The day continued with many more speeches and then we got to the main sermon. It was preached by a local pastor on Matthew 20:1-13 on the parable of workers in the vineyard.

He started off by having the text read by one of the translators in Akosse then he apologized for not being able to read in his mother tongue but he was going to be attending the literacy class so he could bring the Word of God in his mother tongue.

He shared that the gospel was first brought to Tombel 115 years ago and that they were not late in receiving their New Testament but they received it at just the right time that God had planned, and the 30 other languages that he knows near Tombel that are still waiting will also not be late but will receive it at just the right time. He also was grateful for the courage of the translators. There can be great risk when translating the Bible that something could be added or subtracted but he was glad that many of the risks were minimized with the many checks that are put into place when there is a translation project.

He reminded us that Jesus was talking about the Kingdom of God in this parable. He shared that the Bakossi people are farmers and they understand that people go to work at different times throughout the day, but it goes against our way of thinking to pay everyone the same amount for different work. In this parable God turned the tables upside down and everyone gets paid the same. God turns our common stuff upside down. He emphasized that Everything is God’s business.

He ended that when he hears the Bible read in his mother tongue of Akosse he receives it differently. His soul is lifted and nothing needs to be added or subtracted. We’ve danced in the dark for too long because of misunderstandings, but now there can be no misunderstandings.

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:16

Pray for all those that are able to read Akosse and for those that are beginning to learn how to read that God will open their eyes and hearts to his eternal truths.