Proverbs-Related Topical Wisdom

Heart Preparation - 4 of 7

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2006-11-19

Synopsis: In this fourth message on heart preparation, John Weaver continues teaching from James 1 on preparing the heart to receive the Word of God. He explains that just as God is sovereign in salvation, He is equally sovereign in illumination and is not obligated to teach. Therefore, believers must be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath, laying aside all filthiness and wickedness, and receiving the engrafted word with meekness. The message emphasizes that a pure, humble, and teachable heart is essential for truly receiving and benefiting from God's truth.

[John Weaver] 2 Chronicles 12 and James chapter 1. You will remember we have been dealing with the general theme of preparing the heart. And this is going to be the fourth message I will take a little time to review. But if you look in 2 Chronicles chapter 12 and verse 14, that is the beginning of our study, 2 Chronicles 12, verse 14, and he, that is King Rehoboam, did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord. And then if you would look in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 1, beginning there with verse 16, the Bible says, Do not err, my beloved brethren.

[John Weaver] Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no bearableness, neither shadow of turning. of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-roots of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls." The message today is a continuation from the one last week, Preparing Your Heart to Receive the Word of God. But let me begin by telling you about number one. The very first message I dealt with was from 2 Chronicles 12 and verse 14, and that was the importance of heart preparation. And we found out without heart preparation, then we are bound to sin. Because Rehoboam did evil. Why? Because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.

[John Weaver] In other words, heart preparation is absolutely essential and necessary. The second message I brought was an answer to the question, how do I prepare my heart? And I told you that there were actually three steps. The first step was realization, and that realization was that we have a responsibility to prepare our hearts, but we cannot. The Bible says the preparations of the heart in man are from the Lord. So if our hearts are ever prepared, God must prepare them. So there is realization. Secondly, there is determination. That is where we would determine that we're going to seek the Lord for His grace and His mercy and His power to enable us to fulfill our responsibility.

[John Weaver] And then thirdly, there was actualization. And that is where we actually receive and apply that grace and that mercy and our hearts are actually prepared. And I gave you two or three illustrations like that of repentance and that of faith as well.

[John Weaver] Now, we also discovered in heart preparation that there are two basic steps. There is a constant and continuous preparation that we need to be doing on a daily basis, constantly and continually. and consistently, I might add. And then thirdly, or secondly, there was that instantaneous or immediate heart preparation which we were to do when we were faced with temptation and sin and wickedness. That is, we must once again fly to the scriptures and appeal to God for mercy and grace to keep our hearts and minds.

[John Weaver] Now, probably there's much more that could be said as far as how I prepare my heart. But the three steps that I gave you would be what I would call an irreducible minimum. I do not believe that it could be explained any more succinctly.

[John Weaver] Now, last week we began the message on preparing our heart to receive the Word of God. And very quickly, you will remember, we went through the parable of the sower that is found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. And we found out that our Lord said that there were four different types of hearers. There was the wayside hearer, and another name for him would be the hard-hearted hearer. There was the stony ground hearer, and another name for him would be the shallow-hearted hearer. There was the thorny ground hearer, and another name for him would be the half-hearted hearer. And fourthly, there was the good ground hearer, and another name for him would be a whole-hearted hearer. Out of those four different responses, only one of them was saving. Only the good ground-hearer brought forth fruit, which led us to a biblical conclusion. Not all responses to the word of God is a saving response. The stony ground-hearer gave a response, but it was non-saving. The thorny ground here was the man who tried to begin and continue the Christian life without repentance, and of course that was non-saving as well.

[John Weaver] The only seed that produced was the seed that fell on fertile ground, and in Luke chapter 8, the Bible says, our Lord speaking, says the good ground here is he that received the seed in a good and honest heart. In other words, the ground had been prepared.

[John Weaver] Now, we began to look last week In James chapter 1, and I want you to turn there if you would please, because we're going to be continuing there today, James chapter 1, we basically saw three points from last week. First of all, we saw an admonition in verse 16, where he says, Do not err, my beloved brethren. I pointed out the fact that there are some things that you may make an error in, and they're certainly not very detrimental to your life. But there are other things that you may err in, and they are extremely detrimental, and that is exactly what the Apostle is talking about here. In fact, it is an imperative, which means it is a command, so he's commanding us not to be deceived and not to err in this particular thing. Then secondly, we saw In verse 17, a declaration where he says, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no bearableness, neither shadow of turning.

[John Weaver] And then I went through the Bible and showed you how God does give us common gifts, life and health and breath and family and finances and friends. But then there are those special gifts that God gives us, and we looked at, and one of those special gifts was the ability to hear and receive and understand the Word of God. You remember our Lord said in Matthew 13 and Mark 4 and Luke 8, He told His disciples, to you it is given. It's a gift. To you it is given to hear and understand the Word of God, but to them it is not given.

[John Weaver] Therefore, He said, I speak unto them in parables. And then thirdly, we looked at an illustration in verse 18, of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note that under this point, James is using an illustration and he uses the sovereignty of God and salvation as an illustration. So we saw very quickly in verse 18, the sovereign's will, the sovereign's work, the Sovereign's word and the Sovereign's world. Of His own will begat He us, that is His work, with His word, and that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures, His world that is, He is begetting people who will be obedient unto Him.

[John Weaver] Now, I pointed out the fact that God was under no pressure, He was under no coercion, No duress to create, redeem, or save. And whatever God did, in any of those areas, He did according to His own will. And I pointed out it is the will of God that is the source of all things. God created because He willed to create. God sent Christ because He willed to send Christ. And God saved because He willed to save. And David says it like this, in Psalm 115, verse 3, But our God is in the heavens.

[John Weaver] He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. And so James is now giving us an illustration of God's absolute sovereignty, and especially His sovereignty in salvation. Just like God was not obligated to create, He was not obligated to send Christ, and He was not obligated to save. What he did, he did according to his own will. The Apostle Paul said, if the Lord of the Sabbath had not left us a remnant, we should have been made as Sodom and Gomorrah.

[John Weaver] Now, when I closed the message last week, I asked several leading questions. The first one was this, why did James introduce God's sovereignty in verse 18? Why did he particularly introduce God's sovereignty and salvation? And the third question was this, what is the connection between God's sovereignty and salvation and receiving the word of God? Well, I want you to look today at verses 19 through 21, and we're only going to cover one point, and that is an application. An application. Because actually, verses 19 and 21 are applications to what James has been teaching. If you look in verse 19, wherefore, my beloved brethren. And then if you'll skip down to verse 21, wherefore. In other words, verse 19 and verse 21 each begin with the word wherefore. Now let me tell you the implications of that word. Wherefore is translated from one simple Greek word, and that word literally means, therefore, in light of, on account of, for which cause, so that, or inasmuch as. So, literally, you could be reading verse 19, after you read verse 18, watch this, of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be kind to first fruits of His creatures, on account of.

[John Weaver] or for which cause, or inasmuch as, or therefore. So you see he is making an application in verse 19 and verse 21 of what he has already taught. So here's what James is saying in verse 19. James is saying in light of God's absolute sovereignty that I've already mentioned in verse 18, you need to make certain preparations so that whenever he does speak, You will be ready to hear and receive what he says.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask the question again so that I may answer it. Why does James mention God's sovereignty in verse 18? And what is the connection between that sovereignty and receiving the word of God? Are you listening? I'm going to answer that for you. Just as God is absolutely sovereign in salvation, and He is not obligated to save, so God is equally sovereign in illumination, and He is not obligated to teach. What does that mean? That means this. Whenever God does teach, whenever God does speak, You and I had better be ready to hear and receive what God says.

[John Weaver] Let me give you some illustrations. Do you remember the passage in Isaiah 55 in verse 6? Let me just quote it for you. The Bible says, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him when he is near. What? Seek the Lord while he may be found. In other words, there's times when he may not be found. Call upon the Lord while He was near. There are times when God is not near.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to hold James chapter 1, but look back in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 1, and let me just show you, when God spoke to some folks, they did not hear, and the consequence was God would not hear them. So if you look back in Proverbs 1 and verse 23, look what God says. Proverbs 1 verse 23, turn you at my reproof.

[John Weaver] Behold, I will pour my spirit upon you. I will make known my words unto you. So God says, here I am. I am ready to teach. I'm ready to give you truth because I have called.

[John Weaver] Now look, and you refuse. I stretched out my hand, and no man regarded. But you have said it not all my counsel, and would have none of my reproof. What is God going to do? I will also laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh to desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

[John Weaver] Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." Why? For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel. They despised all of my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of their own ways and be filled with the fruit of their own devices." Isn't that amazing?

[John Weaver] God said, I'm ready to speak, but you're not ready to listen. I did speak and you totally ignored me. So what God is saying is this. He is not obligated to speak. He is not obligated to teach. And when He does, we'd better be ready.

[John Weaver] Now if you will turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2. And let me give you somewhat of an illustration. I say somewhat because it is not a perfect illustration, but I think you will get the point. Notice in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 2.

[John Weaver] Now this Truth, I believe, may be seen in the life and in the duties of a pastor. You remember, Timothy was a pastor, and Paul gave him some admonition and counsel. And in 2 Timothy 2, he tells Pastor Timothy this, And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. Now look what Paul told Timothy. The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. Now, I hope you remember that one of the requirements of a pastor is he must be apt to teach.

[John Weaver] He must be ready and capable of teaching, but I want you to note something. According to Second Timothy, chapter two in verse two, God does not command me to chase down men and force feed them the truth. No, I'm to be apt to teach, but who am I to teach? I'm to teach faithful men. I'm to teach men who want the truth, who are willing to be taught, who are willing to make sacrifices for the truth. That's who I'm to teach. I'm not to chase people down and try to make them receive the Word of God and say, no, no, no. I'm to teach men who are willing to hear and want to hear and are willing to sacrifice. And by the way, in the same word, God is not going to chase us down and cram His truth down our throats. He will speak. And He will speak through His Word, but we had better be ready to hear when He does speak. Look back in James chapter 1, because I want you to get ready for the first application.

[John Weaver] Here it is. Notice if you would, James 1, beginning with verse 19. Understand, God is not going to force feed us. In verse 19, Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. So the first application is this. Let me repeat it again. so that you will grasp it. After he talks about God's sovereignty and salvation, he is saying, wherefore, in light of, on account of, because God is sovereign in salvation, He is therefore absolutely sovereign in illumination, therefore, let every man be swift to hear. Let's start right there. The word swift means quick, fleet, speedy. In other words, let nothing slow you down. Let nothing deter you. Let nothing get in your way. You had better be quick about hearing the Word of God. Isn't that amazing? Let every man be swift to hear. You run to hear the Word of God. You make every sacrifice necessary to hear the Word of God. Be swift to hear.

[John Weaver] Now, the word hear is the word akuo, which means, listen now, it means not only to hear, but it means to attend to. It means to consider what has been said. It means to understand. To perceive the sense of. To give ear to a teacher. So what is he saying? Let every man be swift to hear the teaching of the word of God. You know, I know and I appreciate the fact that some of you drive three hours or two hours to get here, but you know, isn't it amazing? There are a multitude of people wanting to walk across the street to hear the word of God. And God says, in light of the fact that He's sovereign in His teaching and He's sovereign in His illumination, let every man be swift to hear. Then He says, look in verse 19, let every man be slow to speak. Hmm.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you one of my favorite verses. It's Proverbs 21 in verse 23. And I learned this truth a long time ago. But here it is. Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue also keepeth his soul from troubles. I told you this one time. I remember telling it. It's been years ago, but I'll tell you how I learned this.

[John Weaver] It was when I was a teenager. I was unsaved. I was raised in church, but I was unsaved. And I was out at the lake, which was a hangout for teenagers, and they had a swimming and bowling alley and a skating rink and a little dance hall. And I went back to the dance hall, and they had a jukebox going, and here's this little girl out there dancing, and it was just absolutely, it was repulsive. I mean, even to me as a lost teenager.

[John Weaver] And I looked at this big boy who was standing by me, and his name was Tiny. You know why they called him Tiny, don't you? He was about six, two or three, and, you know, 250 pounds. And when Alice and I got married, the most I ever weighed was 140. I was a skinny little fella with a 28-inch waist and wore a size 14 shirt. Now, I grew up after we got married, but you understand. But I looked at this fella, And I said, that girl is acting like a slut.

[John Weaver] Somebody ought to stop her. And I never will forget this big old boy looked at me, said, boy, that's my sister. I don't appreciate you're talking about her like that. I want you to know, I swallowed and I said, well, Tiny, I'm sorry if that's your sister, but if it is, you better get out there and stop her. And he said, oh no man, I was just teasing you, I don't even know the girl.

[John Weaver] I said, thank God, thank God, thank God. Well, you see what I'm saying? I didn't have to say that, and especially to him, but whoever keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

[John Weaver] Now, God says we're to be slow to speak. I'm going to make the application in just a moment, but let me give you what some of the ancients have said about being slow to speak. Some have said this, men have two ears but one tongue. and therefore they should hear more than they speak. Another one said this, the ears are always open, ever ready to receive instruction, but the tongue is surrounded with a double row of teeth to hedge it in and to keep it in its proper bounds. How noble was the response of Xenocrates when someone reproached him and he Answered that reproach with a profound silence and someone asked him why he was silent and he answered thusly I have sometimes had occasion to regret that I have spoken But never regret that I was remained silent Now God says let every man be swift here and let him be slow to speak, you know, the Bible talks about The tongue a great deal in James chapter 3 and we're not going there.

[John Weaver] I could preach an entire message on that But I never will forget what I heard one preacher say one time. And this guy, he was a real preacher, and he pulled no punches. And he talked about the tongue being like an automatic sewing machine set on fire out of hell. But he told about this one woman who he was preaching in a church, and he said, she came forward after the end of the meeting and said, the preacher said, I want to lay my tongue on the altar.

[John Weaver] And he said, well, lady, there's 60 feet of it right there. Put what you can on the altar and throw the rest in the corner. Well, she evidently had a long tongue. Well, a lot of people do. But you understand, the Bible says in Psalm 73 and verse 9, how the wicked use their tongue to walk through the heavens. In other words, they could care less about insulting God or insulting man. Now, God is saying, let every man be swift to hear, let him be slow to speak. In other words, you be cautious about what you say, especially in response to the teaching of the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Let me give you an illustration. Years ago, I was preaching from 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. And I just simply read the entire chapter only because there were nine verses in that chapter. I was not dealing with verse 4. Verse 4 just simply says this, Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. That's all verse 4 says. After the service, I had a man come up to me and say that I should not have read that verse. I said, why not? It's in the Bible. Well, there's a lot of people that don't understand election and it upsets them. I said, what you're telling me is you don't understand election and you're upset. Well, he went on to say, well, you shouldn't you shouldn't be you shouldn't even be reading those verses.

[John Weaver] I said, let me ask you a question. Have you ever read the Bible all the way through one time? No, sir. I said, have you ever read the Old Testament all the way through one time? No, sir. Have you ever read the New Testament all the way through one time? No, sir. I said, I'll tell you what you do. You shut up and go home and read your Bible And then after you get it thoroughly digested, you come back and then start talking to me, and we'll go over and look at the Scriptures, and maybe you'll understand that that word occurs a multitude of times in the Old Testament and the New Testament, and you cannot rip out the Word of God just to please people.

[John Weaver] So you better be careful about your response. Now, that one was very ungodly, very unbiblical. But notice what God says, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. In other words, don't get angry and don't get upset at the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. Don't get upset and angry at the Word of God, nor the man dispensing the Word of God. It is true that when the Word of God is preached, many times our consciences are going to be pricked. Our secret sins are going to be exposed. And you've got to remember the Word of God is salt, and sometimes when you rub salt in a wound, it hurts. It smarts. But that salt will also keep the wound from festering. You see, the trouble is so many people want to get mad at the word of God. Listen, I've had people get up and walk out while I was preaching. They got mad. I've had people cuss me out. They got mad. What is God saying?

[John Weaver] You better be slow to speak and you especially better be slow to wrath. And he tells you why in verse 20. He says, For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. You will never be righteous when you're full of wicked, sinful wrath against the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now, let me read something to you. And the only reason I'm reading this to you right now is to show you that some of our faithful expositors sometimes get it wrong. I want to read you what Matthew Henry said on verse 20. If you look at verse 20 and 21, I mean, let's read verse 19 and 20 together. He says, Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Now, don't you just listen to this paragraph, what Matthew Henry said.

[John Weaver] This may be understood as referring to the disputes and differences that Christians in those times of trial were running into among themselves. Now listen. And so this part of the chapter may be considered without any connection with what goes before. Here we may observe that whatever matters of differences arise among Christians, each side should be willing to hear the other. People are often so stiff in their own opinions because they're not willing to hear what others have to offer against them. Whereas we should be swift to hear reason and truth on all sides, and slow to speak anything that should prevent this. And when we do speak, there should be nothing of wrath, for a soft answer turneth away wrath. And this epistle is designed to correct a variety of disorders that existed among Christians. These words, swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, may very well be interpreted according to this last explication. And we may further observe from them that if men would govern their tongues, they must govern their passions.

[John Weaver] When Moses' spirit was provoked, he spoke unadvisedly with his lips. If we would be slow to speak, we would be slow to rap.

[John Weaver] Now, while Matthew Henry has said some good things in that paragraph, I want you to listen to what he said. I can't believe he said this. He said, and so this part of the chapter, that is verses 19 and 20, may be considered without any connection with what goes before. How could he say that? I mean, I hate to disagree with someone as eminent as Matthew Henry, but I certainly cannot conclude that this part of the chapter has no connection with what goes before. Let me show you what the connection is.

[John Weaver] Here's what God is saying. Look in your Bibles. Look in your Bibles. Look in James 1 and let's begin reading there. Let's read with verse 13. Watch. Let no man say, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth any man. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and entice, and when lust hath conceived it, bring him forth sin, and sin when it is finished, bring him forth death.

[John Weaver] Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first roots of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." Watch this. Listen carefully. Here's the connection. Since God is the only source of good, since God tempts no man, and since God by His sovereign goodness, without any claim on our part, We have had the high honor conferred upon us of being made the first roots of His creatures.

[John Weaver] Therefore, we ought to be ready to hear His voice, subdue our evil passions, and bring our souls into practical obedience to Him. Doesn't that make sense? And certainly, it is all connected. What James is saying, we have to learn, not just learn, but practice what we learn, and I'm going to show you that Christianity requires a meek and humble spirit in order to learn. So he says in verse 19, in light of the fact that God's not obligated to speak, Lighten the fact that he's not obligated to teach. You better be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

[John Weaver] Don't get upset with God. Don't get upset with his word. Don't get upset with the preacher. And the reason being, the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God. You will never be righteous if you're angry with God or at his word.

[John Weaver] Now, here's the second application. Look at it in verse 21. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your soul. So here's what he's saying. Wherefore, in light of and on account of the fact that God is absolutely sovereign in illumination as well as salvation, We should not only be swift to hear and slow to speak and slow to raph, we should also lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save our souls."

[John Weaver] Now, the particular object in verse 21 is the reception of the truth. And what James is teaching is that a corrupt mind that is a mind full of sensuality and wickedness is not favorable to the reception of the truth. A corrupt mind will never see the beauty of truth, it will never appreciate the value of truth, it will never understand its just claims upon the soul. What James is teaching us is this, listen carefully, purity of a heart is the best preparation for always seeing the truth and the force of truth.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to take this part by part. He says, wherefore, that is, in light of the fact that God's not obligated to teach, you lay aside or you lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. Let me put it very bluntly. It is impossible to receive the truth. Until we lay aside everything that is opposed to the truth. I'm going to say that in a different way before I close. What are we to put off? Well, he says, first of all, we must put off or lay aside filthiness.

[John Weaver] Now, the word filthiness is the Greek word ruperia, which literally means filthiness, to make filthy, to be foul, to defile and dishonor. Properly speaking, this word actually means filth.

[John Weaver] Now, let me explain this. When we talk about filth, we're talking about something that is absolutely disgusting and vile and offensive. I remember one time I went into a home in Greenville, South Carolina, and when the door was opened right in front of the first door, right in front of the door, was a car motor on the floor. Oil, gas, everything had dripped out. I mean, the house was a wreck. The stench was awful. It was filth. It was pure filth. I went next door and the man next door told me, he said, I've already called the health department on four or five times.

[John Weaver] He said, they don't even have an indoor and outdoor toilet. He said, they just use the back room in the house. You're talking about filthy and disgusting? That's exactly what that word means.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. When you talk about sin, you may talk about sin as being wrong, wicked, a violation of the law of God, and that is true as well. But sin also has another aspect, and that aspect is it is filthy, it is vile, it is loathsome. That's why in Isaiah 1, God talks about man being full of sores, putrefying sores, from the top of his head to the sole of his foot. It's filth. It's vile. It's loathsome. Now, this same word is used by the Apostle Paul to talk about the filth of the body.

[John Weaver] When he talked about the off-scouring, we're the off-scouring. The off-scouring is that which you scrape off. You can't even wash it off. You have to scrape it off your body. It's that filthy. But that which pollutes the body can also pollute the soul.

[John Weaver] Now listen, let me just quote this passage. 2 Corinthians 7, verse 1. The Bible says this. Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. So it's not just the flesh that can be filthy, it is the spirit as well. And so the apostle here is telling us, if we're going to receive the Word of God, we've got to lay aside everything that is filthy, everything that is polluting, our ill will, our anger, our wrath, our malice, our envy, sins of the spirit, just like sins of the flesh. So he says you lay apart All filthiness, anything that would be loathsome or offensive in the sight of God. You remember, I'm not going to go over that verse since I taught it before, but what Paul said in Acts 24, Herein do I exercise myself to have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man. He exercised himself to have a conscience that was pure and clean and unoffensive.

[John Weaver] Then he says, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. Wow. You know what superfluity of naughtiness is? Listen, the Greek word is peresia, and I'm going to tell you what it means and how it was used in Grecian times. But the word superfluity means abundance, superabundant, which is superfluous. that which is preeminent, that which is gainful, you lay aside all superfluity of naughtiness. This word was used by the Greeks to describe excessive wax in the ear. You know what happens when you get too much wax in your ear? You can't hear. You go deaf. What is God saying? You lay aside everything that is not needful. It's superfluous. The word naughtiness here, the superfluity of naughtiness, is the word kikia. Now, kikia is different from the Greek word poneros. Poneros And by the way, ha-poneros is the word for the devil. But poneros is that which is evil and wicked and vile in and of itself. But the word kikia means that which is bad or foul. It doesn't necessarily have to be particularly evil in and of itself.

[John Weaver] It's just not right. So it says you lay aside all this Coquille, this malice, this ill will, a desire to injure. Let me put it to you like this. What God is talking about is an attitude where someone is not ashamed or afraid to violate the law of God or to break the law of God. That's a bad person. They're just unashamed. So what God is saying is this naughtiness does not produce that righteousness which God requires. The naughtiness does not tend to lead us to keep God's law. It tends to enable us to break God's law. So God says all of this naughtiness, anything and everything, must be laid aside. Let me put it to you very plainly.

[John Weaver] Simply stated, one who has thoughts, attitudes, and actions that are in rebellion to truth will never submit to truth. Stop and think about that. If you have attitudes, if you have faults, if you have actions that are contrary to truth, you're never, ever going to submit to the truth. If you want truth, if you desire truth, are you listening? You must throw down your weapons of warfare, cease from your rebellion, cease from your sin, and be ready to receive the truth. As long as you have your weapons of warfare in your hands to charge against God, you're never ever going to receive his truth.

[John Weaver] So he says, wherefore, you lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. And then he said, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. I hope you see something right here. I hope you see an immediate contrast. When you talk about filthiness, and you talk about a superfluity of naughtiness, what do you normally think of? I mean, I would think someone like that is proud, arrogant, heady, high-minded. Sure he is.

[John Weaver] I'll do what I want to do. Nobody's going to stop me. I'll do my own. I don't care what you like or not. I don't care whether you're a priest or not. I don't care if you're a god. I'll do what I want to do. What does God say? You lay apart all filthiness and superfluity and naughtiness and receive the engrafted word with meekness. You know what meekness is?

[John Weaver] It's that mildness of disposition. It's that gentleness of spirit which enables us to be teachable. We sit down as a child to receive the Word of God. Are you listening? The only way you can receive the Word of God is with meekness. You cannot receive it in pride, arrogancy, or rebellion. You know why? Let me tell you why. James 4 and verse 6. Here's why. The Bible says, Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but he giveth grace to the humble. You know what God does? The word resistive actually means to fight against. God fights against the proud. So if you come to God and you come to his word with a proud, arrogant, haughty, heady, high-minded spirit, I got news for you.

[John Weaver] God's not going to teach you anything. He's going to fight against you. You come to the Bible with a know-it-all attitude, God is going to fight against you. You come to the Bible and say, well, I know this is right. I'm going to find me some verses to prove that I'm right. God is going to fight against you. You better come to be instructed. You better come with a meek and humble spirit. And you need to say with David, that which I see not, teach thou me. God says, receive with meekness the engrafted The engrafted word. Let me read you what Albert Barnes said about this phrase, the engrafted word. He said this, the gospel is here represented under the image of that which is implanted or engrafted from another source.

[John Weaver] By a figure that would be readily understood for the art of engrafting is everywhere known. Sometimes the gospel is represented under the image of a seed sown, as in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but here it is under the figure of a shoot implanted or engrafted that produces fruit of its own, whatever may be the original character of the tree into which it is engrafted.

[John Weaver] Now listen, the meaning here is this, that we should allow the principles of the gospel to be thus engrafted on our nature that however crabbed or perverse our nature may be, or however bitter and vile the fruits which it may bring forth of its own accord, it might through the engrafted word produce the fruits of righteousness." Isn't that amazing? You know, you can take the bitterest persimmon tree, or the bitterest crabapple tree, and a good branch of a beautiful fruit into it. And guess what? It will produce fruit separate from the bitter persimmon or the bitter apple.

[John Weaver] And that's what he's saying here. You receive the engrafted word which is able, and he says, to save your souls. By the way, these principles are to become so part of us that the result is, they're going to take root and bring forth fruit consistently and constantly.

[John Weaver] Now listen to what he said. You receive the interacted word with meekness which is able to save your souls. When we think of salvation The first thing we think of is spiritual salvation. And certainly, we ought to in one sense of the word. But do you know that the Bible talks about different kinds of salvation? You remember Paul told those Philippians to pray for him that it would turn to his salvation. Well, the Apostle Paul was already saved.

[John Weaver] What was he talking about? Talking about release from prison, because he was in prison there in the book of Philippians. So when the Bible says the engrafted word is able to save your souls, you've got to understand that the word of God may save us in innumerable ways. I can name a few of them. The word of God not only may save us spiritually, but it may save us mentally.

[John Weaver] I've known a people who have been thrown in dungeons. And the only thing that kept them sane the whole year or so they were in a dungeon was the fact that they were able to quote and recite the Word of God. And they kept their minds upon Christ. It saved them mentally. It will save you emotionally. It will save you physically. What am I talking about? You know, let's be honest. Think about this. How can the Word of God save me physically?

[John Weaver] As a Christian, I ought to never die of venereal disease. I ought never die of sclerosis of the liver from being a drunkard. You follow me? It can save me physically from a number of things. And it will if we abide and obey the principles of the Word of God. It will save us financially if we follow the principles that God has laid down in His Word. It will save us familially, that is, as a family.

[John Weaver] You know, I get so upset sometimes that some of these young couples, they get married, and the first fight they have, they want to run and get a divorce. You've heard me say this, Alice, I've been married going on 44 years, the thought of divorce has never entered my mind. Murder, yes, but not divorce. And she can say the same thing, I can assure you. But do you realize the Bible has ways of working through problems and there's a biblical doctrine of biblical problem solving. You don't run off and get a divorce just because you have problems. You work through them.

[John Weaver] That's what draws you closer together and makes you stronger. And if you understand the principles of the Word of God, it will give you a stronger family. It will give you a stronger church. There is no church that does not have problems. Listen, I've been offered other churches. Let me ask you, why would I trade one set of problems for which I know about for another set for which I don't know about? You know, I'd rather handle the ones that I already know about. There's no place where you do not have problems. If you know the Word of God, it will save you financially, familiarly, ecclesiastically, and listen, it is quite capable of saving us nationally if we as a people would repent and turn back to God and obey His Word.

[John Weaver] So he says, here's what you do, you lay apart all filthiness and superfluity and naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. I want you to understand that when you are preparing your heart To receive the Word of God, there's negatives and positives. There's some things you must put off. There's some things you must put on. And one of the things that you must put on is a meek disposition and a teachable spirit. And if you don't, you will never, ever have the Word of God. You've got to put away your sin. You've got to put away an argumentative spirit. You've got to put away that which is resistive and rebellious to God and its truth. You have to put away your arrogance and your headiness and your high mindedness.

[John Weaver] And you have to sit. Like Mary at Jesus's feet and say, here I am, Lord, teach me.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you to turn in your Bibles to First Thessalonians. Chapter two. First Thessalonians, Chapter two, let me show you this. First Thessalonians, Chapter two and verse 13. And then I want to ask you a question. First Thessalonians two and verse 13. And I do love this verse. The apostle Paul. is writing, and he says this, 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 13, For this cause also thank we God without ceasing. Why is he thanking God for these Thessalonians? Here's why. Because when you receive the word of God, which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, But as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." Isn't that amazing? Paul said, when you Thessalonians heard the Word of God, you didn't just stand there and say, that's what Paul thinks. Or that's Silas's opinion. No, no, no. He said, when you heard the Word of God, you received it as it is in truth, the Word of God. which effectually worketh also in you who believe.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. In fact, several. How do you know whether or not your heart is prepared to receive the word of God? How can you tell whether or not you have received the word of God with meekness? How can you know whether or not you've really and truly laid aside your naughtiness, your superfluity, your wickedness, your filthiness, and your superfluity of knowledge? How can you tell you've really laid that aside? and uniquely submitted to the Word of God?

[John Weaver] Well, Lord willing, I'm going to answer that next week. You can know. You can know whether or not your heart has been prepared to receive the Word of God. Let's pray. Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ That you would once again prepare our hearts, Lord, help us to receive the truth with meekness, humbleness and gentleness of spirit. May our hearts, Lord, rejoice at your word. We do pray for repentance and that you would grant us, Lord. A heart of love and mercy and goodness, not only toward thee, but thy people. And give us, Lord, a reviving in this land. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Heart Preparation - 4 of 7

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	21107152357
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs-Related Topical Wisdom
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-11-19
Dictation Name
Book	Book 162: Heart Preparation — Chapter 4
Source Timed Segments	78

Formatted Transcript

Review of Previous Messages on Heart Preparation

Weaver reviews the first three messages: the importance of heart preparation from 2 Chronicles 12:14, the three steps of realization, determination, and actualization, and the two basic steps of constant and immediate preparation.

2 Chronicles 12 and James chapter 1. You will remember we have been dealing with the general theme of preparing the heart. And this is going to be the fourth message; I will take a little time to review. But if you look in 2 Chronicles chapter 12 and verse 14, that is the beginning of our study: "And he," that is King Rehoboam, "did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord." And then if you would look in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 1, beginning there with verse 16, the Bible says, "Do not err, my beloved brethren."

Scripture Reading — James 1:16-21

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls."

The message today is a continuation from the one last week, "Preparing Your Heart to Receive the Word of God." But let me begin by telling you about number one. The very first message I dealt with was from 2 Chronicles 12 and verse 14, and that was the importance of heart preparation. And we found out without heart preparation, then we are bound to sin. Because Rehoboam did evil. Why? Because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.

In other words, heart preparation is absolutely essential and necessary. The second message I brought was an answer to the question, "How do I prepare my heart?" And I told you that there were actually three steps. The first step was realization, and that realization was that we have a responsibility to prepare our hearts, but we cannot. The Bible says the preparations of the heart in man are from the Lord. So if our hearts are ever prepared, God must prepare them. So there is realization. Secondly, there is determination. That is where we would determine that we're going to seek the Lord for His grace and His mercy and His power to enable us to fulfill our responsibility.

And then thirdly, there was actualization. And that is where we actually receive and apply that grace and that mercy and our hearts are actually prepared. And I gave you two or three illustrations like that of repentance and that of faith as well. Now, we also discovered in heart preparation that there are two basic steps. There is a constant and continuous preparation that we need to be doing on a daily basis, constantly and continually and consistently, I might add. And then thirdly, or secondly, there was that instantaneous or immediate heart preparation which we were to do when we were faced with temptation and sin and wickedness. That is, we must once again fly to the scriptures and appeal to God for mercy and grace to keep our hearts and minds.

Now, probably there's much more that could be said as far as how I prepare my heart. But the three steps that I gave you would be what I would call an irreducible minimum. I do not believe that it could be explained any more succinctly.

Review of Last Week's Message on Receiving the Word

He summarizes the parable of the sower and the four types of hearers, emphasizing that only the good ground hearer received the seed in a prepared heart, and reviews the admonition, declaration, and illustration from James 1:16-18.

Now, last week we began the message on preparing our heart to receive the Word of God. And very quickly, you will remember, we went through the parable of the sower that is found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. And we found out that our Lord said that there were four different types of hearers. There was the wayside hearer, and another name for him would be the hard-hearted hearer. There was the stony ground hearer, and another name for him would be the shallow-hearted hearer. There was the thorny ground hearer, and another name for him would be the half-hearted hearer. And fourthly, there was the good ground hearer, and another name for him would be a whole-hearted hearer. Out of those four different responses, only one of them was saving. Only the good ground hearer brought forth fruit, which led us to a biblical conclusion. Not all responses to the word of God is a saving response. The stony ground hearer gave a response, but it was non-saving. The thorny ground hearer was the man who tried to begin and continue the Christian life without repentance, and of course that was non-saving as well.

The only seed that produced was the seed that fell on fertile ground, and in Luke chapter 8, the Bible says, our Lord speaking, says the good ground hearer is he that received the seed in a good and honest heart. In other words, the ground had been prepared. Now, we began to look last week in James chapter 1, and I want you to turn there if you would please, because we're going to be continuing there today. James chapter 1, we basically saw three points from last week. First of all, we saw an admonition in verse 16, where he says, "Do not err, my beloved brethren." I pointed out the fact that there are some things that you may make an error in, and they're certainly not very detrimental to your life. But there are other things that you may err in, and they are extremely detrimental, and that is exactly what the Apostle is talking about here. In fact, it is an imperative, which means it is a command, so he's commanding us not to be deceived and not to err in this particular thing. Then secondly, we saw in verse 17 a declaration where he says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

And then I went through the Bible and showed you how God does give us common gifts, life and health and breath and family and finances and friends. But then there are those special gifts that God gives us, and we looked at, and one of those special gifts was the ability to hear and receive and understand the Word of God. You remember our Lord said in Matthew 13 and Mark 4 and Luke 8, He told His disciples, "To you it is given." It's a gift. "To you it is given to hear and understand the Word of God, but to them it is not given."

Therefore, He said, "I speak unto them in parables." And then thirdly, we looked at an illustration in verse 18, "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." Now, I want you to note that under this point, James is using an illustration and he uses the sovereignty of God in salvation as an illustration. So we saw very quickly in verse 18, the sovereign's will, the sovereign's work, the Sovereign's word and the Sovereign's world. "Of His own will begat He us," that is His work, "with His word," and "that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures," His world that is, He is begetting people who will be obedient unto Him.

Now, I pointed out the fact that God was under no pressure, He was under no coercion, no duress to create, redeem, or save. And whatever God did, in any of those areas, He did according to His own will. And I pointed out it is the will of God that is the source of all things. God created because He willed to create. God sent Christ because He willed to send Christ. And God saved because He willed to save. And David says it like this, in Psalm 115, verse 3, "But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased."

The Connection Between God's Sovereignty and Receiving the Word

Weaver explains that James introduces God's sovereignty in salvation (v.18) to show that God is equally sovereign in illumination and not obligated to teach, so we must be ready to hear when He speaks.

And so James is now giving us an illustration of God's absolute sovereignty, and especially His sovereignty in salvation. Just like God was not obligated to create, He was not obligated to send Christ, and He was not obligated to save. What he did, he did according to his own will. The Apostle Paul said, "If the Lord of Sabaoth had not left us a remnant, we should have been made as Sodom and Gomorrah."

Now, when I closed the message last week, I asked several leading questions. The first one was this, "Why did James introduce God's sovereignty in verse 18? Why did he particularly introduce God's sovereignty in salvation?" And the third question was this, "What is the connection between God's sovereignty in salvation and receiving the word of God?" Well, I want you to look today at verses 19 through 21, and we're only going to cover one point, and that is an application. An application. Because actually, verses 19 and 21 are applications to what James has been teaching. If you look in verse 19, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren." And then if you'll skip down to verse 21, "Wherefore." In other words, verse 19 and verse 21 each begin with the word "wherefore." Now let me tell you the implications of that word. "Wherefore" is translated from one simple Greek word, and that word literally means, "therefore, in light of, on account of, for which cause, so that, or inasmuch as." So, literally, you could be reading verse 19, after you read verse 18, watch this, "Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures, on account of..."

...or for which cause, or inasmuch as, or therefore." So you see he is making an application in verse 19 and verse 21 of what he has already taught. So here's what James is saying in verse 19. James is saying in light of God's absolute sovereignty that I've already mentioned in verse 18, you need to make certain preparations so that whenever he does speak, you will be ready to hear and receive what he says. Now, let me ask the question again so that I may answer it. Why does James mention God's sovereignty in verse 18? And what is the connection between that sovereignty and receiving the word of God? Are you listening? I'm going to answer that for you. Just as God is absolutely sovereign in salvation, and He is not obligated to save, so God is equally sovereign in illumination, and He is not obligated to teach. What does that mean? That means this. Whenever God does teach, whenever God does speak, you and I had better be ready to hear and receive what God says.

Let me give you some illustrations. Do you remember the passage in Isaiah 55 in verse 6? Let me just quote it for you. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6

"Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him when he is near."

What?

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6

"Seek the Lord while he may be found."

In other words, there's times when he may not be found.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6

"Call upon the Lord while He is near."

There are times when God is not near.

Now, I want you to hold James chapter 1, but look back in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 1, and let me just show you, when God spoke to some folks, they did not hear, and the consequence was God would not hear them. So if you look back in Proverbs 1 and verse 23, look what God says. Proverbs 1 verse 23, "Turn you at my reproof." "Behold, I will pour my spirit upon you. I will make known my words unto you." So God says, "Here I am. I am ready to teach. I'm ready to give you truth because I have called."

Now look, "and you refused. I stretched out my hand, and no man regarded. But you have set at nought all my counsel, and would have none of my reproof." What is God going to do? "I will also laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you." "Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." Why? "For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel. They despised all of my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of their own ways and be filled with the fruit of their own devices." Isn't that amazing?

God said, "I'm ready to speak, but you're not ready to listen. I did speak and you totally ignored me." So what God is saying is this. He is not obligated to speak. He is not obligated to teach. And when He does, we'd better be ready.

Now if you will turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2. And let me give you somewhat of an illustration. I say somewhat because it is not a perfect illustration, but I think you will get the point. Notice in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 2.

Now this truth, I believe, may be seen in the life and in the duties of a pastor. You remember, Timothy was a pastor, and Paul gave him some admonition and counsel. And in 2 Timothy 2, he tells Pastor Timothy this, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also." Now look what Paul told Timothy. "The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also." Now, I hope you remember that one of the requirements of a pastor is he must be apt to teach.

First Application: Swift to Hear, Slow to Speak, Slow to Wrath

In light of God's sovereignty, believers must be quick to hear and attend to God's Word, cautious in speech, and not become angry at the truth or the messenger, because human wrath does not produce God's righteousness.

Here it is. Notice if you would, James 1, beginning with verse 19. Understand, God is not going to force feed us. In verse 19, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." So the first application is this. Let me repeat it again so that you will grasp it. After he talks about God's sovereignty in salvation, he is saying, "Wherefore," in light of, on account of, because God is sovereign in salvation, He is therefore absolutely sovereign in illumination, therefore, "let every man be swift to hear." Let's start right there. The word "swift" means quick, fleet, speedy. In other words, let nothing slow you down. Let nothing deter you. Let nothing get in your way. You had better be quick about hearing the Word of God. Isn't that amazing? "Let every man be swift to hear." You run to hear the Word of God. You make every sacrifice necessary to hear the Word of God. Be swift to hear.

Now, the word "hear" is the word akouo, which means, listen now, it means not only to hear, but it means to attend to. It means to consider what has been said. It means to understand. To perceive the sense of. To give ear to a teacher. So what is he saying? "Let every man be swift to hear" the teaching of the word of God. You know, I know and I appreciate the fact that some of you drive three hours or two hours to get here, but you know, isn't it amazing? There are a multitude of people wanting to walk across the street to hear the word of God. And God says, in light of the fact that He's sovereign in His teaching and He's sovereign in His illumination, "let every man be swift to hear." Then He says, look in verse 19, "let every man be slow to speak." Hmm.

Let me tell you one of my favorite verses. It's Proverbs 21 in verse 23. And I learned this truth a long time ago. But here it is.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 21:23

"Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles."

Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue also keepeth his soul from troubles. I told you this one time. I remember telling it. It's been years ago, but I'll tell you how I learned this.

It was when I was a teenager. I was unsaved. I was raised in church, but I was unsaved. And I was out at the lake, which was a hangout for teenagers, and they had a swimming and bowling alley and a skating rink and a little dance hall. And I went back to the dance hall, and they had a jukebox going, and here's this little girl out there dancing, and it was just absolutely, it was repulsive. I mean, even to me as a lost teenager. And I looked at this big boy who was standing by me, and his name was Tiny. You know why they called him Tiny, don't you? He was about six-two or three, and, you know, 250 pounds. And when Alice and I got married, the most I ever weighed was 140. I was a skinny little fella with a 28-inch waist and wore a size 14 shirt. Now, I grew up after we got married, but you understand. But I looked at this fella, and I said, "That girl is acting like a slut."

"Somebody ought to stop her." And I never will forget this big old boy looked at me, said, "Boy, that's my sister. I don't appreciate you're talking about her like that." I want you to know, I swallowed and I said, "Well, Tiny, I'm sorry if that's your sister, but if it is, you better get out there and stop her." And he said, "Oh no man, I was just teasing you, I don't even know the girl." I said, "Thank God, thank God, thank God." Well, you see what I'm saying? I didn't have to say that, and especially to him, but "whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles."

Now, God says we're to be slow to speak. I'm going to make the application in just a moment, but let me give you what some of the ancients have said about being slow to speak. Some have said this, "Men have two ears but one tongue, and therefore they should hear more than they speak." Another one said this, "The ears are always open, ever ready to receive instruction, but the tongue is surrounded with a double row of teeth to hedge it in and to keep it in its proper bounds." How noble was the response of Xenocrates when someone reproached him and he answered that reproach with a profound silence and someone asked him why he was silent and he answered thusly, "I have sometimes had occasion to regret that I have spoken, but never regret that I have remained silent." Now God says, "Let every man be swift to hear and let him be slow to speak." You know, the Bible talks about the tongue a great deal in James chapter 3 and we're not going there.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 73:9

I could preach an entire message on that. But I never will forget what I heard one preacher say one time. And this guy, he was a real preacher, and he pulled no punches. And he talked about the tongue being like an automatic sewing machine set on fire out of hell. But he told about this one woman who he was preaching in a church, and he said, she came forward after the end of the meeting and said, the preacher said, "I want to lay my tongue on the altar." And he said, "Well, lady, there's 60 feet of it right there. Put what you can on the altar and throw the rest in the corner." Well, she evidently had a long tongue. Well, a lot of people do. But you understand, the Bible says in Psalm 73 and verse 9, how the wicked use their tongue to walk through the heavens. In other words, they could care less about insulting God or insulting man. Now, God is saying, "Let every man be swift to hear, let him be slow to speak." In other words, you be cautious about what you say, especially in response to the teaching of the Word of God.

Let me give you an illustration. Years ago, I was preaching from 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. And I just simply read the entire chapter only because there were nine verses in that chapter. I was not dealing with verse 4. Verse 4 just simply says this,

Scripture Reading — 1 Thessalonians 1:4

"Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God."

That's all verse 4 says. After the service, I had a man come up to me and say that I should not have read that verse. I said, "Why not? It's in the Bible." "Well, there's a lot of people that don't understand election and it upsets them." I said, "What you're telling me is you don't understand election and you're upset." Well, he went on to say, "Well, you shouldn't... you shouldn't be... you shouldn't even be reading those verses."

I said, "Let me ask you a question. Have you ever read the Bible all the way through one time?" "No, sir." I said, "Have you ever read the Old Testament all the way through one time?" "No, sir." "Have you ever read the New Testament all the way through one time?" "No, sir." I said, "I'll tell you what you do. You shut up and go home and read your Bible. And then after you get it thoroughly digested, you come back and then start talking to me, and we'll go over and look at the Scriptures, and maybe you'll understand that that word occurs a multitude of times in the Old Testament and the New Testament, and you cannot rip out the Word of God just to please people."

So you better be careful about your response. Now, that one was very ungodly, very unbiblical. But notice what God says, "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath." In other words, don't get angry and don't get upset at the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. Don't get upset and angry at the Word of God, nor the man dispensing the Word of God. It is true that when the Word of God is preached, many times our consciences are going to be pricked. Our secret sins are going to be exposed. And you've got to remember the Word of God is salt, and sometimes when you rub salt in a wound, it hurts. It smarts. But that salt will also keep the wound from festering. You see, the trouble is so many people want to get mad at the word of God. Listen, I've had people get up and walk out while I was preaching. They got mad. I've had people cuss me out. They got mad. What is God saying?

You better be slow to speak and you especially better be slow to wrath. And he tells you why in verse 20. He says, "For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." You will never be righteous when you're full of wicked, sinful wrath against the Word of God.

Correcting Matthew Henry's Disconnection of the Passage

Weaver disagrees with Matthew Henry's claim that verses 19-20 have no connection with what precedes, arguing that the entire context from verse 13 onward shows that God's goodness and sovereignty demand a ready, humble response.

"This may be understood as referring to the disputes and differences that Christians in those times of trial were running into among themselves." Now listen. "And so this part of the chapter may be considered without any connection with what goes before. Here we may observe that whatever matters of differences arise among Christians, each side should be willing to hear the other. People are often so stiff in their own opinions because they're not willing to hear what others have to offer against them. Whereas we should be swift to hear reason and truth on all sides, and slow to speak anything that should prevent this. And when we do speak, there should be nothing of wrath, for a soft answer turneth away wrath. And this epistle is designed to correct a variety of disorders that existed among Christians. These words, 'swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath,' may very well be interpreted according to this last explication. And we may further observe from them that if men would govern their tongues, they must govern their passions."

"When Moses' spirit was provoked, he spoke unadvisedly with his lips. If we would be slow to speak, we would be slow to wrath." Now, while Matthew Henry has said some good things in that paragraph, I want you to listen to what he said. I can't believe he said this. He said, "And so this part of the chapter," that is verses 19 and 20, "may be considered without any connection with what goes before." How could he say that? I mean, I hate to disagree with someone as eminent as Matthew Henry, but I certainly cannot conclude that this part of the chapter has no connection with what goes before. Let me show you what the connection is.

Here's what God is saying. Look in your Bibles. Look in your Bibles. Look in James 1 and let's begin reading there. Let's read with verse 13. Watch. "Let no man say, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth any man. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed, and when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

"Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." Watch this. Listen carefully. Here's the connection. Since God is the only source of good, since God tempts no man, and since God by His sovereign goodness, without any claim on our part, we have had the high honor conferred upon us of being made the firstfruits of His creatures.

Therefore, we ought to be ready to hear His voice, subdue our evil passions, and bring our souls into practical obedience to Him. Doesn't that make sense? And certainly, it is all connected. What James is saying, we have to learn, not just learn, but practice what we learn, and I'm going to show you that Christianity requires a meek and humble spirit in order to learn. So he says in verse 19, in light of the fact that God's not obligated to speak, in light of the fact that he's not obligated to teach, you better be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Don't get upset with God. Don't get upset with his word. Don't get upset with the preacher. And the reason being, the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God. You will never be righteous if you're angry with God or at his word.

Second Application: Lay Aside Filthiness and Receive with Meekness

Believers must put away all moral filthiness and superfluous wickedness, and instead receive the implanted word with a meek, teachable spirit, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Now, here's the second application. Look at it in verse 21. "Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your soul." So here's what he's saying. "Wherefore," in light of and on account of the fact that God is absolutely sovereign in illumination as well as salvation, we should not only be swift to hear and slow to speak and slow to wrath, we should also "lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save our souls."

Now, the particular object in verse 21 is the reception of the truth. And what James is teaching is that a corrupt mind, that is a mind full of sensuality and wickedness, is not favorable to the reception of the truth. A corrupt mind will never see the beauty of truth, it will never appreciate the value of truth, it will never understand its just claims upon the soul. What James is teaching us is this, listen carefully, purity of heart is the best preparation for always seeing the truth and the force of truth.

Now, I want to take this part by part. He says, "Wherefore," that is, in light of the fact that God's not obligated to teach, you "lay aside" or you "lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness." Let me put it very bluntly. It is impossible to receive the truth until we lay aside everything that is opposed to the truth. I'm going to say that in a different way before I close. What are we to put off? Well, he says, first of all, we must put off or lay aside filthiness.

Now, the word "filthiness" is the Greek word rhuparia, which literally means filthiness, to make filthy, to be foul, to defile and dishonor. Properly speaking, this word actually means filth. Now, let me explain this. When we talk about filth, we're talking about something that is absolutely disgusting and vile and offensive. I remember one time I went into a home in Greenville, South Carolina, and when the door was opened right in front of the first door, right in front of the door, was a car motor on the floor. Oil, gas, everything had dripped out. I mean, the house was a wreck. The stench was awful. It was filth. It was pure filth. I went next door and the man next door told me, he said, "I've already called the health department on four or five times."

He said, "They don't even have an indoor and outdoor toilet." He said, "They just use the back room in the house." You're talking about filthy and disgusting? That's exactly what that word means. Now, let me show you. When you talk about sin, you may talk about sin as being wrong, wicked, a violation of the law of God, and that is true as well. But sin also has another aspect, and that aspect is it is filthy, it is vile, it is loathsome. That's why in Isaiah 1, God talks about man being full of sores, putrefying sores, from the top of his head to the sole of his foot. It's filth. It's vile. It's loathsome. Now, this same word is used by the Apostle Paul to talk about the filth of the body.

When he talked about the off-scouring, we're the off-scouring. The off-scouring is that which you scrape off. You can't even wash it off. You have to scrape it off your body. It's that filthy. But that which pollutes the body can also pollute the soul.

Now listen, let me just quote this passage. 2 Corinthians 7, verse 1. The Bible says this.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 7:1

"Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

So it's not just the flesh that can be filthy, it is the spirit as well. And so the apostle here is telling us, if we're going to receive the Word of God, we've got to lay aside everything that is filthy, everything that is polluting, our ill will, our anger, our wrath, our malice, our envy, sins of the spirit, just like sins of the flesh. So he says you lay apart all filthiness, anything that would be loathsome or offensive in the sight of God. You remember, I'm not going to go over that verse since I taught it before, but what Paul said in Acts 24, "Herein do I exercise myself to have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man." He exercised himself to have a conscience that was pure and clean and unoffensive.

Then he says, "lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness." Wow. You know what superfluity of naughtiness is? Listen, the Greek word is perisseia, and I'm going to tell you what it means and how it was used in Grecian times. But the word "superfluity" means abundance, superabundant, which is superfluous, that which is preeminent, that which is gainful, you lay aside all superfluity of naughtiness. This word was used by the Greeks to describe excessive wax in the ear. You know what happens when you get too much wax in your ear? You can't hear. You go deaf. What is God saying? You lay aside everything that is not needful. It's superfluous. The word "naughtiness" here, the superfluity of naughtiness, is the word kakia. Now, kakia is different from the Greek word poneros. Poneros—and by the way, ho poneros is the word for the devil—but poneros is that which is evil and wicked and vile in and of itself. But the word kakia means that which is bad or foul. It doesn't necessarily have to be particularly evil in and of itself.

It's just not right. So it says you lay aside all this kakia, this malice, this ill will, a desire to injure. Let me put it to you like this. What God is talking about is an attitude where someone is not ashamed or afraid to violate the law of God or to break the law of God. That's a bad person. They're just unashamed. So what God is saying is this naughtiness does not produce that righteousness which God requires. The naughtiness does not tend to lead us to keep God's law. It tends to enable us to break God's law. So God says all of this naughtiness, anything and everything, must be laid aside. Let me put it to you very plainly.

Simply stated, one who has thoughts, attitudes, and actions that are in rebellion to truth will never submit to truth. Stop and think about that. If you have attitudes, if you have faults, if you have actions that are contrary to truth, you're never, ever going to submit to the truth. If you want truth, if you desire truth, are you listening? You must throw down your weapons of warfare, cease from your rebellion, cease from your sin, and be ready to receive the truth. As long as you have your weapons of warfare in your hands to charge against God, you're never ever going to receive his truth.

So he says, "Wherefore, you lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness." And then he said, "and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls." I hope you see something right here. I hope you see an immediate contrast. When you talk about filthiness, and you talk about a superfluity of naughtiness, what do you normally think of? I mean, I would think someone like that is proud, arrogant, heady, high-minded. Sure he is. "I'll do what I want to do. Nobody's going to stop me. I'll do my own. I don't care what you like or not. I don't care whether you're a priest or not. I don't care if you're a god. I'll do what I want to do." What does God say? You lay apart all filthiness and superfluity and naughtiness and receive the engrafted word with meekness. You know what meekness is?

It's that mildness of disposition. It's that gentleness of spirit which enables us to be teachable. We sit down as a child to receive the Word of God. Are you listening? The only way you can receive the Word of God is with meekness. You cannot receive it in pride, arrogancy, or rebellion. You know why? Let me tell you why. James 4 and verse 6. Here's why. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — James 4:6

"Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but he giveth grace to the humble."

You know what God does? The word "resisteth" actually means to fight against. God fights against the proud. So if you come to God and you come to his word with a proud, arrogant, haughty, heady, high-minded spirit, I got news for you.

The Engrafted Word and Its Saving Power

The gospel is like a shoot engrafted into our nature, producing righteous fruit. The Word is able to save us spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, familially, and even nationally if we obey it.

"By a figure that would be readily understood for the art of engrafting is everywhere known. Sometimes the gospel is represented under the image of a seed sown, as in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but here it is under the figure of a shoot implanted or engrafted that produces fruit of its own, whatever may be the original character of the tree into which it is engrafted." Now listen, "The meaning here is this, that we should allow the principles of the gospel to be thus engrafted on our nature that however crabbed or perverse our nature may be, or however bitter and vile the fruits which it may bring forth of its own accord, it might through the engrafted word produce the fruits of righteousness." Isn't that amazing? You know, you can take the bitterest persimmon tree, or the bitterest crabapple tree, and engraft a good branch of a beautiful fruit into it. And guess what? It will produce fruit separate from the bitter persimmon or the bitter apple.

And that's what he's saying here. You receive the engrafted word which is able, and he says, "to save your souls." By the way, these principles are to become so part of us that the result is, they're going to take root and bring forth fruit consistently and constantly. Now listen to what he said. You receive the engrafted word with meekness which is able to save your souls. When we think of salvation, the first thing we think of is spiritual salvation. And certainly, we ought to in one sense of the word. But do you know that the Bible talks about different kinds of salvation? You remember Paul told those Philippians to pray for him that it would turn to his salvation. Well, the Apostle Paul was already saved.

What was he talking about? Talking about release from prison, because he was in prison there in the book of Philippians. So when the Bible says the engrafted word is able to save your souls, you've got to understand that the word of God may save us in innumerable ways. I can name a few of them. The word of God not only may save us spiritually, but it may save us mentally. I've known people who have been thrown in dungeons. And the only thing that kept them sane the whole year or so they were in a dungeon was the fact that they were able to quote and recite the Word of God. And they kept their minds upon Christ. It saved them mentally. It will save you emotionally. It will save you physically. What am I talking about? You know, let's be honest. Think about this. How can the Word of God save me physically?

As a Christian, I ought to never die of venereal disease. I ought never die of cirrhosis of the liver from being a drunkard. You follow me? It can save me physically from a number of things. And it will if we abide and obey the principles of the Word of God. It will save us financially if we follow the principles that God has laid down in His Word. It will save us familially, that is, as a family.

You know, I get so upset sometimes that some of these young couples, they get married, and the first fight they have, they want to run and get a divorce. You've heard me say this, Alice and I have been married going on 44 years, the thought of divorce has never entered my mind. Murder, yes, but not divorce. And she can say the same thing, I can assure you. But do you realize the Bible has ways of working through problems and there's a biblical doctrine of biblical problem solving. You don't run off and get a divorce just because you have problems. You work through them.

That's what draws you closer together and makes you stronger. And if you understand the principles of the Word of God, it will give you a stronger family. It will give you a stronger church. There is no church that does not have problems. Listen, I've been offered other churches. Let me ask you, why would I trade one set of problems for which I know about for another set for which I don't know about? You know, I'd rather handle the ones that I already know about. There's no place where you do not have problems. If you know the Word of God, it will save you financially, familiarly, ecclesiastically, and listen, it is quite capable of saving us nationally if we as a people would repent and turn back to God and obey His Word.

So he says, here's what you do, you lay apart all filthiness and superfluity and naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. I want you to understand that when you are preparing your heart to receive the Word of God, there's negatives and positives. There's some things you must put off. There's some things you must put on. And one of the things that you must put on is a meek disposition and a teachable spirit. And if you don't, you will never, ever have the Word of God. You've got to put away your sin. You've got to put away an argumentative spirit. You've got to put away that which is resistive and rebellious to God and its truth. You have to put away your arrogance and your headiness and your high mindedness.

Closing Question and Preview of Next Message

Weaver asks how one can know if their heart is truly prepared to receive the Word, and promises to answer that question in the next message.

Now, let me ask you a question. In fact, several. How do you know whether or not your heart is prepared to receive the word of God? How can you tell whether or not you have received the word of God with meekness? How can you know whether or not you've really and truly laid aside your naughtiness, your superfluity, your wickedness, your filthiness, and your superfluity of naughtiness? How can you tell you've really laid that aside and uniquely submitted to the Word of God? Well, Lord willing, I'm going to answer that next week. You can know. You can know whether or not your heart has been prepared to receive the Word of God. Let's pray. Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ that You would once again prepare our hearts, Lord, help us to receive the truth with meekness, humbleness and gentleness of spirit. May our hearts, Lord, rejoice at your word. We do pray for repentance and that you would grant us, Lord, a heart of love and mercy and goodness, not only toward thee, but thy people. And give us, Lord, a reviving in this land. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

God's Sovereignty in Illumination

Summary: Just as God is sovereign in salvation and not obligated to save, He is sovereign in teaching and not obligated to illuminate His Word; therefore, we must be ready when He speaks.

Evidence: Just as God is absolutely sovereign in salvation, and He is not obligated to save, so God is equally sovereign in illumination, and He is not obligated to teach. (11:11.3-12:10.9)

The Necessity of a Teachable Spirit

Summary: Receiving the Word requires meekness and humility; pride and rebellion cause God to resist us, preventing us from learning truth.

Evidence: The only way you can receive the Word of God is with meekness. You cannot receive it in pride, arrogancy, or rebellion. (42:05.4-43:05.8)

Putting Off Sin to Receive Truth

Summary: A corrupt mind filled with filthiness and wickedness cannot receive truth; purity of heart is the best preparation for seeing and submitting to truth.

Evidence: What James is teaching is that a corrupt mind, that is a mind full of sensuality and wickedness, is not favorable to the reception of the truth. (32:10.7-32:52.2)

The Engrafted Word's Transforming Power

Summary: The gospel, like a good branch engrafted into a bitter tree, produces righteous fruit in believers, saving them in multiple dimensions of life.

Evidence: The meaning here is this, that we should allow the principles of the gospel to be thus engrafted on our nature that however crabbed or perverse our nature may be... it might through the engrafted word produce the fruits of righteousness. (44:32.3-45:22.1)

The Danger of Wrath Against God's Word

Summary: Human anger against the preaching of God's Word never produces righteousness; believers must guard against becoming upset when their sins are exposed.

Evidence: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. You will never be righteous when you're full of wicked, sinful wrath against the Word of God. (26:16.3-26:37.8)

Key Arguments

God's sovereignty demands readiness to hear

Summary: Because God is not obligated to speak or teach, when He does speak through His Word, we must be swift to hear and not miss the opportunity.

Evidence: Whenever God does teach, whenever God does speak, you and I had better be ready to hear and receive what God says. (12:12.3-12:38.5)

Swift hearing means eager, attentive reception

Summary: Being swift to hear involves running to hear God's Word, making sacrifices, and truly attending to and understanding the teaching.

Evidence: Let every man be swift to hear. You run to hear the Word of God. You make every sacrifice necessary to hear the Word of God. (17:50.3-18:59.3)

Slow to speak guards against hasty, rebellious responses

Summary: Believers must be cautious about what they say in response to God's Word, avoiding argumentative or dismissive reactions.

Evidence: You be cautious about what you say, especially in response to the teaching of the Word of God. (23:42.2-24:34.1)

Laying aside filthiness is prerequisite for receiving truth

Summary: It is impossible to receive the truth until we lay aside everything that is opposed to it, including moral filth and wicked attitudes.

Evidence: It is impossible to receive the truth until we lay aside everything that is opposed to the truth. (33:32.7-33:50.7)

Meekness is the only posture for learning from God

Summary: A meek, childlike disposition is required to be teachable; pride and a know-it-all attitude provoke God's opposition.

Evidence: You come to the Bible with a know-it-all attitude, God is going to fight against you. (43:06.4-44:08.7)

The Word saves in multiple dimensions

Summary: The engrafted word saves not only spiritually but mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, familially, and nationally when obeyed.

Evidence: The word of God not only may save us spiritually, but it may save us mentally. (47:12.6-47:51.1)

Scripture References

2 Chronicles 12:14

Context: Cited as the foundational verse for the series: Rehoboam did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.

James 1:16-21

Context: The primary passage for the message, read and expounded in sections, emphasizing the admonition not to err, God's good gifts, and the applications to be swift to hear and lay aside filthiness.

Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8

Context: Referenced as the parable of the sower, illustrating four types of hearers; only the good ground hearer received the word in a prepared heart.

Psalm 115:3

Context: Quoted to support God's sovereignty: 'But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased.'

Isaiah 55:6

Context: Quoted to illustrate that God may not always be found; we must seek Him while He is near.

Proverbs 1:23-31

Context: Read to show that when God spoke and people refused, He would not answer when they later called; He is not obligated to teach.

2 Timothy 2:2

Context: Used as an illustration that pastors are to teach faithful men, not force-feed the unwilling; similarly, God does not force His truth on us.

Proverbs 21:23

Context: Quoted: 'Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles,' to support being slow to speak.

Psalm 73:9

Context: Referenced to show how the wicked use their tongue to walk through the heavens, contrasting with being slow to speak.

1 Thessalonians 1:4

Context: Mentioned in an illustration about a man who objected to the reading of 'your election of God,' showing the need to be slow to speak against Scripture.

Isaiah 1

Context: Alluded to regarding man being full of putrefying sores, illustrating the filthiness of sin.

2 Corinthians 7:1

Context: Quoted to show that believers must cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit.

Acts 24

Context: Referenced regarding Paul's exercise to have a conscience void of offense, illustrating purity of heart.

James 4:6

Context: Quoted: 'God resisteth the proud, but he giveth grace to the humble,' explaining why meekness is necessary.

1 Thessalonians 2:13

Context: Read to show that the Thessalonians received the word not as man's word but as God's Word, which works in believers.

Historical References

Matthew Henry's commentary on James 1:19-20

Context: Weaver reads and critiques Matthew Henry's claim that verses 19-20 may be considered without connection to what goes before, arguing instead for a clear contextual link.

Xenocrates' response to reproach

Context: Cited as an example of being slow to speak: Xenocrates remained silent when reproached, saying he never regretted silence but sometimes regretted speech.

Albert Barnes' commentary on 'engrafted word'

Context: Quoted to explain the imagery of the gospel as a shoot engrafted into our nature, producing righteous fruit.

Important Quotes

Just as God is absolutely sovereign in salvation, and He is not obligated to save, so God is equally sovereign in illumination, and He is not obligated to teach.

Significance: This is the central theological connection Weaver makes between James 1:18 and the applications that follow, grounding the urgency of heart preparation in God's sovereignty.

Let every man be swift to hear. You run to hear the Word of God. You make every sacrifice necessary to hear the Word of God.

Significance: Emphasizes the eager, sacrificial posture believers should have toward hearing God's Word, in light of His sovereignty.

It is impossible to receive the truth until we lay aside everything that is opposed to the truth.

Significance: A blunt summary of the necessity of putting off sin as a prerequisite for receiving God's Word.

The only way you can receive the Word of God is with meekness. You cannot receive it in pride, arrogancy, or rebellion.

Significance: Highlights the indispensable requirement of a humble, teachable spirit for true reception of Scripture.

You come to the Bible with a know-it-all attitude, God is going to fight against you.

Significance: A stark warning that pride in approaching Scripture provokes God's active opposition, based on James 4:6.

Discussion Questions

How does understanding God's sovereignty in illumination change the way you approach reading or hearing the Bible?

Context: Weaver argues that because God is not obligated to teach, we must be ready when He speaks. This question probes personal application of that truth.

What are some practical ways you can be 'swift to hear' God's Word in your daily life?

Context: The command to be swift to hear involves eagerness and sacrifice. This question encourages reflection on concrete habits.

Why is it so difficult to be 'slow to speak' when we hear challenging truth from Scripture?

Context: Weaver warns against hasty, argumentative responses to God's Word. This question explores the heart issues behind our reactions.

What does it look like to 'lay aside all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness' in a practical sense before coming to Scripture?

Context: The message calls for putting off moral filth and wicked attitudes. This question seeks to make that command tangible.

How can you cultivate a meek and teachable spirit when you approach the Bible?

Context: Meekness is presented as essential for receiving the Word. This question asks for practical steps to develop humility.

In what areas of your life have you experienced the 'saving' power of God's Word beyond just spiritual salvation?

Context: Weaver lists mental, emotional, physical, financial, and other dimensions of salvation through the Word. This question invites testimony.

Applications

Prioritize hearing God's Word with urgency

Summary: Because God is sovereign in when and how He speaks, believers must eagerly and sacrificially prioritize listening to Scripture, not treating it casually.

Evidence: Let every man be swift to hear. You run to hear the Word of God. You make every sacrifice necessary to hear the Word of God. (17:50.3-18:59.3)

Guard your speech in response to truth

Summary: When confronted by God's Word, especially when it exposes sin, believers must be slow to speak, avoiding defensive or argumentative replies.

Evidence: You be cautious about what you say, especially in response to the teaching of the Word of God. (23:42.2-24:34.1)

Reject anger toward God's message or messenger

Summary: Believers must not become wrathful when Scripture or preaching pricks their conscience; such anger never produces righteousness.

Evidence: Don't get angry and don't get upset at the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. (26:16.3-26:37.8)

Actively put away moral filth and wicked attitudes

Summary: Before approaching Scripture, believers must consciously lay aside any known sin, corrupt thoughts, or rebellious attitudes that hinder reception of truth.

Evidence: Lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. (33:32.7-33:50.7)

Approach Scripture with a humble, teachable spirit

Summary: Instead of pride or a know-it-all attitude, believers must come to the Bible with meekness, ready to be instructed and corrected.

Evidence: Receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. (42:05.4-43:05.8)

Allow the Word to transform every area of life

Summary: The engrafted word is able to save not only spiritually but in practical areas like mental health, relationships, finances, and family; believers should apply its principles comprehensively.

Evidence: The word of God not only may save us spiritually, but it may save us mentally... It will save us financially if we follow the principles that God has laid down in His Word. (47:12.6-48:25.0)

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T08:36:35Z

Clean Transcript

Heart Preparation - 4 of 7

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

2 Chronicles 12 and James chapter 1. You will remember we have been dealing with the general theme of preparing the heart. And this is going to be the fourth message; I will take a little time to review. But if you look in 2 Chronicles chapter 12 and verse 14, that is the beginning of our study: "And he," that is King Rehoboam, "did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord." And then if you would look in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 1, beginning there with verse 16, the Bible says, "Do not err, my beloved brethren."
#1 | 0:01 to 0:44 | cleaned
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls." The message today is a continuation from the one last week, "Preparing Your Heart to Receive the Word of God." But let me begin by telling you about number one. The very first message I dealt with was from 2 Chronicles 12 and verse 14, and that was the importance of heart preparation. And we found out without heart preparation, then we are bound to sin. Because Rehoboam did evil. Why? Because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.
#2 | 0:44 to 1:47 | cleaned
In other words, heart preparation is absolutely essential and necessary. The second message I brought was an answer to the question, "How do I prepare my heart?" And I told you that there were actually three steps. The first step was realization, and that realization was that we have a responsibility to prepare our hearts, but we cannot. The Bible says the preparations of the heart in man are from the Lord. So if our hearts are ever prepared, God must prepare them. So there is realization. Secondly, there is determination. That is where we would determine that we're going to seek the Lord for His grace and His mercy and His power to enable us to fulfill our responsibility.
#3 | 1:47 to 2:31 | cleaned
And then thirdly, there was actualization. And that is where we actually receive and apply that grace and that mercy and our hearts are actually prepared. And I gave you two or three illustrations like that of repentance and that of faith as well.
#4 | 2:32 to 2:50 | cleaned
Now, we also discovered in heart preparation that there are two basic steps. There is a constant and continuous preparation that we need to be doing on a daily basis, constantly and continually and consistently, I might add. And then thirdly, or secondly, there was that instantaneous or immediate heart preparation which we were to do when we were faced with temptation and sin and wickedness. That is, we must once again fly to the scriptures and appeal to God for mercy and grace to keep our hearts and minds.
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Now, probably there's much more that could be said as far as how I prepare my heart. But the three steps that I gave you would be what I would call an irreducible minimum. I do not believe that it could be explained any more succinctly.
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Now, last week we began the message on preparing our heart to receive the Word of God. And very quickly, you will remember, we went through the parable of the sower that is found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. And we found out that our Lord said that there were four different types of hearers. There was the wayside hearer, and another name for him would be the hard-hearted hearer. There was the stony ground hearer, and another name for him would be the shallow-hearted hearer. There was the thorny ground hearer, and another name for him would be the half-hearted hearer. And fourthly, there was the good ground hearer, and another name for him would be a whole-hearted hearer. Out of those four different responses, only one of them was saving. Only the good ground hearer brought forth fruit, which led us to a biblical conclusion. Not all responses to the word of God is a saving response. The stony ground hearer gave a response, but it was non-saving. The thorny ground hearer was the man who tried to begin and continue the Christian life without repentance, and of course that was non-saving as well.
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The only seed that produced was the seed that fell on fertile ground, and in Luke chapter 8, the Bible says, our Lord speaking, says the good ground hearer is he that received the seed in a good and honest heart. In other words, the ground had been prepared.
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Now, we began to look last week in James chapter 1, and I want you to turn there if you would please, because we're going to be continuing there today. James chapter 1, we basically saw three points from last week. First of all, we saw an admonition in verse 16, where he says, "Do not err, my beloved brethren." I pointed out the fact that there are some things that you may make an error in, and they're certainly not very detrimental to your life. But there are other things that you may err in, and they are extremely detrimental, and that is exactly what the Apostle is talking about here. In fact, it is an imperative, which means it is a command, so he's commanding us not to be deceived and not to err in this particular thing. Then secondly, we saw in verse 17 a declaration where he says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
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And then I went through the Bible and showed you how God does give us common gifts, life and health and breath and family and finances and friends. But then there are those special gifts that God gives us, and we looked at, and one of those special gifts was the ability to hear and receive and understand the Word of God. You remember our Lord said in Matthew 13 and Mark 4 and Luke 8, He told His disciples, "To you it is given." It's a gift. "To you it is given to hear and understand the Word of God, but to them it is not given."
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Therefore, He said, "I speak unto them in parables." And then thirdly, we looked at an illustration in verse 18, "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."
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Now, I want you to note that under this point, James is using an illustration and he uses the sovereignty of God in salvation as an illustration. So we saw very quickly in verse 18, the sovereign's will, the sovereign's work, the Sovereign's word and the Sovereign's world. "Of His own will begat He us," that is His work, "with His word," and "that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures," His world that is, He is begetting people who will be obedient unto Him.
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Now, I pointed out the fact that God was under no pressure, He was under no coercion, no duress to create, redeem, or save. And whatever God did, in any of those areas, He did according to His own will. And I pointed out it is the will of God that is the source of all things. God created because He willed to create. God sent Christ because He willed to send Christ. And God saved because He willed to save. And David says it like this, in Psalm 115, verse 3, "But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased."
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And so James is now giving us an illustration of God's absolute sovereignty, and especially His sovereignty in salvation. Just like God was not obligated to create, He was not obligated to send Christ, and He was not obligated to save. What he did, he did according to his own will. The Apostle Paul said, "If the Lord of Sabaoth had not left us a remnant, we should have been made as Sodom and Gomorrah."
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Now, when I closed the message last week, I asked several leading questions. The first one was this, "Why did James introduce God's sovereignty in verse 18? Why did he particularly introduce God's sovereignty in salvation?" And the third question was this, "What is the connection between God's sovereignty in salvation and receiving the word of God?" Well, I want you to look today at verses 19 through 21, and we're only going to cover one point, and that is an application. An application. Because actually, verses 19 and 21 are applications to what James has been teaching. If you look in verse 19, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren." And then if you'll skip down to verse 21, "Wherefore." In other words, verse 19 and verse 21 each begin with the word "wherefore." Now let me tell you the implications of that word. "Wherefore" is translated from one simple Greek word, and that word literally means, "therefore, in light of, on account of, for which cause, so that, or inasmuch as." So, literally, you could be reading verse 19, after you read verse 18, watch this, "Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures, on account of..."
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...or for which cause, or inasmuch as, or therefore." So you see he is making an application in verse 19 and verse 21 of what he has already taught. So here's what James is saying in verse 19. James is saying in light of God's absolute sovereignty that I've already mentioned in verse 18, you need to make certain preparations so that whenever he does speak, you will be ready to hear and receive what he says.
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Now, let me ask the question again so that I may answer it. Why does James mention God's sovereignty in verse 18? And what is the connection between that sovereignty and receiving the word of God? Are you listening? I'm going to answer that for you. Just as God is absolutely sovereign in salvation, and He is not obligated to save, so God is equally sovereign in illumination, and He is not obligated to teach. What does that mean? That means this. Whenever God does teach, whenever God does speak, you and I had better be ready to hear and receive what God says.
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Let me give you some illustrations. Do you remember the passage in Isaiah 55 in verse 6? Let me just quote it for you. The Bible says, "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him when he is near." What? "Seek the Lord while he may be found." In other words, there's times when he may not be found. "Call upon the Lord while He is near." There are times when God is not near.
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Now, I want you to hold James chapter 1, but look back in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 1, and let me just show you, when God spoke to some folks, they did not hear, and the consequence was God would not hear them. So if you look back in Proverbs 1 and verse 23, look what God says. Proverbs 1 verse 23, "Turn you at my reproof."
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"Behold, I will pour my spirit upon you. I will make known my words unto you." So God says, "Here I am. I am ready to teach. I'm ready to give you truth because I have called."
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Now look, "and you refused. I stretched out my hand, and no man regarded. But you have set at nought all my counsel, and would have none of my reproof." What is God going to do? "I will also laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you."
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"Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." Why? "For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel. They despised all of my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of their own ways and be filled with the fruit of their own devices." Isn't that amazing?
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God said, "I'm ready to speak, but you're not ready to listen. I did speak and you totally ignored me." So what God is saying is this. He is not obligated to speak. He is not obligated to teach. And when He does, we'd better be ready.
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Now if you will turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2. And let me give you somewhat of an illustration. I say somewhat because it is not a perfect illustration, but I think you will get the point. Notice in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 2.
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Now this truth, I believe, may be seen in the life and in the duties of a pastor. You remember, Timothy was a pastor, and Paul gave him some admonition and counsel. And in 2 Timothy 2, he tells Pastor Timothy this, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also." Now look what Paul told Timothy. "The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also." Now, I hope you remember that one of the requirements of a pastor is he must be apt to teach.
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He must be ready and capable of teaching, but I want you to note something. According to 2 Timothy, chapter 2 in verse 2, God does not command me to chase down men and force feed them the truth. No, I'm to be apt to teach, but who am I to teach? I'm to teach faithful men. I'm to teach men who want the truth, who are willing to be taught, who are willing to make sacrifices for the truth. That's who I'm to teach. I'm not to chase people down and try to make them receive the Word of God and say, "No, no, no." I'm to teach men who are willing to hear and want to hear and are willing to sacrifice. And by the way, in the same word, God is not going to chase us down and cram His truth down our throats. He will speak. And He will speak through His Word, but we had better be ready to hear when He does speak. Look back in James chapter 1, because I want you to get ready for the first application.
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Here it is. Notice if you would, James 1, beginning with verse 19. Understand, God is not going to force feed us. In verse 19, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." So the first application is this. Let me repeat it again so that you will grasp it. After he talks about God's sovereignty in salvation, he is saying, "Wherefore," in light of, on account of, because God is sovereign in salvation, He is therefore absolutely sovereign in illumination, therefore, "let every man be swift to hear." Let's start right there. The word "swift" means quick, fleet, speedy. In other words, let nothing slow you down. Let nothing deter you. Let nothing get in your way. You had better be quick about hearing the Word of God. Isn't that amazing? "Let every man be swift to hear." You run to hear the Word of God. You make every sacrifice necessary to hear the Word of God. Be swift to hear.
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Now, the word "hear" is the word akouo, which means, listen now, it means not only to hear, but it means to attend to. It means to consider what has been said. It means to understand. To perceive the sense of. To give ear to a teacher. So what is he saying? "Let every man be swift to hear" the teaching of the word of God. You know, I know and I appreciate the fact that some of you drive three hours or two hours to get here, but you know, isn't it amazing? There are a multitude of people wanting to walk across the street to hear the word of God. And God says, in light of the fact that He's sovereign in His teaching and He's sovereign in His illumination, "let every man be swift to hear." Then He says, look in verse 19, "let every man be slow to speak." Hmm.
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Let me tell you one of my favorite verses. It's Proverbs 21 in verse 23. And I learned this truth a long time ago. But here it is. "Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles." Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue also keepeth his soul from troubles. I told you this one time. I remember telling it. It's been years ago, but I'll tell you how I learned this.
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It was when I was a teenager. I was unsaved. I was raised in church, but I was unsaved. And I was out at the lake, which was a hangout for teenagers, and they had a swimming and bowling alley and a skating rink and a little dance hall. And I went back to the dance hall, and they had a jukebox going, and here's this little girl out there dancing, and it was just absolutely, it was repulsive. I mean, even to me as a lost teenager.
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And I looked at this big boy who was standing by me, and his name was Tiny. You know why they called him Tiny, don't you? He was about six-two or three, and, you know, 250 pounds. And when Alice and I got married, the most I ever weighed was 140. I was a skinny little fella with a 28-inch waist and wore a size 14 shirt. Now, I grew up after we got married, but you understand. But I looked at this fella, and I said, "That girl is acting like a slut."
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"Somebody ought to stop her." And I never will forget this big old boy looked at me, said, "Boy, that's my sister. I don't appreciate you're talking about her like that." I want you to know, I swallowed and I said, "Well, Tiny, I'm sorry if that's your sister, but if it is, you better get out there and stop her." And he said, "Oh no man, I was just teasing you, I don't even know the girl."
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I said, "Thank God, thank God, thank God." Well, you see what I'm saying? I didn't have to say that, and especially to him, but "whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles."
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Now, God says we're to be slow to speak. I'm going to make the application in just a moment, but let me give you what some of the ancients have said about being slow to speak. Some have said this, "Men have two ears but one tongue, and therefore they should hear more than they speak." Another one said this, "The ears are always open, ever ready to receive instruction, but the tongue is surrounded with a double row of teeth to hedge it in and to keep it in its proper bounds." How noble was the response of Xenocrates when someone reproached him and he answered that reproach with a profound silence and someone asked him why he was silent and he answered thusly, "I have sometimes had occasion to regret that I have spoken, but never regret that I have remained silent." Now God says, "Let every man be swift to hear and let him be slow to speak." You know, the Bible talks about the tongue a great deal in James chapter 3 and we're not going there.
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I could preach an entire message on that. But I never will forget what I heard one preacher say one time. And this guy, he was a real preacher, and he pulled no punches. And he talked about the tongue being like an automatic sewing machine set on fire out of hell. But he told about this one woman who he was preaching in a church, and he said, she came forward after the end of the meeting and said, the preacher said, "I want to lay my tongue on the altar."
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And he said, "Well, lady, there's 60 feet of it right there. Put what you can on the altar and throw the rest in the corner." Well, she evidently had a long tongue. Well, a lot of people do. But you understand, the Bible says in Psalm 73 and verse 9, how the wicked use their tongue to walk through the heavens. In other words, they could care less about insulting God or insulting man. Now, God is saying, "Let every man be swift to hear, let him be slow to speak." In other words, you be cautious about what you say, especially in response to the teaching of the Word of God.
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Let me give you an illustration. Years ago, I was preaching from 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. And I just simply read the entire chapter only because there were nine verses in that chapter. I was not dealing with verse 4. Verse 4 just simply says this, "Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God." That's all verse 4 says. After the service, I had a man come up to me and say that I should not have read that verse. I said, "Why not? It's in the Bible." "Well, there's a lot of people that don't understand election and it upsets them." I said, "What you're telling me is you don't understand election and you're upset." Well, he went on to say, "Well, you shouldn't... you shouldn't be... you shouldn't even be reading those verses."
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I said, "Let me ask you a question. Have you ever read the Bible all the way through one time?" "No, sir." I said, "Have you ever read the Old Testament all the way through one time?" "No, sir." "Have you ever read the New Testament all the way through one time?" "No, sir." I said, "I'll tell you what you do. You shut up and go home and read your Bible. And then after you get it thoroughly digested, you come back and then start talking to me, and we'll go over and look at the Scriptures, and maybe you'll understand that that word occurs a multitude of times in the Old Testament and the New Testament, and you cannot rip out the Word of God just to please people."
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So you better be careful about your response. Now, that one was very ungodly, very unbiblical. But notice what God says, "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath." In other words, don't get angry and don't get upset at the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. Don't get upset and angry at the Word of God, nor the man dispensing the Word of God. It is true that when the Word of God is preached, many times our consciences are going to be pricked. Our secret sins are going to be exposed. And you've got to remember the Word of God is salt, and sometimes when you rub salt in a wound, it hurts. It smarts. But that salt will also keep the wound from festering. You see, the trouble is so many people want to get mad at the word of God. Listen, I've had people get up and walk out while I was preaching. They got mad. I've had people cuss me out. They got mad. What is God saying?
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You better be slow to speak and you especially better be slow to wrath. And he tells you why in verse 20. He says, "For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." You will never be righteous when you're full of wicked, sinful wrath against the Word of God.
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Now, let me read something to you. And the only reason I'm reading this to you right now is to show you that some of our faithful expositors sometimes get it wrong. I want to read you what Matthew Henry said on verse 20. If you look at verse 20 and 21, I mean, let's read verse 19 and 20 together. He says, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." Now, don't you just listen to this paragraph, what Matthew Henry said.
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"This may be understood as referring to the disputes and differences that Christians in those times of trial were running into among themselves." Now listen. "And so this part of the chapter may be considered without any connection with what goes before. Here we may observe that whatever matters of differences arise among Christians, each side should be willing to hear the other. People are often so stiff in their own opinions because they're not willing to hear what others have to offer against them. Whereas we should be swift to hear reason and truth on all sides, and slow to speak anything that should prevent this. And when we do speak, there should be nothing of wrath, for a soft answer turneth away wrath. And this epistle is designed to correct a variety of disorders that existed among Christians. These words, 'swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath,' may very well be interpreted according to this last explication. And we may further observe from them that if men would govern their tongues, they must govern their passions."
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"When Moses' spirit was provoked, he spoke unadvisedly with his lips. If we would be slow to speak, we would be slow to wrath."
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Now, while Matthew Henry has said some good things in that paragraph, I want you to listen to what he said. I can't believe he said this. He said, "And so this part of the chapter," that is verses 19 and 20, "may be considered without any connection with what goes before." How could he say that? I mean, I hate to disagree with someone as eminent as Matthew Henry, but I certainly cannot conclude that this part of the chapter has no connection with what goes before. Let me show you what the connection is.
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Here's what God is saying. Look in your Bibles. Look in your Bibles. Look in James 1 and let's begin reading there. Let's read with verse 13. Watch. "Let no man say, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth any man. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed, and when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
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"Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." Watch this. Listen carefully. Here's the connection. Since God is the only source of good, since God tempts no man, and since God by His sovereign goodness, without any claim on our part, we have had the high honor conferred upon us of being made the firstfruits of His creatures.
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Therefore, we ought to be ready to hear His voice, subdue our evil passions, and bring our souls into practical obedience to Him. Doesn't that make sense? And certainly, it is all connected. What James is saying, we have to learn, not just learn, but practice what we learn, and I'm going to show you that Christianity requires a meek and humble spirit in order to learn. So he says in verse 19, in light of the fact that God's not obligated to speak, in light of the fact that he's not obligated to teach, you better be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
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Don't get upset with God. Don't get upset with his word. Don't get upset with the preacher. And the reason being, the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God. You will never be righteous if you're angry with God or at his word.
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Now, here's the second application. Look at it in verse 21. "Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your soul." So here's what he's saying. "Wherefore," in light of and on account of the fact that God is absolutely sovereign in illumination as well as salvation, we should not only be swift to hear and slow to speak and slow to wrath, we should also "lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save our souls."
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Now, the particular object in verse 21 is the reception of the truth. And what James is teaching is that a corrupt mind, that is a mind full of sensuality and wickedness, is not favorable to the reception of the truth. A corrupt mind will never see the beauty of truth, it will never appreciate the value of truth, it will never understand its just claims upon the soul. What James is teaching us is this, listen carefully, purity of heart is the best preparation for always seeing the truth and the force of truth.
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Now, I want to take this part by part. He says, "Wherefore," that is, in light of the fact that God's not obligated to teach, you "lay aside" or you "lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness." Let me put it very bluntly. It is impossible to receive the truth until we lay aside everything that is opposed to the truth. I'm going to say that in a different way before I close. What are we to put off? Well, he says, first of all, we must put off or lay aside filthiness.
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Now, the word "filthiness" is the Greek word rhuparia, which literally means filthiness, to make filthy, to be foul, to defile and dishonor. Properly speaking, this word actually means filth.
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Now, let me explain this. When we talk about filth, we're talking about something that is absolutely disgusting and vile and offensive. I remember one time I went into a home in Greenville, South Carolina, and when the door was opened right in front of the first door, right in front of the door, was a car motor on the floor. Oil, gas, everything had dripped out. I mean, the house was a wreck. The stench was awful. It was filth. It was pure filth. I went next door and the man next door told me, he said, "I've already called the health department on four or five times."
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He said, "They don't even have an indoor and outdoor toilet." He said, "They just use the back room in the house." You're talking about filthy and disgusting? That's exactly what that word means.
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Now, let me show you. When you talk about sin, you may talk about sin as being wrong, wicked, a violation of the law of God, and that is true as well. But sin also has another aspect, and that aspect is it is filthy, it is vile, it is loathsome. That's why in Isaiah 1, God talks about man being full of sores, putrefying sores, from the top of his head to the sole of his foot. It's filth. It's vile. It's loathsome. Now, this same word is used by the Apostle Paul to talk about the filth of the body.
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When he talked about the off-scouring, we're the off-scouring. The off-scouring is that which you scrape off. You can't even wash it off. You have to scrape it off your body. It's that filthy. But that which pollutes the body can also pollute the soul.
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Now listen, let me just quote this passage. 2 Corinthians 7, verse 1. The Bible says this. "Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." So it's not just the flesh that can be filthy, it is the spirit as well. And so the apostle here is telling us, if we're going to receive the Word of God, we've got to lay aside everything that is filthy, everything that is polluting, our ill will, our anger, our wrath, our malice, our envy, sins of the spirit, just like sins of the flesh. So he says you lay apart all filthiness, anything that would be loathsome or offensive in the sight of God. You remember, I'm not going to go over that verse since I taught it before, but what Paul said in Acts 24, "Herein do I exercise myself to have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man." He exercised himself to have a conscience that was pure and clean and unoffensive.
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Then he says, "lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness." Wow. You know what superfluity of naughtiness is? Listen, the Greek word is perisseia, and I'm going to tell you what it means and how it was used in Grecian times. But the word "superfluity" means abundance, superabundant, which is superfluous, that which is preeminent, that which is gainful, you lay aside all superfluity of naughtiness. This word was used by the Greeks to describe excessive wax in the ear. You know what happens when you get too much wax in your ear? You can't hear. You go deaf. What is God saying? You lay aside everything that is not needful. It's superfluous. The word "naughtiness" here, the superfluity of naughtiness, is the word kakia. Now, kakia is different from the Greek word poneros. Poneros—and by the way, ho poneros is the word for the devil—but poneros is that which is evil and wicked and vile in and of itself. But the word kakia means that which is bad or foul. It doesn't necessarily have to be particularly evil in and of itself.
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It's just not right. So it says you lay aside all this kakia, this malice, this ill will, a desire to injure. Let me put it to you like this. What God is talking about is an attitude where someone is not ashamed or afraid to violate the law of God or to break the law of God. That's a bad person. They're just unashamed. So what God is saying is this naughtiness does not produce that righteousness which God requires. The naughtiness does not tend to lead us to keep God's law. It tends to enable us to break God's law. So God says all of this naughtiness, anything and everything, must be laid aside. Let me put it to you very plainly.
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Simply stated, one who has thoughts, attitudes, and actions that are in rebellion to truth will never submit to truth. Stop and think about that. If you have attitudes, if you have faults, if you have actions that are contrary to truth, you're never, ever going to submit to the truth. If you want truth, if you desire truth, are you listening? You must throw down your weapons of warfare, cease from your rebellion, cease from your sin, and be ready to receive the truth. As long as you have your weapons of warfare in your hands to charge against God, you're never ever going to receive his truth.
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So he says, "Wherefore, you lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness." And then he said, "and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls." I hope you see something right here. I hope you see an immediate contrast. When you talk about filthiness, and you talk about a superfluity of naughtiness, what do you normally think of? I mean, I would think someone like that is proud, arrogant, heady, high-minded. Sure he is.
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"I'll do what I want to do. Nobody's going to stop me. I'll do my own. I don't care what you like or not. I don't care whether you're a priest or not. I don't care if you're a god. I'll do what I want to do." What does God say? You lay apart all filthiness and superfluity and naughtiness and receive the engrafted word with meekness. You know what meekness is?
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It's that mildness of disposition. It's that gentleness of spirit which enables us to be teachable. We sit down as a child to receive the Word of God. Are you listening? The only way you can receive the Word of God is with meekness. You cannot receive it in pride, arrogancy, or rebellion. You know why? Let me tell you why. James 4 and verse 6. Here's why. The Bible says, "Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but he giveth grace to the humble." You know what God does? The word "resisteth" actually means to fight against. God fights against the proud. So if you come to God and you come to his word with a proud, arrogant, haughty, heady, high-minded spirit, I got news for you.
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God's not going to teach you anything. He's going to fight against you. You come to the Bible with a know-it-all attitude, God is going to fight against you. You come to the Bible and say, "Well, I know this is right. I'm going to find me some verses to prove that I'm right." God is going to fight against you. You better come to be instructed. You better come with a meek and humble spirit. And you need to say with David, "That which I see not, teach thou me." God says, "receive with meekness the engrafted word." Let me read you what Albert Barnes said about this phrase, "the engrafted word." He said this, "The gospel is here represented under the image of that which is implanted or engrafted from another source."
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"By a figure that would be readily understood for the art of engrafting is everywhere known. Sometimes the gospel is represented under the image of a seed sown, as in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but here it is under the figure of a shoot implanted or engrafted that produces fruit of its own, whatever may be the original character of the tree into which it is engrafted."
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Now listen, "The meaning here is this, that we should allow the principles of the gospel to be thus engrafted on our nature that however crabbed or perverse our nature may be, or however bitter and vile the fruits which it may bring forth of its own accord, it might through the engrafted word produce the fruits of righteousness." Isn't that amazing? You know, you can take the bitterest persimmon tree, or the bitterest crabapple tree, and engraft a good branch of a beautiful fruit into it. And guess what? It will produce fruit separate from the bitter persimmon or the bitter apple.
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And that's what he's saying here. You receive the engrafted word which is able, and he says, "to save your souls." By the way, these principles are to become so part of us that the result is, they're going to take root and bring forth fruit consistently and constantly.
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Now listen to what he said. You receive the engrafted word with meekness which is able to save your souls. When we think of salvation, the first thing we think of is spiritual salvation. And certainly, we ought to in one sense of the word. But do you know that the Bible talks about different kinds of salvation? You remember Paul told those Philippians to pray for him that it would turn to his salvation. Well, the Apostle Paul was already saved.
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What was he talking about? Talking about release from prison, because he was in prison there in the book of Philippians. So when the Bible says the engrafted word is able to save your souls, you've got to understand that the word of God may save us in innumerable ways. I can name a few of them. The word of God not only may save us spiritually, but it may save us mentally.
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I've known people who have been thrown in dungeons. And the only thing that kept them sane the whole year or so they were in a dungeon was the fact that they were able to quote and recite the Word of God. And they kept their minds upon Christ. It saved them mentally. It will save you emotionally. It will save you physically. What am I talking about? You know, let's be honest. Think about this. How can the Word of God save me physically?
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As a Christian, I ought to never die of venereal disease. I ought never die of cirrhosis of the liver from being a drunkard. You follow me? It can save me physically from a number of things. And it will if we abide and obey the principles of the Word of God. It will save us financially if we follow the principles that God has laid down in His Word. It will save us familially, that is, as a family.
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You know, I get so upset sometimes that some of these young couples, they get married, and the first fight they have, they want to run and get a divorce. You've heard me say this, Alice and I have been married going on 44 years, the thought of divorce has never entered my mind. Murder, yes, but not divorce. And she can say the same thing, I can assure you. But do you realize the Bible has ways of working through problems and there's a biblical doctrine of biblical problem solving. You don't run off and get a divorce just because you have problems. You work through them.
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That's what draws you closer together and makes you stronger. And if you understand the principles of the Word of God, it will give you a stronger family. It will give you a stronger church. There is no church that does not have problems. Listen, I've been offered other churches. Let me ask you, why would I trade one set of problems for which I know about for another set for which I don't know about? You know, I'd rather handle the ones that I already know about. There's no place where you do not have problems. If you know the Word of God, it will save you financially, familiarly, ecclesiastically, and listen, it is quite capable of saving us nationally if we as a people would repent and turn back to God and obey His Word.
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So he says, here's what you do, you lay apart all filthiness and superfluity and naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. I want you to understand that when you are preparing your heart to receive the Word of God, there's negatives and positives. There's some things you must put off. There's some things you must put on. And one of the things that you must put on is a meek disposition and a teachable spirit. And if you don't, you will never, ever have the Word of God. You've got to put away your sin. You've got to put away an argumentative spirit. You've got to put away that which is resistive and rebellious to God and its truth. You have to put away your arrogance and your headiness and your high mindedness.
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And you have to sit like Mary at Jesus's feet and say, "Here I am, Lord, teach me."
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Now, let me ask you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, let me show you this. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 13. And then I want to ask you a question. 1 Thessalonians 2 and verse 13. And I do love this verse. The apostle Paul is writing, and he says this, "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing." Why is he thanking God for these Thessalonians? Here's why. "Because when you receive the word of God, which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." Isn't that amazing? Paul said, when you Thessalonians heard the Word of God, you didn't just stand there and say, "That's what Paul thinks." Or "That's Silas's opinion." No, no, no. He said, when you heard the Word of God, you received it as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you who believe.
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Now, let me ask you a question. In fact, several. How do you know whether or not your heart is prepared to receive the word of God? How can you tell whether or not you have received the word of God with meekness? How can you know whether or not you've really and truly laid aside your naughtiness, your superfluity, your wickedness, your filthiness, and your superfluity of naughtiness? How can you tell you've really laid that aside and uniquely submitted to the Word of God?
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Well, Lord willing, I'm going to answer that next week. You can know. You can know whether or not your heart has been prepared to receive the Word of God. Let's pray. Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ that You would once again prepare our hearts, Lord, help us to receive the truth with meekness, humbleness and gentleness of spirit. May our hearts, Lord, rejoice at your word. We do pray for repentance and that you would grant us, Lord, a heart of love and mercy and goodness, not only toward thee, but thy people. And give us, Lord, a reviving in this land. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T17:32:47Z

Heart Preparation - 4 of 7

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this fourth message on heart preparation, John Weaver continues teaching from James 1 on preparing the heart to receive the Word of God. He explains that just as God is sovereign in salvation, He is equally sovereign in illumination and is not obligated to teach. Therefore, believers must be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath, laying aside all filthiness and wickedness, and receiving the engrafted word with meekness. The message emphasizes that a pure, humble, and teachable heart is essential for truly receiving and benefiting from God's truth.

Review of Previous Messages on Heart Preparation

Scripture Reading — James 1:16-21

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls."

Review of Last Week's Message on Receiving the Word

The Connection Between God's Sovereignty and Receiving the Word

Let me give you some illustrations. Do you remember the passage in Isaiah 55 in verse 6? Let me just quote it for you. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6

"Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him when he is near."

What?

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6

"Seek the Lord while he may be found."

In other words, there's times when he may not be found.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6

"Call upon the Lord while He is near."

There are times when God is not near.

First Application: Swift to Hear, Slow to Speak, Slow to Wrath

Let me tell you one of my favorite verses. It's Proverbs 21 in verse 23. And I learned this truth a long time ago. But here it is.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 21:23

"Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles."

Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue also keepeth his soul from troubles. I told you this one time. I remember telling it. It's been years ago, but I'll tell you how I learned this.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 73:9

I could preach an entire message on that. But I never will forget what I heard one preacher say one time. And this guy, he was a real preacher, and he pulled no punches. And he talked about the tongue being like an automatic sewing machine set on fire out of hell. But he told about this one woman who he was preaching in a church, and he said, she came forward after the end of the meeting and said, the preacher said, "I want to lay my tongue on the altar." And he said, "Well, lady, there's 60 feet of it right there. Put what you can on the altar and throw the rest in the corner." Well, she evidently had a long tongue. Well, a lot of people do. But you understand, the Bible says in Psalm 73 and verse 9, how the wicked use their tongue to walk through the heavens. In other words, they could care less about insulting God or insulting man. Now, God is saying, "Let every man be swift to hear, let him be slow to speak." In other words, you be cautious about what you say, especially in response to the teaching of the Word of God.

Scripture Reading — 1 Thessalonians 1:4

"Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God."

Correcting Matthew Henry's Disconnection of the Passage

Second Application: Lay Aside Filthiness and Receive with Meekness

Now listen, let me just quote this passage. 2 Corinthians 7, verse 1. The Bible says this.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 7:1

"Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

Scripture Reading — James 4:6

"Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but he giveth grace to the humble."

The Engrafted Word and Its Saving Power

Closing Question and Preview of Next Message

Weaver asks how one can know if their heart is truly prepared to receive the Word, and promises to answer that question in the next message.

Heart Preparation - 4 of 7

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	21107152357
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs-Related Topical Wisdom
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-11-19
Dictation Name
Book	Book 162: Heart Preparation — Chapter 4
Source Timed Segments	78

Lecture Guide

Outline

Review of Previous Messages on Heart Preparation: Weaver reviews the first three messages: the importance of heart preparation from 2 Chronicles 12:14, the three steps of realization, determination, and actualization, and the two basic steps of constant and immediate preparation.
Review of Last Week's Message on Receiving the Word: He summarizes the parable of the sower and the four types of hearers, emphasizing that only the good ground hearer received the seed in a prepared heart, and reviews the admonition, declaration, and illustration from James 1:16-18.
The Connection Between God's Sovereignty and Receiving the Word: Weaver explains that James introduces God's sovereignty in salvation (v.18) to show that God is equally sovereign in illumination and not obligated to teach, so we must be ready to hear when He speaks.
First Application: Swift to Hear, Slow to Speak, Slow to Wrath: In light of God's sovereignty, believers must be quick to hear and attend to God's Word, cautious in speech, and not become angry at the truth or the messenger, because human wrath does not produce God's righteousness.
Correcting Matthew Henry's Disconnection of the Passage: Weaver disagrees with Matthew Henry's claim that verses 19-20 have no connection with what precedes, arguing that the entire context from verse 13 onward shows that God's goodness and sovereignty demand a ready, humble response.
Second Application: Lay Aside Filthiness and Receive with Meekness: Believers must put away all moral filthiness and superfluous wickedness, and instead receive the implanted word with a meek, teachable spirit, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
The Engrafted Word and Its Saving Power: The gospel is like a shoot engrafted into our nature, producing righteous fruit. The Word is able to save us spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, familially, and even nationally if we obey it.
Closing Question and Preview of Next Message: Weaver asks how one can know if their heart is truly prepared to receive the Word, and promises to answer that question in the next message.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

God's sovereignty demands readiness to hear

Because God is not obligated to speak or teach, when He does speak through His Word, we must be swift to hear and not miss the opportunity.

Whenever God does teach, whenever God does speak, you and I had better be ready to hear and receive what God says. (12:12.3-12:38.5)

Swift hearing means eager, attentive reception

Being swift to hear involves running to hear God's Word, making sacrifices, and truly attending to and understanding the teaching.

Let every man be swift to hear. You run to hear the Word of God. You make every sacrifice necessary to hear the Word of God. (17:50.3-18:59.3)

Slow to speak guards against hasty, rebellious responses

Believers must be cautious about what they say in response to God's Word, avoiding argumentative or dismissive reactions.

You be cautious about what you say, especially in response to the teaching of the Word of God. (23:42.2-24:34.1)

Laying aside filthiness is prerequisite for receiving truth

It is impossible to receive the truth until we lay aside everything that is opposed to it, including moral filth and wicked attitudes.

It is impossible to receive the truth until we lay aside everything that is opposed to the truth. (33:32.7-33:50.7)

Meekness is the only posture for learning from God

A meek, childlike disposition is required to be teachable; pride and a know-it-all attitude provoke God's opposition.

You come to the Bible with a know-it-all attitude, God is going to fight against you. (43:06.4-44:08.7)

The Word saves in multiple dimensions

The engrafted word saves not only spiritually but mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, familially, and nationally when obeyed.

The word of God not only may save us spiritually, but it may save us mentally. (47:12.6-47:51.1)

Scripture References

2 Chronicles 12:14: Cited as the foundational verse for the series: Rehoboam did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.
James 1:16-21: The primary passage for the message, read and expounded in sections, emphasizing the admonition not to err, God's good gifts, and the applications to be swift to hear and lay aside filthiness.
Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8: Referenced as the parable of the sower, illustrating four types of hearers; only the good ground hearer received the word in a prepared heart.
Psalm 115:3: Quoted to support God's sovereignty: 'But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased.'
Isaiah 55:6: Quoted to illustrate that God may not always be found; we must seek Him while He is near.
Proverbs 1:23-31: Read to show that when God spoke and people refused, He would not answer when they later called; He is not obligated to teach.
2 Timothy 2:2: Used as an illustration that pastors are to teach faithful men, not force-feed the unwilling; similarly, God does not force His truth on us.
Proverbs 21:23: Quoted: 'Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles,' to support being slow to speak.
Psalm 73:9: Referenced to show how the wicked use their tongue to walk through the heavens, contrasting with being slow to speak.
1 Thessalonians 1:4: Mentioned in an illustration about a man who objected to the reading of 'your election of God,' showing the need to be slow to speak against Scripture.
Isaiah 1: Alluded to regarding man being full of putrefying sores, illustrating the filthiness of sin.
2 Corinthians 7:1: Quoted to show that believers must cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit.
Acts 24: Referenced regarding Paul's exercise to have a conscience void of offense, illustrating purity of heart.
James 4:6: Quoted: 'God resisteth the proud, but he giveth grace to the humble,' explaining why meekness is necessary.
1 Thessalonians 2:13: Read to show that the Thessalonians received the word not as man's word but as God's Word, which works in believers.

Historical References

Matthew Henry's commentary on James 1:19-20: Weaver reads and critiques Matthew Henry's claim that verses 19-20 may be considered without connection to what goes before, arguing instead for a clear contextual link.
Xenocrates' response to reproach: Cited as an example of being slow to speak: Xenocrates remained silent when reproached, saying he never regretted silence but sometimes regretted speech.
Albert Barnes' commentary on 'engrafted word': Quoted to explain the imagery of the gospel as a shoot engrafted into our nature, producing righteous fruit.

Important Quotes

Just as God is absolutely sovereign in salvation, and He is not obligated to save, so God is equally sovereign in illumination, and He is not obligated to teach.

This is the central theological connection Weaver makes between James 1:18 and the applications that follow, grounding the urgency of heart preparation in God's sovereignty.

Let every man be swift to hear. You run to hear the Word of God. You make every sacrifice necessary to hear the Word of God.

Emphasizes the eager, sacrificial posture believers should have toward hearing God's Word, in light of His sovereignty.

It is impossible to receive the truth until we lay aside everything that is opposed to the truth.

A blunt summary of the necessity of putting off sin as a prerequisite for receiving God's Word.

The only way you can receive the Word of God is with meekness. You cannot receive it in pride, arrogancy, or rebellion.

Highlights the indispensable requirement of a humble, teachable spirit for true reception of Scripture.

You come to the Bible with a know-it-all attitude, God is going to fight against you.

A stark warning that pride in approaching Scripture provokes God's active opposition, based on James 4:6.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does understanding God's sovereignty in illumination change the way you approach reading or hearing the Bible?

[Context]

Weaver argues that because God is not obligated to teach, we must be ready when He speaks. This question probes personal application of that truth.

[Question]

What are some practical ways you can be 'swift to hear' God's Word in your daily life?

[Context]

The command to be swift to hear involves eagerness and sacrifice. This question encourages reflection on concrete habits.

[Question]

Why is it so difficult to be 'slow to speak' when we hear challenging truth from Scripture?

[Context]

Weaver warns against hasty, argumentative responses to God's Word. This question explores the heart issues behind our reactions.

[Question]

What does it look like to 'lay aside all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness' in a practical sense before coming to Scripture?

[Context]

The message calls for putting off moral filth and wicked attitudes. This question seeks to make that command tangible.

[Question]

How can you cultivate a meek and teachable spirit when you approach the Bible?

[Context]

Meekness is presented as essential for receiving the Word. This question asks for practical steps to develop humility.

[Question]

In what areas of your life have you experienced the 'saving' power of God's Word beyond just spiritual salvation?

[Context]

Weaver lists mental, emotional, physical, financial, and other dimensions of salvation through the Word. This question invites testimony.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T08:36:35Z