David and Karen Davis, Singapore 2010 — David Davis

Worshiping in Spirit and Truth

Praise the lord. Hallelujah that means blessed be the lord god of israel. Hallelujah. I want to um i want us to worship together in spirit and in truth and in hebrew and in english today hallelujah. Um i i have a phrase that i like to use um called celebration warfare hallelujah because when the joy of the lord pastor said this already this morning the joy of the lord is our strength.

Hallelujah. And when we celebrate by faith the victory of the lord no matter what is going on around us no matter what trials we're facing that we see by faith we see the lord high and lifted up and we we in our spirit we know the victory of the lord.

Hallelujah. And so we can celebrate. And one way we do celebrate. We celebrate in the dance and we put the enemy under our feet. Hallelujah hallelujah and he will prevail. And most of you know that we the lord has positioned us on the top of mount carmel on the highest point where elijah called uh confronted the powers of darkness.

And that's what he's called us to do. And we are launching the word of god in the you know it says in ephesians 3 10 that the church the the intention that the lord has for the church is to um to make known to the principalities and powers of darkness the manifold wisdom of god.

And so that's what we do when i woke up this morning and it was very early you know i just started to speak the word of god to my soul to my spirit because it says the entrance of your word brings light hallelujah.

And so we can exhort each other and admonish one another and speak to the principalities of darkness in our songs with the word of god hallelujah. So i'm going to ask you to stand praise god. And i want to put up the first slide of the the first part of the song.

Okay because i want to give you a little this is teacher's day. Okay i'm going to give you i'm going to teach you a little hebrew this morning. So really we can uh sing with understanding. Okay. Okay baruch adonai can you say baruch adonai.

Baruch adonai means blessed be the lord. Okay. Elohei yisrael elohei yisrael. Okay the lord god of israel. May olam ad olam. May olam ad olam. That means from forever and ever hallelujah. Or from everlasting to everlasting.

I like that. Let's say that again may olam ad olam. Okay then it says yomar kol ha-am yomar kol ha-am. That means that all the people will say amen amen. And then it says hallelujah. And we all know what that means praise the lord hallelujah.

When we say amen amen we say so be it you know let it be as your word says lord your word is settled in heaven hallelujah praise god. Um. Okay so let let's start this song. Go ahead and you'll add the nations.

Oh god. Oh hallelujah. Hallelujah lord from everlasting to everlasting you are god hallelujah hallelujah. Prayer of moses psalm 90. Hallelujah holy holy holy god of all the earth lord who made the heavens and the earth.

I am setting this church. My house is in order. The pure word of god is preached. This brings me great pleasure. The full counsel of god is released. The order of the house is so beautiful to me. This is a place where i can move and reside.

And i will break forth into new ground into new territory. This house is too little for what i want to do here. I will move this congregation into a place where their tent pegs will be stretched out to impact singapore and their children shall impact the nations.

I am pleased that this congregation loves my ancient people israel. I am pleased that they are going to the highways and the byways in uganda in sri lanka in china and other places to the widows and the orphans that are so close to my heart.

This will be the breakthrough church the cornerstone of a national movement in singapore says the lord. Amen. Please be seated if you have your bible. I'd like to to read from psalm 78 the 78th psalm.

God’s Limitless Love, Grace, and Power

The god we've been worshiping this morning. The god we love so much. The god we've been praying to the god who gave us his word praise the lord. He is limitless. There are no limits. Human beings have limits but god has no limits.

He always was he always will be. In the beginning god created that was just the earth. But he was there long before. In the beginning of the earth he was there forever. He's omniscient he knows everything.

He's omnipresent he's everywhere. The god we serve is limitless and we need to know this about him. He has no limits. His love has no limits. His amazing love his amazing grace. The the translators of the bible struggled to find words to say his loving kindnesses.

They don't know how to say his grace is his grace is just so is. We think of an ocean that that's just a drop in the bucket of his grace. His grace is limitless. And when we know this about him we need to realize we don't want to limit god in any way in our life in our marriage in our relationship with our children in our church.

And in psalm 78 verse 41 or verse 40 how often they provoked him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert. Yes again and again they tempted god and they limited the holy one of israel. God brought the children of israel a nation of slaves out of bondage through the great miracle of the red sea took them into the desert and they began limiting this god that had set them free and it grieved his heart for 40 years.

They wandered around in the desert. He took them right up to the borders. In fact let's look at exodus 15. They actually sang about it when they came out of egypt. In exodus chapter 15 they're singing on the miriam's leading with the tambourine like karen does hallelujah.

And they were dancing before the lord. They had come out of bondage. They had the greatest army in the world had been stopped by by the lord. And and they were delivered from an impossible situation. And the limitless god brought his people out exactly as he had told the patriarchs 400 years after they'd gone into bondage.

And as they came out and they're singing in exodus chapter 15 verse 17 they sing this. And you will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance. Not only did he bring them out of bondage but he brought them out to bring them into the goodness and the promises and the grace and the glory of god.

Many believers they've come out of some some bondages. But have you really moved into all that god has for us. And it says you bring them in. You plant them in the mountain of your inheritance in the place oh lord which you have made for your own dwelling the sanctuary oh lord which your hands have established.

They had these promises. They knew what god was going to do. He told them not only did he tell them they sang about it they danced about it. We're going to the promised land. We're going to be planted.

We're going to have a place where we can worship we. We're going to move into all these great promises of god. And yet they came right to the border. And none of them wanted to go in except caleb and joshua.

They all missed the blessing. They died in the desert. Do you know that moses and aaron must have been doing funerals every day. I mean they all died. They must be. I don't know how they did it in the sand.

But they and the only ones that said yes there are problems. Yes there are giants. But god is with us. We can go up and take the land. Caleb did not limit god. Caleb went into the promised land. Caleb got the mountain of hebron.

Hebron he gave the upper springs and the lower springs to his daughter. Caleb brought a move of god into israel because he didn't limit god. He believed what god said. But so often the children of israel limited god over and over.

And it's disobedience. He says this is my way walk in my ways. There's the blessing. And they didn't do it. Now don't point the finger at the old ancient covenant people the jewish people. Because these things paul said are written for our admonition for our warning for our instruction upon whom the ends of the earth have come.

They're there. So we read them and say we don't want to do that. Now let's go to the new testament for just a moment and acts. Chapter 7. We're talking about others did so. Do you the people of god. He says you have always resisted the holy spirit.

Resisting the Holy Spirit and Limiting God

Now we think well that was the pharisees the self-righteous pharisees that thought they knew the law and so on. And it was. But i want to say this to you from adam from eve to today this morning we resist the holy spirit.

The church resists the holy spirit individual. I resist the holy spirit when the holy spirit tells me to pray and i don't do it. I'm resisting the holy spirit when i'm too lazy to get on my knees and cry out for somebody the lord has put on my heart.

I'm resisting the holy spirit. We don't want to be a people that he's limitless. If we would just take the limits off of god and allow him to take over our lives and govern our feelings and our thoughts.

Oh there's so much more he could do through all of us. That's what he wants to do in this church. He just spoke it to us. He wants to break out in individuals lives and in the corporate life of the church.

He wants to take the worship team places you've never been before. Hallelujah. For the worship is glorious here it's it's it's it's worshiping it in spirit and truth. But there's don't limit yourself and say oh we've got it.

No no no. He is eternal on mount carmel. Praise the lord for all the cds that have come out and all the our whole worship team jews and arabs they get songs. Karen records them. They go all over the world.

But this is just the beginning. She's got to get on her face and get in the secret place and get more of the songs of the lord. We don't want to limit god. We don't want to be careless. We don't want to be complacent.

We don't want to be compromised. The people that really moved in the holy spirit like steven and he was stoned for it. And when you really move in the power of the holy spirit people will attack you. Those who desire to live a godly life in christ jesus will be persecuted.

It's part of it comes comes with the territory. It doesn't matter to the people that want all of god they go on. And then the people want to go all of god go with them the rest of them. It doesn't matter.

You go to the promised land you go to the promises of god. When we moved to israel 21 years ago the lord told me he was going to give us this old building. It had been built by christian missionaries doctor.

It was a place a medical mission for doctors and nurses at the beginning of the 20th century. And everybody i spoke to said to me you'll never get that building. You can't get that building. Those people that build it have a different theology than you.

They don't speak in tongues. They want you're not going to get that building. The lord told me we were going to get that building. We've had it for 20 years and hundreds of jews and arabs have come off of drugs.

And they're that place is filled right now with jews and arabs living together who're getting set free from drugs. Listen what. If i said you're right i would have been limiting god when he said this is the building they sang at the red sea.

I'm taking you in. I'll take you to the place. I'll have a congregation for you. There'll be a place where you can fellowship. They sang it they saw it in the spirit. And yet they didn't do it. And they limited god.

And so this morning we need to look at ourselves and say how am i limiting this limitless god that wants to do great and awesome things in me and through me. But i haven't let him do everything. That's the way we want to live in true freedom in true liberty moving in the power of the holy spirit.

Caleb said if he goes with us we'll take the giants hallelujah. And and caleb went in there and did it. Now look at acts chapter 11 for a moment. Actually the apostles chapter 11 verse. Well let me just tell you the story without reading peter the jewish apostle is in jaffa which is just south of tel aviv.

Peter’s Vision and the Gospel for the Gentiles

It's where he was living. He was up on the roof at noontime. He was praying hallelujah. The reason this happened to him is because he was praying he was fasting and praying and all of. And he's getting hungry.

And he has a vision three times of this big sheet that comes down that has all this shellfish in it has crabs. And peter peter doesn't eat crabs because he's an orthodox you know he he's a jew and he tries to keep kosher.

He keeps seeing this thing come down looking at all these crabs. Now i think they were probably almost as good as the chinese crabs we had last night. And i think peter is probably saying that looks pretty good but i can't eat that you know.

So he sees this vision. And the lord says he's saying to peter this gospel isn't just for the jews. It's for singapore and the chinese where they eat crabs. Hallelujah. Now what if he said i don't eat those kind of things.

I'm a jew and we're not supposed to eat crabs or shrimp or whatever. But peter as he's wondering why is god keeping showing me this thing. And the lord is trying to tell him i am not partial to only the jews.

You're supposed to get the revelation of the gospel and take it to the nations the gospels for the whole world. And then these these guys show up at the same time knocking on his door. And he meets these guys.

And they have come from a roman officer who had occupied israel. And he said this roman officer this centurion he had a dream. He had a vision. An angel came and said a man named peter who lived at this address.

The angel gave him the address. That's why we're knocking at your door. That's why we walked down the beach from cesarea all the way to jaffa. And wants you to come up there and tell him about jesus. Now what would you have done.

Many of us would have said no no no no no no this is breaking out of my box. This is the way i see things. Me a jew go into a roman officer's house. Jews aren't supposed to go into gentiles houses and walk up the beach with these gentiles these romans.

But you know what. Look what it says. Verse 11. At that very moment three men stood before the house where i was where i was having been sent to me from cesarea. And then look at this. The spirit told me to go with them doubting nothing.

The spirit told peter to go and he went. He did not limit god. And what happened. He changed the world. The gospel exploded. He walked right into cornelius's house. He started preaching before he could finish his message.

The holy spirit fell on all those romans. They all started speaking in tongues and peter went hallelujah. The gospel is for them too. The power of the holy spirit is for the whole world. But god found a man who would not limit him.

And he spoke into his heart and he knew the voice of the spirit. And he said i went doubting nothing. We have to walk in the word of the lord doubting nothing. Even when it doesn't look like it. How could it possibly happen.

Look when god gave us that building four young couples asked me to start a bible study. Two jews and two arabs. And all the leaders in the land said you can't work with jews and arabs. All of a sudden they were in our living room saying will you teach me.

Will you be my pastor. We started teaching them. You know what happened. Within a month 50 people were in the living room. Then they were so they were all over the house. A congregation was born. But we were not limiting god.

God said i want you to go to israel and reach jews and arabs. The gospel is to the jew first and also to the arabs. Reach them both. The one new man of ephesians chapter 2. And you know what happened from that.

A congregation exploded. We were given a piece of land on the top of mount carmel. They gave it to us free. I didn't want to go up there. I wanted to be down in in the streets of haifa with all the drug addicts.

But listen if somebody ever offers you the highest point on mount carmel free. I think you ought to take it. It must be god hallelujah. And now we see all these jews drive up there on the shabbat. That don't.

That don't go to the synagogue. They turn in. And it's easier for them to accept the lord up there away from their neighbors and so on. Arabs come to the lord. It was the wisdom of god all along. But what if we had said uh thank you for the offer of the land.

But i'm going to get stay down in haifa where i can get more drug addicts. We would have missed god. We i didn't understand it. But he does because he's infinite. He's omniscient. He knows the beginning from the end.

The Hidden Wisdom Revealed by the Holy Spirit

Now it's so important that we don't limit god what he wants to do. Turn to first corinthians chapter 2. Let me show you this first corinthians chapter 2. If you want to study about the holy spirit study first corinthians chapter 2 for the rest of your life.

Verse 7. We speak the wisdom of god in a mystery the hidden wisdom which god ordained before the ages for our glory. The wisdom of god. Wisdom in hebrew or in in greek is sophia. It means knowing what understanding but also the power to do it.

It's a powerful word. You know knowledge is knowing one thing. Wisdom is a wise man knows what to do and does it. The wisdom of solomon when they came with those two babies solomon knew what to do and did it.

And so the wisdom of god is infinite. It's a mystery but a mystery. The word for mystery here in the new testament is something that is has been hidden but will be revealed by the holy spirit for those who really have ears to hear and eyes to see.

So paul is saying this wisdom is being revealed to me by the holy spirit. Paul was standing there when stephen brought that great message. Paul was holding the clothes of the people that threw the stones at stephen.

Paul was a self-righteous rabbi who thought he knew it all until jesus knocked him down on the road to damascus. And he realized. Now i can really know the wisdom of god through knowing jesus my messiah.

So he says here in first corinthians chapter 2 which none of the rulers of this age knew for had they known they would not have crucified the lord of glory. But as it is written verse 9 eye has not seen nor ear heard nor have entered into the heart of man the things which god has prepared for those who love him.

We don't even understand it what he's. He's prepared them for me. It's all prepared. My eye doesn't see. My ear doesn't understand. My heart doesn't feel what god has prepared for you before the foundation of the world in eternity.

That's his love. It's infinite. I mean when we get a grasp of this and realize it's for those who love him. If you don't love him you don't. You don't understand any of this. But as you get deeper and deeper in your love affair with him you begin to realize oh my god.

He told me to go to israel. I didn't know why but i went. I had these encounters with jesus all over all over israel. He was preparing me to move there one day. But i didn't know it. I just went. Then i come back all filled with fire for israel.

And the fire of god fell on me and mount carmel in my car and all these things that that happened. And then i fall in love with a jew. Hallelujah. God knew that in eternity. I didn't know it. And god had spoken to her and said one day you will go back to the land of your inheritance and bring the gift of the love of the messiah to your own people who don't know me.

I didn't know that about her when i sat in a restaurant with her and looked at her for the first time we were together. And the holy spirit said this is your wife. I i knew it and i'll tell you. I ran after it nothing doubting.

Just like peter i said to her can i see you again. And she said that would be nice. We didn't waste any time when the holy spirit moves just hang on. You know you're going for a ride. Hallelujah. And you go places you'd never ever.

You'll be up in the high places maybe even on mount carmel. Hallelujah. So the lord has for those who love him. You get more and more and more of his vision of his revelation. But it means developing your love affair with jesus.

Do you really i mean what. This man comes to jesus and says how do you keep the law. And he says love the lord. Be your god with all your heart mind soul and spirit. Love your neighbor as yourself. That's how you do it.

And most of us we don't love god the way we should i mean if i've met people around the world where we're ministering so. And they said i don't. I never have felt god's love. Listen god loves you so much that he wants to touch you this morning with his love that you will.

We love him because he first loved us. Can you imagine if i said to karen when i asked her to marry me i went to her place her apartment i had on a tuxedo. I had a dozen roses. I had a bible. I had print print her name printed on this beautiful leather bible in gold.

But it was my name karen davis. I knew she was going to say yes. I had an oil lamp that was filled with with oil because in bible times the the bride would put the oil a lamp up in the window and keep it lit until the bridegroom came and the house was prepared.

And they came to the village and and shouting. And then she went out with him. It's the what the yeshua's jesus is uh parable of the virgins is all about. So i brought her this oil lamp that we were gonna light.

I got down on one knee and i said karen will you marry me. And she said yes. Now what if i had said to her karen i love you with 60 of my heart. Can you imagine we need to love the lord all our heart.

He's our bridegroom. We're he's preparing us as his bride. Hallelujah. We don't want to limit god. We want to love him more and more and more and receive more of his love more of his grace more of his power.

It's it's it's limitless. And so many believers limit god. We don't want to do that. We should expect great miracles. We should expect the lord to move in great power. We should expect jews to get saved when they're stiff-necked.

And it's difficult. We should expect the veil to fall off even after people that have called themselves. Christians have done terrible things to the jews for centuries. They don't want jesus. But god says all israel is going to get saved and i believe it.

So we're going to see major miracles. We've seen a lot but there's so much more coming. We don't want to limit him and say well we've done a good job. Let's take a break. Let's retire. You don't retire in the kingdom of god.

You get re-fired. You don't get retired. Hallelujah. Praise the lord. Now look at james chapter 4. Well wait a yeah verse 10. But god has revealed them through the spirit. For the spirit searches the things.

Walking in the Spirit Through Prayer and Obedience

Yes the deep things of god. You have got to walk in the spirit. If you want to know where has god taken me. What are we doing. And how do you do that. You fast and pray. You seek his face. You don't be a prayerless believer.

You need to be a man and woman of prayer. You have got to spend time with god with his word. And you will hear he's always speaking to his children his children know his voice. He's the good shepherd.

He will lead you. He will pick you up and put you on his shoulders and say come on. We're taking the promised land. Whatever it is in your life. I've been sitting here in this hotel room while we've been here saying lord i'm going back to israel tomorrow.

What's next. What's next. What. That's what we were doing in a cabin up in the in the alps before we came here. Lord show me what's next. I don't want to stay where we are. Praise god for what's happened.

You know we have five buildings on mount carmel. We have a women's rehab a women women's shelter. And did you. You know when we came to israel the lord said go get jews and arabs. So we started with drug addicts.

We got a women's shelter. Peter suka here. His wife rita uh runs it. He'll be here wednesday night. She's a jew from new york and we stay. He's a japanese american israeli. So they're the one new man.

Hallelujah. There's no other one that i know of. Maybe you know one. So we got a building for the women. We just got it. I don't know how god did it. He just did it. He told us i want a place for battered women that are beaten up.

Women don't want to keep their babies. That don't want to have abortions. Jews and arabs together. So we started doing it. We don't know how to do it. Just do it in the power power of the holy spirit.

Who's in charge there. The holy spirit needs to be in charge. And so you know what happened four years ago the terrible genocide that was happening in darfur in africa. In sudan you know about it. All these poor muslims were being slaughtered and nominal christians and so on.

They started fleeing by the thousands. And many of them fled into egypt. And in egypt they have been persecuted. There are their refugee camps there. I know people that go in. There's a revival broke out among them.

But about 15 000 have come across the sinai border in the desert into israel. And they've asked the israeli army and the border guards. We want to be refugees. We have no country. Will you take us in.

And israel started taking them in the first place our government called was our women's shelter on mount carmel. That shelter for four years has been filled with africans from sudan single mothers orphans.

First little boy that i met when he came in his name is muhammad. Now we've had about 30 babies born there. They're not born in the place. They go to the hospital. Israel government helps us un helps us and so on.

You know what they're naming their children. Now these ladies joshua. There's a moses. They're not muhammad anymore. They're joshua. Freedom. One boy's name is freedom. One boy's name is even named zion.

They're thankful. But we didn't know god was going to do that. What if we said to the government. No no no this is for battered women. We don't take in orphans from sudan. We don't know how to do that.

That's limiting. God listen. Years ago a friend of mine called and said i found these two boys one two brothers one's 11 and one's 13. They're getting into trouble. Their parents are have all kinds of problems.

The government has taken them away from their parents. And uh and uh would you take them at house of victory. Our drug rehab. I said i can't take an 11 year old boy at house of victory. These are older men drug addicts jews and arabs.

You know they're coming through withdrawal heroin addicts. He said would you just meet them. So he brought them to house of victory one morning this little boy 11 years old and his brother's 13. And i said to them i don't boys.

This isn't the place for you. We believe in jesus we teach the bible. We only watch christian television. You would have to go to school. I know you don't go to school anymore. And worst of all you'd have to do dishes here and get up early.

You don't want to do dishes. I was trying to talk them out of it. The little boy his name is david looks at me and he says we can do it. He broke my heart. So i told karen we're going to take those boys in.

I told the staff. The staff said i don't. We don't know anything about teenagers. I said i know we don't. But he does. And what's the vision for this place. It's isaiah 58. Whoever he sends bring them in and feed them and clothe them and the and his light will shine.

So we brought them in. And some of you know the story they became our children. We adopted them. Hallelujah. Now what if i hadn't done that. They're both married now. One of them has a baby. I'm. I had the privilege of marrying both of them up on mount carl.

What if we hadn't taken them in. I would have missed the privilege of fathering these two boys. The most difficult thing i've ever done. Hallelujah. But listen. Don't limit god. If god says bring in an 11 year old boy.

Bring him in. Even if you say my understanding that can't figure this out. His uh his ways are so they are in. They are higher than our ways. Just obey him and don't limit him and give him room to work.

Hallelujah. Now james chapter 4. James the fourth chapter. Oh god. I don't want to limit you. I want to see you break forth and just get out of your way. James chapter 4 verse five. Do you think that the scripture says in vain.

The spirit who dwells in you dwells in us. Yearns jealously. Do you know that the holy spirit if you're born again if you've received the spirit of god the holy spirit in you. He's. He's crying abba. He's crying abba.

He's talking to the father. Just connect with him. What is the holy spirit praying. I believe the pastor heard from the this morning we're supposed to pray for uganda. You know. And so we did praise the lord.

It's god's heart for uganda. And when the lord says pray for uganda pray for uganda. Don't don't pray for your you know for your whatever for a new car. Unless he tells you to which reminds me. No no never mind.

But the holy spirit is yearning jealously. The holy spirit is in a love affair with you. The holy spirit loves you. Do you know the holy spirit he yearns. Don't you love to be in the holy spirit. Don't you love to have those sweet moments where the you know that.

Oh holy spirit i love you. Oh spirit of the living god. You came and lived in me. You're a temple of the holy spirit. Look. Look around at somebody pastor. You are a temple of the holy spirit. Isn't this awesome.

The holy spirit is living in you living in this baby. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The holy spirit is yearning. It's trying to say to peter i'll give you three visions until you get it. You got to take this gospel to the gentiles.

And he said i obeyed the spirit doubting nothing. And he marched up that beach and took that gospel into cesarea cornelius's house. They called him in and jerusalem and said what are you doing. Going to the gentiles and going into this guy's house.

And he said the holy spirit fell on him just the way it did at pentecost. And they all there silence went. Oh this is bigger than we thought. This is going all over the world. Hallelujah. Because god got a hold of somebody that wouldn't limit him took the limits off.

Look you had you. He god is sovereign. He can do whatever he wants. But he's given us free will. We can make decisions and choose to go with all of him or only have part of him. You don't want to live that way.

You don't want to be a part-time believer. We need to be full-time for god. Hallelujah. He goes on and he says verse draw near to god. Verse 8. And he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands. You sinners purify your hearts.

You double-minded. Listen this is james the apostle jacob was his name yakov peter jesus's brother. He was saying to believers some of you are double-minded. You don't want all of the holy spirit. You got one foot in the world.