BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Poverty is more than a lack of money; it’s a demonic mindset. The devil wants you to believe being poor is holy, but that’s nonsense. Being poor does nothing but stunt your life and ministry. I’ve been poor, and I’ve been rich. Rich is better. But I understand how hard it is to overcome a lifelong mindset. I grew up calling myself no-good. Even after I got saved and started a ministry, I kept wondering, How will I ever do anything for God? Where will I get the money? Then God restored me. He taught me how to get rid of that demonic mindset by the blood of Jesus and His Word. Now, I no longer say I’m no-good. I know I’m more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37) and that I can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13). I changed my mindset and allowed God to restore me. The Way God Restores We all need restoration. Over time, the enemy hits us with all sorts of venom. We get damaged by life and people, and that venom can seep into our souls and mess us up. It hurts and disappoints, but all is not lost because our God is a God of restoration. Psalm 23:1-3, "New King James Version," says it so perfectly: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.” The message of restoration speaks to me on a practical level. I’ve always loved fixing up old cars. When I restore a car, it’s not a mere “remodel” job. I go through everything. By the time I finish, that car becomes just like it was the day the manufacturer made it. It’s right back to its original, beautiful, drivable condition. That’s how God wants to restore our souls. He is a complete restorer of good things. Prodigals Are Returning Home Recently, God said to me, 'Mark, My people hardly ever ask Me to restore anything anymore. They just chalk it up as lost and keep marching on. Don’t they know I get pleasure in the prosperity of My servants? Don’t they know I want to grab Satan by the back of the neck and make him march their stuff back to them—that I get pleasure in that?' I said, “Yeah! Psalm 35:27 says that.” Then He said, 'Well then, why are you all robbing Me of My pleasure? And why is no one asking Me to restore them anymore?' We serve a God who wants to restore us. And I have good news: He’s restoring right now. He’s restoring our government, our finances and the moral base of America. He’s restoring the joy of our salvation and health to the sick. He is restoring His people. Prodigals are coming home. People who have left are coming back to God. Pastors are seeing members who left their churches return in great numbers. Ministers are seeing lost partners again. Parents are finding children, who were seemingly lost forever, coming back home like in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). It’s not always easy for people to return home. They wonder what to say, if they’ll be thrown out or rebuked, or even allowed in the door. For a true prodigal, even more so, especially returning to the same house he or she left. But God has shown me that He has assigned these people to us. He has assigned church members to pastors, partners to ministers and children to parents. It’s time for us to ask God to restore these people. Let’s pray they get healed—spirit, mind and body. If they’re truly broken, and they come to themselves, we must take them back and restore them. Like Galatians 6:1 says, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual”—meaning not overtaken—“restore such an one….” It’s Time to Be Restored No matter where you are in God’s restoration process, understand that you still have an important part in it. If you are a pastor, minister, parent, friend or church member, you need to welcome back those who desire to be restored. If they’ve changed their mindsets and want to come back, they’re welcome. God receives them, and we should receive them, too. If you’ve found yourself in a ditch of any kind, it’s time to come home. It’s time to change your mindset and allow God to restore your soul—completely. God is our restorer—our complete restorer—and if we’ll allow Him, He will pull us out of our ditches every time! V Mark Barclay is the founding pastor of Living Word International Church, in Midland, Mich., and president and founder of Supernatural Ministries Training Institute. For information or ministry materials go to marktbarclay.com. ********************************************************** ADVERTISEMENT ********** Hear the Word from ministers you can trust! bvovn® BELIEVER’S VOICE OF VICTORY NETWORK REAL. LIFE. FAITH.® Send us your testimonies about how BVOVN has blessed you. KCM.ORG/TESTIFY WATCH ON dish® CHANNEL 265 apple tv® [logo] 4th Generation Roku® [logo] bvovn.com YouTube® amazon fire TV ******************************************* BVOV : 25

• Cover