CONFORM OR TRANSFORM AND BE NOT CONFORMED TO

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM 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. ROM. 12: 2 KJV

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM • Don't copy the behavior and customs 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. NLT Rom. 12: 2

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM • What does it mean to conform? • What does it mean to be transformed?

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM When God saved us, He saved our souls. God didn’t save our minds. To be transformed it takes effort on our part. In His word he says be renewed or transformed by reading the Word of God. • He also said what so ever our true… think on these things • It’s up to us. • •

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM • Conforming: Is external, a change of form, more concerned with how things look, which results in unproductive feelings and thoughts, because it’s being forced to “fit the mold”. • Conform means to press in from the outside. • conforming is done to us by an outside influence. We’re not to be fashioned by any outside influence, along with the rest of this world. • Let’s say that you’re new at college, or at a job, or in a city, or to a group of teammates or friends. • If you want to be accepted, to fit in, you act like you think people around you want or expect you to act. That’s being conformed. It’s like jello being made. It takes the shape of the mold it’s poured into.

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM • Transforming: is internal, intrinsic, a change of the quality of a thing; which then often results in a change of behavior, as well as fruitful and productive feelings and thoughts. • Transform means to change from the inside out! • Being transformed is never an end. Its purpose is always to see the will of God come to life. To experience the presence and full expression of God • Think of it like all of those shows on TV where a team comes in and completely changes a house or a room from something drab and drear to something completely amazing. • Before actions can change, there must be a change of thinking. • The only way we can be different from the world is to have our minds changed. • The gospel must be allowed to change our views and thinking about things

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM • How do we become conformed?

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM How can we be conformed to this world? • When we allow the world around us to compress us into its mold. • Satan is the evil of this age, not of this physical world. How to Know you’re being conformed by the world: • We react with anger, frustration, mistrust, hate, disdain. • We lie and cheat and steal because we do not believe anyone is looking out for us. • When we make a mistake, we allow Satan to condemn us. • We allow thoughts of depression, guilt, doubt and worry to come visit, then move in and live, then dominate our thinking. • To deal with what we do not see and cannot know (the future) we choose fear and worry.

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM How can we conform? • To establish our own place in this world, we boast, debate, argue, fight, demean others. • For health, we trust only in ourselves, doctors or drugs. • For joy, we gamble, drink and take drugs, indulge in sexual promiscuity. • For may try to find peace in sex, we give place to homosexuality, political correctness, terrorism, fear. • Don’t believe in commitment in relationships. For love we go from bed to bed, imbibe pornography, lust lasciviously after pictures and fantasies. • Don’t believe in ourselves. Need acceptance from the world to believe in ourselves. To deal with our inabilities we allow shame to inhabit our souls.

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM • How do you know if you are being transformed

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM Transformation • In Transformation we let the Holy Spirit work in our lives through the Word of God– to transform us by the renewing of our minds! • We need to let the Word change what we think and believe and then we will begin to ACT as the new creatures we are. • We want to be changed by the Holy Spirit through the WORD, not made ‘moldy’ by the WORLD!

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM • Transformation: (metamorphosis is used of the change of a caterpillar to a butterfly). This also is in the passive tense. You are to be acted upon by another influence, which is not outside yourself • Jesus, seeks to TRANSFORM us! He takes the seed that is in us, who we are and works, just like the butterfly… • He changes us into a completely different creature! We no longer crawl like the caterpillar on the ground. He gives us wings to soar! He changes us into the image of The Son.

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM How do you know when you allowing the Spirit of God to Transform you? • Want to see it God’s way. • See that there is nothing harmful in doing God’s will. It is morally, spiritually, emotionally and physically good for us. • God’s way allows us to be acceptable to Him. • God’s way allows us to become mature and complete spiritually speaking. • We get to be what God would have us to be. • We can work towards being the complete Christian that God wants us to be.

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM • Mind change: This change allows us to view each situation in view of God’s will. (when transformed) • What would God have us to do in this situation? • What is best for me spiritually? • What will allow me to please God? • All these type questions will be asked by the one who has changed. • We will judge in a way that is in accordance to God’s will and not our own. • We won’t worry about what is popular, safe or accepted by the world, but what is right and good in God’s eyes.

CONFORM OR TRANSFORM • Which means: Romans 12; 1, 2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable (logical) service (religious service) And be not conformed to this world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. • Understand your situation. What happens to you when you’re in hot water. Imagine is a pot of boiling water with a carrot, an egg and a coffee bean sitting beside it. What happens when you drop each into the water? The carrot starts out tough but is turned to mush (give up, fall apart). The egg starts out resilient on the outside, but is soon turned hard and bitter on the inside. • The coffee bean, (transforms), changes the water become something different, I Is. 60 instead of sorrow, gladness, joy for the spirit of heaviness etc. Which are you? • Like a tea bag, you will never know how strong you are until your dipped in hot water.

• Next Bible Study • TBA

Resources • Conformed or Transformed-Got. Questions. org