This is a write up of the message from the December 2020 fasting and prayer weekend led by Pastor Praveen and held at our church. We had four sessions, Friday morning and evening and Saturday morning and evening (posted here). During our fasting and prayer sessions, it is usual for the Holy Spirit to speak to us through Pastor Praveen. Sometimes, he shares insights into the scripture that the Holy Spirit provides to him through revelation.

Introductory Remarks – God Is Living in Us

We must worship our God because He is living in His church. Each day before we move, speak, or make a decision we need to remember, the Master is in me – ask Him. He will hear you and speak to you. The Holy Spirit is our Great Mentor. He is living in His church and we are the church. When we come together in the presence of the Lord, we are coming with a heavenly presence. There will be the love of Christ, compassion, kindness, and forgiveness. Heaven is with us in our hearts. So we will act and speak like heavenly children – children of God. Our minds will become like the minds of Jesus. 

Pastor Praveen’s Message – We Must Obey the Truth

Called for God’s Future Purpose

Pastor Praveen shared Romans 10:17 (NKJV) – “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” There is a process to this. First, we need to hear the word of God. Then we need to obey the word of God. We can’t just hear the word or read the bible. We must obey the truth. The word of God is truth.

Remember 1 Peter 1:22* – “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.” This is the process. When we obey the word, it will automatically purify us. It will sanctify our thoughts and remove all the dirty things from our lives. Our minds will become like the mind of God. Then we will have sincere love for each other. We will love one another deeply from the heart. 

Because we listen to the word but do not obey, we still have areas in our lives that are yet to be cleansed. When our forefathers heard the voice of God, they believed and obeyed. Moses had seen fire many times while tending the sheep in the wilderness. Once, however, he saw an extraordinary fire. When God spoke from the fire, Moses believed and obeyed. That is why God took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and gave it to 70 others who would help him. When they received the Spirit, they began to prophesy (Numbers 11:17, 25). 

This account tells us that if you are obeying the word of God, you cannot measure the power and anointing the Spirit of God has given you. There is no favoritism. If God took power from Moses and put it on 70 people, imagine what we, as the inheritance of Jesus, will have if we are obedient. Therefore, we should know how to put this power to work. 

Pastor Praveen said God calls people for His future purpose. God called Gideon “mighty warrior.” (Judges 6:12). However, he was not a mighty warrior at that time. “Mighty Warrior” was Gideon’s future name, characterizing what he would be in the future. This means that our calling is for God’s future plan and purpose. When God called him “mighty warrior,” Gideon was nothing. He was afraid of the enemy. He had heard many things about his ancestors’ God, but he hadn’t experienced any of it. But God saw him and called Him by his future name – what God would make him in the future. Pastor Praveen said that God wants to call somebody’s name tonight for His future plan. 

Gideon listened and believed. Not only that, but God told him, “Without me you can do nothing, Gideon. But I will be with you. You will strike down all the Midianites. That is the way I am going to make you a mighty warrior” (Judges 6:16; paraphrase). Gideon had wondered, “I am going to be a mighty warrior? What are you talking about?” (Judges 6:15; paraphrase). But it was his future name. 

Remember, God also changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai became Sarah (Genesis 17:5).  These were their future names. Abraham would be a prince and Sarah a princess. Pastor Praveen asked how many of us want to know our future names for God’s future plan in our lives. 

Place Everything on the Rock

When Gideon heard God’s voice, “I will be with you…” he wanted to submit and accept the calling. He wanted to give an offering. God agreed to wait while Gideon prepared it. Then God told him, “Gideon, you need to place your offering on the rock.” Then the angel of the Lord touched the offering with the tip of His staff. The flame came out of the rock and burned the offering. (Judges 6:20-22; paraphrase). 

In this way we need to give our lives to Jesus. We have to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). When you place your heart and hope, everything you have, on the rock, He will touch your heart and fill it with an extraordinary Spirit of fire. You will receive an extraordinary anointing. God is a blazing fire, a consuming fire. But for His children he will give anointing by fire. God doesn’t want anything from us – only our hearts. If you are clothed with the Spirit of fire, no one can bite you, no one can touch you.

Revelation 4:5 says flashes were coming from the throne in heaven and seven lamps were blazing in front of the throne. These are the seven spirits of God. He is ready to give his fire for His children. When Pastor Praveen was reading this chapter, God told him, “This is the way I will touch them. They must place their hearts in my hand. Then I will touch them and fill them with fire. I need my children’s bodies as a living sacrifice. If they will give it into my hand, I will fill them with power. They will receive the Spirit of fire. They will receive the tongues of fire. I will touch them.”  

When Gideon’s sacrifice was consumed with fire, he said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!” But the Lord said to him, “Peace. Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” (Judges 6:22-23). Then the angel of the Lord disappeared. 

Who is the angel of the Lord? Remember that according to Genesis 18:1-33, three men appeared to Abraham. Two of them went to Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy those cities, but Abraham remained standing in the presence of the Jehovah, the Lord. Understand this: the Father is the commanding Chief, the Son is the “do-er,” and the Holy Spirit is the breath of God. 

Therefore, the angel of the Lord is the Son, who was pleased to receive the offering from Gideon. Then He disappeared. Gideon had been in the presence of the Lord, Jehovah. Moses received anointing from the Spirit of fire in the wilderness. In the same way, Gideon received anointing from the fire that came from the rock. He was filled with the Spirit. 

You Need the Blazing Torch in Your Clay Jar

For Gideon’s battle against the Midianites, God chose 300 men. He gave them only trumpets and empty jars. Then he put a blazing torch in each jar. What do the trumpets, the empty jars, and the torches stand for in Judges 7:16?

To answer this, Pastor Praveen highlighted several verses. In Ezekiel, God said, “I will give you a new heart. Then I will put a new spirit in your new heart. I am going to remove your old heart of stone which I cannot use.” (Ezekiel 36:26; paraphrase). Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12). In Matthew 5:14 He said, “You are the light of the world.” When the light of the world comes into our lives, we will shine by the light of God. 

Pastor Praveen also called our attention to Genesis 15. “When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.” (Genesis 15:17). Abraham had been waiting for the presence of the Lord. God had made promises and Abraham had asked, “How can this be?” (Genesis 15:8; paraphrase). That is why God asked him to bring an offering. Abraham had done so and was now waiting for the Lord. But he fell asleep because darkness had fallen (Genesis 15:12; paraphrase). 

Then the smoking pot appeared with a flaming torch. The Lord said that after 400 years, Abraham’s descendants would be delivered by the One coming behind Him. He is a blazing torch and He was coming into the world. When the blazing torch comes into you, you become a blazing torch, the light of the world. You will shine like a blazing torch so the enemy will not be able to see you. The enemy will flee from before you. We need this blazing torch in our jar. We are the clay jars. 

In the New Testament account, John 4:4-26, a Samaritan woman changed in the presence of the Lord. She left her old jar at the well. She didn’t want it anymore. She was feeling polluted and sinful. Evil things were in the old jar. But the presence of God changed her heart. With her new heart, she was the first evangelist. She went into the city and brought the city back with her. 

If the Blazing Torch comes into our clay jars, we will not be able to keep quiet. We will shout to the Lord and praise the Lord like a trumpet. The jar will break and the fire will come out. When you shout to the Lord, the fire will automatically come out of your jar. Then the enemy will not be able to stand before you because of the powerful radiance. He will flee from before your family, children, church, community, and city.

Jesus said, “I am always with you. I am living in your heart.” (Matthew 28:20; paraphrase). The scriptures also say, “The streams of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:38). We are clay, but heaven is inside of us – the consuming fire, the living water – for different purposes and plans. That is how God will make us mighty warriors. 

Many people have told Pastor Praveen that when he preaches, they see the fire – Jesus – in his eyes. Why? Because we are clay jars. We need to give Him a chance to be the captain of our lives. Then the Blazing Torch will come inside. If we open our clay jar to Him, he will come and live in our hearts. When you walk, sick people will be healed by your shadow. Why, because the Blazing Torch is in you.

There is power in the name of Jesus. That is why God said in Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart. Then I will put a new spirit in you” – a spirit of fire. Receive this fire like Peter did at Pentecost. Afterward, he raised his voice – “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Why did the words spoken by Peter cut the people to their hearts? Because he spoke by the power of God and fire. The fire touched their hearts and they automatically surrendered, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37-38). This his how the churches will grow. 

When we reach out to the community, we are not alone. We are not going with an empty jar, but with a blazing torch. When you stand before someone’s house, the power of darkness will flee from the house because you are the light of the world. 

Wherever Pastor Praveen has set his feet, he has seen deliverance by the blood of Jesus. He told of a time when a man in Houston asked him to pray a blessing over a house that he had just purchased. The previous owner had not yet moved out, but she let Pastor Praveen and the buyer to come over to pray. When he prayed, the house buyer saw a tall dark man walk out of the house. But when they asked the seller, she said no one had been in the house but her. It was an evil spirit that they saw leaving the house when Pastor Praveen prayed a blessing on it. Pastor Praveen laughed with holy laughter. He said, “Brother, your house is set free from the evil spirit.” 

With an empty jar this would not have happened, but the blazing torch was in Pastor Praveen. Wherever he sets his feet, even without him knowing it, the radiance of the Lord is there. Remember that people tried to touch Jesus because the power was coming out of Him and healing them all (Luke 6:19). The same power is in us. 

How many of you need a new jar, a new heart, and a new spirit? He will give it to those who thirst and hunger. If the Blazing Torch is in you, nothing is impossible for you. Pray for your children, your husband or wife, or your community and there will be deliverance. But you must pray with fire and authority. How will the Blazing Torch come into your heart? By your obedience to the word. Sanctification and purification will automatically happen in your life, and then the Blazing Torch will come in. You cannot only hear the word or read the bible. You need to obey. 

If anyone wants an extraordinary anointing, remember that God has no favoritism. That is how Gideon became a mighty warrior – with his blazing torch – the Spirit of fire. God changed his life and his name with His anointing. Obey the word and you also will have victory in the name of Jesus. Wherever you go, you will not come back with emptiness, aloneness, or depression. You will come back with a great victory from the victorious God. 

Jesus said, “If you remain in me, my words will remain in you. Ask whatever you wish. It will be done for you.” (John 15:7; paraphrase). The word is God. God is Spirit. He is living water. He is fire. In this way, we will plunder the souls from the enemy. Ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you – without limit.

Concluding Remarks

All Is Well

Can you say, “All is well?” Remember that when the Shunammite woman’s son died, she told those who asked, “All is well.” (2 Kings 4:18-37). She didn’t even share with her husband. She told him, “All is well.” Why? She had already seen miracles in her life. She knew about the miracles of God. The child already died but she said, “All is well.” Elisha’s servant Gehazi also asked her, “Is all well?” She replied, “All is well.” If you have seen any miracles in your life you too can say, “All is well.” If God does one miracle in your life, he will continue to do miracles in your life. But we must remember the first miracle with a grateful heart. Then all will be well. 

God is Molding Us

God is molding us each day in different ways. Some days he will mold us outside of our family and some days he will mold us through our family. This means we should not blame circumstances on God. He will not leave us nor forsake us. He is training us and teaching us. He wants to use us mightily. He wants to sharpen us. So sometimes he crushes us and then molds us like a valuable vessel. This has been Pastor Praveen’s experience. If you are going through difficulties in your family, it is because God wants to use you in your own family. Be strong. Do not be afraid. 

He Will Not Pass By Our Tears

Elijah said to God, “I am alone.” But God told him, “You are not alone. There are 7000 others.” (1 King 19:18; paraphrase). In the same way, we are not worried about this wonderful country. In Australia, Singapore, countries in the Middle East, India, and other countries, Christians are calling Pastor Praveen. Those who call are so worried and sad about what is happening in the United States. They are so concerned about this country. They love this country. Like us, they are crying for this country. God is a gracious and long-suffering God. He will take charge. He may say, “I will remove the walls from around this country,” but when we cry, He will not pass by our tears. That is our God. His name is great and His heart is kind.  

*All scripture references are from the NIV unless otherwise indicated.