Transcript
CODES: Hello everyone. It's me again. It's Rachel here Covenant Diaries. I know guys, it's literally been forever.
CODES: had taken an unintended long break. Not as we planned, but I believe that now we're back. We're going to have a steady streak of releasing those episodes you guys.
CODES: I know it's been a long time coming, but we apologize. We do apologize. We're sorry. She's been crazy, but we thank God for God's grace.
CODES: But anyways, it's about to be an anniversary here at Covenant Diaries. I remember the first episode we recorded. It was actually at a hotel, right? It was like last minute.
CODES: I was so scared, and I didn't know how was going to turn out. just really a walk obedience and we had it done right there that moment at a hotel. Why are you giving me the side eye?
CODES: But anyways, I'm here again with Becky and guys, guess what? If you were in the last episode, you would know that we did mention Ben Abroad, we're gonna drive Abroad into this last, this first episode that we're dishing out.
CODES: and we And we came through, guys. It was a huddle, but we came through. Jonathan came through. Okay. He didn't live on time, but um I'm here with Becky and Jonathan, my best brother in the whole world.
CODES: But anyways, he's not new on this channel. He's not a stranger. He's not a stranger. second episode recorded. second
CODES: I think it was, wait, it was the second? Oh yeah. We do have to invite his brother soon. All three of them have to be back again, but we'll have to figure that out. I know it's probably going to be another eternity later, but we're going to try.
CODES: but have to figure that out i know it's probably goingnna be another its be later were go to try If Jonathan agrees again, we're going to try get them all free in one of the episodes in this second season.
CODES: But anyways, guys, without quarter ado, let's welcome my brother, Jonathan. Woo-hoo-hoo!
CODES: It's crazy sometimes, so I just can't just tell you. it's a remember
CODES: yeah We're so excited to have you back as well. It's been a long time coming, but I'm so excited that we're all doing this again.
CODES: Very nostalgic, but I'm super excited. But anyways, um, We're going to talk about, by the way, guys, for the next couple episodes, which is going be recorded with us.
CODES: So this is literally a sweet treat. Okay, I'm really excited about that. But for this episode, we're going to be talking about agape love.
CODES: I know um in this contemporary society, we all have different thoughts and ideas of what we consider and love and what we think about. all the emotions associated with love, but we know that essentially what ties into love is really God because the Bible describes God as love.
CODES: I mean, if you think that you can get all the love that you can get in a human being, imagine someone whose definition is love. The Bible says that God is love. So anytime, anytime you think about God, love, you cannot separate love from God.
CODES: Okay. But yeah, so we're going to be talking about what it really means, what the love of God really means. And we associate the love of God as what we, a type of love we consider agapilove, which is unconditional love.
CODES: And there are different kinds of love where, you know, there's storage, there's philia, there's heroes. But agapilove is so unique and it's... It's so relatable in my walk with God and there's a reason why I wanted us to like really talk about the love of God.
CODES: I know we usually we always throw out that word, God loves you to people randomly, right? But we really know what that means when you tell people God loves them? When you say God loves them, do you really understand what that means?
CODES: Do you know what it means when God loves you? What does that mean? um does that really to the core existence of your whole being, right? So we're going to talk about that briefly. Again, I'm not going to make any promises that this episode is going to be
CODES: But I don't want to jinx it, as the spirit leads, we're going to make sure that we pass the message across and that your heart is going to be blessed. But real quickly, to dive into it, I really want to want us really dive into what exactly is love and when we say that God is love and we describe the nature of God as being love God and love are inseparable so what does that really mean for Christians in their walk with God right either of you can really answer that I'm just throwing that question out there Jonathan can go
CODES: So if God is love, then we need to know what love is. And I think we can find that in 1 Corinthians 13, verses 4 to 8.
CODES: And it says, it breaks what love is. And it starts with love is patient, love is kind.
CODES: is
CODES: it's the pecent it's the sir is
CODES: if we want to know what love is, we definitely have to study first, Corinthians chapter 13. Absolutely.
CODES: Are you asking what agape love is? Yeah, what does that mean in essence to the nature of God?
CODES: um So I think from from the way that i understand it, I think that agape kind of love, which is the love of God, is dying to oneself, right?
CODES: Dying to oneself in the sense that that you're not seeking your own self, that you are selfless.
CODES: right that you care about the needs of other people not just yours but it takes time to get to that kind of love and like you said right god embodies that that's his nature and that's why he's urged us to to be like him it's it's really amazing that you guys mentioned that because um
CODES: While we have all this characteristics of love as a related God, patient, kind, not self-seeking, doesn't hold bridges, rejoices with the truth.
CODES: It's protective, hopeful, persevering, all of that stuff. If we're really breaking down in life, interpreting what all of that means. And where Jonathan reads in Corinthians, we,
CODES: it makes people really question so I've heard actually someone ask this question well if God is love and he loves everyone why does God send people to hell I can't imagine I can't even count how many times that I've heard that question fly through my ears so many times and in the carnal mind it obviously or in the rational mind it kind of it makes sense in their own understanding or you say that there is heaven and then there hell, right?
CODES: Or then you say that this God made both places, right? But he's love still. How do you reconcile that? Now, we need to understand that initially when God created everything, obviously there was just heaven.
CODES: When the angels rebelled against God, Derek came hell. And to really prove to you the beauty of the love of God, when God created everything, he created the beings that he created.
CODES: He created the angels and built humans with free will. Now, if ideally, if you create something as a human being, you want to create something that you're able to control.
CODES: In God's own world having to control what you created ultimately does not really show love if you really love someone you want them to be able to reciprocate that love willingly and not forcefully right so it shows how loving god is that he created the beings that he created with the free will to either choose his love or reject his love now when he did create the angels They had the ability to either serve God or reach reject God.
CODES: And eventually they did rebel against God. And then came hell, right? Hell was not team that intended for human beings.
CODES: It was for the fallen angels. Because obviously the way hell is set up, it was not set up for for punishment for human beings. But when human beings rebelled against God,
CODES: it's like literally forming an alliance with the devil who also rebels against God. So when you when you reject the love of God, the other side of it is wrath. Right?
CODES: God loves. He is love. You have the option to accept that love and refuse that love. Now when you accept that love, it's life.
CODES: When you reject that love, it's death. is as simple as that. However, it's easier said than done. Everyone has a free will and God empowers everyone that is willing to serve him.
CODES: But really, even with all of that, not everyone really chooses God every day. But I hope that clarified anyone's curiosity or questions why God would create hell.
CODES: He did not intend hell for human beings. Hell was for the fallen angels, but since human beings also rebelled against God.
CODES: When you do not accept the love of God, the wrath of God is what you really face. But I prayed that that would not be a portion of whoever is listening to this and praying that the Lord would soften your heart to really accept his love and and receive the love that he provides and sheds across all humanity.
CODES: But anyways, the other part that I really wanted to um us to talk about is when it comes to love, knowing that God is love, how do we really reflect that love? How do we really understand that love and i accept that love and like reflect that love in our daily lives, right?
CODES: And also bringing that love, we can also talk to him expressing that love in ministry. So those who may not be able to relate, well, I mean, this podcast was not just only for pastors' kids, but also for people in ministry.
CODES: But man, I think the hardest platform to really exercise this agape love is really in ministry, if I'm being honest. That's true. If I'm really being honest, the hardest place to exercise this love is in ministry.
CODES: That's true. Now it's so easy when you see strangers outside to maybe show kindness or maybe just a little random act of kindness and show love and compassion. But when you have so much expectations of people who you are serving for them to really really be human and act human, this isn't really in the context of church, right?
CODES: How do we really navigate that as believers, right? You're serving in church and the people who you are called to serve and love unconditionally are really the ones that stabbing you at the back. How do you really first pursue Agape love while doing ministry, you know?
CODES: I'm sure a lot of people are really having a hard time with that part of people in in their different terms of God. And I'm sure there are people who are like, Lord, I really want to do it right. I really want to love people, but people just make it so difficult for me to really love them.
CODES: Maybe Jonathan can go first. You're referring mike toton I mean, it doesn't matter. I he it doesn't matter. have to understand what agape logic truly, truly is, right? And,
CODES: like, where does it really stem from?
CODES: And yes, can say it's unconditional, it does, but, like...
CODES: First, he came down in human form. He left the splendor of heaven. He came earth, and he had one purpose, and that was to die for our sins.
CODES: times
CODES: decky you creation
CODES: where he was unrecognizable.
CODES: He took excellent of lashes where his skin was being torn off of his body. His organs were exposed. They put a crown of thorns on his head that went into his skull.
CODES: He suffered beyond our human understanding to be somebody to the point where you can't even recognize that person. And like, just think about what our God went through for us.
CODES: Like, to really like try.
CODES: minds around it it it's so hard to understand like if you can truly understand it it's like
CODES: knew everything still And he was like, I need to do this so they could receive salvation, so we could be, that we can now be connected to the Father again and be with him for eternity.
CODES: And if we could understand how that sacrifice went down, the ultimate sacrifice, what he went through the suffering,
CODES: and since people love loved us so much that he went to
CODES: And I said that to say, now we're in ministry. Unfortunately, so many different personalities, um, gossip, uh, so many crazy things.
CODES: crazy things minutes like complete the on ah
CODES: see
CODES: can't even compare ourselves to And he is our example and he's
CODES: the person that we need to follow, really understand that I think it would make ministry a lot easier for us. We're not perfect. We're going to get upset.
CODES: We're going to be sad. We have to feel our emotions. We have to process our emotions properly. Of course we do. But if we align ourselves with Jesus and
CODES: destiny of I believe it would be a lot easier to maneuver ministry, maneuver betrayal, maneuver sadness. We probably don't expect too much of people, right?
CODES: Because we're all human beings at the end of the day. And it takes, someone said it tonight, we're in process, it takes time. You know, the Lord is always working on us, but I believe if we understand that God is understand jesus
CODES: things with patients we could treat things with kindness with things with extra grace and forgiveness um and reveal to people what god who god really is but it does it does take a lot of time it takes a lot of a lot of our own like him so he could transform us and we have to allow to really transform us the to
CODES: Jesus. So, I don't know if that makes sense. I agree. You, however, stated a couple of things that really blew up different thoughts in my head.
CODES: Right. You mentioned really key words that I really want to expand on and kind of make practical. I'm a practical worker and I really... and Okay, Becky, I'm coming to you in a second.
CODES: But I'm a practical learner and if things are not really done in practical form, it doesn't really sink in. But to viewers who are out there that have similar mindset as I, I want to take a few things that my brother had mentioned and really make it real, you know, in in in real life, right?
CODES: You mentioned something really important as the agape love of God is unconditional. now when we say the word unconditional unconditional means that you don't need any reason to really show love for you to any reason for anyone to be lovable for you to really love them the love that you give as a child of god is not contingent on what you're going to receive back from the person right when you show love in ministry
CODES: you're showing love as if it's a dead end, if that makes sense. You know, when when you're driving through a road and there's a dead end, like you cannot, it's, you cannot go anywhere. It doesn't go anywhere past the dead end.
CODES: So I see i got to Love as that. You give without expecting anything in return. You give not because that person is going to reciprocate.
CODES: You give what other person is mean to you or what other person is kind you or not, is not contingent on how the person responds to you. So even if the person is consistently mean and aggressive towards you, the command there is to still love, right?
CODES: And now I know we're human beings, right? i I'm trying to be realistic right now. We're human beings and we have moments where are we're consistently showing love to people or were we're showing love to um the group that we're called to serve when they're constantly persecuting us, saying all kinds of things and gossiping and all of that.
CODES: And Jonathan also mentioned something else important that Jesus, knowing that people are going to do this to him, he still allowed them to while still loving them.
CODES: Now sometimes, I'm not going lie, in ministry, ego does get in the way, right? We have ego that kind of like shines out where when we're showing love, our love is kind of like in a way to like silence people from saying anything bad about us, right?
CODES: We use the love that we show people as... as a legal ground to say, oh, because I do these things for you, you're obligated to be loyal to me.
CODES: you know Sometimes it'ss it's very easy to slip into the people where you're showing love because you are kind of silently requesting loyalty from people.
CODES: But when Jonathan mentioned um that Jesus Christ, already knowing that people are going to betray him, he still allowed it. He still showed love without requiring any loyalty from the people that he showed love to.
CODES: We already know that by proof that when the scripture says that Judas Iscariot betrayed him, We already know that Jesus selected Judas Iscariot as his disciple, right?
CODES: He showed him love knowing that he's going to betray him. I know we mentioned this in a few episodes way back in in season one, how amazing the love of God is that even though he knew that Judas Iscariot was going to betray him, he still elected him as a disciple and gave him position of a trusted person.
CODES: That kind of it's It's kind of a power of knowing who he is and knowing that whatever Judas Iscariot may have on him really has nothing to do with, like it got nothing on him.
CODES: You know, it's that level of power and maturity that you give people some sort of um access to you in a way that you know that they're going to betray you, but however you're mature to the point that you do not let that betrayal define the way that you love them.
CODES: A lot of us who who put our stuff in Jesus' shield, we know that Judas Iscariot is going to We're going to put Judas at arm's length. Like, listen, I can't trust you because I already know going to backstab me later on, right? So stay deep behind from me. Stay far away.
CODES: But Jesus, we know that Jesus already knew what's going to happen because Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. So the God side of Jesus already knew that Judas would be betray him.
CODES: But he soon brought Judas really close to it's like he was not really afraid of losing anything. Love, there is no fear in love. A lot of us are really scared of showing love because we're afraid of the hurt that may be associated with the love that we give to people.
CODES: know if I'm making sense. Sometimes it's hard because love also comes with being vulnerable, right? When we love people, where we're being vulnerable. Like we're showing them some um level of heart nakedness. Like there's a part of a heart that we open that open to them that really makes us vulnerable that we can be hurt.
CODES: Part of us could die you know because of being that open to them. right But when I look at the lifestyle of Jesus, he knew what was going to come. But he was mature.
CODES: yeah had that maturity to know that even though that i love Judas and he betrays me, it's not going ruin me. It's not going to destroy me.
CODES: I have nothing to lose because there's nothing I'm afraid of losing, right? A lot of us are afraid of losing our dignity. We're afraid of losing our hurting our ego.
CODES: we're We're afraid of losing ah a part of us when we do love people. So that's why sometimes we feel like we hold back a lot and or we have, we we like to attain some sort of level of loyalty from people before we offer love.
CODES: It's the other way around for God. God offers love regardless of, it's not contingent on you being loyal to him or not. He just loves you.
CODES: I really needed to say that. Yeah. There has to be some sort of vulnerability in love and If you're listening to this and you're you're probably all, she probably has no idea what I've been through.
CODES: I've loved so many people in ministry. I've invested so much with people in ministry. And they betrayed me and I'm so hurt like I cannot be, I cannot be able to invest in any anyone anymore.
CODES: But if you think about it, you know how many times that each of us has betrayed God?
CODES: We've betrayed God so many times, but every time that we ask God for forgiveness, he starts with us all over again like nothing ever happened. And that's where forgiveness comes in, which is what Jonathan was highlighting, that you have to be forgiven for that love to feel fresh.
CODES: Because when you're holding grudge in your heart and you're trying to show love, you're like, what they call this um stream that never flows out.
CODES: Like it, it, you feel, it feel like a clogged stream. Like, you know, when you put in so much, when there's some water, where there's some beach that you go to that has a lot of litters and it's not allowing water to flow through.
CODES: That's how your heart feels. Over time, those grudge becomes really stinky. Like you, you produce disgusting love because of that grudge and hurt that you've accumulated in your heart.
CODES: So you really need to let go a lot for the love of God to flowing like fresh streams of water. You can only provide fresh, refreshing, clean love when your channels, your heart channels are clean, are free of grudge, resentment, envy, unforgiveness.
CODES: I'm not saying this from that I'm better anything. No, I'm also speaking to myself because I've had to gone through all kinds of heart purification in ministry. You know, there are times that you would think that, oh, I can actually love people until you're really, until you really hit in the, in the place that you're way very vulnerable at until you're stabbed in that area.
CODES: And you feel like it's so difficult to like move on and look at this person in the face. Right. I've had those moments and in those moments I've gone back to God and say, I know you require me to have unconditional love.
CODES: And it's like a constant, it's a constant, constantly you're going to God whenever you feel those resentments and like unforgiveness brewing up in your heart, those heat steaming up in your heart against the person that you feel offended by.
CODES: continually bring it to God. Lord help me to forgive and let go. Let the hurt go away so i can be able to love this person all over and over again. But yeah, that's when he said that it brought up those things in my head.
CODES: Yeah, you were going to say something. That's okay. um I was trying to say that, you know,
CODES: Any kind of love that is shown outside of the place of repentance doesn't last long because eventually the motive is going to be revealed.
CODES: you know However, the way i look at it is when you when you reflect in God's love to God's people, to be honest with you, I think it comes from a place of dying to self.
CODES: um An example would be like when somebody dies and you go and you punch the person on the face, you slap the person, the person doesn't, like you know, get up to slap you back because the person's completely dead.
CODES: And yes, there moments in ministry where people piss me off.
CODES: They're frustrated. It's almost like theyre trying to frustrate the life out of me. And it makes me want to distance myself from these people. But then I have to go to God in prayers and say, God help me.
CODES: And that's where the second walk of grace comes in. Because initially when the first repentance takes place, you know, the sin nature comes out, right? The envy, the jealousy, the resentments, the anger.
CODES: But when you experience the second walk of grace, you die completely to your emotions. that regardless of how many times people slap you, punch you, saying things, you won't react because you're completely dead.
CODES: But if you're not dead... You're always going to react. doesn't matter what it is. You will continuously react. And that's why I pray every day that God should give me a second encounter so that I can die to self.
CODES: So when people slap me and people spit at me, when people gossip, when people say every manner or any kind of thing they say would not affect me. And that sin nature will not react because I'm completely dead.
CODES: But when the second week of grace hasn't taken place, again, there is always going to be a reaction. Right? It doesn't matter if you've prayed so much and you come out, trust me, you you're definitely going to react.
CODES: Because that's letting you know that there's still work that needs to be done in you. But when you're not dead to self, those emotions are going to rise up. But when you die, again,
CODES: slap you, punch you, you would not react. That's why when I look at the cross, the cross is like it embodies or depicts the dying to self on the cross.
CODES: You know, even when he was on the cross and people say, I thought you were Christ, come down and save yourself. It didn't faze him because he was completely dead. He didn't react because he was already dead. He died before he went to the cross already.
CODES: He died already. So because he died, everything people said about him did not even faze him because he was completely dead. But until we die, we're always going to react to everybody's emotions. Okay.
CODES: It's really a lot of great points that we all have shared. But real quick before I pass the mic to Jonathan to say a last couple words to encourage those people and minister of the king ministry are really finding it difficult to really express this kind of love.
CODES: I want to say something real quick. Three things in a really short and brief way. um i and i really We're not we' not really How I say we're not really disputing the part that family plays in shaping our perception of love, right?
CODES: And we completely understand that part, that sometimes our family or environment shapes our perception of love. And also, it goes into shape how we really view God. Look at your dad. You know how many people stabbed him, spoke to him, but same people that disrespect him are the same people he helps and he loves. Yeah.
CODES: So that being said, I know some people are struggling with really receiving the love of God because of people, humans, who have betrayed them or some people who really do not have a father figure.
CODES: And they're projecting that limitations of their father and God because their fathers have failed them in that aspect. So they kind of like low-key project that on God, you know.
CODES: And I want you to really understand that first thing, God is not your father or your mother or that husband that rejected you or that wife that rejected you, right?
CODES: um God is God and he is love. And I want you to know that that being said, God is not petty.
CODES: Right? Even though that you've made mistakes so far in your work with him and you feel like he stopped loving you because you cannot really get over these weaknesses that you're going through.
CODES: There's one thing to have weakness and not do anything about it. And there's one thing to have weakness and you're constantly repentant of it and you're praying to God to deliver you from those weaknesses.
CODES: Right? The later that I described, a repentant heart is what God appreciates, is what God seeks. Now, when you do fall into those sins out of the weaknesses that you have that does easily beset you, run to God, repent a bit, do not go back to it anymore. Ask God for grace not to return to it again.
CODES: It's a problem when you do fall into that and you stay there and you feel like there's no point coming back because you think God does not love you and he's going to block out your blessings because of what mistakes you've done.
CODES: If God was like that, nothing in this world would move forward. If God was relying on our constant faithfulness, everyone in this world would not get anything accomplished.
CODES: It is the love of God that keeps everyone going, whether we deserve it or not. But also remember that what he seeks and desires is repentant heart.
CODES: So when we do fall, the scripture says that even though the righteous fall seven times, he will surely rise again. We're humans. Sometimes we have weaknesses that traps us down, but do not stay here.
CODES: Get up, run to God and keep it moving. It will forgive you and we will show you mercy. Right. And then last thing, you cannot do this unconditional love without God.
CODES: If you don't have God in you and Christ in you, there is no way you can be able to provide love because whatever you, whatever love providing is literally from the selfish from a selfish place.
CODES: It is only the grace of God that equips you when you surrender your life to God. It is the grace of God, the power of the Holy Spirit that equips you to provide, to give unconditional love because it takes one who love to really teach you to love.
CODES: You cannot do that in your human nature because human nature is very selfish. Human nature is very deceitful and self-seeking. So it is the power of the spirit of god that picks
CODES: I rest my case.
CODES: But anyways, the last few words before we wrap up this I would just say that if you're having a hard time,
CODES: acts to reveal Jesus to you and for him to give you a revelation of who Jesus Christ is and what he's done for us and pray that you know that God will teach
CODES: to keep you especially in this
CODES: and the more cold it grows the the pure our hearts needs to be to to choose a god we love every day every decision in our relationships uh because it's the god in us that we are representing it's the god in us that we want to show to the world so um it's something that only god can give and reveal that the holy spirit
CODES: think our job is to surrender
CODES: need to
CODES: you guide yourself every day and and glorified so uh that's that's um basically my last ah comments just choose choose uh choose the agape love that's right and that really sums it up for us and remember like he said If you don't feel like God loves you, pray to God to reveal himself to you.
CODES: Because sometimes, initially as believers, you might always be feeling the love of God as a baby Christian, but the more you mature, it's going to move from that feeling to just knowing that God loves you because you're his child.
CODES: He loves you. So most times it's going to move from that feeling to the knowing, right? And when you do provide that love, like he mentioned, it is unconditional, whether you feel like it or not.
CODES: And with that, thank you all for tuning in And our first episode in this season or is second episode, whichever order comes really. I don't know what order this one has come as yet.
CODES: But yeah, thank you guys for listening. And don't forget to like, share, and subscribe and leave a comment. We kind of want to know what you guys think. Okay. And if you do need prayers,
CODES: We're very reachable, guys, and we do respond to DMs, okay? So we're on Instagram at Covenant Diaries, and we're here YouTube at Covenant Diaries. Okay, okay. All right. Love you guys, and thank you guys so much for your support so far.
CODES: All right. Thank you, guys. Bye.
