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Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message. Turn with me if you would in your Bibles and let's go to numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13. Thank you worship team. It's always a pleasure to stand up there a long time on that wooden floor in heels. A great pleasure. Hallelujah. Numbers chapter 13. God has a plan for every one of us. And it's that which gets us up in the morning. It's that which we get up for. And I feel for people in the earth who get up and have no reason why they're up. They don't know why in the world they up. They don't know what they're supposed to do with their bodies, with their minds, with their lives. They're just on autopilot. And I'm so grateful that God gives us. He included us in the greatness of his plan. Amen. He included us making us co laborers with him. And so every one of you are called to accomplish something, to bear great fruit. And that's when the Father is glorified, when we bear great fruit. And every single one of us have something that he's called us to. And that doesn't necessarily mean a five fold call, but every one of us have something that we're called to. And for you over here, God is going to give you greater clarity for your future. That it's no longer just try this, try that, touch into this, go here, but there'll be accuracy. Just give me your hand. Father, we thank you. We thank you for that purposeful, purposeful. So just settle down in it and let him lead and guide you. And don't even be concerned. Don't even try. Just let him lead and guide you. Hallelujah. And so, and so whenever with this purpose and plan that God has for your life, the devil will not congratulate you as you move in it. And even as you prepare for it and get near it, he will not congratulate you. But we know this. It doesn't matter what he thinks. We don't care. Join my club. I don't give a royal RIP Club. I am the founder and charter member and I am president for as long as I live of that club. But God gives us something to fulfill. And it's a such an honor and such a joy. And it's our privilege to say yes to goes into action when our words say yes and our doings say yes. But know this, when you say yes to God you are also saying yes to challenges. You are saying yes to opposition. Not to agree with them, but just know you're going to come into contact with the challenges and opposition to what you just said yes to. That's part of it. And so when you understand that, then you don't go through life griping and complaining and murmuring at what opposes you, because that just comes with the territory of yes. Amen. To complain and to gripe is to. And murmur and get under it, so to speak, is to forget the greatness of what he's called you to and the greatness of the assignment and the task that you get to put your hand to. What an honor. Amen. And so just settle it. There's going to be opposition. As long as you're on this earth sucking air and especially doing anything for God, there's going to be opposition. So just settle it and rejoice your way past every bit of it. Ignore it. Complaining and murmuring is putting it on a pedestal, giving it the centerpiece. But we just rejoice our way past it and go, oh, well, God told me you'd show up, but you're worth one thing going past. Jesus said, tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Tread on means, step over and keep going. Don't just stop and admire what opposes you. Don't give it your attention in Numbers, chapter 13 and verse 1. And we'll just. For time's sake, we won't. I start. You know, you start reading this and you go, oh, oh, I want to preach that. Oh, I want to preach that. I want to preach. So I'm going to try to discipline my preaching this morning and not even read whole sections that I wanted to read. I just want to read whole chapters to you. So I just abbreviated it. Numbers 13, verse 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give notice, I give, I give unto the children of Israel. So when God gives it, is it theirs? It's not what you can see that's yours. It's what he's made yours that's yours. God gives you things before you ever come into possession of them. And that's what you have to understand. God gave them something before they ever came into the possession of it. God gave you a house while someone else is still living in it. God gave you a business that someone else started for you. You say, well, that's coveting. No that's called being masterful. That's called redeeming your time. God will use the time of others, sinners to use their time to redeem your time. He doesn't want you using your time means more than theirs because they don't know what to do with theirs. Theirs is a toy to them, but ours is an assignment to us. So God gave it to them, this land, before they ever took possession of it. So the 12, one from each tribe were sent to look at the land, give reports of the land. But God had already described it. It's a lamb filled with milk and honey. He talked about the abundance. He already described it. They could have, if they would have faith, just gone on what God said and not even need to search it out. But because they were mental doubtful, God said, well, send somebody, go and look at it, that it's what is I described. And so in numbers 13, 30, if you'll look down, they've come back from observing the land, spying it out. And in verse 30, it says, In Caleb, I think it's verse 30. I don't know what numbers I got written down here. Just find it, okay? And Caleb, sometimes these numbers don't mean much to me. Especially when I got, you know, like 10 words and it says three verses. Something's missing. And Caleb steeled the people before Moses and said, let us go up at once. I love this. Let's go up at once. In other words, don't think about it. Just go. Just go. The more you think about it, the more you step back from it. Whatever God's called you to, whatever God has put in your heart, the more you mentally analyze it, the more you'll step back from it. Just go up at once without thinking about it. Once you have the word, God doesn't need your thoughts because he's already given you his thoughts. So he said, let us. I love this phrase. Let us go up at once. That's what faith is. It is a mover and a shaker. Let us go up at once and possess it. So see, God gave it. Now it's their job to possess it. Remember, in verse one and two, in verse two, God says, I give it. Now Caleb realizes we have to possess it. So that means God had a part, but they have a part. So this is called right thinking. Caleb's words are called right thinking. Now let's go look at wrong thinking in the next verse. Right thinking. If you just count the number of words that Caleb said, 17. 17 words of right thinking. Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. Then wrong thinking starts talking. Verse 31. But the men that went up with him said, we be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, this land through which we have gone to search, it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. And all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants. And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers. And so we were in their sight. 81 words of doubt to 17 words of faith why? Doubt's a big talker. Doubt has so many words to try to persuade, persuade you off the simplicity and the directness of faith. Let's go up at once and possess it. There's faith. That's the way. It doesn't go into the long, elaborate discussions. It doesn't sit around the dinner table and try to converse and talk it out. Once God said something, just go do it, just go do it. But doubt needs a lot of words because it's got no foundation. So listen to these 10 that had wrong thinking. Here, notice this. They wanted something for nothing. They wanted the land, but when they saw opposition, they still wanted it, but they didn't want to do anything about it. If we got to do something about it, forget it. We're not going to Poverty mentality. Doubt mentality. Doubt. Unbelief does not want to do its part. But faith rejoices and is excited to do its part. Like Caleb, come on, let's go up at once and possess it. See, he was ready to do his part. You have a part in the plan of God for your life. Be excited about it. Excitement is not a feeling, it's a choice. And if you'll choose it, you'll get the feeling of it. Amen. So basically, they want it. For the unbelieving ones want something for free. They don't want to exercise their faith. They don't want to be. They don't want to be inconvenienced. Yet they spent their whole life and strength working for a Pharaoh. But when God offers them something, they won't even lift a hand for it. See the mentality of the thing. They work for, Pharaoh, for something they didn't own. God's offering them their own. And they won't even go after what God is giving them as their own. Doubt will Cheat you out of wealth. Doubt will cheat you out of your own. God will turn you into ownership. I said God will turn you into owners. This is what he was trying to do. Trying to give them a land that they owned and they possessed. God will turn you into an owner that you're not just living off some other man's pot, feeding your life all the time. That's not my sermon. Let me see. I'm trying to discipline myself. Numbers 14. Now let's go numbers 14. Because I'm drawing out bits and pieces out of this, but my goodness, you need to go read this whole thing. I'm just telling you, I want to read the whole thing to you. Numbers 14, 7, 9. Now this is after the 81 words of spewed out doubt. Numbers 14, verse 7 and 9. And they talking about Joshua and Caleb. They spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, the land which we passed through to search it is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, well, what pleases the Lord? Without faith, it's impossible to please him. If the Lord delights in us, if he's pleased with our faith, then he will bring us. He will bring us into this land. It's not all your natural human effort, but he needs your body to show up. He needs your body to show up. God will use his strength through you. He will bring us into this land and give it us a land which floweth with milk and honey. See, he's still got what God's saying in his mouth. That's what right thinking does. It keeps repeating what God said. Right thinking is always repeating what God said. Verse 9. Only rebel not ye against the Lord. Neither fear ye the people of the land. It doesn't matter who's on it. It matters who God gives it to. So don't fear the ones that are on it. You're the rightful owner. They held the deed in the spirit realm to that region. Neither fear ye the people of the land. And this is what I came to teach you this morning. They are bread for us. They are bread for us. So let's eat. Their defense is departed from them. Notice this. They go to fight you. It won't work. They got no defense. They have no defense. Get on the offense. Get on the offense. Their defense line is down. Football players. And the defense line is down. The offense team. Oh, baby, we gonna run all over you. Their defense team is Hobbit. Their defense is departed from them. How come the defense is departed? The Lord's with us, not with Them God's on our team. He ain't on their team. They lose, just show up for the win and the Lord is with us. Fear them not. This phrase, they are bread. Your giants are your food. Your opposition is your nourishment. It's not your problem, it's your strengthening. If you think right. See, the 10 thought wrong called themselves grasshoppers. Are you kidding? God's on your side and you're calling yourself an insect. That's all leg. Is that the best you could come up with? Wrong thinking? Because they wanted something without doing their part. The devil would loves people to admire what's theirs from afar. Don't admire healing from afar. Don't admire miracles from afar. Get yours, get yours, get yours. Don't admire prosperity. Boy, I wish I had it. Don't admire it from afar. Get it. Do your part. If the Lord is pleased with us, if he delights in us, if we get our faith going. I don't know if you've ever read any of the materials of Dr. Lillian B. Yeomans. She was a medical doctor. She practiced medicine until into her 40s and ended up really being given up to die. And she got light on divine healing, got back into fellowship with the Lord and was raised up. And from then on for the next 35 years, she set aside her medical practice and went to teaching divine healing. She was an instructor in Amy Semple McPherson's Bible School out in California. So she was a colleague of Sister Amy during the earlier part of the 1900s. And knowing that she had practiced medicine for many years, someone probably a student employee, classes because she actually taught in two Bible schools at the same time. Someone asked her, Dr. Yeomans, is there any particular diet you believe in? And she said, yes, I do. I believe in a diet of giants. Just devour each one that comes your way and become spiritually stalwart. Just eat them up. So this lets us know when Joshua and Caleb said these giants that they saw they were there, they weren't ignoring that they were there. But the doubting ones said, they are our undoing, they are our defeat. They are our downfall. And Josh and Caleb said, no, they're our bread. That's what we eat. That's what nourishes us. That's what strengthens. Strengthens us. To complain is to side in with someone who thinks that a giant is your downfall. But the opposition and the giants and the things that oppose you are to nourish you and strengthen you. And can I tell you this, they will bring a Nourishment that nothing else will bring to your spiritual life. Praise the Lord. So no giant is our downfall. They are our bread. We're giant eaters. We have to be masterful at eating giants. Not putting them on the. Not putting them on the center stage, throwing them on the table with everything else we eat. Amen. Listen, experts agree that your body needs a well balanced diet, right? Why is that? Because one food group can't supply your total physical health. You start eliminating food groups and it will start showing up physically, not immediately, but over time. You stop eating your giants. It might not show up immediately, but over time it'll show up. You haven't been eating what you're supposed to be eating, or you would have some spiritual things in place and fortified. Amen. You got proteins, you've got your vegetables, you've got your fruits, you've got your grains and your nuts, right? And each one, no one will substitute for the other. Amen. You just using your faith for things you like is no substitute for using your faith to eat giants. Because giant eating will forge something in your spiritual manhood, your spiritual maturity that nothing else will supply. Just receiving a car won't do it. Just making a, you know, just giving a seed, it's good, but it won't take the place of you eating a giant. They're your bread. It's not uncommon. When we were growing up, people are gluten free now. We didn't even know what no gluten was. I thought gluten was, you know, maybe something in your glue bottle at school that you took, you know, the Elmer's gluten bottle. It was not uncommon. My mother was a wonderful cook. You know, that's when they really cooked. Opening cans and pouring it in a pot is not cooking. I tell myself that, but. I mean, my mother made things from scratch. She would make rolls, yeast rolls and bread from scratch. And it was every meal. It was a staple. It was a staple. It was part of our daily diet that you found that bread on the table. In fact, Daddy and I were very hard to feed. I was hard to feed. I didn't like anything. Daddy didn't like anything. So she always had bread and gravy because we always liked that. That's what we did is eat bread and gravy. I didn't want meat. I don't want to chew it. Seriously, growing up, I never tasted. I never ate steak until I went to college because. Did mother make it? I'm sure she did, but I didn't eat it. That doesn't look right. That don't look right. And there's a lot of chewing involved. So growing up as a kid, I didn't want to chew. So Daddy and I would sit and just bread and gravy, bread and gravy, Bread and gravy. We're the two skinniest in the family. I don't know what happened, but the bread and gravy found us. I'm not preaching diet this morning. I'm not telling you to go order gravy and bread, but I am saying this. Bread was a staple. Giants are a staple in the life of faith. Not for your undoing, but for your diet, for your nourishment, for your strengthening. So when you see. Listen. When you see a giant coming at you, consider it a round rock donut, Right? You all know what that is? It's bread. That's bread. Sweeten it up with your expectation. And I don't know, Nasia, what? Krispy Kremes? Do y' all have Krispy Kremes out here? You used to round rock, put them out, But used to Krispy Kreme had a hot sign. Well, you know what the hot sign is? Oh, we're getting off the road right now. We're going. It was so funny. We were talking to a pastor. Dad Hagin came and preached at his church and did a meeting there. And right down between the church and the hotel, they had to pass a Krispy Kreme. And so he said every night they'd pass. That hot sign would be on. Dad Hagin say, turn in there. Turn in there. He said we would get two dozen donuts. Dad Hagin got a box. I got a box. And he said, then dad Hagin will run into, like, the mart over there and get us each, you know, a container of milk. And we'd sit in the car every night and drink like a quart of milk and our own dozen donuts. That's what I'm talking about. Eat those giants, they were excited to eat their bread, right? Thinking is excited at what it's going to lay hold of in the eating. Praise the Lord. The hot sign means this. The hotter, the better. The madder the giant, the better. You're just hot. And I love hot things while they go down easy. You don't even have to hardly chew to just work it around a little bit. Those hot donuts just go on down. Better than a cold one. Mad giants taste better than passive ones. Why, they're bread. They are bread. And people get more fearful the Hotter the circumstances, the hotter the opposition. No, that's when it tastes the best. That's when you get the best out of it. Praise the Lord. You know what you have to do. You know, as you get older, you have to ration your bread. I think that's bad doctrine, but. Because if every one of us were let go, I don't think there's anybody in here that says, I don't like bread. Some of us, we like some form. Some form. Right. Some form of bread. But we ration it. Right? Because physically, I can't eat all the bread. I see. And things be okay. Right. This bread you don't ration, the more you eat, the better you get. Spiritually, the more you eat those giants, the more you eat opposition. And so instead of hoping it just goes away, you run after it and say, give me mine, give me mine, give me mine. It's a mindset. It's thinking. Right? Right. Thinking is God calls your giants your diet, but the natural carnal man calls it something to be feared. And what do Joshua and Caleb say? They say, don't fear these. They're your food. They're going to nourish you. They're going to make you so stalwart, eating bread. Eating your giant bread turns you into a master. You can't be masterful. If you don't eat giants, you might be saved, but you're not masterful in your salvation unless you're eating giants. Praise the Lord. If giants are to be bred for us, we have to think right about them. Because most people want to get out from under pressure. They want to leave anything that's going to put a demand on them, they want to back up. They don't like any kind of financial obligation. They don't want. They want to get something, own it real quick and be done with it. That's exactly the mindset of these people who came out of slavery. That's a slavery mindset. Because someone, when they recognize who's with them and who's for them, let's get it and let's get it all. Let's just start taking everything. Why? Because God created this earth for his family. He didn't create it for people who dishonored him. He created it for his man, Adam. When people choose to have the wrong nature in them, when the right nature is offered to them, God is not out trying to bless and give things to people who are not his family. He wants his family to have it. I said he wants his family to have it. He needs to be Delighted in us that we're helping his family. Take it all. Take it all. Amen. Well, praise the Lord. It's wrong thinking that defeats us, not giants. It's wrong thinking you need to be afraid of, not giants. We have to renew our minds to what God says. What does God say? God says, a giant is my bread. It's my bread. It's not my undoing. It's not my downfall. It's my place. I get to sit and eat at that thing and get stronger and walk away masterful because I ate a giant. Amen. That's when they become our nourishment, is when we think right. They are spiritual nourishment. Hallelujah. In the 1900s, the early 1900s, there was a dictator of a large country. And I know all the names and stuff, but I'm not going to say all the details of it. But there was a dictator of a large country, and there was on its border this one small country that it had not conquered. And this dictator got tired of dealing with them, and so he decided, I'm going to crush it. And he sent 120,000 soldiers, thousands of military pieces, and they prepared themselves to invade that small country on their border. But the small country was unconcerned and undisturbed because their generals, the they said, were competent. Their borders they had fortified, and the people were ready to face the enemy. See the mindset, the mindset. This is our country. This is all we got. You got a whole bunch. You can take that you've already got, but you're not taking ours. It was the mindset. It was the mindset. And bombs began to fall on this small country, and the enemy military ranks started. Started spilling in over their borders. And the following statement was made to one of the soldiers that had the mindset, and he went to his commanding officer and he said, there are so many of them and our country is so small, where are we going to bury all of them? Come on. Come on. That's the mindset. That's the mindset. They never were conquered. They never were conquered. Why? You don't get conquered because there's a giant. You get conquered because of the way you think. You don't do without because there was an enemy. You do without because you thought wrong about the enemy. Amen. We have to remember this. We might be outnumbered financially, numerically, but we're never outpowered. And that's the difference. And this is what Joshua and Caleb were saying. We got a covenant. God is with us. We're never outpowered you can see all the numbers. You can see how big the giants are. But we are not outpowered. Hallelujah. Listen. The word of God is the thoughts of God. Think of it. That word is his thinking. It's how he thinks. So when we take his thinking and make it our thinking, when we call giants bread instead of something to be feared, we're thinking and talking like God thinks. Amen. And so when we think right, we eat giants. And let me tell you what was on the other side those giants. A promised land, a land of abundance. The giants were there trying. The devil was using these giants to block the view of what this land would mean for God's people. And all they saw was the giants. All you have to do is look around the giant and see, oh, I see everything behind you. Every opposition, everything that gets in your way is trying to hide from your view. The increase, the advancement, the promotion that is on the other side of that giant. When you eat the giant, you get everything that giant was blocking. Amen. First Corinthians. And I'll just. If you want, I'll read it to you for time's sake. First Corinthians 16, verse 9. Paul said, A great door and effectual is opened unto me. And there are many adversaries. Where are the adversaries at the door, the door into more, the door into increase, the door into advancement, the door into more revelation, the door into more anointing, the door into greater skill, the door into more revelation. Everything, every step of spiritual advancement has a door. And the devil is in the spirit realm. He sees those doors that are opening unto you, and he sends enemies to block the door, block your progress. And if you just. If we take the approach of the 10 who said, if I got to do anything about it, forget it. If I've got to do my part to get the land, forget it. We don't want it if it's not handed to us. It's not worth having if it's just handed to you. Don't ever take handouts and think you got something for free. Anything that's free isn't worth having. So Paul said, a great door, an effectual door, meaning when I get that door, the effect of me getting in is going to affect more than just me. It's going to affect multitudes. And we're still being affected by Paul getting through the doors, Aren't we still feeding on the revelations because he got through the doors, he ate the giants and kept going into the rooms that God was opening up to. Him. Giants stand at the door. More. If you want more, you better be glad to eat a giant. Eat opposition, Eat things that oppose you. As I was writing this, this came up in my spirit. We're not to look at giants in dread, but know and understand that they are our bread. They're bread to eat, by which we're made stronger. We are their master, and we're afraid no longer. Amen. Praise the Lord. Philippians, Chapter one. Go with me. I want you to see this for yourself. I'm going to read this out of the Amplified. So you might have a device that offers you the amplified, or you might have an amplified. But I love the wording of the Amplified. Paul is writing. Of course. Why did Paul lay hold of so much? Paul had the right mindset about opposition. If you just roll your eyes and go every time something opposes you. Instead, go, come on, let's eat. Come on, let's eat. Philippians, chapter 1, verse 28. The Amplified says this. Philippians 21. Excuse me 1, verse 28. Paul says, do not for a moment be frightened or intimidated in anything by your opponents and adversaries. For such constancy, you being consistent, you showing up every day with your faith for such constancy and fearlessness will be a clear sign, proof and seal to them their impending destruction. But it's a sure token and evidence of your deliverance. What's a token of your deliverance? Your constancy and your fearlessness. Your constancy and your fearlessness is their downfall. And your proof of your deliverance and salvation, that from God. So what do we see? Paul has the right mindset about opposition. He says, I'm constant. I'm fearless. In their face, I'm constant. I'm unmoved. They don't push me back. I keep advancing. I'm constant in moving forward. I'm consistent in stepping over them. I'm constant and I'm fearless. And when they see I'm fearless, it's a sign you've just lost. My brother was talking to a man who. I hope I have these names right, because I'm not a sports. What's the word? I'm not knowledgeable. But my brother was talking to a man who. And I believe I have the name right, Joe Frazier, that fought Muhammad Ali. Is that right? Thank you. And the man asked, Joe Frazier said, were you afraid to fight Muhammad Ali? He said, I never, ever was afraid to fight any man, and I was not afraid to fight Muhammad Ali. Except at one point. He said, in that match, I hit him and broke his jaw. I heard it break. And he said, muhammad Ali looked up at me and smiled. And he said, I'm dead. I'm dead. Why? He did not get the response out of Muhammad Ali that most of us, we'd fallen to the floor, you know, grabbed our jaw, crawled back to the corner, get our treatment, get our pep talk. And he said when he heard and felt. When Muhammad felt that jawbreak, he smiled at him. What's this mean? You just woke me up. You see the mindset? You see the mindset, right? Thinking, a renewed mind. And this is what Paul is saying. Don't you ever for a moment, not for a moment, be intimidated, fearful. Because when the devil sees you not flinch, he knows we shouldn't have picked on them. We should have gone down to neighbor Sally, we done knocked on the wrong door. Your countenance lets the devil know what's coming. If you lay in bed and worry, you're letting the devil know what's coming. But you lay in bed and think about, I can't wait to get into what God has for me. And you focus on where he's taking you. The devil knows his future with you. Amen. Praise the Lord. Years and years ago, I think. Well, in the 90s, I believe. Donald Trump, of course, wasn't president then, but he being the businessman, he was on the verge of losing everything when there came a financial crisis. And he knew this. He said, because I owe them so much, they have to comply with my request. They have to. So he went in and made absurd requests to the financiers of the bankers and everything, because he was in charge. Because if they don't give him what he requests, he's going to end up losing everything that he owes them. But if they help him, then he can gather back and they get all their money back. So he knew, he understood. Me being in this position puts me in charge. See the mindset, the mentality. And after it, he had been. A man came and interviewed him during this time. And Trump, they were walking by and there was a homeless man on the street. And Trump looked at him and said, see that homeless man? He was saying it to this reporter. He said, he's in better financial shape than I am. I owe billions. He owes nothing. The only thing is, Donald Trump knew what the homeless man didn't know. It's not what you own, it's what you know, because what you own can fluctuate at what you know. Amen. And of course, he turned that around. And of course, multi billionaire but he gave this advice. He said, they said, how did you handle living under that pressure every day? He said, because I knew I could turn it around. See, there was a knowing, a confidence in the knowledge that he had. And he knew it would work. He just had to have the time to work it. But he said when I had to go in and I had to meet with bankers and I had to meet with financiers and stuff, he said, I never let them see fear on my face. If they saw fear on my face, I'm done. Why? Because if he went in fearful, they're not going to extend to him the financial help. This is what Paul is telling you. He says, your constancy and fearlessness is a sign of the enemy's, their impending doom. In your situation, it matters the way you carry yourself. If you got a sad, dejected look, the devil sees you. He knows you think wrong. The devil's not all knowing. He doesn't know your every thought. God is. He's all knowing. He knows your every thought. The devil doesn't. He only knows what you show him. When he sees fear on your face, he knows you're thinking when he listens to your complaining and murmuring at the dinner table. I don't know why this always happens. We just never get ahead. You just now notify the devil of your thinking and he's going to attack you based on how you think. He finds your weak spot and he pushes it. Praise the Lord. So Paul is telling us how to think, right? About giants. Then go with me to First Peter, chapter four. First Peter, chapter four and verse 12. First Peter, chapter 4, verse 12 says, this beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you. What's this? Don't get yourself in a pity party. Why does this always happen to me? Why everything is so hard? You know, let me just say this. Every time my husband and I have gone to buy a home, except for one. Every time we go to buy a home and we would go to get financing or something. People say in 30 years of financing, I've never seen the problems that I've had with your account. We go, yeah, that's cause you're messing with us. You're working for us. Things don't just fall in our lap because we have opposition that your other clients don't have. When you understand that, you don't quit, you say, I'm worth opposing. What I'm doing matters to the kingdom of darkness. That's why they oppose me and the others, they're cooperating with the kingdom of darkness. So he just lets everything come easy to them because they're employed by him. You see, you gotta think, right? We could say, oh my gosh, I'm just gonna quit. I'm just tired of. Just forget the house. That's what a lot of people do, just forget it. Why? Because they don't want to eat that giant. Realize when a giant shows up, he's complimenting you. He's not showing up everywhere. He thinks you're worth opposing. He thinks your task when you're carrying out the plan of God. Now if you're carrying out your own plan, he'll oppose you in a different way. But when you're carrying out God's plan, the devil will pack on the opposition. Why? To back you away, get you afraid. Oh my gosh. It was sure a lot easier before I got saved. Uh huh. Because the opposition was different. Praise the Lord. Verse 13. But rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings. Listen, Jesus faced every time he went out. I mean he did something good and people jumped on him. He healed somebody, he'd healed a leper, they'd jump on him. He'd heal a withered hand, they'd jump on him. I mean every single time he did something, he was opposed at every action. That, that's called Christ's sufferings. And when you start walking out the plan of God, you're going to have that same opposition. Rejoice, because that shows you're doing what Christ did. You're carrying out the same works. So rejoice. This is right thinking, carnal thinking complains at giants and oppositions and the ongoing. What is it? Just the buffeting. But when you think right, you say blow after blow means you're frightened of me. And I get stronger every time you blow at me. How do boxers get stronger? They have blows thrown at them. Verse 13. But rejoice in as much as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. So the glory is on the other end of the beating. But don't you be the subject of the beating. Beat the giant, eat him, eat him. Because on the other side of that you're going to rejoice at the glory you come into. Verse 12 of the Amplified. Let me read it to you this way. Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered. How many, so many people just. I don't understand I just called wrong thinking. When you're bewildered, that's wrong thinking. You may not understand everything about what you're going through, but you should never be bewildered. Do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal. Fiery ordeal which is taking place. Look at this to test your quality, as though something strange, unusual and alien to you and your position were befalling you. But insofar as you are suffering Christ sharing Christ's sufferings, rejoice so that when his glory, full of radiance and splendor is revealed, you may also rejoice with triumph. So notice this, he said, just as you would rejoice when you come into the glory. Rejoice in the face of the opposition. Listen. So Paul and Peter are telling us how to think right about giants. David had no sense of fear or dread. He wasn't complaining. When he saw Goliath, he was like, oh, let me at him. This is a time to show out and show up. Why was that? Because he had faced lions and bears and didn't run back to Daddy to go get Daddy to handle them. He became masterful in the scope he was at. Goliath was nothing but something coming at him with fewer legs. Defeating Goliath ushered David into the next level of promotion. It was not his ruining place, it was his promotion place. Giants are not. You're not to see them as a difficulty, you're to see them as your promotion. Opposition readies us for the next thing God has for us. Don't misunderstand me. God doesn't send opposition to ready you. He doesn't have to. The devil's opposing God. And you become more skillful with your divine artillery, your divine equipment when you face giants. And that's what God's helping you in, that's what God sends you, is your weaponry. Amen. How did David eat Goliath? How do you eat a giant? Through what he said? He ran at Goliath with his mouth open. Never run toward your giant with your mouth shut. You can't eat giants with a closed mouth. You eat giants with your mouth shut open. Turn with me to First Samuel, because I want you to see this. First Samuel, chapter 17 and verse 41. First Samuel, chapter 17, verse 41. And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David. And the man that bare the shield went before him. So Goliath was not carrying his own shield. He had a man in front of him carrying a shield just to block Goliath. Why? Both hands are free. Verse 42. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David. He disdained him, for he was but a youth, and ruddy and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves just like you, just coming to me like a stick? And the Philistine cursed David, by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, come to me and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field. You can't keep the devil from talking. When the giant shows up, he will not be silent. His mouth will be full of threats. His mouth will be. His mouth will have so many suggestions that they can trouble your mind if you think wrong. The devil will not opposition will not. Giants will not come to you silent. They're going to come boasting. But after the devil's done talking. You have something to say then, said David to the Philistine. And he gave him a sevenfold answer of what he's going to do to him. Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield. But I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. That's the first thing. Number two. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand. Number three. I will smite you and take your head from you. Number four. I will give the carcasses of the host or the armies of the Philistines. I'm not just going to take you out. I'm going after the whole army. I will give the carcasses of the armies of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of. Of the earth. That all the earth may know. Number five. That all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Number six. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saves. Not with sword and spear. Number seven. For the battle is the Lord, the Lord's and he will give it into our hands. So Goliath was David's place of promotion because he ate giants instead of hiding from him like the rest of the army. The majority of people hide from opposition. They hide from things that oppose them. Giant eaters are out taking the lead. Why? Because they think different. It's not that David had more skill. These men were trained in military. They were trained. They had weapons. David came without any weapons of military quality. His slingshot was not usually standard issue. But his thinking put him out front. Your thinking he'll even put you in the front or the back. Why? He had a threefold reward. He was focusing on Goliath was a smokescreen for what was on the other side. The king said there's a threefold reward. Exceeding great riches. The man who beats him. Number two. He marries the king's daughter. No matter what she look like. No matter what she look like. She's in a royal bloodline. She's in line for the highest. She's in line for the highest authority in the land I marry. That right. That's what the winner gets. They get to marry the king's daughter. From then on, generations. A royal bloodline. Because one man ate a giant when others hid. The third thing was, is that you're free from service, free from taxes, your father's household, free forever. Forever. He's a giant tax deduction. Tax write off right there in the field, boys. Y' all thought he's hot and I'm gonna get my tax deduction. That's exactly right. David's giant eating skills rescued a nation. What are your giant eating skills like? It affects your family, it affects the company, it affects the church, it affects the body of Christ. Now look at 1st Samuel 17, verse 51. Verse 51. So David has killed Goliath. See, I had to not read all that. David killed Goliath, goes over, runs up to him, takes his head off and just like, you know, like a carnival trophy just running around. He's a man's man. I like men. Men. Ed used to say, don't be a lily. The world is. The world is manufacturing lilies, but the word will manufacture giant eaters. Verse 51. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. Oh, they're really chicken. They hiding behind one man. They hid behind one man. He's big. Nobody can overcome him. You just have to eat. You just have to eat one giant and the rest of opposition will run from you. Because I'm going to tell you, Satan and his kingdom is full of fear. That's all they produce. They're full of fear. Call their bluff. Just because they can talk big doesn't mean they can fight big. Praise the lord. So verse 51. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose. Oh, they came out from hiding. The Israeli army came out from behind a tree, from out of the ditch. And the men of Israel of Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines. Well, they were destroyed that day. But can I tell you this, remember what David said. I will give the carcasses of the armies of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air and to the wilds of the beast. Those men finally came into their fight, but David got the credit for their fight. He said, I am taking down the armies. His one act got other men to act, but it was credited to David because the others were hiding and they wouldn't have even come out of it for David. God credited David and he said it prophetically. He said, I'm the one that slays the host, the armies of the Philistines. Why that one act will. One act can get others mobile. And then the whole work attributed to your one act. Praise the Lord. I said, praise God. Lord, giants are not hardships. They are nourishment. They are promotion. They are increase. They are your point of becoming masterful. Amen. Never complain, never, never gripe at what's coming against you. Eat it up. Eat it up. Faith is for the fight. Faith is not for everything to be free. Faith is for the fight. Amen. Caleb fed his faith, and after 85 years, he told Joshua, give me that mountain full of giants and cities. They're mine. And at 85, he says, I'm stronger now than I was when we arrived into this place. Why? Because for eight for over 40 years, he's watching that. He's watching that mountain and says, you're mine and I'm coming after you one day. I'm coming after you one day. And he couldn't wait for the day when you think, right, you can't wait for the opposition. You're excited about the opposition. Why? Because of what you lay hold of after you eat the giant. I love Dr. Sumrall making this statement. He said, at 85, give me a mountain full of giants and I'll slay them and fertilize the earth with their carcasses. How do we eat giants? Jesus talked to dad Hagin and he gave him a sermon called write your own ticket with God. You need to go and find that. You can find that on probably YouTube. He said, Write your own ticket with God. And he went back to David and Jesus pointed to David's giant eating skills. And he said, david took the skills to eat the giant and to write his own ticket with God. He said, number one, he. Number two, he did it. Number three, he received it. And number four, it was told. So you tell it. You testify to what God did. So number one, the first thing he said is he said, it how do you eat giants with your mouth open? You have to say every day you have to say, and you keep saying number two, you do it. You don't just say it and then never follow through with action. Because faith without works is dead. Say, saying without works is dead. Confession without works, backing it up is dead. Useless confessions. Confessions will not do for you what only doing will do for you. Confessions are to direct your doing. They're no substitute for your doing. When people would ask dad Hagin, when things were looking bad, you know, in the churches, he'd pastor and the deacon board would say, oh, Brother Hagin, what are we going to do? And he said, we're just going to act like the word's true. We're going to act. We're going to act. Not just say, we're going to act. What we say at the dinner table to our family in the face of opposition is an act. Make sure it's an act that God can meet. Say it, do it, receive it. You know you receive by faith. Receiving is not automatic. You have to use your faith to receive. That's why it says in Mark 11:24, I believe, I receive. That's the words of receive. I believe I receive it too many times. We're good at praying, but not good at receiving. We're skillful at praying or skillful at asking, but we have to be skillful at receiving. And number four, then we have to testify and tell it. See, whenever those Israeli armies that were hiding saw David holding up the head, that's a telling. Look what I'm saying to you. Look. Look what I'm saying to you. And what happened? They got up and they entered the fight. When you tell what God's done for you, others take their place. Amen. Say it, do it, receive it, and tell it. And telling it is not drawing attention to you. It's drawing attention to what God did through you and what God will do through others. Will all you help today? Praise the Lord. Father, we're so grateful at your word. Thank you for the privilege. Thank you for the joy of what we get to do in your kingdom. Thank you for what you have assigned us to. We step up to it. For what you have enabled and empowered us to do, we step up to it. We thank you for your word. It's a lamp to our feet, Father. We come into right thinking. We think like you. We choose to think like you. We lay down anything negative. We lay down complaining. We lay down a pity party. We lay down any depression, we lay down anything that would slow us in our stride. And we say, father, we are giant eaters. Say this with me. Say, I think like God. I talk like God. God said, my giants are my bread. So I delight to eat the bread of my giants. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, Pastor. We trust you've enjoyed this message. Visit us at dufresneministries.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.
Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Date: May 1, 2021
Speaker: Pastor Nancy Dufresne
In this message, Pastor Nancy Dufresne challenges listeners to embrace opposition and difficulties as essential opportunities for spiritual growth. Using the biblical account of the Israelites, Joshua, Caleb, and David, she illustrates that “giants”—the challenges and obstacles in our lives—are not meant to defeat us but to nourish and promote us. Through stories, scripture, and personal anecdotes, Pastor Nancy encourages believers to develop a champion’s mindset: to see every obstacle as “bread,” essential for nourishment and mastery, and to run towards, not away from, what God has promised.
Pastor Nancy Dufresne’s impassioned teaching is a call for believers to embrace the challenges in their lives as moments of divine nourishment and promotion. By adopting the right mental attitude—seeing giants as “bread”—and boldly acting in faith, every opposition becomes an opportunity for mastery, advancement, and testimony.
Key Takeaway:
Don’t complain about your giants—eat them. God’s promotion lies on the other side of every obstacle you conquer in faith.