During the “Bible reading marathon”, Rev Wong Kah Ngoun used the Bible to explain the theme “Awakening Sarawak: Rediscovering Our Identity”.

1. Use the Word to awaken Sarawak
Rev Wong explained that we need to use the Word to awaken Sarawak because “The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7). Christians need to be awakened, because they do not see many things clearly and are often ignorant, as if they were sleeping. So what can we do? Use God’s law; because the law is the Word of God, without blemish and able to awaken the sleeping people, and give wisdom to people so they can see the truth. This is the first awakening that the people of Sarawak need – to let the Word of God awaken us.

“In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1a). The Word is the truth. The truth is the eternal unchanging truth that we can have complete faith in. Truth is the foundation of everything. For example, the Bible tells us that marriage is instituted by God, a relationship between a man and a woman for a lifetime (Gen 2:18-25). When views on marriage deviate from this truth, it results in great pain and suffering and confusion. Is that not the situation in the world today?

Therefore, the people of Sarawak should seek and embrace truth, and build a Sarawak full of righteousness and peace. The Psalmist reminds us: “righteousness and peace kiss each other.” (Psalm 85:10b)

2. Understand that Jesus is the Word 
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1). “In the beginning” means “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), which is the period of time no one knows. It points to the God who has no beginning or end, the eternal God who created earth and time.

Who is this “Word”? John 1:14 clearly states: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14a). The author of the gospel of John proclaims here that the Word became the flesh of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6a). Jesus is the Word, the eternal truth. Jesus is the way, the only way to heaven. Jesus is life, and he gives eternal life to those who believe in him as their personal Savior.

The most important meaning of “Awaken” in the Bible is to “repent and turn” towards God and his only Son, Jesus. This is the second awakening that the people of Sarawak need. Only by obeying the teachings of God in the Bible can Sarawak have righteousness, peace and true prosperity.

Because “those who run after other gods will suffer more and more” (Psalms 16:4), the person or nation who does not see the Jehovah God as the only real God will surely be in trouble. The United States is a very good example. In November 1620, the Mayflower carried a group of Puritans from England to North America, and later in 1776 the United States of America was founded. This country was built on the foundation of the Bible. In less than 200 years, the United States developed into the most powerful country in the world, because of the blessings of the God she glorified.

American scholar David Barton observed that in the past 30 years, the power and morals of the United States is steadily declining. Why? He believes that the key reason is the Supreme Court’s decision of June 25, 1962. On that day, the court prohibited public schools across the country from public prayer. From then on, 39 million students lived in an unhealthy spiritual environment.

As the shadow of humanism grew over the country, people became more and more selfish. The objective truth of the Bible was set aside, leaving only relative truth and false truths. The obvious truths of the past cannot be openly proclaimed today, and atheism becomes a popular trend. Growing up in such an environment, many of the younger generation develop false values of human rights and are short-sighted, narcissistic, and materialistic. How can the failure of morality be a surprise? Or the nation’s fall from power astonishing? To leave the real God and to leave truth will only result in decay. This is the state of the world today, especially in the Western countries. Will it be our state too in the near future?

From this we see that the people and nation who do not uphold Jehovah as the true God will face endless troubles. Thus we must declare that Jesus is the true God, the source of truth and countless blessings.

3. Proclaim Jesus as the Word
As people of Sarawak, we can proclaim Jesus and testify to the Jesus we have experienced. How do we proclaim Jesus as the true Word? For the situation we are in, David teaches us very effectively in Psalm 57. King David fled from Saul into the cave and called upon the Almighty God for help (vv. 1-5). When he turned his eyes from his troubles to the Almighty God, victory came naturally (vv. 6-11).

Thus, David cried out, “My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.” (Psalm 57:7-8)

From this Psalm, we learn that there are 2 principles through 6 ways to proclaim Jesus as the true Word. The first principle is to awaken, the second is to be steadfast. The 6 ways are as following:

1. Steadfast belief in Jesus
Jesus is the true God, so we can be steadfast in this belief. It is a belief that stands today and will remain for all eternity. Jesus’ teachings are the immutable truth, and to obey them will bring blessings both in this life and the next. In a rapidly advancing world, we must be steadfast in our belief, so that we not only bring blessings upon ourselves, but also bring forth a spiritual environment that builds up lives. We also need to watch over our brothers and sisters, to stand by them on the road of truth.

2. Ask God’s blessings on the people
As people of God in Sarawak, we need to pray for all races, religions, and communities. We pray for God to pour out his blessings, for all good things come from God, who is the source of blessings. This is another area where we need to awaken and be steadfast, because Satan is looking for opportunities to attack the beloved people of God. Man is limited, but through prayer, boundaries can be broken. In God’s hands, things that we cannot accomplish are done. Since the “24-7” prayer movement of combined churches in 2014, God has already done many wondrous things in our midst.

3. Sacrificial love for the people Those who believe in Jesus live out Jesus’ sacrificial life. We live, not for our own profit, but to invest in things of eternal value. We believe that only such a life has eternal meaning – a life that seeks to bless others, regardless of the cost. We must awaken from the material world.

4. Obey the Holy
Word who lives among the people God’s people are different. We are different, because we obey the teachings of the Bible and live out a holy life as honest, pure, and harmonious people, using the power of belief in Christ to bring blessings to the nations. It is too pessimistic simply to be disappointed in our living environment, for this society needs to be awakened by the true Word. The people of God, who see beyond this world, live out the Word by building up sons of truth in a society of righteousness, peace, and harmony. This is an awakening movement to bless the nations.

5. Wise use of talents to serve the people
God gives his people different abilities to serve him. Some work in full time ministry, some are teachers, civil servants, or professionals, some are in politics. We each have a different role to play as we stand at our posts, offering what we have in order to build a society of righteousness, peace, freedom, democracy, and progress. Awakening will bring respect, admiration, encouragement, harmony, and a united spirit, while ending unnecessary infighting and arguments.

6. Fight for rights based on God’s will
As people of Sarawak, we have a sense of identity in this land. Hence we are concerned about our rights. We need to study law and history to ensure that the acts of fighting for our rights are also acts of righteousness. This awakening will have us standing on the side of the righteous God, ensuring our success. After we make sure our acts are righteous, we can fight steadfastly until God accomplishes his great works in our midst.

As the people of God, we do things very differently from others in one area – we have the kingdom mindset. We do not fight according to the plans of man, but that God’s perfect will be done among us, and the greatest blessings will come to the most number of people.

Once we have these awakenings, we can experience the root of awakening, and we can rejoice and celebrate! This is the internal world of the psalmist in Psalm 57 and the whole atmosphere of Psalms: the spirit awakens in the midst of suffering, and focus is turned from troubles to the Almighty God who makes all things possible for the psalmist. The psalmist is no longer afraid, his heart is steadfast and at peace, and he declares God’s praises!

Proclaiming our identity Through the awakenings as mentioned above, as people of God in Sarawak, we can be steadfast in making the following proclamations:

The Word awakens hearts,
the Word is truth;
Jesus is the Word,
this Word gives eternal life;
Eternally we preach the Word,
and bless the peoples.

Written by Rev Jonathan Wong
Translated by Joy Tie