Newsletters

 Irritation to Transformationforge logo_2013_jan_small
(The Forge Newsletter_01 & 02 & 03_2017)


2017 03_hannahAnd because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. (1 Samuel 1:6)

God had closed Hannah’s womb and her rival Peninnah kept provoking her to irritate her. Hannah, however, prayed and fasted with tears because of her. In the end she prayed that she would give her son back to God, if God gave her a son. And she conceived Samuel after that transformed prayer.

1. If God starts something, God finishes it
When Hannah was unable to conceive for many years, it seemed like the end of her life. But this end of us is the new beginning of God. Because God closed her womb, which means he surely had a reason.

2. Although Peninnah provoked Hannah, she helped her to fulfil God’s purpose
Peninnah helped Hannah to fulfill God’s eternal purpose through provoking Hannah to irritate her maliciously, because
Peninnah is the seed and the seed was conceived in Hannah’s womb and nurtured by her, graciously.

3. Penninah who provokes to irritate her is the seed of pearl
The meaning of Peninnah(
פננה = pearl) in Hebrew is “pearl” and Hannah(חנה = favoured, grace) is “grace or favour”. Yet if Hannah, who is grace, hadn’t embraced Peninnah, who is the seed of the pearl, Peninnah would have been kicked out from Elkanah’s house as Hagar and Ishmael were kicked out by Sarah from Abraham’s house. Hannah, however, didn’t fight or push her away. Instead she embraced her through prayer. That’s why Hannah was able to conceive Samuel and gave birth to him who was the pearl of the era.

4. The grace of God enables us to embrace Peninnah
A pearl is formed from a seed, such as a grain of sand, which irritates the oyster’s flesh. When the grain irritates and cuts the flesh, a mineral is secreted from the oyster and coats the grain. Therefore if there is no grain, there is no irritation and no pearl. Although it is a painful irritant, if we embrace our Peninnah with grace, we will find a beautiful pearl in the end.
If there is no grace of God, we are unable to embrace Peninnah. Instead we try to push her out or we might die with her. But the grace of God enables us to embrace Peninnah and to form the pearl although it might be painful and irritating.


5. My barrenness and my enemy are to help me to fulfil my calling and to reach my destiny
Hannah realised what God really wanted her to pray through her barrenness and her enemy. After her prayer, she conceived and gave birth to Samuel, who anointed two kings and closed the era of the Judges and opened the era of the Kings. Likewise our barrenness and our enemy help us to understand the new prayer, to conceive a new identity, and to pursue the eternal destiny.



[ Update News ]


1. When we are being pounded, we are being flattened

One day I realised I had been expanded. Of course, though I still have a lot of stubbornness and pride, I have been flattened. For the last a year and half, through relationships with various “Penninahs”, I have been heated a lot in the forge and pounded a lot by the hammers.
If there was no Peninnah in my life, my life might have been inflated higher and higher until it collapsed; instead I have been flattened. As a result, I have found I am more open and willing to collaborate with people from other groups to build the kingdom.

God created sky and separated the water above the sky and beneath the sky. The sky in Hebrew is Raqia(רקיע) and the root word of Raqia is Raqa(רקע), and the meaning of Raqa is to pound or to expand by hammering. It might mean that the sky needs to be pounded in order to be expanded, so that the sky may embrace every planet. When iron is heated in the fire and pounded, not only it is being reshaped but also the cells or molecules are transformed according to temperature and pounding.

Doesn’t God allow the heat and poundings in order to flatten and expand me, and allow Peninnah to be around me so that I might conceive the pearl and give birth to it? So I really thank God for my Peninnahs who are around me. We mustn’t forget our Peninnah is the seed of the pearl.

2. Hong & Hyesun’s new life in Wales
2017 03_walesThey left South Korea without having long-term visa, finances, and with two young children on 13th January according to God’s word and his lead. It seemed to be reckless but God has been providing their needs faithfully so far. Please pray for their long term visa.



3. Seungae’s spouse visa court case has been postponed

Seungae got married to a Welsh brother on 17th April, 2015. Although she got the marriage permission from the British government, she hasn’t been granted a spouse visa yet because she hasn’t met the government’s financial requirement. They postponed the court case on 5th June. Please pray for her 5 year spouse visa.

2017 03_wedding4. The wedding wind is blowing
December 2014, we had a visitor from Jerusalem. The visitor prayed and prophesied about the flowing of Gihon and last December our friend the Messianic Jewish Rabbi prophetically told us that this year God would bring abundant fruits in this journey of faith. But we didn’t think it would be abundance of marriages!

Among our Forge family we had a wedding on 8th April and 29th April another wedding is coming, and 27th May another wedding is planned. Also recently another brother and a sister have got engaged.

Even though nowadays many families are suffering from broken relationships and divorce, I want to bless them who are taking a step of faith in trusting in God with love and I thank God for their new journey of faith.

5. Noah is in a Korean primary school and Bridget & Yohan arrived in Korea
2017 03_noahyohanNoah went back to the primary school that he went to last year for three weeks. Teachers and pupils are happy to see him again, also the hosting family is so glad to have him again although it will be seven weeks. Yohan is unable to join any Korean nursery school because there is no room for him and the law and regulations are more strict than before. However, my niece has offered to teach him to learn Korean language and he has been offered to learn Korean marshal-art, Taekwondo too.

 

6. Last Forge Journey Spain & Portugal Report
I felt as we planned this first Forge trip to mainland Europe that we were a tiny prophetic sign, like an arrow, pointing to what God wants to do, pouring prayer from the UK into all European countries and right across to Israel, in what look increasingly like the last days. We had a great faith-stretching adventure in Southern Spain, Gibraltar and Lisbon. (If you would like to read all about it click HERE!)

 



[ Prayer & Intercession ]

1. Korean Church and English Church are afraid of cult, Shinchunji (= new heaven & earth)
At nearly the same time two British friends texted me and emailed to ask whether I know of Shinchunji, a Korean cult, and how to rescue people who are involved. This is because one of the well known British churches in London has been suffering from the Korean cult.

This church is well known for its new-believer programme, but a couple of years ago a few people infiltrated this church and invited people to their homes. I introduced a sister who was involved in the cult but fled and was set free from them a couple of years ago. When I met her the first time, she couldn’t read the Bible nor pray and was confused because the things she learned came up whenever she tried to read the Bible or pray. While she was visiting us, she was set free from the cult by the truth of God.

If you go to visit Korean church in Korea, you can find a sign all most every church building; “Prohibit Shinchunji from entering!”

When I asked why they put the sign by the main entrance, they told me that the cult are coming to steal our church members. I don’t think they stop entering because of the sign. Instead the sign may tell them, “We are babies, so please don’t be afraid of us and feel free to steal us.” We have no confidence and no courage to fight against the cult. Also we have no love to embrace them.

The reason why we are afraid of the cult is that we are infant christians. If we are mature Christians and strong enough, why would we be afraid of them? Matured ones don’t fight each other in the mud with noise. Don’t we have matured ones? When I look around the church and the politics, there is a lot of noise and lights but no depth or inner life. We are so mean and childish.

2. Now Britain is in the process of Brexit
The Brexit bill has been through the House of Parliament and the House of lords in March although there was a couple of hiccups, and now it has been handed in as the law to the EU, so that the Lisbon Treaty article 50 may be triggered. From now, where is Britain heading to? Does Scotland really want to be independent from the United Kingdom? Why do they want to be independent? Why do not Wales and Northern Ireland shout to be independent?

 

3. Absence is more beneficial than presence
After bringing in the controversial THAAD(Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) missile defence system, the former president Ms Park has been impeached and the new presidential election is coming up. Is this the time for hidden things in South Korea to be revealed, like the wrecked, rusted Sewol ferry that was sunk with 300 children on board? Even though the presidential candidates claim to have the best interests of the country at heart, I wonder whether their absence might be more beneficial to Korea.


4. Whirling the world
Although many people predicted Donald Trump would not get the position of President of the USA, he got the place and he has been working very hard according to what he has promised. That’s why some people are opposing him strongly. Where is America sailing to?

There is a very cold atmosphere between South Korea and China because of placing THAAD in South Korea. Now people are talking about placing nuclear bombs in Japan, and North Korea has been developing and testing long range missiles continuously.

Russia has been increasing its military power quietly and leaving her bear’s paw-prints here and there. China has declared its territory in the Pacific Ocean through creating seven artificial islands and an airfield between the Philippines and Vietnam.

At the same time, IS has been expanding their territory to Europe and America by using terror. Also they try to put infiltrators among the refugees to prepare more terrors in Europe and America.

In this picture, where is God and what is he doing? As we know he has finished everything and is laughing at them. He wants us to listen to him and obey by faith whatever he tells us like the servants in the wedding ceremony in Cana. But aren’t we too busy and noisy to listen to his voice and his laughing?

“Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 'Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision.” (Psalm 2:1-4)

5. The LORD is warning me not to follow the way of this people
*
As recent international events have been unfolding, I have been somewhat disturbed by all the vehement opinions and scaremongering on facebook and other media. What will happen to Britain? Is Brexit a huge disaster? Is Donald Trump leading the USA into chaos? Where will IS strike next? A few weeks ago God spoke to me with these verses, reminding me that as a believer in him and his purposes my focus must stay in the right place, regardless how good or bad things are going around me. (Bridget LEE)

2017 03_nikkiThe LORD spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said, “Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread. He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured.” (Isaiah 8:11-14)

6. American UN Ambassador Nikki Hayley’s defiant speech
The new American UN ambassador Nikki Hayley gave a speech after her first meeting at the UN security council for the Middle East.
She pointed out clearly that the attitude of the ambassadors towards Israel was very much biased and hostile. I felt that she looks like Esther in the Bible. (If you want to watch the speech, click HERE!)




10th The Forge School of Faith
- Date : 24th June - 8th July 2017 (Wales) / 10th - 24th July 2017 (The Middle East) 
- Cost : £200 (Wales : excluding transport), £350 (The Middle East : excluding airfare)
- Language: English Only

* If you are interested in it, please send us this application form and £100 deposit. Click here to download application form.
* 1st deadline is 30th April 2017


Three days Fasting for Israel & UK
Dates : 26th - 28th June 2017
Venue : Kings Park Centre, Kings Park Road, Northampton, NN3 6LL, U.K.
Contacts: 07919 620566 (Dr Anne Rowntree) / Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


Celebration for the Nations 2017
Dates : 2nd - 8th August 2017
Venue : Mount Carmel Conference Centre
www.celebrationforthenations.org