Do not become Jell-O in the world's bowl, but break out

FRIDAY, MARCH 2: Last week we saw that the powerful word ‘present’ means to come to a point in your life when you surrender you life and give to God your whole body. 

To give God your body means that he will also have your will; to give God your will means He must have your mind. 

That’s what our topic is on this week… the state of your mind can make or break your obedience towards God. 

The first part of Romans 12:2 reads: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” 

To understand this passage we need to understand Jell-O. 

I remember as a child, as many of you may, when my mother would make Jell-O with fruit cocktail. Boy that’s a blast from the past.

I remember my mother stirring the contents of the Jell-O powder with water on the stove. This hot concoction, which smelled like hot Kool-Aid, was then placed in a bowl and then the can of fruit was added.

It then went in the fridge and we had to exercise patience until it turned from a liquid to a gelatin state. 

Then it made a nice dessert, especially if you dressed it with some cool whip in the freezer. 

What I remember about Jell-O is this… whatever the shape of the container was the mould that it would take. 

This is exactly what the God means when he says not to conform any longer to the ‘pattern’ of this world. 

It means to stop allowing your circumstances and any negative people mould your thinking. 

By the ‘world’ he means the world system that is full of evil and corruption. 

All we have to do is watch the evening news or pick up a newspaper to discover that the world possesses some outstanding problems. 

Well, Paul says not to allow yourself to become like the mould of the world any longer. 

Enough is enough. In other words, as a child of God do not be like Jell-O in the world’s bowl — break out and be the person who God wants you to be. 

Now, notice God never tells you to stop doing something without telling you to do something else. 

Instead He says that we should be transformed by the renewing of our mind. 

Transformed is one of the most powerful words in the original language of the New Testament (Greek). 

In fact it is where we get our word ‘metamorphosis’ from. It describes a process rather than a single event.  Just like when a caterpillar gets ‘transformed’ into a butterfly is an illustration of your life when you allow the Holy Spirit to apply God’s Word in your mind.

What a contrast between a caterpillar and a butterfly. The caterpillar can only crawl on lower plains, but the butterfly can fly in the sky. 

It is a world of difference that yields looking at things from two completely different angles.

The same is true for those who decide to stop being influenced by the world and start soaring with God.

When your mind starts thinking right, then your behaviour will follow.

Hence he says be transformed in your behaviour… which is by the renewing of the mind. 

Always remember that God’s solution to change is from inside-out, rather than the outside-in. 

Change from the outside-in usually results in actions from pressure and guilt that is usually short-lived, but change from the inside-out is generated by God’s love and acceptance and will stand the test of time.

Then you will live the transformed life by internal principles rather than external pressures. 

Break the mould of the world and create a new impact for God’s purposes in your life. If you do, you will leave the caterpillars behind as you stop ‘crawling’ and start ‘flying’.

Pastor Gary Simons is the senior pastor of Cornerstone Bible Fellowship. Sunday services are located at CedarBridge Academy at 10am.