Call to Pray with Tasmania

The Tasmanian church has invited the rest of Australia to stand with them as one united church in our nation in a declaration to release the name and Lordship of Jesus Christ as light over Tasmania  especially during the Dark Mofo festival 8-21 June in Hobart. Mona’s winter festival- Dark Mofo- invites people to “celebrate the dark” through ancient solstice rituals involving the sacrifice of a bull, around 500 litres of blood, public nudity and specific anti-Christ activities.

(See more information from Tasmania’s Prayer Network Leaders below)

We invite you to read the following declaration aloud in your personal prayer, your prayer groups and to circulate it widely: 

Greetings to the saints all over Australia from the saints in Tasmania.

Thank you for standing with us this month as part of one nation and one body.

We speak out the following in the mighty and wonderful name of Jesus:

We declare that the Lord is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.[1]

All praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.[2]

We declare that the name of God is exalted and powerful. Lord you are God most high. You are the great I AM.[3] You are the Alpha and the Omega. You Lord are mighty to save. You are with us and take delight in us rejoicing over us with singing.[4] We declare that you are our loving Father, you are greater than all and you will not allow any of yours to be snatched out of your hands.[5]

Jesus, God elevated you to the highest place and gave you the name that is above all other names[6]. You are Jesus, Son of God[7], Son of the Most High,[8] Messiah[9], Emmanuel, Prince of Peace[10] and Redeemer of the world[11].  Jesus, you are the image of the invisible God and the firstborn over all creation. All things have been created by you: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by you and for you. You are before all things and in you all things hold together. And you are the head of the church, Jesus, your body. You are also the beginning and the firstborn from the dead, so that in everything you might have supremacy. God was pleased to have his fullness dwell in you and through you to reconcile to himself all things on earth or in heaven, by making peace through your blood Jesus, shed on the cross. [12]

Father, Son and Holy Spirit you are the one true God. We declare your supremacy over Tasmania and acknowledge you are calling your church to shine your light. We declare that Jesus has come into the world to destroy the works of the enemy.[13]  Jesus, you are the Sovereign Lord. We declare all things to be under your feet Jesus[14] and all must bow at the mention of your name.[15] We declare that the Cross is a symbol of your love and sacrifice to save the whole world and of the power of God to save.[16] You Lord Jesus are the only one who takes away the sins of the world.[17]

You are the true light that came into the world and overcame darkness.[18] We speak out from Isaiah “Arise shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you…”[19]

We declare Lord Jesus that you are the Word that was with God and the Word was God.[20]We praise and thank you Lord that as your Word is read during the Bible Reading Marathon it will go forth, that it will not return to you empty and it will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

We praise, honour and thank you Lord, that your love reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve both human and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love.[21]Pour your love into Hobart and Tasmania like a priceless and ever flowing liquid revealing your glory, your love and your presence, in Jesus’ Name. Amen

[1] Dan 6:26 [2] Eph 1:3 [3] Ex 3:14; Jn 8:58 [4] Zep 3:17 [5] John 10:29 [6] Phil 2:9 [7] Mark 1:1 [8] Lk 1:32 [9] John 1:41; Matt 16:13-20 [10] Isa 9:6 [11] John 3:16-17; ! Cor 1:30; [12] Col 1:15-20 [13] 1 Jn 3:8 [14] Eph 1:22 [15] Phil 2:10 [16] 1 Cor 1:18 [17] John 1:29[18] John 1:9; Jn 8:12 [19] isa 60:1-2 [20] John 1:1 [21] Ps 36: 5-7

In response the Australia Watch has issued a statement to Tasmania:

Greetings to the saints in Tasmania,

We, the family of God, across the rest of Australia confess we had not discerned the intensity of the battle that you are facing in Tasmania and ask your forgiveness for not supporting you until now.

We stand as one body and one nation with you and in agreement with your declaration (below).

We also declare:
You are the beloved, held in the Father’s love. (1 John 3:1-3)
You stand in the victory that our Lord Jesus Christ has already won for us! (1 Corinthians 15:56-58)
You are sheltered in our Lord Almighty, our refuge and fortress, in whom we trust. (Psalm 91)
Your unity is establishing a light stand in Hobart that is upholding Jesus’ name and Lordship in the darkness. (Matthew 18:18-20, 5:14-16)

Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood on a rock by a river at a pagan temple known as the “gates of hell” and declared the gates of hell will not prevail against his church! (Matthew 6:15-19)

Elijah, the servant of the Lord, stood on Mt Carmel where many have sought to establish pagan worship. Elijah’s prayer was not for fire because God’s sovereign actions are not commanded – they are His response when we declare his will. Elijah’s prayer revealed his motives and we honour the motive, focus and united actions of the church in Hobart. You’ve used the challenge you are facing to draw all to focus on God. We bless you as you collaborate to publically pray, worship, read the Word of God and share the gospel with Elijah’s prayer:

  1. “Let it be known today that you are God in Israel… and all Australia.” We stand together in a contest about who is the real God in our nation, ‘Ba’al or the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob.’
  2. “Let it be known today that I am your servant…” May we hear clearly and humbly obey all God commands us to do.
  3. “Let it be known today that you are turning their hearts back again…” We pray with you that the Israelites and Australians will acknowledge their God again and declare, “The Lord He is God! The Lord He is God!” (1 Kings 18:36-40)

The same God who revealed himself to Israel is the Lord of Tasmania and all Australia! May all see Jesus so all hearts are captivated by Him and all bow to worship the one God – Yahweh – present among us through Jesus His Son and His Holy Spirit! In faith we see the darkness over Tasmania and our nation dispersed and Christ’s light shining through to fulfil the destiny Christ has for Tasmania.

With deep gratitude and love we bless you in the name of Jesus,

Australian Watch and all who stand with us.

More Information from Tasmania’s Prayer Network Leaders June 2017

Beloved of the Lord, We are sending this to you across the nation to invite you to stand with us and urge you to pray for our State of Tasmania during the month of June. This is a season to be alert in the Kingdom, keeping eyes on the Lord and following His lead, celebrating Kingdom advances and standing against darkness. What we are Facing For two weeks from 8th June to 21st June Tasmania, especially Hobart, hosts a Dark Mofo Winter Festival over the winter solstice. There are events in 26 different locations state-wide, though Hobart is the focus.   (See Dark Mofo website for details.) This has been building for five years now, every year holding more graphic events becoming more openly pagan in its focus upon all things dark. This year the colour red and the cross are being used as emblems of the Festival, raised up on many key buildings in Hobart and the attitude appears as a mocking of the Lord. Events include • the sacrificing of a bull on Sat 17th in an unknown location with participants invited to cover themselves in its blood – all in the name of art. Herman Nitschke leads this. Much public protest, including by animal rights activists, has failed to see this withdrawn though the consumption of the animal and its blood been banned. • on solstice night a street parade of idols (like you’d see in Hindu Bali) where the effigy is burned along with any written statements that have been put in it (inviting children & others to write things such as sins, guilt). This year the main effigy is a Tasmanian Devil. (Sunday 18th 5-6pm) • a nude swim on 21st June at dawn to ‘welcome back the light’. • 450 loudspeakers atop city buildings as a ‘Siren Song’ (with incantations) to awaken citizens to the light daily and to rally them to celebrate the night in the evenings. The festival brings in large numbers of people and money which ensures its continuing support base through Mona, local Councils and State Government. Our response and how you can support in Prayer: Repentance Father, as God’s people we repent for the times we have been silent, disunited and hard hearted toward a seeking community who are looking in places other than to You Lord. We repent for our lack of faithfulness and lack of trust in You Lord God, Redeemer and Sanctifier. We repent on behalf of our State, Tasmania, for all that is going on that displeases You and mocks all that Jesus did on the Cross. We repent on behalf of those who have embraced the different aspects of this festival or its way of life. We repent on behalf of our State for turning away from the One True God and embracing other gods. Please forgive us our sins and lead us in the way of righteousness. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen. Exchanging evil for good We know that what the enemy intends for evil the Lord can turn for good. We claim in Jesus’ Name that all evil be overturned and the good rise up, including a recognition of the goodness of God. We pray Father that the red lights across the city of Hobart will speak of the precious Blood of Christ and His loving sacrifice. We pray that the crosses being used will speak of Christ and his self giving for all who will believe in His name and believe that he died and rose again from the dead. We pray that the attempt to use them to discredit the name of Christianity will be turned on its head and that they will loudly remind 1 the enemy of Christ and His victory. We pray that as the Cross is lifted high people will be drawn to Jesus! We pray Father for revelations of Jesus on Calvary. In Jesus Name. Amen. Celebrating and honouring what God is doing in Tasmania In Tasmania we are seeing a great stirring of prayer and activity in response to this dark festival never before seen. The Church is starting to wake up. As well as joining us in the declaration would you please stand with us and pray for the following to strengthen our arms? There are teams of evangelists going out on the streets of Hobart every day and night, as well as Christian artists doing street art as a door-opener to conversations. There happens to be 3 YWAM outreach teams in Hobart currently going out across the state to witness to God’s love and power. One of these is due to finish up tomorrow. The Anglican Cathedral is hosting a public Bible Reading Marathon for 4 days (cover to cover) starting today 14-18th June and has invited all churches to be involved. There are Anglican, Pentecostal, Baptist, Presbyterian and other denominations all taking 3 hour slots to read. This has never happened before in Hobart. Simultaneously Prayer slots are also being filled in the Cathedral and around the state in support of this, for the Word going out to accomplish God’s purposes, and for God to touch and reveal Himself to the people of our city. The Anglican bishop also stepped in and stopped any Anglican church from hosting any music/art event associated with the dark festival. The Catholic church is also doing a walk through Hobart on June 18th as part of its regular celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi which focuses on the Eucharist itself. That same morning there is a major worship meeting happening on the waterfront, held by a group that have led worship seminars on the waterfront every year since the festival started. God told them to build a platform of praise in the midst of the darkness. The song ‘Jesus we enthrone You’ says, ‘as we worship build Your throne’. There is a sense that our worship throughout these two weeks will be very significant – that rather than magnifying and being distracted by the things of darkness we are called to magnify and exalt the Lord to take His place in our midst, far above all powers, principalities, world rulers of this present darkness etc. Father, we celebrate all these things that You are currently doing in Hobart and in Tasmania. We thank You that the word is being publicly proclaimed and claim that it will be to Your glory. We give thanks for the great cloud of witness who have gone before and the dedicated prayer teams who have lifted this city and State up before You over the years. We give thanks for the person who was converted today in the cathedral and pray that he be one of many turning to Christ over these days and nights. We give You thanks for all the saints in our nation who are standing with us in unity at such a time. We give You thanks for the promise of a Psalm 133 blessing for Tasmania and the nation of Australia. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen. Thank you for standing with us. Tasmania’s Prayer Network Leaders June 2017

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