Church Adjustment Programs
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)
On Sunday July 5, 2015 America became the first nation to win the women’s soccer world cup three times. The big and strong “team America” had worked strenuously for almost sixteen years without a feel of the prestigious trophy, but this time around the team manager, Jill Ellis was big on continuous tactical adjustment, which completely mesmerized the German team. Knowing that their opponent in the finals (Japan) has the highest ball pass completion rate, Ellis’ last warning that settled the need for more adjustments by team America was “having the ball has a big part to do with being successful — it isn’t how big and strong you are.”
Need for Adjustment
God’s heartfelt desire for all believers is that they are “conformed to the image of His Son.” The Greek word translated CONFORMED in Romans 8:29 is Summorphoo, which means “I bring (myself) to the same form with” (Strong Concordance). How could we bring ourselves to the same form with Jesus without an adjustment? Even Jesus Christ had to adjust to enable Him function effectively for the purpose of His anointing. Paul said in Philippians 2:5-11; Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
For a Lion to function as a Lamb, for a King to function as a servant, and for God to become a man, adjustment is required. Jesus had to adjust Himself.
What do we adjust?
The real man, the man created by God is a Spirit that has a soul and lives in a body. The Spirit, Soul and Body are connected.
The Spirit is in the image of God, and if God is perfect then the born again Spirit is perfect, however the soul and the body are not perfect. These (soul and body) are two essential assets the Sprit needs to play his game successfully on earth. Now, that means an alignment would be necessary to get these assets team up and work for the Spirit. Although the Spirit is perfect, but these assets, especially the Mind (a component of the Soul) can impact the Spirit.
David said “The entrance of Your words gives light;” (Psalm 119:130a). How can the Word of God enter into the Spirit without being processed in the mind? The mind is the door, the gateway to the Spirit.
A man’s soul can impact his Spirit as Paul cautioned in Romans 8:12-13; Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Please note that Paul was admonishing Christians like himself that eternal life is not guaranteed if we continue living by the dictates of the flesh. So to conform to the image of the Son of God there must be an adjustment. The adjustment of our mind!
Jesus had to submit Himself to experiences that modified His mindset to enable Him humble Himself and be in absolute obedience to God. The whole purpose of mind renewal is ADJUSTMENT. English dictionary defined Adjust as “to move or change (something) so as to be in a more effective arrangement or desired condition.” Renewing our Mind is a process of tuning. If you do not tune your radio to the right frequency you just will not receive service or information from that frequency. And when the radio is tuned in, you still have to continually fine-tune the radio to retain the frequency because of interferences on the wavelengths.
Beyond Mind Renewal
You and I must adjust. The Church must adjust! To align our programs, processes and policies to those of God cannot come easy until we submit to God’s Adjustment Program.
How often do Christians input worldly contents in their polices, programs and processes but expect Godly outcomes? Only Godly inputs can produce Godly results. With low adjustment we are more susceptible to worldly contents, but with progressive adjustments we gravitate towards Godly culture. This is the real outreach!
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