Podcast Summary: Answer It!, Part Two | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus The Healer Broadcast

Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Date: August 8, 2019
Speaker: Pastor Nancy Dufresne

Episode Overview

In this episode, Pastor Nancy Dufresne teaches on the importance of believers "answering" opposition, challenges, and negative thoughts with intentional, faith-filled words. Drawing from biblical examples—most notably Jesus speaking to the fig tree and David confronting Goliath—Nancy instructs listeners on how to use their authority as believers to directly address and overcome life's difficulties. The episode is structured around three key steps: answering issues directly, telling the devil (or negative influence) to leave, and maintaining a lifestyle of worship.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Principle of Answering: Speaking to the Problem

• Biblical Foundation: Jesus spoke to the fig tree in Mark 11. When it didn’t bear fruit, He answered it directly, giving believers a model for addressing circumstances that aren’t as they should be (00:16–02:40).
  • “When you answer things and you talk to things, it may take time for them to show up, but the moment you answer, it goes at the unseen root of that situation.” (01:21, Pastor Nancy)
• Application: Don’t merely wait for change—speak to the problem (tree, mountain, pain, symptoms, finances) with authority.
  • “Talk to pain, talk to symptoms, talk to checking account that’s too low. Talk to it.” (02:55, Pastor Nancy)
• Warning: Don’t make the mistake of talking “about” the mountain (your problem); talk “to” it (04:15–05:08).
  • “How many dinner conversations would have to change if they couldn’t talk about the mountain?” (04:44, Pastor Nancy)

2. Specific and Right Answers

• Be Specific: Jesus answered Satan’s temptations in the wilderness specifically with the appropriate scripture (Luke 4) (06:00–09:00).
  • “The wrong answer to [financial difficulty] is, Jesus loves me. ... The answer for lack is, Satan, take your hands off my money!” (08:09, Pastor Nancy)
• Responsibility: Each person must answer for themselves; spouses, parents, or pastors cannot do your “answering” for you (09:41).
  • “No one else can do your answering for you...You’ve got to do your own believing. You’ve got to do your own speaking to things.” (10:05, Pastor Nancy)

3. Teaching Children to Answer

• Parental Role: It’s essential to teach children how to answer the devil and wrong thoughts, especially as they grow into accountability (11:07–14:14).
  • “The devil will pick on little children in the middle of the night. And they have to know how to answer that for themselves.” (12:36, Pastor Nancy)
• Practical Application: Help children differentiate truth from lies, including cultural lies about identity and sexuality (14:21).
  • “You have to teach your children to answer...the devil will lie to people and say you’re really a male in a female body...Those are perverted lies. And if you teach the children, answer that.” (15:10, Pastor Nancy)

4. Rewards of Answering Right

• Personal Testimony: Nancy shares how, during her husband’s passing, she had learned to answer every thought that didn’t bring peace. This practice protected her from grief and kept her family and church moving forward (17:34–19:23).
  • “Because the one thing we learned—to answer things. Amen. Thank God for the Word that shows us what the right answer to these situations are.” (19:00, Pastor Nancy)
• Biblical Example – David and Goliath: David was the only one with the right answer to Goliath, which brought him tangible rewards (riches, marriage into royalty, no taxes for his family) (20:00–23:40).
  • “One right answer made him rich...he had practiced answering right as a shepherd boy.” (22:29, Pastor Nancy)
• Consequence of Not Answering: Problems get bigger if not answered; Goliath got bolder when the Israelites stayed silent (22:58).

5. Three Steps for Victory

1. Answer it—Specifically and Every Time (24:38)
   • Speak directly and precisely to the issue.
2. Tell the Devil (or Influencing Spirit) to Leave (26:13)
   • Don’t permit negativity to linger—use your authority and demand its exit.
   • Nancy shares a personal story of spiritual opposition in her ministry project, emphasizing the necessity to answer both the spirit and the specific words spoken (26:39–30:40).
     • “I answered the spirit, but I didn’t answer the words, you understand? So I said, this project will not bring embarrassment to this ministry...all of those words stopped moving.” (29:26)
3. Worship—Maintain a Lifestyle of Praise (32:01)
   • The majority of your time should be spent worshipping; worship keeps your focus on God and out of the enemy’s mental arena.
     • “Worshiping God holds your attention—the answer—instead of the opposition.” (32:34)
   • Quoting Norval Hayes, she adds (33:33):
     • “My children basically love me, but they live in poverty, sickness, and defeat. They don’t live in heaven’s blessings because they don’t worship me enough.”
   • Worship until the anointing comes and the yoke is destroyed.

6. Maintaining Victory

• Perpetual Answering: Get in the habit of answering every opposition you face (“No, you don’t!”).
  • “How about we become skillful at answering every opposition, every single symptom, every single time something tries to get out of order in our life, we practice every day answering that. No, you don’t. No, you don’t.” (36:20, Pastor Nancy)
• Worship as a Door Closer: Continuous praise and worship keeps the door to the devil shut (35:34).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Talk to it. It’ll obey you.” (03:10, Nancy Dufresne)
• “You have to answer situations rightly for things to come out soundly.” (03:58, Nancy Dufresne)
• “Don’t make the mistake of talking about the mountain... He said, talk to the mountain.” (04:24, Nancy Dufresne)
• “If we don’t answer right, problems don’t leave us alone. They get bigger, they get louder, and they start taking more territory.” (22:58, Nancy Dufresne)
• “You cannot out think words...You speak to thoughts that the devil gives and you stop their movement.” (30:55, Nancy Dufresne)
• “Worshiping keeps you from going into that mental arena and it holds you in your spirit arena, in the faith arena.” (32:25, Nancy Dufresne)
• “His praise shall continually be in my mouth. If we will continually worship the Lord, we are continually keeping the door closed to the devil.” (35:34, Nancy Dufresne)
• “Jesus did the hard part. He gave us the easy part. Amen.” (36:06, Nancy Dufresne)

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:16-02:40 — Jesus and the fig tree: The unseen root of problems
• 02:41-04:15 — Mark 11: Speaking to mountains, not about them
• 06:00-09:00 — Luke 4: Answering specifically with the Word
• 11:07-14:14 — Teaching children to answer wrong thoughts
• 17:34-19:23 — Handling tragedy: Answering thoughts to stay in peace
• 20:00-23:40 — David and Goliath: The rewards of answering right
• 26:39-30:40 — Personal testimony: Spiritual opposition and answered words
• 32:01-35:34 — Worship as lifestyle: Closing the door to the devil

Actionable Takeaways

• Always answer opposition, trouble, or untrue thoughts out loud and specifically.
• Take personal responsibility to speak to your own challenges; don’t wait for others.
• Model and teach these practices to your children.
• Use worship to maintain your focus on God, ensuring continued victory and peace.