P.O. Box 640109

El Paso, TX 79904

7 February, 1999

Dear Children,

Now you’ll just have to excuse me for a moment because I’ve gotta shout it out before I burst: Praise God, Glory Hallelujah, Thank You Jesus!!! You see this week God the Father has done some more great and mighty things in this ministry... and He’s only just getting started. I love it!!!

And it’s because of the fact that I love what the Lord is doing in this ministry that I likewise love shouting the praises of "Look What The Lord Has Done!" Now one of the great and mighty things that He has done this past week is to encourage me to get these sermonets out on audio tape (do it now), for all those who either don’t have the ability or the time to read. So starting this week, not only will the world be able to read "Dad’s" message from the Lord, but they’ll also be able to hear him too... and hear him all fired up with the Holy Spirit of God. So Praise Be To God!

All right, so for this week we’ll continue on with the sermonet series on The Sin Of Amway, which has come about as a result of the sermonet series on The President, The People, And The Religion. And it was Friday night as I began to "think about" starting this message that the Lord told me to first watch a movie. Now you’ll just have to believe me when I say that I don’t normally take time from what precious little time I have to watch movies. But you see this was kinda like one of them special occasions, because it was the Lord Who wanted me to do it. And what do you figure He wanted me to watch? Well would you believe Indiana Jones?

Sounds pretty incredible huh? Well to you it might but to me it didn’t. You see I’m starting to recognize the voice of my Heavenly Father (oh what a joy divine), and without a doubt this was His voice that I heard. In so many words He told me to take a few and watch the Indiana Jones movie. OK, so I knew that He wanted me to watch a movie but there was still just one very small problem that remained. You see I have three different Indiana Jones movies, so exactly which one did He want me to watch: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?

Well I got the answer to that question pretty quick... but only after having first asked the question to my Heavenly Father in prayer. I asked Him, and He answered me, and the answer that He gave me was Raiders of the Lost Ark. So I pulled up a chair and plugged in the video tape; and needless to say I did it with much anticipation of hearing what "thus saith the Lord" through Indiana Jones.

So as I started in on my Friday night viewing pleasure, I didn’t even have the foggiest idea as to how this "worldly" movie could possibly apply to this week’s sermonet. How in the round world could Indiana Jones fit into either of the sermonet series on The Sin Of Amway or The President, The People, And The Religion. I didn’t even have a clue, but then again it didn’t take me too awful long to catch on.

You see even though this movie was for the most part purely fictional, I’ll have to admit that it did contain a whole lotta truth. And of course it was this truth (the one that He wanted me to see so I could show it to you) that was likewise just in time for this week’s message. And what I discovered about this truth was that it not only applies to Amway, but of course to the President, the people, and the religions of the United States of America. And just what, you might ask, is this mysterious truth? Well the truth of the matter is that the truth as found in the Raiders of the Lost Ark and as pointed out by God the Father was that most everyone wants to have the benefits of God (the Power of God) without having to become an adopted child of God. What a novel idea! Get the benefits of God without the commitments!

Now for those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to see Raiders of the Lost Ark, the plot of the story goes something like this: Indiana Jones, the great and notable archaeologist, was approached by two military secret agents about a job. And of course the job they had in mind was for him to find the lost Ark of the Covenant... and find it before Hitler got his hands on it. And the reason why everyone was so excited about taking ownership of this ancient part of Israel’s worship service was because of the power of God that it possessed. And this is right about where the little light came on in my head... and the rest of the sermonet just fell right on into place.

You see everybody was scrambling to find the Ark of the Covenant because they believed that any army carrying the Ark of the Covenant before them in battle would have the power of God with them to defeat their enemies. They believed that regardless of the army’s commitment (or lack of) to God Almighty (Hitler worshipped everything but God), this tool would give them the strength and power of God Almighty. In other words God was obligated to serve whoever possessed the Ark of the Covenant in a manner that very closely resembled "the genie in the bottle".

And that’s why God the Father wanted me to study up on this movie! Because you see this movie in all of it’s "worldly" wisdom is a perfect example of not only the religion of Amway but the religion of the Catholics, Baptist, Methodist, etc., etc., and etc. Religions are all the same! They all use God as a genie and it just flat out don’t matter what religious flavor they might be.

But anyway, in order to clear up any confusion that might have been brought on through these very mixed-up religious beliefs of Indiana Jones’ writer, let’s read just a little bit of the real truth concerning the Ark of the Covenant as found in I Samuel chapters 4 and 5: "And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel... and they slew of the army of the field about four thousand men. And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies..."

Don’t you just love it? I mean God puts these little sermonets together so nicely. Because you see the Philistines were the enemies of God’s chosen people, and likewise God the Father had promised to protect the nation of Israel, but He had only promised to protect them for as long as they made Him their One and Only God. And it was this Ark of the Covenant that likewise symbolically represented the Lord’s presence. So as you can see from the preceding Scripture, the nation of Israel had grown so cold in their relationship with God the Father that they had actually forgotten to take Him along with them into battle.

So finally, after taking one really bad licking, the Israelites wised up to the facts (or so they thought anyway). Because as we read on we find, "So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts... And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten... And the ark of God was taken.... And the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod... But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods... And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said... Let the ark of God of Israel be carried about unto Gath."

So what happened? Well you see the truth of the matter is that the power behind the Ark of the Covenant was none other than Father God Himself. And without that proper "son to Father" relationship, the Father just wasn’t gonna treat them as His son. And seeing how these Israelite "sons" were only doing God the Father "lip service" so to speak, He kinda like turned it right back around to them by doing them the same. So even though they finally remembered to bring the Ark of the Covenant into battle with them, their heart was still not right with God... and God was not right with them... and they lost the battle... and they lost the Ark.

Now probably the best way to describe what went on after the enemy got a hold of the Ark is to compare it to the classic game of "hot potato". You know, when you grab hold of something that’s too hot to handle and the only logical thing to do is get rid of it as fast as you can. Well that was the case with the Philistines when they got hold of the Ark of the Covenant. Because contrary to popular belief, what happened to them after they got their hands on the Ark was anything but what they had expected. You see it didn’t give them the power to destroy others but in fact it very quickly started to destroy them. Sure enough the Ark of God became a tool of destruction, but the problem was that it was pointed right back at them.

Because as we read on we find, "And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts. Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people... for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven."

And by the way, just for your information, these things called emerods are nothing more than great big festering sore boils... and they were located in a very sensitive area (private places)... and I’ll let you figure out the rest. Ouch!!! But anyway, that was the introduction to this week’s message which is a continuation of last week’s message which was directed at Mr. Rich DeVos and his Amway Corporation. But before we get all fired up let’s read the Scripture we’ve covered thus far from the Lord concerning Amway.

So turning to and reading from Luke 12:1-9 "In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he (Jesus) began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God."

All right, so that’s where we’ve already been, but we still ain’t through with it yet. Because even though last week’s message used the part about "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God", and even though I used it in a manner that applied directly to me, it also applies (with a slight twist might I add) to all those most unholy religions of Amway and the rest. So it’s right about here that we are going to switch gears and focus back on them instead of me: "Beware ye of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."

Now keep it in mind that a hypocrite is someone who pretends to be something that he ain’t. And likewise, the leaders of Amway (Mr. Rich DeVos and friends) tend to use a whole lotta Bible Scripture in their presentations of the Amway sales program. In fact the word "Jesus" comes forth out of their mouths so very often... and of course that’s also why Jesus is using the word "hypocrites" so often in His message to them.

OK, so moving right along, what does "Whosoever shall confess me... But he that denieth me..." mean when it comes to religions? Well to start off our flipping for this week, let’s flip on back to the book of Mark and read from chapter 8, verses 27-38: "And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi... And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him."

Now there is one very important fact that I want you to keep in mind as we continue on with this investigation. Before Jesus was the Son of God (on earth) He was the Word of God (in Heaven). And seeing how the name fits His position so very well, it should be easy enough to understand that from the beginning of time everything that was said from Heaven was said by Him. He was The Word, and He spoke the Word, and it is this same Word that we are still reading today in our uncompromising King James Version of the Holy Bible.

And likewise, it was these words that Jesus spoke to His disciples as Jesus the Christ that He had also spoken so very many years before as The Word ... but they weren’t the words that the disciples wanted to hear... and of course that’s why Peter tried so very hard to convince Jesus that they just weren’t so. You see Peter didn’t even want to hear about his Master having to go through all of that pain and suffering, so he just told Jesus that it wasn’t true. So what we have here is a very good illustration of someone (Peter) changing the Word of God to suite his own desires.

And just what do you suppose Jesus had to say about that? Well read it for yourself, "But he turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever 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; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Well are you starting to see where God ‘s taking us with this message? I mean there just ain’t nothing better than having the Lord finally show you a truth that the majority of the world just can’t even begin to see. In fact in the next page or so we are going to bring back the subject of Dr. Charles Stanley and his infamous Baptist denominational statement of last week concerning the word "blasphemy". Because you see the truth is the Truth, and if anyone is ashamed of the Truth (Uncompromised True Word of God as spoken by The Word) then Christ Jesus will also be ashamed of them.

But let’s not stop there. Continuing on into Matthew chapter 10, verses 1-39, "And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples... These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying... Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves... And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake... And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell... Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will In confess before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

Now all of this Scripture ties us right back to the Ark of the Covenant. You see even though the Ark was only symbolic of things in Heaven, one of those symbolisms which it represented was the Word of God as law. Because inside of that Ark of the Covenant were the two tablets of stone which had written on them those ten very well known "Thou Shalt Not’s" (The Ten Commandments). And of course those ten "Thou Shalt Not’s" were nothing more than a very short definition of the way God the Father expects His children to be. So once again the Word of God is what Father God expects His children to not only understand but also to obey. And it’s right about then and there that Old Splitfoot takes his Que. and introduces this thing called "man made" religion ("lip service" to God; get the power from the Ark without the commitment to God).

And that’s where this thing about "confessing" comes into play. You see you can confess the name Jesus until you are blue in the face... and still bust Hell wide open. Because the truth of the matter is that the "true confessing" He is talking about is the confessing of the True Word of God. And just how many people in this day and time do you think are going to label you as a Bible thumping religious nut if you confess it? Well just in case you are at a loss for words, please allow me to help you out. To name just a few, those who will be the first to throw the stones when you see the light and confess the true gospel of Jesus Christ will be your friends, your family, and most likely your very own most holy religious denomination. In fact going back to the religion of Amway, the same holds true for it too. You see Amway is a corporation which was founded by two men who each had families (the DeVos and the Van Andels). And the Lord has already told me that there is one of those family members in particular who is finally starting to hear the truth about Amway from the Lord. And of course that’s all well and good but it doesn’t guarantee a true confession. And seeing how the true confession is an absolute requirement, then it only stands to reason that this man not only hear from God but also obey Him.

And of course in order for that Amway family member to obey God he must rebuke the lies of Amway’s religion and stand up on the uncompromising Word of God. So just what do you think that sort of reaction will get him? Well it’ll probably get him the same thing that Jesus was talking about when He said: "For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household."

Because it all goes back to the bottom line question of "is it all worth it?" Is it worth confessing the truth instead of the lie. Is it worth the everlasting joys of Heaven instead of the everlasting torment of Hell? Well having said all that, this is as good a place as any to go on into Luke chapter 12, verse 10: "And whosoever shall speak a word against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but into him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven."

And getting back to the statement that Dr. Charles Stanley made last week concerning the word "blaspheme"; he said (in so many words) that "the unpardonable sin" no longer exist... and of course the unpardonable sin that he was talking about was "blaspheme". So exactly what does this word mean? Well blaspheme means nothing less than to resist the convicting power of the Holy Spirit unto repentance. And to put that in plain and simple language it means to ignore the Word of God (as spoken by the Holy Spirit) that could keep you from being thrown into the burning fires of Hell. And why would Dr. Stanley say that the sin of blaspheme can no longer occur? Well one reason for Dr. Stanley to deny what Jesus said about blaspheme is so that his followers will also deny that it is true... so that the Holy Spirit won’t ever be able to convict them of their sin. And of course the one very good (but bad) reason that Dr. Stanley could be doing all of this in the first place is so that his most holy Baptist religious doctrine of "once saved always saved" can "seem" logical.

You see that’s what these religious systems do. They change the Word of God all around to fit their very own man made religious doctrine... and the religion of Amway is no different. But digging into this subject just a little bit deeper, and reading from Matthew 12:22-32 we find, "Then was brought unto him (Jesus) one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand... He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."

So just what do you figure all of these most holy religious systems (Amway, Baptist, Catholics, Methodist, etc., etc., and etc.) are doing for the work of Christ? They’re doing exactly as Jesus said, they’re scattering His sheep so that the wolves will have an easy kill. And for any of you who might be preaching and teaching these most unholy lies against the Word of God, Mark 3:28-29 gives just a little more detail as to why you shouldn’t be: "Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation."

And one last Scripture to drive the message on home. Reading from Hebrews 6:1-8, "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go unto perfection... 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, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned."

All right, let’s run through this just one more time. A hypocrite is a person who at one point in time knew the truth but because of reasons of personal gain (money, pride, fear) decided to accept a lie instead of the truth... and the world is full of them... and they are called "man made religions". And, likewise, according to the Word of God that we have just read for today, it is very possible to have the Ark of the Covenant protecting you from all the bad guys in the world one minute but yet lose all of those protecting powers the very next. Because once again the Truth says that you can know Jesus Christ as your very own personal Lord and Savior one minute but yet lose it all the very next by the process called "denying Him". So you see all of these things are possible and they are possible because "thus saith the Lord!" And not only does the Word of God says so, but, for all those who are willing to listen to Him, the Holy Spirit will also say so!

So a born again believer ain’t a born again believer unless the Spirit of God is living inside of them. And furthermore if the Spirit of God is living inside of them then it’s that persons responsibility as a born again believer in Christ Jesus to not only listen to what the Spirit of God tells them to do but also to obey what the Spirit of God tells them to do. And for all of you folks out there who hear the Holy Spirit but yet refuse to obey the Holy Spirit, I hate to inform you but you are doing nothing less than denying the Holy Spirit. And if you are denying the Holy Spirit’s request to repent, then what you have just done is nothing short of blasphemy!!!

Now you can listen to what ever religious group you want to (Amway, Baptist, or otherwise), but as for me, I’m a gonna listen to the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Keep the faith in Jesus!!!

Love,

Dad (Bruce Hallman)