Sermon – Beatitude #6 – Pure In Heart
- We’ve made it to week 6 of our Beatitude study; and
our verse is Matthew 5:8 (NLT), which reads, “God blesses those whose hearts
are pure, for they will see God.”
- This fits in and flows with and through the others
we’ve touched on already:
- Those who have seen their sinful state – the poor in spirit
- Those who have mourned over their sins
- Those who have humbled themselves
- Those who have hungered and thirsted for what only God can provide
- Those who have given and received mercy
- These are the people that will be “pure in heart,”
and as we continue over the next two weeks:
- These will be the same people that will work for peace
- These will be the same people that are persecuted
for righteousness’ sake
- The Greek word that we get ‘heart’ from is “kardia,”
and while it can mean our physical heart; it can also apply to our innermost
being – the seat of feeling, impulse, affection, desire, and intellect.
- It is the core of who we are – at the center, it’s
what we really care about … it’s the nitty gritty … no holds-barred …
unvarnished truth … this is what the Lord looks at … this is what’s important
to Him … not our looks, cars, clothes, wealth … what matters is the condition
of our hearts
- 1st Samuel 16:7b (NLT) … The LORD doesn’t
see things the way you see them. People
judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.
- When people judge by appearance, they may overlook
quality individuals who lack the physical qualities society currently
admires. Appearance doesn’t reveal what
people are really like or what their true value is. God judges by faith and character, not
appearances. And because only God can
see on the inside, only He can accurately judge people. Many people spend hours each week maintaining
their outward appearance; they should do even more to develop their inner
character. While everyone can see your
face, only you and God how what your heart really looks like.
- What are you doing to improve your heart,
(spiritually)?
- Matthew 6:21 (NLT) … Wherever your treasure is,
there the desires of your heart will also be.
- Jesus was clear that having the wrong treasures
leads to our hearts being in the wrong place.
What we treasure controls us, whether we admit it or not. If “stuff” becomes too important, we must
re-establish control.
- Where are your treasures stored? Is there anything in your life that takes God from His rightful place as #1 in your life – even for a short time? Are you spending enough time with Him; both alone and with your church family? Are you serving Him? Are you giving Him? When you must choose between God / Jesus / Spirit / Bible / Prayer / Church or something else, what do you choose? … I implore you to choose the eternal over the temporal.
- Matthew 12:34-35 (NLT) … You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is
good and right? For whatever is in your
heart determines what you say. A good
person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil
person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account
on judgement day for every idle word you speak.
- Jesus reminds us that what we say reveals what is in
our heart. What kinds of words come from
your mouth? This is an indication of
what is in your heart. You can’t solve
your heart problem just by cleaning up your speech. You must allow the Holy Spirit to fill you
with new attitudes and motives; then your speech will be cleansed at its
source.
- The Greek word used here (“katharos”) can mean clean
– pure – unsoiled – clean from guilt – guiltless – innocent – sincere – upright
– virtuous – void of evil – clean ceremonially and morally.
- When you think of someone that is “pure,” you might
think of someone that has no deceit or malice in them … someone that is
wholesome or has good morals … someone innocent … maybe someone that is a
little naive or unaware of how certain things in the world work.
- When talking about pure food and drink … we want our
water to be bottled at the source of a pure mountain spring … we want nothing
artificial … no dyes … no preservatives … everything organic … (side thought –
cleaners are made with real lemons; and food/drink are made with artificial
ones)
- Even if someone looks pure on the outside – and we
may know them – we may be them – we may have been them … we still need to be
pure on the inside … far above just looking the part, we must be it. We can’t be counterfeit. We can’t be fake. We must be the genuine article.
- This has been a problem forever – in Jesus’ day – in
ours. Hearts are contaminated by sins
that nobody else sees. They can give us
the impression of purity, but deep down, we are filthy. We may look the part, but that’s as far as it
goes.
- Matthew 23:27-28 (NLT) … What sorrow awaits you
teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.
Hypocrites! For you are like
whitewashed tombs – beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead
people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.
Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are
filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.
- The standards of citizenship in the Kingdom of God
are extremely high. External, outward,
human righteousness might lead people to think you are pure / holy / righteous
/ a “good Christian,” but that won’t cut it with God who sees the heart.
- The OT contains things that people had to do to be ceremonially clean. Sadly, too many, on the external things and not the internal. (see Jesus’ teachings on lust=adultery and hate=murder)
- God says there has to be an internal work, not only of what we do, but of who we are.
- John 3:3 says that unless we are born again, we
cannot see the Kingdom of God.
- Romans 10:9-10 (NLT) … If you openly declare that
Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you
will be saved. For it is by believing in
your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your
faith that you are saved.
- We are told that those who are pure in heart – those
who are saved – will see God. Jesus was
talking to Jewish audience – and it might be safe to assume that some of them
would be aware of Exodus 33:20, where God told Moses that he couldn’t see Him
and live.
- When we get saved, do we “see” God. No, we don’t … (Heaven, that could be another
thing.)
- The Greek word (“horao”) that is translated as
“see,” can also mean to look – to visit – to mark – to observe – to be admitted
to witness – to be admitted into the more immediate presence of God – to attain
a true knowledge of God – to take care – to appear – to reveal or present one’s
self
- Just like in “Amazing Grace,” … I once was BLIND,
but now I SEE … When someone is made pure – when they get saved – they are
brought into the presence of God, spiritually speaking, and know Him as their
God … not some vague concept … but a personal God … our eyes are opened to see
the truth of our sinfulness; and that we need a savior … Being made “Pure in
Heart,” is the start, not the end; as Christians are to grow, learn, mature,
and become more and more like Jesus.
- Colossians 3:10 (NLT) … Put on your new nature, and
be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.
- Every Christian is a work in progress. The more we know of Christ and His work, the
more we are being changed to be like Him.
Because this process is lifelong, we must never stop learning and
obeying. There is no justification for
drifting along, but there is an incentive to find the rich treasures of growing
in Him. It takes practice, ongoing
review, patience, and concentration to keep in line with His will.
- 2nd Corinthians 3:18 (NLT) … So all of us
who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us
more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.
- The glory the Spirit imparts to the believer is more
excellent and last longer than the glory that Moses experienced. By gazing at the nature of God with unveiled
minds, we can be more like Him. In the
Gospel, we see the truth about Christ, and it transforms us morally as we understand
and apply it. Through learning about
Christ’s life, we can understand how wonderful God is and what He is really
like. As our knowledge deepens, the Holy
spirit helps us to change. Becoming
Christlike is a progressive experience.
The more closely we follow Christ, the more we will be like Him.
- Just like the Beatitudes flow into and from each other; as we are given a new heart – as we are being purified and pruned, we need to mindful of Galatians 5:22-25 … But the Holy Spirit produces this king of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.