Every week has its visiting purposes. The Bible helps us to understand the different purposes seeking access through each gate of time. When God speaks light, it is for war against darkness coming in the season. When God speaks abundance, it is because of scarcity. When He speaks life, it is because of death; and when He speaks fruitfulness, it is because of barrenness. Our concern as Kingdom watchmen and gatekeepers is to cooperate with Heaven and keep the gate of this week open to God’s purposes.and to resist or refuse access to satanic purposes by prayer, decrees and decisions.
THE 43RD WEEK OF THE YEAR
This is the first week in the seventh seven weeks (43-49) of the year.
SIX THINGS ABOUT THE 43RD SEASON
The 43rd book and chapters of the Bible indicate 6 things concerning the 43rd season:
1. It is a season of materialization when the intangible becomes tangible and the invisible becomes visible. In the 43rd book of the Bible God became man (the Word became flesh) and lived among men. Jesus became the Tabernacle of God in the midst of men. Through him, people could see and touch God. He said anyone who sees Him has seen the Father.
PRAYER: Pray for the materialization of the word of God in the nation and nations. Let what God is saying and doing (or not doing) become visible to all this week.
2. It is a season of seeing and believing. It is also a season of believing and seeing. In Genesis 43, Joseph did not want stories about Benjamin. He wanted to see him. This week, those who believe will see and those who see will believe. In the 43rd book, Jesus said, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe”. When Thomas heard that Jesus had risen from the dead, he said, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” Jesus permitted him to test and be convinced. In the NT, the word ‘see’ ‘seeing’, ‘seen’, or ‘sees’, appears in about 370 verses but in the book of John alone, it appears in about 71 verses. That is about 19.2%. The 43rd book of the Bible also says a lot about believing. This book is about believing. The word ‘believe’ is used in 226 verses of the New Testament (NKJV). 84 of those verses is in the book of John. That is about 37.2%. The heroes of the 43rd season are ‘the believers’ who lead others to see and believe. This week, you will see as you believe; and you will believe as you see.The 43rd season is a season of signs and wonders. There are 14 signs and proofs in the 43rd book of the Bible. The 43rd season is a season of both believing and seeing and seeing and believing. It is a season to shut the mouths of doubters. It is a season to go from doubting to believing. In Isaiah 43, God said, “I will do a new thing”.
PRAYER: Pray that this will be a week of signs and wonders in the nations – to inspire faith and silence doubters and critics. Pray that the Lord will give you proofs to back up words.
3. The 43rd week is a family-season. The first miracle in the 43rd book of the Bible happened at a wedding ceremony; and the healing miracles touched families (the Nobleman’s son, the helpless man at the Pool of Bethesda, Lazarus and his sisters, the blind man and his parents). In the 43rd book, Jesus was also preoccupied with the Father and His status as the Son. The Son could not do a thing without the Father and the Father also handed over all things to the Son. This is a week to work together as family. You see the same thing in in the first 43rd chapter of the Bible. In Genesis 43 Jacob gave his sons the backing they needed to go to Egypt and buy food. He sent the son of his right hand, Benjamin, to go with them. Without Benjamin, they would not have found favor in Egypt. In that chapter, also, Jacob’s 12 sons sat and ate together in the house of their brother. They had not experienced such togetherness in many years. Genesis 43 is about ‘father’, ‘mother’, ‘brother’, ‘house’, and ‘home’. It’s about family. The evil one attacks and harasses families in this season. Any thing that causes death in this season (war, crime, fire disaster, earthquake, flood, terrorism, plane crash, etc) is an attack on family. Stand against it.
PRAYER: Pray that this is a week of joy (not sorrow and tears) for families. Pray, this week, that God will visit and touch families in a unique way. Speak blessings over families.
4. The 43rd season is about making claims and proving your claims. The 43rd week is a week of verification, validation and vindication; not a week of just words and stories. It is a week of action-proofs. It is a week of truth and witnesses. The 43rd book of the Bible, John, has no record of the voice speaking from heaven that He is the son of God. In 43rd book of the Bible, Jesus performed miraculous signs to prove He is the Son of God so that men would believe Him. He said, “If I do not do the works…don’t believe”. Jesus proved His Son-ship by the works He did. The book is about telling who you are by what you do. In the book of John, The Jews asked John, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” (John 1:25). They wanted to know Him by what he did – to match His work with His identity. This is a week to declare your identity (who you are) by your works. George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States. He proved himself the son of his father. He did and finished the work his father started. George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States, declared war against Iraq to save the oil-rich Kuwait from annexation. His son, Bush 43, also fought Iraq in a vengeful battle against terrorism. He captured and imprisoned the President, Saddam Hussein in 2003. The foe died in 2006 in the season of Bush 43 the son of Bush 41. In the 43rd book of the Bible, Jesus told the Father, “I have finished the work you gave me to do”. This is a week of confirming words – God’s word, your words, and the words of others.
PRAYER: Pray Psalm 43 this week: “Vindicate me, O God, And plead my cause against an ungodly nation; Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!” Pray the same for brethren who need vindication – especially those who are being persecuted. Pray that the Wisdom, power and love of your Father will be seen in your life.
5. It is a season of bold declarations and assertions. Be bold to declare your identity in God. Know who you are and declare it. Jesus made audacious “I am” declarations in the 43rd book of the Bible:I am the Bread of LifeI. am the Light of the world. I am He. I am the Door. I am the Good Shepherd. I am the Resurrection and the Life. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I am the True Vine.
John the Baptist and Jesus did not speak of their identity in the flesh in the 43rd book of the Bible. This week, stand strong on your (spiritual) identity in Christ. The 43rd season does not respect or respond to fleshly credentials. In Genesis 43, Joseph related officially with his brothers – not as the Joseph the knew. This is the week of those who know who they are.
PRAYER: Pray that the inner eyes of God’s people are opened to understand, and live by, their spiritual identity. Pray for grace to be loud and strong concerning your true identity in Christ.
6. This is a season of life, light and love from heaven. The 43rd book of the Bible is about the life, light and love of God. That immediately reveals what the evil one thinks in the 43rd season – the opposite of life, light and love. This is a week of conflicts between life and death, light and darkness, love and hate. Terrorists unleashed wickedness against the United States in the season of her 43rd President. Beginning of this week in 2005, 117 people perished in Nigeria in the October 22 Bellview Plane Crash. In 1943 (the 43rd year of the 20th century), lives were lost both through WW2 and the Holocaust.
PRAYER: This week, pray that life, light and love will tri inumph and prevail over death, darkness and hate. Pray that life will swallow death, that light will shine in darkness and that love will overcome hate.
THE 4TH WEEK OF NIGERIA’S YEAR
The fourth season is a season of “equipment and empowerment for the journey”. God made the sun on the fourth day of creation to power the earth. God trained Israel for the Promised Land in the fourth book of the Bible. God equipped Moses for the Egypt task in the fourth chapter of Exodus. Esther and the Jews fasted to defeat Haman in fourth chapter of Esther. Jesus was equipped for public ministry in the fourth chapter of Matthew and Luke. He left the wilderness in power of the Holy Spirit. In the fourth chapter of Acts, the prayer of the apostles shook the building and they were filled with the Spirit. Jesus invited John to “come up hither” for revelations in the fourth chapter of Revelation.
Satan takes particular interest in the fourth season because of the strategic nature of the season. Most of the men who left Egypt in the second book of the Bible perished in the fourth book of the Bible. Israel split into two kingdoms in the season of the fourth king, Rehoboam. Murder began in the the fourth chapter of Genesis with Cain killing Abel. God created luminaries on the fourth day to hold darkness in check. God wanted to kill Moses in Exodus 4. The adversaries of Judah appeared in the fourth chapters of Ezra and Nehemiah. There were three attacks of the spirit of death in the fourth chapter of Second kings. The temptations of Jesus are recorded in the fourth chapters of Matthew and Luke. A storm rose against Jesus and His disciples in Mark 4. The early church began to suffer persecution in Acts 4. Nigeria experienced four plane crashes in this week in different years (October 26, 2000 – Delta State, October 22, 2005 – Belview, October 29, 2006 – ADC, October 25, 2012 – involving Governor of Taraba State). Buhari is the fourth President in the Nigeria’s fourth republic. This is a strategic fourth season in the history of Nigeria.
PRAYER POINTS FOR THE FOURTH WEEK
1. Pray this week that the Lord will equip His people in Nigeria with everything we need for the journey ahead in the year – wisdom, revelation, people, power of the Holy Spirit.
2. Pray that the Lord will save Nigeria and Nigerians from any and every agenda of Satan in this week. Pray that darkness will not overtake Nigeria this week.
3. Pray that prayer-fire will increase on the altar this week.
BLESS ISRAEL!!!
God promises to bless those who bless Israel. October 23-29 is the fifth week in Israel’s new year. Bless the fifth week of Israel from Genesis 1: 20-23 (the fifth day of creation). Many new things happened on the fifth day of creation.
1. FLESH AND BLOOD (living creatures) began on the fifth day of creation. Speak life, healing and wholeness over Israel this week. Fifth chapters of the Bible are healing chapters (Second Kings 5; Mark 5; John 5; Acts 5). Israel shall live and not die! The works of the flesh will not gain ascendancy in Israel as in Second Kings 5, Daniel 5, Galatians 5 and First Corinthians 5.
2. BLESSINGS began on the fifth day of creation. God did not bless creation until the fifth day. The fifth book of the Bible (Deuteronomy) is full of blessings. The fifth chapter of Matthew opens with blessings. Speak blessings of abundance, fruitfulness and multiplication over Israel this week.
3. SENSORY PERCEPTION began on the fifth day of creation. Elisha could not be deceived in Second Kings 5. Peter could not be deceived by Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. Bless Israel with spiritual sensitivity this week.
4. VOICE SOUNDS began on the fifth day of creation. Psalm 5:1-3 says, “Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation. [2] Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. [3] My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up”. The Voice of Israel shall not be silenced this week.
5. MOVEMENT began on the fifth day of creation. That was when God began to make moving creatures (birds and sea creatures). In Exodus 5, God said to Pharaoh, “Let my people go”. In Mark 5, Jesus freed a man from demonic bondage. In Acts 5, an Angel released the apostles from prison. In the same chapter, Peters shadow healed the sick. This week, the enemy will not stop movement in Israel and will not stop the progressive movement of Israel. This is a week of freedom for Israel. Bless Israel with freedom from fixed religious mindsets and religious yokes (Galatians 5:1).Shalom to Israel!
SCRIPTURES FOR THE WEEK
Isaiah 43:1-2 – “But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you”
.Luke 4:18-19 – “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; [19] To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
Have a triumphant 4th week in Nigeria’s year and a joy-filled 43rd week of the year!
