We are really praying that God would move powerfully among the people of southern Senegal. And we pray with an expectation that He will bring this to pass. Not because of us or because of methods or because of an organization. We pray with this expectation because of the power of the Gospel and because of the goodness of God to lovingly call people to Himself. I read the following quote today that sums up the expectation of the preaching of the Gospel.
“St Paul expected his hearers to be moved. He so believed in his preaching that he knew that it was “the power of God unto salvation” [Rom. 1:16]. This expectation is a very real part of the presentation of the Gospel. It is a form of faith. A mere preaching which is not accompanied by the expectation of faith, is not a true preaching of the Gospel, because faith is a part of the Gospel. Simply to scatter the seed, with a sort of vague hope that some of it may come up somewhere, is not preaching the gospel. It is indeed a misrepresentation of the gospel. To preach the Gospel requires that the preacher should believe that he is sent to those whom he is addressing at the moment, because God has among them those whom He is at the moment calling: it requires that the speaker should expect a response.”
—Roland Allen, Missionary Methods—St. Paul’s or Ours? (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1962), p. 74
Pray with us as we expect great things from our great God and His great Gospel. And as we pray, may we preach and live with great expectations!
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