A Passion For Purity Series

The Jesus Manifesto – A Passion for Purity

Matthew 5:8; Psalm 24

Pastor Jefferson M. Williams

Chenoa Baptist Church

8-26-18

Your Tree Exploded

When we decided to move to Pontiac nearly twenty years ago, Maxine came up with her mother to look for houses. She called and told me that she had found a house with a Willow tree in the backyard. I was sold! I think Willow trees are one of the most beautiful trees God ever made.

We bought that house and made the long trek from Mississippi to the frozen tundra of Illinois. When we got to the new house, I couldn’t wait to go out in the backyard and sit under my majestic Willow tree. Except it wasn’t majestic, it was a sad tree with one willow branch hanging off the jagged top. It was dead tree. Maxine had sold me swampland in Montana.

Throughout the years, the tree was hit by lightening twice and that one branch fell off. It didn’t even look like a willow anymore.

One day, my neighbor sent me a text and said that I needed to get my tree out of the alley. The sad, ex-willow tree was behind my shed not in the alley. Except when I looked out the window the tree was everywhere. It looked like it had exploded. Upon closer inspection, it had actually imploded.

It looked like a tree but it was basically hollow. It was obvious from the remains of the tree that insects had eaten it from the inside out. That’s how they work. And that’s how God works – from the inside out.

Is it possible that we have concentrated on the outside of people (behavior modification) and we have really missed the point of Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God?”

Review from Last Week

So far, we have studied the first five Beatitudes found in the fifth chapter of Matthew. The first three show us the condition of a Christ Follower’s heart - spiritually bankrupt and empty of pride, and of self. But when we are that kind of empty and hunger and thirst for His righteousness, He promises to fill us with the character of Christ – mercy, purity, and peace.

In fact, the first three correspond to these three virtues:

Once you understand that you are “poor in spirit,” and that you bring nothing to your salvation except the sin that nailed Jesus to the cross, then you show mercy to fellow sinners.

As you mourn of those sins, then you begin to understand the kind of purity that Jesus requires.

That produces a spirit of humility, authenticity, and grace that leads to a posture of heart that leans toward peacemaking.

The sixth beatitude may be the hardest to understand.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt 5:8)

We know what mercy looks like and many of us have seen peacemaking in action. But what does being “pure in heart” look like and what does it mean that they will “see God?”

Let’s dive in by defining our terms. But before we do, let’s pray.

Pure as the Driven Snow

When I first moved to North Carolina, the students at the school I worked at took this city boy hiking. The destination was a spring on the side of a mountain. I had in my mind a picture of a gorgeous stream like this. [Show picture] But, after two hours of hiking in 90-degree weather, this is what I saw. [Show picture] Needless to say, I was disappointed.

That was until I drink the water. It was the coldest and most refreshing water I’ve ever drank in my life! Why? It was just water. There were no additives. It was simply 100% pure water.

We use this word all the time. We say that Steph Curry is a “pure three point shooter.” Willie Wonka invited us into a world of “pure imagination.” Shakespeare coined the term, “pure as the driven snow.” We try to help teenagers understand the blessings of remaining sexually pure until marriage and remember the time when baseball was pure.

The word that Matthew records Jesus using has multiple meanings. It can mean a river whose course is running clear and open. The Greek word is where we get the word “catharsis.” It’s the cleansing of the mind and emotions.

It can refer to metals refined by fire, soiled clothes that have been washed clean, and grain that has been sifted to remove impurities.

This word carries the idea of being “unmixed.” Bucky the Wonder Dog is a “pure-bred” which means that he is 100% cocker spaniel. Most dogs are a mix of several different breeds.

My father enjoys what he calls, “pure country music,” whereas I like a mix of country and rock.