Daniel

It's The Mind, Stupid

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2021-03-09

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver teaches that all sin and idolatry begin in the mind, using Ezekiel 8:12 as the foundational text. He explains that the 'chambers of imagery' refer to the mind, where imaginations precede outward actions. The heart is equated with the mind, and wrong thinking leads to idolatry and disobedience. Believers must control their thoughts, saturate their minds with Scripture, and reject vain imaginations, knowing that God discerns every thought.

[John Weaver] Let's open our Bibles if you would to the book of Exodus on that not Exodus I'm sorry Ezekiel chapter 8 and verse 12 Ezekiel chapter 8 and verse 12 so you have Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Ezekiel chapter 8 and verse 12 As you're finding Ezekiel 8 and verse 12, listen carefully and I will explain. But here's the title of the message. It's the mind, stupid. You will understand as we get started. Look in Ezekiel 8 and verse 12, just one verse right now.

[John Weaver] Then said He unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark? Every man in the chambers of his imagery, For they say, the Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth. So I would say at the very beginning, do not be upset at the title of the message. It is there for emphasis. But many of you will remember years ago during a prominent election, there was a slogan which candidates were using as they were running for office and the slogan was, it's the economy, stupid.

[John Weaver] And of course that was there. I have a friend, of course, some of you know him, who teaches Bible. And one of his favorite sayings is, it's the context, stupid. And certainly, whenever we ignore economics and whenever we ignore the context, we're certainly acting very stupidly and very wickedly, I would also say, at the same time. Because not only is the economy essential, the context, not only the immediate context, but also the remote context of a passage is absolutely essential as well. You remember, I think it was Forrest Gump who popularized the saying, stupid is as stupid does.

[John Weaver] There is a phrase or a sentence that has been attributed to Albert Einstein. Whether he said it or not, I do not know, but it goes like this. Two things are infinite. The universe and human stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the universe. So, what he is saying is basically true, I can assure you, because each one of us has done stupid things. And if we were honest, we would freely admit that we have done stupid things.

[John Weaver] Not only in our actions, but many times in our attitudes and in our words. In fact, I usually, when I do something like that, I end up saying it out loud, Now that was mighty stupid of me, you know, and certainly it was. But obviously, we do indeed do many things that are wrong and what you and I would call stupid. And oftentimes we regret our actions, we regret our words, and we certainly cannot call any of them back. I've always said that one way to avoid trouble is do not go with stupid people to stupid places and do stupid things. However, most people avoid that piece of advice, but that is still good advice. Now, I've preached many messages in times past concerning the mind. I'm going to say that probably the most fundamental and the most needed and necessary message that I've ever preached dealing with the mind is the message keeping the heart. I've also preached a message on the mind of Christ. I also preached a series of messages on changing your mind doctrinally.

[John Weaver] I've also preached a series of messages on the supremacy of Christ over the mind. And probably the most recent message that I've preached was one which I titled, Take Out the Garbage. But the interesting thing is this, when you ask this question, how often does God have to say something to make it true. And the answer is what? One time. But when you see a truth that is repeated over and over and over in Scripture, it is there for emphasis, and it means it's very, very important. In fact, what I'm going to be teaching you today and sharing with you from today, from the Word of God, it can be found in many passages of the Bible.

[John Weaver] But this particular truth is shown here in Ezekiel chapter 8 in verse 12, and yet it is the same truth. It may be coming from a different passage or a different book, but it's still exactly the same truth, and we have to conclude that it has to be a vitally important truth for it to occur so many times in Scripture. Now, if you would turn back to Ezekiel chapter 1, and look if you would please at verse 3, because it's important that you understand that Ezekiel, was a priest that God called to be a prophet, and he was a prophet to the captives who were in Babylon. Ezekiel was already in Babylon. Many of the Judahites were already in Babylon.

[John Weaver] They were there in the first deportation, 605 B.C., I think it was, that they were taken their captive. So in verse 3 of Ezekiel 1, The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Kibar, and the hand of the Lord was there upon him. So Ezekiel was a priest, God called him to be a prophet, and he was already there in Babylon. Now, since he was a captive, he was prophesying to the captives that were already there.

[John Weaver] So anything that he prophesied concerning Jerusalem had to be by vision. So if you'll turn back to Ezekiel chapter 8 and look in verse 3, you will find that what I'm about to share with you today was through a vision that God gave Ezekiel. The Bible says, and he put forth the form of a hand and took me by the lock of mine head And the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north,

[John Weaver] where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy." So the context of this passage deals primarily with the sin of idolatry and all of the sins that are particularly related to idolatry. As you look at this chapter, you're going to find that the progress of idolatry goes from bad to worse.

[John Weaver] Now, in verse 3 that we just read, God shows Ezekiel an image that had been set up by the gate. What was the image? Well, we are not told specifically what it was. It was indeed an idol. But in all probability, it was an idol either to Baal or Ashtaroth. You remember that Ahaz, the king of Israel, was a particular worshipper of Baal. And so was Manasseh, the king of Judah. He was also a worshipper of Baal and of Ashtaroth. Now, Ashtaroth was just simply the female consort of Baal. So even the worship of Ashtaroth was indeed a worship of Baal as well. The interesting thing is in 2 Kings chapter 21 and verse 7, we're told about Manasseh, the king of Judah, and the Bible says this, And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house of the Lord, which the Lord said to David, And I shall have his son in this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever.

[John Weaver] So, it was Manasseh then, who set an image of the grove. The word grove refers to Ashtaroth. Ashtaroth, the female consort of Baal. So it was a worship then of Baal. Whatever it was, whether Baal, Ashtaroth, it doesn't matter. It was indeed an idol. And the Bible tells in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 16, lest you corrupt yourselves and make you a graven image, the similitude any figure the likeness of male or female. So it doesn't matter in one sense of the word whether it was a Baal or an Asheroth or anything else.

[John Weaver] It was totally and completely forbidden by God and it was contrary to God and his law. Now I want you to look at the context before we get down to verse 12. So let's begin reading at verse 6. God has already showed Ezekiel this horrible image And now he goes farther. Look at it. Verse 6. He said, furthermore unto me, son of man, seest thou what they do, even the great abominations that the house of Israel committed the year, that I should go far off from my sanctuary.

[John Weaver] In other words, let me just stop right there. They're driving God off. They're running God off. In the sense that God is going to withdraw. He's not going to stay there and put up with idolatry You remember he said in isaiah 42 my glory will I not share nor give my praise to graven images So he says they they're driving me away now watch what he says but turn thee yet again And thou shalt see greater abominations. In other words, the idol was bad But that was not the greatest abomination then in verse 7 And he brought me to the door of the court, and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall. And when I digged in the wall, behold, a door. And he said unto me, go in and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.

[John Weaver] So I went in and saw and behold every form of creeping things and abominable beast and all the idols of the house of Israel portrayed upon the wall round about. And there stood before them 70 men of the ancients of the house of Israel. And in the midst of them stood Jehazaniah, the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark? Every man in the chambers of his imagery, for they say, the Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth." Interestingly, the Word of God tells us that every one of these men were doing this in the chambers of his imagery. Now, Ezekiel saw this portrayed upon the wall. And very obviously, it had to be portrayed upon the wall because he could not read or see the minds of the men. Yet it was still that idolatry that was in the chambers of their imagery.

[John Weaver] So you're going to ask me, was there a real chamber? Was there a real room? Well, I'm not sure, and I would probably say no, since this was a vision. But obviously, God had to portray it some way and somehow for Ezekiel to see what was actually going on in their minds in the chambers of every man's imagery. One thing we know for sure, and that is this, that the idolatry was in their minds. I'm going to say this about three or four times in this message, so I want you to pay attention right now.

[John Weaver] The imagination always precedes the image. You cannot build You cannot mold, you cannot sculptor, you cannot paint, you cannot draw something until first you imagine it in your mind. So the imagination precedes the image. I looked up the word imagination in the dictionary. I already knew the definition, but I wanted to see what the dictionary said and I found two very interesting definitions. Listen to the first one. Imagination.

[John Weaver] The faculty of imagining or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses. So I can have a mental image in my mind of something that is not present to the senses. I have some friends now that are in the Dominican Republic. And they just sent me a beautiful picture of a beach with palm trees that's just about two miles from where they're living. And I can see that in my mind. I mean, I saw the picture, so I can see that image now in my mind. So here it is, the faculty of imagining or forming mental images of concepts that may not actually be present to the senses. I can't touch the palm tree, I can't pick up the sand, I can't put my foot in the water, but I saw, and so I have that in my imagination. Here's the second one. The product of imagining a conception or mental creation often baseless or a fanciful one.

[John Weaver] In other words, I can imagine things that are not real. I can imagine things that are not true. And so, the imagination can be based upon fact or reality, or it can be based upon just pure fancy. So, it is only the mind that can imagine. It is the mind that is the chambers of the imagery.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look in verse 12, because before I get really into the message, I want you to note the words. Let's look at them. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark? Every man in the chambers of his imagery. Now, let's consider the word dark. It's the Hebrew word koshsek, which literally means darkness, night, obscurity, a secret place. It's interesting as you read through the Bible that you grasp the concept of darkness. You remember our Lord said it, men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. And darkness is usually associated with sin and evil. For instance, in Psalm 74 and verse 20, the Bible says, for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. Notice it's the dark places of the earth that are full of the habitations of cruelty. In Proverbs 4 and verse 19, the Bible says the way of the wicked is as darkness.

[John Weaver] They know not at what they stumble. So the way of the wicked is at darkness. And usually it is during the dark that you have many vile and wicked acts performed.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask that you turn your Bibles back to Isaiah, Holy Ezekiel 8, But turn back to Isaiah 29, and I want you to look, please, at verse 15. Isaiah 29 and verse 15. Watch, if you would, what is specifically spelled out. Isaiah 29 and verse 15. Here it is. Isaiah 29, verse 15. God says, Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark.

[John Weaver] And they say, Who seeth us, and who knoweth us? So he's talking about people who commit their wicked deeds in the dark, hoping that no one sees, and that no one will know. That is why in the book of Proverbs chapter 7, verses 9 and 10, you read about the harlot, The Bible says, in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night. And behold, there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot and subtle of heart. So when you look at the dark, it simply refers to darkness, to night, to obscurity, to a secret place. So, look at the next word. Then said He unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark? Every man in the chambers Now the word chambers is the Hebrew word qadir, and it literally refers to a chamber, a bed chamber, or the inmost part, or the innermost part.

[John Weaver] So this word then could have an application not only to the physical, but to the mental and the spiritual as well. And then look at the word imagery. It is from the Hebrew word maskith, which means an image, an idol, an imagination, or a conceit, imagery so he says son of man has thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark every man in the chambers of his imagery now you notice in this vision Ezekiel had to dig through the wall to find the door he had to work to get at the chambers of the imagery of these 70 ancients. So, I could look at Gary, and I could say, hmm, what is in his mind?

[John Weaver] I can't read his mind, but what I can do is I can listen to him, I can watch him, I can question him, and pretty soon I can come up with a fairly decent idea of what's going on in his thinking. what's going on in his mind. In other words, it's something that I would have to work at, it's something I have to dig at, and that is exactly what God had Ezekiel do, to dig out and then he saw portrayed upon the wall what was exactly in the minds of these individuals.

[John Weaver] Now in the Jameson Fawcett Brown commentary they say this, the chambers of imagery are their own perverse imaginations answering to the priest's chambers in the vision where all the pictures are portrayed. So once again they're saying it's the mind. And then Calvin in his commentary said this, some translate in the chambers of their painting, but I take the word Misketh for imagination, as it is also taken in other places. It properly signifies painting, but it is also transferred to the thoughts of men. And then he says this, now therefore we see in what sense the prophet mentions the hiding places of their imaginations. Now, let me begin by saying this. Idolatry does not begin with statues, paintings, sculptures, or anything material. Idolatry and every sin actually begins in the mind. Let me show you.

[John Weaver] I want you to hold Ezekiel 8. But look in your Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 1. Romans, chapter 1. And notice if you would, in verse 21 through 23. Romans, chapter 1. And look at it, beginning there with verse 21. Romans 1, verse 21. Watch carefully. Because when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, Neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like of a corruptible man and of birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. Now, I want you to note in verse 21, that which came first was the imaginations, vain imaginations. That which came next was the fact that they were changing the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image like man and four-footed beasts and creeping things to dishonor themselves. In other words, the imagination precedes the image. It always does. They imagined God to be something other than he was.

[John Weaver] Now, listen very carefully. The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of faults about God that are unworthy of God, unlike God, or contrary to God. Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain for which the polluted waters of idolatry flow, they are idolatrous in and of themselves. God, the only God that exists, is the God that is revealed in the Bible. And if we insist upon thinking about God in any way other than that which is revealed in the Bible, we're guilty of idolatry. We're not building an idol of physical materials. We're building an idol with thoughts. We're building an idol in our minds. So, God is not what you think. God is not what you believe. God is not what you state. God is what He is, what He has revealed Himself as in His Word. And the only way that you and I can know anything about God is that He has revealed Himself in His Word. And to the extent that you and I think unbiblical thoughts about God, to that extent, we are guilty of idolatry.

[John Weaver] It may not be the abominable kind like we just saw in Ezekiel chapter 8, but it's still idolatry. Now, before I show you the truth that I want to emphasize, and the truth that is emphasized over and over in scripture, I want to remind you of a simple truth. And that simple truth is this, the heart is the mind. If you would listen to that message that I preached many, many years ago on keeping the heart, I delineated very carefully from scripture that the heart is the mind. I'm going to take just about two minutes go over just three or four points with you.

[John Weaver] First of all, the Bible says in Genesis 6 and verse 5, and God saw the imagination of the hearts of man that they were only evil continually. God saw the imagination of the hearts of man and that they were only evil continually. What? God saw the imaginations. God saw the thoughts of man. Where did he see them? In the heart, but in the mind. How do you think? In your mind. How do you imagine? In your mind. So whatever the heart is, according to Genesis 6 and verse 5, it can imagine. And moreover, the Bible tells you in Genesis 27 and verse 41, the heart can speak because the Bible says Esau said in his heart. And when you get to Proverbs 5 and verse 12, we're told the heart can either receive instruction or it can refuse instruction. And when you get to Matthew 5 and verse 28, Our Lord said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery already in his heart. So there is a connection somehow between the eyes and the heart.

[John Weaver] And then when you get to Daniel 4, that should be the nail that solidifies it for you because God said concerning Nebuchadnezzar, Let his heart be changed from the heart of a man, and let a beast's heart be given unto him." And for seven years, Nebuchadnezzar was driven insane. He went out and ate grass like an oxen. His hair grew like bird's feathers. His fingernails like bird's claws. And finally, when God's judgment was over, He said in Daniel 4 and verse 34, That mind understanding returned unto me. Well, what did God change? God changed His heart. Well, how did His understanding return? Because the heart is the mind. Then He said in Daniel 4 and verse 36, My reason returned unto me. God changed His heart, but He gave Him the mind of an animal. And therefore, He acted like an animal. He thought like an animal. So, you have to understand the heart is the mind. So it is in our mind, listen carefully, it is in our mind that our sins and our idolatries begin.

[John Weaver] So I want you to look in the book of Ezekiel chapter 14, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch this passage very carefully, because you're going to see the word heart, but the word heart refers to the mind. So here it is, Ezekiel 14, beginning there with verse 1. Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, that is, in their mind, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face, that is, they can't walk straight because of their wrong thinking.

[John Weaver] Then he asked this, Should I be inquired at all by them? Therefore speak unto them and say unto them thus saith the Lord God every man of the house of Israel that set it up his idols in his heart or in his mind and put it the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face and Cometh to the prophet. I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols there in his mind That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart Because they are all estranged from me through their idols wrong thinking leads to wrong worshiping Therefore say to the house of israel thus saith the lord god repent and turn yourselves from your idols And turn away your faces from all your abominations For every one of the house of israel or the stranger that sojourneth in israel Which separated himself from me and set up his idols in his heart? and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me, I the Lord will answer him by myself, and I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from

[John Weaver] the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am the Lord." So these people had set their idols up in their hearts. in the chambers of their imagery. Do you understand that one thing that God has said to hate in Proverbs 6 and verse 18 is a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations. So it's the heart that can imagine, therefore it is the mind. The heart is the mind. It's the chamber of the imagery.

[John Weaver] Now, listen to me carefully because I'm going to show it to you from the Bible. It is the wrong thinking that leads us into idolatry. And it is wrong thinking that leads us into sin. So I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 7 to begin with. And I want you to follow me through this book very carefully as we look at the word imagination. Look in Jeremiah chapter 7. and verse 24. Jeremiah 7 and verse 24. And so, let's read verse 23 so you can see it in the context.

[John Weaver] But this lean commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. I will walk you in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you. So God just simply says, Obey me. Watch verse 24. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backwards and not forwards." So God said, I told you what to do.

[John Weaver] But you wouldn't listen to me. You walked in the counsels and in the imagination of your own evil heart. You would not take my word. You would not believe my word. You believed your own wicked thoughts. Look, if you would, in Jeremiah 9, verse 14. Jeremiah 9, verse 14. Again, God says, in fact, let's read verse 13. And the Lord said, Because they have forsaken My law, which I set before them, have not obeyed My voice, neither walked therein, but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Balaam, which their fathers taught them. It is the imagination, it is the wrong thinking of our heart that leads us to worship other gods and that leads us into other sins. That's what he said. Look in Jeremiah 11 and verse 8. Jeremiah 11 and verse 8. Again, he says it like this. Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, But walk everyone in the imagination of their evil heart.

[John Weaver] Therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commended them to do, and they did not." So God said they ignored me, they refused to listen to me, and they still walk everyone according to the imagination of their evil heart.

[John Weaver] Now look in Jeremiah chapter 16 and verse 12. I tell you what, let's go to Jeremiah 13 first. Jeremiah 13 in verse 10. Jeremiah 13 verse 10. Look what he says. Jeremiah 13 verse 10. This evil people which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods to serve them and to worship them, shall again be as this girdle which is good for nothing. So he says this evil people, that's what he calls them, which refuse to hear my words, and walk after the imagination of their own heart. They refuse to hear God's Word, but yet they listen to their own heart.

[John Weaver] And they fall into idolatry. Now go to Jeremiah 16 and look at verse 12. Jeremiah 16, verse 12. He says, And you have done worse than your fathers. For behold, you walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me. Wow! You can either listen to your own mind or you can listen to the Word of God, but you're not going to listen to both. You remember what the Bible says in Romans 8? For the carnal mind is enmity against God. It is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. That's exactly what he's saying right here in Jeremiah 16 and verse 12. Look in Jeremiah chapter 18 and verse 12. Jeremiah 18 and verse 12. And they said, there is no hope, but we will walk after our own devices and we will everyone do the imagination of his evil heart. I said, we're just going to do what we want to do. We'll think the way we want to think. We'll believe the way we want to believe, and we will do exactly what we want to do.

[John Weaver] One more look in Jeremiah 23 and verse 17, Jeremiah 23, verse 17.

[John Weaver] They say still unto them that despise me, the Lord has said, you shall have peace. And they say to everyone that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, no evil shall come upon you.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to pay close attention to verse 17. They say still unto them that despise me. What does he say? Those who are walking after the imagination of their own heart actually despise God. And obviously they do because they refuse to listen to Him and refuse to listen to His Word. Let me ask you, have you ever considered how many devices, how many counsels, how many desires, how many imaginations exist in our minds? We could ask another question. How many of these concepts, how many of these imaginations, how many of these desires are contrary to God and His Word? You remember that passage in Proverbs 23 verse 7 that teaches us, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

[John Weaver] Now let me make a statement and I want to share it with you and show you the truth of it. Everything that we do, whether good or evil, right or wrong, holy or unholy, begins in our minds. All of our sins begin in our minds. All of our good deeds begin in our minds. So, if I saw Steve with a sack that has a hundred pounds of gold in it, and I know it's a hundred pounds of gold, I could sit here and say, hmm, I'd like to have that. How could I get that from Steve? What am I doing?

[John Weaver] I'm already plotting and planning and sinning because God has said, thou shalt not covet, thou shalt not steal. You see what I'm saying? However, I could also see Steve struggling to carry that hundred pounds of gold in a sack. Now, I may not even know that there's a hundred pounds of gold in it, but I could say this, That fellow needs help. Let me just go over and offer to see if I can help him carry his burden. Where one is an evil, wicked desire and thought, the other is a good and holy and right desire and thought, you see.

[John Weaver] But both begin in the mind. So, let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 15. Matthew 15. And let's look at verse 10 and 11 first. Because our Lord is going to explain this parable. He's really hitting the Pharisees. In Matthew 15 verse 10, and He called the multitudes and said unto them, Hear and understand, not that which goeth into the mouth defileth the man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, that defileth the man. Now skip down to verse 15. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable, And Jesus said, Are you also yet without understanding?

[John Weaver] I'll clarify it for you. Here it is. Do not you yet understand that whatsoever entereth into 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 or the mind, and they defile the man. Now watch. For out of the heart proceed..." What's the first thing? Evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but eat with unwashed hands, defile if not a man. But note if you would, he said all of this proceeds out of the heart. It proceeds out of the mind. You can't do one thing without thinking whether it's right or wrong, whether it's good or bad. Everything begins in the mind. Every act of idolatry begins in the mind. Every act of sin begins in the mind. Every act of obedience begins in the mind.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to turn please to the book of Colossians. And look in chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. And look at verses 5 and 6. Then we're going to go to Exodus chapter 20. Okay? Colossians 3. Verses 5 and 6. Watch. God says, mortify, that is make dead. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. What are you to mortify? What are you to make dead? Here's what you're to make dead.

[John Weaver] Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness which is idolatry. For which things sake the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience? Now, I want you to pay attention to the fact, he says, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 20. You'll also find this passage in Deuteronomy chapter 5, for it is the Ten Commandments. It's the law being given by God. And so you have the 10th commandment in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 17. Look at it. Exodus 20 and verse 17. God says, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's. Now, I want you to listen to this. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. Do you realize for me to covet my neighbor's house, I have to see it. For me to covet my neighbor's wife, I have to see her. For me to covet my neighbor's manservant or maidservant, I have to see them. For me to covet his ox or his ass, we have to see them.

[John Weaver] The eyes are the portals into the mind. So, let's go back to a definition. You remember imagination is the concept of imaging. It's the concept of seeing something in the mind that I cannot touch with my senses. I cannot taste it, I cannot smell it, I cannot hear it, I cannot feel it. It's all mental, it's in the mind. But on the other hand, the second definition is I could have a mental image of something that is baseless, something that is fanciful, something that is not true. Now, I could possibly say Well, I'm going to covet Gary's house and I could just have a mental image in my mind that he lives in a palace with 14 bathrooms and 20 bedrooms. Now, does he live in a house like that? No. But if I built that up in my mind, it would be fanciful There'd be no basis for it, but I could envision that and think well, that's really what he's got and that's what I want No, but no usually when we covet it is something that we actually see that it's why our

[John Weaver] Lord said in Matthew 5 in verse 28 verily I say unto you that Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery already taught." In other words, it goes into the mind through the eyes. The eyes are the portal to the soul.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to see this. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel chapter 23. In Ezekiel 23, God is dealing with Judah. He also deals in this passage with Israel. But the passage we're going to read, he's dealing particularly with Judah. And I want to emphasize this. Look in Ezekiel 23 and verse 14. Watch what the Bible says. Ezekiel 23 verse 14. And that she, that would be Judah in Jerusalem, and that she increased her whoredoms, for when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to after the manner

[John Weaver] of the Babylonians in Chaldea and the land of their nativity. And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. In other words, it was through the eyes that the mind began to imagine certain things.

[John Weaver] Now, it is with the mind that you see, in one sense of the word, that you observe and that you desire. It does not matter if it is a man's wife, a woman's husband, a wedge of gold, a new truck, a fancy house, a big farm, or a strange God. What happens is when we see something, we decide, we think, boy, it'd be nice to have that. I'd like that.

[John Weaver] And what we do, we roll it over in our minds, and we cherish it, and we play it out, and we toy with it, and we relish it, and we entertain it over and over to the point that we experience some type of sensation, some type of pleasure. And what we're doing without even knowing it, is dethroning God and enthroning ourselves. Because God said, thou shalt not covet. God said, thou shalt not commit adultery. God said, thou shalt not steal. And what we're doing is we're saying, It doesn't matter what you said.

[John Weaver] This is what I want. This is what I'm thinking about. This is what I'm going to enjoy right now. I don't need you. I need this to satisfy me. It is in the mind. And in doing so, we set ourselves above God and above His law. We become a god unto ourselves and a law unto ourselves. And we disobey Him in order that we might derive some type of mental pleasure from what we're entertaining. which is absolutely contrary to God.

[John Weaver] Your imagination will lead you always further into sin and into idolatry. Your sin, your idolatry, just like Judah's and just like Israel's, is in the chamber of our imagination. Your wife may not see it. Your husband may not see it. Your children may not see it. Your family may not see it. Your friends may not see it, but God does. But God does. Our thoughts are not our own. In Job 21 and verse 27, God says this, Behold, I know your thoughts and the devices which you wrongfully imagine against Me. I know your thoughts. Wow! In Psalm 94 and verse 11, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man that they are vanity. In Isaiah 66 and verse 18, God says, For I know their works and their thoughts.

[John Weaver] And how many times did our Lord in the New Testament say this, And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? And Jesus, knowing their thoughts. If you and I really knew If we really understood the importance of keeping our minds upon the Lord, and keeping our minds upon Biblical truth, and that which is right and holy, we would fight more effectively to control our thoughts, and to control our imagination, and to control our mind.

[John Weaver] You remember that passage in Isaiah 26 and verse 3? The Bible said, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed upon thee, because he trusteth in thee. If we want perfect peace, our minds must be stayed upon the Lord. Now, I want you to turn to the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter 4, I want you to look at verse 8. There are many, many things Many, many things that we can think about.

[John Weaver] And by the way, I will tell you this. You better watch carefully what appears on TV. You also need to watch carefully what appears on the Internet. Once you see things, you cannot erase them from your minds. I have people send me things all the time. And some of them are good. When I say good, I mean good information. But when I hear people start using foul language and taking God's name in vain, I cut it off.

[John Weaver] I'm not going to listen to it. I don't care how right they are. I don't care how conservative they are. If they want to talk to me, if they want to present the truth, they can do so in a rational way, in a way without taking God's name in vain and without using foul language. I'm just not going to listen to it. So I just turn it off.

[John Weaver] I refuse to do that. Why? Well, look at it. Here's very simple. Look in Philippians chapter 4 verse 8. Here's what he said.

[John Weaver] Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. I don't have to think about evil things. There are too many good things to think about. I don't have to think about wrong and wicked things. There are too many holy and righteous things to think about.

[John Weaver] The chambers of our imagery is our mind. And everything begins in the mind. Whether it's right or wrong, good or bad, holy or unholy, it begins in our mind. So let me make some applications. The first one is this. If you wish to be holy, If you wish to be obedient and righteous, it begins in the mind. You must concentrate on the Lord Jesus Christ. You must saturate yourself with the Word of God. And you must not allow anything to be in your mind that's contrary to God and contrary to His mind. So if you want to be holy, if you want to be obedient, if you want to be godly, think on these things. Think upon the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. On the other hand, if you wish to be scattered, peeled and destroyed, allow your thoughts and your imaginations to run wild and go contrary to God in His Word.

[John Weaver] You see, He said in Luke 1 and verse 51, He has showed strength with His arm and He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. God will scatter us. Darkness does not hide us. Let me say this again. Our thoughts are not our own. There's no such thing as privacy even in our minds. Because ultimately, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

[John Weaver] It's going to spill out sooner or later. It's going to come forth. Moreover, God knows precisely. Listen as I quote Hebrews 4, verses 12 and 13, For the word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even the dividing of thunder, of soul and spirit, and of the joints and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart.

[John Weaver] Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Note if you would, he said, the Word of God is a discerner between the thoughts and the intents of the heart. Our thoughts are not secretive. They're not our own. God knows every thought that enters our mind. He knows the intent of every thought.

[John Weaver] We have to learn to control our minds. We have to learn to control our thoughts. We have to learn to control our imaginations. There's a verse that I quote quite frequently, and you might ought to memorize this short passage and learn to quote it as well. David said it in Psalm 119 in verse 113. He said, I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love. And how many times have we been praying or even reading the Bible, all of a sudden some stupid, vain thought invades our mind.

[John Weaver] And we have to reject it. We have to put it out. And you just have to say, Lord, I hate vain thoughts. I don't want that. I refuse that. But Thy law do I love. I want you to turn to one last passage. I want you to turn to Jeremiah chapter 3. Jeremiah chapter 3. This to me is going to be one of the greatest blessings of eternity. Jeremiah chapter 3, I want you to look at verse 17. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] Neither shall they walk any more after the imaginations of their evil heart. So when we get to glory, it's not just that we'll have a new glorified body and our body will be fixed, so will our minds. There'll be no more vain imaginations, no more empty imaginations, no more thoughts that are wicked, wrong and fruitless and worthless and vain. Our minds determine how we live. We can either submit our minds to the word of God and be obedient or we can let our minds run wild and imagine things and entertain things that we have no right to think of and entertain. And thus we bring the judgment of God upon us. He said he knew how to scatter the proud in the imaginations of their heart.

[John Weaver] And He will do so. Your mind is important. So let me put it to you like this. Don't be stupid and ignore your thoughts. Don't be stupid and ignore your imaginations. Don't be stupid and think that your thinking is not known by the Lord. Don't be stupid and think I can think these things and get away with it. You cannot. And you will not. It's your mind. So don't be stupid with it.

[John Weaver] Use it the way God ordained for you to use it. For your good and for His glory. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask, Lord, that you would teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. In thy name we pray. Amen.

[John Weaver] so so

It's The Mind, Stupid

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	CYmw-o6rYEg
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Daniel
Genre	Sermon
Date	2021-03-09
Dictation Name
Book	Book 087: Daniel — Chapter 14
Source Timed Segments	74

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Importance of the Mind

Weaver introduces the title and explains that the message emphasizes the mind's role in sin, referencing the slogan 'It's the economy, stupid' and the importance of context.

Let's open our Bibles, if you would, to the book of Ezekiel. No, not Exodus—I'm sorry—Ezekiel chapter 8 and verse 12. Ezekiel chapter 8 and verse 12. So you have Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 8 and verse 12. As you're finding Ezekiel 8 and verse 12, listen carefully and I will explain. But here's the title of the message: "It's the Mind, Stupid." You will understand as we get started. Look in Ezekiel 8 and verse 12, just one verse right now.

"Then said He unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark? Every man in the chambers of his imagery, for they say, The Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth." So I would say at the very beginning, do not be upset at the title of the message. It is there for emphasis. But many of you will remember years ago during a prominent election, there was a slogan which candidates were using as they were running for office, and the slogan was, "It's the economy, stupid." And of course that was there. I have a friend, of course, some of you know him, who teaches Bible. And one of his favorite sayings is, "It's the context, stupid." And certainly, whenever we ignore economics and whenever we ignore the context, we're certainly acting very stupidly and very wickedly, I would also say, at the same time. Because not only is the economy essential, the context—not only the immediate context, but also the remote context of a passage—is absolutely essential as well. You remember, I think it was Forrest Gump who popularized the saying, "Stupid is as stupid does."

Ezekiel's Vision of Idolatry in the Chambers of Imagery

Ezekiel 8:12 reveals that the elders of Israel practiced idolatry in the dark, in the chambers of their imagery, which Weaver identifies as the mind.

There is a phrase or a sentence that has been attributed to Albert Einstein. Whether he said it or not, I do not know, but it goes like this: "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the universe." So, what he is saying is basically true, I can assure you, because each one of us has done stupid things. And if we were honest, we would freely admit that we have done stupid things. Not only in our actions, but many times in our attitudes and in our words. In fact, I usually, when I do something like that, I end up saying it out loud, "Now that was mighty stupid of me," you know, and certainly it was. But obviously, we do indeed do many things that are wrong and what you and I would call stupid. And oftentimes we regret our actions, we regret our words, and we certainly cannot call any of them back. I've always said that one way to avoid trouble is do not go with stupid people to stupid places and do stupid things. However, most people avoid that piece of advice, but that is still good advice. Now, I've preached many messages in times past concerning the mind. I'm going to say that probably the most fundamental and the most needed and necessary message that I've ever preached dealing with the mind is the message "Keeping the Heart." I've also preached a message on "The Mind of Christ." I also preached a series of messages on "Changing Your Mind Doctrinally."

I've also preached a series of messages on "The Supremacy of Christ over the Mind." And probably the most recent message that I've preached was one which I titled, "Take Out the Garbage." But the interesting thing is this: when you ask this question, "How often does God have to say something to make it true?" And the answer is what? One time. But when you see a truth that is repeated over and over and over in Scripture, it is there for emphasis, and it means it's very, very important. In fact, what I'm going to be teaching you today and sharing with you from today, from the Word of God, it can be found in many passages of the Bible.

But this particular truth is shown here in Ezekiel chapter 8 in verse 12, and yet it is the same truth. It may be coming from a different passage or a different book, but it's still exactly the same truth, and we have to conclude that it has to be a vitally important truth for it to occur so many times in Scripture. Now, if you would turn back to Ezekiel chapter 1, and look if you would please at verse 3, because it's important that you understand that Ezekiel was a priest that God called to be a prophet, and he was a prophet to the captives who were in Babylon. Ezekiel was already in Babylon. Many of the Judahites were already in Babylon. They were there in the first deportation, 605 B.C., I think it was, that they were taken captive. So in verse 3 of Ezekiel 1,

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 1:3

"The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar, and the hand of the Lord was there upon him."

So Ezekiel was a priest, God called him to be a prophet, and he was already there in Babylon. Now, since he was a captive, he was prophesying to the captives that were already there.

So anything that he prophesied concerning Jerusalem had to be by vision. So if you'll turn back to Ezekiel chapter 8 and look in verse 3, you will find that what I'm about to share with you today was through a vision that God gave Ezekiel. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 8:3

"And he put forth the form of a hand and took me by the lock of mine head; and the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy."

So the context of this passage deals primarily with the sin of idolatry and all of the sins that are particularly related to idolatry. As you look at this chapter, you're going to find that the progress of idolatry goes from bad to worse.

Now, in verse 3 that we just read, God shows Ezekiel an image that had been set up by the gate. What was the image? Well, we are not told specifically what it was. It was indeed an idol. But in all probability, it was an idol either to Baal or Ashtaroth. You remember that Ahaz, the king of Israel, was a particular worshipper of Baal. And so was Manasseh, the king of Judah. He was also a worshipper of Baal and of Ashtaroth. Now, Ashtaroth was just simply the female consort of Baal. So even the worship of Ashtaroth was indeed a worship of Baal as well. The interesting thing is in 2 Kings chapter 21 and verse 7, we're told about Manasseh, the king of Judah, and the Bible says this, "And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever."

The Imagination Precedes the Image

Weaver defines imagination and argues that all idolatry and sin begin with mental images before becoming physical acts.

The imagination always precedes the image. You cannot build, you cannot mold, you cannot sculpt, you cannot paint, you cannot draw something until first you imagine it in your mind. So the imagination precedes the image. I looked up the word "imagination" in the dictionary. I already knew the definition, but I wanted to see what the dictionary said and I found two very interesting definitions. Listen to the first one. "Imagination:

the faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses." So I can have a mental image in my mind of something that is not present to the senses. I have some friends now that are in the Dominican Republic. And they just sent me a beautiful picture of a beach with palm trees that's just about two miles from where they're living. And I can see that in my mind. I mean, I saw the picture, so I can see that image now in my mind. So here it is: the faculty of imagining or forming mental images of concepts that may not actually be present to the senses. I can't touch the palm tree, I can't pick up the sand, I can't put my foot in the water, but I saw, and so I have that in my imagination. Here's the second one: "The product of imagining; a conception or mental creation, often baseless or a fanciful one."

In other words, I can imagine things that are not real. I can imagine things that are not true. And so, the imagination can be based upon fact or reality, or it can be based upon just pure fancy. So, it is only the mind that can imagine. It is the mind that is the chambers of the imagery.

Now, I want you to look in verse 12, because before I get really into the message, I want you to note the words. Let's look at them. "Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark? every man in the chambers of his imagery." Now, let's consider the word "dark." It's the Hebrew word choshek, which literally means darkness, night, obscurity, a secret place. It's interesting as you read through the Bible that you grasp the concept of darkness. You remember our Lord said it, "Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." And darkness is usually associated with sin and evil. For instance, in Psalm 74 and verse 20, the Bible says, "For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty." Notice it's the dark places of the earth that are full of the habitations of cruelty. In Proverbs 4 and verse 19, the Bible says, "The way of the wicked is as darkness.

The Heart Is the Mind

Using Genesis 6:5, Daniel 4, and other passages, Weaver demonstrates that the biblical 'heart' refers to the mind, the seat of thoughts and imaginations.

First of all, the Bible says in Genesis 6 and verse 5,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 6:5

"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

God saw the imagination of the hearts of man and that they were only evil continually. What? God saw the imaginations. God saw the thoughts of man. Where did He see them? In the heart, but in the mind. How do you think? In your mind. How do you imagine? In your mind. So whatever the heart is, according to Genesis 6 and verse 5, it can imagine. And moreover, the Bible tells you in Genesis 27 and verse 41, the heart can speak because the Bible says Esau said in his heart. And when you get to Proverbs 5 and verse 12, we're told the heart can either receive instruction or it can refuse instruction. And when you get to Matthew 5 and verse 28, our Lord said, "Verily I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." So there is a connection somehow between the eyes and the heart.

And then when you get to Daniel 4, that should be the nail that solidifies it for you because God said concerning Nebuchadnezzar, "Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him." And for seven years, Nebuchadnezzar was driven insane. He went out and ate grass like an ox. His hair grew like eagles' feathers, his nails like birds' claws. And finally, when God's judgment was over, he said in Daniel 4 and verse 34,

Scripture Reading — Daniel 4:34, 36

"And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me."

Well, what did God change? God changed his heart. Well, how did his understanding return? Because the heart is the mind. Then he said in Daniel 4 and verse 36, "My reason returned unto me." God changed his heart, but He gave him the mind of an animal. And therefore, he acted like an animal. He thought like an animal. So, you have to understand the heart is the mind. So it is in our mind, listen carefully, it is in our mind that our sins and our idolatries begin.

So I want you to look in the book of Ezekiel chapter 14, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch this passage very carefully, because you're going to see the word "heart," but the word "heart" refers to the mind. So here it is, Ezekiel 14, beginning there with verse 1. "Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, that is, in their mind, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face, that is, they can't walk straight because of their wrong thinking.

Idolatry Begins with Wrong Thoughts About God

Romans 1:21-23 shows that vain imaginations lead to idolatry; entertaining unbiblical thoughts about God is itself idolatrous.

I want you to hold Ezekiel 8. But look in your Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 1. Romans, chapter 1. And notice if you would, in verse 21 through 23. Romans, chapter 1. And look at it, beginning there with verse 21. Romans 1, verse 21. Watch carefully.

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:21-23

"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things."

Now, I want you to note in verse 21, that which came first was the imaginations, vain imaginations. That which came next was the fact that they were changing the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image like man and four-footed beasts and creeping things to dishonor themselves. In other words, the imagination precedes the image. It always does. They imagined God to be something other than He was.

Now, listen very carefully. The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of God, unlike God, or contrary to God. Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow, they are idolatrous in and of themselves. God, the only God that exists, is the God that is revealed in the Bible. And if we insist upon thinking about God in any way other than that which is revealed in the Bible, we're guilty of idolatry. We're not building an idol of physical materials. We're building an idol with thoughts. We're building an idol in our minds. So, God is not what you think. God is not what you believe. God is not what you state. God is what He is, what He has revealed Himself as in His Word. And the only way that you and I can know anything about God is that He has revealed Himself in His Word. And to the extent that you and I think unbiblical thoughts about God, to that extent, we are guilty of idolatry.

It may not be the abominable kind like we just saw in Ezekiel chapter 8, but it's still idolatry. Now, before I show you the truth that I want to emphasize, and the truth that is emphasized over and over in scripture, I want to remind you of a simple truth. And that simple truth is this: the heart is the mind. If you would listen to that message that I preached many, many years ago on keeping the heart, I delineated very carefully from scripture that the heart is the mind. I'm going to take just about two minutes, go over just three or four points with you.

The Imagination of the Evil Heart in Jeremiah

Multiple passages in Jeremiah show that walking after the imagination of one's own evil heart leads to disobedience and idolatry.

"But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you." So God just simply says, "Obey me." Watch verse 24.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:13-14

"But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward."

So God said, "I told you what to do. But you wouldn't listen to me. You walked in the counsels and in the imagination of your own evil heart. You would not take my word. You would not believe my word. You believed your own wicked thoughts." Look, if you would, in Jeremiah 9, verse 14. Jeremiah 9, verse 14. Again, God says, in fact, let's read verse 13.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:13-14

"And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them."

It is the imagination, it is the wrong thinking of our heart that leads us to worship other gods and that leads us into other sins. That's what he said. Look in Jeremiah 11 and verse 8. Jeremiah 11 and verse 8. Again, he says it like this:

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:13-14

"Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart.

Therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 13:10

" So God said they ignored me, they refused to listen to me, and they still walk everyone according to the imagination of their evil heart. Now look in Jeremiah chapter 16 and verse 12. I tell you what, let's go to Jeremiah 13 first. Jeremiah 13 in verse 10. Jeremiah 13 verse 10. Look what he says. Jeremiah 13 verse 10. "

This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 13:10

" So he says this evil people, that's what he calls them, which refuse to hear my words, and walk after the imagination of their own heart. They refuse to hear God's Word, but yet they listen to their own heart.

And they fall into idolatry. Now go to Jeremiah 16 and look at verse 12. Jeremiah 16, verse 12. He says,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 16:12

"And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me."

Wow! You can either listen to your own mind or you can listen to the Word of God, but you're not going to listen to both. You remember what the Bible says in Romans 8? "For the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." That's exactly what he's saying right here in Jeremiah 16 and verse 12. Look in Jeremiah chapter 18 and verse 12. Jeremiah 18 and verse 12.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 16:12

"And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart."

They said, "We're just going to do what we want to do. We'll think the way we want to think. We'll believe the way we want to believe, and we will do exactly what we want to do."

One more look in Jeremiah 23 and verse 17. Jeremiah 23, verse 17.

"They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you." Now I want you to pay close attention to verse 17. "They say still unto them that despise me." What does he say? Those who are walking after the imagination of their own heart actually despise God. And obviously they do because they refuse to listen to Him and refuse to listen to His Word. Let me ask you, have you ever considered how many devices, how many counsels, how many desires, how many imaginations exist in our minds? We could ask another question. How many of these concepts, how many of these imaginations, how many of these desires are contrary to God and His Word? You remember that passage in Proverbs 23 verse 7 that teaches us, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."

Everything Begins in the Mind

Jesus taught in Matthew 15 that evil thoughts proceed from the heart; covetousness is idolatry that starts with seeing and desiring.

I'm already plotting and planning and sinning because God has said, "Thou shalt not covet," "Thou shalt not steal." You see what I'm saying? However, I could also see Steve struggling to carry that hundred pounds of gold in a sack. Now, I may not even know that there's a hundred pounds of gold in it, but I could say this, "That fellow needs help. Let me just go over and offer to see if I can help him carry his burden." Where one is an evil, wicked desire and thought, the other is a good and holy and right desire and thought, you see.

But both begin in the mind. So, let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 15. Matthew 15. And let's look at verse 10 and 11 first. Because our Lord is going to explain this parable. He's really hitting the Pharisees. In Matthew 15 verse 10, "And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man." Now skip down to verse 15. "Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?

I'll clarify it for you. Here it is. 'Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever 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.' Now watch. 'For out of the heart proceed...' What's the first thing? 'Evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.' But note if you would, he said all of this proceeds out of the heart. It proceeds out of the mind. You can't do one thing without thinking whether it's right or wrong, whether it's good or bad. Everything begins in the mind. Every act of idolatry begins in the mind. Every act of sin begins in the mind. Every act of obedience begins in the mind.

Now I want you to turn please to the book of Colossians. And look in chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. And look at verses 5 and 6. Then we're going to go to Exodus chapter 20. Okay? Colossians 3, verses 5 and 6. Watch. God says, "Mortify"—that is, make dead—"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth." What are you to mortify? What are you to make dead? Here's what you're to make dead.

"Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience." Now, I want you to pay attention to the fact, he says, "and covetousness, which is idolatry." Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 20. You'll also find this passage in Deuteronomy chapter 5, for it is the Ten Commandments. It's the law being given by God. And so you have the 10th commandment in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 17. Look at it. Exodus 20 and verse 17. God says, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." Now, I want you to listen to this. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house." Do you realize for me to covet my neighbor's house, I have to see it. For me to covet my neighbor's wife, I have to see her. For me to covet my neighbor's manservant or maidservant, I have to see them. For me to covet his ox or his ass, I have to see them.

The eyes are the portals into the mind. So, let's go back to a definition. You remember imagination is the concept of imaging. It's the concept of seeing something in the mind that I cannot touch with my senses. I cannot taste it, I cannot smell it, I cannot hear it, I cannot feel it. It's all mental, it's in the mind. But on the other hand, the second definition is I could have a mental image of something that is baseless, something that is fanciful, something that is not true. Now, I could possibly say, "Well, I'm going to covet Gary's house," and I could just have a mental image in my mind that he lives in a palace with 14 bathrooms and 20 bedrooms. Now, does he live in a house like that? No. But if I built that up in my mind, it would be fanciful. There'd be no basis for it, but I could envision that and think, "Well, that's really what he's got and that's what I want." No, but usually when we covet, it is something that we actually see. That's why our

Lord said in Matthew 5 in verse 28, "Verily I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." In other words, it goes into the mind through the eyes. The eyes are the portal to the soul.

Controlling the Mind and Thinking on What Is Good

Philippians 4:8 instructs believers to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report; we must reject vain thoughts.

And by the way, I will tell you this. You better watch carefully what appears on TV. You also need to watch carefully what appears on the Internet. Once you see things, you cannot erase them from your minds. I have people send me things all the time. And some of them are good. When I say good, I mean good information. But when I hear people start using foul language and taking God's name in vain, I cut it off.

I'm not going to listen to it. I don't care how right they are. I don't care how conservative they are. If they want to talk to me, if they want to present the truth, they can do so in a rational way, in a way without taking God's name in vain and without using foul language. I'm just not going to listen to it. So I just turn it off. I refuse to do that. Why? Well, look at it. Here's very simple. Look in Philippians chapter 4 verse 8. Here's what he said.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." I don't have to think about evil things. There are too many good things to think about. I don't have to think about wrong and wicked things. There are too many holy and righteous things to think about. The chambers of our imagery is our mind. And everything begins in the mind. Whether it's right or wrong, good or bad, holy or unholy, it begins in our mind. So let me make some applications. The first one is this. If you wish to be holy, if you wish to be obedient and righteous, it begins in the mind. You must concentrate on the Lord Jesus Christ. You must saturate yourself with the Word of God. And you must not allow anything to be in your mind that's contrary to God and contrary to His mind. So if you want to be holy, if you want to be obedient, if you want to be godly, think on these things. Think upon the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. On the other hand, if you wish to be scattered, peeled and destroyed, allow your thoughts and your imaginations to run wild and go contrary to God and His Word.

Applications and Warnings

Weaver applies the message: holiness begins in the mind; God knows all thoughts; we must control our imaginations or face judgment.

You see, He said in Luke 1 and verse 51, "He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts." God will scatter us. Darkness does not hide us. Let me say this again. Our thoughts are not our own. There's no such thing as privacy even in our minds. Because ultimately, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. It's going to spill out sooner or later. It's going to come forth. Moreover, God knows precisely. Listen as I quote Hebrews 4, verses 12 and 13, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." Note if you would, he said, "the Word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Our thoughts are not secretive. They're not our own. God knows every thought that enters our mind. He knows the intent of every thought. We have to learn to control our minds. We have to learn to control our thoughts. We have to learn to control our imaginations. There's a verse that I quote quite frequently, and you might ought to memorize this short passage and learn to quote it as well. David said it in Psalm 119 in verse 113. He said, "I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love." And how many times have we been praying or even reading the Bible, all of a sudden some stupid, vain thought invades our mind.

And we have to reject it. We have to put it out. And you just have to say, "Lord, I hate vain thoughts. I don't want that. I refuse that. But thy law do I love." I want you to turn to one last passage. I want you to turn to Jeremiah chapter 3. Jeremiah chapter 3. This to me is going to be one of the greatest blessings of eternity. Jeremiah chapter 3, I want you to look at verse 17. "At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem.

Neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart." So when we get to glory, it's not just that we'll have a new glorified body and our body will be fixed, so will our minds. There'll be no more vain imaginations, no more empty imaginations, no more thoughts that are wicked, wrong and fruitless and worthless and vain. Our minds determine how we live. We can either submit our minds to the word of God and be obedient or we can let our minds run wild and imagine things and entertain things that we have no right to think of and entertain. And thus we bring the judgment of God upon us. He said he knew how to scatter the proud in the imagination of their heart. And He will do so. Your mind is important. So let me put it to you like this. Don't be stupid and ignore your thoughts. Don't be stupid and ignore your imaginations. Don't be stupid and think that your thinking is not known by the Lord. Don't be stupid and think, "I can think these things and get away with it." You cannot. And you will not. It's your mind. So don't be stupid with it.

Use it the way God ordained for you to use it. For your good and for His glory. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask, Lord, that you would teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. In thy name we pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Mind as the Source of Sin and Idolatry

Summary: All sin, including idolatry, originates in the mind. The 'chambers of imagery' in Ezekiel 8:12 represent the mind where imaginations occur before outward actions.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'Idolatry does not begin with statues, paintings, sculptures, or anything material. Idolatry and every sin actually begins in the mind.'

The Heart Is the Mind

Summary: The biblical term 'heart' often refers to the mind, the seat of thoughts, imaginations, and understanding.

Evidence: Weaver explains: 'The heart is the mind... God saw the imaginations of the hearts of man... How do you think? In your mind. How do you imagine? In your mind.'

Imagination Precedes the Image

Summary: Before any idol or sinful act is created, it is first imagined in the mind. The imagination is the faculty of forming mental images.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'The imagination always precedes the image. You cannot build, you cannot mold, you cannot sculpt, you cannot paint, you cannot draw something until first you imagine it in your mind.'

Wrong Thoughts About God Are Idolatry

Summary: Entertaining ideas about God that are unworthy of or contrary to His revelation is itself idolatry, even without physical idols.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of God... Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow, they are idolatrous in and of themselves.'

God's Knowledge of Human Thoughts

Summary: God knows every thought and imagination of the heart; there is no privacy in the mind. His Word discerns thoughts and intents.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Hebrews 4:12-13 and says: 'Our thoughts are not our own... God knows every thought that enters our mind. He knows the intent of every thought.'

The Necessity of Controlling the Mind

Summary: Believers must actively control their thoughts, reject vain imaginations, and focus on what is true, pure, and lovely according to Philippians 4:8.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'We have to learn to control our minds. We have to learn to control our thoughts. We have to learn to control our imaginations.'

Key Arguments

Idolatry begins in the mind, not with physical objects.

Summary: Ezekiel 8:12 shows that the elders' idolatry was in the 'chambers of his imagery,' meaning their minds. The imagination precedes any physical idol.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'Idolatry does not begin with statues, paintings, sculptures, or anything material. Idolatry and every sin actually begins in the mind.'

The heart in Scripture is the mind.

Summary: Genesis 6:5, Daniel 4, and other passages show that the heart imagines, thinks, and understands, proving it is the mind.

Evidence: Weaver argues: 'God saw the imagination of the thoughts of his heart... How do you think? In your mind. How do you imagine? In your mind. So whatever the heart is, according to Genesis 6 and verse 5, it can imagine.'

Wrong thinking about God is idolatry.

Summary: Romans 1:21-23 shows that vain imaginations lead to idolatry. Thinking of God in ways contrary to Scripture is building an idol in the mind.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'If we insist upon thinking about God in any way other than that which is revealed in the Bible, we're guilty of idolatry. We're not building an idol of physical materials. We're building an idol with thoughts.'

Walking after one's own imagination leads to disobedience.

Summary: Jeremiah repeatedly condemns Israel for walking after the imagination of their evil heart instead of obeying God's Word.

Evidence: Weaver cites Jeremiah 7:24: 'But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.'

All actions, good or evil, begin in the mind.

Summary: Jesus taught in Matthew 15 that evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, etc., proceed from the heart. Covetousness, which is idolatry, starts with seeing and desiring.

Evidence: Weaver explains: 'Everything that we do, whether good or evil, right or wrong, holy or unholy, begins in our minds. All of our sins begin in our minds.'

God knows all thoughts and will judge them.

Summary: Scripture declares that God knows the thoughts of man; Hebrews 4:12-13 says the Word discerns thoughts and intents, and all things are naked before Him.

Evidence: Weaver quotes: 'Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.'

Believers must control their thoughts and reject vain imaginations.

Summary: Philippians 4:8 commands thinking on things true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. Psalm 119:113 expresses hatred for vain thoughts.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'We have to learn to control our minds... David said it in Psalm 119 in verse 113. He said, "I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love."'

Scripture References

Ezekiel 8:12

Context: The foundational text: the ancients of Israel do abominations in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery, saying the Lord does not see.

Ezekiel 1:3

Context: Ezekiel was a priest called to be a prophet to the captives in Babylon.

Ezekiel 8:3

Context: Ezekiel is taken in a vision to Jerusalem to see the image of jealousy.

2 Kings 21:7

Context: Manasseh set a graven image of the grove (Ashtaroth) in the house of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 4:16

Context: Warning against making graven images, the similitude of any figure.

Isaiah 42:8

Context: God will not share His glory or give His praise to graven images.

Ezekiel 8:6-11

Context: God shows Ezekiel greater abominations: seventy elders offering incense to idols portrayed on the wall.

Isaiah 29:15

Context: Woe to those who seek to hide their counsel from the Lord, whose works are in the dark, saying 'Who seeth us?'

Proverbs 7:9-10

Context: The harlot meets a man in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night.

Romans 1:21-23

Context: Men became vain in their imaginations, their foolish heart was darkened, and they changed the glory of God into images of corruptible things.

Genesis 6:5

Context: God saw that every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually.

Daniel 4:34, 36

Context: Nebuchadnezzar's understanding and reason returned when his heart (mind) was changed back from a beast's.

Ezekiel 14:1-8

Context: Elders set up idols in their heart (mind) and put a stumblingblock before their face; God will answer them according to their idols.

Proverbs 6:18

Context: God hates a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations.

Jeremiah 7:23-24

Context: Israel walked in the counsels and imagination of their evil heart, going backward and not forward.

Jeremiah 9:13-14

Context: They walked after the imagination of their own heart and after Baalim.

Jeremiah 11:8

Context: They walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart; therefore God will bring judgment.

Jeremiah 13:10

Context: This evil people walk in the imagination of their heart and after other gods.

Jeremiah 16:12

Context: They walk after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto God.

Jeremiah 18:12

Context: They said, 'We will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.'

Historical References

Ezekiel as a priest and prophet to the captives in Babylon

Context: Ezekiel was among the first deportation in 605 B.C. and prophesied to the exiles by the river Chebar.

Manasseh, king of Judah, set up an image of Ashtaroth in the temple

Context: Manasseh placed a graven image of the grove (Ashtaroth) in the house of the Lord, as recorded in 2 Kings 21:7.

Ahaz, king of Israel, worshipped Baal

Context: Ahaz was a worshipper of Baal, and Manasseh also worshipped Baal and Ashtaroth.

Albert Einstein quote on human stupidity

Context: Weaver mentions a quote attributed to Einstein: 'Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the universe.'

Forrest Gump popularized 'Stupid is as stupid does'

Context: Weaver references the movie character Forrest Gump for the saying.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary on chambers of imagery

Context: The commentary states that the chambers of imagery are their own perverse imaginations.

John Calvin's commentary on Ezekiel 8:12

Context: Calvin takes 'maskith' for imagination, signifying painting but transferred to thoughts of men.

Important Quotes

The imagination always precedes the image. You cannot build, you cannot mold, you cannot sculpt, you cannot paint, you cannot draw something until first you imagine it in your mind.

Significance: Establishes the core principle that all idolatry and sin originate in the mind before any physical expression.

The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of God, unlike God, or contrary to God. Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow, they are idolatrous in and of themselves.

Significance: Defines idolatry as primarily a mental sin, not just physical image-making.

Everything that we do, whether good or evil, right or wrong, holy or unholy, begins in our minds. All of our sins begin in our minds. All of our good deeds begin in our minds.

Significance: Summarizes the universal principle that the mind is the source of all actions.

Our thoughts are not our own. There's no such thing as privacy even in our minds. Because ultimately, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

Significance: Emphasizes God's omniscience over human thoughts and the inevitability of thoughts shaping character.

I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.

Significance: Quotes Psalm 119:113 as a model for rejecting worthless thoughts and loving God's Word.

Neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

Significance: Points to the future hope of glorified minds free from sinful imaginations.

Discussion Questions

How does understanding that the 'heart' in Scripture often means the mind change the way you read passages about the heart?

Context: Weaver spent time proving that the heart is the mind, using Genesis 6:5 and Daniel 4.

In what ways might we be guilty of idolatry simply by entertaining wrong thoughts about God?

Context: Weaver argued that any thought about God contrary to Scripture is idolatry.

What practical steps can you take to 'mortify' covetousness and other sins that begin in the mind?

Context: Colossians 3:5 commands mortifying covetousness, which is idolatry.

How does the truth that God knows every thought affect your sense of accountability and your prayer life?

Context: Weaver emphasized that God discerns thoughts and intents, citing Hebrews 4:12-13.

What are some 'vain thoughts' that commonly invade your mind, and how can you apply Psalm 119:113 to combat them?

Context: Weaver quoted David's hatred of vain thoughts and love for God's law.

How can Philippians 4:8 serve as a filter for what you allow into your mind through media and entertainment?

Context: Weaver urged thinking on things true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report.

Applications

Guard your mind by saturating it with Scripture.

Summary: To be holy and obedient, you must concentrate on Christ and saturate your mind with God's Word, not allowing anything contrary to God.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'If you wish to be holy, if you wish to be obedient and righteous, it begins in the mind. You must concentrate on the Lord Jesus Christ. You must saturate yourself with the Word of God.'

Reject vain and evil thoughts immediately.

Summary: When vain thoughts invade, reject them and declare love for God's law, following Psalm 119:113.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'We have to reject it. We have to put it out. And you just have to say, "Lord, I hate vain thoughts. I don't want that. I refuse that. But thy law do I love."'

Be careful what you see and hear.

Summary: Since the eyes are portals to the mind, avoid media that introduces sinful images or language, and turn off content that dishonors God.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'You better watch carefully what appears on TV. You also need to watch carefully what appears on the Internet. Once you see things, you cannot erase them from your minds.'

Think on things that are true, pure, and praiseworthy.

Summary: Obey Philippians 4:8 by deliberately focusing your mind on virtuous and commendable things rather than evil.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'I don't have to think about evil things. There are too many good things to think about. I don't have to think about wrong and wicked things. There are too many holy and righteous things to think about.'

Recognize that your thoughts are known by God and will be judged.

Summary: Live with the awareness that God discerns every thought and intent, and that entertaining sinful imaginations brings judgment.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'Don't be stupid and think that your thinking is not known by the Lord. Don't be stupid and think, "I can think these things and get away with it." You cannot. And you will not.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:11:55Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T10:27:53Z

Clean Transcript

It's The Mind, Stupid

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

Let's open our Bibles, if you would, to the book of Ezekiel. No, not Exodus—I'm sorry—Ezekiel chapter 8 and verse 12. Ezekiel chapter 8 and verse 12. So you have Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 8 and verse 12. As you're finding Ezekiel 8 and verse 12, listen carefully and I will explain. But here's the title of the message: "It's the Mind, Stupid." You will understand as we get started. Look in Ezekiel 8 and verse 12, just one verse right now.
#1 | 0:11 to 0:51 | cleaned
"Then said He unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark? Every man in the chambers of his imagery, for they say, The Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth." So I would say at the very beginning, do not be upset at the title of the message. It is there for emphasis. But many of you will remember years ago during a prominent election, there was a slogan which candidates were using as they were running for office, and the slogan was, "It's the economy, stupid."
#2 | 0:52 to 1:29 | cleaned
And of course that was there. I have a friend, of course, some of you know him, who teaches Bible. And one of his favorite sayings is, "It's the context, stupid." And certainly, whenever we ignore economics and whenever we ignore the context, we're certainly acting very stupidly and very wickedly, I would also say, at the same time. Because not only is the economy essential, the context—not only the immediate context, but also the remote context of a passage—is absolutely essential as well. You remember, I think it was Forrest Gump who popularized the saying, "Stupid is as stupid does."
#3 | 1:29 to 2:12 | cleaned
There is a phrase or a sentence that has been attributed to Albert Einstein. Whether he said it or not, I do not know, but it goes like this: "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the universe." So, what he is saying is basically true, I can assure you, because each one of us has done stupid things. And if we were honest, we would freely admit that we have done stupid things.
#4 | 2:13 to 2:46 | cleaned
Not only in our actions, but many times in our attitudes and in our words. In fact, I usually, when I do something like that, I end up saying it out loud, "Now that was mighty stupid of me," you know, and certainly it was. But obviously, we do indeed do many things that are wrong and what you and I would call stupid. And oftentimes we regret our actions, we regret our words, and we certainly cannot call any of them back. I've always said that one way to avoid trouble is do not go with stupid people to stupid places and do stupid things. However, most people avoid that piece of advice, but that is still good advice. Now, I've preached many messages in times past concerning the mind. I'm going to say that probably the most fundamental and the most needed and necessary message that I've ever preached dealing with the mind is the message "Keeping the Heart." I've also preached a message on "The Mind of Christ." I also preached a series of messages on "Changing Your Mind Doctrinally."
#5 | 2:47 to 4:02 | cleaned
I've also preached a series of messages on "The Supremacy of Christ over the Mind." And probably the most recent message that I've preached was one which I titled, "Take Out the Garbage." But the interesting thing is this: when you ask this question, "How often does God have to say something to make it true?" And the answer is what? One time. But when you see a truth that is repeated over and over and over in Scripture, it is there for emphasis, and it means it's very, very important. In fact, what I'm going to be teaching you today and sharing with you from today, from the Word of God, it can be found in many passages of the Bible.
#6 | 4:03 to 4:52 | cleaned
But this particular truth is shown here in Ezekiel chapter 8 in verse 12, and yet it is the same truth. It may be coming from a different passage or a different book, but it's still exactly the same truth, and we have to conclude that it has to be a vitally important truth for it to occur so many times in Scripture. Now, if you would turn back to Ezekiel chapter 1, and look if you would please at verse 3, because it's important that you understand that Ezekiel was a priest that God called to be a prophet, and he was a prophet to the captives who were in Babylon. Ezekiel was already in Babylon. Many of the Judahites were already in Babylon.
#7 | 4:53 to 5:37 | cleaned
They were there in the first deportation, 605 B.C., I think it was, that they were taken captive. So in verse 3 of Ezekiel 1, "The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar, and the hand of the Lord was there upon him." So Ezekiel was a priest, God called him to be a prophet, and he was already there in Babylon. Now, since he was a captive, he was prophesying to the captives that were already there.
#8 | 5:37 to 6:13 | cleaned
So anything that he prophesied concerning Jerusalem had to be by vision. So if you'll turn back to Ezekiel chapter 8 and look in verse 3, you will find that what I'm about to share with you today was through a vision that God gave Ezekiel. The Bible says, "And he put forth the form of a hand and took me by the lock of mine head; and the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north,
#9 | 6:14 to 6:51 | cleaned
where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy." So the context of this passage deals primarily with the sin of idolatry and all of the sins that are particularly related to idolatry. As you look at this chapter, you're going to find that the progress of idolatry goes from bad to worse.
#10 | 6:52 to 7:18 | cleaned
Now, in verse 3 that we just read, God shows Ezekiel an image that had been set up by the gate. What was the image? Well, we are not told specifically what it was. It was indeed an idol. But in all probability, it was an idol either to Baal or Ashtaroth. You remember that Ahaz, the king of Israel, was a particular worshipper of Baal. And so was Manasseh, the king of Judah. He was also a worshipper of Baal and of Ashtaroth. Now, Ashtaroth was just simply the female consort of Baal. So even the worship of Ashtaroth was indeed a worship of Baal as well. The interesting thing is in 2 Kings chapter 21 and verse 7, we're told about Manasseh, the king of Judah, and the Bible says this, "And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever."
#11 | 7:19 to 8:33 | cleaned
So, it was Manasseh then, who set an image of the grove. The word "grove" refers to Ashtaroth, the female consort of Baal. So it was a worship then of Baal. Whatever it was, whether Baal, Ashtaroth, it doesn't matter. It was indeed an idol. And the Bible tells in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 16, "Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female." So it doesn't matter in one sense of the word whether it was a Baal or an Ashtaroth or anything else.
#12 | 8:33 to 9:14 | cleaned
It was totally and completely forbidden by God and it was contrary to God and His law. Now I want you to look at the context before we get down to verse 12. So let's begin reading at verse 6. God has already showed Ezekiel this horrible image, and now He goes farther. Look at it. Verse 6. "He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary?"
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In other words, let me just stop right there. They're driving God off. They're running God off. In the sense that God is going to withdraw. He's not going to stay there and put up with idolatry. You remember He said in Isaiah 42, "My glory will I not share, nor give my praise to graven images." So He says they're driving Me away. Now watch what He says: "But turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations." In other words, the idol was bad, but that was not the greatest abomination. Then in verse 7, "And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here."
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"So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth." Interestingly, the Word of God tells us that every one of these men were doing this in the chambers of his imagery. Now, Ezekiel saw this portrayed upon the wall. And very obviously, it had to be portrayed upon the wall because he could not read or see the minds of the men. Yet it was still that idolatry that was in the chambers of their imagery.
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So you're going to ask me, was there a real chamber? Was there a real room? Well, I'm not sure, and I would probably say no, since this was a vision. But obviously, God had to portray it some way and somehow for Ezekiel to see what was actually going on in their minds in the chambers of every man's imagery. One thing we know for sure, and that is this: that the idolatry was in their minds. I'm going to say this about three or four times in this message, so I want you to pay attention right now.
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The imagination always precedes the image. You cannot build, you cannot mold, you cannot sculpt, you cannot paint, you cannot draw something until first you imagine it in your mind. So the imagination precedes the image. I looked up the word "imagination" in the dictionary. I already knew the definition, but I wanted to see what the dictionary said and I found two very interesting definitions. Listen to the first one. "Imagination:
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the faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses." So I can have a mental image in my mind of something that is not present to the senses. I have some friends now that are in the Dominican Republic. And they just sent me a beautiful picture of a beach with palm trees that's just about two miles from where they're living. And I can see that in my mind. I mean, I saw the picture, so I can see that image now in my mind. So here it is: the faculty of imagining or forming mental images of concepts that may not actually be present to the senses. I can't touch the palm tree, I can't pick up the sand, I can't put my foot in the water, but I saw, and so I have that in my imagination. Here's the second one: "The product of imagining; a conception or mental creation, often baseless or a fanciful one."
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In other words, I can imagine things that are not real. I can imagine things that are not true. And so, the imagination can be based upon fact or reality, or it can be based upon just pure fancy. So, it is only the mind that can imagine. It is the mind that is the chambers of the imagery.
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Now, I want you to look in verse 12, because before I get really into the message, I want you to note the words. Let's look at them. "Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark? every man in the chambers of his imagery." Now, let's consider the word "dark." It's the Hebrew word choshek, which literally means darkness, night, obscurity, a secret place. It's interesting as you read through the Bible that you grasp the concept of darkness. You remember our Lord said it, "Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." And darkness is usually associated with sin and evil. For instance, in Psalm 74 and verse 20, the Bible says, "For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty." Notice it's the dark places of the earth that are full of the habitations of cruelty. In Proverbs 4 and verse 19, the Bible says, "The way of the wicked is as darkness.
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They know not at what they stumble." So the way of the wicked is as darkness. And usually it is during the dark that you have many vile and wicked acts performed.
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Now, let me ask that you turn your Bibles back to Isaiah—hold Ezekiel 8—but turn back to Isaiah 29, and I want you to look, please, at verse 15. Isaiah 29 and verse 15. Watch, if you would, what is specifically spelled out. Isaiah 29 and verse 15. Here it is. Isaiah 29, verse 15. God says, "Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark.
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And they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?" So he's talking about people who commit their wicked deeds in the dark, hoping that no one sees, and that no one will know. That is why in the book of Proverbs chapter 7, verses 9 and 10, you read about the harlot. The Bible says, "In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart." So when you look at the dark, it simply refers to darkness, to night, to obscurity, to a secret place. So, look at the next word. "Then said He unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark? every man in the chambers." Now the word "chambers" is the Hebrew word cheder, and it literally refers to a chamber, a bed chamber, or the inmost part, or the innermost part.
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So this word then could have an application not only to the physical, but to the mental and the spiritual as well. And then look at the word "imagery." It is from the Hebrew word maskith, which means an image, an idol, an imagination, or a conceit. Imagery. So he says, "Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark? every man in the chambers of his imagery." Now you notice in this vision Ezekiel had to dig through the wall to find the door. He had to work to get at the chambers of the imagery of these seventy ancients. So, I could look at Gary, and I could say, "Hmm, what is in his mind?"
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I can't read his mind, but what I can do is I can listen to him, I can watch him, I can question him, and pretty soon I can come up with a fairly decent idea of what's going on in his thinking, what's going on in his mind. In other words, it's something that I would have to work at, it's something I have to dig at, and that is exactly what God had Ezekiel do, to dig out and then he saw portrayed upon the wall what was exactly in the minds of these individuals.
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Now in the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary they say this, "The chambers of imagery are their own perverse imaginations, answering to the priest's chambers in the vision where all the pictures are portrayed." So once again they're saying it's the mind. And then Calvin in his commentary said this, "Some translate 'in the chambers of their painting,' but I take the word maskith for imagination, as it is also taken in other places. It properly signifies painting, but it is also transferred to the thoughts of men." And then he says this, "Now therefore we see in what sense the prophet mentions the hiding places of their imaginations." Now, let me begin by saying this. Idolatry does not begin with statues, paintings, sculptures, or anything material. Idolatry and every sin actually begins in the mind. Let me show you.
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I want you to hold Ezekiel 8. But look in your Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 1. Romans, chapter 1. And notice if you would, in verse 21 through 23. Romans, chapter 1. And look at it, beginning there with verse 21. Romans 1, verse 21. Watch carefully. "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." Now, I want you to note in verse 21, that which came first was the imaginations, vain imaginations. That which came next was the fact that they were changing the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image like man and four-footed beasts and creeping things to dishonor themselves. In other words, the imagination precedes the image. It always does. They imagined God to be something other than He was.
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Now, listen very carefully. The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of God, unlike God, or contrary to God. Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow, they are idolatrous in and of themselves. God, the only God that exists, is the God that is revealed in the Bible. And if we insist upon thinking about God in any way other than that which is revealed in the Bible, we're guilty of idolatry. We're not building an idol of physical materials. We're building an idol with thoughts. We're building an idol in our minds. So, God is not what you think. God is not what you believe. God is not what you state. God is what He is, what He has revealed Himself as in His Word. And the only way that you and I can know anything about God is that He has revealed Himself in His Word. And to the extent that you and I think unbiblical thoughts about God, to that extent, we are guilty of idolatry.
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It may not be the abominable kind like we just saw in Ezekiel chapter 8, but it's still idolatry. Now, before I show you the truth that I want to emphasize, and the truth that is emphasized over and over in scripture, I want to remind you of a simple truth. And that simple truth is this: the heart is the mind. If you would listen to that message that I preached many, many years ago on keeping the heart, I delineated very carefully from scripture that the heart is the mind. I'm going to take just about two minutes, go over just three or four points with you.
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First of all, the Bible says in Genesis 6 and verse 5, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." God saw the imagination of the hearts of man and that they were only evil continually. What? God saw the imaginations. God saw the thoughts of man. Where did He see them? In the heart, but in the mind. How do you think? In your mind. How do you imagine? In your mind. So whatever the heart is, according to Genesis 6 and verse 5, it can imagine. And moreover, the Bible tells you in Genesis 27 and verse 41, the heart can speak because the Bible says Esau said in his heart. And when you get to Proverbs 5 and verse 12, we're told the heart can either receive instruction or it can refuse instruction. And when you get to Matthew 5 and verse 28, our Lord said, "Verily I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." So there is a connection somehow between the eyes and the heart.
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And then when you get to Daniel 4, that should be the nail that solidifies it for you because God said concerning Nebuchadnezzar, "Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him." And for seven years, Nebuchadnezzar was driven insane. He went out and ate grass like an ox. His hair grew like eagles' feathers, his nails like birds' claws. And finally, when God's judgment was over, he said in Daniel 4 and verse 34, "And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me." Well, what did God change? God changed his heart. Well, how did his understanding return? Because the heart is the mind. Then he said in Daniel 4 and verse 36, "My reason returned unto me." God changed his heart, but He gave him the mind of an animal. And therefore, he acted like an animal. He thought like an animal. So, you have to understand the heart is the mind. So it is in our mind, listen carefully, it is in our mind that our sins and our idolatries begin.
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So I want you to look in the book of Ezekiel chapter 14, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch this passage very carefully, because you're going to see the word "heart," but the word "heart" refers to the mind. So here it is, Ezekiel 14, beginning there with verse 1. "Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, that is, in their mind, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face, that is, they can't walk straight because of their wrong thinking.
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Then he asked this, 'Should I be inquired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, or in his mind, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols, there in his mind. That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.' Wrong thinking leads to wrong worshiping. 'Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself: And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from
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the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord." So these people had set their idols up in their hearts, in the chambers of their imagery. Do you understand that one thing that God has said He hates in Proverbs 6 and verse 18 is "a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations." So it's the heart that can imagine, therefore it is the mind. The heart is the mind. It's the chamber of the imagery.
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Now, listen to me carefully because I'm going to show it to you from the Bible. It is the wrong thinking that leads us into idolatry. And it is wrong thinking that leads us into sin. So I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 7 to begin with. And I want you to follow me through this book very carefully as we look at the word "imagination." Look in Jeremiah chapter 7 and verse 24. Jeremiah 7 and verse 24. And so, let's read verse 23 so you can see it in the context.
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"But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you." So God just simply says, "Obey me." Watch verse 24. "But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward." So God said, "I told you what to do.
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But you wouldn't listen to me. You walked in the counsels and in the imagination of your own evil heart. You would not take my word. You would not believe my word. You believed your own wicked thoughts." Look, if you would, in Jeremiah 9, verse 14. Jeremiah 9, verse 14. Again, God says, in fact, let's read verse 13. "And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them." It is the imagination, it is the wrong thinking of our heart that leads us to worship other gods and that leads us into other sins. That's what he said. Look in Jeremiah 11 and verse 8. Jeremiah 11 and verse 8. Again, he says it like this: "Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart.
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Therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not." So God said they ignored me, they refused to listen to me, and they still walk everyone according to the imagination of their evil heart.
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Now look in Jeremiah chapter 16 and verse 12. I tell you what, let's go to Jeremiah 13 first. Jeremiah 13 in verse 10. Jeremiah 13 verse 10. Look what he says. Jeremiah 13 verse 10. "This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing." So he says this evil people, that's what he calls them, which refuse to hear my words, and walk after the imagination of their own heart. They refuse to hear God's Word, but yet they listen to their own heart.
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And they fall into idolatry. Now go to Jeremiah 16 and look at verse 12. Jeremiah 16, verse 12. He says, "And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me." Wow! You can either listen to your own mind or you can listen to the Word of God, but you're not going to listen to both. You remember what the Bible says in Romans 8? "For the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." That's exactly what he's saying right here in Jeremiah 16 and verse 12. Look in Jeremiah chapter 18 and verse 12. Jeremiah 18 and verse 12. "And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart." They said, "We're just going to do what we want to do. We'll think the way we want to think. We'll believe the way we want to believe, and we will do exactly what we want to do."
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One more look in Jeremiah 23 and verse 17. Jeremiah 23, verse 17.
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"They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you."
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Now I want you to pay close attention to verse 17. "They say still unto them that despise me." What does he say? Those who are walking after the imagination of their own heart actually despise God. And obviously they do because they refuse to listen to Him and refuse to listen to His Word. Let me ask you, have you ever considered how many devices, how many counsels, how many desires, how many imaginations exist in our minds? We could ask another question. How many of these concepts, how many of these imaginations, how many of these desires are contrary to God and His Word? You remember that passage in Proverbs 23 verse 7 that teaches us, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."
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Now let me make a statement and I want to share it with you and show you the truth of it. Everything that we do, whether good or evil, right or wrong, holy or unholy, begins in our minds. All of our sins begin in our minds. All of our good deeds begin in our minds. So, if I saw Steve with a sack that has a hundred pounds of gold in it, and I know it's a hundred pounds of gold, I could sit here and say, "Hmm, I'd like to have that. How could I get that from Steve?" What am I doing?
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I'm already plotting and planning and sinning because God has said, "Thou shalt not covet," "Thou shalt not steal." You see what I'm saying? However, I could also see Steve struggling to carry that hundred pounds of gold in a sack. Now, I may not even know that there's a hundred pounds of gold in it, but I could say this, "That fellow needs help. Let me just go over and offer to see if I can help him carry his burden." Where one is an evil, wicked desire and thought, the other is a good and holy and right desire and thought, you see.
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But both begin in the mind. So, let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 15. Matthew 15. And let's look at verse 10 and 11 first. Because our Lord is going to explain this parable. He's really hitting the Pharisees. In Matthew 15 verse 10, "And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man." Now skip down to verse 15. "Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
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I'll clarify it for you. Here it is. 'Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever 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.' Now watch. 'For out of the heart proceed...' What's the first thing? 'Evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.' But note if you would, he said all of this proceeds out of the heart. It proceeds out of the mind. You can't do one thing without thinking whether it's right or wrong, whether it's good or bad. Everything begins in the mind. Every act of idolatry begins in the mind. Every act of sin begins in the mind. Every act of obedience begins in the mind.
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Now I want you to turn please to the book of Colossians. And look in chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. And look at verses 5 and 6. Then we're going to go to Exodus chapter 20. Okay? Colossians 3, verses 5 and 6. Watch. God says, "Mortify"—that is, make dead—"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth." What are you to mortify? What are you to make dead? Here's what you're to make dead.
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"Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience." Now, I want you to pay attention to the fact, he says, "and covetousness, which is idolatry."
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Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 20. You'll also find this passage in Deuteronomy chapter 5, for it is the Ten Commandments. It's the law being given by God. And so you have the 10th commandment in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 17. Look at it. Exodus 20 and verse 17. God says, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." Now, I want you to listen to this. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house." Do you realize for me to covet my neighbor's house, I have to see it. For me to covet my neighbor's wife, I have to see her. For me to covet my neighbor's manservant or maidservant, I have to see them. For me to covet his ox or his ass, I have to see them.
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The eyes are the portals into the mind. So, let's go back to a definition. You remember imagination is the concept of imaging. It's the concept of seeing something in the mind that I cannot touch with my senses. I cannot taste it, I cannot smell it, I cannot hear it, I cannot feel it. It's all mental, it's in the mind. But on the other hand, the second definition is I could have a mental image of something that is baseless, something that is fanciful, something that is not true. Now, I could possibly say, "Well, I'm going to covet Gary's house," and I could just have a mental image in my mind that he lives in a palace with 14 bathrooms and 20 bedrooms. Now, does he live in a house like that? No. But if I built that up in my mind, it would be fanciful. There'd be no basis for it, but I could envision that and think, "Well, that's really what he's got and that's what I want." No, but usually when we covet, it is something that we actually see. That's why our
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Lord said in Matthew 5 in verse 28, "Verily I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." In other words, it goes into the mind through the eyes. The eyes are the portal to the soul.
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Now, I want you to see this. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel chapter 23. In Ezekiel 23, God is dealing with Judah. He also deals in this passage with Israel. But the passage we're going to read, he's dealing particularly with Judah. And I want to emphasize this. Look in Ezekiel 23 and verse 14. Watch what the Bible says. Ezekiel 23 verse 14. "And that she"—that would be Judah in Jerusalem—"and that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner
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of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity: And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea." In other words, it was through the eyes that the mind began to imagine certain things.
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Now, it is with the mind that you see, in one sense of the word, that you observe and that you desire. It does not matter if it is a man's wife, a woman's husband, a wedge of gold, a new truck, a fancy house, a big farm, or a strange god. What happens is when we see something, we decide, we think, "Boy, it'd be nice to have that. I'd like that."
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And what we do, we roll it over in our minds, and we cherish it, and we play it out, and we toy with it, and we relish it, and we entertain it over and over to the point that we experience some type of sensation, some type of pleasure. And what we're doing without even knowing it, is dethroning God and enthroning ourselves. Because God said, "Thou shalt not covet." God said, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." God said, "Thou shalt not steal." And what we're doing is we're saying, "It doesn't matter what you said.
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This is what I want. This is what I'm thinking about. This is what I'm going to enjoy right now. I don't need you. I need this to satisfy me." It is in the mind. And in doing so, we set ourselves above God and above His law. We become a god unto ourselves and a law unto ourselves. And we disobey Him in order that we might derive some type of mental pleasure from what we're entertaining, which is absolutely contrary to God.
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Your imagination will lead you always further into sin and into idolatry. Your sin, your idolatry, just like Judah's and just like Israel's, is in the chamber of our imagination. Your wife may not see it. Your husband may not see it. Your children may not see it. Your family may not see it. Your friends may not see it, but God does. But God does. Our thoughts are not our own. In Job 21 and verse 27, God says this, "Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me. I know your thoughts." Wow! In Psalm 94 and verse 11, "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity." In Isaiah 66 and verse 18, God says, "For I know their works and their thoughts."
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And how many times did our Lord in the New Testament say this, "And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?" And "Jesus knowing their thoughts." If you and I really knew, if we really understood the importance of keeping our minds upon the Lord, and keeping our minds upon Biblical truth, and that which is right and holy, we would fight more effectively to control our thoughts, and to control our imagination, and to control our mind.
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You remember that passage in Isaiah 26 and verse 3? The Bible said, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." If we want perfect peace, our minds must be stayed upon the Lord. Now, I want you to turn to the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter 4, I want you to look at verse 8. There are many, many things, many, many things that we can think about.
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And by the way, I will tell you this. You better watch carefully what appears on TV. You also need to watch carefully what appears on the Internet. Once you see things, you cannot erase them from your minds. I have people send me things all the time. And some of them are good. When I say good, I mean good information. But when I hear people start using foul language and taking God's name in vain, I cut it off.
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I'm not going to listen to it. I don't care how right they are. I don't care how conservative they are. If they want to talk to me, if they want to present the truth, they can do so in a rational way, in a way without taking God's name in vain and without using foul language. I'm just not going to listen to it. So I just turn it off.
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I refuse to do that. Why? Well, look at it. Here's very simple. Look in Philippians chapter 4 verse 8. Here's what he said.
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"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." I don't have to think about evil things. There are too many good things to think about. I don't have to think about wrong and wicked things. There are too many holy and righteous things to think about.
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The chambers of our imagery is our mind. And everything begins in the mind. Whether it's right or wrong, good or bad, holy or unholy, it begins in our mind. So let me make some applications. The first one is this. If you wish to be holy, if you wish to be obedient and righteous, it begins in the mind. You must concentrate on the Lord Jesus Christ. You must saturate yourself with the Word of God. And you must not allow anything to be in your mind that's contrary to God and contrary to His mind. So if you want to be holy, if you want to be obedient, if you want to be godly, think on these things. Think upon the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. On the other hand, if you wish to be scattered, peeled and destroyed, allow your thoughts and your imaginations to run wild and go contrary to God and His Word.
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You see, He said in Luke 1 and verse 51, "He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts." God will scatter us. Darkness does not hide us. Let me say this again. Our thoughts are not our own. There's no such thing as privacy even in our minds. Because ultimately, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.
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It's going to spill out sooner or later. It's going to come forth. Moreover, God knows precisely. Listen as I quote Hebrews 4, verses 12 and 13, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
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Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." Note if you would, he said, "the Word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Our thoughts are not secretive. They're not our own. God knows every thought that enters our mind. He knows the intent of every thought.
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We have to learn to control our minds. We have to learn to control our thoughts. We have to learn to control our imaginations. There's a verse that I quote quite frequently, and you might ought to memorize this short passage and learn to quote it as well. David said it in Psalm 119 in verse 113. He said, "I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love." And how many times have we been praying or even reading the Bible, all of a sudden some stupid, vain thought invades our mind.
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And we have to reject it. We have to put it out. And you just have to say, "Lord, I hate vain thoughts. I don't want that. I refuse that. But thy law do I love." I want you to turn to one last passage. I want you to turn to Jeremiah chapter 3. Jeremiah chapter 3. This to me is going to be one of the greatest blessings of eternity. Jeremiah chapter 3, I want you to look at verse 17. "At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem.
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Neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart." So when we get to glory, it's not just that we'll have a new glorified body and our body will be fixed, so will our minds. There'll be no more vain imaginations, no more empty imaginations, no more thoughts that are wicked, wrong and fruitless and worthless and vain. Our minds determine how we live. We can either submit our minds to the word of God and be obedient or we can let our minds run wild and imagine things and entertain things that we have no right to think of and entertain. And thus we bring the judgment of God upon us. He said he knew how to scatter the proud in the imagination of their heart.
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And He will do so. Your mind is important. So let me put it to you like this. Don't be stupid and ignore your thoughts. Don't be stupid and ignore your imaginations. Don't be stupid and think that your thinking is not known by the Lord. Don't be stupid and think, "I can think these things and get away with it." You cannot. And you will not. It's your mind. So don't be stupid with it.
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Use it the way God ordained for you to use it. For your good and for His glory. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask, Lord, that you would teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. In thy name we pray. Amen.
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so so
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:11:55Z

It's The Mind, Stupid

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver teaches that all sin and idolatry begin in the mind, using Ezekiel 8:12 as the foundational text. He explains that the 'chambers of imagery' refer to the mind, where imaginations precede outward actions. The heart is equated with the mind, and wrong thinking leads to idolatry and disobedience. Believers must control their thoughts, saturate their minds with Scripture, and reject vain imaginations, knowing that God discerns every thought.

Introduction: The Importance of the Mind

Weaver introduces the title and explains that the message emphasizes the mind's role in sin, referencing the slogan 'It's the economy, stupid' and the importance of context.

Ezekiel's Vision of Idolatry in the Chambers of Imagery

Ezekiel 8:12 reveals that the elders of Israel practiced idolatry in the dark, in the chambers of their imagery, which Weaver identifies as the mind.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 1:3

"The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar, and the hand of the Lord was there upon him."

So Ezekiel was a priest, God called him to be a prophet, and he was already there in Babylon. Now, since he was a captive, he was prophesying to the captives that were already there.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 8:3

"And he put forth the form of a hand and took me by the lock of mine head; and the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy."

The Imagination Precedes the Image

Weaver defines imagination and argues that all idolatry and sin begin with mental images before becoming physical acts.

The Heart Is the Mind

Using Genesis 6:5, Daniel 4, and other passages, Weaver demonstrates that the biblical 'heart' refers to the mind, the seat of thoughts and imaginations.

First of all, the Bible says in Genesis 6 and verse 5,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 6:5

"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

Scripture Reading — Daniel 4:34, 36

"And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me."

Idolatry Begins with Wrong Thoughts About God

Romans 1:21-23 shows that vain imaginations lead to idolatry; entertaining unbiblical thoughts about God is itself idolatrous.

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:21-23

"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things."

The Imagination of the Evil Heart in Jeremiah

Multiple passages in Jeremiah show that walking after the imagination of one's own evil heart leads to disobedience and idolatry.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:13-14

"But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:13-14

"And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:13-14

"Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart.

Therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 13:10

" So God said they ignored me, they refused to listen to me, and they still walk everyone according to the imagination of their evil heart. Now look in Jeremiah chapter 16 and verse 12. I tell you what, let's go to Jeremiah 13 first. Jeremiah 13 in verse 10. Jeremiah 13 verse 10. Look what he says. Jeremiah 13 verse 10. "

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 13:10

" So he says this evil people, that's what he calls them, which refuse to hear my words, and walk after the imagination of their own heart. They refuse to hear God's Word, but yet they listen to their own heart.

And they fall into idolatry. Now go to Jeremiah 16 and look at verse 12. Jeremiah 16, verse 12. He says,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 16:12

"And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 16:12

"And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart."

They said, "We're just going to do what we want to do. We'll think the way we want to think. We'll believe the way we want to believe, and we will do exactly what we want to do."

One more look in Jeremiah 23 and verse 17. Jeremiah 23, verse 17.

Everything Begins in the Mind

Jesus taught in Matthew 15 that evil thoughts proceed from the heart; covetousness is idolatry that starts with seeing and desiring.

Controlling the Mind and Thinking on What Is Good

Philippians 4:8 instructs believers to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report; we must reject vain thoughts.

Applications and Warnings

Weaver applies the message: holiness begins in the mind; God knows all thoughts; we must control our imaginations or face judgment.

It's The Mind, Stupid

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	CYmw-o6rYEg
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Daniel
Genre	Sermon
Date	2021-03-09
Dictation Name
Book	Book 087: Daniel — Chapter 14
Source Timed Segments	74

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Importance of the Mind: Weaver introduces the title and explains that the message emphasizes the mind's role in sin, referencing the slogan 'It's the economy, stupid' and the importance of context.
Ezekiel's Vision of Idolatry in the Chambers of Imagery: Ezekiel 8:12 reveals that the elders of Israel practiced idolatry in the dark, in the chambers of their imagery, which Weaver identifies as the mind.
The Imagination Precedes the Image: Weaver defines imagination and argues that all idolatry and sin begin with mental images before becoming physical acts.
The Heart Is the Mind: Using Genesis 6:5, Daniel 4, and other passages, Weaver demonstrates that the biblical 'heart' refers to the mind, the seat of thoughts and imaginations.
Idolatry Begins with Wrong Thoughts About God: Romans 1:21-23 shows that vain imaginations lead to idolatry; entertaining unbiblical thoughts about God is itself idolatrous.
The Imagination of the Evil Heart in Jeremiah: Multiple passages in Jeremiah show that walking after the imagination of one's own evil heart leads to disobedience and idolatry.
Everything Begins in the Mind: Jesus taught in Matthew 15 that evil thoughts proceed from the heart; covetousness is idolatry that starts with seeing and desiring.
Controlling the Mind and Thinking on What Is Good: Philippians 4:8 instructs believers to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report; we must reject vain thoughts.
Applications and Warnings: Weaver applies the message: holiness begins in the mind; God knows all thoughts; we must control our imaginations or face judgment.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Idolatry begins in the mind, not with physical objects.

Ezekiel 8:12 shows that the elders' idolatry was in the 'chambers of his imagery,' meaning their minds. The imagination precedes any physical idol.

Weaver says: 'Idolatry does not begin with statues, paintings, sculptures, or anything material. Idolatry and every sin actually begins in the mind.'

The heart in Scripture is the mind.

Genesis 6:5, Daniel 4, and other passages show that the heart imagines, thinks, and understands, proving it is the mind.

Weaver argues: 'God saw the imagination of the thoughts of his heart... How do you think? In your mind. How do you imagine? In your mind. So whatever the heart is, according to Genesis 6 and verse 5, it can imagine.'

Wrong thinking about God is idolatry.

Romans 1:21-23 shows that vain imaginations lead to idolatry. Thinking of God in ways contrary to Scripture is building an idol in the mind.

Weaver states: 'If we insist upon thinking about God in any way other than that which is revealed in the Bible, we're guilty of idolatry. We're not building an idol of physical materials. We're building an idol with thoughts.'

Walking after one's own imagination leads to disobedience.

Jeremiah repeatedly condemns Israel for walking after the imagination of their evil heart instead of obeying God's Word.

Weaver cites Jeremiah 7:24: 'But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.'

All actions, good or evil, begin in the mind.

Jesus taught in Matthew 15 that evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, etc., proceed from the heart. Covetousness, which is idolatry, starts with seeing and desiring.

Weaver explains: 'Everything that we do, whether good or evil, right or wrong, holy or unholy, begins in our minds. All of our sins begin in our minds.'

God knows all thoughts and will judge them.

Scripture declares that God knows the thoughts of man; Hebrews 4:12-13 says the Word discerns thoughts and intents, and all things are naked before Him.

Weaver quotes: 'Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.'

Believers must control their thoughts and reject vain imaginations.

Philippians 4:8 commands thinking on things true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. Psalm 119:113 expresses hatred for vain thoughts.

Weaver says: 'We have to learn to control our minds... David said it in Psalm 119 in verse 113. He said, "I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love."'

Scripture References

Ezekiel 8:12: The foundational text: the ancients of Israel do abominations in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery, saying the Lord does not see.
Ezekiel 1:3: Ezekiel was a priest called to be a prophet to the captives in Babylon.
Ezekiel 8:3: Ezekiel is taken in a vision to Jerusalem to see the image of jealousy.
2 Kings 21:7: Manasseh set a graven image of the grove (Ashtaroth) in the house of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 4:16: Warning against making graven images, the similitude of any figure.
Isaiah 42:8: God will not share His glory or give His praise to graven images.
Ezekiel 8:6-11: God shows Ezekiel greater abominations: seventy elders offering incense to idols portrayed on the wall.
Isaiah 29:15: Woe to those who seek to hide their counsel from the Lord, whose works are in the dark, saying 'Who seeth us?'
Proverbs 7:9-10: The harlot meets a man in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night.
Romans 1:21-23: Men became vain in their imaginations, their foolish heart was darkened, and they changed the glory of God into images of corruptible things.
Genesis 6:5: God saw that every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually.
Daniel 4:34, 36: Nebuchadnezzar's understanding and reason returned when his heart (mind) was changed back from a beast's.
Ezekiel 14:1-8: Elders set up idols in their heart (mind) and put a stumblingblock before their face; God will answer them according to their idols.
Proverbs 6:18: God hates a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations.
Jeremiah 7:23-24: Israel walked in the counsels and imagination of their evil heart, going backward and not forward.
Jeremiah 9:13-14: They walked after the imagination of their own heart and after Baalim.
Jeremiah 11:8: They walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart; therefore God will bring judgment.
Jeremiah 13:10: This evil people walk in the imagination of their heart and after other gods.
Jeremiah 16:12: They walk after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto God.
Jeremiah 18:12: They said, 'We will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.'

Historical References

Ezekiel as a priest and prophet to the captives in Babylon: Ezekiel was among the first deportation in 605 B.C. and prophesied to the exiles by the river Chebar.
Manasseh, king of Judah, set up an image of Ashtaroth in the temple: Manasseh placed a graven image of the grove (Ashtaroth) in the house of the Lord, as recorded in 2 Kings 21:7.
Ahaz, king of Israel, worshipped Baal: Ahaz was a worshipper of Baal, and Manasseh also worshipped Baal and Ashtaroth.
Albert Einstein quote on human stupidity: Weaver mentions a quote attributed to Einstein: 'Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the universe.'
Forrest Gump popularized 'Stupid is as stupid does': Weaver references the movie character Forrest Gump for the saying.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary on chambers of imagery: The commentary states that the chambers of imagery are their own perverse imaginations.
John Calvin's commentary on Ezekiel 8:12: Calvin takes 'maskith' for imagination, signifying painting but transferred to thoughts of men.

Important Quotes

The imagination always precedes the image. You cannot build, you cannot mold, you cannot sculpt, you cannot paint, you cannot draw something until first you imagine it in your mind.

Establishes the core principle that all idolatry and sin originate in the mind before any physical expression.

The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of God, unlike God, or contrary to God. Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow, they are idolatrous in and of themselves.

Defines idolatry as primarily a mental sin, not just physical image-making.

Everything that we do, whether good or evil, right or wrong, holy or unholy, begins in our minds. All of our sins begin in our minds. All of our good deeds begin in our minds.

Summarizes the universal principle that the mind is the source of all actions.

Our thoughts are not our own. There's no such thing as privacy even in our minds. Because ultimately, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

Emphasizes God's omniscience over human thoughts and the inevitability of thoughts shaping character.

I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.

Quotes Psalm 119:113 as a model for rejecting worthless thoughts and loving God's Word.

Neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

Points to the future hope of glorified minds free from sinful imaginations.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does understanding that the 'heart' in Scripture often means the mind change the way you read passages about the heart?

[Context]

Weaver spent time proving that the heart is the mind, using Genesis 6:5 and Daniel 4.

[Question]

In what ways might we be guilty of idolatry simply by entertaining wrong thoughts about God?

[Context]

Weaver argued that any thought about God contrary to Scripture is idolatry.

[Question]

What practical steps can you take to 'mortify' covetousness and other sins that begin in the mind?

[Context]

Colossians 3:5 commands mortifying covetousness, which is idolatry.

[Question]

How does the truth that God knows every thought affect your sense of accountability and your prayer life?

[Context]

Weaver emphasized that God discerns thoughts and intents, citing Hebrews 4:12-13.

[Question]

What are some 'vain thoughts' that commonly invade your mind, and how can you apply Psalm 119:113 to combat them?

[Context]

Weaver quoted David's hatred of vain thoughts and love for God's law.

[Question]

How can Philippians 4:8 serve as a filter for what you allow into your mind through media and entertainment?

[Context]

Weaver urged thinking on things true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T10:27:53Z