073 | Words That Work

Summary

Podcast Summary: Jesus the Healer w/ Nancy Dufresne – Episode 073 | Words That Work

Release Date: October 12, 2022
Host/Author: Dufresne Ministries
Podcast Title: Jesus the Healer

---

I. Introduction and Theme

In Episode 073 of "Jesus the Healer," Nancy Dufresne delves into the profound impact of our thoughts and the power of faith in overcoming life's challenges. Opening with a powerful affirmation, Nancy emphasizes the presence of divine power in every moment of need:

"Power is present. That power is there to do a work, believe in what's not. Try to get something, but notice that he's already made it yours." (00:10)

She welcomes listeners with warmth, reinforcing the belief that God has answers for every aspect of their lives.

II. The Power of the Mind

Nancy underscores the significance of the mind in shaping our lives. She references the biblical principle:

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." (01:10)

Explaining that our thoughts directly influence every facet of our existence, Nancy stresses the necessity of cultivating right thinking. She highlights the importance of aligning our thoughts with God's Word, which serves as a foundation for sound thinking.

"The amplified classic translation describes a sound mind and says, it's calm, it's well balanced, it's disciplined, it's self-controlled, which shows that we have a responsibility toward our sound mind." (03:08)

III. Handling Opposition

Transitioning to the theme of opposition, Nancy emphasizes that every believer will face challenges requiring a steadfast response. She draws from 2 Timothy 1:7 to illustrate that God equips us with power and love, not fear, to navigate adversities.

Nancy shares a poignant story about Dr. Lester Sumrall, a man of raw faith, who was called to aid a tormented girl in the Philippines. Despite initial reluctance, Sumrall recognized that God had uniquely equipped him to address this specific opposition:

"God is limited by the channels he has available to him. He meant, this is that there were people that were saved. [...] But he had people who knew how to answer the devil." (07:15)

This narrative underscores the idea that as believers grow in their ability to confront and answer opposition, their usefulness to God expands.

IV. Jesus as an Example in Mark 11

Nancy delves into Mark 11:12-27, focusing on the incident of Jesus cursing the fig tree. She illustrates how Jesus responded to unmet needs with decisive action rooted in faith:

"But faith doesn't wait for things to change. Faith answers and brings the change about by the power of God." (04:20)

By addressing the fig tree directly, Jesus demonstrated mastery over circumstances through the power of His words. Nancy explains that Jesus did not linger to see immediate results but trusted His declaration to enact change:

"He answered it and kept walking. [...] You answer things and then you walk off and keep going." (15:00)

This act serves as a blueprint for believers to speak words of faith and then continue their journey without dwelling on the problem, trusting that their declarations will manifest God's power.

V. Faith, Words of Faith, and Action

Exploring further, Nancy elaborates on the "flow of faith," where spoken words aligned with God's Word become the catalysts for change. She highlights the importance of not anchoring one's faith to visible results:

"Hebrews tells us that the word of God, it's alive, it's quick is what the King James says, meaning it's alive. [...] When you speak words of faith, those words are a living thing and you can walk off and leave those words to do the work." (19:24)

Using the example of her husband's ministry, Nancy illustrates how persistent faith—without constantly verifying physical outcomes—leads to miraculous breakthroughs:

"They were checking their body to see if their body gave them permission to be healed. [...] You have faith, words in your mouth. The word of God." (18:02)

VI. The Role of Forgiveness in Faith

A pivotal segment of the episode addresses the relationship between forgiveness and effective faith. Drawing from Mark 11:22-27, Nancy emphasizes that unforgiveness can cripple one's faith:

"What will keep this from working? Unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is an enemy to your faith. It will keep your faith inactive. It'll keep it from producing." (25:00)

She urges listeners to practice forgiveness proactively, not letting grudges impede their spiritual progress or their ability to receive God's promises. Nancy connects this to self-forgiveness, highlighting that harboring resentment—even towards oneself—can hinder divine intervention:

"You need to forgive yourself when you do wrong. Repent for 1 John 1:9. [...] And he's cleansed us once we've confessed it." (26:04)

VII. Conclusion and Call to Action

Wrapping up the episode, Nancy promotes her book "Answer It," which delves deeper into these principles. She encourages listeners to reinforce their understanding by repeatedly engaging with the teachings:

"You got to keep hearing over and over. So you can go to dufrainministries.org and let us know you want your copy and we'll send it to you." (27:02)

Nancy closes with a reaffirmation of Jesus as the ultimate Healer, leaving listeners with a sense of empowerment to implement the discussed strategies in their lives.

---

Key Takeaways:

• The Mind's Influence: Our thoughts shape our reality; aligning them with God's Word fosters a sound mind.
• Responding to Opposition: Believers must actively address challenges with faith-driven responses.
• Modeling Jesus' Faith: Emulating Jesus' approach of declaring faith and moving forward without fixation on immediate results.
• Forgiveness as a Pillar of Faith: Letting go of unforgiveness is crucial for maintaining an active and effective faith.
• Empowerment Through Words of Faith: Spoken affirmations rooted in Scripture activate God's power in our lives.

Notable Quotes:

• "Hallelujah. So it says again in verse 14. And Jesus answered. And he said unto it, what did he say? The tree. Jesus talked to things. And that's what a sound mind does." (13:00)
• "Things will obey you. Talk to them." (23:25)
• "My words are working on that. My words are working on that. My words are working on that." (20:38)

Further Resources:

• Book Promotion: Nancy invites listeners to obtain her book "Answer It" for an in-depth exploration of these topics. Visit dufrainministries.org to request your copy.
• Additional Support: For prayer requests or further engagement, listeners are encouraged to reach out through the provided channels.

---

Nancy Dufresne's insightful teaching in this episode equips believers with practical tools to harness the power of their minds, address opposition with faith, and maintain an active, forgiving heart to unlock God's healing and transformative power in their lives.

Transcript

[Kenneth Copeland]

Thank you to Kenneth Copeland Ministries for sowing the airtime for this broadcast.

[Nancy Dufresne]

There's enough power in every sick room and in every hospital room to raise up that sick one that may be describing you. You may be in a sick room, you may be in a hospital room. And I want to remind you, power is present. That power is there to do a work, believe in what's not. Try to get something, but notice that he's already made it yours. It's present right where you're at. Say, I receive that power. I receive that power. I receive it right now. I receive it right now. From the top of my head. From the top of my head. The soles of my feet. The soles of my feet. We are so thrilled to have you joining us today for Jesus the healer. We welcome you and we're believing God for answers for your life.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

And we have a student audience. Who's here, you're here. And we're all hungry for what God has to say.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

We've been teaching on the mind because we know this, that how we think affects every facet of our life and every arena of our life. The Word said, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. So, in other words, that we are seeing lived out in our life the way we think. And if we want something to come up in our life, then we have to come up in our thinking. And thank God the Word is, it lifts our thoughts.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

And so we're so thrilled that we've been teaching on the mind. It's a subject that we are grateful to know how to grow more skillful in.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

And so we've been taking as our golden text, second Timothy, chapter one. In verse seven, Paul was writing to Timothy, and he said, for God has not given us the spirit of fear, but a power, love. And look at this, a sound mind. Your mind was not forgotten about in redemption that not only did Jesus bear your sin, he bore our sickness, he bore a tormented mind. So a sound mind is part of our inheritance in Christ. But just as we have to know how to walk as healed people, we have to know how to keep symptoms off. We have to know how to keep challenges off our body. Even so, we have to know how to keep wrong thoughts out of our mind. We have to know how to keep right thinking in and wrong thinking out.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Well, thank God for his Word. His word is right thinking.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

It's the thoughts of God written down for us. And so we take those and we make them Our own. The amplified classic translation describes a sound mind and says, it's calm, says it's well balanced, it's disciplined, it's self controlled, which shows that we have a responsibility toward our sound mind. God gave us one, but we have a responsibility to hold it in soundness. And a diet on the word and thinking right holds it in soundness.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

We're going to look next at mark 11, and one of the things that we have to understand is one of the most important things for every believer to learn in their life is how to answer opposition. Because every test is going to call for an answer. Every opponent, every adversary, every wrong thought, every troubling thought is going to call for your answer.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

And we have to know how to answer things. So much of the time when people aren't taught, they just think that God will do something about what's coming against them. And God authorized us to do something about what's coming against us. He empowered us.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

So many times people are just waiting for opposition to go away. They're just waiting for the devil to leave them alone or to just simply stop. But faith doesn't wait for things to change. Faith answers and brings the change about by the power of God.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

This is so important for us to understand our usefulness to God. It grows. Our usefulness to God, it grows and it grows as we become more skillful at answering opposition, at standing our ground when opposition shows up. I'm reminded of the testimony that Dr. Lester Sumrall used to talk about. Powerful man of faith, just a raw faith. He was an apostle of God, traveled all over the world, and God spoke to him one time, he had his headquarters at the time in South Bend, Indiana. And God spoke to him and said, I want you to go to the Philippines. And he says, I'm going to do more for you there than I've ever done for you anywhere else. So they picked up and they went to the Philippines and they started a church. But the thing is, they couldn't get a congregation together. You know, he would minister and people would, you know, he would get people born again and go to visit him. And they'd given him a bogus address. And so after six months of being there, it was just still him and his family. And one day he heard the report of a little girl that had been thrown in prison. She was an orphaned girl, and she had been thrown in prison, but she was being harassed and tormented by the devil. And so they gave out a call across the radio if anyone can help this girl come and help us. And I'm not going to go into all the details. It's a fabulous story. You need to get hold of it. And Dr. Sumrall called it the testimony of the girl bitten by devils. And so you can, I think, maybe even find it online somewhere. But in telling this, he heard the call go out for somebody that could come and bring help to this little girl. And when Dr. Sumrall heard that, God spoke to him and says, I want you to go set that girl free. And Dr. Sumrall said something because he had only been there, you know, several months in the nation, and there were other churches, other denominations there. And he said to God, he said, God, send somebody else. In other words, send someone who's been here and has some kind of, if I could say this history here in this country. He said, basically, I'm a newcomer. And so God said, I want you to go set her free. Dr. Sumrall said, Send someone else. And God answered back. And listen to what he said. He said, I don't have anyone else. Now listen to those words. God said, I don't have anyone else. Meaning this. God is limited by the channels he has available to him. Now, what did God mean when he said, I don't have anyone else? He meant, this is that there were people that were saved. There were Christians, no doubt, but he meant, I don't have anyone else who knows how to answer that opposition of that demon tormenting that girl. He had people who loved him there in the nation, but he didn't have people who knew how to answer the devil. We become more useful to God when we know how to answer wrong things, and not only to answer them, but stand our ground no matter how long it takes for things to change.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Now you say, Pastor Nancy, I thought God loved everybody. God absolutely loves everybody. Everyone is of great value. But I don't just want to be a great value. Listen, what makes us of great value? Purchased by the blood. The value of the blood. It took the blood of the son of God to purchase us. That's how great the value of every. Every person. But I don't just want to be of great value. I want to be of great use. I want God to be able to use me to help minister to others and bring that power to others.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

So our usefulness to God grows as we grow in the knowledge of God and grow as doers of the Word, then we grow in usefulness to God. Well, it's the same thing with a family I mean, you know, God's family is just like a natural family in many respects. When a child is born, they are of great value, but you're the one working for them. They aren't bringing much supply of effort. Everything is geared toward them. Everyone in the house is serving them. They're not. They're of great value, but they're not doing any chores. They're not earning any money. They bring in everything they're taking and they're the target of help, but they're not offering it. But as they grow, as they grow, they're not only of value, but now they become of greater use. Now as they grow, they can help in the family. It's the same thing with the God's family, that as we grow in the knowledge of God, we're of greater help.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

We're of greater use. And God can use us in ways that he couldn't when we weren't. When we were spiritual babies. So that's one of the reasons we want to grow up. I said that's one of the reasons we want to grow up. Another reason is as we grow, we quit being pushed around by the devil.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

When you know some things and come into the knowledge and learn how to stand your ground, you're not being pushed around by opposition, pushed around by things that oppose us.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Now when we look at Jesus earthly ministry, we see our example of what real faith does when it's faced with opposition. Jesus being the son of God, he was not dismissed from having to answer and deal with opposition. He still had to answer things. Things didn't just automatically leave him alone. In fact, he was a magnet. He was greatly opposed. Why? Because of what he carried. He carried the anointing. He carried the life of God, the word of God.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

And so it made him a bigger target by the enemy. He was not automatically dismissed, but he demonstrated mastery and he demonstrated skill in the face of the adversary. So I want us to look at Mark 11, and we're going to start reading in verse 12, Mark 11. 12, it reads. And on the morrow when they. Now it's talking about Jesus and his disciples when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry. Jesus was hungry. And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came. If haply he might find anything thereon. And when he came to it, he found nothing. Listen to that phrase. He came to something, needing something. He came there because he needed something. He needed some food. He came to it. And when he got there, he found nothing. Have you ever Opened up your checkbook and found nothing. What do you do when you're confronted with nothing? Jesus shows us he had to face a need. And when he came to get his answer, there was nothing there. What do you do? So it says again, if haply he could find anything thereon. So he came to it and he found nothing but leaves for the time of figs was not yet. Look at verse 14. And Jesus answered, what do you do when. When you're faced with nothing? You better start answering nothing. Why? Because nothing is talking to him. This nothing that wasn't there. The absence of fruit said something to him. It said, you're not getting any of this. You can't have this. So he answered, what nothing reported to him. He answered it. So whenever you. Whenever you're faced with a need and you go to see an answer and you don't find the answer, you better start talking to it.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

You don't find the finances. Don't say, oh, my goodness, there's nothing there. No, answer it. Answer it.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Hallelujah. So it says again in verse 14. And Jesus answered. And he said unto it, what did he say? The tree. Jesus talked to things. And that's what a sound mind does. A sound mind talks to things. Why? Because it knows that even things will tell it something. Maybe not in articulate words, but when this tree had nothing on it, that tree was saying, no supply from us, no supply from me, no supply from that tree. And Jesus answered the tree. People would look, see you walk. Maybe somebody walk up and see you talking to the tree and think you're crazy. You're sound. They crazy cause they gonna live without, right? Nope. It's not crazy to talk to things. And so Jesus answered and said unto it said to this tree, no man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever. And his disciples heard it. He didn't say this to God. He did not direct a prayer to God. He did not ask God to do something about that tree. This is what you need to learn. You are authorized. Don't wait for God to do something when you're authorized to say something.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

So there's going to be needs that are going to show up in your life. Jesus had a need show up in his life. It is not a faith failure to have a need. It is not a lack of the word working to have a need. Jesus had needs.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

And so this is what he did.

[Audience]

Now.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Verse 14 tells us he answered it. But it matters what you're going to do after you answer Something I said. It matters what you're going to do after you answer something? Yes, it does. I want, if you would, let's look at verse 15 there. So let's look at mark 11, verse 15. And I'm going to look at it over here. It says, and they come to Jerusalem. Ah, look at that. He answered it, and it says, they come to Jerusalem. So what do we know what he did after he answered it? He walked off. He didn't stand there at that tree and wait to see if what he said worked. He answered it, got his attention off of the need, got his attention off of what did not agree, and he answered it and he kept walking. Why did he walk off? Because he left his words with it. Now his words of faith are dealing with that tree. He's not there mentally measuring, is it happening? Did anything change what's going on with the tree? He did not start calculating. He did not start reasoning. He left his words to do the work on that tree.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Hallelujah. So what do we do when we answer things? We expect those words to do a work. It's not us working it. It's the words, the words of faith doing the work. He answered it and kept going. That is a huge aspect to the flow of faith. You answer things and then you walk off and keep going. You don't stand there and say, is the money showing? Did the pain leave? Do I have more peace in my mind after I answered that thought? Ignore it. Keep going. Just walk off and leave.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Don't stop. Don't slow your pace. Don't stop your progress. Jesus did not let that opposition, that tree, stop him and what he was carrying out. Opposition comes so you'll stop. Opposition comes to slow you down or hinder you. Faith just puts the words out there, lets the words work with that need, and it keeps on going on its assignment.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Hallelujah. And this is where a lot of people make the mistake. They make the mistake of answering something, but then holding their attention on what they answer. Their attention is on the problem instead of trusting that those words are doing the work.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

He didn't answer it and then pause. He answered it and progressed.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Some, if they have a pain, let's say if somebody had a pain in their arm, and they answer that, and then they go, well, no, it's still there. That's not the flow of faith. No, that's right. That's right. That's right. You answer it and then you expect those words do the work. Those Words do the work. Those words do the work. How many times have I been and I've seen, even in my husband, my husband in his ministry, he had a strong healing anointing on his life. For years he laid hands on the sick. You know, we do that still today. But I saw it through. I saw a front row seat for years of watching him lay hands on people and he'd lay hands on them and he'd walk off and then they go, no, no, the pain's still there. What are they doing? They're pausing and checking their body instead of checking the word.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

They didn't expect that, that anointing that went in them was doing anything. They were going to check their body to see if their body gave them permission to be healed. And so this is the flow of faith. This is the act of faith. You have faith, words in your mouth. The word of God.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Hebrews tells us that the word of God, it's alive, it's quick is what the King James says, meaning it's alive. It's sharper than any two edged sword. It's alive, it's a living thing. And your faith is what activates that living word. And so when you speak words of faith, those words are a living thing and you can walk off and leave those words to do the work. And if the thought comes after you walk off, nothing changes. Say, no, my words are working on that. My words are working on that. My words are working on that. The word of God in my words is bringing it to pass. You see, you answer it. You answer it. And so this is this great demonstration that Jesus showed us. He answered the need and then he walked off and let the words work for him. We never have any record that he even thought about that tree again.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Nothing appeared to be different. He did not see any change in that tree. It didn't matter. His words were left with it.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Jesus didn't bring that tree up again. But look at Mark 11, verse 20. Mark 11, verse 20. And in the morning, so now it's gone overnight. They're walking back from Jerusalem. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree. Look at this. Dried up from, from the roots. Trees die from the top down, not from the bottom up. So it went a whole different direction. The words went to the root. The words didn't go to the branch, the words went to the root. The root was dealt with. And once that root was dead, everything on it died. Many times people are looking at symptoms to check if they're healed, that's just the branch. When you stick, when you, when you speak God's word to something, the word goes toward the root of a problem, the root of a situation. So in the morning as they passed by verse 20, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. Look at verse 21. And Peter calling to remembrance, saith unto Jesus, master, behold the fig tree which thou curseth is withered away. Notice Jesus didn't bring it up. He saw it. It says, they saw the fig tree dried up. Jesus didn't even mention it. Why? Because when he left his words to him, it was, it's already done. Why bring up an old subject? I mean, he didn't bring it up, they brought it up.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

And verse 22, Now Jesus is going to tell them how this works. And Jesus answering, said unto them, have faith in God. Or as is the Hebrew originally says, have the faith of God. Excuse me, the Greek, because the New Testament was written in Greek is originally have the faith of God. If you're born again, you have the faith of God in you. Yes, yes. So verse 23. Now that faith needs to be nurtured, that faith needs to be protected, that faith needs to, it can grow in strength.

[Audience]

Right.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Now verse 23, he said, for verily I say unto you that whosoever, not just him, just, whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe those things which he saith shall come to pass. He shall have whatsoever he saith. How are those things going to come to pass? By words. The words he left with the tree did the work. Yes. When you speak words in agreement with the word of God, those words go to work.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Hallelujah. Verse 23, Jesus is telling us this. Things will obey you. Talk to them. Yes, that's what 23 is about. Things will obey you. Talk to them. Even if others wouldn't, even if others don't know to. You know to, because you saw an example that things will obey you. Not just situations, things. Things will obey you.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

So when something in your life needs to be changed, talk to it. Verse 24, he says, therefore I say unto you what things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them and you shall have them. Notice this verse 24 is telling us how to get our desires met. What things ever you desire. Now he's not just talking about things, but anything you desire. It's not just things that are in Your way, things that are trying to slow your progress. But anything you desire. This is how to get. How to get your desires met. Verse 24. And then of course, he tells us the next verse. What will keep this from working? Verse 25. And when you stand praying, forgive. Yes. What will keep this from working? Unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is an enemy to your faith. It will keep your faith inactive. It'll keep it from working, it'll keep it from producing. That's right. And when you stand. When you stand in praying, forgive if you have ought against any. Any. Look at that. Any. Do you know that you're included in that? Any meaning. You can't have unforgiveness toward yourself. You got to forgive yourself when you do wrong. Repent for 1 John 1:9. If we. If we. If, if. If we confess our sin, that God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us once we've confessed it, he's forgiven us and he's cleansed us. Now you have to forgive yourself. If you don't, your faith won't work. Not only do you have to forgive yourself, you have to forgive other people. And the good thing is you don't have to. You get to. So that you're not living with the troubling that comes from having unforgiveness in your life.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Praise the Lord. Things will obey you. Desires of your heart can be met. Unforgiveness is a faith killer. It's a faith killer.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

That's why now there are other things that will destroy your faith. But he's bringing out the primary place where people miss it is in their love. Walk in forgiving people and you forgive people by choice, not by feeling.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

You choose. I need my faith to work more than I need my unforgiveness towards someone.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Because at a moment's notice, I may need a miracle. I may need a victory. And I don't want unforgiveness having been nursed in my life, that I've got to deal with that before I can even receive my miracle.

[Audience]

Amen.

[Nancy Dufresne]

Well, these are some of the things we're talking about in my book called Answer It. And so we ask, you, invite you get hold of your copy. Because I tell you, one hearing isn't enough. You got to keep hearing over and over. So you can go to defrainministries.org and let us know you want your copy and we'll send it to you. And until next time, remember this Jesus is the Healer. God bless you.

[Kenneth Copeland]

To watch or listen to today's message and other messages by Nancy Dufresne, visit.

[Announcer]

Dufresneministries.Org Colossians tells us that Jesus spoiled, defeated, and stripped Satan in his total conquest and victory over him. The timeless truths in this book answer it, reveal how to answer every opposition and the steps to take to exit times of testing. Order this book [e-mail] if you need prayer, please call our prayer line. We have trained ministers on staff who are ready to agree with you for your miracle.

[Kenneth Copeland]

We trust you've enjoyed this message. Visit [e-mail] to learn of our upcoming meetings, share your testimony, submit a prayer request, or visit our online store. Thank you to the friends and partners of Dufresne Ministries for making this production possible.