Text: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God” Matthew 5:8
Prayer: Commit meeting to the Lord.
Chorus 1:
ABBA FATHER LET ME BE – SING TWICE
Chorus 2:
HE IS LORD, HE IS LORD – SING TWICE
Chorus 3:
JESUS NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES – SING TWICE
Hymn
BE STILL FOR THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD THE HOLY ONE IS HERE
1st Reading Matthew Chapters 5:1-10
Hymn
BE THOU MY VISION O LORD OF MY HEART
My text is taken from the passage we read earlier in Matthew “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God” Matthew 5:8
I would like us to look at it in conjunction with one of the Psalms.
The psalms are the production of various God inspired human authors.
Many of the Psalms are attributed to King David, in the “titles” 73 are ascribed to David. Peter and John in Acts 4:25 also credit David as the author of the second psalm, which is one of the 48 that are anonymous.
About two-thirds of the book of Psalms have been ascribed to David. I would like us to look at one of David’s Psalms, if you would like to follow in your own bibles please turn to Psalm 24.
2nd Reading Psalm 24:1-10
So first by way of Introduction
Psalm 24 is often called “The Hill of the Lord” because the verses containing this expression form the very heart of this Psalm (v3-5).
The question “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?” (v3) is the equivalent of asking, “What is true religion?” The answer of the Psalmist is here in verse 4, “He who has clean hands and a pure heart”.
True religion, or more accurately true faith, is more than just having clean hands! First and foremost it requires a pure heart.
True faith is not based on works, or deeds, or observances of specific ceremonies for outward appearance. If our hearts are pure, in the way that Jesus wants them to be then, then we will willingly serve him in many ways as part of our true expressions of love for Him.
As I said earlier, our text is in Matthew Chapter 5 and verse 8, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God”, - “for they will see God” what a wonderful thought, man, created in the image of God, having the ability to see God.
Is that the deepest longing of your heart?
Do you have the desire to see God?
To look upon His face, for some this is a deep longing; a longing that is a strong as physical hunger.
Since the fall, throughout the ages, man has cried out with Job, the words from Job 23:3 “If only I knew where to find Him; if only I could go to His dwelling”. The more a person learns of God through the study of His word the deeper this yearning should become.
“For they will see God” – Jesus is describing the deepest need of men and women.
Spiritual blindness is a great tragedy in our world.
Sin has blinded so many, sin and self-seeking, lust and pride have put cataracts over “the eyes of our heart”; our world cannot see God.
The apostle Paul said in Ephesians 1:18-19 “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”
Our world is blind through sin, but the blessing of God is available to all who look. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.”
The sixth beatitude brings us face-to-face with the nature and demands of true faith, which is first of all a matter of the heart.
There are Four points I would like us to consider, the four point are questions which demand an answer if the words of Jesus are to mean anything to us.
1. Purity Defined - What is the purity of heart that Jesus speaks of?
2. Purity Attained - How can we attain the purity of heart that Jesus speaks of?
3. Purity Blessed - What is the blessing that Jesus pronounces upon the pure in heart?
4. Purity Results - What are the results of this vision of God?
1 Purity Defined - What is the pure heart that Jesus speaks of?
It is important for us to see exactly what Jesus said.
A. Jesus did not say, “Blessed are the pure”. That would have gone straight into our minds with an exact meaning, probably based on the seventh commandment “Thou shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14) and many have read the verse in this way. Purity in our relationship with others is only one of the fruits of a pure heart.
B. Jesus did not say, “Blessed are the pure”, Jesus also did not say, “Blessed are the perfect”. That would have ruled me out and maybe some of you too!
This beatitude would never touch our lives at all. It is true that perfection is the only standard worthy of Jesus, and the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 5:48 say, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”. What a joy it is to know that when our Heavenly Father looks at those who have accepted Christ as their Saviour and Lord that He is looking at the perfection of His Son.
C. Jesus did say, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God”. The word Pure in the Greek is kath-ar-os’ (katharos) which means literally and figuratively clean, clear, pure.
There are three definitions in the Thayer Greek dictionary for kath-ar-os’:
1) clean or pure, physically like something purified by fire or like a vine cleansed by pruning and so fitted to bear fruit
2) clean in a levitical sense - clean, the use of which is not forbidden, imparts no uncleanness
3) ethically clean - free from corrupt desire, from sin and guilt, free from what is false, sincere genuine, blameless, innocent, unstained with the guilt of anything
So the pure heart is a single heart, a heart devoted to the purposes of God.
What is the purity of heart that Jesus speaks of? A pure heart is an unmixed heart, unadulterated, with no hidden purposes, no division in loyalty, and no reservation in devotion. Need an example? Luke 9:57-62
“As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No-one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God.”
There is no true happiness for the one who says. “I will follow you, Lord; but first….”
2 Purity Attained - How can we attain the purity of heart that Jesus speaks of?
Purity of heart, in the sense Jesus means purity, is achievable by all Christians who really desire it with all their heart.
This beatitude is not for some “super-saint”, or an exalted servant or prophet of God.
Purity of heart is “like a prize of supreme worth” within the reach of every heart willing to receive it.
But how can we attain it?
A. By Surrender. A surrender to Christ, full and entire, brings the cleansing power of God’s forgiveness flooding the heart to cleanse and purify.
An Old Testament beatitude throws light on this beatitude of Jesus. In Psalm 32:1 out of his experience the Psalmist cries, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”
This beatitude is not for the sinless but for forgiven sinners, not for the perfect but for the purified in heart.
No sinner, man, woman or child, is excluded in the sweep of its possibilities.
God, through the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, says in Isaiah 1:16, “Wash and make yourselves clean” and He continues in verse 18, “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
How do we become pure in heart?
By a full surrender to Christ to be cleansed by His power.
But that isn’t all of the answer.
B. We also need a complete consecration of our life to God.
To Concecrate is to regard something or someone as set apart or separate.
Not all Christians are pure in heart, many are “borderline” Christians; and like the Israelites settling in the Promised Land, many of us stop before we drive out all our enemies.
The pure in heart need to drive out every alien thought and purpose and allow Christ the full possession of our heart.
It’s easy to have mixed motives and desires. Our hearts need to be single in purpose – set on God and God alone. To such is the promise given.
3 Purity Blessed - What is the blessing that Jesus pronounces upon the pure in heart?
“Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God”.
The deepest yearning of the soul is satisfied, the most compelling needs of the heart are met.
What is the blessing for a pure heart before God, a heart unmixed, unadulterated by love for the world and single to the service of God?
“They will see God,” Jesus says.
They shall see Him now; they shall see Him in hours of worship in God’s House; they shall see Him in the prayer meeting, they shall see Him in family worship; they shall see Him in times of private prayer and meditation on the Word of God.
Behind the darkness of the world’s confusion, misery, suffering and sin, they shall see God as the one, single, sovereign, holy, unifying purpose in the history of the world, in the present day, and till Christ comes again in judgement.
The promise is that one day the pure in heart shall look upon Jesus, not by implication, not indirectly, not “through a glass, darkly” (1 Cor 13:12), but face-to-face. What a blessing to see the face of our Saviour, He who paid the price of my sin, of your sin – face-to-face – What a blessing!
4 Purity Results - What are the results of this vision of God?
A. This vision of God causes us to see the unseen resources of God.
Paul saw Jesus on the Damascus road and found the strength to carry him through every trial.
In the agony of his death the apostle Stephen saw “the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56) – this vision of God gave Stephen the courage and strength to die for Christ.
Of Moses, the writer of Hebrews says, “For he endured, as seeing him who is invisible” (11:27). Think of all that Moses endured. How steadfast he was! How courageous! How dauntless!
What was his secret? “he endured, as seeing him who is invisible”
B. This vision of God causes us to see the many needs of man and should give us a sense of personal obligation. Having seen the infinite resources of God and the many needs of the world, this vision causes us to see that we can be used to bring the two together. Moses, Isaiah and Paul each saw the resources and the need, and each volunteered to serve.
C. The vision of God causes us to see what will one day be the consummation of the Christian life and undergirds our lives with hope.
The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face”.
The apostle John promised those he wrote to in 1 John 3:2 “We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is”.
In conclusion it’s important to note that one day everyone will see God!
When Christ comes again, if you have not accepted Jesus into your heart as your personal Lord and Saviour; if you have not repented from your sins and asked to be forgiven, meeting God will not be a blessing.
Eternal life is the free gift to those who will come to Christ; eternal death is the reward to those who will not come.
In Romans 2:5 God said through the Apostle Paul, “because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day God’s wrath, when His righteous judgement will be revealed.”
In 2:8 he continues “for those who are self-seeking, who reject the truth, there will be wrath and anger” and in 2:16 “This will take place on the day when God will judge man’s secrets through Jesus Christ”.
My friends, each of us need to have a personal relationship with Jesus, we need to acknowledge and trust in Him as Saviour and Lord.
We are not pure through anything we can do ourselves; we can only be cleansed by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s own Son.
He shed His blood that my heart, your heart may be pure before a Holy God. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow.”
Yes, everyone will see God, what a blessed hope we can have!
In the day when Christ returns, our hope as believers will be fulfilled.
“Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God”.
Amen? Amen!
Hymn
Blessed Assurance Jesus is mine, O what a foretaste of glory divine.
Prayer
Benediction
“Now to him who is able to establish you by the Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him – to the only wise God be glory for ever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
