"WHEN GOD SETS THE BOUNDRIES"

TEXT:  JOB 14:5 -  "Seeing his days are determined, the number of his 	months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot 
	pass."

              DEUTERONOMY 32:8 -  "When the most High divided to the 	nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Isreal."	

              ACTS 17:26 -  "And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation."

I.  INTRODUCTION

	It doesn't take very much observation on any of our parts to realize that man is a very strange creature.  According to the psalmist, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made."  But there is something about man that we, above all other creatures, are adventures.  If the earth be created for us, we by the nature that was put within us, like to look beyond its boundaries.

	This tells us something about the sinful nature of man, always desiring to be something or go somewhere that was never meant for us.  But in this life, there are boundaries that we must acknowledge and abide by.

	For instance, there is a stripe down the middle of nearly every road that is placed there by those who look after the safety of drivers.  It is placed there to make sure that people stay on the right side of the road.  We don't cross the solid yellow line if it is on our side of the road.  For to do so leaves us open for possible danger of a collision.  And by doing so, we disobey the laws of the land.

	And most folks will do what they want to do.  But to do so puts your life in danger!  There is a price to pay  by not acknowledging the boundary!

	There is  a boundary placed on every peice of property.  You may have to dig it up, but there is a marker, a piece of pipe, or post that signifies that this is the boundary of the property.  It is called a landmark.  And in most states, it is against the law to move that landmark, for it tells the boundaries of your possession.  And there is a price to pay for moving the boundary!

	The seas have boundaries that are appointed by God.  The tides have a mark that are set by the governing hand of God.  People build their houses beyond that mark, safely within the boundary protection against the damaging effects of the tide.  When the tides break the boundary through a tidal wave, then destruction and chaos ensue.

	Countries have boundaries.  There has never been a war without someone first crossing the boundary.  If all had stayed on their side of the boundary, the war would have never been fought.  Lives are lost, homes are destroyed, and factories are bombed because someone first crossed the boundary!

	And while this is true concerning these things,  let me assure you friend that God also has some boundaries!  These boundaries are even more steadfast than those of mankind.  They are more binding than the laws of nature.  For God's boundaries are as established as the Ancient of Days Himself and they cannot change!  One must be willing to pay the price, suffer the consequences, and reap the reward of his own pernicous ways to cross over when God sets the boundaries!

II.  BODY

      A.  God's boundaries are set in His Word.

             	It is never God's will that anyone should suffer loss.  To insure this, He has established clear cut boundaries in His word.  They are not hidden landmarks that must be dug up, but they are very clear and very sure!  When you cross those boundaries that God has established, there is always the consequence of breeching that boundary.  And there are some boundaries that when crossed, can never be crossed over again!

	In today's society, permissive lifestyles are in vogue.  The lowering of moral standards has brought about more open and expressive sexual activity among, not adults, but teenagers, and pre-teens!  Illegitimate births are soaring to record highs, in spite of the atrocity of abortion in America!  But either way you look at it, when these boundaries are crossed it leaves a scar in a life that takes years to heal, if it ever heals at all!

	I'm not saying that God will not forgive these things, but what I am saying, is that even when such things are forgiven, there is going to be a price to pay for crossing over, when God sets the boundary!  Push the pedal to the floor!  Forget what the boundary says!  But friend, there is a reward to be reaped that you can't bear.  The harvest of sin is always more than its pleasures!

      B.  Illustration  (Vietnam veteran's testimony of man who ventured outside of their remote fire-base and was shot to pieces)

      C.  Illustration

	Several years ago, in one of our churches in the Midwest, there were two young men that really lived a clean, godly life.  They were an inspiration to their pastor and to the congregation.  They were the first to the prayer room.  They were always ready for the altar call.  They were, what we would call, "on-fire-for-God!"  And even though they were a year apart in age, they were the best of friends.

	When they turned fifteen and sixteen respectively, they entered the hardest years of a young persons life.  Feeling their independence, and individuality, they felt that their parents were out-of-tune with life, and they became somewhat rebellious.  They began to find new friends.  The only problem was their new friends drank and cussed.  The boys didn't want to partake of that, they didn't want to go that far, they just wanted to be with some friends that knew what was really going on in the world.

	Before long, one boy was offered a can of beer.  He refused, and the other said he was chicken.  So not wanting to be odd, both of the boys drank a can of beer, even though it made them sick.  Soon it wasn't long before these two boys didn't want to go to church with their parents, and they began smoking cigarettes.  That led to smoking pot and using illegal drugs.  The pastor tried to get them to the altar, but when they did come to church, they just sat in the pew refusing to be moved.

	Then one night after a powerful church service, and a convicting altar call, these two boys went to hang out with their friends.  One boy told them that he knew of something that would take them on a trip out of this world.  He told them if they would drink some antifreeze and sip it slowly, it would send them on a trip that they would never forget.  So the next evening after school,  they bought a gallon of antifreeze, and went to the park and split that gallon of antifreeze between themselves.

	About a quarter to ten that night, a police officer was making his rounds, and found the boys lying unconcious under some shrubs.  They rushed them to the hospital and through their I.D.'s were able to notify their parents and their pastor.  They pumped these boy's stomachs and did all they could but they could not stop the fatal mixture of the antifreeze with their body fluids from doing its deadly work.  The doctors came out and told the parents and the pastor that they had done all that they could do, but that the boys wouldn't make it through to morning.  Two hours later, the first boy died.  And then at four in the morning, the other boy died.

	They once knew the power of God!  They knew what it was like to pray in the altar!  But they also knew what it was to cross over when God had set the boundary!

      D.   Saul knew what it was like to be called of God and appointed to a position that no man had ever held.  He could have done almost anything he wanted to as king.  He had the utmost of power under God.  But there were even boundaries that God had set that not even Saul could cross over! - His rebellion - His rebuke by Samuel - His death on Mt. Gilboa.

      E.  Illustration

	There is a story that is told of the late Bro. Joe Duke.  He was stone blind, but he was mightily used of God in the gifts of the Spirit.  One night in a country church in Louisiana, he was preaching.  And as in the country churches back then, they tell me that the windows were all open and the doors were kept propped open for circulation.  And Bro. Duke had just gotten into his sermon, when he hesitated a moment, pausing to reflect upon a vision that God had just given to him while preaching.  He told the congregation how he had just seen a black car with six young men in it.  They were crossing the fifth of eleven bridges between there and the next town, which was accross the state line.  He told them that the car was tumbling out of control and six young men are falling into a ravine.  

	Just outside there was a young man, laying sprawled across the hood of a black car.  He rolled off the hood of the car and said to five other young men, "Let's go!  That old man gives me the creeps!"  And as they got into the car, one boy suggested that they go across the state line and get some booze and get drunk.  Between them and the next town lay eleven bridges.  They were crossing the first of those eleven bridges when one boy in the back seat said, please let me out of here.  Stop the car.  Because I believe what that old man was saying tonight.  He must have been talking about us!  

	This one boy had once had the Holy Ghost, and was a backslider.  The other boys said, "Come on!  You're not chicken are you?  You don't believe that stupid old man!"  And as the driver pushed his foot down on the eccelerator, he said, "I'll show you that the old man wasn't talking about us!"  And the boy in the back seat, by now hysterical, was pleading for them to let him out.

	They had just crossed the fourth bridge, travelling about 90 mph and the fifth bridge was just ahead.  They don't know whether they hit a dip in the access to the bridge, or whether the tire blew, but that car went out of control and started turning end over end as it fell into the ravine many feet below.  When someone finally found them, five of those boys were dead.  Only one survived.  It was the backslider.  God had given him one more chance to live for him!

III.  CLOSING

	Friend, you can go just so far, and then you will cross the boundary of God, where there may be no return!  You can sit on a pew and laugh at it all you want to.  Go ahead and make fun of the Church, and the way the saints worship!  Go ahead and say the preacher is crazy and that he's not talking to you!  But when you leave this place and don't find a place to pray and talk to God, you just may be crossing the boundary of God for the very last time, never to return!