This message from Bob Gladstone was recently preached at FIRE Church and it is probably the most intense and transforming message I have ever heard. That says a lot considering that I’ve heard messages from Paris Reidhead (Ten Shekels and a Shirt), Duncan Campbell (When God Stepped Down From Heaven), Leonard Ravenhill (The Judgment Seat of Christ) and many from A.W. Tozer, not to mention other favorites who I don’t have time to mention (Art Katz anyone?).
In fact, I was so heavily impacted that I felt to share it with you all. It served many purposes: confirmation of recent years and their purpose, recent dealings of God regarding my mouth and inner disposition toward folks, things I’ve been seeing in the Bible lately and many more. It was convicting and encouraging all at once.
I really love this guy. I have been attending a class that he’s been holding on Wednessday nights on Apostolic Church and it has also been amazing. Don’t get your defenses up because you saw the word “apostolic” because when this man uses that word it is nothing like you’ve heard from anyone….except maybe Art Katz, but Bob seems to have a deeper understanding and ability to communicate these things. What impresses me most is that a lot of what is taking place in me has part to do with what I hear and understand and part to do with something actually being given of God in the hearing of this word (and word”s”) that is somehow strengthening me. I leave knowing I’m stronger, somehow, more confident in God. Not cocky, but….I don’t know, just a sense of God as God seems to come alive in me when I listen to this dude. I gotta see if I can’t start beeing around him more and picking his brain.
Anyhow, just wanted you to share the benefit in your own spirit that has come to me through this man.
The Lord bless and keep you,
mark jr.
20 responses so far ↓
Alicia // June 3, 2008 at 4:17 am |
I found your website a while back and just finished lisening to the sermon you mentionned. It really touched me and confirmed some things that God is doing in my life.
Thanks for linking it!
Bless You
iseeitdifferently // June 3, 2008 at 10:26 am |
Yeah, I really had a feeling that I couldn’t be the only person that this word affected that way. It helped make sense of a lot of dealings of God in my own heart, especially regarding my speech and even the attitude that precedes my speech, or rather feeds it.
On a side note, Scott Volk (our pastoral guy) just preached a message sunday morning that is just as good, though he is much different in his approach. He’s a pastor of pastors, almost a paradigm of pastoral reality….but man, sometimes even through all his “niceness”, he can cut you up pretty good. But what he preached on sunday should be up in the FIRE Church sermon archives pretty quick. The folks running that site are getting pretty good with technology.
Gotta go to work,
mark jr.
sclough // June 5, 2008 at 5:18 pm |
Thanks for sharing this. I’m going to listen to it in the next few days when I can get some undistracted quiet time. I agree Bob is an incredible teacher and, dare I say it, prophet. Art was a great influence on me and I see that depth in Bob, but in a different way. I had the pleasure of meeting Bob once and sharing a meal with him and it was a wonderful experience.
Bill // June 13, 2008 at 6:59 pm |
Jr.
I first heard this sermon – Isaiah 6- When God rises up- When Bob preached it in Pensacola. I’ve got the video. It too has affected me perhaps like no other sermon ever has.
Bob now says “God has risen up.” Me wonders if he thinks the happenings in Lakeland show God rising up, or if God has risen up and Lakeland is just one (perhaps abberant) manifestation of the same.
Great message. If you can get Gina t0 sing “Come let us go to the mountain” the same day you have the total package.
Bill // June 13, 2008 at 7:14 pm |
Just got to the end:
“I speak over you this morning – An encounter with God.”
hey, that was real charismatic!
iseeitdifferently // June 13, 2008 at 10:32 pm |
I wouldn’t speak for the man, but after 6 weeks of his ‘Apostolic Church’ class…I have a feeling that he isn’t really talking about that. I mean, what he described for 6 weeks bore no resemblance to Lakeland, in my opinion. In fact I was just telling my wife the other day that it’s interesting that at the same time that something counterfeit is going on, the real thing is also being built and seeking expression.
And now I await backlash for calling it ‘counterfeit’.
mark jr.
lbolm // June 14, 2008 at 3:15 pm |
yes Mark, you really have to be carefull what you say now adays. LOL !!
Hope you and the family are doing well !
Love in Christ Jesus
Jake
Bryan Purtle // June 15, 2008 at 3:14 pm |
No “backlash” here, Mark. But I will say that he was planning on taking a group of students to Lakeland for a visit. While I know he would not put Lakeland in the category of a “fullness” having been reached, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t tag it “counterfeit” either.
Blessings,
Hope all is well with Jenn and the kids.
Mary B. // June 16, 2008 at 12:41 am |
I just wanted to wish you a belated Happy Father’s Day, Mark jr.
Hope it was a nice one.
totaltransformation // July 9, 2008 at 5:02 pm |
Thanks for sharing the link.
Karen Butler // July 28, 2008 at 9:45 pm |
Thank you for posting this, it was exactly what I needed to hear this morning. A friend last night had told me that I don’t listen well, and have a know it all attituded that likes to fix people without much humility. I welcome those words as necessary correction, and thank God for revealing the blind spots, but oh how I needed grace to go on, after the coal had been on these oh so unclean lips..I am weak and must only rely on Him for wisdom on when to speak the truth in love. I wandered into here via a link from endtimesproheticwords, and was told that you had some knowledge of Bill Johson being touched in the forehead ?by Bobby Conner? and ascending to the third heaven. Our church, or former church, is becoming affiliiated with Bethel and I would appreciate some information. I did a search on every conceivable combination of words including BJ’s forehead, but got no results. Can you help me here ? Wer’e in the process of sharing our concerns with our pastor and would greatly appreciate this info.
Daniel // July 31, 2008 at 3:58 am |
Any chance that Bob or FIRE will release the recordings of these Apostolic Church classes. This is the second time I hear about them. If you have any info please email me:
truth.disciple@gmail.com
Tim H // July 31, 2008 at 4:17 pm |
Karen,
I know that Mark Jr has just had a new child placed in their lives and he is very busy. I found the comment where he made the statement that was related on the other blog you spoke about. Here is is copied and pasted from this sites discussion on “Let’s Go Treasure Hunting!”
iseeitdifferently
May 21, 2007 at 12:00 am
Hearty:
I don’t know what you meant by that, but I thought it was hecka funny….
Mary, they already do Astral Projection. Bobby Conner did it with the whole congregation of folks at a prophetic conference at Bethel Church in ‘99.
Yep, he was touching his forehead to a bunch of people and many reported flying through the spirit realm with him, including the pastor/”apostle” Bill Johnson.
I forgot what I wrote on T2T’s blog…
…hope it was good.
mark jr.
iseeitdifferently // July 31, 2008 at 4:35 pm |
http://www.fire-church.org
Contact someone there and see if they have it available yet. From what I understood it was recorded for the purpose of reproduction and distribution. He wore a lapel mic for every speaking.
mark jr.
Daniel // July 31, 2008 at 11:07 pm |
Thanks I sent them an email hopefully I will hear back from someone.
Gregory P. Garwood // August 15, 2008 at 4:00 pm |
I have a point of fact for C. Peter Wagner and all “restored apostles.”
There are several definitions of the word apostle. The one that is applicable today is “sent one” meaning it can be applied to a person who is sent into a new mission field for example. As a “sent one” the apostle, if he is serving in the Holy Spirit, is to be subservient as Jesus was. They are to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ the Messiah and that’s it. They are foot washers, nothing more. They hold a position of subservience, not authority. They have no real authority because the ones with the real authority have sent them, they are simply serving in obedience to the orders they were given, as any “sent one” should.
There is another definition of the word “Apostle” which is impossible to be applied today. (Note the capitol A which I use to distinguish the difference between the original, foundational Apostles chosen by Jesus Christ, and the false “restored” apostles of today who are attempting to usurp the authority of the foundational Apostles.) This Apostle is defined as one of the 12 foundational (original) disciples, called, anointed and inspired by Jesus Christ to preach the gospel and write the majority of the New Testament, they were: Simon Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot. The true foundational Apostles had specific, unique criteria which had to be met in order to qualify them as the true, genuine, foundational Apostles of Jesus Christ. First, any foundational Apostle had to be chosen by Jesus Christ Himself, physically, not by some self serving dream, vision or hallucination. The foundational Apostle also had to have walked with Jesus, physically, in His earthly human body. They witnessed His physical life with His miracles, teachings, and admonitions. They actually touched Him, ate with Him, and laughed with Him. They knew Him and He knew them intimately. One of the most important prerequisites of the true foundational Apostles of Jesus Christ is that they had to witness, with their eyes, Jesus Christ resurrected and His ascension as the Son of God to the right hand of the Father.
The criteria to qualify as a foundational Apostle is found in Acts 1:20 – 22; 20 “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms,” ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and,” ‘May another take his place of leadership.’ 21Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” This is the Word of God as it applies to just what a foundational authentic Apostle is. Now, I want you to think about something; if the number of foundational Apostles was not to be fixed at 12, why did the Apostles so diligently scrutinize the candidates when they replaced Judas Iscariot? Why didn’t they just keep the number of foundational Apostles at 11? I mean. . . life happens right? And again, if the number of Apostles was insignificant, why didn’t the original Apostles select both Barsabbas AND Mathias? After all, an extra Apostle might just come in handy for all of the work that had to be done as the gospels were first preached at the beginning of the New Covenant. They didn’t select both because they couldn’t! There were to be only 12 original foundational Apostles to establish the New Covenant church and write the majority of the New Testament. The number 12 is always significant with God as it most certainly was when Jesus chose the 12 original, foundational Apostles. The foundational Apostles were the ones chosen to witness and testify that Jesus Christ was and is the one and only Messiah, the promised Savior, sent to reconcile man to God. The genuine, foundational Apostles were also given divine wisdom, guidance and inspiration to write the majority of the New Testament. They truly were unique, anointed and inspired in a special way just as every other author of the Bible had been. As you see, not just anybody qualifies as an author of the inspired Word of God, so, not just anybody qualifies as a foundational Apostle, there were only ever 12 foundational Apostles in the history of mankind and there will never be another human with the authority of the foundational Apostles. Any man who attempts to claim foundational apostolic authority is false as we read in 2 Corinthians 11. If the authenticity of foundational Apostleship is relative and insignificant, as the “restored apostles” of today would like you to believe, and the foundational Apostles wrote the New Testament, than the whole New Testament is just as relative and insignificant and can be changed or added to any time any self proclaimed “restored apostle” sees fit. That would mean that the inerrant Word of God would also be relative and Null! That would mean that C. Peter Wagner, Lester Zimmerman, Curt Malizzi, Bill Yount, Dutch Sheets and any one of the International Coalition of apostles would have the authority to rewrite the New Testament or change it in any way they see fit in defiance of the Word of God. Now THAT is dangerous! For these men to even attempt to claim such power and authority is arrogance in the worst possible degree. Paul warns us in 2 Corinthians 11: 12 – 15 12; And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. 13 for such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. Now that we know the prerequisite to be a foundational Apostle, show me just one of the “restored” apostles of today who have ever seen the physical Jesus Christ before and after the crucifixion? Which of them actually ate real food with Him? Which of them actually talked with Him? Which of them ever witnessed one of His miracles? Which of them witnessed, with their eyes, the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ? None of them! True God given authority isn’t usurped by wild dreams, unsubstantiated visions, trances or hallucinations as people like Rick Joyner would have you believe. The foundational Apostles were given one time, divine authority, inspiration and power to establish the new covenant church, the foundation on which the present day church has been built and will remain until the return of Jesus Christ at the end of this age.
Gregory P. Garwood
Bryan Purtle // August 16, 2008 at 9:15 pm |
While I’m not in harmony with much of what’s called the modern apostolic reformation, I do not believe that any of the men you listed have one iota of belief that they are meant to write “new scriptures.”
That is quite a distortion.
Tom Q. // August 21, 2008 at 2:21 am |
Gregory,
I totally agree that apostles must be servants, willing to bring up the rear of the procession, but some of your other statements I find perplexing.
Don’t you find it interesting that we never hear of the apostle Matthias again after Acts 1, and then 8 chapters later we have this “johnny-come-lately” named Paul who NEVER sat at the feet of Jesus (in the flesh) and hated those who followed Him, becoming the pre-eminent apostle who wrote most of the New Testament.
God, in His wisdom, laid the foundations of the church through a man who was the picture of perfection in his flesh and was yet totally and utterly wrong. Being stripped of every religious prop, he was uniquely qualified to minister the grace and mercy of the risen Christ in Word and deed.
“Here is a saying worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom, I am chief.”
“Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.”
“You believe because you see. Blessed are they that believe without seeing.”
While I agree with you that there are many false apostles, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. I want to know Christ, as Peter, James, John AND Paul knew Him, and He is no respecter of persons. I believe He WANTS to be known in that way even more than I want to know Him.
Being an apostle in the last days will in no way necessitate adding to Scripture.
He has saved the best wine for last and I believe He will have those whom He sends from the true throne in heaven and whose lips have been touched with a live coal of that altar on which Jesus, the King of Glory was sacrificed.
Blessings!
Tom Quinlan
Bryan Purtle // August 21, 2008 at 2:52 am |
That’s a good word, Tom.
Yoshua // November 13, 2008 at 3:03 am |
Daniel, (truth.disciple@gmail.com),
Did you ever hear back from FIRE? I personally handle the audio archives for the school and from what I remember, I did not get a memo about any inquiry. Still, it might have been processed through the Church vs the School.
Please feel free to email me (inyeshuassteps at gmail dot com) if you are still in limbo.
Thanks and God Bless!