The former Prime Minister returned to Perth this weekend to mark the 27th anniversary of the tennis champion’s controversial Pentecostal Victory Life Center church.

It is Mr Morrison’s first visit to Western Australia since his election defeat, thanks in part to a major shift in voters in the west.

But he told the congregation his loss was part of God’s plan for him – referencing his now infamous victory speech from 2019.

“Do you believe that if you lose an election, God still loves you and has a plan for you? he asked to applause and laughter.

“I do. I still believe in miracles. God secured your future, all of it. Yeah, even that track.

It is the second time since Mr Morrison lost the election that he has stood before the faithful. In his final hours as prime minister, he held back tears as he addressed his Horizon Church in Sydney’s south.

Former WA Premier Richard Court, Mrs Court’s husband’s brother, Liberal legend Barry Court and former MP Vince Connelly were on hand for the Sunday sermon.

Mr Morrison said he appeared in a private capacity at Ms Court’s invitation.

The tennis great has been a strong supporter of Mr Morrison and prayed that he would remain Prime Minister in February.

Mr Morrison devoted much of his Sunday sermon to the rising rates of mental illness in Australia, an issue he said was a priority for him as Prime Minister.

While he noted that there were “biological problems” or “brain chemistry” that led to clinical disturbances, he sought to link everyday anxieties to a spiritual deficit.

Mr Morrison said that if people gave in to their worries, they were giving in to “Satan’s plan”.

“God knows anxiety is part of the human condition,” he said.

He drew parallels between God’s “covenants” and the way counselors approach mental health before declaring that if you had faith in God’s plan, you had nothing to worry about.

“No matter how (the laity) might seek to deny it, or even reject it, the truth of God is rising and shining,” he told the crowd.

But a statement that people should put their faith in Christ rather than ‘fallible’ governments has drawn ire from social media users, including the dean of the Yale Episcopal Seminary.

“We trust him. We do not trust governments. We don’t trust the United Nations, thank God,” Mr Morrison said.

“We don’t trust all these things, as beautiful as they are and as important as the role they play. Believe me, I worked there.

“But as a person who participated in it, if you put your faith in these things, as I put my faith in the Lord, you are making a mistake, they are fallible.”

Professor Andrew McGowan compared Mr Morrison’s comments to a ‘dog whistle’.

“Scott Morrison is free to be himself again, Praise the Lord (with a whistle to flatter UN conspiracy theorists in the fund world),” he wrote on Twitter.

During his speech, Mr Morrison also took aim at ‘safe spaces’ which he said had been ‘taken out of context so much’ that they no longer meant a place between someone and God.

“Don’t get me started,” Mr Morrison said.