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Dufresne Ministries Podcast
The Table Of Compromise | Stephen Dufresne | Paducah, Kentucky | JTH Crusades 2025 | Wednesday AM
00:41:09
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Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message. Well, you guys have been hearing the Word all week, getting filled up, people getting healed. How about last night? Was that great to see? People getting healed. So Jesus the Healer crusade. You think someone should get healed? We don't want to just talk about it. We got to do it right. Amen. So yesterday, or excuse me, the day before, we were talking about resisting. Get you into what? Receiving. Today I want to minister ON Compromise. Compromise. Ms. Chelsea is always saying. What's the title of your sermon? It's the Table of Compromise. That's what we're going to minister on today, the Table of Compromise. She always bugging me. What do you want to call it? I don't know. You're a teacher. Come up with something. So I've been very diligent to try to come up. I've been doing pretty good, haven't I? Excellent. Morgan's the one that's behind now. She don't come up with nothing. She goes, I don't know. So one thing I was. I like to watch movies. Y' all like to watch movies. And I was watching a war movie. And they were. This was against two nations that were fighting, and one was losing pretty bad. And they wanted to come to a place of agreement, because when you're losing, you gotta give up something. That's usually how it goes, right? And they got to come to a table, and it's called the Table of Compromise. And at the table, you got to give up something to get something. Right. Okay. So he said, basically, I'm watching this movie in this country is like, look, you don't have any bargaining chips. You're losing right now. So what we're going to do, we're just going to go ahead and take everything else that we want from you, and we're going to leave you with whatever we want to leave you with. And this is called compromise. I want you all guys to go to Acts 16:16. And you should come across Paul and silas here. Acts 16:16. I'm gonna go ahead and start reading now. It happened as we went to pray as a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit. Spirit met us, who brought her master much profit by fortune telling. This girl followed Paul and us and cried out, saying, these are the most. And she goes on. And it says on 18 that she did this for how many? How many? Many days. Many days. But Paul greatly. What? Mine says, annoyed. So we can see that they Knew if they. They knew what's going on here because they knew this girl is bringing profit to her masters. And they knew if we cast the devil out of her, we gonna have to go, you know, they gonna mess with us. So they knew that when they coming up to this, they can either let this girl continue to annoy them and compromise, or they can cast the devil out. But they know the circumstance may be worse. So it says that Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the what do you see that spirit? It's a spirit. Sickness is a spirit. I command you in the name of Jesus to come out of her. And it came out in that very hour. And then it says that the people got so upset. Think about that. They got so upset that they threw them in prison. Let's go down. 22. And the multitude rose up against them and magistrates and tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. Because this man decided, I'm not going to compromise my ministry with this girl and let her continue to roll over us consistently. So he had to make up his mind, I'm not willing to give up some things. And she's been annoying us. So therefore he's being brought to the table. I want to say this. That sickness brings you to a table and at the table. How many of y' all had brothers and sisters that when something happened, they would twist your arm until you said something? Is that true? I do it to my kids. I said, tell me you love me. And I twist their arm behind their back and I have to put enough effort, enough pain to get them to do what I want them to do. Have y' all ever been in that place? My wife tries to get me to compromise all the time. She always trying to bring me to the table. Course me give in. But sickness brings you to a table and it's done through consistent annoyance of pain. Y' all ever have them little things that just bother you, but it's not worth really fighting because it's not really that bad, but it's just enough to be an annoyance and you just live with it. Well, you make a precedence when you come to the table and give a little bit, you know what's going to happen next time you come to the table? You're going to give what a little more and then you're going to come again and he's going to get you to the table by paying hurt. Frustration brings you back to the table and he goes, hey, if you just let this sit, I won't bother you for a little Bit. And you go, I can make that deal. I can make that deal. But he says, look, you have to come to the table and say, no deal. No deal. So that means when we're brought to the table of sickness, disease, I don't care what's going on in your body, what's going on. You can't make a deal with that. Say, I'm not giving up anything. Because you have to make a precedence of what's going to happen in your life. Amen. So it says here that they ripped off their clothes. You want to make someone come to the table, you rip their clothes off and they butt naked. I mean, the whole town's watching this thing. That'll bring you down to a level where you feel humiliated, right? They're at the table and the multitudes rose up against them, and they had laid many stripes on them and threw them in prison and commanded jailer to keep them secretly having received such a charge, put them in the. He put them in the back and put them in shackles, naked all the way in the back because they refuse to compromise. And this is where most of us cut off when they say, we gonna strip your clothes off. Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Let's put the devil back. Let's put the back in the girl. Come on, let's put her back. Because there comes a time when the devil wants you to compromise everything you got. And so you can't give that up. Am I preaching all right today? So it says here that they fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praising and singing hymns to God. And the prisoners were listening. And suddenly there was a great earthquake that the foundation. And we know the rest of the story, because they refused. When they were brought to a table to give up something, they refused to do it. And they consistently stood at the table and said, I'm not giving you nothing. This girl was a real annoyance. That they knew if they fought back, they had some trouble. But it doesn't matter what it looks like, it may get worse. But that doesn't mean that you compromise. Jesus said, I have come that you may have life and have it what more abundantly. And if you come to the table and give up something, you. You've given the devil a foot into your life. There's been days where I was dealing with something physically, and I've been to the point where it was so painful that I thought, if I had to deal with this every day of my life, I don't want to live another month right now, have we all been at some point where something like that. And I thought to myself, I would do anything to be out of this pain. There's no amount of money I could give to get out of this. I'd give everything I have because of that pain. But I realize if I continue that thinking, where will that end me up? So that means I got to defy it and say, I refuse to give in to this even a little bit, and I can see myself completely healed. Defy it. You have to continuously defy the table. When you brought to it, you say, I refuse to make any deal. Twist your arm, your back hurts, your stomach hurts. No deal. You got migraines, no deal. I'm not giving up. If you just go lay down for a little bit, you'll feel better, right? That's what he tells you. No deal. Because that's giving in. Amen. So we know that health is one of the greatest things that we can have in our life. And I refuse to be at the table where I have to give something up to get a little relief. Because we're all looking for relief, right? We had situation and when my dad died, there was a lot of. There's lawsuits and things and lawyers show up. Right? I mean, you're doing all these things. And one of the things I noticed is when you get in those environments, everyone wants you to compromise. They don't want to compromise, but they want you to do it. There was people that showed up that we had never known in our life that wanted a piece of something, never saw them before in our lives, and they wanted us, not them, to give up something. And I realized if you keep giving in to these people, there's not going to be just one more, but two more and three more and four more. Because I just want to be done with that. I don't want to mess with it. So I'm just going to give it all away. Well, that doesn't make a standard for you. There's got to be a standard in your life that you're not a pushover, that you don't just give up when you feel sick. Well, I'm just not going to mess with it. You can't compromise the word of God. You can't give up on what God's told you belongs to you. Amen. Let's go to Matthew 4:1, give you some examples here. And we know that this is Jesus being tempted. And Jesus was led up by the spirit to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights afterward he was hangry. And you know when people get hangry, it's a little different. And you willing to compromise some things for a little snack. A snack. Cause the snack make you feel a little bit better, it take that edge off, doesn't it? Make you feel a little bit better. But let's put ourselves in Jesus shoes. Being in the wilderness, no showers, no good bed, none of that. And it's being tempted all at the same time. If I can get you in discomfort, I can make a deal with you. You see that? If I can get you uncomfortable, I can make a deal with, I gotta twist your arm a little bit. My wife tries to do that to me all the time, tries to make me feel uncomfortable. So she can make a deal with me. She's a good wife. So we know that Jesus came up to this place where he's being tempted and he's in an environment that isn't sustainable to make where you're happy, you don't feel like making a solid decision. He's not in a good place. So when he was tempted and he says, Satan says, if you are the son of God, I command those stones to become bread. He's at the table and he could turn those stones into bread and have a little something to eat. But what would he give up in his future if he did that? Because he's being pushed by Satan, therefore controlled. So if I can push you to a place and get you to do what I tell you, I've got you, I control you now. But he said, but he answered and said, it is written that man shall not live by the bread. And so he's going up to this table and saying, I refuse to make any deal with you. And then it says, and then the devil took him up to the high city and set his principle atop the temple and said to him, if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written using his own words. And he could have all the angels deal with you and you'll be fine and you can do all this stuff. And then Jesus said, it is written again that you shall not tempt the Lord your God. And again you see that again. The devil took him up to exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, all these things I will give you if you fall down and worship me. Let's think about the environment he's in. Sounds pretty tempting, right? Sounds good. And Jesus said again with you, Satan, for it is written, you shall not Worship the glory of your life. And then he goes. Then the devil left him. And behold, they came and ministered to him. So we see now when you're taken to a place where the devil wants you to compromise, you cannot give them an inch. You can't give sickness, disease, any place in your life. So when I've gotten up in the morning and I knew physically I'm going to have a fight on my hands, have you guys woken up and instantly your body's hurting, your head hurts. And if I just don't believe today, if I just don't. If I give into it, if I just give a little bit, then I'll just not have to deal with it. What's going to happen next time something else comes up? So consistent resisting, like I told you, gets you into receiving. And there is a table that the devil brings us all to compromise, Compromise your finances, compromise your marriage, compromise your health. And he brings you to these places because if I can get you to do it a little bit, then I can get you to do it all the time. Amen. We had a situation with a land person that was in our general place. And we had all these things for our church. We had septic systems, we had driveways, we had gates. We had all these things. Well, they decided to show up and they believed that everything we had was shared. Yeah, shared. And they assumed that we were going to share the things that we built. Think about that. I mean, it didn't even cross their mind that maybe this doesn't belong to you. I didn't see you here digging it out. I didn't see you doing that. And they came to us and said, we're going to use your septic system. How about that? They said, we're going to put a gate through our property and make an easement through your property so we can drive over. Oh, really? And then we're going to do all these things on your property when we have events. We're going to park on your property. Yeah. Isn't that crazy? Now let's take this to healing, though. You see how you guys are like, man, that's crazy. So they continuously. And to us, this doesn't make any sense. They went so far in having the city try to make us force us giving up something. Well, what if I gave them one thing? What if I said, you know what? Okay, since you're bothering me, since you're bothering me, we'll let you use this. Do you think they're going to ask for something else? That's right. So what should I give them? Nothing. Should I give them the driveway, parking spaces, septic system? Will it get better? Don't give them nothing. Eight years later, couple weeks ago, guess what they're back asking for? They want us to pay for a stoplight. That's quarter of a million dollars. Well, the city wants you to pay for a stoplight. I don't need a stoplight. What do I need that for? I've been brought to the table. What should I do? No deal. Pound sand, kick rocks, make your own light, put your own septic system in. Get out of my life. I never asked you for nothing. We're a poor church. You give us something. Give him nothing. I told somebody, I said, get in the driver's seat. Stop being in the passenger seat. Who's driving the car, you or the devil? Well, if he'll just leave me alone, I'll let him drive for a little bit. He gonna drive your whole life. Don't give him nothing. Don't give him nothing. He twists your arm, what do you give him? Nothing. You feel like you're going to die, what do you give him? Your head hurts, what do you give him? Your legs hurt? What do you give him? Nothing. Don't give him nothing. Because he's going to take something else once you give it to him. Amen. Am I doing okay today? God always expects his people to live free. So let's go to First Kings 11:1. First Kings, 11:1. Now, I'm just putting a disclaimer. Just talking about women. I'm not going to. I'm not here to talk about women. I'm just going by the story. Just follow the book with me. I love women. I married one. I'm employed by one. It's a woman's kind of ministry. So don't. Don't be. I'm just telling you, we have a good time, so just chill. Don't be all worked up. Brother Stephen. Don't like women. I love women. Women are amazing. Women like snacks. We're carrying your. See, they try to reverse it. Don't compromise. Don't give in. Stand strong. Men don't give in. Flip the table over. No compromises. And my wife tries to persuade me with something. Oh, and look how quiet it got. All the memory, trying to tell me how great something would be. And I listen. I don't think that's for me. And then she tries again to come a different way. I don't know, woman. I don't know about this. Or like Pastor Johnny said, hey, lady. Hey, Lady, Lady, I love it. So here now we know Solomon. He was so filthy rich that he had so much money he didn't know what to do with it. He would burn cows by the truckloads as sacri. I mean, this man did all kinds of stuff. He was very wealthy because he put God first. God was at the height of his life. But then something happened. Women. And I'm just reading the book. Don't get mad at me. Look, his wife ain't Jebusicking on you. His wife said, you better shut your mouth. And it says, and 11. But King Solomon loved how many, many foreign women so well as the daughters of Pharaoh? The women of all these different hadithites and all this stuff for the nations of them. The Lord said, the children. And it goes down. And he said that he had verse three. Hundreds of wives, princesses, 300 concubines. This man's a busy man at nighttime. I mean, he's got a lot of responsibility. I'm reading the book. I'm reading the book. Get away from me. We went from PG PG 13. We're going to rate it up with an R here pretty soon. No, no. Said, no, you can't do that. 700 wives, princesses, 300 concubines. And his wives, what'd they do? He started laughing. He goes, man, these wives are messing him up. And the wives turned away his heart. For it was so when Solomon was old and that his wives turned his heart after. What other gods think about that? How'd they do that? Consistent, consistently at the table, compromising. He gave just a little bit. He stopped praising God and then he quit worshiping God. Then he quit praying, and then he quit confessing. And before long. Where's he at? He's away from God altogether because all these women. I'm not bashing women, I'm just reading a story here. He just gave a little bit more every day until he couldn't even recognize himself anymore. And so he said that his wives turned away his heart. For it was so when he had turned away his heart, his love from God. And then it says that he, on verse 7, and Solomon built a high place for the Moab and all this stuff. And then it says that so that the Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned from the Lord who appeared to him twice. So we can see how easy it is for this man to come up, that he had everything in his possessions, anything. God said, what do you want me to give you? I'll give it to you. Think about that and all that. A little chipping away at the table. One wife asked for a little bit and a little bit more and a little bit, for he couldn't even recognize himself anymore. How much have we given up? When the devil comes and we quit praising, we quit confessing, we quit doing these things, you've been compromised and didn't even realize it. But the good news is you can get it back. You can go back to the agreement table and tell Satan next time he shows up, not only am I not agreeing to go further down in sickness, I'm going to get everything back that you stole from me. And it comes through defying that thing and saying no. And the persistence comes continually. You continually say, no, I'm not giving into it. I refuse to give you any more room to move. I refuse to give you anything. Write this down. Harassing spirits will push you to a compromised life. Harassing spirits will push you to a compromised life. So we know. That when you're brought to the table, you have to refuse to give in. Amen. Let's go here to numbers 28, 20 and 8. I'm almost done. I think y' all are getting what I'm saying here. And it says here that Moses, he took the rod. You and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. And then he tells them to do what? Speak to the rock before their eyes. And it will what? It will give you water. Thus you shall bring the water for them out of the rock and drink, and everyone's going to have water, is what he's saying. So then it says that Moses gathered the assembly together, formed the rock, and said to them, here, now, let's go down to 11. Then Moses lifted up his hands and struck the rock twice. With what? His rod. Is that what God told him to do? What did he tell him to do? Speak to it. Because he refused. He gave in to doubt and unbelief because he believed this. I have to have this rod because I don't have enough faith to speak to it. And he compromised his life going into where he was supposed to go. So he says here. But what happened then? The congregation and all their livestock, they drank. Then the Lord spoke to Moses. Because you did not believe me. Because you did not believe me. He said, you're not going in because you refused to do what I told you to do. So in the face of being at the table, this man refused to leave his staff at home. So when he came up to it, he had to use that rod. And that we cannot compromise when God tells Us to do something, you have to do it. Okay? So it's so important. Are y' all being helped? So it's so important that whatever God tells you to do, we do it. So when we brought to the table. I know I'm saying it a lot, but hear me out. When you brought to the table, don't give them nothing, okay? Stomach problems. Don't give him nothing. Pastor Cody tells the story that he had to fill himself up with the Word and he was brought to the table. Is that right? It could have got worse if he gave in to it, but he refused to give in to what the devil was trying to do to him. Amen. Deuteronomy 7:1. And then we'll. We'll close it down. And it says, when the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess and has cast out many of the nations before you. The Hittites. I'm not going to go through all that stuff. These names are not American names. So I'm just going to keep going. The seven nations. Nations greater and mightier than you. Then the Lord of your God delivers them over you. You shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them, nor show them mercy to them, nor shall you make marriages to them. You shall not give their daughters, their sons. He's telling them, I'm not going through all this. He's telling them, don't make any deals with these people, because once you make a deal, they're going to slither their way back in and take what they had before you came in. So what you need to do is decimate the whole thing. No deal. Don't mess with none of them. Get rid of the babies, the old people, everybody. Get rid of everything. So I'm telling you, it doesn't matter what it looks like, it doesn't matter what it feels like. Don't take none of. Doesn't matter what it feels like or looks like or what you're going to think you're projected to do or not to do. Don't give up nothing. Only give what the Bible tells you to do. If he said it's yours, you claim it for yourself. Don't get away from the table. It's your table. It belongs to you. So it's so important that you never give up nothing. Because sickness is always wanting to take a little bit more, a little bit more. But it takes somebody with grit. You gotta have a little bit of gnashing of teeth. You've got to grind your teeth against this Stuff, you can't give into it. Am I helping y'? All? So this week when I'm going home here in a couple days, my mom's leaving too. We're all leaving. What are you going to be left with? You're all pumped up now, which is good. That's what we're here for. But we're teaching you to live on your own. I'm not giving you a fish, I'm teaching you how to fish. Because compromise will always show back up to take a little bit more. You ever made a deal with a home, right? Let's say you're selling a home and the people buying it, what do they want to do? They want to compromise with you and say, you know what, you don't need that much money. But I'm going to give you this much money. And a lot of times we meet in a place, maybe, maybe we made the price a little higher to negotiate. But I thought to myself one day what I'm going to do when they come in and offer me a lower price. I'm going to go up my price beyond what I was even asking. Yeah, If I'm asking 2 million now, it's 2 million 100. So what should they do? Maybe stop? No, it's 2.1 now. I'm driving, right? It's my house, it doesn't belong to you. But if I go, oh, you know what? I got to get rid of it. I don't want it in my life. I don't know if I'll get a better deal than this. This may be the best deal we ever get. Don't compromise. Something Pastor Johnny would say, right? Yeah, that's it, just keep rolling up. So it's important that we take those life lessons where the world wants you to compromise everything, right? How about your yard? You ever had to dispute with the yard? And don't even get me started. I'm just saying, fences, all that stuff. And I thought, boy, if I give them a little bit, they just gonna take the whole stinkin thing. If I crack the door open, they gonna swing it wide open. Just take everything. I ain't giving up my septic tank. I'm not giving up the driveway, the parking lot. They can go pound sand, go build your own. And it's mind boggling what they're trying to tell me, but I refuse to give into it. Whatever you do in your life, remember you're in the driver's seat, you're driving. Doesn't matter what it looks like, you control it. Your body it's your body. It's your body. I don't care what it looks like, what it feels like. So today we've learned when those times are dark in the middle of the night, when sickness you're up, you have a headache, it's dark in the house. He wants you to compromise. Why don't you just go lay down? You'll feel better. You sure about that? Because what happens in a week Now I gotta lay down and lay sideways, and the next time I gotta lay down and prop up my foot. And the next time after that, I gotta have a hot water pad underneath my back. So when do I stop giving up something? If I gotta go stand in the front yard in my underwear, that's what I'll do. Because I refuse to give up anything. I'm talking real life here, y'. All. You guys know what I'm talking about. How many times have your kids pushed you to compromise something and finally you gave in because you don't want to deal with it? It's easier not to deal with it, the bad behavior. I'll let you just, you know what. And make an excuse for it. I'm not gonna talk about parenting. I'm just giving examples here. How about your dogs? Your dog's a terrible rascal. He's just a terrible animal. And every time you stop that. Stop that. And they don't stop, they get worse. You gotta kick that dog in the face. Back him up a little bit. Everyone goes, whoa, whoa. Who's in charge? How many little dogs we seen running the house? And the owners. It's the guest. The dogs run in the house. Is it true when Satan shows up, you can't even defeat a dog? Pop that dog in the face. Don't give in. My sons, they always coming. They want to buy some stupid thing on the Internet, some kind of avatar outfit. You know, it's like you. Yeah, these people laughing, they know what I'm talking about. They playing Fortnite, and they gotta have Spider man in the video game. I mean, it's like 20 bucks for something you never own. You just look at it. I may do the same thing sometimes, but I don't know. You do the same thing. Y' all do the same thing anyways. And, yeah, he knows what I'm talking about. And they come and tell me how good of a deal it is. This is a great deal. So what should I tell them? Oh, yeah, let's waste your money on something you can't even see on data or something. And so here they Come. And I say, you know what? I'm not going to let you waste your money on something that stupid. Get out of my face. And they tried to continuously persuade me, why, this is a good deal. And Satan does the same thing. This is a good deal for you. When Jesus had that stone, that bread sure looked like a good deal because he was put into a place where he was pulled down. And if I can lower you, I can make a better deal with you. We know that people that are in financial struggle, that's the time to make a deal with them because they hurt. Isn't that true? That's true. So we gotta. But we don't have to be there. We're always on top. Think about that spiritually, the bi. From the Bible standpoint, we always on top. We're always the card holders. We hold all the cards all the time. I need a little something. Tony, they're falling asleep. Yeah. So today. Have you been helped today? This is my last day. I'll be here tomorrow as well. Not preaching. I'll just be observing. But I want you to leave with today. You're in control of your life. Don't let sickness and disease push you around no more. Defy it all the time. Remember, it says that Paul and Silas, that they were consistently harassed. Consistently harassed. They could have dealt with the first day, but they put up with it for a little bit and they had enough. You have the authority to put Satan in his place. You have authority over sickness and disease. It belongs to you. You are in the driver's seat. If you declare that you are and believe that you are, you are in control of your life, not sickness and disease. Sickness and disease tells you what you can do in your life. It tells you you can go to Disneyland. It tells you you can't go to Disneyland. It says you can work two hours and not eight hours. It says you can spend time with your wife or not spend time with your wife. It says you can go to a family reunion or not go to a family reunion. It controls your life. Don't let sickness control your life. Have I helped you today? Praise God. Praise God. Thank you guys for having me. What a blessing. I know you guys got something. And we'll see you next time. Morgan. We trust you've enjoyed this message. Visit us@DefrainMinistries.org to learn of our upcoming meetings, share your testimony, become a partner or visit our online store. This program has been made possible by the friends and partners of Dufresne Ministries.