MATTHEW 5:8

A PURE HEART

#7 - SERMON ON THE MOUNT

 

Matthew 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

My God, I love Thee; not because
I hope for heaven thereby,
Nor yet because who love Thee not
Are lost eternally.

Thou, O my Jesus, Thou didst me
Upon the cross embrace;
For me didst bear the nails, and spear,
And manifold disgrace,

And griefs and torments numberless,
And sweat of agony;
Yea, death itself; and all for me
Who was thine enemy.

Then why, O blessed Jesus Christ,
Should I not love Thee well?
Not for the sake of winning heaven,
Nor of escaping hell;

Not from the hope of gaining aught,
Not seeking a reward;
But as Thyself hast loved me,
O ever-loving Lord.

So would I love Thee, dearest Lord,
And in Thy praise will sing;
Solely because Thou art my God,
And my most loving King.

Francis Xavier, 1506-1552, Translated by Edward Caswall, 1814-1878 http://www.bible.org/illus/l/l-54.htm#TopOfPage

 

I know nothing about Francis Xavier who wrote this poem in the 1500's.  However the poem tells me something about him. He was probably a person who was "pure in heart".  I'll tell you why I feel that way in a moment.

 

We are striving to live righteously in 2003, and are using the Sermon on the Mount for guidance.  We have been looking at the "Beatitudes" or "Blessed Attitudes" that a Christian must have.  This morning we see that we are to be "pure in heart".

 

THE DEFINITION OF A PURE HEART

 

What does the Lord Jesus mean when he talks about the heart?

He is talking about everything that goes on inside of us, including our intellect and emotions.

He is talking about the "real us", the control center of who we are.

 

And Jesus tells us that in order to be happy because God approves of us, we must have a pure heart.

 

When we think of the word pure, we probably think of cleanliness.  We would probably think of a pure heart as one that is clean in the eyes of God. And indeed that is one of the meanings of the word pure.

 

There is another definition for pure however, and that is illustrated by Ivory Soap, which is 99 and 44/100% pure.

Ivory soap is pure soap because it is not mixed with anything else!

Pure also means "unmixed".

 

According to John MacArthur, "The Greek term was often used of metals that had been refined until all impurities were removed, leaving only the pure metal.  In that sense, purity means unmixed, unalloyed, unadulterated. Applied to the heart, the idea is that of pure motive-of single-mindedness, undivided devotion, spiritual integrity, and true righteousness."

John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament - Matthew 1-7 (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1985), p. 204

 

After first reading the poem I read to you at the beginning of the message, I concluded that Francis Xavier was probably pure in heart because he seemed to have a single-minded, and unadulterated devotion to and love for God.

 

One of the best Bible examples of a man with a pure heart is David.  He is called a man after God's own heart in Acts 13:22.

 

Although David, like the rest of us, had moments of failure, he was for the most part a man of unmixed loyalty to God. 

 

Psalm 108:1 - O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.

 

Psalm 112:7 - He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.

 

Psalm 19:14 - Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

 

Psalm 139:23-24 - Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: [24] And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

So then, a pure heart, is a heart that has unwavering, unmixed, single, devotion to God.

So how pure is your heart?

Most of us struggle maintaining loyalty to God, to being singular in our devotion to him.

 

We now move from

THE DEFINITION OF A PURE HEART to the

THE DEFILEMENT OF THE HEART

 

Every human being has heart problems.

 

Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

 

Mark 7:21-23 - For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, [22] Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: [23] All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

 

Ivan Turgenev summed up our condition beautifully when he said, "I don't know what the heart of a bad man is like. But I do know what the heart of a good man is like. And it is terrible."

R. Kent Hughes, The Sermon on the Mount - The Message of the Kingdom (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2001) p. 56    

   

Even those of us who are Christians struggle with hearts that waver in their loyalty to God.

 

James 1:8 - A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

The word "double minded" means "two souled".

 

Jesus warns in Matthew 6:24 - No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

This statement implies that you can not serve God and anything or anybody else.

   

Our condition is so bad that we have no hope of change without the help of God. 

 

Let's move on from

 

THE DEFILEMENT OF THE HEART to

THE DEPLOYMENT OF A NEW HEART

 

We've heard a lot about deployment lately, haven't we.

Troops are being deployed to the Middle East.

When they are deployed they are activated and sent to a specific place.

 

Christian, I've got great news for you!

The moment you were saved, God deployed a new heart inside of you.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

Jeremiah 24:7  - And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

 

Hebrews 10:16-17  - This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; [17] And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

 

Perhaps there is someone here wondering, what I mean by being "saved?"   

 

We already showed that our hearts are wicked.

God, is a righteous God, requiring punishment for our sins.

There are two choices.

1.  We can pay for our own sins, being punished for all eternity.

 

2.     We can accept the payment for sin, which the sinless Son of God already made.

 

Romans 5:6-8 - For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. [8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

If you choose to bear your own punishment, do nothing.  You will end up in hell.

However, if you want to choose that Jesus took your punishment for you, you need to call on Him in faith.  When you do, he will save you and give you everlasting life.  He will also give you new life now.

   

John 3:16-18 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

 

So Christian a new heart has been deployed.

And yet you can probably say, "I have a new heart, but lots of times, I don't act like I have a new heart."

 

 So we move on again from

THE DEPLOYMENT OF A NEW HEART to

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PURE HEART  

 

When a baby is born, he or she has all the body parts.

They simply need to be developed.

When you were born into the Kingdom of God, you received all you need to practice living with a pure heart.  Your new heart needs to be developed!

 

The first thing we need to do is to ask ourselves, "What is in my life that is more important to me than God?"

 

Is it my job?

Is it the fantasies of my thought life?

Is it my computer?

Is it the television, or music?

Is it my wife, children, or another person?

Is it sports?

Is it a hobby of some sort?

Is it my house or car?

Or is it myself?

 

James 4:1-4 - From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? [2] Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. [3] Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. [4] Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

 

If I walked up to you and accused you being an adulterer or an adulteress, you would be ready to punch out my lights.

And yet how many of us are guilty of the worse kind of Spiritual adultery, putting something or someone ahead of God?   

 

This is why we are not pure in heart!

What can we do about it?

 

James 4:7-10 - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

 

In the Book of Revelation there is a great church addressed by the Lord Jesus.  It is a great church that had great activities and probably the best preaching around. You would have probably been proud of that church in a place called Ephesus.  But here what Jesus has to say to that church.

 

Revelation 2:4 - Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

 

I wonder if that's your problem?

Have you left your first love?

That's why you're not pure in heart!

 

Revelation 2:5 - Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

 

When a person repents he turns from whatever is keeping him from being fully devoted to God, confessing His sin, and seeking God's face.   

   

After confessing our sins, we need commit our full loyalty to Christ.

 

Romans 12:1 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

 

As we commit ourselves totally to Christ, we need to realize that we are making Him #1.

He is our ultimate joy.

He is the one we should seek.

He is the one we need to please.

 

It would be good to adapt some of the prayers of David to our own lives.

 

Psalm 86:11 - Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

 

After being double-minded for so long, we should ask God to help us be single-minded.  A united heart is focused on God alone.

 

Psalm 63:1-2 - O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; [2] To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

 

And remember, because Jesus is with us continually, we can abide in Him and He in us. As we do that, we will pattern our behavior after Him.

 

1 John 2:6 - He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

 

Maintaining a pure heart is a continuous process.

The Lord will empower you to do it.

But you must work at it.

It is something you will have to want to do.

 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PURE HEART

THE DELIGHT OF A PURE HEART

   

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

 

There is reward for being pure in heart.

First of all, every person who has become a Christian will literally see God.   

   

1 John 3:2-3 - Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. [3] And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

 

We want to keep pure because one day we will see Jesus face to face!   

   

But as we maintain a pure heart now God will reveal Himself to us.  There are ways in which we will see God even before we get to Heaven.

 

According to Warren Wiersbe, the pure in heart will see God in at least three different areas. ." Warren Wiersbe, Live Like a King (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1976), p. 119-122

 

·        The Pure In Heart Will See God in Creation

 

When we are focused on God, we will appreciate His work throughout all creation.  We will recognize his magnificent hand at work.

 

Psalm 19:1 - The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

 

·        The Pure in Heart see God in Circumstances.

 

Mostly all of us know Romans 8:28

 

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

 

It is the pure in heart who can see what God is doing through the various events in life.

I have seen God exercise perfect timing to have me in the right place at the right time.

I have seen God work through pulpit committees, both bringing me to churches and keeping me from going to churches.

I have seen God change the attitudes of men and women.

I have seen God protect others and me in dangerous circumstances.

I have seen God provide for my physical and spiritual needs.  

 

And the more "in tune" you are with God, the more you will see God in the circumstances.

 

·        The Pure in Heart See God in His Word.

 

When you are pure in Heart, your understanding of the Word of God whether being read or preached will increase.

You will see truth "jump off the page" when you are pure in heart!

One of the reasons God speaks to hearts that are pure is because those with pure hearts want God to speak!

 

Psalm 119:18 - Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

 

THE DEFINITION OF A PURE HEART

THE DEFILEMENT OF THE HEART

THE DEPLOYMENT OF A NEW HEART   

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PURE HEART

THE DELIGHT OF A PURE HEART

 

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.