Victory is Yours | Nancy Dufresne

Q: Victory is one of the defining themes of your ministry. Why do you think so many sincere Christians are living beneath what Jesus already purchased for them?

A: There are three primary reasons why believers are not experiencing all that Jesus has provided for them:

1. Many don’t know what belongs to them.

2. Even if they do know what belongs to them, many times their faith is weak – it’s not strong enough to appropriate and receive what has been provided for them.

3. Disobedience.

The good news is that all three of these things are fixable!

First of all, we need to find out what belongs to us because we are in Christ. Everything that God planned and desired for us, He put in Christ, then put Christ in us. Jesus’ earthly life was an example of what the believer’s life can look like and produce.

We are to find out what the Word says is ours. Feeding on all of the Word will bless us, but the letters that were written specifically to the Church are the Epistles, so we should spend time especially feeding on those. (Twenty-one books of the New Testament are Epistles to the Church.) When we find out what belongs to us and we walk in the light of the Word, life will become different for us.

Proverbs 4:20-22 instructs us, “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they (God’s words) are life unto those the FIND THEM, and health to all their flesh.” We have to take the time to “find them” – we must find out what God’s Words says if we are going to benefit from it. That means that we must be interested in giving God’s Word first place in our life. We must take the time to “find them” and sow His words into our heart (our spirit), for only then will they produce.

God’s Word is a seed, and for any seed to produce a harvest, it must be sown! Likewise, for God’s Word to produce a harvest in our life, it must be sown in our heart. The seed of God’s Word must be:

1. planted in our heart.

2. watered – through hearing the Word continually.

3. cultivated – through protecting our heart and the seed of God’s Word from the weeds and pests of unforgiveness, bitterness, offense, unbelief, fear, etc.

4. harvested – releasing faith to receive our answer.

How we treat God’s Word will show up in our life. If we honor His Word and give it first place in our life by being a doer of that Word, it will produce greatly in our life. But if we treat it lightly and don’t give it its rightful place in our life, it can’t produce for us as it ought.

Mark 4:24 reads, “And He (Jesus) said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue (power) and knowledge] that comes back to you—and more [besides] will be given to you who hear” (AMPC). It’s not God who determines how much power and knowledge of His Word that operates in our life – it’s us! The more we give place to the Word and act on that Word, the more of God’s power and knowledge will operate in our life.

Hosea 4:6 warns us, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge….” When we are ignorant of God’s Word, then the devil is able to take advantage of us. The devil is counting on our ignorance to work his plan against us. He doesn’t want us to know that Jesus’ victory over him is total and complete!

Thank God for the teaching and preaching of the Word we have heard, but we can’t just count on what others may have taught us. We have to go to the Word for ourselves and find out what it says and not just rely on what someone else says. We need to know for ourselves. If what we have heard preached and taught isn’t in line with God’s Word, we are not to accept it. We are to only accept that which is in line with God’s Word.

The second reason some Christians live beneath what Jesus has provided for them is that even if they do know what belongs to them, many times, their faith is weak and not strong enough to receive what has been provided.

That is easily remedied by taking time to feed and meditate on the Word. Romans 10:17

tells us, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The faith of God lives in His Word, so when we sow His Word in our heart, we are sowing the faith of God into us as well.

When God declares and states something, then it’s true! The Word tells us that God is not a man that He should lie. When God says something, it’s always true, so we can count it as good as done when He says it!

Faith is our agreement with what God says. We are to agree with what God says. We are to speak and confess our agreement with Him. We are to declare, “I agree with God’s Word that I am healed, I am provided for, I am free from fear, and I have victory over every test, trial, and opposition!” When we agree with Him, we are giving God permission to bring it to pass in our life. Then we don’t let any opposition draw us out of that agreement.

God is so honorable that He will never violate our will or force something upon us. We must agree with Him. When we agree with God’s Word, that’s faith – and that is what opens the door to God’s power to flow in our life!

We are not to let this natural realm talk us out of believing what God said. We are to hold our attention and focus on what God said, in spite of opposing circumstances. That’s what faith does! Faith is only occupied with what God says – not opposing circumstances.

We arrive at strong faith as we feed God’s Word into our heart, as we agree with His Word, and as we give glory to God that His Word is true in our life, no matter what circumstances may say. We know that what God says always trumps what circumstances say.

The third reason Christians don’t always partake of all God has provided for them is due to disobedience. To disobey God is to sin, and when we sin, we get on the devil’s territory, and then he has a right to attack us. We are to obey God’s Word and obey what the Spirit of God is leading us to do, for the Holy Spirit always leads us in line with God’s Word. He would never lead us to do anything that is against what God says in His Word.

We can’t treat anything God tells us to do as optional. Anytime we obey God, we always end up with greater blessings, as well as being a greater blessing to others.

Q: You often teach that faith isn’t about trying to get God to move – it’s about receiving what He’s already provided. How does that truth change the way we pray and live?

A: So many approach prayer with the mindset that they need to talk God into doing something for them, so they pray trying to coerce or persuade Him to work for them. But God is not a withholder – He’s a giver! In fact, He has already given us everything we will ever need in this life.

In 2 Peter 1:3, we read, “For His divine power HAS BESTOWED upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him…” (AMPC). When we have knowledge that He has already given us all things we could ever need to live successfully in this life, then we see that all we need to do is receive what He’s given.

Mark 11:24 reads, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, BELIEVE THAT YE RECEIVE THEM, and ye shall have them.” At the time we pray, we are to believe that we receive what we pray for. When we release faith, God’s power always starts working on our behalf.

Receiving and manifestation are two different things. “Manifestation” is dealing with this natural realm, when something shows up in this seen realm. But “receiving” is dealing with the spirit realm, the unseen realm. God deals with us through our spirit. We receive from God with our spirit first; once we agree with God inwardly, in our heart, then God can bring it to pass. We choose to agree with God’s Word and believe that He has already provided the answer to our need.

Our part is to receive what He has provided. We are to “perform the act of receiving.” We do that by simply saying, “I receive it. I agree with God’s Word. I receive what He has already provided. I count it done, and I have it now. So, I act as though the Word is true, for it is!” Then thank Him in advance for bringing it to pass, and He will cause it to manifest in this realm.

That’s what faith is – speaking and acting like the Word is true.

Many are wondering why God isn’t moving to give them something, when we just need to agree with what He has already provided and thank Him for it – that’s what causes it to come into being.

Q: Many believers know the promises of God intellectually, but they struggle to experience them personally. What’s the missing piece?

A: The Word of God will seem like a foreign thing to someone until they take time to build it into their own heart, their spirit. The Word must become a living, moving, real thing in our life, and that only happens as we build that Word into our heart through meditation.

Joshua 1:8 instructs us, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt MEDITATE therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

Meditating on the Word “day and night” (making it a lifestyle) builds that Word in us.

The Hebrew word “meditate” means to mutter. All throughout the day, think of and mutter God’s Word to yourself, saying what He says. Put your attention on what God says, then when something opposes you, answer that opposition with the Word of God.

When tests and opposition show up in our life, we are to get into the habit of first asking ourselves, “What does God’s Word say about this?” Then act accordingly, respond to that opposition in line with that Word. That’s how we become doers of God’s Word and partake of what belongs to us.

Q: When someone has prayed, believed, and still hasn’t seen their breakthrough, how do they keep their faith strong without becoming discouraged?

A: Second Corinthians 4:18 tells us, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” If we are occupied with this natural arena by being occupied with circumstances and symptoms, it will rob us of faith. That’s why this scripture tells us, “While we look not at the things which are seen….” We must have our attention fixed on God’s Word and what He says because that’s what puts faith in us.

Having our attention on the Word puts faith in us, but having our attention on natural circumstances will take faith out of us.

Anything that we can see is in this natural realm is temporal, meaning that it’s changeable. It’s faith in God’s Word that will cause the natural realm to change. We are to speak what God says in the face of circumstances; that’s what causes them to change.

John 6:63 records that Jesus stated, “… the words that I SPEAK unto you, they are SPIRIT, and they are LIFE.” Speaking the Word from our spirit, our heart (not just from a mental place), is what transmits the life they contain into our situations and into our body.

Faith is only interested in one thing – what God says! Our faith is affected by our attention. What our attention is on is what our faith is on. When our faith is turned toward God and His Word and away from symptoms, then our faith will be unwavering.

Q: You teach that our words carry tremendous spiritual power. What are some of the most common ways Christians unknowingly speak themselves out of victory?

A: The greatest need of every believer is to renew their mind with the Word of God, which means to take on God’s way of thinking. That is what will transform our life (Rom. 12:2). A renewed mind speaks in line with the Word, not in line with opposition. As we speak God’s Word, then we are putting God to work for us.

Faith speaks what it wants – not what it sees. When Christians continually talk about the opposition or symptoms, then those things get worse. But if we will train ourselves to only speak that which is in line with the Word, we will rewrite our future.

Faith has no complaint in its mouth! Faith is a praiser! So as we turn from complaining to praising, that’s the atmosphere God can work in.

Q: Your television program, Jesus the Healer, has encouraged countless people around the world. Why has the message of healing remained such a central part of your ministry, and what have you witnessed God do through the program?

A: In 1971, before my husband, Ed Dufresne, even entered the ministry, God told him to attend a conference. While he was at that conference, Jesus put a healing anointing in his hand, and from that day forward, divine healing has been an earmark of this ministry.

As I ministered alongside my husband, that same healing anointing has flowed through my me. We believe we have a responsibility to stay faithful to minister the anointing God has placed on this ministry.

We have seen countless people healed in our services, but since our daily broadcast started, we have also received many testimonies of people receiving healing as they watch our broadcast and release their faith.

I thank God for the opportunity to lay hands on those in our services who need healing, but it is such a great joy to see people healed as they hear and act on the teaching on our Jesus the Healer broadcast. They see for themselves how easy it is to receive from God.

Q: We live in a culture driven by fear, anxiety, and bad news. How can believers protect their hearts and remain anchored in faith instead of being pulled into fear?

A: What we give our attention to is what will fill us. We must listen to and feed on materials that put faith in us. We must fellowship with those who put faith in us – not take faith out of us.

If something troubles your faith, then don’t get around it and don’t let it in. Protect your faith, because that’s how you conduct business with God.

Q: You often talk about exercising our God-given authority. Practically speaking, what does that look like in everyday life when facing sickness, financial pressure, or family struggles?

A: When something shows up that didn’t come from God, we are to resist it. Too many times, we put up with things too long before we start resisting opposition – whether it’s fear, doubt, symptoms, lack, depression, etc.

First Peter 5:8 & 9 tells us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith….” We are to watch over the different arenas of our life and recognize when the enemy is trying to work. When he does, we are to resist him.

James 4:7 instructs us, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” When we resist him, we know that he has to flee.

What we don’t resist has permission to stay.

Q: Looking back over your years in ministry, what’s one lesson about faith and victory that God has taught you that surprised you the most?

A: I think too few believers recognize how far-reaching their authority is.

We can always exercise authority over our own life and over that which is under our authority, but the Word also tells us that we are to pray for one another.

Through the years, the Spirit of God has had me pray for others during my times of prayer, and I have seen people rescued from life and death situations.

We should always be sensitive to the Spirit of God and respond to Him when He leads us to pray for someone else.

Q: If every believer truly understood one truth about the victorious life Jesus has given us, what would you want that truth to be?
A: If every believer would recognize that God has ALREADY GIVEN and PROVIDED all they would ever need, then they would live free from fear, and they would enter into a “rest” that belongs to faith.

He has provided all we need, and with our faith, we become a partaker of what He has provided. Philemon 1:6 tells us how to partake of what God has made ours. “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” This verse simply means that our faith becomes effective as we acknowledge what Jesus has already provided for us. We are to declare and speak what Jesus has already done for us.

When symptoms come, we acknowledge and declare that Jesus has already healed us. When lack tries to come, we acknowledge and declare that God has already made full provision for us. When any opposition comes, we acknowledge and declare that Jesus has already won the victory for us. Then we simply thank and praise Him for it!