Podcast Summary: Cooperating With God's Power, Part One | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus The Healer Broadcast

Episode Overview

In this episode of the Dufresne Ministries Podcast, Pastor Nancy Dufresne shares foundational teaching on how believers can cooperate with God's power―particularly as it relates to daily miracles, healing, and walking in faith. Drawing analogies from everyday life and scripture, Nancy emphasizes that God's power is ever-present and accessible, but its manifestation in our lives depends on our active faith and willingness to learn how it operates.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Miracles: Passing By or Stopping For You? (00:16 – 04:50)

• Main Idea: Pastor Nancy recalls a quote from Oral Roberts: "Every day, miracles are coming to you or going past you."
  • The difference-maker is faith―miracles stop for those who call on them in faith.
• Scriptural Example: Story of blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52).
  • Bartimaeus didn't wait passively; he called out in faith and received his miracle even when others tried to silence him.
  • "Power needs your call to know where to stop. ... Power only stops for faith. It doesn’t stop for need." (Nancy Dufresne, 02:38)

2. Faith, Not Need or Emotion, Gets Results (07:47 – 10:00)

• God's power is always available, but faith is what causes it to work for us.
  • "He cannot do for you what only your faith can do. His part is power. Your part is faith." (Nancy Dufresne, 07:47)
  • Need alone does not move God; if it did, every need would already be met.
• Skill in faith is likened to skill in sports or any other endeavor.

3. Learning to Cooperate: The Analogy of Electricity (10:00 – 16:45)

• Power (like electricity) is always present, but requires knowledge to access.
  • Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison learned how to cooperate with natural power, changing the course of history.
• The same is true of God's power: "Why do people that are born again ... not skillful with power? ... Lack of interest. Because when you're interested, you start searching." (Nancy Dufresne, 13:35)
• Life "is better with power." She shares a humorous but illustrative family story about being without electricity in Maui, showing how visible the presence or absence of power can be.

4. Practicality and Responsibility in Receiving from God (16:45 – 20:50)

• Just as a hair dryer requires specific steps to work (plugging in, correct voltage, turning it on), there are steps to receiving God's power.
  • Some expect God to act without their participation, then get offended when results don't come.
  • "If you’re interested in having his power, learn his ways." (Nancy Dufresne, 16:45)
• God has put "people in the earth to teach it"; finding and learning from them is our responsibility.

5. Learning God’s Ways versus Only Knowing His Will (20:50 – 25:05)

• Nancy cites Psalm 103:7: "The people knew the acts of God, but Moses knew the ways of God."
  • Analogy: It’s not enough to see a painting (the result); it’s better to be in the studio and learn how the artist does it (the process).
  • Children know a car can move, but don’t understand how to actually drive―there are steps and knowledge required.
• God wants us to be skillful with His power and isn’t hiding how it works from us.

6. Ignorance Isn’t Spiritual; Learning is Vital (25:05 – 27:08)

• Cites Norvel Hayes’s story: A church prayed for a woman who died prematurely, but weren’t skillful in how God’s power operates.
  • "Power is already available, but it flows for those who become skillful with it and who are hungry to have it." (Nancy Dufresne, 25:53)
• Learning and “hunger” for the things of God are essential for receiving.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On miracles passing by:

  "What's the difference of whether that miracle stops with you or goes past you? It's faith that stops it."
  — Nancy Dufresne (00:36)

• On why God doesn’t respond to need alone:

  "It won’t come just because you have a need. … God doesn’t answer emotions. God answers faith."
  — Nancy Dufresne (08:30)

• On responsibility:

  "You can't sit at home and learn all God has for you. You have to get in a local church... you need to get under a pastor who teaches the Word."
  — Nancy Dufresne (18:57)

• Electricity analogy:

  "I have the device, I have the hairdryer, but I still have to push the button... With God, people say, why don’t you just heal me?... That’s like being offended with your hair dryer because you didn’t know it needed plugging in."
  — Nancy Dufresne (15:15)

• Culminating encouragement:

  "God wants his power blessing every one of our lives, and he hungers for us to learn his ways, but he cannot do our learning for us."
  — Nancy Dufresne (26:10)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:16 – 04:50: The necessity of faith to receive miracles; story of Blind Bartimaeus
• 07:47 – 10:00: Faith, not need, moves God; the need for skill in cooperating with power
• 10:00 – 16:45: Electricity as an analogy; story from Maui; recognizing when we (and others) are without power
• 16:45 – 20:50: The steps required to operate God’s power—practical application
• 20:50 – 25:05: The importance of knowing God’s ways, not just His will
• 25:05 – 27:08: Learning, skill, and hunger; receiving through knowledge and obedience

Tone

Pastor Nancy’s tone throughout is warm, instructive, practical, lightly humorous, and encouraging. She speaks directly to listeners’ experiences and expectations, urging self-examination, commitment to learning, and an active, faith-filled pursuit of God.

Takeaway

God’s power is constantly available, but to receive its benefits, believers must actively cooperate through faith, knowledge, and spiritual skill. Instead of waiting passively or being content with need, we’re called to become interested learners, digging into God’s Word and seeking out teaching that helps us understand the steps by which His power operates in daily life.