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Name of Assembly: United Apostolic Church  
Type of service: Bible Study
Date: November 9, 2021
Lesson: GUARDRAILS in MONEY AND RELATIONSHIPS  
Scripture Text: Ephesians 5:15-21

“15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” – Ephesians 5:15-21.

 “15-16 So be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don’t be fools; be wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to find out and do whatever the Lord wants you to. 18 Don’t drink too much wine, for many evils lie along that path; be filled instead with the Holy Spirit and controlled by him. 19 Talk with each other much about the Lord, quoting psalms and hymns and singing sacred songs, making music in your hearts to the Lord. 20 Always give thanks for everything to our God and Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 Honor Christ by submitting to each other.” – Ephesians 5:15-21 (TMB)


INTRODUCTION
In this last part of this series, we will be talking about two major danger zones in our personal lives –MONEY and RELATIONSHIPS.

In any area of life where there is DESIRE, you must have guardrails – because legitimate desires can run out of control and become LUSTS.

Ever since Adam’s failure, mankind has been plagued with out-of-control DESIRES (LUSTS) within their own bodies that war against holiness. These desires are God-given and are not wrong in themselves. (i.e., The appetite for food is both natural and necessary in humans, but an unrestrained appetite will lead to obesity and many health problems.)

The Bible has much to say about our DESIRES, especially those that get out-of-control (LUSTS), for they destroy our spiritual life. LUST can refer to ANY wrong desire, however, the Bible speaks a lot about out-of- control desires for MONEY and for SEX, because they do the most damage to our spiritual lives, and to our future! The Apostle Peter warns in 1 Peters 2:11, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” While the Apostle Paul writes, “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” – Romans 13:14. When Paul say that we should “abstain from fleshly lusts” and “make not provision for the flesh” he is essentially telling us to build a guardrail. 


GUARDRAILS in Money Matter 

In 1 Timothy 6:6-10, the Apostle Paul wrote about the importance of being contented. He said, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 

There are TWO dangerous ditches on either side of the road where money is concerned – on one side we have the ditch of CONSUMPTION (all about NOW), and on the other side we have the ditch of HOARDING (all about THEN). But BOTH ditches are (1) self-centered, (2) consumed by greed, and (3) cause us to live as if there was no God!

Greed is the assumption that it’s all for my consumption! Greedy people think, “If anything comes TO me, then it’s FOR me!” But Jesus said that our money and possessions (mammon) have the greatest potential to replace God in our lives, because whatever I trust for my SECURITY is my god. Jesus demands that we make a choice! “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” - Matthew 6:24. 

In St. Mark 10:17-25 we see the following example: “17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” – St. Mark 10:17-25.

In St. Matthew 6:25-34, we are commanded to place the greatest value on the KING and HIS KINGDOM, “25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or, what shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” 

Pagans live opposite of this principle, but we must build a guardrail that puts JESUS first. It is not a matter of MONEY, but a matter of PRIORITY! Your heart (the FOCUS of your life) follows your TREASURE. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” - Matthew 6:21. Kind David in Psalm 62:10 says, “Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.”  As a king, David ended up being a very wealthy man, though most of his earlier years were lived in deep poverty. David knew what it was to see riches increase, and he knew the foolishness of setting one’s heart on them. It’s possible to hold great wealth without trusting in those riches, but it isn’t easy.

GUARDRAILS in Relationship 
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the LUSTS thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” - Romans 6:12-13.

One of the great lies of our culture is that SEX is just a physical act. Nothing could be further from the truth. Paul warned the brethren in Corinth against this destructive practice, “15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. 16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's” – 1 Corinthians 6:15-20.

There is incredible incentive for anyone to put up guardrails in this area, but especially for CHRISTIANS who understand that we are to honor God with our BODY. If it is dishonoring to God, then don’t do it with your body! 

Paul says, “FLEE, DON’T FLIRT! PUT UP A GUARDRAIL HERE!”

Desires are NEVER totally satisfied (i.e. the “meal to end all meals” never happens – we have to eat again). Desires GROW when exercised. That means when we COMPROMISE our convictions, we don’t eliminate the tension, we simply make it easier to yield next time! 

Relationship without guardrails will become unhealthy and can lead to abuse, hatred, bitterness, and corrupt behaviour. As a result, we must ensure that we erect and maintain physical guardrails, emotional guardrails, and spiritual guardrails. When we fail to erect and maintain guardrails, we tend to find ourselves making decisions where the “end justifies the means.” An example of this kind of thinking is found in Genesis 19:30-38, “30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. 37 And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. 38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.” 


Five Laws of Guys Girls Relationship:

1.    Law of attraction 
We are attracted to that which is hard to get, and we think little of that which is easily obtained.

2.    Law of self-image
We are controlled by the way we inwardly see ourselves.

3.    Law of difference 
There is a basic difference in the way guys and girls think about love.

4.     Law of Progression 
There is a progressive nature in sex you tend to move toward greater physical intimacy

 

We must erect guardrails for our protection in the following areas:
1.    Smell    -    Erotic Perfumes
2.    Taste    -    Erotic Juices
3.    Sight     -    Entertainment choice 
4.    Touch     -    Petting
5.    Hearing -    Loose talk, 

We must also ensure that we erect guardrails in how we adorn ourselves. 

A Few Guardrails worth building:
•    Don't take a trip alone with someone of the opposite sex.
•    Don't go out for dinner alone with someone of the opposite sex.
•    Don't confide in members of the opposite sex.
•    When you feel your heart “drifting” toward someone, tell someone.
•    Make sure your spouse approves of your guardrails. (For those who are married)
•    If your spouse is uncomfortable with you being around someone of the opposite sex submit to them. (For those who are married)


CONCLUSION

It is 600 years before Christ, and many young Jewish men have been taken captive by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in his conquest of the city of Jerusalem. Among the captives carried off to Babylon is a young man named Daniel. He is hundreds of miles from home, in a strange land, and it is the custom of the Babylonians to remove the identity of their captives by forcing them to adapt to the new culture.

Even Daniel’s name has been changed to Belteshazzar, which exalts a Babylonian god. It would have been easiest for Daniel to just go along with the rest of the captives, but he decided to build a guardrail! “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” – Daniel 1:8. Daniel said, “This is where I draw the line, this is as far as I go.” He built his guardrail without knowing where his story would end – but he was smart enough to PREDICT where it would end without a guardrail!

“Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs” - Daniel 1:9. God used Daniel’s guardrails not just to PROTECT him, but to DIRECT him. You have no idea what hangs in the balance when you set up your guardrails. They become a DEFINING MOMENT for your life!

Some of our greatest regrets could have been avoided if we had erected guardrails – that means most of our future regrets can be eliminated!

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