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February 3 is the anniversary of Richard Johnson’s first sermon on Australian soil. He preached from Psalm 116:12-13,

What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I shall lift up the cup of Salvation and call upon the name of the Lord… to You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call on the name of the Lord.

The preaching of the Gospel, brought to Australia with the First Fleet, spread through the nation, and the Word of God became the foundation for our government, our courts of law and our education system. This set Australia on solid ground and has indeed brought God’s blessing to this ‘lucky’ country. However, as we are all aware, this is being undermined by other anti-God agendas, and the Bible is being pushed out of society.

Casting Aside the Anchor

Humanism took a leap forward in May 2022 when Anthony Albanese was elected to government. All previous Prime Ministers from the formation of the nation had respected the normal protocol of placing their hand on the Bible to take office. Albanese became Australia’s first Prime Minister NOT to swear on a Bible, but took his oath on a secular affirmation. This opened a legal door for Satan to attack and God’s judgement to fall on the country. This door needs to be shut.

While at the World Prayer Assembly in Perth last year, the Lord called me to spiritual mapping anew and surprised me by saying the door to the Varroa Destructor Mite needed to be closed. While I knew about the Varroa mite, it was so strange that God would call someone who knew virtually nothing about bees to such an assignment! However, obedience is paramount, not avoidance or questioning, so I set about researching this plague.

The Varroa Destructor Mite

The Varroa destructor mite is a parasite that attacks the honeybees. They were first detected in two sentinel hives at the Port of Newcastle on 22 June 2022. By August, there were 99 infested sites. It quickly spread to the greater Newcastle area, Hunter Valley and Central Coast areas.

14,000 hives were euthanised (including many that were not even infested!) before the authorities gave up on eradication and have, as of 19 Sept 2023, now moved to control management such as mite-targeting pesticides, and worldwide breeding programs to develop Varroa-resistant bees. There have been 260 outbreaks from Coffs Harbour to the Victorian border to date.

Before 2022, Australia had been free of this pest, although they were common throughout Europe, Asia, the USA, New Zealand and South America. The mites weaken, hinder productivity and reproduction and eventually kill the bees. They not only affect honey production, but also all the crops that rely on bees for pollination. This is a major threat to our Australian food production.

Plague/Pestilence in Scripture

Plagues are always associated with the judgement of God. War, disaster, famine, vicious animals and plague/pestilence are common judgements (Jer ch 28 and 29, Ezek 14:21). They have consequences not only for the individual, but also the nation or group.

God’s Purpose

God’s purpose in plagues is to bring us to humble ourselves, fast, pray and repent so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth (Ex 9:14). He calls the intercessors and priests to respond and stand in the gap for the nation (Joel 2:12-18).

2 Chron 7:13-14 ~ If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 

What is God saying?

Honey represents the goodness of the Lord poured out on this land of milk and honey, which we have offered to idols instead of being offered back to the Lord in thanksgiving.

There shall be no strange god among you; Nor shall you worship a foreign god. I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. But My people did not listen to My voice, and Israel did not obey Me.

So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk by their own plans. Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! … But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you. (Psalm 81:9-16)

We need to repent of idolatry, ungratefulness, independence, disobedience, and not preaching His Word, and plead for God’s mercy.

Legal Right and Timing

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much pure gold;
Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, Your servant is warned by them;
In keeping them there is great reward.
~ Psalm 19:9-11

When we prayed about the legal right that had allowed this plague to enter our gates, the Lord led us to the head of government, who had disdained His Word instead of it being sweet to his lips. The Lord then gave us the date of February 3 to do the assignment in Newcastle to shut the gate to the mite at the port where it had entered, and to pray for the restoration of the Word of God to our nation, being the anniversary of Richard Johnson’s first sermon.

We will thank God for His goodness. The prayer assignment is also wedged between significant events in the nation on the Australia Day weekend, and the Word of God being read in full outside Parliament House in Canberra. Perhaps God will give the Prime Minister a second chance to re-establish the nation on the Word of God?

Join us online or in person

There is a local Newcastle team, and some from Sydney and the Central Coast who will do the assignment in person. There will also be some praying at the Richard Johnson memorial in Sydney. Furthermore, there will be an online Zoom prayer and worship team from 12-4 p.m., backing us up on this critical day to re-establish God’s Word as the anchor of our nation. For more information and the Zoom link, contact Jill Curry: Tel 0431 403 843 or email gatekeeperpost@gmail.com