Podcast Summary

Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Episode: Hold Fast To Your Victory, Part Two | Nancy Dufresne
Date: July 17, 2020
Speaker: Pastor Nancy Dufresne
Location: World Harvest Church, Murrieta, CA

Main Theme

This episode centers on the critical faith principle of "holding fast"—maintaining your grip on promises, blessings, and victories received from God, especially after the manifestation. Pastor Nancy Dufresne delves into the importance of consistent, mature, and vigilant faith, stressing that faith must be actively maintained to prevent loss due to enemy opposition and personal complacency.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Full Journey of Faith

• Faith has distinct phases:

  • Believing before you see results
  • Standing your ground after releasing your faith
  • Receiving the manifestation
  • Holding fast to ensure you don't lose what you’ve received ([00:24], [01:18]).

• Mature faith:

  • Not just satisfied with receiving a miracle but seeks to sustain it through every stage.
  • "Mature faith wants to be strong at all of these different stages and places that faith comes into play." ([01:10])

2. Scriptural Foundation for Holding Fast

• Hebrews 1:1-3:
  • God continues to “uphold all things by the word of His power.”
  • Just as God sustains creation, believers must actively guard and sustain the things received from God ([02:26]).

3. Parable of Peter Walking on Water

• Peter’s miracle lasted as long as he focused on Christ and the word but faltered when distracted by circumstances ([06:16]).
• Key takeaway: “Anything we've received from God, the devil would love to use circumstances to try to get from you what you've received from God.” ([07:02])

4. The Connection Between Hearing and Holding

• Consistent intake of the Word is essential:

  • “Holding fast is going to be compromised if we don’t keep hearing the Word.” ([09:36])
  • “Faith comes by hearing. There is no other way faith comes.” ([12:20])

• Practical warning:

  • Daily non-spiritual activities do not build faith—only God's Word does.
  • Even praying and serving don’t produce faith if not accompanied by Word intake ([13:12]).

• “If your holding power is slipping, your hearing is slipping.” ([32:30])

5. Real-life Examples of Holding or Losing

• Kenneth E. Hagin’s Stand of Faith:
  • Facing death as a youth, he affirmed, “I am not up by willpower, I am up by faith. And my faith will hold.” ([17:56])
• Miracle Losses Explained:
  • Many lose healings, jobs, blessings, not because they didn’t receive, but because they stopped holding fast after the manifestation.
  • Testimonies of people losing or maintaining healing post-miracle—most notably two women healed of blindness at an Oral Roberts crusade. One lost her sight again due to negativity around her, the other held fast despite symptoms ([40:25], [42:40]).

6. Opposition and Counterattack: The Unseen War

• Enemy always counterattacks:
  • WWII analogy—an island taken 12 times, lost 11 due to not holding after victory ([28:58]).
• Holding fast is a skill:
  • Only those trained in vigilance retain what God gives.
  • “The further you go with God, the more He's going to expect of your faith.” ([22:40])

7. Where Are You Holding Fast?

• Don't anchor your faith to circumstances (like bank reports, paychecks, or job updates), but to God’s Word and what He has told you ([49:19]).
• Example: Nancy’s testimony about following God’s leading in a serious financial deadline—choosing not to act except to “hold fast” the word from God, despite circumstantial “shut downs” ([44:04]).

8. Faith in Community

• Surround yourself with people who also know how to “hold fast.” Negative or doubting company can weaken your stand ([41:29]).
• Know where your “holding station” is—who can help you stay strong.

9. Usefulness to God Linked to Holding Fast

• Those who can't hold fast will never be entrusted with greater things.
• “Your faith is not just for receiving a manifestation. Your faith is for going to the end and not losing anything on the way.” ([58:25])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On mature faith:

  • “Mature faith wants to be strong at all of these different stages…that we don't lose it.” ([01:10])

• On word intake:

  • “If we do not have an ongoing intake of the Word, it’s going to show up in our hold.” ([07:54])

• Peter’s miracle:

  • “You're already walking. Just keep doing, just keep obeying the word. Hold fast to what you have so that you don’t lose it.” ([08:17])

• On faith vs. willpower:

  • Kenneth E. Hagin: “‘I am not up by willpower, I am up by faith. And my faith will hold.’” ([17:58])

• Analogy:

  • “They took it 12 times and lost it 11 times.” — WWII island, illustrating repeated loss through lack of vigilance ([28:58])

• Community influence:

  • “You can’t keep people around you who let go and think you’re going to hold tight because people who let go around you will help you let go.” ([41:40])

• Practical advice:

  • “Don’t you change your hold just because circumstances around you change and avenues around you change.” ([47:35])

• Encouragement:

  • “The more he [the devil] opposes you, it shows how frightened he is of your faith. He is frightened of your faith.” ([54:52])

• Challenge:

  • “Take inventory. What do I need to tighten my grip on? And what do I refuse to let go of?” ([01:00:19])

Timestamped Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | Content/Highlights | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00 | Introduction & Faith Process | Stages of faith: believing, standing, manifesting, and holding fast | | 02:26 | Hebrews 1: God upholds by His Word | Analogy: parent what you receive, protect from enemy’s efforts | | 06:16 | Peter Walking on Water | Circumstances as a challenge to holding on to your miracle | | 09:36 | Importance of Hearing the Word | Ongoing hearing maintains faith’s strength, warnings about losing ground | | 12:20 | Only the Word Gives Faith | Faith comes by hearing—daily chores, even prayer or service, don’t build faith| | 17:56 | Kenneth Hagin’s Example | Quote: “My faith will hold”; distinction from willpower | | 22:40 | Maturity of Faith & The Honeymoon Phase | Early ease vs. faith-requiring opposition, God’s plan for deeper growth | | 28:58 | WWII Island Analogy | Losing ground due to lack of vigilance; mastering “holding fast” | | 32:30 | Faith & Hearing | “Hearing gives you holding power…” | | 40:25 | Oral Roberts Miracle Stories | Two women, similar miracles, opposite results based on holding fast | | 44:04 | Nancy’s Personal Financial Testimony | Trusting God not avenues, resisting circumstantial pressures | | 49:19 | Anchoring Your Faith | Don’t base faith on positive reports, but on God’s Word | | 58:25 | Faith’s Full Journey: Finishing Well | Usefulness to God increases when we don’t lose ground after the manifestation | | 01:00:19 | Call to Take Inventory | Encouragement to “tighten your grip” on what you don’t want to lose |

Conclusion & Takeaways

• Receiving from God is only the start; maintaining what God gives you (“holding fast”) is the ongoing task of mature faith.
• Constantly feed your faith by hearing the Word—this is the only way to strengthen your spiritual “hold.”
• Expect opposition and counterattacks, but know they demonstrate the devil’s fear of your faith.
• Surround yourself with those who help you hold fast, not relax your grip.
• God can entrust greater assignments to those who have proven they can hold fast in adversity.
• As Nancy Dufresne sums up: “Make sure that when [the devil] sees us, he sees a grip he can't undo…that we are able to say, like dad Hagin, ‘My faith will hold.’” ([01:03:05])