This is Part 3 of our 15-part series walking through Session 1 of “The Assassins Among Us.” Check out the blog for previous posts.
ELEMENT 2: THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE CAMP – EVERYTHING FACES GOD
Numbers 2:2 describes the camp layout:
“The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.”
Here’s the arrangement God commanded:
East: Judah (meaning “praise”), Issachar, Zebulun South: Reuben, Simeon, Gad West: Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin North: Dan, Asher, Naphtali Center: The Tabernacle (God’s dwelling place)
Everything faced the Tabernacle. God was the center. Every tribe knew their position in relation to God’s presence.
THE NEW COVENANT REALITY
But here’s the New Covenant reality that changes everything: We are now the tabernacle.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 declares:
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Under the Old Covenant, God’s presence dwelt in a tent at the center of the camp. Under the New Covenant, God’s presence—the Holy Spirit—dwells in you. You are the tent. You are the tabernacle.
This makes the arrangement principle even more crucial. If you are the tabernacle, what is at the center of your tent? What does everything in your life face toward?
WE ARE THE TEMPLE
2 Corinthians 6:16 reinforces this:
“For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.'”
God doesn’t dwell in a building anymore. He dwells in His people. The question is: Is His presence actually at the center of the temple He inhabits—which is you? Is His Spirit what leads, guides, and animates you?
KEEPING IN STEP WITH THE SPIRIT
Galatians 5:25 makes this the non-negotiable standard:
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
This isn’t a “nice to have.” This is essential to the arrangement of the tent of our lives. If we live by the Spirit—and every believer does—then we must keep in step with the Spirit. That means the Holy Spirit sets the pace, the direction, the priorities. We align our steps with His movement.
Keeping in step requires constant awareness of His presence at the center. When He moves, we move. When He stops, we stop. When He speaks, we listen. When He convicts, we respond. This is what it means to have everything in our lives positioned around His presence.
THE DIAGNOSTIC QUESTION
This is the diagnostic question for your life: What is actually at the center?
Not what you say is at the center. Not what you wish was at the center. What does your actual life arrangement reveal? Your schedule, your priorities, your decisions, your thoughts—what do they orbit around?
Just as every tribe in Israel had to position themselves in relation to the Tabernacle, every area of your life must be positioned in relation to the Holy Spirit’s presence within you. Your work faces the center. Your relationships face the center. Your entertainment faces the center. Your finances face the center. Your ambitions face the center.
If Jesus Christ—through the Holy Spirit—is truly at the center of your personal tabernacle, everything else in your life will be properly positioned in relation to Him. If He’s not, everything will be out of alignment no matter how religious you appear on the outside.
YOU CAN’T FAKE THIS ARRANGEMENT
The reality: You can’t fake this arrangement. Israel’s camp was visible—you could see whether the tribes were positioned correctly around the Tabernacle. Your life arrangement is equally visible. People can see what’s actually at your center by observing what everything else in your life revolves around.
The warning: If God’s presence isn’t at the center of your tent, you’re not prepared for battle. You’re carrying an empty tabernacle into warfare. You have the form of the dwelling place but not the reality of His presence.
APPLICATION
Ask yourself honestly:
- What does my schedule reveal about what’s at my center?
- When I make decisions, do I seek the Holy Spirit’s leading or do I decide first and ask Him to bless it?
- Are my relationships positioned around God’s presence or around my preferences?
- Does my entertainment, my media consumption, my thought life—does it all face the center or face away from it?
- Can others see by my life arrangement that the Holy Spirit is actually at the center?
The tribes of Israel couldn’t move forward until they were properly positioned around God’s presence. Neither can you. Before you can face the battles ahead, everything in your life must be arranged around the Holy Spirit’s presence within you.
Not around your career. Not around your relationships. Not around your comfort. Around HIM.
TOMORROW: Element 3: The Duties of the People – Know Your Role
We’ll discover why knowing your specific role in the body of Christ is essential preparation for spiritual warfare.
ABOUT “THE ASSASSINS AMONG US”:
A journey through the Book of Numbers that exposes the assassins working from within and without to destroy the fullness of God among us. Through the Damascus Road framework (STOP, LOOK, LISTEN, LIVE), we’re calling believers from counterfeit Christianity to authentic faith in Jesus Christ.
SESSION 1 SCHEDULE: Part 1: Introduction & Damascus Road Connection Part 2: Element 1 – An Honest Survey Part 3 (Today): Element 2 – The Arrangement Parts 4-14: Elements 3-13 (one per day) Part 15: Conclusion & Moving Forward
WATCH THE FULL TEACHING: Session 1 videos available at www.onetrulight.org or search “Assassins Among Us” on YouTube/Rumble
Most ministries stay in the safe middle. We bring marginalized truth back to the center.
THE PROPHET’S MARGIN Truth From the Narrow Place
ONE TRUE LIGHT MINISTRIES Calling believers to authentic faith Damascus Road Journey: STOP. LOOK. LISTEN. LIVE. www.onetrulight.org