Podcast Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Episode: Sharing In Jesus' Success, Part Four | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus the Healer Broadcast
Date: January 2, 2020
Host/Speaker: Nancy Dufresne

In this episode, Pastor Nancy Dufresne continues her teaching on living in the success Jesus has provided, focusing on the foundational role of meditating on God’s Word. She breaks down the process of aligning one's attention, thoughts, and confessions with scripture through the Holy Spirit’s daily guidance, enabling believers to "enlarge" their capacity for God-given success. Nancy draws from biblical examples, personal stories, and practical application to illustrate that disciplined meditation is key to expanding spiritual and practical potential.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Meditation on the Word (00:20–06:00)

• Foundational Scripture: Joshua 1:8 — Success is connected to what we do with God’s Word.
  • Put the Word in your mouth.
  • Meditate on the Word day and night.
• Personal Application: Nancy shares facing a long-term physical test, relying on Holy Spirit-led meditation daily:
  • “He knows the prescription of what your life needs best.” (01:40)
  • The Holy Spirit would bring a specific scripture or truth each morning.
  • She wrote down the day's Word and held to it as a lifeline.
• Memorable Metaphor:
  • “I was like that drowning person hanging onto that life ring… That’s how I held to it. That’s how tight.” (03:45)
• Key Insight: Meditation guided by the Holy Spirit is uniquely effective because it targets your real need, which even you may not fully understand.

2. The Role of the Thought Life in Receiving (06:00–09:30)

• Avoiding Double-mindedness:
  • Referencing James: Don’t say one thing to others and think another to yourself.
  • “Your thought life is what you’re saying to yourself. And you have to say the same thing to yourself that you’re saying to other people about the word.” (07:30)
• Meditation disciplines and aligns inner dialogue with outward confession, which is crucial for receiving from God.

3. The Discipline of Attention (09:30–12:30)

• Proverbs 4:20–22 — God gives an assignment to our attention: “Attend to my words…”
  • “Faith people are people who have a disciplined attention. You can’t have strong faith and a loose line of attention.” (10:35)
  • People often want God to rescue them from the devil, but God is waiting for them to redirect their attention.
• Right focus brings life and health; a wandering mind limits what God can do.

4. Meditation Enlarges Capacity for Receiving (12:30–16:30)

• Practical Illustration:
  • Nancy compares her grandkids’ small hands (able to grab a few candies) to how meditation “enlarges your heart. It enlarges your spirit.” (13:40)
  • Small, limited thinking comes from lack of meditation; meditation grows one’s “hand of faith.”
  • “The Word will enlarge your capacity to believe and lay hold of more… Meditating in the Word is how we enlarge our spirits and our hand of faith to receive the greatness of His plan—not just a measure of it, but the greatness of it.” (15:10)
• Call to Greater Vision:
  • “How about us meditating on seeing lame people walking? … When you meditate, the impossibilities become possible.” (16:10)
  • If you think you can’t have something, you’re right—unless you change your thinking through the Word.

5. Biblical Example: Isaac & the Pattern of Meditation (16:30–18:50)

• Genesis 24:63 (Amplified): Isaac goes out to meditate in the evening—this habit preceded his supernatural harvest.
  • “He was stretching himself to see what God sees.” (17:30)
  • Jesus Himself only did what He saw the Father do—a result of spiritual enlargement.

6. Breadth of Mind: Solomon’s Limitless Thinking (18:50–28:00)

• 1 Kings 4:29 (Amplified):
  • “God gave Solomon exceptionally much wisdom and understanding… and breadth of mind like the sand of the seashore.” (19:15)
  • Quote: “His mind had no limits. That was the reason God was able to take him further—God enabled him to have the ‘why not’ thought.” (19:50)
• Verse Application: Breadth of mind came from God through meditation, breaking the limits of small thinking.
• Practical Impact: Nancy urges listeners, “Do your employer a favor and take the ceiling off your life,” emphasizing how small thinking restricts not just individuals but those around them, including employers or leaders.

7. The Wealth of Solomon: Breaking the Mental Lid (28:00–34:45)

• 2 Chronicles 9: Nancy details Solomon’s annual accumulation of gold and royal wealth, articulating its scale with modern calculations (1,950,000 pounds of gold over his reign) to challenge listeners’ “choke point.”
• Quote: “You know why we go ‘whoo’? Smallness of mind. That’s why I’m bringing bigger, to get this choke point off us.” (30:55)
  • Silver became as common as stones—Solomon’s wisdom brought abundance.
• Key Principle: The reason Solomon could receive so much was not wealth making him wise, but wisdom, through meditation, making him wealthy.

8. Application: Going Beyond Natural Limits (34:45–39:30)

• Encouragement:
  • If God could produce this level of success in Solomon, how much more can we access spiritually?
  • “We need to read these things to enlarge us and say we are settling for far too less. How come? Thinking small. How do we enlarge that thinking? Meditating. Meditating. Meditating. Meditating.” (38:05)
  • God’s examples in the Word are not just illustrations—they are invitations.

9. Abraham's Focused Attention & Enlarged Spirit (39:30–43:00)

• Romans 4:19: Abraham “considered not” his own body—he had disciplined attention.
• Key Point:
  • “God’s not telling you, ‘Go discipline your thought life’—He’s saying, ‘Go meditate on My Word.’ Meditating on the Word is what disciplines the thought life… is what enlarges you.” (41:30)
  • Story of the madman of Gadara illustrates the spirit’s capacity: if a man can contain 2,000 demons, how much of God can a human spirit contain? Meditation is how we access that capacity.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Holy Spirit-Led Meditation:
  “He knows the prescription of what your life needs best.” (01:40, Nancy Dufresne)

• On Consistent Meditation:
  “He would give me fresh [Word] to meditate on. And I wrote all of those down… they got me through that season of testing.” (05:05, Nancy)

• On Double-mindedness:
  “You have to say the same thing to yourself that you’re saying to other people about the word.” (07:30, Nancy)

• On the Discipline of Attention:
  “Faith people are people who have a disciplined attention. You can’t have strong faith and a loose line of attention.” (10:35, Nancy)

• On Enlarging the Heart:
  “Meditation enlarges your heart. It enlarges your spirit… The Word will enlarge your capacity to believe and lay hold of more.” (15:10, Nancy)

• On Limitless Thinking:
  “God gave Solomon… breadth of mind. What’s this mean? His mind didn’t shut it down. His mind had no limits.” (19:50, Nancy)

• On the Principle of Abundance:
  “You know why we go ‘whoo’? Smallness of mind. That’s why I’m bringing bigger, to get this choke point off us.” (30:55, Nancy)

• On Spiritual Capacity:
  “If a man’s spirit can hold 2,000 demons, how much of God… can a man’s spirit contain? Meditation is how we get through.” (42:20, Nancy)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:20 — Overview of Joshua 1:8 and role of meditation
• 01:40 — Holy Spirit’s personalized guidance in meditation
• 03:45 — Holding onto the Word “like a life ring”
• 07:30 — Addressing double-mindedness
• 10:35 — The discipline of attention and faith
• 13:40 — Illustration: Enlarging the hand of faith
• 16:10 — Challenge to meditate on miracles and the impossible
• 19:15 — Breadth of mind and Solomon’s wisdom
• 28:00 — Calculating Solomon’s wealth to break “smallness of mind”
• 30:55 — Reflection on reactions to abundance
• 38:05 — Meditation as the way to enlarge thinking
• 41:30 — Meditating, not striving, expands spiritual capacity
• 42:20 — The spiritual lesson behind the madman of Gadara

Conclusion: Keys to Sharing in Jesus' Success

• Success in Christ is available but requires:

  • Meditating daily, with Holy Spirit’s direction
  • Aligning confessions and inner dialogue
  • Guarding and disciplining attention
  • Letting the Word enlarge vision and capacity
  • Actively breaking mental limits on what God can do

• Action Step:
  “Meditating on the Word is how we get through.” (42:20)
  Listeners are encouraged to spend time daily letting God guide their meditation, expecting their capacity—and thus their experience of Jesus’ success—to grow continually.

For more teachings and resources, visit dufresneministries.org.