The service began with Praise & Worship by the Worship Team. The following songs were sung:
- Tuiduh A Dangtak
- Aw Toupa ka Pathian
- Damsung Tuipi Tung Huih Pi’n
The offering was blessed by Elder L Ngulminthang
There was a short sharing by Pastor Biakson and Pastor Kamzamang.
Pastor Biakson shared a report on their medication of his wife Grace. She had done 2 major surgeries during 1st week of March 2022 and the check-up last week went normal. He expressed how grateful and blessed they are to have the continuous support and unending prayers of the Church members. Unless there are any other complications, they are leaving tomorrow hoping to be back after 6 months for a follow-up. He reflected on their experience that there are also joy and blessings in disguise amidst the testing times and sickness they had undergone.
Pastor Kamzamang also shared his testimony and calling to serve the Lord among the unreached 708 groups of Delhi who had not heard the Gospel. He spoke of 3 convictions that the Lord had blessed him with through Matthew 16:18 (God is the church builder and he is just a servant), Matthew 9 (God had compassion even for the worst sinners/people) and Acts 18 (God has his own people in the city and there is no need to worry). He concluded by reassuring the congregation that the surgery scars of Grace can be considered Divine Scars akin to his son’s scars after surgery due to a brain tumour. The scars show how great and mighty is our Lord.
SERMON
Pastor G Khankham started the sermon by pondering questions related to the Church’s theme for this year, “Draw near to God”. He marvelled at the bible verse raising why should we draw near to God? Did God require us or are we required to be close to him? Can we really draw close to God? What happens if we are close to God?
He cited personal experiences of showing up to members’ houses announced and uncalled which often made him feel uneasy and unwelcoming. So, he raised again the question similarly if there is a time when we should draw near to God. Also, he brought up how hesitant we can be when it comes to talking to our own pastors and how we would actually draw close to God. He understands it is a personal choice. However, he laid out some strong reasons why we should draw close to God.
- He is the creator of all things. He is the beginning and the end.
- He looks after his creation and knows each one by their name.
- He is everywhere. No one can really run away from him as mentioned in Psalm 139:7-10
He pointed out that if we ever think God is not present and do as we please, we are really wrong.
So, he provided a list of who should be the one drawing close to God?
- The lost, sinners, and unfaithful should draw close to God as seen in Isaiah 1:18. God calls the sinners and we should be grateful that he calls us.
- God is open to us sinners when we are not even planning to be close to Him. God calls the weak and heavy laden, poor and grief, meek and soft heart as seen in Matthew 11:28.
It is very true that we should draw near to God if we are one of the above. Psalm 23:1-6 clearly told us that the Lord is our shepherd who will not leave us empty or hungry.
Our only duty is to draw close to him as we are. There is no conditions to be close to him. God himself is worthy of being close to him. How many times have we been blessed because of Him!
When we are sinners, God calls us righteous through his son and though we walked through the valley of the shadow of death, We fear no evil, for God is with us, his rod and his staff, they comfort us. This is the most reassuring verses of all time.
God is trustworthy and faithful to the end of times.
The pastor concluded with a call to action, “If God wants to protect us this much, why shouldn’t we draw close to him?” Let’s all draw close to him once again.
Kulhpi Nahi was sung for the closing.
Benediction was given by Elder T Songzalian
