Podcast Summary

Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Episode: Learn the Easy Flow | Jay Eberly | Wednesday AM | Campmeeting 2021
Date: June 9, 2021
Guest Minister: Pastor Jay Eberly
Host/Moderator: Pastor Nancy Dufresne

Episode Overview

This episode features Pastor Jay Eberly teaching on the “easy flow” of the Christian life. Drawing on scriptural foundations and personal anecdotes, Pastor Eberly unpacks Jesus’ promise of rest, showing that walking with God is not meant to be hard, burdensome, or marked by constant toil. Instead, through faith, simple obedience, and renewing the mind, believers can enter into a divinely ordained “flow of ease and rest” in every area—spiritual life, faith, prosperity, and relationships. The message resonates with the larger theme of Campmeeting 2021: learning spiritual skillfulness, avoiding the traps of religious struggle, and walking skillfully in the grace provided for this era.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of God Makes Life Easier

• Pastor Jay shares a story about Pastor Nancy teaching that “the power of God makes life better”, and the Holy Spirit prompted him:

  “It makes it easier.”

• He compares spiritual life to using a power tool versus a hand tool:
  • “It’s just a whole lot easier.” [03:45]

2. Scripture Foundation: The Easy Yoke

• Main text: Matthew 11:28-30 (Jesus: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”)
• Key point: Difficulty comes when spiritual things are pulled up into the mind.
• “Believing God is not hard. Last night, [Pastor Nancy] talked about flowing out of your heart…”
• Memorable Quote:

  “Wherever you find the struggle, you’re not doing it right. If it’s hard, you’re not doing it right. Spiritual things aren’t hard.” [13:20]

3. Simplicity in Christ vs. the Complexity of the Mind

• Cites 2 Corinthians 11:3 (“…your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”).
  • More in the Spirit = more simplicity.
  • “We make things hard between our ears, not in our spirit.” [15:25]
• Anyone in the “easy flow” carries a sense of pleasantness and lack of struggle.
  • “Children were drawn to Jesus because there was no struggle or hardness about Him.” [11:00]

4. Burdened Christianity Stems from Religion and the Flesh

• Jay Eberly: “Religion loves to emphasize the struggle, the hardness of things. Because religion is of the flesh, not the Spirit.” [12:20]
• We’re not called to be “the devil’s pack mule,” weighed down and struggling. [22:00]
• The wrong voice (religious/legalistic) always speaks of struggle, but this is not the voice of the Father or Holy Spirit. [27:10]

5. Learning the Easy Flow: A Skill to Develop

• Jesus says “learn of Me”—it requires mind renewal, not natural effort.
• Skillful Christians respond to God from the heart, not out of the mind or flesh; they learn how to connect rather than struggle.
• Notable Story:
  • Two horses yoked together: the big horse does all the work, the little one just walks alongside—it’s a picture of how we follow Christ.

  “In this yoke, Jesus is the big horse. Our job is just to walk along beside Him and respond.” [20:00]

6. Avoiding Victimhood & Choosing Rest

• Some prefer the struggle because it brings sympathy or a sense of identity in the hardship (“victimhood”).
• But the “fruit-bearing” Christian is simply “connected” to Jesus (the vine) and rests—the apple branch doesn’t grunt out apples!

  “There’s no struggle to it. Just keep the connection.” [36:50]

7. Authority Doesn’t Struggle

• Story about taking authority over a problematic situation:

  “Authority doesn’t struggle. You don’t see a king struggling to make an edict.” [49:00]

• Proactive in speaking faith: “This is easy,” instead of accepting thoughts of difficulty.

8. Prosperity: From the Hard Flow to the Easy Flow

• Compares Israel’s slavery in Egypt (hard, laborious, self-effort) with God’s promise of Canaan (God provides the rain, a land He cares for).
  • Deuteronomy 11: “Where you’re going is not like where you came from.” [52:00]
• The key is renewing the mind to leave behind the “struggle mentality” and enter a flow of blessing—by grace, through faith.

9. Practical Steps to Enter and Maintain the Easy Flow

• Recognizing when you’re entering the “hard flow” (taking on worries, burdens, or heaviness).
• Cast cares (don’t keep the cat on your head!)—use praise and worship to break heaviness while renewing the mind. [23:20 & 61:00]
• Learn to “catch yourself” drifting into worry or struggle, correct immediately. [61:15]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Struggle vs. Connection:

  “If it’s hard, you’re not doing it right. Spiritual things aren’t hard. They’re not difficult. They’re actually easy.” [13:20] —Jay Eberly

• On Religion vs. Spirit:

  “Religion loves to emphasize the struggle, the hardness of things. Because religion is of the flesh. It’s not in the spirit.” [12:20] —Jay Eberly

• On Mind Renewal:

  “When we’re struggling, we still haven’t got our minds renewed enough. Once we think right about it… it’s easy.” [15:30] —Jay Eberly

• On Learning:

  “It’s a learning thing to not take cares when they come, or not to take thoughts of hardship into our minds. The flesh doesn’t like it, but we’re going to get into this flow.” [46:10] —Jay Eberly

• On Authority:

  “Authority doesn’t struggle. You don’t see a king struggling to make an edict.” [49:00] —Jay Eberly

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |---------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:45 | Story of the Holy Spirit saying “It makes life easier” | | 07:40 | Main text: Matthew 11:28-30, “my yoke is easy, my burden is light” | | 15:15 | Simplicity in Christ vs. the corrupted/complicated mindset | | 20:00 | The yoke story: Jesus as the “big horse,” we just respond | | 22:00 | “We’re not called to be the devil’s pack mule”—throwing off burdens | | 27:10 | The wrong voice: religious spirit talks struggle, not the Father | | 33:24 | “Valley of Oh No” analogy—don’t camp in worry and fear | | 36:50 | Fruit-bearing is easy: staying connected, not straining | | 49:00 | Authority doesn’t struggle—proactive vs. defensive faith walk | | 52:00 | Egypt vs. Canaan: hard flow (self-effort) vs. easy flow (God-provided supply) | | 61:00 | Catching heaviness, casting burdens: cultivate awareness, act immediately |

Closing & Additional Insights

• Pastor Nancy adds:
  • “We can be in the easy flow in one arena and in the hard flow in another—we must renew our minds in every arena.” [63:29]
  • Shares a personal testimony on establishing the easy flow of prosperity for her son.

  “Although your natural father won’t be here for those years, the easy flow is still here.”

• Practical advice:
  • Put on the garment of praise for heaviness.
  • Shout or praise as you renew your mind, because mind renewal is a process but heaviness can be cast off right away.

Final Reflections

• The easy flow is not the absence of opposition but a skillful response to it, rooted in abiding in Christ, renewing the mind, and walking in faith.
• The “flow of this era” is the Spirit-led, burden-free, victorious Christian life.
• Repeated encouragement to assess every area: “Is this my hard flow or my easy flow?” and choose, learn, and enforce the easy flow Jesus purchased.
• Listeners are exhorted to:
  • Stop magnifying struggle and hardship.
  • Refuse religious pressure into works and self-effort.
  • Daily renew their minds, cast off care, and respond heart-to-heart to God’s Spirit.

For Further Learning:

• Listeners are encouraged to revisit related teachings on faith, casting cares, love, and healing—foundational themes in both Jay Eberly’s and Kenneth E. Hagin’s ministries.

Visit: dufresneministries.org to learn about upcoming meetings, testimonies, and products.