David Hathaway

The Holy Spirit lives in us enabling us to be more like Christ. In Philippians 1:6, the Apostle Paul writes, 'And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.' God's work for us began when Christ died on the cross. His work within us began when we first believed in Him. Now the Holy Spirit lives in us, enabling us to be more like Christ. In Philippians 2:13, Paul says, 'For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him.' 

If you want power with God, it begins with your faith, your confidence, your trust, in God's ability to do what He says. Hebrews 11 describes the phenomenal power of faith which made these people in the Old Testament so strong, that they were able to overcome EVERYTHING! They saw something more than this life. Like Moses, who chose to suffer for God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin.  They could do this because their faith, was a faith in the impossible. And because it was faith in a future Kingdom. With Abraham, it was the promise that he would be the father of a great nation, and out of Abraham, would come the whole Hebrew nation. But he himself, never saw the fulfilment of the vision. But he lived, and died, in faith, believing that God would fulfil His Promise. I am already living in the anticipation of what is to come, of what will come IN THE KINGDOM. No sacrifice is too great. If we just enjoyed the pleasures of this world, that’s nothing compared to what God will give us in the future.

‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen’. Faith is confidence and trust. It is the assurance that what we believe will actually happen. One Bible translation states, 'Faith comprehends as fact, what cannot be experienced by the physical senses.' In Hebrews 11:3 we read, ‘Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things that are seen were not made of things which do appear.’ We believe in the Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth. Throughout Scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments, He is always known as the Creator. Many scientists try to justify evolution by seeking to find that ‘something’, which sparked life. They ‘believe’ that if they can find oxygen, or water, on distant planets, they will find the origin of life. But the Bible is clear, the origin of life starts with the Word of God. God created, by speaking life into existence. 

I truly believe God’s timing is perfect. For some years I have been saying that the next mission field is Central Asia – now God is confirming it. Our work in Ukraine continues despite – and because of – the war.

Faith is confidence, and confidence is trust. The Apostle Paul taught in Hebrews 10 v35, 'Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.' You have faith in someone, when you have confidence in them. You trust a person, because you have faith in them. The challenge to all of us is, don't throw away your confidence. Or to put it another way, do not throw away your faith. Faith is a gift. It comes from God. Because our faith is in Him. But our responsibility is to not loose that faith, that confidence. Faith brings a reward. By verse 28, of chapter 10, the Apostle Paul concludes, 'the Just shall live by faith'.

‘The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.’ (James 5:16.) Powerful prayer works! The original Greek of the Bible often uses a special word for power: dunamis – it signifies miraculous, wonder-working power. From it we get the words dynamo (which generates power), and dynamite (the explosive). If you want prayer to work, to change your circumstances, then it must generate power. And it has to be like dynamite. If you put an ordinary explosive against a wall, its energy disperses into space. But dynamite does not dissipate its energy – it pushes the wall down! That’s what our prayer must be like. It’s got to move mountains! We must learn how to talk to God, until our praying will move every mountain, every obstruction, everything that stands between us and the fulfilment of God’s promises. 

Mark 11 is so revolutionary, so powerful, it changed my understanding of prayer. Jesus saw a fig tree full of leaves and He came hoping to find some figs, but he found none. So what did Jesus do? Jesus said, “Let no man ever eat fruit from you again!” And the disciples heard what He said. Next morning, this is verse 20, as they came from Bethany to the Mount of Olives, they saw the fig tree was dead. Peter commented, “Jesus, the tree is dead already!” And Jesus looked straight at Peter, and at every one of us, and this is what He said in verse 22, “Have faith in God!” Prayer has to be something which comes out of your heart in faith.   

Prayer is essential for every believer. It is how we build our relationship with the Lord. In Luke 11, when Jesus had finished praying, one of His disciples came to Him saying, "Lord, teach us how to pray!" All my life I have been seeking to understand the power of prayer, and especially, prayer that gets an answer. When I was in prison for Bible smuggling in 1972, I reached a point of such desperation that I cried out, "Lord, teach me how to pray my way out of prison!"

God has laid down a pattern for your life! In 1 Chronicles 28, it was in David’s heart to build the Temple, but God said it was for his son Solomon to build. I am intrigued by verse 19 where David says, ‘“All this,” David said, “I have in writing as a result of the Lord’s hand on me, and he enabled me to understand all the details of the plan.” For me, as I look back over 70 years of ministry, I can see God’s plan. Everything was interconnected; there was meaning and purpose in all that God ordained. Whatever the circumstance, whatever you are facing, God will not fail you! Be strong and courageous and do the work of the Lord. Do not be afraid or discouraged for the Lord God is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the Lord is finished.

God has chosen you to be His child. He has become your Father. This is the relationship God ordained for Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28. In verse 9, King David admonishes: “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you. Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.” Our work is to preach the Gospel. I live to see the Glory of God. But we have got to trust Him. God is not going to let you grow weary, faint or die, until you have completed every task, He has called you to do. 

What is in your heart? Are you longing to see the Glory of God? Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied. In 1 & 2 Chronicles the original desire to build the House of God was in the heart of King David. He had a passion and a desire. The Israelites had travelled with the Ark of the Covenant through the wilderness. As the Ark moved so they moved. The Ark went before them into battle. As the Ark went into the river Jordan the waters opened. The Ark was the Covenant that God was with His people. When Israel began to build their cities, King David said the Ark of the Covenant of God must not remain in a tent form. They must build a permanent place where God could dwell with his people.   God said he could not build the temple because of two things: One, King David had actually sinned against God, and secondly, he was a man of war. The task was given to his son Solomon. During the temple dedication Solomon says,  “Now it was in the heart of David,  my father, to build a house for the Na

When we are seeking and following God, the source of our supply will never dry up. What I need, what I lack, will not stop the supply of the Anointing Oil of the Holy Spirit and the Bread of the Word of God in my life. The Word of God and the Anointing of the Holy Spirit will never fail me, even in a time of drought. There is never a time when God cannot speak to us, or use us, or work miracles through us. I will show you why. When Elijah prayed, “Let this boy’s soul come into him again” – the Lord heard the voice of Elijah and the soul of the boy came into him again - and he REVIVED! The use here of the word REVIVED (which is connected to our English word ‘revival’) is very explicit in what it means. The child was DEAD. For him to be revived, he had to come back from DEATH to LIFE. When the church has turned away from God and is dead – (much of the church today accepts and tolerates sin) – REVIVAL brings NEW LIFE into what is dead!

God works miracles, signs and wonders. And my prayer is that God would reveal Himself to you through the miraculous. - "Father I pray that everyone reading this will see the truth of Your Word and Power. O God speak to us through signs and wonders. In Jesus Name, Amen."

God will not fail you! We’ve had Covid and the difficult consequences following worldwide lockdowns. Now war in Ukraine. The whole world has changed. Historically the world does go through periodic political, financial, spiritual upheavals. And it never goes back to how it was before. I draw comfort from the story of Elijah. Not just when he called down fire from heaven – but the sheer number of phenomenal miracles that took place in a very short period before that which intrigues me. In 1 Kings 17 Elijah is speaking prophetically, under the command of God: “THE LORD GOD HAS SAID that the barrel of flour and the cruse of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain.” Elijah, the prophet who commanded the rain to stop, prophesies to the woman, “THE BARREL OF FLOUR AND THE CRUSE OF OIL WILL NOT FAIL YOU…”

The main theme of the preaching of Jesus was the Kingdom of God. Resurrection. This is why Jesus was prepared to suffer and die on the cross. He knew there was life beyond death. He knew that He would rise from the dead. He knew that He would receive eternal life. For those of you who are struggling, in pain, or are facing death, this is only a gateway into eternity. Look forward to the resurrection and your new life in Christ. 

We are living in troubled times. I am convinced, by faith, that the Ukrainians will win the war and drive out the Russian army and that the next month will see incredible changes. I can also see that there is a threat of a 3rd World War and the release of a radioactive nuclear cloud worse than Chernobyl. Remember that the Ukrainian word Chernobyl means wormwood: this is the name of the star in Revelation 8.10-11 which fell from heaven and made the waters bitter, and many died. According to Scripture this is only the ‘beginning of sorrows’ and when that finally happens, only for the sake of the elect will the torment be shortened. We must take every opportunity to preach the Gospel now; the Bible says that there is an end to the ‘times of the Gentiles’ and then all Israel shall be saved.

God uses physical, demonstrative signs to convince us and to show others that He is God. Often I find that people read the Old Testament and don’t realise its relevance to our lives today. Yes, we are New Testament believers – we are saved by grace through faith – but the God of the New Testament is also the God of the Old Testament. He is our God!

I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection! This is the joy of my life. It’s knowing Jesus, not just knowing about Him, but knowing Jesus personally, as the Son of God. And the verse goes on to say, to know the power of the resurrection. We believe, not just in an afterlife, but the resurrection of the dead, simply because Jesus Himself rose from the dead. He is described in the Bible as the first fruits. In other words, God demonstrated that there is life after death by raising Jesus. Jesus Christ, Son of God, was crucified on a cross, but on the third day, He arose! For that reason on my wife’s grave I had inscribed, ‘In my flesh I shall see God’. We will see God in the flesh. I will see my loved ones again, but when I do, we will be together in the Kingdom! As the Scripture promises, ‘We who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.’ 1 Thessalonians 4.  The Apostle Paul wrote, in Philipp

The Lord is our Rock, our Stability; He is our healer, and our provider. "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord!" This is what the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:1. Jesus is the only One, the only Person in whom, and in which, we can rejoice. Paul adds, "To write the same things to you, rejoice, is not grievous for me, but safe for you."  “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him!” This life is nothing; length of life is nothing (I’m 90!) – because I will live forever with Christ! Our sole focus should be on hearing the Lord say, "Well done, My good and faithful servant." - The whole of my life has been focused on fulfilling the plans and purposes of God.

Prayer is a conversation with God. I'm fascinated by reading the conversation between God and Moses in Exodus 3. There was a dialogue between the two of them. So often we assume that to hear from God we need a prophet or some ‘Holy’ person, but this was not the pattern revealed here in the Scripture. Exodus 33 reveals the wonderful nature of the relationship between them, ‘the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.’ – That is what I desire in my own life, that God would speak to me as His friend; and that is the relationship I want you to have with the Lord – friendship.