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Nation Building

Rev Dr Colin Hurt
23-09-2018

Romans 13:1 New King James Version (NKJV)
Submit to Government
13 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

What is the most fundamentally important thing in a nation?

Law takes precedence over people.

In England, the magna carta--authority transferred from the sovereign to the people--signed in 1215 by King John.

Moses incorporated into a nation to build a nation. Israel was a theocracy to be ruled by God. The same principles are fundamental to forming a New Malaysia.

The battle is not over. It is a new opportunity but we can miss that. Israel missed that for 40 years. They spent 40 years in the wilderness.

The church is a vital part.

Moses gave Israel the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:1-11 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Ten Commandments
20 And God spoke all these words, saying:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [a]bondage.

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor [b]serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting[c] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

It is fundamental that, as a nation, we have the freedom to worship God--freedom of religion.

In Great Britain last time, you cannot preach unless you have the license from the Anglican Church.

The founding founders of America established the freedom of religion.

We have to pray that the freedom that we have right now will continue.

Exodus 20:12 New King James Version (NKJV)
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Another fundamental right is the right of the family. Defend the rights of the family. Strong families build strong nations.

Exodus 20:13 New King James Version (NKJV)
13 “You shall not murder.

A national defense of the right to live--before birth and after birth.

Exodus 20:14 New King James Version (NKJV)
14 “You shall not commit adultery.

This is a national defense for the institution of marriage.

Matthew 19:5 New King James Version (NKJV)
and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

Strong marriages produce strong families.

A nation must defend marriage. 

Exodus 20:15 New King James Version (NKJV)
15 “You shall not steal.

This a national defense of property rights. No nation has the right to take away a property earned by right labour.

Excessive taxation is robbery. 

Exodus 20:16 New King James Version (NKJV)
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

National defense of legal rights. The people should be able to go to a court of law and believe they will get justice.

We need an independent judiciary.

Believe in that for Malaysia. 

Exodus 20:17 New King James Version (NKJV)
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

There must be a national sense of the inferiority of materialism.

Be satisfied with what you have.

Be content with what you are able get by your own labour and ingenuity.

These are God-given principles.

Can we ever rebel against government? 

"Nothing can justify the opposition of the subjects to the ruler but overt attempts on his part to change the constitution, or to rule contrary to law. When the ruler acts thus he dissolves the compact between him and his people; his authority is no longer binding, because illegal; and it is illegal because he is acting contrary to the laws of that constitution, according to which, on being raised to the supreme power, he promised to govern. This conduct justifies opposition to his government; but I contend that no personal misconduct in the ruler, no immorality in his own life, while he governs according to law, can justify either rebellion against him or contempt of his authority."
- Adam Clarke

We have the ability to say to government that "You are wrong" when they are not obeying the law that they're supposed to be defending.

The main principle is the principle of law.

Now we come to the people.

Exodus 18:21 New King James Version (NKJV)
21 Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

Character must be combined with skill.

Make sure you vote for people who know what they are doing.

Psalm 78:72 New King James Version (NKJV)
72 So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

David had integrity. He also had skill.

We need to pray for people with skill and integrity.

Men of truth speak and you believe what they say. When he makes a promise, you know he will keep it.

"Any church which is guilty of sheep stealing is guilty of electoral fraud like the politicians."

We have to change the fraud in the church first of all.

If we have honesty and integrity, then we are salt and light. 

The Church is the conscience of this nation.

We need men who are incorruptible who do not compromise the truth for the sake of finance.

Incorruptibility must begin with the House of God.

Otherwise we cannot impact the nation.

Integrity and honesty must go from federal to the local level.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 New King James Version (NKJV)
Pray for All Men
2 Therefore I [a]exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in [b]authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and [c]reverence.

We must be intensive in our praying and not become complacent.

But it is not over yet.

There's still a lot more grounds to be won and more battles to be fought.

For the sake of New Malaysia, we've got to do it.

Pray for the king.

Pray for the Prime Minister, past and present. And pray for Prime Ministers to be. We are wrestling against principalities and powers. 

Pray that the principles of God's Word will become reality in this nation. 

Pray for every state, every state Sultan and Menteri Besar. From federal to local.

Pray for influential and political people to be challenged in the spirit world.

Pray for the church and the church's elders.

·         To conduct ourselves in a lawful manner by obeying rules and regulations enacted for the common good for all citizens.
·         To be patriotic through our support for and participation in genuine National causes, and all activities that promote acceptance, unity and progress.
·         To pay our taxes and rates to government for the provision and maintenance of social infrastructure and for the sustenance of public institutions.
·         To ensure the protection, maintenance and correct use of public property located in our neighborhoods.
·         To always be part of those who take a united stand against evil in the society.
·         To show interest and be honestly involved in the process of choosing leaders for our nations at all levels, within the ambits of the law.
·         To be involved in consistent and positive advocacy for Godly leadership on one hand, and campaign against abuse of authority, on the other.
·         To spiritually uphold our nation before God through all forms of prayers for our leaders, national institutions and citizens of the nation.
·         It is also our responsibility to shine as light through exemplary conduct in all our dealings at public, private, domestic or personal matters. To be a faithful steward in small matters is to be a faithful steward in great matters.

Get involved because we are salt and light.

Don't sit back. Don't be complacent.

Be participants.


Related:
Building A Nation that Honours God

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