Peter Costello's Message On Australia Day

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

“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!