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It was a regular Sunday night and the people of God gathered themselves at our new place of worship. However, it was the first Sunday night service in our new home (church). As always, mothers had prepared food for the feast after the service (ICM way – fellowshipping with food as always). Children ran around and excited by the new place. We were all excited to finally have a permanent place of worship. It might be another Sunday night to others but to those who attended that service it was totally a different Sunday night.
It started as an impromptu service. The Praise & Worship team took their place, Pastor Eli Diocares on the guitar, Brother Noel Pastor on the drums, Brother Efren Molina and Pastor Donald Cacayurin – the praise & worship leaders. They did not have any practice and it was their first time to lead the praise & worship. They relied on power of the Holy Spirit to use them to convey the glorious feeling of the presence of God. As the night grew on, so did the spirit of encouragement as each individual declared the goodness of God through their testimonies. We were also blessed by the songs rendered by Pastor Gideon and Sister Ditas Labagan. Lastly, as Pastor Gideon Labagan delivered the message, once again the presence of God fell among the congregation. In the end of his message/testimony, each one of us went to the Altar of God and cried out to Him. Each individual expressed their adoration to God and asked for forgiveness. As Pastor Gideon and Sister Ditas prayed for every person in the congregation, the presence of the Holy Spirit kept getting stronger and stronger. There were words of prophecy to some people and words of encouragement to others. It was just a time of refreshing, a time of forgiveness, a moment for the presence of the Lord to work mightily among His children. Praise God for His mighty anointing.
Of course, we ended the night we another fellowship. As the word of God said in Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” To the ICM congregation of Waipahu, the phrase “breaking of bread” is very literal, very bold, very evident in all our services and very important. The feast prepared by everyone was so “onolicious.” Thank you everyone.
To others it might just be another night in paradise but to those people who attended the first Sunday night service in our new place of worship, it was a night of celebration, a night of worship, a night of reflection, a night of transformation, a night of forgiveness, a night of rededication, and a night of reflection. Whatever you call it, it was a night of God’s tremendous presence. When we allow the Holy Spirit to be the Master of Ceremonies in our programs, His presence will flow among us. It was very evident that night.
We encourage you also to come join us in worship and expect the presence of God to flow among His people.