22 July, 2001

Dear Children,

Well glory be to God!!! The Lord’s finally given me the green light to write again... even though it’s not what I’d hoped we’d be writing about. Because you see it was towards the end of June that the Lord allowed me to start writing part IX of How Do You Want Your Fire... Now Or Later? It’s all about the photosynthesis process in plants, which is going to take us right on into the "human photosynthesis", which is likewise going to help us understand how Jesus defeated sin through His Perfect Blood on the Cross. In fact I got about three pages done before heading off for the 4th of July Jimmy Swaggart Campmeeting... and that was about as far as I got. Then it was Saturday morning in prayer that the Lord specifically told me to get back to the sermonet writing, but the photosynthesis was going to have to wait. Because you see what we’ve been given to write about this week is an entirely different subject altogether. And here it is:

As we head on into the end times of the Church Age (the last of the last days), without a doubt, it’s going to take more of God’s Spirit in us to be able to overcome the spirit of Satan that’s in the world. In other words this world is headed into some more very dangerous and tough times for the Christian. In fact by reading from Matthew 24:3-13, we can catch a glimpse of what’s going to happen by what Jesus had to say about it: "And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ: and shall deceive many... Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."

Now this thing about folks "coming in the name of Jesus and deceiving many by saying they are Christ" is happening right now as I write. It’s what’s commonly referred to as the teachings of "another Jesus". In fact going back to our last sermonet of The Word Of Faith Error And Copeland, Meyer, Price, Crouch, And Hinn, these are just a few of the folks who are slowly but surely bringing this "last days prophecy" of Jesus into reality. And what makes matters even worse is that the church world of today admires these high profile preachers so much they’re willing to accept the error they’re teaching as the truth... and of course at the same time fiercely oppose any Christian who says that it’s not! I mean believe me when I say that the feedback from that last sermonet help me understand real quick just how much the people are focused on the preacher instead of what he (she) is preaching.

But anyway, the point I’m trying to make is that it’s because of what the church world is being taught by their pastors and teachers that the majority of today’s Christians do not know the real Jesus. And it’s through a very unfortunate and sad event that took place not too long ago in Houston, Texas, that we’re going to get a better understanding of just how dangerous this "another Jesus" really is.

Because it was on the 20th of June, 2001, that Andrea Yates, the mother of five (5) healthy and happy children, methodically drowned all five (5) of her "babies", one by one, in the family bathtub. Andrea Yates committed a crime that few hardened criminals would even consider, but yet all seven members of the Yates family, which included the father Russell, were members of the Clear Lake Church of Christ. You see this precious family belonged to a Pentecostal denomination that "believes in" the sin-killing, devil-chasing, indwelling Power of the Holy Spirit. So just how do you figure Mrs. Yates could be filled with the Holy Spirit but yet controlled by the spirit of Satan?

Well it was either the night of the incident, or the next day, that the Lord "showed" me how such a terrible tragedy could happen to a Jesus believing family. Because it was during my prayer over this family’s tragedy that the Lord gave me the following Scripture: "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator." (I Peter 4:17-19)

So what do you figure it all means? Well let me help you out by giving you just one more very helpful piece of information. You see the Lord went on to tell me that it was actually the "spirit of abortion", the baby killing spirit that our great nation has legally allowed to become so powerful among its people, that encouraged Mrs. Yates to do what she did. That’s what the Lord told me! So just how in the round world do you figure this "child killing spirit of darkness" was ever able to overcome a Spirit-filled Pentecostal lady and cause her to murder her five (5) Christian children who had such beautiful Christian names (Mary, Paul, Luke, John, and Noah)?

Well in order to understand this very complex situation just a little bit better, let’s see what the Lord has to say in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God... Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep... The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways... And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them."

Now as much as I’d like to go into a full explanation of how the preceding Scripture, with all its promised blessings, actually takes place inside the human body, I won’t. That’s what the series How Do You Want Your Fire... Now Or Later? is intended to do. However, I will say that "becoming a Christian" starts off by accepting the fact that Jesus died on the Cross so that anyone willing to "believe in His Perfect Sacrifice" might be forgiven of their sins by God the Father. And the part about "believing in Jesus’ Perfect Sacrifice" must include the understanding that Jesus took on every sin of the world, in His body, without ever having committed the sins, so that He could likewise destroy them through His suffering on the Cross. Jesus took on the sins of the world in His Body, but yet at the time of His Death, when He said "it is finished", His Blood (Soul) was Perfectly Pure and without any trace of sin.

So that’s step one. And then after having accepted Jesus’ Perfect Sacrifice, the new Christian can confess their previous dirty rotten sins, and likewise be "considered sinless" by God the Father, so that the Holy Spirit might come inside of them and begin His "clean-up work". Because its through this life-long clean-up process that the Holy Spirit gradually empties the Christian of their "spirit of sin" and fills them with the "Spirit of God". However, in order to accomplish this second part of the salvation process the Christian must not only hear what God the Father commands them to do but also do it. You see this is the way Jesus was able to live his Perfect Life, without committing any sin, and also destroy every sin that He finally took on in His Body. Throughout His entire Life, Jesus continually asked Father God what to do, and then through the Power of the Holy Spirit living inside of Him He just did what He was told.

And of course it’s only through the Christian’s understanding of the fact that "Jesus has already proven out the human body’s ability to destroy sin through the Power of the Holy Spirit" that they (we) can confidently obey each and every command given by God the Father. It’s our obedience to God’s commands that clean up the sin in our lives. So you see that’s what the Scripture from Deuteronomy 28:1-14 is all about: "if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments... all these blessings shall come on thee."

So that’s what happens if the Christian hears from God and then obeys God. However, iffin they don’t hear or obey then the very negative promises of Deuteronomy 28:15-20 kinda like come into being: "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:... Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep... The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me."

Now you’ll have to admit that those are some promises that no Christian in their right mind should either be looking forward to or hoping for... but that ain’t even all. Because going on into verses 56-63 we find the following continuation of these "promised curses" for all who don’t "hear and obey" His Word: "The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the seige and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates. If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;... And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it."

Now those are some mighty powerful prophetic words that sorta like directly reflect on the present day terrible condition of Mrs. Yates. So, with that in mind, I guess we need to try and answer the question of how in the world did a Spirit-filled Pentecostal Christian lady ever become so disobedient to God’s Word that she received God’s predicted judgment: "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God." And probably the best place to start is with her pastor.

Because you see it was the Rev. Byron Fike who not only "spoke at length with Russell Yates about his children and his wife" before the children’s death, but also "spent considerable time [with Russell Yates] praying and talking about the scriptures." This was the Yates’ family pastor who conducted the children’s funeral in which he delivered a message which addressed the inevitable question of "Why did this happen? and Where Are You, God?" And even though I haven’t been privileged to hear his answer to his own questions, it’s based on both the leading of the Holy Spirit and the present condition of The Church that I’m going to make the following statement: Five children lost their lives because a few key people were not willing to hear what God had to say.

Now before I explain what happened in the Yates’ family, please allow me to give a real life example from my own life. Before I became a real Christian I chose a wife (Annie) who was also not a Christian. A few years later, after we started adopting children, I felt the overwhelming need to receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior... which I did... but she didn’t. So as time went on, and my commitment to Christ became more and more "rock solid", Annie not only increasingly resisted receiving Christ but she also worked very hard to destroy the Spirit of Christ that was working in our family. (see foreword in The True Word Of God?)

Because it was after our youngest son (Arthur) accepted Jesus Christ and received the "baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues" that Satan used Annie in a powerful way to try and block the Holy Spirit’s ability to communicate with Arthur. At that time Annie and I were separated, and Arthur was living with her. And even though I wasn’t there to constantly encourage him in the Word of God the Holy Spirit was. So you see as Annie tried to lead Arthur away from Christ the Holy Spirit continued to bring him back. That’s the way it went until Annie informed me of the fact that she was giving Arthur Prozac for his nerves.

Well the minute I heard the news I "knew" without a doubt that it wasn’t God’s will for Arthur to be taking this drug. However, just to make sure, I went to prayer and asked Father God if Prozac was a "medicine" that He wanted Arthur taking. And it was immediately after asking the question in prayer that Father God gave me the resounding answer of NO!!! God did not want his born-again spirit-filled child (Arthur) on the drug Prozac, even though a certified doctor had prescribed it! So for several weeks thereafter I continued my appeal with Annie to have Arthur taken off of Prozac.

And what’s so bad about Prozac, you might ask? Well to put it in the plain and simple, it turns a person into a zombie (a walking talking dead person). In other words, to a certain extent the person taking the drug becomes spiritually deaf to God’s Life-giving Word. The person influenced by Prozac (and drugs like it) actually becomes dead to God’s Holy Spirit. And of course when it comes to the fact that all Christians need to continually hear from God in order to clean-up their sin-filled bodies, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that these Spirit-blocking drugs are really really BAD for the Christian!!!

In fact reading from Revelation 21:6-8 we get a very clear-cut understanding of just what God has to say about these drugs: "And he [the resurrected Jesus] said unto me, It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 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."

Now I would truly love to get into the discussion of how "hearing from God" and "obeying God" makes us "overcomers" who can receive God’s "Living Water", but we just ain’t got the time. Stay tuned to the continuation of How Do You Want Your Fire... Now Or Later? for the rest of that story. But anyway, the Lord makes it very clear that one of the things that can keep a person from being an overcomer, and likewise making it on into Heaven, is the practice of "sorcery". And believe it or not but sorcery is actually nothing more than the practice of using a mind altering drug (potion) to put a person under a spell. Call it witchcraft, magic, or whatever you choose, but the bottom line affect is that the person becomes blocked from the Spirit of God and overwhelmingly susceptible to the spirits of Satan.

And having said all that, would anyone care to guess what kind of drug Mrs. Yates was taking? Well the name of it is Halodol, and when it comes to medicines that make people full-fledged sorcerers (zombies) this one’s kinda like at the top of the pile. So here we have a situation where a Spirit-filled Christian lady was taking a Spirit-blocking drug that God almighty certainly didn’t want her taking in the first place. And of course seeing how she was married to a Spirit-filled man, and they belonged to a Spirit-filled church, that was part of a Spirit-filled denomination, which was led by a Spirit-filled pastor, the question comes up rather quickly as to why didn’t any of them first of all hear from God concerning the need to take her off the demonic inspired medicine and secondly see to it that it happen?

Well, I’m glad you asked the question, because that takes us right back to where we started... with our present day preachers and teachers promoting "another Jesus". You see what’s being taught now and days actually convinces Christians that what they might hear from God is actually not really God at all. It’s what you call the "perverted gospel" that promotes "ungodly" behavior, and it’s the same gospel that helped Mrs. Yates become the killer of her five (5) precious children. (See sermonet The Journey Of Fear! for more on Andrea Yates.)

So the real life tragedy we’ve just discussed details a very deceptive form of "ungodliness" that’s spreading like wildfire in the Christian Church today. That’s one type of ungodly behavior, but now let’s look at another.

Because it was right about the time this tragedy was taking place in Houston that my "job search" efforts were starting to get a bite. Now for all of you who aren’t up-to-date with my unemployment situation with The Toro Company, I suggest you read our sermonet entitled Without A Job... But God’s Got A Plan! You see I wrote that particular sermonet on April the 25th, 1999, which was exactly one month to the day after my job was terminated with Toro. I was without a job, and I wasn’t even looking for a job, because the Lord had informed me that I already had a job at Toro.

So seeing how God had promised me a job back at The Toro Company, why in the round world do you figure I was looking for a job? Well the best explanation I can give you, after having "been there and done that", is that I was looking for a job so that I could meet the President and CEO of Weather-Matic (a division of Telsco Industries), Mr. Mike Mason, and thereby write this very informative sermonet about him. I mean after all, most of the time when God the Father sends me out on these missions He doesn’t give me a whole lot of details... He just gives me the basics of what to do, and as a Christian I know it’s my responsibility to just do it.

But anyway, the way this story starts out is during the mid-morning hours of June the 18th when I received a phone message from Weather-Matic’s Vice President of Manufacturing, Mr. Jim Pahno. And the message he left was that my background as a Manufacturing Engineering Manager caught his attention and he would appreciate me returning his call. So it was approximately 1:30 that afternoon that I returned his call and left a message for him to return mine. Then it was approximately an hour and thirty minutes later (2:51 PM) that Mr. Pahno called back and we were finally able to discuss the job opportunities at Weather-Matic. We talked about his open position for a Manufacturing Engineering Manager, and my ability to fill it, with a continuation of our phone interview scheduled for the 19th of June between the hours of 8:00 &10:00 AM.

Now everything I’ve just given you was the direct results of me doing what I was told to do one week earlier. You see it was on June the 14th that Father God gave me the directive to e-mail Mr. Jim Pahno my resume in response to his job posting on Monster.com. I really didn’t expect to get a response, but God Almighty knew exactly what He was doing and what was to follow. This was His Divine Plan with Weather-Matic.

All right, so on the 19th of June I got up extra early and waited patiently by the phone from 7:00 until 11:00 AM. I wanted to make sure I was there to receive Mr. Pahno’s call, but for some reason the phone never rang. So, being the forgiving type of person that I am, I decided to wait it out just one more day. And on the 20th of June I repeated the same "phone call waiting" procedures from the previous day... that is until 1:39 PM when I finally fired off an e-mail asking for an explanation to our missed appointment. However, seeing how that one got no response I fired off another one at 3:16 PM... and that was the e-mail that did it. Because you see it was five (5) minutes later that I received the promised call from Mr. Pahno, at which time I congratulated him on his company’s "Values" (Integrity, Humility, Godly Character) which were posted on their Web Site. Our conversation was short but pleasant with the final outcome being an invitation to visit Weather-Matic in Garland, Texas.

Wow! Was this really happening to me? Was God the Father really going to let me work at Weather-Matic until He got me my job back with Toro? Well I really didn’t have a clue, but before our phone conversation ended Mr. Pahno asked me what the mileage and drive time to Dallas might be, and also the cost of air fare. In response I gave him my best guess on the drive time but also let him know I had no idea on the air fare. Mr. Pahno then responded with the statement that he’d check on the flying cost but guessed that it really didn’t matter how I traveled. He then told me that he would be out of the plant until the 2nd of July, but would call back and schedule my trip then.

So the 2nd of July came and went without a call, and then on the morning of the 3rd the Lord informed me that I was to head on out for Jimmy Swaggart’s 4th of July Campmeeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He then went on to say that I was to leave El Paso, Texas, at 7:00 PM, and that I should not only inform Mr. Pahno of my plans but also suggest the possibility of swinging by His plant on my return... that is if his "offer" was still open. That’s what I was told, and that’s what I did, with Mr. Panho’s reply being a scheduled interview for 1:00 PM Monday the 9th at the Garland facilities.

Well at 7:18 PM, on Tuesday July the 3rd, I confirmed our appointment by means of e-mail before shutting down the computer and heading out the door for Baton Rouge, LA. And even though I’d love to tell you about the blessings I received at Campmeeting, we really need to stay on course with our intended destination of the President and CEO of Weather-Matic, Mr. Mike Mason.

Because you see it was Sunday the 8th of July, after the morning service, that I left the Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and headed out for Garland, Texas. And considering the 4th of July traffic, the drive really wasn’t too awful bad. I arrived just before sundown, just in time to drive by the plant and find a motel for the night. I mean everything really clicked on this trip. In fact just to let you in on some "insider information", and likewise show you how God was working throughout this great adventure, it was on my way out of the Jimmy Swaggart dormitories that morning, as I was taking the last load of luggage down the elevator to the truck, that I met an older lady who was from Garland... who likewise gave me directions that almost took me directly to the plant. So do you figure this lady was a coincidence or God’s Divine Plan?

Well anyway, before I turned into the bed that night the Lord sent me on two errands to witness to two people about Jesus. I mean it was incredible the way God was working on this trip. And then came Monday morning.

I arrived at the Weather-Matic plant about twenty (20) minutes early, after having first been briefed by God the Father on what I must do. You see I had some pretty serious concerns about getting hired and messing up God’s promised plans with Toro, but He encouraged me by saying that if I would "speak His Word" at the appropriate time there would be nothing to worry about. So what did it all mean? Well I didn’t have the foggiest, and neither did I have the opportunity to "speak His Word" during the interview. Because without a doubt everything went very smooth, and I was like out-a-there, on my way back to El Paso, by 3:15 that afternoon.

So fast forwarding time to the 12th of July, the Lord instructed me to write Mr. Pahno an e-mail in which I was to not only thank him for the plant visit but also let him know my true interest in the job (I liked it). I was then to ask for clarification on Weather-Matic’s Web Site claims of having "Values of Godly Character", that is as far as how they maintain them in a working environment (such as Bible reading and prayer). And in the last portion of my e-mail I was to give him the round-trip mileage that would have resulted if I’d traveled directly from El Paso to Garland, the cost of both my motel room and lunch at Burger King, and then ask how I should go about filing for these expenses.

Well I did as the Lord directed by sending out the preceding information in an e-mail on the 12th at 3:23 PM MDT. And it was the very next morning that I received the following response from Mr. Pahno [emphasis mine]:

Bruce, my understanding was that you had a window of opportunity to "drop by" based upon you trip to Baton Rouge. Therefore I am surprised at your request for travel expenses. I will reimburse you for lunch and your stay at Home gate but not for mileage. As for your question regarding our values...we try to make all decisions in a fair and ethical manner and treat all our stakeholders with honest and respect.

That my friends was what the Vice President of Manufacturing for the Weather-Matic irrigation company had to say to me about my request for the travel expenses (the ones that had directly resulted from his "trip offer" to me) and his "godly values". And with that in mind, the Lord instructed me to put together an e-mail outlining the dates, times, and basic details of our correspondence... with my final comment being: "Mr. Pahno, do you agree with the preceding time line concerning our communications and involvement? Are you still committed not to pay the expected normal mileage expense for my interview?"

Well that’s what I did, and then on the 14th of July I sent it on out to Mr. Pahno. Then on the 17th of July, after not having received any word from Mr. Pahno, the Lord instructed me to forward it on to the President and CEO of Weather-Matic with the following message:

Dear Mr. Mason,

 

I admire the Weather-Matic Company for the "Values" it’s committed to "live" by. However, I’m afraid that either one of your key players is not abiding by the standards or I don’t have a clear definition of your word "godly". Could you please help me understand your position on the following issue? I’m awaiting your reply.

Now that e-mail was sent out at 5:03 PM MDT with the following reply from Mr. Mason [emphasis mine] being sent back to me at 9:37 PM CDT:

Thank you for your enquiry regarding our values. I would like to suggest a third option to your statement below. Rather than a key player not abiding to our values or unclear definition of godly character, the reality is most likely a misunderstanding of the terms by which he offered to pay expenses. As you have described the situation regarding your availability for an interview on the way back from a separate meeting not related to the interview it would be quite easy to misinterpret the related expenses.

 

Because I know Jim’s character and consistency with people I will agree with his assessment of the situation. Hopefully this does not present a problem for you but feel free to allow us to repay the hotel and lunch.

 

May your job hunting efforts be fruitful and beneficial to you.

 

Best Regards,

 

Mike Mason

Now are you starting to catch on to what the Lord was trying to tell me back on the 9th of July? You know, the concerns that I had about getting the job with Weather-Matic and messing up His plans with Toro... and His reply to me about just "speak His Word" at the appropriate time and there would be nothing to worry about. Well without a doubt that’s exactly what happened.

Because you see it was after receiving the preceding e-mail that so "very nicely" uncovered Mr. Mason’s "true values" that the Lord had me send another one on the 19th of July:

Dear Mr. Mason,

 

I just wanted to thank you for your timely response to my inquiry. However, it was last night in prayer that the Lord Jesus Christ commanded me to respond back to you with the following e-mail. You see God Almighty doesn’t like folks using his name for promotional purposes if they’re not really dedicated to serving Him. In fact the Five Blind Boys Of Alabama sang it very well in their song "Don’t Play With God... He Ain’t Nothing To Play With".

 

Now when it comes to the world of big business, and this subject of using God for promotional purposes, you aren’t the only one guilty of the practice. In fact one of your biggest competitors has the same problem. May I invite you to read all about Mr. Ken Melrose of The Toro Company. We’ve got lots of reading material on Toro, that is if you’ve got the time, but the sermonet in particular that the Lord wanted me to direct you to is found at http://www.fmh-child.org/classicsermonets.html#Melrose.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bruce Hallman

So how do you like them apples? Well we ain’t even through yet... because the Good Lord has given me a few more of His very own choice Words to give to Mr. Mike Mason... and here they are as written in II Timothy 3:1-9:

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

Now that’s what you call a bunch of very descriptive adjectives, and none of them are even very nice, but yet they’re all pointed at the President and CEO of Weather-Matic, Mr. Mike Mason. Do you think that just maybe God Almighty is trying to tell this misinformed human that his "Values" are really and truly very "Ungodly"?

Well I’m quite sure that this earthshaking news will not make Mr. Mike Mason a very happy camper... and that my friends is exactly why he needs to thoroughly understand the rest of this Scripture: "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was."

So who was this Jannes and Jambres, and exactly what does this Scripture mean? Well I’m sure everybody knows Moses, and by going back to Exodus 7:8-12 we can pick-up on the rest of the story: "And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. And Moses and Aaron went into Pharaoh, and they did as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods."

You see this real life story of Moses, the children of Israel, Egypt, and Pharaoh, is kinda like "the all time classic" when it comes to an example of "Good verses evil"... in fact it very clearly describes God’s battle against Satan in our very evil world of today. Because in a nutshell, what we have here is God’s chosen people (the Israelites) being held captive in an evil land (Egypt) by a wicked ruler (Pharaoh). And of course it’s the man of God (Moses), that’s sent in to rescue God’s chosen people (the Israelites), who’s likewise been given the Power of God to defeat this wicked ruler.

So as the story goes, Pharaoh, who’s the representative of the god of all evil (Satan), doesn’t really believe this fellow Moses has the muscle to back up his mouth that’s just spouted off on how he’s going to rescue God’s chosen people out of this evil wicked ruler’s hands. And of course it’s only shortly after Moses flexes his "Holy Ghost" muscles by producing a small but yet very convincing display of God Almighty’s Power (a snake from a rod) that Pharaoh calls his two ungodly grunts, Jannes and Jambres (the magicians: wise men and the sorcerers), in on the carpet to kinda like shut him down.

Well according to the story, these two magicians (Jannes and Jambres) were able to raise a few eyebrows by also producing snakes from their rods, but of course their popularity vanished very quickly when Moses’ snake gobbled up theirs. I mean talk about a put down! God Almighty is All Power, and anybody who might think they can go against that Power will very quickly be exposed as the powerless imposters that they really are!

So just how do you figure this part of the story might fit in with Dad (Bruce), Mr. Mason, and Mr. Pahno? Let’s review it just one more time:" Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was."

I serve The God of All Power Who absolutely can not and will not tolerate ungodly people making themselves out to be godly! It just ain’t a gonna happen! And what better way to shut this one down than with a few more words from that now famous song from the Five Blind Boys of Alabama:

Don’t play with God, He ain’t nothing to play with,

Don’t play with God, He ain’t nothing to play with,

As I looked around to see, what the Lord has done for me,

Don’t you play with God, He ain’t nothing to play with.

People all going to church, don’t know what it’s all about,

Say you’ve been born-again, that you have no doubt,

What I can’t understand, you fail to help your fellow man,

Don’t you play with God, cause He ain’t nothing to play with.

God is Almighty, He’s got the whole world in His hands,

He can destroy, and He can defend,

He super rules the Heaven and earth, take His Word for what it’s worth,

Don’t you play with God, cause He ain’t nothing to play with.

Some of you so-called Christians, claim that you’re living right,

You don’t know nothing about Jesus, you can’t see The Light,

Out of all you say and do, I’ve got news for you,

I said don’t you play with God, cause He ain’t nothing to play with.

Please don’t be fooled by the ungodly religious world of today... Keep on keeping The Faith In Jesus!!!

Love,

Dad (Bruce Hallman)

Update (9/18/11):

Much to my surprise, it was on 4/25/11 that I received a phone call from the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Weathermatic. His name is Andy Plagens, and the purpose of his call was to negotiate a deal that would result in me removing this sermonet – “Ungodly: Andrea Yates And Mike Mason!” – from the Internet. Because you see it seems as though the hard truth we have presented for the whole wide world to read is causing potential loss of sales at Weathermatic. And of course since money talks, the man whose primary function is to deal with the Weathermatic money asked me what it would take to close the deal. So I took it to the Lord in prayer, and the answer I received was that the sermonet must remain on the Internet as a warning to the world that Mike Mason has not changed his heart – he’s still using God to promote his business but yet not allowing God to be a part of it. And it was shortly after having given the news to Andy Plagens that the Lord instructed me to buy two (2) copies of Stanley Tam’s book – “God Owns My Business” – and mail them out to my two (2) friends at Weathermatic. And it’s the following letter to Mike Mason that went out in the mail with his copy of Stanley Tam’s book:

Mike Mason
Weathermatic
3301 W Kingsley Rd
Garland, TX 75041

 

2 May 2011

 

Dear Mr. Mason,

 

It was shortly after my phone conversation with Andy Plagens on the 26th of April 2011 that the Lord instructed me to purchase a copy of “God Owns My Business” for you and Mr. Plagens. You will find your copy enclosed. I pray that you can find time to read it. After all, it is the Will of the Father that you do so.

 

In Christ,

 

Bruce Hallman
Email: bruce@fmh-child.org
Web: http://www.fmh-child.org

Well, here it is some four (4) months later and I have yet to receive anything from either Mike Mason or Andy Plagens… not even a thank you! So, what do you think might be the problem? I mean the book is an awesome testimony that any “born again” Christian should enjoy reading. But then again, are Mike Mason and Andy Plagens really even “born again?

Oh well, at least I tried! In fact check out this short bio on Brother Tam and see how all “Christian” businessmen should run their business: "U.S. Plastic Corp: Why God Owns This Business!"

“ALL FOR THE LOVE OF JESUS”