Podcast Summary: Compassion & Travail | Craig Field | Holy Ghost Meetings 2023

Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Episode: Compassion & Travail | Craig Field | Tuesday AM | Holy Ghost Meetings 2023
Date: January 16, 2023
Speaker: Pastor Craig Field
Host: Dufresne Ministries
Special Contributions: Host Nancy Dufresne, Guest Intercessors (unattributed)
Duration: Approx. 69 minutes

Episode Overview

This episode features Pastor Craig Field delivering a message at the Dufresne Ministries’ Holy Ghost Meetings 2023, focused on the “divine instruments” of compassion and travail in the life of a believer and minister. Drawing on personal experiences, guidance from the Holy Spirit, and the teachings of the late Kenneth E. Hagin, Field explains how these instruments are essential for birthing God’s will, experiencing success in ministry, maturing believers, and fueling moves of God. The tone is candid, practical, and passionately exhortative, especially for pastors and ministers seeking greater spiritual results. The latter segment features additional exhortations and prophetic encouragement regarding intercession and the unity of the body.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Choosing the “Right” Sermon (00:11–04:30)

• Pastor Field discards his prepared sermon after sensing the Holy Spirit’s prompting: “Do you want a good sermon or the right sermon?”
• He emphasizes obedience to the Spirit over personal comfort or crowd-pleasing preaching.

2. Kenneth E. Hagin’s Secret to Success (04:31–10:15)

• Field recounts being led to an old 1983 audio message by Kenneth E. Hagin where Hagin revealed his secret to success:
  • Quote: “The secret to a successful apostolic ministry full of faith and power, using the divine given instruments of travail and compassion will make you irresistible.” (06:23)
• Field explores the meaning of “divine given instruments,” highlighting that faith is the believer’s part, power is God’s part, but the tools (travail and compassion) are divinely sourced yet must be actively used by believers.

3. Understanding Travail & Compassion (10:16–24:20)

• Travail (deep intercessory prayer) and compassion (God’s supernatural love) are not self-generated but must be yielded to.
  • On travail: “You can't create travail… you position yourself and God brings it.”
  • On compassion: It's not sympathy or pity, and it cannot be mustered in the flesh.
• Illustrative Moment: Field shares a personal story (20:00) of overcoming irritation toward a visitor by deliberately yielding to the fruits of the Spirit; instantaneously, genuine compassion was released, which then triggered a flow of the gifts of healing.
  • Quote: “Within two or three seconds, as I reached down to shake her hand, this deep swell, I almost started to weep … It was a love for that person like she was my own mother.” (22:45)
  • He observes, “Compassion released the gifts of healings into her.”

4. Practical Application: How to Cooperate with Travail and Compassion (24:21–32:40)

• Compassion can be positioned for by simply choosing to walk in the fruit of the Spirit, especially love, even when one doesn’t feel like it.
• Key Insight: “If we'll just walk in the fruits of the Spirit more, I believe compassion will come up a lot more.” (30:17)
• The correct posture is yielding and giving God space to move, paralleling the way one enters into deeper prayer by “waiting on God.”

5. Compassion in the Ministry of Jesus (32:41–40:29)

• Compassion appears 14 times in the Gospels; 8 directly relate to ministering to people and often precede miraculous power.
• Scriptures surveyed include Mark 1, Matthew 14, Mark 5, Luke 7, Matthew 15, Mark 8, Mark 6:34, Matthew 20, and Mark 1.
  • Observations: Many healings occurred in the context of compassion rather than explicit faith.
  • Quote: “Compassion is a prelude to power. And we need power, but we've got to have compassion as well, because Dad Hagin said that was the secret to his success.” (37:15)

6. The Instrument of Travail (40:30–59:00)

• Travail Defined: “Travail is one side of intercession…the deeper side.” —K.E. Hagin (41:12)
• Three Main Functions of Travail:
  1. Birthing Souls: Historical testimonies (Hagin, Finney) illustrate that travail produces supernatural conviction and mass conversions.
     • Quote: “Travail can accomplish things that no conversation can. Travail can accomplish things that no preaching can.” (46:28)
  2. Maturing Believers: Drawing on Galatians 4:19, Field links travail to spiritual maturation within church members.
  3. Birthing Moves of God:
     • Example: 1 Kings 18 – Elijah prays “head between his knees,” birthing rain in a drought.
     • “In every great move of God, the church, the prayers, intercessors and travailers gave birth to it.” (51:45)
     • Field admonishes ministers not to delegate all travailing prayer to prayer teams but to take personal ownership.
• Using practical and humorous anecdotes, Field debunks the notion that only “the grannies” should do the heavy lifting in prayer.

7. Vision and Prophetic Encouragement (59:05–68:54)

• Field describes a vision of the Holy Spirit joining with him in travail, helping to “move the log”—a metaphor for overcoming ministry obstacles with divine partnership.
  • Quote: “I'm coming opposite you now, and I'm taking hold with you… And within a week, that crisis turned in our church.” (57:30)
• He emphasizes the necessity of intercession for the “designated voice” of the era, specifically Pastor Nancy Dufresne.
  • “Travail must be made for the designated voice of our era…The prophet’s voice can hear and say things but if there’s not the travail, it won’t manifest.” (1:05:10)
• The call is for “the sons, other preachers, other pastors” connected to this company to join in prayers of travail for the vision and for a new move of God.

8. Metaphor of the Arrow and the Unity of Intercessors (59:15–68:54)

• Intercessor (female speaker, possibly Nancy Dufresne) offers an illustration: the “arrow” requires not just a point (the leader) but shaft, feathers, and notch—the intercessors and the whole supporting community.
  • Quote: “It takes a point man… but it takes what he’s preaching about. That’s all us. The shaft, the feathers, the niche. That’s us. That’s the intercession team. …We all fly together. The point just doesn’t reach the target—the whole arrow reaches the target.” (65:22–66:02)
• The prophetic word is: “There shall be souls attached, there shall be healings… the same reward, same reward, same reward,” affirming spiritual equality in intercessory work (67:11–68:10).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Spiritual Tools:
  “A God given instrument is a God given tool. God gives the tool... but there’s a responsibility on our side to use the instrument that he’s given.” —Craig Field, (07:55)

• On Ministering in Compassion:
  “What I had done without realizing... if you’ll submit to me and my spirit and how I want you to treat people... then up out of my spirit came this deep, deep... It was divine, it was supernatural... a deep compassion. For a moment, I loved the mask. I loved the mask. I loved her. I loved everything about her.” —Craig Field, (22:08–22:53)

• On Intercessory Ownership:
  "Paul took ownership and Paul travailed. He said, ‘I travail’. He didn’t say the prayer team travailed." —Craig Field, (54:48)

• On the Move of God:
  "The Spirit Church is going to outrun it in this last day move. The prophets with the designated voice are going to outrun it. …She begins to run. And the jet is included and other things are included because the voice has to run. But did you notice the intercession was key for it to manifest…" —Craig Field, (1:03:30)

• On the Unity of Believers:
  “We all fly together. The point just doesn’t reach the target—the whole arrow reaches the target.” —Intercessor, (65:57)

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |:-------------:|:------------------------------------------------| | 00:11 | Pastor Field’s introduction; story of sermon choice | | 06:23 | Quoting Kenneth E. Hagin’s “secret to success” | | 20:00–23:00 | Personal story: yielding to compassion | | 32:40–40:29 | Survey of compassion in Jesus' ministry | | 41:12 | Hagin’s definition of travail | | 46:28 | Story: Finney and prayer as birthing souls | | 51:45 | The role of travail in moves of God | | 57:30 | Vision: Holy Ghost and “the log” | | 65:22–66:02 | Arrow metaphor and unity of intercessors | | 67:11–68:10 | Prophetic encouragement: “same reward” |

Episode Takeaways

• Travail and compassion are vital, God-given instruments—not optional extras—for ministers and believers.
• Compassion is a spiritual force, rising from the spirit as believers yield to the fruit of the Spirit, often unlocking the gifts of God.
• Travail (deep intercessory groaning) is required to:
  • Birth souls (salvation)
  • Mature saints
  • Facilitate moves of God and breakthrough in ministry
• Ownership, not delegation, is required for leaders—travail is not just for the “prayer team.”
• Unity and teamwork are essential—every believer, like parts of an arrow, contributes to advancing God’s purpose.
• The prophetic challenge is to “take up the mantle of intercession and travail” for yourself, your church, and especially for the “designated voice” in this era.

For those who want increased power, revival, or a turnaround in their home, business, or ministry, Pastor Field’s message makes one thing clear: these things are not automatic. They are birthed—through yielded, faith-filled, Spirit-led compassion and travail.