Episode Overview

Title: Healing School #14 | The Man With Dropsy | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus the Healer Broadcast
Host/Speaker: Pastor Nancy Dufresne
Date: June 12, 2021
Main Theme:
Pastor Nancy Dufresne conducts an in-depth, verse-by-verse teaching on the healing of the man with dropsy (Luke 14:1-6) during Jesus’s earthly ministry. She explores the context, the attitudes of the Pharisees, the significance of Jesus healing on the Sabbath, and how these lessons apply to receiving healing and recognizing God’s power in our own lives and church settings today.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Scene: The Sabbath Lunch Setup (00:09 - 05:00)

• Nancy Dufresne welcomes listeners and introduces the series focus: studying individual healings Jesus performed.
• The group turns to Luke 14:1-6, examining the narrative of Jesus being invited to dine at the house of a chief Pharisee on the Sabbath.
• Nancy suggests the setting is one of "scrutiny, not hospitality"—an intentional setup to challenge Jesus’s actions on the Sabbath:

  “They watched him. They’re not there just out of hospitality. It’s a setup.” (02:00)

• She explains the condition of “dropsy” as obvious and severe, likely making the man's presence an intentional test for Jesus.

Jesus Challenges Tradition: Is Healing Lawful? (05:00 - 09:30)

-Jesus asks: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” before acting (Lk 14:3).

• Nancy notes:

  “Before Jesus ever does anything for the man, He asks this question … because He knows what their argument would be. … Jesus healed on purpose on the Sabbath day to disarm wrong thinking.” (07:00)

• Healing, she stresses, is “a holy act,” not something inferior or unworthy of the Sabbath.
• Jesus’s direct question exposes the Pharisees’ misplaced priorities and rigidity in tradition.

Healing Manifested: Response vs. Spectatorship (09:30 - 13:00)

• Jesus heals the man, to the silent dismay of the lawyers and Pharisees.
• Nancy draws a distinction between “participators” and “spectators” in both biblical times and present-day church:

  “It pays you to be a participator in what God’s doing, and not just a spectator, because it’ll cost you something if you’re just going to spectate.” (10:40)

• She emphasizes drawing on God’s healing flow, not simply observing out of cynicism or critical spirit.
• Memorable analogy: Spectators at a sports event pay to watch, participators are paid—it’s better spiritually to be a participator.

The Sabbath Question: Compassion and Priorities (13:00 - 17:00)

• Jesus uses the analogy of rescuing an animal on the Sabbath to underscore misplaced compassion:

  “You would pull an animal out on a Sabbath day out of a pit? I’ll pull a man out of the pit of sickness and disease on the Sabbath day.” (14:05)

• He shows that human need for deliverance takes precedence, and with God, "everything’s easy"—healing for Him is not a burden, even on the Sabbath.

The Danger of Missing God in Our Midst (17:00 - 21:00)

• The Pharisees fail to recognize Jesus for who He is—even as healing power is demonstrated before them.

  “The sad thing about it is these religious leaders had no idea who was sitting in that house that day… They chose blindness.”

• Nancy applies this to contemporary believers: the risk of being so fixated on tradition or routine that we miss what God is offering in a service.
• Takeaway: “When you go to church, God is in the room… our mindset and our approach has to be appropriate, that we recognize.”

The Importance of Recognizing the Anointing in the Local Church (21:00 - 27:00)

• Nancy discusses the pastoral office and the different flows (teaching, preaching, healing) available in a church setting:

  “Teaching is not a lesser than flow than miracles, than healings. … Jesus always took time to teach.” (24:45)

• She challenges listeners to expect God to offer something through their pastor or service, warning against attending church out of mere habit.
• She references Matthew 9: “They were as sheep without a shepherd… fainting and scattered”—linking pastoral ministry directly to congregational well-being and healing.

  “God's offering us these things every time we sit under that pastoral anointing. … Under the pastoral anointing, people received their healing.” (25:40)

Personal Application: Recognizing Who We Are “In Christ” (27:00 - 34:00)

• The number one reason people don’t receive from God: failure to recognize what is being offered and who they are in Christ.

  “The devil loves for us not to recognize these things.” (27:12)

• Nancy leads the group through Ephesians 1:17-19, Paul’s prayer for “the spirit of wisdom and revelation,” summarizing:
  • Know who you are in Christ
  • Know what you have in Christ
  • Know what you can do in Christ
• She urges believers to “take” (not just ask for) what is theirs spiritually, and to pray for others to gain this recognition.

  “All we need in this life, we can draw out. ... But we have to remember who we are. We have to know who we are.” (31:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On participating in healing, not just observing:

  “It pays you to be a participator in what God’s doing, and not just a spectator, because it’ll cost you something if you’re just going to spectate.”
  — Nancy Dufresne (10:40)

• On healing as a holy act:

  “Healing is an act worthy of God. Healing is an act worthy of the holy day. God doesn’t have an unholy flow.”
  — Nancy Dufresne (07:30)

• On Jesus pulling people from the pit:

  “I’ll pull a man out of the pit of sickness and disease on the Sabbath day. Anyone that’s in a pit needs to be delivered.”
  — Nancy Dufresne (14:05)

• On missing God’s presence:

  “The sad thing about it is these religious leaders had no idea who was sitting in that house that day with them.”
  — Nancy Dufresne (16:55)

• On church attendance and the pastoral office:

  “When we go to church, there is nothing, no other event of our week that comes close to what is being offered us in the setting of the local church, where the Word is being taught and power is being made available.”
  — Nancy Dufresne (25:55)

• On Ephesians 1 and spiritual identity:

  “Pray for others that they would, number one, know who they are in Christ. Number two, that they would know what they have, because they’re in Christ. And number three, that they would know what they can do, because they are in Christ.”
  — Nancy Dufresne (30:10)

Important Timestamps

• 00:09: Introduction and context for studying the healings of Jesus
• 02:00: Setting of Luke 14—Jesus under scrutiny at the Pharisee’s house
• 06:20: Jesus asks, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
• 10:40: Analogy of participator vs. spectator; importance of response
• 14:05: Jesus’s analogy of rescuing animals, “pulling a man out of the pit”
• 16:55: The Pharisees’ spiritual blindness
• 21:00: Application to church services today—expecting and drawing from the anointing
• 24:45: Teaching, preaching, and healing “flows”
• 27:00: The imperative of recognizing “who we are in Christ”; introduction of Ephesians 1 prayer
• 31:30: Summary exhortation: “All we need in this life, we can draw out... but we have to remember who we are.”

Summary Flow & Takeaways

• Jesus’s miracles provide lessons not just in the act of healing, but in how believers are to approach God’s power and presence—by faith, with recognition, and as participators.
• Tradition and legalism can blind us to God’s presence and what He’s offering; being open and responsive is key.
• The pastoral office and local church are divinely ordained places of teaching, preaching, and healing—believers should value and actively engage in these flows.
• Knowing one’s identity and inheritance in Christ is essential to receiving from God; prayer for wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1) is fundamental.
• Active participation in God’s work—responding to His Word and the anointing—yields spiritual benefits, healing, and transformed lives.

Final Exhortation

Let us recognize and honor both God’s presence in our gatherings and the anointing upon those He sets over us—drawing, not sitting back and spectating, so that we don’t miss what is being offered, just as many did in Jesus’s day. And let us continually pray for wisdom and revelation, knowing who we are, what we have, and what we can do in Christ.