P.O. Box 640109

El Paso, TX 79904

4 January, 1998

Dear Children,

Well here it’s the last day of the old year and I’m starting on the first sermonet of the new year. And for my new year’s resolution I pray that God will teach me to be bolder in proclaiming the True Word of God and to get it out to even more people. And in an effort to offer this weekly message to more people I’m asking for a little help. I need two very special God called people to do very special jobs. I need one Holy Ghost filled person to translate the sermonets each week into Spanish, and I need another to help me set up a web page for weekly publications on the Internet. So does anyone have a call of God on their heart to do one or the other? I’m sure there is someone out there who has already been chosen, so if it is you please answer the call.

Now it seems as though one or two folks who get the Children’s Club letters (maybe even more) don’t particularly agree with what I have to say and how I say it. In fact they are so mad they aren’t going to read them anymore, they aren’t going to tell me not to send them, and they are just going to throw them in the trash and waste the money spent on postage and printing. They think they are going to hurt our ministries by wasting our money, but I’ve got just a little something to tell them. First of all the message is from God and secondly they aren’t wasting our money they’re wasting God’s money.

You see there are a whole lotta people who don’t want to know the truth, they are perfectly satisfied believing the lies of Satan. In fact that was exactly what Paul was talking about when he wrote II Timothy 4:3-5, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry."

The key word in the preceding Scripture was "lust" and it’s that one desire (lust) that Satan uses to catch so many suckers. You see what Paul said would happen has happened; you can now pick and choose what you want to believe in and you can even do it without too many people giving you a hard time about it. This world has gotten to the point of believing that it’s nobody else’s business what you do; if it feels good do it. I mean just take a good look at the President of the United States and his wife, a perfect example of what I’m talking about. And that’s exactly why so many of these false religions are taking hold and spreading like wildfire.

And that brings us back to last week’s message on Christian Science. Now we haven’t gotten too deep into the discussion yet but what we have discovered is that they don’t believe Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. So before we go too much further into what they (Church of Christ, Science) have to offer let’s first clear up any confusion concerning the fact that Jesus Christ was and still is God.

You see in order to get all that the Christian Science has to offer you must first believe in that one very important statement they made in their Internet web page presentation: "Christian Scientist do not worship Jesus as God, but revere him as the Son of God and Saviour of Mankind." Now this is a very good example of why you should always be very careful not to try to read and comprehend too many words at one time; it could get you into trouble. In their statement they said two basic things but only one of them was true. And it’s the truth of the second statement that tends to override the lies of the first statement that makes it so bad. The true statement is that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of Mankind, and the false statement is that Jesus is not God (Christian Scientists do not worship Jesus as God).

And one very fine example of the Scriptures pointing out the sin of this teaching is found in the book of I John, chapters 3 and 4. So starting in chapter 3 verse 23 and reading, "...And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. BELOVED, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of anti christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."

There are three very important words that we need to investigate in order to be able to better understand the full meaning of this Scripture. First of all, the word Jesus (the Greek name as used in the New Testament) means Jehovah is Savior. And the Hebrew name Jehovah means God Almighty. And just so you can see it for yourself let’s turn to and read Exodus 6:1-8. "Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Issac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them...I am the LORD."

This Scripture from Exodus showed us the time and place that God Almighty first introduced Himself as Jehovah. Now since the name Jesus means Jehovah is Savior, and Jehovah means God, then it’s very easy to understand that God is the Savior. So continuing on, by adding the word Christ to His name (Jesus: God is the Savior) we get an even better description as to Who Jesus Christ really was and is. You see this word Christ means the Anointed One. And just in case you don’t understand I can take the process of simplification one step further. In plain and simple language the name Christ means the One Who has what it takes to get the job done. And since Jesus Christ is God the Anointed Savior then He was the only One Who could have done what was needed to be done in order for us all to escape the cold death grip of Satan. You see it was only God Almighty Who satisfied the requirements needed to overcome the sin of Adam. He alone had what it took to overcome Satan’s contract of everlasting death on the entire world population.

And that’s why Isaiah was foretelling the events of the future when he prophesied in Isaiah 9:6, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." That was what Isaiah said about the future and this is what the future brought: Reading from Matthew 1:18-23, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost... But... the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph thy son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife... And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

So going back to the original Scripture of I John 3-4 and reading it one more time, "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God..." So I think it should be pretty easy by now to understand that the name Jesus Christ means that Jesus the son of Joseph was God Almighty in the flesh. And that brings us to the point that Jesus Christ was and still is God. Now with all that said and done we can go on to the third important word of that particular Scripture. The word confesseth means to say something with a whole hearted belief and to the point of actually being willing to stake your life on what you are confessing. In other words confesseth means to be completely sold out to whatever you believe in and be extremely proud of it.

Whew, boy this is hard. But anyway, for all those people who aren’t sold out to the fact that Jesus Christ was (and still is) God Almighty, the rest of the Scripture applies: and their spirit is not of God. And if their spirit is not of God then who’s spirit do they have? Reading once again I John 4:3, "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of anti christ..."

Ouch, that hurts. The Word of God clearly says that anyone following and believing in the religious beliefs of the Christian Scientist has the spirit of anti christ. In other words they are against the only thing that can save them. They are taking sides with the Devil, they are falling right into his trap, and if they don’t pull out of their tailspin they will be lost forever in the burning fires of Hell. It’s just that simple.

But that was what John the Apostle had to say. What do you suppose Jesus had to say about who He was? Reading from of John 10:22-42, "And it was in Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly."

So here we are in the time of Jesus and as you can see most people are confused as to exactly who He is. And how in the world could this plain and simple man, one who is so very meek and mild, be the chosen one of God Who would save the great nation of Israel from the hands of the enemy (Satan being the ring leader)? After all He sure didn’t look like a fighting man. He didn’t have a sword, He didn’t wear a uniform, and He didn’t even ride a white horse. This Man was just a carpenter; so they said.

But, continuing on with verse 25, "Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand."

Have you ever had this problem? Someone ask you a question, and you tell them the answer, but because your answer wasn’t what they wanted to hear they kind of ignore what you had to say. Well that was the situation Jesus was in. The Jews wanted to know if He was the Chosen One of God; The Christ. And Jesus keeps on telling them that God is His Father but for some reason it just didn’t sink into their thick skulls. So He finally lays it out on the line when He says in the very next verse, "I and my Father are one."

It’s kind of like saying in today’s language "read my lips". Jesus finally gave them what they wanted; He quit beating around the bush (so to speak). He told them in plain and simple language the answer to their question "If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly." And brother did He tell them... And brother did they get ticked off, because in the very next verse we read, "Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him."

Sometimes people are very hard to figure out. They asked Him a question but when He gave them the truthful answer they wanted to kill Him for it. But Jesus didn’t give up on them yet. Reading on into verse 32, "Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; which one of those works do you stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God."

You see this problem with people who can’t accept the truth that Jesus Christ was and is God has been around for a long time; even all the way back to the time of Jesus. But Jesus had just one more thing to say about their unbelief and He said it directly to their face. Reading once again, starting with verse 34, "Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemes; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know; and believe, that the father is in me, and I in him."

If you will pay particularly close attention to what Jesus was saying you’ll see that He was playing with their minds. But before you can understand what I‘m trying to tell you about what Jesus was trying to tell them we first must read and understand the Scriptures that He was referring to. Turning to Psalm 82 and reading, "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations."

You see Jesus was going back to the Word of God as found in Psalm 82, and as you might well know the book of Psalm was written just a few hundred years before Jesus Christ even set foot on this earth. And it was this same Jesus, Who was known as the Word of God before He came to earth, that inspired the words for this Scripture. "I have said, Ye are gods" was Jesus as the Word telling the future. And it just so happens that these things of the future that Jesus had predicted before He became Jesus on earth were taking place right then and there. Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of His word as He stood before the unbelieving gods (judges) of the Jewish nation. Wow, talk about powerful!!!

And since God the Father is kind and very patient Jesus tried his best to make it possible for all of them to be saved. He went so far as to say if they would only believe that the miracles that He did were of God then they would be able to believe that God the Father was in Him and He was in Him and He was God.

But they didn’t, and the Scripture goes on to say in verses 39-42, "Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, And he went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true. And many believed on him there."

OK, so Jesus said He was God but what about some of the others? What about the biggest doubter of all times; the one they called Doubting Thomas? The story is found once again in the book of John but in chapter 20, and what we will now read took place after the crucifixion of Jesus. In fact it was very shortly after His death that Mary Magdalene actually saw Jesus in his resurrected body. And that’s where we will pick up the story in verse 18. Reading, "Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the LORD, and that he had spoken these things unto her. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD. "

It appears to be that Jesus’ resurrected body was a little different than His earthly body. You see it was the showing of the scars of His crucifixion that made them fully recognize Him as Jesus. And the Scripture goes on to say, "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained."

The disciples and followers of Jesus were now in charge of getting out the good news of Jesus Christ and His ultimate sacrifice. God, in the form of Jesus Christ, died the death He didn’t deserve. He died so that we might all be set free, but, we must believe in who He is and what He did before we came get the benefits. And that is why God (Jesus) breathed on them the breath of the Holy Ghost; they did what was required, they believed the truth, and they got everlasting life. It was only through their believing that they could "earn" the breath of God on their lives (everlasting life). And for all the rest who would accept the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, through the teaching and preaching of these Holy Ghost anointed disciples, they too would receive the breath of the Holy Ghost. But of course this only applied to those who believed.

And now we get to the part about the Doubter. Reading on into verse 24, "But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my fingers into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe."

So that was what Doubting Thomas said and this is what Jesus did: "And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you, Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing."

Notice the cool thing Jesus did by walking into the room with all the doors closed. Let me see you try that. But anyway, Jesus gave Doubting Thomas the opportunity to see, touch, and feel. And the following is what Doubting Thomas decided about Jesus after his experience: "And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God."

Ain’t it great when people finally wake up to the truth. Doubting Thomas just became Believing Thomas when he said to Jesus the Christ "My LORD and my God." He finally caught on to this thing called believing and likewise he got his salvation too. And then, "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

And that’s the truth! And that’s also why the Scripture goes on to say in verses 30-31, "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."

There you have it! And for all of you who might be involved in false religions (Christian Science in particular) please consider very carefully what The Good Book, The Holy Bible, actually says. In fact as an ending to this weeks little exercise in proving from the Word of God that Jesus Christ was and still is God, let’s read just one more very short Scripture.

Reading from I Timothy 3:16, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

And I think that we can all, without a doubt, say AMEN to that first statement: " ...great is the mystery of godliness..." because it is. You see it’s impossible without faith to believe this great mystery, the mystery about how God showed Himself to us (manifest) through a man call Jesus who was crucified on the cross like a common thief or robber. What a mystery! But even though God became man and died the death of a terribly rotten sinner He was "not guilty" of what He was accused of and killed for because He was born of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is not guilty of sin (justified). Jesus Christ was and still is God Almighty... and that’s the end of this message.

I love it... I love God’s Word... I love the Holy Scriptures... because they clearly disprove any and all lies that Old Splitfoot and his disciples of false religion can muster up. Satan is a liar and the father of it, and what God’s Word says proves it. So if any of you are mixed up and messed up with anything other than a God called ministry, then you had just better get yourself out of it before it’s too late. The clock is ticking and time is running out.

So until next week, stay busy in the Word of God. Stick your nose in between the covers of the Holy Bible and learn the undeniable truths that could save your life (forever). Continue to study and pray so that you too might be able to Keep the Faith!!!

Love,

Dad (Bruce Hallman)