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A Diet Of Giants, Part Three | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus the Healer Broadcast
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Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message. We're so glad you've joined us today for Jesus the Healer. I would encourage you if you could take the opportunity to go back and watch the two previous episodes, because today we're on part three of a message that we've been teaching and you would get more out of it after this episode. If you could go back and watch the other previous messages, it'd be a blessing to. You were teaching about how God delivered his people out of Egypt, but he didn't just bring them out of something. He had something to bring them into. And what he wanted to bring them into was a land of their own. He wanted to turn them from being slaves into being owners. And so he needed their cooperation. He needed their faith. He needed their agreement to work his plan in their life. And I tell you what, for every single one of us, God has a plan, but he will not and cannot work it. Apart from our agreement, God will never force his best on us. He will never force us into the center of what he has for us. That's why faith pleases him, because faith opens the door for him to work for us and bring us into it. Faith is an open door. Lack of faith is a closed door to where he cannot do what he wants to do for us. So faith is simply agreeing with God. Faith is saying, yes, what you have for me, I agree with and I want it. And I say every single day we decide to be hungry for what God has. Amen. So God was wanting to bring his people, not just deliver them out of a bad place. He wanted to bring them into the best thing that he had for them. And he had a land for them. He said, it's flowing with milk and honey. It's a land of abundance. And so God selected the best. When God's your real estate agent, you're going to like the place. You're going to like, like the place when God's your real estate agent, right? And so he told Moses, send out spies and let them look at the land and bring back report to the people. Well, these weren't just any old guys out of the congregation. These were leaders from each of the 12 tribes. And so these were men who the people had confidence in their words, carried weight with the people. And so they sent the 12 spies. And two came back talking faith. Joshua and Caleb came back with the word of God in their mouth. They were agreeing with what God had said. About the land. The other 10 decided that they were going to come back with a report of doubt and unbelief, a negative report, which goes to show the ratio of 10 bad reports to good reports. We always want to make sure that we're the ones with the good report in our mouth. And so those with the bad reports swayed the people, made the people afraid. The 10 spies that came back with words of doubt and then no faith and a negative report, all they talked about was the giants. All they talked about was the opposition. All they talked about was that we're not able. But Joshua and Caleb came back saying just what God said, we're well able. Let's go up at once and let's take possession of it. And so we see that the people are swayed. The majority of the people went with the majority of the spies and they had the negative report. But know this, anytime God offers you something, you have to bring your faith for it to come to pass. God was offering them a land, but they weren't going to bring their faith to it. And so God could not help them to advance. It's when we move in faith that God can advance us into more. But know this, that everything that God is working to bring you into the devil is working to oppose. So know this. Every good thing is going to face an opposition. That's just part of the process of advancing. And so this is what we're endeavoring to teach in these episodes is to teach us how to think right about opposition. Just know this, every good thing is going to have an enemy. And you have to face that enemy and win. And you have to face that enemy and think right. Don't take on the thoughts of the opposition. Hold to the thoughts that God gives. His word is his thoughts. What has God said in his word to you and what has God said to you? Specifically? Hold to what God has said to you, because that's going to get you on the other side of opposition and it's going to keep you thinking right. When opposition offers you wrong thoughts, this is what is so important that when doubt starts talking, don't believe it. When unbelief starts talking, don't believe it. How are you going to not believe when a bad report comes to you? Answer it with what God says. So when opposition starts talking, you have to say something in return. You say what God says. When. When symptoms start talking to your body, pain starts talking to your body, you talk back and you say, by the stripes of Jesus, I'm healed. That's what I'm talking about when I refer to talking back to opposition. You have anything that opposes what God has made your it's waiting for your answer and you have to say something. And so we see that Joshua and Caleb held to right thinking, but 10 spies went with wrong thinking. So notice this. It's easier to go with what's wrong sometimes. Why? Because what's wrong can talk so loud. What's wrong can be so visible. I don't care how loud it is and I don't care how big it shows itself. If it's not what God says it's wrong, don't go with it. Now in numbers, chapter 14 and I want us to recap a few of the things the passages that we had read before in previous episodes to help you catch up. But Numbers chapter 14 and verse 7, after the ten spies gave their negative report, Joshua and Caleb gave answer to that. And Joshua and Caleb spoke up in Numbers 14, Verse 7. And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel. And they said they the land which we pass through to search it is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us a land which flows with milk and honey. So notice this. They have nothing bad to say about where God's taking them. They're not focused on the negative. The 10 spies with the bad report they saw the same land, but they came back talking about all the giants that they saw. They came back talking about how they were incapable and unable. Well, God's not going to give give his people the land based on their ability. He was gonna bring them in the land based on his own ability. He was going to be the one that was going to help them overcome. And so this is what Joshua and Caleb were focusing on, the goodness of the land. And that they are well able to go. So verse 9 they give this warning only. Rebel not against the Lord. How do we rebel against the Lord? By speaking against what he said instead of speaking for what he said. So they said, rebel not against the Lord. Neither fear the people, for they are bred for us. Their defense is departed from them and the Lord is with us. Fear them not. So notice the right mindset that Joshua and Caleb hold about the giants. They are not our place of defeat. They are not our undoing place. They're not our losing place. They're our bread. They're our nourishment. That as we eat up the opposition that we encounter, we grow stronger. We're nourished. Our faith is nourished Our spiritual life is nourished. Our walk with God is nourished. Our knowledge of God is nourished. Everything is nourished when you eat opposition instead of run from it. And let me just say this, don't stand there and back up and just hope it'll go away and leave you alone. It won't. Anytime God is trying to bring you into more because that's what he was endeavoring to do for his people. He wanted to turn them into owners, turn them into landowners, and he had more for them. But every time there is more that God has for you. The devil is always going to send opposition to try to stop your progress. So know this. All opposition is trying to hide something good from your view. It's trying to get in between you and the next place of advancement, the next place of promotion, the next place of increase. It's. It's trying to block from you your place of health, your place of healing, your place of prosperity, your place of wisdom, your place of peace. Opposition, as always, from the enemy. And it's always there to try to block what God is trying to bring you into. So it matters how you respond to it. So I love this phrase, and this is what we have to renew our minds to and get this on the inside of us. I love what Joshua and Caleb said. Those giants, the opposition, the land that we saw, they are bread for us. What's that mean? Let's eat. Let's eat. Let's get on that land and eat up every opposition, not run from it. Let's not lay down our inheritance. Let's not lay down what God made ours just to try to get relief. We're not trying to get relief from opposition. We're eating it. Amen. Many times people just want the devil to leave him alone. He's not going to leave you alone. He will back you up and back you up and back you up. So you've got to stop him by just eating up that opposition. Amen. How do you eat it? You speak God's word to it. That's how you eat it. And it says that these giants are bread for us. You can't eat bread with your mouth closed. You have to open up and do some talking. You have to speak the word to that opposition, speak the word to that enemy. And as we said previously, the bread tastes better the hotter it is. So the matter that opposition is, the hotter the threats the enemy makes, that's the time to eat it. When it's really hot, don't let it sit around on the counter of your life for a month and let it grow and live with you. And then it's hard to choke down because you've been looking at it for so long. No, don't delay. Just go ahead. Just go ahead and overcome that thing. Amen. What we wanted to. I wanted you to go to is Philippians Chapter one, Philippians Chapter one. And this is the Amplified Classic translation that I want to read to you. Philippians, Chapter one. We have to have the, as I said, the right mindset about opposition. Do not see opposition as a negative. See it as your place of being built up and fortified. Amen. Now, don't misunderstand me. We don't go out and look for opposition. It'll just come. But once it comes, have the right mindset. It's my bread. It's my nourishment. It's going to nourish my. My. My spiritual life. And so whenever, especially when I was growing up, my mother being such a good cook, bread was on the table basically every meal. We never walked up the bread on the table and stood there baffled. Why is the bread on the table? Because it's part of what's going to nourish you. It's part of this meal you're to eat. Likewise, don't be baffled when opposition shows up. Don't be threatened. Don't be worried and say, oh, obviously my faith isn't working. No, your faith can be working and opposition still show up. The word is. Just because opposition shows up doesn't mean your faith isn't working. It doesn't mean the Word isn't working. It doesn't mean that God isn't working. Don't be baffled by opposition that shows up. And Philippians chapter one, in verse 28, the amplified classic says this. Do not for a moment be frightened or intimidated in anything by your opponents and adversaries. For such constancy, you being constant, right, standing on the Word for such constancy and fearlessness will be a clear sign and a proof to the adversary of their impending destruction. And your constancy and your fearlessness is a token and evidence of your deliverance and of your salvation. And that's from God. Amen. It's not you working it. It's God. God is working it. As you stand your ground, God will back you up. His power will back you up. But if you abandon your ground, if you abandon the Word, he's got nothing to back up. He can only back up his Word. Stand on the Word, stay with the Word. You Say, Pastor Nancy, how do I do that? Keep speaking it. Just keep speaking the word. And speaking is not complaining. Just know this. When we complain, we show we're not thinking right. Complaining delays victory. It's rejoicing and praising and speaking God's word that will accelerate victory. I appreciate this passage when it says, show yourself. Don't show any intimidation to the enemy. Don't show that you're fearful. The devil is not all knowing. He only knows what you show him. God's all knowing, but the devil is not. And if he sees fear on your face, he knows something about your insides. He knows something about how you think. He knows something about what you're believing in your heart. Amen. Listen, the devil does. If you're born again, the devil is not in you. He does not know what's in your spirit. You're showing him what's in your spirit through what you say and through your. Even your countenance. He's watching. And so never show fear on your face. Amen. Hallelujah. I remember my brother told me a story of this one boxer. Here in the United States. We had years and decades ago, there was a highly anticipated boxing match that happened between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for the heavyweight champion championship. And this man that my brother knew was talking to Joe Frazier, who was one of the boxers, and he said, have you ever been afraid when you're in the boxing rink? And he said, I've never been afraid in the boxing rink, except one time. And he said, when was that? He said, it was in my fight with Muhammad Ali. And he said, I threw a punch. And when I threw that particular punch, he said, I heard Muhammad Ali's jaw break. I heard it. And he said, I thought, I've got this thing. I've got this thing. And he said, muhammad Ali's head went down and then it came up. And he said, all of a sudden he. He smiled at me. And he thought to himself, I'm a dead man. Why? Because the way he responded showed the way he thought about the outcome of that fight. His jaw might have been broken, but the fight wasn't over. Amen. Well, this is what Paul is telling us in this scripture. Never show intimidation. Never show fear. Don't you for a moment be frightened by anything of your adversary. Why can he say that? Because greater is he that's in us. If we show ourselves to back down. If we show ourselves fearful, we're forgetting who's working for us and in us. Then go with me to first Peter, chapter four. First Peter, chapter four. And we'll start reading in verse 12. And Peter writes and says, beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you. Notice this. People will wonder, why is this happening to me? Because God's endeavoring to bring you into more. Amen. When you're walking in the will of God and you're obeying God, there's going to be opposition just to your obedience. That doesn't mean that the word is failing. It doesn't mean faith is failing. Don't go, why me? And this is what Peter is saying. Don't think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you. Look at verse 13. But rejoice. This is what to do when opposition shows up. Rejoice because it baffles the enemy. That's one thing. When he shows up and throws his biggest punch and you start rejoicing in the Lord, and he does not understand that. And what that rejoicing does, it opens the door for God's power to begin to work in your behalf. Because when you rejoice, you're acknowledging, I don't have to fight this thing. The greater One in me, he's working in me. And it shows that you're remembering the greater one in you. When you rejoice, rely on him to do the work. You don't have to do the work. The only work you do is the work of believing and showing that you believe through what you say and do. But he does the part. He. He does the power part. Amen. He's the one that puts you over. So verse 13 tells us how to. How to respond to opposition. But rejoice. Why rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings. So this means. Notice this. He overcame two. Jesus was faced with opposition. And so evidently you're worth opposing because Jesus was worth opposing. So it says in verse 13. But rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. What's. What's his glory? When the victory shows up, when you walk into that victory, you're going to come into another level of glory. Amen. Rejoicing is part of the route of getting there. Amen. Hallelujah. So Paul in that passage in Philippians and Peter in this passage is telling us how to think right about the opposition. Amen. Then I want you to turn with me, if you would to first Samuel, chapter 17. And we have to see something here. A well known passage to us that David, when he faced Goliath, he had no sense of dread about him. He was excited to face the giant. Right? Thinking will not leave you with a sense of dread. Amen. How come David had no sense of dread when he saw Goliath? It's because he had already faced a lion and a bear and he destroyed them. He didn't run and get daddy and say daddy, would you do something about this? He, he stood his ground and overcame. And I will just say this. Winning is addictive. Yes, it is. Yes it is. It, I mean you, it builds a momentum on the inside of you. There is a spiritual momentum that comes with every opposition. You just face it and you overcome it and you stand your ground. So we see that of course we know that David defeated Goliath and he was ready for that opposition. Why? Because he had already been eating previous opposition. So by eating the opposition that comes to you, it prepares you for future opposition. And it gets better every time. It gets easier every time. Why? Because you're growing in skill. You're growing in skill. So we see that David had no sense of dread and how did he eat Goliath? Well, how are we going to eat giants with your mouth open. So in First Samuel, chapter 17, in verse 41, of course we know that Goliath was threatening the armies of God. That Goliath said, send out a man to fight me. They were going to do a one to one combat. And so God's people, the military, they had been hiding. They were afraid of Goliath. But when David shows up, he's wondering why are you hiding? And he's going, he's saying, I'll go after him. See, you practice hiding and it's easier to hide next time. But if you practice, if you practice facing that opposition, then it's easier next time. So in 1st Samuel, chapter 17, verse 41, Goliath the Philistine came on and drew near unto David because see, David said, I'll go fight him. All the other David is a young, he's a teenager. All these other military men that are trained to fight, they're hiding. They're not trained to hide. They're trained to fight. But they're doing what they're not trained to do. The Word will train us in the direction of faith. Do what you're trained to do. You're not trained to doubt. The Word won't train you to doubt, it trains you to believe. It trained you to speak right, not speak wrong. And so the Philistine came on and drew near to David, and the man that bare the shield went before him. And verse 42. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, am I a dog that you come to me with a staff or a stick? And the Philistine cursed David, by his gods. And the Philistines said to David, come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field. What is this? This is the threats of the enemy against David. You're going to hear the threats. Amen. But when those threats are done talking, you have something to say. That's exactly what David did. So David, he let the giant talk. You can't keep opposition from talking. It's not your job to keep the devil from talking. It's your job to not believe him. It's your job to answer him once he's done talking. Amen. You have something to say. So David gave a sevenfold answer to Goliath number one. He said, you come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou has defied. In other words, you've defied God. Not just his army, you've defied God number two. His next declaration this day will the Lord deliver you into my hand. How certain he is. He's not questioning, is he? He is bold in his response. The third thing he says, I will smite thee and take thine head from thee. The fourth declaration he says, I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth. So he's not just saying, I'm going to take off your head. He said, I'm going to kill the whole army. I'm going after the whole army after I'm done with you. The fifth thing he declares, all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. The sixth thing he declares, and all this assembly shall know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. So it's not by natural ability. Yeah. It's by divine help he delivers. The seventh thing he declared, for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands. So notice this. Goliath was David's place of promotion because David did exactly what he said. But David found himself being in a place of promotion. What was it? He got a reward. What was the reward? Well, first of all, the reward was the king would make whoever defeated Goliath rich. So as a young man, he's already moved into wealth. Why? Because he didn't run from a giant. He ate him. Number two, the next thing, he was given the king's daughter as a wife. What's that mean? He's in the royal bloodline and all of his future generation royal bloodline. And third, he's free from taxes. He's got a big tax write off in Goliath. So what was Goliath? It was his place of promotion. Every opposition is your place of promotion. If you'll answer it. If you'll eat that giant instead of run from it. Amen. God intends for you to increase. God intends for you to increase. Amen. Hallelujah. I so appreciate something that a man who is our pastor for years, he made this statement at 85, give me a mountain full of giants and I'll slay them and fertilize the earth with their carcasses. What's that mean? He's always looking for the next winning place. He's not looking for a place to back up. I want you to know that the word of God will turn you into someone who thinks right, someone who speaks right, and someone who takes your place in victory. Amen. I want you to know victory belongs to you. I said victory belongs to you. Your victory is waiting for your faith to show up. So what it's waiting for you to do is speak what God says. Speak the healing that belongs to you. Speak the victory that belongs to you. Speak the peace that belongs to you. Speak the supply and the abundance that belongs to you. In Jesus name, amen. We trust you've enjoyed this message. 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