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The 2004 International Discipleship Jubilee,
The LORD of the Fellowship, Portland
A Great Light Has
Dawned
06/27/04
Kip's not about to give up
discipling.
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (3:21)
Question 1, are you sold
out to God? Are you willing to do anything, go anywhere, give up
everything? You said that at baptism, don't back off. If you're not
there, tonight is the time to repent. And when you repent, you're going
to tell other people that you repented. You say well I'm going to
go on to my home congregation and I tell them that I was in Portland and
I was called to be totally sold out, I mean bro you don't even know what
awaits me. Oh you'd be surprised, I have a good hunch what awaits
you. I call upon everybody that is not sold out tonight to
rededicate your life tonight to Jesus Christ.
Secondly, I call everybody to a decision tonight to rededicate yourself
to discipling. I've asked several people, how is discipling coming, they
say well I think we have discipling. Well, I say, who is discipling you?
Well, I don't know. Now let's see, if we would have asked Peter, Hey
Peter do you know who is discipling you? Maybe Timothy, Timothy, do you
have any idea who is discipling you these days? I mean, you know, he
discipled you when you were 18 and everything when you first started
out, and we had that little thing we had to get right with you.
But is he still discipling you at 35? What? He's writing you from
prison? That sounds like a lot of control. You're telling me the dude is
in prison and he's telling you what to do? And he's 35! Get out of
here! Don't you think you to just simply have just a friendship? I mean,
you're mature. What do you need people in your life for?
I do believe when we start out we need to have a teacher/student
relationship. We desperately need that, or we will fall away. I think as
we mature things do go to more of an adult/adult relationship. But don't
kid yourself, you still need discipling because your time of life is
still unique to you. ....myself, hey I'm around 50, and I've never been
in an empty next type situation. I need advice! I need discipling!
Everybody has never been where you're at before and we need other people
in our lives because can't be objective about ourselves.
You are in a lukewarm church if
there's no discipling!
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (2:34)
I want call you to a
decision! If you are in a church that has abandoned discipling, and
you've rededicated yourself to Jesus, you've rededicated yourself to
discipling, then you need to find a church that loves the Lord, and that's
out to save all nations by discipling. Are you saying that's a
lukewarm church? Absolutely! Well how do I know if I'm in a lukewarm
church? Well that's the challenge, that's what Jesus said, a lukewarm
church thinks they're doing really great. I've acquired wealth, I do not
need a thing. And yet you don't realize that you're wretched, pitiful,
poor, blind and naked. Now Jesus says I wish you were hot or
cold....if you're hot, that means you are on fire, there are baptisms,
people are being restored, lives are being changed. I mean there's repentance
going on every day, I mean disciples are fired-up in the Lord, they are
studying their bible, they're sharing new insights, they are having incredible
prayers, don't you agree, that is hot? Now, is your church Hot or
Cold? If it's not one or the other, you are in a lukewarm one. And
if they're not practicing discipling, you need to get out of there. You
need to get out of there.
You know some people think that that's divisive. Turn to 1 Corin 11:18,
(quotes the verse)...there has to be differences between you to show which
of you has God's approval. You go back as a fired up disciple into a
lukewarm church, there's going to be division, and you better be ready for
it. Say, how do you know that? Because that's what happened in the 70's.
We were fired up for the Lord, we'd go into lukewarm churches and all heck
would break loose. Because the people didn't want to hear the message. You
have a choice, as in the Matrix, the red pill or the blue pill."
Gone is the ICOC
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (1:19)
"Ordinarily down and disastrous
times become extraordinary opportunities for God. Gone is Upcyberdown.
Gone almost is DPI. Gone is the unity that we bragged about between all
the churches. That we could go to any church in the world, and we would
walk in and we would just feel like, we are in the same place. But God
forbid we'd have too much control.
Gone, I believe, is the
ICOC, I mean it's a name we invented in 1994 anyway. Many churches
have renounced the name International Church of Christ and just going back
to Church of Christ because they want to be identified with the Churches
of Christ. I mean, good gravy, there are only a hundred of 'em.
That sure gives you distinction. But God forbid you'd be identified
with others that are radical, revolutionary, dreamers to take the gospel
to all nations, in one generation."
Portland the Model Church
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (2:53)
Some people have come here
enthused about what they would find and learn. Many have NOT come here
because they were afraid that Kip would call for a new movement. First of
all, before God, it was never my movement. It was God's movement. And mark
my word, it WAS the movement of God.
In the 80's, he gathered us, because we loved the Lord with all of our
heart, mind, soul and strength. And we loved the mission. And we believed
the bible was the word of God, and we wanted to take the gospel to all
nations. We didn't unite ourselves, I mean prayers helps, I mean Jesus
says to pray for the unity of all disciples. Amen? So it makes a difference,
but even in prayer, you are trying to move God to do it. See we don't
understand movement very well. Movement is of God. The 80's was not
of Boston. It was not of an individual. It was of God. God gathered
us.
In early 2000, God scattered us, because of all of our sins. I put before
you the example of the Portland church, not because it's perfect, but
because it's a model church. Why did things go different here? Why are
people sold out? You know people go, oh wow the fellowship's so awesome,
it's so great, the singing, the fellowship, this is so incredible, I said
this is how it is every Sunday. Get out of here! We have been
scattered. What did we do? We had our evening of atonement. What was the
evening of atonement? The leaders repented and the people repented. There
was no finger pointing because we were all in sin and we were just grateful
to God that he would forgive us, and since God forgave us, we are going,
amen, I forgive you too bro. And God can build on that. Amen? See I
believe the radical thinking of the hour is simply in Nehemiah 1, God
gathers, and then he scatters, but God says, and Nehemiah had to remind God,
remember God, you said that if we repent, that you would gather us from the
furthest horizon. That is the promise of God. And we claim it
tonight!"
We're better leaders now!
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (:38)
"Many people have lost
confidence in the leadership. Listen, I'm more confident in the repentant
leaders than I've ever been. See now we're repentant. We've made all of
our stupid mistakes and sinful mistakes. We're better leaders. I mean
honestly, isn't that what Christianity is all about? You do something
wrong, you repent, then you change, and you're better. I believe
right now that the guys that are still preaching the word are better
leaders then they've ever been. They're not perfect, they shouldn't be
idolized, but they sure got to be honored. "
Kip's thoughts on how to spot
a Lukewarm church. Quoting from 2 Corinthians 11:13
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (:38)
"Look at verse 13,
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as
apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an
angel of light.....Their end will be what their actions deserve. Let
me tell you something, you can tell if a preacher or an elder is
preaching Jesus or not. All you have to do is just look at that
church, and the man that says he's preaching Jesus and has a lukewarm
church, is totally deluded and used by Satan."
Kip speaks of the reason for
Jesus death and making disciples.
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (:36)
"We need to understand
and get this down as a deep conviction, Jesus came in the world to save
sinners. Amen? Number 1 to die on the cross, to bring grace and truth to
the world. But number 2, if all he had to do was just die on the
cross, he could have come to earth, died gone to heaven, job done. But see
God also wanted a plan to save the entire world. That's why Jesus
had to live his life, and that's why Jesus had to make disciples."
Kip speaking about autonomy of
the churches, and how far from scriptures the movement has become. 1
Corinthian 4:14
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (2:08)
"Paul writes to the
church at Corinth and shares with them kinda how things were going with
him. Verse 12, We work hard with our own hands, When we are cursed,
we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we
answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the
refuse of the world. And all the preachers in the house said....Amen....
So it happened to Paul.
Look at this, he's writing the church that he planted, I'm not writing
this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. Even though you
have ten thousand guardians in Christ, (some scholars think that's how big
the church in Corinth was) you have ten thousand guardians, ten thousand
brother's keepers, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I
became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
See Paul wanted to straighten things out. He says Ok, I'm your father in
the faith, I want you to imitate me. Now look what he says, For this
reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son, whom I love, who is faithful
in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which
agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
He says you can imitate Christ in me by me sending Timothy. Number 1,
Timothy did not go to Corinth because he saw an advertisement on the
internet, hey we need an evangelist. When he got to Corinth, he did not go
through an interview. He was not asked for a resume. How far we have
gotten from the scriptures!
Paul called for unity in the churches, he says, This is what I teach
everywhere in every church. That doesn't sound like autonomy to me.
How was the unity kept? By the leaders being together in the mission, in
the mission."
Kip speaking
about the changes going on in the ICOC, and all the challenges Kip has had
to endure. Kip also lists his own specific sins and his feelings in
those who pointed these sins out to him.
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (3:31)
"What was needed? The same thing that
is needed right now. Because it's not fixed, it's not right, it's not of
God. People ask me, well bro, how are
you doing? I'm doing really awesome. Well wasn't that just
horrific what you went through? The criticism, the hate, the
harshness, the rebellion from people you thought were true
friends....."
Kip's
thoughts and feelings on the condition of the church and his feelings
about the leaders in the ICOC over the last 2 years and what made Boston
so great.
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (3:06)
"My concern, is that yes things are
somewhat coming back together, ......see things can come back together,
but it doesn't mean that they're going to heal right. And I want to
bring a conviction upon us tonight, that things need to heal right.
.....it's not a matter of being in an evil system.....what made our
movement unrighteous it was our heart our arrogance. It was not
an evil system...."
"Many of the top leaders publicly and privately denounced our call to
go to all nations in one generation. There were papers, there were articles, there
were lessons. And the brothers that believed in
evangelism were quiet, they were cowardly. And they stood, and they
watched the annihilation of the glue of the movement. I believe with
all of my heart, it is not a suggestion, it's not just a good thing to do,
it is the very command of God, for every generation. ...."
Kip teaches, re-teaches then
teaches Matthew 28.
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (1:02)
"For years we were
criticized over this passage because we said that this passage taught that
you should baptize disciples, and I do believe that by inference it does
say that, we are to baptize disciples, amen church?
The actual wording of that is found John 4:1, that Jesus didn't baptize,
but his disciples baptized disciples......but the actual Greek here says,
to the eleven faithful guys, this is the explicit command of the moment,
to this ragged band of brothers, YOU go to all nations and baptize them.
In the Greek the them refers back to the nations. That was commanded
to them, not just to those that they would teach all the commandments to
who likewise have the great commission to go to all nations."
Kip's thoughts about the
movement.
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (:11)
"I believe with all of
my heart those days in the 80's and 90's we truly were the movement of
God."
Longer version of clip above
regarding the movement.
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (2:08)
"I believe with all of
my heart those days in the 80's and 90's we truly were the movement of
God.
That's not to say there weren't saved people outside of the
movement.....
When things broke down in early 2000 HE scattered us because of our sin.
Go look at that prayer of Nehemiah and he starts on out and says Father
forgive me for my sins and the sins of my forefathers and for the sins of
everybody. The lie that the people were given is that it was just
the leader's sins. Now let me tell you something, I know a lot of
the leaders, and I'm one of them, and we had a lot of sins.
But in reaction to our sin came the sins of the people. As blind as
the leaders were to their sins, so Satan sent a strong delusion and not
only blinded the leaders but blinded the people. And the people started
saying, hold it, I want to be under righteous leadership, when they
were totally unrighteous in their rebellion, their bitterness, their
gossip and their slander."
Kip quotes 2 Corinthians 11, but
says HE is saying this to the church....notice how he takes on the persona
of Paul in speaking to the church.
Click
Here - A Great Light Has
Dawned - Kip McKean (2:06)
"Paul writes this to
the Corinthian church, I say this to you, in verse 1. I hope you will put
up with a little of my foolishness, but you are already doing that, and I
know the church is going to say amen. I am jealous for you with a
godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might
present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was
deceived by the serpents cunning, your minds may somehow be lead astray
from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes
to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you
receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different
gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. But I
do not think I am in the least inferior to those
"super-apostles."
What came along was the explosion of "different ideas." A
better way, an Absalomic attempt to change the good that had been done.
Now I'm not saying that we didn't have a lot to change, but in the early
days of the movement, we changed a lot....right here, today, we have
people preaching a different Jesus....and the Bible says you put up with
it easily enough, that's why we got lukewarm churches."
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