About Brother Bob

1 Timothy 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

This Is The Story Of A Man And His Sincere Struggle To Overcome

Had I not seen a living example of a man who was an Overcomer, I could have easily settled for a religion that teaches there is nothing more to Grace than the forgiveness of my sins. A religion that teaches mankind to fear even the mention of good works

Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

“the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life;”

2 Corinthians 3:3; Ezekiel 11:19; Ezekiel 36:26; Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10; Romans 2:12-15;

Romans 7:14 law is spiritual
1 Corinthians 15:44-49 Adam was not spiritual, but natural like the other creatures God created
John 3:3-21 spirit is spirit

Early Life In The Desert

There once was an old Okie man, he had little formal education, removed from the 3rd grade to work and help feed the family. This Okie certainly was not “Too big for his breeches”, meaning “he was not conceited, overconfident, or full of his own importance, who by man’s perception was very poor.” God seen to it that this old Okie became my dad, what I seen in his life taught me what true riches are, and it has absolutely nothing to do with material wealth.

Dad was an evangelist, he pastored churches, he opened several rescue missions, and he travelled all over with a huge army tent preaching the Gospel and teaching The Word of God. Miracles signs and wonders were present at the meetings.

Dad had built a small shed out behind our home, several times each day he would go there to pray, I named it “The Shack Out Back”. Often dad would come out of the shack out back and choose one of us kids to go with him on a journey the Spirit had just told him to take. On one of these mornings’ dad told me to get in the car, we are on a mission.

When he started the car, he looked at the gas gauge and told me it was almost empty, I looked, yes it was! He said, Robert, I have no money for gas, but the Lord told me to go, so we must pray. After praying off we went, about 3 hours later we arrived in a big city. The Lord was giving dad directions to a park, dad finally said, there it is, and pulled over. When we exited the car, dad told me to stay a distance behind him and follow, you are about to see the power of God.

As we were walking down a sidewalk through this park, I noticed two men dressed in suits approaching us, when they were about 12 feet from dad, they all of a sudden fell violently to the ground on their faces crying out to God, forgive me, forgive me. Dad went forward and preached the Gospel to them and both of them were Born Again. The two men were also out on a mission for their god, they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. Our God Jesus Christ was the victor.

Later in life I seen several people publishing books in an effort to teach Christians how to do all the great and wonderful things of evangelists and prophets of days gone by, those men they held in high esteem. In essence, these authors were inspecting the lives of these men with a microscope, they were trying to figure out what made these men so great, honestly, most never figured it out. They went on to produce a movement of false prophets, men and women whose only desire was to look great in the sight of men. When I see that movement today, I want to cry out, “Let Me Tell You About an Old Okie!”. The wonderful things I beheld as a child were a testimony of how our God watches over “His Word” to perform it.

Modern Christianity has a warped perception of what it means to be a Christian, one’s perception becomes warped when men take verses in the Bible out of context in their effort to justify a path that God has not ordained.

I have not forgotten to speak of my mother, in everything that I am writing here, thoughts of my mother are weaved into every word. When I think of mom, I see a reflection, a reflection of two statements, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Mom gave all that she had to give.

Hell Then Jail

As a young child and into my teens, and very early adulthood, I had become a thief, it was so evil that I actually studied all available material written on the greatest criminals, and especially on the mistakes that finally ended their corrupt careers. Well, that didn’t work out well, at 17 I left home and went on a crime spree across California, it was going as planned until I started taking drugs and drinking all the whiskey I could steal. In a drunken drugged out stupor I opened my mouth about a planned robbery to a man that had shot someone, he was arrested and released on bail. I had no idea at the time what this man was going through, he made a deal for a lighter sentence for setting me up. The night of the planned robbery dozens of law enforcement officers were waiting for me and my partner in crime, they had quite a wait as we hid behind bushes at the location drinking and doing drugs. They police officers grew impatient and finally stepped from behind the bushes, guns drawn.

I would soon be on my way to the hoosegow, but not quite yet, my next stunt would have ended my life had God not had a better plan, and these officers not made a huge mistake. When the officers surrounded us, I was holding my .30-30 Winchester at my side, the officers were in a complete circle surrounding us and were about fifteen feet from us. At that moment all I could think about was how I had ruined my crime partners life; I would do anything to get him out of this mess.

My next thought was pure insanity, I quietly told my buddy, I am the one with the weapon, when I raise the weapon, their attention will be fully on me, when I say 3, bolt through them and stop for nothing! 1, I said as I raised the weapon, at that moment all the officers began screaming, drop the weapon or you’re a dead man! As they continued to scream, I said 2, as I slid the bolt of the rifle back and the cartridge popped up. It was at that moment that I looked into the eyes of these officers and noticed something that just may get my buddy out of here, and possibly me also. I saw that they all had their eyes trained on the rifle, not us. As I said 3, I was sliding the cartridge into the chamber, I’m not kidding, at this very moment everything began to move in slow motion. In an instant, I dropped the rifle, and my buddy bolted.

I watched in slow motion the eyes of the officers slowly follow this rifle as it seemingly floated for minutes like a feather to the earth. When I saw their focus was on the weapon I bolted right behind my buddy, we busted through the line, not a shot was fired until we were a short distance from them, zigging zagging ducking and rolling, on we went. It sounded like a war behind us as bullets whizzed past my head, through yards, businesses, orchards, on we ran for several miles to the outskirts of town. When I woke up the next day, it hit me, the officers put themselves in a position where they could not fire as long as we were surrounded by them, they would take the chance of their bullets hitting officers across from them.

So now we were on the lam for several days, this would not last long though, they were hot and humiliated. They finally located the house where we were holed up, it was before sunrise and the fog was dense. I told my partner in crime that it was not over yet, the police cars were lined up down the street, and they had made roadblocks on both ends with vehicles. In the cover of dense fog, we crawled on our bellies to my car, I had built the car for race, and in a few moments, it would be put to the test.

We quietly slipped into the vehicle; flames shot from the carb for a moment as I punched the pedal to the floor, the mad race towards death was on. The car was flying as we approached the roadblock, ready for impact! The moment I started the vehicle up they must have decided to move the two vehicles, just seconds before impact, they backed out of the way, and the race was on. A big issue with a souped-up car is the fuel, long periods at top speed I was lucky to see three or four miles per gallon. I was probably at a quarter tank when the chase began, it went on for several miles. Then it hit me, look at the fuel! Empty! It was over, I pulled to the roadside, within seconds the one souped-up vehicle they had was on us. After being beaten, my face drug in the pavement, I was off to jail. I still remember my first thought when we were caught, oh thank God. I had hurt people, scared people, and taken what they had worked hard for, I was scum.

I fought the case for nine months, the entire time I was setting fires in the jail, starting riots, and brewing alcohol. When the judge finally sentenced me to seven years, my response to him was, give me 99. I was so lost.

The Day of Salvation

It was during the first year behind bars that a heavy metal rock band showed up, I was not given the option of not listening. I despised this music and tried my best to ignore it, it is then that something strange took place, I could not hear the music at all, but only the words. I knew these words well, I had grown up hearing them every single day, it was the Gospel. When the band had finished playing, they gave the altar call, I responded and went up front. After being Born Again of The Spirit I looked to both sides, I was the only one who had answered the call. Before I had even turned around to face the other inmates, I could feel the evil hatred.

Bob Returns to the Desert of His Youth

I was yet a teenager when hands were laid upon me, and the prophecy came forth. At the time I had no idea what these words fully meant, and I had no clue that at that very moment, a war had commenced, a war controlled by unseen forces, light and darkness. God, through His angelic host, the power of His Spirit, and the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of His Word Jesus, kept me and strengthened me, and delivered me.

There was so much I had to learn, things I could not learn without much affliction. I have hurt other people, I have committed great sins, I have forsaken many opportunities to love, and most of all are the numerous times I trespassed against the Commands of God.

I was finally paroled and returned to the desert I so loved. I was Saved but still had not learned the importance of yielding to the Fruit of The Spirit, and the need of discipline to bring transformation.

In the early years I lived in an old adobe home, it was the most spiritual times I had ever lived. The real change in my life began one day when the Lord sat me down on the ground, it is then that the Lord spoke to me about transformation and walking in the Spirit. The Lord spoke to me about what I would consider big issues in my life and my need to deal with them. As time went on I could feel the power of the Spirit transforming me as I chose to yield to His Spirit, in short order all of the issues the Lord had exposed were dealt with.

It was at this time that the Lord sat me down on the ground again, He spoke of my growth, I was not ready to hear what He spoke next, “And Now For All The Little Foxes That Have So Cleverly Hidden Themselves From Your View.” What I was being shown was the very nature of fallen mans flesh, the corrupt seed that was producing these little foxes that were destroying the vine, I was being shown the very source where the bigger issues had sprung from. Later I would come to understand that what the Lord was doing was calling me to a life of discipline.

When living in the old adobe home I would daily go deep into the desert to pray, to study, to praise and worship God. It was during these years that I found myself walking in a sheltered cocoon, a place where I walked in the Spirit and the Spirit lived in and through this temple of clay. During this time the Lord clearly taught me His Word, as I praised and worshipped God he would visit me in many ways.

I had been physically abused by my wife for seven long and hard years, often having to hold her on the floor for long periods of time until her rage ended. I could not stand my children having to see these events, I knew that if they continued seeing this there was a good chance they would take this rottenness into their lives later.

Still, I remained, and the abuse continued, especially when I finally made the decision to serve the Lord. No matter how little time I spent praying, studying the Word, or attending Church, I was physically attacked. I had to go inside a 3’x3′ closet and lock the door to study and pray. My wife would often burn my journals and Bible Study notes.

The stress from this eventually brought on a massive heart attack, this took place at a young adults retreat in the mountains. In short, a miracle took place that night, followed by the Lord telling me to get away from her abuse. I still fought the idea of leaving her, that was until on the return from this trip, upon returning on a Sunday night we went to the Church. The pastor called me forward, he told me to do what the Lord had told me to do! At the time he had no idea what the Lord had told me to do.

The Lodi Vision

One morning in 1988, as I was in prayer the Spirit of God told me to leave everyone and everything and get to Lodi CA. After being ordained by my father and another elder, I left for Lodi. While walking the streets of Lodi ministering in the rain, 4 souls were Saved, and I had a vision that ended up directing my steps for many years.

When I arrived in Lodi it was raining and cold, no umbrella, off I went to walk the streets in search of what the Lord had sent me for. After an hour or so I came to a street that was filled with really nice homes. As I approached a beautiful home, I seen a man with an umbrella coming out of the home, he headed for the trunk of his Mercedes-Benz.

As I came close, the Lord told me to minister to this man, I looked at the man and his wealth, disobeyed the Lord, and continued down this street. After a short time it felt as though a ton of rocks had been placed on my shoulders, I could hardly move any further. I knew exactly what was taking place, I repented of my pride and returned to the home where I had seen this man. Wouldn’t you know it? As I approached the home, out walks the man to his car again, I approached.

This time the man had no umbrella, he stood there with me in the rain as I preached the Gospel to him. He was Born Again, standing there soaked with rain, I shared many things with him, then departed. As I walked down the road the man yelled out, wait! I wand my entire family Saved! As I was headed back he was bringing his wife ant two children outside. They were all Saved, and once again off I went.

At this point I was thinking that I had discovered the purpose behind the Lord sending me to Lodi. It must be that the Lord is going to Save multitudes in this city, after quite some time walking in the rain I knew that the Lord had other plans. I wondered, what can it be? Could it be that the Lord had sent me to Lodi to lead this family to the Lord, and that was all?

As I walked I came to a point where several streets met, one of these streets was Church Street. I felt an urgency to look down Church Street, the closer I looked, the more Churches I seen. I began to notice that this street was lined with dozens and dozens of Churches, I then seen that there were many of the same Denominations, a Baptist Church here, and another there. An Assemblies of God here, and another there, a Church of Christ here, and one there, a Seventh-day Adventist here, and one there, here a Foursquare, and there a Foursquare. This went on to cover not only all of the Denominational Churches, but even Non-Denominational Churches.

What a sight to see, at first I thought I was in Church Heaven, that thought quickly changed as the people began to leave their buildings. As the people began to leave, some walked to their vehicles, others began to walk down the sidewalks to their homes, but one thing they all had in common, they all looked to the ground to avoid eye contact with any other Churches members!

The original thought, that I was seeing Church Heaven, quickly vanished, as I beheld the great division in the Body I began to weep. I was seeing the fruit of the carnal mind, the rejection of the spiritual being replaced by the arrogance and pride of man.

Now you know what I thought as I beheld this division, what took place next completely crushed me.

As I stood looking down Church Street, crying uncontrollably, I felt such an holy presence, so holy that at first I dared not turn to look upon this presence. After the courage was given to me, I slowly turned to my left, there stood our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, He was looking down Church Street beholding the same image I was seeing. When I looked upon the face of Jesus, tears were flowing as He wept over the scene before Him.

The tears I seen the Lord shed in this vision served as a confirmation to me that we should indeed be weeping over what carnal minded men have done to the body of Christ.

On To Modesto

After this vision the Lord told me to leave Lodi, off I went, not knowing the destination. As I drove down Highway 99 approaching Modesto the Lord told me to stop in Modesto, he had work for me there.

After stopping in Modesto and praying for direction the Lord told me to call Elder Bassard, a minister my father had worked with when I was a young child. He and I had no relationship to speak of, but I obeyed the Lord, looked up his number and called him.

After a few minutes of an awkward call he told me that God has perfect timing, he had an Evangelist scheduled for a revival but he had just cancelled minutes before I called him. He asked me if I would hold the revival, I responded yes.

He gave me directions to the Church and off I went. We had a wonderful time of fellowship, he told me the home next door belonged to the Church and I could stay there during the revival. It was late at night when I had arrived at the Church, when Elder Bassard left for home it was around 11 P.M.

I was in the home he provided, studying and praying for about two hours, around 1 A.M. there was a knock on the door. Not a soul but the Pastor knew I was there, it must be him, it was not! When I opened the door there stood before me a man who’s body was so twisted that it resembled some type of hideous creature that in no way could have been the result of some type of serious human ailment or severe physical disability.

I invited the man in, as soon as he entered the home he began to speak death curses against me, I quickly spoke to the devils who had possessed this man, “You devils know that my God has a hedge of protection between me and you, you must get through my God first to get to me!” In an instant this man quickly hobbled out the open door and off into the darkness of night.

The revival began, it went on for two full weeks, the Spirit of God moved mightily every night, every night the service went into the early hours of the morning. The first three nights Elder Bassard remained until the morning when the service would close, he would then lock the doors and go home.

After the third night he handed me the keys, telling me that he could not stay until the morning. He told me that there was an issue with the lighting, I would need to turn off the lights from the very back of the building, then walk in the dark back to the front and exit from the office.

On the last night of the revival, after everyone had left, I went to the back of the Church and turned out the lights. I began to make my way down the dark isle towards the front, there was limited light from the Moon through the windows.

As I slowly made my way, a figure of a person appeared at the front of the Church. Now just a few feet from me, I could see it was the same man who had ran from the home two weeks earlier.

As he neared he began to move faster and faster in attack mode. In an instant a faith in God, a faith I did not muster for this battle, arose in an instant, the gift of faith. At the point of impact I shouted in all authority, “In the name of Jesus sit down!” The man instantly fell over and sat bound on a pew.

The devils were many and they were screaming out many things, I bound their tongues in the name of Jesus and began ministering deliverance and Salvation to the man.

The very moment the man received Jesus as his Lord and Savior the devils departed the man and the Church building. Before I could lay hands on him and pronounce his disfigured body healed, as I began to move my hand toward him, his body was instantly whole. Jesus is Lord of all.