BE-Attitudes
Blessed are the Pure in Heart Sunday AM
Trans: We’re in a series focusing on the (8) attitudes Jesus said we’re to have as His disciples. Each of these attitudes determines our altitude. They testify to our disposition and determination in life. Jesus offered these be-attitudes to remind us that God isn’t focused on man’s outward performance but w/ what is on the inside.
Trans: This AM we’re going to look at the next attitude – blessed are the pure in heart...
Word: Blessed – fortunate or happy. We some times think of happiness is an experience of elation fueled by feelings and circumstances, but Jesus says that it is – to have an inward contentedness unaffected by surrounding conditions. It’s to be graciously approved by God and to receive the applause of heaven.
Quote: To be blessed isn’t a superficial feeling of well-being based on circumstances, but a deep supernatural experience of contentedness based on the fact that one’s life is right w/ God. MacArthur
I The CONDITION
A The CALL to Purity
Word: Pure (katharos) from catharsis meaning to cleanse one’s mind and emotions.
Note: Scholars suggest the word has (2) meanings. (1) To make pure by cleansing from dirt, filth, or contamination like metals being refined by fire until they were free from impurities. (2) It refers to being unmixed, having no double allegiance.
Quote: The basic idea is of integrity, singleness of heart, as opposed to duplicity, or a divided heart. Wiersbe
Note: Purity isn’t just being clean; it is to be single-minded and intentionally focused. In this instance, God wants us to be focused on His kingdom and righteousness.
Verse: No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. Mt. 6:24
Note: Put these (2) definitions together. A person w/ a passion for purity is one who has been cleansed in his character so that the way he looks in public is the way he is in private. You’re just like Jesus even when no one is watching.
Story: A deacon and son were driving down a country road and saw a watermelon patch a little way off the highway. The deacon told his son to keep a lookout while he went to get a melon. He snuck into the patch, took a melon and called to the boy, "Is anyone coming? Look both ways." The boy wisely responded, "But Daddy, shouldn’t we look up too?" Our Daily Bread, 6.18.99
Note: Having a pure heart is to be so close to God that we don’t have to look up to see if he’s watching. It means we have a personal relationship w/ God and we only have to look w/in our heart to see Him.
Verse: Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. Ps. 24:3-4
Insert: (1) DIVINE Purity – This is the holiness belonging solely to God and is intrinsic in His nature. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. Is. 6:3
(2) CREATED Purity. When God first created the world, everything was pure and good. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Gen. 1:31
(3) POSITIONAL Purity. Once a person is saved, the purity of Jesus is accredited to him, and God sees him as robed w/ the righteousness of Christ. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cr. 5:21
(4) ACTUAL Purity. It’s not just a declaration of God that we’re pure; it’s also a reality by the deposit of God’s Spirit into our lives. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old is gone, behold, all things become new. 2 Cr. 5:17
(5) PRACTICAL Purity. Here’s the challenge – it is at this point that we must live out our lives in purity. We live responsibly and obediently before God. Since we have these promises, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Cr. 7:1
(6) FINAL Purity. A day is coming when Christians will be totally cleansed and purified – standing holy before God. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 Jn. 3:2 (MacArthur Com.)
Trans: Jesus didn’t say, “Blessed are the pure, for they will see God,” If he had then the religious would’ve been happy b/c they were experts at outward purity. They had all sorts of rules on what to eat, wear, and how far you could walk on the Sabbath. They did everything trying to make the outside look good, but they covering up the inside.
B The CONDITION of the Heart
Insert: Jesus reserved his harshest words for those who knew how to mask their true heart.
Note: A Pharisee is nothing more than a religious pretender – someone who outwardly portrays faith but inwardly is far from God. And let me assure you – there are more Pharisees today than there were in Jesus’ day.
Verse: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you’re full of hypocrisy and wickedness. Mt. 23
Note: They thought their religious acts made them pure but they were wrong. And if you think that your religious acts make you pure, then you’re wrong too. See Jesus saw through their pettiness and pretense, and looked right into their hearts – In Mt. 15:8, “These people honor me w/ their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
Note: Did you know that when God looks at you He pays little attention to your outward appearance? That might be hard to hear b/c some of us spend so much time on what we look like. But ultimately, this doesn’t matter to God as he looks past what we look like and how we behave to focus in on our heart – b/c that is who we truly are.
Verse: The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Sm. 16:7
Verse: All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart. Pr. 21:2
Word: heart (kardia) from cardiac. Used metaphorically to signify the inner person – the heart is the control center of a man’s mind, emotions and will. It is our invisible innermost being which shapes our lives, attitudes, convictions, and ultimately, our actions. It is the seat of who we are referring to the whole person.
Verse: As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man. Pr. 27:19
Verse: Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do. Ps. 4:23
Insert: The heart is the totality of the inner person…the seat of character…a freeway cloverleaf where all emotions and prejudices and wisdom converge. It’s a switch house that receives freight cars loaded w/ moods, emotions, and convictions and puts them on the right track…the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart.
Verse: The heart is deceitfully wicked above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve. Jer. 17:9-10
Note: Jeremiah says the heart is desperately wicked and beyond cure – terminally diseased. The heart is so sick that no medication can heal it. The Reformers called this disease total depravity b/c it affects every part of us – what we think, how we feel, and how we behave.
Quote: We’re suffering from only one disease in the world. Our basic problem isn’t a race problem. Our basic problem isn’t a poverty problem. Our basic problem isn’t a war problem. Our basic problem is a heart problem. Graham
Insert: The problem of sin isn’t the world around us, but rather the world w/in us.
Note: Make whatever excuses you wish to protect your pet sins and carnal attitudes – the self-centeredness that’s solely consumed w/ what you want and think you deserve, not one of them will stand up in the face of the God’s holiness. God will never accept anything less than total purity w/in you and me.
Note: We don’t sin b/c of our surroundings; we sin b/c of what’s in our heart. That’s why God is so consumed w/ the purity of our hearts. He wants His best in us!
II The RESPONSE
Insert: According to Schopenhauer’s Law of Entropy – If you put a spoonful of wine in a barrel full of sewage you get sewage. If you put a spoonful of sewage in a barrel of wine, you still get sewage. 1000 Humorous Illustrations - #756
Trans: The Bible clearly explains that a little bit of sin taints the whole life. So the question at hand is how can I possess a life free of hypocrisy? How can I practically live my daily life in the purity God has deposited in me?
Verse: Since we’re surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every thing that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run w/ endurance the race marked out for us. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hb. 12:1f
A LAY aside the Sin that Besets You
Note: Realize your sin and its cost, confess it, fight the temptation, and put it behind you. In other words, REMOVE the obstacles, weights, and excuses and follow God.
Story: A couple from Bakersfield, CA purchased a new boat, but they were having serious problems. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t get the boat going. It was sluggish no matter which way they turned or how much power was applied. After an hour of trying to make it go, they putted to a nearby marina, hoping someone could tell them what was wrong. A thorough check on the topside of the boat revealed everything was in perfect working condition. The engine ran fine, the out drive went up and down, and the propeller was the correct size and pitch. Then, one of the marina guys jumped in the water to check underneath. He came up choking w/ laughter. Under the boat, still strapped securely in place, was the trailer!
Note: Ridiculous! But not more ridiculous than the many believers are puttering around wondering why their Christian life isn’t working – it’s simple, they have sin attached beneath the surface of their lives that needs to be removed.
Verse: If you confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive of your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn. 1:9
B RUN w/ Endurance the Race Set Before You
Note: ACCEPT the challenge/call of God to seek first His kingdom and righteousness. Realize that the Christian life is serious – it’s not a game – it is a divine call.
Verse: Don’t you realize that everyone who runs in a race runs to win, but only one runner gets the prize? Run like them, so that you can win. 1 Cr. 9:24
C FIX Your Eyes on Jesus
Note: CONCENTRATE on knowing and obeying God’s Word and becoming just like Jesus. Don’t take your eyes off of the prize. Jesus is our hope and example. He models how we are to live.
Verse: Set your mind on things above and not on the things of earth. Col 3:1
D REMEMBER Jesus When You Want to Give Up
Note: Be willing to ENDURE difficulty and opposition in view of the cross. We the going gets tough… The tough (faithful) remember Jesus and put their trust in Him.
Verse: Be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labor is not in vain. 1 Cr. 15:58
Trans: It’s time to get into the RACE – REMOVE the obstacles, ACCEPT God’s challenge, CONCENTRATE on Jesus, and REMEMBER what He did for you.
III The PROMISE
Note: Those who possess purity w/in their hearts will receive a wonderful blessing – they will see God.
Word: they shall see God – future indicative tense – meaning that people w/ a pure heart shall be continuously seeing God at work in their lives. That is, they pure shall experience intimate fellowship w/ God on a moment-by-moment basis.
Note: When we walk in purity, God will give us spiritual sight to see Him at work in you.
Story: In 1982 the LA Times carried the story of Anna Mae Pennica, a 62 year old woman who had been blind from birth. At 47 she married a man she met in Braille class, and for the first 15 years of their marriage he did the seeing for both of them until he completely lost his vision to retinitis pigmentosa. Mrs. Pennica had never seen the green of spring or the blue of a winter sky. Yet b/c she had grown up in a loving, supportive family, she never felt resentful about her handicap and always exuded a remarkably cheerful spirit. Then in Oct. 1981 Dr. Thomas Pettit of the Jules Stein Eye Institute of UCLA performed surgery to remove the rare congenital cataracts from the lens of her left eye – and Mrs. Pennica saw for the first time ever! The newspaper account doesn’t record her initial response, but it does tell us that she found that everything was “so much bigger and brighter” than she ever imagined. While she immediately recognized her husband and others she had known well, other acquaintances were taller or shorter, heavier or skinnier than she had pictured them. Since that day Mrs. Pennica has hardly been able to wait to wake up in the AM, splash her eyes w/ water, put on her glasses, and enjoy the changing AM light. Her vision is almost 20/30 – good enough to pass a driver’s test. Think how wonderful it must have been for Anna Mae when she looked for the first time at the faces she had only felt, or when she saw the kaleidoscope of a Pacific sunset or a tree waving its branches or a bird in flight. The gift of physical sight is wonderful. The miracle of seeing for the first time can hardly be described. Yet there is a seeing that surpasses even this – and that’s seeing God. (Hughes)
Note: The irony of Mrs. Pennica’s “miracle,” according to Dr. Pettit, was that “surgical techniques available as far back as the 1940’s could have corrected her problem.” Mrs. Pennica lived 40 of her 62 sightless years needlessly blind.
Trans: The technique for curing spiritual blindness has existed for 2000 years. The procedure is radical and 100% effective b/c God is the physician. To become “pure in heart” you must receive a new heart.
CONCLUSION
Verse: Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Mt. 5:8
Story: There’s an animal in Minnesota called an ermine. An ermine is a short-tailed weasel w/ the unique ability to change its fur to a snow-white in the winter. God created this animal w/ this feature to protect it from others. The ermine instinctively protects his white coat against anything that would soil it. Fur hunters try to take advantage of this unusual trait. Thus they don’t set a snare to catch them, but instead they find their home, usually a cleft in a rock or a hollow tree, and they smear the entrance w/ grime. Then the hunters set their dogs loose to chase the ermine. The frightened animal flees toward home but refuses to enter b/c of the filth. Rather than soil his white coat, the ermine is trapped by the dogs and captured while preserving his purity. For the ermine, purity is more precious than life. Our Daily Bread – 6.21.97
Note: For the Christian purity ought to be more precious than life, for w/out purity we can never really have life.
