David Hathaway

The centurion KNEW Jesus had authority to heal his servant, just by the word He spoke! But Jesus was amazed at the centurion! Absolutely amazed. He said in 8:10, “I haven’t found such faith anywhere!” Not in Galilee, not in Syria, Decapolis nor Trans-Jordan, not in Judea nor Jerusalem, not in all the places where He was working with Jewish people. He said bluntly, “I’ve not found such great faith in all Israel!” You see, your religion without faith in God, in Jesus, without relationship, without obedience – is nothing. He says in v11, “Many will come from the East and the West and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven…” Outsiders will enter the Kingdom! But the religious, those who think themselves to be ‘children of the Kingdom’ will be cast into outer darkness, where they will weep and gnash their teeth! To the Roman centurion Jesus said, “Go your way, and it will be done as you have believed.” And his servant was healed at that very same moment. THAT’S the authority God has

Moses asks God, What is Your Name? God has already described Himself to Moses as the God of his ancestors: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Now in Exodus 3 God says, "I Am Who I Am and What I Am, and I Will Be What I Will Be," (verse 14, Amplified Bible).

The miracles God could do 2000 years ago, He can do the same today; He can even do greater! When I had throat cancer, God cut it out as if with a knife!

You have power over evil spirit, every sickness, every difficulty. Jesus said in Mark 16:17-18, 'These signs shall follow them that believe; in My Name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall lay their hands on the sick, and they shall recover.' When the devil comes, call upon the Name of Jesus! When you are weak in body, in the Name of Jesus be strong! When you are sick, in the Name of Jesus be healed! By faith receive your deliverance NOW! When I had throat cancer the doctors and even my church members said God couldn't work the miracle - that it was impossible to be healed. I fought unbelief and doubt, many times I was in despair and felt hopeless. But when the answer came, it was an even greater miracle than I had asked for! God didn't just heal me, He actually cut the cancer out, as if with a knife, leaving me with a scar as the evidence of His healing power! 'Signs and Wonders' used by kind permission of Vinesong

When I was in prison for Bible smuggling, I challenged God to release me, just as He had done for Paul and Silas. God answered prayer, and sent the British Prime Minister to set me free!

When I was in a communist prison, I challenged God, I said, "If You could get Paul and Silas out of prison, then I want You to work a miracle for me! Is Your power the same today? If it is, I want you to get me out of prison!"

In the early days, when I had been a pastor for 15 years already, the Lord said to me, “Shut up! Stop talking, I’m tired of listening to you!” For the Lord to say that to me through the Holy Spirit was pretty damning! He said, “Go out and DO everything you talk about and tell other people to do – AND DON’T COME BACK TILL YOU’VE DONE IT!” My whole life has been putting into practice what I have believed – and I’ve gained unbelievable experiences with God. All my life, whether it was the cancers, the communist prison, all my ministry, the whole of my life has simply been putting into practice what I believe. In His teaching, in healing the sick, in His life, Jesus SHOWED who He was by the AUTHORITY that He had. The crowds following Jesus sensed this. I don’t suppose that the centurion had been on the mountain, but he must certainly have heard of Christ’s reputation. As a soldier, he understood authority. He had to respond to the authority of his superiors. And in turn, he had authority over those under him. It’

If you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit and with all the Power of God, then you have to be emptied first, then God can fill you. 

I want to thank you for all your support over so many years. Together we have seen the most incredible miracles, the hundreds of thousands who have found Christ, and the hundreds of churches founded. The miracles I’ve seen were not merely of healing, but storms stopped, miraculous provision of aircraft, a life of faith overcoming all opposition especially under the communist oppression. 

In Ch 8.1-4, He comes down the mountain, followed by the crowds. A leper comes to Him and says to Him – I’m quite fascinated by this – “If You WANT, You CAN heal me of my leprosy!” What a strong, bold statement! Leprosy was incurable! So, already at this stage, there is an incredible level of faith in what He can do! And yes, of course the leper was healed. Jesus says to him, “I will!” And He does! Next, in v5, Jesus comes into Capernaum, and a centurion comes to Him – he’s not a Jew, he’s a Roman soldier, an officer in the army that is occupying the land. But this officer comes to Jesus saying, “My servant is at home, sick of the palsy – paralysed – and grievously tormented.” Immediately Jesus responds, “I will come and heal him.” That’s Jesus – the willingness – He would even go to a Roman and heal his servant. But the Roman says, no, I’m not a Jew, I’m not good enough for You to come to my home. Yes, I’m an officer – but I’m not worthy of You! You can imagine what those Roman officers got up to, believe me

Why do I see miracles? I WANT miracles, I LIVE for miracles. I live to see the Glory and the Power of God! Often it’s difficult, but I won’t give up, I won’t let go of God until He works the miracles, because God cannot fail.

When I think of the number of troubles I have had – being in a communist prison for a year, having cancer twice, having gunmen sent on three occasions to shoot me – God uses every circumstance to His glory, He uses the problems and the difficulties in our lives to convince us miraculously!

I want you to be the strongest believers anyway in the world: people with fire, people with power, people who pray, people who will change the world! Mark 11:22-23 is so revolutionary, so powerful, it will change your life! Jesus said, "Have faith in God! Truly I say unto you, whoever you are, look up, see the mountain over there - if you have got faith in God, you will say to that mountain 'be cast down into the sea' and if you don't doubt in your heart but believe that what you say will happen, you shall have whatever you say!" If you really believe what you say, you will speak and the mountain will move! Whatever you say, if you speak with faith and authority, and don't doubt, you will be healed, your family will be blessed, your financial burden will move - even if those things are mountains in your life! 'What a miracle' used by kind permission of Vinesong. Original Air Date: 20 March 2015

God was calling Moses, ‘I want you to go to Pharaoh and tell him, “Let My people go”. Just do it.’ Please understand – Moses was a human being, no different from you. Alright, he was born into a humble family but adopted by a woman of wealth, and then he had some problems and now is living in relative poverty out in the desert, with a family and responsibilities like you, so he’s human! And he argued with God, ‘Look, when I talk to my own people, let alone Pharaoh, they won’t listen to me!’ (Exodus 4:1). How did God convince Moses? God’s answer was very simple, ‘What is it you have got in your hand?’ God took the ordinary common thing Moses had in his hand, his shepherd’s rod, and used that as the demonstration. 

One of the battles God has is to get our attention, and with Moses God had to do something extraordinary: Moses was looking after the sheep – he had got himself married, had some kids and was busy, tied up with all the problems that you have, working hard to get enough money to feed his growing family. When suddenly, out in the desert, God appeared to him in a burning bush. What attracted Moses was not that the bush was on fire but that the fire didn’t burn it. There is a time when the fire of God will burn up the impurities in your life – but when He starts to put the fire into you, He does not want to destroy you, He wants to use the real you! God knows who you are. Sometimes when I am having problems, and I have to say – like Paul – ‘Lord, I am sorry, I should have done this and I shouldn’t have done that,’ and when I am trying to make excuses and say, ‘I’m not perfect, I can’t do this, and Lord, you know the problems I have in my life,’ God says, ‘Look, I knew you before you were born, I made you and it’s

When you surrender your life to the Lord, He will take care of you, as He has done for me these past 93 years. I have been young and now I am old, and His grace has sustained me through it all. Commit your life to the Lord, and He will bring to pass every promise He has spoken over your life. 'The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; those the Lord blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be destroyed. 'The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. 'I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing. 'Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land for ever. For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.' (Psalm 37.21-28, NIV)

God was saying, ‘I want you, David, I want everything you have and everything you are.’ At that moment God did not say, ‘You’re going to be a preacher, you’re going to be an evangelist, you’re going to be a missionary.’ It was to say, ‘David, I want all – or nothing,’ and I was just 15 years old! That’s where we begin with God – it’s all or nothing. You can’t play with God; you can’t fool with Him. What are you called for? Are you called to live for God, or for yourself – to have a good time, a family and a big house, a car and a successful business and just to go on until your pension comes? No, when God called you, He said, ‘I want everything, including your success.’

'Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: he will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land,' (Psalm 37.1-8).

I remember the day when the Lord challenged me to serve Him. I was 15, on holiday on the South Coast of England, walking on the sea-front with some young Christians and I couldn’t enter into the fun that they were having because God was speaking to me – and the devil was speaking to me. The devil was saying, ‘Don’t listen, it’s OK, things are fine. You’re doing well – you got saved when you were 8, and you got baptised in water when you were 12, you started preaching at 13, that’s enough,’ and God was saying, ‘I want more.’ God was not calling me to be a preacher or an evangelist at that time, God was asking me to give my whole life to Him. Simply to give everything to Him.

If God is going to use you – and God wants to use every one of you – if you’re not in a position where He can use you, then examine your spiritual life and ask the question, why are you saved? Because you are saved to serve!