The Lord spoke to me and said, “A spirit of boldness is coming upon My church. No longer will My people be locked behind closed doors or hidden behind locked doors. No! It is time for the demonstration of My supernatural power on the earth! This is the marked time for My people to walk in authority. It’s the ordained time for My children to carry My glory and, moreover, to also release it to the nations.
“In order for My bride to operate in this power, the flow must be pure. I am proclaiming a revival of purity. I am calling My church to deal with sin in the camp, for I desire to accomplish My plan for this hour. Do you not know that the earth is groaning for this movement? I have heard the cries of those who are entrapped in captivity and those bound in affliction. Hear Me. I have chosen you. Partner with Me, that I may use you as a vessel of awakening to those who sit in darkness. Like Esther, your time is now. It is not time for you to go undercover and hide. Come out! It is the time for you to arise and shine.”
I prophesy that purity is coming back to the church. It is the requirement for the next move of God. In Joshua 7, the Israelites were set in place to conquer Ai. In fact, they were so assured of the total victory to come that the men who were sent to spy out the land returned and declared there was no need to send all the warriors to battle. Instead, they said they only needed 2,000 or 3,000 men to defeat Ai (Josh. 7:3).
“So approximately 3,000 warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated. The men of Ai chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the quarries, and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope. The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away” (Josh. 7:4-5, NLT).
The Israelites were shocked. This defeat left them paralyzed with fear. Had God abandoned them? Did God change His mind about giving them the promised land? These were the questions that must have plagued their minds.
“But the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? Israel has sinned and broken My covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for Me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now, Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction. Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you'” (Josh. 7:10-13).
God told Joshua, “Get up!” I also hear the Lord saying to you as well, “Get up. Get up from your brokenness. Get up from your disappointment. Get up from that betrayal. Get up from that place of failure. It may be true that you have failed but know this, you are not a failure! You are the elect of God. You have been called for such a time as this. One misstep does not define who I have called you to be. Get up!”
Take note of what that the Lord instructed Joshua—He told him to get up and command the people to purify themselves in preparation for the next day. I hear Him also declaring to you the same thing today: “Purify yourself for the place where I am taking you. Realize that there must come first a purification of My people.”
Joshua confronted and dealt with Achan’s hidden sin. We, too, must be willing to confront and deal with hidden sin if we want to experience God’s complete victory in our lives. The church is in an hour where God wants purification and then He will give reward, just as He did for the Israelites at Ai.
“You will destroy them as you destroyed Jericho and its king. But this time you may keep the plunder and the livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the town” (Josh. 8:2).
Did you get that? God said in essence, “This time will be different. You will not be defeated, and you will get the enemy’s plunder.” I heard Him say He’s speaking the same word to you, “This time you will see complete and total victory. I am giving you a heavenly strategy to win this battle and take possession of everything I promised you, and in addition, the plunder of the enemy.”
God gave Joshua precise instructions to set an ambush behind the city. Furthermore, He told him to have the men of war to come from the front, even as they had in the first battle, and to allow the men of Ai to chase them.
The men of Ai thought they were dealing with the same defeated army as before but what they did not understand is this time they were fighting a purified people who had God fighting for them. When Joshua put the plan in motion, everything that God had spoken came to pass. The men of Ai chased after Joshua and the men of war, just like before.
Yet this time God had given the Israelites a plan, and as soon as the men of Ai chased after the Israelites, the ambush hit the city. They experienced complete and total victory.
You, too, are about to see your complete and total victory! {eoa}
Andrew Towe is an emerging prophetic voice to this generation. Andrew preaches the Word of God with fire, inviting God’s manifested presence to fall, with signs and wonders occurring in his services. Andrew and his wife, Brooke, are the lead pastors of Ramp Church Chattanooga, and they reside in Chattanooga, Tennessee, along with their two children. Andrew travels extensively preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Wherever he ministers, lives are changed, faith is strengthened and expectation is ignited.
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