DISCOVER TO RECOVER
Text: Daniel 4:34-37
INTRODUCTION:
Perhaps you’re one of those who need to recover from a broken heart, a failed marriage, a financial disaster, a family heartache, an emotional meltdown, or a full-blown spiritual collapse. What I want you to hear is the fact that there’s HOPE for your broken life. Do you know why? Because Jesus specializes in recovery. The bible says (2 Cor. 5:17), when someone becomes a “Christian they become a new person, they are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone and a new life has begun.” Now that’s not only recovery…that’s transformation!
Our God is a God of Recovery. He is interest in your restoration. He is not happy when His children are not where they should be in this life. When you are lower in the status that heaven has ordained for you, the heaven becomes concern and questions the rationale behind this lack luster performance of a representative among men. You will not disappoint God in the name of Jesus Christ.
Friends, there’s no one who recovers or got restores that does not make a discovery that helped their passage into recovery. If you are unable to discover, you may not be able to recover what you’ve lost or never get full restoration.
DEFINITION OF TERMS.
What do we mean by the word ‘discover and ‘recover’?
Discover could mean any of the following:
a. To find out about something, to find out INFORMATION that was not previously known. In order words, to discover is to get hold of necessary information about what will help you to be restored. In addition, it is to have new knowledge about the ways to get back what one has lost.
b. Be the first to find or learn something previously unknown. That is, discover leads to LEARNING. Your ability to learn will aid your earning power.
c. To find somebody or something after a search, i.e. discover comes through SEARCHING. You cannot search if you are lazy. It is take work to do a thorough searching.
d. To discover means to uncover or to explore a new thing. God calls us to do just that! Psalm 66:5: “Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf!” It’s our calling too. Philip said to Nathaniel in Luke 1:46 in response to his skepticism about Jesus: “Come and see.” In John 4:29, the Samaritan woman is so moved by Jesus that she runs to tell others and makes this invitation: “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Time and again, people are invited to come discover who Jesus is and what living for Jesus is really about.
From these definitions, it is clear that DISCOVERY comes through 4 things in life:
a. INFORMATION – Information brings transformation (Recovery). This is a great asset in the world of success. Information is power; if you are not informed you cannot be transformed. Richard Branson, the owner of VA dropped out of school ay 19 and became a newspaper vendor. He got a vital information from a small book titled – Small is Beautiful, that became the trade secret of his success today. With information, you are reformed to transform yourself and others. What of Benjamin Franklin and Michael Faraday? They were unschooled, but spent money on books and seminars respectively to get information that led them to greater heights.
b. OBSERVATION – This is the use of your eyes and ears to see and hear things, and then nurture them in your heart so as to apply them for your recovery. When Naomi heard that there was now bread in Bethlehem, she decided to leave Moab so that her recovery can be effected.
c. PREPARATION – This is getting ready, make ready, being in a position to go and do something.
d. PERSPIRATION – This involves both your walking and your working. This is the doing part of discovery that ultimately leads to recovery. With this part, our recovery is a fluke or a mirage. In Luke 17:12-19 when the 10 lepers met Jesus and asked for healings, Jesus said they should go and show themselves to the priest, and as they go, they were healed. If they didn’t go, they would not have been healed. However, the one who had complete/full recovery was the one who perspire more – the one who came back to give thanks to the Lord for the healing.
TO “RECOVER” MEANS ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
a. To regain or get back something previously lost – The hair of Samson started to grow again in Judges 16:22-23. In Gen 14:1-16, Abram and his 318 trained servants recovered all that the enemies had stolen including Lot and family.
b. To return to former state of health, prosperity or equanimity. David recovered all in I Sam.30 whilst King Hezekiah health was restored when he sought the Lord in agonized prayers.
c. To control and correct yourself to return to a composed state of mind – This is to refused to be fearful, anxious and worry for nothing. Jesus commanded in Mat 6:25-33 that we should not worry or be fretful.
d. To return to right, suitable or correct position – In Dan.4:29-37, King Nebuchadnezzar was restored by to his throne after seven years in the bush living as animal. Also. King David recovered his throne back from the coup of his son Absalom for God turned the counsel of Ahithophel into nothing. II Sam. 19:41-20:1-3.
THE TOOLS OF DISCOVERY
To properly discover, you need some tools. There are 4 main tools of discovery. They are:
a. Your heart – the heart of understanding, the heart of darkness and the heart of fools. The heart is to help you to THINK GOOD THOUGHTS.
b. Your eyes – the eyes of understanding, the eyes of the spirit and the physical eyes. The eyes helps you TO SEE RIGHT. Have insight and foresights.
c. Your ears - the ears of understanding, the ears of the spirit and the physical ears. The ears aids you TO HEAR CORRECTLY. Your hearing leads to your healings.
d. Your body – hands, legs, head. Your hands to work or perspire, the head to think good thoughts, and the legs to carry you to the place of your destiny. Your body in effect is the tool that helps you TO ACT and DO the needful for your recovery to become a reality.
It is your ability to VISUALIZE that makes you to ACTUALIZE. That is, first, THINK about your discovery. When you think well, then you put it into prayer, i.e. you PRAYERIZE it – lifting it up unto God. Second, you then VISUALIZE them to have happened, not that it is going to happen, but have happened. You visualize them to be already in the past, not in the future – you condition your mind with this believe in faith. Thirdly, you VERBALIZE it to yourself to strengthen your faith, to remove doubts or negative thoughts, i.e. say “I will pass this exam”, not “I will not fail this exam”. Fourthly, then MATERIALIZE it by sticking to your program/plan of action – Be ready to go to work, for your work is the channel through which God will deliver your recovery into your life. Never give up. Remember that persistence conquers resistance.
Every expeditionist is a discoverer, but not every discoverer is an expeditionist. You can discover a thing with exploration, but you must explore before you can become an expeditionist.
THINGS YOU NEED TO RECOVER FROM.
There are many things according to the time of life that man need to recover from.
a. Recovering from defeat – Jos.8:1-29
b. Recovering from grief – Neh.1:1-2:8
c. Recovering from failure – Lk.22:28-68
d. Recovering from spiritual abuse – Mat.23:1-11
e. Recovering the lost fire of God – I Kings 18:21-39
f. Recovering from resentment – Gen.45: 1-11
g. Recovering from losses – I Sam.30:1-20
h. Recovering from bad relationships – Phil.2:1-11
i. Recovering your hope – Lk.24:1-12, I Kings 19:1, Luke 8:1
j. Recovering from darkness – Lk.18:18-23, John 9:1-41
k. Recovering from setbacks –Jos.8:32-35
l. Recovering from rebellion – I Sam.15:23
m. Recovering from hurts/wounds – I John 4:1-6
n. Recovering from Grief/Loss – John 11:1-46
o. Recovering from a fumble – Psa.51:1-10
FROM DISCOVERY TO RECOVERY
The scripture is full men and women who made great discovery – information, observation, preparation and perspiration – that eventually help them to Recovery. We shall mention a few of them for our learning:
a. The widow of one of the sons of prophet in II Kings 4:1-7, discovered that she has many things that could helped her to her recovery – She had a voice to cry to the man of God, she had a God who answers prayers, she had a pot of oil, she had good neighbours who can borrow her vessels, she had sons who can help her. She combined all these together, and her recovery was delivered into her hands. Friends, what do you have that you have been neglecting till now? That may be the panacea to your present suffering or predicament and the gateway to your recovery.
b. The Shunnamite woman in II Kings 4:18-30 discovered that you don’t tell don’t who cannot help you your problem. She told 2 sets of people that “It is well” even when her child has died. If you’re going to recover, don’t tell wrong people your problem, they will complicate it. Many have opened their hearts to witches and wizards who had used what they heard about you to stopped you r recovery.
c. The 4 lepers in II Kgs.7:1-16 discovered that the joy not shared does not give a lasting and enduring recovery. After they have discovered that the host of Syrian army had ran away because the Lord made them to hear the 3 noises – noise of chariots, noise of horses and noise of a great host – they thought that 3 kings – Israel, Egypt and Hittites - are combined to attack them. They said – we do not well if we hold our peace, for this is a day of good tidings.
d. David and his 400 men discovered that when you help those in need, your own problem would be resolved and your recovery would be a reality. I Sam.30:11-16. David knew his God, he was not separated from Him. He encouraged himself in his God. He asked Him for direction.
e. In Luke 15:13-23, the young prodigal son discovered that leaving his father was a great mistake. He lost his sonship, the advice/counsel of his father. He lost the experience of his father, he lost his position in the family (as the 2nd heir to the father), and he lost his inheritance through riotous living and opportunity to be great in life. He took steps to his recovery by deciding to arise and return back to his father. Through mercy and compassion, the father received him back and re-integrated him into the fold for his full recovery.
f. In Mark 2:1-12, a man was paralysed from neck to toe and was brought by his friends who discovered that Jesus is capable of healing him. They couldn’t get through to Jesus because the crowd was too much. So they discover another way – the ROOF to get to Jesus. He had lost hope for health, his destiny and life. The first thing the Lord commended was the faith of the friends in him. Then he forgave the paralysed man his sins, i.e. restored back his spiritual life before his healing from paralysis. This gave the man a complete recovery from the crisis of his life.
g. In Dan.4:29-37, King Nebuchadnezzar became proud and God judged him instantly and turned him into animal. He was banished from the throne and lived in the bush with animals for 7 years. In verse34, the king lifted up his eyes unto heaven and acknowledges the sovereignty of God, and then his understanding was restored. His discovery of who God was expedites his journey back to his throne and recovery. God kept his throne throughout the years he was in the bush, and he regains all that he lost because he acknowledged God as the One who can install and remove kings.
h. In Mk.46-52, blind Bartimaeus navigated his own road to recovery through his discovery. He seized the moment when he heard that Jesus would be passing through Jericho. He used the only thing he had – his voice – to cry for help. You have something you can use to your recovery. He ignored the crowd of negative people around him, and encouraged himself that all will be well. He surrendered his old life – he removed his garment when he was called – you must give up to go up. When asked for his needs, he was specific, and he lived on his faith – you need faith to fully recover all. Then he stuck to Jesus, the Healer. He followed the Recoverer. Are you following Jesus?
i. In Gen.3:9-15 there was the story of the greatest fall in human history – man created in God’s glory sold his birthright to the devil for peanuts. However, we also see here the greatest recovery of all time – God sent His only begotten Son to die for the sin of the world on the cross of Calvary. A greater fall leads to a greater recovery. You can recover your spiritual identity if you will link up with the Lord Jesus, and the greater recovery he wrathed on the cross will be yours tonight.
CONCLUSION
We should remember how to enter into our recovery using the principles in II KIngs 6:1-8 on How to pass from discovery to recovery. Let’s see the steps that the sons of prophet took to recover all that the enemy stole from him:
1. DON’T be satisfied with where you are verse 1 –"See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us..” Remember, this is a phase in life. It will come to pass if you realize it.
2. BE determined to DO SOMETHING about your situation: VERSE 2 – “Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell."
3. NEVER proceed on the journey to recovery alone verse 3: - “Please consent to go with your servant”.
4. GOD is willing to GO with you if you ask Him: VERSE 3-4 - And he answered, "I will go." 4 So he went with them’. Always wait for His approval - they asked and got positive response from God.
6. Get to WORK, quit acting, start WORKING Verse 4: - “And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees”
7. NOTE that challenges/trouble are on the way Verse 5: 5 But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, master! For it was borrowed." Many things we have are borrowed. You can’t lose them, they must be recovered.
8. BE ready to answer God when He make a demand on you verse 6 : “So the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" And he showed him the place”.
9. Your recovery is closer than you think verse 6: “So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float.”
10. You have a part to play in your recovery verse 7: “Therefore he said, "Pick it up for yourself." So he reached out his hand and took it.”
PRAYERS
1. Father, open my eyes to see what is in my hand and life that will aid my recovery. IKing 4:
2. Oh Lord, plant around my life people already equipped to lift me up to glory. I Sam.30:
3. Let me not use my hand to close the gateway to my full recovery in life.
4. Every problem that has been sown into my life to delay my prompt recovery, uproot them.
5. Let me not do anything that will separate me from you Oh Lord.
6. By the power that make God to be God, I will recover from failure, defeat, setback, losses and grief in Jesus name.
