Hello, and thank you so much for joining us at the Everlasting Truth broadcast, where we give you everlasting truth in an ever-changing world. I'd like to take just a minute and introduce myself. I'm grateful to have your attention for just a few minutes, and I do hope and pray that you will genuinely give me your attention for just a few minutes. You know, what is such a small amount of time, 20, 30 minutes, to open up your ears to the Word of God. And that's my goal here. That's why I'm here is to take the scriptures and take some time and expound them and simply put forth to you what God has put in His Word. My name is Caleb Osteen. I am the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Live Oak, Florida. I have been privileged with that opportunity, and it truly is a privilege. I mirror what the Apostle Paul said when he said, I thank Christ Jesus, my Lord, who hath counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. And it is a blessing to serve God. And friends, if you're saved, I want you to know it is a privilege to get to serve God. It's not something that I have to do, it's something that I get to do. When I was lost, I had many things that I did that were a total waste of time. There was no purpose for them whatsoever, but when I got saved, God gave me a purpose for living. and that is to bring honor and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. And one way that we glorify Him is through the preached Word of God. And so that's my goal here in this broadcast over this however long the Lord blesses us with the opportunity to be with you. It's just to take 20-30 minutes of your time if you'd give it to me and allow us to dive into what the Word of God has to say and hope and pray that I can be a blessing to you. I have prayed before beginning this. God has put this broadcast in my lap. It's something that God brought to me, and I'm appreciative of the opportunity that He's given me to do that. But I have prayed previously before beginning today. sincerely that God would help you through his word. And I believe that God wants to help you with his word. I think about Hebrews 4.12, and he said, For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. And I want you to think about that. He didn't say it was powerful as in past tense. He said it is powerful. It is quick and powerful. That's present tense. Right now, today, the word of God is alive and it is able to empower you and to help you in your Christian life. He has given us all that we need for life and practice and to be godly people through His Word. And so I just want to take some time today and hopefully help you through God's Scriptures, the King James Bible that is. I'm so grateful that God has given us a King James Bible completely inspired and preserved for His people and we have God's perfect Word. But anyways, let's go ahead. Now, I want to look at a text today, and maybe two of them if we have time. We'll see what we have time for, but this will be coming to you on a Saturday. Hopefully you're excited about the house of God tomorrow. Hopefully you're excited about being able to get in church, and hopefully it's your desire to go and be fed from the Word of God tomorrow. I hope that you're a faithful member of a local New Testament Bible-believing, Bible-preaching church who believes in the authority of the Scriptures, and I hope that you're excited about going and experiencing the privilege of being a part of a church tomorrow and that you're getting ready to do that. But I want to give you something that I think will help you in your attendance to the house of God tomorrow. I'm afraid that so often we go to church and we assemble with the believers because We know that it's what we're supposed to do, and by the way, it is what you are supposed to do. Hebrews 10.25 says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more as we see the day approaching. Now, no doubt, the day is surely approaching. It's getting closer for you and I. Therefore, we ought to be meeting so much the more. So when you go to the house of God and you meet with God's people, that is certainly what God intends for you to do. But friend, there's a greater reason to go to the house of God besides just doing it because you have to. You get to go to the house of God. I think about what he said in the book of Ephesians, that at one time we were strangers. aliens from the covenants from the promises of God that we were not a part of those wonderful promises but in Christ Jesus the promises of God belong to us and we get to experience that privilege of taking part in those promises. And there's many wonderful things he's promised his church, and he's promised to do for his people through the church. And so you get to go and be a part of the church tomorrow. You get to open your Bible. It's a privilege, folks. Don't look at it as if it's some responsibility and something to be dreaded. It's something to be loved. It's something to be excited about. It's where you get your exhortation at. We talked about Hebrews 10.25 just a minute ago, but he said exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. The house of God is where I go to get exhorted. That's where I get encouraged at. You know, oftentimes I live my life Sunday to Sunday, and I find myself looking around Monday, Tuesday for that Wednesday service to kind of refresh me and give me that fire back in me and put a little bit of encouragement in me. And praise God, it often does, but then Thursday, Friday, Saturday roll around, and by the end of those days, I'm feeling a little bit wayward again, and I need that refreshing. I need that exhorting of being in the house of God with the brethren, with an open Bible, where the songs of Zion are sung, and I'm able to be strengthened and encouraged by my brethren. And I just praise God for the church. There's nothing else. I'd rather be a part of and you ought to take that privilege seriously, too. But anyways, I'm rambling here now So let's let's look at something this morning. I want you if you have a Bible once you go to James chapter number one If you're driving whatever you're doing, I certainly understand. I hope you'll just incline your ear Proverbs chapter number two, he said that we would incline our ear unto his word. If we would do that, we'd find the knowledge of God. So if you can't open your Bible, open your heart, open your ears to what the word of God has to say. I want to read you a text really quick this morning out of James chapter number one. I want us to look here in verse number 21 through verse number 25. And really this text is all about receiving the Word of God and having the Word of God make a difference in your life. And I wonder if you would be honest with yourself and you'd be honest with God How much of the Word of God that you've heard throughout your Christian life has actually made a change for you? Now, I understand when you were lost and maybe you went to church as a lost person or heard the Bible preached as a lost person, maybe you grew up in church, the Word of God probably didn't make much of a difference in you, you know, because you were dead in your sin and your trespasses. And the Bible says that the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. for their foolishness unto him, neither can he know them for their spiritually discerned." So as a lost man, you can't understand the Bible, but when you're saved, when you've been born again, when the Holy Spirit of God dwells inside of you, you have been given the necessary equipment to understand the Word of God. And I would ask you, how many times, honestly, have you heard the Word of God that it's made a difference in your life? I mean, really, how much has it changed you? How many times have you sat down for your daily devotional time with the Lord, your quiet time with the Lord, your secret place, whatever it may be, your personal devotional life, and you need to have one of those as a believer, but how many times have you sat down for that and walked away a changed, encouraged, and challenged, and convicted Christian? How many times? I'm afraid for the majority of us, most of the time, we're not really challenged, changed, and convicted. We have fulfilled our religious duty for the day, but nothing real has happened in our life. Can I say it's a shame when we do that? Because God wants to speak to us. You know, if God did not want to always speak to us, He would not have given us a word that we can open up anytime. He'd give us something that only came on at random minutes and random moments and things of that nature, but God gave us His eternal word, His everlasting truth, if you will, And you can open it at any given time. And these are not the by-thoughts of God. These are not just some ponderings of God. These are the very literal words of God. This is what He has spoken to you and for you. For your family. To make you a better Christian. To prepare you for the life that is to come. to incite a holiness and a love for the things of God inside of you. Everything you need to be a godly person is found in the Word of God. I'm for reading other books and things like that if they encourage you as a Christian and their Christian content. I'm for that, but they're no replacement for the inspired Word of God. You cannot replace this King James Bible. But how often have you let it change you? Let's talk about that really quick. James chapter 1. I want you to look at verse number 21 with me. Let's just examine this real quick for a few moments here today. James 1 and 21. Your Bible says, Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word, look at that, which is able to save your souls. You know, Peter would write and say that we're born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." It's this Bible where we find the truth of salvation. It was somebody that took this same King James Bible that's in front of me right now, and they got behind a pulpit and they told me that I was a sinner. And if I died without Christ, I would, in fact, go to hell because my sin has stored up the righteous judgment of God against me. But they took that same King James Bible, and they said, God don't want you to go to hell. And God wants to save you, and God wants to forgive you. And they took verses like John 3, 16, and they said, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And it was through the truth of the Word of God that I came to place my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I saw Him as the only means out. He was the only thing that could save me. Acts 4.12 says, "...neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." It's just one name. And that name came to me out of the Word of God. I did not find that name in a history class. I did not find that name in the school system. I did not find that name in media. I found that name, that precious saving name, in the Word of God. And he says here in James 121 that this Word is able to save your souls. And friend, if the Word of God can save your souls, how much more can it sanctify your soul after you've been saved? I mean, really, how much can the Word of God encourage you and help you and enable you after you have already been saved? You see, once you get born again, it's not that you've got what you need from the Word of God. It's that you have just begun to find what you need from the Word of God. Because every day God wants to do a work in you through the scriptures. The thing about Hebrews, not Hebrews, forgive me, but Romans 12 too, and he says, And be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Where does that renewing take place? It's through the Word of God. It's through God washing you. Ephesians 5, Paul would write, and he would say, he would talk about the washing of water by the Word. It's the Word of God that washes us. It's the Word of God that cleanses us. It's the Word of God that reveals our filth and our sinfulness and drives us to the crimson flow of Calvary where Jesus' precious blood was shed in our place that we might be made whole, that we might be made righteous before Him. But without the Word of God, friend, you don't get any of that. It's a privilege to have a book. full of truth in front of you." And he says this engrafted word is able to save your souls. But not only is it able to save your souls, but you have to know how to receive it. He said in verse 21, he said, wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. You see, I could not engage in the benefits of the Word of God until I got ready to receive it. You know, that's true even for the salvation that this verse talks about. He said in John 1.11 that he came unto his own, and his own received him not. But he also said in John 1.12, but to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. You see, you had to receive Christ in order to be saved, and in order for God to sanctify you, you equally have to receive it. You have to be willing to take your hands out and receive it. When I receive a gift from somebody, that means they have offered it to me, but just their offering, it doesn't mean I have it yet. I have to possess it. I have to put forth my hands and take hold of that possession and receive it, bring it into myself. He says that's what you got to do with the Word of God. You see, it's not just enough to hear the Word of God, but you have to be willing to receive it. He's going to go down in just a minute in James chapter number one, and he's going to tell you that you can't be a forgetful hearer, that you had to be a doer of the Word. Okay? So we have to be willing to receive it. Verse 21 tells us how to receive it. We have to receive it by laying apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. That's how we receive the Word of God. You say, preacher, what are you trying to tell me? I'm trying to tell you if you want God to renew you and you want God to change you and you want the scriptures to saturate and permeate your heart and to change you from the wretched person that you and I both are, then you're going to have to begin to lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. You say, what does that mean? That means you have to be willing to let go of sin. If you want to waste your time, then you keep unconfessed sin in your life and you pray and you read your Bible. You see, unconfessed sin will not only keep you from getting anything from the Word of God, it'll keep you from getting anything out of prayer. The psalmist said, I believe it's Psalm 66, 18. I could be wrong, but I believe it's Psalm 66, 18. He said, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. So it hinders our prayer life when we have sin, but not only that, it hinders our devotional life in the form of reading the Word of God. If you want to sit down for 30 minutes and read the Bible and not get anything out of it, then just sit down with unconfessed sin in your heart. You see, it's a good thing to pray before you get into the Word of God and ask God to cleanse you and bring any sin to the forethoughts of your mind and your conscience and your heart, that you can confess that and get it right. I'm convinced the truth is still 1 John 1, 9, that if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I believe God will cleanse us if we will confess. And I believe if we don't have that constant confession when we come to the Word of God, then we cannot truly receive it and it will not make a difference in our life. Let me summarize for you very quickly. A lot of people say, well, I read the Bible, but I don't get anything out of it. It didn't speak to me. It didn't help me. Well, friends, if it didn't speak to you, it's not because God didn't put any words forth. We've got 66 books of His words. It's not that God's not speaking. The problem is you're not receiving. You see, it's not on the transmitting end, it's on the receiving end. In a microphone setup, you've got two different pieces involved in that. In a wireless setup, you've got a transmitter, which is sending out the signal, and then you've got a receiver, which is pulling that signal in, and therefore the sound comes from that. And it's not the issue in this case with the transmitter. God's put the signal out. He's put the message out. The problem, friend, is the receiver's wrong. You've got something that's hindering that frequency, such as in the microphone analogy. There's something keeping you from receiving. And one of those things that'll keep you from receiving is sin in your life. So if your devotional life has dried up, and you're not hearing from God like you want to, and not hearing from God like you think you should, I would invite you, first and foremost, to check and see if you've got any unconfessed sin in your life. Because he said, if you want to receive the Word of God, you have to receive it by laying apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. Not only that, he said, you've got to receive it with meekness in verse 21. Didn't he? He said, receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your soul. You say, well, preacher, how do I receive the Word of God with meekness? Well, meekness is humility. It is to make oneself low. It is to humble yourself. It is the opposite of pride. It is the opposite of arrogance. It is coming to God with a mentality of, Lord, you know what's best and I don't. You see, there are a lot of people that when they hear the Word of God, it's not that they didn't hear it, it's that they disagree with it. They say, yeah, I know what God said, but I disagree with that. And therefore, my opinion overrides God. And no, it doesn't. But a lot of people come to the Word of God and when you put that wall up and you say, God, I don't care if you said it or not. I think I'm right and I think you're wrong. You're not going to get anything out of the scriptures. That's not receiving it with meekness. Receiving it with meekness is coming to the scriptures and saying, I'm wrong and I need you to correct me. Lord, I need you to show me that I'm wrong. So if you want help from the Word of God, you need to come to the Scriptures with an attitude of humility and meekness. When you sit down in your devotional time in the morning and you open up the Word of God, how humble are you? I mean, are you coming with a preconceived idea that you're doing everything right and that God doesn't have anything to show you about what you're doing wrong? Or are you coming with the idea of, Lord, I'm a wretched sinner, and I get it wrong all the time, and God, if I'm wrong somewhere, I need you to show me." Isn't that what the psalmist said? Was it Psalm 139? He said, Search me, O God, know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. See if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. You see, the psalmist, he asked the Lord, he said, Show me where I'm wrong at. Show me where I have went astray at, and then get me in the right way. You say, How is God going to get us in the right way? He's going to lead us through His Word. You see, Psalm 119, the writer would say, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. In other words, it's going to guide me in the right direction. But it can only guide me in the right direction if I'm willing to admit that I've been going the wrong direction before I got a hold of its direction. So you got to receive it with meekness is what I'm trying to tell you. You have to realize how prone to wonder we truly are. You know, I love that song, Come Thou Fount, and really the reason I love it is for that last verse. And those of you familiar with the song, you know exactly what I'm talking about. But the writer would speak in that song and they would say, Prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above. They're almost mimicking what Paul said in Romans chapter 7. When Paul wrestled with the things that I do want to do, I don't do, and the things that I don't want to do, that's what I end up doing. He said, there's another law in my members than the law that's in my mind, and the law in my members is warring against my mind. He said, with my mind, I serve the law of Christ. He said, but with my flesh, I serve the law of sin. And there's this conflict, there's this battle going on inside of me. And Paul would come to a conclusion in Romans 7 and he would say this, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? You see, Paul didn't think he got it all right. Paul knew he was a sinner even after he got saved. Even after he got born again, Paul still knew that he needed direction and he needed guidance. And he needed God to reveal things to him and put him where he needed to be. He needed God to align his heart with the Lord's heart. As a matter of fact, Paul knew he could get out of hand. 2 Corinthians 12, he said, "...lest I should be exalted above measure." In other words, lest I get prideful. lest I am not meek, lest I be exalted above measure. There was given unto me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me." What was that about? That was about the fact that Paul was a man who was sinful just like you, and he was able to get out of the way, and he said that God had to get him straight. And God wants to try to get you straight every day. But He's going to do it through His Scriptures. And if you don't receive the Scriptures with meekness, You're not going to listen to what God has to say. You ever tried to talk to somebody who knew it all? Maybe you're working on a job, and there's a lot of people that you try to do construction-oriented jobs and things like that with, and you begin to do the task, and they seem to always have a better way to do it. And in reality, it's not a better way at all. It actually makes a mess out of stuff, and it causes a lot of issues. And you try to correct them and say, hey, we can do it better this way, and offer something there, and they say, no, I got it. I got it. You say, what is that? That's a know-it-all. That's somebody who's not meek, and therefore, they can't receive instruction. You can't help them and it makes a mess out of things. The construction project, if you will, ends up all kinds of messed up. I wonder how much of our life is all kind of messed up because we won't just lay down and let God be gone and receive with meekness the engrafted word. We've run out of time for today. I thank you so much for being with me. I hope you'll tune in tomorrow. I hope you'll prepare your heart to receive with meekness the engrafted word tomorrow as your man of God preaches. And I hope that you'll support him and your local church and be faithful there. But until then, I hope that you stay faithful. Thank you.