Healing School #5 | The Bowed Over Woman, Part One

Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Host: Pastor Nancy Dufresne
Date: April 8, 2021
Series: Jesus the Healer Broadcast

Episode Overview

This episode of "Healing School" focuses on the biblical account of the woman bowed over in Luke 13:10-17, exploring how Jesus ministered healing and the principles that believers can apply today to receive and minister healing. Pastor Nancy Dufresne emphasizes the necessity of teaching, gaining knowledge, and exercising spiritual authority. The teaching breaks down scriptural insights while providing practical spiritual instruction for listeners seeking healing or desiring to grow in their ability to help others.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Importance of Teaching, Preaching, and Healing

• Teaching in Jesus’ Ministry:
  • Jesus’s earthly ministry focused on teaching, preaching, and healing, especially teaching in synagogues (02:00).
  • Teaching imparts knowledge and revelation, equipping believers to know what is theirs and how to receive from God.
    • “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. It doesn't say they're destroyed because the devil attacked them.” (11:00)
• Role of the Word and the Holy Spirit:
  • The Gospels don't list every miracle, but the 19 recorded cases were chosen for our instruction (03:30).
  • If we "do what they did, we will get what they got” (04:10).

The Account of the Bowed Over Woman (Luke 13:10-17)

• Scripture Reading and Focus:

  • Luke 13:10-17 is read and studied line by line (07:40).
  • The woman had a “spirit of infirmity” for 18 years, was “bowed together,” and unable to straighten herself.

• Significance of the Setting:

  • She was in the synagogue—“God’s people needed teaching” (08:30).
  • Despite being a Jew (daughter of Abraham with a covenant), she remained bound for years.

• Jesus’s Response:

  • “Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity” (09:40).
  • Jesus did not accept the long duration as a reason for inaction—neither should we (14:10).

Spiritual Ignorance and Its Consequences

• Ignorance versus Knowledge:
  • The enemy exploits ignorance; knowledge brings victory and protection.
  • Not being healed isn’t God’s fault—churches and believers are called to steward the knowledge and anointing for healing (18:25).
  • “If things aren't changing, it's a grand invitation into more knowledge.” (12:00)
• Encouragement to Pursue Help:
  • Even with inconvenience and pain, the woman left her home and went to where the Word and anointing were present (17:20).
  • “Don't get used to the wrong thing… If you say, 'I'm done with this,' God's power will back you up.” (15:10)

Understanding the Nature of Affliction

• Spirit, Soul, and Body:

  • Christians are three-part beings: spirit, soul (mind, will, emotions), and body (22:10).
  • The demon did not reside in her spirit, but was “attached to her body” (21:00).

• Can Christians Have a Devil?

  • A Christian cannot have a demon in their spirit; the Holy Spirit dwells there (21:30).
  • The analogy of “termites in a house”—the house may be infested but the inhabitants are not the infestation themselves (22:00).
  • Sickness is sometimes directly caused by evil spirits, but not always (24:10).

• Authority and Practical Guidance:

  • Knowledge and authority will protect against demonic attachment or oppression (23:20).
  • Resist the devil and sickness with the Word—stand your ground (23:40).
  • “You say, well, it seems to me that I have allowed something to attach itself. You can use your authority right now and get it off.” (24:30)

The Believer’s Authority Over Mind and Body

• Maintaining Victory:
  • Believers must guard their minds and bodies after salvation (25:10).
  • “God did something with our spirits. But it's up to us to do something with our minds and our bodies.” (26:10)
• Renewing the Mind:
  • Romans 12:1-2 instructs us to “present our bodies” and renew our minds.
  • Cast down imaginations and thoughts that contradict God’s Word (25:40).
  • “Talk to wrong thoughts… say, that's not my thought. I resist that thought. I'll not take that thought.” (25:50)
• Transformation Through the Word:
  • God’s Word offers His thoughts—choose His way of thinking over human reasoning (26:30).
  • Practicing this leads to a transformed life (26:50).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Power of Knowledge:

  • “If you're doing everything you know and nothing's changing, it's because you need to know more.” (12:30)
  • “Ignorance gives place to the devil. He is counting on people's ignorance to work against them.” (13:50)

• On Refusing to Accept Affliction:

  • “Don't get used to something. I don't care how long something has tried to affect you. Don't get used to the wrong thing.” (15:05)
  • “God will allow you to have everything you're okay with. But if you say, 'I'm done with this,' God's power will back you up.” (15:30)

• On the Mind’s Gatekeeping:

  • “It only takes one thought getting in to mess up your life.” (25:20)
  • “If you listen to the wrong thing long enough, it starts sounding right. Don't listen.” (25:35)

• On the Role of the Church:

  • “People should be able to come to our churches and receive healing, receive help. Our churches should be the place where things change in people's lives. If people are not being healed in our churches, we need to find out why.” (18:45)

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:20–04:10 – Introduction to the series and purpose of healing school
• 07:40–09:40 – Scripture reading of Luke 13:10-17
• 10:00–12:50 – The necessity of teaching; “Destroyed for lack of knowledge”
• 14:10–15:30 – Do not accept longstanding sickness; God will stand with you when you refuse affliction
• 17:20–18:45 – Importance of attending church and seeking the anointing
• 21:00–23:20 – Explaining spirit/soul/body and demonic oppression
• 23:40–24:30 – Exercising authority over the devil and affliction
• 25:10–26:10 – Christian responsibility to renew the mind and care for the body
• 26:30–27:25 – The transformation that results from putting God’s Word into action

Conclusion

Pastor Nancy Dufresne’s teaching stresses that healing is demonstrated and available to all believers, but knowledge, revelation, and authority must be skillfully applied. She encourages listeners to pursue the Word, renew their minds, refuse to tolerate affliction, and to always “get to church” and the place of anointing when in need. Listeners are assured that what God did for the Bowed Over Woman, He will do today: “If we will do what they did, we will get what they got.”