Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Today, we will once again find ourselves in the introduction of Jesus great Sermon on the Mount in what is referred to as “The Beatitudes.”

Over the last 5 weeks now, we have taken each one and broke it down and looked at the blessings behind each of these Be-Attitudes.

And I have have said every week thus far that these are what?

They are attitudes that ought to be found in the born again believer.

We began by looking at how the first four beatitudes deal with our attitudes toward God and then last week we transitioned to looking at how these last five deal with our attitudes towards those around us.

Today, we will be looking at Beatitude # 6 in Verse 8.

So if you have your Bible’s with you, and turned to Matthew Chapter 5, I’d ask you to stand with me for the reading of God’s reverent word.

Matthew Chapter 5 Verse 1, if you have it would you say, Amen.

The Principle of being Pure in Heart

The first thing I’d like us to look at this morning is The Principle of being Pure in Heart.

What exactly does it mean to be pure in heart?

Jesus says here, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

In order to understand the meaning behind the phrase “pure in heart” we need to first understand what the object of the statement is.

What is it that is to be pure?

The heart is, right?

But is it talking about my physical heart?

Is it saying that my physical heart has to be pure?

If so, I need to lay off the butter and grease and eat some more veggies, Amen!

But that’s not what it’s speaking of here when it speaks of the heart.

The Greek word used here for heart is the word (kardia).

It’s where we get our English word “cardio” from.

And while it does refer to the vital organ we call our heart, in the Bible it more often refers metaphorically to the inner being of a person.

The inner man if you will.

The writer of Hebrews referred to it as the thoughts and intents of the heart.

(Hebrews 4:12)

It speaks of our thoughts, our feelings, our passions, our desires, and our intentions.

In this day and time it was understood that the mind and the heart were intertwined.

The deep desires of the heart are what fed into the minds thoughts and therefore when you spoke of one you spoke of the other.

It spoke of the innermost being that shaped a person and spurned them into action.

Adrian Rogers referred to it as “The Master Control of a man.”

The heart is the seat and source of all that springs out of a man.

This is the object Jesus is referring to here when He says, “Blessed are the pure in heart.”

Blessed are they who are pure in their thoughts and intents; in their passions and desires; in their feelings and intellect.

But knowing what the heart represents is only a half understanding of what the phrase is actually implying.

The other half is not the object itself but the meaning behind the description of the object.

What does the Bible mean here when it uses the word “pure”?

The word “Pure” is the Greek word (katharos) and it speaks of something genuine, sincere or clean; it speaks of a morally pure or innocent person.

So, if “pure” means genuine, sincere or clean and the word “heart” speaks of our thoughts, intents, desires, we can now understand that the principle of the phrase is that Jesus is speaking of someone who is pure, genuine and sincere in their dealings with God and with others, right?

Chuck Swindoll said...

Such people are honest, trustworthy, faithful, and loyal.

Lying and deceit are far from them.

They don’t have to keep track of little white lies in order to avoid being found out as fibbers, and they maintain integrity of actions even when nobody is looking.

The pure in heart will see God.

One commentator said this...

People characterized as pure in heart are morally pure, honest, and sincere.

They are people of integrity and single-minded commitment to God.

Moral purity, honesty, and integrity come only through such a commitment.

In turn, people committed totally to God will seek to be morally clean.

Because of their sincere devotion to Christ, they will see God, here and now through the eyes of faith, and finally face-to-face.

— Life Application Bible Commentary

Blessed are the Pure in Heart: for they shall see God!

Now that we know the principle of being pure in heart, next we need to understand the process of being pure in heart.

The Process of being Pure in Heart

Can I tell you this morning that man isn’t born pure in heart?

Actually, man is born right the opposite!

The great King David, a man after God’s own heart, said in...

And then, David’s son Solomon said in...

If you look in...

And going all the way back to Genesis, in the very beginning, the Bible says,

And if that weren’t enough, Jesus says in...

You see friend, when we are born into this world, we are born with a heart problem and as John G Butler said, “the inside is to be right before the outside can be right.”

The heart of the problem when it comes to man is the problem of the heart!

The Bible says in...

All our problems begin and end with our heart and therefore, if we are going to be pure in heart, there has to be something that changes in our heart.

We literally but spiritually need a heart transplant!

You see dear friend, I can’t see your heart this morning, I don’t know what’s going on on the inside of that heart of yours but God does.

God can see right through each and every one of us to the very core of our being because He is our creator and He knows the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts and whether or not there has been a change in our hearts or not!

God sees you this morning.

God sees your heart this morning.

God knows whether or not there’s been a change take place or not!

If we are going to be pure in heart, seeing as every imagination of the thoughts of our hearts evil continually, then there has to be a change take place!

And the only way that change comes about is through the removing, replacing, restoring and reviving power of God, Amen!

God told Ezekiel in...

You see friend, in order for a person to be pure in heart, there has to be an operation from above take place inside that person.

There has to be a change in ownership.

There has to be a change in leadership.

There has to be a change in receivership!

In order for this operation to take place, first off a person must be born again!

We are born originally with an evil heart of unbelief and therefore we must be born again from above by believing and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

We must believe that He came and died for our sins, was buried and rose three days later and that now He sits on the right hand of the Father making intercession for all who call upon His mighty name!

That is the receivership change.

Then there is the leadership change.

Once we have believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, then we must submit to the call of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to be our guide.

And then, when we have been born again and submitted wholly and completely to the Spirit’s call upon our lives, we understand that we are not our own and that we were bought with a price and this leads to the ownership change.

I no longer live for myself and my thoughts, intents and desires but now, I live for God!

He has bought me and paid for me with the precious blood of His dear Son and therefore my life is now hid with Him and His thoughts are to be my thoughts.

His desires are to be my desires.

His intentions are to be my intentions!

And when these things take place in the life of a born again believer, this leads to the process of being pure in heart!

First, we must come broken in spirit.

Then, we must mourn over our sin and submit to God’s will for our lives.

Next, we will begin to hunger and thirst after righteousness which will lead to us being merciful to those around us and this change in posture, perception and poise will lead to us being pure in heart!

Blessed are the Pure in Heart: for they shall see God!

This is the Process of being pure in heart!

Now that we understand the principle and the process, next, I want us to quickly look at the prospects of being pure in heart.

The Prospects of being Pure in Heart

Who are the recipients of us being pure in heart?

Who is our pureness directed towards?

Who does it benefit?