Restoration

Restoration - First Nations Praising God

Around the world North American Native people are highly esteemed. They are regarded with great respect, dignity and honor. The songs, dances, and culture of First Nations people enjoy a remarkable global fascination and recognition. The divine Purpose of Every people group and culture, including the First Nations of North America, exists for one purpose - to glorify God! Christianity is unique in that it Can be expressed equally well in any culture. After 400 years, there is at last a beginning emergence of redeemed cultural expressions from the Native church, to the honor of Jesus Christ. The contribution of Native people in the Church in North America is finally being recognized and embraced. However, it has only been in the past three years I have personally come to know there were so many native christian ministries. So why then are there no Native leaders speaking at Worship Conferences? Big tent revivals? Pastors Conferences? Or any other kind of Christian Gathering? There are plenty of Cocasians, Afro-Americans, Hispanics, and even Asians but no Natives or Indiganious people.

The church of North America preaches about love, toloranse, and the gospel, but the gospel is being preached the same as the days of old. It is being preached to the Jews (Non-Natives) and not the Gentiles (Natives). When it has been preached to the natives, it is presented as the only religian. The "Religious Leaders" preached that their way was the right way to worship the Father/Creator, demanding a change of appearance instead of a change of heart. Demanding a turning away from the culture instead of imbracing God's creation. Native's have rejected the gospel calling it the "White Man's religian."

The church can never agree on what is exceptable in the Father's eyes and why is that? Hasn't He given us His word to measure with? "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." -- Genesis 1:27

A group of praying Christians, both white and Native American, are taking up God's call to "restore the land, to reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the prisoners, ‘Come forth,' and to those in darkness, ‘Appear'" (Isaiah 49:8-9.)

"If My people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land" -- Chronicles 7:14

I believe the Native people could be a key today to healing, revival, and spiritual awakening among the unreached First Nations people groups of North America.

"The fire on the altar must burn continuously; it must not go out."
--Leviticus 6:13

The Hope
Our hope should be to do our small part to:
1- Remove the blinders to the Gospel among the First Nations peoples, and today's inhabitants of their lands --II Corinthians 4:4.

2- Facilitate conditions inviting to the Holy Spirit for revival and spiritual awakening among the First Nations peoples of our nation --II Chronicles 7:14.

3- See societal, economic, and infrastructural renewal among all our peoples
--Daniel 9:25; Nehemiah 1-7; 2:1-8; 6:8-10; 12:27-47; Ezra 9:4; 10:3

4- Result in harvesters raised up from among all peoples to go to the nations of the earth to fulfill of the Great Commission --Matthew 28:19.

The Calling

What Are We called to Do? The Lord our Creator is waiting to see if our generation will stand up and confess these sins before Him, the Righteous Judge, and claim cleansing in Christ Jesus for our children and grandchildren. These days of prayer are only the beginning. Christians with hearts of repentance and love toward the Native American people should pray in the name of Jesus Christ for healing and restoration. Is God calling you to be involved? Then you must get on your faces in prayer for the Native American nation.

The Confession

From 1999 till today, small prayer teams of Christian intercessors have fanned out over the Native Homelands, praying and repenting at places where Europeans iniquitously sinned against the host peoples of the land. With nearly 300 massacre sites, more than a dozen broken treaties, over 20 death camps, and 30 battlefields, the magnitude is overwhelming. Nearly every town was sacked and burned (some up to four different times) between 1751 and 1838. Food and homes were burned. Women were gang raped. Elderly were butchered. The young and healthy were kidnaped and sold as slaves. All were scalped for cash paid by state treasuries. It was unmitigated genocide. Is this too harsh? Yes, sin is very harsh.

What Has This Have To Do With Worship?

Jesus shares with a Samaritain woman the wisdom that most churches either have forgotten, or have refused to understand...

A Samaritan woman says to Jesus, "Sir," "I can see that you are a prophet. Our Father worshiped on the mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus answered, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do not know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipper will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for that is what the Father is seeking. God is a spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." --John 4:19-24

The Promise

The Word says that He is as close as the mention of his name. God has many names: Jesus, Jehovah, El Shadi, Ni:ha (Mohawk for Father), Elohim, and Yowah. He also rides on the praises of His people. Well, who are His people? If you don't know the language, how do you know whom they're worshipping? If you don't understand the culture, how do you know what they believe? We are to, "Repent, and be baptized for the forgiveness of sin, and we shall recieve the Holy Spirit. This is a promise for our children, and for all who are afar off - for all whom the Lord our God will call." -- Acts 2:38-39. Who has the right to judge what kind of repentance has taken place? And who has the wisdom and decernment to know who is or isn't worshipping the Father in spirit and in truth? Only the Father/Creator Himself has.