Podcast Summary

Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Episode: The Prosperous Soul | LIVE w/Nancy Dufresne
Date: February 4, 2022
Main Speaker: Nancy Dufresne

Episode Overview

In this episode, Pastor Nancy Dufresne delivers an in-depth teaching on the importance of the “prosperous soul” and how it directly influences a believer’s overall prosperity and health. Drawing from key scriptures, she discusses the role of the mind in spiritual development, clarifying how renewing the mind—what she calls “the prospering of the soul”—is foundational to living in the fullness of God’s blessings.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Mind—A Divine Inheritance (00:09)

Why the mind matters:
Nancy emphasizes that a sound mind is as much a part of our inheritance in Christ as healing, prosperity, or peace.
- Quote:
  
  “Don't leave out a sound mind. A sound mind belongs to us because it says in 2 Timothy 1:7 that God has not given unto us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” (00:18)
Definition of a sound mind:
Drawing from the Amplified Bible, Nancy describes a sound mind as “a calm mind, a well-balanced mind, a disciplined mind, and a self-controlled mind.”

2. The Process of Renewing the Mind (01:30)

God’s methodology:
Nancy references Romans 12:2—

“Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (01:45)
- It’s more than confessing Scripture; it requires applying and living out God’s Word daily.
- Quote:
  
  “It's not just confessing the Word that renews the mind, it's living the word, becoming a doer.” (02:05)

3. Scriptural Terminology for the Same Process (02:25)

Paul, James, John, and David:
Different apostles describe the transformation of the inner life in various terms:
- Paul: “Renewing the mind”
- James: “Saving the soul” (James 1:21)
- John: “Prospering the soul” (3 John 1:2)
- David: “Restoring the soul” (Psalm 23:3)
Unifying thread:
All concepts point to the ongoing, participatory process of aligning one’s thoughts with God’s Word.

4. The Link Between Soul Prosperity, Health, and Finances (04:15)

Nancy expounds on 3 John 1:2:

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
- Our experience of prosperity and health often mirrors the state of our soul.
- Many focus on pursuing health or financial breakthrough directly, but Nancy urges listeners to prioritize the renewing of the mind.
- Quote:
  
  “As the mind is renewed, then we begin to see with greater clarity how to cooperate with God in prospering financially and in our health prospering.” (05:12)

5. Engrafted Word—Deeper than Confession (06:25)

The word must become “engrafted”
It’s not knowledge alone but integrating the Word so deeply that it shapes thought and conduct.
- Quote:
  
  “It's not just the word you're acquainted with, it's the engrafted word. That word has to be rooted... joined to your thought life, so that it will manifest and show up in the daily life of the believer.” (06:35)
Confession is important, but practical, lived-out obedience is where real transformation happens.

6. Practical Wisdom from Kenneth Hagin (07:37)

Nancy shares advice from Kenneth Hagin:
- In challenges, always ask, “What does the Word say about this?”
- This train of thinking demonstrates the “engrafted Word”—God’s thoughts directing daily life.
- Quote:
  
  “When the circumstances of life show up, the first thing to do is ask yourself, what does the Word say about this? Well, that's having the Word engrafted.” (07:42)

7. Real-Life Application—Marriage and Mind Renewal (08:11)

Nancy recounts a personal story:
- She and her husband focused on renewing their own minds rather than “working” on the marriage specifically.
- Right thinking, stemming from mind renewal, positively influences all areas—including relationships.
- Quote:
  
  “No, I haven't worked on our marriage. I've worked on renewing my mind. Because when you renew your mind, then that's already going to help you address the marriage.” (08:50)
Mind renewal impacts every sphere: work, relationships, responsibilities.

8. The Scope of Biblical Emphasis on the Mind (10:15)

From Paul to David, scripture repeatedly emphasizes the centrality of the mind.
Believers are urged not to leave their thoughts undisciplined but continually bring them under the guidance of the Word.
Quote:

“We cannot leave the mind and just let it do anything it wants and go anywhere it wants. We have to discipline our mind to come in line with the Word of God.” (11:00)

Memorable Quotes

On the nature of a sound mind:

“Any other mind—a depressed mind, a worried mind, a fearful mind, a harassed mind—is not what God authored.” (00:58)
On applying the Word, not just knowing it:

“There’s a lot of people that know what the Word says… but it’s in the doing, it’s in living those things out in our day to day life where the action of renewing the mind takes place.” (01:55)
On the sequence of receiving blessings:

“Feeding on the Word does not make the blessings of God more ours. It just helps us to know how to cooperate with what He has already made ours.” (07:10)

Notable Segments with Timestamps

The inheritance of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7, Amplified): 00:18 - 01:00
Different scriptural terms for mind renewal: 02:25 - 03:30
Link between soul prosperity, health, and finances (3 John 1:2): 04:15 - 05:40
How the engrafted word works (James 1:21): 06:25 - 07:15
What to do when facing life’s circumstances (Kenneth Hagin’s advice): 07:37 - 08:03
Personal marriage example—mind renewal over “working on marriage”: 08:11 - 09:35
Scope of biblical teaching on mind renewal: 10:15 - 11:05

Conclusion

Nancy Dufresne calls listeners to shift focus from outward efforts for prosperity and health to the vital inward work of renewing the mind. She urges that, as believers cooperate with God’s Word in their thinking, they unlock practical blessings already made available through Christ. Her personal anecdotes, scriptural insights, and practical advice provide listeners with clear steps to nurture a truly prosperous soul, echoing a gentle but urgent biblical mandate to “renew your mind.”

For more teachings and upcoming events, visit dufresneministries.org.

Transcript

A (0:00)

Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message.

B (0:09)

One of the things that God has been having me to teach on is the mind. And you know why the mind is so important? Because every one of us got one. And we have to know what to do with it. And we have to, we have to realize and with all the blessings that belong to us in Christ, our inheritance in Christ, with our healing, with prosperity and joy and peace and victory and all these things that belong to us in Christ. Don't leave out a sound mind. A sound mind belongs to us because it says in 2nd Timothy chapter 1 and verse 7 that God has not given unto us the spirit of fear, but a power, love and a sound mind mind. And then the amplified says that a sound mind is a calm mind, a well balanced mind, a disciplined mind and a self controlled mind. And so that's the kind of mind that God authored for us. Any other mind, a depressed mind, a worried mind, a fearful mind, a harassed mind is not what God authored. And so by faith we have to lay hold of the kind of, the kind of mind that he authored for us. And so how do we have, how do we move into the kind of mind that he offered for us, a sound mind. How do we arrive at that? Well, we have to go over to Romans chapter 12 and verse 2 and we have to listen to what Paul said. And what Paul says, he said, be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. So the renewing of the mind basically is this, is that we take on God's way of thinking, that we let God's Word dominate and direct us and lead us in our thought life. And it's not just confessing the Word that renews the mind, it's living the word, becoming a doer. There's a lot of people that know what the Word says, there's a lot of people that can quote it, but it's in the doing, it's in living those things out in our day to day life where the action of renewing the mind takes place. That when we're doers of the word. So I appreciate what Paul said, his wording, he calls it renewing the mind. But I want you to listen to what James said in James chapter one. In verse 21, James wrote, and he was writing to Christians, he wasn't writing to, to sinners, he was writing to Christians. And he said this, Receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your souls. He wasn't talking about salvation of being born again. He's talking about something happening with your thought life. Why? Because your soul is made up of your mind, your will, and your emotions. And so he was telling these Christians, although they're born again, that their souls weren't saved. What was he saying? They need to renew their minds. So that's what he was talking about. Paul called it the renewing of the mind. James called it saving of the soul. And then I want you to see what John says in three John chapter, chapter one and verse two, John wrote this. He said, beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth. So here John calls it the prospering of the soul. So the renewing of the mind is what Paul calls it. Saving of the soul is what James calls it. That the soul prospering is what John calls it. Now, I want you. You can read with me. Over in Psalm chapter 23, and starting in verse one, David writes this psalm, King David. And he writes, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. And listen to this next phrase. He restoreth my soul. So what's he talking about? He's talking about what Paul was talking about, the renewing of the mind. So this is what David called the restoring of the soul. So it says that he shall restore my soul. God's going to restore our soul. But when God restores our soul, he does not do it apart from us. It's not like you go to bed at night with an unrenewed mind and you wake up the next morning with a renewed mind. That's. That's not God restoring our soul. God restores our soul. As we feed on the Word, as we take the thoughts of the Word and make them our thoughts, as we take the thoughts of the Word, and we let those thoughts govern us in our everyday life, Then what happens? God is able to restore our soul through His Word. So the Word of God has to have our participation, our cooperation, so that we can have our souls restored. Now I want to go back to what John said in 3 John 1:2. He said, Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth. So we see three things. Here we see the prospering that thou mayest prosper. So we see. This is. He's talking about financial prosperity, that we may prosper. The second thing he's talking about is health. And then the third thing he talks about is the renewing of the mind or the prospering of the soul. So he's saying this, that we would prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers. Or we could say it this way to the measure that our soul is prospering, that's the measure we'll enjoy prosperity and health many times. So much of the time people are trying to put their effort towards healing. Now listen, they're trying to put their effort towards getting well physically. And that's completely right then. Or they're trying to put their effort toward prospering financially. But notice, he said, even as a soul prospers, the work we need to do is to prosper the soul. What's that mean? Renew the mind? As the mind is renewed, then we began to see with greater clarity how to cooperate with God in prospering financially and in our health prospering. So many people just pursue health or pursue prosperity. So I say this, pursue the renewing of the mind. That's what brings us into further, further receiving of the prosperity that belongs to us and receiving further of the health that already belongs to us. And this is what so much of the time people are getting this misplaced. They're neglecting the renewing of the mind. And when we neglect the renewing of the mind, it's going to show up financially and it's going to show up in our health. And so if something is not as you wish it to be financially or with your health, start paying attention to your thought life. Start paying attention to the renewing of the mind and feeding that word into your thoughts. Now know this, that it's not just your spirit that needs to receive the Word. Your thought life needs the Word, your mind needs the word. Now we read here with James that he said, receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. It's not just the word you're acquainted with, it's the engrafted word. That word has to be rooted. That word has to be joined to your spirit, joined to your thought life, so that it will manifest and show up in the daily life of the believer. So he said, receive with meekness the engrafted word. It's not just enough to confess the Word that now, believe me, I believe in confession that is part of the faith life, but our confession, it can't stop. The Word can't stop with our confession. It has to Go on and show up in our actions. It has to show up in the way we conduct our daily life. You know, dad Hagin used to say to us, he would often preach on this and he would say, when the circumstances of life show up, the first thing to do is ask yourself, what does the Word say about this? Well, that's having the Word engrafted, that you're going to let the Word dominate and direct you in that, in your response in the face of that circumstance. And so I would dare to say that those who are if, are waiting for God to heal them, waiting for God to prosper them, or, or they're trying in their own effort to lay hold of these things. I would say become occupied with feeding on the Word, renewing your mind to bring it in agreement with what God's thoughts are. And when you start thinking like God, you move. The more you think like God, the more you receive what he's already made yours. The more we act in line with the word of God, then we move into a place of greater receiving. Listen, feeding on the Word does not make the blessings of God more ours. It just helps us to know how to cooperate with what he has already made ours. It helps us to see what he's made ours and how to cooperate with what he's made ours. So I encourage you focus on this great work of renewing the mind. I remember that one time my husband and I were watching an interview with a minister on television years ago, and the person that was interviewing him asked him, said, you know, have you had marriage problems or things you've had to work on in your marriage? And he said, yes. He said, over the years, my wife and I have had to work on our marriage. And I turned to my husband and I said, have we had to work on our marriage? And he said, I don't know that we've had to work on our marriage. I said, no, I haven't worked on our marriage. I've worked on renewing my mind. Because when you renew your mind, then that's already going to help you address the marriage. When you think right, you'll not just think right about your marriage. See, renewing the mind brings you into right thinking. So if you take the time to renew the mind, feed on the word, it won't just affect your marriage, it'll affect how you handle your work, it'll affect how you handle your boss, It'll affect every relationship, It'll affect how you handle every responsibility you have. So I would say this. As you focus on renewing your mind, bringing your thoughts in agreement with God. It's going to touch into every single arena. You won't have to isolate one arena and work on it. Just work on renewing your mind and it will affect every single arena. And so I tell you the wonderful thing about our marriage, because my husband and I were married almost 30 years before he went home to be with the Lord. And we had absolutely heaven in our home. We weren't fussing, we weren't fighting, we weren't bickering, we weren't trying to up one, we weren't trying to get our way over the other one. And the reason is, is because both of us were interested in renewing our mind and we were letting the Word govern us and dominate us and dominate in our relationship. So if you will just focus on renewing, renewing your mind. Again, I say this, don't focus on what your spouse is or is not doing. Just focus on you renewing your mind. And it will set the stage to help even the relationship between you and your spouse. So I tell you what. Notice how widespread it is throughout the Word, this instruction of renewing the mind. Paul addressed it, James addressed it, John addressed it, David addressed it. And so we see this, that we cannot leave the mind and just let it do anything it wants and go anywhere it wants. We have to discipline our mind to come in line with the word of God, have the thoughts of the Word. So I'm so glad that I got to spend some time with you tonight. I appreciate that you took the time to come and join me for this. This little time of instruction and teaching. And again, I remind you that we have our midweek service. We'd love to have you join us if you can, and we look forward to many more times together. Know that I love you, I appreciate you, and I look forward to the next time I'm with you. God bless you. Love you.