Clean Faith: The Watch Letter

As I reached young adulthood, I struggled. Despite attending church since birth, I was in dangerous, ungodly relationships and situations. I needed a place to stay. I needed a job and healing (I was battling an unexplainable eye condition among other things).

But God promised he would never leave or forsake us, and he let me know he was present through the love of a pastor who took me on as his daughter.

Of course, I am talking about Chief Apostle H.C. Gunn. I met him through his son, Apostle Red, during one of the most desperate times of my life. He immediately took me in. He nurtured me, encouraged me, prayed for me, and showed me the way to Jesus.

20-plus years later, I am now a saved, healed, settled, strengthened, and married woman of God because of his help and guidance and, most of all, his living testimony. Yes, I am still growing and have much work to do, but I have life and life more abundantly after being introduced to an authentic life with Jesus.

Chief Apostle Gunn's birthday is Sept. 19, and I want to take this time to say, "Happy Birthday, And Thank You for Fathering Me and Shepherding Me In The Way Of The Lord." If he has blessed you like he's blessed me be sure to show your appreciation this week by sowing into his ministry here and send us your testimony at contact@thebodyofchristinc.com. He asks for nothing in return for his labor because he loves the Lord, but that doesn't mean we should not take care of and encourage the man of God.

Proverbs 3:12 says who the LORD loves, he corrects; even as a father corrects his child in whom he delights.

Amid all I was battling as a young adult, finishing college and soon leaving to return to my hometown, I was broken.

When something is broken, such as a leg, it needs correction; that is why you often see corrective rods, braces, and casts on a person when healing. Chief Apostle Gunn was honest with me and dealt straight with me in a loving way, and he showed me where I had to change my life, commit to Christ, and adopt clean faith and faithfulness.

This corrective care through my spiritual father showed me that I would not be made whole without allowing God, my heavenly father, to correct and clean my life, too. After learning from Chief Apostle Gunn, my physical eyes were healed and opened after his prayers, and my spiritual eyes were, too!

But it's not just me. Chief Apostle Gunn has been faithful as a spiritual father to many people worldwide and represents the Lord in all he does. He has been serving God and ministering for over four decades. And he has constantly spoken the truth with love to all he encounters.

I came across a recording from January 2010 when he preached a revival, and it just reminded me of how consistent and faithful he has been in teaching us how to live a clean, pure, and holy faithful life before God. It also reminded me of how faithful God has been in preparing and washing his people so we can be fit for his kingdom.

Here are a few notes from that sobering message.

If you don't come clean with God, you can't come clean with nobody else. And if you don't come clean, you can't get free! (Jesus said the truth sets us free.)
Even when your heart begins to come clean, you can still be immature, critical, and crooked in your heart. (That is why we must keep coming before God, and 2 Corinthians 7:1 says: Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.)
God said to examine yourself to see whether you are IN the faith. Sometimes, you can be in the church or singing in the choir but not IN the faith. (Romans 1:17: For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.)
We must ensure we are free from the Jezebel spirit. Jezebel refused to be pleased or changed by any word from the prophet and the saints of God. The Jezebel spirit also tries to fight God, his ministers, and his people. (1 Kings 18:4; 1 Kings 19:2, 2 Kings 9:22, Revelation 2:20)
When you choose to side with an ungodly person or thing, it means you have no concern for God or the man of God who warned you. Ahab was supposed to be saved, and he knew better than to side with Jezebel, but he lost his concern for the things of God. We do things we know we shouldn't do when we lose our concern for God and his people. (1 Kings 16:31; 1 Kings 21:19-25)
Ahab acted out of place with God because he became addicted to acting out of place, and so he married out of place, too. He married a woman who was a full enemy of God and his prophets. God is trying to break that covenant we have with something/someone in our lives that is against God. (1 Kings 16:30-33, 1 Kings 18)

Chief Apostle Gunn has taught us that the best way to get clean, come out of compromise, be delivered of that Jezebel spirit and walk in truth, freedom, and faithfulness with God is to pray and not lose our desire to stay before God in humility. Prayer is always the answer.

Listen to last weekend's FORREAL RADIO BROADCAST, "Prayer is a Serious Thing," by clicking here.

Love, Apostle Kanya