Saving Souls

Richard, we have, there have been times in our life that only the grace of God has kept us going.  John Osteen there in Houston makes this statement, “If I had quit the church every time that God, that I felt like quitting, I would have, and moved one mile,” he said, “I’d be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean by now.”  And it’s the inspiration, and I’m not saying this just because I’m on your show, but certainly this is an appropriate time to say it, it’s what your family has been able to hold on through.  If you’ve got a call, there’s no place else to go. Like Jesus asked Peter, He said, “Peter, do you want to leave with the rest of these that are leaving me?”  He said, “Where would we go?  You have the words of eternal life, but where would we go?”  And those people come to us and we know that that’s what we’ve been called to do.  And what we do is, we try to contact every person that comes to Bread of Life Church, every new person, every new member, every new convert and keep in touch with them through what we have called a Home Fellowship Network. And it’s much like Dr. Cho’s cell group system.  But what we do is meet every other week, and it’s mainly for that time of fellowship, that time of mutually encouraging one another.  You know, you can devote yourself to the apostles teaching and to prayer, but iron sharpens iron.  And it’s that being a person with another person and sharing the love of God with them. There’s something about you that will convict me and there’s something about me that will convict you and we’ll build each other up.

SPRR RICHARD ROBERTS Working together.

SPKM DUSTY KEMP And we put them in that home fellowship.

SPRR RICHARD ROBERTS Now, Rhonda, as a pastor’s wife, as a woman, how do you, how do you respond to people who come in this kind of situation into your church?

SPKM RHONDA KEMP Well, we try to love them, the first thing.  And we try to connect them with someone, you know, with similar situations, maybe someone that has been through it or someone that has knowledge of the problem they’re at.  And try to just love them and show them that God loves them and God didn’t cause bad things to happen to them.  And show them that, you know, through Christ they can obtain everything that they want and they can be, you know, Christ like.  You know, it’s kind of funny, you know, being so young but looking at the people in the church, you know, and the congregation and there’s some–you know, you can’t do this with everyone, as you probably know–but just some you pick out and you watch.  And then when they grow it’s almost like the first time your child walks, you know.  And it’s so exciting when they get hold of something that you’ve known for years. It’s really fulfilling, you know, knowing that they are grasping hold and they are gaining and they’re getting more self-confident, like you said, people that come through divorce or, you know, people that are being kicked out.  They have no self-confidence, you know.  When that starts building, it’s so rewarding to watch that, that they come through the knowledge of God to get strength, you know, and self-confidence.

SPKM DUSTY KEMP You said something on the show the other day that really clicked in my spirit and she brought it up, and I think that’s one of the most important things we need to understand. The other day when your baby bumped its head and you had to take it to the emergency room and you were reminded

SPRR RICHARD ROBERTS You were watching that day.

SPKM DUSTY KEMP Yeah, I was watching that day.  I go to prayer in the morning at the church and come back home and study and many times catch your program. It’s always been a blessing.  And you were talking about immediately the fear came back upon you that, of it happening again.  With the attack of the devil, it seems always–and the greatest attacks that have come against us, the devil tried to come against our mind with the thought that God is not on your side in this one.  He’s really the reason that I’m able to do this, which is a total lie from hell.  And we all know that.  But many people don’t know that.  There are people hurting out there today, I feel like, that possibly they’re hurting but maybe through some false doctrines, through some false teaching, maybe just because they don’t know any better, they don’t think that God really is on their side.  But Romans 8:31 just always rings in my spirit where He said if He did not withhold His own Son when you were a sinner, how could He withhold anything, but freely give you all things through Him.”  (Applause)

SPRR RICHARD ROBERTS Dusty, we have about two minutes before we close today.  You’re right, there is someone who is watching that feels right now that God is not on their side, that God caused the bad situation that’s happening. And I want you to just stretch out your hands and pray for them right now because it’s not the truth.  God is on their side.  So just pray for them right now as we come to a close.