7-25-99

Dear People in God,

For those of you who didn't get a chance to read my last sermonet (which was really my first one), let me introduce myself: I'm Arthur Hallman, the 11 year old son of Bruce Hallman (Dad). The Lord has called me to do a special job for Him, and this was how He told me to do it: One morning as I was taking a shower He opened up to me to start writing sermonets. The first sermonet that the Lord gave me was for my friend at school, and it was about Daniel and the Lion's Den. This week's sermonet from the Lord is for the Toro Company, and it's all about the prophet Elijah.

Now the way that it all happened was that God first gave me I Kings chapter 17 (the story of Elijah) and then He told me about the three miracles. You see there are three miracles in this story that God did for Elijah that He's also going to do for my Dad. Because not only is God going to get Dad's job back (see Sermonet The Big Snake Makes A Strike!), but He's also going to take care of us until He does. He's going to prove to The Toro Company that He is a miracle working God by working a few miracles. So the first of the three miracles that I'm going to be talking about is when God commanded the ravens to feed Elijah, the second is when the widow woman takes care of Elijah, and the third is when God sends fire down from Heaven to burn-up Elijah's sacrifice. These three miracles all happened to Elijah, and they are also going to happen to us. So lets get going.

But before we get started let me tell you about the people in the story and how they apply to us. The nation of Israel is both the "Moses" of Toro and the people of Toro, King Ahab is my Dad's old boss at Toro (an evil Baal worshipping king), and Elijah the prophet is my Dad. So now that you know the characters, on with the story.

"And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word."

In the beginning of this story Elijah said there was not going to be rain until he said so. So what he did was actually put a curse on the land because of Ahab's and Israel's wickedness. You see sometimes God lets people have "bad times" just so He can get their attention. This is what He did to Israel and this is what He is going to do with Toro. Because in the vision that God gave my Dad, Toro is going to go through one more bad time if they don't obey God's word. He will stop their blessings (the rain) if they don't turn away from their evil and disobedient ways (Ahab and Israel).

"And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is beforeJordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land."

The Lord told Elijah to high-tail-it out of town and hide by the brook because King Ahab wanted him dead. So Elijah obeyed God and God kept His promise for two years by sending the ravens to feed him. This was the first miracle God gave Elijah and it’s very similar to the one He gave Dad. Because looking back at our own story after Toro fired my Dad, God told him not to get a job or file for unemployment. God was going to send the ravens to take care of us too, and that’s what He did. Every two weeks the mailman brought a check to our door, and he kept on bringing them, but not anymore. Because as of the end of June our three months "after being fired paycheck from Toro" has stopped. So now it's time for the widow woman to come into the picture.

"And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth."

So Elijah obeys God by going to Zarephath and finding the widow woman. She doesn't have much but what little bit of food she does have she gives to Elijah. When she goes back to use what is left of the meal, lo and behold she finds the same amount that she took out. It's called a never ending supply of food, and right when she was getting herself ready to starve. So as you can see she obeyed God by taking care of Elijah, and she got blessed. And it's through this second miracle of Elijah's that God has showed us how He will take care of us too. Now even though the bills for this month are due, and the widow woman hasn't shown up yet, we know that God is not a liar and His promises will always come through. He will supply us with everything we need. So as you can see whoever this "widow woman" is that takes care of us will not only get her socks blessed off but her shoes too.

"And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah. And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son. And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth."

Things were looking pretty good for a while and then the widow's son end's up dying. But Elijah prayed to God and hot dog he revives! How do you like that? Not only does she get food to feed a whole country, but God brings her son back from the dead. So for feeding one prophet of God she ends up with a multitude of blessings. And as I said before, we don't know who our widow woman is but we do know that she is in for the time of her life. Okay, now we are going to start a new chapter, chapter 18.

"And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it..."

It looks as though things are going to get awfully dry in the land of Toro. But do you think Ahab is going to be concerned about the people in Toro? Nooooo! In fact in this story he was so concerned about his prize possessions (the horses and mules) that he sent his unconverted helper (Obadiah) to find food especially for them. Now Obadiah was a man of God who hid the prophets of God in caves and took care of them when Queen Jezebel was trying to take off their heads. And what we know about the Obadiah in Toro is that he (she) is a person of God who hasn't bowed down to Ahab.

So, "Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee... And now thou sayest , Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me... And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day."

Now right about the time Obadiah was looking for some grass he bumps into Elijah (Dad)! What a sight for sore eyes! And even though Obadiah was a dedicated man of God who was glad to see Elijah, he wasn’t any too crazy about telling Ahab who he had found. Because as mad as Ahab was, it wouldn’t take too much for him to lose his head!

"So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table."

Now when Ahab finally sees my Dad’s face he is probably going to get very mad. You see after everything has dried up at Toro, Ahab is going to blame my Dad for causing his "blessings" to go away. But the real problem is wicked king Ahab and the god that he serves. So who’s god is the real God, Ahab’s or Elijah’s?

"So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken."

So Elijah and the prophets of Baal agreed on how the rules of the contest. Each of them would get a cow and put it on the wood but neither could use matches to light it. And that’s when the prophets of Baal would call on their god for the fire, and Elijah would call on his God for the fire, and the one that produced the fire was The One True God.

"And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded."

Now this is the part we’ve all been waiting on. The prophets of Baal yelled and screamed until they were blue in the face, but not one spark appeared. Baal did not answer their cries! So after Elijah made fun of them they took their knives out and started cutting themselves. But nothing got Baal’s attention so they just gave up.

"And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down... and he made a trench about the altar... and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood... And they did it the second time... And they did it the third time. And the water ran about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there."

Now that’s what you call a flame! Elijah’s God sent a fire that burned up meat, wood, stones, water and all! So that was then but what about now? Well even though we don't know for sure what this fire from Heaven will be like for Toro, we do know that this was what finally opened up Israel’s eyes to the truth. And likewise it’s this third miracle that will show Toro who is the real God Almighty. Because you see this is where God is going to perform an awesome miracle, and just so that Toro will believe my Dad has been telling the truth. They’re going to be left with their mouths wide open and then the heads are going to roll.

"And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel."

Now the rain at Toro will come, but it will only come after Elijah sees to it that Ahab’s demonic helpers (prophets of Baal) are no more. And after all that’s over with, it’s only a matter of time before Ahab receives his just rewards too.

In closing let me put it this way: This sermonet was about three miracles that God has promised us. Two of these miracles are needed for us to stay alive, and the third one is in preparation for my Dad to get his "God promised job" back at Toro. So for you folks at The Toro Company, please open up your eyes and listen to what God's Word has to say. Because you can count on what He says as something that’s going to happen!

In the Lord,

Arthur Bruce Hallman the III

P.S. (from Dad):

As an ending to this message I would like to reemphasize the fact that God the Father gave this writing assignment to Arthur and not to me. He told him the Scripture and He told him the specific points to focus on. However, due to the number of critical details necessary to accurately put together this story, both Hadassah and myself have spent many hours in prayer with Arthur getting all the necessary answers from the Lord. And might I add that although Arthur wrote the first draft of this sermonet it was all of us as a group that completed the finishing touches. And looking towards the future, it’s God the Father’s command that Arthur and Hadassah each write one sermonet a month and myself two. So without a doubt these letters ought to get pretty exciting! But until we meet again, please remember not to forget to... Keep on keeping The Faith In Jesus!!!