Don't Get Squeezed

Romans 12:1-2, 8:29

When we watch television we hear different types of advertising, and we hear a lot of slogans. After a while when we hear the slogan, we instantly think of the thing being advertised.

When we hear “It’s the real thing”, many of us think about Coca-Cola.
“Just do it”? We think about Nike.
“It keeps going and going”? We think about the little pink bunny running on Energizer batteries.

It is something how the words stick within our minds. I probably didn’t have to say the name of the product - those things automatically come to mind.

But, Don’t get squeezed. 

The  Apostle tells us “I beseech you… present your bodies a living sacrifice … unto God”. That is powerful within itself; presenting your body to God.
And then there’s the word “conformed”.  It’s just like taking on the image of something or becoming similar in its form.  In other words it’s just like when Mama used to knead those biscuits. She would squeeze that dough and when she turned it loose, you could see the shape of her hand or fingers.  When little kids play with Playdoh, they form shapes depending on how they squeeze it. At Denny Chimes we see the “imprint” of athletes - they put their feet and hands in the cement, and the cement is conformed to the shape of their hands and feet.
But the Bible says to us “be not conformed”. Our minds need to be renewed, but not conformed.  Our minds are not to conform to the ways of the world; we should not take on the mold or the shape of the world.  Instead, we are to be transformed.  He’s talking about taking on the image of the Lord.
In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke Jesus experienced a transformation. He took Peter, James, and John up on the mountain and he was “transfigured”. It was a change in the outward appearance of Jesus.  For us, our mindset needs to change.
Every day, many things are being thrown at us, especially through television, through the media, through music, and many ways.  As our young people listen to a lot of today’s music the messages in that music infiltrate their minds. They start taking on the image that they hear through the music.
The same can be true of the Word of God.  Even for an average person who doesn’t know Jesus as  Lord and Savior the Word of God can change them.
Imagine if he were to start listening to the bible, bible tapes, or bible teaching.  No matter who he is, even if he is the most hardened criminal; if there was a way to pipe this into their cell everyday where he is just hearing it hearing it hearing it every day it would change his mindset.
It will change YOU.  It will change your mindset.  And if our minds have been changed by the word of God we take on the image of God.

The Duck Story
It’s just like I heard this little story about this duck.
There was a wild duck he was flying with the other ducks and they were flying south.
As they flew over a farm he looked down and saw some tame ducks. He made friends with those ducks on that farm. He began to eat with them.  There was plenty of food and plenty of water.
He decided to stay with them a day or two, which turned into a month and more.   When winter was almost there he saw some other ducks flying south.
He felt that urge within his chest to fly south - to take off.  But since he had been hanging out with those other ducks he had put on weight and his wings had gotten weak.  He tried to take off but he couldn’t get up high. So he came back down because he had gotten heavy and his wings had gotten weak. He said to himself maybe I’ll catch them next time. He stayed on and kept on eating.
Soon winter was almost there and he saw another group of wild ducks.  He felt that urge within his breast to take off.  He tried to take off but he soon realized he couldn’t. He said maybe I’ll stay on for the winter and when summer comes I’ll catch them and go back north.  Summer came and the other ducks were going back north, but by then he didn’t feel that urge any more. The urge had left him and he didn’t even try.

We can get so caught up with the things of this world that it will shape us and mold us into what the world wants us to be.  We might see other saints going up higher and higher, but we’ve gotten caught up in the things of this world.
Our minds have been so infiltrated we can’t even catch up with the saints because we’ve gotten so caught up in the things of this world.
Don’t get squeezed - don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold. Within this world that’s what has happened among Christians.  Same sex marriage, abortion, and all kinds of things are now being embraced.  What happened? The world begins to shape and mold our thinking.
Even Hollywood begins to dictate to people (sometimes even to God’s people) how we should live. On television you’re not going to find a show like “The Waltons”, and you’re not going to find a “Happy Days” anymore.  Now, everybody on television is sleeping around, going with somebody’s husband or somebody’s wife.  People allow the world or Hollywood to dictate to us what we think. We shouldn’t allow that. We should be dictating to Hollywood. We should not allow Hollywood or anything or anybody to dictate to us - to squeeze us into what they want us to be.

Don’t get squeezed by the mold of the world.  Instead, be made over by God in the image of his Son, Jesus Christ.
​~J.T.