Receiving God's 'marching order'

Joshua 5:14: "... but as Commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?"

This is your time to 'possess your inheritance'! Joshua chapters 6, 7, 8 are keys. It's a crucial time for 'your spirit to supersede your mind' (i.e. your spirit having the 'upperhand' over your mind), in order for you to hear with 'precision' from the Spirit. One way is by 'tithing' your everyday time to the Lord, especially in praying in the spirit and in the Word. This is also your time to receive your Commander's (Jesus') 'marching order' for your next move (Joshua 5:14).

Many of you may ask this question, "After 'crossing over' my 'River Jordan', then what now?" Just as in Joshua's time, you will receive new strategies from the Lord. You will receive 'new things' (& 'substances'). It's an important time to be in the 'house of prayer', and there's no other safer place than this! This 'house of prayer' can be just you and the Holy Spirit in your prayer closet! This way, you are being 'positioned' to receive His 'marching order' (i.e. specific instructions) as you 'march forth' to gain 'possession of your inheritance' in the new season! God did exactly this to Joshua. He gave His 'marching order' on how to possess Jericho (read Joshua 6) in an unprecedented way, and the whole Israel succeeded in gaining 'possession of their inheritance'! I pray you will too!

People of God, go forward only with the Lord's 'marching order'! Watch out against the 'pitfalls' of moving before His 'marching order'! Learn from Joshua's mistake (read Joshua 7). Right after a great victory at Jericho, Israel fell into humiliation, defeat and discouragement against a lesser enemy, Ai. This happened when Joshua moved forward without gaining the Commander's 'marching order' first. A lot of people preach that Israel's defeat at Ai was due to Achan's sin (of keeping accursed things). That is a valid point, but God showed me that's not the main point here. The main point was the leader, Joshua. As a leader, Joshua was supposed to be responsible for the success or failure of Israel. Why? He's the number 1! The question here is "Did he receive God's 'marching order' first before proceeding to battle Ai?" The answer is "No!" In fact, he acted upon men's opinions and suggestions (Joshua 7:2-3), and these 'ideas' were seemingly good ideas!

How many of you know that "men's good ideas may not be God's ideas for you (or for your church/ministry)"? As a consequence, Israel suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the enemy who seemed to be weaker than Jericho! Not just that, Joshua used the same old method by 'sending spies' (Joshua 7:2). Does that sound familiar? Just because you've been successful in your past 'move', it doesn't automatically mean you can use past revelations/instructions for your next move! In fact, every 'move' of yours should be led by the Spirit, as you hear anew, and not merely by men's suggestions (though these may be well-meaning, or with good intention) or out of sheer excitement! And once you've received your 'marching orders' from the Lord, even if you may be accused of being unreasonable or foolish (or whatever unkind words people may speak against you), stay with those 'marching orders'! And there are times you don't even need to explain and give reasons for your actions. The Lord will be your Defense and Vindicator!

We are in a time of acceleration in the spirit realm. It means even yesterday's methods or ideas can become redundant today! To be at the 'cutting edge' in the spirit, you've got to hear in the spirit anew, in every move and step. And that's exactly what Joshua did in chapter 8. The Commander of the Lord's army (Jesus) began speaking to Joshua again (Joshua 8:1-2), and a new strategy was given to battle against the very same Ai. Joshua followed the Commander's 'marching order' again, and this time, Israel 'gained further possession of their inheritance' in their Promised Land!

Beloved, if you have made a mistake (or made a wrong decision) before in past season, God is saying this to you right now, just as He did to Joshua, "Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed" (Joshua 8:1). It's time to start anew and get up again! (Joshua 7:10) You will receive a new strategy! You will receive a new 'marching order'! And you know what? This time, your 'Ai' will be soundly defeated! 'Ai' in Hebrew means 'overturned', and just as Joshua moved from being 'overturned' (in chapter 7) to 'overturning' (in chapter 8), you will be too! Look away from your past season's discouragement, defeat, or shame, and start looking to your Commander all over again! Your inheritance is waiting for you to possess!

Hearing in the Spirit

Amos 3:7-8: Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?

God always wants to speak to you, but on your part, you need to have a listening ear. And the good news is He doesn't just speak to the prophets or those serving in full-time ministry. He speaks to anyone who's willing to hear! Amos in the Old Testament was just a farmer, a 'common' man in the eyes of others, and there wasn't any record of him going to any prophets' school. So, unlike the 'Elishas' who have their 'Elijahs', Amos actually had none. But one thing he had: He had words from the Lord! And as he heard from the Lord, he spoke them out! That simple! And that's how he became God's 'mouthpiece' in his time, and as a matter of fact, God did use him to speak against many 'injustices' in his time. In fact, the word 'Amos' means 'burden bearer' in Hebrew. You know what that means? Amos allowed God to use him to speak out 'His burden' for the nations.

Once, the Lord spoke these to me: "Like an earthworm to the earth movement, your spirit should likewise be to the spiritual realm, or the Holy Spirit's movement!". He then prompted me to do some studies on 'earthworms'. I remember asking, "What? Earthworms? Out of so many creatures, earthworms?" But anyway, I just obeyed, and that's how I found out that earthworms are not only essential to soil quality, but they also have one unique feature, i.e. they are very sensitive to 'touch'. Studies have shown that they have very sensitive 'skin cells' that can sense whatever little 'vibration' in the soil! So, whenever there's any little soil movement, or any impending earthquake, they'll be the first to know! And that's when I heard God says "My people in this end-time should be just as sensitive to any movement in the spiritual realm!"

To hear in the Spirit, you need to be connected to the Holy Spirit first! Of course, even before that, you need to receive the Holy Spirit first (i.e. be baptized in the Holy Spirit). When you are in the Spirit, you'll hear in the Spirit (see Galatians 5:16-18), just as when you are in the 'flesh', you'll hear in the flesh (i.e. 'fleshly' things)! As you begin, it's always good to enter into a time of worship first, praying in the spirit (praying in tongues), or reading the Word. What you hear in the Spirit should be spontaneous (i.e. not premeditated beforehand), and bears the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). It should also never contradict the Word of God. The Word of God is and will always be the foundation when you hear with your spirit.

Recently, I was led to ask the Lord for deeper spiritual understanding and discernment, and I did the same for all the people under my daily prayer covering in the church. You can ask for it too! He is definitely in the midst of preparing His people to be at the 'cutting edge' in the spiritual realm! He wants His people to know His end-time strategy on how to advance & triumph over the enemy! I was in a prayer gathering recently when someone saw a vision of white waves (like those of the sea) flowing from the worship leader to the rest in our midst, and right then, that person heard me declaring into the spiritual realm that His people is being raised up to 'ride on the wave of the Holy Spirit', like the expert 'surfers' at the sea! She only told me about it after the prayer gathering has ended.

People of God, this is your time to hear strategies. This is your time to hear His 'game plan'. The Bible says 'without revelation, the people perish' (see Proverbs 29:18). This is His time to raise up a people of revelation who would hear His 'marching orders' with such great precision and accuracy! Are you game for this? Are you willing to be part of His whole 'game plan'? Will you be like Amos in his days? Amos spoke and declared without fear whenever he heard in the Spirit, and the Bible says those words roared like lion! Lions are kings of the jungle, and when they roar, the whole 'citizen' in the jungle 'trembles'! Jesus Himself is called the Lion of Judah, and He lives in you and speaks through you!

There are many ways God can speak to you, and these are some examples:
1. Through the Word of God released/read/preached (Acts 2:37).
2. Through inner witness, i.e. Holy Spirit speaking in your conscience (Romans 8:16, Romans 9:1).
3. Through stirrings (or provoking) in your spirit (Acts 17:16).
4. Through a drop of thought or vision/dream (Acts 16:6-10).
5. Through perceiving (or discerning) with your spirit (Hebrews 5:14).