Podcast Summary

It Doesn't Matter What You Feel | Stephen Dufresne | Friday PM | Campmeeting 2021

Date: June 12, 2021
Host: Dufresne Ministries
Speaker: Stephen Dufresne
Guest: Pastor Nancy Dufresne (closing comments)

Main Theme / Purpose

The central theme of this episode is the contrast between spiritual truth and personal feelings, particularly regarding divine healing. Stephen Dufresne encourages listeners to anchor their faith in God's Word rather than in what their bodies feel or their circumstances say. The message seeks to demystify healing as a distant, complicated spiritual achievement, instead presenting it as an accessible, guaranteed promise for every believer—if they will persist and exercise their authority in faith.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Frustration and Honest Faith

• Stephen’s Honesty with God: Stephen opens with his own struggles around healing, noting dissatisfaction with the prevalence of sickness even among Christians and his desire for answers from God (00:11).

  • “Me and God have a different type of relationship…I'm very straight and I say, ‘Father, I come before you. And I'm probably saying the wrong stuff, but I'm fully correctable. But tell me what I'm doing wrong…’” (03:32)

• Need for Dissatisfaction as a Catalyst: He urges that believers must reach a point where they are no longer willing to tolerate sickness.

2. What Constitutes "Great Faith"?—Authority and Persistence

• Examples of Great Faith: Jesus called only two individuals in the Gospels as having “great faith”—the Syrophoenician woman (Matthew 15:22–28) for her persistence, and the Roman Centurion (Matthew 8:8–10) for understanding authority (16:17).

  • “So here’s two examples of great faith. Number one is authority. Number two is persistence. And if you carry these out and don’t waver, great is your faith.” (17:32)

• Application: Authority must not only be understood, but also practiced, regardless of what is seen or felt.

3. Persistence in the Face of Symptoms

• Suffering and Slavery: Stephen discusses how sickness enslaves not just individuals, but entire families, robbing them of life and the future (20:24).

• Feelings vs. Faith: Even persistent, worsening symptoms do not negate the truth of God’s promise:

  • “It doesn’t matter what you feel or how you feel or what you do or don’t feel… the word is true.” (38:22)

4. The Devil’s Strategy is to Break Your Faith

• Sickness as Spiritual Opposition: Sickness is described as a demonic attack designed to break believers' faith through relentless interrogation—wearing them down so they surrender their confession (39:46).

  • “Let me tell you what sickness is. It’s an interrogation to break you… This interrogation is to break your faith, to bring you out and say, ‘you're right, I was never going to get healed.’ And he goes ‘got him, alright, let him loose.’” (40:22)

• Importance of Your Words: Stephen stresses that changing one’s confession due to worsening symptoms is a failure in faith (48:12).

5. Scriptural Foundation—Jesus' Example

• “It Is Written”: Stephen points to Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4), highlighting Jesus’ unflinching use of Scripture to answer every attack and temptation—even in great personal weakness (53:01).
  • “The written word is your guarantee… This is how you have to fight back. You refuse to give up what the Lord said is yours.” (54:20)

6. Stories That Illustrate Persistent Faith

• Healing Isn’t Always Instant: Stephen shares stories (such as a man who declared healing days before manifesting it) to show that faith is persistent and isn’t governed by immediate results:

  • “He was going around telling people, ‘Get your card, get in healing school… I was healed last night,’ dragging his feet around with these leather things. Does he look healed? No… But the Bible says if you believe you’re healed.” (1:03:17)

• Testimony of Endurance: Testimonies of standing six months or eight months in pain before healing are just as valid—perhaps more so—than instant recoveries.

7. Faith Is Not a Feeling

• Rejecting the Dictatorship of Feelings: The essence of the sermon: the truth of God’s word on healing isn’t conditional on feelings, symptoms, or immediate change. Faith must be based on God’s word alone (1:07:47).

8. Action: Receiving and Walking in Healing

• Laying On of Hands: Stephen calls people up for prayer, stressing that agreement in faith at that moment marks the start of their testimony, regardless of what is or isn’t felt (1:12:42).
  • “From this night forward, are you healed or not healed? You’re healed. And I don’t want to hear another thing about it.” (1:16:12)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“So here’s two examples of great faith. Number one is authority. Number two is persistence. And if you carry these out and don’t waver, great is your faith.”
— Stephen Dufresne (17:32)

“It doesn’t matter what you feel or how you feel… the word is true.”
— Stephen Dufresne (38:22)

"Sickness is an interrogation to break you… This interrogation is to break your faith, to bring you out and say, ‘you're right, I was never going to get healed.’"
— Stephen Dufresne (40:22)

“You don’t need feelings to indicate healing… If you can believe, if you can believe, you will be healed. You will have what you say.”
— Stephen Dufresne (57:02)

“The devil is a trespasser… He’s going to try to trespass and mess your life up… But it doesn’t matter what you feel.”
— Stephen Dufresne (49:55)

“Healing is the base package… Salvation and healing are for everybody that will believe.”
— Stephen Dufresne (36:14)

“No matter the pain you’re in, you’re healed. Why? Because the Word says you’re healed.”
— Stephen Dufresne (1:09:02)

“Does it matter if you felt anything? Doesn't matter. Are you healed? Why? Because the Bible says so.”
— Stephen Dufresne (1:18:15)

Important Timestamps

• 00:11 – Stephen begins, shares honest frustrations about healing and church experience.
• 16:17 – Examples of “great faith” from Matthew 15 (persistence) & Matthew 8 (authority).
• 20:24 – On the life-robbing slavery of sickness.
• 38:22 – The core declaration: "It doesn't matter what you feel... the word is true."
• 40:22 – Sickness as interrogation; the devil’s plan is to break faith.
• 48:12 – Admitting changing your confession based on symptoms is a failure—“Anytime a symptom changes your confession. We have failed.”
• 53:01 – Jesus’ temptation: standing on “it is written” as the ultimate weapon; application for believers.
• 1:03:17 – Story of persistence: the man on crutches “dragging his feet” who kept declaring “I was healed last night.”
• 1:07:47 – “Faith is not a feeling” section; endurance in faith over time.
• 1:12:42 – Laying on of hands, moment of corporate agreement.
• 1:16:12 – The moment of declaration: “From this night forward, are you healed or not healed? You’re healed.”
• 1:18:15 – “Does it matter if you felt anything? Doesn't matter.” Encouragement to anchor faith in the Word.

Closing: Pastor Nancy Dufresne’s Reflections

• Healing at the Hearing: Many received healing simply by hearing the Word, before hands were even laid (1:18:35–1:20:00).

  • "Healed at the hearing. Healed at the hearing. Amen. Because you can believe while you’re hearing."
    (1:19:50)

• God’s Word as Medicine: Pastor Nancy compares God’s Word to prescribed medicine, encouraging listeners to take it “orally”—declaring it daily—and to prioritize the Word as the true source of healing above feelings or symptoms (1:22:00–1:25:00).

  • “My words are life. My words are medicine. The doctor will prescribe you medicine. But God prescribes you medicine. It’s the medicine of his word.”
    (1:23:41)

• Faith Beyond Feelings: The body is the recipient—not the source—of healing. Believers should check the Word (the source), not their bodies, for assurance (1:26:00).

Structure & Flow

• Personal sharing and honesty about faith, confusion, and frustration.
• Biblical teaching on “great faith”—authority and persistence.
• Candid confrontation of the realities of suffering and how to stand in faith.
• Exhortation that feelings are not the metric for healing.
• Action: agreement and declaration in faith for healing, irrespective of physical evidence.
• Conclusion and encouragement from Pastor Nancy Dufresne: Healing is received by faith as God’s Word is taken as medicine—declared, spoken, and stood upon.

Takeaway for Listeners

• Healing is guaranteed by God’s Word, not by feelings, symptoms, or timelines.
• Persistent faith and right authority are the hallmarks of “great faith.”
• The battle is over your words and confessions, not just your body.
• Take God's Word as your daily medicine, persistently declaring: you are healed—no matter what you feel.