A Pure in Heart will See God
Summer on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Last week Dawson and I went to Zingers at Adventure Zone and I had the most unhealthy meal ever. It was called the Mac Daddy Burger and boy was it delicious. Bacon Jam, Bacon, Mac n Cheese, and 2 patties with waffle fries… Totally unhealthy but really good!
If I want to have more energy, loose weight, and feel better about myself, I can’t eat the Mac Daddy Burger every day even though it was stinkin amazing.
I need to eat, fruits and veggies, protein, and non fatty foods. I need to eat things that are pure and not processed.
Garbage in, Garbage out… that could be applied to pretty much anything… what we eat, how we think, what we say, and how we act.
If we want to nourish our physical bodies then we must eat pure and if we want to nourish our spiritual and emotional self we must also consume things that are pure.
This leads us to our 6th beatitude.
8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
Matthew 5:8 states, 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.' This passage emphasizes the importance of spiritual purity, focusing on cleansing from sin, devotion to God, and integrity in relationships.
8 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
We must evaluate our hearts and lives, by seeking true cleansing from sin, deepening our commitment to God, and fostering integrity in our relationships. As we focus on these areas, we can experience a closer relationship with God and a greater sense of His presence in our daily lives.
PRAY
Purity of heart is foundational for a meaningful relationship with God and others. The state of our hearts directly affects our spiritual perception and connection with God.
The call to purity reflects the life of Christ. His ministry highlights the importance of internal transformation and deep devotion to God, fulfilling the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf.
Pursuing a pure heart leads to a deeper encounter with God and enriches our relationships with others.
Blessed are those who are pure in heart for they will see God.
Unlike some of the other beatitudes, purity of heart is an inward characteristic rather than an action to be performed.
Purity is something that we can never achieve on our own. We cannot make our selves pure because our righteousness is filthy rags…
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Jesus promises those with pure hearts will see God. Yet this promise raises an immediate tension: if God examined our hearts directly, He would find them impure, and we would be shut out from seeing Him.
Jesus said blessed are those whose hearts are pure for they will see God. So how do we have a heart that is pure and what is pure?
Does pure living pure mean that we should live in a monastery and avoid other people that are sinful? Does purity mean that we are to become completely righteous? Is Jesus saying that if we are not perfect and holy, then we are not blessed?
This is one of those beatitude that seem to cause the theological minds to ask so many questions that nobody can fully answer until we get to heaven.
Since we are all sinful and broken how can we have a pure heart and how can we see God?
20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
When Jesus says blessed are the pure in heart, HE knows what is in our heart.
9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?
19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.
Some people think Jesus wants us to follow our hearts but Jesus never said that, Jesus said follow me.
Since our hearts are wicked and we cannot make our hearts pure without Jesus, then we need to turn to Jesus and then follow HIM. But as we follow HIM, we become aware of things in our life that hold us back and pull us away from following Jesus.
We have to be willing to detach ourselves from the things of this world that hinder us from following Jesus more closely.
Boundaries are important because protect our heart.
What is the heart? The Greek word used here
The Heart is the “place” of the person in which the encounter with God is realized in the positive or negative sense, in which religious life has its firm ground, and from which the ethical conduct of the person is determined.
The Heart is the “place” of the person in which the encounter with God is realized in the positive or negative sense, in which religious life has its firm ground, and from which the ethical conduct of the person is determined.
The heart refers to “a person’s inner self,” including their desires and understanding.
Clean out the room of your heart to make space for God so that when God enters there will be nothing there to cause HIM displeasure.
But perhaps you may find difficulty in cleaning out your heart; call on the Lord and he won’t refuse to clean out a place for himself, and he will agree to stay with you.
Don’t worry about not having enough room for God; receive him, and he enlarges your living space.
Interpretations of purity tend to fall into three categories: cleansing from sin or sinful desires, single-minded devotion to God, and integrity toward others.
1. A Pure Heart Seeks Spiritual Cleansing
1. A Pure Heart Seeks Spiritual Cleansing
Jesus embodies this purity and empowers believers to seek cleansing through His sacrifice. We must be willing to confront our sinful desires and place ourselves in a place where we are relying on Christ's righteousness to transform our hearts.
The pure in heart will seek God.
The cleansing aspect of purity comes through repentance and seeking forgiveness for sin.
Christ is our righteousness so putting on HIS righteousness every day gives us a heart that is pure.
Even though we aren’t saved by what we do and it’s not about doing more religious things that make us pure.
A pure heart starts as we draw close to Jesus through prayer, reading God’s Word, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
What Jesus did for us is enough to make us righteous regardless of our sinful past. A pure heart only comes through God’s grace and repentance only happens through God’s power and our response when we receive God’s grace.
So, if we continue to struggle with sin it doesn’t mean that we’re not going to see God, it just means we’re human.
We must confess our sin because Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
When we come to the Lord in our weakness and we are open and honest about our struggles, God doesn’t condemn us but HE purifies our heart.
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
Jesus is our only hope for forgiveness but also for breakthrough, deliverance, and victory over every sinful stronghold in our life.
A pure heart is a heart that doesn’t compromise or play around with sin.
A pure heart is a heart that is continually being filled with the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirt will make us aware of the things that make our heart impure.
A pure heart craves the things that Jesus was passionate about, obeying HIS Father, furthering HIS Kingdom, and being a light in the dark world we live in.
When Jesus promises the pure in heart will see God it means that they will behold the glory and perfections of God. This is an experience that only the redeemed can enjoy for all eternity.
3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.
Purity of heart enables an ongoing spiritual perception of God’s presence, not merely a future reality.
There will never be a point in our human existence here on earth where we will completely eliminate our desire for sin however we can set boundaries to protect us from acting on those desires.
2. Pure Heart is Centered on God's Will
2. Pure Heart is Centered on God's Will
A Puritan preacher wrote that perfect purity is only obtainable in heaven, but that purity of heart on earth comes about through being in Christ, because faith purifies the heart.
Jesus is calling us to a single-minded devotion just as HE exemplified His unwavering focus on the Father's will.
Integrity in heart and character, is the result of a pure heart because we are centering our lives around God alone. Christ leads by example in complete devotion, prompting us to prioritize our spiritual lives and commitments unwaveringly.
When a pure heart is centered on God’s will that’s the fruit as we live out the beatitudes that Jesus gives.
A pure heart isn’t earned but given to those who are poor in spirit because they recognize their need for God.
Those who mourn have a pure heart because they know they are broken and undone feeling the gravity of the sin that Jesus set them free from.
A pure heart is for the meek and humble because they see the battles that matter are only winnable through Christ’s victory and through our surrender.
A pure heart is for those who are righteous not because of their own actions but because they are clothed with the righteousness of God.
A pure heart is for those who are merciful because they have that gratitude and appreciation for the mercy the’ve already received from God.
Single-mindedness and rejection of hypocrisy come through seeking God’s will and effects our relationship with others as we deal with others honestly.
Our single-mindedness and integrity toward others flows from our loyalty to God.
8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
A pure heart is not divided between the world and our relationship with God. Purity of heart is typically seen as a matter not only of action but also of desire.
A pure heart will impact what we do with our bodies. includes what we do with our bodies. Sexual purity is an issue of the heart.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-28
27 “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Sexual purity begins with our heart. That’s why we need the Holy Spirit to cleanse our heart but it is our responsibility as believers to strive to be close to God. Romans 8:13
13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.
Francis of Assisi wrote, “The truly pure in heart are those who despise the things of earth and seek the things of heaven, and who never cease to adore and behold the Lord God living and true with a pure heart and soul.”
A heart or mind clouded with fear or roiled with rage is less likely to see past its own preoccupations and enter into God’s presence.
Purity of heart is a progressive cleansing from sin and sinful desires and growth in holiness or ability to do God’s will.
This is called sanctification…
Sanctification is the real transformation of a person from the corruption of sin toward the purity that reflects God’s image.
Purity of heart is the opposite of hypocrisy.
9 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: 10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
The one whose heart was the tax collector who calls himself a sinner, and the arrogant Pharisee who sees himself as righteous—as pure
Purity of heart is not at all a lack of sin or even of sinful desires, but rather an acknowledgement of our own helplessness, our own failure to wriggle free from the grip of sin, and a wholehearted turning toward God for mercy.
Purity of heart is telling the truth about our own sinful state.
3. A Pure Heart Cultivates Relational Integrity
3. A Pure Heart Cultivates Relational Integrity
Purity involves integrity towards others in everyday life. At work, toward your spouse, your kids and your grandkids. The people you connect with at the gym, at church, and throughout our community.
Being pure in heart aligns us with Christ's teachings of honesty, compassion, and love in our interactions. Jesus was highly relational and through those relationships he modeled integrity. Look to Jesus in how we model our relationships with purity by being trustworthy and full of grace.
Purity of heart as the opposite of hypocrisy; it is “a sense of integrity between one’s interior life and external actions.”
Pure is a single thing that is not contaminated or mixed with anything else. A pure heart means not only the absence of some things (sin, sinful desires) but the presence of one thing. And what is that one thing? Pursuing that one thing will effect how we see others and how we treat others. Pursuing that one thing will impact our relationships.
A person whose heart is kept clean and oriented toward the love of God will deal in truth and kindness toward others. In other words, the love of God is not detachable from the love of neighbor; the two go hand in hand.
36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
It’s all about our relationship with God and our relationships with others and when our heart is pure we can cultivates relational integrity.
We don’t have to put on a front because God knows the sin that brews in our heart and yet HE still loves us. It doesn’t matter how well dressed your kids are, how put together you appear to be, or what kind of facade of perfection you want others to see you as. God sees our heart and yet HE still loves us.
Being real with one another can only happen when our heart is pure.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
Hiding behind our religious activities, our self righteousness, and holy elitism only hurts us. The truth is, we are afraid that people might see our real struggles and reject us. We don’t want to be seen as a hypocrite so we never confess our sins to others so we never receive that healing and cleansing that comes through relational integrity.
We are in this together and we can pursue a pure heart when we are willing to be honest with one another.
Take Away
Have you given your life to Christ and put on HIS righteousness everyday?
Are you setting boundaries to guard your heart and keep it centered on Jesus?
Are you being honest with the people through confession and accountability?
