Contents

1    God Is in the Recovery Business!

2    Restoration Areas

3    Avenue of Recovery: Forgiveness

4    David Lost All

5    David Encouraged Himself in the Lord

6    David Recovered All

7    Pursue and Recover All

8    Sowing to Recover Financial Losses

My "Recovery" Faith Confession

Personal Prayer of Commitment

Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.

Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house.

Proverbs 6:30,31 NIV

"It is time to recover what the devil has stolen from you... The principles of God's Word work. To recover financially, sow seed into the work of God, even in a time of famine. God is not limited by an unstable world economy."

—Billy Joe Daugherty

Chapter One

God Is in the Recovery Business!

Now is the time to rise up and recover what you have lost because of the devil: your joy, peace, love, strength, integrity, dignity, health, home, marriage, family and other relationships.

Sometimes people seem to lie down and play dead when the devil comes along and takes their possessions. I guarantee you, if a thief tried to come into your home and take your possessions, you wouldn't sit there and say, "Take this, too." You would rise up and go after that which is yours.

God put a man in the garden to fellowship with him. Not only did man lose something, but God also lost something when Adam and Eve sinned. Have you ever wondered, "Why did God redeem man? Why didn't He just let him go?" The reason is, man belongs to God. "The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein" (Psalm 24:1). God didn't let go of what belonged to Him!

In Genesis 3, God said that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the devil. Luke 19:10 says, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." God is in the recovery business!

God recovered the prodigal son out of darkness. The day came when the prodigal son "came to himself" and went home to his father (Luke 15:11-32).

Redemption has to do with getting something back that you have lost. We were redeemed, not with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,

But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

1 Peter 1:18,19

God loved us enough to make a way to get us back.

Chapter Two

Restoration Areas

Here are four Scriptural promises of restoration.

1. God will restore your soul.

"He restores my soul..." (Psalm 23:3). If you have lost your peace of mind and you are in torment and anxiety, God will restore you. He will lead you beside still waters (places of tranquility in the realm of the Spirit). He will rekindle, rebuild and rejuvenate strength in your soul.

When you are born again, you become alive unto God in your spirit, but the renewal in your soul (your mind, will, emotions and intellect) is a process. The renewal will come through daily meditation upon God's Word.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

2.    God will restore the material possessions that have been stolen from you.

Proverbs 6:30,31 says:

People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.

Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold....

The thief has been found. John 10:10 describes the nature of the thief (Satan), which is the exact opposite of Jesus' nature: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

Begin to believe for the sevenfold restoration of all that you have lost through the works of the devil.

3. God will restore health to you.

Jeremiah 30:17 says, "’For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord...." If your health has been stolen, expect complete restoration.

4. God will restore the years Satan has stolen from you.

Joel 2:25 kjv says:

And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

Because Israel disobeyed God, destruction came upon their lives, their land, and their country, but God promised, "I will restore." Perhaps you have wasted years of your life. God says, "I will restore the years the devil has eaten."

Charles Story, a member of our congregation who heads up a prison ministry, wasted fifty-six years of his life before he was saved. Charles says, "I was a hard character. Rosemary, my wife, kept praying for me." The good news is, God can take a rough character and change his nature!

Today, Charles ministers on death row at McAlester State Prison and has served as chaplain at that facility. God is packing hours into his days, making up for those wasted years!

God will restore the years you have lost. Perhaps you feel that you missed your time to be a missionary, an evangelist or a pastor, or to do what God wanted you to do. It's not too late! Victory Bible Institute's oldest student was ninety-six years old! David Sizer then went into the jails and into the nursing homes on a regular basis to minister to inmates and to the "old folks"!

It's never too late to begin to do what God has called you to do.

Chapter Three

Avenue of Recovery: Forgiveness

Job was the richest man in the East. He was abundantly blessed with family, cattle and sheep. Every aspect of his life was blessed, but the devil came and destroyed his children, crops and livestock.

A few months later, double restoration came to Job when he prayed for his friends. "And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before" (Job 42:10 KJV).

Job's friends, who had all come against him, needed prayer. It would have been difficult, in the natural, for the average person to pray for these kinds of friends and really mean it, unless it was a prayer of vengeance. But it never pays to hold hard feelings toward someone who has said wrong things about you.

I spoke to a person who still had anger in him toward his father and an older brother after more than twenty years. The anger was a hindrance to the ministry to which he was called. He was four years older than me and had lived two houses behind my family in Magnolia, Arkansas. I hadn't seen him for more than twenty years.

During a service in our church, he opened up and let all that venom out! He forgave and let go of the offenses.

It's a new day when you forgive. It's a new day when you bless those who have hurt your life. If you want to recover what the devil has taken from you, then start forgiving, blessing and releasing those who have offended you.

I said to Randy, "When thoughts and feelings come that say the bitterness is still there, remember, that is not the truth." This is where most people mess up. They think when the thought or feeling comes back they still have the bitterness. When the thought or feeling returns, declare out loud: "I forgave that long ago. That was dealt with at Calvary, and I cashed in on it through forgiveness and release. It has no power over me."

A few weeks ago, I preached on the importance of forgiving and releasing those who have offended you. At the close of the service, among those who came to the altar were three young ladies who wanted prayer to help them forgive and release those who had caused great hurt in their lives.

The first young lady said, "I have to forgive Timothy McVeigh," I asked her, "Why?" She said, "My best friend went with her family to Oklahoma City and just minutes before the bomb went off, She walked into the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and she was killed. I have held unforgiveness and bitterness toward him."

The second young lady said, "I have to forgive the two students who killed the teacher and students at Columbine High School." Again I asked. "Why?" She said, "I just moved to Tulsa from Littleton, Colorado, and one of the girls who was killed was my friend."

The third young lady said, "I have to forgive the father who murdered his wife and two daughters in Tulsa two years ago. One of his daughters was my best friend."

In each of these situations, the young ladies were struggling with unforgiveness and bitterness over what had happened. In Mark 11:25,26 Jesus said:

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Mark 11:25,26

The Message Bible says:

There is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others.

If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.

Matthew 6:14,15

If someone has let you down, hurt you, offended you, belittled you, attacked you or done things against you that were wrong, forgive and release them. Declare it right now, "Lord, I forgive and release

Don't dig something up if it has already been dealt with. If it has been dealt with, just say, "Thank God, that has already been dealt with." If it hasn't been dealt with, you can say, "Lord, I forgive and release________. I will not hold an offense or harbor a root of bitterness. The cancer of bitterness will not thrive in me. I stop it now, in Jesus' name."

Chapter Four

David Lost All

In 1 Samuel 30, David went to a place called Ziklag, and while he was there in the midst of his enemies, he went out on a little mission, leaving his family and his soldiers' families unprotected.

When David and his soldiers returned, the town where his family and the soldiers' families lived had been burned with fire.

Let's look at this account in 1 Samuel 30:13,6,8 kjv:

And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.

So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives...

And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God...

And David inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.

Everything of value was lost—family and possessions. They wept until they had no more power to weep. Perhaps you have been in a similar situation where you have lost everything— finances, home and possessions—and you felt like you had no more power to weep!

It appears that David made a mistake. Since he was in enemy territory, he probably should have left some of his soldiers to protect the families, but he took all of them with him. On the other hand, perhaps David did what was right. But I can assure you, in his mind, he was dealing with selfcondemnation because he was responsible for the families of his soldiers.

Some people won't recover what the devil has taken from them because of condemnation. They can't seem to rise above the condemnation that beats them down, and they aren't aware of the settled fact that in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:1

You can hear the Word, yet not really hear it. You can know it and quote it, but how wonderful it is when it becomes a reality, or a rhema word, to you.

Chapter Five

David Encouraged Himself in the Lord

David had to deal with discouragement, and if you are going to recover what the devil has taken from you, you will have to do what he did. Scripture says, "...David encouraged himself in the Lord his God" (1 Samuel 30:6 kjv).

In Psalm 103:1 David said, "Bless the Lord,

O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!" David said, "Soul, you bless the Lord!"

There is a time when you have to rejoice when you might not feel like rejoicing. You have to encourage yourself. Look in the mirror and say, "You are going to make it."

In Sharon's song, "Stand Your Ground," at one point she says, "I am going to make it." Declare, "I am going to make it! God is for me, so who can be against me?"

Psalm 91:2 kjv says:

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

The Spirit of God through the writer of Hebrews says:

"I will never leave you nor forsake you."

So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"

Hebrews 13:5,6

It is time to take a stand and declare, "I am going to make it!"

Chapter Six

David Recovered All

After David encouraged himself in the Lord, he prayed and inquired of God. Some of the things people have lost they needed to lose. They no longer need the baggage of things that aren't of God!

The writer of Hebrews says we are to lay aside the weights and sins and anything else that entangles or ensnares us:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance [The King James Version says "patience"] the race that is set before us,

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith....

Hebrews 12:1,2

Some people are ensnared by habits, such as alcohol, drugs, nicotine, overeating, sexual perversion, gossip and slander, which are weights they need to shake free of.

David asked the Lord two questions:

1.    Shall I pursue?

2.    Shall I recover?

Shall I Pursue?

You need to ask the Lord, "Do I go after the reconciliation of my marriage? Do I go after something that I have lost? Do I pursue it?" I cannot tell you what to do, but I can lead you to the One Who will reveal God's will to you for your life. The Holy Spirit will speak inside of you, and He will show you what to do.

If you are in a questionable dating relationship, ask the Lord, "Should I pursue and go after it, or should it come to an end?" Some relationships need to be set aside.

Shall I Recover?

It is possible to pursue something but not recover it. David asked, "Shall I pursue? Shall I recover it? Is it Your will that all of this be restored to my life?" Thank God for the Holy Ghost Who can speak to each of us! God answered both of David's questions:

•    Pursue.

•    You will recover all.

David and his men encountered an Egyptian who had been left behind because of sickness. This man told David where to find the camp of the enemy:

And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.

And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.

And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.

And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.

And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor anything that they had taken to them: David recovered all.

1 Samuel 30:15-19 KJV

Pursue the things you have lost, encourage yourself in the Lord and begin to confess, "I will recover all!"

Chapter Seven

Pursue and Recover All

Some people have lost an education because of drugs and alcohol. They never completed a high school diploma or a college degree. There is a natural process that you must complete to get your high school diploma, a degree, or a training certificate in a certain field. And there are some natural things that God may speak to you to do, but I am emphasizing the things you must do in the Spirit to recover what you have lost.

Mark 11:24 KJV says:

Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

What are the things that you desire? Psalm 37:4 says:

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

As you delight yourself in the Lord, desires will come to you, and you can pray and believe that you receive. Then begin to thank and praise God on a continual basis that He is the God of restoration.

God says, "I will build again the foundations. I will restore. I will rekindle." Perhaps you have lost relationships with family members which need to be restored. Maybe you have lost your hunger for God. Obviously, that needs to be restored.

God has given us a picture in Nehemiah that He will build up the walls again, and He will restore where the enemy has come in.

I say to you, "Why sit here until you die?" Rise up and say, "I am going out against the enemy. I am going to recover what the devil has taken. I am going to get back the years, the joy, the anointing, the calling. I am going to do what God told me to do and be what He called me to be. I am going to go where God called me to go, in Jesus' name."

Chapter Eight

Sowing to Recover Financial Losses

In Genesis 26, God spoke to Isaac in a time of famine and told him not to go down to Egypt, which apparently seemed to be the most natural thing to do.

Then the Lord appeared to him and said: "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you.

"Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.

"And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;

"Because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.

Genesis 26:2-5,12

A young man who was struggling in his sales business decided to plant a seed of $100 into the work of God. Within forty-eight hours of planting this seed, he received a call which resulted in one job that netted $10,000, and the money was in his hand within sixty days.

It is time to recover what the devil has stolen from you financially. The principles of God's Word work. To recover financially, sow seed into the work of God, even in a time of famine. God is not limited by an unstable world economy.

In Luke 6:38 Jesus said:

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

This principle works in finances as well as in forgiveness or in other areas of life.

Years ago in a vision, I saw people living their entire lives for "things," then coming to the end of their lives with a house on the lake, retired and waiting to die.

Aries Cole and his wife, members of our congregation, were retired, living in a house on Lake Keystone and waiting to die when they heard me tell about this vision. I shared how God wants to use each of us, regardless of age, to touch people. That day he and his wife made a decision that they were going to recover what the devil had stolen from them in all those earlier years. They were refired and began to serve God.

Aries and his wife are an integral part of our ministry. They have recovered strength and joy and have become avenues of wisdom and blessing to multitudes of people.

It is time to rejoice and see your family members restored. See everything that Jesus has paid for coming back to you. See your children coming back from the land of the enemy, in Jesus' name.

Seek the Lord and lay hold of the things which you have lost. Pray, believing that you receive, and call forth those things that need to be restored. You will recover all, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

My "Recovery" Faith Confession

Father, I am asking that Your Kingdom come and Your will be done in my life as it is in heaven. There is no stealing, killing and destroying going on in heaven, so I decree that there will be no more stealing, killing and destroying going on in my life, in Jesus' name.

You said the violent take it by force, and I am taking back what the devil has stolen from me in every area of my life. Through my obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit, I will walk in a higher level of the God-kind of love (agape), because You said faith works by love.

I will walk in the God-kind of life (zoe)—the abundant life—which You have already provided for me through Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.

(See Matthew 6:10; 11:12; John 10:10; Job 22:28 kjv; Proverbs 6:30,31; Jeremiah 30:17; Galatians 5:6.)

Personal Prayer of Commitment

Father, I want the purposeless days of my life restored, and I now realize that the first step toward a meaningful, fulfilling life is to accept Your Son, Jesus Christ, as my personal Lord and Savior. I believe Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried and then resurrected as my Substitute for sin, sickness, poverty and spiritual death.

Jesus, I renounce every work of darkness, and I now accept You as my Lord and Savior. Thank You that because of Your shed blood, I can begin a new life today.

Thank You, Lord, for Your Word to me in Isaiah 43:18,19: I will not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old, for You will now do a new thing in my life. It will spring forth. Because of Your love for me, You will make roads in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, which means You will do the impossible on my behalf!

Thank You, Father, that You will restore sevenfold everything Satan has stolen from me in the name of Jesus.

Lord Jesus, empower me with the Holy Spirit so I can live as more than a conqueror in every area of life, and then be a carrier of Your restoration and victory to others.

I give up self-centered motives and pursuits, and I accept Your purpose for my life, Lord. Cause me, by Your Spirit, to be all You want me to be, Lord.

Thank You, Father, for Your love, acceptance and forgiveness and for Your mercy and grace. In Christ Jesus, I am a new creation today! Amen.

(Signature) ________

(Date) ________

BILLY JOE DAUGHERTY is founder and pastor of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Victory has a Christian school, Bible Institute and Missions Training Center. Other Victory outreaches include taking the gospel via radio and television to North America, along with shortwave radio and television to other nations, plus the distribution of books, tapes, and videos. He and his wife, Sharon, minister God’s healing, saving, and delivering power as a team. Their family works alongside them in the ministry.

Table of Contents

1 God Is in the Recovery Business!

2 Restoration Areas

3 Avenue of Recovery: Forgiveness

4 David Lost All

5 David Encouraged Himself in the Lord

6 David Recovered All

7 Pursue and Recover All

8 Sowing to Recover Financial Losses

My "Recovery" Faith Confession

Personal Prayer of Commitment