Week Five - Promise of the Spirit
Wednesday — Declaring His Glory
New Testament Scripture - Acts 2:11
“In our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
Old Testament Scripture - Psalm 96:3
“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples.”
The Miracle of Hearing
Acts lists regions and nations in deliberate detail. The miracle is not random speech. It is intelligibility to those who do not know it.
Others hear in their own languages the mighty works of God.
Psalm 96 commanded Israel to declare God’s glory among the nations. Pentecost shows that declaration breaking open linguistic boundaries.
This is what I find interesting - this is like Babel reversed! In Genesis 11, language divides humanity. Pride fragments the world. At Pentecost, the Spirit does not eliminate language. He redeems it. The difference remains but now the division does not.
The gospel is not translated after the fact — it is spoken multilingually from the beginning.
The kingdom was always global in scope. Pentecost makes that audible and available to all who were present to listen. In Wesleyan Methodism - we do not see this as speaking in tongues - as in the modern pentecostal traditions - but literal other languages others recognize as their own.
A Church Turned Outward
The Spirit does not fill the disciples for private experience. He fills them for proclamation.
Witness is not domination. It is declaration.
The church does not exist for self-preservation. It exists to speak of the King’s mighty works.
And notice — they speak about what God has done. The message is not their achievement. It is His action. This is truly what i call the - "is it a girl or boy" moment for the new church being birthed. In Acts Two we get the baby wrapped in blankets and ready to nurse.
Prayer
God of every tribe and tongue,
Expand our vision beyond what feels familiar.
Let our words and lives declare Your glory
to every people You love.
Amen.
New Testament Scripture - Acts 2:11
“In our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
Old Testament Scripture - Psalm 96:3
“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples.”
The Miracle of Hearing
Acts lists regions and nations in deliberate detail. The miracle is not random speech. It is intelligibility to those who do not know it.
Others hear in their own languages the mighty works of God.
Psalm 96 commanded Israel to declare God’s glory among the nations. Pentecost shows that declaration breaking open linguistic boundaries.
This is what I find interesting - this is like Babel reversed! In Genesis 11, language divides humanity. Pride fragments the world. At Pentecost, the Spirit does not eliminate language. He redeems it. The difference remains but now the division does not.
The gospel is not translated after the fact — it is spoken multilingually from the beginning.
The kingdom was always global in scope. Pentecost makes that audible and available to all who were present to listen. In Wesleyan Methodism - we do not see this as speaking in tongues - as in the modern pentecostal traditions - but literal other languages others recognize as their own.
A Church Turned Outward
The Spirit does not fill the disciples for private experience. He fills them for proclamation.
Witness is not domination. It is declaration.
The church does not exist for self-preservation. It exists to speak of the King’s mighty works.
And notice — they speak about what God has done. The message is not their achievement. It is His action. This is truly what i call the - "is it a girl or boy" moment for the new church being birthed. In Acts Two we get the baby wrapped in blankets and ready to nurse.
Prayer
God of every tribe and tongue,
Expand our vision beyond what feels familiar.
Let our words and lives declare Your glory
to every people You love.
Amen.
Posted in Easter Season 2026
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