Australia Day 1996 Brisbane and Word Over Indigenous Australians
Barbara Miller – On Australia Day 1996, Norman and Barbara were invited by Rev Jim Nightingale to sing and speak respectively at an Australia Day event in Brisbane organized by the House of Prayer for all Nations. Barbara prophesied after reading Ezekiel 37 to the dry bones of Aboriginal people that life and breath would enter them and they would rise up as a mighty army of the Lord. There was a sense of hopelessness and a spirit of death over them. Barbara prophesied to the breath to come from the four winds so that those that were dead in the spirit could come to spiritual life. She also prophesied a spirit of Joseph over the Aboriginal people of Australia that they would rise up and take their rightful spiritual authority and rulership in the land and that they would be able to forgive their brothers like Joseph and say “you intended to harm me but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. (Gen 50:20)
(These scriptures have been very special to us since then and we used them both at our International Conference on Reconciliation and Peace in 1998, the Spirit of Joseph, Gen 50:20 being the subtitle. Barbara has written a song called “Can these bones live?” In our church one evening as we were praying (late 1996), Barbara had been walking around the church outside praying and when she came back inside the church, Norman had the group facing the four directions to pray and Barbara had a word that the dead would be vomited up and coughed up from the land and the sea and we were to call them forth so we did. Barbara later asked the Lord why He asked us to call forth the dead but He explained that it was the spiritually dead we were calling to life.)
October 1996
Barbara Miller – About two weeks before opening our church, the Lord gave me this word when we were at the first Praise Corroboree meeting in Canberra. It was in response to my asking what needed to be broken spiritually over this nation. Apart from the obvious racial prejudice and discrimination and denominational disunity,
there was:
“1. A Spirit of Isolation because Australia’s cultural ties are mainly to mother England and sister America. It’s an island away from these places situated near Asia and the Pacific, culturally, socially, economically etc very different.
2. Siege Mentality – fear of Asian hordes with little land and many people overrunning our land of wide-open spaces and few people. Also, many Australians see Asian immigration as infiltration by an enemy who threatens our security – economic security.
3. Fear of Retaliation – by Aboriginal people because deep down they know this land is stolen.
4. Spirit of Mammon – Since the new government came in, there’s been a real emphasis on accountability, lowering the budget of Aboriginal Affairs, an attack on Aboriginal leadership through ATSIC, amendments to the Native Title Act and a refusal by John Howard and John Herron to ask for forgiveness of what this nation did before the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission stolen children enquiry.
But the Lord showed me that accountability is seen in a very narrow sense and it’s an attempt by Satan to turn things in the opposite direction.
Everyone will one day stand before God and be personally accountable for their sin. But nations are accountable before God also. The larger issues of accountability in this country do not relate to use of government funds as the spirit of mammon would have us believe (though it is an issue to deal with).
The bigger issue is accountability for the blood of Aboriginal people that cries out from the ground and for the stolen generations of children and the theft of land. Accountability of Aboriginal organisations is like a smokescreen to hide this wider accountability.
Australia prides itself on being the land of the fair go where the underdog is championed and tall poppies are cut down. However, the “fair go” is being used against Aboriginal people and used to support the “Aussie white battler”.
It’s the spirit of mammon that makes people judge policies by the effect on their hip pocket.
6. Counterfeit Spirit of Justice – But it’s also a counterfeit spirit of justice that is twisting the concept of a “fair go”. Non-Aborigines are being told that they are being discriminated against by government policies that favour Aboriginal and Islander people.
Satan is not only blinding the people of this world against seeing the good news of the gospel but also against seeing the injustice and unrighteousness in this country.
There is a wide gap in perception between white people who see Aboriginals as “land grabbing” and Aboriginals who see the great land grab as having occurred with white invasion of this country and now only some of it is conceded back through Native Title Acts and Land Rights Acts.
This counterfeit spirit of justice makes Aborigines look like they are making unjust, unfair demands.
The counterfeit spirit of justice also encourages Aborigines and others to work for just causes in unjust ways and thereby they are defeated. The counterfeit spirit of justice uses anger, resentment, bitterness and revenge as methods and motivations whereas the godly spirit of justice uses methods and motivations of love, forgiveness, mercy, grace and compassion. That’s how we discern the difference in the spirit.
The recent demonstration by unionists and Aboriginals etc where Parliament House was vandalised was an attempt by the enemy to stop this Praise Corroboree.
We need to bind and break spirits of isolation, siege mentality, fear of retaliation by Aborigines, fear of difference, a spirit of mammon, a counterfeit spirit of justice, spirits of denominational disunity and racial prejudice and division.
We need to pray in, declare, impart and release over Australia a bond of love and understanding with Asia and the Pacific, a spirit of safety and security, a love of diversity, a spirit of sharing, giving and blessing, a godly justice, unity across the churches and racial tolerance and unity.”
Barbara did not have the opportunity to share the word.
October 1996 Praise Corroboree Canberra
Norman Miller shared the following word the first morning in Parliament House Canberra just before the Prime Minister John Howard came in and was prayed for by Aboriginal Christian leaders. We were leading the praise and worship with Phil Barlow:
“There is a sweeping wind blowing of My spirit. It is flowing to the North, to the South, to the East and to the West. I am looking for men and women who will stand in the gap on behalf of this world and nation.
All over the world My Spirit is moving. All over this nation My spirit is moving. All over the church My Spirit is moving. My spirit is moving in and through you, My people. Pray, humble yourselves before Me. Turn and seek My face. Turn away from these distractions. Seek Me, seek Me, seek Me and I will be found by you.
I the Lord your God am raising up a vast army. It is My army saith the Lord. Can you hear the sound, a rattling sound, a joyous sound, a heavenly sound?
The Body of Christ coming together in unity, the Body of Christ marching together in unity, restoration and healing in My name. This is the season and time of My favour. This is the day of salvation. Army of the Living God rise up, rise up, rise up. For I am the Resurrection and the Life” saith the Lord.
Oct 96 church opening, first service
Barbara Miller – This church will be a miracle working church, the blind will see, deaf ears will open and the lame will walk but the biggest miracle of all is salvation.
This church will be a church of healing, not just physical healing but body, mind and spirit. The Healer is Jesus, and on the Cross, He healed our relationship with God, the biggest healing that could ever occur in our lives.
This church will be a church of justice but God’s justice is always tempered by His love. The most crucial act of justice that ever occurred was when Jesus took the punishment upon Himself for all the evil that has ever been or ever will be committed in the world. A just God must punish injustice. But He is also a God of love. While God hates injustice, He loves the sinner. Because of God’s love, Jesus took our place to receive punishment and we find our pardon and freedom in Him. We only have to take hold of the gift He offers us and believe what He has done.
This church will be a prophetic church but the most important word God gave us was when He breathed life into us and life anew when we are born again. We can continually receive the Word by reading the Bible and we have His word in us when we have His Son Jesus in us.
This church will be a church of spiritual warfare but the most important spiritual warfare that ever occurred was on the Cross when Jesus defeated Satan and made a public spectacle of him. The most important spiritual warfare we can do is to give our hearts to Jesus and live our lives becoming more like Him day by day. We warfare by our character, just by being who we are in Christ.
This church will be a church of intercession. But the most important intercession ever was done by Jesus for us on the Cross and He still intercedes for us with God.
THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS IS CENTRAL!!!”
I believe the Lord is saying to us that “to whom much is given, much will be required” (Luke 12:48)
Nov 1996 First World Gathering of Indigenous Peoples, NZ
This is a word that the Lord gave to Norman in New Zealand at the in November 1996 and he painted a large canvas of Australia with the Holy Spirit as a dove over Uluru and healing waters radiating out from the centre:
Norman Miller – For I the Lord your God will heal and bring healing to the nations.
Hear the word of the Lord H.E.A.L.I.N.G. Healing every aching life internationally, nationally and generationally. Rivers of healing will flow, rivers of the love of God will flow, rivers of the fruits of My Spirit will flow, rivers of mercy, rivers of justice, rivers of righteousness, rivers of compassion, rivers of grace, rivers of unity, rivers of reconciliation, rivers of forgiveness, rivers of repentance will flow, rivers of vision, healing rivers flowing internationally, nationally, generationally. These are the rivers of revival, maintain in the rivers. In these I delight, rivers of life and resurrection. I will open the floodgates of heaven with rivers of refreshing to the nations of the world and to the nation of Australia. I am pouring out, pouring, pouring out My Spirit.