← Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Honor The Word With Your Hunger | Debra Simons | Ladies Conference 2024 | Wednesday AM
00:44:03
Loading summary
Transcript3 lines
- [00:01]
A
Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message.
- [00:08]
B
You know, I was telling my church the last night I preached there, I said, you know, normally when I get ready to go to the ladies meeting, I said, you know, God begins to deal with me about, you know, what to minister. And I said, you know, I kind of haven't gotten a beat on it yet. You know, when you're scoping, gonna take a shot at something, I don't have a beat on it yet. And so. But because we're under right teaching, we have learned some things. So when I came to the service last night, I had my heart open. I said, lord, you know, whatever, however you want me to minister, whatever you want me to minister, but I got my heart open. And, you know, the church is the place where we come for answers. And if you come to every service with your heart open and ready to receive an answer and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, you, he will give you an answer, but you have to come with an expectation. Some people don't get answers because they don't come with an expectation. So last night when the service was going on, Pastor Nancy said something, Sister Pat said something. And it's like the two things together, it finally just came together. And so we're gonna see what the spirit of God has this morning. Let's go ahead and pray. Father, we're so thankful for your word. We're thankful, Father, for everything that you've given us to live this life. Father, you've given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. And so, Father, as we endeavor to become more skillful with what you've given us so that we can walk in the victory that you have already provided for us. And so we glorify you this morning and we magnify you in the precious and mighty name of Jesus. Amen. I want to title this message, honor the word with your hunger. You know, when you lose taste for something, I don't know about you, but I can eat the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over. And then after a while, I just go, I just don't want that anymore. And I'll get a taste for something else, and I can eat it over and over and over. But, you know, you can't let that happen where the word is concerned. You can't let that happen where the things of the Spirit are concerned. Just because of the routine of doing something, you cannot lose appetite. For it. I tell my church all the time, this is not religion, this is a relationship. So don't get tired of coming to church. Don't get tired of being engaged. Don't get tired of the services and the way that they flow. Don't treat them as casual. Don't expect them to be the same all the time. With your hunger, you can draw some things out and allow the Holy Spirit to do some things that, that will bless the people. But you are the one that keeps yourself hungry or not. And one of the ways we do it is by Pastor Nancy Said. And let me see if I can get this straight. Cause I wrote this down and I kind of want to stay here before I take off. This was so good. And this just exploded because this is what I have seen so much in pastoring. Most Christians live with a mingled flow. They mingle their own humanity, their emotions and their own mental thinking with the leading of the Spirit. And they end up in a wrong place. They don't know how to separate the soul from the Spirit. And you know, I'll tell you, I've been on a soapbox with this lately. You have to know where the answer is coming from. And if it's coming from your head, it's not God. It's gotta be coming up out of your spirit. But do you understand, it takes time to recognize that and it takes practice. So if you think that every thought that comes up that sounds good is God, you're gonna live a life of up and down. And when you do that, you know what, you start to change your doctrine. You do, because you think that every, you know, good idea that you have comes from God. But you haven't taken time to quiet the mind. You know, we really. In the 80s, when I got saved, there was such an emphasis on the word and on praying in the Holy Ghost. The minute that someone got saved, you wanted to get them filled with the Spirit because you knew that that's what they needed, salvation first, but then be filled with the spirit. Why? Because in being filled with the Spirit, I can be sensitive to God and I can detect God's leading for my life. And I mean, it was just this is what we heard every which way. But do you know, it doesn't seem by far. I know that in a lot of our churches it is, but by far this is not the emphasis anymore. And when you lose the emphasis, that's gonna keep you in the path of truth. You're gonna get into error. And listen, it's well meaning people. It's not evil people. I have found really just in the last couple years, you know, congregation members that have been sitting under this word, some of them 30 years, they hit a test in a trial and they completely get derailed. And it unsettles the other church members. And I have to say, listen, listen, don't be surprised because when someone gets derailed, trust me, they weren't doing on a consistent basis what you have been taught to do. They weren't in their word. I don't care if they show up at every service. They're not praying in the Holy Ghost. They're not discerning. You know that when you know where answers come, you know, when you have meditated on thoughts too long. I mean, there are times I said, God, forgive me, I should have been more aggressive with this thought. I'm thinking about this too much. It's not God. I shouldn't be doing it. Forgive me. You know why? Because you have learned how to separate what is the enemy influencing your mind and what the spirit is saying. But if you don't practice that or you're not conscious of it, you just think that every thought you have is God. And so that's why it's so important that we learn not to live with a little bit of our reasoning and a little bit of knowledge of what we had or have what we have heard. Because I'll tell you what, listen, you can go into my church and they'll all speak the word. They not all doing the word. I was being honest. My people know I'm honest. You, you can show up, you can be serving, but by yourself, you're not doing what it takes to stay on course and to stay up with how the spirit is moving. In 1998, when we got connected with Dr. Dufresne, the spirit of God connected us. And so of course, we got, you know, under Defrain Ministries. And there was a shift that was going on in our church. And we have, we've been, We've taught our people to serve, to be faithful, you know, be at your post. We've taught them all that. Okay, so they were doing that. But what they weren't, a lot of them weren't doing was they weren't spending time in the Word for their personal development. And so because when they did this and a shift came, they wanted to rely on works. And we, we need to serve, we need to be faithful. We need to be. We need to bring our supply. But you cannot do that without a developing because you won't stay up with God. And so there was a shifting in positions because those that wanted to rely on being there all the time but not developing in the spirit, they can't go with you because they can't flow with you. And so then they begin to back up when they should have been doing exactly like what Dr. Dufresne began to teach us how to move into more things. I remember Dr. Frain one of the first times that he came and taught at our church, because we would have meetings in hotels in a City about 30 miles away because it was the hotel and the facility and all that. And finally, one time we were in the hotel and Pastor Nancy said, you all have your own building, don't you? And I said, yes. And she goes, why don't you have services there? You're like, meetings there? Hadn't thought about that, you know. You know, we would go into a hotel. It's a big expense. You know, everybody's got their hotel room and all that. She goes, don't you have your own building? Oh, yeah. Why don't you have meetings there? I go, oh, okay. This is a fresh idea. So. And I'm sure we thought, because the facility was beautiful, the hotel accommodations, all that. So we had Dr. Dufresne and Dr. Dufresne, you know, and people were. You know, our people enjoyed the move of the spirit. And listen, we all enjoy the move of the spirit. We need to have the move of the spirit. But I'm telling you, can't substitute the move of the spirit for your spiritual development. They work together. It's not either or so, you know, we knew Dr. Frank, man. He's a Holy Ghost, man. He's a prophet of God. You know, everybody's pulling on that prophet's mantle, you know, so he comes out, and I love his keenness in the spirit. He comes out with his Bible and he throws his Bible on our pulpit and he goes, you want a word? And everybody goes, yeah. He goes, read your Bible. For the next two years, Dr. Dufresne did not flow in the Spirit in our church for two years. He, you know, he was a preacher, you know, preached. He taught as he preached, but he kept giving us the word. Don't take the thought. Don't take the thought. Saying, he began to just give us the Word and give us the Word and give us the Word, and. And after two years, we picked him up in San Jose at the airport, and we were helping him get his luggage, and when he grabbed his bag, he turned around and he said, pastor, something has shifted in your church. And he said, and we're going to have some meetings. And I'm telling you, the demonstration of the Spirit was awesome. But something had to be dealt with in the foundation before you could have a move of the Spirit that was going to really benefit people. And so in that shifting, people got out of really key positions because they relied on something that felt better to the soul. And you got to be careful with that. And I've seen that. Because you understand every church and every ministry has a vision. There is something in particular that God wants them to accomplish. They all have a part. And that vision will take you someplace. But as it's taking you, you gotta stay up with it. And you will not stay up with it without feeding on the word, meditating on the word, praying in the Holy Ghost, and praying in the Holy Ghost until you're not hearing your thoughts anymore. You know, there have been times that we've had a time of just great transition and a decision had to be made. And so we took some time to pray in the Spirit. This is when my husband and I, we were first. We were left with the church. And so, you know, most of, you know, the testimony, we did not think we were going to stay there. We did not think we were going to be pastors. And the pastor left us with the church and said, you're the pastors. You know, make this a family church. And we were so unprepared. And that was our fault. We were so unprepared. But I'll tell you, we struggled because we were unprepared. So what we did is we got the whole staff and we began to take time in the day, praying in the Spirit. And we did it for a couple hours, the whole staff. And we had gotten a building which was a bowling alley that we thought we were going to put our church there, but we ended up. It was a bigger building. We thought we were going to relocate, but it ended up being an investment for another time. And that's a whole other testimony. So we start. We start praying the Spirit, and it's about the time when we are going to, you know, really like, officially connect. We're under Dr. Dufresne. We're going to. But we're going to officially connect with him ministry wise, you know, have him ordain us and all that. So we're praying, and the Spirit of God says to me, I have some things to say to you, but you can't bear them right now. If I were to reveal to you right now my plan for you, you would rebuke it as the devil. So you must be enlarged. Let me tell you what that was. When I got into the church and I got a revelation of the local church, and I got a revelation of the office of the pastor and supporting it, I locked and loaded, and you weren't going to take me off that I am here I am under my pastor. You're not. You're not budging me. And. And I always tell people, you know, when other visiting ministers would come, they never gave me the word, stay in your place, I go. That's the key. When God has to tell you, stay in your place because you're thinking about going someplace else. So I'm stuck here. But I'm not praying in the spirit enough to know that change is coming and to know that I've got to flow with this change and that it is the will of God, because I'm stuck in this mindset, which is a good mindset, and I don't even have time for all the, you know, all the rest of the testimony. But it was really imperative for us to hook up with Dr. Dufresne to fulfill the plan of God. This was the will of God. I had never seen it done before, but I hadn't taken enough time praying in the Holy Ghost to really follow the Spirit accurately. I'm just struggling that we've got another man's church and my God, I don't want to lose it, you know, I don't want it to, you know, fold up while we're in, you know, geez, Louise. That was a whole lot of pressure. And I wouldn't have been under that if I would have taken time to pray, to follow the leading of the Spirit, I would have been more prepared. Both my husband and I, we've said that. We testified about that. So when it was time, you know, so we. We continued to pray. By the end of the summer, three months later, the Spirit of God says to me, I have brought you to the stream that is going to nourish you, and this stream will nourish you until you see me face to face. I've never had a question in my mind about where I'm supposed to be. Because after three months of praying in the Holy Ghost every day, now God is telling me, this is where you need to drink from. This is where the nourishment is going to come from, and this is it. There will not be another transition or another change. This was for me, for us, for our church. But it took us praying in the spirit that long so that now I could hear what he said and I wouldn't have rebuked that. Oh, no, the devil's trying to get me off my place. I can't do something else. See, when, when, when. When the vision and the plan of God, it's going somewhere and it'll take you with it if you will be sensitive enough to take the time to do what you've been taught. And as ministers, as pastors, we have to emphasize this to our congregation. Dr. Frank One time gave us a statistics. How many people. How much time people pray in the Holy Ghost and what percentage of people do. It was some sort of, you know. Oh, was that what it was? Yeah. And I don't even know what the statistics was, but it was really low. It was really low. I won't even quote it because you know what? The emphasis really, by far, isn't there. I know we think it is, but I'm telling you, listen, when you look at the development of the congregation, you have to say, are they praying in the Holy Ghost enough to stay with what God is saying, to embrace what God is saying? You know, when people don't pray in the Holy Ghost and they don't meditate in the Word, and they just live off of what you are feeding them, and they don't take it home and make it their own, you know, we feed them, but they got to make it their own. I. I got to. I got to meditate on what is said until I own it. Which means that's my first thought, not my fifth thought. When you own it, no matter what the devil brings, your first thought is what's already a part of you. I could. I could no more think about leaving than anything. Why? It's. I own it. I hurt God. I own it. Listen, you can't offend me. You can't hurt my feelings. You can't. You know, and if the temptation was there, I would know that I'm the problem. If the temptation is there to get my feelings hurt, I'm the problem. You get it? I'm the problem. The voice in my life is not the problem. I'm the problem. My church is not my problem. I'm the problem. And listen, I've been through times when really, listen, the devil has brought offense and everything. And I knew deep down, you gotta get through this. You better get through this. You better not let this, you know, be a source of dividing you from what you know is the will of God. So I gotta do something. And if I haven't spent time in the Word and I haven't spent time praying in the Holy Ghost. Let me just tell you something. It's gonna be so difficult not to realize that this is an enemy working against me. And all of that I didn't even mean to say. But anyway, here we go. Sister Pat last night she said, for those of you that don't know, God is on the move. And really he is like never before. And she said, and he intends to do all he said to be done. He intends for everything that he says to be done. But it has to be through yielded vessels, faithful and obedient, praying in the Spirit and listening and expect change to come. God is on the move and he expects us to do what it takes so that we can remain faithful and stay expectant of what he wants us to do and how he wants us to cooperate, because it is about cooperating with his plan and his purpose. Now, Romans 12:1 says this. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Verse 2. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed. Our job is to constantly be being transformed, not conformed. And the way that we stay transformed, the way that we stay continually moving with God and making those adjustments is by the renewing of our mind with the word of God. Transformation is an ongoing process because the vision continues. As we get greater revelation of God wants us to do, it broadens. You know, we see something here, then we gain more revelation. And then we see it here and then we see it here. So we're constantly having to change and adjust to keep up with what God is doing. And we will conform at any phase. If we are not continually putting the Word in and renewing our mind. There's in any phase you can get comfortable and just stay there. Like for. For some in our church. When Dr. Frank came, they got conformed to the way they thought they were progressing in works. But now God is offering us more. And he. And it's commendable that we're faithful and it's commendable that we're, you know, reliable and that we're serving. But that's not all of it. It's only part of it. Now there must be a developing to where we begin to hear God and follow him from our spirit. I tell our congregation is my husband when he ministered, he's 85 years old now. And so really, you know, he's not ministering from. From the Pulpit, you know. And so I always remind them, I said, do you know, really? Pastor Johnny happy in the Word of Wisdom and the word of Knowledge proficiently in the church. And many of you receive words from him, but he never intended those words to replace your spiritual development in the Word. And as a baby, you know, you could be struggling through something, you know, you come to my husband, man, the word of the Lord will come to him, and he'll say, this is the way it's going to turn out. And they go away confident God's got it taken care of Israel. When you're a baby, God will do that for you. But that is no replacement for you developing yourself, knowing how to hear God, separating what comes to your mind. It's amazing sometimes what we hear as pastors, that people tell us, you know, this is God. It's amazing. It's amazing because, you know, they've come to us before and told us, this is God. And this next thing completely, completely contradicts what they said before. And you want to go, when did God change his mind? But you understand that they're mixing what's coming in to the soul, and they're not operating out of their spirit. And you know that that's going to hurt them. It's not going to be good for them. And do you know, sometimes they're at a place where you can really be honest with them, but most of the time they're not. And so you have to let them make their own choice, really, to derail. Now, I always tell people, this is kind of the way I work. I might have mellowed out since, you know, I'm almost gonna be 70. But this is the way I am. Listen, you're standing on the railroad tracks. The train is coming. You can't hear it and you can't see it. I'm gonna shove you. I'm shoving you. Cause I want to save your life. Not everybody likes that approach. When they tumble on the rocks and they got a few scrapes on their knees, they're bleeding a little bit, they get mad at you, and you go, wait a minute, the train was about to hit you. When people come to our church, there is, you know, like the, you know, general surgeon's warning. You have to read a warning before you come. This could feel detrimental to your life. I didn't say it was. I just said it could feel that way. We have this great couple that has just started coming to our church. And they started coming to our church because they had been, what, like, begging us for how many years? About three years, maybe, to let their. That when their baby got to preschool to come to the school. And we have a school, you know, you know, pre through K, but generally it's really only our congregation members and really only those that really understand that we will deal with your children in love, but we will deal with them. We're not playing around, and we're going to get you involved in that. You're going to parent and we're going to, you know, not everybody can take that. I get that. And I always tell people when you come, your church is your first priority. I don't want you to get offended at us because we had to, you know, deal with little Bobby or Jimmy, and now you don't want to come to church, then putting your child in this school was not the right idea because your spiritual development really was more important, and you should have gotten that right. So I have a good, serious talk with my parents. You know, we love these kids. We've seen a lot of miracles with our kids, you know, just even some that have had, like, brain damage. We see them doing things that nobody, the world didn't think that they could do. We. We have a lot of miracle. We love our kids, but we're not going to play around with things that they shouldn't be playing around with. So I never really felt the leading to just invite others in because they don't know, you know. And so this girl, she came. She came, and I really didn't even realize she was coming because really our building is small. We don't have that much room for classrooms. So normally our enrollment is just our people every year. And that's just enough, you know? Know. But she kept saying, she woke up one morning, she told her husband, I'm going to go to the church. She's our. The lady that delivers the mail at the church. She says, I'm going to go to them one last time and I'm going to beg them if they will take my child because of all of the things that are happening in the public schools. And she wants a safe place for her son. And so they said, okay, well, we'll just. We're going to ask Pastor. And so I said what she's been like, wanting, you know, because really the standard answer is we don't have enough room. Because we don't have enough room. Not. But really, we wouldn't take outside. But, you know, you really can't say that. So anyway, we have a full enrollment, and we do. We're not. Not down the line. But, you know, really publicly, you can't say, you know, that you can't do that. So anyway. But I know I just said it anyway. So, anyway. So anyway, you know, when I heard it, I'm telling you what. It just. It just. It got me. Not in my head, but in my spirit. I said, tell them to come and to, you know, what are we doing right? Visit our facility and see. I mean, tell them we don't have a pray ground. We have asphalt. I mean, you know. You know, they may not want it, you know, And I told them and I said, and for sure, make sure they understand that when they roll their son into this school, we are not expecting anything where they're concerned, where the church is. I'm not expecting him to come to church. I don't want you to feel like you got to come to church because your child is in my school. That. That would just be the wrong reason, you know, and so, you know, you know, we just told him, you know, okay, this is. And they. They loved it. And so they brought their son. So, of course, we have a lot of activities that are a lot of fun, you know, and so, you know, they would bring their child to our. Our functions, you know, like our church picnic or our fall festival or whatever. And so then they thought, hey, maybe we want to visit this church. You know, we've been needing some friends. So, you know, so they come, you know, and it's like, oh, you know, because, you know. You know, when. When your people's hearts are hungry, oh, my God, they could just take anything. And it's sweet. That's how I was. You know, when you're hungry, every bitter thing is sweet. I'm hungry. I eat it all, you know? So then they would say, oh, so. And so was here. I go. They were. I go, oh, God, Somebody should have given me the red light, you know, visitors on board. So that we can bring the plane down to a place of less turbulence. And I always tell them, jeez, tell me when there's a visitor here. I'm gonna dial it back a little bit because I'm trying to grow up my church here. So. So anyway, you know, she comes and they say, you know, she came. I went, oh, my God. And she's like, you know, they love it because the people, they embrace them. They've got friends. And so, you know, she came up to me one time, and I didn't know she was there. I don't know what I was preaching on, but it's pretty hard. And so she comes up. She comes up and she kisses me on the cheek. I just love what you said. I go, oh, thank you. I go, whoa. But you know what? They're hungry. And the last time she came, she told my niece, I get it. I get it. She goes, you know, when we first got here, I didn't get it. I know what she was thinking. I didn't get, you know, how. How on she was. But, you know, when she said, I get it, you know, I know what she meant. I get it. But she goes, I really get it now. She goes, when your pastor talked about having mental torment and oppression, she goes, I suffered from that for years. And she said, I see now that I didn't have to live like that. And sometimes it tries to come back to me. Of course, you know, I'm telling her, I'm free. Listen, I'm redeemed. I have been delivered. I have been taken out of the dominion of darkness and all of the works of Satan, and I have been translated. Almost like coming to another country where those laws can't affect me anymore. And when I said this, it's like she goes, I get it. I get it. And my niece do. So sweet. She goes, I know. You know, we. We. We kind of get it here pretty straight, you know? She goes, yeah. And she goes, but I. Meaning, I get that she's just wanting to help people, you know, not blow them back. Because you know what? If you stick around for a while, you'll get it, because God will minister to your needs, and you'll realize this is the place where answers come. This is the place where I find freedom, and this is the place where I maintain freedom. Amen. Now you know, First Corinthians 14, verse 2 says, for he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God. For no man understandeth him howbeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries. And verse four says, he that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifies himself. This is the thing that we should be reiterating to our congregation. When we are speaking in tongues, we're speaking to God. And when we're speaking in tongues, we can edify ourselves, we can improve ourselves. We can build ourselves up. We can stay sensitive to the Spirit. I always tell this testimony. My husband, I think, was just an amazing usher. He was the head usher. And I tell you what, listen, he knew how to. He knew how to. To work a prayer line. And. And, I mean, he was just on it. And. And I would tell him, I go, honey, what do you think? Because, you know, the ushers, you know, the pastor would. Would, you know, would tell them, now, when, you know, new people come in, I want you to greet them. If they leave early, I want you to go out, and I want you to greet them and thank them for coming. And so my husband would do that. If he saw somebody leave early, he'd come and he'd say, you know, we just want to thank you for coming. We hope that, you know, that you, you know, enjoyed the service. And. And then they would say something like, oh, I love this service. I'm leaving because I have to go to work, you know, or something. So he would get the drift of that, you know, they weren't, you know, they weren't offended by anything, you know. And of course, then he would tell the pastor, you know, this person, that person. So he just had the pulse on everything. But I told him, I said, johnny, what do you think really the biggest quality was in. In for. In you being really the usher that you were. He said, debbie was praying in the Holy Ghost. He said, when I'm on a prayer line and I prayed in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit would alert me about who was. How people were going to fall. Like, guys, get over here, you know. You know, sometimes when people are standing in a prayer line, the presence of God comes on them. Maybe someone hadn't gotten there. It helped him stay up with the pastor in the flow of the spirit. When the anointing was on him in such a way that he had to move fast because he prayed in the Holy Ghost, he could keep up and direct the others. Because when you're doing something for God, it's spiritual, and you can't do it without being spiritual. You can't bring a natural, you know, equipment to do a spiritual job. It has to be infused by the Spirit. People don't think that catching is spiritual. It is. And if we prayed in the Holy Ghost, sometimes my husband would say, I would pray in the Holy Ghost so that I could assist in bringing them down correctly. I prayed in the Holy Ghost for strength. I prayed in the Holy Ghost for insight. Why? Because the pastor told him, you can't do this job without praying in the Holy Ghost. When you come in the morning and you are throwing out the trash and cleaning the bathrooms, pray in the Holy Ghost. When you're wiping down the pulpit, pray in the Holy Ghost because God wants to do something. And he said, you are here ordained to keep order, but you won't keep order by the Spirit if you don't pray in the Holy Ghost. This next generation needs it. They need to know the value of the equipment, of praying in the Holy Ghost. It assists you in whatever you're going to do. And this is what people, you know, they. By far. They don't understand it yet. I have two daughters that have caught the vision, but I'm believing for my grandchildren to catch it. And they're not going to catch it. If we do anything different, they're going to catch it because we keep doing the same thing that works, that produces power. You can't exchange what's popular for what produces power. And that's why I tell my children, listen, nah, I don't care how popular it is. If it doesn't produce power, we're not doing it. We're going to keep with what produces power. And sometimes you have to do it long enough. You have to stay with the things of God. You know, I didn't get a chance to turn there, but you know where I would have gone? 2nd Kings 4 and here. Let me. Let me tell you something about this woman. This woman was not filled with the spirit like you and I are. But she had a mindset. Okay? She had a mindset. And that regard, that mindset, that regard kept her on course. Her honor, her regard kept that mindset in place so she could make the right choices. When it said, when she perceived that this is a holy man of God, there was a mindset of how you should reverence the things of God. And that reverence and that honor kept her in the place where she could make the right choices. She not only received her heart's desire, but it moved her. That mindset moved her to action. Now remember, she's not filled with the spirit. We have an advantage because we are filled with the Spirit. But her mindset. Now let me tell you something. You know what keeps us from really following the plan of God? What's going on in our mind. But we can change that by praying in the Holy Ghost. But this mindset caused her to. To. To action. It caused her speaking, it caused her determination. And it caused her that when she reached. When she received a test and a trial, her son died. She didn't attack the pastor or the church. Her honor and her regard caused her to make the right choice. She went back to the place where she knew power flowed. But she didn't attack the church or the pastor because trouble came. You know, sometimes when people don't pray in the Holy Ghost and they don't renew their minds when they get in trouble. And when trouble comes, they want to attack the word that's been preached. They want to attack the pastor, they want to attack the local church, and then they want to leave and continue to attack. And I'm going to tell you something. When people have left and they are speaking bad about your local church, let me tell you something. You need your local church. You need the office of the pastor and your life more than you need a friend that's complaining about the things of God, filling your head and your mind with something that's going to come back up. People goes, well, I don't believe what they say because you're not in a test and trial yet. Wait till the seeds that they've planted in you because you just listened. I have a tape series called A Sympathetic Ear. As a believer, we don't give a sympathetic ear when somebody starts saying something. It's not the word. We give the word. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Listen. I love you, sister. I love you, brother. But come on, this is what the Word says. I mean, we don't have to be, you know, disagreeable about it. We don't have to be combative about it. You know, we have to, you know, grab someone and go. This is what the Word says. Of course, you know, maybe I might do that, but anyway, you don't have to. Now, wait a minute. I know you're upset, but what does the Word say. But that mindset. Now, you and I have the ability to have the right. The right mindset, the renewed mind. And we do it by praying in the Holy Ghost. We do it by meditating on the Word of God. We do it by speaking the word of God. We do it by making all the adjustments that the Spirit of God is leading us to do. Because the plan of God is going somewhere and it's going to take us with it if we make the right choices and adjustments, and we won't if we're living with a mingled. If we mingle the. The soulish realm with what we believe the Spirit is saying, you're not making the right choices. Let me tell you something. Pastors emphasize to your church that just coming to church is not the totality of developing themselves, developing their spirit. It is a vital part. I'm not putting anything down. We need everything that the Word tells us that we should do. But they cannot live on works. They have to be done by the spirit. Because, you know, after a while, people that are in works, it becomes irritating because they're doing it by works and not by the flow I have a. A young girl that we. We asked her to be over the departments and, you know, organize them and all that. And so, you know, she came to us because she's a. She's a great gal. So efficient. She's got a business mind. She's a Holy Ghost girl, though. So she comes and you know, we. We. You know, she's over the mocha, and she's trying to get everything efficient. And so she comes and she says, you know, our mocha shop is small, and the line gets out there. She goes, you know, if we didn't have these people on these positions, we could get the people through faster. And we said, sister, this is a church. We appreciate that inside. But these people are congregation members. Some of them are a little older. They're not as fast as everybody else, but they want to bring their supply. I think we'd be okay by just sticking with. We're doing it for the people. And she laughed and she goes, oh, that's right. I go, this is a people business, you know, no, we're not gonna ask them not to serve in that department again. And she laughed. And you know what? She laughed because she's full of the word. Oh, yeah, you're right. That. That thought is for my business. But we want people to feel fulfilled in their local church, and they love serving. And maybe they might not be the fastest at it, but they're there all the time. They got a good heart. We're gonna. We're not just knocking them out because the conveyor belt isn't going to. Yeah, remember Lucille Ball and the chocolates? But because she's full of the spirit, we could say that to her. And she goes, oh, yeah, yeah, that's right. She agrees with us. She flows with us. It's going to take that because God's doing something. He's going to accomplish everything he said that he was going to do. But he needs us. He needs us to be faithful. He needs us to be full of the spirit. He needs us to be adapting. He needs us to emphasize what is going to help us fulfill the plan and the purpose of God. And for that, we have to stay hungry for the word of God. Amen. Amen. Pastor Nancy.
- [43:46]
A
We trust you've enjoyed this message. Visit us@DefrainMinistries.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.