I recognize this is a longer word, but I encourage you to really take the time to read this through. I feel this word of the Lord so strongly for the Body of Christ.
Matthew 4:1-11 has been burning on my heart recently—the story of Jesus tempted by the enemy. As I have been sitting with the Lord and meditating upon this passage, He has been speaking to me about 2019.
2019 is going to be a year of significant opportunity. It is going to be a year of increase in heavenly vision and perspective. 2019 is the year of “ASK” (Jeremiah 33:3) and the year to move in divine wisdom and heavenly strategy like never before. 2019 will be a year where we will see the demonstration of the Lord’s “outstretched arm” to deliver and save in power, like never before. This is a time of great harvest. This is a time of great outpouring. This is a season of rain. The move of God that we are all anticipating and feel the Lord continually speaking about is upon us. I say often that we are about to see God move like we have never seen Him move before. The Lord really is doing a new thing (Isaiah 43:19).
His Presence vs. Our Production
“In this new era, allow Me to build through you and do not attempt to manipulate the anointing.”
As I have continued to sit with the Lord to hear His heart, I have felt His invitation of drawing me deeper in the secret place to know Him and know the rhythm of His heart. In this quiet place with the Lord, He has been speaking to me about “being PRESENT in His presence over PRODUCTION.” In the acceleration of 2019 there will be a temptation to “PRODUCE” and that is a scary place to be if we find ourselves trying to produce things that God is not asking us to build. God wants us to dream big in 2019 and co-labor with Him in spectacular ways that we have not seen before, but I also feel a weighty sense of the fear of the Lord this year. It is imperative that we are building where He is building and what He is calling us to put our hands to.
The Word Will Be Your Key to Overcome Testing and Temptation in 2019
So as I sat with the Lord regarding Matthew 4:1-11, He said to me that there are going to be times of significant testing in 2019 for the Body of Christ, but the testing is to bring stretching and strength for the advancement upon us. There are going to be times in 2019 where there will be intense testing that will come upon many in the Body of Christ. They will be times where the enemy will come and bring “temptation” to bring COMPROMISE.
As I sat with the Lord on this, I heard Him say: “I am decreeing over 2019 that it is a year to CONQUER and to ADVANCE. It is a year to take new ground and to move ‘off the beaten track.’ These times of testing will come to come against the words that I have spoken to you, My people. These ‘temptations’ will come to attempt to cause you to compromise on things I have spoken to you, to put your hands to, to move into; the messages I have called you to carry; to build where I am not building and to cause you to not move forward in obedience. For there will be many times in 2019 where it will require radical obedience and moving ‘against the grain’ in many ways, but where I guide, I will provide.
“Do not fear the testings that will come in this year for I have already given you the key to overcome. My Word and the decreeing of My Word will cause you to overcome. The ferocious focus of faith upon what I have spoken to you will cause you to move forward in the victory that is already yours in Me. For the enemy will come in 2019 with new strategies and new ways to ‘lure,’ to ‘tempt’ and to ‘test.’ But, My people, you will overcome and conquer as you stay close to My heart and decree My Word.
“For these testing times and times of temptation are bringing a stretching and a fortification within you, My people, to carry My power in ways you have never experienced before. Do not despise the battles. Do not despise the time of testing, for I am giving you the keys to overcome. I am leading you into greater victory. There will be MAJOR demonstrations of My victory in and through your life in 2019 as you stay close to Me and hold onto My Word.”
Out of these times of “testing” and “temptation” the hearts of God’s people will burn for Jesus like never before as they hear His voice and the power of His Word (Luke 24:32).
The Importance of Divine Timing
The Lord also showed me that being sensitive to “divine timing” is so important in 2019. It’s important to be asking the Lord for His timing and to move forward in the rhythm of His heart.
In Matthew 4:1-11 the enemy was attempting to cause Jesus to step out into signs, wonders etc., before the divine time. The footnotes for Matthew 4:6 in the Passion Translation say: “This was a temptation to capitalize on being the Son of God and to force God to protect Him as He jumped. Jesus was being tested over restraining His power as the Anointed One and waiting until the timing of His Father in publicly releasing Him to work miracles and display His power. He was not sent to throw Himself down from the temple, but to throw down the temple and establish a new order of worship—as a true relationship with God is internal with every Believer now becoming the temple of God.”
The enemy will attempt to cause you to compromise in the VERY AREAS where God is moving you into increase and advancing you in—in the very areas where God is going to do a mighty work!
It is so important that we are listening to the divine timing of the Lord and moving forward in the timing of the Father as there will be a great temptation to run faster, out of the timing of God, and fall into “PRODUCTION.” If we, as God’s people, are not listening for His timing it will cause a “FAST FORWARD,” where we will miss what God is wanting us to flow in and move with Him in.
Major Demonstrations of the Power of His Word
As I watched these times of testing and trial come upon the Body of Christ, the Lord showed me that as God’s people hold strongly to the Word of God and live in the reality of Matthew 4:4—the words that flow from His mouth—there will be MAJOR demonstrations of the power of the Word of God and His power to overcome and conquer through us.
“‘Is not My Word like fire,’ declares the Lord, ‘and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?'” (Jeremiah 23:29)
There are going to be major demonstrations in these testing and tempting moments where the Word of God is going to come down like fire and like a hammer that smashes the temptation of the enemy. You will overcome by the ferocious focus of faith and the decree of the Word of God. These moments of wrestling in the testing and temptation will strengthen you as you stay close to His heart and decree His Word. There is a great and deep maturing that will take place within you in these times for you to carry the increase God is releasing. You will move out of these moments of “testing” and “temptation” empowered by the Spirit in ways you have never seen.
Upgrade Your Vision and Perspective
“Out of these times of “testing” and “temptation” the hearts of God’s people will burn for Jesus like never before as they hear His voice and the power of His Word…”
These times of “testing” and “temptation” will upgrade your vision and perspective as you hold onto Him and His Word. The reality and conviction of Matthew 4:4 will burn in you like never before. The enemy will come to attempt to have you compromise on the vision, compromise on the Word of the Lord over your life to the Word of God through your life, but as you stand strong in resolve in what God has said, moving only where He leads, there will be a major upgrade of your vision. You will see clearer than you have ever seen. You will see with a heavenly perspective and you will see the strategies of the enemy clearer than ever.
The wrestle with the enemy in these moments of “testing” and “temptation” will increase your discernment and give you eyes of fire — seeing as He sees with greater clarity. They will actually set you up, in greater ways, for taking new ground and advancement. They will set you up to enter even greater and deeper realms of Jeremiah 33:3 as you SEE the power of the Word of God and His revelation contained within it. It’s in the place of having to hold fast, tightly, to the Word of God in the wrestle that you receive greater revelation and impartation. The enemy will come in these moments of “testing” to SIFT you but as you hold onto the Word, the enemy’s temptations will not take root, and you will see the decree of Heaven: “I AM SHIFTING YOU!”
Glory Outside the Box—A God That Cannot Be Contained
The Lord’s voice has been resounding so much, decreeing the “Time to build.” In this decree I have been feeling a strong excitement to build the new things with Him, that are going to be so glorious, and see the glory of the Lord come like never before in 2019. His power, His glory and presence will be made manifest in the earth in unprecedented ways. The Lord has been speaking so much about harvest, about being prepared to carry what He is releasing, and about being ready for the outpouring.
As I lingered with Him to listen to His heart, I was reminded of a dream I had last year. In the dream the Lord showed me a glimpse of this mighty move of His Spirit across the earth—the greater glory outpouring—and in the midst of it taking place, I saw many attempting to “box” the move of God out of fear of the “new” and what the “new” looks like. There was such a fear of “how” God was going to show up, “what it would look like” and how much it would “upset the apple cart” of what has been done before. No matter how much of an attempt there was to “box in” the Lord in expectation, He found a way out and it was glorious! The way He broke boxes and showed up was INCREDIBLE. His majesty was displayed and His glory was blinding. From that dream the Lord birthed in me a cry: “Lord, we want You on Your terms and Your way.”
As this dream was brought back to my mind I felt the Lord saying: “In this new era, allow Me to build through you and do not attempt to manipulate the anointing.”
I strongly felt the fear of God to surrender, to yield and to allow Him to move in His ways and on His terms. I believe that we are going to see God move so incredibly in 2019. The Bride of Christ is going to SHINE like never before (Isaiah 60). But there is a warning I believe the Lord is releasing that encourages us as His people to allow Him to build, move and act in the way He chooses—a warning that we are not to “get in the way” with how we expect it should be, that we are to not find ourselves in a place where we use the anointing for personal gain, personal promotion or any impure ways.
What God is doing and about to do is glorious. We are in a new era of Him reintroducing Himself and His power like never before, but we must steward our lives and what He places in our hands, surrendering to His ways, with purity, integrity and humility.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8 ESV)
There will be glorious favor and promotion by the hand of the Lord upon those who obey and follow Him in purity and integrity in 2019. This invitation from the Lord’s heart is to bring us deeper into the place of the fear of God in partnering and co-laboring with Him in the earth, and to not “play around” with the anointing but allow God to have His way and BE GOD — even if it looks messy!
Friends, 2019 is going to be a year like no other. There will be many demonstrations of His power, His justice, His provision, His favor, His breakthrough and deliverance, but God is also looking for a people who are yielded, strong, fortified in Him and His Word alone, prepared and maturing to carry His glory. He is increasing, strengthening, maturing and fortifying His Bride, and His decree over you is that you will SHINE in 2019. You will CONQUER in 2019 and be part of the mighty move of His Spirit upon the earth that’s before us.
It’s up to us whether we get on board and partner with what He is doing and lay down any agendas. The King of Glory is going to be made manifest and again the Church will be left facedown in awe and wonder and trembling at the majesty of God and the power of His Word.
The harvest is coming in! Let us be a people who are READY!
Lana Vawser
Lana Vawser Ministries
Email: lanavawser@gmail.com
Website: www.lanavawser.com
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