Week 23 is a Psalm 23 week. It is the week of the Great Shepherd Who leads, guides, feeds, protects, and fights for His sheep, and delivers them. Week 23 is also a book of Isaiah week. Isaiah is the 23rd book of the Bible and the beginning of the prophetic books. In this 23rd book of the Bible, God is the Shepherd of Israel. Isaiah 40:10-11 says, “Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young”.
IMPLICATIONS
Here are seven implications of being in a 23rd season (The Great Shepherds Season).
- 1. Because the 23rd season is the Shepherd’s season, the Shepherd fights for His sheep to deliver them. God fought for Israel in Numbers 23. He made it impossible for Balaam to curse Israel. God fought for Hezekiah and Judah (against Sennacherib and Assyria) in the 23rd book of the Bible. The Lord Jesus fought for Paul and delivered him the conspiracies against him in the 23rd chapter of Acts. In the 23rd week of 1967 (June 5-10), God fought for Israel in the Six-Day War against Jordan, Syria, and Egypt; and gave her victory.
PRAYER: Pray that the Lord will fight for His people against those who contend with them. Pray that the Great Shepherd of Israel will rise to help His people again, this week, as He did in the past.
- 2. Because the 23rd season is the Shepherds season, God expects leaders to express the Shepherd’s heart in this season. He seeks shepherds after His heart for His people and rebukes leaders who do not express the heart of the Shepherd in this season. He spoke of Cyrus as a shepherd to Israel in the 23rd book of the Bible (Isaiah 44:28). God rebuked the shepherds of Israel in Jeremiah 23. Jesus denounced the Pharisees in Matthew 23.
PRAYER: Pray and prophesy against leaders (in nations and institutions) who exploit people and serve themselves instead of serving the people.
- 3. Because the 23rd season is the Shepherd’s season, it is a season of disaster for those who compete with, or rise against, the Great Shepherd of Israel. The 23rd book of the Bible records the fall of Lucifer, Babylon, and Sennacherib. Ayatollah Khomeni of Iran fell in the 23rd week of 1989. He died on the last day of the 22nd week (June 3) and his two-day funeral was June 5-6. General Sani Abacha of Nigeria died suddenly on June 8, 1998.
PRAYER: Pray and prophesy against ‘powerful people’ who have risen against God and the cause of His kingdom in the nations. Pray this week for the fall of the wicked and ungodly.
- 4. Because the 23rd season is the Shepherd’s season, it is a ‘dangerous’ season for those who will not want to submit to the leadership of the Great Shepherd. A sheep that strays from the Shepherd is at risk. In First Samuel 23, David escaped falling into the hands of Saul through divine guidance. In Second Samuel 23, David celebrated the Great Shepherd who had blessed him with mighty men. In Second Kings 23, Josiah and Judah returned to the great Shepherd and prospered. Ezekiel 23 is about rebellious Israel and Judah (Oholah and Oholibah) that rejected God’s leadership.
PRAYER: Pray that this is a week of returning to God and aligning with Him in the nations. Pray that the hearts of people are awakened to the word of God in the nations.
- 5. Because the 23rd season is the Shepherd’s season, it is a season to strike shepherds and leaders so the sheep will scatter. Sarah died in Genesis 23. The 29th President of the United States died in 23rd year of the 20th century. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in the 23rd week of 1968. He was shot on June 5 and pronounced dead on June 6. Kudirat Abiola was murdered on June 4, 1996.
PRAYER: Pray that the Lord will protect His own who may walk through the valley of the shadows of death in this 23rd week.
- 6. Because the 23rd season is the Shepherd’s season, it is a season to be taught, guided, and helped by the Spirit. The Great Shepherd leads His people by His Spirit.
In 2 Samuel 23:2, the Psalmist said, “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue”.
Isaiah 11:1-2 says, “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. [2] The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD”.
Isaiah 61:1-3 says, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; [2] To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, [3] To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
The 23rd week is the week of Pentecost.
PRAYER: Pray that this 23rd week will be a season of awakening, by the Spirit, in the church and the nations. Pray that the Pentecost will be experiential reality among God’s people in this week.
7. Because the 23rd season is the Shepherd’s season, the 23rd week is a week of All-In-One. It is a week of multi-faceted blessings. Psalm 23 reveals that God is All-In-One to those who trust in Him. That is the reason Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want”. The 23rd book of the Bible illustrates that the 23rd season is a season of ‘all-in-one’. The Bible has 66 books and the book of Isaiah has 66 chapters. The 66 books of the Bible is condensed in the 66 chapters of Isaiah. So, the 23rd book of the Bible is the one book of the Bible that has all the books of the Bible in it. This week, The Great Shepherd of the Church is all you need. He is sufficient for every need. There is nothing to fear. There is nothing to worry about.
PRAYER: Pray that this would be week of awakening to the sufficiency of God. Pray that the needy in all nations will open their hearts to the All-Sufficient God. Pray that the eyes of those who have opportunity to hear or receive the gospel this week will be opened to the All-Sufficient God. Pray that those who carry the gospel in all nations will reveal, through signs and wonders, the All-Sufficient power of God.
PRAYERS FOR YOU IN THIS 23RD WEEK
- 1. In Genesis 23, as Abraham took advantage of Sarah’s death to purchase a burial ground and secured the future in the Promised Land, may the Lord guide you to make decisions that would secure the future this week.
- 2. As God blocked and thwarted the efforts of Balak and Balaam to place a curse on Israel in Numbers 23, so, may the Lord frustrate those who seek your harm and downfall this week.
- 3. As God delivered David from the hand of Saul in First Samuel 23, and He delivered Paul from the evil conspiracy of Pharisees and Sadducees in Acts 23, may God deliver you from the hands of your enemies. This week, by His grace and wisdom, the Lord will frustrate and destroy the plots of the wicked against you.
- 4. As King David prospered by the Word of the Lord and faithful relationships in Second Samuel 23, this week, you will prosper by the word of the Lord and be helped by faithful mighty men – supportive mighty men and women.
- 5. As Josiah, driven by the Word of the Lord, carried out sweeping reforms in Judah in Second Kings 23, and as Jehoiada led a revolution that enthroned young Joash and dethroned Athaliah in Second Chronicles 23, so may the wind of the Lord overthrow and scatter evil seeds in the nations of the earth this week. May ‘Athaliah’ go down this week.
- 6. As Jeremiah 23 spoke against false prophets, and as Jesus denounced the Scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23 and exposed their superficiality, so, may the Lord lift the rod of His Voice against fakes, exploiters, and manipulators, this week. May the hypocrisies of men be exposed in the nations this week.
- 7. As the 23rd book of the Bible spoke of the fall of Lucifer and Sennacherib, may this week see the fall of proud and evil men who blaspheme the name and ways of God.
- WORD FOR THE WEEK Numbers 23:19: “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
Have a Happy and a greatly blessed 23rd week of the year.
