Spiritual Awakening Crusade underway in Kohima
Kohima, September 9 (MExN): The three-day Spiritual Awakening Crusade organised by the Sumi Christian Fellowship Kohima began on September 8 evening at NBCC Convention Centre, Kohima.
In his message at the inaugural event, Rev. Dr. Shiwoto Assumi, pastor, NCRC (Sumi) Purana Bazar, Dimapur termed the coming together of Sumi believers from different denominations as God’s doing. Quoting Psalms 6 and 2 Chronicles 7, the pastor further asked the Sumis whether Sumi tribe as a whole was “ailing” and whether they are really “people of God.”
Sumis, he said, have been blessed with rich culture, tradition, and dialect and are also known for their truth and honesty, but without God’s intervention, these qualities may fade into oblivion. “Many preachers have prophesized God’s greater plan for the Sumi tribe if the Sumis ask for forgiveness and reconcile among themselves,” the pastor added.
Stating that the name of Jesus was a name above all names, the preacher asked the gathering in what manner the Nagas today are actually using the name of Jesus Christ even after declaring the slogan ‘Nagaland for Christ.’
Y. Kikheto Sema (IAS), Chairman, Planning Committee in his welcome address said that Sumi people have had their due share of shortcomings in the past and present and the crusade was a small step towards ushering a complete change in the socio-spiritual aspects of lives among the Sumi tribe. He said though Sumi believers in Kohima were divided through denominations, they believed in “One God” and “One Salvation” and it was through this design that the Sumi Christian Fellowship Kohima was formed.
Sumi people have erred before God and the time has come for the tribe to love and forgive one another in the name of God to heal the sickness that has been long possessed, he stated.
The crusade, he added, was a step towards unifying the believers. He called upon other believers beyond Kohima belonging to different denominations to do the same as ‘Sumi Christians’. “Only when we unite and move together as Christians then only we can ask our National workers to unite,” he remarked.
On the second day of the crusade today, Rev. Dr. Ed Citronnelli, Senior Pastor, USA dwelled on the importance of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. Stating that the key to everything is the Holy Spirit, the Reverend said “nothing can be re-oriented without it.” In reference to the book of Ezekial 37, the preacher made comparison to the people of Israel who at one time had lost their customs, traditions and their identity, and said similar things are happening to many people and races across the globe.
Though the people of Israel were not large in numbers, they were God’s chosen people and likewise, the Sumi people, though a small tribe in the global context, God has a purpose for them and that they were among many that God had chosen to go everywhere to carry and spread the Gospel, he added.
The Senior Pastor asked the Sumi people to be “instruments of God” and repeat the revival wave that swept across the Sumi land in the mid 1970s to recover all that was lost through the Holy Spirit. “Because of the Sumis, people from all across the world will come to Nagaland to witness the power of the Holy Spirit,” he remarked.
In the morning service, Rev. Dr. Hevukhu Achumi, Executive Secretary, WSBAK said the crusade and the coming together of all Sumi believers from different denominations is made possible only by the will and guidance from God.
Making references to Lamentations 5 and Joel 2, the Reverend said God has forsaken the Sumi people because of sin and shortcomings. He felt that the Sumi people need to repent and seek God’s forgiveness to restore past glory and honour. “We need to be united in Christ, forgive one another and let the Holy Spirit dwell amongst us,” he emphasized.
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