"Faith Calls" by Nancy Dufresne

Jude 1:3 reads, “...it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith….” In telling us to “earnestly contend for the faith,” that lets us know that there are enemies to faith that will try to rob us of our faith – fear, doubt, unbelief, false doctrine, etc.

     How active are these words that surround faith – earnestly – contend. These are not passive words. “Earnestly” speaks of our interest level. How interested are we? It takes real interest to press past opposition and to see a thing through to the end. Without being interested, people won’t continue – they’ll give up. “Contend” shows us that there will be opposition. Faith has to be CONTENDED for. The deeper things of God don’t come to the casual observer; they have to be contended for, believed for, and pressed into.

     Contenders can’t be slothful or casual toward their victory. A soldier that’s slothful gets killed. A soldier must contend to stay alive. We must contend for the plan God has for our life – contend for our home, our marriage, our health, our prosperity, our peace, our joy, etc.

     Contend for the faith. Don’t let anything pervert or steal your faith from you!

     How Abraham believed God is an example of faith to us. Romans 4:17-21 reads, “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”

     Abraham “CALLED those things which be not as though they were.” This is a definition of faith. Faith “calls those things which be not as though they were.” The Amplified Classic translation reads, “…speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed.”

     We have to CALL what God says is ours into our life. If we speak wrong things, we’re calling wrong things into our life. But if we call right things, then right things come into our life. Find out what the Word says about you and your situation, then call yourself that and call your situation that. We’re to say what God says about our situation and not what the circumstances say about our situation.

     The Bible shows us a great truth – what you call is what will come to your life. If you call yourself sick, you get sicker. You talk about the lack of money, and it will keep it from coming in. But if you call yourself healed, healing begins to work in your body. If you call yourself prosperous, then prosperity begins to flow. The more you call it, the more you will have it. It’s not about calling it once, it’s a lifestyle of calling.

“We must call it the way God calls it – that’s faith! Faith calls what it needs to come.”

— Nancy Dufresne

     If Abraham hadn’t called himself the father of many nations, he wouldn’t have become that, even though God called him that. God needs us to agree with what He says so He can bring it to pass. Faith is simply agreeing with God. We must call it the way God calls it – that’s faith! Faith calls what it needs to come.

     Oral Roberts stated, “Every day miracles are coming to you or going past you.” How do you keep them from going past you? Faith calls! God goes where faith puts Him. Smith Wigglesworth, an English preacher, stated, “There’s something about faith that will cause God to pass over a million people just to get to you!”

     Faith comes by hearing, but it isn’t released by hearing. Faith is released through what we say and what we do. We can have faith and not be releasing it. Make your mouth do its divine work – call!

     What’s in a call? Your healing, provision, answers, your future. The more we call it, the more we have it. The less we call it, the less we have it. Our life is a picture of what we are calling. We can look at our life and know what we have been calling or not calling. We can look at our life and know what we need to call. Receiving your miracle is as easy as calling it!

     Do you know how we are going to move from where we are today into the fullness of what God has for us? We must put what we believe in our mouth – we are to have a lifestyle of saying what God says about us!

     We will never just float or drift into God’s best – we will only arrive there on purpose. If we’re not calling, we’re not contending! So, call what you need to come! Make your mouth do its work!

"Turning Toward The Presence Of God" by Nancy Dufresne

“Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and THROUGH THE LENGTH OF MY DAYS the house of the Lord [and HIS PRESENCE] SHALL BE MY DWELLING PLACE” (Ps. 23:6, AMPC).

     Every believer is “in the Presence of God” in the sense that the Greater One is within – He’s in us through His Spirit. But we are to learn to live mindful of Him Who is within. It makes all the difference in life when our attention is fixed on the One within. We rob ourselves of the highest flow when we don’t give proper attention to Him Who abides within.

     “In His Presence is fullness of joy” (Ps. 16:11). Living in the Presence of God is the greatest joy offered to God’s people.

     One day, as I was driving down the road in my car, God spoke to me, saying, “Living in My Presence doesn’t come by earning, but by turning. No one has ever turned toward Me and I have not met them there.” We don’t have to do enough studying, praying, and good works to earn His Presence. He has already made Himself ours! All we must do is turn our attention toward Him.

     That’s in keeping with what God said to me years ago, “Start every day in the Spirit, then keep your heart turned toward Me all day long.”

     It only takes a moment to turn! Turning is something everyone can do!

     King Hezekiah, while on his death bed, turned – and the turn added 15 years to his life.

     The prodigal son, who had left his father’s house for a lifestyle of sin, made a turn – and his life was put back on course.

     Everyone can turn – turn toward the Presence of God. Every believer can turn. The sinner can turn. The backslider can turn. The sick one can turn. The one with financial struggles can turn. The depressed one can turn. The young can turn. The old can turn. The healthy one can turn. The physically impaired one can turn. There’s no one who can’t turn toward the Presence of God.

     What’s in a turn? Everything! What’s in a turn? A life of joy and peace. What’s in a turn? The plan of God comes into view. What’s in a turn? Eternal life! What’s in a turn? The fellowship of God Himself.

     Turning toward God includes turning toward His Word and away from everything that opposes or contradicts it. We are to live by “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).

     Turning also includes turning toward our spirit and away from the mental and physical arenas. To turn toward our spirit is to turn toward the Greater One within – the Source of all power, all strength, and all ability. To turn toward the Greater One within, we turn toward all He is IN us – the Healer, Deliverer, Provider, and Victor, and the Source of all joy, peace, righteousness, and wisdom.

     “I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High. When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence” (Ps. 9:1-3). As we give ourselves the spiritual habit of continually praising Him, we hold ourselves in His Presence, and the anointing of His Presence destroys any yokes. Our enemies of sickness, pain, depression, lack, confusion, doubt, and every other enemy fall and perish from our lives as we live in His Presence.

     “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee…” (Ps. 91:1-3). His Presence is our place of refuge and our safety from all enemies that oppose.

“All throughout the day, we can turn our attention toward Him.”

— Nancy Dufresne

     All throughout the day, we can turn our attention toward Him. Daily tasks and responsibilities don’t have to rob us of the consciousness of Him.

     James 4:8 tells us, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” He always responds to our movement in His direction.

     For the rest of our life, we can live in the highest flow as we give ourselves the spiritual habit of living in His Presence by the simple action of a turn. Then we can say as David did, “…THROUGH THE LENGTH OF MY DAYS the house of the Lord [and HIS PRESENCE] SHALL BE MY DWELLING PLACE” (Ps. 23:6, AMPC).

"The Enjoyment of God’s Fellowship" by Nancy Dufresne

John 17:1-3 reads, “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. AND THIS IS LIFE ETERNAL, THAT THEY MIGHT KNOW THEE THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST, whom thou hast sent.”

     Faith can be described in different ways, but one way to describe faith is: “Faith is a fellowship with God.” Those with a thriving, robust faith also have a rich fellowship with God.

     Psalm 43:4 states, “Then will I go unto the altar of God, UNTO GOD, MY EXCEEDING JOY….” God Himself is to be our greatest joy!

     Fellowship with God holds first and foremost the ENJOYMENT of God Himself!

     When Ed and I first met, the first outstanding feature of our fellowship was that we enjoyed each other. If we had not enjoyed the fellowship of each other, the relationship wouldn’t have gone any further. I enjoyed him before I loved him, but enjoyment came to include love.

     Because we enjoyed each other, other things grew out of that enjoyment – companionship, marriage, working together, ministering together, having children, sons serving with us, grandchildren, then grandchildren serving with us, and the list goes on. It all began because we first enjoyed the fellowship of each other. See what fruit enjoyment produced!

     When we take time to simply ENJOY the fellowship of God, just think what fruit will come out of that place of enjoyment!

     Ed and I protected that enjoyment of our fellowship – we chose to keep enjoying each other. Ed would often say to me, “When the kids are grown, it will just be the two of us.” We would end up where we first began – just the enjoyment of each other. We still wanted each other.

     Married couples, protect the enjoyment of each other. For whether you realize it or not, that’s where your fellowship began, and that’s a sustaining flow of that marriage. When a marriage breaks down, the enjoyment of one another is the first thing that goes.

     Likewise, to protect your faith, protect your enjoyment of God – HE is to ever be your great joy!

     God’s heart is a father’s heart. God wanted a family – He wanted the fellowship of a family. It’s because Jesus made us righteous and made us one with the Father that we can have fellowship with Him.

     I got saved because I wanted Him. I didn’t get saved because I wanted “a ministry” – I wanted HIM. I love fulfilling the call of ministry on my life, but fueling all that I do in that call is this one thing – I still want Him!

     As Paul said in Philippians 3:10, “That I may know Him….” With all the revelations, miracles, healings, and fruit of the ministry, at the end of it all, Paul wanted to know Him more. Like Paul, our lives are to demonstrate revelation, the power of God, and manifestations of God’s power, but without knowing Him, those things don’t satisfy. Power doesn’t satisfy, dominion doesn’t satisfy – HE is the One who satisfies. What He gives meets our needs – but only HE satisfies our insides – our heart.

     Romans 12:3 reads,  “…God hath dealt to every man (every believer) the measure of faith.” Mark 11:22 records that Jesus said, “Have faith in God.” The Greek actually reads, “Have the faith OF God.” The faith God has dealt to His children is a measure of His own faith. Since it came from Him, it has to be nourished by fellowship with Him. Faith is no struggle to the one who knows Him! Faith is knowing God. Great acts of faith flow from someone who knows God. Bearing much fruit for God comes from knowing Him. 

     We can’t know God through our emotions. We can only know Him through His Word.

     We see how vital Jesus’ communion with His Father was to the results He got and the effectiveness of His ministry. He stated that He only said what He heard His Father say, and He only did what He saw His Father do. This speaks of fellowship. In His place of prayer and communion with His Father, He “heard and saw” what God wanted Him to do, then He would go among the people and manifest the Father’s will. Others received their healing and miracle because of what flowed out of Jesus’ communion with His Father.

     He was able to produce fruit because of what He saw and heard in His times of fellowship with God. In that place of fellowship, we too become more sensitive to how God leads us, then we are able to bear more fruit.

     Someone who worked closely with Kathryn Kuhlman stated, “Her fellowship with God made it easy for others to receive their miracle.”

     Mark 12:30 & 31 instructs us, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

     Our spiritual life is to carry a divine order. Loving God is FIRST – fellowship with Him is to be FIRST! If we keep our fellowship with God FIRST, there are things our fellowship will produce – things will grow out of that fellowship. To neglect fellowship is to hinder the fruit and works that fellowship is to produce. Don’t be distracted or cheated from the fellowship of the First Love, for that will hinder us from receiving and limit the fruit that is to be born out of that fellowship.

     But as verse 31 states, connected to our love for God is our love for others. How I love people is how I love God. How I treat them is how I’m treating Him. My fellowship with God isn’t separate from my fellowship with people. Loving people sweetens my fellowship with God. The more my love for others grows, the more my love for God grows, and the sweeter my fellowship with God grows.

     Faith is a fellowship with God, and it will not only affect our life, but the lives of those we come in contact with.