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Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Faith And Joy, Part Two | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus The Healer Broadcast
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Hi, I'm Grant Dufresne, and welcome to Dufresne Ministries podcast channel. We believe that as you listen to this message, your faith will be stirred and you will be encouraged in whatever you are believing God for today. Stay tuned at the end of this message to find out more information about our ministry.
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So what are we talking about? We're talking about a life of faith. A life of faith is accompanied with something. It's accompanied with joy and peace. Amen. That if we say we're faith people, that means we have to be joy people. If we say we're faith people, then that means we have to be people who are not troubled by worry and fear and doubt and things that harass other people. We will not yield to it. Those things will come, but we won't yield to it. Let me read to you. I want to read to you again. Romans, chapter 15, verse 13. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing. Notice when you're believing, you're in joy and in peace. Notice he said he will fill you with joy and peace. You won't just have a little sprinkling that runs out by nighttime. If your joy level lasts about a minute, or if your joy level lasts about half a day, or if your joy level lasts until somebody ticks you off, then that's showing that that's as far as your faith goes. Amen. But we are going to have to be people who are skillful with faith. That means we have to be skillful with joy and peace. That means we have to be skillful at releasing, responding to and yielding to the joy that's on the inside of you. If you're born again, that joy's in there. Yield to it. Quit piling up things on top of it so no one can find it. Piling up unforgiveness, piling up offense, piling up a bad attitude, piling up blaming someone else. Amen. Well, praise the Lord. James, chapter one says this. Count it all joy when you fall into diverse tests and temptations. Why? Because joy is the weapon that will keep the test from getting in you. It's a protection. Joy is not simply laughing real good. Of course it can involve that, but I'm talking about joy is a weapon that protects you against the onslaughts that come with tests and trials. If you will say, praise the Lord God, thank you, Father, you're working. Thank you, Father. Victory belongs to me. No weapon formed against me can prosper. And I rejoice over that. Father, you're rejoicing not because of what you're facing, but you're rejoicing because of what you know. Amen. And this is what James is telling us. If you will get into Joy, you will exit the test quicker. The exit road out of your test is paved with joy. If you won't get on that road, you will not exit. You can stay in there for months and years, you say. Really? Can you stay in there for years? Well, the Hebrews delivered out of Egypt stayed for 40 years in the place they were only meant to pass through. You're going to face difficult difficulties, but just pass through them. Don't camp there. Don't stay there. How do you get out? You have to rejoice. Rejoice your way out, and the devil will tell you. Rejoicing is not enough for your financial problem. But the word says joy is the response to tests and trials. You're not rejoicing over the problem. You're rejoicing because God already told you he shall supply all your needs. Now, if you're going to count and look, look to men to support you. Look to someone else to support you. Then your joy level's going to go down if they quit supporting you. Ladies, can I tell you this? When you marry a man, he's not your financial plan. Many approach marriage like, that's my financial plan. Your parents are not your financial plan. Faith in God is your financial plan. And when you have faith in God, you're a giver, you're generous, and then that way, God can bless you back. Amen. You have to understand, you can rejoice because you know something. It's not because of what you're facing, you're rejoicing, but because you know something, regardless of what you're facing. And you know that victory belongs to you. Amen. Hallelujah. Joy will inoculate you against the viruses of tests and trials. When kids go to school, they'll require that they have certain shots. What are they doing? They're inoculating them so that there's not the spread of something wrong. If you will yield to joy, respond in joy, then the test can't spread from the financial arena to the physical arena, to your marriage, to. To your business. It can't spread as soon as it shows up. Too bad. I'm inoculated against that. I'm rejoicing. I'm rejoicing. I'm rejoicing. The virus of this test cannot spread. And then people, when they don't inoculate themselves with joy, so to speak, and yield to joy, then not only do they lose their joy, not yielding to joy, but they don't want anybody else in the house happy either. They'll get mad because you're not worried with them and you're not fearful like them and you're not offended like them. They'll get mad about that. Too bad. I've already been inoculated with joy. I can't take your problem. I can't take your problem. Amen. If someone and we talk about if we're going to have strong faith, we're going to have to be skillful with joy, skillful with peace. If someone is not skillful in their profession, they can never advance. If we're not skillful with joy and peace, we'll never advance in faith. You understand that? Our faith will never advance. If your faith life is not growing, your spiritual life is not growing. If your faith is not developing, your spiritual life is not developing. If you put. Because we have freeways here in California, you know how the traffic gets. And some young people can get intimidated by driving on those when they first start driving. But the worst thing you can do is put someone unskillful out there in that kind of traffic and that kind of setting. Why? Because when you're unskillful, you're a danger to yourself, but you're also a danger to others. When you're unskillful in joy, it's a danger to your life. Why? Because it's a sign your faith isn't working. You have faith, but it's not working. If you are unskillful in faith, not only is it dangerous for you, it's dangerous for your family members, it's dangerous for others whose lives are connected with you. The because it's a sign your faith isn't working. And when your faith isn't working, you can't receive the help heaven has for you. Because faith is how you receive anything from God. Praise the Lord. Turn with me, if you would, to Psalms chapter 16, Psalms chapter 16, and we will start reading in verse 11. Psalms chapter 16, verse 11. Psalm 16, verse 11 says, Thou will show me the path of life. Now the next phrase is him showing the path of life. He says, you'll show me the path of life. And here it is. In thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand. There are pleasures forevermore. The way to life, the way to live the life God authored for us is in his presence, the presence of God. If you're born again, God is in you now. Live aware of that, when you're aware he's in me, then you don't have to try to manipulate others to get what you need. Because he's in you, he'll take care of you. He'll provide for you. When someone is offended, you've forgotten who's in you. When someone goes to a place they shouldn't go to and do what they shouldn't do, they've forgotten someone's in them. And he knows where you're at because he's there with you. And he's watching, not in permission, but because he'll never leave you nor forsake you. But know this, that you have to draw your faith life from the Word and from also being in his presence. It strengthens your faith to be in his presence, doesn't it? Amen. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. That's how faith comes. But strengthen that faith by being in his presence. And notice he says what's in his presence is fullness of joy. Not partial joy. Fullness of joy. Amen. And then it says at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. So notice this. If someone is not in joy, we know what they're not mindful of. They're not being mindful of the presence of God. They're not spending time with Him. When you spend time with him, your faith flourishes. When you spend time with him, your joy flourishes. When you spend time with him, your peace flourishes. Amen. So people think you just need to give me more money so I can be in peace. If you'll get where all joy is, get with Him. Spend time with Him. Amen. God doesn't want us to just have moments of joy. He wants us to have a life of joy every day. Joyful. Psalms 43. And chap. In Psalms chapter 43 and verse 4 says this. Then will I go unto the altar of God. Unto God, my exceeding joy. Who's your exceeding joy? He is. Your house is not your exceeding joy. Your cars are not your exceeding joy. Can I tell you a big one? Your family is not your exceeding joy. People will leave the plan of God for family. But I'm just going to tell you God, you're exceeding joy. If you will stay with God, everybody else will come. Don't leave God to go with everyone else. You let everyone else come to where you have found the great joy is. Amen. Don't back off of God's plan for anybody. Because then you're going to lose out on the fullness of joy. That Comes from being in his presence and comes from being in agreement with his plan and his will for your life. I was hearing the testimony of a pastor, he precious man, faith man, a man of the word. But when you're under a season of attack, how many of you know there can come events where the devil can attack you, but also there can be seasons. You say, well, if I got a lot of faith, I won't have a season of attack. Well, Jesus was tested for 40 days and 40 nights. I'd call that a season. And he answered every. He answered every opposition right at those seasons. What do you do? Just keep answering. Just keep answering with the word. That problem. When the devil threatens you with something, you answer him with what the word says. Answer every time with what the word says. Jesus said it is written. Find out what the word says and answer that with the word. Well, it seems I'm doing that, but it seems like my faith isn't working. Yeah, it's working. Yeah, it's working. It's just a season you're going through. It's just a season you're going through. So this pastor was going through a season in his life. He was being attacked in depression and actually got to the point where, you know, on the verge of suicide, it got so bad. And he was sitting in his room one day and Jesus walked in and came up beside him and sat down. Now see, if you're going through something like that, that'd be a welcome sight to see Jesus come walking in. Now he's going to deal with this thing, I tell you, he going to deal with, right? But he. Jesus came in and he didn't deal with the devil. He just sat down next to the pastor and started laughing. He started laughing. So the pastor took his cue and he started laughing with him. And the two of them sat and laughed together. What is that joy? What did Jesus do by sitting and laughing with him? He got the pastor's faith moving. Because when you're under heavy attack, many times people don't keep the momentum of their faith going. So Jesus came and laughed, just sat and laughed with him to get his faith going. And at the end of it, Jesus got up and walked out and all that depression was gone. Now, Jesus did not come to do the man's laughing for him. If the man would not have yielded to that flow of joy, Jesus could have come and walked out and the man never would have been any different. Amen. You can come to a service struggling, but you don't have to leave that way. You're going to have to enter into what's offered you. That man entered into what Jesus was instructing him in. Jesus was really instructing him that faith is the flow, and the flow of faith is joy. Yield to joy. Amen. So you have to understand this. No one can rejoice for you, just like no one can have faith for you. No one can have your peace. You're going to have to have your own skill in operating in faith and joy and peace. You're going to have to do it yourself. Well, my wife, she's the one that prays. No, no, that's not going to work that way. She may pray and that's fine, but that's no substitute for your lack of it. Amen. Try that at the dinner table. My wife eats for me. No, that doesn't quite work either, does it? Hallelujah. You want to do your own eating? Well, I want to do my own rejoicing. Why? Because I want my own faith and I want my own peace. I don't want to be living off of someone else's. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. So Jesus came to laugh with him, but Jesus could not do his laughing for him. Amen. I want to. And let me tell you something. The devil will tell you laughing is not enough for your situation. Can I tell you this? Obeying the Word is always enough for your situation. And the Word says, rejoice in the Lord. When? Always. Oh, even when it's not not a rejoicing type situation? Absolutely. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. Paul wrote that from the Philippian prison. Why? He was telling you what he was doing in prison. Rejoicing. Now, if rejoicing was enough to get him out of prison, don't you think rejoicing is enough to change your physical situation, change your financial situation, change your family situation, change your business situation? Why? Because it is a force. It's a spiritual force. It doesn't make sense to the mind that if you'll laugh and rejoice and praise God and thank him that your situation will change. But it's the truth. It's what the Word says. Amen. I want to read to you. Let me read to you. And you don't have to turn there, but I'll just read it to you out of Isaiah, chapter 61, verse 3. Put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. The spirit of heaviness is simply depression. It's another way of saying that no notice put on, put on the Garment of praise. When something else is trying to get on you, you put on something else. You put it on. Notice this. You have to put it on. What's that mean? You have to respond to it, you have to yield to it. Put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. But you don't understand. What I'm going through is so heavy. It just doesn't seem like it's enough. Well, it is. Because the word says if you'll put on praise, the spirit of heaviness won't be able to win in your life. People will come to a church like this and see us rejoicing and say, oh, you're just. That's a bunch of put on. Uh huh. We put on something we have put on. Amen. If you don't put on rejoicing and praising and thanking God, you'll end up wearing the wrong thing every day. You have to put on when you don't feel like it. Amen. Praise the lord. Job, chapter 5, verse 22. I'll just read it to you. At destruction and famine, I will laugh. Ah, God's letting us know the prescription. God's letting us know the rescue. When you are facing something that threatens to destroy you. Now I'm not talking about, you know, you just stubbed your toe and you got a little bit bad attitude. I'm talking about when something is threatening to destroy you. Destroy your finances, destroy your home, destroy. Destroy your family, destroy your health, destroy your mind. When something is threatening to destroy you. God says, call. Call for the prayer. Call the pastor for counseling. No, it says laugh. Laugh. Maybe what pastors need to ask when someone calls for counseling. How much time have you spent laughing? Be scriptural. Let's be scriptural. Let's be scriptural. Not just doing it, because that's the way everybody does it. Let's do what the word says at destruction. Now notice this, the next word. Famine. Now we may different parts of the world will not experience certain famines like others. And I'm talking about a lack of food, but what about a famine of finances? Famine is when there's not enough for what you need. Whatever your need is. If there's not enough. God says, when there's not enough for what you need, he told you what to do. What's the prescription? Laugh. Are you kidding me? The devil will say that's not enough. God's word is always enough. It's more than enough. At destruction and famine, we are to laugh. Amen. Well, praise the Lord. I said praise the Lord, then I want you to turn with me, and then we'll close with this. Go with me to Psalms chapter two, Psalms chapter two. And we're going to start reading in verse one. This passage is talking about God looking ahead in time and seeing when men would plan. Jesus crucifixion. So how many of you know? Because he is eternal, he can see the future as well as he can see the past. He can look ahead in the future and see it just like we've seen the past. So he's describing this in this psalm. In Psalm chapter 2, verse 1 says this. Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves. Look at this. And the rulers. What rulers? Now he's already referred to the kings. What rulers is he talking about? Ephesians 6:12. The rulers of the darkness of this world. He's talking about evil spirits. These kings of the earth were. Were being dominated by evil spirits. They thought that they were running their own kingdom, but it was really evil spirits running through the kingdoms, through them. And this is what he says in Psalms 2. 1. The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together. So the kings were listening to what these influences were telling them. They take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. But look at what God does when he looks ahead and sees in time what men will do. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. So this passage tells us what God was doing while the enemy was planning Jesus crucifixion. He wasn't weeping, he was. Was laughing. Amen. The enemy thought he was stopping the anointing. Why? Because the anointing destroys the yoke. But the result was the spread of the anointing. Now it's going to be spread through the birth of the church. And then every one of his children carrying that anointing. They thought they had created a master plan. And by crucifying Jesus, taking him to hell, but that was really heaven's way of entering hell and wrecking that place. Don't you ever listen to any song or any sermon that talks about how close it was between the devil and Jesus down in hell. It was an utter total defeat. The devils, all the demons in hell opposed Jesus. And they were not enough for the anointing of the Holy Ghost that raised him from the dead. So while they're planning the kings of the earth and these Demon spirits are planning Jesus defeat. God's laughing. Why? Because he laughs. He knows something. Ah. What you're doing is fulfilling my plan. What you're doing is going to spread. Spread the power that defeats you. He laughs. Why do we laugh? Because we know something. What do we know? Opposition strikes us and we get greater anointing, we get greater revelation. Our faith is to grow in a time of opposition. So you meant to defeat me. But I tell you what I'm going to do. Going to feed on the Word. I'm going to put the Word in place, I'm going to activate the Word and I'm going to have another testimony showing and demonstrating your defeat. Amen. Hallelujah. Now do you see? The devil will say, it's not enough to laugh at your situation. It is more than enough. Because we're not just laughing mindlessly. We are releasing our faith as we laugh because it is one way of expressing what we know. Amen. Hallelujah. Those who don't know don't laugh. But those who know, laugh. When you realize and find out who you are in Christ, what belongs to you in Christ, then you don't respond to those who don't know what you know. Amen. Joy is a flow of our victory. Joy is a flow of faith. And God authorizes you. When others would be crying and taking medication, you get up in the night and you just start rejoicing and you start praising. Listen. Now can I tell you this? It's easy to praise when there's other Christians in a service like this. It's real easy because the atmosphere with that corporate anointing is really strong. So it's easy to yield to the flow of joy and the flow of praise and the flow of rejoicing and laughing by the Spirit. But I want you to know you had to become skillful at it. When you're the only one in the.
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You have to yield to it, draw on it. When you don't feel like rejoicing, you just go, ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. And then you start meditating and thinking about your victory, repeating your victory. You have to have victory thoughts. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. At destruction and famine, we will laugh. Why? Because it won't destroy us and we will never do without. We know what's on the other side of this test. There is advancement. There is increase. There is more on the other side of this test. So we say, if we're faith people, we also have to say we're joy people. We're peace people. Amen. We walk in peace. We live in peace. Because we are the victorious. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
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