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Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Answering Wrong Thoughts | Grant Dufresne | World Harvest Church | Murrieta, CA
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Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message. If you have your Bibles with you, open up to Second Corinthians 2:11. And tonight, just keep your hearts open. You know, be open to adjusting yourself. Don't just be listening and, oh, that sounds good. And, yes, I love the word, but keep your heart open to adjusting yourself as a person. What can I work on and what can I adjust to? Grow. You know what I mean? So let's just keep our minds prepared. I want growth. I want to grow. I want to develop myself. I don't want to look like the same person I did a year ago. I want to develop myself, and I want to apply what I'm learning to my life because it's for my benefit. Amen. So. 2nd Corinthians 2:11. Out of the amplified, it says to keep Satan from getting the advantage over us, for we are not ignorant of his. I always say this word wrong. Dr. Graves, can you read this word for me? Yeah. What is it? Wiles. I always read it wrong. Even if I practice it, I get up in front of people, my brain's like, nope. It's saying, this. Wiles. Okay. And intentions. So something we need to be sober about is the strategies of the enemy. The Devil has a strategy, and it's against you. I said the Devil has strategies, and they're against you. But if we're sober and we're smart and we are smart about what his strategies are, we're not gonna fall victim to them anymore. He doesn't have any new strategies. Let me just put it that way. So we need to be sober about what those strategies are. And something the Devil wants from us, that's something he wants, is our minds. The Devil wants entrance into our thought life. He wants entrance into our minds. And it's so important that we keep guard over our thought life. Amen. Keeping guard over our thought life because one thought, one thought has ruined lives before. One suggestion of the devil has taken lives off course. And it always starts with a suggestion, with a thought that's planted. But if we're smart and we're sober about his strategies, if we're open to learning from people who have been there before. Pastor Nancy, she's always honest and shares what she's been through and how she came through it. Amen. So when your leaders come up and they talk about where. Where they've been and how they've been through it and how. What God taught them on the way, we need to. We need to listen because we don't have to go through what other people went through just because people go through it. We don't have to go through what our family went through. We don't have to go through what our friends have been through. We don't have to look like anyone else. We don't have to expect. Oh, to be wise. We have to go through hard things. God's never said that we have to go through things. And, you know, tests and trials, they do come. They always come. But we don't have to fall victim to those. We don't have to fall short. We can be in joy. We can have a sound mind in the face of tests and trials. We are not to be conformed to that situation. We don't have to conform to the strategies of the enemy. Protect your thought life. It's critical and it's crucial that we protect it to succeed in faith. It's not faith that fails, but it's. We step out of faith, we're not walking in faith anymore. It's not faith that fails, but when our minds get off course, when we get our thought life off course, the devil's got a stronghold there. So we need to be sober that suggestions don't always think. They're just originating with you. Do you understand what I'm saying? You know, people that have been murderers, people who have done some crazy things in life, it always started with a suggestion. No one's born a murderer. Nobody's born doing bad things. Nobody's born with a plan, an evil plan. It always started with the suggestion. It always started with a thought that was planted with a thought. And the devil loves to plant thoughts. He loves to make you think those belong to you, that those thoughts originated with you, that they're yours. And as. When I was younger, I used to struggle with nightmares and certain thoughts that would come to me as a child. And, you know, thoughts that you accept at a young age don't think you necessarily grow out of it. Young people, you know, you need to realize, oh, I'll grow out of this. Oh, this is just a phase. But the habits you instill at a young age, they're going to be harder to push through when you're older. So there's no. No one's too old or too young to start to start. Kids can start at the age that they can start talking and they can communicate. You can teach them to answer thoughts. And I'm glad my mom was willing to teach me about those things. At a young age. The devil's no respecter person. Oh, well, when they're older. When they're a little bit older, then I'll start to torment them. He. He's unreasonable. He's. He's harsh. He would love to torment your kids. He would love to plant thoughts in their mind. And it can. And it can happen. So it's so important that we teach young ones that they can answer their thoughts. They don't have to accept the thoughts that are coming to them. Amen. So something I want to emphasize is don't believe the lies. Don't believe the lies of the enemy. Brother Hagin said this. Just because a bird's flying around your head doesn't mean it's going to make a nest if you let. Doesn't do it unless you let it. The birds can fly around, the thoughts can fly around, but it doesn't mean that you take ownership of them. Just because the thought came doesn't mean it belongs to you. And something my mom taught me was, you tell the devil those are his thoughts, those are his nightmares, those are his. Those are his thoughts. They're not yours. And realizing that, and you go, wow. I don't feel the conviction or the sadness or the fear attached to that thought because it's not mine. It's not mine. I don't have to feel guilty about a thought that didn't belong to me. I don't have to take ownership and label that me. What a freedom that is. What joy there is knowing that those thoughts don't belong to us. But God has offered his thoughts. God has promised so much for us that we can think on. Praise God. There's a. There's people in the world that are just victim to every thought that comes their way. They don't have the answer. They don't have the answer and they're looking for the answer. So tonight, just realize that there are people that would love to hear an answer about their thought life. There's people that are tormented. They don't want to live because of what's going on up here. But the answer is simple. The answer is simple. We can answer those thoughts with the word of God. With the answer. With the truth. With the truth. I said it's the truth. Amen. So the devil wants our minds. When he can get into our minds, he can affect every arena of our life. When he suggests a worry thought, it could be simple, Oh, I hope something doesn't break in my house because I can't afford it. And then you start Thinking, well, I wish I made more. Oh, these bills are coming. I mean, the thoughts will evolve into something else. And it can start affecting every arena of your life. Because when you get into fear, when you get into worry, you open up the door to the enemy. It can affect your body. I'm just telling you the truth. It can affect every arena of your life when you give entrance to the devil. But we can get it right. Right now. We have the authority in Christ to put our foot down and say, no more will you rule my thought life. No more will you govern my life. You have stepped onto my territory. You have no place here. And we have the right to say, devil, you have stepped on my property. You don't belong here. You have violated a place that you don't belong because of what Jesus did. The price that he paid were free. We. We're free from the enemy. He has no victory over us. He has no power over us. Amen. Glory to God. And if you take ownership of wrong thoughts, you will begin to walk out those thoughts. You will begin to become that person. It all started with a thought. Amen. There's a reason the Bible talks about renewing the mind. Because if we don't get this in order, it's gonna be hard to to obey God. It's gonna be hard to step out in faith when your mind is tormented. We gotta get this mind renewed because God has so much for us. But if we're bound. I said, if we're bound by the enemy, if we're constricted, if we're controlled by thoughts that don't belong to us, it's gonna be hard to hear from God. It's gonna be hard to obey God. So we gotta start renewing our mind. And that's something we're always going to be doing. No one ever arrives. But there's always something we can work on. We're in a natural body. We live in this natural world. We're gonna face things. Thoughts are gonna try and come. Temptations are gonna try and come. But we live on that person, who we really are, that new creature. There's power within us that we can draw on because of what Jesus did. We're a new creature in Christ. We're not our flesh. We're not subject to the world. We're not. We're not victims of the world anymore. We're a new creature in Christ. He's provided a new way of thinking for us. Hallelujah. Amen. Let's see here. Go to Romans 12:2. So that's something important. We need to renew our mind. Romans 12:2. And it says. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your. Your mind. What do we renew our mind with? The Word of God. It's simple. This book. The Bible, the Holy Bible. Renew our mind with this. Renew our mind with the Word that ye may be able to prove. What is that? Good and acceptable. Perfect will of God. Do you see what comes after that? When you begin to work on your mind, when you begin to renew your mind, you. You step into greater things. Good, acceptable and perfect. We want the perfect will of God. We want his perfect plan for us. That's the goal. We want his perfect plan for us. But notice it says here. We need to be transformed. We need to be transformed. We need to renew this thing up here. I know. We all want that new life. We all want the perfect will of God for our lives. We want that. Amen. But just because you become born again doesn't necessarily mean you're now in the perfect will of God. You've received that promise. You are now a child of God. You are now. Heaven is your home. Glory to God. The price Jesus paid. You're free. But now it's time to renew our mind with the Word. And the Word is freedom. I said the Word is freedom. Praise God for freedom. Hallelujah. Because of the Word, we're free. So it's something to invest our time into. Amen. So if we want that perfect will of God, we want to fulfill that. We need to start by renewing our minds. Amen. And it's with the Word of God. And something you need to know is you're not going to win fights with the enemy. You're not going to win. Victory over think. Let me get this right. You're not going to fight. You can't win fights with thoughts. You can't fight thoughts with thoughts. Do you understand what I'm saying? I got a little tongue tied, but here I am. You can't fight thoughts with thoughts. You have to answer thoughts with the Word of God. Because if you fight thoughts with thoughts, you're going to be running in a circle, and that's the Devil's territory. It's the flesh. And the flesh wants to figure it out. The flesh wants to. Wants to think about it and get a plan figured out. But we don't have to do that. There's nothing in the Word that says we have to fight thoughts with thoughts. We fight thoughts. We answer thoughts with the Word. Why? Because the Word of God. There's power attached to God's word. There's supernatural power associated with God's word that thoughts don't have. They don't have. Don't see thoughts as a big, big thing, man. This thought is just. It's tormented me my whole life. It has. It may have. And to somebody who doesn't have an answer, yeah, that's a big deal. People are victim to thoughts and wrong ways of thinking. They're tormented. But just because we say tormented or just because we say thoughts, the devil's thoughts don't think they have power greater than the word of God. There's no power associated with the devil's thoughts. Do you understand what I'm saying? There's no power in those. There's no power in the devil. Suggestions? When you answer it with the word of God, those thoughts have no power. They have to bow, they have to fall. But you answer those thoughts with the word of God and don't wait to act. Don't wait for the right time. Well, I'll. When I get through this day, I'll answer the word of these scriptures. Thoughts are consistent. They don't take breaks, so you can't take breaks. Thoughts aren't going to lighten up. The devil's knock don't wait. The devil's never going to lighten up things. If you say, brother Grant, my thought, life is troubled. I see. Pastor Nancy. I see these examples. They have something I don't have. They have and have had experience in renewing their mind. That's what sets the body of Christ apart. That's what should set us apart. And we should want that. Amen. So I encourage you, don't wait to answer the thoughts. Answer them as much as you need to. They need to be in your mouth more than the thoughts are. You need to be consumed with his Word. If you're consumed with troubling thoughts, you need to even be more consumed with your answer. Amen. Hallelujah. So don't wait to act. Don't wait for a right time. Don't get me wrong. I mean, if you're in a public area, I'm not saying to be loud and distracted, because that's gonna look. It's not gonna look right. And if we want people to come to our church, we want them to know we're not odd, but we can answer wherever we are. You can have a conversation with your Father and you can answer those thoughts anytime you need to. But it's so important that we remember the answer. We need for our life. It's in the Word. I said it's in the Word. Just stick around this church long enough, you'll begin to hear answers. You'll begin to see revelation in the Word that you didn't even know was there. Maybe somebody's gonna talk about a scripture in a way that you never saw before. There's my answer, man. It was right in front of me. Amen. So don't wait to act. Act now. Amen. If you want the change, act on it. Act on that change. And something that is very important when it comes to renewing your mind is you need to make sure your company doesn't look like the person you don't want to be, because you are who you hang out with. If you don't like the lives of the people you're around, don't give them your priority. Don't give them your full attention. Don't give. I'm telling you, that's why we have a local church. That's why we have a body. Thank God for a local church that teaches faith. There's faith people in this church. There's safe company in this church, and thank God for that. But that's something very key to being successful. As you're endeavoring to answer thoughts, as you're endeavoring to step out in faith and renew your mind, it's gonna be very, very important that your company looks right. Because you're gonna start questioning whether it works or not. Because you're in wrong fellowship. It's not the word that doesn't work, but your eyes, your distraction gets off. The word starts getting back to its old habits. It's back to its old ways. You have to come to the realization, what do I want more? Do I want acceptance in my social group, or do I want freedom? Because it says here, when we renew our mind, what follows? That renewing our mind. Endeavoring to renew mind is the perfect will of God. Do you want his will for your life? I don't want the lives of someone else. I don't want the world. I want God's perfect will for my life. What's more important, if you have to cut off relationships to endeavor to follow God, I'm telling you, it's worth it. It's worth it. Torment's not worth it. Pain is not worth it. Torment's not worth it. Peace is worth cutting things off. And I'm telling you, God will restore whatever he needs to. God will prove you wrong. Whatever thought you may come across, man, I don't know how that's gonna happen. He'll prove you wrong. I said he'll prove you wrong. He will perform for you. He will impress you. He will work on your behalf. You don't have to worry about your future. He'll take care of you. Just focus on renewing this thing up here with the word of God. Amen. And make in rejecting any thoughts that don't fall in line with his word. Reject them. I'm not doing it. But we have to recognize something that's off. That's not. That's not. That doesn't bring me peace. That doesn't bring. That's not from God. But the only way we're going to realize, man, that is. That is not what. That's not a thought God wants for me. That's not right. That's out of. That's not for me is we need to see who we are in Christ. We need to see who we are as the new creature. As we begin to see who God has called us to be, what he has done for us, what the new creature we can be, that we are because we're born again. As we begin to learn who this person is and who this person should be, we should be like Jesus. As we begin to learn that, we'll begin to realize that is not. That doesn't fit. That's not the word. That thought is wrong. I reject that thought. Hallelujah. So I encourage you. You're not going to win a fight in your thoughts. Fighting it with thoughts. We have to answer it specifically. Amen. With the word of God. And the will of God for you is a clean mind. It's a clean mind. It's a sound mind. That's what his thoughts look like. That's what his plan looks like. Amen. The will of God for you is to have a clean mind. Amen. Let's go to Ephesians 6:16. Are you being helped tonight? No one's out of this topic. No one is. Everybody's got a mind. We all. Everyone here has got a mind. So we all. We all have. We're all included in this message. Amen. It says here in Ephesians 6:16, out of the King James Version, it says, above all, taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Hallelujah. As we stand in faith on his word, as we stand on those Scriptures, those fiery darts, they fall flat. Things that used to take us down, they have no power anymore because we are standing on a strong foundation. A foundation that stands through everything. The power of the enemy. It has no. It doesn't even come close to the power of God. It is dead. We need to see it how God sees it. It is dead. It has no power in my life, therefore, I believe it. I believe it. I'm not gonna be impressed by the strategies of the enemy. I'm not gonna be victim to them anymore. I'm not gonna be ignorant anymore. I want a new life. I want my life to look different than what it's looked like in the past. I don't want my future to look like my past. And the only way you're gonna see change is if you step out in faith. Step out on His Word. That's where you're gonna see a change in your life. That's where the miracles are. That's where you're gonna see a miracle in your life. And God will impress you, saying, man, he did that for Me? Yes, he did it for you. Jesus died on the cross for you to have a clean mind, a sound mind, a free mind that is not bound. Amen. Don't accept it anymore. I said, don't accept it anymore. Amen. We need to think on the truth. We need to think on His Word. We need to keep it in front of us all the time, meditating day and night on His Word. How bad do you want to be free from that thing? Whatever you're facing, how bad do you want it? It's not hard for God. It's not too much for God, but His Word is more than enough. Just stay on His Word. Just say, well, brother Grant, the thoughts came back. Doesn't matter if they came back. Stand on His Word. His Word will not fail you. If you stay on His Word. You stand on His Word. If you commit to those scriptures that you're feeding on, whatever it is, you may have heard a message. You said, that's my answer. Don't forget that answer. Write it down. How bad do you want it? Because His Word, as you act on it, as you feed on it, it will begin to play out in your life. Your life will begin to look like the Word of God. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Let's go over to Philippians 4:8. Philippians 4:8. It says, finally, brethren, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just. Whatsoever things are pure. Things that are lovely, things that are of good report. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. So if those thoughts, if they don't align with what's Stated here. Reject it. It's done. I've exposed you enemy. I see your strategy. That thought is a strategy. And I see it now. Like it said over us, don't be ignorant over the devil's strategies. Hallelujah. So when we see, you know, these thoughts, they're not in line with this right here. They're not honest, they're not pure. There's no virtue in them. They bring me turmoil. Those thoughts, those negative thoughts from the enemy. They bring me sadness. They bring me fear. Reject them. I see the devil strategy now because right here, I don't see those thoughts listed anywhere. Then they gotta go. But it's gonna take meditation and commitment to the word. It's not gonna. You know. You know, sometimes habits, those habits, you need to make sure you get right habits in place to get rid of the old habits. So don't get discouraged because you stood on a scripture yesterday and the next day that thought came back. God's power didn't work. But we need to make sure that we get that answer in us. Because there are other things that are in us that need to get out. They need to get out. Those things need to get out. They need to. They need. They need to. They're not me anymore. I'm conforming to this new creature. I'm renewing my mind. I'm doing it. Amen. I'm actively renewing my mind. Amen. So don't get discouraged when the thought comes back. When something challenges you, don't get discouraged. Just stay on his word. The answer won't change. Your answers in the Word. What was an answer for you 10 years ago can be an answer to you today. When it comes to the word of God, you don't need something new. Amen. So I encourage you, if, say you're facing. You said my body. I just. My whole life I've had problems with my body. I've had symptoms in my body. I've dealt with this my whole life. Well, in the Word, it says, but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes, we are healed. If that's your answer for what you're facing with your body, stand on that. I. By his stripes, I'm healed. My body doesn't look healed. It doesn't feel healed. But it's by him because of his body. The price he paid. His power, it belongs to me. A whole and healed body, it belongs to me. I want it. Amen you're struggling with finances, you say, Lord, I just feel like finances is always something I've been struggled with in my mind. I've worried about it in the natural. It just seems like I'm never. I've never add up. It just. I can never afford anything nice. I. I can't. It just seems like I can't have. Says here, Philippians 4:19. But my God shall. My God not you, not your resources, not your bank account, but my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. If that's your answer, stand on it. Stand on it. Renew your mind with it. Get it in you. Get it big in you that no one could tell you different. Maybe you like I've been talking about. You have a tormented mind. You don't have a peaceful life. Isaiah 26:3. You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Hallelujah. If that's your answer, stand on it. Don't let it go. The thoughts will come. It's not for you. You're always going to struggle with this. You're always going to be that person. You're always going to look this way, you're always going to act this way. That's just who you are. You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you. While my mind is not on me, it's on you. Father, I worship you and I praise you, and I love. I know a lot of us have read Pastor Nancy's book, Answer it. But I want to read the steps. Step one. When it comes to answering it, answer it. And I want to read this. One of the most important things the believer must learn is how to answer opposition. Many are hoping the devil will just leave them alone. But faith answers what opposes it. Amen. Hallelujah. So this first step is answer it. Answer it with the word of God. Don't just let that thought get its last word. Get the last word. You step in and say, I'm answering you right now. My God shall supply all my needs. By his stripes, I'm healed. I have a peaceful mind because of what he has done for me. Answer it specifically. Whatever you're facing, Whatever thought you're facing, whatever comes your way, answer it specifically with the word of God. Amen. Devil that is not who I am. I will not be that person. In the name of Jesus, I am a new creature in Christ. My past is not me. Hallelujah. My past isn't going to be my future. I'm not going to be that person. Hallelujah. And then step number two is tell the devil to leave. You know, we get so. We get so caught up in thoughts and in the flesh and the natural, we forget that's a spirit. We neglect the spiritual realm. But we got to remember the spirit of fear. It can grip someone's mind. Hallelujah. It's the truth. Hallelujah. So I'm going to read this. Step number two. Tell the devil to leave. Like I was saying earlier, he's on your territory. It's time for him to leave. You wouldn't let a stranger just waltz into your house and ate out of your fridge and sleep in your bed and do. And make a mess. Why would you let him? Why would you let the enemy move into your thought life, move into your mind? If that visual helps, see it like that. Because it's the truth. I said it's the truth. In the spirit realm, it's the truth. The devil will grip someone's mind. But tell the spirit that spoke those words to leave you alone. Tell the spirit of fear to leave. Or tell doubt to leave. You don't belong here. You have no place. You have no place in my thought life. You have no place in my life. I'm free from you. Hallelujah. And in step number three, and I want to end on this. Step number three is worship God. Get your eyes off of you. Get your eyes off of the situation. Get your eyes off of whatever's going on in your life. Turn your heart towards him. Because the most important thing he wants is a relationship with you. Jesus wants a relationship with you. He doesn't care about how much money you have. I'm talking about the natural. That doesn't impress him. He doesn't care what car you have. He doesn't look at what clothes you're wearing. He wants a relationship with you. He wants your heart. He wants your heart. So as you begin to learn who he is and who he is to you, as you begin to learn who your father is, as you begin to develop a relationship with him, your faith will begin to grow stronger and stronger. And you'll begin to realize when you know somebody. A lot of us, we have relationships in our life. We have people we trust. And when somebody says, that person doesn't love you. No, they do. Maybe your parents, maybe your boyfriend or girlfriend. I know them. I know them really well. I'm not going to trust someone I just met telling me about this person. I know them. That's not the truth. So you need to see it as just. Because when you have a relationship with your father, those thoughts that try to come. No, my father does not want that for me. I know him. I have faith in him. I'm not. You'll begin to realize your faith in him becomes stronger simply because you developed a relationship with him. So when those thoughts come, you said, that's not what my father thinks of me. That's not what he wants from me. I'm not going to believe that because I know him. Now, does that make sense? Does that analogy make sense? That when you know somebody, no one can tell you different? And he is faithful. He's more faithful than anyone you know. So what he says about you, what he knows about you, it's the truth. And what he wants for you, it's the truth. So as you begin to know him, as you begin to become a new creature in Christ, as you begin to develop a relationship with him, as you begin to grow, you'll begin to see that those thoughts, the things that tripped you up before, they become easier and easier to just. No, I'm turning away. Things that tripped me up before. My relationship with my Father is more than that. So I encourage you. As you worship God, take time to fellowship with him. He wants a relationship with you. He wants to fellowship with you. And as you begin to know who he is, you'll begin to have stronger and stronger faith in him. He loves you so much. He wants a close relationship with you. He wants to get to know you. Amen. He wants that. So after you've answered the thought, you've told the Spirit, you told the devil to leave. You don't belong in my thought life. You don't belong in my home. You don't belong in my life. Turn towards him. Turn your attention towards your father and worship him and praise him. And I'm going to read this, and then I'll end. What our attention is on is what gets the movement in our lives. It holds you out of the mental arena and in the faith arena. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. That's our answer. Praise God. And you know, my mom, what she's been through, what she's walked through with God, she's learned these things. So we don't have to go through those things anymore. We don't have to start fresh. We don't have to have a blank sheet. Where do we begin? But because of someone who's walked with God, who has learned things, who has revelation in this, it's something to take note of and learn from, that we don't have to live our lives anymore. Troubled. We don't have to live a troubled thought life. We don't have to live with that anymore. But these steps are so important because it's somebody who's actually walked it out and is proven. Hallelujah. She walks with God. I live with her. I've seen it. It's not. It's not who she is just on the stage. She's that person, and she's credible. She's a spiritual giant to us. I know we've all learned from her. So these steps are valuable. So take them and apply them to your life. You know, take them for yourself. Don't just say, well, these are Pastor Nancy's steps. They're your steps now. They're your answers now. The word is yours. It's personal. It's your father talking to you. It's a personal note to you. It's your answer. Take ownership over it and protect your mind and protect your answer. Amen. Hallelujah. Are you helped tonight. Hallelujah. We'll stand to your feet. Let's just take a moment and just. Let's worship him. We trust you've enjoyed this message. Visit us@DefrainMinistries.org to learn of our upcoming meetings. Share your testimony. Please become a partner or visit our online store. This program has been made possible by the friends and partners of Dufresne Ministries.