Church Order: Preaching and Pastoral Ministry

Where Is Your Heart?

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Church Government

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2013-02-11

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver examines Matthew 15:1-9 to expose the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who honored God with their lips while their hearts were far from Him. He argues that wherever one's treasure is, there the heart will be, and that idolatry is not limited to graven images but includes covetousness and any desire placed above God. The sermon contrasts tradition with truth, religion with reality, and willfulness with worship, urging believers to examine whether their hearts are truly submitted to God's Word or merely following man-made rules.

[John Weaver] Matthew chapter 15, and we're going to read the first nine verses. The title of the message is, Where is your heart? Where is your heart? Look in Matthew 15, beginning with verse 1. Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But He answered and said unto them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God? by your tradition. For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and thy mother, and he that curses father and mother, let him die the death. But you say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me in honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth, and on unto me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

[John Weaver] But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." The question today is straightforward. Where is your heart? And when I ask that question, I'm sure that each of you understand that I'm not asking where your physical organ is located. I'm sure that practically everyone knows that the location of our physical heart is deep in our chest. However, our Lord taught and clearly stated twice, once in the book of Matthew and once in the book of Luke, saying, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. I want you to note, if you would, our Lord said, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. He does not say Where your treasure is, there is where your heart ought to be, or should be, or might be. But he said, wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be.

[John Weaver] So whatever we consider our dearest treasure, we may be assured that there we will find our hearts. Where our hearts are, there is our treasure. And we will surround and confine ourselves to our treasure. because that is where our hearts really truly are. Treasure in heaven will keep our hearts there. Treasure on earth will keep our hearts here. Our feet always follow our hearts. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 4 and verse 23, Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. And you're going to find that our feet will always run after our hearts.

[John Weaver] One of the amazing things of Scripture is this. The Bible teaches very clearly that our hearts are very quickly and very easily led astray. Because we always treasure that which we love and hold most dearly. And that whichever we really truly desire. You remember the passage in Exodus 32 when Aaron had taken all their golden jewelry and fashioned a golden calf. And then the people began to dance around that golden calf and worship it.

[John Weaver] And they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt. I want you to listen to verse 8. In Exodus 32 and verse 8, God said, They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made them a golden calf and worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Notice what God said. They've turned aside quickly out of the way.

[John Weaver] And what had they done? They had made a golden calf. They were worshiping an idol that they had made. So their hearts very quickly had turned from the one true and the living God to a false God, and they were giving worship and honor to that. Martin Luther is quoted as stating an obvious truth. He said, What a man loves, that is his God. What a man loves, that is his God. Our hearts are always set upon that which we love, and that which we love, we adore. Now, when our Lord, in Matthew chapter 15, is confronting and rebuking the Pharisees, He states a very obvious truth in verse 8.

[John Weaver] I want you to look there. He says, this people draw nigh unto me with their mouth, watch carefully, and honoreth me with their lips. But he says, their heart is far from me. Now, I want you to hold Matthew 9. And I want you to look back in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 29 and verse 13. because our Lord is either quoting this verse or at least referring to this verse. In Isaiah chapter 29 and verse 13, we read this. Isaiah 29 verse 13, Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near to me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but remove their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of man." Now, whether you read Proverbs 29 and verse 13, or whether you read Matthew 15 and verse 8, here's the truth that you want to understand. There's a vast difference and a vast distance between lips and heart. If one's heart is not set upon Jesus Christ, The question is, upon what is it set?

[John Weaver] Or where is the heart? It has to be somewhere. And it has to be set upon something. And if it's not set upon Jesus Christ, then obviously it is set upon an idol. So here what our Lord is teaching is very plain. Professions without heart attachment are absolutely worthless and useless. Profession without heart attachment. All of those professions are absolutely worthless and useless and vain.

[John Weaver] Now, before I begin explaining and expounding this truth from Matthew 15, I want to give you a clear illustration from Scripture to what I've just said. I want you to understand, to me, one of the funniest stories, not necessarily funny, but it is funny. is found in the book of Judges chapter 17 and 18 and we're going to turn there but I want you to understand that this story demonstrates very quickly not only the deceitfulness of the heart but the uselessness and the worthlessness of idols and idolatry as you turn to the book of Judges chapter 17 here is the story of Micah he has stolen silver from his mother His mother cursed whoever stole the silver, and thus He now returns it to His mother. And I want you to note what happens. Judges 17, beginning with verse 1. And there was a man of Mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

[John Weaver] And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursest and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me. I took it. In other words, he stole it. Now watch what his mother says. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my son. And when he had restored the 1100 shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son to make a graven image and a molten image. Now, therefore, I will restore it unto thee. Yet he restored the money into his mother. and his mother took 200 shekels of silver and gave them to the founder who made thereof a graven image and a molten image and they were in the house of Micah." So here's a man who stole money from his mother. He confessed it. She gave it back to him. Then she took 200 shekels of silver and she has basically made herself an idol.

[John Weaver] Now, he also got to himself a Levitical priest. And he said to himself, and we're not going to read all of it, he says, now the Lord is going to bless me for sure because I've got this priest to my service. Well, the children of Dan were looking to expand, and as they were just kind of surveying the countryside, they had come to Micah's house, and they had seen this Levitical priest, and they had seen this image, and this molten image that had been made. So, I want you to look in Judges chapter 18, beginning there with verse 14, what the children of Dan do as they come back into the land to defeat the people of Laish and take their property. Notice in Judges chapter 18, beginning there with verse 14, Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and a teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image?

[John Weaver] Now therefore consider what you have to do. Now look. And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and saluted him. And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate. And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, And the priesthood in entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war. And these went into Micah's house and fetched the carved image and the ephod and the teraphim and the molten image. Then said the priesthood to them, What do you?

[John Weaver] And they said unto him, Hold thy peace. Lay thy hand upon thy mouth. Don't say any more. And go with us. And be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for thee to be a priest in the house of one man? or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel. And the priest's heart was glad. He'd gotten a promotion, brother. More shekels. And the priest's heart was glad. Now watch this. And he, the priest, took the ephod and the teraphim and the golden image, the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

[John Weaver] And so they turned and departed and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them. And when they were a good way off from the house of Micah, The men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together and overtook the children of Dan. And they cried unto the children of Dan, and they turned their faces and said unto Micah, What aileth thee that thou comest with such a company?

[John Weaver] And he said, You've taken away my gods which I made, and the priests, and you're gone away. And what have I more? And what is this that you say unto me? What aileth thee? And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life with the lives of thy household. And when the children of Dan went their way, and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back into his house." Now the funny thing to me is this, if you look at verse 24, Micah said, you have taken away the gods which I have made, and the priest, and you're going away, and what have I Now let me ask you a question. What use were the gods that Micah had made?

[John Weaver] They could not protect themselves. They could not protect Micah. And then he said this, what have I more? So let's ask this question. Where was his heart? What was he worshipping? Undoubtedly, Micah was one who professed to love the Lord because even back in Judges chapter 17 and verse 1 and verse 2, the Bible says there, his mother said, Blessed be thou the Lord, my son. And that is the word Jehovah or Yahweh. And then she said in verse 3 that she had wholly dedicated this money to Yahweh, to the one true and the living God. And the interesting thing is what Micah had done was he had taken this money And he had made this graven image, this molten image, which was absolutely, totally contrary to the first three commandments. He professed with his lips that he loved the Lord, but his heart was set upon these gods that he had made. His heart was not set upon the One True and the Living God.

[John Weaver] And you know, you and I can smile when we read this and we think how stupid how naive and how sinful and how rebellious Michael really was. Because Michael was on the one hand, professing to love the Lord, and yet he had all of these gods, and he had this outlandish idolatry. You say, we would never ever be found in such a state. We would never commit such obvious idolatry. Or would we?

[John Weaver] I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Colossians, chapter 3 and verse 5. Let me show you a verse that's very, very emphatic. The book of Colossians, chapter 3 and verse 5. Colossians 3 and verse 5. Notice what our Lord says. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness which is idolatry. Covetousness which is idolatry. You know what covetousness is?

[John Weaver] Really and truly it's whatever we set our hearts upon. When we want something, when we desire something with an outlandish desire, We set our hearts upon it. We really, truly desired and craving it. And what we do is we place that desire over and above God and His Word, which is idolatry. So our Lord was very true and very accurate and very right when He said, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Now, with this in mind, I want us to look at Matthew chapter 15 very closely. And I want you to see how deceitful our hearts really are. And I want you to see how very easy it is to fall into the sin of idolatry in our day and time.

[John Weaver] No, you don't have to bow down to a graven image to be an idolater. Because covetousness is idolatry.

[John Weaver] Now, if you'll look in Matthew 15 in verse 1, the Bible says, Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Now, the Pharisees were the fundamentalists of that day. They were contrasted with the liberal, unbelieving Sadducees. In Acts 23 and verse 8, you don't have to turn there, the Bible says this, For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees confessed both. So, the Sadducees were the liberals. They denied the bodily resurrection from the dead. They denied angels or spirits. But the Pharisees, no, no, no. They believed in the resurrection from the dead. They believed in angels. And they believed in their traditions. So the Pharisees then basically were considered the fundamentalists of that particular day and that particular time. The Pharisees prided themselves on being law keepers and being believers. The truth is, they were neither. They were idolaters.

[John Weaver] And how do we know that? How do we know that most of professing Christendom today are in reality idolaters? Let me show you. If you will look, first of all, in verse 2. Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? This is the question the Pharisees are asking Christ. Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders, for they wash not their hands when they eat bread? First of all, I want you to note, they held to and believed in tradition over truth. They held to and believed in tradition over truth. They want to know why our Lord's disciples were transgressing the tradition of the elders. The Pharisees held tenaciously to the traditions and to the authority of antiquity. Their concern for unwashing hands was not of a sanitary nature. Their concern was, here was a tradition.

[John Weaver] It was ceremonial, it was ritualistic, and it was mandatory as far as they concerned. Their traditions involved far more than just the mere washing of the hands. If you would hold Matthew 15, but turn to Mark chapter 7, you will find this same story with a little variation in the first five verses here. Look at it. I want you to see that their traditions involved far more than just washing the hands. In Mark chapter 7, Matthew, Mark, next book over, chapter 7, verse 1, Then came together unto him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands often, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not.

[John Weaver] Not for sanitary reasons now. Watch this. and many other things there be which they have received a whole as the washing of cups and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, why walk not by disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?

[John Weaver] Now, before I get to this point, I want to emphasize there's nothing wrong with tradition as long as, number one, that tradition is biblical. Or number two, if it is a tradition, just a tradition of men, that everybody understands that tradition is not binding upon anyone's conscience. The only thing that can bind our consciences is the Word of God. Now there are some traditions that are biblical. In fact, the Apostle Paul, And 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15 said this, Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by our epistle. There are some biblical traditions. But there are a lot of traditions that are totally and completely unbiblical. The traditions of the Pharisees were unbiblical.

[John Weaver] They were man-made, yet they weren't mandatory. At least they wanted them to be mandatory upon every individual.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to give you just a couple of paragraphs from Albert Barnes. I want you to listen carefully because he's talking about the traditions here of the elders. He says this, the word elders literally means old men. It here means the ancients or their ancestors. Tradition means something handed down from one to another by memory. Hang on now. Some precept or custom not commanded in the written law, but which they themselves were bound to observe. Listen now. The Jews supposed that when Moses was on Mount Sinai, two sets of law were delivered unto him. One, they said, was recorded, and that is that contained in the Old Testament. The other was handed down from the father to son and kept uncorrupted unto their day. They believe that Moses, before he died, delivered this oral law unto Joshua, Joshua to the judges, and the judges to the prophets, so that it was kept pure till it was recorded in the Talmuds. In these books, these pretended laws are now contained.

[John Weaver] They are exceedingly numerous and very trifling. They are, however, regarded by the Jews as more important as either Moses or the prophets. One point in which the Pharisees differed from the Sadducees was in the holding of these traditions. It seems, however, that in these particular traditions here mentions all the Jews combined. The Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands often, eat not. Mark also added that this custom of washing, extending not merely to their hands before eating, but in coming from the market, and also to pots and cups, and abrasion vessels and tables.

[John Weaver] This they did professedly for the sake of cleanliness. So far that was well, but they made it a matter of superstition. They regarded external purity as of much more importance than the purity of the heart. They had made these foolish rules about it as to the quantity of water that was to be used, the way in which it was to be applied, the number of times it should be changed, the number of those that might wash it one time. These foolish rules our Savior did not think it proper to regard, and this was the reason why they found fault with Him.

[John Weaver] It is true that there were laws concerning washings in the Old Testament, Leviticus 11, which related to pollution. However, these secondary laws or traditions were the mere inventions and interpretations of men which the Pharisees held above the law.

[John Weaver] Now, it's important for you to note that they believed that there were two sets of laws. One written by Moses, and the other orally received, which Moses communicated to Joshua, Joshua to the judges, and the judges to the prophets. And they maintained that this oral law was kept uncorrupted until their day.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look In Matthew 15, beginning there with verse 15. Notice if you would what our Lord teaches. Look in Matthew 15, verse 15. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are you yet also without understanding? Verse 17. Do not you yet understand that that whatsoever goeth in, entereth in at the mouth, goeth in the belly, and is cast out into the draw? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man. But eat with unwashed hands defileth not a man.

[John Weaver] Now, God's law did not demand that hands were to be washed before eating. Certainly it may be wise to do so for sanitary reasons, but God's law did not demand it. Yet the Pharisees in their traditions absolutely demanded it. How seriously did the Pharisees and the scribes hold to the tradition of the elders? I want you to listen. There were two very popular schools in our Lord's day and back before our Lord's day as well.

[John Weaver] They were known as the school of Hillel and the school of Shammai. These two schools taught the oral traditions. I want you to listen to this quote. Know then that the words of the scribes are more lovely than the words of the law. For says Arctarphon, if a man does not read he only transgresses an infirmity. But if he transgresses the words of the school of Hillel, he is guilty of death, because he has broken down a hedge and a serpent shall bite him. It is a tradition of our Ishmael, the words of the law having them both prohibition and permission.

[John Weaver] Some of them are light, some of heavy. But the words of the scribes, all of them are heavy, weightier than the words of the elders and than the words of the prophets." Here's one other quote. My son, attend unto the words of the scribes more than the words of the law. For in the words of the law are infirmities and negatives. But the words of the scribes are heavy. Every one that transgresseth the words of the scribes is guilty of death." Wow.

[John Weaver] So, what the Jews were doing was taking their traditions and holding them above the word of God. Now, if you look in Matthew 15 in verse 3, our Lord rightly asks these Pharisees, why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your traditions? And then in verses 4 through 6, which I'm not going to get into, He gives them an example of how they transgress the law of God by their tradition. Now, I want you to note that the Pharisees did not desire truth. They did not want truth. They wanted their traditions.

[John Weaver] There are many modern day Christians that are equally farsighted. If you mess with their Christmas traditions, their Santa Claus, their Easter Bunny, the Halloween, and all the other traditions, you will find that you will be railed upon and excoriated just like our Lord was. I personally know pastors who have been run off from local churches because they did not want a Christmas tree in the church auditorium or a man dressed as Santa Claus in the church building. And instead of them listening to the pastor and listening to his exposition of Scripture and listening to his reasoning, they just chose rather to have their own traditions and thus they ran the pastor off. It's absolutely astounding How many people are willing to place tradition above truth? Many churches have been doing exactly the same thing in the same way for years.

[John Weaver] And if you try to show them, well look, what you're doing is not right according to the Word of God, they'll quickly tell you, we've done this way for the last 50 years or the last 100 years. What are they saying? We're not going to change. It doesn't matter what the Word of God says. This is our tradition. This is the way that we've always done it. And this is the way we're going to continue to do it. So the Pharisees came to our Lord and they said basically, why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? We've always done it like this.

[John Weaver] Why are you changing things? Who do you think you are? They were not interested in truth. Let me tell you something, folks. Traditions, unless they are biblical, really do not matter. Truth does matter. We as Christians believe that God's law is supreme. And God's law is absolutely sovereign. And we should be in submission to God's word rather than being in submission to the traditions of man. So here's the question. Where is your heart? Is your heart in submission to the Word of God, or is it in submission to traditions? The Pharisees were idolaters, because they placed tradition above truth. We as Christians must hold truth above everything.

[John Weaver] Secondly, I want you to understand in Matthew 15, they held to and believed religion over reality. Look in verse 7. Our Lord told these Pharisees, you hypocrites, you hypocrites, what did Isaiah prophesy of you saying? This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honor to me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me."

[John Weaver] Now watch it,"...but in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." So here they were drawing nigh to our Lord with their mouth, they were honoring Him with their lips, but for their doctrine they were teaching the commandments of men, which is a mere religion. Do you realize that religions are a dime a dozen? Anyone may start a religion. Every one of us in here are familiar with Scientology, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, various other cults and sects and isms you've heard about and read about. But let me tell you some that you may not have heard about and may not read about. Do you realize there's a religion that is called the universe people or the cosmic people of light powers? How about this one? The Church of Subgenius. I'm serious now. I'm not making this up. The Church of Subgenius. Here's another one. You may have heard of this one. The Church of Euthanasia. Or COE. The Church of Euthanasia is a political organization started by the Reverend Chris Korda, which is a woman.

[John Weaver] In the Boston, Massachusetts area of the United States, she advocates. She advocates that we need to kill ourselves in order to save the planet. I wonder why she's not done her part in saving the planet. I mean, if you really believe something, I think you'd practice what you preached. You know? But this is a church of euthanasia. And here's another one. I want to pronounce this correctly. Newabeanism. Nuwabianism.

[John Weaver] The Nuwabians originated as a black Muslim group in New York in the 1970s. Here's another one. The spelling is atrocious, but here's how it's spelled. The Temple of Psychic Youth. The T-H-E-E Temple of O-V Psychic P-S-Y-C-H-I-C-K Youth. Also known as T-O-P-Y. Obviously, spelling is not a fundamental part of this religion. But the Temple of Psychic Youth was founded in 1981 by members of the Psychic TV, COIL, and Current 93, and a number of other individuals.

[John Weaver] The ever-evolving network is a loosely federated group of people operating as a unique blend of artistic, collective, and practitioners of magic. The Temple of Psychic Youth. And then I want you to consider this unworthy news item. To me, this is absolutely, if it was not so serious, it would be absolutely hilarious. Jedi's religion is the most popular alternative faith.

[John Weaver] Now listen, today's census figures show that 176,632 people in England and Wales identify themselves as Jedi Knights. making it the most popular faith in the other religious category on the census and seventh most popular faith overall. Jedi Knights from Star Wars? Let me tell you something, folks. Religion is not reality. Religion is not reality. These heresies held to religion over reality. Reality is determined by God, it is not determined by man. One may fool himself, one may deceive himself, one may believe in himself, and yet never ever face reality.

[John Weaver] And the truth of the matter is this. One thing all of these religions have in common is that they are contrary to the Word of God, and many of them are immoral and refuse to face God's reality. They refuse to deal with sin, and judgment and truth. And like the Pharisees of old, they're condemned by our Lord. I want you to turn right over to Matthew 23, whole Matthew 15. I want to show you the curses that God places against the Pharisees. And I want you to understand how this is very applicable to all of these false religions.

[John Weaver] They all fall into the same category. Let's begin with Matthew 23 and verse 13. Our Lord says, but woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering in to go in. Our Lord made it very plain in John 14 in verse 6, when He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in the Father, but by Me.

[John Weaver] I want you to think of all of these religions that basically deny the deity of Jesus Christ, or they deny the humanity of Christ. They basically deny that Christ is either not God or not man. They do deny in total that He is not salvation. And yet the Scripture teaches that He is salvation alone. And so our Lord says, here's what these false idolaters do. They shut up heaven against themselves, and they shut it up from anyone that's going in. They don't want anyone to believe the truth. They don't want anyone to face reality. They hold their religion over reality. Look in verse 14. Matthew 23, verse 14.

[John Weaver] Again, he says,"...warned you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you devour witless houses, and for a prudence make long prayer, therefore you shall receive the greater damnation." I want you to think with me, not only along with the Pharisees, but think of all of these other cults and isms and sisms. Think of all the fraud, theft, and deceit that is involved in religion. How many people have been ripped off financially through fraudulent promises, prophecies, or prosperity blessings?

[John Weaver] I never will forget years ago, listening to the radio, there was a black preacher who called himself Reverend Ike. Anybody ever hear of Reverend Ike? Yeah. Rev. Ike would come on the radio and he would say this. This is Rev. Ike. He said, if you want your pie in the sky, by and by, you don't need me. But if you want your pie right now, see and hear Rev. Ike. That's what he said. If you want your pie right now, see and hear Rev. Ike. And then you need to send in ten dollars for a blessing. And he'll send you a blessing. He'll send you a handkerchief that he's prayed over.

[John Weaver] I'd like to sell handkerchiefs for 10 bucks each too, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you buy them for a few cents? Come on! But think of all the people that have been ripped off. Think how many people have lost their physical lives because of false religions. And then think how many people have lost their eternal souls because of false religions. Look in verse 15. He says,"...wanted to use scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, For you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."

[John Weaver] Students usually go beyond their teachers. They will embrace error with far greater zeal and hold more tenaciously to error while they defend it to the fullest. And that's what he's saying here. You look at the people who embraced all these false teachings and even created more false teachings. Then look at Matthew 23 and verse 23. Our Lord says this, What are you scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites? For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith.

[John Weaver] These ought you to have done, not to leave the other undone. Have you ever noticed how particular many religions are on small and sometimes insignificant issues. But they very quickly overlook adultery, and fornication, and fraud, and theft, and a host of other major sins. I got news for you. Even in many fundamental independent Bible-believing Baptist churches, Just so you're in church Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, and come to visitation and give, many churches will overlook your fraudulent business practices, your adultery, your fornication. Our Lord said, you'll pay attention to some smaller things, and you'll overlook the greater things.

[John Weaver] I want you to note how the next two woes illustrate this truth. Look in verse 25. He says,"...Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within are full of extortion and excess." And then in verse 27,"...Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like unto the whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness." Wow.

[John Weaver] That's what false religions are all about. Beautiful sometimes on the outside, absolutely corrupt on the inside.

[John Weaver] Finally, the last verse here demonstrates how religion fights against truth. And those who teach truth, they fight against and deny God's reality. Look in verse 29. He says,"...Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you build the tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous." Religion always fights against reality. Reality is in Jesus Christ. It is not in religion. Reality is what the Word of God declares, not what man states.

[John Weaver] So where is your heart? Are you holding tradition above truth? Or are you holding religion above reality? If you look back in Matthew chapter 15, here's a third thing that our Lord condemns. The Pharisees, they held to and believed in willfulness over worship. Willfulness over worship. Go back to verse 7 again. Look at what he said. You hypocrites. You hypocrites. Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draw not unto me with their mouth and unto me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Do you not see in this an absolutely willful attitude on the part of the Pharisees? When they came to Christ, they said, why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? In other words, you're not paying attention to our religion. You're not doing what we believe ought to be done. Why are you letting your disciples get away with this? You see, the Pharisees had the attitude It's going to be our way or no way.

[John Weaver] They were content with their ceremonies, with their rituals, with their traditions. That was enough to satisfy them. They were not going to worship God the way God demanded. They were going to worship the way they will to worship. And if God could not be satisfied with what they gave Him, then He could just do without. They weren't going to change. You know, in Jude 1 and verse 11, don't turn there, but the Bible says this, Woe unto them, for they've gone in the way of Cain. Woe unto them, for they've gone in the way of Cain. What is the way of Cain? Let me tell you. The way of Cain is the way of self-will. You remember how God demanded that he be worshipped with a bloody sacrifice. And the Bible says in Hebrews 9 and verse 27, Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. And so when it came time to worship, Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock the way God commanded him to bring. It was a bloody sacrifice.

[John Weaver] But what did Cain do? Cain brought the fruit of the ground. Now Cain knew exactly what God demanded, but he refused to bring it. Cain's attitude was this, what I've got is good enough for God, and if it's not, he can do without. I'm going to give Him what I want to give Him. I'm going to give Him what I will to give Him. And I'm not going to change. You know, many people today follow the way of Cain.

[John Weaver] They would not admit it. They would not even think that they would do so, and yet they do. You know what our Lord said in John 4, verses 23 and 24? Listen to this. He said, But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, For the Father seeketh such to worship Him." God is Spirit, and they that worship Him, listen, must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. So God says if you're going to worship Him, you absolutely must be bounded on the one hand by Truth, and on the other hand by Spirit. If you're not worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth, then you're not worshipping God. Baptist today, as well as other denominations. Instead of giving our Lord that which He requires, they're content to go to a church building, sing a few hymns, listen to a short sermon, and think that somehow they've glorified God and worshipped Him. Others will light a few candles and bow and scrape and recite a prayer and walk out thinking that they've worshipped God, which is not true.

[John Weaver] Our Lord says, if you're going to worship Me, you must worship Me in spirit and in truth. Let me ask you a question. Where is your heart? Are you at this moment worshiping Him in spirit and in truth? Are you giving Him that which He demands? Or are you giving Him that which you want Him to have? I want you to turn. to the book of Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. And I want you to look, if you would, beginning there in verse 20. Colossians 2 and verse 20. I told you that the Pharisees put tradition over truth. They put religion over reality. And they put their willfulness over worship. In Colossians 2 and verse 20, We read, wherefore, if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why as though living in the world are you subject to ordinances, touch not, taste not, handle not, which are all to perish with the using after the commandments and doctrines of men, watch,

[John Weaver] which things indeed have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship and humility and neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh. But notice that verse 23, which things indeed have a show of wisdom in will worship. Do you know that's exactly what most people do? They present God their willfulness. And they demand that God accept their willfulness over the worship that He demands they give Him.

[John Weaver] So where is your heart? Are you giving our Lord that which He demands? Or simply that you want Him to have? And you may not express it, but as your attitude, I'll give him what I want him to have, and if he doesn't like it, he can do without. Our Lord said, God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

[John Weaver] We know that these Pharisees were idolaters. Because they held their tradition above truth. They held their religion over and above reality. And they held willfulness over and above worship.

[John Weaver] Now let me make just a few applications. The first one is this. It does matter as to whether or not our hearts are involved in worship. It does matter whether we worship according to the Word of God. It does matter whether or not we give God that which He demands. We should always value the will and the Word of God. Let me give you an example of David's worshipping the Lord. Let me just read it. In Psalm 103, verses 1-5, listen to what David said, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.

[John Weaver] who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfyeth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." Notice what he said. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. What is he saying? I'm thinking of Christ. I'm thinking of His Word.

[John Weaver] My affections are set upon Him. My spirit is being engaged by the Holy Spirit. And I'm giving God worship and honor for all of these things. He forgives all of my iniquities. He heals all my diseases. He redeems my life. He crowns me with loving kindness. He satisfies my mouth with good things. He renews my youth. Yeah. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. We need to learn to make sure that everything in our being is given to God in our worship, both public and private.

[John Weaver] The second application is this. It's much easier to be a Pharisee than it is a Christian. Pharisees only have to obey and keep their own rules. And Pharisees were able to change them and make them up as they go along. And Pharisees are able to hold other people to a higher standard than they hold themselves. And they're Pharisees. Christians must always be in submission to the Word and Will and Law of God, no matter the circumstances and no matter the situation. Christians must be submissive and obedient to the Word of God. If you want a religion, Pharisaism is a very easy one in one sense of the word. If you want salvation, that's found in Jesus Christ. If you want true Christianity, that's found in Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] So the question is, where's your heart? Is it the heart of a Christian, or is it the heart of a Pharisee? May God make us totally, completely, and absolutely in submission to His Word. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You, dear Lord. We give Thee praise and honor and glory for Your Word and for Your salvation. Lord, we ask that You would indeed make us holy, make us obedient, make us godly. And Father, may we in every area of our life please Thee, and be acceptable unto Thee, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

Where Is Your Heart?

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	SY0uwaqYFZI
Subject	Church Government
Course	Church Order: Preaching and Pastoral Ministry
Genre	Sermon
Date	2013-02-11
Dictation Name
Book	Book 039: Church Order and Worship - Volume 1 — Chapter 17
Source Timed Segments	69

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Question of the Heart

Weaver introduces the topic by reading Matthew 15:1-9 and posing the central question: 'Where is your heart?' He explains that the heart follows one's treasure, as taught by Jesus.

Matthew chapter 15, and we're going to read the first nine verses. The title of the message is, "Where Is Your Heart?" Where is your heart? Look in Matthew 15, beginning with verse 1.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 15:1-9

"Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But He answered and said unto them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and thy mother, and he that curses father and mother, let him die the death. But you say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."

The question today is straightforward. Where is your heart? And when I ask that question, I'm sure that each of you understand that I'm not asking where your physical organ is located. I'm sure that practically everyone knows that the location of our physical heart is deep in our chest. However, our Lord taught and clearly stated twice, once in the book of Matthew and once in the book of Luke, saying, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." I want you to note, if you would, our Lord said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." He does not say, "Where your treasure is, there is where your heart ought to be, or should be, or might be." But He said, "Wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be."

The Heart Follows the Treasure

Expounding on Matthew 6:21, Weaver emphasizes that the heart is inevitably drawn to what we treasure most, whether earthly or heavenly, and that our actions follow our hearts.

So whatever we consider our dearest treasure, we may be assured that there we will find our hearts. Where our hearts are, there is our treasure. And we will surround and confine ourselves to our treasure, because that is where our hearts really, truly are. Treasure in heaven will keep our hearts there. Treasure on earth will keep our hearts here. Our feet always follow our hearts. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 4 and verse 23, "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." And you're going to find that our feet will always run after our hearts.

One of the amazing things of Scripture is this: The Bible teaches very clearly that our hearts are very quickly and very easily led astray, because we always treasure that which we love and hold most dearly, and that which we really, truly desire. You remember the passage in Exodus 32 when Aaron had taken all their golden jewelry and fashioned a golden calf, and then the people began to dance around that golden calf and worship it.

The Deceitfulness of Idolatry: The Example of Micah

Using the story of Micah in Judges 17-18, Weaver illustrates how quickly hearts turn to idols and how useless those idols are, showing that profession without heart attachment is worthless.

Or where is the heart? It has to be somewhere. And it has to be set upon something. And if it's not set upon Jesus Christ, then obviously it is set upon an idol. So here what our Lord is teaching is very plain. Professions without heart attachment are absolutely worthless and useless. Profession without heart attachment—all of those professions are absolutely worthless and useless and vain.

Now, before I begin explaining and expounding this truth from Matthew 15, I want to give you a clear illustration from Scripture to what I've just said. I want you to understand, to me, one of the funniest stories—not necessarily funny, but it is funny—is found in the book of Judges chapter 17 and 18, and we're going to turn there. But I want you to understand that this story demonstrates very quickly not only the deceitfulness of the heart but the uselessness and the worthlessness of idols and idolatry. As you turn to the book of Judges chapter 17, here is the story of Micah. He has stolen silver from his mother. His mother cursed whoever stole the silver, and thus he now returns it to his mother. And I want you to note what happens. Judges 17, beginning with verse 1: "And there was a man of Mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursest and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me. I took it." In other words, he stole it. Now watch what his mother says. "And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my son. And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son to make a graven image and a molten image. Now, therefore, I will restore it unto thee. Yet he restored the money into his mother, and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image, and they were in the house of Micah." So here's a man who stole money from his mother. He confessed it. She gave it back to him. Then she took two hundred shekels of silver and she has basically made herself an idol.

Now, he also got to himself a Levitical priest. And he said to himself—and we're not going to read all of it—he says, "Now the Lord is going to bless me for sure because I've got this priest to my service." Well, the children of Dan were looking to expand, and as they were just kind of surveying the countryside, they had come to Micah's house, and they had seen this Levitical priest, and they had seen this image, and this molten image that had been made. So, I want you to look in Judges chapter 18, beginning there with verse 14, what the children of Dan do as they come back into the land to defeat the people of Laish and take their property. Notice in Judges chapter 18, beginning there with verse 14: "Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and a teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image?

Now therefore consider what you have to do." Now look. "And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and saluted him. And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate. And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, and the priesthood in entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war. And these went into Micah's house and fetched the carved image and the ephod and the teraphim and the molten image. Then said the priesthood to them, What do you?

And they said unto him, Hold thy peace. Lay thy hand upon thy mouth. Don't say any more. And go with us. And be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for thee to be a priest in the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?" And the priest's heart was glad. He'd gotten a promotion, brother. More shekels. And the priest's heart was glad. Now watch this. "And he, the priest, took the ephod and the teraphim and the golden image, the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

And so they turned and departed and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them. And when they were a good way off from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together and overtook the children of Dan. And they cried unto the children of Dan, and they turned their faces and said unto Micah, What aileth thee that thou comest with such a company? And he said, You've taken away my gods which I made, and the priests, and you're gone away. And what have I more? And what is this that you say unto me? What aileth thee? And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life with the lives of thy household. And when the children of Dan went their way, and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back into his house." Now the funny thing to me is this: if you look at verse 24, Micah said, "You have taken away the gods which I have made, and the priest, and you're going away, and what have I more?" Now let me ask you a question. What use were the gods that Micah had made?

They could not protect themselves. They could not protect Micah. And then he said this, "What have I more?" So let's ask this question. Where was his heart? What was he worshipping? Undoubtedly, Micah was one who professed to love the Lord because even back in Judges chapter 17 and verse 1 and verse 2, the Bible says there, his mother said, "Blessed be thou of the Lord, my son." And that is the word Jehovah or Yahweh. And then she said in verse 3 that she had wholly dedicated this money to Yahweh, to the one true and the living God. And the interesting thing is what Micah had done was he had taken this money and he had made this graven image, this molten image, which was absolutely, totally contrary to the first three commandments. He professed with his lips that he loved the Lord, but his heart was set upon these gods that he had made. His heart was not set upon the one true and the living God.

And you know, you and I can smile when we read this and we think how stupid, how naive, and how sinful and how rebellious Micah really was. Because Micah was on the one hand professing to love the Lord, and yet he had all of these gods, and he had this outlandish idolatry. You say, we would never ever be found in such a state. We would never commit such obvious idolatry. Or would we?

Covetousness as Idolatry

Weaver cites Colossians 3:5 to define covetousness as idolatry, explaining that any desire placed above God constitutes idolatry, making the point relevant to modern believers.

I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Colossians, chapter 3 and verse 5. Let me show you a verse that's very, very emphatic. The book of Colossians, chapter 3 and verse 5. Colossians 3 and verse 5. Notice what our Lord says:

Scripture Reading — Colossians 3:5

"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry."

Covetousness, which is idolatry. You know what covetousness is? Really and truly it's whatever we set our hearts upon. When we want something, when we desire something with an outlandish desire, we set our hearts upon it. We really, truly desire and crave it. And what we do is we place that desire over and above God and His Word, which is idolatry. So our Lord was very true and very accurate and very right when He said, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Now, with this in mind, I want us to look at Matthew chapter 15 very closely. And I want you to see how deceitful our hearts really are. And I want you to see how very easy it is to fall into the sin of idolatry in our day and time.

No, you don't have to bow down to a graven image to be an idolater. Because covetousness is idolatry.

The Pharisees: Tradition Over Truth

The Pharisees are described as fundamentalists who elevated oral traditions above God's written law. Weaver details their man-made rules on handwashing and contrasts them with biblical truth.

And how do we know that? How do we know that most of professing Christendom today are in reality idolaters? Let me show you. If you will look, first of all, in verse 2: "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?" This is the question the Pharisees are asking Christ. "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders, for they wash not their hands when they eat bread?" First of all, I want you to note, they held to and believed in tradition over truth. They held to and believed in tradition over truth. They want to know why our Lord's disciples were transgressing the tradition of the elders. The Pharisees held tenaciously to the traditions and to the authority of antiquity. Their concern for unwashed hands was not of a sanitary nature. Their concern was, here was a tradition.

It was ceremonial, it was ritualistic, and it was mandatory as far as they were concerned. Their traditions involved far more than just the mere washing of the hands. If you would hold Matthew 15, but turn to Mark chapter 7, you will find this same story with a little variation in the first five verses here. Look at it. I want you to see that their traditions involved far more than just washing the hands. In Mark chapter 7—Matthew, Mark, next book over—chapter 7, verse 1:

Scripture Reading — Mark 7:1-5

"Then came together unto him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands often, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not.

Not for sanitary reasons now. Watch this. "And many other things there be which they have received and hold, as the washing of cups and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"

Now, before I get to this point, I want to emphasize there's nothing wrong with tradition as long as, number one, that tradition is biblical. Or number two, if it is a tradition, just a tradition of men, that everybody understands that tradition is not binding upon anyone's conscience. The only thing that can bind our consciences is the Word of God. Now there are some traditions that are biblical. In fact, the Apostle Paul, in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 15, said this: "Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by our epistle." There are some biblical traditions. But there are a lot of traditions that are totally and completely unbiblical. The traditions of the Pharisees were unbiblical.

They were man-made, yet they were mandatory—at least they wanted them to be mandatory upon every individual. Now, I want to give you just a couple of paragraphs from Albert Barnes. I want you to listen carefully because he's talking about the traditions here of the elders. He says this: "The word elders literally means old men. It here means the ancients or their ancestors. Tradition means something handed down from one to another by memory." Hang on now. "Some precept or custom not commanded in the written law, but which they themselves were bound to observe." Listen now. "The Jews supposed that when Moses was on Mount Sinai, two sets of law were delivered unto him. One, they said, was recorded, and that is that contained in the Old Testament. The other was handed down from the father to son and kept uncorrupted unto their day. They believe that Moses, before he died, delivered this oral law unto Joshua, Joshua to the judges, and the judges to the prophets, so that it was kept pure till it was recorded in the Talmuds. In these books, these pretended laws are now contained.

They are exceedingly numerous and very trifling. They are, however, regarded by the Jews as more important than either Moses or the prophets. One point in which the Pharisees differed from the Sadducees was in the holding of these traditions. It seems, however, that in these particular traditions here mentioned all the Jews combined. The Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands often, eat not. Mark also added that this custom of washing, extending not merely to their hands before eating, but in coming from the market, and also to pots and cups, and brazen vessels and tables. This they did professedly for the sake of cleanliness. So far that was well, but they made it a matter of superstition. They regarded external purity as of much more importance than the purity of the heart. They had made these foolish rules about it as to the quantity of water that was to be used, the way in which it was to be applied, the number of times it should be changed, the number of those that might wash at one time. These foolish rules our Savior did not think it proper to regard, and this was the reason why they found fault with Him.

It is true that there were laws concerning washings in the Old Testament, Leviticus 11, which related to pollution. However, these secondary laws or traditions were the mere inventions and interpretations of men which the Pharisees held above the law. Now, it's important for you to note that they believed that there were two sets of laws. One written by Moses, and the other orally received, which Moses communicated to Joshua, Joshua to the judges, and the judges to the prophets. And they maintained that this oral law was kept uncorrupted until their day.

The Pharisees: Religion Over Reality

Weaver condemns the Pharisees for practicing a hollow religion, citing Matthew 15:7-9 and the woes of Matthew 23. He lists modern false religions to show that religion without Christ is empty.

Secondly, I want you to understand in Matthew 15, they held to and believed religion over reality. Look in verse 7. Our Lord told these Pharisees, "You hypocrites, you hypocrites, what did Isaiah prophesy of you saying? This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me."

Now watch it, "...but in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." So here they were drawing nigh to our Lord with their mouth, they were honoring Him with their lips, but for their doctrine they were teaching the commandments of men, which is a mere religion. Do you realize that religions are a dime a dozen? Anyone may start a religion. Every one of us in here are familiar with Scientology, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, various other cults and sects and isms you've heard about and read about. But let me tell you some that you may not have heard about and may not read about. Do you realize there's a religion that is called the Universe People or the Cosmic People of Light Powers? How about this one? The Church of Subgenius. I'm serious now. I'm not making this up. The Church of Subgenius. Here's another one. You may have heard of this one. The Church of Euthanasia. Or COE. The Church of Euthanasia is a political organization started by the Reverend Chris Korda, which is a woman.

In the Boston, Massachusetts area of the United States, she advocates that we need to kill ourselves in order to save the planet. I wonder why she's not done her part in saving the planet. I mean, if you really believe something, I think you'd practice what you preached. You know? But this is a church of euthanasia. And here's another one. I want to pronounce this correctly. Nuwabianism. Nuwabianism.

The Nuwabians originated as a black Muslim group in New York in the 1970s. Here's another one. The spelling is atrocious, but here's how it's spelled: The Temple of Psychic Youth. T-H-E-E Temple of O-V Psychic P-S-Y-C-H-I-C-K Youth. Also known as T-O-P-Y. Obviously, spelling is not a fundamental part of this religion. But the Temple of Psychic Youth was founded in 1981 by members of the Psychic TV, COIL, and Current 93, and a number of other individuals.

The ever-evolving network is a loosely federated group of people operating as a unique blend of artistic collective and practitioners of magic. The Temple of Psychic Youth. And then I want you to consider this unworthy news item. To me, this is absolutely, if it was not so serious, it would be absolutely hilarious. Jedi religion is the most popular alternative faith.

Now listen, today's census figures show that 176,632 people in England and Wales identify themselves as Jedi Knights, making it the most popular faith in the "other religious" category on the census and seventh most popular faith overall. Jedi Knights from Star Wars? Let me tell you something, folks. Religion is not reality. Religion is not reality. These heresies held to religion over reality. Reality is determined by God, it is not determined by man. One may fool himself, one may deceive himself, one may believe in himself, and yet never ever face reality.

And the truth of the matter is this. One thing all of these religions have in common is that they are contrary to the Word of God, and many of them are immoral and refuse to face God's reality. They refuse to deal with sin, and judgment, and truth. And like the Pharisees of old, they're condemned by our Lord. I want you to turn right over to Matthew 23, hold Matthew 15. I want to show you the curses that God places against the Pharisees. And I want you to understand how this is very applicable to all of these false religions.

They all fall into the same category. Let's begin with Matthew 23 and verse 13. Our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 23:13-29

"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering in to go in."

Our Lord made it very plain in John 14 and verse 6, when He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." I want you to think of all of these religions that basically deny the deity of Jesus Christ, or they deny the humanity of Christ. They basically deny that Christ is either not God or not man. They do deny in total that He is not salvation. And yet the Scripture teaches that He is salvation alone. And so our Lord says, here's what these false idolaters do. They shut up heaven against themselves, and they shut it up from anyone that's going in. They don't want anyone to believe the truth. They don't want anyone to face reality. They hold their religion over reality. Look in verse 14. Matthew 23, verse 14.

Again, he says, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer, therefore you shall receive the greater damnation." I want you to think with me, not only along with the Pharisees, but think of all of these other cults and isms and schisms. Think of all the fraud, theft, and deceit that is involved in religion. How many people have been ripped off financially through fraudulent promises, prophecies, or prosperity blessings? I never will forget years ago, listening to the radio, there was a black preacher who called himself Reverend Ike. Anybody ever hear of Reverend Ike? Yeah. Rev. Ike would come on the radio and he would say this: "This is Rev. Ike." He said, "If you want your pie in the sky, by and by, you don't need me. But if you want your pie right now, see and hear Rev. Ike." That's what he said. "If you want your pie right now, see and hear Rev. Ike." And then you need to send in ten dollars for a blessing. And he'll send you a blessing. He'll send you a handkerchief that he's prayed over.

I'd like to sell handkerchiefs for 10 bucks each too, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you buy them for a few cents? Come on! But think of all the people that have been ripped off. Think how many people have lost their physical lives because of false religions. And then think how many people have lost their eternal souls because of false religions. Look in verse 15. He says, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."

Students usually go beyond their teachers. They will embrace error with far greater zeal and hold more tenaciously to error while they defend it to the fullest. And that's what he's saying here. You look at the people who embraced all these false teachings and even created more false teachings. Then look at Matthew 23 and verse 23. Our Lord says this:

Scripture Reading — Matthew 23:13-29

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. These ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone."

Have you ever noticed how particular many religions are on small and sometimes insignificant issues? But they very quickly overlook adultery, and fornication, and fraud, and theft, and a host of other major sins. I got news for you. Even in many fundamental independent Bible-believing Baptist churches, just so you're in church Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, and come to visitation and give, many churches will overlook your fraudulent business practices, your adultery, your fornication. Our Lord said, you'll pay attention to some smaller things, and you'll overlook the greater things.

I want you to note how the next two woes illustrate this truth. Look in verse 25. He says, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within are full of extortion and excess." And then in verse 27, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness." Wow. That's what false religions are all about. Beautiful sometimes on the outside, absolutely corrupt on the inside. Finally, the last verse here demonstrates how religion fights against truth. And those who teach truth, they fight against and deny God's reality. Look in verse 29. He says, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you build the tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous." Religion always fights against reality. Reality is in Jesus Christ. It is not in religion. Reality is what the Word of God declares, not what man states.

The Pharisees: Willfulness Over Worship

The Pharisees are shown to have a willful attitude, offering God what they chose rather than what He commanded. Weaver references Cain's self-willed offering and John 4:23-24 on true worship.

So where is your heart? Are you holding tradition above truth? Or are you holding religion above reality? If you look back in Matthew chapter 15, here's a third thing that our Lord condemns. The Pharisees, they held to and believed in willfulness over worship. Willfulness over worship. Go back to verse 7 again. Look at what he said. "You hypocrites. You hypocrites. Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Do you not see in this an absolutely willful attitude on the part of the Pharisees? When they came to Christ, they said, "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?" In other words, you're not paying attention to our religion. You're not doing what we believe ought to be done. Why are you letting your disciples get away with this? You see, the Pharisees had the attitude, "It's going to be our way or no way."

They were content with their ceremonies, with their rituals, with their traditions. That was enough to satisfy them. They were not going to worship God the way God demanded. They were going to worship the way they will to worship. And if God could not be satisfied with what they gave Him, then He could just do without. They weren't going to change. You know, in Jude 1 and verse 11—don't turn there—but the Bible says this: "Woe unto them, for they've gone in the way of Cain." Woe unto them, for they've gone in the way of Cain. What is the way of Cain? Let me tell you. The way of Cain is the way of self-will. You remember how God demanded that he be worshipped with a bloody sacrifice. And the Bible says in Hebrews 9 and verse 22, "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin." And so when it came time to worship, Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock the way God commanded him to bring. It was a bloody sacrifice.

But what did Cain do? Cain brought the fruit of the ground. Now Cain knew exactly what God demanded, but he refused to bring it. Cain's attitude was this: "What I've got is good enough for God, and if it's not, He can do without. I'm going to give Him what I want to give Him. I'm going to give Him what I will to give Him. And I'm not going to change." You know, many people today follow the way of Cain.

They would not admit it. They would not even think that they would do so, and yet they do. You know what our Lord said in John 4, verses 23 and 24? Listen to this. He said, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and they that worship Him, listen, must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth." So God says if you're going to worship Him, you absolutely must be bounded on the one hand by Truth, and on the other hand by Spirit. If you're not worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth, then you're not worshipping God. Baptists today, as well as other denominations, instead of giving our Lord that which He requires, they're content to go to a church building, sing a few hymns, listen to a short sermon, and think that somehow they've glorified God and worshipped Him. Others will light a few candles and bow and scrape and recite a prayer and walk out thinking that they've worshipped God, which is not true.

Our Lord says, if you're going to worship Me, you must worship Me in spirit and in truth. Let me ask you a question. Where is your heart? Are you at this moment worshiping Him in spirit and in truth? Are you giving Him that which He demands? Or are you giving Him that which you want Him to have? I want you to turn to the book of Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. And I want you to look, if you would, beginning there in verse 20. Colossians 2 and verse 20. I told you that the Pharisees put tradition over truth. They put religion over reality. And they put their willfulness over worship. In Colossians 2 and verse 20, we read, "Wherefore, if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why as though living in the world are you subject to ordinances, touch not, taste not, handle not, which are all to perish with the using after the commandments and doctrines of men," watch,

"which things indeed have a show of wisdom in will worship and humility and neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh." But notice that verse 23, "which things indeed have a show of wisdom in will worship." Do you know that's exactly what most people do? They present God their willfulness. And they demand that God accept their willfulness over the worship that He demands they give Him. So where is your heart? Are you giving our Lord that which He demands? Or simply that you want Him to have? And you may not express it, but as your attitude, "I'll give Him what I want Him to have, and if He doesn't like it, He can do without." Our Lord said, "God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth."

We know that these Pharisees were idolaters. Because they held their tradition above truth. They held their religion over and above reality. And they held willfulness over and above worship.

Applications: Heartfelt Worship and Submission

Weaver applies the message by urging wholehearted worship like David's in Psalm 103 and warning that it is easier to be a Pharisee than a true Christian, calling for submission to God's Word.

Now let me make just a few applications. The first one is this. It does matter as to whether or not our hearts are involved in worship. It does matter whether we worship according to the Word of God. It does matter whether or not we give God that which He demands. We should always value the will and the Word of God. Let me give you an example of David's worshipping the Lord. Let me just read it. In Psalm 103, verses 1-5, listen to what David said: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfyeth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." Notice what he said. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name." What is he saying? I'm thinking of Christ. I'm thinking of His Word. My affections are set upon Him. My spirit is being engaged by the Holy Spirit. And I'm giving God worship and honor for all of these things. He forgives all of my iniquities. He heals all my diseases. He redeems my life. He crowns me with loving kindness. He satisfies my mouth with good things. He renews my youth. Yeah. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. We need to learn to make sure that everything in our being is given to God in our worship, both public and private.

The second application is this. It's much easier to be a Pharisee than it is a Christian. Pharisees only have to obey and keep their own rules. And Pharisees were able to change them and make them up as they go along. And Pharisees are able to hold other people to a higher standard than they hold themselves. And they're Pharisees. Christians must always be in submission to the Word and Will and Law of God, no matter the circumstances and no matter the situation. Christians must be submissive and obedient to the Word of God. If you want a religion, Pharisaism is a very easy one in one sense of the word. If you want salvation, that's found in Jesus Christ. If you want true Christianity, that's found in Jesus Christ.

So the question is, where's your heart? Is it the heart of a Christian, or is it the heart of a Pharisee? May God make us totally, completely, and absolutely in submission to His Word. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You, dear Lord. We give Thee praise and honor and glory for Your Word and for Your salvation. Lord, we ask that You would indeed make us holy, make us obedient, make us godly. And Father, may we in every area of our life please Thee, and be acceptable unto Thee, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Heart Follows Treasure

Summary: Jesus taught that wherever one's treasure is, the heart will be there also, indicating that our deepest affections determine our spiritual direction.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also... Treasure in heaven will keep our hearts there. Treasure on earth will keep our hearts here.'

Idolatry as Covetousness

Summary: Idolatry is not limited to physical idols; covetousness—desiring anything above God—is idolatry, as stated in Colossians 3:5.

Evidence: Weaver reads Colossians 3:5 and explains, 'Covetousness, which is idolatry. You know what covetousness is? Really and truly it's whatever we set our hearts upon.'

Tradition vs. Truth

Summary: The Pharisees elevated man-made traditions above God's commandments, making His Word of no effect. Believers must prioritize biblical truth over human customs.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'They held to and believed in tradition over truth... The Pharisees held tenaciously to the traditions and to the authority of antiquity.'

Religion vs. Reality

Summary: Empty religion, characterized by lip service without heart engagement, is condemned. True reality is found in Jesus Christ, not in man-made doctrines.

Evidence: Weaver declares, 'Religion is not reality. Reality is determined by God, it is not determined by man.'

Willfulness vs. True Worship

Summary: God demands worship in spirit and truth, not self-willed offerings. The Pharisees, like Cain, offered what they wanted rather than what God required.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'The way of Cain is the way of self-will... Cain brought the fruit of the ground... I'm going to give Him what I want to give Him.'

The Deceitfulness of the Heart

Summary: The heart is easily led astray into idolatry, as seen in Israel's golden calf and Micah's idols. Profession without heart attachment is worthless.

Evidence: Weaver notes, 'Our hearts are very quickly and very easily led astray, because we always treasure that which we love.'

Key Arguments

Profession without heart attachment is vain worship.

Summary: Jesus condemned the Pharisees for honoring God with their lips while their hearts were far from Him, rendering their worship empty.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Matthew 15:8-9: 'This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth... but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me.'

Idolatry is any desire placed above God.

Summary: Colossians 3:5 equates covetousness with idolatry, meaning that craving anything more than God is a form of idol worship.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'When we want something... we place that desire over and above God and His Word, which is idolatry.'

Traditions become sinful when they nullify God's Word.

Summary: The Pharisees' oral traditions contradicted God's law, and they valued them above Scripture, a practice still seen in churches today.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'They held to and believed in tradition over truth... They want to know why our Lord's disciples were transgressing the tradition of the elders.'

False religions share the Pharisees' errors.

Summary: Modern cults and even some churches mirror the Pharisees by emphasizing external rituals, overlooking major sins, and denying Christ's exclusivity.

Evidence: Weaver lists various false religions and applies Matthew 23's woes, saying, 'They all fall into the same category.'

True worship must be in spirit and truth.

Summary: God requires worship that is both heartfelt and aligned with His Word, not self-styled offerings like Cain's.

Evidence: Weaver cites John 4:23-24: 'God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.'

It is easier to be a Pharisee than a Christian.

Summary: Pharisaism allows self-made rules and hypocrisy, while true Christianity demands constant submission to God's Word.

Evidence: Weaver concludes, 'Pharisees only have to obey and keep their own rules... Christians must always be in submission to the Word and Will and Law of God.'

Scripture References

Matthew 15:1-9

Context: The primary text of the sermon, where Jesus confronts the Pharisees about their traditions and quotes Isaiah about heartless worship.

Matthew 6:21

Context: Referenced to establish that where one's treasure is, there the heart will be also.

Proverbs 4:23

Context: Cited to emphasize the importance of guarding the heart, as it determines the course of life.

Exodus 32:8

Context: Used to illustrate how quickly Israel's hearts turned to idolatry with the golden calf.

Isaiah 29:13

Context: The Old Testament passage Jesus quotes in Matthew 15:8-9 about people honoring God with lips but not hearts.

Judges 17:1-4

Context: The beginning of Micah's story, showing his idolatry despite professing the Lord.

Judges 18:14-26

Context: The Danites steal Micah's idols, revealing their worthlessness and Micah's misplaced heart.

Colossians 3:5

Context: Defines covetousness as idolatry, connecting inward desires to outward idol worship.

Acts 23:8

Context: Contrasts Pharisees (who believed in resurrection and angels) with Sadducees (who did not).

Mark 7:1-5

Context: Parallel account detailing the Pharisees' traditions on washing hands, cups, and pots.

2 Thessalonians 2:15

Context: Shows that some traditions are biblical and should be kept, unlike the Pharisees' man-made rules.

Matthew 15:15-20

Context: Jesus explains that defilement comes from the heart, not unwashed hands.

Matthew 23:13-29

Context: The woes pronounced on the Pharisees, illustrating their hypocrisy and false religion.

John 14:6

Context: Jesus as the only way to the Father, contrasting with false religions.

Jude 1:11

Context: References the way of Cain as self-willed worship.

Hebrews 9:22

Context: Without shedding of blood there is no remission, explaining why Cain's offering was rejected.

John 4:23-24

Context: God must be worshipped in spirit and truth, not by human willfulness.

Colossians 2:20-23

Context: Warns against will-worship and man-made ordinances that have an appearance of wisdom but lack true honor to God.

Psalm 103:1-5

Context: David's example of wholehearted worship, blessing the Lord with all that is within him.

Historical References

Pharisees and Sadducees

Context: The Pharisees were the fundamentalists of Jesus' day, believing in resurrection and angels, while Sadducees denied them. Pharisees held to oral traditions.

School of Hillel and School of Shammai

Context: Two popular schools that taught oral traditions, with sayings that placed scribal words above the law, even on pain of death.

Albert Barnes' commentary on traditions

Context: Weaver quotes Barnes explaining the Jewish belief in an oral law given to Moses and passed down, later recorded in the Talmuds.

Martin Luther quote

Context: Luther is quoted: 'What a man loves, that is his God,' illustrating that the heart's affection reveals its true god.

Reverend Ike

Context: A radio preacher who promised immediate blessings for money, exemplifying religious fraud and exploitation.

Modern false religions (Universe People, Church of Subgenius, Church of Euthanasia, Nuwabianism, Temple of Psychic Youth, Jedi religion)

Context: Listed to show the absurdity and variety of man-made religions that deny biblical reality.

Important Quotes

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Significance: Central thesis of the sermon, establishing that the heart inevitably follows what we value most.

What a man loves, that is his God.

Significance: Martin Luther's quote used to show that our affections reveal our true object of worship.

This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

Significance: Jesus' indictment of the Pharisees, highlighting the disconnect between outward profession and inward reality.

Covetousness, which is idolatry.

Significance: Key verse (Colossians 3:5) that expands the definition of idolatry to include inward desires.

God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

Significance: Jesus' command in John 4:24 that defines acceptable worship, contrasting with willful religion.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name.

Significance: David's example of wholehearted worship, used as a model for believers.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean for your heart to be where your treasure is, and how can you identify your true treasure?

Context: Based on the opening exposition of Matthew 6:21 and the principle that the heart follows treasure.

In what subtle ways might covetousness (idolatry) manifest in a believer's life today?

Context: Stemming from the teaching on Colossians 3:5 and the definition of covetousness as idolatry.

How can we distinguish between biblical traditions and man-made traditions that nullify God's Word?

Context: Arising from the contrast between the Pharisees' oral law and scriptural commands.

Why is it easier to be a Pharisee than a true Christian, according to the sermon?

Context: From the application that Pharisaism allows self-made rules while Christianity demands submission to God.

What does worship 'in spirit and in truth' look like in your personal and corporate worship?

Context: Based on John 4:23-24 and the contrast with willful, self-styled worship.

How does the story of Micah illustrate the foolishness of idolatry, and what modern 'idols' might we be tempted to make?

Context: From the extended illustration in Judges 17-18 and its application to contemporary life.

Applications

Examine your heart's treasure

Summary: Believers should honestly assess what they treasure most, as that reveals where their heart truly is.

Evidence: Weaver asks, 'Where is your heart? Is your heart in submission to the Word of God, or is it in submission to traditions?'

Reject covetous idolatry

Summary: Recognize that desiring anything above God is idolatry and must be mortified.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'When we want something... we place that desire over and above God and His Word, which is idolatry.'

Prioritize biblical truth over human traditions

Summary: Evaluate church and personal practices by Scripture, not by longevity or popularity.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'If you mess with their Christmas traditions... you will find that you will be railed upon and excoriated just like our Lord was.'

Pursue heartfelt, Spirit-led worship

Summary: Worship must engage the whole being in spirit and truth, not mere external rituals.

Evidence: Weaver cites David: 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name.'

Submit to God's will in worship

Summary: Offer God what He commands, not what we prefer, avoiding the way of Cain.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'Cain's attitude was this: What I've got is good enough for God, and if it's not, He can do without.'

Guard against Pharisaical hypocrisy

Summary: Avoid the trap of external religiosity while neglecting heart purity and major biblical commands.

Evidence: Weaver notes, 'Even in many fundamental independent Bible-believing Baptist churches... many churches will overlook your fraudulent business practices, your adultery, your fornication.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:21:10Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T02:40:10Z

Clean Transcript

Where Is Your Heart?

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

Matthew chapter 15, and we're going to read the first nine verses. The title of the message is, "Where Is Your Heart?" Where is your heart? Look in Matthew 15, beginning with verse 1. "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But He answered and said unto them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and thy mother, and he that curses father and mother, let him die the death. But you say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
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But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." The question today is straightforward. Where is your heart? And when I ask that question, I'm sure that each of you understand that I'm not asking where your physical organ is located. I'm sure that practically everyone knows that the location of our physical heart is deep in our chest. However, our Lord taught and clearly stated twice, once in the book of Matthew and once in the book of Luke, saying, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." I want you to note, if you would, our Lord said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." He does not say, "Where your treasure is, there is where your heart ought to be, or should be, or might be." But He said, "Wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be."
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So whatever we consider our dearest treasure, we may be assured that there we will find our hearts. Where our hearts are, there is our treasure. And we will surround and confine ourselves to our treasure, because that is where our hearts really, truly are. Treasure in heaven will keep our hearts there. Treasure on earth will keep our hearts here. Our feet always follow our hearts. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 4 and verse 23, "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." And you're going to find that our feet will always run after our hearts.
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One of the amazing things of Scripture is this: The Bible teaches very clearly that our hearts are very quickly and very easily led astray, because we always treasure that which we love and hold most dearly, and that which we really, truly desire. You remember the passage in Exodus 32 when Aaron had taken all their golden jewelry and fashioned a golden calf, and then the people began to dance around that golden calf and worship it.
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And they said, "These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt." I want you to listen to verse 8. In Exodus 32 and verse 8, God said, "They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made them a golden calf and worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Notice what God said. They've turned aside quickly out of the way.
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And what had they done? They had made a golden calf. They were worshiping an idol that they had made. So their hearts very quickly had turned from the one true and the living God to a false god, and they were giving worship and honor to that. Martin Luther is quoted as stating an obvious truth. He said, "What a man loves, that is his God." What a man loves, that is his God. Our hearts are always set upon that which we love, and that which we love, we adore. Now, when our Lord, in Matthew chapter 15, is confronting and rebuking the Pharisees, He states a very obvious truth in verse 8.
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I want you to look there. He says, "This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth," watch carefully, "and honoreth me with their lips." But He says, "Their heart is far from me." Now, I want you to hold Matthew 15, and I want you to look back in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 29 and verse 13, because our Lord is either quoting this verse or at least referring to this verse. In Isaiah chapter 29 and verse 13, we read this: "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near to me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but remove their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of man." Now, whether you read Isaiah 29 and verse 13, or whether you read Matthew 15 and verse 8, here's the truth that you want to understand. There's a vast difference and a vast distance between lips and heart. If one's heart is not set upon Jesus Christ, the question is, upon what is it set?
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Or where is the heart? It has to be somewhere. And it has to be set upon something. And if it's not set upon Jesus Christ, then obviously it is set upon an idol. So here what our Lord is teaching is very plain. Professions without heart attachment are absolutely worthless and useless. Profession without heart attachment—all of those professions are absolutely worthless and useless and vain.
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Now, before I begin explaining and expounding this truth from Matthew 15, I want to give you a clear illustration from Scripture to what I've just said. I want you to understand, to me, one of the funniest stories—not necessarily funny, but it is funny—is found in the book of Judges chapter 17 and 18, and we're going to turn there. But I want you to understand that this story demonstrates very quickly not only the deceitfulness of the heart but the uselessness and the worthlessness of idols and idolatry. As you turn to the book of Judges chapter 17, here is the story of Micah. He has stolen silver from his mother. His mother cursed whoever stole the silver, and thus he now returns it to his mother. And I want you to note what happens. Judges 17, beginning with verse 1: "And there was a man of Mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
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And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursest and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me. I took it." In other words, he stole it. Now watch what his mother says. "And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my son. And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son to make a graven image and a molten image. Now, therefore, I will restore it unto thee. Yet he restored the money into his mother, and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image, and they were in the house of Micah." So here's a man who stole money from his mother. He confessed it. She gave it back to him. Then she took two hundred shekels of silver and she has basically made herself an idol.
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Now, he also got to himself a Levitical priest. And he said to himself—and we're not going to read all of it—he says, "Now the Lord is going to bless me for sure because I've got this priest to my service." Well, the children of Dan were looking to expand, and as they were just kind of surveying the countryside, they had come to Micah's house, and they had seen this Levitical priest, and they had seen this image, and this molten image that had been made. So, I want you to look in Judges chapter 18, beginning there with verse 14, what the children of Dan do as they come back into the land to defeat the people of Laish and take their property. Notice in Judges chapter 18, beginning there with verse 14: "Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and a teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image?
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Now therefore consider what you have to do." Now look. "And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and saluted him. And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate. And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, and the priesthood in entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war. And these went into Micah's house and fetched the carved image and the ephod and the teraphim and the molten image. Then said the priesthood to them, What do you?
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And they said unto him, Hold thy peace. Lay thy hand upon thy mouth. Don't say any more. And go with us. And be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for thee to be a priest in the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?" And the priest's heart was glad. He'd gotten a promotion, brother. More shekels. And the priest's heart was glad. Now watch this. "And he, the priest, took the ephod and the teraphim and the golden image, the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
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And so they turned and departed and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them. And when they were a good way off from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together and overtook the children of Dan. And they cried unto the children of Dan, and they turned their faces and said unto Micah, What aileth thee that thou comest with such a company?
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And he said, You've taken away my gods which I made, and the priests, and you're gone away. And what have I more? And what is this that you say unto me? What aileth thee? And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life with the lives of thy household. And when the children of Dan went their way, and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back into his house." Now the funny thing to me is this: if you look at verse 24, Micah said, "You have taken away the gods which I have made, and the priest, and you're going away, and what have I more?" Now let me ask you a question. What use were the gods that Micah had made?
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They could not protect themselves. They could not protect Micah. And then he said this, "What have I more?" So let's ask this question. Where was his heart? What was he worshipping? Undoubtedly, Micah was one who professed to love the Lord because even back in Judges chapter 17 and verse 1 and verse 2, the Bible says there, his mother said, "Blessed be thou of the Lord, my son." And that is the word Jehovah or Yahweh. And then she said in verse 3 that she had wholly dedicated this money to Yahweh, to the one true and the living God. And the interesting thing is what Micah had done was he had taken this money and he had made this graven image, this molten image, which was absolutely, totally contrary to the first three commandments. He professed with his lips that he loved the Lord, but his heart was set upon these gods that he had made. His heart was not set upon the one true and the living God.
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And you know, you and I can smile when we read this and we think how stupid, how naive, and how sinful and how rebellious Micah really was. Because Micah was on the one hand professing to love the Lord, and yet he had all of these gods, and he had this outlandish idolatry. You say, we would never ever be found in such a state. We would never commit such obvious idolatry. Or would we?
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I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Colossians, chapter 3 and verse 5. Let me show you a verse that's very, very emphatic. The book of Colossians, chapter 3 and verse 5. Colossians 3 and verse 5. Notice what our Lord says: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry." Covetousness, which is idolatry. You know what covetousness is?
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Really and truly it's whatever we set our hearts upon. When we want something, when we desire something with an outlandish desire, we set our hearts upon it. We really, truly desire and crave it. And what we do is we place that desire over and above God and His Word, which is idolatry. So our Lord was very true and very accurate and very right when He said, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Now, with this in mind, I want us to look at Matthew chapter 15 very closely. And I want you to see how deceitful our hearts really are. And I want you to see how very easy it is to fall into the sin of idolatry in our day and time.
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No, you don't have to bow down to a graven image to be an idolater. Because covetousness is idolatry.
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Now, if you'll look in Matthew 15 in verse 1, the Bible says, "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying..." Now, the Pharisees were the fundamentalists of that day. They were contrasted with the liberal, unbelieving Sadducees. In Acts 23 and verse 8—you don't have to turn there—the Bible says this: "For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees confessed both." So, the Sadducees were the liberals. They denied the bodily resurrection from the dead. They denied angels or spirits. But the Pharisees—no, no, no. They believed in the resurrection from the dead. They believed in angels. And they believed in their traditions. So the Pharisees then basically were considered the fundamentalists of that particular day and that particular time. The Pharisees prided themselves on being law keepers and being believers. The truth is, they were neither. They were idolaters.
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And how do we know that? How do we know that most of professing Christendom today are in reality idolaters? Let me show you. If you will look, first of all, in verse 2: "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?" This is the question the Pharisees are asking Christ. "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders, for they wash not their hands when they eat bread?" First of all, I want you to note, they held to and believed in tradition over truth. They held to and believed in tradition over truth. They want to know why our Lord's disciples were transgressing the tradition of the elders. The Pharisees held tenaciously to the traditions and to the authority of antiquity. Their concern for unwashed hands was not of a sanitary nature. Their concern was, here was a tradition.
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It was ceremonial, it was ritualistic, and it was mandatory as far as they were concerned. Their traditions involved far more than just the mere washing of the hands. If you would hold Matthew 15, but turn to Mark chapter 7, you will find this same story with a little variation in the first five verses here. Look at it. I want you to see that their traditions involved far more than just washing the hands. In Mark chapter 7—Matthew, Mark, next book over—chapter 7, verse 1: "Then came together unto him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands often, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not.
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Not for sanitary reasons now. Watch this. "And many other things there be which they have received and hold, as the washing of cups and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"
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Now, before I get to this point, I want to emphasize there's nothing wrong with tradition as long as, number one, that tradition is biblical. Or number two, if it is a tradition, just a tradition of men, that everybody understands that tradition is not binding upon anyone's conscience. The only thing that can bind our consciences is the Word of God. Now there are some traditions that are biblical. In fact, the Apostle Paul, in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 15, said this: "Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by our epistle." There are some biblical traditions. But there are a lot of traditions that are totally and completely unbiblical. The traditions of the Pharisees were unbiblical.
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They were man-made, yet they were mandatory—at least they wanted them to be mandatory upon every individual.
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Now, I want to give you just a couple of paragraphs from Albert Barnes. I want you to listen carefully because he's talking about the traditions here of the elders. He says this: "The word elders literally means old men. It here means the ancients or their ancestors. Tradition means something handed down from one to another by memory." Hang on now. "Some precept or custom not commanded in the written law, but which they themselves were bound to observe." Listen now. "The Jews supposed that when Moses was on Mount Sinai, two sets of law were delivered unto him. One, they said, was recorded, and that is that contained in the Old Testament. The other was handed down from the father to son and kept uncorrupted unto their day. They believe that Moses, before he died, delivered this oral law unto Joshua, Joshua to the judges, and the judges to the prophets, so that it was kept pure till it was recorded in the Talmuds. In these books, these pretended laws are now contained.
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They are exceedingly numerous and very trifling. They are, however, regarded by the Jews as more important than either Moses or the prophets. One point in which the Pharisees differed from the Sadducees was in the holding of these traditions. It seems, however, that in these particular traditions here mentioned all the Jews combined. The Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands often, eat not. Mark also added that this custom of washing, extending not merely to their hands before eating, but in coming from the market, and also to pots and cups, and brazen vessels and tables.
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This they did professedly for the sake of cleanliness. So far that was well, but they made it a matter of superstition. They regarded external purity as of much more importance than the purity of the heart. They had made these foolish rules about it as to the quantity of water that was to be used, the way in which it was to be applied, the number of times it should be changed, the number of those that might wash at one time. These foolish rules our Savior did not think it proper to regard, and this was the reason why they found fault with Him.
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It is true that there were laws concerning washings in the Old Testament, Leviticus 11, which related to pollution. However, these secondary laws or traditions were the mere inventions and interpretations of men which the Pharisees held above the law.
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Now, it's important for you to note that they believed that there were two sets of laws. One written by Moses, and the other orally received, which Moses communicated to Joshua, Joshua to the judges, and the judges to the prophets. And they maintained that this oral law was kept uncorrupted until their day.
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Now, I want you to look in Matthew 15, beginning there with verse 15. Notice if you would what our Lord teaches. Look in Matthew 15, verse 15: "Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are you yet also without understanding?" Verse 17: "Do not you yet understand that whatsoever goeth in, entereth in at the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man. But to eat with unwashed hands defileth not a man."
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Now, God's law did not demand that hands were to be washed before eating. Certainly it may be wise to do so for sanitary reasons, but God's law did not demand it. Yet the Pharisees in their traditions absolutely demanded it. How seriously did the Pharisees and the scribes hold to the tradition of the elders? I want you to listen. There were two very popular schools in our Lord's day and back before our Lord's day as well.
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They were known as the school of Hillel and the school of Shammai. These two schools taught the oral traditions. I want you to listen to this quote: "Know then that the words of the scribes are more lovely than the words of the law. For says Arctarphon, if a man does not read he only transgresses an infirmity. But if he transgresses the words of the school of Hillel, he is guilty of death, because he has broken down a hedge and a serpent shall bite him. It is a tradition of our Ishmael, the words of the law having in them both prohibition and permission.
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Some of them are light, some of heavy. But the words of the scribes, all of them are heavy, weightier than the words of the elders and than the words of the prophets." Here's one other quote: "My son, attend unto the words of the scribes more than the words of the law. For in the words of the law are infirmities and negatives. But the words of the scribes are heavy. Every one that transgresseth the words of the scribes is guilty of death." Wow.
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So, what the Jews were doing was taking their traditions and holding them above the word of God. Now, if you look in Matthew 15 in verse 3, our Lord rightly asks these Pharisees, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your traditions?" And then in verses 4 through 6, which I'm not going to get into, He gives them an example of how they transgress the law of God by their tradition. Now, I want you to note that the Pharisees did not desire truth. They did not want truth. They wanted their traditions.
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There are many modern day Christians that are equally farsighted. If you mess with their Christmas traditions, their Santa Claus, their Easter Bunny, the Halloween, and all the other traditions, you will find that you will be railed upon and excoriated just like our Lord was. I personally know pastors who have been run off from local churches because they did not want a Christmas tree in the church auditorium or a man dressed as Santa Claus in the church building. And instead of them listening to the pastor and listening to his exposition of Scripture and listening to his reasoning, they just chose rather to have their own traditions and thus they ran the pastor off. It's absolutely astounding how many people are willing to place tradition above truth. Many churches have been doing exactly the same thing in the same way for years.
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And if you try to show them, "Well look, what you're doing is not right according to the Word of God," they'll quickly tell you, "We've done this way for the last 50 years or the last 100 years." What are they saying? We're not going to change. It doesn't matter what the Word of God says. This is our tradition. This is the way that we've always done it. And this is the way we're going to continue to do it. So the Pharisees came to our Lord and they said basically, "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? We've always done it like this.
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Why are you changing things? Who do you think you are?" They were not interested in truth. Let me tell you something, folks. Traditions, unless they are biblical, really do not matter. Truth does matter. We as Christians believe that God's law is supreme. And God's law is absolutely sovereign. And we should be in submission to God's word rather than being in submission to the traditions of man. So here's the question. Where is your heart? Is your heart in submission to the Word of God, or is it in submission to traditions? The Pharisees were idolaters, because they placed tradition above truth. We as Christians must hold truth above everything.
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Secondly, I want you to understand in Matthew 15, they held to and believed religion over reality. Look in verse 7. Our Lord told these Pharisees, "You hypocrites, you hypocrites, what did Isaiah prophesy of you saying? This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me."
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Now watch it, "...but in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." So here they were drawing nigh to our Lord with their mouth, they were honoring Him with their lips, but for their doctrine they were teaching the commandments of men, which is a mere religion. Do you realize that religions are a dime a dozen? Anyone may start a religion. Every one of us in here are familiar with Scientology, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, various other cults and sects and isms you've heard about and read about. But let me tell you some that you may not have heard about and may not read about. Do you realize there's a religion that is called the Universe People or the Cosmic People of Light Powers? How about this one? The Church of Subgenius. I'm serious now. I'm not making this up. The Church of Subgenius. Here's another one. You may have heard of this one. The Church of Euthanasia. Or COE. The Church of Euthanasia is a political organization started by the Reverend Chris Korda, which is a woman.
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In the Boston, Massachusetts area of the United States, she advocates that we need to kill ourselves in order to save the planet. I wonder why she's not done her part in saving the planet. I mean, if you really believe something, I think you'd practice what you preached. You know? But this is a church of euthanasia. And here's another one. I want to pronounce this correctly. Nuwabianism. Nuwabianism.
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The Nuwabians originated as a black Muslim group in New York in the 1970s. Here's another one. The spelling is atrocious, but here's how it's spelled: The Temple of Psychic Youth. T-H-E-E Temple of O-V Psychic P-S-Y-C-H-I-C-K Youth. Also known as T-O-P-Y. Obviously, spelling is not a fundamental part of this religion. But the Temple of Psychic Youth was founded in 1981 by members of the Psychic TV, COIL, and Current 93, and a number of other individuals.
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The ever-evolving network is a loosely federated group of people operating as a unique blend of artistic collective and practitioners of magic. The Temple of Psychic Youth. And then I want you to consider this unworthy news item. To me, this is absolutely, if it was not so serious, it would be absolutely hilarious. Jedi religion is the most popular alternative faith.
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Now listen, today's census figures show that 176,632 people in England and Wales identify themselves as Jedi Knights, making it the most popular faith in the "other religious" category on the census and seventh most popular faith overall. Jedi Knights from Star Wars? Let me tell you something, folks. Religion is not reality. Religion is not reality. These heresies held to religion over reality. Reality is determined by God, it is not determined by man. One may fool himself, one may deceive himself, one may believe in himself, and yet never ever face reality.
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And the truth of the matter is this. One thing all of these religions have in common is that they are contrary to the Word of God, and many of them are immoral and refuse to face God's reality. They refuse to deal with sin, and judgment, and truth. And like the Pharisees of old, they're condemned by our Lord. I want you to turn right over to Matthew 23, hold Matthew 15. I want to show you the curses that God places against the Pharisees. And I want you to understand how this is very applicable to all of these false religions.
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They all fall into the same category. Let's begin with Matthew 23 and verse 13. Our Lord says, "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering in to go in." Our Lord made it very plain in John 14 and verse 6, when He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."
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I want you to think of all of these religions that basically deny the deity of Jesus Christ, or they deny the humanity of Christ. They basically deny that Christ is either not God or not man. They do deny in total that He is not salvation. And yet the Scripture teaches that He is salvation alone. And so our Lord says, here's what these false idolaters do. They shut up heaven against themselves, and they shut it up from anyone that's going in. They don't want anyone to believe the truth. They don't want anyone to face reality. They hold their religion over reality. Look in verse 14. Matthew 23, verse 14.
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Again, he says, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer, therefore you shall receive the greater damnation." I want you to think with me, not only along with the Pharisees, but think of all of these other cults and isms and schisms. Think of all the fraud, theft, and deceit that is involved in religion. How many people have been ripped off financially through fraudulent promises, prophecies, or prosperity blessings?
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I never will forget years ago, listening to the radio, there was a black preacher who called himself Reverend Ike. Anybody ever hear of Reverend Ike? Yeah. Rev. Ike would come on the radio and he would say this: "This is Rev. Ike." He said, "If you want your pie in the sky, by and by, you don't need me. But if you want your pie right now, see and hear Rev. Ike." That's what he said. "If you want your pie right now, see and hear Rev. Ike." And then you need to send in ten dollars for a blessing. And he'll send you a blessing. He'll send you a handkerchief that he's prayed over.
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I'd like to sell handkerchiefs for 10 bucks each too, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you buy them for a few cents? Come on! But think of all the people that have been ripped off. Think how many people have lost their physical lives because of false religions. And then think how many people have lost their eternal souls because of false religions. Look in verse 15. He says, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."
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Students usually go beyond their teachers. They will embrace error with far greater zeal and hold more tenaciously to error while they defend it to the fullest. And that's what he's saying here. You look at the people who embraced all these false teachings and even created more false teachings. Then look at Matthew 23 and verse 23. Our Lord says this: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith.
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These ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone." Have you ever noticed how particular many religions are on small and sometimes insignificant issues? But they very quickly overlook adultery, and fornication, and fraud, and theft, and a host of other major sins. I got news for you. Even in many fundamental independent Bible-believing Baptist churches, just so you're in church Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, and come to visitation and give, many churches will overlook your fraudulent business practices, your adultery, your fornication. Our Lord said, you'll pay attention to some smaller things, and you'll overlook the greater things.
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I want you to note how the next two woes illustrate this truth. Look in verse 25. He says, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within are full of extortion and excess." And then in verse 27, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness." Wow.
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That's what false religions are all about. Beautiful sometimes on the outside, absolutely corrupt on the inside.
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Finally, the last verse here demonstrates how religion fights against truth. And those who teach truth, they fight against and deny God's reality. Look in verse 29. He says, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you build the tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous." Religion always fights against reality. Reality is in Jesus Christ. It is not in religion. Reality is what the Word of God declares, not what man states.
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So where is your heart? Are you holding tradition above truth? Or are you holding religion above reality? If you look back in Matthew chapter 15, here's a third thing that our Lord condemns. The Pharisees, they held to and believed in willfulness over worship. Willfulness over worship. Go back to verse 7 again. Look at what he said. "You hypocrites. You hypocrites. Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Do you not see in this an absolutely willful attitude on the part of the Pharisees? When they came to Christ, they said, "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?" In other words, you're not paying attention to our religion. You're not doing what we believe ought to be done. Why are you letting your disciples get away with this? You see, the Pharisees had the attitude, "It's going to be our way or no way."
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They were content with their ceremonies, with their rituals, with their traditions. That was enough to satisfy them. They were not going to worship God the way God demanded. They were going to worship the way they will to worship. And if God could not be satisfied with what they gave Him, then He could just do without. They weren't going to change. You know, in Jude 1 and verse 11—don't turn there—but the Bible says this: "Woe unto them, for they've gone in the way of Cain." Woe unto them, for they've gone in the way of Cain. What is the way of Cain? Let me tell you. The way of Cain is the way of self-will. You remember how God demanded that he be worshipped with a bloody sacrifice. And the Bible says in Hebrews 9 and verse 22, "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin." And so when it came time to worship, Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock the way God commanded him to bring. It was a bloody sacrifice.
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But what did Cain do? Cain brought the fruit of the ground. Now Cain knew exactly what God demanded, but he refused to bring it. Cain's attitude was this: "What I've got is good enough for God, and if it's not, He can do without. I'm going to give Him what I want to give Him. I'm going to give Him what I will to give Him. And I'm not going to change." You know, many people today follow the way of Cain.
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They would not admit it. They would not even think that they would do so, and yet they do. You know what our Lord said in John 4, verses 23 and 24? Listen to this. He said, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and they that worship Him, listen, must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth." So God says if you're going to worship Him, you absolutely must be bounded on the one hand by Truth, and on the other hand by Spirit. If you're not worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth, then you're not worshipping God. Baptists today, as well as other denominations, instead of giving our Lord that which He requires, they're content to go to a church building, sing a few hymns, listen to a short sermon, and think that somehow they've glorified God and worshipped Him. Others will light a few candles and bow and scrape and recite a prayer and walk out thinking that they've worshipped God, which is not true.
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Our Lord says, if you're going to worship Me, you must worship Me in spirit and in truth. Let me ask you a question. Where is your heart? Are you at this moment worshiping Him in spirit and in truth? Are you giving Him that which He demands? Or are you giving Him that which you want Him to have? I want you to turn to the book of Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. And I want you to look, if you would, beginning there in verse 20. Colossians 2 and verse 20. I told you that the Pharisees put tradition over truth. They put religion over reality. And they put their willfulness over worship. In Colossians 2 and verse 20, we read, "Wherefore, if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why as though living in the world are you subject to ordinances, touch not, taste not, handle not, which are all to perish with the using after the commandments and doctrines of men," watch,
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"which things indeed have a show of wisdom in will worship and humility and neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh." But notice that verse 23, "which things indeed have a show of wisdom in will worship." Do you know that's exactly what most people do? They present God their willfulness. And they demand that God accept their willfulness over the worship that He demands they give Him.
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So where is your heart? Are you giving our Lord that which He demands? Or simply that you want Him to have? And you may not express it, but as your attitude, "I'll give Him what I want Him to have, and if He doesn't like it, He can do without." Our Lord said, "God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth."
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We know that these Pharisees were idolaters. Because they held their tradition above truth. They held their religion over and above reality. And they held willfulness over and above worship.
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Now let me make just a few applications. The first one is this. It does matter as to whether or not our hearts are involved in worship. It does matter whether we worship according to the Word of God. It does matter whether or not we give God that which He demands. We should always value the will and the Word of God. Let me give you an example of David's worshipping the Lord. Let me just read it. In Psalm 103, verses 1-5, listen to what David said: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.
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Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfyeth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." Notice what he said. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name." What is he saying? I'm thinking of Christ. I'm thinking of His Word.
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My affections are set upon Him. My spirit is being engaged by the Holy Spirit. And I'm giving God worship and honor for all of these things. He forgives all of my iniquities. He heals all my diseases. He redeems my life. He crowns me with loving kindness. He satisfies my mouth with good things. He renews my youth. Yeah. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. We need to learn to make sure that everything in our being is given to God in our worship, both public and private.
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The second application is this. It's much easier to be a Pharisee than it is a Christian. Pharisees only have to obey and keep their own rules. And Pharisees were able to change them and make them up as they go along. And Pharisees are able to hold other people to a higher standard than they hold themselves. And they're Pharisees. Christians must always be in submission to the Word and Will and Law of God, no matter the circumstances and no matter the situation. Christians must be submissive and obedient to the Word of God. If you want a religion, Pharisaism is a very easy one in one sense of the word. If you want salvation, that's found in Jesus Christ. If you want true Christianity, that's found in Jesus Christ.
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So the question is, where's your heart? Is it the heart of a Christian, or is it the heart of a Pharisee? May God make us totally, completely, and absolutely in submission to His Word. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You, dear Lord. We give Thee praise and honor and glory for Your Word and for Your salvation. Lord, we ask that You would indeed make us holy, make us obedient, make us godly. And Father, may we in every area of our life please Thee, and be acceptable unto Thee, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.
#69 | 53:15 to 54:06 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:21:10Z

Where Is Your Heart?

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver examines Matthew 15:1-9 to expose the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who honored God with their lips while their hearts were far from Him. He argues that wherever one's treasure is, there the heart will be, and that idolatry is not limited to graven images but includes covetousness and any desire placed above God. The sermon contrasts tradition with truth, religion with reality, and willfulness with worship, urging believers to examine whether their hearts are truly submitted to God's Word or merely following man-made rules.

Introduction: The Question of the Heart

Weaver introduces the topic by reading Matthew 15:1-9 and posing the central question: 'Where is your heart?' He explains that the heart follows one's treasure, as taught by Jesus.

Matthew chapter 15, and we're going to read the first nine verses. The title of the message is, "Where Is Your Heart?" Where is your heart? Look in Matthew 15, beginning with verse 1.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 15:1-9

"Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But He answered and said unto them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and thy mother, and he that curses father and mother, let him die the death. But you say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."

The Heart Follows the Treasure

Expounding on Matthew 6:21, Weaver emphasizes that the heart is inevitably drawn to what we treasure most, whether earthly or heavenly, and that our actions follow our hearts.

The Deceitfulness of Idolatry: The Example of Micah

Using the story of Micah in Judges 17-18, Weaver illustrates how quickly hearts turn to idols and how useless those idols are, showing that profession without heart attachment is worthless.

Covetousness as Idolatry

Weaver cites Colossians 3:5 to define covetousness as idolatry, explaining that any desire placed above God constitutes idolatry, making the point relevant to modern believers.

Scripture Reading — Colossians 3:5

"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry."

No, you don't have to bow down to a graven image to be an idolater. Because covetousness is idolatry.

The Pharisees: Tradition Over Truth

The Pharisees are described as fundamentalists who elevated oral traditions above God's written law. Weaver details their man-made rules on handwashing and contrasts them with biblical truth.

Scripture Reading — Mark 7:1-5

"Then came together unto him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands often, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not.

The Pharisees: Religion Over Reality

Weaver condemns the Pharisees for practicing a hollow religion, citing Matthew 15:7-9 and the woes of Matthew 23. He lists modern false religions to show that religion without Christ is empty.

They all fall into the same category. Let's begin with Matthew 23 and verse 13. Our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 23:13-29

"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering in to go in."

Scripture Reading — Matthew 23:13-29

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. These ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone."

The Pharisees: Willfulness Over Worship

The Pharisees are shown to have a willful attitude, offering God what they chose rather than what He commanded. Weaver references Cain's self-willed offering and John 4:23-24 on true worship.

We know that these Pharisees were idolaters. Because they held their tradition above truth. They held their religion over and above reality. And they held willfulness over and above worship.

Applications: Heartfelt Worship and Submission

Weaver applies the message by urging wholehearted worship like David's in Psalm 103 and warning that it is easier to be a Pharisee than a true Christian, calling for submission to God's Word.

Where Is Your Heart?

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	SY0uwaqYFZI
Subject	Church Government
Course	Church Order: Preaching and Pastoral Ministry
Genre	Sermon
Date	2013-02-11
Dictation Name
Book	Book 039: Church Order and Worship - Volume 1 — Chapter 17
Source Timed Segments	69

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Question of the Heart: Weaver introduces the topic by reading Matthew 15:1-9 and posing the central question: 'Where is your heart?' He explains that the heart follows one's treasure, as taught by Jesus.
The Heart Follows the Treasure: Expounding on Matthew 6:21, Weaver emphasizes that the heart is inevitably drawn to what we treasure most, whether earthly or heavenly, and that our actions follow our hearts.
The Deceitfulness of Idolatry: The Example of Micah: Using the story of Micah in Judges 17-18, Weaver illustrates how quickly hearts turn to idols and how useless those idols are, showing that profession without heart attachment is worthless.
Covetousness as Idolatry: Weaver cites Colossians 3:5 to define covetousness as idolatry, explaining that any desire placed above God constitutes idolatry, making the point relevant to modern believers.
The Pharisees: Tradition Over Truth: The Pharisees are described as fundamentalists who elevated oral traditions above God's written law. Weaver details their man-made rules on handwashing and contrasts them with biblical truth.
The Pharisees: Religion Over Reality: Weaver condemns the Pharisees for practicing a hollow religion, citing Matthew 15:7-9 and the woes of Matthew 23. He lists modern false religions to show that religion without Christ is empty.
The Pharisees: Willfulness Over Worship: The Pharisees are shown to have a willful attitude, offering God what they chose rather than what He commanded. Weaver references Cain's self-willed offering and John 4:23-24 on true worship.
Applications: Heartfelt Worship and Submission: Weaver applies the message by urging wholehearted worship like David's in Psalm 103 and warning that it is easier to be a Pharisee than a true Christian, calling for submission to God's Word.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Profession without heart attachment is vain worship.

Jesus condemned the Pharisees for honoring God with their lips while their hearts were far from Him, rendering their worship empty.

Weaver quotes Matthew 15:8-9: 'This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth... but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me.'

Idolatry is any desire placed above God.

Colossians 3:5 equates covetousness with idolatry, meaning that craving anything more than God is a form of idol worship.

Weaver states, 'When we want something... we place that desire over and above God and His Word, which is idolatry.'

Traditions become sinful when they nullify God's Word.

The Pharisees' oral traditions contradicted God's law, and they valued them above Scripture, a practice still seen in churches today.

Weaver says, 'They held to and believed in tradition over truth... They want to know why our Lord's disciples were transgressing the tradition of the elders.'

False religions share the Pharisees' errors.

Modern cults and even some churches mirror the Pharisees by emphasizing external rituals, overlooking major sins, and denying Christ's exclusivity.

Weaver lists various false religions and applies Matthew 23's woes, saying, 'They all fall into the same category.'

True worship must be in spirit and truth.

God requires worship that is both heartfelt and aligned with His Word, not self-styled offerings like Cain's.

Weaver cites John 4:23-24: 'God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.'

It is easier to be a Pharisee than a Christian.

Pharisaism allows self-made rules and hypocrisy, while true Christianity demands constant submission to God's Word.

Weaver concludes, 'Pharisees only have to obey and keep their own rules... Christians must always be in submission to the Word and Will and Law of God.'

Scripture References

Matthew 15:1-9: The primary text of the sermon, where Jesus confronts the Pharisees about their traditions and quotes Isaiah about heartless worship.
Matthew 6:21: Referenced to establish that where one's treasure is, there the heart will be also.
Proverbs 4:23: Cited to emphasize the importance of guarding the heart, as it determines the course of life.
Exodus 32:8: Used to illustrate how quickly Israel's hearts turned to idolatry with the golden calf.
Isaiah 29:13: The Old Testament passage Jesus quotes in Matthew 15:8-9 about people honoring God with lips but not hearts.
Judges 17:1-4: The beginning of Micah's story, showing his idolatry despite professing the Lord.
Judges 18:14-26: The Danites steal Micah's idols, revealing their worthlessness and Micah's misplaced heart.
Colossians 3:5: Defines covetousness as idolatry, connecting inward desires to outward idol worship.
Acts 23:8: Contrasts Pharisees (who believed in resurrection and angels) with Sadducees (who did not).
Mark 7:1-5: Parallel account detailing the Pharisees' traditions on washing hands, cups, and pots.
2 Thessalonians 2:15: Shows that some traditions are biblical and should be kept, unlike the Pharisees' man-made rules.
Matthew 15:15-20: Jesus explains that defilement comes from the heart, not unwashed hands.
Matthew 23:13-29: The woes pronounced on the Pharisees, illustrating their hypocrisy and false religion.
John 14:6: Jesus as the only way to the Father, contrasting with false religions.
Jude 1:11: References the way of Cain as self-willed worship.
Hebrews 9:22: Without shedding of blood there is no remission, explaining why Cain's offering was rejected.
John 4:23-24: God must be worshipped in spirit and truth, not by human willfulness.
Colossians 2:20-23: Warns against will-worship and man-made ordinances that have an appearance of wisdom but lack true honor to God.
Psalm 103:1-5: David's example of wholehearted worship, blessing the Lord with all that is within him.

Historical References

Pharisees and Sadducees: The Pharisees were the fundamentalists of Jesus' day, believing in resurrection and angels, while Sadducees denied them. Pharisees held to oral traditions.
School of Hillel and School of Shammai: Two popular schools that taught oral traditions, with sayings that placed scribal words above the law, even on pain of death.
Albert Barnes' commentary on traditions: Weaver quotes Barnes explaining the Jewish belief in an oral law given to Moses and passed down, later recorded in the Talmuds.
Martin Luther quote: Luther is quoted: 'What a man loves, that is his God,' illustrating that the heart's affection reveals its true god.
Reverend Ike: A radio preacher who promised immediate blessings for money, exemplifying religious fraud and exploitation.
Modern false religions (Universe People, Church of Subgenius, Church of Euthanasia, Nuwabianism, Temple of Psychic Youth, Jedi religion): Listed to show the absurdity and variety of man-made religions that deny biblical reality.

Important Quotes

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Central thesis of the sermon, establishing that the heart inevitably follows what we value most.

What a man loves, that is his God.

Martin Luther's quote used to show that our affections reveal our true object of worship.

This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

Jesus' indictment of the Pharisees, highlighting the disconnect between outward profession and inward reality.

Covetousness, which is idolatry.

Key verse (Colossians 3:5) that expands the definition of idolatry to include inward desires.

God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

Jesus' command in John 4:24 that defines acceptable worship, contrasting with willful religion.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name.

David's example of wholehearted worship, used as a model for believers.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean for your heart to be where your treasure is, and how can you identify your true treasure?

[Context]

Based on the opening exposition of Matthew 6:21 and the principle that the heart follows treasure.

[Question]

In what subtle ways might covetousness (idolatry) manifest in a believer's life today?

[Context]

Stemming from the teaching on Colossians 3:5 and the definition of covetousness as idolatry.

[Question]

How can we distinguish between biblical traditions and man-made traditions that nullify God's Word?

[Context]

Arising from the contrast between the Pharisees' oral law and scriptural commands.

[Question]

Why is it easier to be a Pharisee than a true Christian, according to the sermon?

[Context]

From the application that Pharisaism allows self-made rules while Christianity demands submission to God.

[Question]

What does worship 'in spirit and in truth' look like in your personal and corporate worship?

[Context]

Based on John 4:23-24 and the contrast with willful, self-styled worship.

[Question]

How does the story of Micah illustrate the foolishness of idolatry, and what modern 'idols' might we be tempted to make?

[Context]

From the extended illustration in Judges 17-18 and its application to contemporary life.

Applications

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