Buy the truth, and sell [it] not; [also] wisdom, and instruction , and understanding

Pro 23:23

1

Get wisdom, get understanding; don't forget or turn away from the words of my mouth Pro. 4:5

Remember the promise Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and

knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me

The Church of the Philadelphia period were promised of the Lord that because of their faithfulness, because they had "kept the Word of My patience," they should be kept from "the hour of temptation" which was to come upon all the world a little later. The Church of Laodicea --the Church of our day--is not kept from entering into the "hour of temptation"; but we may be sure that we will be kept while in it, if we are faithful and true. Our dear Lord's special message to the Laodicean phase of the Church has been, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear My Voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcome, will I grant to sit with Me in My Throne."-- This is the special reward of those who are running the race with patient endurance in the present time, while it was not our privilege to escape the hour of temptation, it is our privilege to have a counterbalancing special blessing as a result of living in the time of our Lord's presence. We may have His fellowship, His instruction, His dispensing of spiritual food which is now "meat in due season," in a manner and to a degree which none of the faithful of past periods enjoyed these.

From our returned LORD We have been given a very special supper and what is he feeding us

. Truth meat in due season,

Matt 24:28 For wheresoever’s the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together

The lesson is that in that day, when the Lord is gathering his "elect" from the four winds of heaven--from every quarter of the Church--he will attract them as eagles are attracted, by food, for which they have a keenness of vision and appetite; that in due time the Lord would provide the proper food, and his true people would recognize it and be gathered to it--the ready and worthy taken and the others left. The food of "present truth" now provided by our Lord, and the gathering of his saints by and to it,. It is not the gathering by one man or many men, to him or to them, into a new denomination; but a gathering together unto Christ himself, the true and only Master and Teacher. Moreover, it is worthy of note that great human ability, oratory, etc., have been notably connected with other movements, but not with this present gathering to the Lord. Here the truth, the spiritual food which the Lord is supplying, is the whole attraction: human oratory find little room for exercise here; they are lacking but are not missed. The gathered and gathering ones come together because they "hunger and thirst after righteousness:" and they are finding the satisfying portion which the Lord himself has provided; and each for himself is eating thereof. [D611]

•The charter of God

•The ransom

•The Return of our Lord

•Restitution

•Sin offering

•The high calling

•Two resurrection

•Kingdom here on earth

•The promise made to Abraham

•Israel’s place in God’s Plan

1 Tim 4:16Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee

F315: We are living in a time when doctrines in general are being sneered at, and when quite a good many claim that doctrine and faith are of no value in comparison to works and morals. We cannot agree with this, because we find it entirely out of accord with the divine Word, in which faith is placed first and works second. It is our faith that is accepted of the Lord, and according to our faith he will reward us, though he will properly expect that a good faith will bring forth as many good works as the weaknesses of the earthen vessel will permit. This is the rule of faith everywhere laid down in the Scriptures.

No man can properly overcomer, therefore, unless he exercise faith in God and in his promises; and in order to exercise faith in the promises of God he must understand them; and this opportunity and ability to grow strong in faith will be in proportion to his understanding of the divine plan of the ages, and the exceeding great and precious promises connected therewith. Hence, doctrine--instruction--is important, not merely for the knowledge which God's people are to have and to enjoy above and beyond the knowledge of the world in things pertaining to God, but especially because of the influence which this knowledge will exercise upon all hopes and aims and conduct. "He that has this hope in him purifieth himself" (1John 3:3) He who would endeavor to purify himself, to cleanse his conduct, must, to be successful, begin as the Scriptures begin, with the heart, and must progress, using, for a cleansing, the inspired promises. And this means a knowledge of the doctrines of Christ.

Proverbs 16:16 Acquire wisdom how much better it is than gold!

And acquire understanding it is preferable to silver

Jer. 6:16 Thus said the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where [is] the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk [therein]. Also I set watchmen over you, [saying], Hearken to the sound of the trumpet.

Vol.2 pg 28 It is a serious error into which many fall, to suppose that a knowledge of God's doings and plans is of little importance, that the graces of Christian character are all that God requires, and that these are better conserved by ignorance. They counsel us, not only to cultivate the graces of the Christian character, but to preserve constantly that condition of heart which will enable us to discern the truth--especially that great truth of the Lord's presence -- and when dispensational changes take place. A knowledge of dispensational truth is quite as important in the end of this age as it was in the end of the Jewish age.. Truth, in this age, under the adverse circumstances for its reception, becomes a test of our faithfulness to God

Jer. 31:21 Set thee up way marks, make thee high heaps: set your heart toward the highway

Jas 5:8 Be you also patient; establish your hearts: for the presents of the Lord is at hand

Rom 16:25 Now to him that is of power to establish (to set fast, to turn resolutely, or to confirm: - set, strengthen.) you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began

Will he guide a part of the church into truth and a part into error? No, the promise is that all shall be guided into truth. " ....It is to these the Bible has promised, "He will show you things to come." It is these that are to be guided into all Truth as it shall become due. It is for these that the Word of God is a Storehouse, from which "things both new and old" are to be produced under the Spirit's guidance, as they become "meat in due season" to the "household of faith.

John 16:13 "The Spirit...will guide you (the Church) unto all truth (i.e., all truth due) and he will show you things to come" as well as things now due.

Isa 33:6 And wisdom and knowledge

shall be the stability of thy times, [and] strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD [is] his treasure

Col 2:6,7As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving

When once we have seen the Plan of God as revealed in Jesus, and have given ourselves to God and the study of His Word, the only way to retain our spiritual life is to continue in this doctrine, to root ourselves in this soil and remain there. We are not to seek other fields with the thought that we can receive additional nourishment there, and that an admixture of other elements with what we have will be advantageous. No theories will mix with the Lord's Plan. It is complete; it needs no assistance from other systems of belief. Any attempt to incorporate with it theories and ideas of men will only destroy its value. We can never become rooted and built up in Christ by such a course; our spiritual decay, and finally our spiritual death, would be the result.

No child of God can be carried about by every wind of doctrine; nor can he indulge in a morbid curiosity as to what this or that new theory may teach. To do so is very dangerous to the spirituality of a Christian. For one who has never known the Truth there might be some reason for such a course, but for one who has once thoroughly proven what is the Truth in Christ to go hunting around for new pastures in which to feed, there is no excuse.. There is an limitless field for thought and for mental and spiritual activity in the Plan of God in all its varied features.

Heb 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let [them] slip

The promise of being "filled with the Spirit" or mind of God is not to those who merely possess the Word of God, nor to those who merely read the Word of God, but is to those who search it earnestly, seeking to understand it; and who understanding it are willing, anxious to obey it. If we would be filled with the Spirit of God, we must drink deeply of the fountain of Truth--his Word. And since our earthen vessels are imperfect, leaky, it is easy to let spiritual things slip in which case the spirit of the world, which surrounds us constantly, quickly rushes in to fill the vacuum. Indeed, there is a constant pressure of the spirit of the world upon the Lord's people, tending to displace the new spirit, the new mind, the Spirit or disposition of holiness. Therefore it behooves all of the Lord's faithful new creatures to live very close to the fountain of Truth, the Lord, and very close to his Word, lest the Spirit of God be quenched, and we be filled instead with the spirit of the world

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perish, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."—1 Pet 1:7

FAITH MAY BE said to have in it the two elements of intellectual assurance and heart-reliance. Both the head and the heart--the intellect and the affections--are necessary to the faith without which it is impossible to please God. With some, faith is all emotion; with others, it is all intellectuality. But neither of these elements alone can withstand the fiery tests to which faith is subjected. Both must be present and remain, if our faith be that which will endure to the end and be found unto praise, honor and glory at the appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

IT is your faith that is on trial now. In the calmer days, when the sun of favor shone brightly upon us, we were quietly laying the foundation of a knowledge of the Truth, and rearing the superstructure of Christian character. And Now we are in the furnace to be proved: summon therefore all your courage; fortify your patience; nerve yourself to endurance; hold fast to your hope; call to mind the promises, they are still ours; and "cast not away your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward." "In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him," and faith has gained her victory.

The trial of our faith to which our Lord and the Apostles refer is a trial, not only of our intellectual knowledge of Divine Truth, but also of our heart-reliance upon God. In both respects, the true child of God will find himself severely tried. Let him see to it that he has a "Thus said the Lord" for every item of his belief. Let him study the doctrine and get a clear understanding of every element of the Truth. Let him become rooted, grounded, settled and established in the doctrines of God, and give earnest heed lest at any time he let them slip. –

Hab. 2:3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hastens toward the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay

In the end of the age, which is the harvest time, much truth is due, which God did not make known in times past, even to his most faithful and devoted children. It was in the time of the end that the Prophet declared that the vision, concerning the glorious consummation of God's plan, should speak and not lie; and that to some of God's children it should speak so plainly that they would be able, as directed, to make it plain on tables; that through their instrumentality others might be enabled to read it clearly: and then that knowledge should be increased, and that the wise (through faith) should understand the vision

Ezek 12:22 Son of man, what is this proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision failedTell them therefore, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision.

1 Co 16:13 Be on the alert; stand firm in the faith; acquit yourselves like men; be strong. .

2Th 2:15 So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours.

Jer. 6:16 Thus said the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where [is] the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls

Col 2:6,7As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving