25th Jan 2011

John 4:27-38 – The Disciples rejoin Jesus

• “All in a Row”
• On their return, the disciples rejoin Jesus and are surprised to see Him talking to the woman but not enough to ask questions.
• The issues they tackle are physical ones such as Jesus’ food requirements and Jesus uses this to teach them another principle.
• It is almost as though in this vase they are not inquisitive enough and so Jesus gets them thinking.
• He teaches them a couple of lessons and one of them in particular is good for all leaders to remember.
• We are reaping where others have sown.
• When I first approached schools in Manchester in the late 80’s, a group of churches had already plied them with free books that the schools had need for.
• There were also other people who went into schools as part of their evangelistic efforts.
• I came next and began to open more schools up and then recruit teams and link the students to churches.
• Other Pais people have built on top of that.
• We are all in a row.
• Nothing starts or stops with us.
• We are part of an organic chain of events and process.
• It is good to be reminded of this.
• If we take ourselves out of the picture it affects all those following us. It will not stop the process but it will perhaps delay things.
• Nothing stops or starts with me and that is very good to remember.
• I am not critical to God’s plans but I can be a catalyst.
• I need to keep praying for humility.