Episode Overview

Podcast: Jesus the Healer w/ Nancy Dufresne Audio Podcast
Episode: 786 | In Christ I Can, Part 26
Date: July 7, 2025
Theme:
Nancy Dufresne continues her in-depth teaching on what it means to live "In Christ," with this episode focusing on the ongoing, practical discipline of renewing the mind, exercising personal spiritual authority, and refusing to tolerate negative thoughts or mental habits that hinder walking out the “in Christ” life. The episode is rich in encouragement, illustrative stories, and practical faith principles, aimed at helping believers claim the transformation and authority that belong to them in Christ.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Power and Importance of Renewing the Mind

• Nancy begins by declaring the sufficiency of God’s power—right where the listener is, even in a sick room. She encourages listeners to actively receive that power by faith ([00:10]).
• Renewing the mind is presented as a “lifelong profession” for every believer, necessary for true spiritual growth and transformation.
  • “It's not just being able to quote what God says ... but it's doing the Word every day that it governs every relationship, every conversation, the words of our mouth, the thoughts that we carry, the thoughts that we meditate on.” ([01:30])

Evaluating Your Faith: Are You "in" Faith?

• Nancy distinguishes between possessing faith and being "in" faith:
  • “You can have a house and not be in it. You can have a vehicle and not be in it. So just because you possess something doesn't mean you're drawing on it.” ([05:40])
• She uses the story of Jesus calming the storm (Mark 4:35-41) to illustrate how even the disciples, though they had faith, were not actively “in faith.”
  • “They had faith and they weren't in it. That's so good. They didn't use it. That's what being in your faith means. Are you using it?” ([07:05])

The Potency of Even Small Faith

• Jesus’ teaching about faith as a mustard seed is cited as proof that small faith, when activated, produces big changes:
  • “The potency of faith that is in its smallest form still has enough potency and power in it to change big things. So let's not lay aside that which carries that much potency. Let's get in our faith.” ([08:10])

Mind as Servant; Spirit as Master

• Nancy explains the proper order: “Your spirit is the master. Your mind is to be your servant, and your body is to be the slave. You never let the servant and the slave take the lead. The master takes the lead.” ([13:30])
• The unrenewed mind will argue against the spirit; only a renewed mind will agree with and release the faith within.

Aggressively Casting Down Wrong Imaginations

• Using 2 Corinthians 10:5, Nancy underscores the need for believers to “cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” with force and intentionality, not passivity.
  • “You cannot pet them or coddle wrong thoughts. You can't give them a soft pillow at night and take them to bed with you. You cast them down, you kick them out. You have to be aggressive because wrong thoughts ruin your life.” ([16:15])
• She vividly describes how the devil attacks the mental arena—if he can’t win physically, he’ll attack the mind.
  • “When the devil is going to strike any arena, he's always going to include an attack on the mental arena. Because an attack physically on the physical body won't work as long as you think right.” ([18:00])

Stories & Memorable Illustrations

• Nancy shares personal stories from her farming childhood with her dad:
  • Her father’s resourcefulness in fishing and bait – “You don’t tell a farmer he’s out of bait.” ([21:10])
  • The “rat in the boat” story as an illustration of casting down thoughts:
    “I see someone aggressive and says, this thing's not going to live again ... this thing's not going to come back and run into my life again. You cast it down with full purpose of cutting that thing off.” ([23:40])

Authority in Christ and Taking Charge of Thought Life

• Christ has raised believers up with Him, seated with Him in authority.
  • “What is Jesus doing in that seat of authority? He's ruling and reigning. So what are we in Christ supposed to be doing? Ruling and reigning. Part of that ruling and reigning flow is taking charge of your thought life.” ([24:40])
• Failure to take charge results in being “pushed around” by life—worry, fear, and depression are signs that something else is “doing your thinking” other than the Word ([25:10]).
• Nancy affirms the urgency and seriousness of this discipline:
  • “You have to get mean and ugly against certain thoughts. If you just do a half-hearted effort, the devil will take, he'll take full advantage of that.” ([25:35])
  • Pastors, spouses, or even God cannot take charge of your mind for you:
    • “Even God can't do something about your mind if you won't take his word and do something with it. Because he has given us all we need to be successful in the mental arena. What do we need? We need His Word and we need to exercise our authority.” ([26:05])

Personal Testimony: Hard Lessons in Authority

• Nancy recounts a season of personal struggle, unable to sleep, feeling defeated until God corrected her not to coddle herself or listen to the enemy:
  • “If you're going to listen to everything the devil tells you, he'll steal from you everything I've ever blessed you with.” ([26:30])
  • She realized: “You can't stop wrong thoughts from coming, but you can certainly stop from listening to them ... it's not my job to stop them from coming. It's my job to ignore them when they come.” ([26:50])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [02:10] “Renewing of the mind and the development of the human spirit. Those are the two things that every believer is assigned to for the rest of our life. And we never reach the end of it because the Word is a living thing and it keeps producing revelation.” — Nancy Dufresne
• [05:40] “You can have a house and not be in it. You can have a vehicle and not be in it. So just because you possess something doesn't mean you're drawing on it.” — Nancy Dufresne
• [13:30] “Your spirit is the master. Your mind is to be your servant, and your body is to be the slave. You never let the servant and the slave take the lead. The master takes the lead.” — Nancy Dufresne
• [16:15] “You cannot pet them or coddle wrong thoughts. You cast them down, you kick them out.” — Nancy Dufresne
• [23:40] (On casting down imaginations, recalling her dad and the rat) “I see someone aggressive and says, this thing's not going to live again ... you cast it down with full purpose of cutting that thing off.” — Nancy Dufresne
• [25:10] “Worry means something other than the Word is pushing you around. Fear means something else is doing your thinking for you other than the word. To be depressed means something else is taking charge of your thought life.” — Nancy Dufresne
• [26:30] “If you're going to listen to everything the devil tells you, he'll steal from you everything I've ever blessed you with.” — Nancy Dufresne (quoting what God spoke to her in a pivotal moment)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:10] — Opening declaration of faith and encouragement to receive God’s present power
• [02:10] — The lifelong work of renewing the mind
• [05:40] — Distinction between “having faith” and “being in faith”
• [08:10] — Potency of even mustard seed–sized faith
• [13:30] — Spirit, mind, and body: their proper roles
• [16:15] — Aggressiveness required in casting down wrong imaginations
• [18:00] — The devil’s tactics: always attacking the mental arena
• [21:10] — Farm and fishing story: resourcefulness and never being without what you need
• [23:40] — “Rat in the boat” illustration for forceful handling of wrong thoughts
• [24:40] — Authority in Christ, ruling and reigning by taking charge of thought life
• [26:05] — Only you can take charge of your mind; even God won’t override your role
• [26:30] — Testimony: God’s frank correction and the lesson of not entertaining wrong thoughts

Tone and Style

Nancy’s tone is straightforward, practical, and empathetic, often infused with humor and memorable personal stories. She encourages with clarity but does not coddle, urging believers to take personal responsibility for their mental and spiritual health in Christ.

Takeaways

• Renewing your mind is a daily, lifelong, never-completed process essential to the “in Christ” life.
• The authority you have in Christ must be actively used, especially over your thoughts and imaginations.
• Faith is powerful, but it must be lived out—not just possessed—to change your life.
• Wrong thoughts must be forcefully, intentionally cast down and replaced with God’s truth.
• No one else—not even God—will do your thinking for you; spiritual responsibility is entrusted to each believer.