Following is the historic message given by the Hon. Peter Costello (former Federal Treasurer) for the Australia Day United Prayer Celebration, organized by CTFM at the Melbourne Town Hall, where more than 1500 Christians from many churches, denominations, and cultures came together as the Body of Christ from across our nation to declare Australia for Jesus!
Link to the Hon. Peter Costello’s Video Message: Peter Costello’s Message on Australia Day 2009
Link to the Hon. Peter Costello’s Video Message: Peter Costello’s Message on Australia Day 2009
“Good morning to everybody that is meeting together in the Melbourne Town Hall on this Australia day. I can’t think of a more important thing to be doing than to Unite in Prayer on this, our National day for our nation. And I bring you special greetings to each and every one of you that is there today and is praying for our nation standing in prayer on its behalf for it and for all of our people.
Many Australians don’t know that shortly after the 1st Australia day January the 26th, the first sermon was ever preached on Australian soil by the chaplain that came out with the first fleet. The chaplain took as his text a verse from the Psalms, and he preached a sermon on these words. “What shall I render to the lord for all his benefits to me?” Course the benefits that he was preaching about was the coming of the First fleet to Australia, the landing and the establishment of the new country.
As we look back over hundreds of years of Australian history, we can still see the benefits of God to us in this country. A wonderful country, wonderful people that’s given a home to those that have come from all over the world, a country that has had a peaceful history and a prosperous history, a country that is now respected around the world. Of course the following verse of that psalm goes on to say, “what shall I render to the Lord for all of his benefits to me” goes on to say “I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.” And of course, what greater gift is there than the gift that God has given us in Jesus Christ. The cup of salvation, and what more can we do than to take hold of it and call upon the name of the Lord, which is what you are doing today in the Melbourne Town Hall.
One of the things that has been absolutely central to the development of Australia and the foundation of our society is that Biblical heritage, the heritage that we have through the Scriptures, and through the Ten Commandments, respect for our Maker, respect for our fellow citizens, respect for property, respect for the laws that God has laid down. That’s been the foundation of our society. It’s been the basis of our peaceful tolerance of each other and of order. It has been the basis of creating opportunity for so many Australian’s. If we forget that tradition, if we walk away from those God given commandments, then we as a society will be threatened with the breakdown of that order, will be threatened with losing our heritage and loosing opportunity. So I want to say to you, those that are praying for Australia today, to pray that this nation will always remember its foundations, and always be true to them, and always live according to those laws. There are many people today that are telling us that religion is all a lot of superstition, that the laws that have been laid down, of respect for individuals, property and for our creator are all a load of nonsense, that don’t respect life. If we fall for that trap, if Australia falls for that trap then the very basis of our society and its order will be threatened. That’s why we need Christian people to pray for our country, we will never understand the way in which God moves. But we know that if his people pray, He will hear that they will be a light to the nation and the nation will be covered and protected by Godly people who are giving direction and standing for it in prayer. And I thank you for what you are doing today and can I encourage you to continue in it.
May God bless you and may God bless our country in this year 2009.”
I encourage you to pass on these details throughout your congregation, denomination, ministry, movement, and additional spheres of Kingdom influence as the Lord continues to unite the Body of Christ in corporately praying for Australia’s spiritual transformation in 2009!
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4 comments:
He doesn't understand scripture very well, and its a very left brain legalistic- British sort of feel- I don't really like it. He's speaking as if God is not even there. I think we need to speak and pray, that we are closer to Christ. Its not about law- law has created many of the problems we face. I am not an enemy of law, I just know in Australia as with most places it is highly corrupted, with many innocent victims getting done over and many guilty people getting away with murder.
Yes prayer for the country is good, but praying for the system is shite. We should pray that God gets His way- this could mean the system falls. Have we placed our values in the wrong place ?
I have always wondered about the spiritual health of PC, the brother have been known to have conflicts, especially with PC's economic rationalism and liberal party 'look after the big man' policies.
Probably the thing I respect the most about PC, apart from resisting uncle Johnny, is his push for a Republic, yet the form this could take could be negative, as Australia is so immiature. I actually agree with the Pope who called Australia, 'The first Pagan Nation.'
Unlike the US, as screwed up as it is, and has been for so long. God has spared it because of an epicentre of faithful real, beautiful humble and strong, forceful believers, who don't compromise their good loving nature. People like Jimmy Carter and Billy Graham and Rick Warren, even with his very biblical 'homophobic comments' (I liked what a commentator said about the right to have different ideas- multi-partisan positions in response to RW's strong statements about homosexuality). It was great he used the various names of Jesus in the inauguration prayer.
Australia, has just an air of this spirituality- Rudd and Costello.P are questionable Christians, yet its great they put their faith out there. Like someone told me, there is just a pinch of sincere Christianity in Australia.
On prayer, sure revival will never happen without this. And yes, we are not told to rebel against the system, but encourage our leaders- which is You and I, because we are a democracy. You see the church is already there, its normal democratic society, under some ethereal God- usually at a concert of some sort. Its not in the steeple places. What need to happen, is for the Jesus to enter the fellowship, outside the steeple boxes somehow, that the cynical nature of Australians, that crude engineers and science, spirit of seeimg is believing is broken by a mystical reorientation within, before the Buddhists achieve this (which may already be the case). We have defaulted Australia's spirituality by de-Jesusing the church into a club community and getting too scientifically apologetic and self interested by discipling people narrow minded enough to follow us instead of Christ. This needs to be shaken, harder than a milkshake. I need to be cracked, by a person who has discernment, but they are no longer there it seems- except maybe my father- but that's an awkward dynamic. And it goes to show that the only dude, who God will let shake you, isn't Phil in the alter call to be slain in the Spirit. Its the work daily of the blood of Christ and power of the Spirit, burning the sin away, desperate to be real in Christ, in society deluded by its vain imaginings.
Unless we get good at communicating the gospel and get closer to the Lord, we're gonna fry. For now it seems the best hope is being missionised by other nations.
What do we need to pray- not for our system that has seen us become a pagan nation. We need to pray repentance and while I disagree with many of Al Stewart's ideas, who prays that God gives more trouble, so people will repent and come to Christ. And off course that starts with us, LEST WE FORGET, that we are TOTAL HYPOCRITES if talk without walk- I'll repent now- thank you Lord- Amen !
Great reminder that 'we are TOTAL HYPOCRITES if we only talk without walk.'
I am glad you repent Alf!
Those of you with long memories may recall the minor controversy that erupted before the last federal election when Danny Naliah of CTFM revealed details of a private meeting he had with Peter Costello. Naliah claimed that God had revealed to him that Costello would become Prime Minister, and so he met with Costello to prayerfully anoint him for this office. As we all know, Labor won the election, and Costello may leave politics before the next election. Was this mentioned at the Australia Day prayer meeting?
Ross, this was not mentioned at the Australia Day prayer meeting. I suppose that had nothing to do with Peter Costello's Message on Australia Day.
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