Episode Overview

Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Episode: The Work of Believing, Part One | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus the Healer Broadcast
Date: January 23, 2020
Speaker: Nancy Dufresne

This episode centers on the theme of the work of believing—how faith acts as a catalyst for miracles, how God’s power operates in cooperation with human response, and the practical spiritual diligence required to contend for the God-kind of faith. Nancy Dufresne shares scriptural insights, personal testimonies, and memorable teachings on becoming skillful in the flow of miracles and maintaining persistent faith.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. God’s Call for Miracles and Our Response

• God’s Initiative (00:08)

  • Nancy shares: “God said to me just a couple of weeks ago, he said it's time for miracles. And as I said on Tuesday night, it's always been time for miracles.”
  • Emphasis: God communicates what He’s doing, but waits to see how people will respond.

• Our Role in the Miraculous

  • Reference: Moses and the burning bush in Exodus 3 (03:10)
    • Moses had to “turn aside” from his daily routine to respond to God’s movement.
    • Quote: “God is waiting for people who are interested enough to know what he has to show.” (05:29)
    • Application: Attentiveness and willingness to step out of the ordinary are required to encounter the supernatural.
    • “Every day, miracles are coming to you or going past you… What determines whether they stop with you or go past you, [is] whether or not you turn aside to see.” (08:10, quoting Oral Roberts via Richard Roberts)

2. Gaining Skillfulness with the Power of God

• Miracles Require Participation (09:20)

  • Discussion of Blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10)
    • Bartimaeus’s loud, persistent call stopped Jesus, exemplifying that “God goes where faith puts Him.”
    • Quote: “If blind Bartimaeus would have been silent, Jesus would have kept walking by because it was blind Bartimaeus faith that put him there to stop... just for him.” (09:40)
    • Application: It’s not just a one-time call for miracles; it’s to be a lifestyle of expectancy and faith.

• Recognizing Everyday Miracles (12:10)

  • “Sometimes people think because it's not spectacular, it's not a miracle. If it's supernatural, it's a miracle.”
  • Example: Receiving an unexpected $10 is a miracle if it was “beyond your ability to produce.”

3. God Shows Himself Strong Where There Is Faith (16:10)

• Second Chronicles 16:9

  • “...the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth… to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”
  • Takeaway: God isn’t choosing in advance; He is looking for faith—“Where someone's believing, where someone is calling…”

• Motive and Attitude Matter

  • God responds not simply to physical presence, but to hungry, believing, engaged hearts.
  • Illustration: Jesus watching “how” people put money in the treasury, not just “what” (19:35)

4. Contending for the God-Kind of Faith (21:30)

• Jude 1:3-4

  • The early church had to earnestly contend for the original faith against wrong teachings.
  • “The devil hates faith, the God kind of faith. He wants you to have the wrong version of faith…”

• The Right Version of Faith

  • Mark 11:22—“Have the God kind of faith,” not just human or mental faith (22:55)
  • Warns against substituting mental assent for spiritual believing.

5. The Work of Believing (John 6:28-29, 23:00)

• Question from the Disciples: “What shall we do that we might work the works of God?”

  • Jesus’ Answer: “This is the work of God, that you believe…”
  • Believing is called a “work”—something to be maintained and guarded, not mere passivity.
  • “It's a work to keep believing what you believed in the service...[when] all kinds of pressure and all kinds of things to be felt.” (25:10)

• Faith in the Face of Opposition

  • Story: Jesus and disciples crossing the Sea (Mark 4:35)
    • Despite the storm, Jesus stayed at rest; the disciples abandoned faith when circumstances changed.
    • Memorable exchange:
      Peter: “Carest thou not that we perish?”
      Nancy: “Peter used to believe they were getting to the other side. He got wet and then no longer believes that he's getting to the other side. Now he says we're perishing. Okay. Drama. Okay. Drama. Right. Faith people have no room for drama.” (24:17)

• Maintaining Faith Despite Feelings (25:50)

  • “Don't change what you believe simply because you feel something... This is the work of faith. This is the work of believing.”

• Key conclusion:

  • It's not hard work if you’re full of the Word. “It's not hard unless you're empty.” (26:10)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “God goes where faith puts him.” (06:00)
• “What you don't have regard for, in its small form, God will not waste on ingratitude.” (12:50)
• “It matters how we attend, not just that we attend.” (18:45)
• “The devil can start something. But we say the finish.” (24:40)
• “Faith people have no room for drama.” (24:17)
• “It's not hard unless you're empty.” (26:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:08 - Introduction: It’s always time for miracles; God seeks our cooperation
• 03:10 - Moses’ encounter: Turning aside to see God’s movement
• 08:10 - Every day, miracles come or go; the importance of “turning aside”
• 09:20 - Blind Bartimaeus: How faith attracts the miraculous
• 12:10 - Recognizing everyday and “unspectacular” miracles
• 16:10 - God seeking to “show Himself strong” wherever there is faith
• 19:35 - Motive and attitude in spiritual engagement
• 21:30 - Contending for the original, God-kind of faith
• 22:55 - Avoiding mental faith; Mark 11:22
• 23:00 - The “work” of believing; John 6:28-29
• 24:17 - “Faith people have no room for drama.”
• 24:40 - “The devil can start something. But we say the finish.”
• 25:50 - Maintaining faith regardless of circumstances
• 26:10 - “It's not hard unless you're empty.”

Summary

This episode underscores that God’s miraculous power flows in environments of faith and response—miracles aren’t arbitrary but arrive where people make room for the supernatural, both by their priorities and their persistence. Nancy Dufresne repeatedly challenges the listener to active engagement, warning against passivity, wrong attitudes, and “mental faith,” while emphasizing the daily, practical diligence of holding fast to God’s Word no matter the circumstances. Listeners are urged to “turn aside” from the ordinary, contend for the integrity of true, God-inspired faith, and recognize even the smallest miracles. The overarching call: maintain a heart ready and hungry for the supernatural, for God is always looking for those to show himself strong on their behalf.