The Fight Goes On (A New David)

There are some basic assumptions that I think every believer should know - like who are the major prophets? and why are they called major prophets instead of minor prophets? Sometimes I suspect the teaching in Sunday School is very weak, like many children going through six or seven years of Sunday School hardly know much about the Bible. The battle for biblical literacy goes on. Yesterday I preached a sermon that requires much background knowledge of history, politics and wars during the rise of David and the reign of David over Israel.

Then, I told the church that even after 250 years when Isaiah and Hosea prophesied, the prophets still spoke of David, a future David. I started to introduce all three major prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, all three mentioned a future David as king or leader of God's people in a restored kingdom or people (Isaiah 55:3-5; Jeremiah 23:4-6; Ezekiel 37:22-24). 

In Isaiah, the everlasting mercies promised to David, being a witness to the nations, leader and commander of God's peoples, and that nations shall run to Israel which I interpret that a spiritual leader today will win over nations and peoples will be added to the church. In Jeremiah, a righteous branch to David, one who is just and a wise ruler doing justice and righteousness in the land. In Ezekiel, a king who will unite the two separate kingdoms into one, a united Israel like in the times of David and that when this new David is king, the people of God will walk in His ways and obey His commandments. 

I told them about a spiritual leader being one who leads God's people to obey God and Jesus' commission is that his disciples teach those they in turn disciples to do what Jesus has commanded them to do, at least as presented in the Gospel of Matthew. 

Then, I read Hosea 3:4-5 where it is written for a long time, Israel lived without a king and a leader, and it seems to be the case when leadership is missing or is so ineffective that the people of God dwell aimlessly and in fact the percentage of Christians is falling starkly (from at least 35% of the population 30 years ago to now at most 24%) and if only the evangelicals are counted, then we are less than 10 percent (possibly only 5%) of the whole State's population of 4 million people. 

The fight goes on. For spiritual discernment and engagement. For the people to rise up and pray for the selection and election of church leaders. A fight against apathy, as if everything is fine. But things do not remain static, either we are winning or losing. Either we are advancing the cause of the kingdom of God or we are ceding ground. In the midst of the sermon, I said Christians in Sabah are like the Israelites at the time of the death of King Saul, disunited, small, oppressed by every side - the growth of other religions far exceeding Christianity in Sabah and unless they are leaders like David, and future leaders rising up, we would be in even more trouble.