Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

Transcription

1 Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

2 Some Generalities The Jews became angry with Jesus for telling them that they should want these things. Why? Because they considered all of these things "foolishness". Because He told them that they did not please God. (Pride) Grammer = must do 24x7 in order to please God. These words were not meant to encourage but to break your heart! So that you will fall on your knees! I do not feel poor before God. I do not mourn over my sin. I do not trust God with my life. I do not hunger for God s justice. I don t forgive. According to Jesus: I won t enter the Kingdom. I won t be comforted. I won t inherit the earth. I won t be filled and I won t be shown mercy. If I don t believe Jesus, I go on my way. These qualities not important. If I believe Jesus, it is a miracle! It means I have a new heart!

3 What does heart mean in the language of the Bible? The heart means: the mind, will, and emotions. The heart is the control center of the mind and emotions. It includes the thinking process and particularly the will. Matt 9:4. Jesus asked a group of scribes, Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? It is your deepest, inner, most essential self. It is the part of you that only God sees perfectly. God/Jesus sees your heart much much better than you do!

4 The Bad News: 1) The Requirement: The religion of the Pharisees was outward, superficial, and hypocritical. BUT Jesus said that it is in the inner man, in the core of his very being, that God requires purity! 2) The Lack. Gen 6:5. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 3) The Result. It is impurity of heart (inner imperfection in our hearts) that separates man from God. But we don t know it! Ps 24:3-4. Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord and who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart Is 59:2. your sins have made a separation between you and your God...

5 The Good News: The Promise. God promised in the New Covenant to cleanse us by giving us new hearts. Jer 31:34. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Ez 36: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27

6 God s Standard: Not better than but perfect. We are inclined to judge ourselves pure because we are better than some people we see around us. (What does God look at?) 100% purity is God s standard for the heart. Mt 5:48. Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Anyone can do good deeds, but only God can give someone a pure heart. Thomas Watson said: Morality can drown a man as fast as vice.

7 What Does God Do to our Hearts: the Meaning of Pure To make pure by cleansing from dirt and contamination. Refined until there is only ONE thing left: devotion to God. Mat 6:24. No one can serve two masters; God gives us singlemindedness, undivided devotion. James connects the idea of being single minded with being pure in heart. James 4:6. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Anyone can do good deeds, but only God can give YOU a pure heart. When does He give it?

8 God s Purity Timeline Eternity Past 1. Primal Purity (only in God) 2.Created Purity (Pre-fall) F A L L Moment of Salvation 3) Imputed Purity (new standing) 4) Actual Purity (new nature, ability not to sin. Are you here /\ or here /\? While we live 5) Practical Purity (2 Cor 7:1, 1 Jn 1:9, requires our participation) R E T U R N Eternity Future 6) Ultimate Purity (1 Jn 3:2, glorified bodies, no sin nature.) Mt 5:48. Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect God s Purity Timeline. Only God can bestow purity at the moment we are saved, and ultimately remove our sin nature, give us glorified bodies and make us perfect. But one specific kind of purity that He enables in this life (practical purity), though it too comes from Him, also requires our participation. Practical Purity. Progressive Sanctification. We will fall into sin, but (1 Jn 1:9) if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Ultimate Purity. Perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. Glorified bodies with no sin nature. All sins totally and permanently washed away. 1 Jn 3:2. we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.

9 The Result of Purity: Perfect Sight! Only those who are pure in heart will see God. Sin is darkness. Sin obscures God. (imperfections in the eyes of the heart ) One sign of an impure heart is ignorance (or lack of sight). The ONLY remedy for ignorance is repentance and confession of sin that leads to cleansing, purity, and restored intimacy with God.Have compassion for the blind! Purity of heart cleanses the eyes of the heart so that God becomes visible. It is both present and future. We begin to see God immediately when our hearts are made pure at the moment of salvation. We will see him perfectly when He makes our bodies perfect and we see him face to face.

10 When will there be peace on earth? Ps 110:1. The LORD says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. The peace of God requires the rule of God. Peace begins with unconditional surrender and whole-hearted submission to God. Then Peace continues with a joyful battle to win over all of the enemies of God to His side.

11 The Meaning of peace Policemen are called keepers of the peace. But they are not neutral. They don t enter a situation without a bias. They are always on the side of the LAW. The person who breaks the law has broken the peace and is the one who has done wrong. That is the kind of peacemaking we are talking about. The peace of God requires the rule of God. It requires the joy of being ruled by the King. Men are without peace because they are not ruled by God.

12 Four Characteristics of a Peacemaker 1) Has peace with God! 2) Tells about peace with God to others. Acts 10:36. We preach peace through Jesus Christ. 3) Tells about peace between people. Through - asking forgiveness (Mat 5:23-24), - loving our enemies (Mt 5:44), and - confronting sin (Mat 18:15) This brings turmoil at first but later peace! 4) Speaks truth in love. A peacemaker contends without being contentious disagrees without being disagreeable confronts without being abusive. Peacemakers are frequently accused of being troublemakers. Elijah was/jesus was, (1 Kg 18,Lk 23:2,5).

13 The Result of Peace: Eternal Sonship in the Kingdom shall be called is continuous future tense. Throughout all eternity peacemakers will go by the name children of God. What an honor God bestows on us when He calls us: SONS and DAUGHTERS! When God calls us sons he is saying we please God because we are like God.