Guardrails

Guardrails

Nobody plans to enter into a violent marriage. Nobody plans to ruin his or her finances. Nobody plans to struggle with an addiction. What steps do you take to make sure these things don't happen? Set up guardrails. You can tell yourself that you'll "be careful."

Setting up guardrails is how you "be careful."

Scripture

Ephesians 5:8-20;

Hebrews 4:12-13, 10:23;

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1

Guardrail: A system designed to keep vehicles from SWERVING into dangerous or off limit areas.

We find them in one of three areas

• Bridges - These areas offer little margin for error.
• Medians - These are places where we get too close to people moving in the opposite direction.
• Curves - These are unexpected changes to the road.

Application

Guardrails are not located in the most dangerous areas; rather, they are located in places where you can actually drive. How can guardrails apply to areas of our lives?

• Relationally
• Physically
• Emotionally
• Financially

To Direct and Protect

Guardrail: A personal standard of behavior that becomes a matter of conscience.

This is not a new or original idea. Both the Old and New Testament address this issue. Paul has just finished warning against a series of things that we are generally (publicly) against: greed, marriage-wrecking immorality, and dishonesty.

Then he warns of the consequences of those behaviors. That is when he offers up advice on establishing guardrails in your life:

• Be CAREFUL, not CARELESS. (Ephesians 5:15)

• Look around...Look ahead...Look back.
• We cannot leave the Christian life left to chance.
• Don't drift or swerve (Hebrews 10:23)
• A Mark of Wisdom

• Make the time COUNT. (Ephesians 5:16)

• You cannot afford to be careless.
• There is too much at stake. o Life is Short! Take Advantage of it.
• The Days are Evil (Pornographic).

• Don't act like a FOOL. Listen to the LORD. (Ephesians 5:17)

• Wake up!

Use the mind God gave you. (Romans 12:1-2)

God has a plan for you (Ephesians 2:10)

Revealed thru His Word (Col. 1:9-10)

His Spirit (Col. 3:15)

Circumstances (Rom. 8:28)

• One thing ALWAYS leads to another. (Ephesians 5:18-20)

• We need guardrails to keep us from getting to the place where we hand over control to someone or something else.
• God wants to play that role and gain influence over our behaviors and decisions.

CONCLUSION (Ephesians 5:18-20)

• Are you walking in DARKNESS or LIGHT?
• Do you want to know what PLEASES the Lord?
• Are you willing to TURN ON God's light in the dark places of your life?

Flee Baby Flee

Why Can't We Be Friends?

The things that make friendships wonderful are the very things that can make them dangerous:

Acceptance and Companionship

• We get comfortable, drop our guard, and become open to influence. (1 Corinthians 15:33)
• Our most addictive behaviors begin in a crowd...Your greatest regret: was it with a friend or an enemy? (1 Corinthians 13:11)
• Proverbs 13:20
• Value #3: "You can't do life alone."
• Promise: You become WISE by doing life with the WISE.
• Warning: You risk DISASTER when you run with FOOLS.

Application

Your friends will influence the DIRECTION and QUALITY of your life...Friends can be dangerous and that requires guardrails. You need a standard that informs your conscience so that when you start to swerve, warning lights come on.

Your conscience should light up when:

• Your core group is not moving in the direction you want to go.
• You find yourself pretending to be someone other than who you really are.
• You feel pressure to compromise (not when you've compromised).
• You begin to lessen your standards in areas that are important to you.
• You hope the people you care about most don't find out where you've been or what you've been doing.

True friendship is when:

• We LOVE sincerely. (Romans 12:9).

That means we HATE evil and CLING to good.

Love is the circulatory system of the spiritual body.

• We Accept Unconditionally. (Romans 12:10).

Honest, not hypocritical; humble, not proud.

• We Stand strongly. (Romans 12:11)

Paul wanted them to maintain their spiritual zeal. (Col 3:23)

When life becomes difficult, we cannot permit our zeal for the Lord to grow cold. (Revelation 3:)

• We Build Up boldly. (Romans 12:12-13)

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer

Serving Christ usually means satanic opposition and seasons of discouragement.

Share the burdens and blessing of others (Acts 2:42)

• We Serve unselfishly. (Romans 12:14-16)

A humble attitude and a willingness to share are the marks of a Christian.

We will never be about "Class" wars.

• We Forgive completely (Romans 12:17-19)

The believer who seeks to obey God is going to have his share of enemies. People will oppose you.

They didn't start you and they cannot stop you.

Some people have enemies because they lack love and patience, not because they are faithful in their witness.

• We Fight differently (Romans 12:20-21)

You should never seek to avenge yourself.

Returning evil for evil or good for good is the way most people live.

But, as Christians, we are called to live on a higher level and that means to return good for evil.

This requires love and large amounts of grace.

If you defend yourself, then the Lord can't defend you.

Matthew 5:44-48 are very difficult to heed and live.

Proverbs 25:21-22 are great to remember but not to hope for. (this is referring to the shame he feels in his heart)

As Christians, we must live on the highest level.

CONCLUSION (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Proverbs 27:17)

"As iron sharpens iron, so one friend sharpens the countenance of another."

Me and The Mrs.

Have you ever thought....

• My energy level is so low.
• My "love tank" is running so close to empty that I'm about to stall out.
• It's only Tuesday, but my patience quota has already been used up for the week.
• My pocketbook is even emptier than I remember, and my financial needs aren't going away.

You need balance...A holy equilibrium...A genuine gratitude for what the day brings, while maintaining a controlled anticipation for what tomorrow may offer (The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow).

Content: an inner sufficiency; a satisfaction found through the depth of one's own life with God, independent of our surroundings.

"God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Application

When your emotions get the best of you, God wants to give you...

CONCLUSION (2 Corinthians 9:8; John 15:1-5)

They will be called Oaks of Righteousness for the Display of His Splendor

Instead of despair - a heavy, burdened, and oppressed feeling. It could mean faint, feeble, and weak.

Instead of being manipulated by unrestrained discontent, restlessness, impatience, bitterness, or depression; being content in who God re-made you to be, allows you to be happy "here" and when God is ready, happy to be "there."

This is a resolution to be satisfied.

Commitment

"I, __________, do solemnly resolve to embrace my current season of life and will maximize my time in it. I will resist the urge to hurry through or circumvent any portion of my journey, but will live with a spirit of contentment."

The Assumption Consumption

True blessing in life does not come from what we hold onto, but from what we give.

Three main areas where we refuse to give God control of our lives:

• Forgiveness
• Sex
• Money

QUESTION: "Is Jesus Lord of SOME or Lord of ALL?

Three Things You Cannot Do If You Want To Live The Blessed Life:

• I cannot IGNORE God's Word.
• I cannot HOLD ONTO what God says to let go of.
• I cannot OUT GIVE God.

90% of the problems people hare are related to sex and money. In most cases, they stem from someone's lack of self-control.

Oddly enough, the 2 areas of Scriptural teachings most disregarded in the church today are the teachings around sex and money.

• The church is against sex.
• The church just wants my money.

If we threw out the rest of the Bible and just embraced what it says about these 2 things, it would transform our culture.

FYI: God created sex, and He doesn't need your money.

Today's guardrail deals with the issue of GREED.

We want to challenge you in the area of independence:

• Independence from the belief that life = stuff.
• Independence from a lifestyle that leaves God for emergencies.
• Independence from a life independent of God.

Three areas of your life where guardrails are necessary: (2 Corinthians 9:6-15)

TIME (v.6-9)

• Your giving will BLESS you.
• There is a time for everything (Eccl. 3; Neh. 6:3)
• Where do Jesus, spouse, and kids fit into your schedule?
• Give JESUS time out of your day. The best thing you can give your SPOUSE is a healthy relationship with Jesus.
• Give your SPOUSE the best of you; not your leftovers. The best thing you can give your kids is a healthy marriage.
• Give your CHILDREN a good name. The best thing you can give your grandchildren is a godly legacy.

TITHE (v.10-11)

• Your giving will meet NEEDS.
• Watch out for the love of money. (1 Tim. 6:3-10)
• Less than 20% of this church tithes on a regular basis.
• If you love money, then you hate God (Less than 2,000 yrs. ago, the people who showed up to church each week crucified Jesus).
• Keep a COMMON RECORD of everything you spend.
• Choose a PERCENTAGE of your income to live on.
• GIVE first, SAVE second, and LIVE on the rest.

TALENT (v.12-15)

• Your giving will HONOR God.
• Test Him and watch out! (Malachi 3:6-12)
• When you USE your talents for God, He gets the GLORY.
• When you are OBEDIENT with your talents, people get SAVED.
• When you are GENEROUS with your talents, you get BLESSED.

CONCLUSION

God does not want something FROM you. He wants something FOR you. (Matthew 6:24)