"Healing – Hook On!" by Nancy Dufresne

I want to tell you a healing testimony I recently heard that I love. There was a man who was hospitalized and suffering with great pain. He was in so much pain that if the doctors didn’t give him pain medication that completely knocked him out, he was virtually screaming. 

     A minister was called to come and pray for him, and on the way over to the hospital, the minister asked the Holy Spirit what he should minister to the man. Yes, the minister knew that healing belongs to all of God’s people, but he also knew that sometimes people aren’t in position to receive God’s best. So he wanted to find out from the Spirit of God what this man’s faith could hook on to. The minister knew that the man was suffering with great pain, and he knew it would be difficult to locate the man’s faith while he was in that condition. As the minister inquired of the Lord about what to believe for with the man, the Spirit of God spoke to him. 

     When the minister arrived in the man’s hospital room, he saw how much pain he was in and realized that the pain level was increasing day by day. He knew that the man wasn’t even really able to listen to much counsel because he was so distracted by the pain. The minister knew that he needed to speak something quick and short that the suffering man could hook his faith on to.

     The minister didn’t even ask the man to believe for the pain to leave instantly; he knew that he wouldn’t be able to lay hold of that with his faith. So the minister said what the Spirit of God had told him as he drove to the hospital. “Can you believe with me that the pain won’t be any worse tomorrow than it is today?”

     “Yes,” the man said, “I can believe for that.”

     “Good! Let’s pray together and set our faith for that,” and they did.

     The next day the minister went back to visit him. When he arrived, the man’s family met him in the hallway and said, “He’s still in a lot of pain, but at least it’s no worse today than it was yesterday.”

     The minister didn’t say anything to them, but on the inside he was jumping up and down. Their faith had worked!

     The minister walked into the hospital room, and although the man was still suffering in pain, he encouraged him. “Brother, our faith worked! We found a place where we could hook on and get results. Things have turned and are going in the right direction now. You’re not getting worse every day! Praise the Lord!” And he got the man’s attention on the victory that they had received. “Now, let’s believe that you’ll have less pain tomorrow than you have today.” They agreed in prayer.

     When the minister went back to visit him the next day, the man told him, “I am still in pain, but it is a little bit less than it was yesterday – just a little bit less.”

     The minister rejoiced. “Brother, God’s power is working! Not only has the pain stopped increasing, but now it’s decreasing. Even though it’s just decreased a little bit, it’s still decreasing. Praise the Lord!”

     Every time the minister went back, he found that the man was getting better and better, until he went back one day and found out that the man had been sent home.

     No, it wasn’t an instant healing, but it was still divine healing.

“The key is to find the place where your faith can hook on – and then hook on! - Nancy Dufresne”

     Brother Hagin used to say to us, “Many confine God to the instantaneous and miss the supernatural.” In other words, many don’t think that faith or the Word is working unless they receive instantaneously, but this man was having healing power working in his body every day, even though it wasn’t instantaneous. The Bible tells us that the centurion’s servant “began to amend.” His healing wasn’t instantaneous, but he began to get better little by little.

     If there’s something that you need to change in your life, whether it’s healing in your body, a financial change, or some other change, don’t limit God to the instantaneous. Find the place where your faith can hook on. Can you believe that things will get better every day? Well, it takes faith to believe that, and God is pleased with faith. God isn’t only pleased when you can believe for the instantaneous, but He is pleased when you release your measure of faith – whatever that measure may be. 

     In Mark 11:23, Jesus spoke of the mountain being moved, but who said that it would move all at once? A mountain can be moved a little bit every day. 

     The key is to find the place where your faith can hook on – and then hook on!

"The Jackpot of Life, Part 2" by Nancy Dufresne

    In last month’s teaching, I wrote of what Jesus stated in Matthew 6:31-33. He told us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all these things that others are dying to get will be ADDED to you. This is the “jackpot” of life. It’s a key scripture that tells us that when we seek God first, then all these things this scripture contains will be added to us.

     Seeking first His Kingdom and His way of operating will put us in command of all other things that others are dying to get. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its diverse interests, and all these things shall be added to you.

     Put your love for God and His Kingdom first, without anything else competing for that first and highest place. You can’t put your business, your own plans, and your natural interests alongside God and His Kingdom and then say He’s first. 

     You cannot give God a “shared” first position. Anything else that is put in that position of “first” will fail you. Nothing else in this world or life is worthy of or able to successfully occupy the position of being first. That is a position that only God and His Kingdom can successfully occupy and fulfill.

     Matthew 6:33 doesn’t say, “Seek ye ONLY.” It says, “Seek ye FIRST....” Yes, we can have other interests, but they can’t be first; we aren’t to put anything above Him.

     Revelation 2:4 & 5 warns us, “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy FIRST LOVE. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”
     If we leave our first love, nothing else we may do matters.

Love God With All...

     Let’s see what loving God first looks like. Mark 12:28-30 (Amplified) reads, “Then one of the scribes...asked Him (Jesus), Which commandment is first and most important of all [in its nature]? Jesus answered, The first and principal one of all commands is: Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord; And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the FIRST and principal commandment.”
     To love God with all our being — this is the FIRST commandment (vs. 30). Jesus said, “HEAR, O Israel....” God’s people — HEAR THIS. This is where many of God’s people miss it. Family isn’t first, your plans aren’t first, your business isn’t first, your income isn’t first, what men call important isn’t first — loving God with all our being is FIRST.

     Jesus tells us HOW we are to love God. Verse 30 — “And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart....” Notice the word “with” — “And you shall love the Lord your God WITH....” We can only love God WITH something — we can’t love Him WITHOUT something. To love Him properly, we can’t demonstrate our love to Him without something.

     God wants something more from us than natural things — He wants things of greater value — that which you can’t put a price on — He wants that which flows out of man’s being — man’s heart, his soul, his mind, and his strength — that which is above price. He wants ALL of you — the WHOLE of you.

     Love has to be in two places: the heart and the actions. We aren’t just to have actions without the heart involved, and we aren’t to have the heart without any actions to prove it.

     Jesus said that there are 4 things that must be involved in our love for God — all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength.

     First, with all our heart. This is where the life stems from — our hearts. If our hearts aren’t involved, why would His heart be involved? Our hearts have to be involved for it to matter. Our hearts are to be an unshared seat. God is first and foremost in our hearts, and we are not assuming to seat something else alongside Him. He alone occupies the foremost seat in our hearts.

     Second, with all our souls (AMP — our life). Our daily lives are a picture of what’s in our souls — they demonstrate the way we think, what we set our will on, and what we set our affections on. Our way of thinking, our will, and affections flow out into our daily lives. To love God with all our souls, we come into harmony with God’s will for our daily lives. We are to think right toward God and His Kingdom interests. We are not to be self-willed. We are to hold our affections on God and His Kingdom. We have no room in our thinking and in our lives for anything contrary to God and His Word.

     We do not permit in our thinking and in our lives what others may permit. Worry, fear, doubt, strife, unforgiveness, offense, ill will toward others — none of these things are to be permitted, and there is no room for them in us if we are loving God with all our souls.

     Third, with all our minds. It’s the renewed mind that thinks right toward God and His kingdom. The renewed mind takes its rightful place in Him. The renewed mind comes into the understanding and revelation of the Word and takes the thoughts of God as its own. 

     Fourth, with all our strength. We are to exert and spend our strength in loving, obeying, and serving Him. This involves works that demonstrate love. We are saved by grace, not by works, but once we’re saved, works matter! That’s called fruit, and Jesus said we would know someone by their fruit. 

     We are to use all our strength in obedience to carry out His will for our lives. Obedience is the action of a heart submitted to and loving God. We demonstrate our love for God with our strength. 

     Paul said that he labored more abundantly than all others; that was the fruit of his love for God. We are to love Him with all our strength.

     Seeking first the Kingdom of God and His way of doing things will deliver to you and your family the best life — it will add to you what you could never achieve for yourself. 

"The Jackpot of Life, Part 1" by Nancy Dufresne

Matt. 6:31-34 instructs us, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But SEEK ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be ADDED unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow....”

The Amplified translation of verse 33 reads, “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (HIS WAY OF DOING and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.”

“When we seek first God’s Kingdom and His way of operating, everything we need in this life shall be added to us.”

— Nancy Dufresne

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things that others are dying to get will be ADDED to you. This is the “jackpot” of life. It’s a key scripture that tells us that when we seek God first, then all these things this scripture contains will be added to us.

Seeking first His Kingdom and His way of operating will put us in command of all other things that others are dying to get. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its diverse interests, and all these things shall be added to you.

“Seek” — this is not a casual approach to God and His Kingdom, but a “whole-hearted” approach that calls for your whole attention. This verse shows us that we are to have a God-centeredness in all we do. God-centeredness is loving God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. God-centeredness puts us on top of all other issues of life. This verse shows us that God-centeredness will put us in command of all other issues of life.

No Fear of What We’re Far Above

For the one who is God-centered in his thoughts and in his attention, he is done with fear and worry and doubt. To engage in “His way of doing” (vs. 33, Amp) gives you the mastery over all opposition. When you get the revelation of this verse, you will be free from struggling for anything. You can be assured that this truth sets you free from every form of struggle.

God-centeredness is the mystery behind our dominion on the earth. God-centeredness helps us see ourselves and walk in the position He has raised us to — FAR above all powers.

Ephesians 1:20-23 reads, “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, FAR ABOVE all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” And Ephesians 2:5 & 6 tells us, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ...And hath RAISED US UP together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

When you get the revelation that you are seated FAR ABOVE all opposing powers, it is like a divine coronation, and you begin to exercise the dominion that is yours. You live on top instead of beneath. God-centeredness brings you into a mindfulness of your exalted position in Christ. It sets you free from fear when you see that you are FAR ABOVE all opposition. You can never be afraid of what you are FAR above. When someone is afraid, it is because they have forgotten that they are FAR ABOVE it. No more fear of being alone, fear of flying, fear of failure, no fear of the future, no fear that so many others’ lives are dominated by.

Utmost Excitement About His Kingdom

When we seek first God’s Kingdom and His way of operating, everything we need in this life shall be added to us. To seek first the Kingdom of God and His way of doing things is to love God unreservedly — going after Kingdom issues with utmost excitement — treating it as the highlight of your life.

First Corinthians 2:9 reads, “...What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed]” (Amplified).

The more interested I become with Him and His business, the more I lose interest in the unimportant, and the more absorbed I am with God’s interests. I’m not going to let the unimportant rob me of the glorious future God planned for me on this earth. I’m not going to let distractions and the natural rob me of laying hold of “His riches in glory.”

Serving God and having your interest in His Kingdom is absolutely for your benefit. Exodus 23:25 & 26 tells us, “You shall serve the Lord your God; He shall bless your bread and water, and I will take sickness from your midst...I will fulfill the number of your days” (Amplified). He will bless your daily resources, and He will protect the health of the one serving Him and extend his life. The blessing flows with the “serving” of His Kingdom.

You won’t have to pray for His blessing when your interest is in His Kingdom, for the abundance of that Kingdom will water and overflow every arena of your life. Giving God the first place in our lives is absolutely to our benefit. When we put the Kingdom of God first, then that Kingdom will dominate our lives.

In God’s Kingdom is unending supply — there’s never a shortage there. Stay in the interests of the Kingdom, and you will stay out of shortage.

Part 2 Coming Next Month...