

[ Back to the Beginning ]
Since we came back from Korea, I have been to the Black Mountain and Penllergaer, each time for 1 day's journey to listen to God. God has given me a couple of prayers for other people and he told me several times when I was in Penllergaer, “Go back to the beginning!” I still don't know what it means. As far as I understand is to keep the simplicity of faith, unity of brotherhood, humility in love.

[ Prayer and Intercession ]

1. Has Obama brought the peace to the Middle East through his visit to Israel?

A few American presidents have tried to make peace in the Middle East over the years. They brought some expectation of man, but not the peace of God. Israel has given away their acquired territories to Egypt and the Palestinians in order to make peace. But the situation is getting worse in spite of the American presidents' efforts; Jimmy Carter, Camp David Accord, 1978 / Bill Clinton, Oslo Accord, 1993 / George W. Bush, The Roadmap, 2002. (read more... click here) It looks as if the American presidents have been using Israel as political platform in the USA as well as in the nations. But Obama's approach seems to be different from the others. Obama has been leaning on the Palestinian side clearly. The Obama Administration encouraged the Arab Spring to spring up and to spread out. (read more... click here) I pray that God may reveal the hidden things with the truth of God, so that people may not be deceived. (Hebrews 4:12-13)

2. Conditions and Conviction in Israel and Egypt

Conditions in Israel have always been tense, although it looks peaceful. Egypt has been unsettled for a couple of years and the country's condition is getting worse. The number of tourists has decreased significantly and inflation is very high. Nevertheless, God has been speaking to me, “ It is a crucial time between Israel and Egypt. Who is going to stand on the lands?” God can work out his plan without anyone's help, but he is looking for a person who listens and obeys Him. I sense that this is such an important time in His purpose, so I felt God wanted me to go Israel and Egypt even just I alone. I have been convicted by God regardless of the conditions and situations in the Middle East.

“In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with '[Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, ' Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.' ” (Isaiah 19:23-25)

3. Venezuela: Presidential re-election on 14^th April

After the former president Hugo Chavez's death March 5 from cancer, two candidates have relentlessly campaigned. The presidential election is going to be on 14^th April. Please pray for the right person to be elected without violence. Maduro was Chavez's vice president and became acting president after Chavez died. Capriles is governor of the central state of Miranda. He lost a hard-fought presidential election to Chavez in October 2012.

4. France: The Deconstruction of Sexed Stereotypes

On February 28th the Commission of Cultural Affairs adopted an amendment in the French National Assembly making gender equality a priority in elementary schools. Children will be taught from the age of 6 that there is no difference between girls and boys. The goal is to show that the differences between men and women are not based upon nature but are historically built and socially reproduced. The theory of gender teaches that the value of a person is uniquely in their behaviour for they are inherently all the same; it is perceived as a model of intelligence and modernity. Pray that God's light would shine in people's understanding, especially teachers and parents, and that children in school would be protected. - Susan Harries -

5. North & South Korea

On 4th March 2013, South Korea suffered a cyber attack: more than three dozen South Korean websites became the focus of a sophisticated distributed denial-of-service attack that caused outages for 10 days and then – following an internal timer – switched tactics to destroying data on any infected machines. Many people believe that it was done by North Korea. Now, North Korean president Kim Jung-Eun has declared war on South Korea and the USA. The USA sent two bombers, a ship, and F22 jets. We mustn't forget that God is sovereign over South and North Korea. God has an amazing plan to release Koreans into the nations from South Korea as well as from North Korea. We are hearing a lot of provoking propaganda about nuclear bombs and starvation in North Korea. But there are spiritual bombs in the North that are stronger than physical nuclear ones. They are more starving in spirit than in physical food. In South Korea, they are spiritually not very hungry and they are not really seeking God but enjoying his presence and provision without realising and fulfilling His eternal purposes. God is speaking to South Korea through North Korea. They should be convicted by the current North Korean condition and situation.

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” (Revelation 3:15-19)

[ The FORGE School of Faith – 2 ]
We sensed last June, 2012 that God wanted us to launch the first school, in order to lay a faith foundation and redeem and restore the inheritance of Rees Howells. We had a wonderful time for two weeks at The FORGE School in Wales. It was beyond our expectation. (4 attendees' testimony video clip) God brought everything into a beautiful and wonderful picture of a new movement of God. God has envisioned, encouraged, challenged, healed and united us as the family of God. We foretasted a little of his full picture of a movement with a lifestyle of community, worship and intercession.

“A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.” (Genesis 2:10) A couple of weeks ago, God really encouraged me through this scripture to extend this school to go out to the nations from Wales. Therefore we are going to hold 'The Forge School of Faith-2' for TWO WEEKS in Wales and for TWO WEEKS in the Middle East; an exciting opportunity! (19th April - 3rd May; Wales click here ) + (4th - 17th May; The Middles East)

Our family (Qday, Bridget, Noah, baby Yohan), 2 staff (Kathy & JooSun), 4 formers participants, and 10 new people are coming to live together in Wales for two weeks and 6 of us are going to the Middle East for two weeks as well. Please pray for God's provision, protection and that his purpose may be fulfilled.

Shalom Love!

Qday LEE
on behalf of the Forge team

12 Ropewalk Road, Llanelli, SA15 2AL, UK
(+44) 7870653157
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.theforgewales.org.uk