Clean Transcript

Heart Preparation - 3 of 7

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

• Let me mention to you that, go ahead and open your Bibles if you would please, to 2 Chronicles chapter 12 and to the book of James chapter 1. 2 Chronicles chapter 12 and then the book of James chapter 1. We're still dealing with the general theme of preparing your heart and let me just say by way of introduction, that I believe that this short series, and as far as I can tell right now, there are going to be six messages in this series, but I believe it's going to be one of the most important series that I've preached in a while. I think all of them are important since they're from the Word of God. But this one is important because it is extremely practical. It's extremely needful. Now, let me just remind you, as you look in your Bibles, the Second Chronicles chapter 12 and verse 14, we're talking about King Rehoboam.

  #1 | 0:00 to 1:05 | cleaned

• And the Bible says he did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord. Now, let me just take a few moments and review and bring you up to where we are today. I showed you from the Bible that we do not need anyone to teach us how to do evil. We do that normally and naturally. But if we ever do that which is right and holy, then our hearts must be prepared. And I went through the Bible and showed you how the word prepared indicated work, foresight, planning, skill. And then I took you through the Bible and showed you what the heart really was, how the heart is the mind, it is the understanding. And also showed you the word conscience is basically the same. And so God is telling us that unless our hearts are prepared, then we're always going to be doing that which is evil.

  #2 | 1:06 to 1:59 | cleaned

• Now, last week I tried to ask and answer this one simple question. How then do I prepare my heart? I gave you three simple points. The very first point was there must be realization. And that realization was that we cannot prepare our hearts ourselves. Proverbs 16 in verse 1 tells us that the preparation of the heart in man is from the Lord. Over and over I showed you from Scripture how our Lord said without me you can do nothing and our preparation is something. So very obviously we have to realize our own inability. We must at the same time recognize our responsibility. And therefore, we must seek our Lord in our responsibility to enable us to fulfill that responsibility because He alone has the ability. So there must be realization. Secondly, I pointed out there must be determination. You have to determine to fulfill your responsibility.

  #3 | 2:00 to 3:03 | cleaned

• God has laid a number of things upon you. He says that you're to sow to yourself in righteousness, you're to break up your foul ground, you're to come and seek the Lord till He rain righteousness upon you. So you have responsibility. And so there must be a determination in your heart that you're going to fulfill that responsibility by the grace of God. And then the third point was actualization. How you must actually do what you determine in seeking the Lord.

  #4 | 3:03 to 3:32 | cleaned

• And I gave you several illustrations how that repentance is God's gift. You have a responsibility to seek Him for His gift of repentance. And when God gives you that gift of repentance, you've got to understand God is not going to repent for you. That is something you must actually do yourself. And when you repent, that is when you are exercising the gift that God has given you. Likewise, faith is God's gift. But God is not going to believe in Jesus Christ for you. So when you actually receive Christ as he's fully and freely offered in the gospel, that is when you're exercising the gift of faith that God has given you.

  #5 | 3:33 to 4:13 | cleaned

• And then I applied the same truth then to preparing the heart. It is when we seek him to fulfill our responsibility that we do what he requires and he enables us to do it. Then we're exercising that gift that God has given us. And then I pointed out two things. That there must be, first of all, a constant and continuous preparation. That is, we must actually be preparing our hearts on a daily basis, sometimes an hourly basis, sometimes a minute by minute basis, whatever. But it must be something that is done constantly and continually. And I showed you how Hezekiah prepared his heart. God wrought a great revival under Hezekiah, but you go one chapter later and Hezekiah's heart is lifted up in pride and God judges him. There was no constant and continual preparation.

  #6 | 4:14 to 5:09 | cleaned

• And just because God gives us victory today does not automatically mean that we can presume upon him for victory tomorrow. No, there must be a constant and continual preparation. And then I pointed out, secondly, there was an instant and an immediate preparation. That is when we are faced with sin and temptation from the world, the flesh, whatever source, doesn't matter, that we immediately come back to the Word of God and the commands of God and put the thought of sin and wickedness out of our mind and fill our minds with the Word of God and with Jesus Christ. We have to refuse eating everything that is contrary to the Word of God. And let me tell you something, it doesn't matter. If you refuse a sin five minutes ago and that same sinful thought pops into your mind now, you must still refuse that sin.

  #7 | 5:09 to 6:03 | cleaned

• Let me give it to you like this. You've heard the old adage, you can't stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop him from building a nest in your hair. Okay?

  #8 | 6:04 to 6:19 | cleaned

• Now, what I mean by that is simply this. The world, the flesh, and the devil can throw thoughts in your mind quicker than lightning can flash. You can't stop those thoughts from entering in your mind. But you can refuse to think about them and keep them there. And so that's when you have to say, Lord, that's a wrong thought. That's wicked. That's ungodly. I will not have that thought in my mind. I've put it out of my mind. I refuse that. And then you purposely put whatever word from the Bible that applies to your situation.

  #9 | 6:19 to 6:56 | cleaned

• So, there is that instant and immediate preparation. Preparation in every area of life is absolutely necessary. Most of us have gardens, and you know as well as I do that gardens do not materialize by themselves. And you do not just simply go out and throw a few seed on the ground and say, "We're going to have a very good garden this coming year and a large harvest." It just really does not work like that. If there is no preparation of the ground, then I can assure you there's not going to be very much harvest.

  #10 | 6:56 to 7:32 | cleaned

• Now the same is true in the spiritual realm. And I'm going to say that probably the most neglected duty of every child of God is that of heart preparation. The problem that we have in our churches and in our lives is that most people's hearts are not prepared to receive the Word of God. Consequently, there's not much of a harvest there in our lives. Have you ever wondered how it is that we can hear the truth so frequently and have so little fruit in our lives? How is it that we can hear so much truth and produce so little fruit? And how is it that we can hear it over and over and over and seemingly remain unaffected by the truth? Now, the answer has to be our hearts are not prepared to receive the truth.

  #11 | 7:32 to 8:31 | cleaned

• Now, by way of introduction today, I want to tell you and show you briefly about the parable of the sower. The parable of the sower is found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke chapter 8. And I want you to turn to those passages and hold them because I'm going to show you something about this parable. That's Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. In fact, our Lord tells us that this parable is vitally important because He also says, if you know not this parable, how will you know other parables as well? So I want you to turn then to Matthew 13, to Mark 4, and then to Luke chapter 8. Okay? And I want you to hold these passages because we're going to be looking at them in just a moment in a little more detail. Now, without me going into great detail and exposition of this parable, the parable of the sower is simply this. First of all, the sower in this parable is none other than the Lord Jesus Himself.

  #12 | 8:31 to 9:43 | cleaned

• By implication, it would imply that the sower then would not only be Christ, but all true preachers and teachers of the Word of God. In other words, it's someone who is putting forth the Word of God. The seed in this parable, according to Luke 8, verse 11, is the Word of God. He says the seed is the Word of God. Then, of course, the ground is the heart or mind of man.

  #13 | 9:44 to 10:18 | cleaned

• Now, what I want you to see in this is simply that our Lord will show you the different types of ground, the condition of that ground, and the different responses. In fact, let's go to our Bibles to Matthew 13. I'm sorry, Matthew 13. And let's begin with verse three. And let me just read these first few verses and then I'll point it out. Matthew 13, verse three.

  #14 | 10:19 to 10:49 | cleaned

• "And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow. And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell upon stony places where they had not much earth, and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them. But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold, who have ears to hear, let him hear."

  #15 | 10:50 to 11:24 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to note there are four different types of hearers. And there are four different responses.

  #16 | 11:24 to 11:32 | cleaned

• Now, I'm going to take these one at a time. The first hearer is known as the wayside hearer because he says in verse four, some seeds fell by the wayside. Now, there is another name that you can give the wayside hearer. What is it? He could also be called the hard-hearted hearer.

  #17 | 11:33 to 11:55 | cleaned

• Now, let me just tell you, we know the interpretation of this parable to the detail. How do we know the interpretation? Because our Lord gives the interpretation Himself. For instance, we're talking now about this wayside here. Look in verse 4. "And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up." Now skip over to verse 19. In fact, if you look at verse 18, our Lord says, "Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower." So He's going to explain this parable. He says in verse 19, "When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom, now look, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he who receives seed by the wayside." Now, if you would turn right over to Mark chapter 4 and look at verse 15. All right. Look in Mark 4 and verse 15.

  #18 | 11:56 to 13:19 | cleaned

• He says it like this. "And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown, and when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts." Now, originally it was the fowls, now it's Satan. If you look in your Bibles, Luke chapter 8 now and verse 12, he says it like this. "Those by the wayside are they that hear, then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved." First of all, we know that the wayside here is unsaved. Our Lord says so himself. Now, what in the world is the wayside here? Let me explain it.

  #19 | 13:19 to 14:02 | cleaned

• I was raised on a farm. Some of you raised on a farm. It does not matter how well you prepare a field for planting. You have to have a way into that field. You have to have that little road. And when you start bringing those tractors into that field and those combines or whatever else equipment that you need, it's going to pack down the ground where the equipment is. You can sow your seed out in the receptive ground and that's fine. But any seed that falls on the wayside or the hardened or the hard packed ground, it is not going into the ground. What is going to happen? The birds are going to come along, and if you happen to have turkeys, it's going to be the turkeys who gobble up all the seed. They're just going to come along and take care of it. That's all there is to it.

  #20 | 14:03 to 15:01 | cleaned

• Now, our Lord interprets this as Satan coming and taking away the Word of God. In other words, when someone hears the Bible, doesn't understand it, doesn't care whether he understands it or not, doesn't want it, then he loses it. In other words, here is a picture of someone who is so hard-hearted that he doesn't really care one iota about the Word of God or about truth.

  #21 | 15:02 to 15:33 | cleaned

• He just wants to be left alone. He wants to live his life, and he could care less whether or not there was any fruit in his life based upon the Word of God. He's a wayside hearer. He's hard-hearted. And I've run across people like that. I've tried to witness to people in times past, and they'll just tell me very poignantly, I'm not interested in hearing that.

  #22 | 15:33 to 15:56 | cleaned

• Don't talk to me about Christ. I don't want to hear that. That's exactly what this is. And any little truth that you've given them, immediately, it's taken out of their mind.

  #23 | 15:57 to 16:08 | cleaned

• Now, notice if you would please, secondly, there's not just the hard-hearted hearer, there is the stony ground hearer. Back in Matthew chapter 13, if you look in verse 5, He said, "And some fell upon stony places where they had not much earth, and forthwith they sprung up because they had no deepness of earth." Now there's another name for the stony ground hearer. He is called a shallow-hearted hearer. I'm going to explain that in just a moment. When you think of the stony ground hearer, do not think of ground with a lot of stones on it. Plants can grow through stones.

  #24 | 16:09 to 16:54 | cleaned

• Have you noticed how grass goes through concrete? I mean, if there's just a little crack, there's grass there. There's a weed there. And I was preaching in Pennsylvania one time, and I was at a camp. And here was this creek. Of course, there they call them creeks, you know. But here's this creek that ran down by the cabin where I was staying. And so, one morning I went walking down the creek.

  #25 | 16:55 to 17:21 | cleaned

• And to my amazement, I stood there with my mouth open because there was a boulder as big around as this room. And sitting right on top of it was a pine tree. I mean, pine tree was that big around. And what it did, it had roots that went around that boulder and went down into the ground and into the creek. In fact, some of the roots were almost as big around as the tree itself. Well, what in the world is our Lord talking about when he talks about this stony ground here? He is talking about ground not with a lot of stones on it, but he's talking about ground that looks as if there's three or four or five inches or it has a lot of good topsoil on it, but underneath three or four or five inches is a solid sheet of stone. It's a solid layer of rock. Now, what in the world is going to happen when you put a plant in that kind of ground? Well, what is going to happen is this.

  #26 | 17:22 to 18:26 | cleaned

• Once you plant it, immediately, the plant's going to shoot straight up. Why? Because it cannot develop a root system. It cannot get way down into the ground, and all of its energy is going to go up. And when you see those plants, you're going to think, boy, look at that. I wish all of my gardens were like these. But the next thing you know, when the sun gets really hot, the plant wilts and dies. Why? It has no root system. It can't get any sustenance. It can't get any nourishment. Now look at what our Lord says.

  #27 | 18:27 to 19:00 | cleaned

• He interprets it for us in verses 20 and 21 of Matthew 13. He says, "But he that received the seed in the stony places, the same as he that heareth the word and anon, and by the way, the word anon means at once or immediately, and immediately with joy receiveth it. Yet hath he not rooted himself, but dureth for a while, for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended."

  #28 | 19:01 to 19:31 | cleaned

• Now, before I go any further, let me tell you what kind of person this is. Here's a man that he hears the word of God and he says this, praise God, hallelujah, this is just what I've been waiting for. This is wonderful. And you think, man, I wish all my converts were like this, but the next thing you know, a little persecution or he gets his feeling hurt and he says, well, if this is Christianity, I'm not going to put up with it. And he leaves.

  #29 | 19:31 to 20:01 | cleaned

• Look at it, if you would, please, in Mark 4. In Mark 4, you'll see our Lord telling us the same thing, Mark 4, beginning there in verse 16. Mark 4, verse 16. "And these are they likewise, and by the way, was the wayside hearer lost? Yes. And he says, and these are they likewise. In other words, the stony ground hearer is just as lost as the wayside hearer. These are they likewise, which are sown on stony ground, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness, and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they are offended." And then if you'll look at Luke chapter 8, once again, he tells you the same thing in verse 13. Luke 8 verse 13, he says, "They on the rock, or they which, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and they have no root, which for a while believe, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away."

  #30 | 20:03 to 21:08 | cleaned

• Do you know there's such a thing as a temporary believer? Doesn't mean he's saved. He's not. But he believes temporarily. And the proof that he never really saved, he believed, is that it was only temporary. That's just stony ground hearer. And I've run across people like that all my life. You know, you see someone and they say, praise God, they're just on fire. And six months later, you can't find them anywhere. There's stony ground hearer. And then if you look very quickly, thirdly, there's a thorny ground hearer back in Matthew 13. Now, just like the wayside hearer is the hard hearted hearer, the stony ground hearer is the shallow hearted hearer. This thorny ground hearer is a half-hearted hearer. Look in verse 7.

  #31 | 21:09 to 22:00 | cleaned

• "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them." Let me tell you what the thorny ground hearer is. He is someone who tries to begin and continue a Christian life. Come on in. He is someone who tries to begin and continue the Christian life without repentance.

  #32 | 22:00 to 22:36 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to note something in Matthew 13. Notice, if you would please, he said this seed fell among thorns. Help me out. If the seed fell among thorns, what does that mean? The thorns were already there. Never been dealt with. They'd never been pulled up. So the thorns already had the advantage. And when the seed fell among those thorns, what happened? The thorns choked the seed and the seed yielded no fruit. Now, I want you to notice how our Lord interprets this. So if you look at Matthew 13 in verse 22, he says, "He also that receives seed among the thorns, is he that heareth the word, and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful." Now, it doesn't matter if you want to look at it in Mark chapter 4, in verses 18 and 19. Mark chapter 4. And that which fell among thorns are they, note if you would, are they, we're talking about people now, "and that which fell among thorns are they which when they have heard go forth and are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring forth no fruit to perfection."

  #33 | 22:38 to 24:13 | cleaned

• So here is the man then that just absolutely brings nothing to perfection. He brings no fruit. I was reading in Mark 4 and verse 18. "And these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in. Choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." So it really doesn't matter where you read, either Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8. What he's saying is that once again, that the thorny ground hearer never ever produces fruit. The only hearer in this parable that produces fruit is the good ground hearer. The good ground hearer has another name. He is called the whole-hearted hearer. So look in your Bibles, Matthew 13, verse 8. Our Lord says, "But other, that is other seed, fell on the good ground and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold." Now, I do want you to look at Mark 4 and Luke 8 only because there's another phrase that I want to show you.

  #34 | 24:14 to 25:34 | cleaned

• Look in Mark chapter 4 and verse 20. We're still talking about the good ground hearer. He says this, "And these are they. So we're talking about people now. These are they which are sown on good ground, such as hear the word and receive it and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty and some a hundredfold." Now look in Luke chapter 8, if you would, and verse 15 and notice what our Lord says. "But they that on the good ground are they which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, watch it, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience." Now, this message today is preparing your heart to hear the word of God. Our Lord has just given us the parable of the sower. He says that whenever the Word of God is preached, there's usually four responses. There's the wayside response that is a hard-hearted hearer who could care less. There's a stony ground response where the guy says, yippee, praise the Lord, this is it.

  #35 | 25:34 to 26:44 | cleaned

• And six months later, you can't find him anywhere. Then there is the thorny ground or the half-hearted hearer who says, you know, I'm just tied up making a living. I can barely make ends meet. And I've got to have this payment, and I've got this car, and I've got this boat, and I've got this. In other words, the cares of this world and the pleasures of this life, eat him up. He could care less. He doesn't have time. And it's only the wholehearted hearer, the good ground hearer, that brings forth any fruit. Let me just point something out.

  #36 | 26:45 to 27:20 | cleaned

• What did our Lord say in Matthew 7, verse 16 and verse 20? Help me out. He said, by their fruit you shall know them. Notice this good ground hearer. Some brought forth 30, some 60, some 100. Not everybody produces the same amount of fruit, but listen, but every true Christian does produce some fruit. It is discernible. If the Holy Spirit of God is in us, there will be fruit. The Bible says in Romans 8 in verse 9. "Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."

  #37 | 27:21 to 27:56 | cleaned

• Ah, let's put two and two together. If there is no fruit, there is no Holy Spirit. If there is no Holy Spirit, you don't belong to Christ. So what are you saying is if you are a child of God, there will be fruit in your life.

  #38 | 27:59 to 28:21 | cleaned

• Now, let me tell you what the whole point of the parable of the sower is. The whole point is this. Unless your heart is prepared, you will never receive any benefit from the preaching of the word of God. Did the wayside hearer receive any benefit? No. Stony ground hearer? No. Thorny ground hearer? No. The only one who received any benefit was the one whose heart was prepared. You may give a positive response temporarily like the stony ground hearer, but it is still a non-beneficial response because it is a non-saving response. It is only the good ground hearer who in a good and honest heart heard the word of God and kept it. Mark this down. Unless our hearts are prepared, we will never benefit from the Word of God. Let me tell you this.

  #39 | 28:21 to 29:32 | cleaned

• I've heard people complain over and over, my pastor doesn't feed me, my pastor doesn't teach me. And I know there's a lot of preachers who do not study. And I know there's a lot of preachers or they're just simply, it's a job, it's not a ministry. I understand that. But let me tell you something, people. A lot of the times, it's not the preacher and it's not the sermon. It's you.

  #40 | 29:35 to 30:03 | cleaned

• Because unless your heart is prepared, no matter how glorious the sermon, no matter how good the sermon, you'll never, ever benefit one thing from the Word of God. Heart preparation is necessary.

  #41 | 30:04 to 30:18 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to go in your Bibles to James chapter one. We started out in Second Chronicles 12 and verse 14, and that's going to be our lead text throughout this study. But I'm going to show you how God commands us not just to not giving us the importance of keeping our heart and how to keep our heart. But he also commands us to prepare our hearts to receive the Word of God. So let's begin reading there in the book of James, chapter 1, with verse 16. Notice what he says. James, chapter 1, and verse 16.

  #42 | 30:18 to 31:00 | cleaned

• "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. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness, and superfluity, and naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

  #43 | 31:00 to 31:37 | cleaned

• Now, let me just tell you. It's going to take me not just today, but two more Sundays to finish this passage. So I'm going to give it to you point by point. I want you to look in verse 16. The very first point is an admonition. Remember now we're talking about preparing your heart to hear or receive the Word of God. So here's an admonition. He says in verse 16, "Do not err, my beloved brethren."

  #44 | 31:37 to 32:03 | cleaned

• Now, as you read through your Bibles, you will discover many warnings, many cautions, many prohibitions, and many admonitions as well. You will find the Apostle Paul uses this phrase, do not be deceived. What James says, do not err. But let me point out that the Greek word that is translated deceived is the same word that is translated err, the Greek word is planaō. It means to cause to go astray, to lead astray from the right way, to wander, to roam, to be led into error, to be led from the truth, to go into error, to be deceived. So what is James saying? In verse 16, he says, "Do not be led astray. Do not be deceived. Do not be in error concerning this." Now, let me tell you something else about verse 16. It's not only a strong word of caution, but verse 16 in the Greek is in the imperative mode. And when you have an imperative, it is a command.

  #45 | 32:04 to 33:20 | cleaned

• I could look at Doc and say, please stop doing that. That's a request. But if I said stop doing that, that's a command. And this is exactly what James is writing. Do not err in this, my beloved brethren, in other words, I command you not to err.

  #46 | 33:22 to 33:42 | cleaned

• Now, there are many commentators that will take verse 16 and apply it to verses 13 through 15. Now let me just show you this. Look in verse 13. "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. Then when lust hath conceived it, bring it forth sin, and sin when it is finished, bring it forth death."

  #47 | 33:43 to 34:14 | cleaned

• "Do not err, my beloved brethren." Now, what they will try to do is this. They will say that verse 16 is a caution concerning the maliciousness as well as the ridiculousness of charging God with sin. But let me point something out. Verse 16 occurs in the middle of a paragraph. The paragraph begins in verse 13, and it does not end until verse 18.

  #48 | 34:14 to 34:52 | cleaned

• Now, you may not be able to see that in your Bibles, but it's that way in the Greek text, OK? It is the paragraph. What does that mean? That means that verse 16 applies not just to what precedes it, but it also applies to that which follows it as well.

  #49 | 34:52 to 35:11 | cleaned

• Now, let me tell you very pointedly, it is a serious sin and great wickedness to try to charge God Himself with sin or to make God the author of sin or the infuser of wickedness. That is indeed sin in and of itself. Elihu said in Job 34 and verse 10, "Far be it from God that He should do wickedness and from the Almighty that He should commit iniquity." God is not the author of sin, and God is not the infuser of sin. It is true He is the controller of sin, and it is true He may have allowed it for His greater glory, but God is not the author of it. Man is the one who sins, not God. Man is responsible for sin. And it is indeed a serious error to charge God with sin. But watch. It is also a greater error not to prepare your heart to receive the Word of God. Why? If your heart is not prepared to receive the Word of God, you will never, ever be corrected in any error.

  #50 | 35:12 to 36:26 | cleaned

• So verse 16 applies not to just that which precedes it, but that which follows it as well. So when he says, do not err, my beloved brethren, he said, there are some things that listen to me. There may be some things that you can err in and get by. But there are other things that you cannot err in and get by. You know. I might could err in counting my money and think I have more than I do or even less than I do. I can get by with that. But if I look down the barrel of my pistol and say, well, I wonder if this thing is loaded or empty and pull the trigger. I can't get by with that. You follow me? You cannot get by with not having your heart prepared to receive the Word of God. You might get by with some errors and misunderstandings concerning the Bible and some of the teaching in the Bible. But if your heart is never prepared, you will never, ever have those corrected and you'll never receive any benefit from the word of God.

  #51 | 36:31 to 37:50 | cleaned

• So James begins by saying, do not err. Don't be deceived in this.

  #52 | 37:50 to 37:57 | cleaned

• Secondly, you have an admonition in verse 16. In verse 17, you have a declaration. Look at the declaration. "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."

  #53 | 37:58 to 38:16 | cleaned

• Now, when you and I think of gifts, we think of birthdays, we think of anniversaries, we think of special occasions. But when it comes to our Heavenly Father, we need to ask this question, is not everything that He gives us a gift? And the truth of the matter is yes. Some will respond, well, I work for what I possess. Yeah, you may work for what you possess, but who gave you the ability to work? Who gave you the ability to think? Who gave you the ability to know and to understand? And who gave you life and health and strength and enabled you to do what you're doing? Everything that God gives you is a gift. Everything that God gives you is for your good and His glory. Are you listening? Even if what He gives us is suffering.

  #54 | 38:19 to 39:18 | cleaned

• You know what the Bible says in Philippians 1 in verse 29, let me just quote it. "Unto you is given on behalf of Christ, not only to believe on his name, but also to suffer for his sake." You know, that is a tremendous thought. Do you realize that faith is the gift of God? So is suffering. Just like not everyone has the gift of faith, not everyone has the gift of suffering. Whatever God gives us is His gift.

  #55 | 39:24 to 40:01 | cleaned

• It is for our good and His glory. And the Bible says this in Deuteronomy 32 and verse 4 concerning God. I love this. "He is the rock. His work is perfect for all of His ways are judgment. A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He." Whatever God does is right. And whatever God gives us is his gift. Now, when we think about gifts, look at verse 17 again. "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."

  #56 | 40:02 to 40:42 | cleaned

• When we normally think of gifts, we think, or we tend to think of God's common gifts. I think about those fairly regularly. I think about health. I think about life. I think about family, friends, provision, protection. Can you imagine how many miles we've traveled in automobiles and planes? We've never been involved in a wreck. I mean, that's the mercy and the grace and the gift of God. We have seen plenty of them, but God has spared us. I mean, that's grace and that's a gift. We ought to thank Him for those common gifts, but there are special gifts that God gives us that most of the time we never even think about nor praise Him for. You know what one such gift is? Are you listening? One such special gift is the ability to hear and understand the Word of God.

  #57 | 40:42 to 42:00 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles. Hold James, we're not through there. But go back in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 13. You remember, we're talking about the parable of the sower. And our Lord says this is a very important parable. But I want you to notice what he told his disciples in Matthew chapter 13 and verse 10. After he'd given the parable of the sower, verse 10, the disciples came and said to him, "Why speakest thou unto them in parables?" Why are you talking in parables? Look what our Lord says, Matthew 13, verse 11. "And he answered and said unto them, Because it is given." Whoa, stop right there. It is given.

  #58 | 42:00 to 42:51 | cleaned

• That is, it is a gift. "It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly, but whosoever hath not from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore, speak I to them in parables, because they seeing, see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which said, By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand, and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their hearts, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Look, but blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them."

  #59 | 42:51 to 44:03 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to notice what our Lord said. The question is, why in the world do you speak to these people in parables? He said, because it is given unto you to hear, but not to them. And then he said this. "But blessed are your eyes, for they see. Blessed are your eyes, for they see. Blessed are your ears, for they hear." Many righteous men, think of the Old Testament prophets, who have given their right arm to have seen the day of the Messiah, and to know in fullness what we know today, and they only saw dimly through a picture. Do you know something? If you understand the Word of God, if you are able to hear it and believe it and receive it, it's a gift of God.

  #60 | 44:05 to 45:18 | cleaned

• Look in your Bibles to John chapter 12. Just show you that our Lord spoke about this on several occasions. In John chapter 12, beginning there with verse 37. John 12, verse 37. Notice, if you would, what he says. "But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him. Now watch. Here our Lord is performing all of these miracles, and yet they believe not on him. Verse 38, that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore, they could not believe, because Isaiah said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Isaiah, when he saw His glory, and spake of Him." What? Our Lord said, here He was performing miracles one after the other in front of all these people, and they still didn't believe.

  #61 | 45:20 to 46:27 | cleaned

• They had eyes to see, but they saw not. They had ears to hear, but they heard not. Their heart was hardened, not prepared. So nothing they saw or heard benefited them in any way whatsoever. Look in your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 24. Let me give you a perfect illustration of this. Luke 24. And I love this passage. It is so classic. I'm not going to take the time to read all of it, but I'll tell you about it. In Luke 24.

  #62 | 46:28 to 47:10 | cleaned

• Here were these two men walking on the road and they were walking. A man joined himself to them and he asked. What's wrong, why are you so sad? What's going on? They said, are you a stranger here? Hast thou not heard? Why, Jesus of Nazareth. We supposed him to be the Messiah. But he was crucified. And this is the third day. And you know, he was supposed to have risen on the third day. And man, nothing. And our Lord looked at these two men and said, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have written. Ought not Christ to have suffered and entered His glory, and beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded in them all things concerning Himself?" So here our Lord was, joining Himself to these two men, walked with them. They didn't know Him. Talked with them. They didn't know Him.

  #63 | 47:10 to 48:18 | cleaned

• Bible said their eyes were holding. They didn't see him. They saw, but they didn't see. They heard, but they didn't hear. And when they got to where they were going, they invited our Lord in and he made the Bible says he made as if he was going home further. But he went in with them and when he took the bread, he broke it and blessed it. And the Bible says their eyes were opened. Now, watch this.

  #64 | 48:19 to 48:46 | cleaned

• Look in your Bibles, Luke chapter 24. Let's begin reading with verse 28. "And they drew nigh unto the village where they went, and he made it as though he would have gone further. And they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread and blessed it, and break and gave it to them."

  #65 | 48:47 to 49:12 | cleaned

• "And their eyes were opened, and they knew him. And he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scripture? And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared unto Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known to them in breaking of the bread."

  #66 | 49:13 to 49:41 | cleaned

• "And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said unto them, Peace be unto you." Now I want you to note something. I want you to skip down to verse 44. "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me."

  #67 | 49:42 to 50:07 | cleaned

• "Then, help me out now, then opened he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures." What did our Lord do to those two men on the road to Emmaus? He opened their eyes. What did he do to his disciples? These are people that already believe now. These are Christians. He opened their understanding that they might grasp the word of God. I'm trying to show you something, folks. It is a special gift to be able to hear, believe and receive and understand the scripture. You know what our Lord said in Matthew 11, verse 27?

  #68 | 50:08 to 50:58 | cleaned

• You don't have to turn there. I'll quote it for you. But listen, our Lord said this. "All things are delivered unto me of my father. And no man knoweth the son, but the father. And no man knoweth a father but the Son, and he to whomsoever he will reveal him." Now, how many people know the Son, only the Father? How many people know the Father, only the Son? Who gets to know the Son? Who gets to know the Father? Only to those to whom it is revealed.

  #69 | 50:58 to 51:35 | cleaned

• Do you remember in Matthew chapter 16 when Christ came back again in the coast of Caesarea Philippi? He asked his disciples, and he said, who do the sons of men say that I am? They said, well, some say you're Elijah or Elisha or one of the prophets. Then he said, but who do you say that I am? And that's when Simon Peter made this great confession. Peter said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

  #70 | 51:37 to 52:09 | cleaned

• Now, listen to me carefully. When Peter made this great confession, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, did Jesus Christ praise Peter's intellect or his investigative skills or his quickness of observation? Did he say, boy, Peter, you're really smart. You figured this thing out when no one else could ever figure it out. No. When Peter said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus said, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood have not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven." What did he do? He opened his understanding. He opened his eyes that he might see. See, folks, we've got to conclude this, that sight, spiritual sight. Spiritual understanding is the gift of God. It's the gift of God.

  #71 | 52:11 to 53:15 | cleaned

• What did Paul tell Timothy in second Timothy, chapter two and verse seven, he said, "Consider what I say. And the Lord give the understanding in all things." Understanding is the gift of God. OK, we've seen an admonition, we've seen a declaration and very quickly, if you go back in your Bibles, to the book of James, chapter one and verse 18, we're going to see an illustration and I'll have to hurry, but I want you to see this.

  #72 | 53:18 to 53:50 | cleaned

• In light of what I'm showing you, notice. We're talking about preparing your heart to hear and to receive the word of God, OK? We've seen the admonition, do not err in this. We've seen the declaration, every good gift cometh from above, from the Father of lights. God gives us the gift of hearing and understanding. Now James gives us an illustration. He says 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, amazingly, what James does is he gives us an illustration of God's sovereignty and particularly of God's sovereignty in salvation.

  #73 | 53:52 to 54:33 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to ask yourself a question. In the context, now we're talking about receiving the Word of God and preparing your heart to receive the Word of God. Here's the questions you should ask. Why does James bring up the subject of God's absolute sovereignty at this point? Or you could ask it like this. Why is James referring to God's sovereignty and salvation now as an illustration? I want you to see in this verse, very quickly, four very important truths. First, the sovereign's will. Look in verse 18, "of his own will." Do you realize God's will is the cause of everything? Let me ask you, what prompted God to create the world? Was God under any pressure, any coercion, any duress or any compulsion to create? Did God have to create? No. You know why God created the world? Because he willed to create the world. He created the world and everything therein because of His own will. He chose to do it for His own honor and glory.

  #74 | 54:33 to 56:03 | cleaned

• Let me give you the scripture. You don't have to turn there, but I'll quote it for you. Revelation 4 and verse 11, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, are you listening, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created." Why did God create the world? Because He willed to. It pleased Him to do it. Now, here's my question. What prompted God the Father to send Jesus Christ?

  #75 | 56:03 to 56:41 | cleaned

• Was He under any duress, pressure, coercion, or compulsion? Was God the Father obligated to save His fallen, sinful creatures? What's the answer? No. Do you realize the fact that God sent Christ, He did so out of His own will? That was the cause. If you look back, I'll show you this one. Look back in your Bibles to Ephesians 1 and we'll read verses 9 and 10. Ephesians 1, Galatians, Ephesians. Ephesians 1, look in verse 9 and 10, and we're talking about Christ now in the context. Look in Ephesians 1, verse 9, "having made known unto us the mystery of His will, we're talking about God's will, according to His good pleasure which He had purposed in Himself that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even him." What was the cause of God sending Christ and making him preeminent in all things? His will. The mystery of his will. The only reason Christ came was because God the Father willed that he came.

  #76 | 56:43 to 57:54 | cleaned

• Now, I ask you, what prompted Christ to create his own will? What prompted God the Father to send Christ his own will? Let me ask you another question. What prompted God to save sinners? Was God under any duress, any pressure, any compulsion, any coercion to save? Let me ask you another question. Was God obligated to save anyone? Was God obligated to save you? You know, I like what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 9, verse 29.

  #77 | 57:54 to 58:12 | cleaned

• He said, "Except the Lord of the Sabbath had left us a remnant, we should all have been made as Sodom and Gomorrah." Do you realize God may justly have condemned us all? God was not obligated to save us. If you look back in your Bibles very quickly to Romans 9, let me just show you Paul's argument on this. And I'm showing you this for a purpose, and I will remind you of this next week. Look at Romans chapter 9, and let's begin reading there with verse 9, and look at Paul's argument. Romans 9, verse 9, he says, "for this is the word of promise."

  #78 | 58:13 to 59:02 | cleaned

• "At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son." And not only this, but when Rebecca had also conceived by one, even by Father Isaac, the children being not yet born, and neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."

  #79 | 59:02 to 59:53 | cleaned

• "What shall we say then? Look now, is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. Perish the thought. Don't even think that, he said. Why? For he saith to Moses, here's what God said, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. You look at the conclusion now. So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore, here's the conclusion. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth."

  #80 | 59:53 to 1:00:22 | cleaned

• "Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who has resisted his will? Nay, but, O man, who art thou that replyest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel of honour and another dishonour? What if God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessel of wrath fitted to destruction, that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had aforeprepared unto glory." Notice what he says. God was not obligated in saving anyone, it is not of him that willeth or him that runneth, but God that showeth mercy.

  #81 | 1:00:22 to 1:01:14 | cleaned

• You know, the passage that I like is in Psalm 115 and verse 3, where the psalmist said, listen now, "But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." That's what he's talking about. Of his own will. Why did God create? He willed to do it. Why did God send Christ? He willed to do it. Why did God save sinners? He willed to do it. Everything is the will of God. You say, Brother Weaver, God foreknows everything. I understand that. But the foreknowledge of God is not what causes things to happen. It's his will.

  #82 | 1:01:14 to 1:01:57 | cleaned

• I foreknow that if the Lord lets the world stand, the sun's going to come up in the morning. But my foreknowledge doesn't make the sun come up. God's will makes the sun come up. See, now watch this. Here's the sovereign's will. Notice secondly, in James chapter one, the sovereign's work. "Of his own will begat he us." Begetting is the work of God, and especially it is the work of the Father. Do you get that?

  #83 | 1:01:58 to 1:02:42 | cleaned

• My wife may have borne all of our children, but I beget them. Begetting is the work of the Father. Of His own will, beget He us. By the way, guess what the word begat is? It's from the Greek word apokueō, and it literally means this. It means to bring forth, to bring forth from the womb, to cease being pregnant of His own will, God brought us forth. What is He saying? Regeneration is the work of God alone. It is God who speaks life to the soul. It is God who places life in man. Regeneration is the operation of God, not of man. Regeneration and conversion are not the same thing.

  #84 | 1:02:44 to 1:03:16 | cleaned

• Let me show you something. I want you to turn to two passages. The first one, Psalm 28, and the second one, Colossians Chapter 2. Colossians 2 and Psalm 28, and we're going to Psalm 28 first. But get ready to find Colossians 2, hold it. So look in Psalm 28, and let me just show you about the operation of God. In Psalm 28 and verse 5, there's a declaration that God issues against the heathen, against the wicked. He says this, "because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them and not build them up." The wicked then have no regard for the works of God, nor the operation of his hands. What is the operation of God's hands? Look in your Bibles to the book of Colossians chapter 2 and verse 12. Colossians 2 and verse 12. We've got two doctors in here today, and neither one of them have ever performed this operation. Watch this Colossians 2. In fact, let's begin. Let's begin reading with verse 11.

  #85 | 1:03:18 to 1:04:12 | cleaned

• Colossians 2 verse 11. "In whom also you are circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ," are you looking? "...buried with Him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God who has raised us from the dead." What? The operation of God? What was the operation of God? The operation of God was not just raising Christ from the dead, but raising us from the dead in Him and circumcising our hearts, regenerating us, giving us life in Christ. That was the operation of God.

  #86 | 1:04:12 to 1:05:48 | cleaned

• Of His own will begat He us, the sovereign's will, the sovereign's work. It is the work of God to regenerate. It is the work of God to beget. And look, if you would please very quickly at James 1 in verse 18 again, you have the sovereign's word. "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." Do you remember what our Lord said in John chapter 6 in verse 63? He said a lot of things in that passage in John 6.

  #87 | 1:05:48 to 1:06:33 | cleaned

• He's the bread of life. You remember that? But when you get to John 6 and verse 63, it says this, "it is the spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." You know, when our Lord was demonstrating His deity at the Pool of Siloam in John chapter 5, He said this in verse 21, "For as the father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the son quickeneth whom he will." Do you realize only God can speak life into the soul of man? Only God can do that.

  #88 | 1:06:34 to 1:07:11 | cleaned

• How did this world come into existence? God spoke it into existence, right? That's what the scripture says. You know how you came into existence as a Christian? Listen to 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 6. "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Just like God sovereignly said, let there be light in creation, God said, let there be light in our hearts.

  #89 | 1:07:11 to 1:07:56 | cleaned

• The sovereign's will of his own will, the sovereign's work begat he us, the sovereign's word. It is life. You remember it without me going there in scripture, but in John chapter 11, when our Lord came up to Lazarus. And Martha said, Lord, not now, for he's been dead for four days, he stinketh. And our Lord said, you remove that stone. And he cried and said, Lazarus, come forth. What did he do? He sovereignly, powerfully gave Lazarus life in that tomb.

  #90 | 1:08:00 to 1:08:33 | cleaned

• Which enabled him to walk out. His word is life. Now, one last thing. I want you to see the sovereign's world, 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." I love that. That we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. We are the beginning of a new creation. Now, the new creation differs from the old creation. The new creation are those who have been brought back to God.

  #91 | 1:08:40 to 1:09:23 | cleaned

• Now, just stop and think about this. When God created the world, and He created Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden, you know that they sinned. And what did they do? They hid from God. They ran from God. They covered themselves with their fig leaves. And ever since then, man has been running from God. If I were to ask you, why did Jesus Christ come?

  #92 | 1:09:25 to 1:10:03 | cleaned

• You would answer, well, He came to save sinners. Well, that's true if you understand what salvation entails. When you get to 1 Peter 3 and verse 18, the Bible tells you specifically why Jesus Christ came. The Bible says that Jesus Christ came and died, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us back to God. So instead of running from God, now we run to God. And what did he say in Romans 6 and verse 4?

  #93 | 1:10:04 to 1:10:29 | cleaned

• We've been raised now to walk in newness of life. So now instead of wanting to get away from his commandments, now we want to keep his commandments. Instead of now wanting to ignore him, now we want to acknowledge him. And in other words, we are the firstfruits of his creatures. We are a new world order. We are. In the fall of man, man fled. In regeneration and conversion, man now comes back to God. And let me tell you, the only one world order and the only new world order that will always exist and continue is that one where Jesus Christ is head of a glorious and godly people that He made.

  #94 | 1:10:29 to 1:11:06 | cleaned

• That's what the Bible says in 2 Peter 2 and verse 13. "Nevertheless, we according to His promise, now listen, look for a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." Can you imagine the only new world order that will continue throughout all eternity is the one that God ordained and predestinated in his son, Jesus Christ. In that new world order, Jesus Christ will be recognized totally, completely and absolutely as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Now, listen, we're talking about preparing your heart to receive the word of God.

  #95 | 1:11:06 to 1:11:50 | cleaned

• We've given you an admonition. Do not err. We've given you a declaration, every good gift and every perfect gift coming from above. We've now given you an illustration out of God's sovereignty. I want you to ask yourself this question. Why did James introduce God's sovereignty in verse 18? Ask it another way. Why is James emphasizing God's sovereignty in salvation? Ask it another way. Ask this question. What is the connection between the sovereignty of God in salvation and preparing your heart to receive the Word of God? What possible connection could there be? How can James talk about God's sovereignty and then immediately begin to say, let every man be swift to hear and slow to speak and slow to wrath? What is the connection?

  #96 | 1:11:52 to 1:12:46 | cleaned

• Well, in order to receive that answer, you must tune in next week at the same time, at the same channel. And I can assure you the answer will be well worth your time. When you will find out about preparing your heart to receive the word of God. Let's pray. Father, we ask that you speak to our hearts, that you teach us, help us, build us up in the most holy faith and help us to see the absolute importance of preparing our hearts constantly, continually, even instantly and immediately when the emergency arises. Lord, help us to see there must be a preparation to receive the Word of God. Give us grace now, Lord, to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray. Amen.

  #97 | 1:12:47 to 1:14:01 | cleaned

• Well, in order to receive that answer, you must tune in next week at the same time, at the same channel. And I can assure you the answer will be well worth your time. when you will find out about preparing your heart to receive the word of God. Let's pray. Father, we ask that you speak to our hearts, that you teach us, help us, build us up in the most holy faith and help us to see the absolute importance of preparing our hearts constantly, continually, even instantly and immediately when the emergency arises. Lord, help us to see there must be a preparation to receive the Word of God. Give us grace now, Lord, to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray. Amen.

  #98 | 1:14:05 to 1:15:04 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T04:44:40Z