"The Good Life" - Blessed are the Pure in Heart

The time our family was invited over for a pyramid scheme dinner.

READ (Matthew 5:8)

Heart (kardia) = the emotional center (love, compassion, anger)

A person’s inner self.

“Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not appealed to what is false, and who has not sworn deceitfully.” - (Psalm 24:3-4)

A life that is clean inside and out.

What makes a heart pure?

1. Single-minded devotion to God.

A disciple is a disciplined follower of a master.

Jesus called men and women to follow Him and emulate His message and actions with their life.

Cast down nets.

Let go of the past.

Worship Him.

The church believed in Jesus (faith) and participated in His mission.

They sought to be as close to God as possible in relationship.

People who attend rock concerts and stand on the front row vs. people who say they love something but clearly don’t.

Purity of heart is the opposite of hypocrisy.

And nonbelievers can spot it from a million miles away.

We identify with purity when we turn wholeheartedly to God, and toward the things of God.

2. A Heart Sprinkled From an Evil Conscience.

“How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How joyful is a person whom the Lord does not charge with iniquity and in whose is no deceit.” - (Psalm 32:1-2)

God knows everything.

There is so much effort required to live a lie.

As a believer, you are blessed to have nothing to hide.

You don’t have to pretend:

That you don’t sin.

That you know more than you actually do.

That you don’t have hangups.

READ (1 JOHN 1:5-9)

“Confession is agreeing with what God’s word reveals about you.” - Dr. Tony Evans

We admit what the light has exposed is wrong.

Forgiveness and cleansing follows.

We identify with purity when we allow God to expose who we are so we can be cleansed.

“We shall see God...” READ (ACTS 7:54-60)

We identify with purity when we focus on the first 5 beatitudes.

Poor, Mourn, Humble, Hunger & Thirst, Mercy…