Podcast Summary: Refreshing Our Foundation

Guest Speaker: Debra Simons
Event: Holy Ghost Meetings 2020, World Harvest Church, Murrieta, CA
Date: January 7, 2020
Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast

Overview

This episode features Debra Simons sharing at the Holy Ghost Meetings 2020, focusing on the crucial need for believers and churches to "refresh our foundation." The message draws on personal history, biblical teaching, and practical challenges of faith, emphasizing the importance of core spiritual values such as loyalty, respect for authority, faithfulness, and worship. Simons articulates how a strong foundational mindset positions individuals and congregations to experience and cooperate with God’s plans—especially in seasons of revival and supernatural provision.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Personal Foundation: Family Influence and Upbringing

• Simons describes her upbringing in a home that prized respect for authority and strong work ethic.
• Her parents’ contrasting outlooks—her mother’s loyalty and gratitude for employment versus her father’s worker-oriented stance—formed the basis for Debra’s values regarding faithfulness and respect.
• Memorable anecdote: Simons’ mother insisted on family doing favors without expecting payment (00:30)—“there’s no money in family…What you sow, one day you’ll be able to reap.”
• Her mother’s unwavering loyalty and adaptability at work eventually led to trust and unfirable status, illustrating how faithfulness is ultimately rewarded (00:44).

2. Translating Natural Foundation to Spiritual Life

• These foundational natural virtues were seamlessly incorporated into her spiritual walk after salvation:
  • Respect for authority transferred to respect for pastors.
  • Family loyalty mirrored church loyalty.
  • Learning not to judge or disrespect leaders remained central.
• Quote: “What my mother and father both put in us, what was good, lasted what was right. It passed the test of time.” (00:51)
• Practical example: When tempted to question pastor’s decisions regarding finances, Simons heard God say, “That’s why he’s the pastor and you’re not… Why don’t you just get into agreement with him and see everything covered?” (01:16)

3. Reinforcing Core Biblical Foundations

• Teaching from 1 Corinthians 3:10–15 (The Passion Translation), Simons emphasizes the necessity for leaders and members alike to ensure everything built on the foundation of Jesus Christ meets God’s standards—otherwise, it will not stand in adversity (00:53–01:06).
• She challenges churches and believers to revisit the basics: worship, fellowship, and intimacy with God, warning against merely accumulating information or adopting contemporary programs that lack power.
• Quote: “If what we are building on the foundation…is not up to God’s standards, it won't pass the test. Or…won’t help you stand in the time of adversity.” (01:06)

4. Urgency for Authentic Worship and Fellowship

• Simons expresses concern that younger people know spiritual "language" but lack deep intimacy with God—and urges deliberate effort to rekindle that foundation of worship and personal encounter.
• Quote: “[Younger generations]…don’t have that foundation of intimacy with God that can put you on track in an instant.” (00:58)
• She stresses that true worship "assists you in getting in the presence of God" and refreshes strength for the journey.

5. Spiritual Application: Find and Fulfill God’s Plan

• Simons exhorts believers that fulfillment only comes from following God’s ordained plan.
• She laments the superficial spirituality of some ("making decisions out of the soulish realm and tagging a scripture on at the end") while emphasizing the necessity for actual fellowship and listening to God’s direction. (01:00–01:01)
• Quote: “There is a fulfillment that comes when we are doing what we are born to do.” (01:00)

6. Standing Firm in Times of Advancement and Challenge

• She shares practical stories—such as believing for finances or major church decisions—detailing how her foundation enabled her to align with leadership, receive correction, and participate in faith, leading to miraculous provision.
• Quote from God during a budget challenge: “Why don’t you agree with him, get it taken care of? Isn’t it better for everybody?” (01:19)

7. The Church’s Purpose and Power

• Simons passionately reminds the congregation that the local church is not just for personal blessing, but for reaching and transforming lives (01:32–01:35).
• Quote: “This church is not just about you getting your bills paid…A church is about getting people saved. A church is about reaching out to other people.” (01:34)

8. Supernatural Provision: Bypassing the Normal Process

• Host (Nancy Dufresne) and guests share testimonies of God dramatically providing properties, buildings, and finances by “bypassing normal processes”—emphasizing these things happen for those with proven, steadfast foundations (01:56–01:57).
• Quote (Dufresne): “If in your foundation is not this absolute—whatever God says, I’m just going to do it…you’ll miss [what God wants to do].” (01:57)
• Guest Pastor Dave testifies to receiving a 10-acre property and 14,000 sq.ft church—years of faithfulness resulting in God’s sudden, supernatural provision (01:59–02:06).

9. Final Exhortation: Strengthen and Check Your Foundation

• Both Simons and Dufresne emphasize continual self-examination, returning to what matters most, and guarding against letting essential doctrines and practices slip.
• Dufresne summarizes: “Check your foundation all the time. Go back, fortify it…because only then are you positioned to take hold of what He offers us in this era.” (02:08)
• Encouragement for ongoing faithfulness and rejection of a “welfare mentality,” reminding listeners that God cares about building our faith, not making things easy.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Family Influence:
  “If anybody has to correct you—understand this, you’re coming home and you’re getting another correction. My parents were not going to go to bat for us. If an adult said that we did something—they said, ‘We’re going to believe the adult.’” – Debra Simons (00:13)

• Translating Upbringing to Spiritual Foundation:
  “I didn’t have to uproot [my upbringing] when I got born again because I just brought that right in to serving God.” – Simons (00:45)

• On Active Authority & Humility:
  “When [you] tried to say something to [my father], he would say, ‘Hey, you don’t show me nothing.’ You have no experience, you have no wisdom…That’s really what he meant.” – Simons (00:18)

• On Worship:
  "Worship exalts the Father. When you see him big, your situation is small. When you see your situation big, you’re seeing him small." – Simons (01:10)

• On Power and the Church:
  “People are going to realize that [the world’s] system is not working. And the only system that’s going to work is the power of God.” – Simons (01:30)

• Miracle Provision: “Ten acres, 14,000 square foot building…No building program, no [fundraising]. All the money came in…It catapulted us financially 20 to 30 years ahead.” – Pastor Dave (01:59)

• On God Bypassing Normal Processes:
  “If in your foundation is not this absolute, ‘Whatever God says, I’m just going to do it’…you’ll miss [what He wants to do].” – Nancy Dufresne (01:57)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Background & Family Foundation: 00:08–00:45
• Biblical Foundation Teaching (1 Corinthians 3): 00:53–01:06
• Concerns for Younger Generation/Intimacy with God: 00:58–01:00
• Spiritual Applications & God’s Plan: 01:00–01:02
• Testimonies of Supernatural Provision: 01:56–02:06
• Final Exhortations (Strengthening Foundation): 02:08–End

Tone and Style

The speaker’s tone is personal, candid, and instructional, blending humor from personal anecdotes with earnest pastoral concern. Both Simons and Dufresne speak directly and warmly, challenging listeners to sober self-examination, active faith, and deeper intimacy with God. Each encouragement is grounded in Scripture, vivid stories, and transparent examples from their ministry journeys.

Takeaways

• Solid spiritual foundations—formed in character and reinforced by the Word of God—are essential to stand in times of challenge, cooperate with revival, and witness supernatural provision.
• Foundational values such as authority, faithfulness, and worship determine our fruitfulness and usefulness in God’s plans.
• Every believer, and the church as a whole, must return regularly to check and refresh the basics—staying both rooted in doctrine and open to the movements of the Holy Spirit.

For further teaching and resources, visit dufresneministries.org.