Taking the Fire of God’s Word to the Nations

The fire of God must go to the ethnin, the nations, the people groups of the world. Acts 13 shows the church in Antioch worshiping, fasting, hearing the Holy Spirit, laying hands on Barnabas and Saul, and sending them out. The Holy Spirit did not call Saul merely to have a Damascus Road experience. Christ met him, changed him, and commissioned him to carry His name to Gentiles, kings, and Jews.

Paul never stopped loving his own Jewish people, but God had given him a calling beyond familiar ground. Barnabas recognized that calling when Antioch needed help. Barnabas went looking for Saul in Tarsus, brought him into the revival happening among Gentiles, and later stood with him as the church sent them from Seleucia toward Cyprus. Antioch became a sending church, and that same mission continues wherever believers give, pray, and send the Word into places that still need it.

The Word of God has power to change lives, but pastors and believers need more than a Bible they cannot fully understand. The Fire Bible brings Scripture, Spirit filled notes, doctrine, discipleship tools, and pastoral help into heart languages. Translation is not simple work. A word like snow may mean nothing to people who have never seen it, so translators must labor carefully until the Word speaks clearly within the setting of people’s lives.

The hunger for God’s Word is real. Believers across the world are asking, begging, for the Fire Bible in their own languages. The Tidem Chin people of Myanmar carried bundles of Bibles over rough terrain, across a river, and into villages because they knew what had arrived was worth the journey. A letter from China told of people hearing Bible readings as “poetry,” praying for an injured water buffalo, seeing God heal it, and making the God of those words their God.

The Fire Bible carries the same gospel Paul carried through cities, villages, synagogues, marketplaces, opposition, and prison cells. Paul may never have known how far that road would reach, but he knew the fire had to go to the ethnin. The vision of Bibles in a hundred languages points toward the day when every tribe, tongue, and language will stand before God’s throne singing hallelujah. The generosity of a sending church helps place that fire into hands, homes, churches, and nations.

Key Takeaways

• 1. The fire must reach nations
  The ethnin means more than countries on a map. It means real people, cultures, languages, and communities who need to hear the name of Jesus in words they can understand. The mission of Acts 13 remains unfinished until the fire of God’s Word reaches those places. [1:37:45]
• 2. Waiting on God still matters
  Worship and prayer must not become hurried interruptions before the next item on a schedule. The Holy Spirit speaks in a church that makes room to worship, fast, listen, and respond. The gifts of the Spirit and miracles of God belong in the normal life of the church, not merely in occasional moments. [1:29:52]
• 3. God’s Word needs heart languages
  Translation is more than exchanging one word for another. God’s Word must be carefully brought into the language, images, and understanding of a people so its truth can be received clearly. Sound doctrine and Spirit filled discipleship strengthen pastors who are carrying the gospel in difficult places. [2:01:45]
• 4. Sending churches share Paul’s mission
  Antioch did not merely admire Barnabas and Saul. Antioch prayed, laid hands on them, released them, and became their sending church. Giving toward Bible translation joins the work of sending the gospel far beyond the walls of a local congregation. [1:50:55]
• 5. Heaven gathers every tribe and tongue
  The vision of believers from many nations singing together gives a glimpse of the throne room of God. Every Bible placed in a heart language serves that coming day when people from every tribe, tongue, and language worship the Lamb. The fire going to the ethnin is headed toward that great gathering. [2:14:26]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [1:23:50] - Returning to Worship and God’s Presence
• [1:29:17] - Making Room for the Holy Spirit
• [1:32:40] - Believing God for Healing and Miracles
• [1:36:23] - Today Is the Day of Salvation
• [1:37:45] - The Fire Must Go to the Ethnin
• [1:39:23] - Paul’s Call to the Gentiles
• [1:45:03] - Barnabas Brings Saul to Antioch
• [1:48:58] - Antioch Sends Missionaries
• [1:51:24] - Why the Fire Bible Matters
• [1:55:35] - A Healing Testimony from China
• [2:00:52] - The Challenge of Heart Language Translation
• [2:03:21] - Fire Bible Translation Projects Worldwide
• [2:08:08] - Bibles Carried to Myanmar Villages
• [2:12:15] - Paul’s Faithful Race and Heaven’s Worship

1. In Acts 13:2–4, what were the believers in Antioch doing when the Holy Spirit spoke, and how did the church respond to His direction? [01:48:58]
2. According to Acts 9:15, which groups of people was Saul chosen to reach with the name of Jesus? [01:41:14]
3. What did Barnabas do when he saw the growing Gentile church in Antioch, and why was Saul a fitting person to bring into that work? [01:47:35]
4. What difficulties did the Tidem Chin believers face in getting Fire Bibles from where they arrived into their villages? [02:08:32]

1. Why is it significant that the Holy Spirit set apart Barnabas and Saul while the church was worshiping and fasting, rather than simply after the church made a strategic plan? [01:49:08]
2. Saul continued to love and share Christ with Jewish people, yet his calling especially included the Gentiles. What does this show about how God can give a believer a specific mission without diminishing love for other people? [01:41:32]
3. Antioch did more than celebrate Barnabas and Saul’s calling; it prayed, laid hands on them, and sent them out. What does this suggest a sending church contributes to mission work beyond financial support? [01:50:24]
4. Why does putting Scripture and discipleship resources into a heart language matter for pastors and believers, especially when familiar images or words may not make sense in another culture? [02:01:28]

1. Is there a pattern of rushing through worship, prayer, or Scripture in daily life? What would it look like to make a more intentional space to worship, listen, and respond to the Holy Spirit this week? [01:29:52]
2. Barnabas saw God’s work in Antioch and went looking for Saul so that Saul’s calling could serve the church. Who is someone whose gifts or calling could be encouraged, affirmed, or invited into meaningful service? [01:46:13]
3. The mission to the nations includes real people, languages, cultures, and communities. What people group, nation, or local cross-cultural community could the group begin praying for by name? [01:37:47]
4. Believers in Myanmar carried bundles of Bibles across difficult terrain because they recognized their value. How does that picture challenge or encourage the way group members value and use the access they already have to God’s Word? [02:08:44]
5. Bible translation and pastoral training require patient work, careful listening, and generous support. What is one practical way each person can participate in sending—through prayer, giving, encouragement, or sharing the gospel locally? [02:06:42]
6. Revelation 7:9 gives a picture of every tribe, language, people, and nation gathered before God’s throne. How can that future hope shape the way group members welcome people who are different from them in the church and community? [02:14:58]