Fresh Bread: God’s March in Orders for Our Consecration

On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! 17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD… 18 …keep away from the devoted things.19 sacred to the LORD…” 20 When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. 21 They devoted the city to the LORD… (Joshua 6:15-18, 20-21, NIV)

Many of us are familiar with the battle to take the City of Jericho. Jericho was the first city the holy (separated/different) people of Israel encountered after they had crossed the Jordan River in order to enter into the place God had promised them. Where they entered was more than simply a place, for God was transforming them from slaves to landowners and from being nomads to becoming a nation.

However, if this transformation was going to occur, they would have to fight for it, and do so God’s way. Just as God brought them into the land by allowing them to cross the Jordan River unconventionally (Joshua 3:15-17), their first battle was also going to be fought unconventionally (read above). Joshua was already an accomplished warrior, yet, if he was going to fight battles for the promises that the Lord had given him, Joshua would first have to receive his “march in” orders.

The word march means “to advance in step in an organized body; to proceed; to go forward.” The etymology of this word means “to mark, pace out (a boundary).” Thus, when a soldier is marching, his objective is to:

· Advance, not by himself, but within an organized body.

· Proceed and move forward, not backward.

· Mark out a boundary for the territory his armed forces plan to take over (1 Chronicles 4:10)

The 21 Day Daniel Fast Consecration for Pentecostal Tabernacle begins on March 10th. It is during this month of March that I believe God, through His Holy Spirit (John 16:13), will provide us individually and as a Church with His direction and guidance. He will instruct us as to how we are to march in to the place(s) He desires for us. To assist and encourage us in the obtaining of our orders during March, I’ve assigned the book “Too Busy Not to Pray” by Bill Hybels. We will review Chapter 1, “God of Peace, God of Power,” during our Bible study this Wednesday.

Marching into the places God has destined for us will not be easy. And we certainly will not always understand the way God does things (Isaiah 56:6-8). However, if we obey God’s directions for our lives during this consecration, we will march right into victory just like Joshua and the people of Israel. So get ready to receive your orders during this month of March and watch God bring down the barriers that seem to keep us out of His places of promise.