3 January, 1999

Dear Children,

This week we will not move on into the future end time events like I had thought we would, because the Lord had other plans. In fact for today we will faithfully continue on with our sermonet series on President Clinton with part #? of Why In The World Did We Get In This Mess In The First Place? But before we do, let me say first of all:

Shout Hallelujah!!! Thank You Jesus!!! Praise The Lord!!! What a week this has been... in the Lord! And likewise let me impress upon you the fact that if this week has been any indication of what’s coming up for the rest of 1999, then it’s definitely going to be what you would call a humdinger of a year. Because what happened to me this week was nothing short of the most powerful move of the Holy Spirit that I have ever experienced in my life. It was GREAT!!!, it was AWESOME!!!, and it was without a doubt downright HEAVENLY!!!

So, do you want me to tell you a little bit more about it? Well of course you do. I mean how else am I going to lead on into the message for this week? You see it was Tuesday night, after having already had a pretty good week at work (great things were happening in the Lord), that I came home to my normal weeknight routine. Now the first thing that I did was to plug in an audio tape (Brother Ed Spiller’s anointed singing tape All Things Through Christ) as I proceeded to get supper on the stove. And even though I had already listened to this tape several times before, there seemed to be a noticeably greater moving of the Holy Spirit within me as I listened to it once again.

But this was only the beginning. Because after that tape was over, and as I began to do a few weight lifting exercises, I plugged in a Family Worship Center Home Church Video. And once again I was very familiar with this video after having already watched it several times before. But along with that, there was an even better reason for my already knowing what was on it. You see it was actually my very own face that flashed across the screen several times during the service. Because what I just so happened to be watching was a video of the 4th of July Campmeeting service at Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, and it just so happened to be one of the services that I had attended.

So I thought that I already knew what was coming up... until the most amazing thing happened. What I was hearing from the video tape was having the same effect on me as Brother Ed’s tape... but it was even stronger. The Family Worship Center singing was not only flowing in me but all over me too. And it was absolutely beautiful. And then came the appointed time for the sermon. But Brother Donnie didn’t get much preaching done because the Holy Spirit had other plans... and those plans didn’t include preaching. Because it was right about then that the Power of God hit Brother Donnie and the rest of the service went right on into a tongue talking Spirit filled Jesus praising Holy Ghost anointed singing worship service (and that’s a mouthful)... and so did I!!!

Now as much as I would like to describe to you the way I was feeling, there just ain’t no earthly way to do it. It’s absolutely impossible! There just haven’t been words invented to describe the peace, joy, love, and happiness that flooded all in me and over me. I was both filled and surrounded with a feeling that none of Satan’s substitutions (drugs, marijuana, beer, wine, liquor, cocaine, heroin,...etc.) could even come close to producing. It was soooo good... and it was all of God.

So as you can only imagine, seeing how my exercise routine had turned into a Holy Ghost praise and worship service, I just went right on ahead and gave up on the physical fitness program for the night. I mean get real, after all the shouting and jumping around that I was doing who needed any more exercise?

And seeing how I was feeling soooo good, I decided to share it with a friend in Christ. So I made the call, and in a matter of seconds there were two of us shouting the praises to God Almighty. What a time we had in the Lord! And not only did we do some Holy Ghost shouting but we also did some Holy Ghost praying. In fact I’ll even be so bold as to say that there were actually a few prophecies given in the Lord. What a night!

Now it was one of the things that my friend prayed for (prophesied over?) that has become imprinted in my mind. Because what was either asked for or given was that I would have a boldness to speak out "what thus saith the Lord!" in these sermonets. And even though I feel that the last sermonet was kinda bold, after having prayed about what the Lord would have us to cover for this week I can sort of see that it wasn’t even bold enough. Because it was only shortly after finishing up on last week’s message that the Lord told me to revisit the sermonet series on that Baptist minister (Charles Stanley) from Atlanta, Georgia.

And of course that’s what I did! I drug out my stash of old sermonets and found the ones that the Lord wanted me to revisit. They were dated March 23rd through April 13th, 1997, and this is the way they started: "If you remember, last week we finished the real life story of Gideon... And it was last Sunday night that the message for this week came to me in a very painful way. You see I was watching a well known preacher on TV who’s service is aired world wide out of Atlanta, Georgia. And even though I had heard him preach on this same text many times before, there was something very different about it this time. You see this time he was very determined to get everyone to believe in what he was preaching. In fact he was so strong in what he was saying that I began to question my own beliefs.

So the next morning in my Bible reading I challenged what he had preached; searching out the Scriptures for myself. And what I found actually made me break down and cry. And the reason that I was crying was because of the fact that as I had reinforced my own beliefs through the reading of the Scriptures I had also become painfully aware of all the people that I remembered seeing in that church in Atlanta, Georgia. Because as the camera had panned across the audience I had gotten a real good look at all the faces of those innocent people who were believing what this preacher was preaching. They were faithfully believing that what their preacher was preaching was the Word of God. They were believing it to be the Truth.... while in reality they were being taught a lie!!!

- The Devil And Charles Stanley -
(Download MP3)

Now it was the very next day (Monday morning), as I continued to "see" the faces of all those people, that I also envisioned something from the distant past. Because what came to mind were images of a similarly tragic event in Jones Town, South Africa (I believe that was the name of the place) [should have been Jonestown, Guyana], that I had seen so many years before . In fact it was this "event of the century" that was shown on the nightly news cast for all eyes to see. And what I remembered seeing so very well was a vivid and shocking picture of the bloated bodies of Jim Jones’ dead (double dead) church congregation as they lay scattered about on the ground. You see these were the people who had believed in what Jim Jones was preaching, and evidently they did so without even questioning whether or not it was the truth. In fact they believed it so strongly, accepting it as the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that they ended up following Jim Jones straight on into the burning fires of Hell.

So how in the world did so many get fooled into believing his lie? Well you see Jim Jones actually started his ministry as a child of God; God fearing and obedient to the word of God (the Holy Bible). In the beginning he was serving God through his teaching and preaching of the truth... but it was in the end that he turned to serving self (Satan). And it was the people of his congregation, after having put their total trust in Jim Jones the preacher, who lay bloated and rotting in the hot sun of South Africa [Guyana]. Dead bloated rotting bodies; double dead. You see the end results were that both their spirits and their bodies were dead. Because not only had Preacher Jones convinced them to believe his gospel (killing their spirit) but he had also convinced them to drink his poisoned Kool Aid (killing their bodies)."

And what you have just read was the way that we started out that sermonet series over a year and a half ago. But after having read the rest of the message I don’t feel lead of the Lord to reprint what has already been written. Because as the years have continued to fly by it has become increasingly more obvious that we are running out of time. We have to get much bolder in this message to the world of religion or Jones Town is going to get a whole lot bigger. So if bold is what it takes then bold is what they’ll get!

Now if you will think back to last week’s message you should remember how the article from the November Newsweek Magazine kinda like did a very nice job of putting a goodly part of the blame for President Clinton’s problems on what he had been taught in his Baptist denomination. He, just like the followers of Jim Jones, believed in a few religious lies that ended up reaping him just a little bit of rotting fruit. And the only good part about his deception is that it’s still not too late for him to turn this thing around. And of course the only way for him to do what he has got to do is for him to hear the truth, accept it as the truth, and change his life accordingly. But just how might you ask is he going to hear the truth? Well if he will only read this letter I think that will be a pretty good start... so please pray that he does.

Now before we get into the meat of this message please allow me to add a note from the Lord concerning our last sermonet. He wants me to point out the fact that the Baptist Church does do many good works for the Lord, and it’s only the bad ones that are going to take people on into the burning fires of Hell! Because reading once again from the Scripture that so very well describes our present day religious mess (Revelation 2:1-5): "Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write... I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil... Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."

OK, so just as with the church of Ephesus, it’s the bad works of the Baptist Church that have been magnified in President Clinton’s life styles. And likewise, what better reason than that for the Lord to give the Baptist one of those "nevertheless" statements too. Now in order for us to continue to debate this issue on the Baptist Church we must first have a good outline of what we’re debating. And since Brother Pat Robertson of The 700 Club is another "dyed in the wool" Baptist (where in the world did we get that expression anyway?) who has been so kind to send me a copy of his book Answers To 200 Of Life’s Most Probing Questions, what better place than that to start?

Because it was in my letter to him (dated 8 February, 1998) that I said: "I am presently supporting your work with the 700 club but I have a nagging question that I feel needs to be answered. Can you help me? The first question that I have concerns your association with the Baptist Church. I feel the Baptist profession of faith is one of the strongest in the world of religious denominations, with the exception of the "once saved always saved" statement. Seeing how you are a man of much knowledge when it comes to the Word of God, my question to you is do you really believe it? And if your answer is no, then it would only seem logical that you let your television audience know it so that they won’t assume anything. In other words if you claim to be Baptist but don’t agree totally with their doctrines then why not say so. There are many people who look up to you for guidance."

Yup, that’s what I wrote... and the following is what Brother Pat Robertson wrote back to me: "Mr. Hallman, I have been a Southern Baptist all of my life, and, in fact, attend a local Baptist church. We don’t talk about different denominational beliefs because a person’s relationship with Jesus is what matters--not the particular denomination to which he may belong. Nevertheless, in response to your first question concerning the "once saved, always saved" doctrine, please read the enclosed answer from my book Answers To 200 Of Life’s Most Probing Questions."

All right, are you still with me? Well to make it real simple, this is what happened: I wrote a letter asking a question and I got back both a letter and a book. And on page 83 of Brother Robertson’s book Answers To 200 Of Life’s Most Probing Questions I found question #8 to be: "If I sin, will I lose my salvation?" And of course the following was Brother Robertson’s reply: "An act of sin does not cost you your salvation... When you are saved, you are adopted into the family of God. You must, out of love on one hand and godly fear on the other, try to live a life that is pleasing to him. But the idea that one act of sin would cause someone to be thrown out of God’s family is just not in agreement with the Bible. The Bible says, ‘If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.’... Acts of sin or rebellion will take away the joy of your salvation... If you continue in a course of known sin, you will lose the assurance of your salvation, however. You will not know if the Holy Spirit is with you because you will be at odds with God. I am not referring here to an actual loss of your salvation or to the Holy Spirit, only to your awareness and assurance of salvation and the Holy Spirit."

Now there’s a whole lot more of the answer that went along with the question but I’m not about to use up what precious little paper I have left to print it. Because the bottom line of what Brother Robertson has been taught in his Southern Baptist denomination is nothing just short of what I would call the lies straight from the pit of Hell. And the facts are that if what Brother Robertson has just said is the truth then what the Word of God has to say is a lie!!! And seeing how I know the Word of God to be the Truth, that can only mean that what Brother Robertson is preaching is the lie... and that lie could result in a whole lotta church folk’s becoming just like the Jones Town crew (dead, bloated, and rotting) !!!

And seeing how this is what I’ve been leading up to for four pages now, let’s get it on with the program. Because the program that I’m talking about will show this untruth of the Baptist denomination to be the lie that it really is. And starting it off with the same text that Brother Robertson used in his book to disprove the truth (I John 1:1-7 and 2:1-6), "That which was seen from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declared we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."

Now going back to the time that John the disciple wrote this letter (I John), it’s intended purpose was to be sent out to the Asiatic churches which just so happened to be located near Ephesus. And the bottom line issue that John was addressing in this letter was the beliefs of the so called Gnostic religion. And just to help you understand who they were, their name came from the Greek word gnosis which meant "knowledge". So as I hope you will be able to see through John’s letter, this thing about denominations who think they know more than God is really nothing new. But anyway, as John opens up his letter he makes it perfectly clear just which God he serves: "...our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."

But continuing on with the reading, "And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you , that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

Now if you will only flip back to Brother Robertson’s statement as taken from his book, you’ll see that there’s just a little bit more information that goes along with his quote. In fact there is not only a "but" that goes along with it but also another "if". And when we add those two things back to what was originally quoted (along with the information in between) it kinda like "sheds a little bit more light" (get the pun?) back on the true meaning of what John was saying. "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light... the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

Ain’t it truly amazing what just a few words can do? And if just a few words can make such a big difference why not add a few more. So continuing on with John’s message, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

OK, so the first step in the salvation process (becoming saved) is to admit to the fact that we are sinners... because if in the first place we think that we’re not lost then we definitely don’t need The Savior (Jesus Christ). But if we admit that we are a sinners (lost and destined to Hell), and if we accept the Perfect Blood Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, then and only then will we become righteous (free of our past sins). And the only way to stay saved is to not only make Jesus Christ our Savior but also make Him our Lord. Because John goes on to say, "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."

Now that is one very important statement that the Baptist have kinda like thrown out of their Bibles (Gnostics = knowledge). The word "commandment" means nothing more than "a direct order from God". And please believe me when I say that when God gives His orders (commandments) He doesn’t do it in a "pretty please when you have the time" sort of way. When God the Father gives His orders God the Father means business... and anything short of obeying His orders is what He considers a sin (unrighteousness). And likewise, that’s exactly why John goes on to say in I John 2:29 and 3:1-10: "If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."

You see it’s all because of the lies that have been taught that our Baptist brothers and sisters don’t understand the truth. And the truth is that the "born again child of God" doesn’t become a "child of God" until it’s all over. It goes without saying that ain’t over till it’s over, and that’s the point that John was trying to get across. In fact not even Jesus Christ was labeled "free of sin" and "worthy as the Perfect Sacrifice for our sins" until it was all over. If He would have committed just one little itty bitty tiny sin there would not have been a snowball’s chance in Hell of any of us escaping Hell. It took His Perfect Sinless Sacrifice to pay the price. And likewise the same holds true for us too. Because in order for us to be considered "children of God" we too must be perfect at the time of our death. And in order to be considered perfect without sin at the time of our death (it’s over when it’s over) we must not only be forgiven of the sins we committed before accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior but also all those that might have occurred afterwards.

And that’s why John wraps it all up with this final Scripture when he says, "And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother."

Now the key word in the above Scripture is "manifest" which means "to make known". And the way God "knows" His children is through the way that they behave. And the way that they behave is the way that God the Father wants them to behave... by not committing sin. Because for the "child of God" who commits these acts of sin, they have, through their actions, "made known" to God the Father that they are not His children. So how do you figure this fits in with Brother Robertson’s statement of "If you continue in a course of known sin, you will lose the assurance of your salvation... I am not referring here to an actual loss of your salvation or to the Holy Spirit, only to your awareness and assurance of salvation and the Holy Spirit."

Well based on the truths that we have just uncovered in The Word of God, that kinda like sheds a little light on what Brother Robertson and the Baptist religion have to say. In fact you can call it whatever you want to call it... but I call it a bald face lie!!! And of course there will be a copy of this sermonet going out especially for Brother Robertson... and I do hope and pray that he not only accepts it as the truth but that he also makes copies of it for all of his Baptist friends. And we’re running out of paper... and we’ve still got so much corrective Scripture to cover for the Baptist.

But turning real quickly to the book of Hebrews and reading from chapter 6, verses 1-8, "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, If God permit. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receive blessings from God: But that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned."

So how in the world can such educated people (Baptist) not be able to see the truth (Gnostics = knowledge)? I mean messing around with the Word of God is some pretty serious business... and that’s a whole sermonet series of it’s own. But even though it looks as though this is about all we can write for this week, there might be just enough room for one more right hand hook shot.... which we find it in Ezekiel 3:17-21: "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me... When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul."

Well that’s it, I quite! But before shutting down completely I’d like to thank my Heavenly Father for giving me both the words for this message and the boldness to carry it all out. (For more on Charles Stanley, Pat Robertson, and "Once Saved Always Saved" see Hell Bent On Destroying The Word Of God!)

So give it all to Jesus and Keep The Faith!!!

Love,

Dad (Bruce Hallman)