Welcome to the Daily Disciple podcast, where we seek daily to be with and to become like Jesus, our teacher. Good morning and welcome. It's good to have all of you with us. You're gonna need a Bible and a journal and a cup of coffee or a cup of tea.
A quiet place. And take that passage not only deep, but we're gonna take it wide. And so taking Sunday deep and taking Sunday wide, Sunday deeper, and Sunday wider. And that's going to be the new season of the podcast.
Let's get into this morning's content. Turn to John, chapter 18. This is one of my favorite, favorite passages anywhere in the New Testament. It contrasts Jesus, the I am he life, and then Peter, Peter, the I am not kind of life.
And John artistically contrasts these two kinds of lives. Now, before we go any further, the title of this podcast is Yes, I Did. And I'm dedicating this podcast to my amazing daughter, Tali. Now, she is so amazing.
I could have titled this podcast a number of different things. I could have titled it Fun or Life of the Party, because she is. I could have titled this podcast Beautiful because she is. I could have titled this podcast All in because she is.
I could have titled this podcast Bold and Sweet, because she is. I could have titled this podcast Fully Alive because she Is. And I could go on. But there's a story and a character element in Tali's life that I just absolutely love and have been so moved by.
And so I'm titled this podcast Yes, I Did, in honor of my full, fully alive, fun life of the party. Beautiful, all in bold and sweet, daughter Tally. So I want you to go to John, chapter 18, and we're going to begin reading in verse four, the title. Yes, I did.
So the soldiers and the chief priest are coming to arrest Jesus. And in chapter 18, verse 4, Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, who is it that you want? Jesus of Nazareth? They replied, I am he.
Jesus said, when Jesus said, I am he, they drew back and they fell to the ground. And again he asked them, who is it that you want? Jesus of Nazareth. They replied, jesus answered, I told you, I am he.
If you're looking for me, then let these men go. Notice that phrase, I am he. St. Augustine, the great saint in the history of the church, said that the glory of God is humankind fully alive.
The glory of God, of man is humankind fully alive. And this I am he passage is Jesus living open and honest and bold and vulnerable. I am he. This is Beautiful description of the way that Jesus lived.
I am he. Now, the passage continues, and Peter, one of Jesus, close friends and apprentices and disciples, follows Jesus in the courtyard of the high priest as Jesus is arrested. And we pick up in verse, and this is where one of the servant girls asks Peter, are you a disciple? So verse 17.
You aren't one of this man's disciples too, are you? She asked Peter, and he replied, I am not. Now, John's an artist. So when he has Jesus saying, I am he, and then a couple verses later, Peter saying, I am not, this is a contrast of two different kinds of lives.
One that is fully alive and one that is not so fully alive, one that is a yes, I did, yes, I am kind of life which is open and honest and vulnerable. And then there is this no, I didn't, I am not hiding kind of life that is not so honest and not so bold and not so vulnerable and not so fully alive. Just to round off the passage, go to verse 25. Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warning himself.
So they asked him, you aren't one of his disciples too, are you? And Peter denied it, saying, I am not. Now, clearly, there's a contrast going on. Peter's being challenged.
He's being called to the carpet. He's being asked a direct question about who he is and what he did and what he's about. There was this one time a couple of years ago where my daughter Tali was at school, and she walked by the teacher's lounge and she saw some donuts in the teacher's lounge. And she knew that she was not supposed to grab one of those donuts because they're the teacher's donuts.
But she was hungry. She wanted a donut. So she went in and she grabbed a donut, and she went out of the teacher's lounge, and she was walking down the hallway eating the donut, and a teacher came up to her and said, did you. Did you take that donut from the teacher's lounge?
Now there's the moment. That's the moment. Am I going to live fully alive? Am I going to choose the I am he honest and bold and vulnerable open life?
Or am I going to choose the I am not denial, hiding, shrinking, that kind of life? Those are the moments. And those moments will present themselves more often than we realize. And later on, as Tally was telling me that story, she said, dad, I wanted to lie.
I could have lied, but something in me wanted to say, yes, I did it. And Tally looked at that teacher right in the eye with a donut in her hand. And she said, yes, I did it. I did take this donut from the teacher's lounge.
And then she took the consequences for her actions. I love that story. That is fully alive. That is I am he or I am she.
That is open, it's honest, it's vulnerable, it's solid. It's the life of Jesus. It's what disciples of Jesus do, especially when the going gets tough. Rejecting that I am not life and owning and walking in that life.
I am he or I am she kind of life. Yes, I did it. That's freedom. That's fully alive.
And again, St. Augustine said, the glory of God is when humankind is fully alive. And this kind of life, this yes, I did it, I am he, I am she kind of life. That's the kind of life where you can truly repent, you can truly own it.
In marriage and friendship with your girlfriend, with your boyfriend, at work, with your kids, you can go low, you can say, yes, you can own it. But it's. But it's bigger because when we enter into by the power of the spirit, this yes, I did or I am he, I am she kind of life is bigger than that. Because you can also say, yes, I'm called to this.
Yes, I feel this way. Yes, I know this. Yes, I'm going to pursue this. Yes, this is who I am.
Also, you can look into other people's lives and say, yes, that is who you are. Yes, that is what you are called to. Yes, that is what you can choose to be. Yes, yes, yes, I did.
Yes, I am. This is the fully alive life of Jesus. And I'm watching my daughter Tally grow in this fully alive, yes, I did, yes, I am kind of life. It's the kind of life that changes the world.
It's the kind of life that inspires. It's the kind of life that grabs the hearts of those that are watching. It's one of the main reasons why Jesus is absolutely irresistible. And it's one of the things I love to watch in my daughter Tally, and that has inspired me as well.
Have a conversation with Jesus, read the passage, think about it, and here's the question. What kind of life am I living? Is it I am he, she kind of life, or is it a I am not kind of life? Is it a yes, I did and owning it, or is it a no, I didn't and hiding from it?
Is it a fully alive life or a not so fully alive life? And have that conversation with Jesus pray a little bit, meditate a little bit, and walk and talk today with the I am He Jesus. We'll talk tomorrow. Thanks for listening to the Daily Disciple Podcast.
We truly hope that you were encouraged by it today. Now, if you'd like to support or if you had any questions about the Daily Disciple POD podcast, feel free to contact us through our Inland Vineyard Church app. We'll give you information on our ministries and our Sunday services, and you can find us in the Apple and Google Play app stores. And we also have our social media pages, which you can find with the tag at inlandvineard to see what's going on with our community, our church events, and our other ministries, as well as our revival youth group and our children's ministry.
Or you can just check us out on our [email protected].