This evening I am back at Iglesia La Paz - it is a smaller church than Antioch - it is a mixture if Latin & Kuna. The congregation is younger and I think more contemporary in their music and thinking.
With such a young congregation I changed what I was going to speak about and went to Joshua 1:1-8 and talked about how God prepares us to do great things.
At Antioch all songs were traditional Baptist - here they sang Matt Redmonds Bless The Lord O My Soul ... In Kuna then Spanish. It was amazing.
Before service I met this man. His name is Galvec Pena. Many years ago he was lead to faith in Christ by a missionary on his island of Ali Ghandi. The missionary taught him English and he worked on the Construction of the Panama Canal. In March of 1992, he was invited to Glorieta In New Mexico for an international gathering of indigenous Central American Indian Cultures. He still loves The Lord and is so greatful for the men and women that sent that missionary to tell him about Jesus. He came tonight with his wife and grand kids. Amazing and Amen.
This little dude looked like he was ready to preach! He was strutting his stuff!
Music is an important part of Panamanian worship. Each night there is 45 minutes of music with many different leaders. They were training up the next leaders! They did a great job And the crowd joined right in!
The crowd during music grew to standing room only .... Spilled outside and continued to grow.
With such a young congregation I changed what I was going to speak about and went to Joshua 1:1-8 and talked about how God prepares us to do great things.
As God encouraged Joshua, I encouraged them to remember God was with them and would never leave them or forsake them. Also Gods Promises to Moses extended to Joshua - Remember God's Promises. I told them it would not be easy. Even though God had given the land to the Isrealites there would still be battles, loss and suffering - so they must be strong, courageous and battle through discouragement. Spend time with God's Word and follow His ways. If this is done - you will be successful in all you do.
I challenged them to impact their community, their country for the Lord! To stand firm in the face of temptation and ridicule. It was an extremely powerful evening. At the end the pastor extended the invitation and many responded.
Some things are the same in every culture. After service a group of ladies had a meeting - I tried to sit down with them, but they shooed me away and laughed a lot.
Tomorrow I'll be teaching in Antioch in the morning, preaching in La Pas in the evening then traveling back to Panama City to stay at a hotel that evening - catch my flight and head home. It's been a good day. It's been a fruitful trip. Please keep praying.
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