Purity – The Sixth Step To Happiness Series

Purity – The Sixth Step To Happiness

We have been making our way through a section of scripture known as the beatitudes. They are found in Matthew chapter five. Each of the beatitudes begins with the word – blessed. This word could also be translated – “Happy”. So as we have been making our way down though the beatitudes we are finding steps to happiness. Follow along with me as I read:

”Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matthew 5:3-12 (NKJV)

Today we are going to focus in on verse eight:

“Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 (NKJV)

As Americans we are increasingly concerned with environmental purity. We want to drink pure water. We want to breath pure air. We want to make sure that the foods we eat are pure – that they don’t contain things that are harmful to us. Last year alone, Americans spent over half a billion dollars on water purifiers. But there is an area of our lives that is more important than the water we drink. It is more important than the air we breath. It is more important than the food we eat. It is an area that we often overlook - God says - "Happy are the pure in heart." We all have a heart condition that we should be concerned about.

Now here is a beatitude which demands that we should stop and examine ourselves. The Greek word for “pure” has a number of interesting facets. It was used for dirty clothes that had been washed clean. It was used to describe grain and flour that had been carefully sifted – cleansed of all impurities. It was used when describing milk or wine that had not been mixed with any other liquid. It is not diluted or watered down. It was pure.

So this beatitude could be translated, “Happy is the one who is genuine in heart, who is authentic, who is not a phony, because such a person will see God.” What we are talking about is being “Holy”. God has said in His word:

"Be holy, for I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16 (NKJV)

Holy is what God is. "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty." Pure and clean without blemish - Holy - is what God is. God wants us to be like Him. God is holy – God is pure – and God wants us to holy and pure also. Today let’s look at three steps to having a pure heart.

THREE STEPS TO HAVING A PURE HEART

The first step to having a pure heart is:

1. Remember that God sees EVERYTHING.

Look at what it says in Proverbs chapter five:

“Mark well that God doesn’t miss a move you make; he’s aware of every step you take.” Proverbs 5:21 (MSG)

Nothing is secret from God. Nothing is a surprise to Him. Does it bother you that you have no secrets from God? To tell you the truth – it bothers me sometimes. There are a lot of secrets I would like to be kept secret. But God already knows them. God says He knows everything about you. A lot of people think that they are fooling God. That somehow He doesn’t see everything that they have done – but He has. He sees right through everything. But here is the scary part – look at the next verse:

“For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.” Mark 4:22 (NKJV)

Everything that we think is hidden will be revealed – everything that we think is secret will be exposed. Wow! Shouldn’t that change our behavior? Shouldn’t that change the way I act? If God already knows everything – and everything is going to be revealed – I might as well strive to have a pure heart. I shouldn’t try to fake it anymore. I may fool some people – some of the time – but I can never fool God. But here is the amazing thing – God knows everything that I have done – and He loves me anyway.