40 Day Devotional

Friday, February 7, 2014

Dear Warring Saints:

Finally, I have received revelation for our 40-Day Prayer Focus. This will begin on Monday and will be called “The Fight of Faith: Opening the Portal of Provision, Revelation and Your Destiny for the Future.”

When I was teaching on the power of ascension at the Wednesday Kingdom Force Institute Worship Training, the Lord spoke to me from Genesis 22 and Genesis 28.

In Genesis 22, Abraham ascended in worship to Mount Moriah. Because of his obedience of worship and giving (his only son, Isaac), God opened a portal and came down in that place. He revealed Himself as Jehovah Jireh, the One who will cause you“to see your provision.” God then gave a new piece of revelation to Abraham. He showed him that his seed would possess the gates of the enemy.

Later, when Isaac was old, he had to release the blessing of the future. Instead of blessing the firstborn, Esau, the will of God was to bless Jacob, the younger. This resulted in jealousy arising from Esau, and him threatening to kill Jacob. When fleeing from Beersheba up to Haran, Jacob stopped on his journey and fell asleep. This was on Mount Moriah. The portal that had been opened with his grandfather, Abraham, was still open. Angels ascended and descended to bring him covenant revelation for the future. This initiated the evening sacrifice and prayer watch.

Beginning on Monday evening (February 10) and continuing for 40 days, we will be leaving the Prayer Tower open from 6 – 9 PM. We encourage those of you in the Metroplex to come and pray and worship. If God says something to you, we want you to feel free to release that revelation. At times the Prayer Tower will be filled with worship, and at other times it may just be a CD playing. For you on the web who are connected here, I suggest you tune into these times via live webcast and have your daily prayer focus at some point between 6-9 PM (CST). Those of you in other nations are welcome to join us during 6-9 PM our time or between 6-9 PM local time. Wherever you are, we want this portal at the Global Spheres Center to be opened to you, as well, so you can gain strategies to:

1. Break you out of the wilderness.
2. See you new door of hope.
3. See your provision.
4. Gain divine revelation.
5. Go over the wall that has blocked you in other seasons.
6. Find your honey in the land.
7. Access angelic hosts that are bringing you revelation and protection for the future.

These are key areas to focus on over these 40 days for breakthrough.

THE FOUR WATCHES
The transition of day to night begins before sunset and lasts till after sunset. The change of night to day begins before sunrise and continues until after sunrise. The watches extended from 6 PM to 6 AM (Mt. 14:25; Mark 13:35). Acts 12:4 speaks of four parties of four Roman soldiers (quaternions), each of whom had to keep guard during one watch of the night. May the Lord use this to make you a good soldier in His army.

The First Watch: The Evening Watch (6 PM – 9 PM)
During the Evening Watch, we regroup. Most of us have worked all day and would love to just to “chill out” during this time. We like eating with our family, perhaps reading a book or watching a TV program – any way we can escape from the day’s activity. However, this is a time that we need to “still” ourselves from the world. Psalm 46 is a wonderful passage that says, “Be still and know that I am God.” In other words, there must be a time before we attempt to sleep when we quiet our heart. The evening watch is the time for meditation and angelic visitation bringing restoration from a hard day.

Try to find at least 30 minutes where you can meditate before going to bed. Then out of your meditation, find 30 minutes of prayer time to release your anxieties to the Lord. Power nap and dream.

Genesis 24:63 says, “Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening. He lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming.” In his place of meditation, he saw his future. When he lifted his eyes, there was Eliezer bringing Rebekah back to be his bride. This actually created the extension of the covenant of Abraham in the earth. When we meditate, we get focused on God’s covenant plan. Joshua 1 says to “meditate day and night on the words of His mouth” and you will be assured of success. I like to call the evening watch my time of focus so I can start my day with a mentality of success. I have had many anxieties in my past. The Lord has used the evening watch to purge me of the anxieties that would keep me from advancing into His perfect plan. This is the watch that Jesus also pulled aside into, to find His place of quietness. Try to do this before you go to bed each day.

Jacob then saw the Lord restore the power of the evening by visiting him in his fleeing season from Esau. This protected the covenant destiny that God had for the bloodline!

Beginning on Monday evening at 6 PM, I would suggest you begin praying one of these focal points each day. We will send out additional prayer points in the next few weeks that will take us beyond the first 21 days and through the full 40 days. We will be sending these prayer points out in various emails, as well as posting them daily on FaceBook and Twitter.

Day 1: Read Matthew 14:15-23 “When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.’ . And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.” (NKJV) Pull away and find a place to seek the Lord. Ask the Lord to remove all distractions from you.

Day 2: Read Genesis 8, especially verse 11: “Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.” (NKJV) Ask the Lord to show you the changing of the season in your life.

Day 3: Read Genesis 24. This chapter is very important. The evening watch is when Rebekah meets Eliezer. The evening watch is also when Isaac and Rebekah meet.

Day 4: Read Genesis 22, 28! Jacob flees from Esau after receiving the blessing from Isaac. This was God’s desire and destiny for the bloodline. He stops on his fleeing path and visitation occurs. He finds himself at the same portal created by Abraham in Genesis 22. On Mt. Moriah, angels ascended and descended, bringing revelation for the future. Provisional revelation is released.

Day 5: Read Genesis 30, especially verse 16: “When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, ‘You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.’ And he lay with her that night.” (NKJV) Ask God for strategies of multiplication.

Day 6: Read Exodus 12, especially verse 6: “And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.” (KJV) Ask the Lord to give you your Passover strategies and help you break free from any bondage that has held you in the past.

Day 7: Read 1 Samuel 14, especially verse 24: “And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food.” (NKJV) It was customary to break fasts in the evening. Ask the Lord to refresh you from the wars of the day.

Day 8: Read 1 Samuel 17, especially verse 16: “And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning andevening.” (NKJV) Stop and get quiet. Declare every word the enemy has been using to convince you of failure will be overturned.

Day 9: Read 1 Samuel 30, especially verse 17: “Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.”(NKJV) Declare that you will recover all.

Day 10: Read 1 Kings 17, especially verse 6: “The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.” (NKJV) Ask God to bring you the supply that you need in the midst of any transition you are going through.

Day 11: Read 1 Kings 18. Ask the Lord to let you hear the prophetic words that He is speaking over you today. Meditate upon the words that He has spoken over you.

Day 12: Read Ezra 3 and Ezra 9, especially verse 5: “At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God.” (NKJV) Ask God to show you your small window and opportunity for reviving. When you awaken tomorrow morning, declare you will enter in.

Day 13: Read Esther 2, especially verse 14: “In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not go in to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by name.” (NKJV) When you meditate in the evening, ask God for His plan to prepare you for the future. Esther went through a time of preparation.

Day 14: Read Psalm 59, especially verse 6. Ask the Lord to silence all the enemies of your day.

Day 15: Read Daniel 8 – 9. Ask the Lord to visit you in the evening watch. This is a time that perhaps you will see angels.

Day 16: Read Zechariah 14, especially verse 7: “It shall be one day which is known to the LORD – neither day nor night. But atevening time it shall happen that it will be light.” (NKJV) As you seek the Lord ask Him to reorder His light around you.

Day 17: Read Matthew 16, especially verse 2: “He answered and said to them, ‘When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.”” (NKJV) Ask the Lord to give you a clear interpretation of the day ahead.

Day 18: Read Mark 14. Ask the Lord to anoint you to watch. Read Psalm 90. Be refreshed and expect miracles

Day 19: Read Luke 24. Take communion during this time and ask the Lord to bring you into a new place of seeing Him.

Day 20: Read John 20. Expect the Lord to reveal Himself to you in unusual ways.

Day 21: Read Acts 28. Ask the Lord for a new dimension of power and strength.

Blessings,
Chuck D. Pierce

The NEXT 14 Days! The Fight of Faith!

03-03-2014
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! We have placed this book on special for $5 since it is almost a must for everyone. 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.

Day 22: Release all guilt from the past. Jesus took our guilt. God caused the guilt of us all to fall on His Son (see Isa. 53:6). Jesus took our guilt so that we can have His righteousness.

Day 23: Command the spirit of infirmity to leave your bloodline. He took our infirmities. He bore our sicknesses and our weaknesses upon Himself so that we can be healed (see Isa. 53:4-5).

Day 24:Break ties with poverty! He took our poverty.“Though he was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich”(2 Cor. 8:9, NIV). Jesus took our poverty so that we can have His abundance.

Day 25: Declare every word curse attached to your blood and held there by familiar spirits to leave! He took our curse. He became a curse for us, so that the blessing of Abraham would come on the Gentiles by faith (see Gal. 3:13-14). Jesus took the curse so that we can have the blessing.

Day 26: Read Genesis 3. Notice that the enemy has a voice to bring deception into our life. Ask God to show you any deception or lie the enemy has brought into your life.

Day 27: Read John 8, especially verse 44. Notice the devil is the father of lies and can only work with any resource that we give him. Cut ties with anything in your soulish nature that is holding you captive.

Day 28: Read 1 John 2-3. Ask the Lord to fill you with His love so that you can break any sin strategy in your life and destroy the devil’s work.

Day 29: Read Luke 4. Notice how Jesus resisted the voice of the enemy. Ask the Lord to fill you with the Sprit in the midst of your wilderness so you can resist and receive new power.

Day 30: Read 1 Sam 30. Trust the Lord to connect you with those who can pursue and overtake your enemy. Break discouragement; develop a strategy of pursuit and recover all.

Day 31: Read Ezra 8. Stop and let the Lord show you the enemy that is on the road ahead of you.

Day 32: Read Nehemiah 2. Let God develop the plan to rebuild that which is broken down in your life.

Day 33: Read Matthew 12. Thank the Lord for the cross. Declare that the passion of the cross arise in you.

Day 34: Read Ezekiel 28. Let God reveal to you the supernatural qualities that the enemy possesses.

Day 35: Read Isaiah 14. Continue to allow revelation to come into you on Lucifer’s hidden characteristics.

Blessings,
Chuck D. Pierce

The Final 5 Days!
A Desperate Time to Awaken to the Reality of Change!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Dear Friend and Watchman:

Sunday’s Purim Celebration Service was just amazing. The worship, videos and revelation propelled us towards our door of opportunity. Like Esther, we have a choice as to how we respond to the Lord’s call to celebrate at this time. If you were not able to join us, I would encourage you to watch the webcast replay this week. Declare that the enemy’s decree will be confounded and you will rise up in victory!

We are completing our 40-Day Evening Watch this week. The following 5-Day Prayer Focus will assist you in understanding:

-the desperateness of the time that we are living in,
-the intensity of the time to produce change in our lives and the atmospheres that surround us,
-the economic shift that needs to occur in this season,
-and the disciplined, unwavering, single minded need for God’s children to stand in this hour.

This focus integrates Purim, Passover, and Jesus’ unwavering determination to release redemption in this hour. All three of these events were and are taking place during this time frame. We are in a key season like we have not known in the history of the generations that are presently in the earth. The nations are at a divine crisis point.

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5-Day Prayer Focus: A Desperate Time to Awaken to the Reality of Change! 

For the next several weeks this prayer focus is key for us. Even though it is a 5-Day Prayer Focus to complete our 40-Day Evening Watch, there is enough revelation here for you to use repeatedly. Use this over the 21 Days preceding Passover. At that time, I will send out another focus to help all of us participate in cleansing our homes of spiritual darkness.

Since we just finished Purim, let’s begin by understanding its significance. Overall, this 5-day focus is more devotional than most, including study suggestions to help you develop for such a time as this. This prayer focus is also more confrontational than usual because of this time frame. You may choose to read through each day’s focus in the morning and then go back and seek the Lord with the scriptures at noon and at night.

(Day 1) A Time to Embrace Change, but not to be Tossed to and Fro by the Wind! The clear message of Purim is that anyone who plots to destroy the Jewish (Kingdom) people will always fail. History is full of examples of this truth. Pharaoh plotted the destruction of the Jewish people in Egypt, but the Egyptian army was drowned in the Red Sea. This is celebrated during the Feast of Passover. Haman’s attempt to kill all Jews failed, which is celebrated at Purim. Antiochus Epiphanes tried to wipe out the Jewish people. His failure is celebrated every year during Hanukah. Hitler tried to blot out the Jewish race. Both he and his “Third Reich” were destroyed. Instead of annihilation, the state of Israel was born! We must understand that God’s covenant land will never be destroyed. By watching closely the world events that are centered around Israel, we can better understand God’s sovereign plan.

-Read Psalm 121
-Read Exodus 2-6
-Read Esther 1-4
-Memorize Ephesians 4:2-16 (Review your positions and connections in the Body)

(Day 2) A Time to Pass Over and Go Through into FREEDOM!
Purim falls approximately one month before the beginning of Passover. The Biblical Feast of Purim (Esther 9:18-28) is celebrated in the final month of the Hebrew calendar. I believe this is a significant timing so we “end” a season in victory and are “freed” to cross over into our future. Nisan, the first of months, begins at sunset on April 14. This leads us into our Passover season (Leviticus 23:4-8). Passover was the time of crossing out and over into FREEDOM! The dates of this Feast are very significant. Passover commemorates the final plague on Egypt when the firstborn of the Egyptians died and the Israelites were spared. Passover is linked with the power of the blood smeared on their door posts (Ex. 12:11, 21, 27, 43, 48). Passover was also called the feast of unleavened bread (Ex. 23:15; Deut. 16:16) because only unleavened bread was eaten during the seven days immediately following Passover (Ex. 12:15-20; 13:6-8; Deut. 16:3-8). Unleavened bread reflected the fact that the people had no time to put leaven in their bread before their hasty departure from Egypt. The observances of Passover are found in Joshua 5:10-12 (the plains of Jericho near Gilgal), 2 Chronicles 30:1, 3, 13, 15 (during the reign of Hezekiah), and 2 Kings 23:21-23 (Josiah’s unique Passover).

During New Testament times, large crowds gathered in Jerusalem to observe this annual celebration. Jesus was crucified during the Passover event. He and His disciples ate a Passover meal together on the eve of His death. During this meal Jesus said, “This is my body,” and “this cup is the new testament in my blood” (Luke 22:7, 19-20). The New Testament identifies Christ with the Passover sacrifice: “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us”. The word denotes the lamb that was slain at the feast (Mark 14:12-14; 1 Cor. 5:7). The use of wine (Luke 22:17, 20), of sauce with the bitter herbs (John 13:26), and the service of praise were introduced. Passover was a type of the great deliverance wrought by the Messiah for all His people from the doom of death on account of sin, and from the bondage of sin itself, far worse than Egyptian bondage (1 Cor. 5:7; John 1:29; 19:32-36; 1 Pet. 1:19; Gal. 4:4, 5).

Get ready to cross over! I would encourage you to read the chapter on “The Blood War” in God’s Unfolding Battle Plan.

(Day 3) A Time for Leadership to Awaken and Overcome at the Gate!
The day related to Purim was the date set by Haman by casting lots (pur) to murder all the Jews in the kingdom. Because of the alertness of Mordecai at the gates of the city, and the fasting and intercession of Queen Esther of Persia and the Jewish people, this day became a day of battle with great victory for the Jews, as their enemies were destroyed. In the time of Esther, we find that the enemy had entered the gates and was planning to overthrow the covenant blessings God had for this people. In the book of Esther, Mordecai had exposed the enemy’s plan and taken his authority at the gate. The Lord says in Matthew 16: 18, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” This is not a time for hell to prevail at your gate. Esther and Mordecai worked together for deliverance! Haman, who used astrology and the casting of lots, was overthrown by God’s ordered timing.

I am praying for you to have favor at the gates (or doors) and be raised up for a time such as this. Biblically, a GATE is a place for contending, watching, making sacrifices in worship, doing business transactions, administering justice, and giving public addresses. The GATE is the object of a foe’s attack and therefore must be strengthened (Judges 5:8; Psalm 147:18). Now review your call to leadership and contending in days ahead.

Read Isaiah 1. Also read John 1, which will show you how the Lord called Peter. Read Matthew 16 to see Peter’s revelation and then his emotional resistance to change.

God is raising up new Mordecais and Esthers, to influence the world in days ahead. These individuals will do radical exploits in His name. Esther is a book that demonstrates how God’s authority at the gates legislates and causes to manifest the covenant destiny of His people. The gate of a city was where all business transactions and legal matters occurred. The city gate was also the place where entrance into the city was permitted, or forbidden. A Biblical gatekeeper was one who guarded access to a place. Mordecai was a good gatekeeper. He knew the enemy had a plot and plan. The enemy will attempt to set a decree against you. Mordecai overheard the plan, linked with Haman, to annihilate God’s covenant people. Mordecai also knew he needed a connection to prevent the enemy’s plan from prevailing. Esther was his connection, who had been positioned by God for “such a time as this.” Many of you are being positioned to see the plan of the enemy. Others of you are being positioned to be the connecting point to overthrow the enemy. I am praying that any plot of the enemy to try and stop the covenant blessings of your inheritance from coming forth in your life would be revealed. Find your divine connections and overthrow the enemy’s plan!

Trusting in God is one of the ways that you overthrow a curse. With Passover beginning at sunset on April 14, we think of Moses! One of the keys to Moses’ life was that he was ordained as a prophet from birth. Even though his insecurity would tell him he could not speak, God had ordained him as a prophet. His mother and father’s faith would eventually result in delivering all of Israel. This would also give Moses authority to split the sea for the escape of God’s people. He also would receive the Law that would set the commandments and boundaries for mankind. There are new boundaries for you to obtain this month. Let the prophetic gift arise in you. Let a new level of deliverance begin. He waited 40 years to be found and put in service. Do not be discouraged. The Lord knows where you are.

A Time of Spiritual Discipline and Preparation!

In our day, we are still in a time of battle and victory, a time of voluntary fasting. The fast of Esther (Esther 4:14-17) is still relative for us today, to enter into a new place of authority and gain favor. Men and women must work together in this hour, to defeat the enemy’s plan. The key to Mordecai’s life was his watchful eye at the gate on behalf of the King and God’s covenant people. The key to Esther was her positioning and preparation. The word prepare means to make or get ready, to put together, to produce a frame for a future building, to gird oneself for action. This is a time to remember that in the midst of hostility, we can be prepared for “such a time as this.” Through preparation and discipline, the favor of God can rest upon us. Esther went in to the king, gained favor and grace in his sight, and was exalted into the royal position of queen. In Possessing Your Inheritance, Rebecca Wagner Sytsema and I devote a chapter to discussing the spiritual disciplines necessary for us to develop in our lives: meditation, prayer, fasting, giving, warfare, worship, work, and rest. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 in each discipline.

What does this say to us? If we allow the anointing of God to rest upon us and allow the beauty of holiness to surround and transform us, we can gain great favor. If we remove the leaven from our lives, we will be ready to depart into a new place as the Lord leads.

-Read Psalm 92
-Read 1 John 1 and 2

A Time to See Your Hidden Blessings Manifest! 
Esther is a non-Jewish name. Her original Jewish name was Hadassah, but her Jewish identity was a secret, and remained hidden. Esther became the bride of the king. The prophetic reference to the Church, as the bride of the King, but with Jewish roots, despite a Gentile appearance, is very interesting. Esther would not escape the fate of the Jews, just as the destiny of the Church is directly linked to the Jewish people (Israel). Hadassah (means Myrtle) is an evergreen tree with glossy leaves and white flowers. They were used for perfume and as seasoning for food. The myrtle tree had a religious significance for the Hebrews (Zechariah 1:8-11) and was a symbol of peace and joy. Ask the Lord to show you what is “hidden” that belongs to you. Ask Him to let you hear the blowing of the wind in the trees in a new way.

-Read Isaiah 52
-Read John 3
-Read Matthew 13.about uncovering the hidden treasure.

(Day 4) A Time of Confrontation and Overthrow of the Enemy’s Stranglehold! 
This is time to overthrow decrees that have been set against God’s covenant people that would stop us from corporately advancing. Those anti-Semitic decrees hate God’s sovereign plan for the Jews, as well as Christians that have been grafted into that plan. Nations that profess Christianity must rise up now. Esther prayed and fasted three days prior to setting the wheels in motion to overthrow the enemy’s plan. She had faith to go into the King’s court, because she was fully prepared at the end of these three days of fasting. Fasting helps prepare you for what you must face for your victory ahead. Esther was at the right place, at the right time, and did the right thing. Therefore, she had victory over the enemy. Your faith can overthrow any decree the enemy has established against you. The enemy prepares a noose to tighten around God’s promised plan for your life. Faith breaks the power of that noose. Declare your Haman’s noose will begin to break.

The Lord is releasing new revelation on strategies to overthrow the enemy’s plan. There were two things I was quickened over. There are times when we cannot “win” by pressing to overturn/reverse an unrighteous decree. Whereas this is usually the norm (and what we press for in the laws of our nation), Esther gives one example where a bad and evil law was irrevocable (according to the laws of the Medes and Persians). So the strategy the Lord gave to her (through the pagan king) was to make another law which would stand against the first law, and enable deliverance and life to come to the Jews. In this “Purim Month” the Lord may be releasing similar strategies whereby we can counteract and overcome evil edicts and laws in our society and nation.

Securing victory and overthrowing our enemies can often involve several stages of war. Whereas Esther and Mordecai successfully warred to secure a decree that would allow the Jews to protect themselves, this was only another step in their deliverance. It’s quite possible the Jews could have survived the day that their enemies hoped to overpower them, solely based on the new level of fear their enemies had for the Jewish people. However, if they had not gone on the offensive and destroyed their enemies, as their decree allowed them to, they would not have secured lasting protection. In that case, in due time, under new leadership (like the Hebrews in Egypt with a new pharaoh), the Jews could have been oppressed and targeted for destruction once again. We must not be content to settle for preserving victories and the issuing of righteous decrees. Rather, we must fully war to the end of our battles to see complete deliverance and victory enforced, and the opposite of the enemy’s plans occur.

This is a season to speak faith and ask for new revelation! Ask the Lord to anoint your speech and open your eyes to the revelation He is releasing at this time.

Face Your AMALEKITE and Break the Power of his Noose!

In Esther 3:1, the evil Haman is described as being a descendant of the Amalekite king, Agag (1 Sam. 15:8). Therefore, besides the Book of Esther, another passage from the Tanach (Hebrew Bible) is read at Purim, Exodus 17:8-16. This is the account of Joshua’s defeat of the Amalekites at Rephidim as Hur and Aaron held up the exhausted arms of Moses. When Moses’ hands, gripping the “Rod of God,” became heavy, the warriors in the field began to lose the battle. Verse 12 says that with Aaron and Hur’s support, Moses’ hands remained steady until the coming down of the sun. In the Hebrew, the word “steady” is “emuna” – “and his hands were faithful until the coming of the sun.” After the battle, Moses built an altar and named it, YHVH-Nissi: the LORD is my Banner. The word “banner” can also be translated “miracle.” STUDY THIS AND DECREE MIRACLES ARE BEGINNING TO COME INTO YOUR ATMOSPHERE. The spirit empowering Amalek is at the back of all anti-Semitism. Exodus 17:16 states that “The LORD has sworn, the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” Deuteronomy 25:19 commands that His people are to join in with Him in the battle until the memory of Amalek is blotted out – that Israel must not forget!

Deuteronomy 25:17-18 further describes the tactics of the Amalekites: “They met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary” (emphases ours). So Amalek does not only seek to take occasion from the tiredness and exhaustion of leaders, but he also lurks behind to pick off those inexperienced foot soldiers who are “faint and weary” and lagging behind. To remedy this, Israel developed a “rear guard” (see Numbers 10:25 and other places). The Hebrew for “rear guard” is “me’aseph”– its root is the same as that for the verb “to gather.” In ancient armies, old, experienced soldiers would be placed at the rear, not only to guard from enemies attacking from behind, but also to “gather” the loose ends, the stragglers – and to keep them pressing forward. The word “Amalekite” means “to toil or work under hard labor”. This is a time for you to break out of legalistic, hard labor. The Amalekites were a nomadic tribe of formidable people that first attacked the Israelites after the Exodus at Rephidim. Amalek, the grandson of Esau (Gen. 36:12), inhabited the desolate wasteland of the northeast Sinai Peninsula and the Negev. They were the first to attack Israel after the Exodus (Num. 24:20). This is where the Lord revealed Himself as Jehovah Nissi. He declared that we would war with Amalek from generation to generation. The antichrist spirit today is linked into this Amalekite spirit. Israel won the initial battle (Ex. 17:8-16) and because of their atrocities, God commanded Saul to exterminate the Amalekites (1 Sam. 15:2-3). Saul disobeyed, and the Amalekites were not defeated completely until late in the eighth century B.C. (1 Chron. 4:43). Haman the Agagite (Es. 3:1-10; 8:3-5) is thought by the Jews to be Amalek’s descendant, from whence sprung Haman’s hatred toward their race.

Prepare yourself and watch your Haman hung on his own gallows. Break all compromise. Watch your enemy overplay his hand and you will end up victorious! Cross over and watch your new doors open!

Memorize Isaiah 26:4, Isaiah 28:6

Declare over your nation that the Amalekite structure will be revealed and overthrown.

(Day 5) Pray the Prayer of Confrontation!
To confront someone or something means to face them in hostility or defiance, or to come with opposition. Unlike the prayer of travail, which brings forth new birth, the prayer of confrontation directly addresses a structure that has been set in place in opposition to God’s will. This type of prayer not only outwits the devil, but also humiliates him and his forces in the process. God allows us to enter into this type of encounter to show His power over the territorial spirit(s) to which a particular group of people has been in bondage. As the LORD displays that His power is greater than that of a given demonic structure, that structure begins to crumble and those who were held captive are then free to follow Christ.

A wonderful biblical model for this type of prayer was Moses’ confrontation with Pharaoh. As Moses declared God’s will to Pharaoh in the earthly realm, he was also confronting in the spiritual realm the gods of Egypt – false deities (territorial spirits) – linked with the oppression and captivity of God’s covenant people. Through the plagues and destruction unleashed upon the nation of Egypt as a result of Moses’ confrontation, God’s plan was fulfilled, the power of oppression was broken, and His people were released. In The Future War of the Church, Rebecca Wagner Sytsema and I examine how each demonstration of God’s power through Moses was actually a power encounter with a specific Egyptian god.

-The Rod Becomes a Serpent (Exod. 7:8-12): Confrontation with serpent gods
-The Nile Turns to Blood (Exod. 7:14-25): Confrontation with the Nile gods
-The Plague of Frogs (Exod. 8:1-15): Confrontation with the frog god
-The Plague of Lice (Exod. 8:16-19): Confrontation with the earth god
-The Plague of Flies (Exod. 8:20-24): Confrontation with the god of toiletry
-The Cattle Die (Exod. 9:1-7): Confrontation with the Egyptian cow goddess
-The Plague of Boils (Exod. 9:8-12): Confrontation with the god of learning and medicine
-The Plague of Hail and Fire (Exod. 9:12-35): Confrontation with the original sky god
-The Plague of Locusts (Exod. 10:12-15): Confrontation with the god of the air, atmosphere & dry winds
-The Plague of Darkness (Exod. 10:21-23): Confrontation with the sun god
-The Slaying of the First Born (Exod. 12:29-33)

The tenth and most devastating plague was directed against a family of three deities. The first was Isis, the most important of all Egyptian goddesses, who assumed all the attributes and functions of virtually every other important goddess at some point in Egyptian history. Her primary functions were motherhood, marital devotion, healing the sick and the working of magic spells and charms. The second deity was Osiris, the god of the dead and the ruler, protector and judge of the deceased. The third deity was the son of Isis and Osiris, Horus the Child, a suckling child represented as a young boy sucking his finger. This final plague so overwhelmed the Pharaoh and so thoroughly defeated the gods of Egypt that the Israelites were finally set free. (Excerpted from The Future War of the Church)

God’s power has not diminished in the years since Moses! Power encounters through the prayer of confrontation that see people groups released from demonic structures are going to become more and more common, as we enter the future war of the Church. We need to enter into an expectant mind-set that believes God will display His power greatly over the earth, and over demonic structures, in order to see great throngs loosed from Satan’s grip. And from that mind-set we must pray with unwavering faith prayers of confrontation according to His will.

This is a season to move into POWER CONFRONTATIONS! Allow Holy Spirit to direct your prayers in a new way.

In the above focus, specific sections and chapters from God’s Unfolding Battle Plan, Possessing Your Inheritance and The Future War of the Church were discussed.

…this devotional can also be followed on Chuck’s Facebook Page

http://glory-of-zion.org/

Charles D. “Chuck” Pierce serves as President of Global Spheres, Inc. (GSI) in Corinth, Texas.  This is an apostolic, prophetic ministry that is being used to gather and mobilize the worshipping Triumphant Reserve throughout the world.  GSI facilitates other ministries as well, and participates in regional and national gatherings to develop new Kingdom paradigms.  Peter and Doris Wagner complete the leadership team of this new wineskin.  Chuck also serves as President of Glory of Zion International Ministries, a ministry that aligns Jew and Gentile.  He is known for his accurate prophetic gifting which helps direct nations, cities, churches and individuals in understanding the times and seasons in which we live.

Chuck has a degree in Business from Texas A&M, Master’s work in Cognitive Systems from the University of North Texas, and a D. Min. from the Wagner Leadership Institute.

Chuck, his wife Pam and six children and nine grandchildren.