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Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Impartations & Q&A | Richard Roberts | Monday AM | Holy Ghost Meetings 2023
01:15:19
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- [00:01]
Nancy Dufresne
Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message.
- [00:10]
Richard Roberts
Let's just lift our hands unto the Lord this morning. Begin to pray in the Spirit. Lift your voice, Stir up the Holy Spirit who is in you. When my people come together and pray. When my people come together and pray, that's when I loose my power in people's lives. That's what I hear God interpreting back through me. And when you pray in tongues, always remember to stop and then pray in English so you can begin to get understanding and ideas and new concepts and new innovative ways of doing things like never before. Never forget, the Holy Spirit is your secret weapon. The world can't do what we're doing today, but you and I can. Because we are born again. And that's the only reason we can do it. Thank God for it. Hallelujah. Well, let's give the Lord a mighty shout of praise today. Hallelujah. Amen. God bless you. You can be se. Turn your eyes upon Jesus look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory, glory and grace. O soul, are you weary and troubled Nor light in the darkness you see. There's light for a look at the sa Savior and life more abundant and free. His word will not fail you he promised believe him and all will be well Then go to a world that is dying his perfect salvation to tell. Turn your eyes upon Jesus look full in his wonderful face and the things of the earth will grow strangely dim in the light the light of his glory and grace Jesus. That's what we're doing here. We turned our eyes upon the Master. That's why you're here. That's why you feel what you feel when you walk in the door. Every time I've been here and I come through that door, tears come to my eyes because I know I'm walking into the presence of God. This isn't happening everywhere, but it's happened in every fresh Oil fellowship church that I have been in. Praise God. You know, the saying in the world is the fish stinks from the head. That's in the world sense. I'm talking about a stink that's different than an aroma. And here there is an aroma. It's tangible. You can feel it. And it brings tears to my eyes just walking through that door every time. Wow. I wished I lived in California. Praise God. So glad to be here today and to have this opportunity to share with you. When I got to the room last night. The Lord said, you forgot something. I said, what did I forget? He said, you forgot to talk about Samson last night. And I said, well, why do you want me to talk about Samson? And he said, because Samson is a picture of many churches today. First, they cut his hair, which was his strength. And second, they gouged at his eyes so he couldn't see what was coming. And third, they made him grind at the mill, going round and round in circles, going nowhere. It's a picture of many churches today, but it's not a picture of here, and it's not a picture of where you are. Get all that you can while you're here. Get it all. Let it soak down deep inside you. Take it. She has no copyright on it. Take it.
- [07:40]
Audience Member
Amen.
- [07:41]
Richard Roberts
Amen. One of the things about my father, Oral Roberts, he said that pleased him the most about me was the fact that I was not ashamed to take the great truths that God had shown him and run it through my own hopper and preach it like it was mine. Because it is mine. I claim it. So take it all. Take everything. Pastor Nancy, I want to make this available to you. You may want to consider printing it and giving it to the ministers here this morning. I want to share with you what the Lord said to me, and I'm going to read it to you, and I'll make it available where you can have it with you. Here's what the Lord is saying. Number one. Sweep the floor. Sweep the floor clean. I'm talking about your ministries. Sweep the floor clean so that Satan is under your feet.
- [08:57]
Nancy Dufresne
Amen.
- [08:58]
Richard Roberts
Including all spirits of evil and hindrances. I repeat, the floor is to be swept completely clean of anything or anyone who is not with you. Believe that the Lord will replace them with those who will listen to his call. Number two, kick Satan in the head. Kick him in his intellect and the intellect of any who have rejected or refused your ministry. I'm sharing that this morning because it was a word to me, but I believe it's just as much a word for you. Visualize their intellect not functioning against you any longer. Visualize them dormant and remaining defeated. Number three. Visualize the rejectors and the opposers with their backs exposed, unable to intimidate you anymore, their words having no power anymore. Act and move forward as if those who have opposed you no longer exist. Now, let me stop for a moment before I continue. This is particularly strong to me because three years ago, at the beginning of COVID the pandemic, the Lord spoke to me to Go back to Tulsa. I had been away from Tulsa for a number of years. Tulsa has been a very rough city for our family. I do not remember a time in my life when our ministry, through my father and through me, was not opposed in our city. I'm not spouting off against the city. I want you to understand, it's not the city, it's the Spirit. So don't think I'm casting off on Tulsa. Tulsa is a wonderful city, but it was very difficult on us. And the Lord said, I'm going to replant your feet in Tulsa.
- [11:35]
Nancy Dufresne
Amen.
- [11:37]
Richard Roberts
And I said, lord, I don't want my feet to be replanted, And I'll never forget it. I was standing in the shower. The Lord ever speak to you in the shower? I'm in the shower. And he said, I'm replanting your feet in Tulsa. And I said, I don't want my feet replanted in Tulsa. But he said something that changed me. He said to me, the Herod spirit that has been in this city is dead.
- [12:10]
Audience Member
Amen.
- [12:11]
Richard Roberts
Glory to God. Well, I immediately remembered that Joseph and Mary had to take Jesus out of Bethlehem into Egypt because of the Herod spirit. The Herod spirit wanted to kill him and wound up killing all the male children under the age of two trying to get him. And one of the reasons why they brought gold as one of the three gifts was because they had to have money to get to Egypt. You know, the Lord said, the Herod's spirit that has been in this city against you is dead. And I said, okay, Lord. Okay. Well, I've been back in the place where I grew up for three years now. Had not one word of opposition. Yeah, not one in three years. Not one. Number four. And I'll make this available to you. Follow the Mordecai method. Follow the Mordecai method. Don't look at your deeds or works as to be remembered. Look to God in the same way Mordecai did when the King of Persia discovered Mordecai's act of saving his life from his enemies. In other words, not putting the focus upon yourself. Number five. God's plan for you is always upward, regardless of ups and downs and in betweens, his move is always upward. And when I heard the Lord, I remembered growing up on a farm, a ranch just outside of Tulsa. And we had cattle, and we had horses, Black Angus cattle. And I remember watching one of the cows give birth, and I watched that little calf try to stand up and it would wobble its Legs were going like this, and it would fall and try to get back up again. And I watched. I was just a little boy. I watched and I watched that mother cow take her tongue and lick that calf until the calf could stand up. I picture that in my mind right now. I can remember it like it yesterday. God's plan is always upward. Believe it, look for it, receive it by your faith. Number six, as you release your faith and sow your seed toward it, expect God to move appropriate people toward you who have not been there before. Their joy will attract others to your ministry. Amen. Wow, these are. I love this. These are the good heart and good hands people. How many of you like to have some good heart, good hands people in your church? Number seven, stand. Stand still, stand tall, stand strong. Do not compromise anything that the Lord has told you to do. Amen. Number eight, trust God as your total source of supply. In other words, stop being so analytical. Stop trying to figure everything out, which is the pension of many people. And finally, number nine, your work will live on in the earth after you're in heaven. Pastor, I'm going to make that available to people if they'd like to have that copy of that. When I got that from the Lord, I thought I should share it with you this morning, because it's not just a word for me. I believe it's a word for you, especially you who are in ministry. I was thinking about all those things that I endured and all the opportunities and. And things that I got to do in my life, having been the son of Oral Roberts, having traveled with him, and how he strategically used me, and I mean that in a good sense, how he used me to prepare the way for the preaching of the Word. This was back in the days when I was not yet preaching, I was only singing. But he used me as the door opener because he would go into a place where there was some hostility and also some deadness. And he always would ask me to sing before he preached so that I could help close up the hole that the people had dug. You know what I'm talking about? He didn't want to have to climb out of a hole, so he put me out there to help heal up that hole through the anointing, through singing, to prepare the way for him. So he used me, but in the right way. I'm not saying that in a critical way. And I was happy to be used because he gave me an opportunity to travel all over the world and meet people from all stations of life. From the President of the United States to nations all over the earth. I've had so many opportunities, and I'm so grateful. And as I look back. As I look back over the years, as I look back over my life, and I think about that revival that you mentioned yesterday morning, as I think about those days and those of us, and the number is decreasing every year. Those of us who were a part of that, those of us who. Who actually saw it live, we were there on the front row. There's not more than four or five of us that are still living, and probably not any of them were exposed to it in the way that I was. And I remember. I remember the excitement. I remember as a child sitting on the front row, waiting for my dad to call me up to stand by him when he prayed for the sick. Things like that are indelibly imprinted in your mind and your spirit. And sometimes I would just stand there, and sometimes he would say, now you pray for them also. And I didn't know what to do. So I did what I saw him do. And when you don't know what to do, just do what you saw Jesus do. Amen. Okay. I was praying last night in my room, and I just. I couldn't get a sense of what the Lord wanted me to do. I knew that he wanted me to share this word with you, but I couldn't get a sense of what he wanted me to do. And I just sat there on the little couch in my room last night until about 1:30 this morning, trying to see what God wanted me to do. And I didn't really get an answer until this morning. Sometimes you have to sleep on it. And I woke up early this morning and I thought, there's got to be some type of interaction. We cannot have just preaching and teaching only, and we can't just have miracles. We've got to have a different kind of interaction. And I thought to myself, I wonder what the people would think if I opened this session up to questions and hopefully, answers. Little boy was taking his test at school, and the teacher walked over and saw the pondering look on his face and said, son, are you having difficulty with the questions? He said, no, ma', am. I'm having trouble with the answers. Stephen, if you would be so kind as to get a hand mic, here is your opportunity to ask Richard Roberts any question that you might want to ask. Keep it clean now. Keep it clean. Keep it clean. Stephen, if you would get a microphone, and if you. When you see a hand raised, if you go there and get the question, and then Step away so they don't go ahead and preach. First of all, thank you for this opportunity. We all see that the Word of Knowledge is great in your ministry. How does that come? How do you see it? How do you know it? And just seems to flow so well and so accurately. And so we would like some understanding concerning that. Well, I learned about the Word of Knowledge, particularly through Kathryn Kuhlman, who I traveled with for several years. She was very, very strong in the Word of Knowledge, and I saw how it operated through her. But when it first began to operate in me, I thought I was losing my mind because I felt and I saw things that I'd never seen before. For example, I would be preaching, or I would be singing, or I would be testifying or talking, when all of a sudden I would get a very sharp pain somewhere in my body, or one of my eyes would go blank and I couldn't see out of it. Or suddenly I would lose hearing in an ear, or I would get a sharp pain, or I would feel like there was a growth in my body. And I knew there was nothing wrong with me. I knew I could see, I knew I could hear. I knew I didn't have a growth on my body, and I couldn't understand. But immediately I saw in the spirit someone with that affliction, and it would stay with me. And no matter what I tried to say, I would begin to stutter. I couldn't say anything, nothing else would come out of my mouth until I would say what I saw and what I felt. And when I said what I felt and what I saw. Somebody will always get healed. Praise God. Now, I don't know how the Word of Knowledge works through others, but I know how it works through me. And it has never changed. It began operating in the spring of 1980, and it has happened in every service I have been in since then and also in other places. In airports, in restaurants, in stores, on street corners. Because I am not in control. Only the Lord can manifest the Word of Knowledge. The Word of Knowledge is one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. And it can only be manifested when the Lord says, I've tried to tell God when to do it. He has never listened to me. I've told him what to do and when to do it and how to do it. He hasn't responded. And sometimes he does it. At times when I don't want it to happen, when I think it's out of place, sometimes I'm just. I'm sure I missed it. I feel like I'M stepping out there on nothing, and there's just nothing there. And I don't want to say it because I think people are going to think. I'm not. You're out of your mind. Well, I'm guilty. I'm out of my mind. I'm into my spirit where I belong. And it's a risky thing. Every time I give a word of knowledge, it's a risk. And I say, what if I'm wrong? Well, what if I'm right? I mean, what have I got to lose? And once in a while, I may miss it. A person or two. You know, sometimes if I'm in a prayer line, I might. I might say something that it might be for the person behind them. I might miss it, but I don't miss it very far. Maybe a foot or two. That's how it operates. Someone else right behind you. Stephen.
- [25:11]
Audience Member
Thank you so much for letting us ask questions. But I minister to a lot of women that have been in gay and lesbian situations where once they were saved and then, you know, backslidden and went into this kind of lifestyle. And now the enemy torments them about dying, and they keep thinking about suicide. And they always ask me questions like, will I go to heaven if I die, if I take my life? These types of questions, you know, always come to me, and I have a lot of them watching. And so, you know, what would you say if someone was asking you something like that? Like, one, if they were gonna take their life, would they go to heaven? And two, does the Lord. You know, what does God say to those type of people now?
- [25:54]
Richard Roberts
Well, I am totally against suicide. I don't know anybody that's for suicide. One thing I have learned is I'm not the judge. That's right. I think one thing that has hurt Christianity is coming off like, we're the judge. I have a lot of gay and lesbians who watch me on television, and they write and they say, I watch you because you're not critical. And my father taught me, you preach Christ and him crucified and let Jesus deal with the sin issue. And he taught me that when you go fishing, you don't clean the fish until after you catch it. Now, I have my own personal opinion, which I am entitled to. I just don't give that personal opinion publicly very often, because I don't think that's my job. My job is to lift people up. And if I lift up Jesus, he's gonna draw men and women toward him. So I'm extremely careful and cautious how I handle Situations like that, I try to handle it with the love of God. I try not to point my finger. I try to lift them up. Does that help any? Somebody else? Yes, Stephen. Over there, sir. How you doing? I'm good, thanks. Awesome. What is the greatest miracle you've ever witnessed in my own personal life?
- [27:34]
Audience Member
Your life?
- [27:35]
Richard Roberts
Your father's life? Well, certainly the one that comes to mind. And some of you may have heard me tell the testimony. Within a few years of entering the healing ministry, the Lord sent me to Africa after we lost our firstborn child, Richard Orrell, who died in my arms. And we were in the city of Jos, which is up north in the Muslim area. And they had brought a young man to the service that night. And there were about 15 or 20,000 people that were there. And he had never walked. He was about 20. His parents carried him to the post office, where he begged for money, just like the beggar in the book of Acts. His name was Abdul, who was a Muslim. And someone carried him to the service. And I gave a word of knowledge about someone who had been crippled being healed. And Abdul stood on his feet and came running to the front. He came up on the platform, running, jumping. And I didn't know what was happening. I was being interpreted in the Hausa language, which is the language that they speak up there in that part of Nigeria. And the interpreter told me what was happening and who he was. And we began to rejoice and praise God. And the media was there. They came and they interviewed him and they interviewed me. And they put it as a headline on the newspaper the next morning. The front page, beggar healed. And the next night, 100,000 people came out for the service, and 25,000 Muslims gave their hearts to the Lord. Right down here, Stephen. Oh, you're just praising God. You might have missed your chance. Yes, ma'. Am.
- [29:37]
Nancy Dufresne
So if there's a very small child that wants to. Because I've told my nieces about Jesus.
- [29:42]
Richard Roberts
I'm sorry, say that one more time.
- [29:43]
Nancy Dufresne
I've told my nieces about Jesus. And one of them, she's young, she's four, so she constantly. She cries and she says that she wants to see him. How would you go about that?
- [29:55]
Richard Roberts
I would encourage her. I would encourage her. I would. I would say, yes, I stand with you in faith. I want to see him, too. Yes. Children have a. There's something about children. They believe. I wish we adults were like that. You know, we have all these things out there that hinder our believing. No, I would encourage her. 100%, yes. I'm with you 100%. I want to help you. I'll stand here with you in faith. I'll believe with you. That's what I do. That's what I did with my children. I remember when my youngest, Chloe, who's been with me here before Chloe, saw angels out in our driveway. And she came inside and she told the story of what she saw. And she said they were little angels about her size. And Olivia, my middle daughter, came in and she said, dad, I saw it too. I saw them too. And you know, the first thing somebody might say is, well, you're just making something up. No, no, I encouraged it. Look for angels. They're ministering spirits for us. Thank God for angels. Just the other day, because there had been some burglaries in our area and some break ins and some porch pirates stealing packages. Do they have that in California? I don't know. We had in Oklahoma, surely not Illinois, I'm sure. Especially not Chicago. But that's being videoed, isn't it? Lindsay and I got a bottle of anointing oil. We drove through our neighborhood spreading that anointing oil down the street. And we went to the entrance, two entrances in our neighborhood. And we placed a demand on the angelic host. And I said, lord, I'm asking two angels at each entrance. Fierce, warlike, and I want them to be seen by the thieves. And just this week there was a major arrest in our area. Now, I don't know if the angels had anything to do with it. I don't know. I wasn't there. But I believe somehow they had a part in it. Somebody else way over here. Okay, you want to go back there first? Dan.
- [32:42]
Audience Member
Good morning. For those that are just beginning in fivefold ministry, what would you encourage us as far as being streamlined and focused and fortified? Beginning what?
- [32:53]
Richard Roberts
What are the foundational things? I would give the same answer Pastor Nancy said a moment ago, stay in your lane. Look, I know who I am, okay? And I'm content. I am an evangelist in the healing ministry. I'm not a prophet. Occasionally God will give me a prophetic word, but that doesn't make me a prophet. I'm not a pastor. I'm not a teacher. Occasionally I teach, but I'm not a teacher. I am an evangelist. I stay in my lane. I would know for sure what my calling is, and I would stay in that lane. Oh, that's so good. The next thing I would do is I would find an elder statesman to be my mentor. I would connect myself to someone who is senior to me, which I have done in my own ministry, so I could be held accountable. One of the biggest problems I see in young ministers today is they have no covering. They have no one they're held accountable to. All through my growing up years and until just 10 years ago or so, my father was my mentor. And I can remember times when I would. I'd say something on television. I'd get a phone call when the show was over. He would say, richard, get your Bible. Come over to the house. Now, I knew what that meant. I was going to the woodshed, and we would sit down together, and he would say, I heard you say this on your program. Show me this in the Bible. Now, when Oral Roberts says to you, show me this in the word of God. This is a man who probably knew the word of God better than anyone I've ever met in my life. I had better have an answer. And I had to be very careful how I approached him anyway. Because if I said anything about him or his ministry, he would fire questions at me. If I said, I enjoyed your message, it was dangerous to see that. He would say, give me three things you enjoyed about it. We had to be prepared. Somebody else, Stephen. Aha. David. You know, before. Before he talks, I gotta talk about.
- [35:34]
Worship Leader / Audience Member
Sit back down.
- [35:37]
Richard Roberts
I gotta talk about him. You are the most anointed worship leader I've ever met in my life. Amen. Amen. In my whole life, and I've seen some. Now you can ask your question.
- [35:51]
Worship Leader / Audience Member
Well, I'm a little bit nervous now asking the question because one of my family members was your father's music director. So are you saying publicly I'm better than him? I hadn't planned to say that, but I just want to go on record. He's in heaven.
- [36:14]
Richard Roberts
It won't matter.
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Worship Leader / Audience Member
But his lineage is still here.
- [36:19]
Richard Roberts
Well. Well, I have an answer. Your uncle.
- [36:24]
Worship Leader / Audience Member
Vep.
- [36:25]
Richard Roberts
Vep Ellis was not a worship leader.
- [36:28]
Worship Leader / Audience Member
This is good.
- [36:35]
Richard Roberts
He was a soloist. Yeah. And when he sang in My father's Crusade, he brought the anointing. Right. And that was years before I was involved. He was doing what I later did. He was not a worship leader. Right. So you cannot compare apples with oranges. Thank you so much.
- [36:59]
Worship Leader / Audience Member
That was smooth, man. I exalt you for that smoothness like that.
- [37:11]
Richard Roberts
May I talk out of school for just a moment while you're standing? Go ahead.
- [37:14]
Worship Leader / Audience Member
Yeah, I'll sit down. I still have a question.
- [37:16]
Richard Roberts
But you've already asked your question. No, no, no.
- [37:20]
Worship Leader / Audience Member
There's another one coming.
- [37:22]
Richard Roberts
Who said you could have two, I guess.
- [37:25]
Worship Leader / Audience Member
I do have two, but do you.
- [37:27]
Richard Roberts
Want to say something that's like going to New York City? You say, have a nice day. They say, well, what business is it yours? And how come you're only giving me one? You know, just wait a minute. It's my turn. But I still have a question. Worship prepares the way. It sets the table. And much of the worship in the church today stinks. When they finish, you want to say, when do we view the body? You know what I'm talking about. Their ne pastor, Nancy. What I'm describing cannot ever happen in an academic setting setting. But there needs to be a school of worship somewhere in America. There needs to be a place where people can come and learn just the way I learned about the Word of Knowledge. There needs to be a school of worship with someone in charge who has the power of God in worship, who it's inside them. This would be a nice place for that. Question.
- [39:14]
Worship Leader / Audience Member
I still. Here's the question. And that was. You just set me up. All right, in all seriousness, you're not standing. It doesn't make much of a difference with my height. It just doesn't. But I'll stand. You were there. Let's talk about when that transition took place, because this is where the body of Christ is right now. If they have an ear to hear when that transition took place from in your father's ministry under the big tent, we might just say with that genre, that style of music that was sung under the. The big tent, then I would watch you in the 70s when you moved with the World Action Singers, and you're a prolific singer, by the way. I'm not saying that just because you just said those good things about me. It's just the truth. So then you and or your father or someone saw the need to make a change and a transition. And then you had Ralph Carmichael, you had Ron Huff do these world class arrangements that literally were captivating. So I was sitting here thinking, I want to know who saw the need for that, who interpreted it, and who probably took the backlash for changing from the tent revival only sound, style and genre to when it became when you were on national tv. And those orchestrations are stupidly expensive. I can't even imagine the investment that you made musically. But I'm telling you, I was probably 12, 13, 14. I would listen to you guys sing and the orchestration and the arrangements, I would cry, I would go to the piano and I would try so hard to mimic it. But the question specifically is, how did you know, it was time for a change. And how did you make that change?
- [41:29]
Richard Roberts
I don't think I knew, but my father knew. He knew that there had to be a transition from the tent to television. And I was, I was 19, I was a college sophomore. I was wet behind the ears, didn't know what made it get dark at night. And my father came to me and said, we're going on national television again. He had been off of TV for a couple of years. He had been on in black and white format from the tent. But he wanted to have a different kind of show. He said, we're going to have a variety show. It's gonna be shot in color. Which at that time most of the programs were still shot in black and white. We're going to do it at the NBC studios in Hollywood. And he said, we're gonna bring in top guest stars in order to attract an audience so that I can preach in the second half and lead people to Christ. Extremely innovative. And he said, I want you to build a group of singers. I didn't know how to do that, but my father was the kind of man. He gave you an order and he expected you to carry it out and he expected you to figure out how to do what he said because he was busy doing other things like a general do this. And then he's off to another project. That was Oral Roberts. He said, there's a group in New York City called Up With People and they're doing concerts at Carnegie Hall. Fly up there, see them build a group like that for me, I'm 19, I have no idea what I'm doing, except something in me said, I can do this. So I flew to New York City, went to the Carnegie hall concert. I, I saw these 16, 18 young men and women, nicely dressed, good looking, racially balanced, singing good. They were lip syncing, so the quality of their voices was excellent. And they were doing choreography. And I said, I can do that. And I came home and I built a group which you mentioned, the World Action Singers. I built that group. And we started coming on pre recording music, lip syncing and doing choreography. And we got hammered. The Christian magazines called us, not the World Action Singers, they called us the Worldly Action Dancers. Christian Life, Christianity Today, those magazines, they just hammered us. But millions of people watched us every week.
- [44:16]
Nancy Dufresne
Yeah.
- [44:17]
Richard Roberts
And those same people that were hammering us were watching us every week. In those days, you did not have a Fender bass in a church band. That was a sin. And you didn't have drums. You didn't have those instruments? No. And we found a guy by the name of Ralph Carmichael, who was the grandfather of. He just passed away a few months ago at 92. And he was feeling the same way of trying to get something fresh and new into America. And we came into a marriage almost. And that's how it started, and that's how we did it. And it has grown and grown, and I didn't have any idea what I was doing or how I was doing it. I just did it. That's how it happened. Pastor Debbie, did you not know any of that? No, not until. Okay. Is there one thing that you could pinpoint that made the difference that you decided to follow in your father's footsteps?
- [45:31]
Audience Member
Because today, so many of the next.
- [45:34]
Richard Roberts
Generation don't value what the senior generation.
- [45:39]
Audience Member
Provided, and they want to go their own way. What made the difference in your life?
- [45:44]
Richard Roberts
I wanted to go my own way. I did not want to be a clone. All of my growing up years, I had to face the question, how are you going to fill your father's shoes? I got so monotonous, and so I got so tired of hearing it, because I knew my dad wore an 11 and I wore a nine and a half. How am I gonna fill out a 911 shoe? It all changed one day when I was praying, and the Lord spoke to me and said, I don't expect you to fill out his shoes. I expect you to fill out yours. That changed everything for me. I never wanted to be a clone, but I wanted to be like Jesus. And my father said to me, what the Bible says, Follow me. Paul said, I believe. Follow me as I follow Christ. Or in other words, if you see Jesus over my shoulder, follow me. And I saw Jesus over his shoulder with all the problems, with all the shortcomings, because we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Yes, my father was a great man of God, but he was a human being.
- [46:58]
Audience Member
Yes. Amen.
- [46:59]
Richard Roberts
And we had battles, and we had some gargantuan struggles. We had some father and son moments that we both came out bloody. And I imagine a lot of you have been through that, too. But we came out with our arms around each other. And I learned how to do what. What you're talking about. And I learned that I didn't have to be a clone. I could be my own person as long as I followed Christ. Okay, somebody else way. Stephen, can you go way back in the back? There's a young lady way back with her hand up. She's got a white blouse on. Can you stand up? You can't say, well, Richard, you forgot all the people in the back. I'm not gonna do that. Yes, ma'. Am.
- [47:45]
Audience Member
Thank you, sir, for the opportunity. I was just wondering if you could speak a little bit about women in ministry in the end days and flowing together as husband and wife. And if there's anything that you would have said to yourself in hindsight that would have made that process of flowing together more smooth and more wonderful.
- [48:03]
Richard Roberts
Ministry, husbands and wife in the end times. Is that your question?
- [48:07]
Audience Member
Well, women in ministry in these end days.
- [48:09]
Richard Roberts
Well, first of all, I do not adhere. I do not agree or adhere to any philosophy that women do not belong in the pulpit. I think that's a lie from the pit of hell. I cannot find that in the Bible. They say. Well, they say women shouldn't speak. You need to understand the context in which Paul said that. Paul said that because they were killing the Christians, they were boiling them in oil. They were feeding them to hungry lions. They were crucifying them. Paul was trying to protect the family. He wasn't trying to keep women out of the pulpit. Some of the most anointed people I know are women. Husband and wife. Ministry teams are rough because the tendency is to try to get ahead of the other. I know one church in America that I'll never go back to because there's a competition, and you feel it when you go in there. He's trying to get ahead of her, she's trying to get ahead of him, and it didn't work for me, so I won't go back there. I went there once and I regretted it. Husbands and wives, are you gonna have to have a special marriage to be able to handle that? It can be done, but you have to honor the other person, and you have to honor their gifting. Okay? And it was difficult for me with Lindsay sometimes because she does not operate in the word of knowledge. She operates more in the prophetic realm. And she never questioned me when I would give a word of knowledge. But sometimes I would question her, and she would say, you get these harebrained things from God with a word of knowledge, and I don't question you. Now God tells me some harebrained thing, and you question me. And I had to realize I was wrong. You know, it's okay to be wrong as long as you admit it. I think one of the reasons why God favored David so much is because when David realized he was wrong, he did something about it. He fell on his face and repented it and changed. And we've got to be like we got to drop the pride, you know. And I don't have this big male ego. And the reason is because I know who I am. And the Bible says God will make a way for my ministry. I don't have to push myself in front of my wife. And she doesn't have to push herself in front of me. I can sit back and relax because he knows the timing. Now you talk about the end times. We are in the end times. And all you have to do is, is look at the news for 30 minutes and you can see we're in the end times. But there's a lot still that's gotta happen. This gospel's gotta be preached in all nations as a witness. There's got to be that end time transfer of wealth. I'm talking about. It's gonna happen. I was listening to Kent. Any of you know Kent Christmas? Uh huh. What a name. Kent Christmas. His name is Christmas. He's in Nashville. I was listening to him last night. I got an email about prophetic word he gave for 2023. I was listening to it last night and he was talking about this end time transfer of wealth. A lot of prophets are talking about it right now. It's coming, it's real, it's got to happen. How else are we going to finance the end time harvest of souls? My dad used to say the gospel is free, but sure takes a lot of money to put it on tv. You think? Okay, am I answering any of your question? Yeah, we're in the end times. We certainly are. Let's see, where's Stephen? Right there.
- [52:16]
Audience Member
Sorry, I already have the mic.
- [52:18]
Richard Roberts
Chelsea?
- [52:19]
Audience Member
Yes, sir. We hear so much about your wonderful father. I was wondering if you have some impartations or some life lessons that you feel like you've received or carry with you from your mother.
- [52:32]
Richard Roberts
Yeah. My mother was asked once by a reporter. Have you ever considered divorcing Oral Roberts? She said, divorce? No. Murder? Yes. My. My father was a tightrope walker. And my mother was the safety net. My mother was German. Very meticulous, very organized. My father was as unorganized as you can possibly imagine. He could build, but he couldn't manage. My mother used to say, oral, you can't manage your way out of a paper bag. My mother was like this. You didn't have to wonder what she thought cause she would tell you, but she was his safety net. All through those years and she imparted into my life so many ways. I couldn't begin to tell you. All the ways that she imparted into my life. She was soft and she was tough at the same time. She had to be to live with Oral Roberts. She had to have armor physical on, you know. Cause it was tough because he was struck at wherever he went. But she was tough. And he didn't listen to the opinions of many others. He listened to her. Somebody else? Yes, back here. How are we doing on time? We okay, good.
- [54:35]
Audience Member
I had the honor of being one of the in your last class at oru, so thank you for that. And I was wondering when all of that happened, what happened after that? Was there a particular word or scripture or a reassurance that somebody has told you that you stood on to do what to. And right after all of that happened in 07, was there something particular, a word or somebody that told you something that your father may have told you that you stood on to wade through that particular storm that you went through?
- [55:17]
Richard Roberts
Wow. How can I answer that in a public setting? I never dreamed of becoming a college president. I am an evangelist. But there was no one else. And my father offered the presidency to four other men. All four of them turned him down. I was selection number five. He said to me, son, you're going to have to take it, because if you don't, we'll lose it. He said, but in you taking it, you keep it on healing the Holy Spirit and seed faith, which is our founding. He said, I realize you don't have any idea how to do it. And I know that you're not trained for that, and I know that that's not your calling, but you have to do it. And I said, yes, sir. And I served for 14 years as president, graduating 8,000 young people like you. I gave it my all. But it was not my Rebecca. It was my Leia. I dreamed of being back in the healing ministry. And when it came to a close, although it hurt, I knew I was free to be once again what I was called to be. I never tried to defend myself. I learned years ago, when you get dirt on you or mud and you try to wipe it off, you just make it worse. But if you'll let it dry, you can just flick it off. I learned from Jesus. He never defended himself. Even when they said to him, are you the king of the Jews? He said, you said, so. So I didn't defend myself. I learned that. I learned not to strike back at men who did and said things that weren't true. I held myself down and stood up and was proud of being an evangelist in the healing ministry. That's as far as I'll go. Somebody else on this side. Stephen, where are you? Okay. Thank you, Doctor, for coming here. I know God used you in the joy when you are the president of or you're going through the financial. All over the world. All over the world. It's happened here. Yes. I have to be very careful where I go. I can't mention the joy of the Lord in a service. If I do, there is utter pandemonium. I would like to see if you would share a little bit. No, Not today. Maybe some other time, but not today. This part of the service would end really quickly.
- [59:22]
Nancy Dufresne
But there's a skill right there of staying on.
- [59:26]
Richard Roberts
Can you bring that microphone down here? Pastor Nancy saying something very important.
- [59:31]
Nancy Dufresne
I said, there's a skill that we learn from you, Dr. Richard, because it keeps us on point of what God wants for a service instead of what comes up in a service. Because sometimes something can come up that's not what God wants to have the minister to stay in that lane. So you just demonstrated that for us. Thank you.
- [59:55]
Richard Roberts
Well, it's not. There may be a time, but today is not the time. And you have to discern the times. Thank you for your question. I understand your question. I'm just not going to respond. You know, I learned. I learned from my father about the media because my father put me in charge of handling the media. He'd say something, he. He'd prophesy something and he'd go off and hide in the desert and he'd send me to NBC and CBS and CNN and he'd send me like a lamb to the slaughter. He put me on Larry King Live on Good Morning America on all these programs. They're just hammering me. And I said, I didn't say it. He did. You know, but I learned. I learned that when you're asked a question by the media, there's no law that says you have to answer their question the way that they asked you it. So when I went in an interview, I found three things that I wanted to say. No matter what they asked me, I was going to get those three things in. And I knew that if they use me at all, they're going to have to. They're going to edit me. And so they're going to have to use at least one of those things that I said. That's a secret to dealing with the media. No charge. I give you that free. Where are you?
- [61:13]
Audience Member
Stephen, thank you so much. I had a question last year. I heard a message about that. You did on Angels and just talking to Your angels, different things like that. I know, you know, there's so many things going on in the spiritual realm. Your relation with the Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit is priority. But could you just sort of talk to us just about, you know, how you engage with that, you know, with angels and the conversations or just something that you got that. That led you in that direction? I just always was interested in that.
- [61:41]
Richard Roberts
I command angels. I command them. I believe we have that right. Yes, command them. And I learned that from my father. My father was having surgery in the hospital, and after surgery, he was there for a day or two, recovering. And he was sitting in the bed in the room, hospital bed, when all of a sudden he looked up and an angel walked into the room. Huge angel. And he didn't know what to do. And the angel spoke to him and said two words. Dispatch me. In other words, give me an order. Tell me what you want me to do. Dispatch me. And my father immediately thought of something that he needed from in our ministry, and he said, I need this, this, this, this, and this. I dispatch you to go and get it. And the angel turned and left. And it wasn't long until that situation was handled. It was over. It was finished. Angels are ministering spirits for us. Every time I minister, there is an angel, a huge angel that stands behind me. He's there standing behind me. Now, I've not seen him with my eyes, but I have felt him with my hands, and I have felt his presence. I know his name. I talk to him. They are ministering spirits for us, and we have a Bible right to command them for a certain job. Stephen, can you come down here? I see my buddy Eric from up in Merced out of your church. He is my avocado man whenever I need avocados. The best in the world are from California.
- [63:35]
Audience Member
Yes.
- [63:36]
Richard Roberts
And some of the best are grown up there in the Merced area and also here in the Temecula Valley. Merced's really good. I love avocados. Eric, you have a question?
- [63:51]
Audience Member
Having been in the healing, in the tent revivals with great signs and wonders that your father watched quite a few videos of, and they were common. They were very. People came by the hundreds of thousands, even in California and throughout the country, and we have had many words released, yourself included, about the dinner bell. Dr. Dufresne that was very prevalent in his ministry would come to our church and say, it's the dinner bell. God's going to put on a show and signs and miracles and wonders. And then which. That's always been in my heart, on a greater level. And so my question would be, as a congregation, I know the ministers, and in their heart they're releasing these words regarding that. What can we do to cooperate for those signs and wonders to flow in a greater measure in the church? We have the looks, we have the money. It's coming in. But the signs and wonders seem to be less of what they were in the day when you're. When the revivals and the miracles and wonders were happening on a greater occasion, what can we do as congregation people to cooperate with that in a greater measure for those things to be able to be manifested? What would you say to them?
- [65:15]
Richard Roberts
I would give the same answer, the same word that Jesus gave to Peter. Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. I think the greatest reason why ministers shy away from the miraculous is because they are afraid of failure. What is going to happen if it doesn't work? What am I going to look like? Am I going to be embarrassed? I had to get over that very early. I had to realize that I was not the one doing the miracles. Without him, I could do nothing. And that's why I said yesterday morning, can you imagine what would happen if in every church service this coming Sunday, the pastor said, is any sick among you? Come forward. I'll call the elders, we'll lay hands on you, we'll anoint you with oil. What do you think? Are they going to get sicker just because you pray for them? Launch out. He said, you lay hands on the sick and they'll recover. It's not your responsibility to bring the healing.
- [66:22]
Audience Member
Yeah, stress.
- [66:23]
Richard Roberts
Your job's to pray and not try to get out of. How can I say that? How to try to get the responsibility off you by saying, well, you must not have had any faith. That's the worst thing you could ever say to anybody because it's a lie. God's given them faith. God's given every person faith. Everybody's got it now. They may not be using it, but they got it. Launch out. I wish every pastor here would have a regular healing service at some time. Maybe not every Sunday morning, but certainly at other times. But you ought to have an opportunity for people to have the prayer of faith. Because the Bible says the prayer of faith shall save the sick and the Lord will raise them up. It's important. It's important that you do it. It's the full Gospel ministry, preaching, teaching and healing. It's the miraculous. So I would say, launch out. You say, what if I make a Mistake. Well, try again. You know. You know, not every surgery that a doctor tries works out, right. That's true. But he doesn't quit. They bring in another patient, and he. I've made lots of mistakes when it comes to words of knowledge. I've. I've given people words of knowledge, and it wasn't for them. It was for the next person. I missed it. And I said, well, God, I'm sorry I missed it. I'll do better. You know, sometimes just by trial and error, go for it. Help at all. Eric, send me some avocados with me in March. In March. March. When they come out. All right, I have a couple more, and then we'll. We'll quit. Stephen, where are you? Let's. Let's go right down here. Is this. Is this okay? Are you. Has anybody ever done this here before?
- [68:22]
Nancy Dufresne
No, not like this.
- [68:24]
Richard Roberts
Not like this. They did it another way.
- [68:26]
Nancy Dufresne
Well, they would submit.
- [68:28]
Richard Roberts
Oh, they submit questions.
- [68:29]
Nancy Dufresne
Yeah. So you're.
- [68:30]
Richard Roberts
So you could choose the questions you wanted to answer and not answer the ones you didn't want to answer. And I've been letting it all hang out here today. I'm taking them as they come.
- [68:40]
Nancy Dufresne
You're heroic.
- [68:42]
Richard Roberts
You know, my dad. My dad would preach, first of all, Vep Ellis would sing, and they'd have their brother, Bob deweese would raise the offering, and then my dad would come on the platform, and Bob Fulton, who played the organ, would begin to play where the Healing Waters Flow. And my dad would just lift his hands, and the whole congregation would stand and sing that. And then. My dad didn't believe in fluff. He didn't believe in preliminaries. He wasn't on the platform more than 40 seconds, and he was preaching. And after he finished preaching, he gave an invitation, and he asked people to come forward to receive Christ. And people would come down the aisles, and he would lead them in a sinner's prayer. Then he would take them, send them to an auxiliary tent, which we call the prayer tent, and that's where the pastors were, because my dad was not going to take those people home with them. He wanted to populate the churches. So the pastors were in that tent with all their information and their resources for their church, and they would go there and meet the pastors and try to find a church that was near them. And my dad was very strong on that. And while that was going on, Brother deweese would organize the prayer line. And in order to get into the prayer line, you had to have a prayer card. And the prayer card was about this size and had a place for your name and address and what affliction was attacking you. And they were lettered, letter A, B, C, D on down the road. And Brother Deweese would call for the numbers. The letters on say, if you have a prayer card, letter A, come and get in this line. Letter B, come get here. And while that was going on, while the prayer line was being organized, my dad would go to another tent, which we call the invalid tent. And that tent was for people who were too ill to stand in line for prayer. The sickest you've ever seen in your life, like the pool of Bethesda. The smell of cancer would almost knock you over. He would go there and pray for those people. First. There was no television in there, just a sound. They had a speaker so they could hear the message. But he would go and lay hands on all of them first, and then he would come back. And by this time, the prayer line was assembled. And his stage was such a. It was a thrust stage where there was a little space that came out and then there was a ramp that came up here. And then it was flat. And then the ramp went back down again. And the people would come as they were, Pastor. And you had no idea who was coming or what the prayer need was. He took them as they came, just like Jesus did. And he never knew when somebody's gonna walk by and grab the border of his garment. I mean, it just happened. And that's. It was just. It was as spontaneous as it could possibly be. You were on the edge of your seat because you didn't know what was going to happen next. It was amazing, just amazing. You had a question, ma'? Am? Yes, ma'. Am.
- [71:52]
Nancy Dufresne
Good morning, Dr. Roberts.
- [71:54]
Richard Roberts
Good morning.
- [71:54]
Nancy Dufresne
What would you say to people to help them from losing their healing once they're healed? You know, we've seen a lot of people where they have cancer, they have different ailments, and they seem to lose it, or the sickness comes back on them and they get greatly discouraged and some of them even lose their faith in God. And what would you say to people like that?
- [72:17]
Richard Roberts
Well, the Bible says, make sure you keep the house swept clean. You cannot allow unbelief to come back into you. You've got to continue to confess your healing every day. And I have seen exactly what you're saying. I remember a woman came into the prayer line one night, had been deaf since birth. I remember my father prayed for her, and she was instantly healed. And the crowd was absolutely amazed. But within six months, she was totally deaf again. And her family said to us, because she just. She never responded to God. She did not keep her faithful. She did not say, God, I thank you. I'm healed. And she continued, you've got to stay with it. That's my best answer. Let's stand together for a minute. Hope this has been a blessing to you this morning, Father. I give you honor and I give you glory this day. Pastor Nancy, would you come up? And I thank you for this opportunity to be here in this conference with these precious ministers and others who are not in ministry. I thank you today. I thank you that I can roll up my sleeves here and be myself and share out of the experiences that I've had and the knowledge that I have gained because of the people that I have been with. I thank you and I praise you. I thank you for this church, for this ministry that is now affiliated with so many ministers. And I know it's growing. It's growing. The fellowship is growing. And Lord, you know, I've told Pastor Nancy this and I've told you numbers of times what I feel every time I. And Lord, I am grateful. And I wanna thank you in the presence of all these witnesses from the bottom of my heart. Lord, thank you for allowing me to come and to be a part of something like this. And I pray that what I have said today and last night and yesterday morning was not just a blessing, but something that people can sink their teeth in into until it becomes a part of them. And, Lord, I pledge to you that in the years that I have remaining, however many years that is, that I will continue to impart and share what you have put in me. I will leave nothing on the table. I will give all that I have every time I go. And I thank you. Thank you. In Jesus name.
- [75:09]
Nancy Dufresne
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