The Sound of the Nations
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข Have you ever had a little one help you with a taskโor remember a time when your parents or guardian let you help as a kid? How did that go?
โข Which country have you always wanted to go to? Why?
โข Think of a difficult task you need to complete. What do you think would help you accomplish that task better?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ป๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐น๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ด๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ?โ ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ.โ ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ, ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ท๐ฐ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ: โ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด.โ . . . ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด, โ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ?โ ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฎ:๐ญ๐ฎโ๐ญ๐ฐ, ๐ฏ๐ณ
Godโs heart and mission from the very beginning is to send His image-bearers, humanity, to ๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต (Genesis 1:28). However, when sin came into the world, the image of God in humans was marred, and He has been working to restore and redeem humanity while continuing in His mission for the nations. This is why the gospel is of first importance in our livesโit is the power of God for salvation of humanity and the restoration of the whole earth for His purpose and glory. Today, letโs see how God continues to work His purpose and mission in the Pentecost celebration in Acts 2.
๐ญ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ป๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐น๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ด๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ?โ ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ.โย ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฎ:๐ญ๐ฎโ๐ญ๐ฏ
As men gathered in Jerusalem for the Pentecost, their ears were drawn to the miraculous outpouring of the Holy Spirit which enabled the disciples to speak in foreign tongues. The disciples spoke of the ๐ฎ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ (Acts 2:11), which made the men curious. The disciples had a captive audience, ripe for the gospel to be sown into their hearts. Today, God may open doors for us in different waysโit may not be through miracles, but through sovereign acts in the lives of people or our acts of kindness that demonstrate Godโs love. Through these opportunities, people can be open to God. God is always moving, drawing people to Him. We just need to recognize what He is doing and participate in them. How did you first hear the gospel? How do you think God made that happen?
๐ฎ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น.ย
๐๐ถ๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ, ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ท๐ฐ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ: โ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด.โ . . . ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด, โ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ?" ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฎ:๐ญ๐ฐ, ๐ฏ๐ณ
The miraculous outpouring was not just meant for Jesusโ disciples to speak in other tongues. The Holy Spirit enabled and empowered the disciples, especially Peter, to speak boldly and reach people they never could have on their own. Peter preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to anyone who would listen. He was by no means an eloquent speaker or a man held in high regard in their society. Despite his limitations in knowledge and power, the Spirit empowered him to preach and the men who heard him were ๐ค๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต. In the same way, we need to recognize the opportunities God gives us and step out in faith to proclaim Him to others. How has the Holy Spirit helped you reach people you never thought you could? What doors or opportunities have you seen God open for you?ย
By the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in His disciples, many people from different nations responded to the gospel. As we proclaim the gospel to the nations, our hope and faith is that we will see Godโs mission and plan come into fruition. What happened during Pentecost is a foretaste of what will happen when Godโs mission is fulfilledโwhere ๐ข ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ถ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ด will worship God together for eternity (Acts 2:6, 11, 41; Revelation 7:9โ10).
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข Are you ready to proclaim who God is in your life, even when you find yourself in
unexpected or uncomfortable situations? What gifts, passions, or life experiences might He be preparing you to use?
โข Where in your life might God be calling you to step out and trust His power rather than your own ability? What open doors or opportunities around you can you maximize to make God known to others?
โข What practical ways can you take part in Godโs heart to reach the nations?ย
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for letting us take part in His mission to fill the earth with His glory. Pray that you would rely on the Holy Spirit every day to obey His commands.
โข Ask God to open your eyes to the different open doors and opportunities around you to preach the gospel. Pray that you would not hold back but be bold in proclaiming Jesus to others.ย
โข Pray for missionaries from your local church who are serving in other nations. Ask God to continually provide for them, protect them, and give them opportunities to preach the gospel with clarity despite communication and cultural barriers.