Podcast Summary: Dufresne Ministries Podcast Episode Title: The Sin Of Worry | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus The Healer Broadcast
Date: June 20, 2019
Host/Speaker: Pastor Nancy Dufresne

Overview

In this powerful episode, Pastor Nancy Dufresne explores a frequently overlooked spiritual issue: the sin of worry. Drawing from personal experience, scripture, and practical analogies, Pastor Nancy challenges listeners to recognize worry as not just an emotional habit but as a form of disobedience to God’s instruction. She offers biblically grounded strategies for overcoming troubling thoughts and cultivating a disciplined, peaceful mind.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. A Divine Encounter and the Root of Unreceived Blessings

• [00:16] Nancy recounts a profound ministry experience in Russia where a fellow minister observed Jesus weeping. The message: “This is the reason my people are not receiving what’s been provided for them.”
  • The sermon that night was on “the sin of worry.”
  • Notable quote:
    • “Jesus was weeping. … This is the reason my people are not receiving what’s been provided for them.” (Nancy Dufresne, 00:40)

2. Worry as Disobedience (Sin)

• [02:05] Nancy explains that worry is a sin because Jesus explicitly instructs not to do it (Matthew 6:25).
  • “People never threw worry into the category of sin. But worry is a sin… Anything the Word says not to do, and we do, it’s called disobedience. What is disobedience? A sin.” (Nancy Dufresne, 02:35)

3. The Mind: Satan’s Battleground

• [03:14] Extensive teaching about the mind as the primary arena for spiritual attacks:
  • Christians' spirits are protected, but the devil can attack the mind and, under certain circumstances, the body.
  • Allowing thoughts to linger or entertaining them gives the enemy a foothold.
• Analogy:
  • “The mind is Satan’s battleground. You listen to him long enough, he’ll get a grip on your mind and your mind will feel like it’s not your mind.” (Nancy Dufresne, 05:18)

4. Taking and Rejecting Thoughts

• [07:15] Not every thought must be accepted; troubling thoughts should be resisted, not rehearsed.

  • “Thoughts are offered. You don’t have to take them just because they’re offered. How do you take them? By turning them over in your mind… by speaking those thoughts.” (Nancy Dufresne, 08:02)
  • “To be spiritual, you have to guard your thought life and not be permissive towards troubling thoughts.” (Nancy Dufresne, 08:43)

• Illustrative Analogy:

  • Wrong thoughts are like someone slipping cigarettes into your pocket and then accusing you of being a smoker—just because it's placed there doesn’t mean it belongs to you. (09:12-10:20)

5. Resisting the Enemy’s Thoughts

• [11:00] When thoughts cause fear, anxiety, or rob peace, recognize their source and actively reject them.
  • “Any thought that troubles you, puts you down, makes you afraid, worries you… Not only are you authorized, you’re instructed to resist it.” (Nancy Dufresne, 11:35)
  • “The Word says resist the devil, doesn’t say sit and listen to him and go to bed with him.” (Nancy Dufresne, 12:11)

6. Jesus’ Instruction: Take No Thought

• [13:12] Pastor Nancy emphasizes Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 6:25:
  • Taking thoughts of worry is a choice; resisting them is a spiritual responsibility.
  • “Don’t open the door. Even when the devil presents and knocks on your head, don’t open the door to it.” (Nancy Dufresne, 16:38)
  • Keeping the door (mind) closed to worrisome thoughts prevents spiritual trouble.

7. Practicing Peace as Spiritual Strategy

• [14:22] Nancy shares God’s instruction to her before her husband’s passing:
  • “All I want you doing is practicing peace… Pay attention to every thought, and every thought that doesn’t lead to peace, kick it out, forbid it.” (Nancy Dufresne, 14:55)
  • Building daily habits to attend to every thought is vital for spiritual health.

8. Worry in Daily Life – The Big and Small

• [19:05] Jesus addressed worry in every aspect of life, down to food and clothing, showing that if God wants us not to worry about the least, neither should we worry about the greatest.
  • “If he doesn’t want you worrying about if you’re going to have your proper soda, he certainly doesn’t want you to worry about if you’re going to have your mortgage.” (Nancy Dufresne, 19:50)

9. Undisciplined Thought Life and Its Effects

• [22:18] An undisciplined mind leads to imagined offenses, conflicts, and turmoil before anything even happens.
  • “You arrive, you’re already mad and nobody said a word to you because you have already fantasized and built up a whole scenario. Why? Your mind is undisciplined.” (Nancy Dufresne, 22:55)
  • Disciplined thought life is compared to attentive parenting—constant, detailed attention is required.

10. Worry Is the Drain to Your Blessing

• [25:00] Worry undoes faith, prayer, and even giving:
  • “Because of the sin of worry, people aren’t supplied for financially… Worry is an open drain… Everything that’s poured in will drain right out.” (Nancy Dufresne, 25:14)
  • Worry is a manifestation of fear, even if it does not feel dramatic.

11. The Practical Solution: Responding to Troubling Thoughts

• [26:17]
  • “What’s the first thing you do when troubling thoughts come? Answer them. Say, ‘No, you don’t. That’s not my thought.’ And then you say what the Word says.” (Nancy Dufresne)
  • Worry-filled prayers are not effective—truly relinquish cares to God.
  • “Worried prayers don’t work… cast your care over on Him… and let Him fix it.” (Nancy Dufresne, 27:10)
  • Repeatedly, if worries return, return them back to God: “Nope. Not taking that. I left that with Him. Devil, I’m not taking it back. He’s working on it.” (Nancy Dufresne, 27:32)

12. Faith Enables Hearing God

• [27:38]
  • Worry blocks spiritual perception and God’s guidance.
  • “You gotta be in faith to hear, not worry… Faith hears, not fear. Fear doesn’t hear.” (Nancy Dufresne)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “Worry is an expression of fear. It is a manifestation of fear. Understand that even if you didn’t have a fearful feeling with that thought, you don’t have to have a fearful feeling.” (26:07)
• “If you don’t do what He says, He can’t keep you from being troubled… He doesn’t have Plan B for you, because Plan A works.” (20:18)
• “You’re not the devil’s victim, that he can punch on anytime he wants… You learn to be skillful in the face of his presence and be untroubled by it.” (16:10)
• “Have you ever noticed when you’re worrying, you can’t hear God?” (27:44)

Important Timestamps

• [00:16] – Russia ministry story and Jesus’ revelation about worry
• [02:05] – Worry defined as sin; scripture reference
• [03:14]-[06:30] – Teaching on the mind as Satan’s battleground; spiritual and physical attacks
• [07:15]-[10:20] – How thoughts are offered and received; cigarette analogy
• [13:12] – Jesus' command to "take no thought;" resisting troubling thoughts actively
• [14:22]-[15:45] – Nancy's personal instruction from God: “Practicing peace”
• [19:05] – Emphasis on the importance (and unimportance) of worrying about small things
• [22:18] – The consequences of an undisciplined mind
• [25:00] – Worry and financial provision; analogy of drain and bathtub
• [26:17] – Practical instruction: how to respond when worries return
• [27:38] – Faith versus worry in hearing God

Tone and Language

Pastor Nancy’s delivery is practical, authoritative, and encouraging, blending scripture, real-life stories, and relatable analogies. Her tone is firm yet compassionate, emphasizing believers' authority over their minds and the empowering possibilities of disciplined spiritual living.

This episode is a direct, biblically grounded call to live free from the sin of worry—equipping listeners with both the spiritual and practical tools to maintain a peaceful, faith-filled mind.