One More Time

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture MetadataDetails
SpeakerJohn Weaver
SourceSermonAudio
Media ID1025211638476097
SubjectOld Testament Studies
CourseDaniel
GenreSermon
Date2021-10-24
Dictation Name
BookBook 087: Daniel — Chapter 15
Source Timed Segments90

Synopsis: John Weaver warns that a war is being waged over the mind, and that whoever controls the mind controls the life. He explains the biblical teaching that the heart is the mind, and that keeping the heart is essential to godly living. He then introduces the concept of cognitive warfare—a new form of attack by governments and NATO aimed at manipulating how people think and act. Weaver urges believers to fight for their minds by immersing themselves in Scripture, knowing the truth, and bringing every thought captive to Christ, because God's truth is the only escape from enslavement.


Formatted Transcript

Introduction: Teaching the Same Truths Again

Weaver introduces the sermon by noting that Jesus taught the same people again, and he will be repeating foundational principles that are vital for believers to grasp.

Let's open our Bibles, if you would, to Mark chapter 10 and verse 1. Mark chapter 10 and verse 1. I'm not going to be expounding this verse today other than just simply to tell you something about it. But I'm going to use it in order to reinforce a truth. So notice, if you would, Mark chapter 10 and verse 1, the Bible says, "And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again." And as he was wont, he taught them again. So our Lord then comes into the farther side of Jordan. And note, the people resorted to him again. So it was the same group. And the Bible said, as he was wont, he usually does, he taught them again. He may have taught them the same exact truth. I don't know. He may have taught them a different truth. But the truth is that he was willing to teach the same people over and over. So I'm going to be preaching something today that you should already know. And you should have heard it in times past, but also I'm preaching today something that you probably have not heard, have not read about, and certainly do not know. But both of these are vitally important, and it's vitally important that you actually grasp and understand the principles that are being taught today. If you do not grasp these, if you do not understand them, you're going to be in deep trouble. In fact, you may already be in deep trouble for ignoring these principles in your life.

The Heart Is the Mind

Using Proverbs 23:7 and other passages, Weaver demonstrates that the biblical heart refers to the mind, thoughts, and reasoning, and that it controls one's life.

Now, there's a truth that is given to us in Proverbs chapter 23 and verse 7, because in that passage, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 23:7
"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

Now, there are two very important truths that are taught very clearly in Proverbs 23 and verse 7. The first one is this: the heart is the mind.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 23:7
"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

You think with your mind. You think with your reasoning ability. So obviously, and I will clarify it even later, the heart is indeed the mind. The second truth that's very important is this: it is the heart or the mind that controls the life.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 23:7
"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

So these two principles now lead to a third principle, which is vitally important and which I want you to really comprehend today. And that is this: whoever controls the mind controls the life. The truth of the matter is we have been deceived.

We have been lied to, we've been brainwashed, we've been propagandized, we have been mentally destroyed on many subjects and many topics. One of which I'm just mentioning in detail—not in detail, but in passing—is what we know as the COVID crisis. It was COVID expert Dr. Peter McCullough, and you should listen to him, I can assure you, but here's what he said. He is urging unbreakable resistance to vaccine for kids. He continues, "This can't be about COVID at this stage. It's about some type of totalitarian takeover that's occurred all over the world. Something very dark is going on." Those were his words. And then it was constitutional attorney John Whitehead who said this: "We find ourselves badgered, bullied, and browbeaten into bearing the brunt of their arrogance," talking about Congress, "paying the price for their greed, suffering the backlash for their militarism, agonizing as a result of their inaction, feigning ignorance about their backroom dealings, overlooking their incompetence, turning a blind eye to their misdeeds, cowering from their

heavy-handed tactics and blindly hoping for change that never comes. These are the overt signs of despotism." One more quote before I get started, and this quote is from Jacob G. Hornberger. He has written an article titled, "The CIA Has Stultified American Consciences." Just one little paragraph. He says, "One of the worst consequences of converting the federal government to a national security state has been the stultification or warping of the consciences of the American people. With unwavering allegiance to the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA, all too many Americans have sacrificed their sense of right and wrong at the altar of national security. The two-word term, national security, has become the most important term in the political lexicon of the American people." So he's saying that basically the consciences of the average American has been stultified, has been, in one sense of the word, destroyed because of national security. Anything goes under the guise of national security.

Now, each of these three quotes demonstrates that we have been deceived and also controlled medically, politically, and militarily. The truth of the matter is, we've been brainwashed and controlled in a much broader area than just simply these three areas. Stop and think about the average American and then think about the average American Christian. And here's what you will come up with. We no longer think, meditate, consider, analyze, deduce, or concentrate. We sit down and watch TV. We play with our cell phones. We surf the net. We entertain ourselves in a multitude of ways. And we basically believe everything that comes through the TV set, everything the mainstream media puts out, we believe the government has our best interests at heart and submissively follow any suggestions, mandates, decrees, orders, or regulations without checking, without asking any questions. We never consult the Bible to see what the Word of God has to say. And consequently, we never even consult the Constitution to see if that authority is real or not. No, the truth of the matter is the average American and the average American Christian just simply meekly submits to anything and everything.

So we've lost our character. We've lost our fighting spirit and we've lost our ability to think and our independence as well. Now, one of the main thrusts in the Bible is on the mind. I could quote verse after verse: "Be renewed in the spirit of your mind." "Let this mind be in you." Why is there so much emphasis in the Bible on the mind? And the answer comes back, Proverbs 23, verse 7, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." In other words, your life, your conduct, your actions are determined by what you think and by what you believe. David said it like this in Psalm 116, verse 10. He said, "I believed, therefore have I spoken." In other words, you actually end up speaking about and stating what you actually believe. You may not be putting it out in a doctrinal statement, but you actually spill out in your everyday conversation what you actually believe.

Now, whatever you think and whatever you believe inevitably molds your life. Now let me give you an illustration. If I could ask you this question, why did the people of Nineveh repent at the preaching of Jonah? Why did they put on sackcloth and ashes?

Now, you can answer, well, the grace of God in their lives. Well, that is true. But let me give you a specific answer. In Jonah, chapter 3 and verse 5, the Bible says this:

Scripture Reading — Jonah 3:5
"So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them."

Why did they repent? They believed God. In other words, their belief and their thinking worked itself out in repenting and sackcloth and ashes.

So let me ask the same question in another way in a negative setting. So why did not the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees come savingly to Jesus Christ? I mean, these were supposed to be the scholars. These were supposed to be the individuals who knew the law. Why did they not come savingly to Jesus Christ? And the answer is found in John 12 and verse 37, where the Bible says, "But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him." They did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. They did not believe that he was the Son of God. And consequently, they did not come to him.

So the point I'm trying to make right now is what you think and what you believe actually controls your life. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Proverbs, chapter 4. This is the passage that I've preached from on keeping the heart. I'm not going to re-preach that message, but I want you to see this passage. And let me try to explain it to you very quickly. In Proverbs chapter 4, beginning there with verse 23, and we'll read through verse 27. Look at it. Proverbs chapter 4 and verse 23. The Word of God says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Now watch verse 24.

"Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil."

Now, go back to verse 23. He says again, the same truth of Proverbs 23, verse 7.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 4:23-27
"Keep thy heart with all diligence."

Why?

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 4:23-27
"For out of it are the issues of life."

Now, how can I tell whether or not you're keeping your heart? Well, let's see. According to verse 24, if you keep your heart, you'll put away from thee a froward mouth and perverse lips. If you're keeping your heart, according to verse 25, your eyes will look right on, and your eyelids will look straight before thee. If you're keeping your heart, in verse 26, you'll ponder the path of your feet and you'll let all your ways be established, that is, established in truth and by the Word of God. In verse 27, if you're keeping your heart, you'll not turn to the right hand or to the left. You'll stay on the straight path and you'll remove your foot from evil. If you're not keeping your heart, according to verse 24, you will have a froward mouth. You will have perverse lips. According to verse 25, your eyes will be wandering. Your eyelids will be moving. You will not be pondering the path of your feet. Your ways will not be established. You will not be removing your foot from evil.

You'll be rushing headlong into it. So even in this passage, keeping the heart manifests itself in obedience, it manifests itself in action and conduct. Failure to keep your heart manifests itself in disobedience and it manifests itself in a wicked conduct as well. Now, let me give you a very brief section from the message I preached on keeping the heart. When the Bible says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence," obviously it is not referring to the physical organ. Because your heart is an involuntary muscle. It beats whether you like it or not. In fact, I'm thankful because I don't have to lie awake at night and say, "Beat hard, beat hard." It just does it.

And one day it'll stop doing it. There's not one thing I can do about it. OK, so when he says keep your heart, it's obviously not referring to your heart muscle. He's referring to what you and I would call the innermost being of man. So what in the world is the innermost being of man? Well, let me tell you what the heart is from the Bible, OK? First of all, in Genesis 6 and verse 5, this is the very first time the word heart is mentioned in the Bible. The Bible says that God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Now, what you would—God saw that every imagination and the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. So whatever the heart is, according to Genesis 6 and verse 5, it can think and it can imagine because God saw the thoughts and God saw the imaginations. Now, interestingly enough, I told you that this is the very first time the word heart is used in the Bible.

Scripture Reading — Genesis 6:5
In hermeneutics, you have a rule, and that rule is the law of first mention. The very first time a word is mentioned in the Bible, that is usually the way it's going to be used throughout the Bible, unless the context dictates otherwise. So the very first time the word heart is used, it refers to the thoughts and the imaginations. The second verse is Genesis 27, verse 41, where the Bible said, "And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob." So the heart can speak, Esau said in his heart. He evidently also expressed it verbally because word got back to Rebecca, and she even told Jacob that Esau was comforting himself, saying that he's going to kill you. Now, the question is this, how did Esau speak in his heart?

The answer is he thought it in his mind. He determined in his mind. He planned it in his mind. When you get to Proverbs 5 and verse 12, the Bible says this: "And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof?" So the heart then can either receive reproof and instruction or it can despise it. It can say, "I'm not going to listen to that. I don't want that." So whatever the heart is, it can think, it can imagine, it can speak, it can either receive or despise instruction. And when you get to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 28, our Lord said, "Verily I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." So somehow then the eyes are intimately connected with the heart or with the mind. In other words, you see and you commit the act in your mind. If you have not understood what the heart is from these passages, I do ask that you turn very quickly to the book of Daniel, chapter 4, and I think this will spell it out for you very clearly.

So if you look in the book of Daniel, chapter 4. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Look in verse 16 to begin with, Daniel chapter 4 and verse 16. Watch this carefully. We're talking about Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was a wicked, heathen monarch, which God decreed to take down a notch or two. And watch what happens. Daniel chapter 4 verse 16. God says this concerning Nebuchadnezzar: "Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him.

Scripture Reading — Daniel 4:16, 34, 36
And let seven times pass over him." So seven times is just the Chaldean way of saying seven years. So for seven years, a man's heart is going to be taken from him and he's going to have a beast's heart. Now, let's look, if you would please, at verse 27, because here Daniel is admonishing Nebuchadnezzar. And he says this, "Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity." Well, Nebuchadnezzar didn't listen. For in verse 28, all this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

Now watch. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. So for seven years, he was driven insane. He ate grass like an ox, and his hair grew, his fingernails grew. What happened after the end of seven years? Watch verse 34. "And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven," are you looking? "and mine understanding returned unto me.

And I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me." Now, if you'll go back to verse 16, God says, "Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him." So it was the heart that was changed. But if you look at verse 34, he said, "At the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me." Then if you skip down to verse 36, "At the same time my reason returned unto me." Well, what is the heart? It's the mind. It's the understanding. It is the reason. And thus, when God changed his heart from a man's heart to a beast's heart, he thought like an animal, he lived like an animal. When God changed it back, he thought like a man and acted like a man. The heart controls the life because the heart is the mind. Now, when God says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence," the Hebrew word for heart is the word leb. It is translated mind 11 times in our Bibles and understanding 20 times.

Keeping the Heart

Weaver reviews Proverbs 4:23-27, showing that keeping the heart involves guarding one's thoughts and results in obedient living, while failure to do so leads to sinful conduct.

So the point I'm trying to make right now is what you think and what you believe actually controls your life. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Proverbs, chapter 4. This is the passage that I've preached from on keeping the heart. I'm not going to re-preach that message, but I want you to see this passage. And let me try to explain it to you very quickly. In Proverbs chapter 4, beginning there with verse 23, and we'll read through verse 27. Look at it. Proverbs chapter 4 and verse 23. The Word of God says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Now watch verse 24.

"Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil."

Now, go back to verse 23. He says again, the same truth of Proverbs 23, verse 7.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 4:23-27
"Keep thy heart with all diligence."

Why?

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 4:23-27
"For out of it are the issues of life."

Now, how can I tell whether or not you're keeping your heart? Well, let's see. According to verse 24, if you keep your heart, you'll put away from thee a froward mouth and perverse lips. If you're keeping your heart, according to verse 25, your eyes will look right on, and your eyelids will look straight before thee. If you're keeping your heart, in verse 26, you'll ponder the path of your feet and you'll let all your ways be established, that is, established in truth and by the Word of God. In verse 27, if you're keeping your heart, you'll not turn to the right hand or to the left. You'll stay on the straight path and you'll remove your foot from evil. If you're not keeping your heart, according to verse 24, you will have a froward mouth. You will have perverse lips. According to verse 25, your eyes will be wandering. Your eyelids will be moving. You will not be pondering the path of your feet. Your ways will not be established. You will not be removing your foot from evil.

You'll be rushing headlong into it. So even in this passage, keeping the heart manifests itself in obedience, it manifests itself in action and conduct. Failure to keep your heart manifests itself in disobedience and it manifests itself in a wicked conduct as well. Now, let me give you a very brief section from the message I preached on keeping the heart. When the Bible says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence," obviously it is not referring to the physical organ. Because your heart is an involuntary muscle. It beats whether you like it or not. In fact, I'm thankful because I don't have to lie awake at night and say, "Beat hard, beat hard." It just does it.

Psychological Operations (PSYOPs)

Weaver defines PSYOPs as government tactics to influence emotions and behavior, and notes that they have been used on citizens, including during the COVID crisis.

Let me go further. The Department of Defense's 2004 and 2010 counterinsurgency operations explain PSYOPs as follows: "The mission of psychological operations (PSYOP) is to influence the behavior of foreign target audiences to support United States national objectives. PSYOP accomplishes this by conveying selected information and advising on actions that influence the emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of foreign audiences. Behavioral change is the root of a PSYOP mission." Now, behavioral change is the root of the PSYOP mission. In other words, they're seeking to change your behavior, to mold you, and to make you think like they want you to think, so that you will act the way they want you to act. Now, PSYOPs are bad enough in and of themselves, especially when those who are engaging in psychological operations do so to their own citizens, much like our own government has been doing. COVID, COVID masks, social distancing, and a host of other COVID related requirements, including the COVID jab, are psychological operations, all designed to change thinking and behavior.

Cognitive Warfare: The New Threat

Weaver introduces cognitive warfare as a more advanced form of manipulation that targets how people think, aiming to control entire populations through brain science and social engineering.

The new method involves hacking the individual by exploiting the vulnerabilities of the human brain in order to implement more sophisticated social engineering." Now, let that sink in. There's more. But notice, if you would, they are hacking the individual by exploiting the vulnerabilities of the human brain in order to implement a more sophisticated social engineering. In other words, they're going to be attacking your brain to make sure that you act the way they want you to act. I'm still reading. "Until recently, NATO had divided war into five different operational domains: air, land, sea, space, and cyber. But with this development of cognitive warfare strategies, the military alliance is discussing a new sixth level, the human domain. A 2020 NATO-sponsored study of this new form of warfare clearly explains, 'While actions taken in the five domains are executed in order to have an effect upon the human domain, cognitive warfare's objective is to make everyone a weapon.'

"The brain will be the battlefield of the 21st century. Humans are the contested domain, and future conflicts will likely occur amongst the people digitally first, and physically thereafter in proximity to hubs of political and economic power." Hang on. In a chilling disclosure, the report said explicitly, "The objective of cognitive warfare is to harm societies, and not only the military." So they're not just trying to attack a military enemy, they're now trying to attack societies as a whole, that is, citizens. Non-fighters. Okay, let me go on. "With entire civilian populations in NATO's crosshairs, the report emphasized that Western militaries must work more closely with academia to weaponize social sciences and human sciences to help the Alliance develop its cognitive warfare capacities. The study described a phenomenon as the militarization of brain science. But it appears clear that NATO's development of cognitive warfare will lead to a militarization of all aspects of human society and psychology, from the most intimate of social relations to the mind itself."

Now listen, this next paragraph is really horrendous. "Such all-encompassing militarization of society is reflected in the paranoid tone of the NATO sponsored report, which warned of an embedded fifth column when everyone, unbeknownst to him or her, is behaving according to plans of one of our competitors. The study makes it clear that those competitors purportedly exploiting the consciences of Western dissidents are China and Russia." So let me put it to you very plainly. Our own government is going to say, "We want you to believe this, we want you to think this, and we want you to act this way. If you do not think the way they want you to think, if you do not act the way they want you to act, then undoubtedly there is a competitor, either China or Russia, who now has control of your mind, and now therefore you are a dissident, and you're under their control, and you have to be dealt with." I'm reading.

"In other words, the document shows that figures in the NATO military cartel increasingly see their own domestic population as a threat, fearing civilians to be the potential Chinese or Russian sleeper cells, dastardly fifth columns, that challenge the stability of Western liberal democracies." So, they are going to try to control everyone's brain. It is cognitive warfare. Now, a lot happened in Canada this past year. I want you to listen. This is still in the same report. The Ottawa Citizen, which is a newspaper in Canada, the Ottawa Citizen reported this September, just last month, that the Canadian military's Joint Operation Command took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to wage an information war against its own domestic population, testing out propaganda tactics on Canadian civilians. Well, now, if Canada's doing this, you know the United States is doing it as well. Internal NATO's sponsor report suggests that this disclosure is just scratching the surface.

In other words, they've done far worse. Listen to these quotes. This is from a conference. "Cognitive warfare seeks to change not only what people think, but also how they act. The Canadian government wrote in its official statement on the challenge, 'Attacks against the cognitive domain involve the integration of cyber, disinformation, misinformation, psychological, and social engineering capabilities.' Ottawa's press release continued, 'Cognitive warfare positions the mind as a battle space and contested domain. Its objective is to sow dissonance, instigate conflicting narratives, polarize opinion, and radicalize groups. Cognitive warfare can motivate people to act in ways that can disrupt or fragment an otherwise cohesive society.'" So they're saying we can destroy you. Here it is. "Cognitive warfare is a new concept that starts in the information sphere. That is a kind of hybrid warfare."

Now, here's the man speaking, Du Cluzel, I suppose I'm pronouncing his name correctly, but he goes on and he says this. "It starts with hyper connectivity. Everyone has a cell phone," he continued. "It starts with information because information is, if I may say, the fuel of cognitive warfare. But it goes way beyond solely information, which is a stand-alone operation. Information warfare is a stand-alone operation." Du Cluzel went on to explain that the exotic new method of attack goes well beyond information warfare or psychological operations. "Cognitive warfare," listen, "Cognitive warfare is not only a fight against what we think, but it's rather a fight against the way we think. If we can change the way people think," he said, "it's much more powerful and it goes way beyond the informational warfare or psyops." Du Cluzel continued, "It's crucial to understand that it's a game on our cognition, on the way our brain processes information and turns it into knowledge rather than solely a game on information or on the psychological aspect of our brains.

It's not only an action against what we think, but also an action against the way we think, the way we process information and turn it into knowledge." Now, one more. Marie-Pierre Raymond, who is a retired Canadian Lieutenant Colonel, who currently serves as a defense scientist and innovation portfolio manager for the Canadian Armed Air Forces. At this October the 5th panel, that's this month, said, "Long gone are the days when war was fought to acquire more land. Now the new objective is to change the adversary's ideologies, which makes the brain the center of gravity of the human. And it makes the human the contested domain and the mind becomes a battlefield. When we speak about hybrid threats, cognitive warfare is the most advanced form of manipulation seen to date." Let me repeat that. When we speak of hybrid threats, cognitive warfare is the most advanced form of manipulation seen today. We can manipulate you.

We can make you think and we can make you act the way we want you to, noting that its aim is to influence individuals' decision making and to influence a group of individuals on their behavior with the aim of gaining a tactical or strategic advantage. In other words, cognitive warfare is not just another word under the name for information warfare, it is a war on our individual processor, on our brain.

God's Escape Route

Weaver points to 1 Corinthians 10:13 and Daniel 11:32, emphasizing that knowing God and His truth is the only way to withstand deception and remain strong.

"There hath no temptation taken you." Let me just stop right there. Temptation. I think the word is peirasmos. It refers to a test, a trial, a tribulation, an affliction. So he says, this is not necessarily tempting. When you hear the word temptation, you think about temptation to sin. The word peirasmos can be used in a good sense and a bad sense. Here it is referring to just a test or trial or tribulation. So he says this. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man." In other words, all of us have the same tests, the same trials, the same afflictions, and yes, in one sense of the word, the same temptations. But he says, watch carefully, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able." So if God puts something on us, that means we're able to bear it. If He allows it to come on us, we're able to handle it.

But watch what it says. "But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." So let me put it to you very plainly. God's escape route is the only escape route. It is the only alternative. So if you do not take God's escape route, you're going to be enslaved far greater than you already are. You will become a pawn. You will become a puppet. You will become a subservient, obedient, fawning and controlled robot. It's just that simple.

Now, what is God's escape route? You remember that passage in the book of Daniel, chapter 11, verse 32. It says this:

Scripture Reading — Daniel 11:32
"But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits."

The people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. I want to read you just one little paragraph that John Gill wrote on that passage. Here's what he said. "Such who knew the Lord God of Israel to be the true God and owned and acknowledged him as such and not only professed Him, but served and worshipped Him, having a spiritual knowledge of Him and communion with Him, and therefore could not be drawn off from Him or His worship by flatteries or frowns, by promises or menaces. These were strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. They held fast to their religion and the profession of it, and were proof against all the allurements or threatenings and endured racks and tortures and all sorts of punishment and death in every shape with the greatest constancy and courage." So all he is saying is this, if we really and truly know our Lord, if we really and truly know truth, nothing is going to draw us away from that truth. We're going to stay true even to death.

Now, let me ask you a question. "The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." If you do not know the true God, how can you identify a false God? And if you do not know the true God, obviously you will fall for a false God. Let me rephrase this another way. If you do not know the truth, if you do not believe the truth, you'll believe a lie, you'll believe error. You'll believe heresy. You cannot identify untruth unless you know the truth. "The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." Now, let's talk about the people who do know their God. When we talk about the mind, one of the greatest verses in the Bible is found in Philippians 2 and verse 5, where the Bible says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Our Lord not only knew the truth, He thought the truth, He obeyed the truth.

The Mind of Christ and Spiritual Warfare

Weaver explains from 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 that believers must bring every thought captive to Christ, casting down anything contrary to the knowledge of God.

Well, let me show you. I want you to turn, since you're in 1 Corinthians, turn to 2 Corinthians 10. And let's begin reading there with verse 3. 2 Corinthians 10, verse 3. Watch. The Apostle Paul writes,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh."

So we are in the flesh. But the fight that we're fighting, the war that we're engaged in, it's not a fleshly war.

OK, all he's saying here, you can have a truckload of M1s and AR-15s and howitzers and bazookas. None of that will help you in this war. So we're in the flesh, but we're not warring after the means of the flesh. Now look at verse 4. He says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal," that is, they're not fleshly, "but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds." So let me mention to you what your stronghold is. Your stronghold is your place of defense. It's where you protect yourself. It's where you fight for your life. If I were going to fight for my life and I needed some protection, I might get behind that cabinet. If I got behind that cabinet, that cabinet then at that particular point would be my stronghold. You would have to get through that cabinet to get to me.

Now, so here's the point I'm trying to make. Look at it very carefully in verse 4. He says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds." So what is the stronghold of man? Watch, if you would, verse 5, "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." So if we have the mind of Christ, what we're doing then is bringing every thought into captivity to Jesus Christ. So here's a good question to ask you. How many thoughts are you and I allowed that are unbiblical, ungodly, and unscriptural? None. Not one. Which means there is a fight to keep the truth of God in our mind and to keep our minds focused upon the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what he's talking about. We're to cast down every high thing, every high thought that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. And we're to bring every thought into captivity to the Lord Jesus Christ. So we're not allowed any unbiblical thoughts.

You know what the Bible says in Proverbs 23 and verse 23? That's another good verse to remember. God says, "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding." Buy the truth and sell it not. No matter what it costs, buy the truth and never, ever sell it. So he is saying, if we are fighting the warfare that we should be fighting, it is a warfare for our minds and we are fighting to keep our minds in line with the Word of God, which means this.

Practical Applications and Warnings

Weaver gives practical advice to avoid propaganda (TV, movies, smartphones) and urges believers to fight for their minds by immersing in Scripture and holding fast to truth.

And the answer will be this: by any and every means available to them. So here's some of my suggestions. The first one is very simple. Turn off the TV set. Don't watch it. The only thing a TV set is good for basically is propaganda. You say it is entertainment. No, most of it is not entertainment. I refuse to watch a lot of things. In fact, we don't even have TV. But even if I'm in a motel room, I hardly ever, ever turn on the TV unless there's a storm coming and then I'll get the weather channel. But I never turn it on when I'm in a motel room. Why? I'm not interested in it. And most of it's propaganda.

You think about these stupid sitcoms that have the canned laughter? Gone are the days of Jack Benny and Red Skelton. I mean, you know, you don't have any real entertainment, no. I'm just simply saying. And the same thing would be true with the newspapers. We get a little local newspaper and the first thing Alice and I do is look at the obituaries. I mean, you know, I can read our entire newspaper in about five minutes. That's it.

If it takes that long. Mark Twain said it correctly. He said it like this: "If you do not read the newspapers, you're ill informed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." So, that is true. Think about this as well. Think about all the smartphones that we have, and that we use, and that track us everywhere we go and spy on us. Think about the smart appliances.

Do you realize there are TVs now that can watch you? There are washing machines. There's Alexa. These doorbell cameras, a lot of them are connected right straight with the police department, or at least can be. All I'm simply saying is, there's so many ways in which we are being spied on, it is unbelievable. How about this one? How about movies? You know, we kept a TV set so that we could watch DVDs. I have a wonderful group of DVDs. I hardly ever even watch them. I'm never—I don't remember the last time I watched a DVD. I usually don't have time, but the point I'm trying to make is if you think, "Well, I'm going to sit down and enjoy a good movie."

I want you to listen to this. Here's the headlines. "Washington, D.C.'s role behind the scenes in Hollywood goes deeper than you think." The article is written by Matthew Alford, who is a teaching fellow in propaganda and theory at the University of Bath. He says, "On television, we found more than 1,100 titles that received Pentagon backing, 900 of them since 2005, from Flight 93 to Ice Road Truckers and Army Wives." "Files we obtained mainly through the United States Freedom of Information Act show that between 1911 and 2017, more than 800 feature films received support from the United States government's Department of Defense, a significantly higher figure than previous estimates indicate. These include blockbuster movies such as Transformers, Iron Man, and The Terminator. When we include individual episodes for long-running shows like 24, Homeland, and NCIS, as well as the influence of other major organizations like the FBI and the White House, we can establish unequivocally for the first time that the national security state has supported thousands of hours of entertainment. For its part, the CIA has assisted in 60 film and television shows since its formation in 1947. This is a much lower figure than the Department of Defense, but its role has nonetheless been significant. State officials have described Washington, D.C.

and Hollywood as being sprung from the same DNA. And the capital, talking about Washington, D.C., as being Hollywood for ugly people. The ugly DNA has been embedded far and wide. It seems the two cities on opposite sides of the United States are much closer than we imagine." So the point I'm trying to make is movies are simply a form of propaganda, subliminal messages, and cognitive warfare. Now, here's the shocker. I want you to listen. Lance D. Johnson wrote an article entitled, and I read it myself, "Moderna admits jab an operating system to program humans." You can find it on the net. Moderna has already admitted that the vaccine is an operating system to program humans. Here is one quote from that article. "The system is not medicine. Nor is it vaccination. The system is a complete cellular manipulation using foreign biological molecules to code, decode, regulate, change the expression of, and alter the physiological instructions within human beings."

I just watched for the second time yesterday and I would encourage you to watch it as well. The Stu Peters Show, you can get it on the internet, with Karen Kingston. Karen Kingston is a biotech analyst. She used to work, I think, with Pfizer. She is reading on this show the patents, giving you the section numbers. Here is one quote that I copied down from that show. "In some embodiments, the app on our smart device is configured to inform the user's location at all times and communicate with adjacent smart devices such as Bluetooth, for example, to assess the interactions between users. For example, vicinity between users, movement of users." She's not making this up. She's reading it from the patent. And here's another section. I hope you know that in Australia now they're using this app. It's called G2G. So if you are in lockdown, you have to download this app to your smartphone.

You have to check in every so often. You have to take a selfie and send it to them. They can tell you, they can tell where you are by this app and what you're doing. And so here from that patent section 0380 says, "For example, send a communication to the user to enhance his awareness to behavioral rules during pandemic, to come and to be vaccinated if you need a booster, to avoid certain locations which are high risk for contagion." In other words, once they get this stuff in you, they can find you and control you. It's absolutely insane. But you can listen to it for yourself. She reads right from the patent. In fact, the patent is put on the screen where you can see it and it is underlined. So here's another question, and I don't know the answer, but I'm asking it. Is it possible to control brains with the jab and the 5G technology? Many people assert that it's true and that is quite real, whether it is or not, I do not know. But I'm just simply saying we have to understand that governments are going to use any and every means to reach our brains and to break us and to bring us into what they want us to be and what they want us to do. Here's the second one. If you do not fight to control your mind, someone else will.

They'll do it for you. When you are talking about keeping your heart, keeping your mind, keeping your thought, keeping your imagination, it is a daily task. It is an hourly task. Sometimes it's a minute by minute task. You must keep your heart in line with the Word of God. You must immerse yourself in Scripture. You must know the truth. You remember what our Lord said in John 8 and verse 32? He said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." If you don't know the truth, you're not free. If you don't keep the truth, you cannot keep being free.

There's an interesting passage everyone knows about Psalm 91. Psalm 91, verse 4. Look at it, I want you to see it. Psalm 91, verse 4. This is a wonderful truth. In fact, the whole psalm is absolutely wonderful, but just look at verse 4, Psalm 91, verse 4. Talking about God's sovereign protection. "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Now, what's a shield?

So, here Brother Gary is. He's throwing a right punch at me. And I happen to have a shield on my arm. And I just throw that shield up and I block that punch. Maybe then, after I block his punch, I hit him and knock him out and knock him down. But that shield protected me, right? But let's suppose now that Brother Gary has 100 archers back 20 yards.

And when he says, "If I go down, you shoot him." And so he's got 100 archers back there and they see him go down and they draw their bows back and start shooting the arrows. That little shield? No, I've got a buckler. The buckler is a huge shield that will cover my whole body. I can get under it and ward off all those arrows. So he says, look at it. He says in verse 4, "His truth shall be thy shield and buckler." Do you remember that passage in Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 16? He says, "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." The shield of faith. You know what the shield of faith is? It's the shield of truth. You cannot have faith without truth. Faith is based upon truth. And if you do not know the truth, you're not free. If you're not able to keep the truth, you're not free.

Someone says, "Well, I just don't want to be brainwashed by the Bible. I don't want to be a slave to Jesus Christ." I got news for you. Everybody is brainwashed. Everybody is brainwashed. You're either brainwashed with truth or you're brainwashed with error. And to be absolutely honest, I'd much rather be brainwashed with the Word of God than I had by the New World Order, the global reset, the CFR, the Bilderbergers, the UN, CNN, and all the other news media put together. And I'd much rather be a slave to Jesus Christ than a slave to the global elite.

Paul gloried in the fact that he was a servant. He was a slave of Jesus Christ. In fact, the truth of the matter is everyone's already a slave, whether you like it or not. Our Lord said in John chapter 8,

Scripture Reading — John 8:34
"Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin."

And the word servant is doulos, which means a slave of sin. So you're either a slave to sin or you're a slave to Jesus Christ. You have to learn to fight and fight for your sanity. Let me tell you something, people, the world has gone stark raving crazy. Political correctness. Transgenderism, transhumanism, trans everything else is nothing more than rebellion against God. If you don't think this world is absolutely insane, I just read—and I'm not joking—Teen Vogue magazine is now referring to women as non-prostate owners. Isn't that crazy? I'm just simply saying, you better be prepared to fight for your sanity. You better be prepared to fight for truth. You better be prepared to control your mind and to keep your thoughts and anything that you hear that is absolutely insane or contrary to Scripture. You better say, "I know what the truth is. I'm not going to believe that. I'm not going to fall for that. Here's what the Word of God says. This is exactly what I'm going to do." You must prepare. There is.

And there has been psychological operations against us for years and years and years. But it's fixing to get a whole lot worse with cognitive warfare. They're coming for your mind. And whoever controls the mind, controls the body, controls the conduct, controls the action. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." You better be aware of cognitive warfare. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before Thee.


Study Guide

Major Themes

The Heart as the Mind

Summary: The biblical heart is not the physical organ but the mind, thoughts, and reasoning; it controls one's life and conduct.

Evidence: Weaver cites Proverbs 23:7, Genesis 6:5, Daniel 4, and other passages to show that the heart thinks, imagines, and reasons.

Keeping the Heart

Summary: Believers are commanded to guard their minds diligently, which results in godly speech, focused eyes, and established ways.

Evidence: Weaver expounds Proverbs 4:23-27, linking heart-keeping to outward conduct.

Cognitive Warfare

Summary: Governments and NATO are developing cognitive warfare to manipulate how people think and act, targeting the human brain as a battlefield.

Evidence: Weaver reads extensively from a report on NATO's cognitive warfare, including quotes from officials and articles.

The Necessity of Knowing Truth

Summary: Knowing God and His truth is the only defense against deception; truth acts as a shield and buckler.

Evidence: Weaver references Daniel 11:32, John 8:32, and Psalm 91:4 to show that truth brings strength and protection.

Spiritual Warfare for the Mind

Summary: Believers must actively fight to bring every thought into obedience to Christ, using spiritual weapons to tear down mental strongholds.

Evidence: Weaver explains 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, emphasizing the battle over thoughts and imaginations.

Resisting Propaganda and Control

Summary: Christians must turn off TV, avoid propaganda-laden movies, and be aware of technological surveillance to protect their minds.

Evidence: Weaver cites articles on Pentagon influence in Hollywood and Moderna's patent claims, urging vigilance.

Key Arguments

The mind controls the life

Summary: Because the heart (mind) determines thoughts and beliefs, whoever controls the mind controls the person's actions and destiny.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'whoever controls the mind controls the life' and supports this with Proverbs 23:7 and examples from Scripture.

Cognitive warfare is a real and escalating threat

Summary: NATO and governments are openly discussing and developing cognitive warfare to manipulate populations, making the mind a battlefield.

Evidence: Weaver quotes NATO reports and officials describing cognitive warfare as 'the weaponization of brain sciences' and 'the most advanced form of manipulation.'

Knowing God is the only escape

Summary: Those who truly know God will be strong and resist deception, while those who do not know the truth will fall for lies.

Evidence: Weaver cites Daniel 11:32 and John Gill's commentary, emphasizing that knowledge of God produces steadfastness.

Believers must actively guard their thoughts

Summary: Keeping the heart is a daily, hourly task that requires immersing in Scripture and rejecting any thought contrary to God's Word.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'You must keep your heart in line with the Word of God. You must immerse yourself in Scripture.'

Everyone is a slave to something

Summary: People are either slaves to sin or slaves to Christ; being 'brainwashed' by truth is far better than being controlled by the world's systems.

Evidence: Weaver argues, 'Everybody is brainwashed. You're either brainwashed with truth or you're brainwashed with error.'

Scripture References

Mark 10:1

Context: Weaver uses this verse to introduce the idea of teaching the same truths again, as Jesus did.

Proverbs 23:7

Context: Weaver cites this verse to establish that the heart is the mind and that thinking determines one's being.

Psalm 116:10

Context: Weaver quotes David to show that belief leads to speech and action.

Jonah 3:5

Context: Weaver uses the repentance of Nineveh to illustrate that belief (thinking) leads to changed behavior.

John 12:37

Context: Weaver cites the unbelief of the religious leaders to show that lack of belief prevented them from coming to Christ.

Proverbs 4:23-27

Context: Weaver expounds this passage to teach that keeping the heart results in godly conduct, while neglecting it leads to sin.

Genesis 6:5

Context: Weaver notes that the first mention of 'heart' in the Bible refers to thoughts and imaginations.

Genesis 27:41

Context: Weaver uses Esau's speaking in his heart to show that the heart can plan and determine.

Proverbs 5:12

Context: Weaver cites this verse to show that the heart can despise instruction.

Matthew 5:28

Context: Weaver references Jesus' words to show the connection between the eyes and the heart (mind) in committing adultery.

Daniel 4:16, 34, 36

Context: Weaver uses Nebuchadnezzar's experience to prove that the heart is the mind, understanding, and reason.

1 Corinthians 10:13

Context: Weaver quotes this verse to show that God provides a way of escape from every trial, including cognitive warfare.

Daniel 11:32

Context: Weaver cites this verse to emphasize that knowing God produces strength and exploits.

Philippians 2:5

Context: Weaver references this verse to call believers to have the mind of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Context: Weaver expounds this passage to describe spiritual warfare as bringing every thought captive to Christ.

Proverbs 23:23

Context: Weaver quotes this verse to urge believers to buy the truth and never sell it.

John 8:32

Context: Weaver cites Jesus' promise that knowing the truth brings freedom.

Psalm 91:4

Context: Weaver uses this verse to show that God's truth is a shield and buckler for protection.

Ephesians 6:16

Context: Weaver connects the shield of faith with the shield of truth, emphasizing faith is based on truth.

John 8:34

Context: Weaver quotes Jesus to show that everyone is a slave to sin or to Christ.

Historical References

Nebuchadnezzar's insanity and restoration (Daniel 4)

Context: Weaver uses the historical account of Nebuchadnezzar to illustrate that the heart is the mind, as his understanding and reason were taken and restored.

COVID-19 pandemic and government responses

Context: Weaver refers to the COVID crisis as an example of psychological operations and deception, citing Dr. Peter McCullough and others.

NATO cognitive warfare development (2020 report)

Context: Weaver reads extensively from a NATO-sponsored study and conference statements about cognitive warfare as a new domain of conflict.

Canadian military's information war on citizens (2021)

Context: Weaver mentions that the Canadian Joint Operation Command used COVID-19 to test propaganda tactics on its own population.

Pentagon and CIA influence in Hollywood

Context: Weaver cites an article by Matthew Alford detailing Department of Defense and CIA support for hundreds of films and TV shows as propaganda.

Moderna patent claims about operating system to program humans

Context: Weaver references an article and a show with Karen Kingston discussing patents that suggest vaccines could be used for tracking and control.

Mark Twain quote on newspapers

Context: Weaver quotes Mark Twain to illustrate the unreliability of newspapers: 'If you do not read the newspapers, you're ill informed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed.'

Important Quotes

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

Significance: Foundational verse establishing that the heart (mind) determines one's life and conduct.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Significance: Key command to guard the mind, as it is the source of all actions.

The brain will be the battlefield of the 21st century. Humans are the contested domain, and future conflicts will likely occur amongst the people digitally first, and physically thereafter in proximity to hubs of political and economic power.

Significance: Chilling quote from NATO report revealing the shift to cognitive warfare targeting civilians.

Cognitive warfare is not only a fight against what we think, but it's rather a fight against the way we think.

Significance: Highlights the deeper threat of cognitive warfare: altering the very process of thinking.

But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

Significance: Encouragement that true knowledge of God produces strength and resistance to deception.

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Significance: Description of the spiritual battle for the mind, requiring active captivity of thoughts.

His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Significance: Promise that God's truth provides comprehensive protection against attacks.

Discussion Questions

How does understanding that the biblical 'heart' is the mind change the way you approach Proverbs 4:23 and the command to 'keep your heart'?

Context: Weaver spent significant time proving that the heart is the mind, thoughts, and reasoning.

In what ways have you seen psychological operations or cognitive warfare at work in media, government mandates, or technology?

Context: Weaver gave examples from COVID policies, Hollywood, and smartphone apps.

What practical steps can you take to 'bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ' in your daily life?

Context: Weaver emphasized the need to actively fight for the mind using Scripture.

Why is knowing the truth essential for freedom, and how can we ensure we are 'buying the truth and selling it not'?

Context: Weaver cited John 8:32 and Proverbs 23:23 to stress the value of truth.

How does the concept of being a 'slave' to Christ differ from being a slave to sin or to worldly systems?

Context: Weaver argued that everyone is a slave, but slavery to Christ is liberating.

What are some subtle ways that entertainment (TV, movies, social media) can shape our thinking away from biblical truth?

Context: Weaver warned about propaganda in media and urged turning off the TV.

How can we cultivate the 'mind of Christ' (Philippians 2:5) in a culture that is increasingly hostile to biblical thinking?

Context: Weaver called believers to have the mind of Christ as the ultimate defense.

Applications

Guard your mind diligently

Summary: Believers must actively monitor and control their thoughts, rejecting anything contrary to Scripture, because the mind determines conduct.

Evidence: Weaver expounded Proverbs 4:23-27 and urged, 'You must keep your heart in line with the Word of God.'

Immerse yourself in Scripture

Summary: To withstand cognitive warfare and deception, Christians must not just read but study the Bible to know truth deeply.

Evidence: Weaver said, 'We must submerge ourselves in the Scripture. We must not just read our Bibles. We must study them.'

Reject propaganda and limit media consumption

Summary: Turn off the TV, avoid propaganda-laden movies, and be skeptical of news media to protect your mind from manipulation.

Evidence: Weaver advised, 'Turn off the TV set. Don't watch it. The only thing a TV set is good for basically is propaganda.'

Fight for your sanity and hold fast to truth

Summary: In a world gone crazy, believers must consciously reject insane cultural narratives and cling to biblical truth as their shield.

Evidence: Weaver exhorted, 'You better be prepared to fight for your sanity. You better be prepared to fight for truth.'

Bring every thought captive to Christ

Summary: Actively identify and reject thoughts that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, making obedience to Christ the standard.

Evidence: Weaver explained 2 Corinthians 10:5, saying we are to 'bring every thought into captivity to the Lord Jesus Christ.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T01:25:17Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:24:24Z