WEBVTT 00:00:01.739 --> 00:00:05.719 Anthraxian, not symbolic, not figurative. Anthraxian 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:09.179 means burning coals, actual heat, actual fire. 00:00:09.740 --> 00:00:12.000 If you don't know the word, you don't know the 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:22.620 text. Today, we are walking into something simple 00:00:22.620 --> 00:00:26.000 and unsettling at the same time. The questions 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:30.199 Jesus asks, not the answers, not the miracles, 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:34.200 the questions. Because when Jesus opens his mouth, 00:00:34.219 --> 00:00:37.200 he doesn't always thunder. Sometimes he just 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:40.359 looks at you and says, who touched me? What do 00:00:40.359 --> 00:00:44.659 you want? Do you love me? And those questions 00:00:44.659 --> 00:00:47.700 have a way of slipping past your defenses. They 00:00:47.700 --> 00:00:51.859 don't argue. They don't coerce. They wait. And 00:00:51.859 --> 00:00:55.280 somehow in the waiting, they reveal what's really 00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:59.299 going on inside us. Now picture this. You're 00:00:59.299 --> 00:01:01.359 pulling into a small town church parking lot, 00:01:01.460 --> 00:01:03.899 gravel crunching, fellowship hall lights already 00:01:03.899 --> 00:01:06.159 on, folks who have known each other for 30 years, 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:09.079 still don't have it all figured out. Real people, 00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:12.540 real failures, real longings, scared to name. 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:15.780 And somewhere in the middle of that room, Jesus 00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:19.719 is still asking questions. So pull up a chair. 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:22.920 Bring your honest answer. And I'll see you on 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:33.719 the other side. Stories in the Bible where Jesus 00:01:33.719 --> 00:01:36.799 is like, what do you guys want for dinner tonight? 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:41.519 We don't ever see conversations. We don't ever 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:46.799 see chit -chat. But man, do we see Jesus asking 00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:51.150 questions all over the place. Very interesting. 00:01:51.730 --> 00:01:55.409 Tons of them. We could do questions that Jesus 00:01:55.409 --> 00:01:58.689 asked of people forever. We're not going to do 00:01:58.689 --> 00:02:00.810 that today. We're only going to look at three 00:02:00.810 --> 00:02:03.230 of them. The last one, I think, is super cool. 00:02:03.909 --> 00:02:06.170 And I hope when we get there, you'll see what 00:02:06.170 --> 00:02:08.909 I see in it. But let's just begin. We're going 00:02:08.909 --> 00:02:11.689 to look at three different questions today that 00:02:11.689 --> 00:02:15.349 Jesus asks of people and why. Okay, so let me 00:02:15.349 --> 00:02:19.310 start by setting the scene by asking you a question. 00:02:19.659 --> 00:02:23.379 You ever walk into a room and the smell hits 00:02:23.379 --> 00:02:28.400 you before the light does? Maybe it's your grandma's 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:32.000 kitchen. Bacon grease and coffee and the old 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:35.159 linoleum getting warm from the stove. Man, you 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:38.219 haven't been in that kitchen in over 20 years. 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:42.099 But one whiff of cast iron and you are six years 00:02:42.099 --> 00:02:45.620 old again. Standing there in your socks waiting 00:02:45.620 --> 00:02:50.520 on a biscuit. Smell doesn't ask permission. It 00:02:50.520 --> 00:02:54.120 breaks and enters. I want you to keep that in 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:56.900 mind today. This is my little hidden Easter egg 00:02:56.900 --> 00:03:00.819 of the sermon today. Because this sermon has 00:03:00.819 --> 00:03:08.099 a smell. Charcoal, smoke, fish on a fire. And 00:03:08.099 --> 00:03:11.439 if you have ever failed somebody you loved, I 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:16.419 mean really failed them. The kind of failure 00:03:16.419 --> 00:03:19.319 that keeps you up at three in the morning, you 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:24.039 know what that smell is like. We're going to 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:27.759 end up today on the shore with that charcoal 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:31.580 fire, but not yet. First, I need to tell you 00:03:31.580 --> 00:03:34.120 something that in a way is a little bit embarrassing. 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:36.979 I used to think that Jesus asked questions because 00:03:36.979 --> 00:03:41.120 he needed information. Like he was wandering 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:44.139 around the Galilee. like a substitute teacher 00:03:44.139 --> 00:03:46.840 who hadn't read the lesson plan. Who touched 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:50.939 me? What do you want from me? Do you love me? 00:03:51.879 --> 00:03:55.800 But here's the thing. Jesus doesn't ask questions 00:03:55.800 --> 00:04:00.780 because he doesn't know the answer. He asks questions 00:04:00.780 --> 00:04:06.080 because you don't. And once that hit me, everything 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:10.240 changed. Because if his questions aren't for 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:13.379 his sake, but for mine, then every question Jesus 00:04:13.379 --> 00:04:18.839 asks is a mirror. Every question becomes a surgery. 00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:24.339 Every question is mercy, dressed up like curiosity. 00:04:25.220 --> 00:04:27.899 I want to walk you this morning through three 00:04:27.899 --> 00:04:30.220 moments where Jesus asked a question. By the 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:32.860 time, again, we get to that last one, you might 00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:38.439 realize he's not just asking them. He's asking 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:46.060 you. Think about this. A command grabs you by 00:04:46.060 --> 00:04:50.680 the collar. A declaration thunders down from 00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:55.199 the mountain. But a question, a question opens 00:04:55.199 --> 00:05:01.379 the door and then just stands to the side. And 00:05:01.379 --> 00:05:04.480 the God who spoke the cosmos into existence. 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:08.620 He told Moses to take his shoes off because the 00:05:08.620 --> 00:05:13.800 dirt was holy. That God shows up in skin and 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:19.220 sandals and chooses to ask questions. Not demands, 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:26.860 questions. A command says move. A question says 00:05:26.860 --> 00:05:32.860 come closer. He could have commanded his way 00:05:32.860 --> 00:05:37.000 through every encounter in the Bible. He had 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:41.300 the authority. He spoke and dead men walked. 00:05:41.899 --> 00:05:48.680 But instead, he asks. Which means he honors your 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:54.019 will enough to let you answer. Because Jesus 00:05:54.019 --> 00:05:58.579 is not in the coercion business. He's in the 00:05:58.579 --> 00:06:03.100 awakening business. This morning's text comes 00:06:03.100 --> 00:06:06.060 to us from the Gospel account according to John, 00:06:06.259 --> 00:06:09.339 the 21st chapter. I will begin reading verse 00:06:09.339 --> 00:06:12.920 5. This is the text we're building towards later 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:14.980 in the sermon, but let it sit in your chest. 00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:18.220 We'll come back to it. When they had finished 00:06:18.220 --> 00:06:21.000 breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:24.740 son of John, do you love me more than these? 00:06:26.410 --> 00:06:28.889 And he said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that 00:06:28.889 --> 00:06:33.990 I love you. He said, Feed my lambs. A second 00:06:33.990 --> 00:06:37.509 time he said to him, Simon, son of John, do you 00:06:37.509 --> 00:06:40.870 love me? He said, Yes, Lord, you know that I 00:06:40.870 --> 00:06:46.209 love you. He said to him, Tend my sheep. He said 00:06:46.209 --> 00:06:49.470 to him a third time, Simon, son of John, do you 00:06:49.470 --> 00:06:54.899 love me? Peter was grieved. Because he said to 00:06:54.899 --> 00:07:00.439 him the third time, do you love me? And he, that's 00:07:00.439 --> 00:07:05.879 Peter, said to him, Lord, you know everything. 00:07:08.060 --> 00:07:12.139 You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:17.720 feed my sheep. Sends a reading of the word this 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:21.509 morning. Now let's get walking. Now, with the 00:07:21.509 --> 00:07:25.310 first question, we're standing in a crowd in 00:07:25.310 --> 00:07:29.269 Galilee. It's the first century, and it's packed. 00:07:30.310 --> 00:07:33.329 Shoulder to shoulder, dust and sweat, somebody's 00:07:33.329 --> 00:07:37.490 lunch. Jesus right in the middle of it, and somewhere 00:07:37.490 --> 00:07:42.329 in the back, a woman. Mark doesn't give her a 00:07:42.329 --> 00:07:46.850 name. He actually gives her a number, 12 years. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:53.240 Enrousai, hematose, that's Greek, and it means 00:07:53.240 --> 00:08:02.819 a flow of blood from her. And under the purity 00:08:02.819 --> 00:08:09.980 laws, because of her affliction, everything she 00:08:09.980 --> 00:08:17.920 touches becomes unclean for 12 years. She hasn't 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:20.959 been touched. Not a handshake, not a hug. Twelve 00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:25.180 years of people stepping back when she stepped 00:08:25.180 --> 00:08:28.680 forward. She'd spent everything she had on the 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:33.740 doctors. And Mark says it only got worse. Broke. 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:42.379 Bleeding. Alone. And she comes up behind Jesus 00:08:42.379 --> 00:08:46.480 in the crowd and touches the hem or the tassel 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:51.740 of his garment, just the fringe. And the dunamis, 00:08:51.919 --> 00:08:57.899 the power, goes out of him, Jesus. She feels 00:08:57.899 --> 00:09:04.399 it. He feels it. And Jesus stops. He's on his 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:08.039 way to heal a dying girl. There's a clock ticking. 00:09:08.379 --> 00:09:15.919 And he stops. Who touched me? Peter. I love Peter 00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:20.159 for this. Peter says, Lord, everybody's touching 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:24.100 you. But Jesus knows the difference between a 00:09:24.100 --> 00:09:27.899 crowd bumping into you and a soul reaching out 00:09:27.899 --> 00:09:33.679 for you. He asks because she's trying to stay 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:37.259 anonymous. She wants the healing without the 00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:42.210 exposure. And I get it. Because if she stays 00:09:42.210 --> 00:09:45.830 hidden, she gets to control the story. She can 00:09:45.830 --> 00:09:49.090 tell people she just got better. She can avoid 00:09:49.090 --> 00:09:53.309 the eyes. But if she steps forward, she becomes 00:09:53.309 --> 00:09:59.549 known. Becoming known. Well, becoming known means 00:09:59.549 --> 00:10:02.049 that we have to give up the version of the story 00:10:02.049 --> 00:10:04.169 that we have been telling ourselves for those 00:10:04.169 --> 00:10:08.909 last 12 years. And Jesus won't let her do that. 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:13.340 She comes forward, shaking, tells him everything. 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:17.840 And he looks at her and he calls her daughter. 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:23.419 That is the only time in the four Gospels Jesus 00:10:23.419 --> 00:10:28.580 ever calls anyone that. She is the only one. 00:10:30.820 --> 00:10:33.820 Because the question was never about who touched 00:10:33.820 --> 00:10:37.539 him. It was about who she was willing to become 00:10:37.539 --> 00:10:42.379 when she stopped hiding. And some of us are doing 00:10:42.379 --> 00:10:46.460 the exact same thing. You want grace without 00:10:46.460 --> 00:10:49.820 being known. But here is what I have learned, 00:10:49.899 --> 00:10:54.659 my friends. Hidden healing still carries with 00:10:54.659 --> 00:11:00.399 it shame. It's public restoration that carries 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:06.769 dignity. Now, different scene, Jericho, roadside. 00:11:07.009 --> 00:11:11.110 There is a man named Bartimaeus, Bartimaeus, 00:11:12.009 --> 00:11:17.230 and it means the son of honor. And the son of 00:11:17.230 --> 00:11:21.070 honor, Bartimaeus, sitting in the dirt, begging. 00:11:21.970 --> 00:11:26.029 His name is basically a monument to what his 00:11:26.029 --> 00:11:29.529 family used to be. He hears Jesus and coming 00:11:29.529 --> 00:11:33.559 and starts, I mean, just hollering. Son of David, 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:37.960 have mercy on me. And the crowd tells him to 00:11:37.960 --> 00:11:42.899 shut up. The Greek word that Mark uses there 00:11:42.899 --> 00:11:48.000 is rebuked. And it is the same word when Jesus 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:54.000 rebukes storms or demons. Think about that. They 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:57.059 are treating this blind beggar the way Jesus 00:11:57.059 --> 00:12:01.259 treats unclean spirits. And he yells louder, 00:12:01.399 --> 00:12:04.879 Jesus stops, and Bartimaeus throws off his cloak, 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:08.000 which is probably everything that he owned in 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:11.159 the world, his blanket, his shade, his whole 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:14.919 identity as a beggar, and he comes. What do you 00:12:14.919 --> 00:12:21.779 want from me, is the question. Now the man is 00:12:21.779 --> 00:12:30.600 blind. Everybody can see that. The answer seems 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:36.440 obvious. But Jesus doesn't assume. He dignifies 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:42.480 him. Because if Jesus heals without asking, Bartimaeus 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:48.000 is just a project. He's something that was just 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:54.580 happened to. But by asking, Jesus is making him 00:12:54.580 --> 00:12:59.559 a participant. He is giving him his own voice 00:12:59.559 --> 00:13:07.500 back. Think about this. Bartimaeus could have 00:13:07.500 --> 00:13:12.960 asked for money. That is a very reasonable ask 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:17.279 for a beggar. He could have asked for food, a 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:21.519 better spot on the road. He asked for sight, 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:27.450 the most radical option on the table. And I think, 00:13:27.570 --> 00:13:35.789 lovingly, some of us may be stuck right now because 00:13:35.789 --> 00:13:41.669 we won't do that. We won't name what we actually 00:13:41.669 --> 00:13:46.129 want. We circle around it. We dress it up in 00:13:46.129 --> 00:13:50.330 spiritual language. We say things like, thy will 00:13:50.330 --> 00:13:56.700 be done. And look. Sometimes that is holy surrender, 00:13:57.019 --> 00:14:02.779 but sometimes, sometimes that is spiritual cowardice. 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:12.700 Sometimes it's just, I'm too scared to say it 00:14:12.700 --> 00:14:18.019 out loud because if I name it God and you don't 00:14:18.019 --> 00:14:21.340 come through, then I have to deal with that. 00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:29.960 And Jesus is looking right at you. What do you 00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:37.000 want? Not what sounds good. Not what fits on 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:44.480 a prayer card. What do you actually want? See 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:48.320 where this is going? First he pulls you out of 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:54.870 hiding. Then he makes you name your desire. And 00:14:54.870 --> 00:15:00.409 finally, on the shore, in the smoke, he rebuilds 00:15:00.409 --> 00:15:06.350 your love. All right. Now we have come to the 00:15:06.350 --> 00:15:10.889 shore of the Galilee. And I want to slow down 00:15:10.889 --> 00:15:14.950 here. Because this room is different than the 00:15:14.950 --> 00:15:20.769 other two. The first room was packed. Second 00:15:20.769 --> 00:15:27.230 room was loud. This one is quiet. Morning. That 00:15:27.230 --> 00:15:33.250 silver light on the water just after dawn. And 00:15:33.250 --> 00:15:38.950 the disciples had been fishing all night, nothing 00:15:38.950 --> 00:15:43.460 to show for it. And a voice from the shore tells 00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:46.779 them to cast on the other side. And suddenly 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:49.840 the net is so full that they can barely haul 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:55.120 it in. Peter jumps in the water and swims to 00:15:55.120 --> 00:16:00.860 shore. And when he gets there, what he finds 00:16:00.860 --> 00:16:09.799 is a charcoal fire. There it is. Now John. is 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:16.820 really specific about this. The Greek word, anthracion, 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:25.639 a charcoal fire. Listen to this. John uses this 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:31.179 anthracion. He uses this word only twice in the 00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:37.259 whole of his gospel. Here, in the dawn, on the 00:16:37.259 --> 00:16:43.860 shore, And there's one other time. Chapter 18 00:16:43.860 --> 00:16:46.840 of the Gospel account, according to John, the 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:52.000 courtyard of the high priest. The night Peter 00:16:52.000 --> 00:17:02.139 denied Jesus three times. John wants you to smell 00:17:02.139 --> 00:17:08.190 it. He wants Peter to smell it. Because it is 00:17:08.190 --> 00:17:13.450 the same charcoal. It is the same smoke. It is 00:17:13.450 --> 00:17:16.849 the same heat on your face that Peter felt that 00:17:16.849 --> 00:17:19.750 night. He looked at a servant girl and said, 00:17:19.890 --> 00:17:27.089 I do not know him. And Jesus doesn't open with, 00:17:27.250 --> 00:17:32.829 so Peter, let's talk about what happened that 00:17:32.829 --> 00:17:37.210 night. He doesn't hand Peter a performance review. 00:17:37.369 --> 00:17:42.990 He cooks him breakfast. And then he asks, Simon, 00:17:43.049 --> 00:17:49.529 son of John, do you love me? Now, I don't want 00:17:49.529 --> 00:17:53.170 to get overly academic, but there's another important 00:17:53.170 --> 00:17:55.849 thing here in the Greek you've got to see to 00:17:55.849 --> 00:17:59.450 make this story come alive, okay? Because the 00:17:59.450 --> 00:18:03.950 English just flattens this out. I need to stay 00:18:03.950 --> 00:18:07.329 here for just a second and actually explain what's 00:18:07.329 --> 00:18:10.789 going on because it changes the complexity of 00:18:10.789 --> 00:18:15.410 the entire story. The first two times Jesus asks, 00:18:15.690 --> 00:18:21.930 he uses the word agapeo. That's the big one. 00:18:22.430 --> 00:18:27.569 That's covenant love. Total commitment. The, 00:18:27.730 --> 00:18:32.799 I will die for you. that Peter claimed at the 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:38.579 Last Supper. And both times when Peter responds, 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:46.220 he uses a different word, philio. That's the 00:18:46.220 --> 00:18:50.859 affection word, the friendship word. It's warm, 00:18:51.059 --> 00:19:00.240 but it's smaller. Jesus says, Do you agape me? 00:19:01.059 --> 00:19:09.200 Peter says, you know I philo you. And the third 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:14.500 time, and guys, this is the part that gets me. 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:21.960 Jesus changes the word. The third time, he doesn't 00:19:21.960 --> 00:19:29.940 say agapeo again. He says phileas. He comes down 00:19:29.940 --> 00:19:35.519 to Peter's word. Sit with that for a second. 00:19:38.019 --> 00:19:44.200 Peter can't say agape yet. He's not there yet. 00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:50.380 He knows it. Jesus knows it. And Jesus doesn't 00:19:50.380 --> 00:19:55.059 say to Peter, well, come back when you are. He 00:19:55.059 --> 00:19:58.890 says, all right. Then we'll start with Filio 00:19:58.890 --> 00:20:04.349 and we'll go from there. He doesn't demand the 00:20:04.349 --> 00:20:08.890 love Peter can't give yet. He takes the love 00:20:08.890 --> 00:20:13.750 Peter's got. And that right there, that is grace 00:20:13.750 --> 00:20:18.029 first. That is God meeting you in the smaller 00:20:18.029 --> 00:20:23.779 world and then building on. Peter is grieved 00:20:23.779 --> 00:20:28.160 because Jesus has to ask him three times. And 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:31.880 the scripture says it is a deep, cutting sadness. 00:20:32.220 --> 00:20:36.220 Not because Jesus is punishing him, but because 00:20:36.220 --> 00:20:41.480 being asked three times the same number as those 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:46.599 denials makes you feel the full weight of what 00:20:46.599 --> 00:20:52.460 you did and what is being given. back to you. 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:58.880 And Peter finally says, Lord, you know everything. 00:20:59.740 --> 00:21:06.660 You know I love you. And that is the moment Peter 00:21:06.660 --> 00:21:11.200 stopped pretending. That is the moment Peter 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:16.380 stopped performing. No more big promises from 00:21:16.380 --> 00:21:21.240 Peter. He just falls back on what he knows Jesus 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:26.319 already knows. And every time Peter answers him, 00:21:26.339 --> 00:21:30.779 Jesus doesn't grade him. He commissions him. 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:36.059 Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep. 00:21:36.299 --> 00:21:41.119 Three denials. Three restorations. Not punishment. 00:21:41.420 --> 00:21:46.789 Architecture. Jesus is rebuilding Peter from 00:21:46.789 --> 00:21:53.430 the inside out. Love precedes assignment. Grace 00:21:53.430 --> 00:21:58.670 precedes the mission. Identity precedes responsibility. 00:21:59.029 --> 00:22:05.589 Jesus never says, prove it. He says, feed. Love 00:22:05.589 --> 00:22:11.809 expressed becomes the job. And here's what I 00:22:11.809 --> 00:22:16.970 keep coming back to. Jesus doesn't argue people 00:22:16.970 --> 00:22:23.549 into change. He questions them into revelation 00:22:23.549 --> 00:22:29.349 of the truth. Who touched me? Come out of hiding. 00:22:30.329 --> 00:22:36.329 What do you want? Name your desire. Do you love 00:22:36.329 --> 00:22:43.859 me? Anchor your identity. Exposure, desire, love. 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:48.920 You follow that path and you move from hiding 00:22:48.920 --> 00:22:54.740 to honesty to purpose. And that is not some three 00:22:54.740 --> 00:22:59.119 -point spiritual plan. That's just plain old 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:03.900 discipleship. And some of you are at the first 00:23:03.900 --> 00:23:07.269 question. You've touched the hymn, but you're 00:23:07.269 --> 00:23:11.890 trying to slip out the back, hoping no one sees 00:23:11.890 --> 00:23:16.769 you. Some of you are the second. You know God's 00:23:16.769 --> 00:23:19.549 close, but you're scared to death to name what 00:23:19.549 --> 00:23:22.950 you actually want. Some of you, some of you, 00:23:23.009 --> 00:23:28.450 are the third. You're sitting in the smoke of 00:23:28.450 --> 00:23:32.710 your own failure, convinced the story is over. 00:23:34.410 --> 00:23:39.589 And Jesus is cooking you breakfast. Whatever 00:23:39.589 --> 00:23:43.410 question he might be asking you right now, my 00:23:43.410 --> 00:23:48.089 friends, it is not a trap. It is an invitation. 00:23:49.710 --> 00:23:54.150 He's not trying to catch you. He's trying to 00:23:54.150 --> 00:23:59.890 free you. If he asks, who touched me? Step forward. 00:24:01.210 --> 00:24:07.599 If he asks, What do you want? Say it. If he asks, 00:24:07.779 --> 00:24:12.000 do you love me? Answer him. And then listen. 00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:18.460 Because every honest answer has a calling attached 00:24:18.460 --> 00:24:25.539 to it. Feed my sheep. And when the smoke of failure 00:24:25.539 --> 00:24:31.780 rises again this week, and it will, Remember, 00:24:31.780 --> 00:24:35.319 the same fire that exposes you is the fire that 00:24:35.319 --> 00:24:42.019 feeds you. Go and be asked. Go and answer. Go 00:24:42.019 --> 00:24:46.140 and feed. In the name of the Father who asks, 00:24:46.359 --> 00:24:49.259 the Son who waits, and the Holy Spirit who gives 00:24:49.259 --> 00:25:04.099 you courage to answer. Amen. Amen. If something 00:25:04.099 --> 00:25:06.640 today stirred and you don't rush past it, sit 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:09.779 with it. Let the question linger a little longer 00:25:09.779 --> 00:25:12.660 than it's comfortable because Jesus doesn't ask 00:25:12.660 --> 00:25:16.079 questions to shame you. He asks to wake you. 00:25:16.539 --> 00:25:19.839 If you felt exposed, that might be grace doing 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:23.140 its quiet work. If you felt seen, that's not 00:25:23.140 --> 00:25:26.119 accident. It's mercy finding you in a crowd. 00:25:26.859 --> 00:25:29.720 And if one of those questions followed you around 00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:33.859 the room, What do you want? Do you love me? Don't 00:25:33.859 --> 00:25:37.359 dodge it. He's not trying to trap you. He's trying 00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:41.440 to free you. And listen, if you heard something 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:44.460 today that might hit a little different, maybe 00:25:44.460 --> 00:25:46.920 something you hadn't considered before, something 00:25:46.920 --> 00:25:50.200 that made you lean in just a little bit, throw 00:25:50.200 --> 00:25:52.200 that old like in the offering plate. That just 00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:54.839 lets us know you were here and that it mattered. 00:25:55.599 --> 00:25:57.579 And if you want to keep walking with us through 00:25:57.579 --> 00:25:59.960 the Lenten season all the way to Easter morning, 00:26:00.059 --> 00:26:04.079 don't just drift. Tithe that subscribe, not out 00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:07.880 of guilt, out of hunger, because we're headed 00:26:07.880 --> 00:26:11.599 somewhere together. And until then, friend, be 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:11.920 blessed.