Promise of Life Church Podcast

Episode: “A Skillful Thought Life”
Speaker: Pastor Nancy Dufresne
Date: July 18, 2024 (message given May 28, 2024)

Episode Overview

In this rich and practical teaching, Pastor Nancy Dufresne dives deep into the importance of mastering our thought life, especially in seasons of advancement, challenge, and spiritual warfare. Drawing from Hebrews 11:8 and Psalm 91, she exposes common misconceptions about the source of mental trouble, how to skillfully respond to fear and accusation, and why ruling our own thoughts is essential for Christian maturity. With personal stories, scriptural insights, and pointed exhortations, Pastor Nancy challenges the listener to leave behind victim thinking and take up spiritual responsibility, both in their own lives and families.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Danger of Troubled Thinking and Blame Shifting

• Scriptural Foundation: Hebrews 11:8 (Amplified Classic) – Abraham did not "trouble his mind" about where he was going, though he stepped into the unknown by faith.
• Main point: Many times, it’s not the devil but ourselves troubling our own minds by trying to handle spiritual issues with mental reasoning.
  • “Too many times we're blaming some mental troubling on the devil when it's really us troubling our own minds.” (01:27)

2. Spiritual Advancement and Resistance

• When advancing in God’s plan, the enemy seeks to recall past failures to hinder progress.
• The devil’s accusations often center around one’s history, weaknesses, or the wrongs of others, aiming to entrench believers in offense or self-disappointment.
  • “If you get entrenched in that, it's going to affect your forward advancement. Not that God can't advance you, but you won't advance because of the thinking.” (07:44)
• Pastor Nancy emphasizes becoming "inaccessible" to troublesome thoughts, likening abiding in the secret place to being out of the reach of the enemy’s accusations.
  • “It's not about getting what's trying to trouble me away from me… just don't be accessible.” (05:15)
  • Notable story of a famous minister: “He stopped and he goes, ‘I guess I have [been opposed]. I just haven't noticed.’ There it is. We notice what we should ignore.” (09:08)

3. Skillful Response to Fear and Enemy Attacks

• Personal Testimony: Pastor Nancy recounts facing spiritual attacks—even after spiritually resisting the spirit of fear, words continued troubling her thoughts.
  • Key lesson: It is necessary to not only resist the spirit, but also specifically answer the troubling words.
    • “You have to stop the movement of the words by answering them…” (20:01)
    • “If you don't stop the words, [the enemy has] permission to stay and see what they do.” (20:42)
  • She stopped the attack by specifically confronting each lie with faith-filled contradiction.

Memorable Sequence: “It says about Jesus, he said, the devil has come, but he found nothing in me...Why? He dealt with those words.” (22:59)

4. How Words and Thought Patterns Open Doors

• Stories highlight how rehearsing past words, hurts, or curses opens doors for the enemy.
  • Testimony: Minister’s wife with a cancer diagnosis, linked to 10 years of prayers motivated by fear, not faith.
    • “Speaking wrong words under the guise of prayer does not make them God's word.” (32:37)
    • It took 15 years for all symptoms to leave; the door remained open through fear.
  • “The devil cannot do anything he wants, anytime he wants. If he could, why would he have to deceive you first?” (29:28)

5. The Futility of "Talking Out" the Past

• Replaying or “talking out” past traumas only gives them more life and allows demonic harassment to re-enter.
  • “When you talk about the past, you update it. You brought the past to the present.” (35:32)
  • Dr. Sumrall Story: A young woman legally delivered from the enemy was re-tormented after selling movie rights to her story and retelling it. “If you want money rather than freedom, you can't have freedom.” (43:30)

6. Sanctify and Guard Your Thought Life

• “Sanctify your thought life. Consecrate your thought life. Whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all to the glory of God.” (47:40)
• You carry responsibility for what you allow and rehearse mentally. Detachment from recurring accusations or offenses is required for peace.
• Marriage & Family: Blessings and conflict in marriage/family often trace back to undisciplined or negative thought lives.

7. The Story of Joseph: A Model of Thought Life Mastery

• Joseph's journey (Genesis) used as a major illustration: despite profound betrayal, slavery, and false accusation, Joseph refused to live in offense or rehearse his injustices.
  • “He kept his insides clean. He kept himself right toward God… He had food for offense, but he wouldn’t take it.” (61:57)
  • God could advance Joseph to the throne only because he mastered his thought life daily, not just in "big moments". “God's not training big men in big moments. He's training big men in daily moments.” (65:55)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Advancing with an Untroubled Mind:

• “Make sure that in the going, there's no troubling. You're authorized to be untroubled by moving into what you don't know.” (02:27)

On Mental Accessibility:

• “If something is loud, you're too close to it, too accessible to it.” (06:57)
• “There is such a place that we're not living our life just in a battle all the time. There is a place of protection.” (07:12)

On Words and Their Power:

• “What somebody says about you is not near as important as what you say about you.” (26:55)
• “Words are living things and they're conductors, they're carriers of something. They will produce in your life what they say—if you believe them.” (28:33)

On Handling Offense and the Past:

• “Every time you talk about the past, you update it.” (35:31)
• “Your entire Christian life is based on words. Learn the right words and learn your dominion over the wrong words. Don't repeat them, don't entertain them.” (54:35)

On Family and Leadership:

• “You are the custodian of your mind. God did not call us to cope with a troubled mind. He called us to rule and reign.” (56:54)
• “‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ Real men talk for their house.” (58:33)

On Spiritual Growth and Advancement:

• “God's not making cripples out of his children...you have to become skillful with your own faith.” (23:45)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Urged by faith, not troubling your mind — 00:00–04:20
• Becoming inaccessible to troubling thoughts — 04:20–09:30
• Recognizing and countering enemy accusations — 09:30–13:00
• Personal story: resisting but not answering words — 13:00–21:00
• How words and thoughts open doors: Minister’s wife, cancer, fear — 28:00–34:00
• Dangers of "talking out" trauma, Dr. Sumrall story — 35:00–44:30
• Sanctifying your thought life, generational curses — 44:30–54:00
• Joseph’s story — refusing offense, God’s preparation — 57:00–68:00
• Marriage, home, and the power of words — 68:00–76:00

Tone, Style, and Takeaways

Pastor Nancy speaks with urgency, seriousness, and wit, blending scriptural teaching and practical application. Her stories and direct challenges give the message a parental, loving, and sometimes humorous edge (“Who gives a royal rip?”; “You broke. You broke. You broke.”).

Takeaways:

• Guard the mind from both external attack and internal rehearsing of offense.
• Refuse to replay, confess, or take counsel from negative, fearful, or accusatory words.
• Advancement in God is linked to mental discipline and refusing to be ruled by fear or history.
• Address negative thoughts and words directly and with the Word.
• Skill in thought life brings peace, advancement, and spiritual authority in every area—family, marriage, ministry, and personal destiny.

Conclusion

This episode lays a foundational, skillful approach to the believer’s thought life amid attack, uncertainty, and opportunity. Pastor Nancy Dufresne calls for radical ownership, discipline, and sanctification of the mind—declaring our faith, moving past our history, and stepping into our inheritance in Christ. For those seeking breakthrough, freedom from mental harassment, and true spiritual maturity, these are essential lessons.