P.O. Box 640109

El Paso, TX 79904

28 February, 1999

Dear Children,

Well after having read back over last week’s sermonet, I found much to my amazement that there were just a few minor mistakes in my typing (one being "made" instead of "mad"). So for now on, if you don’t mind that is, whenever I have one of those bad weeks like the one I had last week, just go right on ahead and make your own corrections... because it won’t hurt my feelings one little bit. And while we’re speaking on the subject of mistakes, I’ve heard it through the grapevine that at least one or two folks out there seem to think that I think that I’m God. So what better time than now to go ahead and clear up any misconceptions of just who I really am.

You see I am not God, and I don’t even pretend to be God, but I do want to be one of God’s very own adopted children. And seeing how He is The Heavenly Father who I want to be my Heavenly Father, there is likewise nothing that I want to do more in my lifetime than to please Him. And what pleases Him most of all is for His children to be totally and completely without sin (sinless). Because if a person has sin in their life they are not one of His. And that takes us right back to the fact that in this lifetime we have a choice of two spiritual fathers; either Father God or father Satan. That’s the choice we have to make! And if our choice just so happens to be Father God, then the bottom line requirement for becoming one of His very own full blown adopted children is to be without sin.

So I want God Almighty to be my Heavenly Father, and likewise He wants me, but then again, so does Satan. In fact it was only last week that Old Splitfoot tried his very best to reverse my adoption process with Father God by signing me up as one of his very own. You see it all started when I received a very simple little package in the mail that I couldn’t even remember having ordered. And in an attempt to try and figure out what in the world was going on, I opened up the package to see what I could see. And what I saw was nothing that I had ordered, nothing that I needed, and nothing that I even cared to keep for that matter (it wasn’t free). And to tell you the truth, this was right about the place where I kinda like got a little upset knowing that I had something that I hadn’t ordered and I was gonna have to go to a whole lotta trouble to send it on back.

You see I didn’t want to do it, but that’s what I did, because the next day at lunch I took my very precious time to return something that I shouldn’t have gotten in the first place. And as I walked on into the post office it was those very same thoughts (I had something that I hadn’t ordered and I was gonna have to go to a whole lotta trouble to send it on back) that continued to roll on along through my mind... and that would likewise very shortly get me into a whole lotta trouble. Because it was just as I began to tell the postman about my wanting to return this package that I had received that I really shouldn’t have received in the first place, that he noticed my nice neat tape job. And of course that was about the time he asked me if I had opened the box... because if I had the postal service wouldn’t be able to return it.

And of course that was when it all happened. That was when Satan took his best shot at making me one of his very own children. Because in the blink of an eye I was doing everything possible to get that box back in the mail and on it’s way back to where it came from... and that "everything" even included lying. You see what I told him was that the box had arrived in poor condition and that I had added the tape to keep it all together. And that was about the time when it all hit me right square between the eyes... lies, lies, lies! You see the Spirit of God was beginning to work on my soul (conscience) in a big time way... so just what do you think I did?

Well I did the only thing I could think to do at the time; I told the man to give me back the box... and then I walked out the door. That’s what I did but as I got back to the truck I started thinking about all the nitty gritty little details of what I had just done. I had not only lied to a man, but I had even more importantly sinned against God the Father. So correcting my error not only meant asking forgiveness of Father God, but also asking forgiveness of the man who I had sinned against. And after prayerfully considering Revelation 21:8 ("But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.") I decided definitely not to drive off until I had made full restitution for my error.

And that’s just what I proceeded to do. I first asked God the Father to forgive me, and then with all the courage I could muster I walked right back up to that postal clerk and did what could be basically called "made a fool of myself." Because the truth of the matter is that I rambled around quite a bit, stepping all over my tongue in the process, before I finally got out the message that I had come to deliver... but I did finally do what I had returned to do. I did it! I said what I had to say thereby canceling out the sin that I had just committed and restoring my relationship to Father God. And then with a clear conscience, I walked right on out to my pick-up truck and drove on off into the sunset (figuratively speaking).

And oh what a joy divine! Forgiveness!!!... there just ain’t nothing like it. And that my friends is exactly why I continue on week in and week out to try and show others what God’s plan is all about. And of course it’s those "others" that I’m talking about who even include the great and mighty corporation of Amway. So what better time than now to pick it back up by continuing on with part VI of the sermonet series on The Sin Of Amway.

But before we get into the heat of things, it’s that time of the year when we let everyone know how the FMH Children’s Club Ministries does what it does. And of course the only reason that we are able to do what we do is because of that one statement "ALL FOR THE LOVE OF JESUS". You see it’s only through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that we are even able to preach the Good News that we preach. But what we preach and the way that we preach it are two different things... because the way that we preach it is mostly through the mail... and of course mailing letters takes money... which brings us to the subject of finances... which leads us right on into the 1998 Financial Statement for the FMH Children’s Club International.

Now, before we analyze the results of our last year’s finances, let me first share with you a letter from the President of Amway, Mr. Dick DeVos:

Dear Bruce:

Thank you for sharing with me a copy of your sermonet dated October 18, 1998.

You point out that people should not value money or material possessions above God. While many people in the world today place greater importance on the pursuit of wealth than on the pursuit of a closer relationship with God, I take umbrage with the notion that Amway Corporation encourages people to live their lives in this way.

Amway is, first and foremost, a business opportunity, which is open to anyone, regardless of religious and political beliefs, race or gender. Independent Amway distributors are free to conduct their business, and certainly their spiritual lives, however they choose. This is not something we dictate.

People start an Amway business for many reasons. For most it’s an opportunity to realize financial goals, but for very few is that the only goal. Many people cite more time with their families or a business in which their families can be involved as key reasons for becoming Amway distributors.

While Amway promotes hard work and persistence, Amway does not encourage the pursuit of material possessions at the expense of family, friends, or personal beliefs. Since the very beginning of this business, my dad and Jay have always emphasized the importance of family and Christian values in their lives and encouraged distributors to recognize what matters most in their lives.

To provide you additional insight into some of the values and principles upon which Amway was founded, I’m enclosing copies of my book, Rediscovering American Values, and my father’s book, Compassionate Capitalism. I hope you will take the time to read these books and learn more about Amway Corporation and the values we stand for.

I understand that your experience with the Amway business was not personally satisfying. I contend that, had you pursued your business in a manner that matched your personal beliefs, an Amway business could have supported your goal to help support the ministries of the FMH Children’s Club International.

Again, thank you for sharing your views.

With warmest regards,

Dick DeVos

President

So what do you think of that one? Well if you take a very close look at how much the Children’s Club spent last year (the 1998 Financial Statement), and how much of it was our money (The Hallman’s), then the statement made by Mr. DeVos might seem to make just a little bit of sense ("I contend that, had you pursued your business in a manner that matched your personal beliefs, an Amway business could have supported your goal to help support the ministries of the FMH Children’s Club International.")

Now even though I have never had the opportunity to personally speak with Mr. DeVos, as you can see through the writings in his letter, he presents himself as a very nice person... who believes that what he is doing is the right thing to do. So do you figure that just maybe I’ve been all wrong about Amway and Mr. DeVos? Do you figure that just maybe he’s been right all along?

Well being completely honest with you, if I were to use my own feelings and common sense to guide me along in this matter, I probably wouldn’t even be continuing on with part VI of The Sin of Amway. But seeing how it’s not me but God the Father Who’s leading this very lengthy discussion on Amway (the one that He’s designed to help those poor old deceived souls at Amway), then we have got to do whatever we must do to continue on with the message.

Because where we left off last week in God’s very own chosen Scripture for Amway, was in verse 12 of Luke chapter 12. So moving right along, and picking it back up with verses 13-15, we read, "And one of the company said unto him, Master, Speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."

Now I fully realize that quite a few of you out there think that I’ve been eating a lot of half baked bread lately. But the truth of the matter is that not only did God the Father tell me to write on Amway, but He also gave me this very specific Scripture to do all of these sermonets on. And likewise, as I hope you will be able to see very shortly, this Scripture from God Almighty will not only nail down the very sinful nature of Amway, but it will do it to a "T". You see by the time God is finished with this series on Amway both the DeVos and the Van Andel families (founders of Amway) will know without a doubt that what they are doing through this monster corporation they have created (Amway) is a horrible sin against God the Father. And then, once they are able to see this sin, it will be their choice as to whether they obey God by turning away from their sin or not.

All right, so reflecting back on the Scripture that we have read thus far in Luke 12:1-12, Jesus has been dealing with the things that can influence (modify or change) a person’s soul for all eternity (forever and ever and ever). Because as verse 1 opens up we see Jesus in a very large crowd of people ("...innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another...") saying to His disciples, "Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."

And of course as we have already discussed in so very much detail, it’s the leaven (false teachings of religion) that can end up killing (destroying) the soul of a person in the burning fires of Hell for all eternity. In fact reading the word’s of Jesus once again from Matthew 23:13-15, "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in... Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."

So you see it’s these people who Jesus is focusing on in this Scripture (hypocrites) who say they are the children of God (Christians: saved by the blood of Jesus) but who teach things (false teachings) that can only result in the loss of salvation. And the point that Jesus has made very well is that it’s bad enough to die lost without ever knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but to die lost after having been saved can only be described as busting Hell wide open!!! And this is what these hypocrites do best... and it just so happens that the Amway Corporation is one more big business that’s full of them! And the method that they use to perform this evil magic is nothing short of teaching others to blaspheme God (to resist the convicting power of the Holy Spirit unto repentance).

And going back to Luke chapter 12, it’s only after Jesus goes into much detail about the wicked and deceitful ways of the hypocrites and their leaven that He then goes on to describe how to combat the spread of this disease called hypocrisy. And of course since the word "combat" means to do battle, it only follows that lives could be lost in this fight. But seeing how one of the requirements for being a child of God is to be willing to give one’s life to save a lost and dying world, then it really shouldn’t even be an issue. Because reading from Matthew 16:24-26, we find, "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

OK, so that in a nutshell is what Luke chapter 12, verses 1-12 is all about. For the cause of Christ there is nothing more important than delivering as many folks as possible from their very soon to be everlasting home in the burning fires of Hell. That’s what Jesus was preaching on... until this one fellow shows up asking about money: "And one of the company said unto him, Master, Speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me."

Now for some of you I know this is going to be hard to understand, but what this man did to Jesus was about like someone standing up in the middle of church service, when the preacher is laying down one of those "Hell Fire Eternal Damnation" sermons (the kind that actually make you start to sweat), and making some kind of dumb and stupid announcement like he’s selling fresh eggs after the service. You see in either situation it very clearly shows that the person either asking the unrelated question or making the unrelated statement is not really getting into the message that the preacher is preaching. Because the truth of the matter is that there is absolutely nothing of more importance than winning the lost to Christ.

And that’s exactly why Jesus’ reply was, "And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."

Now it’s starting to get good. You see for a few of you who’ve already been exposed to the religion of Amway, this Scripture should pretty quickly start making some sense. Because you see this word "covetousness" means the desire to have (possess) what one doesn’t have (possess). And of course the problem with one wanting what one doesn’t have is that all to often the thing that’s being wanted becomes their god instead of The God. And of course the god cannot save anyone’s soul but The God can. So putting it into very simple language, the things that the person wants to possess soon become the things that possess the person. And putting it ever so mildly, these possession can sometimes become nothing short of a full blown demonic possession.

But let’s not stop there, because in the next 6 verses Jesus goes on to drive home the message that’s directed not only to the semi unconscious fellow who just asked the unrelated question about money, but to a whole lot more: "And he spake unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

OK, so seeing how this one is so very important to the message that the Lord’s planned for Amway, let’s kinda like very slowly and carefully take it apart piece by piece. Because you see in this parable we see a rich man who has become quite good at becoming richer. In fact he was getting so good at making more and more money (fruits and goods) that he was running out of places to put it. And then it seems that right about then, as he was thinking through his plans on how to make even more money, he hears his soul speaking out loud and clear to him.

Now the soul of man is that part of us human beings (the body, soul, and spirit) that will either continue to live on forever and ever in the glories of Heaven or die forever and ever in the torments of Hell. Because there ain’t no doubting the fact that it’s going to be either the one or the other. And seeing how every soul of man (woman) was created by God the Father, it should make perfectly good sense that God the Father doesn’t want any of His creations to burn in Hell forever and ever and ever. So logically speaking, that’s exactly why God designed us with a spirit. Because you see it’s our spirits that allow God the Father to give us phone calls whenever He has important information to communicate to our souls. And you see this was what I believe was going on inside of this very rich man’s soul. God the Father was talking to him, warning him that his love for money was greater than his love for God Almighty.

That’s what God was doing, but it seems as though this rich man already had developed the attitude that he knew more than his soul. Because right about then this rich man went on to say: "And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." So you see what this man was doing was in effect nothing less than resisting the convicting power of the Holy Spirit unto repentance. Because it was God’s Spirit Who was telling his soul that the fires of Hell were real. But of course this rich man, now being totally possessed by his possessions, continued right on along Satan’s pathway to Hell. And that’s right about the time when Father God laid it all out on the table by saying: "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee."

Now we’re finally starting to make a little headway in this message to Amway... but we’re also running out of paper... so why not just one more quick Scripture before we shut it on down for the week. Reading from I Timothy 6:1-12, "Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed... If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to goodness; He is proud... supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses."

So just in case you want to know where we’re headed with this message on The Sin Of Amway next week, the Scripture that we have just read is it. And for all of you who haven’t made that all important lifesaving commitment yet, why put it off any longer? Tomorrow could be just one day too late! So first of all, accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and then ask Him to baptize you with His Holy Spirit, so that you can build up your spiritual muscles day by day through the reading of the Word of God and prayer. Because after having done all of that, you will be able to Keep on keeping The Faith In Jesus!!!

Love,

Dad (Bruce Hallman