Blessed Pure In Heart 8/6/17. -Grateful for the time away last weekend, and grateful to be back.

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Lewis Crawford
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1 Blessed Pure In Heart 8/6/17 -Believer s Baptism Intro: -Grateful for the time away last weekend, and grateful to be back. -If you ve been with us for any length of time, you know that we have been teaching on the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5. - In Jesus sermon called The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes 8 statements that we commonly refer to as the Beatitudes from the Latin Beatitudo which means supreme happiness. -That idea of Supreme Happiness is on the forefront of Jesus mind and He spoke about it often. -He didn t speak about it in the physical sense (outward happiness) but in the inward sense of deep, lasting, satisfying, life-giving happiness. -Pastor Steve last week spoke about mercy. -But understand, this passage is not about US showing mercy. -The whole point is that it highlights the effect of the Holy Spirit coming to live in us. -Once we had no power to show mercy, now, because of the power of the Holy Spirit living within every believer, we can show mercy, His mercy. -Notice what the Holy Spirit does next in this spiritual progression: -Matthew 5:8 (NIV) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. -The Hubble telescope, orbiting 360 miles above Earth s surface, travels at the speed of five miles per second, completing one full orbit every 96 minutes. -It can peer into space seven billion light years away. -Before it was launched, numerous delays caused the lens to be stored for seven years in a sterile cell in the Lockheed facility in Sunnyvale, California. -The cost? Eight million dollars a month for 7 years. -That s a costly rental budget. -Scientists understood this principle: The best way to see the heavens is through a clean lens. - Blessed are the pure in heart Before we get too far, let s go back and review the succession of statements found in Mt 5. -Remember each statement builds upon the other and all 8 of these statements are not meant to be pulled out and preached alone but as a WHOLE.

2 -Poor in Spirit -Blessed are those who mourn -Blessed are the meek... power under control -Who is the power that comes in upon salvation that now controls us? -The Holy Spirit. -Notice what He now does in our hearts: -Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness. -On our own apart from Christ, we crave UNrighteousness. -Now, because of the Holy Spirit, we now crave Righteousness. -Blessed are the Merciful... -On our own without Christ, we are UNmerciful -Now, with Christ in our hearts, He has changed us into being Merciful. -Next, Jesus says, Blessed are the Pure in Heart. -This is the next characteristic of the Holy Spirit. -He starts the work of purifying the heart of the believer. -Let s carefully analyze this statement of Jesus by looking at 3 words: (1) HEART - Heart refers to the center of our personality. -In other words, it is the total make-up of who we really are. -Will, mind, emotions, body, and heart. -On our own, without Christ, the Bible makes it very clear that our hearts are IMPURE. -Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV) The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? -Mark 7:20-23 (NLT) And then he added, It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you. -In the Garden of Eden, a perfect environment, man fell from God. -Because of the condition of his heart. -It is only when the Holy Spirit comes in that He begins the process of purifying our hearts -When we come to Christ, at that moment we are declared not guilty and perfectly righteous. -This is a spiritual transaction that takes place. -Our position goes from unrighteous to perfectly righteous.

3 -What this is talking about is the process of sanctification or the process of being purified. -That s what the Holy Spirit does. -He pushes us away from our sin nature so that we can live now in our new nature, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. -The heart is what Christ wants to conquer and make His domain (2) PURE -Martyn Lloyd-Jones says in his book Studies on the Sermon on the Mount But perhaps we can perfectly express it by saying that being pure in heart means to be like the Lord Jesus Christ Himself...It means we have an undivided love which regards God as our highest good and which is concerned only about loving God...To be pure in heart means to keep the first and greatest commandment which is to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind and all of your strength...it means that we should live for the glory of God in every respect and that should be the supreme desire of our life It means that we desire God, that we desire to know Him, that we desire to love Him and serve Him. (p112) -Jeanne Guyon from prison in St. Antoine, France in 1685 in response to a letter that she was allowed to correspond with, wrote these words back, May He set His Kingdom in your heart and reign and rule in you. -If you study the Old Testament you know the history of the Old Testament Kings after David. -A roller coaster of extremes This one did what was evil in the sight of the Lord...this one did what was righteous in the sight of the Lord. -1 Kings 15:9-14 (NLT) Asa began to rule over Judah in the twentieth year of Jeroboam s reign in Israel. 10 He reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom. 11 Asa did what was pleasing in the Lord s sight, as his ancestor David had done. 12 He banished the male and female shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. 13 He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 Although the pagan shrines were not removed, Asa s heart remained completely faithful to the Lord throughout his life. -This is a case of almost but not quite. -Almost pure but not total purity. -Why did he stop there and not go all the way? -Listen, this is common in the life of many believers. -This was the characteristic of King Solomon the son of David -His heart was almost pure, but not all the way and in the end, NOT AT ALL. -But, what s the Holy Spirit doing as He indwells the believer?

4 -He pushes us and draws us and compels us to purity of the heart because that s Who God is. -1 John 1:5 (NLT) This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. -Example: Imagine a dining room table filled with trash on top it (old food, pizza boxes) -Imagine a light being shined on that table for the very first time. -When the light illuminates, it s easy to see what needs to be taken off the table. -This is what the Holy Spirit does. -But, He doesn t just deal with the Big objects, the light gets closer and He starts looking in the cracks of the table, the crevices...he gets nitpicky. -It is the never-ending process of refinement that doesn t stop until we are home in Heaven with Christ. -Example: When you draw back curtains and let the sun in, what do you see in the air? -Dust. Was it not there before? -No. The sunlight just exposed it. -That s what the Holy Spirit does. -Examples: -With our hands -With our ears -With our mouths -With our eyes -In business, we are not different than when we are in church. -In church, we are not different than when we were out on Saturday night. -In other words, it is without hypocrisy. -The Holy Spirit pushes us toward total purity of heart so that we can carry the sweet smell of the fragrance of God on our bodies and look like Jesus at all times to all people. -That s what a lost and dying world desperately needs to see. -And now, because of the person of the Holy Spirit living inside, that is possible (3) SEE -This is the promise. -Matthew 5:8 (NIV) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. - See has a dual meaning -One day, we will see God face to face. -That s the faithful promise in the Word of God that we put our hope in.

5 -But, listen, right now we can also see God. -When you know you are in the presence of Jesus. -When you feel Him close to you. -When He Who is Unknowable is suddenly now Known. -Have you had times like that being in the presence of the Lord? -I can. (Too many to count and share this morning). -He draws near to a pure heart How do you get to that place in your life? -James 4:8 (ESV) Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. -As the Holy Spirit pushes you toward purity, you run in that direction as well. -Draw near, cleanse your hands, purify your hearts. -Pray like David prayed in Psalm 51 (read it this week) -Psalm 51:10 (NLT) Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me Book: My Heart, Christ s Home -Author explains each room (Bedroom, Living Room, Media Room, the hall closet) -And takes Jesus into each room and asks Are You at home in this room? -You get alone with God and you take Jesus into every room in your heart: -As I watch this, do you feel at home? -As I listen to this, do you feel at home? -As I speak, do you feel at home? -In my relationship with my boyfriend or girlfriend, do you feel at home? -In my closet, in my dark secrets and hidden sins, do you feel at home? -Helen Keller was asked, Isn t it terrible to be blind? She responded, Better to be blind and see with your heart, than to have two good eyes and see nothing. -May we truly become people who see God with their hearts Bridge Group Questions: (1) What stood out to you about this week s message? (2) Talk about your heart before Christ and how Christ is subduing it now. What difference has He made? (3) Do you pursue God with total purity, or do you hold some things back? If so, why do you hold back? (4) Seeing God. Describe some intimate times with the Lord where you felt His presence and you knew He was near. (5) My heart, Christ s home. Does Jesus feel at home in every room in your heart?

The Joy of Holiness: An Undivided Heart to See God Matthew 5:8 March 18, 2018

The Joy of Holiness: An Undivided Heart to See God Matthew 5:8 March 18, 2018 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matt 5:8) Of all the beatitudes, this 6 th one is the most daunting