Dieze Iralu
[dropcap]I [/dropcap]don’t know what you would think on this and I am also not sure with myself why I am writing this article, but some things seem to be wrong with the current spiritual happenings in Nagaland. So, the burning question is this, “Have we, the church capitalized on Satanism in Nagaland and made Satan worship or the cult something bigger that what it actually is?”
First of all, we Nagas need to realize that we have a tendency to react immediately or embrace completely. We have a tendency of going overboard with any new thing that comes along – be it the Korean wave, westernization, Indianization, materialism, etc. Is this same nature and character affecting our spirituality and also the reaction of the church?
Now, I want to make it very clear that I am in no way against the church leaders or the groups which are organizing the deliverance crusades, I fully endorse and support the work of bringing the love of God to the people, but rather it is out of concern because we are all part of the body of Christ, brothers and sisters in Christ. And as such, we need to point out the errors that we make, and tear down the walls of deception that the Devil brings up.The problem lies in our nature of too hastily believing whatever is doing the rounds in the rumor markets, instead of believing what the Bible says about situations and our reactions as believers thereof. I believe we have put too much emphasis on what the Devil is doing, partly due to rumors spread by people and partly owing to the stories narrated by the spiritual leaders dealing with this new phenomenon. I am not denying the cult’s existence but I believe we have created a warlike situation in the spiritual realm, where only some spiritual greats or highly powerfully gifted men of God can wage war and win. It is absolutely wonderful how God is using these men to bring His love to the people, but let us ask ourselves, are we creating some kind of Christian Superstars in the media, in thought and in reverence. It is not out of insecurity but concern, because I have seen a lot of Christian Superstars fall from grace because of pride like Benny Hinn, Todd Bentley, etc. The tragedy is that many followers fall along with them when the focus is placed on them and Christ is put in the back seat. The danger is that, when we place them on a higher level than us, we lift them up more instead of Christ, and Jesus takes a back seat, coming only at the end of the prayer. When we do this, we put them in susceptibility to pride, deception, and a false belief that they received and have all these powers by their own works and not freely given grace. And when this happens, we make the mistake of thinking that they are ‘IT’, and start treating them like the Messiah Himself. Thus, we create an unhealthy spiritual atmosphere where Christ is not glorified and lifted up, but instead the messenger is lifted up. Christ should be the centre, love should be the message. The bible clearly says in Hebrews 8:11 that ‘All will know God, from the least to the greatest’.
And I hope we are not creating a Christian scenario like in Africa, where the Gospel influence is thousands of miles long, but no more than an inch in depth. There is a craze among western evangelists to go to Africa and minister, trying to look like the all conquering warriors of God. They come and blast the enemy and go back home, bragging about how God is using them to touch the people in Africa. Its like a spiritual Disneyland for self seeking Christian leaders. I want to see the day when God turns the tables around, and instead the people of Africa start holding crusades for the West. (The first will become the last, and the last will become the first). Wouldn’t that be a sight to behold? I hope we are not treating people as experiments and guinea pigs just to see what the spirit will do, and neglecting the discipleship.
Are we, the sheep and congregation also responsible for putting our leaders in a supposedly higher spiritual position than ourselves when the Bible says in Mark 16 that all believers can and will do these signs? At the same time, are we, the sheep, also lazy and put everything on the Five Fold ministry? Either way, it is a situation where the Devil can easily deceive. And we must remember that even though he is defeated at the cross, he still has the power of deception. Yes, he can most definitely deceive these spiritual leaders too, however anointed or gifted they are. There is a charismatic favorite saying, “ The Devil is a little old liar, with all his teeth kicked out. He is powerless and under your feet, don’t pay attention to him” – exactly what he wants us to believe. Yes, I believe that the Devil is defeated at the cross, that we should not fear him anymore as believers, BUT we should never forget that he still has the power of deception and has deceived the world, including many Christians in Nagaland too. For example, if we think that wearing black T shirts is a sign of being a Satan worshipper, then we would also have to shave all the hair on our heads or dye it blonde or red!
Satan worship is not new, church; it has been there ages ago. The worship of Baal is an example. As believers, we should not be alarmed at the happenings in Nagaland, especially in Kohima, Wokha, Dimapur, etc because the word says – “He that lives in us is greater than he that lives in the world.” 1 John 4:4.There is absolutely no way that these evil spirits can harm us as believers ( For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love, and of self discipline – 2 Timothy 1:7).And more importantly, we must remember that all believers can and should heal the sick, cast out Devils, cleanse lepers, etc. Let us all as believers join together in snatching our youth away from all the works of the enemy. Let us allow Christ to be glorified in Nagaland and the Father’s love to reign in Nagaland.
