Christmas Celebration

Whosoever will call on the Name of the Lord will be saved. Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever your condition, this Jesus, who we celebrate at Christmas, He is the One, He is Messiah. Jesus is the Son of God, He is alive. And He has power to work miracles in your life today. Jesus will forgive every sin and heal every sickness, but first, we must repent. What is repentance? It is not a religious ceremony or ritual; repentance is simply changing our behaviour.

My encouragement to you this Christmas is 'Emmanuel, God with us'. Jesus is not distant, He is with you: regardless of where you are or what you've done, Jesus is there, He loves you. He has promised never to leave or forsake you.

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The Words of Jesus

If only we could hear the words of Jesus. In your life, in your problems today, just where you are, Jesus wants to say, "Don't be afraid, only believe." In your biggest crisis, in the time when you feel that your life is at an end, call upon His Name and He will answer. If only you would believe in Jesus, you would see the biggest miracle of your life. With Jesus there is no crying, no sorrow, no weeping. The very Name of Jesus brings hope: His Name means salvation. At the mention of His Name demons have to flee. At the Name of Jesus death is turned into life.

Do you have a promise that has not been fulfilled? Has every glimmer of hope been extinguished, are you weak and shaken by the absolute impossibility of what you see? - Don't let go, it's not a problem to God! If it 'can't happen', that just makes you a candidate for a miracle! God's Word works! Everything needed to fulfil your promise was contained within that promise the very first time the Lord made it known to you. The Word of God is not 'like' a seed - it IS a seed. Contained within every seed in nature is the life-giving DNA, written by God - the entire plan for the future of that seed!

If God has spoken to you, given you the seed of His Word, receive it, keep it, don't let it go! When the angel spoke to Mary, she believed it, received it, 'Let it be to me according to Your Word' (Luke 1:38). And Elizabeth recorded of her, 'Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.' - God will do it!

Is it hard for you to hold on? Don't abort the Word of God. Be like Mary, hold on to what God has said, keep it in your heart. God's promises are not worked out in the ordinary way, but according to His plan, His timing, His order. It may be impossible to you. But remember, the Angel said to Mary, 'With God nothing is impossible' (Luke 1:37). There is power in the Words of Jesus.

Listen to today's podcast: THE WORDS OF JESUS

Only Believe

In most healing testimonies in the Gospels, it is reported  that many, and sometimes all, were healed. But it is also recorded that in some places even Jesus could do no mighty works because of their unbelief - Matthew 13:58. The New Testament records of the disciples that, though they put their faith in Jesus, first in one need or crisis, then in another, their faith was punctuated by unbelief. Even at the Last Supper, Jesus said to them, "Do you now believe?"

Every one of us who considers himself to be the Lord's disciple must recognise the unbelief and hardness that assails our heart in each new situation, each new difficulty, and must ask God for a renewing and growth of our faith. Our circumstances CAN be changed; the Word of God CANNOT fail! The Bible says we live by faith. Paul wrote: 'The life I live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me' (Galatians 2:20). When you find yourself in situations where you doubt your faith, remember the simple cry found in Mark 9:24, 'Lord I believe, help my unbelief.'

Listen to this week's podcast: ONLY BELIEVE

Thank God for the crisis!

Things go wrong; problems come into our lives. Events happen which are beyond our control. In Mark 5 Jairus knew that Jesus could solve his problem, he believed in miracles, but what Jairus didn't know is how big a miracle he would need. Jesus knew the delay caused  by healing other people meant this girl would die, but He also knew there was going to be a resurrection. Jesus said to Jairus, and He says to you, 'Don't be afraid, only believe'.

Although none of us like having problems, I have come to realise that it is a privilege when God places us in extreme circumstances. In the natural, without pressure and resistance, our muscles start to fade away; the only way to develop them is to put them under increasing strain on a regular basis. It is the same in our walk with God. He has not abandoned you when you are under pressure, rather He is using it to develop your faith just as a personal trainer uses weights to build muscles on an athlete. At times it seems that my life goes from crisis to crisis, until I even say to God, "Isn't it time You made my life a little bit easier?" But He has a simple answer, "Without the crisis you will stop learning!" So thank God for the crisis in your life!

Listen to this week's podcast: GOD WORKS MIRACLES!

When Heaven is shut

'And there appeared an angel unto Jesus from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground.' (Luke 22:43-44, KJV)

All of us go through difficult times, circumstances that are hard to bear; often we have prayed and prayed, yet there seems to be no apparent improvement. The Apostle Paul faced similar feelings. In 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 Paul repeatedly prayed that God would remove his 'thorn in the flesh', yet all God would say is, 'My grace is sufficient for thee'. In those hard times all you need to do is walk with Him one day at a time. It is for good reason that Jesus said, 'Take no thought for tomorrow' (Matthew 6:34, KJV). Don't worry about tomorrow's difficulties; His grace and mercy will carry you through today - and the good news is, there will be new mercies available to you tomorrow. Each day's mercies are tailored to that day's troubles.

When I was imprisoned for Bible smuggling I prayed each day that God would get me out. I imagined the various scenarios that God could use; I would tell God my latest idea; I would even 'plan' out the details. Yet that was not God's plan for me. After a few months of 'planning' I became disillusioned. We were always woken brutally, but this one morning, the appalling nature of what was happening finally hit me. The heavens were like brass. I had been praying for food parcels, but they were never allowed; I prayed for a visit from my wife, but there was none. I was praying to get out, but I was never released; in actual fact, I had been warned that the communist authorities were preparing a further case against me. I was in a depressed state. I was sitting on my stool, crying out to God: I can't pray! I said: If You don't answer me, what is the point in asking?!

I had done everything I could to get God's attention. I was in utter despair. The answer I got in my spirit was there came a time when the disciples had to turn to Jesus because of frustration over prayer. They said: Lord, teach us how to pray. Jesus replied: Say Our Father... As I remembered this, I began to argue: How can I say 'Our'?! Its me alone in here! It's 'my' Father! Suddenly I realised what I was saying: My Father! He is not just God, He is mine; the revelation of that relationship flooded my soul. For the first time I understood the reality of God's love; He loved His Son so dearly, yet He wanted to express His love for me. He sent His only Son to to go through what I was going through. The cross was Jesus identifying with me. In my utter despair, I realised I was loved. 

Suppose God had organised things 'extremely well' and got me out of prison on my timetable, I would not have the ministry I have today. The longer I stayed in prison, the bigger the miracle became. In the end it was the British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, who came to Czechoslovakia just to get me out! The whole miracle took one year to prepare. I didn't let go of God, even in the darkest days of despair, I knew, I believed, but it hurt and it was hard; the frustration of waiting for my answer even caused me to have a heart attack. 

Hold on. Don't let go of God! God WILL do it, even if it takes three months or three years. But in the waiting period don't become bitter and sour. Faith trusts God even when life doesn't make sense. The Bible says, 'The secret things belong to God' (Deuteronomy 29:29); not everything can be understood. The good news is, all things will be resolved and become apparent at the return of Christ. - At the moment we see through a glass darkly; but a day will come when we see in full (1 Corinthians 13:12). 

Be encouraged as you listen to this week's podcast: VICTORY

Fulfillment of Prophecy

When we see what is happening in the world today, the fulfilment of so many Bible prophecies, most significantly the rebirth of Israel as a nation in May 1948, and how close we are to the return of Christ, we need to act fast. Remember the Great Commission of Christ: 'Go into all the world and preach the Gospel!' - Mark 16:15. Remember also that the Bible says: 'For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.' - 1 John 3:8. In order for us to participate in these things and to see the fulfilment of all that God, rather than the devil, wants to do in these last days, we need God's vision. As the Bible says: 'Where there is no vision the people perish' - Proverbs 29:18 - they don't know where to go, what to do.

This is why I write about the European Union - and the beast which will soon toss her aside; world powers and world government; terrorism... I show you these things to challenge you to question what is happening, to pray - and to ACT!

If I am correct in my understanding of world events, then we are challenged to evangelise and win the world with great urgency. If I am wrong, we have more time, but at least the sense of urgency will stir us up to seek the outpouring of God's Spirit and we will evangelise now - and we will achieve more. If I am right, then those who are asleep, wrapped up in the cares of this world, or merely interested in prophecy for its own sake, will be left behind. The parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins is a terrible warning.

The Day of Judgment is coming. In this world there is a tremendous battle between good and evil. Sometimes we are tempted to think that evil is winning. But I want to tell you on the authority of God's Word that He will get the victory! Jesus says in John 12:31, 'Now is the judgment of the world, and the prince of the world, that is the evil one, will be cast out'. Thank God for the words of the Bible. There is a day coming when the good that is God will overcome the evil which is the devil. Even if we do not see the judgment on ungodly men, the Bible is very clear, there is a day of judgment. Death is not the end, it does not mean oblivion and no future. The Bible says after death comes judgment, and we need to be prepared for this

Listen to today's Podcast: Day of Judgment



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The bitter becomes sweet

'The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those who are crushed in spirit' (Psalm 34).

Whatever your problem, pray your way through! Whoever you are, Jesus will always hear your cry! Jesus gave His life to break the curse and bring healing. Call upon Him in your day of trouble - and He will deliver you!

You may be in a difficult situation right now, but God will answer. In Exodus 15, the Israelites had travelled three days without water, finally they came upon some, but it was bitter. Moses cried out to the Lord for help - and He answered! God showed Moses a branch which he took and threw into the water - this made the water sweet to drink.

My time in a communist prison was a 'bitter' experience. I tried to pray, so many times, but there was no answer. I prayed for food, and there was none; for help, and there there was none; when I prayed for deliverance, no one came. But yet God turned that 'bitter' time in to a sweet answer to prayer. He will do the same for you - the bitter will become sweet.

God with us

The cross is identification, not just that we identify with Jesus, but He identifies with us in our humanity. God sent His Son and allowed Him to suffer, to be rejected and despised. The Bible describes Him as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Jesus was not born in a palace, but in a filthy animal stable. He never owned a house or received a salary or pension. God sent Jesus to reconcile us, to bring us back to Him, and so that we can understand sometimes suffering leads us back to God.

For over 50 years I have been visiting the former concentration camps, all across Europe. I have seen the names and wept over them, just as I have wept over the concentration camps. I want the Holocaust Survivors to have their names written in another record - God's Book of Life.

Jesus is called 'Immanuel', meaning 'God with us'. When I was in a communist prison, the one thing that comforted me more than anything else when I was crying out to God and praying for Him to release me, was when I realised, God is my Father! I want to remind you that God is not just 'God' or a 'Holy God', He is a Father, He is your Father. When I was in my prison, crying out, "Oh God, help me!" - I was angry with God! I said, "Oh God, You are in Heaven, paradise, no shortage of food, no torture, no death! But I'm in a prison!" I am sure that so many Jews in their suffering, echoed those words. Then I was reminded, God saw my suffering. God saw their suffering. That's why He sent His Son into this world to suffer with us, to die, in order that He might deliver, rescue and give eternal life.

The greatest message I can give you is that you are not alone! Wherever you are, God is with you. The Son of God, Immanuel, is always with us!

Listen to this week's podcast: How Great God's Love



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The Region Beyond

We need a new power from God, the power of the Holy Spirit in us today, as on the Day of Pentecost, but the key which will release that power into our lives now is a new level of faith in Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 17, when Jesus' disciples failed to cast out the demon from the epileptic boy and then asked him why, He rebuked them for their unbelief: 'If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, remove hence to yonder place and it shall remove,' AND AFTER IT DOES, 'nothing will be impossible to you!' (Matthew 17:20).

There is something hidden in this story. Yes, Jesus said in answer to their question, 'If you had faith... you could move mountains.' But the real secret is hidden. We get stuck at the thought that mortal man could move anything bigger than himself. We agonise over the reality of moving that mountain. We call our friends to stand with us in believing prayer because this mountain is proving harder than we thought to move. Then when it happens - that miracle, that financial provision - we become so excited that we drop the real key down the drain in our excitement!

The disciples had missed the opportunity of releasing the greatest power into their lives. Jesus was putting a key in their hands, and if they would only use this key, their lives would never be the same again! There is a region beyond.

We need to realise that God has a power and a glory far greater than anything we have ever seen. Are we, in our spiritual experience, ready to cross the barrier, to move to something so big we could hardly dream about it? How big is God's power? Who was the greatest man in the Bible - Moses, Elijah, Paul, Peter? With all the miracles they saw God perform, did any one of them ever see more than 5% of God's power? How big is our God? Twenty times bigger, a thousand times bigger than what they saw? When I begin to look at how big my God really is, suddenly I want this key - the one Jesus showed His disciples - to open a door into a totally new experience. It is as if all my life I have been looking only at a darkened mirror image of God.

Of all the gifts of God, faith is the greatest, it's the key to the 'normal' Christian life. This gift of faith is greater than you realise. Just read Mark 11:22, 'Yeshua answered and He said to them, "May the faith of God be in you."' (Aramaic Bible.) This gift of faith is God's faith working through you.

Be encouraged as you watch this short teaching extract: The authority to see miracles

What is faith?

The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. If you live by faith and go by faith, that pleases God. What is faith? Faith is one of the most misunderstood words today. We all know the phrase 'people of faith'. - It is used to describe Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. We need to redefine faith. Faith is trusting God with everything. You trust Him with your life, your healing, with your salvation; you trust Him with your money, with your family; you trust Him when you get out of bed in the morning. You trust Him when you've no food in the house. You trust Him when you've no money to pay the rent. Faith trusts God in extreme circumstances.

When Moses sent out the twelve spies to view the land WHICH GOD HAD PROMISED TO GIVE, they all saw the same things, a land flowing with milk and honey. Green, green grass, corn better than Egypt, fruit so big it had been just a dream when they were captives, rivers and lakes of freshest sweet water, plenty of fish (Galilee is famous - I've eaten its fish, so I know), lovely valleys for the cattle, beautiful mountains (one snow-capped all year round) - literally springs in the valleys and streams in the desert. Far better than the Egypt they had left. It was everything that God had promised and more! Of course they saw the walled cities, soldiers guarding them and the fact that some of the inhabitants were giants. This was not Eden, not an empty land - they would have to fight for their inheritance!

The important fact was that all twelve saw precisely the same things, stood in the same places, had the same God. But when they returned to Moses, their reports differed in certain essentials. All twelve told the Israelites, yes this was THE Promised Land, no disagreement, but the majority (ten against two) said that it was impossible to enter. After they had all excitedly shared the joy that the fulfilment would bring and yes, it was all that God had said and more, the ten said that the difficulties were too great. There was no way that they could defeat the enemies and actually possess the promise! They were looking in human terms, seeing only their own limited resources and accepting failure as the norm. Only two said yes they agreed with everything the ten had said, but because God WAS with them, they could possess the promise now, He would not fail them. They reminded the whole of Israel of all that God had done in the past, how that He was still with them and that in His Name they would win, however hard the fight!

It was God's decision to abide by the majority decision that compelled the whole nation of Israel to wander in a barren wilderness for forty more years before they finally entered. What was the one thing that went wrong? Faith! They didn't trust God in the extremity of their circumstances.

Watch this short teaching on 'What is Faith'

One touch from Jesus

A ruler in the synagogue came to Jesus and said, 'My daughter is dying; if You will lay Your hands on her, she will live!' So Jesus began to journey to the man's house. But while He was on His way, a crowd gathered around Him. In that crowd is a woman. She is in a critical condition. The Bible says she had been bleeding for 12 years; she had spent all her money on doctors in a vain attempt to get well. But the doctors could do nothing. And in actual fact, after all her treatment, she was worse.

Through this story I want to show you that there is a solution to every problem and crisis. In your struggle, in your battle for survival, reach out and find Jesus. What mystery there is in touch. When a child is born, that first touch by the mother means so much. She has carried the child for 9 months yet has never touched him; and in that first touch her hopes and dreams are realised. Do you understand how important physical contact is? The child falling over in the street cries out; there is only one comfort, when the mother comes, picks up the child and tenderly embraces him. A mother's touch is an expression of her love. It is the same with Jesus. These two people in Mark 5 recognised that if they can just touch Him a miracle will happen.

'Angels beckon me to come a little closer. Then Lord You said to me, leave behind your problems. Fears and troubles, some untold, surrounded by Your love. My tears You'll wipe away. To lean upon Your promises, never turning from You away.' - (Lamb of God)

Be encouraged as you listen to this week's podcast: One touch from Jesus.



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'Jesus Jesus Jesus', 'Dios es Amor' & 'Lamb of God' used by kind permission of www.vinesong.com

Prayer Answering God

Our faith is not faith until it is put to the test! Without testing, without proving it, it's just something in the mind. Peter wrote, '...so that the TESTING OF YOUR FAITH, being more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ!' - 1 Peter 1:6-7.

God puts this test of faith in all our lives. He tested my faith. How did I react in 1964 when, after 3 months of prayer, God did not heal my throat cancer? Did God already know that I would pray in desperation, "If You want me to stay in England, don't heal me - but if You want me to leave the security of my home, church and ministry and go to Russia and Israel - I need an immediate miracle to heal me"? It took three months before I came to the spiritual place with God where the miracle happened - three months in spiritual growth, followed by a sudden revelation - an explosion - and in that moment the healing was instantaneous! When I was in a communist prison thirty years ago for Bible smuggling, I was almost one year in the prison, believing that God would work the miracle to get me out - but that year was the best year of my life! Yes, I was separated from my wife and my children, my youngest daughter was only three years old - but I grew all the time in my experience with God! It was a testing of my faith, but when God did it, it was sudden, a big miracle! I travelled the world for two years afterwards, talking about that miracle. I preached to more than a million people, sometimes ten thousand at a time - a quarter of a million came to Christ because of that testimony! But the miracle took one year of prayer.

Imagine if He had answered my first prayers and released me from the prison within one or two days, what would have happened? Suppose God had organised things 'extremely well' and got me out of prison really quickly - I would not be evangelising in Russia the way I do now, I would not have the ministry I have today. The longer I stayed in the prison, the bigger the miracle became - in the end it was the British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, who came to Czechoslovakia, just to get me out! I was not thrown out of the 'back door'! I was released in a blaze of publicity! That's God! But the whole miracle took one year to prepare. I didn't let go of God even in the darkest days of despair - I knew, I believed - but it hurt and it was hard. It's the same with you. Hold on. Don't let go of God! God WILL do it! Even if it takes three months, three years, God WILL do it!

Listen to today's podcast: PRAYER ANSWERING GOD



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All will be well!

'Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them' (Is 3:10)

Time with God is so important. If only you and I knew the time that God has chosen, it would make so much difference to us! When Jesus was walking on the water towards the disciples in Matthew 14, it was the fourth watch of the night. This is the most dangerous and most difficult hour in the night - the time when most people die, when the body temperature is at its lowest. It's the time when some of the biggest fears and the biggest problems come, just before the new day dawns. It is so significant that when Jesus is walking towards the disciples in that storm-tossed ship, the time He chooses is the darkest hour, when the storm is at its highest. But Jesus is there! In your life and mine there are many times when we need the power of God to deliver us, but God's timing is perfect, coming at the darkest hour, when the storm is at its fiercest and our need is the greatest.

I have learnt after more than 60 years of ministry that God always answers prayer. And I want to encourage you. God never fails - He cannot fail. But to get the answer at the right hour we have to be ready, we have to be obedient, and God will answer - at the last minute. In my life God so often answers one minute before midnight. One minute before the crisis erupts. We have many kinds of problems, many different needs, but I believe in miracles. Do you?

You can't have a miracle without first having a problem. If the boat had not been in a storm on the sea, there would have been no miracle with Jesus walking on the water. If you want to see miracles, God is going to use your problem, your difficulty, your crisis in order to work the miracle. That crisis you have - that sickness, that cancer, that arthritis, that financial problem - God will use this to create a miracle. When I had lung cancer in 2003, my daughter said, 'unless the doctors prove you have cancer, you'll never be able to prove that God healed you!'

Every one of us can be in a storm, just like these disciples in the boat. When the disciples saw Him walking on the water their first reaction was fear. They thought they'd seen a ghost - they didn't realise it was Jesus. They were so afraid because they were convinced their boat was going to sink and they didn't believe they would last the night. In the darkest hour of your night, when your financial problems are the greatest, when your sickness is getting worse, when you're crippled with pain, in that dark hour, there is one person who will always be there - Jesus. And He chooses the darkest, the hardest, moment to come and walk towards in order to work your miracle.

I know many of you reading this face difficulties and sicknesses, those problems will soon come to an end. I want to show how in your trials there is an answer, but sometimes that answer comes through hardship. In Mark 5 a ruler of the synagogue came to Jesus because his daughter was dying. He pleaded with Jesus to come to his house, saying, "Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live." What a tremendous statement! Today, in your tragedy, in your battle to survive, reach out and find Jesus. He will answer. He has all power!

Make this your declaration of faith, as Vinesong sing: 'All will be well, the Son of God is on my side, all will be well!'

Listen to this week's podcast: All will be well!



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Jesus is your healer

God will do so much more than you ask, His power is without limit. I want you to call upon Him today, not just for healing from your sickness, but to heal your heart. When God heals you, you get a new life, it's like being born again; He will fill you with a new energy and vitality. 

I'm not a healer. I'm not a healing evangelist - I cannot heal anybody - only Jesus can! That's what I tell the sinners, the unbelievers so they don't say 'David, heal me!' And when they get healed they don't say 'David healed me.' - They say, 'I prayed, I called upon Jesus - and He worked the miracle!' - Jesus gets the glory! I only want to talk about Jesus! 

Before you read further, let me remind you that I have experienced two outstanding personal miracles of healing from cancer, both confirmed medically. In 1964 I was healed of cancer on my vocal chord and in 2003, healed of cancer in my right lung!

Physical healing is an integral part of the atonement. It has been bought for us together with our salvation, through Christ's suffering and death. Isaiah 53 states clearly that "He was wounded for our transgressions... And with His stripes we are healed." We believe that our sin was taken away and the penalty was paid by Christ's suffering and death. We do not question our salvation, which is by faith in the finished work of Christ's atonement. However the Bible clearly states that not only our sin but also our sickness was borne by Him. We need to apply the same level of faith to our healing from sickness as we do to our salvation from sin.

If you question that the scripture I referred to in Isaiah 53 is merely an Old Testament prophecy, referring only to a full salvation from sin, let me remind you that in the New Testament it is used as a reference to healing. Matthew 8:16-17 says Jesus 'healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, He Himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses.' So the healing ministry of Christ was clearly seen as a fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy, and it still is for today - just as much as salvation from sin - because both were fulfilled literally through Christ's suffering, death and resurrection. Remember, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!

Sin and sickness are not from God! The purpose of the first coming of Jesus was to make a way of escape from the evil which Satan and ultimately man, by his disobedience, brought into the world: "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, to destroy the works of the devil!" - 1 John 3:8. However, this is only in part today, none of us is perfect in ourselves, we live in a world of sin and sickness and are surrounded by them. When Christ returns we shall be taken out of this world into the Kingdom of Heaven, then there will be no more sin, sickness or death. Until then, walking by faith, we must overcome sin - and temptation - and sickness.

I want to help you pray: If you want healing, put your hand where the sickness is and say this prayer with me: I know Jesus is alive, I believe the Bible, God cannot lie! Your Word says Jesus took my sickness and healed me - and I take my healing by faith. In Jesus' Name I will fight in prayer and in the Word of God until I am healed! I command you devil, get out of my body! My body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit. Devil, get out of my life, my home, my family! In Jesus' Name I defeat you devil! I will live in victory until Jesus comes! Amen!

Listen to today's podcast: Healing

Jesus heals and forgives

Jesus heals by miracles! If you want an answer to prayer, that answer is found in the Bible. I want to start by reading to you a passage from Mark 2. These four men were so desperate, they knew only Jesus was going to heal their friend; no hospital could cure him, no medicine could relieve the symptoms. This man needed a miracle! The crowd was full of expectation: they knew Jesus could heal the sick, the paralysed man's friends knew He could heal the sick. What was Jesus going to do? To prove that He has power on earth to forgive sins, Jesus turned to the paralysed man and said, "Stand up, take up your mat, and go home." Immediately the paralysed man arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God!

Healing is an integral part of the atonement. It has been bought for us, together with our salvation, though Christ's suffering and death. We need to apply the same level of faith to our deliverance from sickness as we do to our deliverance from sin.

Some question that Isaiah 53 is merely an Old Testament prophecy, referring only to a full salvation from sin, let me remind you that in the New Testament it is used as a reference to healing, rather than salvation. Matthew 8:16-17 says Jesus 'healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses.' So the healing ministry of Christ was clearly seen as a fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy, and it still is for today - just as much as salvation from sin - because both were fulfilled literally through Christ's suffering and death. Hence healing fulfils both Scripture and Bible prophecy.

Sin and sickness are not from God, both come from the devil. The purpose of the first coming of Jesus was to make a way of escape from the evil which Satan and ultimately man, by his disobedience, brought into the world: "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, to destroy the works of the devil!" - 1 John 3:8. However, this is only in part today, none of us is perfect in ourselves, we live in a world of sin and sickness and are surrounded by them. When Christ returns we shall be taken out of this world into the Kingdom of Heaven, then there will be no more sin, sickness or death. Until then, walking by faith, we must overcome sin - and temptation - and sickness.

Be encouraged as you listen to today's podcast: JESUS HEALS AND FORGIVES



'I behold Your glory' used by kind permission of www.vinesong.com

We have authority!

We have a tremendous authority here on earth which comes from Christ through His Word: in two places we can find evidence. First, Jesus called twelve disciples in Luke 9 and then seventy in Luke 10. His command to them was simple, "Boys, no one knows who I am, so before I come, go into all the towns and villages and in My name, preach the Gospel, heal the sick - so that when I come, they will know who I am." Notice that here, in the command to the evangelists, He does not say "PRAY" for the sick, simply "HEAL THEM!" This requires AUTHORITY, and is confirmed by the report these evangelists gave when they returned. They reported that "even the demons are SUBJECT to us!" Why? Because they had authority and used it!

The second evidence of our authority in Christ is in Mark 16 when Jesus, after His resurrection, commands His disciples to "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel…" adding "These signs will follow those who believe, they will lay hands on the sick and they WILL be healed." Finally Mark says, they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, confirming His word with SIGNS following. THIS was the demonstration and proof God used to confirm the Gospel and establish the Church! I do not believe that God has changed! If we go in His Name, believing, He will confirm His word again today with SIGNS and WONDERS.

Further confirmation of our authority comes in the promise of Jesus, "These things shall you do and greater, because I go to my Father" - John 14:12; and Acts 1:8, "You shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you!" Our power with God is through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and through our relationship with God in prayer following that experience.

I have recently returned from Ukraine. The situation is desperate. The devil has divided families and communities against each other; so many have needlessly died, even more have suffered terrible emotional scarring. We need to pray for that nation on the authority of God's Word. Please join me in taking authority over this chaos: 'Father we come in the greatest Name in heaven and on earth. We come by the power and authority of the Name of Jesus Christ, Son of the living God. We pray that You will touch Ukraine. Oh holy, mighty God of power, God of the Ukraine, stop the war, stop the fighting, bring peace, bring forgiveness. Oh God, in Jesus' Name we cry out: deliver Ukraine, bring salvation, bring healing. Through the mighty Name of Jesus we bind the power of war, we bind the spirit of death, we command the spirit of fear to leave Ukraine! And we call upon You oh God, bring love, peace and a new hope, and a new prosperity. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!'

Listen to today's podcast: Prayer for Ukraine


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Two times God's

There was a little boy who loved boats. So the little boy asked his father to help him make a model boat. They got a bit of wood, fashioned the boat, made a mast with a sail, and they took it to the lake. The boat picked up the wind and it sailed, faster and faster. The boy was so excited: "Look, dad, my beautiful boat!" But suddenly the wind became so strong, the boat was gone! They couldn't reach it. It was lost. The boy was crying, "I've lost my boat! It's gone!" But a few days later, he was in the market and on one of the stalls he saw his boat! He said, "That's my boat!" The stall holder said, "It's not yours. If you want the boat you have to buy it! You cannot have it!"

The boy was crying. He went home to his father, and his father gave him some money. He went back to the shop and he had to buy back his own boat! He ran home shouting, "I've got my boat back! It's two times mine!" His dad asked, "What do you mean?" The boy replied, "It's mine because I made it! It was lost, but I've bought it back! It's two times mine!"

You are two times God's! God made you. You were lost in sin. God searched everywhere for you. Then He sent His Son Jesus and He found you. Although you were lost in sin, He paid a high price to buy you back. That's why the Bible says there is so much joy in Heaven over every sinner who repents! Jesus says, "You are two times mine!"

Listen to today's podcast: The Father's Love



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Jesus is coming soon!

'Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence...' (Isaiah 64.1)

Jesus will come when the Jews call upon His Name! In June 2013 what the taxi driver said on the way back to the airport was an amazing revelation. He knew who we were, and was a religious Jew wearing a kippah, yet from the moment we got in the car he began the conversation so animatedly that he kept taking the wrong road! He kept saying, 'Why did we kill Yeshua? He was a good man, He did nothing wrong, He killed no one but healed all who came. Was He Messiah, if so why did we not recognise Him, were we blind? We thought many people in our history were Messiah, but they are not alive today. I search the Scriptures for Him; can you show me where to find Him? All our nation is looking for Messiah at this moment, no one else can save us, can you show me the way?'

This is why it is so important that we preach the Gospel - suddenly Israel is opening. God, through the Holy Spirit, is opening their hearts and minds to search for Him. The Bible is so clear, Jesus said, 'if you seek Me you will find Me.'

We are in the final hour, the coming of the Lord is near. So many Biblical prophecies are being fulfilled. If I am correct in my understanding of world events, then we are challenged to win the world with great urgency. If I am wrong, we have more time, but at least the sense of urgency will stir us up to seek the outpouring of God's Spirit and we will evangelise now - and we will achieve more!

I don't want you to fear prophesied events, let these simple words encourage you: 'Whom shall I fear when darkness around me falls? You place your light around me even when I stumble and fall. Your hand is there to guide me when You hear me call, Jesus my Saviour, Jesus my Lord.'

Listen to today's podcast: Jesus is coming!



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Who is this Jesus?

In Matthew 8:23-27 Jesus was asleep, a storm arose, so the disciples woke Him saying, 'Don't you care, we're going to die! It's the end of the world...' Jesus got up, bound the storm, the winds stopped, the boat was safe, nobody died. When these strong fishermen saw the demonstration of the power that this Man had over the elements, they said, 'What kind of Man do we have in the boat?' Just as Jesus was in the middle of that storm on Galilee, today, wherever, whenever there is a crisis, a tragedy, sickness, sin, fear or pain in your life, Jesus is always there!

God is saying to you, Jesus is the only one who can deliver! He wants to reach out to you! You need to find Him, not just for your miracle of healing, but to be set free, delivered from that sin, that problem you cannot get rid of. The drug addict, the alcoholic cannot deliver themselves. You cannot break free - until you have the faith and the courage to step out of your sickness, step out of your sin and come to Jesus! You say, "I cannot see Him!" I will admit, the greater your pain the harder it is to see Jesus. The bigger your sin, the greater your shame, the harder it is to find Him. It's like darkness, you cannot see Him. I have never seen Jesus, but He found me! If you will leave your sin and your sickness and have the courage and the faith to step out in your darkness, you will find new life and new strength. I KNOW what will happen, in that moment of faith Jesus becomes closer to you than ever before! He breaks the barrier of distance, He comes directly to you.

Listen to today's podcast: Who is Jesus?

The Gift of Faith

We all accept the need of faith in our lives especially as without it we cannot be saved, but the kind of faith which moves mountains is different. It is a real gift (see the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12), but also it is demonstrably necessary to those who are called into service. It must be a vital part of our experience if we are to engage in spiritual warfare. The believer who has not yet moved a 'mountain', has not yet begun the real task of the ministry because Jesus went on to say that 'nothing is impossible'.

So often we are limited by our faith and our inability to believe God. How often are we within sight of everything we are desiring, often with earnest prayer and with the clear knowledge that God HAS promised... yet that final step is not taken, we don't go in and possess the land. It occurs in the realms of healing, finance, evangelism and missions, possibly even revival, certainly in most areas of our lives, and especially our service for God.

Believer YOU are so near to the fulfilment in your own life! Why look at the problems which make the fulfilment impossible? Look at Him and then go in and claim the land! Begin to act in the power and authority of your faith. So many times I have had to face the impossible and seen God move in power, and I challenge you to begin to do it yourself!

Listen to today's podcast: FAITH

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The Latter Rain

Through the prophet Joel, God says, 'I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh...' He goes on to talk about the first and the latter rain. I believe that the first rain fell 2000 years ago on the Day of Pentecost, and that today we are living in the days of the latter rain. As a young man I was determined I would have an experience with God that was incorruptible, that could not be destroyed, that would last until the appearing of Christ! In the late 1950s, I heard that the first World Pentecostal Conference in Jerusalem would be held on the Day of Pentecost, in May 1961. - I was determined to be there to receive a new baptism of fire! My Bible says that the church of God began in fire on the Day of Pentecost, and the church will end in fire when Christ returns!

When I got there I was so disappointed. I had gone for only one reason: to be in Jerusalem believing God would send another Pentecost. There were 3000 in the conference: 2999 tourists, and me! Nothing happened, nobody laid their hands on me, I didn't fall over, I didn't feel any power, nothing. I had done everything to be there, spent two years organising, in order to meet with God, and nothing, absolutely nothing happened! And I came home.

Exactly forty years later, May 2001, I was again in Jerusalem in the same hall, this time to evangelise! Before it started I spent days walking round the hall praying and crying to God, "40 years ago I was so hungry, so determined to receive new power from the Holy Ghost, but You didn't do anything! I didn't receive the new fire! What was wrong?"

God answered me, "Forty years ago, after you came here, what happened?" I said, "My whole life changed!" I became a missionary to Israel, coming up to eight times a year, bringing tourists. In order to get to Jerusalem I had to go behind the Iron Curtain, through the communist countries, and God opened my eyes. I made contact with believers, people were pleading with me for Bibles and God began to put a new power in my life. I thought my ministry was just Israel, but God said no, it's with the Russian speaking peoples.

My real experiences with God have never been in a church, or in a conference - not even in Jerusalem, although Jerusalem changed my whole life. It was first in my teenage cry for God - then in my throat cancer - then in my prison that I found God. What will it be next time, what will happen this year? I still don't have enough power, I'm still not satisfied that God has answered me fully, what will it be next? All I know is that it is step by step, and I have not reached the end of the road yet.

Listen to today's podcast: PENTECOST

The Holy Spirit

We need to be changed and transformed by the Holy Spirit. When I first travelled to Ukraine they used to get their milk delivered not in a carton, but in a large container on the back of a carriage. When the housewives saw the man in the street with the milk, they didn't take the first jug they saw in the kitchen which was half full of dirty water, no, they took out a clean empty jug. It is the same principle with the Holy Spirit. We need to be emptied of ourselves so that we can be filled with the Holy Spirit! Our prayer needs to be: 'Lord change me now, not in part but the whole, Jesus touch me once again, as Your Spirit flows over me.'

The revolution when you receive the Holy Spirit has to be life-transforming. In the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, instantly they were no longer frightened and ineffective, but filled with boldness and fire! That's what we need today in our lives and in the church - a new boldness, a new authority, a new power.

This baptism is not just an anointing or a feeling or an emotional experience - it has to be a complete life-changing miracle: it will change your thinking, habits, relationships for the better; it is a complete physical and spiritual change.

'The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.' (1 Samuel 10:6, NIV)

Listen to today's podcast: The Holy Spirit



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Do Exploits!

'EXPLOITS'! Do we as Christians really understand what this means? German and Russian and Danish translations don't put it strongly enough! It's watered down! Daniel, the exiled Jewish refugee in Babylon, is the prophet best known for his end-time prophecies, from the translation of Nebuchadnezzar's Image to the prophetic visions of the works of the devil, and all the demonic things that are going to happen before the end of the age and the return of Christ. While many would debate the complexities of the visions and their time-scale, here, by the Holy Spirit, the man who is talking so much about all this evil, issues a direct challenge to the Church! He says, 'BUT - in these evil days that are coming - the people who KNOW their God won't be weak! They won't be defeated! They'll be on FIRE! And they are going to do EXPLOITS!' Miracles? I don't know what your Bible translation says, but I KNOW what God is saying! EXPLOITS are things other people can't or don't do! If you're going to do an EXPLOIT, it's something that your friends don't do, something that even the Church doesn't do, something that other pastors, other evangelists don't do. It's going to be something bigger, more powerful!

You can't do EXPLOITS unless you KNOW the power your God has! I have such battles with Christians over the question of belief! I have experienced God doing things that were impossible in my own life - so many times - that to me He has become the God of the impossible! From experience I can say, "With God ALL things are possible, everything He does is a miracle!" What kind of a 'God' do you have? The only limitation God has is our belief in His power - He can do ANYTHING we ask and believe He can do!! Mark 11:23-4. My God's power is totally UNLIMITED - because I KNOW who He really is!

Listen to today's podcast: DO EXPLOITS!

Think God, think big!

I have written in my office, 'Think God, think big!' How big is your God? My God has the greatest power in heaven, earth and the whole of creation. There is nothing He cannot do! For my God there is no miracle too big, no question too hard, nothing is impossible. The Bible says that the things which are impossible with man are possible for God.

It takes faith to possess all that God has given and act on it. Real faith does not come easily, it is a specific gift from God through the Holy Spirit and you can ask for it, as I do. First, you must come into an experience of receiving the Holy Spirit, then you can receive His gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12 there are nine gifts. One is speaking with other tongues, when you receive this, why not also ask for the gift of faith? If you will fight this spiritual battle, God will give a miracle - but choosing to have miracles is the hard way! Not many people have the faith to fight this battle and win. Spiritual warfare is not merely against the devil, it is also when you fight your own unbelief. My God answers prayer. If you are totally convinced, God CANNOT fail. But it takes a lot of faith to believe God to work miracles.

Listen to today's podcast: Believe Big! 

Don't let the fire go out!

I was so excited when I read in Leviticus 6:13 that when the priests lit the fire they were told it must never go out! I received the fire of God when I was 13 and it has never gone out! I've seen too many people who allow the fire to fade, but if the fire is from God, the command is that you must not let it go out! The Apostle Paul told his protegee Timothy: you must fan into flame the gift of God (2 Timothy 1:6). It's your responsibility. You can only keep the fire burning by putting more sacrifice on the altar. In Romans 12:1 Paul writes: 'I'm pleading with you' - he's using expressive language - I'm pleading on my knees, I'm fighting a battle with you, I want you, I need you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice!

And now, I will shock you! Paul goes on to say, 'The reason I'm talking to you like this is because that is just your NORMAL, REASONABLE Christian life! This isn't exploits, it's just what is DEMANDED of every Christian man and woman. What is 'reasonable service'? 'Reasonable service' is what the mechanic does to your car when it breaks down and you pay him to put it right, and only when it's right is it 'reasonable service'! Or you have somebody to clean, or paint, or build your house - but if what they do is only what they are paid for, they're not giving you anything. You pay for it, so it's 'reasonable service'. Christian!! Jesus, the Son of God, gave His whole life for you on the cross - and your reasonable service is to give Him your life!

Give God everything

People ask me why I am an evangelist when I say God never called me as an evangelist! When I was a boy of fifteen, I was with a group of young people on holiday, walking along Brighton beach. But God and the devil are NEVER on holiday - I was having the battle of my life! I had been preaching since I was thirteen, I had received the Baptism of Fire when I was still only thirteen, and the devil was saying, 'That's enough! Don't do any more, be normal like ordinary people!' - That's what everybody tells me even today! But God was saying, 'David, I want YOU! I want EVERYTHING! Your feet, your hands, your heart, your mouth, your mind, your money, your family, your time - EVERYTHING!' And I could get no peace until that night I said, "Lord, I give You EVERYTHING!" That is the fulfilment of Romans 12:1. It's the message for YOU! – Paul says to YOU, 'I PLEAD with you, give God EVERYTHING!'

Paul's using expressive language - 'I'm pleading on my knees, I'm fighting a battle with you, I want you, I need you to present your bodies as a LIVING SACRIFICE!' Christians, that's tremendous! God is saying to us through the Apostle Paul, 'I beseech you, I plead with you - present your bodies as a LIVING sacrifice!'

Fire through sacrifice

Everyone wants the anointing, we all sit in prayer meetings, but few will make the sacrifice of a life devoted to God. There is a price to pay in service to God, there is a cross we have to carry. The Apostle Paul describes this sacrifice as 'reasonable' (Romans 12:1). Once God fills you with fire, it's your responsibility to keep it burning! The older I get, the more power I have, the more fire I have! I'm more on fire now than when I was first baptised in the Holy Spirit. That's how it should be! The fire shouldn't go out, it should burn brighter! How do we keep the fire burning? Sacrifice. The more sacrifice you put on God's altar the greater the fire of God in your life. What was God's command to the priests in the Temple? Don't let the fire go out! And how were they instructed to keep it burning? Sacrifice (Leviticus 6:13). It is the same in your life and mine.

Many believers are seeking a new anointing, a new power, something extra to what they already have, some new spiritual phenomena. I went to Jerusalem forty years ago without receiving a new anointing. Why? What I am seeking is already within me! I have it now, I am not waiting for a new anointing, I have all the power I need in my spirit now! How? 70 years ago I was seeking to be filled, baptised with the Holy Spirit. When I received, it was a manifestation of fire, of power, speaking with tongues like they did on the Day of Pentecost - and miracles soon began to follow. What a baptism of Power and of Fire I received that day! I received the Holy Spirit, all the mighty Power of God, everything. Now that powerful anointing which before had been outside of me, that third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, was now IN ME! There is only one Holy Spirit - HE is IN me! Not outside, I am not waiting for another Holy Spirit - HE, the Spirit who raised up Jesus from the dead, who was in Paul and Peter, that mighty, miracle-working power of the Great God I am boasting about, is in me now, and HE has been in me for over 70 years! I cannot receive any greater power than that I already have, in me now! That is why I do not seek a new experience and that is why the FIRE has not gone out for 70 years! Yes I am different now to what I was 70 years ago. But notice HE is not different, I am! During 70 years HE has cleaned out a lot of myself and pride, my own works, and because I am not perfect, He will continue to do so until I am raptured into glory.

http://davidhathaway.podbean.com/e/fire-through-sacrifice-featuring-vinesong/



'Peace like a river' used by kind permission of Vinesong

God's healing power

You have power over every 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 hands on the sick, and they shall recover.' When the devil comes, call upon the Name of Jesus! When you are weak in your 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 cancer in my throat fifty years ago, 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. I was sick for three months before I came to the spiritual place with God where the miracle happened - three months in spiritual growth, followed by a sudden revelation - an explosion - and in that moment the healing was instantaneous!

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!

If you are sick and are seeking God for a healing miracle, from my own experience it is a question of building faith. We know from the Bible that nothing is impossible, but in order to receive, there must be a building process, a growing in faith, not giving up - this is when we must fast and pray and believe that God WILL do it! To receive that kind of faith which will work a miracle in your life, you must be totally convinced that with God nothing is impossible, and that He wants to work the miracle in your life. Once God has promised you a miracle, you can be certain it will happen; it is only a matter of time.



http://davidhathaway.podbean.com/e/gods-healing-power-featuring-vinesong/

'Signs and Wonders' used by kind permission of Vinesong

Faith moves mountains!

I want you to be the strongest believers anywhere in the world: people with fire, people with power, people who pray, people who will change the world! 

When there is a crisis in our lives our only hope is Christ, our only strategy is prayer. You - we - have to get an answer from God! When Jesus was on the earth, people asked Him direct for what they wanted. - We have to do the same, but through prayer. We have to learn again the power and effectiveness of prayer. We also have to learn how to get an answer to our problems.

Mark 11:22-23 is so revolutionary, so powerful, it will change your life! Jesus said: "Have faith in God!" Did you hear? - Have faith in God! Then He said (v23): "Truly I say to 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!" Wow! 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 these things are mountains in your life!

Do you want God's blessing, healing deliverance? If you believe what you say, and don't doubt in your heart, you will have the answer you are looking for! Jesus said it! Do you have mountains in your life? Have faith in God! Command them to go! God's in the business of moving mountains! But you must declare (and actually believe, with no doubts), that in the Name of Jesus, they shall be moved!

We've got to begin to understand the positive! Too often we fill our minds with negatives! Speak words of faith and victory - then the mountain will move!


http://davidhathaway.podbean.com/e/faith-moves-mountains-featuring-vinesong/

Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Why do we need the Holy Spirit? Jesus said it is the Spirit who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment to come (John 16:8). - It is not the preacher who convicts of sin, it is the Holy Spirit! Without this 'Baptism' we are powerless and ineffective. The whole purpose of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is to fill us with power so that we can win the lost! The 'Baptism' is not so that we can sit at ease in church in a 'holy huddle', but to preach the Gospel with power and authority! What was the first thing Peter did when he was baptised in the Spirit? He won 3000 for the Kingdom! What did you do when you first received the Holy Spirit?!

My father, (a great man of God, converted in 1905 during the Welsh Revival, a great Bible teacher), told me when I preached the Gospel as a boy of 13 and no one repented, "Son, you haven't received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit yet!" It was a lesson which changed my life - because what I needed was the fire and power of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction, conversion and a changed life when I preach! I asked my father to lay hands on me. He did, but I didn't receive the Holy Spirit. As a result I spent the next three months in an agony, 13 years old, crying out to God, fasting and praying that God would give me FIRE and POWER through the Holy Spirit. When finally I received the Holy Ghost just days before my 14th birthday it totally revolutionised my life. From that moment God took control, things began to happen, people began to repent. Even as a student in Bible College I used to go every Friday to Hyde Park Corner in London. We'd set up a 'soap box', preach the Gospel, and every week, right in the centre of London, people would repent.



http://davidhathaway.podbean.com/e/baptism-in-the-holy-spirit-featuring-vinesong/

'Holy Spirit move me now' used by kind permission of Vinesong, www.vinesong.com

Baptism of Fire, Power and Authority!

We've got to be changed, transformed, by the fire and the power of the Holy Spirit! If you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, if you want to be filled with the power of God, you have got to be emptied first; only then can God fill you with all His power, fire and glory! God baptised me with the Holy Ghost and fire! And I want to tell you that the fire and power is stronger now than it was 70 years ago! I often say that God gets more wonderful every day - but no, He doesn't change, I do! The reason God gets more wonderful and powerful is because each day He reveals Himself to me more and more - and every revelation shows the reality of who He is!

You and I have to reconsider what it means to be Baptised in the Holy Spirit. We need God to baptise us again WITH FIRE, TO PUT POWER BACK INTO US! TO PUT THE FIRE AND THE POWER BACK INTO THE CHURCH!

In the Old Testament, in Leviticus 6:9,12-13, God gave the command to the priests: when you bring the meat offering to the altar - you light a fire and it burns the sacrifice. But the command of God was that THE FIRE ON THE ALTAR MUST NEVER GO OUT! Today, if you want to receive this Fire from God, then your life needs to be the sacrifice on the altar of service to God, then I believe that the command given thousands of years ago still applies today, that fire must NOT go out. At the age of 13 years, I was baptised with the Holy Ghost and FIRE! I will not let that fire in me go out! I'm over 80 years old and this is the secret: what the priests had to do to keep the fire burning on the altar was to KEEP ADDING TO THE SACRIFICE! You've got to keep putting more sacrifice on your altar, more and more - that's what we need today! The tragedy today is that too many believers claim they are baptised in the Holy Ghost - but where is the evidence of the fire?!

Listen to today's podcast: Baptism of Fire! 

I want to prophesy: what we are about to see over the coming weeks and months is the power of God as never before! But first we need to begin to pray and seek God; in response to our earnest intercession He will send the fire of the Holy Spirit! 

Prayer Works!

James 5:16 says, 'The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.' Powerful prayer works! The original Greek of the Bible uses a special word for power: dunamis. It signifies miraculous, wonder-working power. From it we get the words 'dynamo' (which generates energy) 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.

When we are dealing with the things of God, we are dealing with impossibilities, because the Bible says that the things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Over the years I have learnt that if you are going to ask God for something, ask Him for the impossible! When you are praying for something that is possible, your own mind recognises that it’s possible, it can happen. If I were spend the night in prayer asking for £10, it's quite reasonable that somebody could give me £10. But if I were to ask God for £10,000, that's almost impossible. A quarter of a million pounds – I don't know anybody who can just write a cheque for that amount. When you are in the realm of the impossible, you are getting into the realm where only God can answer. The exciting thing about living as a Christian and working for the Lord is that we are dealing with things that are impossible to men; so when the answer comes, we know that only God could have done it! I believe God allows problems to come in order to drive us to prayer. - It's when we are in our extremities of need that God steps in and takes over. Then when you receive your miracle, you'll realise there are no impossibilities, only limitless possibilities with God.

Jesus is alive! Three special Easter Podcasts

Join David and Vinesong this Easter for three special podcasts: I know Jesus is alive (30 March 2015), The cross of Christ (3 April) and Jesus is Risen (6 April 2015). Let these faith-building messages in word and worship change your life as we focus on the power of the resurrection.

This Easter God wants to give you a message of forgiveness and restoration, a message of love and of healing. 2000 years ago Jesus went to the cross and died, but He didn't stay in the grave; just as the Scriptures foretold, Jesus rose from the dead. You cannot see Him, I cannot see Him, but I know He is alive. Because He lives again we can come out of the past into a new life, a new hope. Even as you listen to these podcasts He will heal your broken heart, He will soothe the wounds of the past. The Bible says of Jesus, 'He will not crush those who are weak, or quench the smallest hope; He came to deliver those who are oppressed, downtrodden, bruised and crushed' (Matthew 12:20, Luke 4:18).

If you let the power of God touch you, by a miracle He will change your life. You need the touch and the power of God. But first you have to trust Him. You have to believe He can work the miracle. The Gospel is the power of God to change lives. God can touch you, He can change your life. There is no limit to what God can do when you trust Him.

The Scripture teaches that death is not the end, it is only a beginning, the path to life. There is a resurrection of the dead. - That is the urgency of the message of Jesus, the message to every one of you listening. Jesus said 'After three days I will live again' - and on the third day He arose, and He is alive forevermore. And that is the evidence that there is life after death for every one of us who will believe.

If you want God to change your life say this prayer with me: 'On the cross my Jesus died. You gave Your life for all mankind. On that great day my sins You bore, Jesus the Christ, Saviour of mine. Before Your throne, oh God I stand, forgiven and free. You've given me eternal life. For me You died, Prince of Glory rescued me.'

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Who is this Jesus?

In Matthew 8:23-27 'Jesus entered into a ship… and behold there arose a great storm in the sea, so much that the ship was covered with the waves, but Jesus was asleep. His disciples woke Him, saying, 'Lord, save us, we've going to die!' And He said 'Why are you so afraid, O you of little faith?' Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm. The men marvelled and said, 'What kind of Man is this?''

That is the challenge, who is this Jesus of the Bible? Don't despise the Bible. This Book changes men, destroys demons, breaks the curse of evil, gives life to the dead and healing to the sick. It's the power of God! It's the Word of the living God!

In this story, Jesus was asleep. A storm arose, so the disciples woke Him saying, 'We're all going to die! It's the end of the world…' But Jesus just got up, bound the storm, the winds stopped, the boat was safe, nobody died - and when those strong fishermen saw the demonstration of the power that the Man had over the elements, they said, 'What kind of Man do we have in the boat?' Wherever I go, Jesus is in the boat. I'd rather be in a 'storm' with Jesus than live at peace without Him. I want you to know this real Jesus in your life. Most of us, even as believers, experience some powerful storms in our lives. That is why we need the reality of the Man who can conquer them!

In the midst of the storm Jesus asked the disciples 'Why are you afraid?' I believe that is the challenge to every one of us today. Why are you afraid? What are you afraid of? The same Jesus who calmed the winds and the waves 2000 years ago is the same Jesus who can calm the torment in your life. Why be afraid, God is in control.

Listen to today's podcast: 'God is in control' 
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The Fire of the Spirit

God has ALL power, and that power is within the Gospel. The Gospel is literally good news! I am not ashamed of the Gospel and I don't want you to be ashamed of the Gospel, because the Gospel IS the power of God! When we see the crisis in Ukraine, the politicians cannot solve it and the military cannot solve it, only God can resolve the chaos in that nation. We need the fire of the Spirit to bring revival to our lives. We must cry out from the depth of our spirit: 'Holy Spirit we need You, fire deep inside.'

I was so excited when I read in Leviticus 6:13 that when the priests lit the fire they were told it must never go out! I received the fire of God when I was 13 and it has never gone out! I’ve seen too many people who allow the fire to fade, but if the fire is from God, the command is that you must not let it go out! The Apostle Paul told his protégée Timothy: you must fan into flame the gift of God (2 Timothy 1:6). It's your responsibility to keep the fire burning.

• Listen to today's podcast: THE FIRE OF GOD http://davidhathaway.podbean.com/e/the-fire-of-god-featuring-vinesong/ 

All the power you'll ever need in your life comes from the Holy Spirit: power to preach the Gospel, power to heal the sick. This baptism of fire is not just for the church collectively, it is an individual experience that each one of us needs. The only evidence of the existence of God is in the miraculous. There is no other evidence. You can't see Him, can't touch Him. You may say He's in heaven - but He's everywhere, He's here through the Holy Spirit.

The regions beyond

I want to challenge you to go to the regions beyond - the regions beyond in your faith, the regions beyond in your service. The regions beyond in your prayer life. Don't be satisfied with your prayer life. Don't be satisfied with what you are doing. Let's go higher. How do you get up this 'mountain'? There is no chairlift and there is no cable car. There is only one way up this mountain. You do it by setting the pace and keeping it up step-by-step. So long as you keep moving, Jesus will guide you, leading you on, bringing to you hope along the way.

The regions beyond: We get stuck at the thought that mortal man could move anything bigger than himself! We agonise over the reality of moving that mountain - call our friends to stand with us in believing prayer - because this mountain is proving harder than we thought to move. Then when it happens - that miracle, that healing, or financial solution - we become so excited (as I experienced so many times personally), that we drop the real key down the drain in our excitement!

In Matthew 17:14-21, the disciples had missed the opportunity of releasing the greatest power into their lives - Jesus was putting a key in their hands, and if they would only use this key, their lives would never be the same again! For me, searching and hungry for more of God's power in my life, I saw what I have been waiting for - there is a spiritual 'region beyond'.

We need to realise God has a power and a glory far greater than anything we have ever seen yet! Are we, in our spiritual experience, ready to cross the barrier, to move into something so big we could hardly dream about?

Of all the gifts of God, faith is the greatest - it's the key to the 'normal' Christian life! There are nine gifts which you only receive after you have been baptised in the Holy Spirit (have you received... since you believed?): three VOCAL gifts, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy; there are three INTELLECTUAL gifts, the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, and the discerning of spirits; and there are three PRACTICAL gifts - I love the practical gifts - healing, working of miracles, and the gift of faith, 1 Corinthians 12. These are the normal every-day gifts of the Holy Spirit to the believer. By the same power with which you speak in tongues, you also heal the sick and work miracles! Paul asks, does everybody work miracles? What a challenge! Does every church work miracles? But this is the NORMAL Christian life! Cry out to God that He will fill you with the Holy Ghost and power!

Faith is what you DO! Are you living a normal Christian life? Do you have the gift of faith? This is NOT an intellectual gift. Faith is nothing to do with your education OR with what you think – it's what you DO. Faith is ACTION. Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as SUBSTANCE and EVIDENCE, something solid. It's not something intellectual, it's the most PRACTICAL gift God can give.

To listen to today's podcast 'The Next Level' visit
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Chosen for a purpose

Has God called you into ministry?

Jesus said in John 15, 'You did not choose Me, I chose you!' If you are serious about serving God, it is essential you are called and chosen by Him. When God called me, He did not call me as a pastor, preacher or evangelist, He simply said, 'David, I want everything!' - 'I want your time, your money, your family: everything!' The call of God on my life, and the calling on your life, is to serve Jesus; we must serve Him in whichever way He directs.

A few years ago I revisited the place in Brighton where God first spoke to me when I was 15 years old. I was with a group of young Christians walking along the beach, but God was speaking to me, challenging me. God was saying to me, "I want you David!" And the devil was saying, "Don't you realise you're saved, you got baptised in water, filled with the Holy Spirit – that’s enough!" But God was saying, "I want YOU!" He didn’t say, "I want you to be a preacher, I want you to be an evangelist, a missionary…" – God said, "David, I want ALL of you, EVERYTHING! – Your life, your family, your time, your house, every single thing – I want the lot!" People talk about tithing, the biblical pattern of giving a tenth of your income to God, but a long time ago I tried the opposite, keep a tenth for yourself, and give God 90 percent! You cannot out-give God! Give everything! The more I give Him, the more I receive financially, the more power of God I receive! – Give and you will receive, 'pressed down and running over!' – This is why God says, the only 'reasonable' thing is to present your body as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God! – And this is only the beginning, the norm, the 'reasonable' bit! I want the un-reasonable, the extra-normal! I don't just want to receive the Holy Spirit like everybody else, I want a double portion, a treble portion, ten times, a hundred times more! I'm hungry for God! I need that anointing, that power! Jesus told of the servant who did everything that was expected of him, what was reasonable – but the master did not thank him – it was expected of him. But I want to receive! The more you give, the more God gives back! I remember that tremendous challenge when God said to me, "David, I want YOU!" That night I had to say, "Lord, I’ll give you everything!"

After I went to bed that night I had wild dreams that the preacher wouldn't turn up next day in church, dreams of evangelising... Next morning was the most glorious day ever! I got out of bed, on my knees, and said, "Lord, I have given you everything, now I will do whatever You want, I am all Yours!" I was expecting great things! I went downstairs full of excitement. Today was the day when I was going to start preaching to thousands… But the first thing I saw was a row of dirty shoes – I have never liked cleaning shoes then or now – and the Lord said, "Clean those shoes!" And I did it because I had made a commitment. I polished those shoes as if Jesus Himself was going to wear them! That's reasonable service. You don't start at the top, you start at the bottom. I didn't start by evangelising in great meetings. I started witnessing as a boy in the street, in my school. Where did your salvation begin? Your salvation began when Jesus GAVE, when He paid the price – His sacrifice on the cross. That's where our ministry has to begin – giving – its only reasonable service.

Didn't Jesus say in Matthew 20:27-28, 'Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many'? We have the false idea that success in the Kingdom is all about bright lights, fame, celebrity; no! God called us as servants. If you want to be the greatest in the Kingdom, then serve willingly in obscurity.

Listen to 'Chosen for a Purpose': http://davidhathaway.podbean.com/e/chosen-for-a-purpose-featuring-vinesong/

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