Shift #6
The Heart That Sees
MATTHEW 5:8, Proverbs 4:23
INTRODUCTION:
The machine that usually did the job was broken. And so they hired a man to paint lines on a newly resurfaced portion of a remote highway. The first day he painted 9 miles, and the supervisor, impressed by such an effort, told him he would hire him full time and give him a big raise if he kept up that pace for the next few days. But the next day he was able to paint only 5 miles. On the following day he did only one mile, then the next day a half a mile. The supervisor fired him but asked what had happened. "It isn’t my fault," the man muttered as he walked away shaking his head, "I just kept getting further and further away from the can."
I’m sure that story is not true but here’s something I know that is. Our happiness depends on the purity of our hearts. The Bible teaches there is nothing more important than preserving a pure heart. Prov. 4:23- "Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do."(NLT) You see, the further we get away from maintaining the heart, the more distance is placed between us and God. Ultimately we find ourselves shaking our heads and muttering how it isn’t our fault that we are so miserable. So, Jesus gives us the 6th piece of our happiness puzzle and says: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Notice the order, 1st purify the heart, then you will see God. Attitude over action, happiness from the inside out. That’s opposite of what we usually do. We typically try to change the inside by altering the outside. Jesus, says, “No, you don’t get a pure product without cleaning out the refinery first.” Since that is true, let’s take a close look at this sixth beatitude.
I. THE DEFINITION:
American’s are increasingly concerned about purity. We want to breath pure air, we want to eat foods without chemical contaminants, we want to drink pure water. But as important as those things are Jesus addresses none of them. Instead He says we must have a pure heart. What exactly does that mean? Well, let’s break it down and begin by understanding His definition of purity.
The word Jesus uses for pure is the Greek word "Karthos." In its simplest form it means, "clean, without defect or blemish." In Jesus’ day the primary use of the word had to do with ceremonial purity. This conception regarded purity as a matter of ritual obedience to a set of regulations. For example: Before a Jew could sit down to eat, he not only had to wash his hands but he had to cleanse them in a certain way. Not in the interests of hygiene, but in the interests of ceremonial purity. William Barclay: "First of all a person had to hold each hand with the fingers pointing upwards, and pour water over the hands until it reached the wrist; then he had to cleanse each palm by rubbing it with the fist of the other hand; then he had to hold the hands with the fingers pointing downwards, and pour water from the wrist so that it ran down the hand and off the fingers." The slightest deviation from that process rendered a man unclean. Parents, can you imagine trying to get your kids to wash their hands before a meal that way? You’re just glad they wash theirs at all. There were hundreds of regulations that a Jewish person must keep in order to be pure. You see, for them, purity was completely externalized. Purity, was a matter of observing certain ceremonies. Jesus completely contradicted that concept with 2 words.. “You must be pure... in heart. He used the word, not as applied to ceremony but to the inward being. "Karthos" in Jesus’ context it means, "unmixed" or "undivided," without pollution in reference to a man’s relationship to God.
We know that because of the meaning of the Greek word for heart that Jesus uses: "Kardia." You can hear the English words we get form it. Cardiac, cardiology. Why did Jesus say a person needs a pure heart? Obviously not all of us have pure physical hearts. Several of you here have had procedures to clean out some of the arteries in and around your heart. None of us thinks our relationship to Jesus is dependent upon the physical condition of our heart, so what exactly does Jesus mean? W.E. Vines, explains it: "Physically, the heart, the chief organ of life, occupies the most important place in the human system. It was an easy transition from the physical to the spiritual.. Spiritually, the word Kardia came to stand for the central part of one’s personal life. Their entire mental and moral activity, both the rational and emotional elements. In other words, the heart is used figuratively for the hidden springs of the personal life." We use the word heart in a similar sense even today. We say, "Don’t break my heart." A hit song many years back was, "I left my heart in San Francisco." Now, the song writer wasn’t talking about a transplant at some hospital in California, but how he left his inner self, his yearnings and longing back at the Bay. For Jesus, the heart was the totality of our person, the cockpit, the control tower, the seat of character, the origin of affections, perceptions, intentions, purpose, will and faith. Do you see what Jesus was trying to get across by using these two words together?
From the Jewish point of view of purity, a man might have within his heart arrogance, malice, pride, thoughts of lust or bitterness.. but.. as long as he observed the outward rituals correctly, he was pure. From Jesus’ point of view, even if a man’s outward actions were impeccably correct, even if he observed every detail of the ceremonial law with meticulous devotion, he might still be utterly impure. Because the thoughts and motives of his inner self were not right. That’s why He said to the hypocritical religious leaders of his day, "You are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity!"(Mt. 23:27 NLT) Now, we might say, "How dumb to think they could be right with God by external observances when internally they were impure." Really? Don’t we do the same today? Is it not still possible for a person to consider themselves "religious," right with God, because they are doing all the correct things, going to Church, giving, being respectable, while all the while in the eyes of Jesus the person has no relationship at all with Him, because the inner recesses of their heart are not pure. The combination of Jesus’ words.. pure heart.. is clear. He is saying, "Happy many times over is the person who has undivided affections for God." He said that again & again.. "No man can serve two masters.." "Seek first the kingdom of God.." "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things I say?" The key word here for this beatitude is integrity. Jesus is telling us a big piece of the puzzle for happiness is not what you do but who you are, not external action but internal attitudes. Happiness comes when you are the same on the inside as you are on the outside. In order to have the happiness that God promises Jesus says you need... a "karthos kardia," a pure heart.
II. THE APPLICATION:
Now, my reaction, when I see Jesus’ meaning here is, "How am I going to do that?" I have trouble working on right behavior, let alone right thoughts and motives. Well, may I suggest some things to think about to help us in this area. Here are three ways to work on having a pure heart.
1) Remember: God sees everything. Do you really understand that you have no secrets God doesn’t know? Prov. 5:21- "The Lord sees everything you do. Wherever you go, he is watching." (TEV) In Matt. 6 Jesus uses this phrase three different times, (vss:4, 6 & 18) "..the Father, who sees what is done in secret.." In other words, we never surprise God. He sees and knows every thought, every longing, every deed. Does that bother you? To realize that God knows every thing you think, feel and do? It bothers me sometimes. Have you ever seen a small child put their hands over their eyes and by doing so think that since they can’t see you then you can’t see them. You know, they stand in full view, put their hands over their eyes and say, "Try and find me." Well, that’s the picture we should have if we think God doesn’t see. He knows everything! No matter how dark, how secret, no matter how obscure... He knows.
And yet often we think if no one on earth knows then God won’t... we can sin in obscurity? Mitch is married to Barbara and Ed, one of his best friends is questioning Mitch on this very concept by asking if Mitch would stay faithful if he knew Barbara would never find out.
{Video Clip: City Slickers - Start: Chp. 7 - 0:44:47 - End: Chp. 7 - 0:45:49 = 1:02}
Now, I just included Curly’s comment because it breaks me up but the important part of that is Mitch’s answer. It doesn’t matter if Barbara knows or not, He would.. And for the Godly person, we add... God would know. You see, one of Satan’s most favorite & formidable weapons is to whisper seductively to us.. "Go ahead, nobody will ever know!" Surprise! Somebody already knows. Heb. 4:13- "Nothing in all of creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." One practical way to work on having a pure heart is to remember that passage - God sees everything. Why try to fake it if God already knows? I mean, I might be able to fool others, but I can never fool God. And yet, here’s what blows me away! God sees everything I do, He knows everything I’m going to do and yet He still loves me, He stills wants me, He still pursues me!
2) The second step to be pure in heart is to review my motives. I do an honest evaluation of, "Why do I do, what I do?" Prov. 16:2- "all of man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord." Did you catch that? We think what we do is important but God thinks the motives behind that which we do is more important. In fact, in Mt 6 Jesus mentions three things that we can do with wrong motives. (Write down) In Mt. 6:2-3 he mentions giving to God. “..when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do... to be honored by men.” Many were giving to be seen not to be generous. In Mt. 6:5-6- Jesus says you can pray with wrong motives. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners...” Praying just to be heard, just to impress others. Then Jesus says in Mt. 6:16-18 you can even fast with wrong motives. Now, fasting is something you’d think only you and those closest to you would know about. But Jesus warns: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting...” You see, God is not as concerned with what we do as He is why we do what we do. So, review your motives for what you do.
3) Realign your priorities. If I want to be pure in heart I need to align myself with the 1st Commandment- Ex.20:3- "You shall have no other God’s before Me." What’s a god? Anything that comes in 1st place. God is saying, "I’ll play second fiddle to nothing or no one else. I’ll have no rivals, not your profession, not your mate, not your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your activities, nothing." How do I know what my true priorities are? Here are 3 tests to check out your real preferences.
1) Look at your activities. I look at where I invest my time and my money. In Matt. 6:19 Jesus says, "Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth.. But store up for yourself treasures in heaven.. for where your treasure is there will your heart be also." In other words, wherever you place the investment of your life, that’s where your heart is. I’d like to encourage you to think of your relationship with Jesus in terms of "firsts." Giving Him the first part of your money -Tithe. The first part of your day - Quiet time. The first part of your week - Worship. The first place in my decisions - thinking, “What would please Him?”
2) Look at my anxieties. What do you worry about? You can tell a great deal about a person by what bothers them. 6:25 Jesus says, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry." And I don’t have time to go through this in detail but later today if you’ll go through Mt. 6 starting with v.24 you’ll find the 5 most common worries. I’ll just list them in hopes that you might study them later. 1) Finances in v.24. 2)Food in v.25. Maybe for us it’s not the amount we worry about but eating just right can become an obsession. 3)Fitness in v.27. Be fit to live as long as possible. 4)Fashion in v.28 What we wear.. We don’t worry about being naked, we just stand in front of our full closets and sigh, "I don’t have a thing to wear!" 5)Future in v.34. And basically Jesus is saying, if you are worrying about any of these things, it means God is not #1 in your life. Worry says, "God, I think I’m in charge here." Worry indicates that you don’t trust God to supply your needs. So, look at your activities, look at your anxieties and:
3) Look at your ambitions. Your goals reveal the direction of your heart. Mt. 6:31-33- "So don’t worry.. What shall we eat, what shall we drink, what shall we wear. The people who don’t know God are always trying to get these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Set your heart on His kingdom and His goodness, and all these things will come to you as a matter of course."(Phillips) “Always trying to get...” That’s ambition. Those who don’t know God or who do but have unconverted ambitions have bought into the culture’s goals for happiness. Jesus says, "Instead, set your heart first on God and His kingdom and He’ll take care of your needs.”
So remember, God sees everything, so there’s no use me trying to fake Him out. Phoniness is unhappiness. Being pure in heart is not being perfect but transparent. Then review your motives, see if you are doing what you do for God or for self? Do you get miffed because no one appreciates what you are doing or when someone holds you accountable for spiritual things? Then realign your priorities. Check out your activities, your anxieties and your ambitions to see if He really is first.
III. THE SATISFACTION:
Now, Jesus says, the reward for the pure hearted is that “they will see God.” Obviously He is not talking in the physical sense, because the Bible tells us that no one can see God and live. But here he’s speaking figuratively. And I see two ways that the pure hearted will see God.
1) The pure in heart will see God in their lives daily. Those with undivided hearts are continually conscious and amazed at His presence in their everyday living. They see Him as they look at creation, they see Him as they see others, they see Him even in adversity. And those with undivided hearts see God everyday as they seek their approval only from Him. You will never find perfect approval anywhere accept in God, because who else knows the very secrets of your heart? The pure in heart also see God in their daily lives as he works in them and through them. Phil. 2:13- "For God is at work within you, helping you to want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants."(LB) What fulfillment there is in seeing the Lord use you according to His purpose. Mother Theresa said, "I find my greatest joy by being used as a pencil in the hand of God."
2) The pure in heart are also confident that they will see God in the future."Dear friends, now we are children of God, and we have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him, because we will see him as he really is.”(1 Jn. 3:2 NCV) And because of those promises, those that have an undivided heart have no reservation about the future and find ultimate assurance in the fact that one day He’s coming.. to take us home.
In Max Lucado’s book The Applause of Heaven, he gives an illustration, that cements Jesus’ point that the only way to change your life is to change your heart. At one time Max and his family lived in Rio De Janeiro, working as missionaries. Once, when they were leaving on a week long trip, Max remembered he had forgotten to unplug his ham radio. He dashed back in the house and pulled the plug, and dashed out. Unfortunately he pulled the wrong plug. The radio sat on their freezer, which had been newly stocked with meat, and was now unplugged. To make matters worse they were gone for 7 days, & it was summer in Brazil, which Max says redefines hot. When they got home, Max’s wife Denalyn decided to get some meat out of the freezer.. Max says “it was a `moving’ experience.” Since it was Max who unplugged the freezer it was Max who got to clean it. With tongue in cheek he writes:
"What is the best way to clean out a rotten interior? I knew exactly what to do. I got a rag and a bucket of soapy water and began cleaning the outside of the appliance. I was sure the odor would disappear as I buffed and wiped and polished. But when I opened the door, the smell was revolting. No problem, I thought. I knew what to do. This freezer needs some friends. I’d stink too if I had the social life of a machine in a utility room. So, I threw a party. I invited all the appliances from the neighborhood. Everyone played pin in the socket and had a few laughs about limited warranties.. I was sure the social interaction would cure the inside of the freezer but when I opened it up the stink was even worse. I had an idea. If the polish job and a social life wouldn’t help, I’d give the freezer some status! So I bought a Mercedes sticker and stuck it on the door. I installed a cell phone on the side and I opened the door.. still repulsive. I could think of only one other option- pleasure. So I bought copies of "Playfridge"- the publication that displays freezers with their doors open. I rented some foxy films, my favorite was "The Big Chill." After a few days of supercharged, after hours entertainment, I opened the door. I nearly got sick."
Lucado concludes: "I know what you’re thinking, the only thing worse than Max’s humor is his common sense. Who would concentrate on the outside when the problem is on the inside? Really want to know? A housewife battles with depression. What is the solution offered by a close friend? Buy a new dress, get a job. A husband is involved in an affair that brings him as much guilt as it does adventure. The solution? Change peer groups. Hang out with people who don’t make you feel guilty! A person is plagued by insecurity and restlessness. The answer? A hunting trip, or a vacation or maybe a change of style. A new look, a new car, flash some cash. That will give you the lift you need. Case after case of treating the outside while ignoring the inside. And the result? Oh, the depression, the guilt, the insecurity leaves for maybe a day, maybe a week. But it always returns, and usually it’s worse. The outside is altered the inside has faltered. The real and lasting answer? True happiness comes from the inside out.” Why? Because: "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."
Pray
{All Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, unless otherwise noted.}
