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What’s Your Attention On? Part One | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus the Healer Broadcast
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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, turn with me, if you would, in your Bibles this morning to Romans chapter 14, Romans, chapter 14. And we're going to minister along the lines of something that's so important. The last several times I've ministered, the Spirit of God has led me to teach on the renewed mind. And the renewed mind will give you the best life. A renewed mind is a mind that is thinking like God thinks. And the only way we can come to have a renewed mind is to learn the Word, take in the Word, fill our thoughts and fill our actions with the Word and the renewed life. The renewed mind gives us a transformed life. Amen. But in the renewing of the mind, there's something that we have to understand that's very important, and we want to see something. In Romans, chapter 14, verse 17, it says, for the kingdom of God, it's not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. So it's saying this. The kingdom of God's not comprised of natural things like food and drink. The kingdom of God is comprised of righteousness and. And peace and joy. I mean, Jesus stated, the kingdom of God is in you. Isn't that amazing? For those of us who are born again, the kingdom of God is in us. So if he says the kingdom of God is in us, then in Romans, Paul said that the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. So that's what's in you, righteousness. What does that mean? That means you're right with God because we are made right with God. Now we can live lives that are right. Our lives can look like we're right with God. Our lives mean that we can live in a way that's pleasing to the Lord, because we are in right standing with Him. He has given us the ability and the grace to live the life he authored for us. That means we're not okay with what we used to be okay with in our lives, because now we've come into a life of righteousness. Amen. And that is the flow of the kingdom of God working in our lives. There's also another flow of the kingdom of God dominating, and that's peace. Amen. That peace is dominating our spirits, dominating our minds. Will things come against our minds? Yes. But the peace in our minds and the peace in our spirits is greater than what comes against us. And we have a choice to make. When something comes to Trouble our mind. We say, no, no, no. That's not the flow of the kingdom. The kingdom of God is in me. That means I don't have to wait for God to give me peace. That means I can draw it out because it's already in me. That means I'm make a choice in line with what's in me. And I don't make a choice in line with what's around me. Amen. So he said here in Romans, Paul said that there's righteousness in you. There's peace in you. There's joy in you. Isn't this wonderful? You don't have to be joyful just when circumstances are joyful. That means you get to bring your own joy to the party. That means any circumstance of your life that isn't joyful. You have good news. The kingdom is in you. Joy is in you. You brought your own joy to a circumstance that brought you no joy. You know what that means? Every day we should be living righteous. Every day we should be living peaceful. Every day we're living joyful. Yes. Amen. That's right. You say, well, that just doesn't make sense because life just is not joyful all the time. No, life isn't. But the kingdom in us is. And so we are authorized to draw out of the kingdom that is in us so that we're not living based on circumstances around us. That means that we should always have this face looking joyful. Amen. You can tell who's drawing on what. Are we drawing on? The kingdom that's in us. What is the kingdom that's in us? Righteousness, peace and joy. That's in us. Amen. And that is the flow of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Because it says righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Or these things are of the flow of the Holy Ghost. To say we're Holy Ghost people and then to look sad, something's off. To say we're Holy Ghost people and be harassed and depressed and tormented, something is off. So he's letting us know. This is the measurement for what our life should look like. Are we walking righteous? Are we walking mindful that I'm right with God? That means I don't live with fear tormenting my tracks. Amen. That means also that peace is in me. So I measure my life by that. I'm not going to allow myself to live a life that's not peaceful. I'm not going to allow myself to live a life that's not joyful. If we're not walking in righteousness. Peace and joy. Our life is off target. We're not measuring up to what's in us. Praise the Lord. We could just sit down after that and have a good time, couldn't we? I mean, just the understanding of that. What should our lives look like? This righteousness, peace and joy. That means that our lives are pleasing to him. They're right with him. We're not going to the wrong places, doing the wrong thing, saying the wrong thing, thinking on the wrong thing, conversing about things we got no business conversing about. That's not the flow of righteousness. And we are offered this flow. It's in us. Amen. You don't have to pray for a pastor to give it to you. You don't have to get in a ministry line if you're born again. It's in you. Draw it out. Draw it out. Yield to it. Amen. That means when something offers you sadness, you go, so sorry, you're gonna have to go down to the neighbor, because I'm not taking it. You know what that does? That gets rid of all moodiness out of our lives. Right. That means your spouse will know what version they're going to get of you each day. Praise the Lord. Say this. The kingdom of God is in me. That means I'm in right standing with God. I can live right. I have the power and the ability to live in a way that pleases God. I have peace in me. I have joy in me right now. Right now. No matter what's coming against me right now, those things are in me. So that's what I'm going to respond to. Amen. Hallelujah. That means all of you should be pepped up a little bit more. When you get in the car after church and go home, you should be a little bit more joyful, little bit more peaceful, a little bit more thinking. Right? Right. Amen. Listen, we aren't righteous because we've done everything right. We're righteous because Jesus gave his righteousness to us. Now we're righteous not because we did everything right, but because Jesus did everything right. Amen. Hallelujah. If we're not living righteous, if we're not living peaceful and we're not living joyful, not being true to the kingdom that's in us. Amen. Let's not be double agents belonging to one kingdom, but representing another. Amen. Let's be true to the kingdom of God that is in us. Amen. That means don't settle what you used to be okay with in your life. Don't put up with it anymore. I used to be harassed, used to be tormented, used to be stuck, used to be broke, done, done, done, living that way. And I don't have to get in a ministry line and ask pastor to get this to me. The kingdom of God is in me. And I'm going to talk about that. I'm going to be mindful of that. I'm going to remember that. Amen. And that's what I'm going to draw on when circumstances that are not of that flow show up. Amen. I've come to see in 30 years of ministering that very few Christians know what it's like to live this life. Very few know what it's like to walk in the fullness of this. But how about. Let's go there. How about it? Amen. It's available to us now. Go with me, if you would, to Philippians chapter four. Philippians, chapter four. And we're going to read in verse 11, and I'm going to read out of the amplified translation. Now, Paul wrote this letter and he was in prison when he wrote it. And you can imagine this prison, what it would have been like. He's there because he preached the gospel. He's there because he obeyed God. So people get this idea, well, if God tells me to do something, everything will be easy. Everything will come into place for me. Well, Paul didn't know that, because Paul ended up in prison obeying God on more than one occasion. But the thing is, even though God tells you to do something, as long as you know you're obeying him and pleasing him. Even if you end up in a hard place, you take your righteousness, peace and joy with you in there. Therefore, it's not hard for you. And if you won't yield to what's hard around you, you're going to find yourself in places of opposition. You're going to find yourself in situations of difficulty. But God puts in you an unending reservoir to let you draw out anytime you want. When you're faced with something that's not peaceful, you brought your own peace to the party. When you're faced with something not joyful, you brought your own joy to the party. You don't have to wait for other people's behavior to be all right before yours is of this flow. Am anybody remember your parents telling you when you were little you can get glad in the same pants you got sad in. Anybody remember phrases like that? In other words, if you're sad, you better change it, because the same pants you got sad in are the pants you can get glad in. So change your attitude right now. That's what it means, right? Well, God doesn't just give us an attitude adjustment. He gives us a kingdom in us. And it is an unending reserve that we can draw out anytime we want. That means there's no excuse for not being peaceful, joyful or pleasing to God, no matter what setting we are in. So Paul said in Philippians 4, verse 11, he's sitting in one of the hardest places a man can find himself, one of the darkest places a man can find himself. And I love what he said in this portion of verse 11, the amplified translation. Not that I'm implying that I was in any personal want. Now listen to this. For I have learned how to be content, satisfied, to the point where I'm not disturbed or disquieted in whatever state I am. Notice this. He said, I've learned this, meaning this. You don't get good at anything unless you practice it. You don't learn anything unless you practice it. So how did he arrive at learning how to be undisturbed and not troubled by what's going on around him? He practiced it that when he was faced with something, he didn't wish it to be that way. He wouldn't yield to that. He didn't. You can't stop things from coming against you. You can stop how they affect you. And that's what Paul said. I've learned. I've learned how to be content. How many times have men of God gone to prison for doing something? And then they say, well, I've learned how to be content. Here. There's going to be places, hard places, that your obedience might put you in, because not everybody will congratulate you on obeying God. And they will oppose you. Or they may say something against you, or they may attack you in some way. What's that mean to you? That doesn't change the kingdom that's in you. That doesn't change the peace that's in you. That doesn't change the joy that's in you. That doesn't change the righteousness of pleasing God that's in you. What's that got to do with you? Nothing. You just be true to who's in you and what's in you. And that's what Paul said. I've learned. I've learned how to be content. Couldn't we say this? He's learned how to draw on the kingdom that's in him. Amen. And when you learn to draw, notice this. He said I'm not disquieted. I'm not disturbed. No matter what circumstance. In most people will say, well, I'd be joyful if things would straighten out. Well, what if things never straighten out? What you gonna do? You don't have control over things around you. You just have control over you. Amen. So Paul was in one of the darkest places he could find himself. And he says, this is what I've learned. And then further down he said, for I've learned the secret. What does he say about learning in secret? I can do all things through him that strengthens me. How does he strengthen you? He put his kingdom in you. Amen. But notice this. Paul had to learn it. You have to learn it. Paul wasn't leaving the flow of peace and joy just because circumstances around him weren't peaceful and joyful. Can you imagine in a prison, how dark that would feel? Oppressive. That would feel. People that are tormented. I mean, there's people that have been law violators and humanity violators down there. And that's who's next to him. And he says, I've learned. I'm content. Amen. What's that mean? I'm troubled. I'm not waiting to get removed from this place before I'm. Before I'm joyful. I'm going to be joyful right here. Amen. People will say, well, you know, if my bills were paid, or if I had a better paying job where people would treat me right, or if my marriage was better, if my spouse would talk better to me, I'd be joyful. That's not true. That's not true. Because the joy that's in you has to be yielded to. And if you don't know how to yield to it when times are bad, you don't know how to yield to it when times are good. All you're subject to is the joy of circumstances around you. And those come and go circumstances can jerk the joy of that circumstance right out of your keeping. So that's why God gives you your own joy to bring. Amen. Paul kept on drawing on the kingdom that was in him. Amen. He wasn't trying to derive peace and joy from the things around him. That's where people miss it. They're waiting for the things around them to provide them with joy and peace when the joy and peace is already in you. Amen. Amen. So we don't have to wait for circumstances to offer us joy. We don't have to wait for circumstances to offer us peace. We brought our own Amen. Come on. Nothing better than to go to the store and you got your own money, right? Buy anything you want in the store. I got my own. When you were a child and your parent was taking care of you, you could only get what they gave you. Permission. The Kingdom of Go gives you permission for all things good. You got your own now. Amen. Hallelujah. How many know this is real victory? Real victory is not the devil leaving you alone. Real victory is when everything is pressing against you and can't reach you. Amen. Cannot, cannot, cannot bring you to its level. Amen. Hallelujah. Now he had to learn for him to not be disturbed, for him to not be disquieted. There's something he had to learn, and that is this. He had to learn to put his attention on what was in him rather than what was around him or against him. Now just know this. There's an important aspect to the life that. To life that affects our faith. And it's this, our attention. People don't realize that your faith is connected to your attention. Where your attention goes, that's where your faith goes. If your attention goes to the wrong thing, you'll start believing the wrong thing. Amen. If your attention is on what you feel all the time, then you'll start. You'll start believing in line with what you feel. But people don't realize your victory is as easy as where your attention is. Can I tell you how quick you can change your attention from the wrong thing to the right thing? Let's just say the wrong thing. Or. Here I go. That's how quick. That's how quick a decision to turn and quit looking and quit paying attention. To quit being absorbed with and quit carrying it around like a furry pet in a pocket so you can pull it out and spend it when you want pity from somebody. Now I'm talking. If you people will do this, they will use how they've been raised or how they've been mistreated. And listen, I don't make light. Some people have been terribly raised. Some people have been horribly deprived by humans. But don't confuse them with God. That's right. That's so good. God, if you're born again, he put everything wonderful in you. Amen. So get your attention off what people did not bring to your life and put your attention on the Father who put everything in your life. Amen. That means we've got to get rid of our poor me, our poor pity party. Well, he doesn't treat me right. She doesn't treat Me, right. That means we're done spending that stuff. Because if people pull it out to spend at an opportune time, it's going to trip up their future. Amen. How did Paul learn to not be disturbed? He quit paying attention to what was disturbing. Amen, you say. Well, I can't. It's in my face. Oh yes you can. God put something greater in you. Greater is he that's than he that's in the world. So that means what he's doing in you is of greater movement than what the devil's doing. Listen, just because God's movement doesn't look as loud doesn't mean it's absent. Amen. The devil has to be loud because his goods aren't any good. When you got the best stuff, you don't have to be out convincing. Have you ever noticed this? I'm not against going to a store and getting a good sale. Not against it. It's not a sin. But have you ever noticed the really upper end stores never put their stuff on sale? I'm talking about the upper upper ends. They never go on half price. Why? Because they got the best product out there and it will stand over. It's not a scheme, it's not a gimmick. It's not something that's trendy. It's a timeless product that every generation would prize and value. They're not bringing it down to no half price. And usually they're not flooding the market with all these marketing schemes either. Why? Because think about some of these companies that have been around for years and years and years and they have such a reputation. If I would say certain company names, everybody in here would know the company. Even if you had never owned one of their products, you would know the company. Why? Because they are so substantial, they are so trustworthy, they are such of such quality. They don't have to flood the market to try to convince. Everybody knows that when they say that word or that name, it kind of calls you to a certain level of thinking. Amen. But when they're going to sell you everything for 49 cents, it's going to break. And they flood the market with it. And they're real loud and in your face. That's the way the devil is. He's loud and in your face. Because what he offers is broken. It'll break your body, it'll break your mind. It'll break your marriage, it'll break your home. It'll break your relationship. Relationship. It'll break your children. And that's why he's got to get so loud to try to push it off on you. And people think that because something's louder, it's better. They believe it more because it's louder. Let me put it that way. People will believe it more because it's louder. Be careful of the loudest one in the room. If the devil's the loudest one in the room, that's because there is a still, small voice that's offering you something greater. Learn to pay attention to the spirit, still small voice that's in you. People get so duped and they let all their attention run to what's loudest. The devil's always loud. He's always loud. He's always loud. That's how he peddles his goods. And you've got to get quiet enough and start turning off your attention off of what the devil is doing to even notice what God's offering. Can you not take? Can you, can you not know that when Paul was in that prison, the feelings and the prisoners and things around him, everything was so loud? Nobody was in there loudly worshiping God. He had to bring his own. Amen. This is where people need to learn. Just because something is loud doesn't mean it's worthy of your attention. The devil will send a loud thought, just hammering. Just bombard the mind with a thought. And people think because it's so loud, it must be true. Or because it's so loud, they have to give it their attention. That's a sign. You better get your attention off of it. Because God's not bombarding anybody. He comes invited. Amen. Hallelujah. So we have to make sure that what we put our attention on is what we want our life to be like. What we put our attention on is what is drawn up into our lives. If we put our attention on sickness, it's like more sickness is drawn up into the life we put our attention on. I don't have enough money. I just never have enough money. That's what's going to be drawn up into our lives. If we put our attention on worried, troublesome thoughts or things that are going on in the family or with relatives, then you get more of that drama that's going on. Because what we put our attention on is where our faith goes. Amen. So we're to be like Paul when he was surrounded. He says, I've learned. I've learned how to be content. I'm satisfied now. See, he wasn't content to stay in the prison. He's not saying be content to stay in a Wrong situation. He's saying, while you're in a situation, to stay not going to be troubled. Amen. We have to practice it. I said, we have to practice it. Praise the Lord. We have to practice. This wonderful apostle, he had divine revelation from God. Jesus had appeared to him on different accounts, but he still had to learn how to get his attention off the wrong thing. I remember the testimony of a woman. She became a minister. She started out as a medical doctor, but she became a minister that taught on divine healing and taught on it for 30 years. At one point, she got so worked, she got so overworked with her medical profession, she started using, you know, narcotics to keep herself going. And it wasn't long, she found herself an addict. She didn't intend to be that way, but she ended up that way. And so she had done all kinds of things to try to get off this addiction, and she couldn't get off of it. And she said, finally she came back to God and she took. She got right with God and then she took the Word and she started going through the Gospels and reading all the healing paths. And she said she read them by the hour and read them and went over them and read them and read them and read them. And she said after a period of being absorbed in this for weeks, she said she realized that every addiction symptom was gone. And she said, and I don't even know when that addiction left. Why? Because her tension got off of what was troubling her life. And she absorbed herself with the Word. And when she did, that thing that had bound her and threatened to kill her was completely gone. And she never even noticed when it left. Amen. That's what the Word does for us. It's worthy of our attention. Whatever is trying to trouble your life, if you will turn your back to it and say no more. I'm done using that, done yielding to that. I'm done responding to that. But then you have to put something else in in its place. And it's called the Word. And the more you put the Word in you, the more you're fortified to turn your back on that which tries to get your attention again. Amen. Hallelujah. Greater is he that's in us than he that's in the world. Hallelujah. We thank you, Father. We thank you. Thank you, Father. We thank you, Father. 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.