Prayer and Praise

Jesus said, “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” Matthew 26:40, so we start our journey of giving God time to work in us, by praying this hymn 

Alleluia! He is coming!

A Word in your ear

John 4:27-42 The Samaritan Woman (part 3) Gossiping the Gospel.

27 Just then, his talmidim (disciples) arrived. They had returned from a trip into town to buy food. They were amazed that he was talking with a woman; but none of them said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you talking with her?”  

Jewish religious leaders had forbidden Jews to talk to Samaritans.  It was also the culture that men didn’t speak to women who were strangers.

28 So the woman left her water-jar, went back to the town and said to the people there, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done. Could it be that this is the Messiah?” 

30 They left the town and began coming toward him.

The Samaritan woman puts us to shame…she immediately ‘gossiped the Gospel.’ She was in such a hurry to tell her town about Jesus, she left her water jar behind!

31 Meanwhile, the talmidim (disciples) were urging Yeshua (Jesus), “Rabbi, eat something.” 

32 But he answered, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.” 

33 At this, the talmidim (disciples) asked one another, “Could someone have brought him food?” 

They had gone off to get food and Jesus didn’t even want it! 

34 Yeshua said to them, “My food is to do what the one who sent me wants and to bring his work to completion. 

35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘Four more months and then the harvest’? Well, what I say to you is: open your eyes and look at the fields! They’re already ripe for harvest! 

Souls are the crop and they are ready and waiting to be brought into the kingdom, just like wheat or barley is harvested into a barn. 

36 The one who reaps receives his wages and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the reaper and the sower may be glad together — 

Those who are truly God’s workers will be rewarded in heaven. 

37 for in this matter, the proverb, ‘One sows and another reaps,’ holds true. 38 I sent you to reap what you haven’t worked for. Others have done the hard labor, and you have benefited from their work.”

39 Many people from that town in Shomron (Samaria) put their trust in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all the things I did.” 

40 So when these people from Shomron (Samaria) came to him, they asked him to stay with them. He stayed two days, 41 and many more came to trust because of what he said. 

Jesus stayed in Samaria for 2 days which was the religious leaders had put out of bounds for Jews. If you didn’t obey them, they could trespass you from the temple. 

42 They said to the woman, “We no longer trust because of what you said, because we have heard for ourselves. We know indeed that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

—Summary:- Her personal testimony resulted in a BIG HARVEST! (Compare v. 37-38 with 1 Corinthians 3:6-8 KJV. Paul said ‘I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour’.)

• Today’s Verse… Who is Jesus? 

John 4:42 They said to the woman, “We no longer trust because of what you said, because we have heard for ourselves. We know indeed that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

• Today’s Challenge

The Samaritan lady had only just met Jesus and become an evangelist the same afternoon! What’s our excuse? 

Prayer and Worship

“… He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” Matthew 14:23. 

Jesus taught His disciples what we call ‘The Lord’s Prayer’; (Luke 11).

Listen here to Albert Malotte’s ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. 

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

Give us this day our daily bread. 

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever;- Amen.

Prayer suggestions;-

1. The world. (ie ‘For those in authority.’)
2. The ‘suffering church.’ https://barnabasfund.org/nz/pray/daily-prayer/#previous-dates
3. Your own situation. (Suggest ‘needs’ rather than ‘wants’.)