Podcast Summary

Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Episode: A Life of Humility, Part One | Stephen Dufresne
Location: World Harvest Church, Murrieta, CA
Date: September 16, 2019
Speaker: Stephen Dufresne

Episode Overview

This episode features Stephen Dufresne discussing the Christian principle of humility, exploring its transformative power in the believer's life. Dufresne emphasizes that humility is not merely a virtue to aspire to, but an essential trait required for spiritual growth, healing, and effective ministry. Using personal anecdotes and biblical examples, he contrasts humility with pride and challenges listeners to pursue ongoing self-examination and refinement through God’s Word.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Continuous Process of Change

• Constant Refinement: Dufresne opens by stating that his spiritual walk in the past year has been all about changing himself in alignment with God’s Word.

  "This whole year has been me having to change myself. And praise God for that, because we need to be changed all the time. When you don’t change is when something’s wrong." (02:30)

• Spiritual Stagnation: He warns that failing to change is a sign that something is amiss spiritually.

The Dangers of Pride

• Cultural vs Biblical Pride: Stephen notes that society often encourages pride (in heritage, accomplishments), but biblically, pride is dangerous and associated with Satan, not God.

  "In the word of God and the things of God you can't have any pride. So we have to be very careful." (04:13)

• Self-Examination: He encourages listeners to examine themselves first rather than blaming others:

  "If everyone around you is a problem, I'm gonna guess maybe you're the problem." (16:01)

Humility as a Prerequisite for Healing and Blessing

• Healing Follows Humility:

  "It’s humbled and be healed. Humbled and then be healed, not healed and then humbled. Humility equals healing." (06:11)

  • He teaches that heart change (humility) can usher in healing even during the service.
• Grace to the Humble: Quoting James 4:6, he elaborates:

  "God resists the proud... but gives grace... to the humble." (18:55)

  • “Grace” here is described as "everything good in your life," including prosperity, peace, wisdom, and favor.

Humility Means Acknowledging Dependence on God

• Rejecting Self-Made Narratives:

  "If you’ve ever said, 'I’m a self-made man, self-made woman,' this is going to be your downfall. Because everything you are and everything you will become is because of God." (21:22)

• Thankfulness: He stresses giving God the glory for every accomplishment and blessing, not attributing success to self-effort or personal faith apart from God:

  "None of it is your faith. It’s given by God, learned [from] the Word." (24:01)

The Smell of Humility: A ‘Sweet Smelling Aroma’ to God

• Spiritual Hygiene Analogy: Dufresne uses Ephesians 5:2 to draw a parallel between physical and spiritual cleanliness:

  "My humility is an odor unto God, it’s a smell unto Him to represent what’s inside of me." (32:14)

• The Cost of Offering: He explains that just as sacrifices in the Old Testament needed to be the best, so must our lives be refined and presented to God as a "sweet smelling aroma," cleansed from pride and sin.

Real-Life and Practical Examples

• Bible School Endurance: Stephen admonishes Bible school students not to quit under pressure, noting that adversity is to be expected and is often a sign of being on the right track.

  "Don’t be wieners and quit just because of pressure." (12:54)

• Giving as Becoming Like God: He reframes financial giving, arguing that generosity is less about the act and more about developing God’s character:

  "I’ve quit seeing it as giving... I’m becoming more like God." (50:45)

Humility in Relationships

• Owning Mistakes: He illustrates the necessity of humility in marriage and conflict resolution.

  "Meekness is not weakness. Meekness says I’m wrong. A real man of God will stand up and apologize to everybody that needs to be apologized to." (01:10:42)

• Family Patterns: He critiques learned family behaviors that discourage expressing emotion or admitting fault, contrasting these with biblical humility.

Humility When Facing Disappointment

• Mark 9 Example—Healing the Boy with a Mute Spirit:
  • Stephen examines the persistence and humility of the boy’s father, who, despite his disappointment in the disciples’ inability to heal his son, continued to seek help from Jesus:

    "If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." (01:01:55)

  • The father’s famous request:

    "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (01:08:15)

    • Dufresne highlights how quickly the father moved to humility when confronted with his own limitations.
  • Takeaway: Humility is being willing to admit "I don’t know everything; I still need help." (01:05:35)

The Danger of Judging Others

• Stephen recalls an incident where he judged a minister based on someone else’s opinion, only to later see that minister’s great success. He resolved never to judge another’s calling or ministry.

  "I will never have another opinion about somebody that is doing something for God, even though I would think it was wrong." (01:12:40)

The Need for Ongoing Vigilance

• Pride as Weeds:

  "Pride is like weeds in the yard. You may kill them one season, but what happens if you don’t stay on top of them? They come back." (01:17:57)

  • He urges listeners not to assume they’ve “conquered” pride.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Self-Examination:

  "Don’t think everybody else needs a change. If everyone around you is a problem, I’m gonna guess maybe you’re the problem." (16:10)

• On True Repentance:

  "True repentance is the correcting of not repeating that." (01:15:21)

• On Humility and Ministry:

  "Humility determines how much God can use you." (01:09:30)

• On Admitting Needs:

  "Humility says, 'I’m lost, and I don’t care that somebody knows I’m lost. Please help me get to where I’m going.'" (56:00)

• On Marriage & Apology:

  "It doesn’t matter how you feel. Humility says, 'I’m sorry.'" (01:03:05)

Important Timestamps

• 00:00 – Introduction and Stephen’s personal background
• 02:30 – On the necessity of changing oneself
• 06:11 – "Humbled and be healed" – the equation of humility and healing
• 16:01 - 24:01 – Self-examination, dangers of pride, and giving God credit
• 32:00 - 35:00 – Ephesians 5:2: humility as a spiritual aroma; sacrifices in the Old Testament
• 50:45 – Giving as a means of becoming more like God
• 56:00 – 58:00 – Practical example: humility means asking for help (lost while driving)
• 01:01:55 – 01:09:30 – Mark 9: healing the boy, humility in disappointment
• 01:12:40 – On not judging other ministries
• 01:15:21 – True repentance and humility in family life
• 01:17:57 – Pride is like weeds

Episode Conclusion

Stephen Dufresne closes the message encouraging sincere self-reflection, repentance, and the ongoing rooting out of pride. He describes humility not as weakness but as the vital ground in which God’s grace and blessings can flourish, both for the individual and the church. Above all, he stresses that humility determines how much God can use someone, and it is a lifelong process to refine oneself through the Word and daily living.

Summary prepared for listeners who want a comprehensive, in-depth understanding of the episode’s content, lessons, and spiritual challenges.