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Dear Brother and Sister in Christ,
The Lord Jesus has saved you because He loves you and He died for you. Now you belong to Him.
(Jn 3:16, 1 Cor 6:20)The Bible says that if any man is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature. For you as a Maori this is a promise that you can be free - totally free - from the bondage and fear placed on you by the sins of your ancestors. Here is what God requires of you...
(2 Cor 5:17, Jn 8:36, Ex 20:5-6)Cut out of your life all the customs, traditions and habits that have anything to do with the spirits of the old people and with other gods or spirits in land, water, trees or things. Remember, the human spirit of a dead person goes either to heaven or hell and cannot have any contact with you. The spirits that imitate people who have died are demons, also called "familiar spirits". God forbids us to have anything to do with demons.
(Deut 12:31-32, Ex 23:24, Deut 4:15-19, Heb 9:27, 1 Tim 4:1, Lev 19:31, Isa 8:19)The only way that a Christian may be protected from evil spirits is by trusting in the Blood of Jesus and commanding the demon to go in the Name of Jesus. Swearing at a spirit, washing your hands or even scattering breadcrumbs are Satan's methods and are wrong. Putting the Bible under your pillow for protection is not necessary, because you are using the book for magic instead of trusting in the Name of Jesus.
(Rev 12:11, 2 Cor 10:4)At funerals there are many customs which have deep meaning. Do not do anything unless you are sure that it has nothing to do with the dark powers. Do not speak to the body. Do not touch or kiss it. Do not touch the headstone.
Photographs of people who have died, especially those put beside the coffin at a tangi, are used by evil spirits to oppress you. So remove them - it is no lack of respect to the dead person.
(Matt 18:8)Have you ever been cursed? A curse can be completely broken in the Name of Jesus. Even a "blessing" given by someone who uses powers that are not entirely Christian can do you harm and must be broken.
Never go to a tohunga for help. Never use his methods. "White magic" seems better than "black magic" but both are from Satan. If someone in your family is or was a tohunga, ask the Lord Jesus to cleanse you from anything that might have come into you from them.
(Deut 18:9-14)Do you fear the dark? Learn to speak in the Name of Jesus, to pray to Him and to trust Him. If you are able to "see" what people are doing many miles away, if you often know who is going to have an accident or even die - ask the Lord Jesus to take this power away from you. It is not from God: it is an evil spirit telling you this. If the death-light appears, command it to go in the Name of Jesus. Do not look in it.
(Ps 91:5-6, Deut 29:29)Many Maori carvings and ornaments are forbidden by God. He said that we must not make a likeness of anything in heaven, or in the earth, or in the waters under the earth. The taniwha, for example, is a demon in the waters under the earth. Tikis are a sexual charm. The strange faces on carvings are likenesses of demons. If you have any in your home, destroy them, especially the paua-shell eyes. Many greenstone objects (meres and tikis in particular) have special mana and must be got rid of.
(1 Jn 5:21, Ex 20:4-5, Num 33:52, Deut 7:25-26, Acts 19:19-20)Brother and Sister, the Lord Jesus Christ died for you so that you could be free. If you are born again, your sins are forgiven. Now you must turn from all the old ways of darkness so that you will know that the power of the Lord is stronger than the power of Satan.
(Acts 14:15, Phil 2:10-11)You cannot serve God and Satan. Remember, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. You cannot get to the Father except through the Lord Jesus. Any stories of the Maori gods, even those which seem similar to the Bible, must be forgotten. They did not come from the Holy Spirit but from Satan. Hakas which were danced to invoke spirits can have no place in the Christian's life.
(Matt 6:24, Jn 14:6)Never think that this means that Pakehas are better than Maoris. God says all have sinned. All Pakehas have sinned; all Maoris have sinned. There is no difference in God's sight. But some Pakehas are blind to the spirit world and will laugh at these things. Some other Pakehas do things that come from the devil when they use colour therapy for healing, when they divine for water, when they swing the pendulum, push the tumbler or visit a medium And some Pakeha Christians who work among Maori people will try and copy their way. Some of them will even tuku (dismiss) the spirit of a dying person in order to make peace with the spirits of the forefathers.
(Rom 3:23, Hos 4:12, Deut 12:1-3)My Brother and my Sister, you know that some people do not understand these ways. But you do, and God does Turn your back on these ways of darkness and walk close to the Lord. Ask the Lord Jesus to forgive you for these ways and the ways of your forefathers and never return to them again. This is true repentance. Read what the Bible says about the ways of the heathen and learn how you may be delivered from the kingdom of darkness and come into the joy and liberty of the sons of God.
(2 Cor 6:14-18, Eph 5:11, Jer 10:2, Rom 8:21)May the Lord bless you as you follow Him with your whole heart.
(Ps 111:1)George and Eileen Anderson, Whangarei, New Zealand
The "Open Letter to Maori Christians" may be copied and distributed freely as long as no changes are made.
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