Page 59 whom we can fellowship over important matters. Let me make this real practical. If I’m going to purchase a car, in order to make a wise decision, I will rely on those who have more knowledge about cars than I do. I will even read up on the subject by those who have researched it. While the Lord may supernaturally reveal to me to buy a certain car, He has given no such promise. Hence, I cannot expect Him to do so. But I can expect Him to give me wisdom if I ask for it. And I can seek for wisdom as the book of Proverbs exhorts us to do (Prov. 4:5ff; 8:1ff). A wise person receives instruction from those who are wiser than himself (Prov. 9:9). Here is a bit of wisdom straight from Proverbs: ,In the multitude of counselors there is safety (Prov. 11:14; 24:6). That’s a piece of gold that you can put in your pocket for life. Examples of Wisdom in the New Testament When the church in Jerusalem met its first crisis, the apostles said, ,Pick seven men among you who are spiritual and who have wisdom. Why? So that they can decode the road signs and the inward impressions that God would give them? No! So that they would make a prudent exercise of judgment in resolving the crisis. In the Corinthian church, there were some brothers taking other brothers to the secular courts to resolve personal conflicts. What was
We’ve watched the biblical content of services shrink beyond visibility. But doesn’t faith come by hearing the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17)? Are the spiritually dead not born again by the living and abiding Word of God (1 Pet. 1:23)? Do the people of God not grow by the pure milk of God’s Word (2:2)? Then does it not matter what we read, preach, and sing in our services, and in what quantities? Should we not be alarmed when we see self-centered sermons replace biblical exposition, repetitious choruses replace biblically rich hymnody and psalmody, token prayers replace a full-diet of biblical prayer (for example, praise, confession, thanksgiving, intercessions), and Scripture reading disappear altogether?
Terry Johnson