The Beatitudes; Pure in Heart

Introduction

Recap the series - speak about what the beatitudes are…

Poor in Spirit

Blessed are those who mourn

Blessed are the meek

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

Blessed are the merciful

Today, the Pure in Heart

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

In an interview in 2007 Heath Ledger, an actor who played the Joker in the movie The Dark Night spoke about the difficulties that he had getting ready for this role

he locked himself in a hotel room for a month, practicing different voices and laughs that he thought would be just right for a sociopath

he claimed that after reading all about the joker and imagining being him that he couldn’t sleep, at times only about 2 hours a night

rumors circled at the time of his death that it was this role that caused him to overdose

a recent documentary and interview with his family make a case for an accidental overdose

I bring all this up to say this, the pure in heart have a renewed heart and live out a true religion

sometimes, we can put on such a good act, we can fool ourselves into thinking that we are something we are not

PRAY!

Obtaining a Pure Heart

Sometimes, things can look clean, but not actually be clean.

I am not the best at cleaning… which works out well for me because we call Heather the cleaning Nazi at our house

there was one time I made a mess, I thought I cleaned it up… spilled something on the floor in the kitchen

I thought I got it cleaned up before Heather noticed,

she walked into the kitchen and she could hear herself walk across the floor because her feet stuck to the floor

it looked clean

Our heart is filthy and you can see just how dirty it is but the unloving, un-unifying things that come out of our mouth

next week we will talk about being peacemakers

but just think about the things that you have said over this last week

how many of those things were pointed, jabs, or little passive aggressive comments

Jesus said that it is not the things that we eat that defile us

but what comes out of the heart

Matthew 15:18-19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. 20 These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”

explain the premise behind the verse… they thought they were good… as long as they did certain things

this is what our heart is in sin…

we are born into the sin

sin came into the world through one man

but so to does life come through one man

romans 5:15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many.

We must be born again

John 3:3 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

we need a heart transplant

one where we allow our sinful heart to die and allow God to put a new clean heart in us

this does not happen by simply doing godly things

this does not happen by playing the part

to be born again, we must die

the word again implies a second birth, and you cannot do that while you are still alive

we must die to ourselves spiritually so that we can be born again, spiritually

doing so means that we no longer live for ourselves, but that we deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus

Living with a Pure Heart

The word pure means… clean… innocent

also found in the book of James when

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

what does religion mean…

we like our sayings, I don’t have a religion, I have a relationship

your religion is how you live out your faith, how you live with a pure heart

Matthew 23:25-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside of it may also become clean. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity. 28 In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

The Pharisees were living out their religion of self works and glorification

this is what Jesus was calling the pharisees out for

we are not any different when we live and allow our flesh to rule instead of the spirit

taking care of widows and orphans and remaining unstained by the world

widows and orphans… taking care, loving those who cannot pay you back

unstained by the world… you do not look like the world

Romans tells us that we are not to transform to the pattern of this world

for to long I thought that I was not conforming just by simply arguing with people that did not agree with me

meaning, if I was telling them why their religion or lack there of was wrong, then I was standing for God,

if I was telling why them voting a certain way was not the “Christian” thing to do then I was standing for God

when really, all I was doing was arguing with people the same way that the lost argue with people

this means we love…

we love those who do not agree with us, who hate us, who want to take away

or as James writes, the widows and orphans

I would not be fulfilling my calling if I did not allow you the opportunity to live this out

Hadiza - pictures and story

speak of current need

Reward of a Pure Heart

We must constantly ask ourselves questions about our beliefs

why do we worship

what do we expect for our worship

Those with a pure heart, get to see God

is that disappointing to us…

this is something Moses wasn’t able to do

Exodus 33:19-23 He said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name ‘the Lord’ before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But he added, “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.” 21 The Lord said, “Here is a place near me. You are to stand on the rock, 22 and when my glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back, but my face will not be seen.”

This is not just figuratively

so often this is how we think…

Jesus died and I have access to God but it is not a physical place that we walk into

right now we do not see God fully… one day we will

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.

Is this enough for us

if not, are you worshipping the healing or the healer, the gifts or the giver, the sanctification or the sanctifier

The pure in heart will see God face to face… in all of his glory.