Pastor Jim Kilmartin
#cbcfamilyweekend
(This Weekly Prayer Summary was written by Esmeralda Lukman, from the CBC English Core Team Prayer Ministry, and edited by Brigitta Tedja)
This past weekend, we were privileged to be ministered again by the Kilmartin family. Pastor Jim and Jessica Kilmartin, along with their six children, came to bless us at the Family Weekend event at our church.
Before Pastor Jim shared his sermon, he requested Pastor Jess to pray for our church and she prayed specifically asking for blessings on those involved in the children and youth ministry, as they train the next generation. She also prayed for our building project, a new facility that can unlock dreams and take things to the next level, enabling us to reach and teach the next generation.
Pastor Jim opened his sermon by praying for supernatural healing for the congregation, as many experienced back and knee pains. He also called his eldest son, A.J., to share the word of the Lord he received that morning. A.J. spoke about how many people struggle with their identity. There is a big difference between the words “purpose” and “calling”.
The definition of the two are:
A “purpose” is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.
A “calling” refers to a strong urge toward a particular way of life or career or vocation.
With the weekend's theme of Family Weekend, as parents, we are not only fulfilling the word in Genesis to be fruitful and multiply, but our purpose in raising our children is to train them in the way they should go, as stated in Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Instead of controlling our children, we should focus on training them.
A.J. shared an insightful analogy he received, comparing parents to “training wheels” on a bicycle. Just like training wheels, parents support and guide their children as they learn and grow. However, there comes a time when we need to let go of those training wheels. Holding on to them for too long goes against God's purpose for our children's lives.
Pastor Kilmartin started his sermon with gratitude, expressing that as a family, they felt at home as they spent their weekend with the City Blessing family because we are together in the same spirit.
He used an illustration to emphasize the importance of having a personal connection with God, much like when coming to the table. God desires, number one, is for us to sit with Him at the table, not just focusing on our actions or what we do but being present with Him and seeing Him face-to-face. Unfortunately, many people avoid this intimate encounter with God and avoid looking into His eyes. Ultimately, God wants us to put aside all distractions and simply sit with Him at the table. The second focus is the importance for husbands and wives to sit together at the table, and third is to foster a deeper connection within the family. Lastly, Pastor Kilmartin highlighted the significance of inviting others to sit at the table. Often in ministry, we mistakenly prioritize inviting others before establishing that personal connection with God. We can get into trouble by helping other people first.
Pastor Kilmartin shared a powerful story about John James, the lead singer of the Christian band, the Newsboys, who came to speak at his church. At the pinnacle of his career, John James fell into addiction, and he shared the three things that caught him:
1. He stopped doing devotional time, reading the Bible, and praying.
2. He stopped focusing on his family, and as a result, he lost them.
3. He stopped going to church and attending the house of God, where he could be held accountable. The church is called to live on a mission and serve a purpose together. Accountability is essential, and we can only see our issues when we sit at the table together.
When Pastor Kilmartin became mayor at a young age, his wife noticed that he started to become proud. He began to see his position as his identity, rather than a calling for an assignment. Our assignment from God can change, but our identity will not. Our identity is in God.
When we allow our identity to shift with our calling, we will be messed up. When the assignment was over, it shocked him because he allowed his calling to become his identity. He exhorted us as parents not to let our parenting be our identity, where we try to control and manipulate our children. Instead, our job is to raise them up to be independent adults and followers of Jesus, equipping them for their own assignments. God gives us the time to raise up and equip our children so that when they grow up, they will not go astray. When we put our identity in what we do rather than who we are, we are making a mistake.
Pastor Kilmartin shared a slide from Barna regarding the generations, providing a rundown of multiple names of generations:
Silent Generation (1928-1945) – Traditionalists, rule-followers. They are an optimistic generation.
Baby Boomers (1946-1964) – Post World War 2 generation that includes hippies and rebels. Boomers opened the door to liberalism, leftist, and a pessimistic view of the world.
Generation X (1965-1980) – Grew up with nuclear war fears, making them a pessimistic generation.
Millennials (1981-1996)
Generation Z (1997-2012)
Generation Alpha (early 2010-mid 2020)
The data presented shows that something has shifted; millennials are going back to church. There is a remarkable increase of 39% in the millennial generation returning to church because they want to encounter the real thing. Significant shifts are happening, and we need to come together as one body to be part of the next move of God.
Psalm 127 (AMP) “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise early, to retire late, to eat the bread of anxious labors; for He gives blessings to His beloved even in his sleep.”
We should flourish in the house of the Lord. Those who are planted and rooted in God's church will see results. Being at the right church is important. Are we planted in the house of God, or are we potted? When we are planted, our roots grow and spread, but when we are potted, we remain portable, and our roots do not go deep.
There are three main reasons why people attend churches:
1. Convenience – the true church of God is never convenient. Spending time with God is not convenient; reading the Bible, giving tithe, building a new building, fasting, and serving others' visions are not convenient.
2. Conformity – some feel the need to stay with traditions.
3. Calling – the only reason you are planted in a church is when you are called. We cannot choose our spiritual parents. Calling is all about hearing, and we cannot hear our calling when we are busy. We discover our calling when we sit with the Lord, and during quiet moments, we hear His calling.
When we find people, we find our calling. If we are not rooted, we become a potted person. God chooses our family and chooses our church family. We want to be a part of what God has called us to be a part of.
John 15:1 (AMP) “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”
The gardener's job is to prune, reposition, and prop up. Pruning only happens when we are producing fruit; we are pruned to produce more fruits. Pruning is also repositioning.
When Pastor Kilmartin started the church, he did everything by himself until he was pruned to do the things God called him to do. It is in the calling that we are being repositioned. If we are not planted, we are not allowing the gardener to speak to us.
The counter-cultural boomers need to keep going and shift positions to prop up the next generation. Sometimes we hold on to something for too long. When we hear the Lord’s calling, we better say “yes”.
We are a blessed congregation with leadership that is thinking of the generations to come. We need to honor them. There will be another wave of the Spirit of God coming in. People are going to be drawn back to the church. We need to be ready for the next outpouring of the move of God.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (AMP) “Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the LORD, and whose hope and confident expectation are the LORD. For he will be [nourished] like a tree planted by the waters, that spreads out its roots by the river; and will not fear the heat when it comes, but its leaves will be green and moist. And it will not be anxious and concerned in a year of drought, nor stop bearing fruit.”
Pastor Kilmartin declared over us that as we are planted in the house, we know that we are in the place where we are supposed to be. We are not bouncing from place to place because we are called to be in this house. It is not out of convenience and comfortability; it is because God has called us here, and we will not be shaken because we are rooted in the house of God.
Allow the Lord to plant you, allow the gardener, and allow the under-shepherd to prune, reposition, or prop you up. The healing of the nation comes through the church harvest. At the table, we will see revival, restoration, redemption, and all of that leads to transformation.
Prayer Points:
Pray for each individual to come to the table, talk to Jesus, and have a personal encounter with Him
Pray that husbands and wives can come to the table and communicate openly with one another
Pray for a family to come to the table to commune together in unity
Pray for us to know our identity and not confuse our identity with our calling
Pray to invite others to come to the table to be ministered
Pray to choose to be planted in the house of the Lord
Pray to make room for more people to come to the house of the Lord
Pray for our house to be a house of healing where broken hearts and bodies find restoration
Pray for our house to be a house of purpose where lives are transformed, callings are discovered, and destinies are fulfilled
Pray to submit ourselves for the work of God
Pray to learn to be under God’s authority and the authority God has placed over us
Pray to be rooted and planted in the house of God