Divine Love: God's Kingdom Flowing To Us And Through Us.

This episode explores the transformative and unconditional love of God as a central tenet of the Kingdom of God. Through biblical stories and personal reflection, we discuss how love empowers us to forgive, overcome fear, and build genuine relationships.

• Introduction to the episode's theme of spiritual growth centered on God's love
• Understanding the Kingdom of God as a realm governed by love and kindness
• Discussing how love is the ultimate power over fear and punishment
• Prayer for focus and clarity in understanding God's love 
• Analyzing the story of the woman caught in adultery and its lessons on kindness
• Emphasizing forgiveness as a key principle in living out God's love
• Reflecting on Peter's redemption and the liberation from sins 
• Conclusion with a call to embody and demonstrate God's love in our lives

Chapters

• 0:56 Exploring God's Kingdom Through Love
• 13:58 The Power of God's Unconditional Love
• 32:04 Embracing God's Culture Through Love

Transcript

David Huotari: 0:57

Hi folks, I want to welcome you to another episode of Life Around the Fire. My name is David Huotari and I'll be your host today. We are a podcast that is devoted to spiritual growth, and what we mean by spiritual growth is this growth in our relationship, first and foremost, with God, then in our relationships with one another. What I'd like to do today in this episode is continue on with this topic concerning the kingdom of God, and by the kingdom of God. What we're saying is his rule, his reign, his realm, the place in which God dwells and demonstrates His way of life and His way of loving. He demonstrates who he is and the culture of his kingdom, and it has an impact in the world that we live in. That's amazing.

David Huotari: 2:23

The invisible has an impact in what is visible. In fact, the visible is created out from the invisible. God created the earth, the earth, he formed things into a material world and gave it time and space Interesting. We live in eternity, but in the realm of time and space, and yet there are times where God chooses to demonstrate his kingdom in the earth, his presence in the earth, because he loves us, pardon me, he loves us. He loves to show us who he is and he loves to be with us, and for us to show him the love that we have for him, not because we have to, but because, when knowing him and coming in contact with him, we find the very source of all things. We find the very source of love.

David Huotari: 3:55

The greatest dynamic in God's kingdom is his love. It's not his power, it's not his governing principles, though those things are present. The motivating force, the motivating factor, the motivating way of God is love. It's amazing because in the construct of many cultures throughout the world, that's not the motivating, that's not the motivating, that's not the driving, that's not the real force behind what's being done punishment and fear as a controlling tool to keep people from in a place of adherence to who's in charge. Amazing, what a difference. God, the ultimate source of power, isn't using his power to make us afraid. He's using his power to give us his love. Now, there are consequences that come in life because of the things that we do, but those aren't things that are done by God to us. They're the result of things that we do. When we break the law, there's a consequence, but the motivating factor in God's kingdom isn't punishment, isn't the use of fear fear even though, once again, he is to be feared, meaning if there's any one to be concerned about, it's God. And yet there are people and there are other powers that want to present themselves to us as the supreme source.

David Huotari: 6:39

Some of you listening are listening, while you are living in an earthly culture that is very oppressive, ruled by people that are very dishonest and that use fear as their tactic to keep you under their thumb. Well, fortunately, when we come into relationship with Jesus, his name is Messiah, one of his many names, and Messiah means one who is on his love, because his love, once again, is the driving force in his kingdom. And so, before we go any further, what I'd like to do is take a moment and pray and just ask God to collect our thoughts, because we live in such a busy world, I have so much information coming my way that it's at a point where it's too much information, tmi man. It's too much information, tmi man. If I were to try to focus on everything that is being presented to me, my head would be spinning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year Spinning.

David Huotari: 8:31

But the truth of the matter is this we become like that which we behold. The thing or the person that we focus our attention on the most is what or who we become like and, without any reservation, we have our focus and without any reservation, we have our focus set on Jesus Christ because we want to be like him. I want to be like him. He is the example for me to follow. I want to follow him. I want to be more than a follower. I want to be a disciple of his. Meaning imitate. I want to imitate everything that he did and is doing, regardless of the cost and interesting. One of those things that control people is fear, and oftentimes the fear of death, the fear of a painful death. The thought of a prolonged painful death causes some people to do anything possible to avoid that from happening, even to sell out.

David Huotari: 10:02

Well, just so that you know, when you pray this prayer with me, you are asking God to make you into a person who is not only a follower of Jesus, but one who is becoming a disciple or is a disciple of Jesus. So, father, I come to you right now in the name of your Son and I thank you so much for who you are, for what you're doing and how you're going about doing it. Thank you for freeing us from the bondage of dead religion and calling us into a living relationship as citizens and as sons and daughters in your kingdom. Holy Spirit, I ask that you take our thoughts and that you would focus them in on Jesus, so that we can behold him and become like him, and that your presence would go before us, it would be upon us, within us, around us and behind us, so that when we walk, we walk in the very presence of God, where people can feel it and know it, cause us to be true disciples, those who imitate Jesus and the reality of the kingdom of God being demonstrated to us and through us. And we pray these things, standing here in his name, saying do it, lord, amen, amen, amen, amen.

David Huotari: 12:02

You know, in preparing for this podcast today, I was taking some time and just thinking about once again this aspect of the love of God. And because love is such an interesting word, it has so many different shades of meaning to it, and we say that we love a good meal, and I do, man, I love a good meal, but it's different than the intimate love that I share with my wife. It's different than the love that I have for a good football game man, for a good football game man. I am an avid football fan and I say go Vikings all the way, win twins right. I love sports, but it's different than the love that I feel and have for God. There's a powerful love and then there's love that is very kind and soft and tasty, soft and tasty. But the love that we're talking about in this particular podcast episode is the love of God, the agape, the unconditional love of God, the sustaining love of God.

David Huotari: 13:58

There are two areas in the Gospels actually in one Gospel that we're going to highlight in this episode, concerning the kingdom of God being demonstrated by Jesus, so that we can take time and consider that being a reality. Flowing to us. But, oh man, come on. Flowing to us. But oh man, come on flowing through us, for the kingdom of God to flow through us. Folks, that's the very thing that God is at work, doing right now in those of us who are born again, those of us who have received the divine life of God, those who have been baptized, immersed in his spirit, filled with his power, given the opportunity to walk like Jesus regardless of the cost, and Like Jesus regardless of the cost.

David Huotari: 15:22

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, was highlighting the love of God and was describing some of the attributes of that love. And in the Gospels we see that love, that motivating factor in the kingdom of God, demonstrated. And the first one that we're going to highlight is found in John, chapter 8, verses 1 through 11. I'm not going to be reading it verbatim, but I'm giving you the reference so that you can look at it yourself later John chapter 8, 1-11. And in 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, the first thing that the apostle Paul says concerning love is that love is kind. Interesting love is kind. Love is kind. Interesting Love is kind Love is kind. Practically. How does that shake out? Well, jesus perfectly modeled that when, as recorded in John chapter 8, there was a woman who was caught dead to rights in the very act of adultery Now, how she was caught, I have no idea committing adultery and brought to Jesus as a test to see what he would do about it.

David Huotari: 17:19

Because the law of God, the Torah, says that the consequence for adultery is is a person being stoned, put to death by them being stoned, rocks being thrown on them, heavy rocks, to the point of smashing them and killing them. What a horrible way to go. But it was meant to be a demonstration of the consequences of adultery, because adultery hurts so many people, it tears things apart. For the record, just so you know, I've been guilty of committing adultery. I've been forgiven, but I've been guilty. I know the pain that it causes in people's lives. I know how selfish it is. I know how deceiving it is. Selfish it is. I know how deceiving it is. I understand why an example being made in a community of a person being stoned would really cause me to think twice before I would commit that sin.

David Huotari: 19:09

So Jesus has this woman thrown at his feet and Pharisees, meaning the really high-level religious people in that culture. They were part of the ruling class, along with the Sadducees, along with people that were the experts in law. They threw her at his feet and he starts scribbling in the sand, which begs one to wonder what he was scribbling. Some say he was writing down the names of the people that had been with her, and some of them were Pharisees themselves. Nobody knows that for sure, but that's a sure interesting twist to put on. It Makes you think. Anyway, he was scribbling in the sand and finally someone says teacher, it says in the law that a person committing adultery should be stoned. This woman has been caught in adultery. What do you say? And he said the person that is without any sin cast the first stone. Throw the first stone If you have never done anything wrong. And again, some even say that his inference was if you've never been guilty of adultery yourself, go ahead, cast the first stone of adultery yourself. Go ahead, cassifer Stone, because adultery was very common. Compromise is very common all throughout people's lives.

David Huotari: 21:14

At that point in time, and again, regardless of whether or not he was saying those who were guilty of adultery or guilty of sin, he said go ahead and throw the first stone. And nobody could. But you know who could have Jesus? Because he was without sin. But he didn't. He didn't. They dropped their stones and they walked away.

David Huotari: 21:52

And Jesus looks at the woman and he goes woman, where are your accusers? And she says I have they left. I don't. They're gone. He goes neither do I accuse you or condemn you. Go and sin no more. Now you could read it and think it was rather harsh, saying go and sin no more. Shame on you. Sin no more. No, the flavor of how he said it was go. You are free not to do that anymore. He forgave her and gave her a clean slate and freedom from the bondage that she was in.

David Huotari: 22:42

Love, love is kind. Now that was being kind. How many of us have had things done to us that we would just as soon like to see someone really suffer because of it? But if we walk in the love of God, we can realize that there is something even greater than punishment, and that's forgiveness, is something even greater than punishment and that's forgiveness. Forgiveness given at the right time is part of deliverance, being delivered from evil. Love. The driving force in the kingdom of God is love. Love is kind. The Apostle Paul wrote. He also said that love does not take into account a wrong suffered, or in other words, love doesn't keep score. Hmm, love doesn't keep score. You know how sometimes we can have a running tally of things that have been done wrong to us or a person that we just don't like, and we just keep on noticing how many times they do wrong stuff and we just keep a list. Sometimes we keep the list because it makes us feel a little bit better about ourselves. You know, at least I'm not like that. Love, love, god's love, agape love, the kind of love that God has, doesn't keep score, it doesn't have to keep score.

David Huotari: 24:50

There's a true story in John, chapter 21. Again, we're in the Gospels, but we're talking about love and the kingdom of God, the culture of God's kingdom. What's in God's kingdom, what's in this kingdom of God? What's the air like, what's it feel like to be in it? It feels like love, the greatest quality, the greatest quality, love, eternal love, love.

David Huotari: 25:28

In John, chapter 21, we have a story where Jesus has already now been resurrected from the dead for several days and he had appeared to his disciples and then he was gone. And then we find out that he had done various other appearances throughout the area and he had spent time literally in his new body, in and around the throne of God, in the realm of God. He could go from the realm of heaven to the realm of the earth, back and forth. He could walk through walls, but he, on this particular occasion, was on the shoreline where some of his disciples were fishing. They had gone fishing and he was on the shore and he had a fire built. In fact that's where we got the name Leifer on the fire, that in Leviticus, chapter six, verse 13. But we got the name Leifer on the fire from that particular picture, where Jesus had a fire burning and they were talking. They were talking around the fire. In fact, peter noticed that it was Jesus on the shoreline while he was in the boat and he jumped out of the boat and he, just he ran up to him and all the disciples came around eventually and they were noticing. They noticed that Jesus had a meal, some fish that were being grilled by the fire, and so they were talking and Jesus brought Peter aside and he said Peter, and now remember, peter had openly denied the fact that he even knew Jesus the night of his betrayal, before his crucifixion, yeah, before his resurrection, for sure, before his crucifixion, he denied him.

David Huotari: 27:57

And Jesus takes Peter aside and he says Peter, do you love me, meaning, do you agape me? Because Peter said yes, I do, lord, I do, I'll do anything, and he didn't. He failed. Peter said yes, I do, lord, I do, I'll do anything, and he did, he failed. Have you ever made a brave statement and then you failed? I have, I've failed in the face of God. Peter failed, literally in the face of Jesus that he denied even knowing him, cursed, cussed, he said I don't know him. He said do you love me? Peter said you know I don't love you like that, lord. I love you differently.

David Huotari: 28:48

And Jesus asked him three times do you agape me? Because he wanted Peter to experience what he eventually was going to be able to give away, and that is the love of God, that he was forgiven, that Jesus wasn't keeping score, jesus wasn't using a running tally against Peter saying well, you're going to really have to live this one down, impossible, impossible. Well, now I got you under my thumb. Nope, he said feed my sheep. Well, now I got you under my thumb. Nope, he said feed my sheep. He said you're going to do what I said you're going to do and I release you from the things that you did.

David Huotari: 29:52

Wow, being freed, being freed, being freed, walking free, walking free, walking forgiven. What a feeling. Walking forgiven. And we have the ability to express that. We have the ability to express that We've been given that life from God, not just to us, but it can come through us. The kingdom of God is at hand. Let it flow. Let it flow, let it flow, let it flow. Let the love of God flow to you and through you. May you know the love of your Father, the same way that Jesus knew the love of His Father, our Father, while he walked on planet Earth. The love of God never fails, and we're going to look at this love even more in the next episode, but what I'd like to do right now is take a moment and pray.

David Huotari: 31:06

Father, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you because love you, I love you, I love you, I love you because God, you first, you first, you love me first. Thank you, thank you for loving us first and giving us the ability to experience forgiveness, freedom and then to be able to love like you. What To be able to love like you? Help us, holy Spirit, love like you, love. Help us be like Jesus. Help us be Christ-like. Help us be Christ-like. Help us be Christian Receiving and demonstrating the love of God.

David Huotari: 32:04

Your kingdom come, your love be done In the earth as it is in heaven. Let your culture be demonstrated. Father, let your name be glorified. And Jesus, we exalt you to the highest high and devote ourselves to you. We honor you in Holy Spirit, we present ourselves once again to you to be used by you as disciples of Christ and we stand here in his name and we say amen, amen, amen, amen. Folks, I love you. If you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, once again, please feel free to drop us a line at Life Around the Fire or type in Life Around the Fire and look us up on the web. We would love to hear from you In the meantime. God bless you. Adios amigos.