Phantom of the Church Opera

By Jerry C. Hunn

The foundation and spiritual premise of Phantom of the Church Opera is found in Matthew chapter eighteen. It is derived from the hurt and pain suffered by victims at the hands of others due to circumstances out of their control. When these issues arent dealt with they have the ability to shape and mold the lives of those impacted. This book takes you through the process of getting free and living a life that will impact others for the good.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512754728

Jerry C. Hunn

Jerry Hunn is a native of Danville KY where he graduated from Danville High School in 1985. Immediately after he enlisted in the U.S. Army. In 1987 he transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps where he served five years. Jerry attended the American Bible Academy from may 2001 -June 2006 where he accepted his call to ministry. Jerry is a member of the Full Gospel Business men’s Fellowship of America spreading the Gospel in Prisons.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 Jerry C. Hunn.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-5473-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-5474-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-5472-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016913908

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/01/2016

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Preface

Chapter 1 Deception

Chapter 2 Reflection

Chapter 3 Descent

Chapter 4 Into Darkness

Chapter 5 Deeper Darkness

Chapter 6 Light

Chapter 7 Pride

Chapter 8 Offenses

Chapter 9 Consequences

Chapter 10 Lost

Chapter 11 Found

Chapter 12 Face Fear

Chapter 13 Conquer Fear

Chapter 14 Forgive

Chapter 15 Unforgivingness

Chapter 16 Let Go

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

F irst, I would like to take time out to give thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you for allowing your light to shine in a very dark place deep in the recesses of my heart. Thank you that your work on the cross and beyond the grave has empowered all your brothers and sisters with the ability to overcome every obstacle and circumstance. That is grace! Something that is truly undeserving yet attainable through your shed blood.

To my parents: Thank you for your unconditional love. Though you never upheld any wrongdoing, you were willing to love me through the struggle. You guys are a testament of the grace of God in a marriage. I thank God I finally learned to trust the blueprint you guys gracefully displayed before us. May your wisdom and long-suffering continue to be a standard of excellence for the next fifty-six years. I love you two more than words could ever express.

To my siblings: I thank God that with all we have been through, we never let the enemy break the bond that siblings share; we are as close as we were as kids, and I know that we are finally stepping into purpose and fulfilling the plan of God for our lives. May we continue to seek Him and enjoy this process to freedom!

To my wife: I thank God for you that you were willing to invest in my not yet. You are a true Proverbs 31 woman. I am honored to be on this journey of rediscovering the kingdom through the face of Jesus Christ with you. Thank you for being Moma Bear and protecting the family. Thank you for keeping a prayer vigil over the things God has entrusted to us.

To my kids: I thank God that His mercy kept you guys in a safe place when I was too blind to see that allowing my past to hold me hostage created an environment of hurt and pain. I believe with all my heart that if we give close attention to this blueprint on forgiveness, we can move forward to the next chapter in our lives. May the love of God continue to penetrate the walls of distrust and bring healing to all the broken places of the heart.

To Open Door Fellowship of Faith: I thank God for you guys supporting the vision God has entrusted to us, changing lives by the power of God and living the book of Acts in the twenty-first century. Thank you, guys, for loving me, even with all my flaws, and trusting me to tear down the walls of religion and nullify the traditions of men through the revelatory word of God. What a journey we have begun; to God be the glory.

PREFACE

T he foundation and spiritual premise of Phantom of the Church Opera is found in Matthew 18. It is derived from the hurt and pain suffered by victims at the hands of others due to circumstances out of their control. How those circumstances have the ability to shape and mold the lives of those who were impacted. Not just them but all who may inadvertently venture into this environment not knowing evil is lurking backstage at the opera. I thank God that before the foundation of the world was ever laid, He set in motion a plan to redeem all who might become victims in the opera. This great plan continues to be orchestrated through the work Christ did on the cross. He redeemed us from the curse of the phantom! No longer do we have to stay bound and held captive by this spirit of continual dread. We have been empowered by the Holy Spirit through relationship with His son, Jesus, to overcome the lasting effects from trauma suffered at the hands of others. The hurt is real, and the pain is deep, but the show must end. My hope is that someone will find a way of escape from the pain and anger and shame that has consumed him or her because of his or her experiences at the church opera. I pray this book will be the piece of the puzzle that has been missing and cause a new you to rise up out of the ashes of discontentment and become all the creator purposed you to be. I pray that you will find the strength to face your phantom of the church opera, that the power of God will be loosed over your life, and that the stronghold the enemy has used to keep you captive will be destroyed. You need to know there is a power that works in you: the power to learn how to forgive and love as God does and not like the love we know as mere humans. Our love and forgiveness always has stipulations and conditions, and it will not produce the necessary need to change. I want to encourage everyone who reads this book and can relate in some way to the phantom of the church opera to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the dark places or the hidden places in their lives so He can deal with them through the love of Christ. If it does not apply to you, then I hope it prompts you to pray for someone who may still be stuck at the church opera, or someone roaming around in the darkness backstage.

My hope is that it will challenge all to be aware of the plight of our children in all walks of life. The enemy uses many different avenues to disrupt the lives and distort the minds of our children. So many out there are separated from the purpose and plan of God and living a life far from what God created them for. The reason we can’t see it or continue to miss it is because the enemy (phantom) has determined to keep people focused on the things of this life and the things of this world. We don’t seem to be able to discern the deception the enemy uses to infiltrate the lives of our children. The enemy’s plan is to short-circuit the ability of our children to reach their full potential and to keep them from impacting the lives of those who venture into their environment throughout life. God predestined His people to bring glory to this earth, which glorifies Him. Purpose is God’s plan for your life, and destiny is what you do with that plan. The enemy (phantom) never wants anyone to know his or her purpose or God’s plan for his or her life, so he comes early and often to get the focus off of God and what He has purposed each of us to do. Jesus came that we might get free of the grasp of