Post 84 / The Next Language

Voices in the Wilderness

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight’” (Mark 1:3).

What John the Baptist was to Jesus the Christ so is Global Recordings to global missions.

We create these voices that are often unique ones in a world of spiritual darkness and cultural ignorance of Absolute Truth. These voices are in the idiom of persons at the most fundamental level of societal existence. The voices of mothers whispering to their innocent but non-understanding infants. The voices of those grieving over the lifeless bodies of nearest of kin. The voices of admonition from the elderly.

These voices combine — perhaps for the first time in history — local speech forms with the utterance of a Word from God. This combination can and often does come with explosive power – the sort of effects that came with the voice of John the Baptist. These prophetic voices of hope and good tidings are for all who will listen. These voices are a bridge from centuries of tradition to a new paradigm for each culture, an introduction to a Person who can and will make all things new.

Yesterday I enjoyed breakfast with an elder who is currently a very qualified translation consultant. He is gone now so I don’t have permission to share his name but I think he would not mind me sharing his story.

He was born into a Christianized tribe in northeast Nigeria which was under pressure from Islamic influencers and warriors. My friend had tried repeatedly to witness to a certain imam (Muslim cleric) but was always repulsed strongly.

When the book of Luke was completed and recorded my friend took an audiocassette to the imam. To his surprise the man accepted the cassette and listened to it incessantly and played it openly in the Mosque. Because that cassette arrived in the local idiom in oral form it was like water in a thirsty land. You see, the Muslims prohibit even ordinary speech in the local languages. The Koran is presented in Arabic and the devout must memorize it. The day-to-day language is the Hausa trade language, but the Koran must not be written in the languages of “infidels.” My friend insisted that it is absolutely necessary for the Koran to be hidden in an “unknown language” because if what it was actually saying were understood, it would be rejected outright.

This audiocassette, a true “voice in the wilderness,” challenged the sterile alien format of the former “revelation” and became welcome and Good News to this imam. Our focus on “The story of Jesus in every language” will always be good news to those who still love and use their mother tongue. Of course, it will be bad news to those who oppose the truth. As in the days of John there will be those that believe and those who dare not. Nonetheless, using the vernacular will always open the way for the direct insertion into that culture of Jesus and His life and the Kingdom of God … and maybe even a New Testament and a local church.

God Bless,

Larry DeVilbiss | Executive Director

Global Recordings Network USA

If you are interested in learning how to share links on social media that will promote use of our recordings and the Gospel in general, please contact RolandHeck@GlobalRecordings.Net

Previous “The Next Language” posts
Nigeria – First Impressions – Post 83
From the Land of Nod – Post 82
Tribute to Mexico – 1967 – 2022 – Post 81
Miniaturization – Post 80
Knowing The Times – Post 79
God Comes to a Dirty World – Post 78
Corn in Mexico – Post 77
When the Church Says No – Post 76
War – Post 75
Theirs Is the Kingdom – Post 74
The Hippie Era Lives On – Post 73
Genesis of a Recording Set – Post 72
Back Tracking – Post 71
Witnesses- Post 70
Who Is Your Owner? – Post 69
An Unsolicited Endorsement – Post 68
Oral Tradition – Post 67
Works of  Man – Post 66
Deliverance – Post 65
New Discoveries – Post 64
The Wall of Pain – Post 63
Is There a Place for the Gospel in Your Story – Post 62
The Love Pyramid – Post 61
Obsession – Post 60
Verb Tenses in Hebrews – Post 59
The Unseen Weapon – Post 58
The Gospel Arrives in Zapoteco:Elotepec – Post 57
Fishing – GRN Style – Post 56
A New Day in Mexico – Post 55
Seeking – Post 54
Pick Your Battles – Post 53
How Big Is Your God? – Post 52
A Muted Gospel? – Post 51
Dedication Service for Marcos – Post 50
Two Weeks, Two Months, Two Years – Post 49
What Will You Give to Jesus – Post 48
Special Assignment – Post 47
The Good and the Best – Post 46
How Many Languages Are There? – Post 45
Verifying Speech Varieties – Post 44
Those God Things – Post 43
Meet Notch, the Desert Cottontail – Post 42
The Lost Languages – Post 41
The Rest of the Yoke – Post 40
What About Those Last Languages – Post 39
A Yoke That Fits – Post 38
The Other Side – Post 37
It Is Finished – Post 36
On the Ground in Culiacan – Post 35
I Will Go With Thee – Post 34
Unseen Warfare – Post 33
God of the Gaps – Post 32
The Father of Faith Missions – Post 31
WAIT – Post 30
Our Ultimate Weapon – Post 29
What Are You Doing Here – Post 28
Recordist Training Course Update – Post 27
Still Shameful – Post 26
Numbers Update – Post 25
The Gospel and Idolatry – Post 24
Could Ye Not Pray – Post 23
John the Baptist and the New Normal – Post 22
Genesis of a Script – Post 21
Embena Experiences – Post 20
An Easter Like No Other – Post 19
Go Or Stay Home – Post 18
The Next Language – Post 17
The Next Language – Post 16
The Next Language – Post 15
The Next Language – Post 14
The Next Language – Post 13
The Next Language – Post 12
The Next Language – Post 11
The Next Language – Post 10
The Next Language – Post 9
The Next Language – Post 8
The Next Language – Post 7
The Next Language – Post 6
The Next Language – Post 5
The Next Language – Post 4
The Next Language – Post 3
The Next Language – Post 2
The Next Language – Post 1