Welcome to the 43rd week of the year! The 43rd week is the beginning of the seventh seven weeks of the year. The Bible patterns for understanding the 43rd week are the first day of creation narrative, the 43rd book of the Bible, the 43rd chapters of the Bible, and the first three chapters of the 7th book of the Bible, Judges.
Week 43 is a first-day-of-creation week. On the first day of creation, God manifested as Light to dominate darkness. Week 43 is therefore a week of the dominion of light. Darkness seeks to rule the season through falsehood, deception, mental darkness and confusion; but light prevails. This is a season to rule by revealed knowledge and truth. It is a season to dominate through elevated understanding. In the book of John, the 43rd book of the Bible, Jesus is the Light of the world. God also gave name to light and darkness. He called light day; and called darkness night. This is a day of identity-declaration.
Week 43 is a book-of-John week. The gospel per John is the 43rd book of the Bible. I want to draw your attention to four things in the 43rd book about the 43rd season.
1. The book of John is about the materialization of the spiritual. In this book, God became man (the Word became flesh) and lived among men. Jesus became the Tabernacle of God in the midst of men. This is a week of materialization and I pray you get your share of it.
2. The book of John is about seeing and believing. In this 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.” 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’. This week, you will see as you believe; and you will believe as you see.
3. This week, the Lord will help your family in a special way! The 43rd week is a family-week. The first miracle in the 43rd book of the Bible happened at a wedding ceremony; and the healing miracles touché 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 find 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. Make this week about family!
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 words and stories. It is a week of action. This is a season to show who you are by your works. The 43rd book of the Bible, John, has no record of the story of the birth of Jesus or 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 can believe Him. He said, “If I do not do the works…don’t believe me”. 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 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”.
5. The 43rd season is for declaring and standing strong on your spiritual identity. It is the season of those who know who they are. Jesus made several identity claims in the 43rd book of the Bible: I am the Bread of life; I am the Light of the world; I am He; I am the Good Shepherd; I am the Door; I am the Resurrection and the Life; I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; I am the True Vine. The 43rd book of the Bible does not focus on the natural descent or identity of Jesus or John the Baptist. This is a season to focus on your root in God and on your spiritual identity. Isaiah 43:1 says, “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”.
6. 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. It is a season of conflict between life and death, light and darkness, love and hate. Terrorists unleashed wickedness against the United States in the season of her 43rd President. This week, life, light and love will trumph over death, darkness and hate.
This week you will see materialization, validation, and family. This week, you will see and believe; and if you believe, you will see.
THE 43RD BOOK AND SIGNS
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., to.
John 1:32-34
And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
John 1:45-51
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
John 2:11
This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
John 2:18-19
So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
John 3:1-2
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
John 4:11-19
The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
John 4:46-48
So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”
John 6:2,14
Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
John 7:31
And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”
John 9:16-17
Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
John 10:37-42
If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” And many believed in Him there.
John 11:45-48
Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”
John 12:18,37
For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,
John 20:24-30
Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “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.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;
Week 43 is a 43rd chapters of the Bible week. In Genesis 43, Joseph’s brothers took their kid brother, Benjamin, to Egypt to confirm to Joseph that they were not spies but sons of one man. Joseph had kept Simeon in custody waiting for them to bring Benjamin. Simeon was released. They all ate together in Joseph’s house. His dream of being reunited with his brothers became reality – even as they bowed and prostrated before Him. The 43rd season is a family season. Notice the number of times the words ‘father’, ‘mother’, ‘brother’, ‘house’, ‘home’ is used in the chapter.
Psalm 43 opens with “Vindicate me, O God, And plead my cause against an ungodly nation; Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man! [2] For You are the God of my strength; Why do You cast me off? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” The be vindicated is to proven right.
In Isaiah 43, God proves He is Supreme and Superior. Isaiah 43:8-13 says, “Bring out the blind people who have eyes, And the deaf who have ears. [9] Let all the nations be gathered together, And let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, And show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; Or let them hear and say, “It is truth.” [10] “You are My witnesses,” says the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. [11] I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior. [12] I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses,” Says the LORD, “that I am God. [13] Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?” Concerning His people, He said in Isaiah 43:2, “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”.
Witnesses confirm and validate claims. God said, “You are my witnesses that I am God”.
In Jeremiah 43, those who heard the word from Jeremiah did not believe he heard God. Jeremiah 43:1-3 says, “Now it happened, when Jeremiah had stopped speaking to all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, all these words, [2] that Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, “You speak falsely! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to dwell there.’ [3] But Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon.” Unbelief is a great sin in the 43rd season. Losers n the 43rd season are ‘the unbelievers’
Ezekiel 43 is the Prophet’s vision of the temple, the dwelling place of God. The 43rd season is the season of the temple. It is the season of the manifestation of the temple of God. In the 43rd book of the Bible, Jesus is the temple of God. In the 43rd season, men look for God among men. That is why God became man and lived among men in the 43rd book of the Bible.
Week 43 is a Judges 1-3 week. The first three chapters of the seventh book of the Bible is applicable to the first week of the seventh seven weeks of the year. In this section of the book, Israel fell back into disobedience, served idols, and began to be oppressed by her Canaanite neighbors and surrounding nations. The enemies they had subdued regained strength to fight them. Darkness was going to overtake the nation but began to raise Judges (saviors) for them. The first three Judges were Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar.
The 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush (son of George H. W. Bush) was in a light-against-darkness battle with terrorism and terrorists. On September 11, 2001, terrorists gave the United States a massive attack in the bombing of the WTC twin towers. Bush ’43 fought Afghanistan and Iraq in vengeful rage against terrorism. The US captured Saddam Hussein in December 2003. Hurricanes Katerina hit the US in 2005.
THIS WEEK
1. If you want to see the glory of God, believe! This is a week of convincing proofs.
2. Manifest the One in you before situations and circumstances that dare you
3. Give God room. Direct your attention to the temple and dwelling place of God.
PRAYERS
1. COFIRM YOUR WORD TO ME. LET YOUR WORD BECOME FLESH IN MY LIFE.
2. GIVE A SIGN TO PEOPLE AROUND ME CONCERNING ME
3. LET MY LIFE PRODUCE SIGNS THIS WEEK
