Blessed are the Pure in Heart
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Hymn - THERE’S NO GREATER NAME THAN JESUS (335)
Hymn - THERE’S NO GREATER NAME THAN JESUS (335)
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Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
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Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Sermon
Sermon
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Martyn Lloyds-Jones said “undoubtedly one of the greatest utterances to be found anywhere in the whole realm of Holy Scripture”
John MacArthur (2 slides)
The Beatitudes for Today (Chapter 11: Seeing in the Dark)
John MacArthur: ‘To attempt to deal with such an incredible statement in one brief chapter is almost an insult to God and to the power and depth and insight of his Word. This is one of the greatest utterances in all the Bible. It stretches over everything else in Scripture. The theme of purity of heart being necessary to see God is vast and infinite and draws in almost every biblical thread.’
Return...
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Jesus made these words simple and clear, and so the most straightforward and biblically balanced approach must provide the exposition Jesus intended.
Three Key words
Pure
Heart
See
Heart
Heart
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Heart: What the Bible says
The physical organ
The centre or middle of something
Your inner-self (Main usage)
Seat of Emotions
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
Jesus said..
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
Seat of Understanding
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”
Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.
Deep-rooted mental bloackage & a stubborn resistance to truth
Which blocked their acceptance of Jesus as Messiah
Seat of Reason
But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?
Their corrupt reasoning was rooted in their sinful natures
Associated with Conscience
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
There was no mere flicker of emotion: they were devastated with a sense of corporate and personal guilt
Involved with human motive and intention
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
reaching into the depths of the human psyche, where issues are weighed and purposes settled
Root of our Desires
“You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Jesus made it clear it was not just a physical act, but as sinful for man to give way to immoral imagination and desire.
Closely associated with our decision making
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Two negatives used to underline the significance of a persons heart when choosing what to do in a given situation
Seat of Faith
Positively the Bible tells us...
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Negatively it warns us ...
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
The Bible is unanimous in saying that saving faith is not superficial emotion
nor merely mental assent to propositional truth
but unqualified commitment which is rooted in the heart of the believer
Summary - The Heart
Radically governs not only our emotions but our thoughts, desires, motives, ambitions, affections, will, words and actions.
The heart stands for the entire personality, the whole person
It is what makes a person who they are
The Beatitudes for Today Uncovering the Well
Thomas Manton explains: ‘There is nothing in the life but what was first in the heart.’
Solomon stated...
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Modern English:
“stout-hearted” - bravery
“big hearted” - benevolence
“cold-hearted” - Temperament
Jesus taught ...
Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
Jesus was driving the point that toutward ceremony was no substitute for inner purity
The heart of the human problem was the human heart
Jesus made it clear where the real problem lies, and where the real solution must be sought
Paul highlights the unrelenting conflict...
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
If your life is characterised (typical, distinctive nature) by these attributes you are not permitted to call yourself a Christian
The Christian is characterised by these attributes....
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
The critical questions ARE NOT:
Do I have enough religion
Do I belong to the right church?
Am I doing the right kind of things?
Instead SHOULD ask:
Has God changed my heart?
Has he radically changed my motives and affections?
Do I love what I once loathed and loath what I once loved?
Are my moral and spirirtual endeavours driven by a passionate love for God and His ways, or a lingering belief that they contribute something to my salavation?
Do I have a genuine longing to be obedient to God in every area of my life?
Can I truthfully say I desire to do God’s will, and embed His Law in my heart?
Christian conversion is not an external rearrangement of certain actions, but a radical transformation of the heart which inevitably results in an equally radical transformation of life.
The Divine Cardiologist
The Divine Cardiologist
Doctors check the state of the heart, as a crucial test which affects most aspects of one’s life and lifestyle.
God checks our heart to reveal out spiritual health
God Looks at the Heart
When Prophet Samuel was sent to bethlehem to annoint Saul’s successor … initially he was impressed with Eliab … but God intervened
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
Human judgements are often superficial and at best inadaquate
God Searches the Heart
When solomon was chosen to build a temple which would be the focal point of th enation’s worship, his father told him...
“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
You cannot deceive God...
And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
God Desires the Heart
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.
God is not satisfied with surface religion
Nor is he merely concerned with one facet or another of the believer’s life, such as his thoughts, words or actions.
God cannot be fobbed off with warm feelings, religious thoughts, ecclesiastical rituals or outward morality.
God requires from each one of his people total submission of the heart.
He demands allegiance and obedience at every point though, as the eighteenth-century preacher Charles Bridges helpfully adds, ‘The command of authority is an invitation of love.’
Jesus’s teaching was radically different from the Pharasees
The taught about strict observance of hundreds of rules and regulations, focused on the outward apprearance
Rediculous rules like:
You could move a new lamp on the sabbath but not an old one
On the Sabbeth, someone with a sore throat could swallow liquid to ease the discomfort but not allowed to gargle
Modern example: Refridgerator could be used only if it did not have light when door openned as would cause electricity suppliers to work on the Sabbeth
They largely irgnores spiritual issues
Jesus would often rebuke the pharasees...
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
God’s primary concern is the heart
People often concentrate too often on the mechanisms of religion, rather than their heart
It is right for a professing Christian to read the Bible and to pray, but what about your heart?
It is right to meet with God’s people in public worship, but what about your heart?
The Beatitudes for Today The Divine Cardiologist
God is more concerned about the state of your heart than he is about your health, your bank balance, your business, your family, your ‘Christian work’, your church-attendance record, your giving to charitable causes, or anything else.
The Beatitudes for Today The Divine Cardiologist
As Martyn Lloyd-Jones rightly says, ‘The Christian faith is ultimately not only a matter of doctrine or understanding or of intellect, it is a condition of the heart.’ In the light of this, no right thinking person can fail to face up to one all-important question: ‘Is my heart right with God?’
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Next Time: “Pure” - Pure in Heart
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