The meeting between Zelensky and Trump, the Presidents of Ukraine and the USA, made it to the headlines all over the world. Vlad, outreach Director for DPM-Ukraine, shared his view on the event, and an update on DPM’s outreach in Ukraine.
“For 11 years, since 2014, there has been a hybrid and open war with Russia with varying intensity. By now, Ukrainians have gotten over the first shock of the war and the realization that we can’t simply rely on allies in the West for support. That is why there is no particular alarm about Trump’s statements about Ukraine and Russia. It is almost as if our people understand what the Apostle Paul calls “to be condemned to death” — a state that should be the mindset of every real Christian. People here are ready for the worst. Similar to the first months of the war when we survived against all odds, we are again waiting for the next miracle from God. There is no one else to hope for.
Remember Lot's wife…
Recently, I shared a little revelation in our church. As you remember, Christ, prophesying about the end times instructed His disciples to remember Lot's wife. I have heard quite a lot of sermons about Lot's wife turning around because her heart was with her perishing possessions and wealth. That is probably true, at least partially. But I think it's natural for anyone to turn around when you have a firestorm raining down from the sky behind you! We tend to be most afraid of things that are out of our control. But God calls us not to look around, but to set our eyes on the fulfillment of His will.
To do this, we must “die” - lose our fears and our doubts - and then we will save our souls and not be paralyzed by terror. In the three Gospels, Jesus' warning for us in the end times is echoed: “But when you shall hear of wars and commotions, see - be not terrified!” As it says in Scripture: “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a 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 fear, He is the one you are to dread.” (Is. 8:12-13)
"We tend to be most afraid of things that are out of our control. But God calls us not to look around, but to set our eyes on the fulfillment of His will."
YouTube Ministry
As for our ministry in Ukraine, I am glad to report, to the glory of God, that right now we are printing two Ukrainian books, “Bought with Blood” and “Life-Changing Spiritual Power". In addition to the already published book, “Blessing or Curse,” this will be three Ukrainian books in the year.
We continue to add new videos daily on our YouTube channel, along with daily prayer readings. This year we have added 9.5 thousand subscribers and their total number will reach 30 thousand in a couple of weeks. This year we had 1.7 million viewers on the channel and our videos were watched for 355 thousand hours. We're making wonderful progress: almost 5 thousand visits daily and almost 1 thousand hours of views daily. The average viewing time is 12:35 minutes. This is quite good, as we have many viewers of the short daily prayers.
We receive good responses and gratitude on these videos. Many people first time meet Derek's teaching, and it helps them in this hard time. As you know, YouTube was banned in Russia, but many people connect us by VPN and give special thanks for providing healthy spiritual food in Russian for them. Currently, Derek’s videos in Russian and Ukrainian are mixed on one YouTube channel, so we plan to launch a Ukrainian channel soon.
So that's it in a nutshell what we live, what we think about, and what we do. Once again, I want to thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and practical support."
"YouTube was banned in Russia, but many people connect us by VPN and give special thanks for providing healthy spiritual food in Russian for them."
Prayer for Ukraine
The outreach in Ukraine is part of our EE-outreach, overseen by Branislav Cekan. He is calling all of us to pray for Ukraine, saying:
“The Apostle Paul says that our battle is not against people, but against spiritual powers. Let us remember that the apostle Paul was once responsible for the murder of many Christians before God stopped him on the way to Damascus and made him a brand-new person. He became one of the humblest servants of the early Church and an encourager of millions of Jesus-followers until these days. This is a demonstration of the might and power of our heavenly Father – He can turn the hearts of man one single day. Proverbs 21:1-2 says;
The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it whichever way He wishes. Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs and examines the hearts [of people and their motives]. (Amplified version)
Do not let your heart be overburdened with worries and cares, or even fears about how this all will end. Let us be inspired by Daniel and three Jewish young men to bend our knees and pray to our God to intervene in His wisdom and power and in His time to bring release to people in Ukraine. As Derek taught in his book Shaping History through Prayer and Fasting, it is the Church to whom God has given the authority to shape the history of the nations.
- Pray for Vlad and his wife who, despite the war, decided to stay in Ukraine and serve God’s people with Derek’s teaching. Pray for their loved ones, and for their relatives in the Kursk region, on the Russian side - for their safety, strength, encouragement, and supernatural peace.
- Pray for protection for civilians and soldiers, for the healing of the wounded ones, and restoration of their families.
- Pray for comfort for all those mourning over the loss of their loved ones, husbands & wives, sons & daughters.
- Pray for above all for the people in authority in Ukraine and Russia, but also for other world leaders; may God turn their hearts toward the end of the war and lasting peace between these two nations. (see 1. Timothy 2:1-4)
- And finally, pray that the Church in Ukraine and Russia, but also the Church worldwide, will walk in “agape love”, self-sacrificing godly love, and to escape from the snares of the spirit of this world. Pray that our love for God, for our brothers and sisters, and for God’s people of Israel, will increase and that it will not grow cold due to increased wickedness. Pray that the spirit of prayer and intercession will draw us all into God’s presence to seek deliverance and help in time of need.
