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SLIDE 1 Turn with me to the fifth chapter of Matthew.
We are in the Beatitudes again this morning.
I hope you have been learning from them as much as I have.
Even though I’ve read them and even preached from them I know that God is teaching me some new applications.
So I pray that God is using this series to draw you closer to him as well.
Even though we are now on the sixth of the eight Beatitudes, I want to start with verse 1 and read them all.
I’m doing that’s because, as I’ve made mention before, each beatitude is built on the one that precedes it.
So we can’t forget the first five if the sixth is to make any sense.
So we read all of them to remind us of what has come before.
Additionally, reading them all each week is helping me to finally memorize the Beatitudes.
Although, time will only tell how long they stick in my mind though.
1Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.
His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them.
He said: 3”Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:1-8)
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)
For me this beatitude sounds a little discouraging.
With the previous beatitudes we might be able to say that we can do it.
We could say that we can come to God poor in spirit, confessing we have nothing good in us.
We could say that we can mourn over our sin.
But can we say that we are pure in heart?
Does anyone here think that describes them?
So what we need to know is that this is possible.
If it weren’t possible for us to be pure in heart Jesus would never have listed it among the beatitudes.
So what does it mean to be pure in heart?
Let’s start by defining some terms and we’ll start with the word heart.
What does Jesus mean by heart?
We think of the heart as the seat of our emotions and the mind as the seat of the will.
The heart is where we feel and the mind is where we think.
However, that separation of the heart and mind wasn’t always true for the biblical writers.
These two (the mind and heart) are put together in this proverb: SLIDE 2
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
(Proverbs 23:7)
So when Jesus talks about a pure heart he isn’t simply talking about that place where we might feel love, but that place where we decide right from wrong and where we decide what we want to do and why.
SLIDE 3 In his book Just Like Jesus: A Heart Like His, Max Lucado asks this question: “What if, for one day, Jesus were to become you?”
He says:
What if, for twenty-four hours, Jesus wakes up in your bed, walks in your shoes, lives in your house, assumes your schedule?
Your boss becomes his boss, your mother becomes his mother, your pains become his pains?
With one exception, nothing about your life changes.
Your health doesn’t change.
Your circumstances don’t change.
Your schedule isn’t altered.
Your problems aren’t solved.
Only one change occurs.
What if, for one day and one night, Jesus lives your life with his heart?
Your heart gets the day off, and your life is led by the heart of Christ.
His priorities govern your actions.
His passions drive your decisions.
His love directs your behavior.
What would you be like?
Would people notice a change?
Your family – would they see something new?
Your coworkers – would they sense a difference?
What about the less fortunate?
Would you treat them the same?
And your friends?
Would they detect more joy?
How about your enemies?
Would they receive more mercy from Christ’s heart than from yours?
And you?
How would you feel?
What alterations would this transplant have on your stress level?
Your mood swings?
Your temper?
Would you sleep better?
Would you see sunsets differently?
Death differently?
Taxes differently?
Any chance you’d need fewer aspirin or sedatives?
How about your reaction to traffic delays?
Would you still dread what you are dreading?
Better yet, would you still do what you are doing?
Would you still do what you had planned to do for the next twenty-four hours?
Pause and think about your schedule.
Obligations.
Engagements.
Outings.
Appointments.
With Jesus taking over your heart, would anything change?
“What if, for one day, Jesus were to become you?”
That suggestion may seem a little strange, but consider these verses.
SLIDE 4
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 2:5)
In other words, God wants us to “think and act like Christ Jesus.”
The goal isn’t that Jesus would become us, but that we become like Jesus.
God wants us to have the heart of Jesus.
How does that happen?
Lucado suggests that:
If you were a car, God would want control of your engine.
If you were a computer, God would claim the software and the hard drive.
If you were an airplane, he’d take his seat in the cockpit.
But you are a person, so God wants to change your heart.
God’s plan for us today is nothing short of a new heart – a pure heart.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)
SLIDE 5 So what is a pure heart?
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