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Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Faith Is A Rest In God | Nancy Dufresne | Campmeeting 2024 | Friday PM
01:15:40
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Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message. Praise the Lord. Well, you can be seated. We're going to minister the word, and then we will certainly minister to those who came to receive their healing. I love something that Brother Copeland says. Today is my receiving day. Today is my receiving day. Why is that? Because every day is my receiving day. And you remember what Brother Richard Roberts would say to us in quoting his dad? Every day, miracles are coming to you or going past you. What determines if it stops with you, if you'll receive it. And then I was talking to Pastor Debbie. She's staying at my home with me. And I said, I so appreciate what Ms. Reba was saying, that in the glory, that glory is available, it's moving, and you just. What you need is in that glory, but you just have to receive it. And I so appreciate when she says that because it's in harmony with what Oral Roberts said. Every day, miracles are coming to you. Where are they? Coming to you through the glory. Glory. And you just. It's all in the glory. And we're learning how to receive. I'm a receiver. You're a receiver. Right. Hallelujah. We don't receive from God based on what he's given. We receive based on what we. The action of receiving on our part. It's not about waiting for God to give. He's already given it. That's right. What's that mean? It's already available. It's already moving. It's just waiting for our reception. So in every part of the service, you can receive. Amen. I want to minister about something. I said this the other night. The greatest purpose for righteousness, that we're one with the Father. That there's no difference between Jesus and us. Because Jesus gifted us his righteousness. Why? So that we could walk with the Father as he walked. As he walked in Christ means as Christ as he did it. That's how we can do it, because we're in Christ. Hallelujah. He came down and walked as an example. Jesus walked this life on this earth to leave us an example of how the new creation is to live. That's right. He's our example. Of what? This life in us. Yes. Yes. What life it gives us here. Amen. And everything Jesus that flowed out of him, he kept harping back to the fountain of it all. I only do what I see, my Father do. I only hear what I see. My father heard. I can do nothing of myself. The son can do nothing of himself. It's the Father in me who doeth the works he constantly harped back to. It's the Father. It's me giving him his rightful place in my daily movement. And that's what righteousness invites us to occupy that same place. Living that we're not doing this from a place of struggle. To live from a place or a flow of struggle means we're invited to greater skill. Any area we're struggling in is a signal to us that we're invited to skill. Right there. If you're struggling financially, you're invited to skill with that arena. If you're struggling with your thought life, you're invited to skill. Yes, yes, yes. With that arena. If we're struggling in our body, then we're invited to skill. If we're struggling to walk out the plan of God, we're invited to skill. Amen. And the word tells us times of refreshing comes from the presence of the Lord. So what is it? How does God want us to live? Refreshed. Refreshed. Amen. Or he would not make times of refreshing available if he wanted us to live in the press and the struggle and the hardness of circumstances. If we're not careful. When we encounter opposition, we feel opposition. Right? There's pressure that's felt. The mind and the body can feel that. Right? And we deal with the enemy. When we recognize pressure, we know we resist. We resist. We are not. We're fighting the good fight of faith. It's a good fight because it's already a one fight. I've heard people say it's a rigged fight. No, it wasn't rigged. It was not rigged. Rigged means a deceitful win. Met the devil on full on square ground. He did not pay off someone in the backside in the back room and rig this thing. It cost him everything. It's not a rigged fight. God's not rigging stuff, right? But it's a good fight of faith because it's already a won fight. W o n fight. And all we're doing is occupying that win. We're not trying to win. We're occupying the win, not the w h e n. Because many are living when. Question mark, W I n. We're occupying our win. We are an occupying army. We are not a an army embattled. Every day I'm getting up and I'm battling. No, we are standing in our win. We're standing in our win unswayed. Because opposition comes to push, opposition comes to entice, entice. You into the mental arena, try to draw you into the mental arena. The number one reason the devil tries to draw you in the mental arena is because there's no faith there. That's right. And it takes faith to stand in your win. Hallelujah. Amen. And he's trying to separate you from your faith. Your faith is in your spirit, yet your mind should. The renewed mind takes on faith thoughts. Amen. That's right. Amen. Because the faith in your spirit has dominated your mind and said, this is the way you think. We are not to live this life struggling, being pushed, being pressed. We're to rule and reign. We're to rule and reign. Amen. We're not ruling and reigning from a place of fighting. Come on. We're ruling and reigning from a place of his presence. Amen. Hallelujah. People. Get this fight mode. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Come on. Listen, I've been there. I've been there when you're trying to just hold body and soul together because you're stupid. Yeah, I know. God, I'm in this mess because I was stupid. Or as one little three year old said, stutid, stutid. I know that's. But what happens in a time of going through tests and trials? We can feel that resistance. And if we're not careful, we think that's the place to live from. Come on now. Come on. The Christian life is a life of resistance. But not a resistance that's struggling, but a resistance that's reigning. Hallelujah. Glory. Occupying. Standing my ground, standing my win. I'm standing on my win. I'm not losing, trying to climb up to winning ground. I am not trying to get the high ground. That means this. I'm not living with a fighting mentality. I'm living with a presence mentality. And I stand my ground from that place of his presence glory. Because I'm refreshed in his presence. Well, you're refreshed so you can go fight. I see. No, no, no. You never saw Jesus out laboring in his ministry? Never laboring. Oh. Oh, come on, boys. I really feel it today. He walked as master. He walked as master. He lived as master. Righteousness is a position. It's a position. It's a position. It's not a feeling. It's a position. It's a position worthy of the Godhead and a position we have been raised to. I'm made righteous. Why? So that I can conduct my life from that position. You've got to go back. If you've missed any previous services Teaching on righteousness. You've got. And even if you were here, you've still got to go back and watch. Because this is the reason that the church has turned to the mental arena for help is because of the lack of this knowledge. Because people are looking for something out here to help them up here. They're looking for something outward to help them with their thought life. We are spirit people. Our help, God deals with us. God imparts to us. God leads us everything from our spirits and we draw that out and we lay it on our mind and we lay it on our body and we meditate on it. And we make it ours so we can spend it. We establish ourselves in it. What's this mean? People are so used to trying to fix their life out here. Help this from out here. Help this from out here. It's like Naaman. He wanted something valiant to do. He was a valiant warrior and he approached God's miracle power by. It's another battle to win. It's another battle to win. So he came to hear from the prophet, tell me what my battle strategy is. Come on. And when he told him it wasn't a battle. Right? Amen. It was a refreshing go dip. Seven times. You out in this weather out here in California today, a dip is just what you need. Because when it's hot outside, a dip is a refreshing. God didn't tell him, go out and battle. He told him, go refreshers. Go refresh yourself. Dipping in water, dipped in the water of the word, Go refresh yourself. We're not earning it. We're refreshing ourself. But we like this thing of me doing something me. Because life involves doing things right. And so we try to solve spiritual things from the place of doing. Amen. Amen. And that's what Naaman almost missed his miracle. Because dipping was not valiant enough. It was not enough of a struggle. There's no battle in that. God did not put your miracle on the other side of a battle. Come on. Thank you. I've just got to get through this battle and I will arrive. No, he did not. Place your miracle on the other side of a battle. That's huge for you to learn because I hear it said all the time, we're fighting and we're fighting and we're fighting. We're reigning. We're reigning. We're reigning. We're reigning from a ground that has been won for us. Therefore, God does not need my winning effort. Come on. Hallelujah. Amen. Praise God. Amen. Because there's nothing left unwon when people battle, they think that something is still unwon for their life. And you say, well, the Word says to endure hardness as a good soldier, what's a good soldier mean? They're trained and they're skillful. They know how to use their weapons. They know how to follow command. They're listening for command. That's how we endure. Listen to him, follow him. Use the word, not go out and slaughter. And come on. All of that putting on that breastplate of righteousness, establishing ourself in the Word is the battle. Because once you get that in, you meditate on it, the struggle's over. It's over. God's been talking to me about the easy flow. Easy flow. Jesus said, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He doesn't do that. So that when test and trial comes, he can kick you out of that place and say, go out there and work for it. He intends for us to come into that flow, to live in that flow. Light and easy. Light and easy. My yoke is easy. My burden is light. How dare us try to be more valiant than his Win and try to try to win something through our own effort. So the good fight of faith is a fight of words, not being swayed by words, not being moved off the word. It's a fight of words. Amen. But we do it from the fight is from a place of refreshing, not from a place of hardness. When we deal with the devil, those circumstances may be hard. I'm saying on the mind, on the flesh, you can feel that. But if we're not careful, we treat our dealings with God. We mentally approach it as our dealings with the devil. Our dealings with God are not hard. That's right. It's not hard to get prosperity. It's not hard for healing easy. Healing easy. Prosperity. Why? His yoke is burden, is light. Yoke, easy, burden. Light yoke, easy. So what happens? We encounter the enemy and we start dealing with God on that same intense we get defense. We do have to defend our ground against the enemy. I'm not saying that. I'm not saying inactive rest does not mean. Inactive rest means we're reclining on God's power and God's grace, and we're drawing on that. We're not conjuring up our own power. We're not conjuring up our own strength and dealing with that. We're resting on his power, his strength. And that's what we're talking about. And that Word works for us. And does the Defense of our life, you understand? But then when we're dealing with the enemy, it's no nonsense not putting up with anything. And if we're not careful, we take that mindset to God and think we have to struggle. Anything with God is the easy flow. Circumstances may not always feel easy, but our dealings with God are easy. Does that make sense? Then as you become skillful in the easy flow, that easy flow starts dominating the circumstances. And although they're hard to others, they're easy for you. That's right. They're easy for you. Why? Because you're facing it with his wisdom. You're facing it hearing him. And when he gets involved, everything hard now becomes easy. But many times people just think they have to deal hardly with hard with God. I got to pray hard. I've got to believe hard. I've got to, ah, I'm praying for my kids, my marriage, and they're approaching it from a place of hardness. Go with me to Isaiah, chapter 32. King James translation, Isaiah 32. Well, before we go there, let's go to Luke, chapter 10. Luke, chapter 10. 17. Luke 10, verse 17. How Jesus sent out the disciples, sent out the 70, told he empowered them, authorized them to go do what he had been doing. Lay hands on the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead. Right. Preach the kingdom. Verse 17. Luke 10:17. And the seventy returned again with joy. That's good, right? They liked their job, saying, lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. How long does it take for lightning to appear up in the sky and reach down to the ground? Woo, baby. Don't blink. Don't blink. Yeah, there was a light show. Verse 19. Well, again. 18. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan. And as lightning fall. What's he telling them? He's a fallen being. He's a fallen being. Let me tell you what I saw. I saw him fall. That's right. You didn't see him fall. I saw him. So I'm telling you what I saw so that you'll know what to know to believe about him. He's a fallen being. That's right. Verse 19. So when you listen to the devil, you're listening to a fallen being. If you're starting a business, do you want to go to a failed businessman and say, what would you tell me? That's what it's like when you turn to worry, fear, you're counseling with fallen. Verse 19. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions. The word tread on means to step over. Notice this. He didn't say, I'm telling you to stop serpents and scorpions. I'm telling you to step over them and keep going. People are waiting for the serpent and scripture scorpions to leave. And he said, just step over them and keep going. Ignore that they're in the path. Don't adjust your path. Don't try to get rid of them off the path. Just tread on them. Which means step over, Step over them and keep going. I give unto you power to step over serpents. That would help you if you'd write that in your Bible. To step over serpents and scorpions. And over. Look at that. And over. Not under, over. All the power of the enemy. And when you're stepping over them, nothing shall by any means hurt you. Because I have seen many Christians hurt. What happened? They quit stepping over them. They stopped and fellowshipped with them. They listened to them. They taught counsel. They laid down to them. They let them push them around. And they got hurt. Because people will say, the devil, nothing shall by any means hurt me. He's talking to when you are stepping over them as you ought to. But if you stop and engage with them, you will not be unhurt. It's the safe position, is the stepping over position. That's what happened with Peter when he walked on the water. As long as he walked and kept stepping over waves. He's stepping over waves, he's stepping over white caps. He's stepping over them. And he was safe as he kept moving. Fear is to stop you from moving. Worry is to stop you from moving. Calculating of the mind is to stop you from moving. Progress is your safe place. Advancement is your safe place. Whenever you teach your children how to ride a bicycle and you take off those training wheels and you're holding onto the seat as they get going and they want to put their foot down or they want to slow down because they don't want to get too fast. And you say, baby, you got to speed up because your safety is in speeding up. You speak and you lose momentum and you cannot keep that thing upright. You will fall under that bike. Your safety is in moving. Why? Faith is a movement. There's no such thing as neutral with faith. No such thing. Either you're advancing or your faith is dying. That's right. And then till you arrive at dead faith. I'm just pausing. I'm just resting. No, you're not. No, you're not. Faith doesn't know that faith Is a movement. Faith is a movement. It's like if you're flying an airplane and the pilot says, you know what, we've been going really hard for like an hour. How about if we just throw it in neutral? Uh, no, that's right. The force of faith. The force of faith is a moving force. And that's what Jesus is saying. As you step over, nothing shall by any means hurt you. Verse 20 Notwithstanding in this, rejoice not. Rejoice not. Rejoice not. What? What's he telling them not to rejoice about? That the spirits are subject unto you. What's he saying? Quit magnifying. The devils you encountered. They did not come back and say 14 people were healed. Grandma got healed. There was no report of the kingdom we preached. There was no report of people raised from the dead. They came back talking one thing. Devils. They became devil minded in their ministry. Devils are to be treated without appropriate attention, without regard. They are a conquered. They are conquered beings. They are defeated beings and they need to be regarded. That means this. Means this. They should not be on the front of our tongue. And they came back with devils on the front of their tongue. They did not come back talking about healing. They didn't come back talking about the sermons they preached. They didn't come back talking about the people that were raised up from the dead. They came back talking about devils. Why? Because what they saw and what they encountered turned them opposition minded instead of presence minded. They didn't come back talking about God. They didn't come back talking about that the Father was doing the works through us. They came back talking about devils. The place you give devils, they're not content to have just the place. They'll take more and more and more. You can't give them anything. The devil is worthy of being held in his place of defeat and ignored. When there's opposition, we deal with it. Then we step over it and keep going. Step over it and keep going. So he said, notwithstanding in this, rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. What's this mean? Be heaven minded. Be heaven minded. Why? You've been raised. They're going. We're raised. That power was to be. They were to operate as expressions of heaven. They should have come back and talked about what heaven won on the earth. But they came back talking about devils. And if you're not careful, you will approach your fellowship with God as though it's an opposition. That mentality that I've Got to fight to receive my bills paid. I've got to fight to receive wisdom. I've just got a battle in prayer. It's not proper posture. It's not the posture of faith. They which do believe have entered into rest. We are conducting our occupying from a resting position. We're resting on the righteousness that he made us to be. We're resting that we are one with Him. We're resting that Satan has already been defeated. We're resting knowledge. I'm not resting. He's not talking about inactive. He's talking about ceasing from your own human effort to try to fulfill what only the Godhead could do. I'm resting on his ability. I'm resting on his grace to put me over. I'm resting on his supply. I'm resting on. On his power that heals. I'm resting on that. I'm not kicking against it, trying to make it work. Can I. Can I tell on you, Pastor Ruby? I know. She's so good to me. She lets me tell. I tell. It's just so comical to me that this couple is from an island of the Philippines and they don't know how to swim. And Pastor Noel was in the Navy and joined the Navy knowing he couldn't swim. Yeah, well, a few times you didn't probably. It's just comical to me. So she was at our castle one day at the castle one day, and there was a swimming pool. And Rochelle was there. And she. We said, we're going to teach her some swimming things, you know, so she can come out. And the first thing I said, rachelle, because Rachelle's in the water. I'm sitting on the side coaching. And I said, teach her to float. That's the first thing they teach you in swimming class. Why is that? That's the resting position. No matter how tired you are, you can go to resting position and be supported and held on top. Not by your effort, but by your resting. And if you struggle, you sink. And Rochelle had, you know, we have her in the shallow end, so she's not going to drown. And Rochelle is up under her and supporting her so she can find what that floating sensation feels like. Right? Because once you find what that feels like, you easily go back to it. They which do believe have entered into floating. You're still in the water, you're still in the flow, you're still being supported. But it's not because you're struggling to stay on top. It's because you're resting, resting on the water that supports you, this is the great skill to learn when circumstances, storms, all kinds of winds, all things going on, and you just lay in the water and said the water didn't change. Even if it's raining outside, torrential rain, and you're in the pool, the water can still support you even though the water is being rained on. Come on. Right. No storm changes the ability of the water to support the one who's resting on it. Wow. So that's what they teach you first. When you go to swimming class. The first thing you have to learn is rest, recline, let the water support you. And if you don't learn that. Yeah. And your mind thinks you're drowning in this much water. She said, seriously? Seriously. So she was being supported, not only water, under her, Rochelle, under her. Rochelle is under her. And so we, you know, we're giving her a break. And so we're saying, pastor Ruby, because the water's this deep, put your foot down. She said, where, Where? Where? Down. Just put your foot down and you'll be able to stand up in these torrential floods that are happening. She still can't swim. They even had a pool put in at their house. She still can't swim. Why? First of all, she's learned to rest on the water. This is why some people struggle with healing, prosperity. They've not yet learned to rest on the word. Faith is a rest faith. If you get this, get this, faith is the diligent effort to rest in God. Not let anything pull you out of that rested, supported position. Amen. Praise the Lord. So the disciples came back not talking about rest, not talking about all the things fulfilled, but talking about devils is there. Do we have to deal with devils? Yes, but just step over them and keep going. That's right. You don't magnify them. And he said to them, he said, rather, rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Remember what God has done for you. He's got to get them back focused on what heaven the Father authored for them. Yeah. And it's not living the highest life to thinking that every day is a battle. I'm just getting up today to win a battle. No, I'm not. I'm getting up again to recline myself and rest and follow as he tells me. Whatever he tells me to do while I'm resting, I hear him while I'm obeying him. He's leading me further into his plan, but it's from a place of rest. Carry out his plan for your life in his presence, not in struggle. Now let's go to Isaiah, chapter 32. Isaiah, chapter 32. And verse 2. This is the King James translation. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind and a covert, which means a shelter, a covering from the tempest. What's he telling you when there's a tempest? When there's a storm, what do you do know? There's a man. He's your hiding place. Amen. It's not about fighting now that there's a tempest. It's about becoming occupied with what the man did for you. And hide under that. The man is the hiding place. Now it says, a hiding place from the wind and the COVID from the tempest. As rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Then turn with me to Psalms, chapter 27, verse 8. And I'm going to read out of the Amplified Classic translation, Psalm chapter 27 and verse 8, You remember, In the book of Zechariah, not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit. We occupy our ground from a place of. By the Spirit, not from a place of struggling. New Testament, new Covenant. It's from a place of his presence, raised and seated with Christ, mindful of him. So can I tell you the Word tells us in Hebrews, labor to enter that rest. What is that rest? When you get up in the morning, take time to get your attention, your focus off of all this and turn right back toward him. Right back toward him. Away from here. Away from here. As long as you go to that mental arena, it will wear you out. It will wear you out because the devil can out. Thank you. And don't you forget it. If he can get you in that arena, he'll whip you and whip you badly. But we hold him in the arena of faith, the arena of our spirit, the arena of God's presence. Psalm 27:8, the Amplified classic says, you have said, seek my face, inquire for and require my presence as your vital need. My heart says to you, your face, your presence. Lord, will I seek, require for, and require of necessity and on the authority of your word. When he is who you're mindful of, everything else loses its sway over you. And I told God several months ago, because I just kept opposition, just coming, not entrenched, not harassed. But I noticed it. And I said, God, forgive me. I didn't say, do something with the devil. I said, forgive me. I'm too accessible. I haven't been occupied. I've been stepping over. If I can hear it, I'm too close to it. The devil's not going to go silent. But I can. I determine proximity. I choose proximity. Praise the Lord. Praise the lord. Psalm chapter 9, verse 1. Now, how do we choose proximity? Psalm 9:1 tells us how. I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart. What's this mean? This is a full of my spirit. This is not just a routine I'm falling into. My heart's engaged. I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart. I will show forth all Thy marvelous works. What's that mean? I'm going to talk about what you're doing. I'm going to talk about what you're doing. I'm going to talk about what you've done in my life. I'm going to rehearse what you've done. I'm going to draw up from my past. I'm going to draw up from my lineage what you've done. But many times people are drawing up from their past sin, their sin consciousness. And then they wonder why they didn't arrive at the presence of God. Verse 2. I will be glad. Ah, choice of your will. Not a feeling. It's a choice of your will. I will be glad and rejoice in Thee. I will sing praise to Thy name, O Thou most high. Verse 3. When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at Thy presence. Why? I ran to his presence and. And his presence deals with it. I get up in the morning, I get in his presence, and his presence deals with it. And that's what I said to God several months ago. Forgive me for hearing too much. I'm too accessible. It's my fault. Because you offer me a place that refreshes me. And in that place, although you recognize, you recognize the devil is moving. Yes. You're out of reach. That's right. You're just out of reach. Praise the Lord. I remember what I said. Faith is the diligent effort to rest in God. How do you do that? Get in his presence. Get in his presence. Why can you do that? Because you have been made righteous. If you hadn't been made righteous, you couldn't do that. That's why the devil fights to keep people in sin consciousness. Because someone who is living in sin consciousness will not take their place, coming boldly to the throne of grace that they may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. They won't do it because every time they go to do it, they go there with repentance in their mouth. Oh, God. I shouldn't have done that. I know. I Shouldn't have done that. Repent if you missed it. But as I've said before, if you start every prayer with a repentance, you're in sin consciousness because you're thinking about you. You're thinking about your past. And that gets old. God said to me when I probably almost 20 years ago, Well over 20 years ago, he said to me, you're getting ready to face the biggest test you've ever faced. When he said it, those words did not trouble me. If he warns you of something, hardship that's ahead, it won't trouble you. If it troubles you. God didn't say that the devil was threatening. It struck no fear in me. I didn't have to labor. I heard it, and I just. It did not unsettle me. Three weeks later, my husband had gone to the doctor and he said, you got cancer. And he said, two years. He said, it's gone through all your lymph nodes, everything. So we walked out of the doctor's office. Ed had driven in a separate car. I got in my car, and I did not even turn my car on. I didn't move it from that parking place before I took my place. Why? I'm going to get in floating position. Amen. Praise God. Amen. Amen. You have to, on purpose, occupy on purpose. You have to choose to occupy. And you can't get there by doing the mental rat race. And so I just got in the car and I said, God, I know where my mind could go. You know where my mind could go. The devil knows where my mind could go because he wants my mind to go there. And I said, I will not let it go there. I started talking before the thoughts started swirling and I just started worshiping and praying in the spirit and worshiping. What was I doing when the waters were rough, the waters could still support me. When there was storm coming down on those waters, so to speak, didn't change the ability of the water. I'm just taking my place. I'm laboring to enter into the rest. I'm not laboring to win. I'm laboring to enter into the rest. I'm laboring to occupy my place in his presence and let his presence deal with this. And within a few moments, I felt like a weighted blanket was dropped over me. What was that? The peace of God that guards your heart and mind. And I walked into that house a few minutes later completely untroubled. I could not have conjured up a worry if I tried. Because the peace of God that is only found in the presence of God had dealt with that enemy and my husband. And when I walked in, my husband said, I've already got the answer. I said, what are you talking about? He says, I walked in. I said to God, God, you don't miss it? I've missed it. I've opened the door. Where have I opened the door? Ed didn't labor in prayer. He didn't go into fastings. He didn't go into travail, you know? No, no. Why? To hear from God, take that resting position. But people take a struggling flow and try to hear. So God spoke to Ed and said, two places. I've dealt with you for years about resting. You haven't done it. You do it for a short time, then you go back to your old habits. Now, let me tell you something. Let me tell you. Let me tell you something. I said, I need to have. What is it we were talking about? The kids were saying we just need to do like a live. How do people do it? Like on social media, like they follow you for a day or something. I said, what do they call that? A reality show. Thank you. A reality show. And I says, yeah, okay, we have reality show. I know what the title is. Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something that's just colloquial. Don't get all bent over. When God heals someone, it's not so they can go back and keep doing it wrong. God was not giving them permission to keep doing what they were doing that got them there. He was giving them time to correct, not permission to go back to. There was a woman, a minister's wife. She was very administrative and she worked constantly. And she was diagnosed with cancer, and the doctors gave her up and God healed her. She received healing. Couple years later, it all came back on her. And they called my husband. We were in the middle of a conference, a camp meeting, and they asked him to pray. And he knew by the spirit, he said, she's not going to receive her healing, he said, because she wore her body down, broke it down, and God healed her. And then once she was healed, she went back to doing that and breaking her body down. And so he said, she's going to die. And she did. Why? Because God didn't heal her so she could go back to her old ways. He healed her to give her time to make changes. That's what I'm trying to tell you. If something. If God puts something back, it's not so we can go back to what we were doing. It's so he's giving us, in his goodness, another opportunity to make changes. He's not saying, what you were doing is fine because I'll just heal you every time. He's saying, I've healed you so you can make changes. Not, I've healed you so you can stay the way you are and keep doing what you're doing. You have to know that. Because people think, well, I'm healed now, so I don't. No, that's mercy. Time, space to make changes. And so God said to Ed, he said, I deal with you about making those changes and resting. And you do it for a short time. Then you go back to your old habit and quit resting. And he said, number two, I'd tell you to say things as a prophet of God to the body of Christ, and you wouldn't. And Ed said, okay, I repent for both of those. God said, okay, within 30 days, it'll all be gone. He went back to the Doctor on day 28. It was all gone. The doctor said, somebody up there likes you. But even Ed said. And I said it was like nothing. That those days were no hardship because we took our place in his presence and our enemies and perished in his presence. When he talks about your enemies falling and perishing, he's not just talking about people. I know you want it to be people will fall and perish, But he's talking about that which tries to hinder you, hold you back if you will deal with it from that place, place of his presence. What's the word? Word say in Romans, you shall mortify the deeds of the flesh through the Spirit. He's saying, get in the Spirit. Do it in the Spirit. And there was. I could not conjure up a worry. We didn't lose a moment of sleep. Why? Because we took our place of faith. Faith's rest. That's how to fight the good fight of faith. From that resting place, not in activity, but resting on the active one, resting on the working one. And our work is to reach that resting flow and then speak from that place, call from that place. Because until you reach that place, you can confess all you want out of the middle arena. Nothing's going to change because you're not in resting position. In the Spirit is resting position. You go, I don't know what you mean by in the Spirit. Then you're going to have to stay around a while and learn it. Because these are things that are caught over time, being around it and having experiences with God. Are you getting anything out of this? Okay. You're awfully quiet. Just checking on you. So years ago, years ago, there was a season of opposition I was facing. And I did. I was reading my Bible, I was confessing, I was praying in tongues, I was studying, I was listening to sermons, I was doing all I knew to do to stand. And after a period of time, I said to God, I said, I remember it well. I remember exactly where I was in the house we were in. And I said, God, I'm hesitating to talk to you about this because I don't want you to think that I'm talking to you about this because I'm wanting you to do my part. Heart, you know, when you just take your stand of faith, there are just certain things you don't say. There's just certain conversations you don't have. Right. And I wanted to make sure I didn't step into. And I said, God, I said, I'm just going to repent first if I shouldn't be have this conversation. I repent, but I'm just saying I'm struggling and I'm doing all I know to do, and nothing's advancing, nothing's changing. And I said, if it's just a case of me needing to stand, I'll keep doing that. But if I'm leaving something undone, I just ask for help. I'm not asking you to do my part. I'm just asking for what I may not be knowing. I didn't hear anything. I waited a little bit to hear something, didn't hear anything. That night we have a prayer service. I teach a little bit on prayer. Then I'm sitting on a stool by the pulpit and we're going to pray. We were back in the malt shop. For those who know what the malt shop was, Stephen's workshed used to be our prayer room and Bible school and all that. He's torn it up since. He's. No, I'm teasing. But anyway, so I'm sitting back there, I've taught. We're getting ready to pray, and I close my eyes to pray. And the moment I did, I'm in the spirit. And the word of the Lord came to me and he said, you were right to talk to me about it. He said, remember, Paul asked me three times about the spirit that was troubling him. That spirit would just follow him around and cause all kinds of havoc in his meetings and he'd end up getting arrested and all this kind of. It wasn't buffeting in the flesh so far as sickness. It was buffeting of carrying out the role and then he would end up all kinds of persecution. There was a spirit that would go from and trouble all the people and they'd rise up and causing problems. And he said, Paul talked to me three times about that. So he said, it's right for you to talk to me about that. The word shows you that. And he said, remember what he told Paul. My grace. My grace. What's he saying? Rest on my grace. Rest on my grace. Let my grace do this. Let my grace handle this. You're fighting trying to get rid of this. My grace. It will fall and perish in my presence. Get in my grace. My grace empowers you. But when I closed my eyes and I was immediately in the spirit, and he told me that it was right for you to talk about that, asked me about that and he said, you're right, I cannot do your part, but I can do what I can do for you, is put you in the spirit. I mean, I close my eyes and instantly I'm there. And he said, now from that place, talk to that spirit. It wasn't just talking to the spirit. It was the place I was occupying when I talked to the spirit. From a place of. In the spirit. In his presence. From my spirit, not from the mental arena. You start trying to deal with the devil from the mental arena, he'll wear you down because it will never have an effect. And I saw the thing I had been missing was the place I was resisting from. Yes, the good fight of faith is not from an embattled. It's from a. Ah, Praise the Lord. I've read this before, but I'd like to read it to you again. Can you stay with me? It's a couple pages. In, listening to someone, and then I'm inserting my thoughts into this. So it's a mixture of someone that I heard and then me inserting thoughts into it. We are changed in his presence from glory to glory. And that glory will prepare us and make us sufficient for anything that we will face or have to address in our everyday life. What are they saying? What are we saying? Do that from a place when we're walking in the spirit. We're living, acknowledging the presence of God. That's walking in the spirit. Why your spirit. You're letting your spirit dominate. You're living from this place. I'm not talking about being odd and being to where nobody understands you. The word makes you sound. The word makes you sound. When we're walking in the spirit, we're just living acknowledging the presence of God and his presence. Will keep us in a perpetual state of preparedness. We will always be prepared for what we're going to encounter that day when we are operating from that place in the spirit. The place of what he knows, the place of his wisdom is the place of his help to live in a state of always being prepared, no matter what comes. That is God making us the head and not the tail. What's that mean? We're in front of things, not behind, just cleaning up. If we're living from crisis to crisis, tragedy to tragedy, we're doing it wrong. That's not the life authored for the believer. So he said he can only do that as we follow his spirit. It's not just that he puts us in the head, but he prepares us to be ahead, to be in front of situations. For him to make us the head, we have to listen to him every day to move with his instructions so that we are held in front of difficulties and crisis. In the days of when people traveled by ship, the captain did not once a week check his instruments. It was all throughout the day to make sure I'm on course all throughout the day, all throughout the day. Because if I get off course, we're all off course. It's not just the captain off course, it's all the passengers. And for people to only check in with God once a week, you're at risk. You're at risk. This is why all throughout the day, we just turn our attention back here, not trying to feel something. Oh, reaching out. No, here, here. And mindful of him. The greater you're in me. So I'm going to give you attention, I'm going to acknowledge you, I'm going to talk to you. I'm going to involve you. Because he will not involve himself. He only gets involved at our invitation to move with his instructions so that we are held in front of difficulties and crisis. Note the passage where Jacob went to sleep on a rock and he had a dream. One of the things that God said to him in the dream is, I will not leave you until I have done all that I said to you. So notice God's presence is there to perform what he said he would do. We aren't the ones who have to perform it. God is the one who will bring it to pass as we acknowledge and give place to his presence and relying on his ability to perform what he said. When Jacob woke up from a dream, he said, the presence of the Lord is here, and I didn't know it. So if we don't recognize him, know that he's with us, which he is, then we won't acknowledge Him. The key to walking in the Spirit is acknowledging his presence. Remember I said it the other night. God said to me, you don't live in My presence by earning. You live in My presence by turning. We don't have to pray long enough. We don't have to read our Bible long enough. We don't have to do enough serving in the local church, which all these things we should do. But we're not earning Him. He's made Himself ours already. He belongs to us. Turn toward Him. The key to walking in the Spirit is acknowledging his presence, drawing on that presence, leaning on it, and letting his presence do the work for us, in us and through us. We need his presence every day. A day without his presence is a day when we go back to the way we were and we've all seen ourselves at that place, Right? But a day in his presence is when we go forward into change and into what he has made us to be. God is always present, but it makes the difference for us when we acknowledge his presence. Acknowledging his presence is what makes life elevated and causes us to live aware of him rather than aware of the natural realm around us. If you turn to the natural realm, all that you're going to have is natural health. If you turn to the mental arena, all you're going to have is mental health. Living this life while acknowledging the presence of God is what makes the difference between a nominal Christian life and a life that's full of the God. The presence of God is everywhere, but it only comes into manifestation when we acknowledge his presence. That's what we. That's why we start with worship. We're acknowledging him. We're acknowledging him, we're acknowledging him. And what happens? He begins manifesting. Hallelujah. He manifests at our acknowledgement. But if we're acknowledging fear, if we're acknowledging worry, having the same conversation at dinner about the same problems over and over. What we're acknowledging is what is manifesting. I hope you're getting this. This is. It's the fountain that everything flows out of. Yes. Hallelujah. Yes. Yes. The presence of God is everywhere, but it only comes into manifestation when we acknowledge his presence. The presence of God is always there, but that presence is not always in manifestation. It comes into manifestation by acknowledging it. The men who walked with God had a spiritual perception that they cultivated. They cultivated. Every believer can have it, but they'll have to cultivate it. How do you cultivate a spiritual perception of the presence of God. Every time there is a longing toward God, follow it. Amen. Yeah. When you have a desire, all of a sudden you get up and you have a desire to read the Word. That wasn't your flesh, right? Amen. Amen. That wasn't just your mind. That was a longing of your heart. And don't get rutted in a way of fellowship. Because sometimes I wake up and I'm hungry for the Word. Sometimes I just worship. Sometimes I pray in the spirit. Sometimes I just am quiet and listen. Amen. Praise God. Amen. Every time there is a longing toward God, follow it. Meaning this. You just respond and you yield to your spirit. You yield to those drawings. That's how you cultivate a mindfulness of the presence of God and living in his presence. These men who walked with God cultivated a lifelong habit of spiritual response. They kept responding to God throughout their whole life. They didn't have seasons where they stopped, But they put habits in place of responding to the drawings. In the yearnings in them. Moses saw what his task from God was to be. What was it? Go. Sit. Go. Go tell Pharaoh. Let my people go. But he knew his own inability to fulfill that. So Moses called out for the presence of God. Or he wouldn't go unless the presence of God went with him. Because he knew the only way that what was in his heart could be fulfilled and that which God had said to him could be fulfilled was by living in God's presence. God's presence with him, carrying out the longing. It was the presence of God doing the work, not he himself. Smith Wigglesworth was asked by a Bible school student, how have you become so keen in spiritual things? He said, every time I sense the spirit of God within me, I stop what I'm doing and I turn that direction and I respond to it every time. This is not deep. It's not hard. It's not about education. It's about what you choose to notice. And if you have a habit of not noticing him, then when you need to hear from him, you'll not know what that is like, because you didn't notice. This is the way we're invited, the place we're invited to conduct living. From, not from. All right, put it away, Naaman. Put the sword away. Just go dip and get refreshed in the presence. And let that which has held you captive be washed off of you. And it wasn't one dip that did it. People dip once and want to arrive. It's a daily dipping. We trust you've enjoyed this message. Visit us at defrainministries.org to learn of our upcoming meetings, share your testimony, become a partner, or visit our online store. This program has been made possible by the friends and partners of Dufresne Ministries.