Podcast Summary: "Faith Is Specific" with Nancy Dufresne

Dufresne Ministries Podcast | Campmeeting 2023 (Murrieta, CA) | June 21, 2023

Episode Overview

In this powerful and practical message, Pastor Nancy Dufresne teaches on the importance of specific faith—the idea that both faith and the wisdom of God must be applied purposefully and with precision, not just in generalities. Drawing from scripture, personal experience, and examples from other ministers, she encourages believers to pursue the specifics of God’s wisdom and faith, especially when facing persistent opposition or recurring challenges. The episode is a call to move from “general” believing to “specific” faith, emphasizing that the breakthrough so many seek often requires asking God for precise wisdom and acting on it.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Faith Comes by Hearing—But Hearing What?

• Opening Foundation ([00:40]): Nancy lays the groundwork with Proverbs 4, emphasizing that faith comes by hearing what God says, both through the Word and by the Holy Spirit.

  • Faith isn’t just about general principles, but about hearing specific wisdom for specific situations.
  • “Faith comes by hearing what God says. In fact, you can’t have faith until you hear what God says.” ([01:40])

• Wisdom as the Principal Thing ([05:00]): Proverbs 4 is expounded—wisdom is described as the “mother” that preserves, promotes, and protects.

  • Even in practical decision-making, wisdom is meant to be gotten or received, not “figured out.”
  • Examples are given of people who fail to heed wisdom, suffering consequences despite not receiving a specific word from God.

2. Wisdom vs. Waiting for a Word

• The Role of Wisdom ([13:30]): Sometimes people look for supernatural guidance while ignoring basic wisdom.
  • “You can’t just sit and wait for God to talk to you. What does wisdom say?” ([17:30])
• Nancy stresses that many hardships come from ignoring common sense or biblical wisdom, not just spiritual “misses.”

3. When Faith Isn’t Working: Seeking Specific Wisdom

• Anecdote of Persistent Illness & Advice ([20:40]):

  • Story of a faith-filled woman whose family experienced illness; her father’s advice was to “Ask God—ask wisdom.”
  • Principles and confessions alone are not a substitute for hearing specific direction from God when the general approach fails.
  • “When we’re doing what we know to do, we’re going to have to talk to God and find out what wisdom says.” ([22:00])

• Useless Confessions ([23:30]):

  • “You can end up with useless confessions—even though they are the Word—if they’re not in line with wisdom, they’re not going to hit the target.” ([24:10])

4. James 1—Perfect, Lacking Nothing, and the Place of Wisdom

• Teaching from James 1:2-8 ([25:20]):

  • Every person is meant to arrive at “perfect and entire, wanting nothing”—and the way to get there? Ask for wisdom!
  • God gives wisdom “liberally and without reproach”—He will not rebuke you for asking.

• Double-mindedness ([27:20]):

  • Being double-minded is not having disciplined thoughts in line with faith, even if words sound right.

5. Nancy’s Testimony: Facing Specific Threats

• Personal Example: Opposition After Sowing a Seed ([29:00]):
  • After obeying a direction from God and sowing a large financial seed, she faced recurring mental threats of lack.
  • She initially met these threats with general answers (“I obeyed God; I’ll never suffer obeying God”) but the opposition persisted.
  • “If you answer something and it keeps coming back, it’s because it needs a more specific answer.” ([33:50])
  • God revealed the true root: The demon was trying to get her to “take your faith off the seed.” Once she answered that specifically and kept her faith on the seed, the opposition stopped.
  • “When God’s wisdom came in—He exposed the intent of the enemy’s attack. That was it. The end of it.” ([37:30])

6. Spiritual Principle: General vs. Specific Answers

• If problems or attacks keep recurring, it’s often because the believer hasn’t yet given the specific Spirit-led answer required.
• “Specifics given by the Spirit of God is the wisdom of God for your need.” ([42:15])
• “Opposition failed when wisdom came in that situation.” ([43:40])

7. Scripture Examples: Specifics Bring Victory

• Mark 5—The Madman of Gadara ([44:10]):

  • Jesus commands a demon (“Come out!”) but nothing happens until He asks for the demon’s name (“Legion”), addressing the situation specifically.
  • “Authority showed up, anointing showed up, but it needed the wisdom of God. Even Jesus needed to be more specific.” ([46:40])

• Acts 16—Paul and the Spirit of Divination ([49:50]):

  • Paul is “grieved” by a girl’s accurate-sounding declarations, but waits “many days” until he discerns by the Spirit and specifically commands the spirit out.
  • “Why did he put up with it many days? Because he didn’t have the specific answer. You can’t get rid of certain things with general answers.” ([51:40])

8. Faith in Everyday Life: The Necessity of Specifics

• Parables for Modern Life ([54:20]):

  • Just as you can’t get dressed or buy groceries “generally,” so you can’t conduct faith “generally.”
  • “The more specific you are, the easier, the quicker you’re going to receive. The reason people don’t receive is they’re general.” ([56:00])
  • Example: David Yonggi Cho asked God for “a bicycle”—it didn’t appear until he specified exactly what kind.

• Personal Testimony: Tent Crusades ([59:10]):

  • After seeing a small altar response, Nancy was corrected by God for not asking for a specific number of salvations; when she asked, she saw precise, increased results.
  • “The specifics given by the Holy Ghost made my faith more accurate and I bore more fruit.” ([01:02:40])

9. Standing in Faith: Specifics Give Strength

• Many people become weary “just standing” in faith; standing on specifics shortens the wait and makes the stand effective.
  • “You can’t just stand by grit. You’re going to have to stand on specifics.” ([01:04:20])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the need for wisdom:
  “Wisdom is the mind of God and the thoughts of God toward our need. So basically, it’s hearing what He has to say about what we’re facing.” ([12:30])
• On recurring challenges:
  “If an attack keeps recurring in your life, you have not yet given the right specific answer.” ([43:20])
• On faith for specific things:
  “You couldn’t get to church tonight without being specific…the more specific you are, the easier, the quicker you are going to receive.” ([55:30])
• On God's wisdom:
  "Things that God's called you to, you don't know. But he knows.” ([01:03:00])

Key Timestamps

• [00:40] – Proverbs 4 and the foundation of wisdom and specific faith
• [13:30] – Understanding the role of wisdom; not just waiting for a supernatural word
• [20:40] – Testimony: Doing all you know and still stuck—ask wisdom
• [25:20] – James 1: “If any of you lacks wisdom, ask of God!”
• [29:00] – Nancy’s testimony on financial seed and opposition
• [33:50] – “If the threat keeps returning…it needs a more specific answer.”
• [44:10] – Mark 5: Jesus and the madman of Gadara; specifics make the difference
• [49:50] – Acts 16: Paul and the spirit of divination; being grieved in the spirit
• [54:20] – Everyday analogies: Specifics in life and faith
• [59:10] – Testimony: Tent crusade and believing for a specific harvest
• [01:04:20] – Standing on specifics grants strength and swifter answers

Conclusion & Call to Action

Nancy leaves the audience with a resounding encouragement:

• Don’t put up with recurring problems or opposition. If victory seems just out of reach or the same battle keeps surfacing, ask God for specific wisdom.
• General faith brings general results, but specific faith releases the power of God into your situation.

“Your life is not to be you being knocked around from one crisis to another…I refuse to live any day that’s not heaven on earth. And if I am, I need a more specific answer.” ([01:06:00])

Bottom Line:
If you’re facing persistent struggles, don’t settle for vague believing. Seek God’s wisdom for specific answers and stand on them—because faith is specific, and so is your victory.