The Relentless Pursuit Of God!

Over here in the west, we have minimized, instead of maximized the meaning of certain words. Pursuit is the word I am referring to today. True pursuit is costly, it requires something of you! I want to give meaning to the word pursue. Luke 18:1-8, this woman was relentless in her pursuit of justice. Relentless: pitiless, harsh, and persistent. Pursue: to follow in order to overtake, to chase. To proceed along or follow as a specified course action or plan. To try to find; strive for, seek. To follow as an occupation, profession or study. To continue; carry on. To continue to annoy or distress. I am convinced, we need to chase after God and overtake Him. The lady with the issue of blood understood that what she needed was in Christ. So, she pursued Him relentlessly (Mark 5:25-34)! She chased and overtook Jesus. The leper knew that his cleansing was in Jesus, so, he pursued Him relentlessly in faith (Matthew 8:2-4). Blind Bartimaeus knew that his sight was in Jesus, so he pursued Jesus relentlessly (Mark 10:46-52). Many people have the wrong impression of God and His ways. They believe that God will have pity on them while they wait in doubt, fear and unbelief. They think that God will feel sorry for them in their condition and manifest Himself outside of faith and His word. So, they sit and wait for God to do something. Usually their situation gets worse! We must come to ourselves, rise up and relentlessly pursue what belong to us in Jesus Christ! Jesus makes who He is available to us, Phil. 4:19. In Him we live, move and have our being (Acts 17:28). We must understand what is in Him? The Way, the Truth, the Life! Paul pursued and got grace. The blind got his sight. The lame was made to walk. The dumb was made to talk. The deaf was made to hear. He multiplied the fish and loaves. He stopped the storms, the winds and the rain. He walked on water. He raised the dead, cast out devils. Everyone’s need was in Him. They pursued until they overtook what was in Him! We must pursue after Him until His presence invades our lives, get His faith, get what He’s got and we can accomplish the things He has assigned to us. When we pursue after God, after the Holy Spirit, the same way we pursue many other things, we would be as full of God as we are these other things. What we have pursued after the most is what we are full of and what dictates our lives. Let there be no shortage of His presence of peace, joy, power, healing anointing, money or ministry in our lives! They are waiting for us in Him! Other people pursued until they apprehended that which they were apprehended of. It takes faith, focus, determination, tenacity and a relentless heart to acquire what is needed. You must chase after God!

Serpent On A Pole

Numbers 21:5-9, John 3:12:14, 15, John 12:31-33 In Numbers 21:5, the people had sinned against God and Moses; verse 6, God sent fiery serpents among the people, they were bitten and many people died. Verse 7, the people repented and ask for prayer, Moses prayed. Verse 8, The Lord instructed Moses to make a brass fiery serpent and put it on a pole. Everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it , shall live. Moses made a serpent of brass, put it upon a pole, it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. In scripture brass is significant of divine judgment. That Old Testament serpent on that pole was a type of Christ on the cross and what He accomplished there for us. Jesus was in the Old Testament concealed; in the New Testament revealed. The serpent on the pole was for the sake of the people. Everyone of us have been bitten by sin, sickness, poverty, pressure or stress. Jesus became to us as that brass serpent on a pole, in the form of judgment against it, that we may live free from it. In John 3:14, Jesus refer to Himself in relation to the serpent on the pole. In John 12:31-33 Jesus talked about His death, being lifted up and the judgment of this world; the serpent on a pole. Everyone who has been bitten by sin, sickness or poverty can receive deliverance. Beheld; to see or look at: I was surprised at the use this word, they looked until it became a past tense. Behold; lay eyes on, see, to perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight The key to deliverance is to; “behold the Serpent.” Most people have taken that part of the process to lightly. It is not a; snap, crackle, pop/slam, bam, yes maam type of thing. He must become our heart’s desire and total focus. We must spend time with Him. We must become Him. We must gaze upon Him, into Him and all of who He is to us. We must study Him. The Greeks were known to be people who study the scripture, they came to Jesus disciples and said; we would see Jesus (John 12:21). They went looking for Him! 1 Corinthians 1:22 says; the Greeks seek after wisdom. They wanted to see Jesus because they wanted to study Him, gaze upon Him! As our trust is in Him alone, He becomes Judgment upon the things that have vexed us. He became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) He became poor for us (2 Corinthians 8:9) He took sickness upon Himself for us (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus took sickness into Himself on our behalf and judged them to set us free from them. Jesus was then made unto us; wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). Jesus became to us all of who we would need to be, what we would need to know and what we would need to do. You must behold Him, gaze upon Him and keep gazing until He becomes life in you and judgment comes upon your infirmity. It will cost you something; Obedience!

Women In Ministry

For many years, women have taken a lot of heat for their call to the ministry. I have listen and have heard the horrow stories of how many of them have been rejected and mistreated by male leaders, mislead saints or by various denominations. I would like to offer a word of encouragement to these women and also a suggestion. My suggestion for women who know they are called to the ministry: know your God; always be willing to forgive, stay free from bitterness, never try to justify yourself before man;never engage in a conversation about your ministry with those who doubt your calling. Establish fellowship with people who are of like precious faith. without reservation or hesitation, go and do what you have been called to do. Enjoy the ministry; enjoy the anointing; enjoy being used of the Holy Spirit! Win as many souls to Christ as you can and; preach! preach! preach! I have licensed and ordained women to the ministry for many years and most of them are very successful. People who are against women leaders either don't know the word of God or don't know the will of God (or neither). Such people should spend less time railing against women leaders and spend more time discovering who they are in Christ. When you discover your identity in Christ, you are not intimidated by others.

The Fuel Of Faith

Mark 2:1-12 - Galatians 5:6, Love: passionate attraction and desire. What we see in Mark 2 is a demonstration of love and faith. All along the trail the Lord gives us demonstrations of what has been spoken n His Word. This is one of those cases. Faith is Gods’ (God is Love, 1 John 4:7, 8) supernatural ability in you to accomplish the impossible! All opposition is crushed by the power of faith that is fueled by love’s passion! With Gods’ faith in you, all things are possible, if you will work the principles! Let me help you get an understanding of faith. Faith is compared to love. It is difficult to understand faith without understanding love. Love has passion. Faith is fueled by love‘s passion. Without love’s passions, faith runs out of fuel. Love is an attribute of the heart. It’s either there or it’s not there. Faith is there, in operation or it isn‘t. Love is easy. Faith is easy. I don’t struggle to love my wife, it’s easy! Walking out your faith should be easy! Love does not need any help. Faith does not need any outside help. Stop depending on everyone else to help you believe. Faith in you should operate regardless of what anyone says or does. I don’t need anyone else to help me or tell me how to love my wife! Love dreams, envisions and yearns for the company of the desired one. Love continues until it has accomplished or acquired the presence of the person or thing desired. Love is passionate! It won’t quit! Faith has the same attributes, it is passionate and won‘t quit! The friends of the sick man were not discouraged by the crowd blocking the door. Their faith was fueled by love’s passion to the extent that they tore up the roof to get the man to Jesus! If you are not experiencing the same principles and passions in your heart concerning the things desired, I doubt if you are operating in faith. Love never fails, never quit and always finds a way! Faith never fails, never quit and always finds a way! Faith works by the same principles and passion as love. That is what Galatians 5:6 seeks to reveal to us. Faith works by love. Why? They are inseparable companions. Faith - Hope - Love. The Bible speaks of, faith and hope (Hebrews 11:1). The Bible speaks of Faith and love (Galatians 5:6). The Bible speaks of faith - hope - love together (1 Corinthians 13:13). I understand that love is greater than faith and faith is greater than hope, but the three are inseparable. Hope is in expectation of a future happening. Faith counts it done, finished and complete as though the future had arrived! Faith rejoices in the heart until the thing desired become the thing possessed! Love lends to faith it’s principles of unfailing passion to dream, envision and yearn for until the expected end has arrived! The period between the yearning and the arrival of the expected end is filled with anticipated rejoicing! Faith is like love, it refuses to be separate from whatever it dreams of, desire and yearn for!

The Treasures Of Darkness

Isaiah 45:3/ Jeremiah 29: 11-14/2 Corinthians 12:9/5-2-10, If you have money problems or have been sick, this word is for you; if you have had family problems or have been friendless, or lonely, this word is for you; if you are single and your body is screaming at you, this word is for you, If you are a single parent struggling to raise your children, I am speaking to you, if you have wrestled with principalities and powers in the night, listen up. If you have treaded down these narrow paths of darkness and felt as though no one knew what you were going through, you are the ones I have a message for. You may have been Divinely lead there; by no fault of your own or by disobedience. One thing is for sure, none of us planned to visit the planet of misery, but landed there nonetheless. If you are on planet misery, God has something there for you. An encouraging word: Gods’ grace is greater than your challenge (2 Corinthians 12:9)! Did you search for the treasures and riches in your darkness or did you just get mad? In that dark time (trial), is where you find your treasure. It will not always be money, it may be irresistible favor. Your treasure may be the answer to your marriage problem, the answer to your money problem, the answer to your job problem, the answer to your business problem, the answer to your relationship problems, the answer to your loneliness, a fresh anointing, joy that gives strength, peace that passes understanding, a word of direction in season, an unction to function. In that secret place, where it seems as though no one know what you were going through, is where God is revealed. Relationship with Him reveals His purpose, uncovers the silver, the gold and the diamonds to carry out His will. Gold and the diamonds are found in deep in the earth; you must dig for it. It isn’t what someone else has lost, because no one else has found it! Fool’s gold is on the surface. Your darkness night is suppose to lead to your brightest day; your deepest valley is suppose to lead to your ultimate peak; your greatest challenge is suppose to lead to your greatest victory; your weeping may endure for a night, but your greatest joy will come in the morning! But, you can’t have your brightest day until you have endured your darkness night; you can’t reach your ultimately peak until you have treaded your deepest valley; you can’t have your greatest victory until you have faced your greatest challenge; you appreciate joy after you have weep all night. God promised to satisfy thee in drought; Isaiah 58:11. Quit cursing your darkness (trials). Look inside yourself and ask God what He is trying to reveal to you through your dark hours. More than likely He is trying to reveal something to you about yourself or change something. Why are you at this place? We must understand the purpose of the darkness and take advantage of the lesson it teaches. You will get an answer! You will find answers during your dark hours that you won’t find at any other time. Don’t waste your dark times on bitterness, complaining or getting mad at God. Pray, fast, seek God and look for the treasure and the riches that those times provide just for you.

Vision and Destiny

Whenever God has sought to accomplish some thing in the earth for the sake of His Kingdom, He has always chosen a man, given him faith, vision and provision for it, and has surrounded him with people who are committed to that cause. Although the people will love and respected the man, it not just about the man; it’s about the vision. I am not sure if we have an understanding of the importance of vision. I really pity the person who has no vision or cause to be committed to.

Jesus was the greatest visionary ever, but He had 12 men whom He trained to run with His vision ( Matthew 10:1, 2). Gideon had 300 (Judges 7:7). Without a vision, the people perish, but without the people, the vision perish. The bottom line is; we all need each other.

Every vision must be nurtured, watched over and protected. It is the responsibility of the people to conduct their lives in an orderly fashion and be sure that they are not a hindrance to that cause (Luke 9:46-48). All it takes is one self-centered person who is not immediately dealt with to cause confusion and draw more attention to themselves than the vision. The vision we are a part of must be greater than our petty jealousy, envy and strife.

Many people have walked away from where the Lord has positioned them over an argument or disagreement that was petty and unprofitable. They allowed their condition to become greater than the vision they were a part of. Many of these same people have been unfruitful in their walk with God for years because of their refusal to forgive and refocus on purpose, cause and vision. There is more to vision than preaching, singing, casting out devils, healing the sick or winning people to Christ. We must live the kind of lifestyle that the Lord will say; well done! Whether it is the local church vision, missions ministry, traveling music ministry or an evangelistic ministry; you must have a forgiving attitude, a humble heart and a love walk that overlooks the short coming of those around you.

You must be careful (prayerful) not to separate yourself from the person or the vision that is connected to the fulfilling your destiny. For every person in the body of Christ, there is a vision and an anointing that the Holy Spirit will cause you to be attracted to for your good. When you get connected to the ministry with the vision that you should be a part of, stick to it like glue! The anointing on that ministry will cause you to experience great joy, peace, illumination and a sense of belonging and purpose.

But beware! The enemy will try to manipulate situations and your emotions to cause you to walk away. Don’t do it! Even if you have to pray through the night, shed some tears and turn down your plate and fast for a few days to conqueror your emotions and your imagination, just do it. There is no perfect church, perfect ministry, perfect vision or perfect leader. Don’t waste your time looking for one; it doesn’t exist! But, there is a vision, an anointing and ministry for you and your imperfections, and when you find it, you will know it. Remember, you must become a runner with your part in the vision. Speak with your leader and make yourself available. Be submitted, be faithful, be committed, be on time. As you run with your part in the vision, your destiny will be fulfilled.

Revival: what is it?

It is almost useless to ask most Christians if we need revival. The reason? They don't have a clue what it is, or what it is suppose to provide to them and their family, the community, the local church, or our Nation. There is an increase in opposition to the church and Christians in our Nation. There is increase in every imaginable wickedness. Do we ever wonder why? Maybe it is because the true meaning of revival has been trapped and held hostage by the enticing words of many leaders wisdom. However, given our present conditions, we must ask, what is revival and do we need it?

Revival mean: A bringing or coming back to life or consciousness; a bringing or coming back into use or being after a decline; restoration to vigor or activity; renewal of validity.

I am convinced; we need a restoration of life and consciousness of Holy Spirit presence and power in the Church (the believers)! There has been a decline and we must return to our first love: Lord Jesus Christ! There must be a restoration of love, praise, worship, commitment, submission and loyalty to the things of God. We must be willing to drop the social club status, apply the cross and follow Christ! We cannot try and add Jesus to who we were in this world. We must be made new, born again, transformed and made alive in Jesus Christ. He won't be added to our old life, Jesus Christ changes lives!

This kind of talk makes people edgy, uncomfortable and uptight. The greatest defense of those who are edgy, uptight or offended is the cry of legalism. The cry of legalism does not stop the violence in urban America and neither does it give birth to revival. We must get real, come clean and do something about our condition. Suburban America (the church foremost) must be confronted with this reality; if you don't pray, witness, win people to Christ and stop the violence now, it will soon spread to where you now live. You see; I pastor a church that is right in the middle of gangs, shootings, drug dealing, drug killings, prostitution and anything else you can name. We are here to make a difference. I have had to run drug dealers off of our door- steps while they were swinging a drug deal. As a Pastor, on more than one occasion, my life has been threatened; but God has always protected me. Some of our young people were standing on the church steps and saw a guy get shot and killed right up the sidewalk from our building. I could tell you more harrow stories, but I will spare you.

I will also say that we have had gang members come inside and hear the gospel (one surrendered his life to Christ). Prostitutes have gotten saved, broken families were mended and bodies have been healed. We are not the fastest growing or largest church in the city, (we are doing well) but we have reached people whom otherwise know they would have never made it. In that we glorify God! We have seen our neighborhood change. Whenever someone moves into the neighborhood and get out of line, we pray and they have to get saved or move out. We control the atmosphere of the neighborhood by the power of God. That is revival! Where do the people go when they leave our neighborhood? They find a safe place where there are no serious praying Christians around to stop their wickedness. Are you a praying Christian who understanding the power of revival and what it provides to you?

If you want revival, (you should) I warn you; it is costly to produce. It calls for humility, repentance and prayer. The first thing we must do is; make sure that the prince of this world has nothing in us. Before Christ can increase, we must decrease. When true revival does comes, it will be different than Church as usual. It will be different than you ever imagined. When true revival comes, sinners will be saved, bodies will be healed, Christians will love each other and began to pray together. When the presence of God is restored, people will quit making excuses, be faithful in their church, submit to their leader, and honor God with their tithes. True revival produces a love for the Lord as never before: a desire to witness for Christ as never before: an increase in church attendance, a demand for truth and life: radical prayer, radical praise, radical worship, radical Holy Spirit baptism, healing and miracles. That's Revival!

Blessings, Bishop Jim McIver Sr