Dear Faith-Filled Friends:
This is a time to remove the covering that Satan has used to hide blessings.
Ezekiel 28:14 says, “You were the anointed cherub that covers with overshadowing wings…”
WHEN HE FELL, HE KEPT COVERING OVER RESOURCES AND BLESSINGS THAT ARE IN THE EARTH. God is saying,
“The covering that was over certain things -- whether it’s land, resources or favor that the enemy’s been trying to overshadow and cover -- is being ripped off and ripped open. When the angelic hosts come in, all of a sudden they re-align My people, and cause My people to get in a new formation.”
Start noticing the movement around you. Once God starts setting us in a new order, then you are able to see where the breach is that the enemy has broken down or opened up. Therefore, you are not just going to war constantly against everything, and you’re not rambling with revelation. Rather, you are seeing the breaches for which you need to ask, “Lord, what is that? And how do I step in it?”
Once you see the breaches, that is when the new assignments from God come.
The Lord says,
“If you’ll step in this and stand until that breach is rebuilt, then I will open up and I will remove what the enemy was doing to stop you from progressing. My people will now enter a new fight of faith. They must be ordered, they must be moving, and they must understand where glory is absent and where breaches have formed. But the fight of faith for the next season now has been released, and I have a people who are gifted. I have a people willing to submit. I have a people that already have provision that is ready to be unlocked. I have a people that cannot and will not be stopped!
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah is now creating a formation that has a sound that will cause the enemy to go into confusion. The first breach was in My Garden, and because you were willing to stand in the coldness that that breach had caused from last season, I now am producing blessings in your midst.
“Now the next breach is linked with the provision that needs to be unlocked. Therefore, all God-robbing spirits will be broken. The next breach is linked with the lack of fruitfulness of the last season. I will prune away that which has created cancer and infirmity in My body, and new fruit will come up. You have now been commissioned into the next fight for faith, and I have an army that will triumph.”
We decree that you will find your place in the movement. Thank you for being part of a new formation! A New, Open Door! Renewing Your Shield of Faith!
When we read about the shield of faith in Ephesians 6, the shield referenced is “thuria”. Here are some excerpts from Restoring Your Shield of Faith to help you in the YEAR OF THE DOOR! These next two weeks, the Lord wants to build to your shield so that you triumph!
Revelation is a book that provides deep insight into the nature and tactics of the enemy. In the book of Revelation the apostle John had a supernatural visitation during an extreme time of persecution. In the midst of this persecution, he began to see that the Lord God omnipotent reigns! He seemed to agree with Paul that those who would follow the Lord in their daily life would enter into and be involved in continuing spiritual conflict. As the Lord visited John, He gave him a message concerning the seven key churches of that region. This message also reveals to us God’s heart concerning the Church today.
We then find John sharing with us in Revelation 4:1 the following: “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.’”
The shield of faith is closely related to the concept of a door—the Greek name being thureos, from thura, a square shield that can also be seen as a door. A door is an opening for entering or leaving a house, tent or room. The door is used symbolically in the Bible in many ways. We find the Valley of Achor, a place of trouble (see Josh. 7:26), is later promised as “a door of hope” (Hos. 2:15). It will become a reason for God’s people to trust Him again. Our trouble can be turned into an entry point into a new place of victory.
Jesus called Himself “the door” (John 10:7,9). Faith in Him is the only way to enter the kingdom of God. God gave to the Gentiles “the door of faith” (Acts 14:27), or an opportunity to know Him as Lord.
Jesus stands at the door and knocks (see Rev. 3:20). He calls all people to Himself, but He will not enter without permission. We need to give the Lord permission to take us through new, opportune doors and allow Him to come in and give us the power to go through these doors. Let us open the door of our heart so that we can go through our new door of opportunity.
Paul constantly sought new doors of service! These were open doors for him to go through so that he could minister in the name of Jesus Christ. First Corinthians 16:9 reads, “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”
There are many doors of opportunity ahead for each one of us. However, the adversaries behind those doors will overtake us unless our door of faith is in place.
Let us lift up our shield, or door, of faith. We do not need to be afraid to go through the opening and into the new places to which the Lord would lead us. Even though many adversaries will be on our path in days ahead, our shield of faith will quench all of their fiery darts. Jeremiah 46:3 (NIV) is encouraging: “Prepare your shields, both large and small, and march out for battle!” Let us go forth with confidence, with our shield lifted high, and our victory will be assured.
Roman Shields That Protect
As Paul saw the kind of attack Satan unleashed against God’s people, he perceived that the spiritual warfare of Christians is analogous to the physical warfare of the Roman army. In ancient warfare it was common for armies to use a storm of arrows to terrify their enemies. If we were soldiers and thousands of flaming arrows began to strike all around us, the number one thing in our mind would be, “I’ve got to get out of here!” Sometimes that is how we feel when Satan attacks us. The Roman army had a piece of armor that provided a solid defense against this kind of attack. In many cases it was the secret weapon that brought the army victory. This piece of armor was the battle shield.
This shield was not like the round metal discs we often see in movies. The Roman battle shield was a large rectangular defense of metal that covered the entire length of a man’s body. Roman soldiers would line up shoulder to shoulder with their shields held in front of them and move across the battlefield like an armored tank. When the apostle Paul thought about our struggle against Satan, he realized that God has given us a shield like that. It is a shield of faith.
When Paul described our shield, he used the word for the Roman battle shield. The word is thureos, and it means a door-shaped shield (the Greek word for door is thura). The thureos was a large rectangular shield about five feet high and three feet wide. It was also called a castle shield. In other words, it was a portable fortress. I found it interesting to study how this shield was made. The thureos was very large; therefore, if it had been made of solid wood or metal, it would have been difficult to carry. To construct a thureos the Romans began with a wooden framework. Over that framework they fastened seven layers of tough leather from the skin of a bull or a calf, until the shield was four or five inches thick, and then nailed them securely in place. As the soldiers got ready to go into battle, they dipped the shield in a nearby river to saturate it with water so it would not only stop an arrow, but it would also quench the fire.
Our Shield Who Is Named Jesus
As I studied the Roman shield, God began to give me a revelation. Just think about how this shield was constructed. The skin of a bull or calf was stretched out over a wooden frame. In the Old Testament, the animal required for a sin offering was a bull or a calf. The skin of the bull or calf is a symbol of a sacrifice for sin. A single layer of leather was not sufficient for the Roman shield to be effective. The shield maker built up seven layers of animal skin to provide the necessary protection. Seven is the number of perfection. This provides a picture of a perfect sacrifice. The perfect sacrifice was stretched out and nailed to a wooden framework. Its purpose was to take upon itself all of the arrows intended for the soldier.
Look at what this shield represents. God has provided a perfect sacrifice for sin through His Son, Jesus. This perfect sacrifice was stretched out and nailed to a wooden cross. His purpose was to receive upon Himself all the afflictions Satan intended for us! God wants us to know that He has given us a shield and His name is Jesus! Jesus came to be our shield. He came to take upon Himself every arrow that Satan intended for us.
Chuck D. Pierce
Glory of Zion International Ministries
