Podcast Summary: "Because Of Your Unbelief"

Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Guest Speaker: Pastor Debra Simons
Event: Holy Ghost Meetings 2022, Wednesday AM
Date: January 20, 2022

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Pastor Debra Simons shares a heartfelt, transparent teaching on the theme of unbelief and its impact on receiving from God. Drawing on personal testimony, scripture, and recent church experiences, she illustrates how identifying and dealing with unbelief is essential for stepping into the miracles and blessings God intends. The discussion is rich with anecdotes, practical advice, and encouragement for believers to examine their own hearts and grow in faith.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Rewards of Faithfulness and Obedience

[00:10 – 06:00]

• Pastor Debra opens with gratitude for ministering and reflects on Hebrews 11:6, emphasizing God as a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
• Shares a powerful personal testimony about her granddaughter, Natalie, receiving spiritual insight and encouragement during recent meetings.
• Highlights the generational impact of faithfulness (“to see the preciousness of both my daughters serving God and my grandchildren in the place where they need to be is a huge reward for me.”)

Memorable Quote:

"These are the types of rewards that we get for obeying God and finding the place that he has for us. And then when opposition comes, you don't yield to the temptation of getting out of your place or changing what you believe because of circumstances. You stay steady."
— Debra Simons [04:50]

A Season of Transition and the Root of Unbelief

[06:00 – 12:00]

• Entering a new season can bring attacks from the enemy—awareness, not fear, is needed.
• Receiving the phrase “Because of your unbelief” as a prompt from the Holy Spirit led her to Matthew 17:20.
• Importance of confronting and acknowledging unbelief as a prerequisite for miracles:

  “If there's any unbelief, we gotta deal with it now…What's bad is that you think that there's not any unbelief in you.”
  — Debra Simons [09:30]

Key Verse:
Matthew 17:20 – Jesus addresses unbelief as the barrier to moving mountains.

The Challenge of Receiving and the Need to Believe

[12:00 – 23:00]

• Shares personal struggle: God revealed she found it easier to give than to receive, rooted in hidden unbelief (2 Corinthians 9:6-11, Amplified).
• The revelation:

  “If I have a problem receiving, it's because I have a problem believing.”
  — Debra Simons [16:10]

• Practice of meditating on the Word and leading the congregation in consistent confession and focus on God’s promises, especially regarding finances and provision.

Notable Illustration:
Recounts Kenneth Copeland's story—“The memory of a potato never nourished anyone”—emphasizing the vitality of daily, active engagement with the Word [19:45].

Testimonies: Moving Forward in Faith

[23:00 – 35:00]

• Details her church’s journey towards acquiring land and a new building, faced with practical and faith challenges.
• Describes how others’ generosity challenged her own capacity to believe and receive. Responses of discomfort or hesitation when blessed highlighted areas of remaining unbelief.
• Importance of a faith community that encourages and complements one’s belief.

Memorable Quote:

“It's easy to be a blessing, but to receive a blessing just feels like it's got all kinds of responsibilities with it, and maybe I won't handle it right. I don't know.”
— Debra Simons [29:00]

Recognizing and Dismantling Unbelief

[35:00 – 50:00]

• Testifies about her husband’s initial reluctance to pastor due to self-doubt; when he embraced God’s call, a tangible shift occurred.
• Teaching: Believing is an act of will—choosing to accept and act on God’s Word, not looking at one’s limitations.
• Challenges the audience to analyze their reactions:

  “How do I react to certain things? That’ll tell me.”
  — Debra Simons [41:40]

• Use of Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 78:41 to reinforce the necessity of meditating on the Word and not limiting God by one’s own unbelief.

Key Advice:

• Keep truth in front of you by confessing and meditating until it overtakes lying thoughts or doubt.
• The enemy plays in the arenas we don’t know—we must make God’s Word and promises undeniable reality within us:

  “The devil can only play with you in the area that you don't know. So know what you know, and if you don't know, then get busy in knowing.”
  — Debra Simons [48:20]

Recent Miracles and Practical Application

[50:00 – 53:15]

• Recounts how God instructed the church to pay off their building by faith, making the needed amount approachable and including the whole congregation.
• Joyfully testifies how, through the obedience and faith of many, the remaining balance was paid off in a single offering (“World Harvest Church, you were the ones that finished that thing off. They gave us the hundred and twenty three thousand dollars that was left on our building. Our building is paid off!” [52:30])
• Emphasizes: Opportunities to give and obey God are open doors that won’t remain forever—act in faith when prompted.
• Cautions not to mislabel unbelief as humility:

  “We want to think it's humility, but it's unbelief.”
  — Debra Simons [51:30]

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Reward for Faithfulness:
  “...for a girl that got saved because she was afraid she had already messed up her kids life with her sinful life, to see the preciousness of both my daughters serving God and my grandchildren in the place where they need to be is a huge reward for me.” [05:00]
• On Unbelief in the Church:
  “If we really believe the scriptures like we say we do, we'd be getting the results of the Word in a greater manifestation.” [10:15]
• On Receiving:
  “God is able to make all grace... come to you in abundance so that you may always... be self-sufficient... And 8, really through 8 and 11 is what God said. You don't believe this as much as you think you do because you have a problem receiving.” [16:35]
• On Limiting God:
  “Yea. And they turned back and tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel... They limit Him because of unbelief.” [45:15]
• On Action-Oriented Faith:
  “When you keep that truth on the inside of you, keep it in front of you, that is how you get rid of the doubt.” [47:55]
• On Sober Reception of Blessing:
  “Folks, God's offering us so much in this season. Let's not let unbelief rob us of what he has for us.” [53:00]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:10 – 06:00 — Opening testimony on faithfulness and generational reward
• 09:30 — Introduction to theme: “Because of your unbelief”
• 16:10 — Revelation about struggles with receiving rooted in unbelief
• 19:45 — Kenneth Copeland’s “memory of a potato” story
• 29:00 — Testimony of discomfort with receiving blessing
• 35:00 — Husband’s journey to accepting pastoral call
• 41:40 — “How do I react to certain things? That’ll tell me.”
• 45:15 — Warning from Psalm 78: limiting God through unbelief
• 48:20 — “Know what you know... if you don’t know, then get busy in knowing.”
• 52:30 — Building paid off testimony

Practical Takeaways

• Acknowledge and confront unbelief: Spiritual growth and manifesting God's promises require honest self-reflection and dealing with areas of unbelief.
• Practice meditating and confessing the Word: Effectiveness comes by keeping scriptural truth alive and present, not just relying on memory.
• Don't delay obedience: When opportunity comes (to give, to serve, to receive), act promptly—faith opens the door to miracles.
• Receiving is part of faith: Learning to receive with boldness is evidence of true belief in God’s promises.
• Community faith is powerful: Surrounded by believers and testimonies, we are encouraged further in our own journey.

Closing Encouragement:
Pastor Debra ends by challenging listeners not to let unbelief rob them of God’s blessings in this season, urging boldness, practicality, and openness to all God wants to do.