a vision of restoration

It’s been over thirty years now since the Lord gave me His vision for Fortress of Joy Church.  I can never forget what He said to me, “Restore My supernatural power back to the local church”.  In general the local church has been less than enthusiastic about the Lord’s vision.  Denominational Churches thrive on tradition, they practice “their” doctrine that has been handed down for years.  Much of what they believe is not at all the Word of God, it’s man’s “interpretation” of God’s Word.  It is very difficult for them to embrace what the Lord has said because they would need to acknowledge their doctrine as error.  Before we embrace the doctrine of Christ, we must be willing to be chastised, which means corrected.  Most men do not like to be told they are wrong because they lack in the area of love!
 
John 14:15 If you love Me, keep My commandments.
 
It does not make any difference to tell God you love Him if you are not willing to obey His Word.  Jesus said “If you’re not for Me, you’re against Me”, God does not bless those who hate Him.  Now, how can God restore the supernatural to a people who will not cooperate with Him?  After I accepted the vision, some folks began to ask me, some sarcastically, “how are you going to get God to bring this restoration”?  I could not honestly answer their question with any confidence.  I took my problem to the Lord and He instructed me to go back and review all the messages He gave me.  As I studied all the sermons He gave me, one common theme stood out, people who want a move of the Spirit must live a sanctified life.
 
2 Timothy 2:21 If anyone cleanses himself from these things which are dishonorable, disobedient, sinful, he will be a vessel of honor, sanctified, set apart for a special purpose and useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

We cannot live any old way we want to and expect God to flow through us, we must submit to being the creature He died to recreate.  Let me speak clearly, God makes the rules and we follow them or we don’t.  Look at who the above text is speaking to, ANYONE who is willing to play by God’s rules.  For a lot of saints all it takes is one supernatural experience with the Holy Ghost and they are all in.  There are a lot more people who have had an encounter with His glory but got tired of waiting for the next one, so they left off.  Most folks live as if this is the only life they will ever know, they rarely consider the next life, the one that lasts for eternity.
 
Habakkuk 2:3 The vision is yet for an appointed time, wait for it because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
 
A God given vision is a covenant God makes with His people, if we do what He says,  He will do what He has promised.  Living a separate life of obedience creates an expectancy, our labor is never in vain.  We welcome the supernatural power of God, we want His power to manifest as a sign and wonder to all the believers who hear of it.  The vision is speaking and the voice is getting louder.     

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