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A Nation under God (Zechariah 8:1-23)By Senior Pastor Dr Daniel Ho

IntroductionMalaysia needs good people to build a good country. It is important to recognise that as good people, we are to remain and rebuild our nation. We have also been praying because we care about this land.

It is important to know what God has called us to. That is why, it is crucial for everyone to know what it means to be a nation under God.

This does not necessarily mean that a nation has to be a Christian nation, although it is great to be a Christian nation. One does not need to be a Christian nation to be a nation under God. These are crucial moments and times we are living in; in fact, this weekend is a defining moment for Malaysia. God has given you and me an opportunity to make sure that this nation is never the same again, because we have prayed and interceded to fulfil God’s plan and purpose for us.

What does it mean to be a nation under God? There are five crucial, critical marks, for Malaysia to be a nation under God.

1. There is a fear of God in the nation across the landYou do not have to be a Christian to be a God-fearing person.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. (Acts 2:5)

The context of this chapter is the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came. These Jews have yet to come to faith in Jesus Christ and this is just before the visitation of the Holy Spirit, where the Apostle Paul preached and 3,000 Jews came to know Jesus Christ. When there is a fear of God in our lives, we become very careful in what we do. Why? Because we know God is watching us in everything we do and think about. All our hearts’ desires, all the things we do, we think we can get away with it. We cannot because God knows!

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

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If our nations’ leaders know of this verse, it will strike fear in them. We cannot do whatever we want just because we think no one is watching. At the end of it all, we have to face God and be held accountable. That is the reason why there is justice in this world. It is not right for unjust people to die and get away with it and think ‘that’s all’.

The Bible tells us that after death, there is judgment. It does not matter if you are a Christian or not; the Bible is clear about this. That is why everyone should walk in the fear of God. God will hold us accountable in everything we do, whether under the sunshine or in the dark. It is a frightening, terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31)

We should live right and do right even when no one is watching. That is what integrity is all about. Integrity is who we are when no one is watching. It is so easy to impress people but what matters is what we do in our bedroom when no one is around. That is why we must pray for Malaysia to be a nation under God. Hence, the first mark of a nation under God is a nation that fears God across every stratum of society. There is a fear of God that everyone will walk rightly and will not do any nonsense whatsoever.

2. That principle of truth, justice and righteousness will be the foundation for the nation

Truth, justice and righteousness are not just Christian tenets, although we know they are from the bible. This is God’s design for everyone in this world.

These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the LORD. (Zechariah 8:16,17)

God is concerned that every society should be a great society. God wants to see every nation to be strong. A nation will be strong if we practice these principles. When there is truth, it produces trust. There is no deceit or hideousness in what we do.

Justice and righteousness produces security. When we go to the law of courts, they are to hand out sentences that are true, fair and just. No one wants to go to a law of court and feel short-changed or unfairly judged. Courts are the last bastion that an ordinary person can make an appeal to, and the last recourse of justice. In some countries, it is not what you know, but who you know that matters. When a nation is built on truth and transparency, when there is justice, fairness and righteousness, it will result in a great society and a strong nation. It will never result in distortion.

3. That all peoples are valued and treated with dignity and respectThis is what the LORD Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.” (Zechariah 8:4,5)

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A nation under God will be one where everyone is treated with honour and respect. The old and the young have a place in society. They are not banished to one corner. Everyone is important, treated with dignity and honour, whether educated or uneducated, rich or poor. There is no discrimination based on ethnicity, race, religion or gender. God made everyone in this world in His image. Because we are made in God’s image, everyone is precious.

4. That excellence and meritocracy are emphasisedAll hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23)

All hard work bring wealth and riches. This Scriptures emphasise that we must work hard, we must give our very best in whatever we do, wherever we are, whether we are homemakers or in the marketplace. Good work and hard work has a spirit of excellence. Laziness never produces a great society. Sometimes, a culture of patronage and entitlement kills creativity and initiative. It encourages laziness and sloppiness.

Through the abilities and capabilities that God have given us, He expects us to work hard. A spirit of excellence will call forth good and great, hard work. Lazy work will never take us far.

We are seeking to build a society where meritocracy is rewarded. Hard work is appreciated and rewarded. It does not encourage excellence when there is no meritocracy. That is why God expects us to give our very best through the gifts that He has given us.

Indeed, we are building a society that is great and outstanding. Malaysia can be a great society and a wonderful nation. This is our time to give our very best and refuse to listen to doomsayers or naysayers. We are going to believe God, stand firm and rebuild our nation. That is why Pastor Daniel, whenever he meets Malaysians overseas, always ‘chases’ them home to Malaysia, simply because in Malaysia, there is a lot of excitement! You and I must be around to be the salt and light of Christ into the world where God has put us in.

Yet, this spirit of excellence and meritocracy must be counter-balanced by compassion and care for the downs and outs of society.

5. That compassion and care for the poor, disabled, disadvantaged, migrant workers and refugees are her hallmarks

The compassion and care for the poor, the needy, the marginalised, and the disenfranchised must be one of the hallmarks of society. If a society only emphasises on excellence and meritocracy, the society becomes a very proud and ruthless society. This society will then push people out. What makes a nation great is not only a spirit of excellence and meritocracy.

“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:5)

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The Bible is specific to list down the names of these people, who are poor, needy and are usually taken advantage of. They are usually oppressed, and are sometimes ditched.

God’s heart is always on the side of the poor and needy. Why isn’t God on the side of the rich and powerful? This is because the poor and the needy have neither right nor power. They always get exploited, oppressed and sometimes killed for nothing. But you cannot touch the rich. The true heroes in Pastor Daniel’s life are the poor

and needy, and not the powerful, well-known or famous.

A true mark of a great nation is where it has care and compassion for those who are helpless and hopeless and are dependent upon other people to help and support them. If you want Malaysia to be a great nation, then you need to care for the poor, the needy, the marginalised or oppressed, the migrants, refugees who are stateless, irrespective of race or creed. Most migrants usually end up in Western nations because of the Christian ethos behind these Western nations; built upon the Word of God. They know the importance of caring for the needy, the poor, the marginalised, and the oppressed. An example would be a sister who serves in the Myanmar ministry, whose grandmother (from Myanmar) has applied for refugee status and was given access to Michigan in the US.

Nations should not be measured only by the GDP (Gross Domestic Product). That is only one tiny measure of a good nation. Human beings are more than just economics. Human beings are everything! Pastor Daniel proposes a new index, called the ‘Happiness’ index, which includes time for leisure and fun. You do not work yourself to death, and try to bring in more money.

One of the happiness indices which you will be looking for is the number of sick people in the hospital. If there are lot of sick people in hospitals, it means that society is not healthy, and a society that is not healthy is not a happy society. Another measure is the number of recreation parks in the city. The number of recreation parks will show whether people have time to exercise, family activities, etc. We are not made by God to be working machines. We are made by God to be human beings. That is why we must be concerned holistically about every person who is weak and marginalised.

The top five nations which are considered ‘happy’ in the world are Scandinavian nations, led by Norway, followed by Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. Why is this so? It is because they have amazing social programs. A society is a happy society when the gap between the rich and the poor is very narrow. The narrower it is, the happier a society is. The wider the gap, the society becomes worse off and there will be trouble. There will be robberies because these people are angry.

Where the gap is huge, the chance of that nation having a revolution is higher. That was what happened in the Philippines, under the rule of President Ferdinand Marcos. The people were impoverished. They took it to the streets and demonstrated. President Marcos commanded his army to go into the streets of Manila to steamroll the crowd where over a million people gathered. Some of those in the frontline were Catholic nuns, who held hands as they walked. When the armies saw that the nuns were at the front, they got out from their tanks, and joined the rest of the demonstrators. That was how President Marcos was deposed. The people said, “Enough is enough!” They were impoverished and life was unfair and unjust. Nepal also went through a revolution as the people there were so impoverished. They were

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so poor they had nothing to lose.

Hence, we need to pray for Malaysia to be a great nation, characterised by the abovementioned five areas. You do not have to be a Christian to have the fear of God. You and I should be deeply concerned about the areas of truth and justice as the foundation of a society. A nation that is under God will treat everyone with dignity and respect. A nation under God will emphasise excellence and meritocracy. A nation under God must never forget to have compassion towards the poor and needy.

If we long for a nation like this, it must first be reflected in the church. The church must work it out first. If the church is going to transform society, the church must first and foremost be transformed from the inside out. Otherwise there is no hope for society. Hence, we have to make a declaration, that a new day, a new dawn has come to Malaysia. We are not going to be bound or be crippled by things of the past, Malaysia is going to have a new beginning. It is God’s desire for us to be a great nation.

Will you arise to be part of this transformed Malaysia?

Sermon summary by Ng Phaik MayJournaling and Prayer Points contributed by Amelia

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* Weekly Reflection *

If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

~~Ronald Reagan~~



A Righteous NationScripture:

Observation: King Solomon (the wisest man on earth) wrote that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.” This means that if the government administers or does what is just, lovely, true and of integrity, and these are also exercised by the people towards one another, these acts of righteousness (or such is the righteousness of Christ) will make the nation great and honourable. However, if there is sin in the nation which is the inverse of righteousness, whereby the people begin to compromise in an ungodly manner, this will cause wickedness, iniquities and immorality to abound in the nation. Hence, it shall cause the nation to fall into a state of poverty and contempt, and subsequently the nation will be despised by their neighbours as they lose their moral integrity.

In 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Apostle Paul wrote that the disciples of Christ must be praying people with no distinction as to who we pray for, either of state, of rank, or of party governing the land. This pleases God as it is God’s desire to see all people saved and know His truth.

Application: Today, we are given the opportunity to exercise our rights as citizens of this land. Therefore, we should remember to stand on the side of righteousness and should no longer compromise to what is wrong for the sake of the future of our nation. At the same time, we should also be willing to pray for the people who have been elected as authorities of this land, whether in our favor or not. This is as what Apostle Paul wrote, so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in godliness and holiness, and most of all it pleases God.

Response:Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for this very day that I am able to exercise my rights as a citizen in doing my part to vote for righteousness. Help me Lord that even after this day, to remember to continue in standing on the side of righteousness despite the uncertainties and challenges that may come my way in life. Lord, I want the best for this nation, and I hope that this nation will change for the better. Help me O Lord, together with other brothers and sisters in Christ, to be faithful in praying for the elected authorities of this land. I pray that they will be God fearing men and women who will lead this nation with integrity and without compromise. Today, Malaysia will change and it will be for the better. In Jesus Precious Name I pray, Amen.

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“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.” (Proverbs 14:34)

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. For kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”(1 Timothy 2:1-4)



Result: Today (5 May 2013) was an amazing experience to be able to vote for the first time. In the school which I was allocated to vote in, there were four “saluran” (channels), and each “saluran” if I am not mistaken, were for four different registered age groups. I was assigned to the 4th “saluran”, and as I was making my way there when I realised that the queue for the 4th “saluran” had been unusually longer than the other three “saluran”.

As I was queuing, the queue behind me was getting much longer until we had to form a three layer spiral as there were not enough space to queue. Then, it occurred to me that the reason why the 4th “saluran” queue was that long was because there were many young and green voters just like myself coming to make a difference for our country for the first time.

I could see the excitement and enthusiasm on their faces and in the tone of their voices as they patiently waited in line for their turn in entering the classroom to cast their votes. I had estimated a two to three hours queue per person and it was kind of worth it! The actual “Results” will be out on Sunday, and all we can now do is continue to be praying people just as what the church has been continuously and faithfully doing since the day the election was called for.

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MINISTRIES &EVENTS: Street MinistryPray: There will be enough volunteers to help prepare meals in blessing those who are homeless. The homeless will come to know the love of God and will have a heart that is receptive to receive

salvation in Jesus Christ. There will be proper job creation to help these homeless people to be on their feet and be able to

have the opportunity to build a life of their own. Welfare homes and the Government will step in to provide these homeless people proper shelter,

food, medical care and other basic necessities.

For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’ (Deuteronomy 15:11)

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SERMON: A Nation under God Pray: We will be a nation that looks to God and not Man in all things (to seek God first in all things). We will be strong in our standing with God in choosing to be righteous in all that we do. There will be a genuine fear of God across the nation and to be conscious that God is a God who

judges. We will treat each other with dignity and respect. To have genuine love for one another especially for the poor and marginalised and to desire

peace for the nation.

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.” (Zechariah 8:7-8)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+15%3A11&version=ESV

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



ATRANSFORMED WORLD: North Korea threats to attack South Korea, Japan and US BasesNorth Korea has conducted their 3rd nuclear test in February 2013 and they have threatened to attack South Korea, Japan and US bases in the region if they do not comply with their demands.

Pray: God will intervene to prevent any nuclear attacks from taking place. The work of the evil one will

be nullified. The North Koreans will be confounded with their any warmongering intent and that their weapons

will fail to achieve any destructive means. The church in South Korea will grow stronger and bolder in sharing the truth about Jesus Christ

and that the church will provide strength and courage for the nation. God will turn situations around and help change the hearts of the North Koreans to differentiate

between what is right and wrong, and to seek peace instead of war.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

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MALAYSIA MY NATION: Post-ElectionAfter the elections on 5 May, let us continue to pray that post-election, the nation will see godly transformation and become a great nation under the appointed government.

Pray: There will be a good and peaceful acceptance by all parties over the results of the election. God will bless the travellers with journey mercy as they travel back to their respective places of

work/studies to resume their life. God will remove all fear that has been instilled upon the people and from rumours that are

untrue. God’s people will continue to pray faithfully for the country and the authorities that have been

elected. Any irregularities will be investigated properly and the right action taken against those who have

broken the law.

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalms 91: 1-2)

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