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Matter of Conscious - Guardrail Series part 2

Live from DuBois Light and Life Church.

128 S 8th Street,

DuBois PA 15801

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‘Guardrail’ - A system designed to keep vehicles from straying into dangerous or off limit areas. You will find guardrails in four areas: bridges, medians, steep embankments, and curves. Guardraise are not actually located in the most dangerous part of the road. Guardrails are located and constructed in areas where you COULD actually drive. The danger is located just beyond the guardrail. The guardrails are strategically placed just before the danger to keep us from moving into an area where there is actual danger. The theory behind guardrails is that you will do less damage if you just hit a guardrail than if you actually hit what was on the other side. The idea is that it is better if you suffer a little bit of damage in order to keep you from experiencing a lot of damage.

We will be talking about gaurdrails as it relates to other areas of our lives. The truth is, your greatest regret - relationally, financially, morally, ethically, professionally - could have been avoided, if only you had some guardrails in those areas of your life.

Spiritual Guardrails are a personal standard of behavior that becomes a matter of conscious. These guardrails are just for you. It is not the law for all people, just like convictions are personal, guardrails are personal to you. That doesn't mean what God calls a sin, a standard, or a command, is up for debate. If you are not being convicted about God's standards, doesn't mean that it shouldnt be a standard in your life. It just mean that it isn't a standard in your life yet. We are all convicted about hte truth at different times. Just as the Holy Spirit works in all of us individually. Some of our guardrails will be the same, and others will be very different because we don't all struggle in the same areas.

Matter of Conscious: Behavioral pracitces that you are so committed to that when you violate them, it bothers your concsious. It makes you aware of, awake to, wise to, what is happening in you and causes you to respond. I'm hoping that you learn to set up some Godly standards in your life and be so committed to them so that when you break them, you will feel like you have actually done something wrong. You will feel guilty. Guilt from God is the good kind of guilt. It is supposed to slow you down and help you gain control. It will keep you from driving dangerously again.It is about responding to the guilt of bumping into one of your guardrails and make the nesessary adjustments to your life so that it doens't happen again. Intentionally setting up guardrails in your life will send a signal to your conscious that when you begin to bump up against your guardrails, warning lights will go on and red flags will wave indicating danger.

“So we must listen very carefully to the TRUTH we have heard, or we may DRIFT AWAY (slip away, stray) from it.”

Hebrews 2 : 1

“When people do not accept DIVINE GUIDANCE, they run wild.”

Proverbs 29 : 18

“DON’T COPY (conform, observe, follow, agree with, acknowledge, respect) the BEHAVIOR and CUSTOMS (patterns, influence, mold, style) of THIS WORLD, but let God transform you into a new person by CHANGING THE WAY YOU THINK. THEN you will learn to know GOD’S WILL for you, which is GOOD and PLEASING and PERFECT.”

Romans 12 : 2

You need to Understand that we cannot allow our culture to dicate our guardrails. In our culture, most of us agree about certain things that are on the others side of the guardrail that everyone should avoid. However, culture's way of developing guardrais is very weak. Examples of this are drink resoponsibly, just have safe sex, talk to your kids about drugs, consolidate your debt. etc. Undrestand that cultture does not respect the Word of God.

Ask yourself: do you have a system designed to keep me from straying into dangerous or off limit areas? Am I willing to establish some personal standards of behavior that I am committed to, so that when I violate them it bothers me? Will I allow God and the truth of His word to dicated my personal guardrails and not my feelings or culture?