Love Revived: The Watch Letter
A question came to mind last week: How can you love the Father and not love the Son? It’s impossible. You cannot separate the two.
Jesus is God and of God. He came to earth as God in the form of man. You can't love God and ignore Jesus and what he stands for or else your salvation, your praise of God, and your proclaimed love are of non-effect. Some people say they value the teachings of Jesus and apply them to their lives, but they don't believe God at his word. They don't believe his living word nor the prophecy he sends. But you cannot have one without the other. They are one in the same. God's word is just as important when it is read or when it is spoken. And the same applies to how we treat our pastor. If we mistreat or don't show love to the one God appointed to lead us then we are treating God the same way because our pastor is a representative of God.
1 John 4:20
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
John 14:6:
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye
should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
But let's take it further.
How can you love the pastor but mistreat, ignore, disrespect, overlook or abuse his spouse and children or grandchildren? How can you love a child in the church but despise the parent? How can you love the parent but never have anything to say or offer that uplifts or helps the child?
There is no such thing as a love-hate relationship in God‘s body. The foot cannot hate the ankle but love the knee. They are all tied together so hate for one is hate for all because they are in the same body.
If we find ourselves doing one of the above then it shows us that there is need for prayer and revival to help us get back to the kind of love God accepts. And before we say we don't hate anyone because we are Christians, let's pause and reflect on that because hate is abounding in the world and often what is abounding in the world is happening in the church. Our Pastor Chief Apostle H.C. Gunn has taught us that the church is the gatekeeper and when we compromise that doesn't just impact us it impacts the world.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
As Chief Apostle H.C. Gunn and Apostle Angel always remind us: love is a choice.
Reading the scripture above shows me the work I have to do. What about you?
That’s why I am so grateful for the Prayer Revival we had last week, Monday-Wednesday, at The Body of Christ,Inc. The word came to resuscitate (CPR) the love in us and remind us that if we don’t pray and humble ourselves before God then flesh will become our God and that is when hate reigns because it is born of the flesh. I am also grateful for our pastor's willingness to let God set the agenda not just during our revivals but all of our services. His yielding to the spirit of God helps to ensure we receive a right now, what we need for today word. What a blessing! It reminds us we need to yield everything in our lives to the spirit of God: our talents and callings, our ministry, our family, our home, our relationships, our careers, our finances, our health, how we dress, where we go, how we talk, and the list goes on.
In looking more into the meaning of revival, I noticed that revile and revival almost sound the same but they are polar opposites.
Revile means to hate someone or abuse/mistreat them intensely. Revival means to restore of vigor or vitality. Revival is life and revile is death. The word revival reminds me of love. Love brings life with it. Love strengthens, edifies, rebuilds. That is what revival does. But hate kills. It weakens and it destroys. That is what reviling someone or something really does.
Chief Apostle Gunn told us that hate is the same thing as murder. He has shown us that the hateful things we say or feel in secret or in our hearts work to kill people in the spirit. If we aren't saying and doing things toward people out of love then we are acting in hate. There is no in between.
Hate comes in all forms. Hate is not telling someone the truth they need to hear. Hate is not being forthcoming about your intentions. Hate is cloaking for someone's wrong doing. Hate is not speaking up on behalf of someone when you know it's the right thing to do. Hate is allowing someone you love to present themselves in a way that will attract trouble but you say nothing because you don't want to hurt their feelings. Hate is dealing under the table instead of dealing with integrity. Hate is choosing to only love people who will do what you want them to do, which really isn't love. Hate is when you make choices and decisions that you know will destroy you or someone else but don't care about the consequences.
Proverbs 26:24-26
He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation.
We've got to choose to divorce ourselves from hate, because as long as we allow hate to operate: we are holding back God from dwelling among us. Holy can't deal with unholy. In order to get to a place to love completely by God's standards we must be revived from our old ways and stay revived. If you have let your revival leak out from last week, its a great day to get refreshed!
Below is an abbreviated recap of each night’s messages from our Pastor Chief Apostle Gunn. During the revival on Wednesday, we also got the chance to celebrate and appreciate his beautifully saved wife Apostle Felicia Gunn, who has been a mother, grandmother and sister to us all. Happy Birthday and Happy Mother's Day! We love you. (Happy belated Mother's Day to all of the women who care for others and mother them in some shape or form. I am grateful for the women of our body who stretch beyond themselves to show love each and every day. And that is something I have learned from our pastor. Love means to stretch. When you think about it, God gave women a special gift where our bodies can stretch in order to have children. So how much more can we stretch in the things and love of God?)
May 2, 2022, Chief Apostle H.C. Gunn, Prayer Revival
When we are corrected, we say the church (or pastor) can't tell us what to do because we are grown (but when we need something from church we want to hear what has to be said and that "grownness" goes out the window.)
Church is supposed to be an organization of people working together to go after God. How are you adding to the organization? How are you going after God?
Yes, you have been called, but have you answered your call (there's a difference).
It's part of your calling to glorify God and not let anything keep you from it.
You have a voice. It's not just to use to express frustration or complaints. You use your voice to help. (Especially if you have been given the gift of singing: how are you helping to take the praises of God higher?)
Where is your talent? What is it doing?
Who are you helping? We have gifts of giving, encouragement, praise and care in us. How have we used them?
Your praise is supposed to move and be able to go anywhere.
Are you letting your faith tell you that God will provide?
The Lord is trying to fill our children with his spirit. (How are we cultivating it?)
If you don't feel better after coming to church and being taught the word, it's a choice.
Sometimes when you feel under pressure, feel like fussing or getting someone told it is really because you have backed up praise that you need to get off your chest.
May 3, 2022, Chief Apostle HC Gunn, Prayer Revival
Pray, wait and study the word and let God do the planning for you. Stand up for him and let God do the speaking and the moving.
Be ready to praise. How are we connecting praise to our homes?
Recognize you never had what you got without your salvation.
This is a loud salvation. You can’t keep it to yourself. How can you sit down on fire? God wants to pour out his fire on/in you.
Every problem does not have the same fix. But God is the same God and the God of everything, even your problems. He will supply your every need, if you let him.
When you are prayed up God has to respond and send a word.
The Lord's will is that your joy be full. Where's your joy? Have you grabbed hold to it?
Is you praise straight? Sometimes we can be doing everything to live right, but don't offer our praise enough. Praise is what we do. God desires and requires our praise.
In 2 Chronicles 20, the king was afraid of the people. Sometimes we spend our days looking down as if the solution is on the ground. But how have we put our praise and faith out front? How have we looked up to Jesus?
When we believe God that is when we are established. When we believe his prophets that is when we prosper. (It is not career, education, money, relationship, societal status, etc. that establishes and prospers us).
Remember when you started out with nothing? And now you can't count the times God has blessed you.
Faith and gratefulness opens your mind up to God's provision.
May 4, 2022, Chief Apostle HC Gunn, Prayer Revival Day 3
Always think about what does God accept. Is what you do, say, think and feel acceptable for God. Is what you are allowing in your home and behind closed doors acceptable to God?
Think about where we have not been grateful, thankful or gracious about people and things that we should be. What and who are we taking for granted and not appreciating?
How do we have and show a light today? How do we allow God to give a glimmer of hope to others through us?
Do we think to and readily jump up to give God praise? Do we move quickly when he calls?
When you appreciate others, you are appreciating God because he provided them in your life. We must learn to appreciate one another.
We can’t truly see one another to appreciate if we continue to refuse to change.
What will God say about you when you are gone? What can he testify about your life and how you care?
This is a good time for us to go back over the message from Chief Apostle Gunn's 2020 broadcast "Prayer Solutions." The message title came up while I was writing this. I encourage you to listen.
Oh what a time in the Lord!!!! There was a need to be revived & a refreshing word came and met the need!!!! What a powerful blog Apostle Kanya!!!! Keep on trusting God & keep on writing the entries to the Watch Letter and watch God change things!!!!