FROM DEVASTATION TO RESTORATION

ISBN 0-9655352-2-3
Unless otherwise stated, all scripture
quotations are taken from
The King James Version of the Bible.

Jerry Savelle Publications

P. O. Box 748
Crowley, TX 76036
817/297-3155

Copyright © 1998 by Jerry Savelle

All Rights Reserved

Contents and/or cover may not

be reproduced in whole, in part,
or in any form without the express
written consent of the publisher.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 Time's Up, Devil—God's Taking Over! Page 7

CHAPTER 2 Are You Fed Up, Yet? Page 15

CHAPTER 3 God Wants to Do Something New in Your Life Page 23

CHAPTER 4 Changing Your Atmosphere Page 31

CHAPTER 5 If You Can Conceive It, You Can Receive It Page 39

CHAPTER 6 Staying Positive in a Negative World Page 47

CHAPTER 7 Delays: Why They Happen & How to Deal With Them Page 53

CHAPTER 8 In Every Great Storm There Is a Great Victory Page 63

CHAPTER 9 Develop a Restoration Mentality Page 73

CHAPTER 10 God's Way of Restoration Page 81

CHAPTER 11 Changing Your Outlook Page 89

CHAPTER 12 The Best is Yet to Come Page 95

CHAPTER 1
 CHAPTER 1
1 Time's Up, Devil—God's Taking
Over!
W hen I was growing up in school, I was always the smallest boy in
the class. Most of the girls were bigger than me! From the first
grade all the way through high school I was known as "Little Jerry".
I hated it. If you were little like me, then you got picked on and pushed
around. You got bullied by all the big guys.
My Dad always told me, "Son, if I ever catch you starting a fight, I'm
going to whip you. If I ever catch you running from a fight, I'm going to
whip you."
Well, I knew I wouldn't get a whipping for starting any because I
wasn't big enough to start fights. So I got pushed and bullied around
almost every day, but there finally came a time when I got fed up with it.
Finally, I told that bully, "Time's up!!" He didn't think I meant it. I
said, "That's it! You're not going to push me around anymore. I'm tired of
you embarrassing me in front of the class. Time's up!"
He laughed and turned to all the kids standing around watching and
said, "Did you hear what Little Jerry said?"
Before he got completely turned around again, there was a fist in his
nose! I caught him off guard. Much to his surprise (and mine), he landed
on his back. I didn't know I had this kind of power in me. I saw him on the
ground with his nose bleeding so I just jumped right in the middle of his
chest and finished the job. He was begging me to leave him alone, but I
said, "Too bad—time's up! I'm taking over now!" And you know what?
He never bothered me again.
I believe it's time for us to tell the devil, "Time's up! You have plagued
me long enough! You've kept me bound up long enough! You've kept me

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strapped with debt long enough! You've tried to destroy my home, my

marriage, and my family, but your time is up in this house, devil—God is
taking over!"
I don't know what you may be going through right now, but it's time
for you to get fed up. Get fed up with Satan stealing from you. Get fed up
with him robbing your joy, destroying your family, and shattering your
dreams.
Nothing will change in your life until you absolutely get fed up with
your present condition. Satan will continue to destroy your life until you
get in his face and say, "Time's up, devil—God's taking over!"
Satan is out to devastate your life. What is devastation? It is defined
as: to destroy or ruin; to overwhelm or overpower.
Whatever you're going through right now is not too big for God to
handle. This may be hard for you to understand, but you are not the only
person who has ever gone through what you're going through. And
obviously, God thinks you're capable of going through it and coming out
victorious. Now you've got to see yourself that way!

THERE'S A WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN' GOING

ON!
Get ready because when God takes over, He's going to shake up some
things that men think can't be shaken. He's going to pull down some things
that men think can't be pulled down. I like to say it this way—Satan's days
are numbered!
Notice what God says will happen when the Anointed One comes on
the scene.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be
taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck,
and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
Isaiah 10:27
You ought to write in the margin of your Bible, "He will bust Satan's

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 TIME'S UP, DEVIL—GOD'S TAKING OVER!

head!" I know the correct word is "burst" but it doesn't work here. "Bust"
sounds better. The anointing will destroy, not break, but destroy every
yoke from off your neck and leave no evidence that there was ever a yoke
there!
What is God saying to the adversary? "Time's up!" Once again, we
read what the Anointing will do when it comes on the scene.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has
anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me
to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of
vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them
beauty for ashes; the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise
for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of
righteousness.
Isaiah 61:1-3
God is saying, "I'm going to turn your mourning into dancing, turn
your sorrow into joy, and take that old garment of heaviness off of you
and put on the garment of praise!"
What is God announcing? "Satan, your time's up, I'm taking over!!
You have had them bound up long enough."
In Psalm 126, notice what happens when God decrees that Satan's time
is up and He turns the captivity of His people.
When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like
them that dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with
singing...
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Psalm 126:1-2,5
Our mouths will be filled with laughter and singing? Well, I don't

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know if you've noticed lately, but there are a lot of manifestations of

laughter and singing in the Body of Christ! Sounds like to me that's an
indication that the devil's time is up!!
I was reading my Message Translation of the Bible and I got a big kick
out of Matthew 8:28-29. It says,
"They landed in the country of the Gadarenes and were met by
two madmen, victims of demons, coming out of the cemetery. The
men had terrorized the region for so long that no one considered it
safe to walk down that stretch of road anymore. Seeing Jesus, the
madmen screamed out, 'What business do you have giving us a
hard time? You're the Son of God! You weren't supposed to show
up here yet!'"
The shakeup has begun, and the demons are going to be crying out
from here on out because their time is up! They're going to be crying out,
"You weren't supposed to show up yet, Jesus! I haven't destroyed them
yet!" Jesus caught them off guard here and He's going to catch them off
guard in your behalf!!
The Bible says, The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. The
Amplified says, ...eventually into the hands of the righteous, for whom it
was laid up (Proverbs 13:22). I hear God saying, "Time's up, devil, I'm
taking charge of the finances! Eventually has come!!" So start walking
around with expectancy because it's going to come into your hands!!
You may be saying, "But Brother Jerry, I'm under the greatest pressure
I've ever experienced."
That's an indication that you've got the devil right where you want
him. His time's up!!
If you're thinking, "I can't stand anymore—you don't realize what's
happened in my life,"—Rejoice!! Satan's time is up!
This is not the time to quit! No! You've come too far to quit, glory to
God; you are about to win.
God is going to give your adversary a hard time from here on out,
Hallelujah! Whatever is troubling you and trying to destroy you—don't

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worry about it! God's working behind the scenes. Demons are trembling
right now! Oh, they are shaking! There are alarms going off in Satan's
domain! They hear God's voice crying out, "Time's up!"

IT'S TIME TO SEND 'EM PACKING!

The greatest harvest, the greatest miracles, the greatest manifestations,
and the greatest financial blessings are upon us! Time's up where the devil
is concerned! It's your time now!
"Everyone there was incredulous, buzzing with curiosity.
'What's going on here? A new teaching that does what it says? He
shuts up defiling, demonic spirits and sends them packing!'"
Mark 1:27 (The Message)
That old demon of lack in your life is going to pack up and move out!
That old demon of sickness and disease is going to pack up and leave,
Hallelujah! You know why? Because time's up around your house! God's
issuing a war cry again. The signs of the times are indicating to us that the
Anointed One is about to make another appearance.
...Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
The Message translation says it this way,
"So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud NO to the Devil
and watch him scamper. Say a quiet YES to God and he'll be there
in no time."
What's God saying? It's time to quit playing church. It's time to quit
playing religious games. Humble yourself before the mighty hand of God,
resist the devil and he will flee from you. Get fed up where the devil is
concerned!
Satan's not going to have his way in your life any more. He's going to
be packing up and moving out! I challenge you to shout at the devil right
now and just let him know how fed up you are with him trying to destroy
your life. Let him know that as of today, he will no longer have his way in

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your household—his time is up! Make a declaration of faith and stick to it

—his days are numbered. The Anointed One is about to make another
appearance, so get ready! As far as you're concerned, God's turning this
devastation in your life into restoration! Hallelujah!

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CHAPTER 2
 CHAPTER 2
2 Are You Fed Up, Yet?

A s I've already mentioned, before anything will change in your life,

you've got to get fed up with your present condition. God is wanting
to raise up an army of believers in these last days who will literally march
into Satan's camp and take back everything he has stolen! But you've got
to get fed up with the devil stealing everything you've got! You've got to
get fed up with never having enough and fed up with always coming up
short! It's time for supernatural increase and restoration in your life.
These are exciting times! Supernatural increase and restoration are in
the air, and God wants you to be affected by it. He wants it happening to
you! It's happening to all those who will get in position to receive.
This is a new day, and Satan is running scared. He knows there is an
army rising up in the earth today that is militant. We have become
aggressive! We have made up our minds that we are going to get back
everything that's been stolen from us. You may as well become a part of it.

Deception: Satan's Mightiest Weapon

When you are entitled to be blessed, the only way Satan can keep you
from experiencing that blessing is through deception. Deception is Satan's
mightiest weapon. Outside of deception, Satan is helpless. If he can't
deceive you, he can't defeat you. If he can't deceive you, he can't steal
from you. According to the Word, one of the ways he deceives the Body
of Christ is through a lack of knowledge.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Hosea 4:6
If you don't know that you have a right to live in health, you will live
in sickness. If you don't know you have a right to prosper, you will live in
poverty and defeat. If you don't know you have a right to be delivered, you

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will live in bondage. But the moment you find out the truth, the truth will
set you free. You will begin to walk in the blessing that you are entitled to.
Obviously, Satan doesn't want you to find out what rightfully belongs
to you as a child of God, and he will do everything in his power to keep
you in darkness. How? Through deception.
God's done everything that is necessary for you and I to live an
overcoming life. Jesus does not have to go to the cross again for that to
take place in your life. He's already gone. He's already made provision.
He's already given His Word. He's already shed His blood. The covenant
is in effect, and all you have to do is get in position to receive, stand your
ground, and don't let the devil steal your blessing.
Let me ask you a question. Have you ever had a blessing stolen from
you? There are a number of ways that Satan will attack you hoping that
you'll drop your guard so he can steal your blessing.
I grew up in the country, as we say, I'm a farm boy. And I wanted my
kids to grow up in that kind of environment. They weren't that thrilled
about it, but I wanted them to be around horses and cattle and the soil.
We didn't have a ranch, we had a "ranchette." I had a bull named
Elijah that acted like a dog. He followed me everywhere I went. Later, I
got another bull named Samson and a heifer named Mary. Soon we had a
little Joshua. My herd grew to about fifteen.
Then, we got into horses. I bought a horse for every member of the
family. Well, then you've got to have saddles. You've got to have a barn
and stables. I mean, we really got into this thing. Finally, my accountant
said, "This is no longer a hobby, Jerry. You are now the owner of the 4 S
Ranch." I was loving it!
Then a man made me a beautiful saddle for my horse, Jubilee. And
one day, somebody broke into my tack room and stole all my saddles. It's
a good thing I wasn't around. I don't know what I'd have done to that guy
if I would have caught him.
I can't stand a thief and that bothered me for weeks. I've been known to
give things away, but when he came on my property, broke into my tack

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room, and stole my saddles...the fire of God was in my eyes and I don't
know what was in my flesh, but it was fiery, too. I just can't stand a thief.
Mainly because he has no regard for what I went through to acquire what
he just stole from me.
The Lord said to me, "I've never seen you so mad." I said, "I'm real
mad. If I could catch him..." He said, "Why don't you act that way about
the devil?" I said, "We're not talking about the devil right now. I want that
guy." He said, "The devil steals from you, and you let him get away with
it. I'm surprised at the way you're reacting to this."
He said, "You're so mad you can hardly see straight. You're hoping
he'll come back, just so you can get revenge." He said, "I've never ever
seen you this way where the devil is concerned and he's stealing from you
every day." I suddenly realized what God was saying to me.
The devil is stealing from the Body of Christ! Some members just give
up and let him do it. They don't even put up a fight. The devil's stealing off
of us, and we just sit there and let him get away with it.
God says,
But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold.
Proverbs 6:31
If you'll begin making the devil pay it all back, it will finally get to the
point, that you will get too expensive for the devil to mess with! Satan's
got warehouses full of what belongs to the Body of Christ. He's got
buildings that belong to us. He's got transportation vehicles that belong to
us. He's got equipment that belongs to us. He's got finances that belong to
us.
Remember the story of two brothers, Jacob and Esau? Jacob stole his
brother's birthright and his blessing, and notice what Isaac says to Esau
concerning his future:
And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother;
and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that
thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
Genesis 27:40

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There is a deceiver in the earth, and if you are ever going to get back
what he's stolen from you, you're going to have to live by the sword. That
sword is not a defensive weapon, it is an offensive weapon! If you are
passive, you'll never get your blessing back. You've got to be militant.
You've got to be assertive. You've got to be aggressive, or you'll never get
your blessing back.
...And it shall come to pass... Don't you love that? If you will live by
your sword, which is the Word of God, then you can count on it; this will
come to pass:
...when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke
from off thy neck. Now what's God saying here? He says if you'll
determine that you are going to live by your sword, you're going to live by
the Word of God, then there will come a time that you will move over into
a position of dominion, and you'll break that yoke from off your neck
which literally means: Satan has to repay what he has stolen from you,
hallelujah!! The New American Standard says it this way:
And by your sword you shall live, And your brother you shall
serve...
God says, "I'm going to reverse some things. Instead of you being
under subordination to the deceiver, I'll reverse it, and the deceiver will
now be under your dominion. Instead of the devil controlling your life,
you're controlling his. Instead of him making you miserable every day,
you're making him miserable every day."
...And your brother you shall serve, but it shall come about
when you become restless...
The Savelle translation for "you shall become restless," is "fed up!" Do
you ever get fed up over something every once in a while? What happens
when you reach the point of being "fed up?" There is an anointing that
comes on you. There is a dominion that you begin to walk in and
everybody within shouting distance knows you are fed up.
What happens when you're fed up? You move into action. Then what
happens? You start getting results. Have you ever noticed what happens

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 TIME'S UP, DEVIL—GOD'S TAKING OVER!

when a mother tells her children to clean up their room repeatedly and
they don't respond?
She tells those precious little angels, "I want you to clean up that
room!!" She comes back later and nothing has changed. "I said, clean up
the room!" she says.
Eventually, she returns to find that still nothing has changed! What
happens? Mama gets fed up! And when mama gets fed up, there is an
anointing that comes on her. Her countenance changes. Her voice changes.
Her dominion takes over. She is changed into another woman. All of a
sudden she is no longer the weaker vessel. It is Samson in disguise. The
kids know when mama is fed up. I don't care if her husband weighs 272
pounds and whips everybody in the neighborhood, when mama is fed up,
he becomes a lamb. What happened? She has reached the point of no
return, and then she gets results.
You may not be fed up yet with Satan stealing from you. You could be
politely saying, "Oh God, make the devil get off me!" He won't. The devil
won't get off of you until you get fed up with him being on you!
You're not going to change your lifestyle until you are fed up with the
way you are living. You have to be fed up with your kids being on drugs.
You have to be fed up with your mate going to hell. But the moment you
get fed up, things will change!
When you get fed up, you're going to take that yoke off your neck!
When you get fed up, there isn't any demon in hell that can hold you back!
As long as you are still tolerating it, you're not fed up! Don't just accept
your condition. Don't make provision for failure. Instead of petting the
problem, get fed up with it!
When I say fed up, I'm not talking about "psyching" yourself out. No!
I'm not talking about sitting in your bedroom and getting psyched up and
saying, "I'm fed up. I'm fed up..." That isn't going to do you any good. The
only way you are going to get truly spiritually fed up is through the
entrance of His Word! Because with the entrance of His Word, you begin
to realize who you are in Christ and your authority over the devil.
When you find out what is yours by revelation of the Word of God,

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you will never be passive again. Why? Because you are fed up! You'll be
declaring, "No more, Satan! This is where you get out! You aren't
welcome here anymore! You can take your sickness and your disease and
go in the Name of Jesus! Take your hands off my family! Take your hands
off my body! Take your hands off my finances! Take your hands off
everything that is mine! You are history, devil, and you're not welcome
here anymore!"
And then get back what's been stolen! Don't let the devil off the hook.
Make him pay it all back sevenfold!

Pursue, Overtake and Recover All!

Let me show you what God is expecting you to do from a story in the
Bible. When we find out that it's Satan stealing our blessings, then it's time
for us to get into action.
In I Samuel 30, we read of David and his men who returned to find
that their homes had been burned to the ground, and the enemy had taken
their wives and children.
Can you imagine how this man must have felt?
The dearest thing to him has been stolen. His privacy has been
invaded. Read what the Word says about David.
Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their
voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the
Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
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.
I Samuel 30:4-6
After they got through crying, they all started blaming David. They
wanted to stone him. I would imagine that David is sitting there thinking,

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 TIME'S UP, DEVIL—GOD'S TAKING OVER!

"Well, I deserve to be stoned. Put me out of my misery. I did not ask for
this. I was happy when I was herding sheep. If God would have left me
alone out there in that pasture, this wouldn't have happened."
Right in the middle of all this, something changed. The Word says,
David encouraged himself in the Lord. Right in the midst of all the
distress, David said, "Wait a minute! I don't have to tolerate this! I don't
have to put up with this."
He could have sat there, given up and quit, but he made up his mind,
"No, it's not over just because the enemy has come in and stolen my
property. It's not over! It's never over until God says its over, hallelujah!
God delivered me before, and He'll deliver me now."
You've got to reach a point where you grow restless, and make up your
mind that you are not staying this way anymore and begin encouraging
yourself in the Lord. Don't wait around for someone else to encourage
you. There may not be anybody else. YOU have to encourage yourself!
David went from distressed to wanting to fight.
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.
I Samuel 30:8
When the enemy has stolen from you, not only does God want you to
get up and pursue the enemy, but He wants you to literally march into His
camp and recover all! God's not satisfied with you only getting up and
being aggressive. He wants you to get back what was stolen.
That's exactly what David did. He pursued the enemy, he overtook
him, and he recovered all! I believe our marching orders from our
commander are: "Pursue, overtake, and recover all!" God's wanting an
army of people to rise up and get back what's been stolen from them. Are
you fed up, yet? Start taking action today!

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CHAPTER 3
 CHAPTER 3
3 God Wants to Do Something New
in Your Life

I n 1981, as I was preaching for Brother Kenneth Copeland in Charlotte,

North Carolina in the Believers' Convention, I received a supernatural
visitation of the Lord.
In that visitation, the Lord began to minister to me concerning how the
body of Christ could get out of financial famine. For several years,
everywhere I went God had me preaching on how to overcome financial
famine.
Then some major scandals broke out in ministries, and here I was
preaching all over the world about prosperity and financial deliverance.
So I told the Lord, "Now Father, I've been very diligent about
protecting this ministry, and building it on integrity. We're established,
we're respected, and I don't want the media to get the idea that we're
involved in the same kind of misconduct that was brought about in these
scandals." So I said, "If it's all right with You, I'm just going to put this
financial teaching You've given me on the shelf, and I'll preach some other
things until all of this blows over." And He never said, "That's fine, son."
He never said, "I rebuke thee." He didn't say anything. I came up with a
plan. He just sat there and listened. And for the next five years, it was the
most miserable five years I've ever spent. Somebody said, "Oh the price to
be in the will of God." I can tell you how much it cost to be out. It was
tough. We survived, but that wasn't God's best.
Then in November of 1992 while I was preaching with Brother
Copeland in the International Believers' Convention in Bournemouth,
England, I received another visitation of the Lord. And in this visitation,
He instructed me to challenge the body of Christ everywhere I go to get
out of a survival mentality and begin to believe Him for supernatural

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increase and restoration.

I have been preaching this everywhere because I have a mandate. The
Lord instructed me to do it. This time He said, "If you don't preach what
I'm telling you, I won't ask you again, I'll call on somebody else." I said,
"You don't have to be concerned about that, my plans don't work. I'm
going to go with Yours."
So I have been faithful to preach it all over the world in every
continent that I've been. I've watched miraculous recovery in the financial
realm, not only in our lives and our ministry, but ministries all over the
world and in individuals as well. We've received some of the most
phenomenal testimonies of financial deliverance and miracles that I've
ever heard in my life.
The focus of this book is to encourage you to believe God to restore
everything the devil has stolen from you. The Lord said to me, "I want you
to make a list of everything the devil has stolen from your ministry over
the last 5 years and get it back!" So I listed everything Satan had stolen
and everything has been restored just like God said. I'm not an isolated
case. It will work for whoever will dare believe for it.
Are you fed up with the devil stealing from you? Are you ready to get
it back? I want to share with you what the Lord shared with me concerning
restoration in every area of our lives.
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do
I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Isaiah 42:9
I want you to make note of the fact that God says, New things do I
declare. Do you know God is capable of doing something new? Notice
that He says, before they spring forth, or before they manifest, or before
they happen, I will tell you of them. What's God saying? If you don't know
what God's doing, then there's a strong possibility that you will miss it.
God said, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. A vivid
example of it is in Luke 5, where Jesus was teaching in a house. The Bible
says the place was full of doctors of the law and Pharisees—religious

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people. And the Bible says, as He taught, the power of the Lord was
present to heal them all. Them who? The Pharisees. The doctors of the
law. The religious people.
Continue reading and you'll find out that not one of them was healed
even though the power of the Lord was present to heal them all. Now
somebody did get healed, but it was an outsider. Some men brought a man
on a stretcher who couldn't come on his own. When they arrived at this
house, they couldn't get in the place because it was packed out.
But they wouldn't take no for an answer. So they found a way. They
climbed on top of the house, tore the roof off and lowered the man down.
When Jesus saw their faith, the man was healed of his disease. Now
notice, there was a whole room full of people that could have been healed
but were not because they were not in the flow. That tells me that God can
be doing something and not everyone will be affected by it. If you're so
preoccupied with your problem, you may not hear the answer.
God said, "I want to do something new and before it springs forth, I
tell thee of it." There's a key phrase—spring forth. Anything that can
spring forth can catch you off guard. You've got to be expecting. You've
got to be anticipating. God is actually wanting us to get "something new"
minded. Go around expecting it. Talking it. Expect something new all the
time. Anticipate it. Then when it happens, it won't catch you off guard.
You won't be on the outside looking in; you'll be right in the middle of it.
Praise God.
Notice He says,
New things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of
them.
Isaiah 42:9
The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up
jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail
against his enemies.
I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and
refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will

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destroy and devour at once.

Isaiah 42:13-14
Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I
sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord's
servant?
Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears,
but he heareth not.
Isaiah 42:18-20
He says, the only thing that is preventing me from doing this new thing
is, my servants are spiritually blind and spiritually deaf.
Now remember, God says He does nothing in the earth unless He first
reveal it.
Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his
secret unto his servants the prophets.
Amos 3:7
Isn't that what His Word says? And notice He says, I will do
something new, but before I can do it, I have to have somebody listening
and seeing. When God gets ready to do something new in the earth, He
needs a mouthpiece.
What happens if God's ready to do something but He doesn't have
anybody hearing? It's delayed, postponed. God needs listening ears. God
needs seeing eyes. In the Old Testament, that's what a prophet was. A seer.
A hearer. He saw and he heard what God wanted to do, and God used him
as a mouthpiece to declare it to the people. And once the prophet began to
decree it, then God had legal right to confirm it with signs following.
It's the same way with you and me. Now you can read in the Word and
discover that God wants you to have a certain thing, but it'll never come to
pass until you start to decree it.
In Job, it says, Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be
established. That's a spiritual law. Just because you found it in the Word

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doesn't mean it's going to happen. It'll happen when you begin to decree it.
Because once you begin to decree it, then you've given God the legal right
to confirm it with signs following in your behalf.
Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I
sent?
Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears,
but he heareth not.
This is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them
snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a
prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.
Isaiah 42:19-20,22
Notice the word RESTORE. Highlight it. Underline it. Draw a circle
around it. Restore was the new thing that he was talking about.
Remember he said, New things do I declare: before they spring forth I
tell you of them. God is saying, "There's something I want to do and before
it comes to pass, I will tell you about it. But if you are going to be a
recipient of this new thing, then you've got to have hearing ears."
Do you have ears to hear? I'm not talking about these connected to
your head. I'm talking about ears to hear what the spirit of God is saying.
If you don't have ears to hear what the spirit of God is saying, then you're
going to wind up being robbed and wind up living below your privileges
as a child of God.
Once again, God's people are destroyed because of a lack of
knowledge. And it's not because God's not giving knowledge. There is an
abundance of knowledge. In fact in the book of Proverbs it says, Wisdom
is crying out in the streets. God's talking in every way that He possibly
can.
We have access to twenty-four hour Christian television, radio
programs, magazines and tapes. Now we're even getting the message out
on the Internet. There is no excuse for a believer having a lack of
knowledge. As Proverbs says, Ye simple ones, how long, ye simple ones,
will ye love simplicity?

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God is saying, "I want to do something new, but I have to have

somebody listening so I can tell it to them and then they must decree it.
And once they decree it, then it gives Me legal right to do it in their
behalf."
Verse 22, and none saith, Restore. Then look at verse 23, Who among
you will give ear to this? What's God saying? I'm ready to do something
new. What is this new thing, Lord? "Restoration! I'm ready to restore. I'm
ready to restore to you everything the adversary has stolen from you. I'm
ready to turn this devastation in your life into restoration, but I must have
someone declaring restoration."
What about you? Will you be the person God's looking for? How
badly do you need restoration in your life? If you need it, then start
decreeing restoration in your home right now!

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CHAPTER 4
 CHAPTER 4
4 Changing Your Atmosphere

M y oldest grandson, Mark James, is my preaching buddy. This little

boy has been preaching with me since he could just barely talk. I
think his first words were "Pa Pa" and then "Preaching" was about the
second word. He just loves to preach.
I gave him one of my old microphones, and it became one of his
favorite toys. He went all over the house with that microphone just
preaching when he could hardly even talk. And he loves suits. He thinks
suits are for preaching only. When I take him to the department store, he
grabs the salesman's coat and says, "Where's your preaching suits?" He
thinks that's all they're for.
He would come over to our house in a suit to play. I would say, "Mark
James, why do you have your suit on?" "In case we preach, Pa Pa," he'd
say. One time he came over in a jogging suit and a tie. I said, "Why do
you have on a tie?" "In case we preach, Pa Pa."
Every once in a while I would take him with me on meetings, and he
wanted to dress just like me. So I'd get him dressed and I'd say, "Now you
just sit there and be real still and don't mess your clothes up. Let me get
dressed and the Pastor will be here in a little while to pick us up." I'd say,
"Now get your sermon ready." And he'd have his Bible open, even though
he couldn't read it, and he'd say, "Pa Pa, are you going to do all the
preaching or do I get to preach too?" He'd get upset if I didn't let him
preach before I did.
So one morning after a meeting we had in Tulsa, we went to the
airport very early to catch a flight back to Dallas/Fort Worth. As we were
going through security, Mark James said, "Pa Pa, you didn't give me
breakfast, and I'm hungry." I said, "Well there's a little snack bar just
before the gate. We'll have enough time to get you something before we
get on the airplane." So we stopped at this little snack bar. There was one

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table left, and so we sat down. There just seemed to be a real nice
atmosphere that particular morning.
Airports are notorious for strife, but it just seemed to be real peaceful
there. People seemed to be having a good time. I had him sit down, and I
went up to the counter. The lady at the counter watches our television
program and said hello to me, and I got some orange juice and a muffin
for him. We were having a great time.
Well in a little while, two men came walking down the hall telling a
dirty joke—very, very loudly. I mean they were speaking the most foul
language I'd ever heard in my life. Eventually, everybody in the airport
turned their head to look at these guys. They just didn't have any respect
for anybody. Filthy words were coming out of their mouths, and they
simply did not care who was listening. They came right up to the snack
bar, sat down at a table right next to us and continued telling their dirty
joke. And my grandson could hear it. He could hear everything they were
saying, and he is a very impressionable little boy. He picks up on
everything he hears and repeats it.
It made me mad. I mean, I almost forgot who I was and what I was,
and I wanted to slap them both real good and then pray for their healing. I
mean, it really made me mad. I found out I wasn't totally sanctified that
morning. It just got all over me. But I can't slap them. I mean, the lady at
the counter knows who I am. If I slap this guy, then what am I going to tell
her? "God told me to cast that devil out of him through five fold ministry.
Here's five and it's folded." I can't do that.
These two men totally changed the atmosphere in that airport with
their filth. I thought, "Now wait a minute. It was nice here before these
two 'jerks' showed up. We've got just as much right to enjoy our breakfast
here in a peaceful atmosphere." And I came to a solution.
I just said real loud, "Mark James, are you going to help Pa Pa preach
tonight when we get to Ft. Worth?"
He said, "I am."
I said, "Have you got your sermon ready?"

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He said, "I do."

I said, "Well, I'd like to hear a sample of it."
He does not have any reservations whatsoever. He just thinks you
ought to preach everywhere. Here's what he did. He got out of his chair,
got in front of the table, looked at everybody in the snack bar and hit the
table with his fist. Then he said real loud, "People, you need Jesus in your
heart and you need to be filled with the Holy Ghost!"
You could see the shock on those two guys' faces. Their mouths flew
wide open and they got up and walked off just as fast as they could.
Then Mark James said, "Say amen, somebody." (He loves that line
from Kenneth Copeland.) And people started clapping for the little guy. A
three year old changed the atmosphere in the airport with his words.
Now if he can do that in an airport, then you can do it in your house.
Don't tell me it won't work for you. God said I want to do something new.
And this new thing is: He wants to restore everything the devil has stolen.
But it's not going to happen to you because it happened to me or because it
happened to somebody else. It's going to happen because you get it down
on the inside of you to the point that no one can take it away from you.
Decree it and keep decreeing it and keep decreeing it and keep decreeing it
until comes to pass.
Restoration is not automatic. It's going to happen to you when you
hear what I heard. I heard God say, "Son, it is time to get back everything
the devil has stolen from you. Start decreeing, Restore! Restore! Restore!"
Remember He said, "I don't have anybody saying restore." I read that and
I said, "God, I'll be Your man. Everywhere I go. Every city I preach in.
Every nation I preach in. I'm going to charge the air with restoration."
Hallelujah. That's what you do when you begin to decree it. You charge
the atmosphere with restoration. Praise God.
Many years ago when Smith Wigglesworth came to America, he was
preaching in a meeting where there was a number of preachers. They
asked him to come to the service the night before he was to speak. Brother
Wigglesworth was sitting in the audience listening to a man preaching
total unbelief and religious tradition. Finally, Brother Wigglesworth

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couldn't stand it anymore. He just stood up, interrupted the man, and of
course, Wigglesworth had a powerful voice and he just shouted, "Stop
him, Lord, he's charging the air with unbelief." The man shut up, sat down
and Brother Wigglesworth took over and changed the atmosphere by
preaching words of faith. Consequently, miracles began to happen.
Notice those words. The first time I read that, that phrase stuck in my
spirit. "Charging the air." He's charging the air with unbelief. The Bible
says that through faith and understanding God framed the worlds. You
frame your own world with the words that you speak. My world is charged
with faith, with life, with health, with prosperity, with victory and with
success. Why? Because I charge the air with them.
We're in this world, but we're not of this world. We can frame our
world with the words of God coming out of our mouth, and God
confirming them with signs following. God said I don't have anyone
saying "restore". And God says if they'll say it, I'll do it. Do you need
restoration happening in your life? Well then begin declaring it and give
God an opportunity to do it!
The book of Acts, chapter 3 tells us that heaven retains Jesus until all
things have been restored. So if we believe His appearing is soon, then this
restoration is even sooner than that. These are days of restoration, praise
God. God is restoring. He is restoring back to the church everything that
Satan has taken out of the church.
Now you may say, "Well I just don't believe that my going around
saying 'Restore' will do anything." All right, let me ask you this, "Have
you ever been in a restaurant or some public setting, perhaps you and your
family, very comfortable and then people sat next to you and start using
foul language?" Did it change the atmosphere? What changed it? Not just
their presence, but their words. If it works in the negative, then why not in
the positive?
Start charging the air with "Restore"! Husbands, you are the priest and
the prophet of your home. You ought to be the family cheerleader. Get
them up in the morning and say, "All right family. We are fed up with the
devil stealing from us. He has stolen from us for the last time so in the

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name of Jesus, let's all begin our cheer for the day. Jesus said be of good
cheer so here's a good cheer. R-E-S-T-O-R-E! What am I spelling?
Restore! Restore! Restore!" Amen. Get them all talking restore.
I heard what God was saying, and I began to decree it and it began to
happen, praise God. If the rest of the body of Christ begins decreeing it,
then there is no demon in hell that can keep back what has been stolen
from us. We are the generation that's going to march in and get it all back.
Hallelujah.
Look at II Kings 7:3. You're probably familiar with this story. I want
you to see how even though what was in the enemy's camp was available
to God's people, it didn't happen until somebody got in motion. It was
there all the time. It belonged to them, but they never benefited from it
until somebody got in motion.
And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate:
and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?
II Kings 7:3
Notice, these were leprous men. They already had three strikes against
them. These men are the least likely to be used of God to restore to a
whole community its food and its wealth. The supply lines have been cut
off. There is no food in the city. There's no food to be bought. These men
are either going to die of leprosy, or they're going to die of starvation, or
they're going to die by the sword of the enemy. They have no hope. They
know they're going to die one way or the other.
But finally, one of them made up his mind, well if we're going to die,
we're not going to just sit here, we're going to die on the move. Why sit we
here until we die? Now the question I have for you is: Why sit there when
God is saying, "Everything Satan has stolen from you I will restore." Why
go without, if God's saying it's time to get it back? Amen.
So they said,
Why sit we here until we die?
If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the
city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also.

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Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if
they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but
die.
2 Kings 7:3-4
In other words, we're not going to just sit here and accept defeat
anymore. And they rose up in the twilight to go into the camp of the
Syrians.
And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp,
they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence
silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came
again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and
went and hid it.
2 Kings 7:8
Now if you read the entire story, these four leprous men got up and
started toward the enemy's camp. And through their action, it caused a
reaction from God. All they did was say, we're not going to sit here
anymore and just accept defeat. So they got up and started walking toward
the enemy's camp, and God responded. He amplified the sound of their
footsteps and caused the Syrians to hear the sound of a mighty army. And
all it was, was four leprous men. The Syrians were so afraid by what they
heard they didn't even send a scout out. All they'd had to do was send a
scout out and they would've seen four leprous, helpless, hopeless men
crawling over the hillside. But God amplified that sound and made it
sound like a great host, an entire army. And it frightened the enemy so,
that they fled the camp.
And when these four leprous men got to the enemy's camp, they found
all the food that was needful. They found all the finances that were
needful. And it was sitting there waiting for them all the time. But notice,
no one would have benefited from it if someone hadn't gotten into motion.
Notice how the motion started. Words. Why sit we here until we die? It
started with words. Right words. When they got there, every tent they
went into, they found abundance. And then they finally decided it wouldn't
be right for them to consume it on themselves. They told the city what

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they had found. And the whole city began to rejoice as they took back
what the enemy had stolen.
So once again, God is saying, "I'm ready to do something wonderful in
your life. I am ready to restore everything the enemy has taken from you.
All I need for you to do is have listening ears. Say what I say and decree it
and establish it and get in motion."
I'm telling you there is no demon in hell that can hold back or keep
back what's been stolen from you if you'll do what God is saying.
Say it right now: Restore! Restore! Restore! Say it again: Restore!
Restore! Restore!
It's very important that you don't get the impression that you're going
to say it once and that's it. You keep decreeing it. If you'll do what God is
saying in Isaiah 42—become "something new minded," then the last thing
you'll say when you go to bed at night is Restore! The first thing you'll
think when you get up in the morning—Restore! When you talk to the
family: "These are our days of restoration." When you talk to people on
the job, and somebody says, "How's it going?" You'll say, "Restoration,
thank you."
Get so "restoration minded" that it just flows out of you. Restore!
Restore! Restore! And you just watch, God is going to do something new
in your life!
In these last days, God will raise up an army of believers that are going
to march into Satan's camp and take back everything he has stolen from
the church. Begin charging the air with restoration in your home, get it in
your spirit and start shouting, "Restore! Restore! Restore!"

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CHAPTER 5
 CHAPTER 5
5 If You Can Conceive It, You Can
Receive It

H ave you ever wondered, "Can God provide the money that I need to
get out of debt?" Or "Can He provide new school clothes for the
kids?" Or "Can He provide the finances to pay our rent this month?" Well,
every time you question God, you are putting limitations on Him.
Every time you ask, "Can He?" instead of boldly declaring by faith,
"He can," you limit God in your life! Even though God is totally
unlimited, you and I can limit Him from doing what He wants to do in our
lives.
Get the phrase, "Can He?" out of your vocabulary. "Can God do this,
can God furnish that, can God provide this?" HE CAN! If you can
conceive it, then you can receive it and no demon from hell can keep it out
of your possession.
You limit Him by not being able to conceive it in your heart. Nothing
happens on the outside until it is first conceived on the inside! We know
that in the natural realm "to conceive" means "to become pregnant with,"
but it also means "to apprehend." In other words, reach out and take it!
I found a definition of pregnant in the dictionary that I did not know
before. It means "to be filled with or to be rich in prolific ideas!" I am
pregnant with some prolific ideas, and I got them from the Bible. I am
conceiving what God says is mine. How about you?
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...
Proverbs 23:7
As a man thinks in his heart (not his head). Thinketh in the heart
implies, "to ponder, to dwell upon, to meditate, to imagine or to image."
You have to be able to conceive the image on the inside of you of what

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God is saying and what God is promising. If you can't conceive an image
of it, then it will never become a reality in your life.
If you still question, "Can He?" then the image is not perfected yet.
That means you've got to spend more time with the Word and more time
with the Holy Ghost. Obviously, in order to conceive something, it takes
more than just attending church only, it takes more than reading the Bible
once a week on the way to church, and more than hearing a sermon one
time. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing. Repetition. The more you hear
it, the more capable you become of conceiving it.
God is ready to work with a people who will remove every limitation
and allow Him to do some big things in their lives. He wants you to stretch
your imagination just as far as you can possibly stretch it. In fact, from
here on out THINK BIG!
God is telling us that He's going to do some big things (exceeding
abundantly above all that we can ask or think) and yet the only ones who
are going to experience this are those who can conceive it.
Remember the story of the children of Israel (Psalm 78). God did
marvelous things in their behalf (divided the Red Sea in order for them to
cross over) and yet they still questioned God saying, "Can God furnish,
can God give, can God provide?"
Consequently, people with that outlook will not experience the
exceedingly if they can't conceive it. I realize many times, the thing that
keeps us from thinking big is the fact that we've had so many trials and so
many attacks that all we can think is, "I just want to survive."
If you can't conceive restoration in your life, then you won't
experience it. God used this concept to get Abraham to see beyond his
own limitations and believe what He had promised.
In Genesis 13, Abram begins his journey of faith. God says to him in
verse 15,
For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to
thy seed for ever.
And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a

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man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be
numbered.
Genesis 13:15-16
So God tells him, "Look, as far as you can see in every direction
around you, that's what I'm going to give you. Now I want you to look
down at the dust. If you can count every little grain of dust, Abram, that's
how many seed you will have."
God's talking to a man who, in the natural, has limitations. This can
never come to pass. But did you notice, God pays no attention to what
man says about Abram's condition (or yours). Notice what He said in
verse 17,
Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the
breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Genesis 13:17
Why does God want Abram to feel the dust on his feet? Because if he
can feel the very dust that God says is his, it helps create the image on the
inside of his heart. Then, in Chapter 15, in order to continue perfecting this
image on the inside of Abram, it says,
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward
heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he
said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
And he believed in the Lord..
Genesis 15:5-6
What is He doing? God is helping Abram conceive an image on the
inside. Notice these three words, "And he believed..." You could add,
"And he conceived!" However, he had a little problem. His wife was not
out there walking in the dust with him. His wife was not out there
counting stars. So how can you expect her to conceive what Abram has
conceived.
Husbands and wives, you are living this life of faith together. It's not
enough for one to conceive restoration, and the other hasn't. It's not

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enough for me to get an image and Carolyn not have the same image. As
long as only one of us has an image of it, we put limitations on ourselves.
We're one in this walk of faith.
Abram has an image of it. He has conceived! He believes God. He's
pregnant on the inside with the vision. However, it's not that real to Sarai.
And when it's not real to your mate, he/she can be easily distracted.
Sarai said, it may be... That's unbelief. When you say, "it may be", you
haven't conceived yet. Then, God changed Abram's name to Abraham
meaning "Father of many nations". Now, every time Sarai calls his name,
she's saying, "Father of many nations, it's time to eat now." "Father of
many nations, it's time to go to work now."
In order to perfect this image in Sarai, God had to change her name
too. Notice what happened,
As for Sarai, thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but
Sarah shall her name be.
Genesis 17:15
Sarah means "princess or the mother of nations."
And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her. yea, I will
bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people
shall be of her.
Genesis 17:16
Notice what God has done. He is endeavoring to perfect the image on
the inside of them because what they can't conceive, they can't receive.
Now every time Sarah hears her name called... "Oh, Sarah!" "Oh, mother
of nations, what's for supper?"
Every time they call one another's name, the image gets more and
more perfected until they believe beyond a doubt that they can do what
God says they can do.
And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did
unto Sarah as he had spoken.
For Sarah conceived...

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Genesis 21:1-2
I know this is talking about physically conceiving, but she couldn't
physically conceive until she spiritually conceived. In other words, she
could not conceive in her womb until she first conceived in her heart. It
had to happen in the heart first.
Somebody might ask, "Are you saying confession brings possession?"
Yes. What else would you call repeating someone's name all the time?
Confession. God had them confessing the promise every time they spoke
each other's name.
How much can your spirit conceive? How big can you dream? What
kind of restoration do you need in your life? Can you conceive it? What
limitations have you placed on God? Are you still asking, "Can He?" You
can't just hear a sermon once and think that will do it. It's unlikely that one
sermon will cause a perfected image on the inside of you. You've got to
walk in the Word on a daily basis from the length of it to the breadth of it.
Search out every scripture you can possibly find that talks to you about
your situation. Feed on it, imagine it, ponder it, dwell on it, walk in it.
Every time you open the Bible, it's not just words, it's life jumping off the
pages into your spirit, and you're finally able to shout, "He can!"
I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I
am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who
infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's
sufficiency].
Philippians 4:13 (Amplified Bible)
It's time to remove every barrier and every limitation. This can only
come from constant fellowship with the Word of God, the Holy Ghost and
the Anointed One and His anointing.
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.
Ephesians 3:20
Anytime you see "according to" it means "in direct proportion to."
You could say it like this: "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding

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abundantly above all that we ask or think, in direct proportion to my

ability to conceive."
What's he telling us? That this power that is at work within us is a
God-given ability to conceive the image of what God says. He will only
do exceeding abundantly above what you can ask or think in direct
proportion to what you are capable of conceiving.
Now if you can't conceive total restoration, you will never receive it. If
you can't conceive increasing in the blessings of God, then you will never
experience it because you can only receive what you can conceive.
Begin studying the scriptures until you know that you know without a
doubt that nothing is impossible to him who believes. And if you can
conceive it, then you can receive what God says is yours! Start shouting,
"He Can!"

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CHAPTER 6
 CHAPTER 6
6 Staying Positive in a Negative
World

I t has become very popular in America for people to tell all of their
unfortunate childhood experiences. It's one of the great audience
"attention getters" on talk shows today. We've even got psychologists who
plant an idea in people's minds, and then the person says, "Oh, that's the
reason I can't do this. That's the reason I can't achieve. That's the reason
I've been held back all of my life."
Well listen! If you've been abused or mistreated, God has a solution—
get born again. "Oh, that's easy for you to say, Brother Jerry. You don't
know the pain. You don't know the scars." Let me ask you this? Are you
going to let it control you for the rest of your life? You can be healed. You
can be delivered. The same Jesus that can heal sick bodies can heal
wounded spirits.
It's time to get in the Word of God and tell the devil, "This is where
you get off. This will not be a crutch in my life anymore. I don't care what
my past was like, my future is bright in God."
Turn all those negative excuses into positive reasons for achieving.
The Bible is absolutely full of stories of men and women who were
failures but God made champions out of them. Have you ever taken a
close look at the "Jesus Christ Evangelistic Association" team? How
would you like to have a faith ministry and you have a man on your team
known as "Doubting" Thomas? This was a healing ministry and Peter
would cut your ear off if you made him mad. This was a ministry of
compassion but James and John would call fire down on you. This was a
ministry of integrity, and Judas was stealing!
Jesus spent hours one day sharing with His disciples about His
relationship with the Father. He made statements such as, "If you've seen

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Me, you've seen the Father." "My Father and I are One." "It is the Father
in Me that doeth the works." And when He got through, Philip said,
"Show us the Father." Jesus said, "How long am I going to have to be with
you?" Don't laugh, some of his descendants are living all over America. In
the natural, these men were the least likely to succeed, but Jesus made new
men out of them.
Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness,
obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,
out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned
to flight the armies of the aliens.
Hebrews 11:33-34
These were just ordinary people like you and me who believed God,
and their believing God caused them to do extraordinary things. I like
what the Message translation says, ...turned disadvantage to advantage.
This is a negative world that we live in. If you follow the course of this
world, then it begins to control your destiny. Satan is endeavoring to plant
negative seeds on the inside of you in one way or the other. He is out to
restrict you by saying that you're a failure, or you were born on the wrong
side of the tracks, or you were born into the wrong family. He'll even tell
you that you shouldn't have been born at all.
You can believe that if you want to, or you can overcome it with the
Word of God.
Don't become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into
it without even thinking.
Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the
inside out.
Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)
Before anything happens outwardly, something must happen inwardly.
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).
The Bible won't do any more for you than any other book unless you

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allow the words to jump off the pages and get into your heart. And that
only comes by fellowship and meditation in the Word of God. You'll
begin to see yourself as a champion in Christ Jesus, capable of doing all
things through the Mighty One which strengthens you.

1. YOU MUST MAKE A DECISION.

Everything you do starts with a decision. Are you going to live like the
rest of the world and be controlled by its circumstances or live by the
design that God has planned for your life? Success in your life begins with
a decision.
To go with the flow of this world is to live with limitations, but to go
with the flow of God is to open yourself to unlimited possibilities never
before imagined. Don't allow yourself to join in on negative conversations
that are contrary to what you believe.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our
God shall stand for ever.
Isaiah 40:8
It doesn't make any difference what happens in this world; if you are
on the Word of God, then you can be a success going somewhere to
happen!
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord,
thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29:11
Make the decision today that you will not allow the world to dictate
what your outcome will be. Your outcome is mapped out by God Himself,
and your future is bright.

2. LEARN TO THINK BIG.

To flow with God is to open up your mind and think bigger thoughts
than you've ever thought in your life. You'll be able to dream new dreams.

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You'll begin to achieve things that the world says are impossible. You'll
begin to believe that you can conquer every obstacle that stands in your
path. If God is for you, no one can successfully be against you.
You can't "hang around" God very long and continue to think small.
He said to me one time, "If you think small, you will disappoint Me." The
Word challenges you to rise above the circumstances of this world, and to
get a brand new perspective of your potential in Christ. I'm not talking
about what you can do. I'm talking about what the Greater One inside of
you can do.
So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can
we lose?
Romans 8:37 (The Message)

3. YOU MUST RENEW YOUR MIND.

Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2
Notice the responsibility is on you. God's not going to step in and see
to it that you're not conformed. The Holy Ghost isn't going to make you
renew your mind. It's up to you. Don't be like the rest of the world.
In February, 1969, when I surrendered my life to God, my whole life
changed. I became a new creation. However, nothing happened to my
mind! My mind didn't get born again. It was my spirit that got re-created.
My mind still thought like it always did. Renewing the mind is not
something that happens at the new birth, it is a daily process that begins
when you start feeding on the Word of God.
As you saturate yourself in the Word of God, your thinking will begin
to change. You'll no longer be a negative person. Just because everybody
else talks sickness and poverty doesn't mean that you have to. You may be
the only light in that arena of darkness—so shine!

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Let me challenge you to do this exercise. It will be a great help to you.

Make a list of everything Satan has told you in the past as to why you can't
be successful and why you can't be prosperous. For example:
1. Not enough education.
2. Not enough money.
3. Not enough time.
4. Bad childhood experiences.
5. Abused.
6. Born on the wrong side of town.
7. Born to the wrong family.
8. Born at the wrong time.
9. Born at all.
Once you make that list, then compare it to what God's Word says and
decide whose report you will believe. Every one of those excuses can be
turned into something positive.
What's holding you back? What's keeping you down? Well, it's time to
get rid of it.
...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily
beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
Hebrews 12:1-2
Study your Bible again. Most of the people in the Bible were not
qualified when God called them. They didn't have the credentials. But God
takes the foolish things and confounds the wise. God takes what the world
discards and turns them into champions, praise God!!
There is a way to stay positive in a negative world by focusing your
attention on God. Don't let the world dictate your destiny. Turn every
negative excuse into a positive reason for achieving and watch what God
will do with your life. He'll turn devastation into restoration!

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CHAPTER 7
 CHAPTER 7
7 Delays: Why They Happen &
How to Deal With Them

A nyone who has ever attempted to live by faith has experienced

delays. I can honestly say, not everything has happened in the time
frame I wanted it to or exactly the way I thought it should happen. But I
also can say this—God has never disappointed me. There is a due season
for everything, and when you understand that, it eliminates the frustration.
There may have been things you were believing for: finances,
restoration, job promotion, a godly mate, and it seemed like they would
never come to pass, so you finally just gave up. Well, I want to encourage
you today to recapture your vision and wait for it until it comes to pass.
You may have given up, but God is still interested in seeing His plan come
to pass in your life.
When Paul wrote, Having done all, to stand. Stand, he indicated that
not everything would happen immediately. You must develop "the art of
waiting," and I can assure you, I am an expert on this subject.
We generally don't like the scripture that says, The steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord... We want it to say, "The strides..." or "The
leaps..." Steps are slow, but they are the sure way to go. If you'll determine
to obey each step that God gives you, then you will reach the destination
that you desire. Let's look at three scriptural reasons for delays:
#1 God. It could be that God has orchestrated a delay in your life
because He is arranging a divine appointment up ahead. The illustration I
am about to give you is rare. It is not the norm in most Christians lives as
to why delays happen, but it can happen.
Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of
Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word

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in Asia,
After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into
Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
Acts 16:6-7
Notice they wanted to preach the Word in Asia, but they weren't
allowed to. Why? The Holy Spirit forbid them. These men, in an attempt
to fulfill the commission of Jesus, were delayed in going to Asia and the
delay was orchestrated by God. God intervened here because they were
about to miss a divine appointment ahead.
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: there stood a man
of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into
Macedonia, and help us.
And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored
to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had
called us for to preach the gospel unto them.
Acts 16:9-10
So, God stood between them and their plans and forbid them to preach
in Asia because He had another plan up ahead. The timing was not right,
and they had a divine appointment awaiting them. This could be the case
in your life.
#2 Satan. Delays can be caused because you were hindered by Satan.
But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in
presence, not in heart, endeavored the more abundantly to see
your face with great desire.
Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once
and again; but Satan hindered us.
1 Thessalonians 2:17-18
Now I can promise you, when you find the word hindered, the source
for this delay is not God but Satan. Satan is the one who hinders. That
means Satan created this delay. Notice, Paul wanted to come. It was his
desire and his intention, but Satan hindered. It could be that Satan has

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hindered some things in your life and it's time for you to get "fed up" with
it and fight back with an aggressive stand on the Word of God.
#3 You. You could be the cause of delays for various reasons. Now
obviously, when you create the delay, Satan is behind it, but let's not
blame him for everything. In most cases, we need to re-evaluate our lives
to see what we've done to create a delay.
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not
enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you,
but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages
to put it into a bag with holes.
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
Haggai 1:6-7
Notice it didn't say, "Consider the devil's ways." It said, "Consider
your ways!" It was their ways that had created the delay. Remember, these
people were in exile and God delivered them, brought them back to their
homeland and their instruction was to re-build the temple that was lying in
ruins.
They started out with zeal, inspiration, hope and faith—just like most
of us do when God tells us something that He's going to do in our life.
They were excited about it, but suddenly, the enemies from the North
began to attack them, not only with weapons, but they made fun of them.
They mocked them.
Your adversary, the devil, will launch attacks against you, and if that
doesn't discourage you, then he'll use messengers to mock you for living
by faith. And sometimes they are relatives—people you know, respect and
love. If you receive enough mocking and enough attacks, you could lose
your focus. Your vision could become blurred, and you could eventually
give up before the manifestation comes. There are three things that
cause us to lose our focus:
# 1. Disinterest. You become disinterested in what God said, and of the
vision He gave you. Then apathy sets in. You become passive. You yield
to the mockery. When you're not interested in what God is saying and

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doing, then you begin to pursue your own desires and dreams and become
self-centered. When that happens, your life becomes unfruitful.
# 2. Discouragement. You can get to the point where it looks like what
God told you is never going to happen. It becomes too impossible looking.
If you look at the ashes of your life too long, Satan will convince you that
you cannot build it back. You could become so discouraged that you
eventually give up, and again, your life becomes non-productive.
#3. Dissatisfaction. When you become dissatisfied while waiting for
your due season, you desperately need a word from God. Haggai means
"festive spirit". God sent the prophet, Haggai, to bring joy back to the
people so they could build the temple. If there is anything you need when
you are disinterested, discouraged, and dissatisfied, it's a word from God.
Surround yourself with the Word.
Learn to be the "Haggai" in your house. Jesus said, "Be of good
cheer." You've got to learn how to become your own best cheerleader! As
previously mentioned, men, you are the priest and prophet of your home,
and whether you realize it or not, you create the atmosphere. If you're
down and discouraged all the time, that will carry over to the rest of the
family.
When things are not going well and it looks like it's never going to
come to pass, then the family ought to be able to count on you to rally
them, praise God. I don't care if all you do is get the family up and say,
"OK. It's pep rally time! The devil says it's never going to happen. We've
created a few problems for ourselves, but today, we're going to change
some things!! Give me a V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!" Create a festive spirit in your
home.

Developing the Art of Waiting

A lot of people don't know how to wait. Society has an impatient, do-
it-quick, high tech, computerized, push button mentality. We try to bring
all that over into Christianity, but there are times when you have to be
willing to wait.
This is how to wait properly: Make sure you've done what the Word

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requires. Remember what Paul said, "Having done all to stand, stand?"
Make a check list and be sure you've done all to stand. If you don't
understand what all is, go read the entire book of Ephesians again. You'll
find that avoiding strife is involved in doing all to stand, forgiving people
is part of doing all to stand, and giving is part of doing all to stand.
If you are believing for a financial miracle and you haven't planted any
seed, then you haven't done all to stand yet. There is no such thing as
increase without planting. You may not have any money, but you have
prayer time, or you can encourage someone. Seed isn't always money.
You can mow someone's lawn and tell them, "That's my seed."
Remember: You are never without seed!
When you've done what the Word requires and done all to stand, then
you can be confident that God will bring the manifestation. When you
know that you know that you are in right standing with God, then your
attitude becomes, "Why wouldn't God answer my prayer? He promised
that no weapon formed against the righteous shall prosper."
Expectant is a key word in developing the art of waiting. Live each
day expecting your due season to come. If it doesn't come today, wake up
the next morning expecting it. Don't ever give up—continue to stand and
keep on standing until it arrives.
Wait [expectantly] for the Lord, and He will rescue you.
Proverbs 20:22 (The Amplified Bible)
You've got to learn how to scripturally stand, and then whatever it is
that you're believing God for will come to pass.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the
end [fulfillment]; It will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry,
wait [earnestly] for it.
Habakkuk 2:3 (The Amplified Bible)
So don't give up. Don't become disinterested, discouraged or
dissatisfied. Wait earnestly for your due season. It will come!

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Offended at God?
What's the bottom line for Satan stealing from you? To get you
offended at God. To delay your victory.
Why? Because when you're offended at God, you're not in His
presence. And if you're not in His presence, then you're not in position for
restoration. I've watched it many times, over the years in the lives of many
Christians. You never see them anymore. They're not interested in what
God's doing anymore. Why? They're offended at God.
If Satan can steal from you and get you offended at God, then he
doesn't have to repay because you're not in God's presence. It's only in
His presence that times of refreshing come.
When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of
the Lord;
And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached
unto you.
Acts 3:19-20
Do you need to read that again? It's only in His presence that
restoration comes.
"I don't understand. Just about the time I think I'm getting my life in
order, this has to happen." Don't get offended at God.
Do you want back what's been stolen, or not? Then don't get offended
at God when the devil's stealing from you. If you finish reading this book
and tomorrow morning Satan steals something else, the worst thing you
can do is to get offended at God, offended at His Word, or get offended at
the messenger who brought you the Word. Most people either get mad at
God, the message, or the person that preached it. And what you ought to
be doing is getting mad at the devil; he's the thief not God.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord,
thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29:11

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Other translations say, a future and a hope. He's talking to people who
are in captivity. If you're in captivity financially or physically, God says,
even while you're in captivity, My thoughts about you are for a future and
a hope. "I have thoughts that I think about you and they are not thoughts
of you spending the rest of your life in captivity. My thoughts about you
are returning you to where you belong." (Author's paraphrase).
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me,
and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me"...
Jeremiah 29:12-13
Do you know how difficult it is to seek God with all your heart when
you're in captivity? When you're being stolen from?
That's not what human nature wants to do. Human nature wants to
pout, have a pity party, and get mad at God. But God is saying, "If you
want My thoughts for you to come to pass, then while you're in captivity,
while you're being stolen from, while you're living beneath your covenant
rights, call on Me. Seek Me. Find Me. Search for Me with all your heart."
I studied this out from original Hebrew and the indication here is this:
searching is "with an intensity beyond the norm". The worst thing you
can do when Satan is stealing from you is less praying, less giving, less
fellowshipping with God. And isn't that what usually happens? Satan
steals from you, and the first thing you want to do is quit going to church,
quit giving, quit praying. No, God says when you're in captivity, that's
when you turn the intensity up. That's when you turn the volume up on
your seeking Him.
Why? Because God says, "Don't get out of My presence. Because if
you get out of My presence, you've fallen into the adversary's trap. He
won't have to pay it back. He keeps what he stole from you. But if in the
midst of that captivity (I don't care how badly you feel about it) keep
seeking Me, and I will restore you, Hallelujah."
So let me just encourage you and challenge you today. Whatever has
been stolen from you, you can get it back—and then some. Don't get
offended at God. It will delay your restoration. Release all offenses and
start seeking God with your whole heart. Your due season, your miracle

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and your breakthrough will come.

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CHAPTER 8
 CHAPTER 8
8 In Every Great Storm There Is a
Great Victory

H ave you ever gotten out of bed one morning with a smile on your
face, feeling great, looking forward to the day ahead and suddenly
all of Satan's power comes against you? Or you're driving down the
freeway, your car is running great and suddenly everything falls out from
under it?
Have you ever been in a situation like that where a storm arises out of
nowhere? Taxes have increased. Electric bill went up. The car
unexpectedly broke down. That's the way the devil operates. He loves to
catch you off guard. He is hoping that this unexpected attack will cause
you to panic, and you'll be unprepared to deal with it. When people panic,
they often throw all their Bible lessons out the window, and they respond
in fear rather than in faith.
We see an example of this in Mark 4 of Jesus teaching His disciples a
parable of how the Kingdom of God operates.
Know ye not this parable? And how then will ye know all
parables?
The sower soweth the word.
And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown;
but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh
away the word that was sown in their hearts.
And when they were alone, he expounded all things to his
disciples.
Mark 4:13-15, 34
Here Jesus has taken His disciples aside and revealed to them the
principles of sowing and reaping. He explicitly said that once the Word is

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sown, Satan will come immediately to take it away; therefore, we must be

on guard at all times to resist his attacks. If anyone should have a
revelation of this principle, it should be the disciples, right? I mean, Jesus
Himself has just expounded all things to them.
Notice what happens:
And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto
them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into
the ship, so that it was now full.
Mark 4:35,37
Now, when Jesus said, Let us pass over unto the other side, there was
not a cloud in the sky. There was not even a forecast of a storm coming.
And there arose a great storm. The literal Greek meaning for the word
arose is "unexpected". They had no idea a storm was coming. This thing
came out of nowhere.
In the Greek, the word great comes from the word MEGA meaning
"enormous, huge, overwhelming". In other words, this storm was designed
by the forces of hell to destroy them. It's MEGA. The Amplified Bible
says, A furious storm of wind [of hurricane proportions] arose.
This is not just a little wind blowing. It's so great and severe that it's
beating against the ship, water is coming into the boat and these men are
frightened. Peter, James and John are fishermen. They've been on water all
their lives, but evidently this storm is so bad that it causes fear to arise on
the inside of them. And when fear arose, they forgot everything they had
been taught. Exactly what Satan was hoping!
I've learned that Satan loves to catch us off guard particularly right
after a major victory in our life. Why? Because there's a tendency to drop
your guard spiritually after a victory. When you've been believing God for
six months for something and you finally win, there's a tendency to want
to take all that armour off and throw it in the closet and hope you won't
have to use your faith for at least another six months.
While you're enjoying your victory, the devil is scheming and plotting

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another attack. After every victory, I say, "Hallelujah!" and stand guard!
Don't dare take your shield of faith off. Don't dare throw your sword
down! Be on guard!
Now, Jesus fully intended for those men to get Him to the other side. It
didn't matter if the weather was clear or a storm was raging, He wanted
them to take the Word and get Him to the other side! But, the disciples
panicked.
...And he (Jesus) was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a
pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou
not that we perish?
Mark 4:38
They were so frightened to the point that they thought Jesus didn't
care. That is exactly what the devil will try to tell you. He'll even send
some nice Christian to tell you, "Well, if this faith stuff works, where's
God when you need Him?" If anybody cares about your livelihood, it's
Jesus, and He will not forsake you.
The fact that Jesus was asleep in the ship during a MEGA storm
indicates to me that as far as He is concerned, everything is under control.
It may not look like it in the natural, but it's under control.
You and I have experienced situations like this, not necessarily out on
the sea, but that's the way it seems when Satan attacks your finances, your
family, your business, your church. Sometimes the attacks come in
hurricane proportions and you're thinking, "Dear God, what did I do?
What brought this on?"
Have you ever unexpectedly had a need for thousands of dollars before
the end of the week? I have, and in the natural, it's not comfortable. But
God came through with a tremendous miracle!
You may have marked your calendar one year in advance to be at a
certain Believers' Convention and all of hell's powers break loose the week
before you are to leave. Satan will try his best to keep you from getting to
that meeting. Did you ever notice how the family gets in a fight just before
the airplane takes off, or the car breaks down just before you get out of

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town and it had been working fine?

Isn't it amazing that Jesus was sleeping during this mega storm! This
ship is being tossed to and fro, there's water in the boat, surely it's
splashing over on Jesus, but He's still asleep. They had to wake Him up.
When was the last time you slept through a storm? I'm talking about
everything broke loose in your life, and yet you go to bed with the peace
of God, wake up with the joy of the Lord, and somebody says to you,
"Wow! Wasn't that an awful storm!" And you say, "Did we have a storm?"
That's the way Jesus treated it, and He expected His disciples to use
the Word and combat this unexpected storm. Notice what the next
powerful line says: ... AND HE AROSE. The same Greek word as the first
arose: the storm arose unexpectedly, and Jesus arose unexpectedly!
Satan didn't plan on that.
In the mega storms of life, the devil is not counting on Jesus getting
you out of this storm. Just as unexpectedly as this storm arose in your life,
Jesus will unexpectedly rise up to counter it, Hallelujah!
All Jesus has to do is REBUKE the storm. The Bible says at His
rebuke, mountains melt.
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea,
peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Mark 4:39
Same Greek word "MEGA" is used here to describe the calm that
came.
And He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush
now! That's all it took! ...and the wind ceased (sank to rest as if
exhausted by its beating) and there was [immediately] (suddenly)
a great calm (a perfect peacefulness).
Mark 4:39 (The Amplified Bible)
All it took to defeat this unexpected mega storm of hurricane
proportions was the rebuke from the Word of God.
I want you to know that if you're in a storm today and your ship is

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being tossed to and fro, and it looks like there is no way that you could
possibly endure it any longer, the Captain of your salvation has not
jumped ship! He's still in your ship, and He's got it fully under control!
I know what I'm talking about, I've been there! God wants you to get
out of this "survival mentality" where you just hope, if anything, you come
out of the storm alive. That's not God's best for your life. It's time for you
to think bigger than you've ever thought before. Expect God to move on
your behalf. Expect mega miracles in your life.

From Nothing to Mega

In Luke 5, we read of Peter, James and John who are in the fishing
business. They had been out fishing all night, they've been on the boat for
hours and haven't caught a single fish. They have nothing to show for all
their hours out on the water.
But notice what happens when Jesus came on the scene.
Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all
the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will
let down the net.
And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude
of fishes: and their net brake.
Luke 5:4-6
In other words, a few hours ago they had nothing, now they have
MEGA. One moment you have absolutely nothing in your bank account
and suddenly you have MEGA. Could you handle that?
You've been believing God, tithing, giving and SUDDENLY, even
though it has been months, the financial breakthrough comes. One
moment you had nothing and the next moment you have more than
enough. That's the God we serve. He can take you from nothing to mega.
I want you to notice what Jesus told Peter to do: let down your nets...
But what did Peter really do? He let down THE net. What am I saying?

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Peter didn't fully obey. Even though Jesus blessed him, just think how
much more would have been taken if he'd fully obeyed.
God gave mega miracles to a man who had nothing. God is taking
faithful people who seem to have nothing and giving them mega! If you've
been faithful, your due season is coming!
I don't know what kind of storm you may have experienced in the last
few days, weeks, or months, but Jesus is in your ship, the Word of God is
in your heart and if you'll dare stand on it, then God is capable of bringing
a mega calm into your life.
If you've been waking up in the morning thinking, "Dear God, I can't
face another day, this is too overwhelming," if you'll keep standing on the
Word of God, then this unexpected storm will turn around and become the
greatest victory you've ever experienced!
In every overwhelming experience you're facing, don't give up, don't
quit, and don't get discouraged! It's time to pick yourself up, rebuke Satan
and declare that there is coming a great, MEGA calm in your life in Jesus'
Name! Remember this: Out of a MEGA storm comes a MEGA calm!
You have to ask yourself, "Am I willing to wait for it?" As devastating
as the attack is, as overwhelming as the attack is, God can turn the thing
around and cause the blessing to equally overwhelm you, praise God!! To
the point where it is beyond anything you had expected.
Even though from time to time there may be some unexpected storms
in your life, if you won't give up... if you won't faint... if you won't "throw
in the towel," then God will bring a great victory and the overwhelming
calm will equal the overwhelming attack.
God's answer to great battles is great victories! God's answer to great
financial attacks is great financial miracles or "mega bucks"! I wrote this
down in my notes: If this will work on wind, then it has to work on
dollars. If out of a great storm can come a great calm, then out of a great
financial attack, can come a great financial miracle!!! In fact, if you are in
a financial attack right now and it is so overwhelming and so devastating,
then you know as well as I do, if you are going to be delivered from that
attack, then it's going to have to be BIG!

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If you're saying, "This is the greatest financial attack I've ever had,"
then what you're saying is, the miracle you are headed for is going to be
the greatest financial miracle you have ever experienced!! I mean, you
can't have something less than the attack! It's got to be equal to or greater
than the attack. And I've got news for you. Jesus is standing up in your
ship right now joining with you when you stand in faith. He's rebuking the
wind right along with you, and He's calling for a great calm. A mega
victory!!
God wants us to believe Him for mega results. This is a time of
increase, but it must start in your own thinking. If you're going to
experience increase outwardly, you're going to have to experience it
inwardly first of all. You're going to have to change your thinking where
increase is concerned. You're going to have to think bigger than ever
before.
Don't limit God by thinking in terms of just barely getting by. Don't
limit God by saying, "I just hope to survive this." No, get out of that
survival mode and get into increase mode. The Great Provider is in your
ship, and He wants to bring mega miracles into your life.
Great is our Lord, and of great power.
Psalm 147:5
Your problem is not greater than God. Your attack is not greater than
God. Sometimes it may look that way. Sometimes it looks like it's bigger
than what God is capable of doing, but it's not.
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great
recompence of reward.
Hebrews 10:35
God promises mega rewards are in store for those who will not cast
away their faith while they are under pressure. As great as your problem
may be, it can never be greater than the Greater One who resides on the
inside of you.
Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
I John 4:4

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So it's up to you. You must become mega-minded. You must become

restoration minded. You must become "greater is He that is in me than he
that is in the world" minded.
Once again, if you are in a mega storm right now, and your finances
are under attack, your household is under attack, your family is under
attack and the thing is so overwhelming that it looks absolutely impossible
to overcome, then remember that the Greater One is on the inside of you,
and He always arises when great storms arise.
You are not helpless, you are not hopeless and it is not over. In fact,
what you are headed for is a mega victory in your life. If this storm is so
great that it has you up all night, unable to sleep, just get ready! You're
going to spend some nights not able to sleep because of all the blessings
and the miracles that have come on you!!! Instead of laying there thinking,
"What in the world am I going to do to get out of this?" You're going to be
laying there all night praising God for how He got you out of it!! God will
turn the captivity!
There's a mega calm for every mega storm!

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CHAPTER 9
 CHAPTER 9
9 Develop a Restoration Mentality

T hese are times of restoration. You're entitled to it. It belongs to you.

Financial restoration is not just so you can hoard it up, but it's for the
preaching and the proclaiming of the Gospel. God's looking to us to get
this Gospel to the world and bring Jesus back. And we can't do it broke.
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be
blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord.
Acts 3:19
Notice, it's "times" of refreshing and not a "time" singular. If it had
said a time of refreshing, then that would indicate that it may be one
singular event on God's timetable, and it could have already come and
gone, and we may not have gotten in on it. But it says times of refreshing
plural. So that means it could happen more than once.
The first time of refreshing that you ever experienced was when your
spirit was recreated through making Jesus the Lord of your life. And that
made you a candidate for times of refreshing thereafter, hallelujah. It can
happen frequently. Notice that these times of refreshing come from the
presence of the Lord. Notice the source. Notice where they're happening.
If you're going to get in on it, you've got to be where it's happening. If
you're not in the presence of God, then you're not a candidate for a time of
refreshing.
So let me encourage you to stay in His presence. Don't miss it. No
matter what the devil does or what he's stolen. No matter how much
pressure you're under. Regardless of your circumstances. Don't dare get
out of the presence of God because that's where the refreshing comes
from. You've got to be in position to receive.
When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of

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the Lord;
And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached
unto you:
Whom the heaven must receive.
Acts 3:19-21
Now where you see the word "receive", let me suggest that you write
in your margin another word that will give you a better understanding of
what he's saying: the word retain. You'll find this word in most other
translations. Using the word "retain" it would read this way, "Whom the
heaven must retain until..." In other words, Heaven will not release Jesus
until something takes place in the earth.
Now obviously, God's Word has to be fulfilled. The Word said that in
the fullness of time, God sent His Son. In other words, He couldn't come
until the designated moment...until everything leading up to it had been
fulfilled. So God is saying here that there are certain things, certain events,
that must take place on planet earth before Jesus can make His appearance
for the catching away of the saints.
Heaven will not release Him until these things happen. Now, I realize
it's not uncommon to hear people say quite frequently, "The Lord could
come tonight." Or, "The Lord may be here tomorrow." Now I'm
anticipating it, and I look forward to it. But for now, Heaven is retaining
Him.
There are still a few things that have to happen. What are they?
"Whom the heaven must retain until the times of restitution." I want to put
this in terminology that we would use more commonly: Restoration. If it
will help you, instead of the word "restitution", insert the word
"restoration"—it means the same thing.
Whom the heaven must [retain] until the times of [restoration]
of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy
prophets since the world began.
Acts 3:21
What's God saying? I will not release my Son until the times of

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restoration have been fulfilled. God said, "I am going to restore everything
I said I would restore out of the mouth of my prophets."
I don't know what that does for you, but immediately, I start searching
through the Word of God to find out what the prophets said God would
do. What kind of restoration will He do? What is He going to restore?
Because God said that He will restore everything the prophets of old said
He would restore, and when He's done it, then heaven will release Jesus
and we're out of here, hallelujah.
This time of restoration precedes His appearing. If we all believe that
His appearing is near, then times of restoration must be nearer than that. I
submit to you that we are right in the middle of it. I like to say it this way,
"Restoration is in the air." All you've got to do is get in position to receive.
Now let's go back to one of the most significant verses in the Old
Testament concerning restoration. This is so good you're going to be glad
you read it.
And I will restore to you the years...
Joel 2:25
Underline the years. That's the reason the Lord told me in that
visitation to go back and list everything the devil had stolen from our
ministry over the last five years.
What's God saying? I want to restore years that have been stolen from
you. Now, be honest. Has the devil stolen anything from you over the last
five years? Do you want it back? Are you entitled to it? Yes, you are! Let
that just sink down into your spirit. Everything the devil has stolen from
you. I'm not saying you're limited to five years, that's just what the Spirit
of God said to me. You can make this retroactive as far back as your faith
will allow. Believe God for everything Satan's stolen from you.
Verse 26 says, And ye shall eat in plenty. Notice your condition
immediately after restoration. When God restores what the enemy has
stolen for years, notice how your lifestyle changes immediately. You shall
eat in plenty. Plenty is the nature of God. That's been His plan for you and
me since the beginning. It never was the plan of God that we live in the

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land of "not enough" nor the land of "just enough," but God has always
intended for us to live in the land of "more than enough." Amen.
And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the
name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you:
and my people shall never be ashamed.
Joel 2:26
Three primary reasons why you will never experience shame again.
1. He will restore the years
2. You will experience plenty
3. He will deal wondrously with you
I challenge you to do a word study, particularly in the Psalms. Go find
out every time the Psalmist talked about the wonders of God and see how
drastically your life will change. He wants to deal wondrously with you.
Have you ever lived under the shame of not being able to pay your
bills? Have you ever lived under the shame of not being able to do for God
what you want to do? Don't you hate that? You're in a meeting or at
church and they're ready to add another wing onto the building, it's time to
expand, and they need a certain amount of money. And you're sitting
there, your heart's just racing and you're thinking, "Dear God, I wish I was
in a position to do something bigger than I've ever done before. I'm so
tired of just giving fifty dollars. I want to give fifty thousand." Wouldn't
that be wonderful!
But notice, he says, "My people shall never be ashamed." The shame
of not being able to do for your family like you really want to. The shame
of not being able to provide for them. And then the shame of not being
able to get involved in the needs of others. After a while, you just feel
terrible when you can't do something that you really want to do because
you're limited and restricted. God said, "When I restore the years, you
shall eat in plenty. You'll be satisfied. I'll deal wondrously with you, and
you'll never know shame again," hallelujah.
And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I

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am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never
be ashamed.
Joel 2:27
That's very important to God or He wouldn't repeat it twice.
Remember what He told Joshua? Before he took him into the promised
land, he said, "Today I will roll away the reproach of Egypt from off you."
That's important to God. What was He talking about? To the Israelites,
Egypt represented the land of not enough. When they lived in Egypt, they
were under taskmasters. They were slaves, and they could never build
enough bricks. They could never find enough straw. They could never
satisfy the Egyptians enough. So, in the mind of an Israelite, Egypt was
the land of not enough. And God said, "I'm going to roll that reproach off
of you. You will never live in the land of not enough again. You are
headed for a land that flows with milk and honey."
Egypt is a type of the bondage of Satan in which we were held captive.
Just like the children of Israel, we have been delivered and we've been
brought out—all the chains that bound us have been broken.
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.
Colossians 1:12-13
Even though God had brought them out of Egypt, Egypt was not out
of them.
So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out
into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the
wilderness, and found no water.
And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the
waters of Marah, for they were bitter...
And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall
we drink?

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And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree,
which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made
sweet...
Exodus 15:22-25
God was endeavoring to remove from them every remembrance of
their lives in Egypt but they would not let Egypt go.
...And the whole congregation of the children of Israel
murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we
had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat
by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have
brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly
with hunger.
Exodus 16:2-3
Every time they faced adversity, they wanted to run back to Egypt. For
40 years they were out of Egypt, but Egypt wasn't out of them.
Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said,
It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known
my ways.
Psalms 95:10
It's the same with many Christians today, and until they get "Egypt"
out of them, they'll never enter into the land (lifestyle) that God promised.
You will never enter into what is to come until you first let go of what has
been.
...this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before.
Philippians 3:13
Remove everything that holds you to your past. Moses took off the
garments of Pharaoh's house and "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's
daughter." Bartimaeus took off the garments of a beggar when he met
Jesus signifying that all ties to his past had been removed.

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You can't drag your past around with you and expect to enter into
God's destiny for your life. Tell the devil, "I refuse to be a product of this
world. I cast off the garments of my past, in Jesus' Name."
Many people have a "poverty mentality" and it limits God from
bringing restoration into their lives. Perhaps your family was poor and that
spirit of poverty was passed down to you. Well, take a stand, get right in
the devil's face and tell him, "Poverty stops here! I'm entitled to
supernatural increase and restoration in Jesus' Name!"
Get that "Egypt mentality" out of your heart and mind and start seeing
restoration in every area of your life. It's time to develop a restoration
mentality!

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CHAPTER 10
 CHAPTER 10
10 God's Way of Restoration

B efore going into the ministry, I was in the automotive business, and
my job was repairing wrecked automobiles and restoring antique
cars. I owned "Jerry's Paint and Body Shop."
My dad was a paint and body man. He worked for various dealerships
in the city where I grew up. From the time I was five years old, my dad
took me to the shop where he worked, sat me on a Coke box, and I
watched him work on cars. That's all I ever wanted to do. I loved cars,
especially old cars, especially fast cars... actually any car. I didn't even
care what it was. Cars were my life. I can remember dreaming every night
about all the cars that I was going to build.
So when God talks about restoration, I can identify with that. The
dictionary says restore means: to bring back to a former or original
condition. The greatest compliment anybody could ever give me when I
was in the automotive business was when they came to pick up their car,
and as they paid me for my services, they would say, "Jerry, I can't even
tell where it was wrecked."
It was brought back to a former or original condition. I took great pride
in that because my Daddy taught me the right way to restore automobiles.
My dad told me, "If you're not going to do it right, then I'm not going to
teach you. If you're going to look for shortcuts, and get paid as soon as
you can, then I'm not going to teach you the trade." He said, "My
reputation is at stake, and you're not going to ruin it." So, I was taught by
the best. When people came to my shop, and they drove that car out telling
me, "I can't even tell where it was wrecked," then what they were saying
was, "Thank you for restoration according to Webster's Dictionary."
However, I discovered that God's definition of restoration is not the
same as Mr. Webster. Are you ready for this? Mr. Webster says restore—
to bring back to a former or original condition. God's definition of

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restore—to make better, improve, increase, and multiply.

If Satan steals something from you, God's idea of restoration is not just
to bring you back to former condition, but He's going to make the devil
pay, and you're going to wind up improved, better, increased and
multiplied, hallelujah.
Let me prove God's definition of restoration to you. We discussed
earlier the children of Israel coming out of Egypt (Exodus 12:35). In
Egypt, they had taskmasters. They worked ungodly hours. Their task was
beyond what you would call the norm. It was non-stop. The Egyptians
used Israelites as slaves and took advantage of them.
But notice what God does before He takes them out of Egypt. He
compensates. Let me just say this to you. If you've been taken advantage
of, if you've worked your fingers to the bone for somebody else and they
got rich off of you, don't you dare give up because God's keeping books.
Compensation is a part of God's agenda.
Don't get envious of the sinner who's wealthy and you're saying, "Here
I am. I go to church. I pay my tithes. I'm just barely skimming by, and
look at that guy down the road." Don't get envious of him. The Bible says
his prosperity is temporary. It won't last forever, and God rewards the
faithful, hallelujah. Here's an example of God's restoration.
And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses;
and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of
gold, and raiment:
And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the
Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required.
And they spoiled the Egyptians.
Exodus 12:35-36
One other translation says, "plundered." Now get the picture.
Pharaoh's sitting on his throne watching nearly 3 million people pass by
and not one of them is passing by without silver and gold in his hand.
What's happening? Everything that had been stolen from God's people
for 430 years, God saw to it that when they walked out of there, they didn't

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walk out poor. They didn't barely skim by. They carried everything that
should have been theirs in the first place. God got it back and more,
hallelujah. Much more! The wealth of the sinner has been laid up for the
just. Glory to God.
Go study David and you'll find out the same thing. Even though David
didn't build the first temple, he was responsible for raising the funds for it.
David, out of his own personal treasury, gave millions toward the building
of the temple. The people gave millions for the building of the temple.
Where did they get all this money?
Every time he defeated some king, before he left that king's land, he
took the king's treasury and brought it back home. And what happened?
The wealth of the sinner built the first temple.
I'm telling you, when God restores, you wind up better than before.
Improved...Increased...Multiplied, hallelujah. God said He delivered them
with a high hand.
I want you to see restoration God's way even under the law of Moses...
not Webster's Dictionary. If anyone stole something, God had a restoration
program.
If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it, he
shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
Exodus 22:1
Webster's restoration would have been: if someone steals an ox from
you or a sheep from you, restore one sheep and one ox back to original,
former condition. Not God. God says, "Oh yes, I'll restore, but when it's all
said and done, you'll come out better, improved, increased and
multiplied."
You know what that tells me? God promises you a return on
everything you give, and He promises a return on everything that's been
stolen from you. You cannot lose. Either way you come out
better...improved...increased... multiplied. Now look at what the devil's
been getting away with. The devil steals off of us, and we just cry for
about a month, have a pity party, and then let him get away with it.

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Then some of us get a little stirred up because we hear a sermon, and

we think, "I'm coming at you, devil." But then we get tired. We finally just
say, "Oh, forget it." One time, I was so desperate, I said, "God, I'm in a
bind here, do You understand? Forget the hundred fold return. Just match
me dollar for dollar. I mean, I could pay my bills if You'd just match me
dollar for dollar for what I've given. We'll deal with the hundred fold
later." Well, that's not God's kind of restoration.
God restores, and you don't come back to original condition. God's
restoration program is to your favor. That's the reason God wants us to get
stirred up about this. You know what He wants us to do? Break Satan's
bank. Get it all back. And it's happening. It is happening all over the
world. Satan can't hang onto his stuff anymore because it never really
belonged to him in the first place.
Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when
he is hungry.
Proverbs 6:30
The devil could care less what you've been through to get what you've
got. Particularly, if you got it by faith.
He's stealing off of God's kids every moment of the day, and a lot of
them haven't done a thing about it. They feel badly, get offended at God,
and quit going to church. When what we ought to do is get mad at the
devil and tell him, "All right. If you steal one of my ox, buster, you're
going to bring back five! You understand? I'm going to hold you to this.
You're not getting away with this for another second." Finally, he'll get to
where when he passes your house, he has second thoughts about stopping
because you've beat his brains out with the Word of God every time he
steals something off of you.
Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when
he is hungry;
But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all
the substance of his house.
Proverbs 6:30-31

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God said don't despise him if he stole to satisfy his hunger, but if he
be found, your outcome will be better, improved, increased and multiplied.
If our judiciary system acted on this verse today, we'd have less
thieves. What if the law made them pay it back seven fold and hold them
to it until they did it? "All right, you stole a car from that family, you're
going to repay them seven cars." There would not be as much stealing
going on.
Well, what if he doesn't have seven fold? Then he'll give all the
substance of his house. If he can't come up with seven fold, then you take
everything he's got. I like the sound of this because Satan's a thief, and I
found him. I'm not ignorant of his devices. I know who's stealing from me.
It's the devil. He's a thief, and if he be found, make him pay seven fold.
Every time you see something being stolen from one of God's people,
God gets involved immediately in restoration. But He doesn't bring them
back to original condition, He makes them better. That's where we are,
folks. We are in days of restoration. God says I can make your life better.
Improve it. Increase it. Multiply it.
There's no need in shedding any more tears over what the devil's stolen
because it is about to come back, if you'll demand it. If you'll hold his feet
to the fire, and you get fed up with him keeping what belongs to you.

God Will Turn Your Captivity

You know the story of Job. Everything the man owned was destroyed,
consumed, stolen, devoured. Everything. The Bible said he was the richest
man in all the East, and then the thief came.
But when God got through with him...Notice Job 42:10, And the Lord
turned the captivity of Job. I found from the original Hebrew that means,
"put a stop to all the evil." When God turns captivity, as He did with Job,
you never see Satan consuming, destroying, devouring anything of Job's
ever again. The Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his
friends.
Also, the Lord gave Job twice as much. If God had read Webster's

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definition, He would have brought Job back to his original condition. But
God's restoration program is to make better, improve, increase and
multiply. Look at Job's original condition.
His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three
thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred
she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the
greatest [or as some other translations say wealthiest] of all the
men of the east.
Job 1:3
That's original condition. Not bad. The man's living well. He's got it
made. And then Satan consumes, destroys, and devours everything. But
then God begins His restoration program with Job. And notice, when God
restored, He didn't take Job back to original condition. Had He done that,
it would violate the very nature of God.
There are a lot of people who would be satisfied to be brought back to
original condition. But that's not God's way. God's extravagant. He can't
help Himself. Everything He does is big. He's not wasteful, but He's
extravagant.
God says, "You stole from one of My kids? Then it's time for
restoration." (Author's paraphrase).
So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his
beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand
camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.
Job 42:12
Job was more blessed in his latter days than in his beginning.
Now he has 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, 1,000
she asses. Exactly doubled. "Yeah, but Brother Jerry, it took a lifetime to
get it." No, it didn't. Forty-two chapters of Job does not cover his life, it
covers nine to twelve months out of Job's life. That's not his whole life in
that book. A lot of people read it, and they think, "Oh, dear God, look
what this man went through in his lifetime." No, most theologians agree it
was between 9 and 12 months.

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It's the worst nine months you ever read about, but keep reading
because it turns out to be the best nine months you ever read about. A man
is the wealthiest man in all the East, he loves God, he's in right standing
with God, serves God and then the enemy comes in and destroys
everything he has. But when God got through restoring him, he's not just
the wealthiest man in the East, there's nobody even close to him, praise
God. I like God's way of restoring. It can happen in your life, too—if
you'll dare believe it and start declaring it.

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CHAPTER 11
 CHAPTER 11
11 Changing Your Outlook

I trust that this book will be a morale booster and at the same time will
create a stirring on the inside of you to never allow Satan to steal
anything else from you again.
If you feel as though your life has been overwhelmed by adversity, and
you feel as though you've been under the gun, so-to-speak, and you don't
know where to turn, you don't know what to do, you're devastated in some
way, then you are a candidate for a time of refreshing.
Anybody can dance and shout in church, but where your faith really
counts is when all of hell's power has broken loose against you at home.
We can't all go home with you every time you come under attack. So, you
better learn to stay full of faith all the time.
It's not likely that Satan's going to attack you in church. He's going to
wait until you get home, and make you think that all you heard really
doesn't work.
It's not likely that you will see people have pity parties and stay strong
in faith at the same time. Like I've said before, you've got to become your
own best cheerleader and get in position to experience restoration in your
life.
As you study in the Word of God, you'll find that laughter is a sign of
captivity being turned.
When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion...
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with
singing.
Psalm 126:1-2
When you see Christians laughing who haven't laughed in a long time,
it's a sign that God is turning their captivity.

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From the Book of Joel, we see God's people experience total disaster.
They had never seen a devastation like this before. And God sends Joel
right in the middle of it with a powerful message from God. The name
Joel means "Yahweh is God." So when Joel shows up as God's
representative, it literally means: Yahweh has come to town and will
change everything. If Yahweh shows up at your house, devastation will be
turned to restoration.
How many years have you been under Satan's attacks? How many
years have you lived way below your privileges as a child of God? How
many years have you lived in shame? Does it seem like the more money
you make the more it's consumed and devoured before you can even enjoy
it? Imagine Yahweh showing up at your house and saying, "I will restore
to you everything." All the demons in hell will have to stand there and
watch Yahweh turn devastation into restoration in your home.
Somebody said, "Well, why am I not receiving this refreshing and
restoration?" Are you in position? Are you still complaining about the
devastation? Do you have tunnel vision and all you can see is devastation?
If so, then you're not in position to receive.
If all you can see is devastation and all you can talk about is
devastation, then you're not in the presence of God. Let me show you
something here in Joel 2:21. God is saying this. "Fear not, O land; be
glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things." Now notice He hadn't
even said that I will restore yet—that came later. So apparently, if you're
ever going to experience restoration and refreshing, then you must be glad
and rejoice first.
Anybody can rejoice after restoration. Anybody can rejoice after a
miracle. But that's not what God said. He didn't say, "I will restore, then
you must be glad and rejoice." He said, "Be glad ye children of Zion and I
will restore." Somebody said, "As soon as I get out of this mess, you talk
about giving God a shout." That's backwards! That's like walking up to the
fireplace and saying, "Give me some heat and I will throw in some wood."
It doesn't work that way. You must throw in the wood first, and then it will
produce heat. So, be glad and rejoice now, then you will see the
restoration.

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 TIME'S UP, DEVIL—GOD'S TAKING OVER!

PERSPECTIVE & ATTITUDE

Refreshing and restoration are linked directly to your perspective and
attitude about your circumstances. That's hard for some people. Many
people are so negative about everything. You can say to some people,
"Good Morning" and they'll say, "Hang around, it is not over yet." They
will find something negative about everything.
The greatest expression of faith is thanksgiving and praise. Aren't we
people of faith? Do we believe we receive when we pray? Then why do
we wait to rejoice after the results come?
If someone said, "Brother Jerry, I'd like to buy you a new suit," being
the gentleman that I am, the first thing I would do is say, "Thank you,
that's very kind of you." I haven't even gotten the suit yet, but I'm already
thanking that person. What would you think of me if I said, "Well, if you
don't mind, I'll save the 'thank you' until I see it. As soon as I get the suit,
then I'll say thank you." They have the right to say, "Forget it, you're not
getting one. You need to learn some manners."
What is the most natural reaction if somebody says, "Hey, we'd like to
take you to lunch?" "Thank you, that's very kind of you." You haven't
even eaten yet, but you automatically give thanks. Why? Because you
have faith in that person that they will do what they said.
If God tells you something, then you should say thank you in advance
because He keeps His word. He's not a man that He should lie. He
invented integrity. His word is His bond. He confirms His word with signs
following. So I don't have to see it first. There are a lot of people in the
body of Christ who need restoration. Marriages need to be restored.
Families need to be restored. Finances need to be restored. Yet, they're
waiting until they see restoration. "I'll get excited and I'll praise God and
I'll give more when the restoration comes." God says, "No, you get excited
and praise Me, and I will restore the years," hallelujah.
Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do
great things.
Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your

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God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will
cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the
latter rain in the first month.
And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall
overflow with wine and oil.
Joel 2:21,23-24
What's He saying? When Yahweh shows up, it doesn't make any
difference how devastated your life is, He can change it in the twinkling of
an eye.
The Bible tells us to enter into His presence with thanksgiving and
praise. Start this act of getting in His presence with thanksgiving and
praise no matter what your circumstances might be. This puts pressure on
the devil.
It just drives him up the wall when he has plotted and planned and
schemed and set you up for the kill for months and months, and then when
the attack is launched, you keep praising God anyway. He thinks he knows
you better than that. He thinks you will be offended and will not pick up
your Bible, nor listen to your tapes, nor read your books. That's what he
thinks you will do. But when you praise God anyway, you make it hard on
the devil!
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in
the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall
yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there
shall be no herd in the stalls:
Habakkuk 3:17
I'd say the boy's having a bad day. There's not one positive thing
happening in this man's life. Notice, as an act of his own will he said,
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my
salvation.
Habakkuk 3:18
What's he saying? You can destroy everything I have, take everything

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I have, do whatever you will, but there's one thing you will never steal
from me and that's my joy, hallelujah. If Satan can't steal your joy, he
cannot keep what he stole from you. It must be restored, hallelujah. And
the prophet was saying, I don't care if I don't have one positive thing
happening in my life, it will not get my joy. Somebody said, "Well, you
just don't understand what I'm going through." No, that's not the issue
here. You don't understand how powerful Yahweh is.
For example, every time God's people are devastated, God sends
somebody with a joyful spirit. Haggai's name means, "festive spirit." You
know what that tells me? When you've been devastated, overwhelmed
with adversity, then you may not be able to go where there's someone with
a festive spirit. That's the reason that you're going to have to develop your
own festive spirit.
You've got to be your own Haggai, and then become a Haggai for
somebody else. Become infectious. Become a carrier of joy.
No matter what you're going through, if you refuse to let it get your
joy, then there is no way the devil can keep what he stole. He can't keep
you down, praise God.
So start changing your outlook about your situation. Go ahead and
give praise and thanksgiving to God right now before you even see any
results of restoration. And then the Lord will do great things in your life.

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CHAPTER 12
 CHAPTER 12
12 The Best is Yet to Come

Y ou are so special to God that He thinks about you all the time. In
fact, there is not another person on this planet who can take your
place. It doesn't matter what your past is like, when God thinks about you,
a smile comes on His face.
"Oh, but Brother Jerry, you don't realize what I've done in my life." It
doesn't matter. God believes in what happened at Calvary even if no one
else does. When God looks at you, He looks through the Blood of Jesus
and sees someone that He loves very much, and He has great plans for
your life!

Don't Limit God

God wants to do some BIG things in our lives, but they only happen in
direct proportion to our ability to comprehend His great love for us. To
comprehend means: to grasp, to catch hold of, to seize, to take in and to
completely understand.
People who are unable to comprehend the love of God are limited as to
how much they can receive from God. Can you truly say that you have a
strong grip on how much God really loves you? Has your heart truly taken
it in to the point that you completely understand?
Someone once said, "God loved us the way we were, but He loves us
too much to leave us that way."
If you have truly comprehended this love, then you can no longer call
yourself "worthless" or "nobody" or "just a worm in His sight". His love
has made you the righteousness of God.
You are somebody special to Him! Not because of what you've done,
but because of what Jesus did. Take it in, lay hold of it, seize this
revelation. The larger it becomes on the inside of you, the more you'll

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expect from God.

Listen to Jesus, a man who knew that God loved Him.
I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
And I knew that thou hearest me always...
John 11:41-42
True comprehension of God's love causes you to know that He always
hears you. You might say, "But that was Jesus." Yes, but listen to what He
prayed for you and me.
In John 17:23 we read, ...hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. God
loves you and me just as much as He loves Jesus. Can you comprehend
that? If not, then you'll always be limited as to how much of God's fullness
you will receive.
The more you comprehend, the more of God's fullness you will
experience. The more you comprehend, the more convinced you will
become of your unlimited possibilities.
The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger,
and of great mercy.
The Lord is good to all...
Psalm 145:8-9
"Full of compassion" means: to love tenderly, to be full of eager
yearning. "The Lord is gracious" literally means: He is disposed to show
favor.
Can you comprehend God's favor coming upon you to the point that
your life is blessed a thousand times more than it is right now? Before you
answer, rebuke the temptation to say, "I can't imagine that." That's the
problem!
This is why we've been so limited. We "can't imagine" because we
haven't truly comprehended His love toward us. Comprehended love
declares: "If God said it, that settles it and I can have it!"
I want you to know that you haven't seen your best days as a believer

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 TIME'S UP, DEVIL—GOD'S TAKING OVER!

yet. They are not behind you—they are ahead of you. You have so much
to look forward to in your life, but you've got to learn to stop limiting God.
God's big! He's extravagant! He wants to bless you beyond what you ever
thought before, but it will only happen when you stop thinking small!
Obviously, since you're reading this book, it could be that you need
restoration in some area of your life. It could be in a family relationship; it
could be in your marriage; it could be in the area of employment; or
perhaps your finances. Well, let me tell you right now: Don't limit God!
Most of the time, we are the ones who limit God even though He is
capable of doing so much more in our lives. For instance, look at the story
in Psalm 78:6. The people were stubborn and rebellious and they spoke
against God even after He had done so many miraculous things in their
lives.
Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy
One of Israel.
Psalm 78:41
Even though God is unlimited, men can limit Him from doing mighty
things in their lives.
In Mark 6:4-6, we see a similar example when Jesus entered His home
town of Nazareth to preach to a group of people who only knew Him as
the "carpenter's boy" and notice what happens.
But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but
in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his
hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round
about the villages, teaching.
The Message translation says, Jesus wasn't able to do much of
anything there... Was Jesus any less anointed in Nazareth than He was in
Capernaum? No. It was because the people didn't receive Him. They
limited Him.

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It's not because He is a respecter of persons. He's not. God's not going
down the row saying, "I love thee, I love thee not...." He loves us all
equally! God has no favorites! He will bless anyone who will allow Him
to do so.
Psalm 115:12 says, The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us...
Look what's on the mind of God—US. God sits on His throne thinking of
how He can bless us. And the Bible says that He never sleeps nor
slumbers, so while we're sleeping, He's thinking up ways to bless us when
we awake.
He said, "I'll bless you coming in, I'll bless you going out. I'll bless you
in the city, and I'll bless you in the field..." God's got blessings chasing us
down everywhere we go. If you say, "Well, my life's not like that. Nothing
ever happens to me like that." It could be because of a lack of
understanding of the Father's love.
Psalm 115 continues to say,
...he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of
Aaron.
He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.
The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your
children.
Psalm 115:12-14
God wants you to increase more and more. God is saying, "You
haven't seen your best days yet!" His name is El Shaddai—not El Cheapo!
The nature of God is to bless us. He can't help Himself! He does
exceeding, abundantly above all that you could possibly ask or think. If
you can think it, God says, "I can do exceeding, abundantly above that!"
When you remove the limitations, you'll find that this extravagant God
will do extravagant things in your life!
One of the greatest joys that Carolyn and I share is to see this work in
our children. They've never been taught that miracles have passed away,
and they are not for us today! All they know is that God is good! They
have watched God do the miraculous in this family time and time again.

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 TIME'S UP, DEVIL—GOD'S TAKING OVER!

They have never seen God disappoint this family. They have witnessed
God's restoration in our lives. And now that they are adults and are having
children of their own, it is a joy to see God doing the same things for them
that He's done for us!
We've taught them that God's not against them, He is for them, and no
weapon formed against them shall prosper! But we've also taught them
that you don't "play church" with this. God wants total commitment. If you
want to be blessed, then be totally committed to God. Put Him first! Don't
pursue the blessings, pursue God and let the blessings pursue you! God
said that the blessings will chase you down, come on you and overtake
you!
So what is on the mind of God? You. Even when we disappoint Him,
He still loves us. Even when we fall short, He still loves us. Why? Because
He is long—suffering! He doesn't write us off when we make a mistake.
He's the God of the second chance!
No matter what you are going through today, you have not seen your
best days. Before you go to sleep tonight, the devil will try to convince
you that there is no way out of your situation—you've had it. You're
finished. It's over! Impossible! But God is saying: I'll never leave you nor
forsake you.
God's already dreaming up a way to get you out of this devastation and
turn every setback into a triumph! He'll turn every curse into a blessing
and every stumbling block into a stepping stone for a greater victory! If
you won't give up, you can walk right out of that situation praising God
because He causes you to triumph always.
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a
good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
The Message translation says, ...bring it to a flourishing finish. You
have a "flourishing finish" awaiting you!
God wants to turn every test into a testimony! He wants to bless you
no matter how impossible your situation may seem. In fact, He wants to

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bless you beyond your wildest dreams! He wants to restore every single
thing Satan has stolen from you.
God can do anything, you know far more than you could ever
imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!
Ephesians 3:20 (The Message)
This says to me that the best is yet to come! Get in position to receive.
Get rid of all the limitations, and start expecting restoration as never
before. As God's blessings increase in your life, then you can be a greater
blessing to others. Your best days are just ahead of you! Make this your
year for increase and restoration in every area of your life and begin to
declare that the best is yet to come!

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 For Those Who Don't
Know Jesus, Would You
Like To Know Him?
 If you were to die today, where would you spend eternity? If you have
accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you can be
assured that when you die, you will go directly into the presence of God in
Heaven. If you have not accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior,
is there any reason why you can't make Jesus the Lord of your life right
now? Please pray this prayer out loud, and as you do, pray with a sincere
and trusting heart, and you will be born again.

Dear God in Heaven,

I come to You in the Name of Jesus to receive salvation and
eternal life. I believe that Jesus is Your Son. I believe that He died
on the cross for my sins, and that You raised Him from the dead. I
receive Jesus now into my heart and make Him the Lord of my life.
Jesus, come into my heart. I welcome You as my Lord and Savior.
Father, I believe Your Word that says I am now saved. I confess
with my mouth that I am saved and born again. I am now a child
of God.
 JSMI
Bible Institute & School of
World Evangelism
Dear Friend,
Carolyn and I count it an honor to be involved in raising up students
who will preach the uncompromised Word of God to the nations of the
world. JSMI Bible Institute and School of World Evangelism is the
fulfillment of a dream that was birthed in my spirit many years ago, and I
am extremely excited about the potential we now have to train up students
in an atmosphere charged with faith!
Our desire is to see each student develop a passion for God and a
passion for souls. We endeavor to impart into each student the spirit of
revival and help them become equipped and ready to participate in the
last days move of God, bringing multitudes into His Kingdom.
If you are looking for a unique opportunity to increase your
knowledge of the scriptures and find your place in God's plan, I trust you
will prayerfully consider our school
Sincerely,

Dr. Jerry Savelle

 Other Books by Jerry Savelle

Walking In Divine Favor

Turning Your Dreams Into Reality

Turning Your Adversity Into Victory

Honoring Your Heritage Of Faith

Don't Let Go Of Your Dreams

Faith Building Daily Devotionals

The Force of Joy

If Satan Can't Steal Your Joy, He Can't Keep Your Goods

A Right Mental Attitude

The Nature Of Faith

The Established Heart

Sharing Jesus Effectively

How To Overcome Financial Famine

You're Somebody Special To God

Leaving The Tears Behind

For a complete list of tapes, books,

and videos by Jerry Savelle,
write or call:
Jerry Savelle Ministries International
P. O. Box 748
Crowley, Texas 76036
(817) 297-3155