"2020 - Our Best Year Yet" by Nancy Dufresne

Many times, God will speak to a pastor about the new year, letting them know what to expect and what He wants them to emphasize for that year. God tells us what to say, for it shows us what He is OFFERING us in the new year, then as we put those words in our mouth, He can bring it to pass, for what God says calls for our faith if it is to come to pass.

     At our staff Christmas party, the anointing of God fell on me and God said to me, “2020 will be your best year yet!”

     God gives a congregation something to say and believe for about the new year so that they will move forward in UNITY, for unity is imperative for God’s best to flow.

God said to me that 2020 will be our best year yet!

     There have been many wonderful things that God has done for us in years past, and we are grateful for it all, but God always has more, and He always has something better. We never reach the end of all of God’s best – there’s always more!

     God has so much for us that as we read the New Testament, it would seem as though the men who wrote it had difficulty finding words that fully and adequately express what our boundless resources are in Christ. 

     When the Word speaks of what belongs to us in Christ, what God has provided for us, and the greatness that awaits us, we can notice in the Bible the many “UN’s.” The Bible authors used words like: unsearchable, unspeakable, unfathomable, untraceable, undiscoverable.

     Why do they use such words? Because human words cannot very easily express how rich we are in Christ.

     An astronaut said that when they are so far above the earth, they can hardly describe it in words we are used to because the view is so different than what we are used to seeing – it’s so much higher and so much above the daily view.

     Let’s look at Romans 11:33. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how UNSEARCHABLE are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” The Amplified translation reads, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How UNFATHOMABLE (inscrutable, unsearchable) are His judgments (His decisions)! And how UNTRACEABLE (mysterious, UNDISCOVERABLE) are His ways (His methods, His paths)!”

     There’s always more to God and how He moves and works. We have never seen all of His ways. We will never reach the end of His genius and ability. No matter all that we find and learn in our search, there’s always more to search out – we will never reach the end of our search with Him. And just think – that Greater One is in us!

     Let’s look at Ephesians 3:8 that reads, “...the UNSEARCHABLE riches of Christ.” The Amplified says, “...the unending (boundless, fathomless, incalculable, and exhaustless) riches of Christ [wealth which no human being could have searched out].”

     We will never reach the end of what has been made available to us in Christ – there’s always more! We must never think we have arrived or that we have it all – we must never settle or quit reaching.

     Second Corinthians 9:15 reads, “Thanks be unto God for his UNSPEAKABLE gift.” The Amplified translation says, “Now thanks be to God for His Gift, [precious] beyond telling [His indescribable, inexpressible, free Gift]!”

     “Unspeakable” means not being able to express with words.

     Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard UNSPEAKABLE words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” The Amplified version of verse 4 reads, “Was caught up into paradise, and he heard utterances beyond the power of man to put into words, which man is not permitted to utter.”

     First Peter 1:8 says, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy UNSPEAKABLE and full of glory.” The Amplified says, “...you believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy.”

     Although that which belongs to us in Christ may be difficult to express, it doesn’t have to be difficult to receive. His riches are ours – they are available for those who will cash the check. Nothing limits the supply from God except our capacity to take it.

     Although this will be our best year yet, the best won’t end with this year – there will always be more.

     With all the great things God has in store for us this year and in the coming years, the best is yet to be – for after our years on the earth, Heaven holds more of God’s greatness for us. First Corinthians 2:9-12 in the Amplified translation tells us, “...as the Scripture says, 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]. Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny]. For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man’s thoughts except the man’s own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have not received the spirit [that belongs to] the world, but the [Holy] Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts [of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly] bestowed on us by God.”

     The only way we can come to know what God has made ours is by the Holy Spirit – He is the One who reveals it to us.

     There’s always more for us, so let’s declare it often – 2020 will be our best year yet!

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"How Long Are You Going to Put Up With...?" by Nancy Dufresne

The Bible records people’s experiences with God. If we will listen, in their stories we can find answers for our own lives. But in the lives of men of God in more recent generations, we can also find answers for our lives. 

     Norvel Hayes was a minister who went home to be with the Lord in October 2018. He had some experiences with God that I continue to tell about because we can find help in them.

     He told the testimony of his teenage daughter who had 46 growths on her hands. He didn’t know as much about faith and believing God then as he did later, and he had been praying for years for God to heal the growths on his daughter’s body. One day, as he was walking through his house, his spirit left his body – he was taken to Heaven and stood before Jesus.

     Jesus asked him, “How long are YOU going to put up with those growths on your daughter’s body?”

     Brother Norvel answered, “What do You mean?”
     “I said, how long are YOU going to put up with those growths on your daughter’s body? If you will curse those things in My Name, they will die and disappear. If you will believe and not doubt – just like I did with the fig tree. Talk to it. That’s a mountain in your life. Talk to it, tell it what you want done, and it will obey you if you do it in My Name. Curse the roots of those growths. They will die and wither away and disappear if you will believe and not doubt.”
     Brother Norvel said, “When I came back from Heaven, I went into my daughter’s room and laid my hands on her, and I cursed those things, and about 40 days later they disappeared in a moment of time. They didn’t just gradually disappear, but instantly disappeared. I knew it was going to happen. I didn’t know when, but I refused to doubt.”

     Jesus asked him, “How long are YOU going to put up with those growths on your daughter’s body?” Brother Norvel was waiting for GOD to do something about those growths, but Jesus let him know that God was waiting on HIM to do something about them with his authority. 

     Jesus was rebuking Brother Norvel for putting up with those growths on his daughter’s body. In listening to this account, the thing that stands out to me is when Jesus asked him, “How long are YOU going to put up with...?” 

     We could apply that same question to many of our own situations. “How long are you going to put up with...” sickness, pain, symptoms, addictions, depression, a troubled mind with bombarding, harassing thoughts, fear, poverty, lack, bad habits, strife, unforgiveness, and offense?
     How long are we going to have something we don’t want? As long as we put up with it. Most of the time, people don’t even recognize what they’re putting up with. We will have in our life what WE PUT UP WITH. Our life is a picture of what we are putting up with. Our lives are full of what we are putting up with. If we don’t like what we have, we need to quit putting up with it.

     Brother Norvel would ask, “How long are you going to put up with those crooked legs?” If you give that crooked leg a choice, it will remain crooked. By being silent, by not talking to it, you are giving it a choice.

     How long are you going to put up with stomach issues, back trouble, joint problems, etc...? If you give those things a choice, they will remain.

     The Hebrews that were delivered out of Egypt put up with the wilderness accommodations for 40 years too long. The second generation quit putting up with what the first generation put up with.

     So many Christians are waiting for God to do something about their situation, and God is waiting for THEM to talk to their mountains – to use the authority He gave them to deal with it. Jesus told Norvel the reason those growths were still there was because HE HADN’T TALKED TO THEM. He was talking to God about the growths when he should have been talking to the growths about God! 

     We are to turn our mouths loose on what God says. Speak to the mountain, but don’t let the mountain be your focus and have your attention – have your attention on what God says. 

     Mark 11:22 & 23 reads, “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That 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 that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” Verse 23 is primarily saying this – things will obey you, so talk to them! 

     God SPOKE the world into existence. Our lives are controlled by our tongues. Our tongue controls everything in our lives. If we will put in an all-out effort toward the Word, feeding on it, speaking it, and acting on it, it won’t take long for our answer to manifest.

"Our Greatest Defense" by Nancy Dufresne

There are times when the enemy will oppose us, but no matter what opposition, tests, or trials come our way, our greatest defense is a submitted body and a renewed mind. When we keep our bodies under control and think in line with the Word, we are able to keep the door closed to the devil, and he can’t get in.

     Romans 12:1 & 2 reads, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

     We are threefold beings: we are a spirit, we have a soul (made up of the mind, will, and emotions), and we live in a body. When we got born again, God did something with our spirits – He gave us a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26). Even though God did something with our spirits at the new birth, we still have the same mind and same flesh. We are the ones who have to do something with the mind and the flesh – not God. Romans 12:1 & 2 tells us what to do with them – present, or submit, our bodies to God and renew our minds with the Word of God. 

Submitted Bodies

     Romans 12:1 tells us to present our bodies to God. We are no longer to present our bodies unto sin and do wrong, but we are to present, or yield, our bodies to righteousness and do right things with our bodies. We must yield our bodies to only do what is right instead of yielding to sin. 

     Romans 6:13 & 14 instructs us, “Neither YIELD ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but YIELD yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” 

     The grace of God is the divine ability we now have to say “no” to sin, and it enables us to live a righteous lifestyle. Sin is no longer lord over us. As believers, the power that’s in us is greater. But to break sinful habits of the flesh, we have to tell them, “No, you have no more authority over me to dominate me. I yield myself to God and to do right, and I no longer yield to sin and wrong doing.” Answer bad habits of the flesh! 

     If we don’t do something with our bodies, our bodies can ruin our lives. If our body is permitted to lead us, it will lead us into ruin. 

     First Corinthians 9:27 records that Paul said, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (set aside as unusable).” Paul, this great apostle, still had a body that wanted to do wrong if it got its way. But Paul said that he kept his body under. Under what? Under the dominion of his spirit. He didn’t let his body dominate and lead him – he yielded to his spirit and allowed it to dominate and lead him.

Renewed Minds

     In addition to submitting our bodies to God, Romans 12:2 instructs us that we are to renew our minds – which means to take on God’s way of thinking. God’s Word is the thoughts of God. When our own thoughts are different than His thoughts, then we are to lay aside our thinking and take on His thinking. 

     When our mind is being renewed with the Word, it will show up in our actions. Our mind isn’t being renewed until it affects our behavior and our lifestyle. If we are renewing our mind, we are also a DOER of the Word, for the mind is only renewed as we DO the Word. 

     Dad Hagin stated, “The mind doesn’t stay renewed any more than the hair stays combed.” Just as we are to put our hair back in place every day – we must daily renew our minds to keep the mind in place; it is a lifelong process.  As we renew our mind with the Word, our life will be transformed.

     Someone can get saved, but if they never renew their mind with the Word, their lifestyle won’t change much. They will still have the same behavior and the same way of thinking they did before they were born again. The new birth does something with the spirit, but not the mind – that’s why we must renew it with the Word.

     God wants submitted bodies and transformed minds. God knows that submitting our bodies to Him and renewing our minds with His Word is our greatest defense against the devil.

     The mind is Satan’s chief battleground. If we are going to reign in life, we have to renew our minds with the Word of God so that we can keep the door closed to the enemy. For those believers who don’t do the right thing with their mind and body, the devil will have open access to their life.

     Many think the devil is their problem, when the real problem is that they haven’t done what they ought to with their minds and bodies. Many are waiting for God to intervene and change their situations. God did intervene – He empowered us and told us what to do – yield our body to God, not to sin, AND renew our mind.

     The reason some believers have ongoing struggles and crisis day after day is because they aren’t doing the right thing with their bodies or because they aren’t renewing their minds with the Word of God. It’s a waste of time to try to cast the devil off someone whose real problem is an unrenewed mind.

     Yes, the devil will oppose and attack those who are doing something for God, but when our minds are renewed, those attacks can’t get in. 

     The renewing of the mind takes place through the Word. As we feed on, think on, and act on the Word, the mind is renewed. The more we feed on and do the Word, the quicker that process takes place. The less we feed on the Word, the longer that process takes. The sooner we give ourselves to the renewing of our minds, the sooner we will be able to enjoy the benefits Jesus provided for us.

     Joshua 1:8 spells out how to renew our minds. “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.”

     Victory belongs to us because we are born again, but that victory won’t be experienced in our lives until we do something with our bodies and our minds.  LET’S DO OUR HOMEWORK!