A Faith That Moved Mountains: Sermons by Bishop George D. McKinney, #2

By George D. McKinney and Barbara Warren McKinney

A Faith That Moved Mountains is a collection of soul-stirring and thought-provoking sermons by Bishop George D. McKinney, Jr. taught and preached for over forty years.

Bishop McKinney, filled with the Holy Spirit at the young age of nine years old preached his first sermon at fifteen years old. Through the years, as he accomplished many academic goals, he kept the teachings of his parents and the Holy Spirit close and became an advocate for living holy, heartily practicing forgiveness, and fiercely protecting the sanctity of marriage and family.

These sermons are filled with the benefits of experiences that came from years of academic, professional and clergy work along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Bishop McKinney worked as a probation officer and then marriage and family counselor before shifting to full-time ministry as a pastor. He was ordained as the Bishop of the Southern California 2nd Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and later became a General Board member for the Church Of God In Christ, Inc. All the while in the inner city community of Southeast San Diego, thousands of people were saved, hundreds were married, counseled, fed and housed under his pastoral service.

Bishop McKinney used his skills as an exceptional orator, and anointed wordsmith to compose and deliver these sermons under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; that those who heard or read them would experience the living word, receive and freely offer forgiveness and continue to spread the word of God.

This vast collection of sermons has been lovingly compiled by his widow Barbara Warren McKinney and divided into several volumes for easy reading

• Language: English
• Publisher: TAWCarlisle Publishing
• Release date: May 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781958356050

Book preview

SUMMARY

A Faith That Moved Mountains is a collection of soul-stirring and thought-provoking sermons by Bishop George D. McKinney, Jr. taught and preached for over forty years.

Bishop McKinney, filled with the Holy Spirit at the young age of nine years old preached his first sermon at fifteen years old. Through the years, as he accomplished many academic goals, he kept the teachings of his parents and the Holy Spirit close and became an advocate for living holy, heartily practicing forgiveness, and fiercely protecting the sanctity of marriage and family.

These sermons are filled with the benefits of experiences that came from years of academic, professional and clergy work along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Bishop McKinney worked as a probation officer and then marriage and family counselor before shifting to full-time ministry as a pastor. He was ordained as the Bishop of the Southern California 2nd Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and later became a General Board member for the Church of God in Christ, Inc. All the while in the inner-city community of Southeast San Diego, thousands of people were saved, and hundreds were married, counseled, fed and housed under his pastoral service.

Bishop McKinney used his skills as an exceptional orator, and anointed wordsmith to compose and deliver these sermons under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; that those who heard or read them would experience the living word, receive and freely offer forgiveness and continue to spread the word of God.

This vast collection of sermons has been lovingly compiled by his widow Barbara Warren McKinney and divided into several volumes for easy reading.

JESUS

JESUS’ MINISTRY

I want to call to your attention to portions of the gospel message that affirm that Jesus the Christ during his earthly soldiering was an effective urban minister. That he developed the model for ministry in the city. During the past thirty years, it has been my privilege to be involved in the most depressed and socially dysfunctional part of the city of San Diego. And I’m here today to testify that the model of ministry Jesus established nearly two thousand years ago is the most effective way to deal with the social, economic, political, and spiritual problems in the cities of our nation and the world. We know a hundred years ago ninety percent of the population of our nation lived in rural areas and less than ten percent in the cities. But today, more than ninety percent of the population of the U.S. congregate in cities and megacities and less than ten percent have remained on the farm.

It is very interesting to notice in the gospel message that Jesus began his ministry in the little city of Nazareth, where he entered the synagogue and read from a scroll from the Prophet Isaiah, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me For, he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He sent me to set the captives free, to open the blinded eyes, and to proclaim that the kingdom is here. That this is the year of Jubilee. The time has come for the release of the captives. The cancellation of the debt of sin and for the reconciliation of sinners and those who have estranged back to God.

I want to share the reading from Matthew and Luke, particularly from the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew; the first verse. "Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities." And in the fourth chapter of Matthew twenty-three, the following verses: "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with diverse diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and healed them. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. And in the Gospel of Luke, the nineteenth chapter, and the forty-first verse: Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it." In the Scriptures just read, we see something of the passion, the deep concern that our Lord had for the cities. In Luke, it is noted that as He approached the city of Jerusalem, He looked from that vantage point and saw with one swoop His eyes the anger, the anguish, the pain, the lostness, the alienation, and the suffering in the city.

I want you to notice that Jesus did not have the benefit of having a blue-ribbon committee to do a five-year study on the social, political, and economic conditions of the city. Being the Son of God as he looked over the city, he saw the teeming masses of all their deep wounds and hurts and alienation. His glance over the city brought to the forefront of His consciousness the children that had been abandoned and neglected. He saw the overcrowded living conditions. He understood the unfulfilled dreams of those who started with high hopes, but their hopes were aborted because of injustice and because of conditions that were often beyond their control. When Jesus looked at the city, He was aware that in the city there is a center of power, and that man lives out his possibilities of being both the glory and the shame of the universe. He saw the children growing without proper direction. He saw the hunger in the souls of those who came to the temple and instead of finding living bread were given stale and meaningless ritualistic religion that did nothing for the soul. And as he looked upon the plight of men and women, boys and girls in the city, recognizing the pain, the anguish, the emptiness, the hurt, the hopelessness, the Scripture says that the Lord of all the universe, the savior of mankind, cried. He wept over the city. But thanks be to God that it is not the only reference in his ministry to His relationship to the city.

In both gospel readings that have been shared with you this morning, Jesus is seen as the consummate urban minister. And his approach to ministry in the city was a simple one. He healed all manner of diseases. He cast out demons by the authority and the power of God; He restored broken relationships between those who were estranged; explained God’s truth so that men and women whose hearts have that God-shaped- vacuum could know what God’s will is in terms of our relationships with one another. He taught the word of God, and then he preached.

His message was simple. It was a simple gospel for all the complexities of the city. It was a message simply that the kingdom of God is here. That despite the seeming authority in the hands of the political and the social and the religious leaders, there is a kingdom of God that is here now. And those who will respond to the call and the invitation of the King with a simple password of Yes Lord! have access into the kingdom of God, the rule of God.

My brothers and sisters, it is clear from the study of the gospel message that Jesus spent prime time ministering in the city because God is interested in what happens in our cities. A few years ago, there was a mass exodus from the major cities in America. Freeways were built so that those who had gained affluence, wealth, power, and prestige could flee from the dysfunction, the danger, the crime, and all the other factors of the city that have rendered the city so unlivable.

But it was soon discovered by those who had escaped the city that the power is not in the suburbs, and so there has been a movement back toward the city. Because the city is the scene of power. It is the place where decisions are made. It is the place where power is exercised. God’s concern for the city is related to the fact that the city is the place where people are, and everybody knows that God is concerned about people. All people, black people, white people, brown people, fat people, skinny people—ugly people, good-looking people, down and out people, up and out people, illiterate people, and learned people. God is concerned about people. And because people live in the city, God has sent Jesus to give us a model for ministry by focusing on the city. That’s where the people are. Oh, I know there are some good folks in suburbia and some good folks in the boondocks, but the power and the people are in the city.

Jesus focused on the city because the city is where the power is. The concentration of power in our nation is not in suburbia but in the city—New York, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Dallas. The power base for every political party is in the city. The power base for all meaningful financial structures and institutions is in the city. The power base for all religious institutions and organizations is in the city. That’s why Jesus came to the city, to confront the powers that are there, which are under the control of the enemy of God.

His confrontation was bold and forthright, and he declared in the city that God’s kingdom is here. It may be thought in the minds of the people that the kingdoms of this world have the final authority and the final say-so about what decisions are to be made, but Jesus came to bring us a message that in the final analysis that there is no power but the power that be of God. All power is in God’s hand, therefore, there was a confrontation between Jesus, who represents the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of man which took place in the city.

The political, social, and economic power that’s based in the city generally is under the control of the enemy of God. That’s why in my community, and in every city, those who have power frequently abuse it. And those who can make just and right decisions frequently do not make those decisions.

We are in the midst of a very real crisis here in Southern California today because of the abuse of power by those who willed it in Los Angles as it relates to the administration of justice. To those who are minorities, those who are shut out and cut off from the mainstream of power, and those under the misuse of power, whether it’s in Los Angeles, San Diego, Jerusalem, or wherever it is, it is a great concern to God. It is a great concern to Jesus, who came to declare that the kingdoms of this world must come under the authority of the kingdom of God.

And so, Jesus confronted the powers that be. When he healed the lepers and brought hope to the hopeless, His was a declaration that God’s kingdom, God’s rule is concerned about the wellbeing, the health, the love, and the joy and peace of all of God’s children. He came with a message that some who have been locked out; forgotten; omitted in the scheme of things in the world’s kingdom must now be brought into the wonder of God’s grace and allowed to enjoy the blessings that God has provided for all His people. So, Jesus came to show us a better way and to provide for us the wonderful truth that His kingdom must reign wherever the sun does its successive journey run. His kingdom must stretch from shore to shore. And the model of the kingdom ministry that was established by Jesus must be the model for the church.

So, I’m here on a mission today to encourage the students at this great college to consider ministry, at least during part of your internship. I only ask you to get a taste of it because once you taste the power of God at work in the city, tearing down the strongholds of Satan, breaking down the stubbornness of those in power, and converting to Christ those who have rejected His claim upon their lives; I tell you when you get a taste of it, you’ll never be the same.

I’d just like to testify about how the kingdom is working. The kingdom is here now. You don’t hear much about it on the news or in the newspaper.

Let me share with you what God is doing in the city. Absentee landlords established a large housing project directly across from our church and they did not take the necessary precautions to put in proper management or screening of the applicants and the tenants. Within two years that center had become a major center for dope trafficking, prostitution, murder, mayhem, and all kinds of wicked lifestyles directly across from the church. And after the facility had been overrun and almost destroyed, the bank finally foreclosed on the absentee landlords and came into my office and said, Can the church do anything with this? The question was, does the kingdom have a message for the destructiveness that’s taking place in the kingdom of Satan across the street from the church? And the answer was, Yes, we’ve got an answer for that.

We took that property without a dime’s investment. We put in Christian management. We put prayer in the facility, circled it with prayer meetings, and established singing groups and blockbusting and counseling in the facility. Within one and a half years, what was a den of iniquity, a facility that was so dangerous that the police needed escorts to come in, we won for the Kingdom. We put in Christian counselors, ushered the sinners to Christ, and prayed out those who wouldn’t come into the kingdom.

Today, in 1982, there is a Head Start Unit in there. And today there are children—black, brown, and white playing in the playground. You can go there today and discover that it is livable and affordable and it’s safe. But the kingdom’s message was to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, to heal the brokenhearted, to love the children, and to provide for their care and concern so that it demonstrated that light would put the darkness out every time.

Let me share with you one of the greatest compliments that we’ve received at St. Stephen’s Church. It was some years ago when someone met with me and said, Dr. McKinney St. Stephen’s is a pretty good church, but you’ve got too many folks in it who used to be prostitutes, drug addicts, pimps, prisoners, and jailbirds. And I said, Thank you, Sir. I appreciate the compliment. But what he was saying, and he didn’t know it, was that was what the church is all about. Everybody in the church is a member of the company of the forgiven. Those whose lives have been changed have been brought from darkness to light.

We may not have all been drug addicts and prostitutes and pimps, but we were all sinners. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and it is the light of Jesus Christ that brings us from darkness to light, from hopelessness to hope, from sin to righteousness, from hell to heaven. Hallelujah!

Jesus looked at the city and recognized that there was suffering, alienation from God, injustice, pain, the perversion of religion, and the miseducation of the children. He saw all of that suffering in the city under the power of the enemy of God. But not only did he see the people and the concentration of the power, but he saw also the tremendous potential in the city. The potential for redemption; the healing potential, the potential for change that only God can bring to pass in the heart of men and women.

So, Jesus went into the city and confronted those who were in power. Visualize him with your sanctified imagination entering the temple in Jerusalem where there was a concentration of political, social, and religious power, but all perverted under the power of the enemy of God. And without any permission from city hall, with no authority from the Governor’s Mansion, with no earthly dictate upon Him, He enters the temple and sees the perversity and the destruction and the misuse of power, and with the holy and righteous indignation drives those who had power out of the temple, and cleanses it and declares that My house shall be called of all nations a house of prayer. And so, Jesus confronted them, and He’s calling the Christians today to be willing to confront the centers of power, whether it’s in the White House, the State House, or City Hall.

Much of the ministry today must not take place only in the sanctuary. That’s why we must develop relationships with those who are in power in the school board, those who are in power in the city government, the mayor, the city council, and the department heads. We must make friends with those in power and then use our Christian influence and our Christian insight and the authority that comes from being ambassadors of the King of all the universe so that we may be what God called us to be in the city: light in the darkness and salt amid this tasteless society. Jesus cried over the city and then he took appropriate action to make clear in the minds of those who thought they had power that the real power is in the hands of God.

You see my sisters and brothers; the fact remains that this world does not belong to those who think they have the authority here. The wealth of this world does not belong to those who may have control of it now. The wealth of this world does not belong to the high and the mighty and the wealthy; does not belong to the greedy, nor to the needy who want it. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.

Since this is our Father’s world, and we are sons and daughters of the King, and the Kingdom is here, I challenge you today as you prepare for careers in ministry—and by the way, that career in ministry is not just preaching ministry; it’s education. There’s a tremendous ministry in the classroom, and the Christians must go forth to the citizens of the nation with the attitude that we must infiltrate every system, whether it is educational, economic, financial, social, or political. We must infiltrate every system with the authority and knowledge and the preparation and the anointing of the Holy Spirit so that we can do what Jesus said for us to do, Occupy till I come. Do business till I come.

So, the business of God in the city is the business of redemption. It is the business of bringing those who are under the power and the domination of the evil one to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is only then that people and power in the city realize their true potential. We may become the sons and daughters of God doing God’s work in God’s World. Amen!

1982

A NEW COMMANDMENT I GIVE UNTO YOU THAT YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER

John 13:33-35

The new commandment that God has given is the commandment of Love. Jesus was asked by a young lawyer, What is the greatest commandment in the law? And he was referring not only to the ten commandments, but to the end-time book of the Law of Moses; all of the laws, the provisions, the ordinances that related to dress and diet, and the conduct of human affairs. Jesus answered the question by saying that the first commandment, is "Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one! ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.’ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’" Jesus said to that young man that this law of love is bringing all of these five books of Moses right down to distilled truth and that is: the commandment to love covers everything in human relations. The commandment to love covers domestic relations. It covers how a husband and wife relate to each other, and how parents relate to children. The commandment to love is a clear statement on how business ought to be conducted.

So, Jesus again in the Gospel of John comes back to this central truth that the message of salvation, the heart of the matter of redemption is caught up in this one verse that we often refer to as the Golden Text of the Bible, John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him [should not be wasted], should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." Salvation is an act of love. How many know it is alright to be saved? Redemption is an act of love.

I’ll give you an illustration: somebody raised the question and asked Jesus, "How much did You love the world? And He stretched out his arms on the cross as if to say I love you this much. I loved you unto death.

He so loved us that He gave His life, that we might be saved. Love is so essential to life, but it is one of the most misunderstood words in the language. And it is particularly true that it’s confusing and misunderstood because in the English language we use the term love for all kinds of relationships. We love our wives, our husbands, we love our cats and our dogs. We love our cars,

God knows we love our money. And wherever we have affection we use the term love to describe it. That’s a little bit confusing. God knows that my love for my wife is not like my love for my car or my work. There ought to be some way to distinguish what I’m talking about. Of course, some folks get confused and they put their wife right along in the same category with their car. But there ought to be a way to distinguish.

The Greeks were a little bit better at language than we, for they did not use the same word for every kind of human relation. They had one word that described the love between brothers. They called it Philia. They had another word they used that had to do with the sexual or the conjugal relationship between a man and a woman. They called that Eros. And they had another word that they used to describe the relationship between folks who got rich and folks who were poor, and folks who were rich with a conscience that gave to the poor because God had declared that the poor should never be forgotten.

You should care for the poor. A lot of this is missing today. But the Greeks had a word for that, and it is called Philanthropia. The word Philadelphia is taken from that, The city of Brotherly Love.

The Greeks went even further and said: now this love that God has for man and that God implants in man’s heart where he must love God back with the same kind of love that he received from God, that’s neither Eros, Philanthropia, or Philia, but it’s Divine. It’s of a different category. And the category for that love is called Agape.

Agape refers to Divine Love. It’s different from human love because usually, we love because of what’s in it for us. You can pretty much describe a person’s love, for it’s I love you because.

But agape is love despite. Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Human love is love because of. But Divine love is love despite. Something else about human love; human love sometimes responds to perceived worth. If you think that somebody has got some connections for you, you want to hook up with them and show them a little love, because they’re going to do something for you. There is a perceived worth and that evokes our love. But with Divine Agape Love, you don’t have to have any worth, because Agape bestows worth where there is none. You can come to the Lord weary, wounded, and sad. You can come to God empty, broken, and a wretch undone. You can come to God without any merit; Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come!

So, this Agape is not sitting around waiting till we deserve what God is going to do for us. He brings us redemption when we don’t deserve it. He brings us forgiveness when we’ve messed up umpteen times. Get this. It brings us healing when we have abused our bodies and brought on the sickness.

Did you know that one of the problems that we have in the church today is that some folks have the notion that God will not bless them until they prove themselves to be worthy? You will never prove yourself to be worthy. After you have done everything that you know how to do; after you’ve quit smoking, drinking, lying, stealing, and cheating on your income tax, I hear the Prophet Isaiah say: All our righteousness is like filthy rags. What can you do to merit God’s Love? What can you do to become deserving of God’s grace and forgiveness, and peace? What can we do to merit and earn one day of sobriety and peace of mind? What’s it worth to have peace of mind for twelve hours?

And so, this love of God is unmerited. It’s love that bestows worth where there is no worth. Love that reaches down and looks beyond the faults and sees the need, and then responds to the need. This Agape, this love that Jesus was talking about here is not something that runs out.

You see, some folks got married and in about six weeks—sometimes six days— the love has leaked out, gone. But God’s love is so phenomenal. He said, Even when you backslide, I’m still married to you. He said, When you come back to me, I’m here when you get back. He said, If you confess your sín, I’m faithful and just to forgive you of your sin, and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. So, you don’t have to deserve it. You just come to me believing. It doesn’t matter how you come, weary, worn, broken, empty, just come.

And in His presence, because His love is so phenomenal, there is nothing that His Love cannot accomplish. If you’re weak, His love will make you strong. If you’re blind, His love will give you sight. If you’re filled with covetousness, His love will make you openhanded and free-hearted. No matter how you come, His love is the answer to the human condition.

Now this Love, this Agape love is also an action word. Some folks think that love is something they talk about or say. I heard about a man who claimed he was in love with this lady. He got on the telephone and called her up and He said: Baby! Love you to death, I’d swim the Mississippi River to be with you, I’d climb the highest mountain just to stand close to you, I would go across the burning desert just to hold your hand, and if it’s not raining tonight, I’ll be over to see you.

I learned as a child that a profession of love without any manifestation of love is an empty profession. So, love is not something you say, love is something you do. So, Agape love is caring, Agape love is God’s gift to the heart of the believer. It enables us to relate to folks we don’t like. To accept folks that we would rather not be around. Because love does something to you on the inside. Have you ever experienced that certain people just seemed like they were God’s gift of sandpaper to you? Looks like they just rubbed you the wrong way. And you wished that God would just take His gift back.

But when you were baptized in love, the love of God just flooded you, and you found yourself just thinking about that person, and praying for that person. And instead of going out the back door to avoid shaking their hand, you found yourself going to them to shake their hand. Have you ever experienced the love of God turning your heart to somebody whom you didn’t want to be bothered with? But