Romans 12:2
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
J.B. Phillips –
“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold.”
Constriction is a method used by many snakes to kill their prey. The snake will wrap one or two coils around its prey to shut off the blood flow which leads to unconsciousness and death.
Just a few years ago in Canada, a 100-pound African rock python escaped from its enclosure in a nearby pet shop.
It slivered its way through the ventilation system and fell through the ceiling into the bedroom where two young brothers ages 4 & 6 were sleeping. These two young boys had their life squeezed out of them in the dead of night.
This world and its world system are like a slivering python that seeks to wrap its coils around us.The world wants to squeeze us into its mold. The closer you live to the world the more likely you are going to find yourself in the grip of the world.
When the Apostle Paul was gathering firewood in Acts 28; a snake fastened on to his hand. He didn’t stare into its eyes or whisper in its ear. He didn’t do a dance and speak in tongues. He shook the snake off into the fire.
Paul wasn’t looking for a snake to handle but when a snake was looking to handle him; he killed it.
1 Corinthians 10:9
9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
Daniel didn’t go looking for lions but when he found himself surrounded by lions; God delivered him.
Proverbs 6:27
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
If you play with fire, you’ll get burned! You can’t hold hands with the world without getting burned. It is a system of values, a mindset, and a worldview that is energized by the enemy of your soul, whose goal is to kill and to steal and destroy. It is designed by the devil to:
- Mess up your life
- Ruin your relationships
- Separate you from God
- Make you emotionally depressed
- Cause you to physically go into areas that will ruin your life
The goal of the world system is to destroy you! The world is not a pet but a predator! Don’t allow the world to squeeze you into its mold because it will choke the life out of you.
This world is passing away along with its lusts and passions. There are powers in this world that are constantly pulling at your flesh and mind.
- The lust of the flesh is the passion to feel.
- The lust of the eyes is the passion to have, or to possess.
- The pride of life is the passion for position and recognition.
This world system will pull out all stops to seduce you from your love for God with pleasures, possessions, and positions. Once the world has seduced you and once the world gets a grip on you; it is the death grip of bondage.
This weekend our nation is celebrating 244 years of national freedom. On July 4, 1776, 56 members of the Continental Congress, voted to sign the Declaration of Independence proclaiming autonomy. The signing of that Declaration led to the establishment of the United States as a free nation but our freedom is being threatened today!
Our greatest threat is not from terrorists; our greatest threat to our national freedom is forgetting God.
Psalm 9:17
17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
We don’t ever want to be in bondage again as a nation after tasting freedom for 244 years. What joy there is in freedom, the freedom to live without oppression; the freedom to live without fear from a dictator that rules with an iron fist.
When the Israel was set free from bondage, the women got out their tambourines and sang and danced after they crossed the Red Sea. They said goodbye to Egypt and to a life of slavery.
When the Pilgrims were set free they celebrated at Plymouth Rock and came together for a time of thanksgiving unto God.
When the Colonists were set free they celebrated the signing of the Declaration of Independence; guns and cannons were fired to be heard around the world and women banged pots and pans together in celebration.
When the Slaves were set free after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, they put on their best clothes and waited for the sun to come up on a new day. They began to sing,
“Free at last, free at last”.
But the greatest freedom in all the world is to be free from the death grip of the bondage of sin! Sin will take you so low until it looks like there is no hope! Once you’ve ever been freed from that death grip of bondage you don’t ever want to go back. You don’t ever want to be shackled again.
Galatians 5:1
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
