Life Under the New Deal - Audio

God chose to reveal Himself in the role of loving Father. He chose the operating system of making gifts to His children rather than deals with His servants. This is what makes our faith unique. All other religions have a God who demands obedience and makes deals. Why does He relate to us like a loving father? Why is our operating system relational? Why does He value relationships so much? Because He is a relationship! Our God is three, each person of the Trinity in love with the other two. His very nature is a relationship. The wonder of that relationship is that we are welcomed into it, by love and for love. Some of you may have a very good question come to mind about now: “Does this mean our behavior doesn’t matter because He loves us unconditionally”? There are two truths that answer this question. The first is that there is nothing you can do to stop Him from loving you. You didn’t get it because you were good, and you won’t prevent it by being bad. He loves because He is love. The second truth is that your behavior does change your experience of His love. This is what Dennis was talking about when he talked about positioning ourselves to receive from God. Our behavior (our choices) positions us to receive more or less of God’s love, power, and blessings. For example: For men; where are you more likely to experience more of God’s love, presence, blessings, etc., at the Church men’s meeting or at a strip club? For women; while reading the Bible or surfing on Facebook? Where is it easier to become conscious of God’s presence, at church or at a shopping mall? When we make a habit of having regular times to be with God and to listen to Him and obey Him, we find ourselves experiencing more of Him in our lives. Next week we will explore how a relational operating system affects our relationships with others, and how do Connect Groups fit into that.