Thank you for joining today as we seek God’s wisdom together. Let us begin with prayer.
“Lord Jesus, I ask that you search our hearts and see if there be anything wicked in them. We ask that your Holy Spirit show us what you are saying to us today. I ask that the words on this page would jump out to us as you speak to our hearts and minds truth and life. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Matthew 5: 1-12 NASB
“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
What the Word is Saying
This portion of scripture is often referred to the Sermon on the Mount and begins with what are commonly referred to as the Beatitudes. These are comparisons in line with the Kingdom of God. Then are in contrast to the worlds standards or what most would think of people in these conditions. Jesus calls attention to this for two reasons. One is to encourage those in these conditions and two is to change the thinking of those who are not.
Beatitude---Kingdom Principle
Poor In Spirit---Kingdom of Heaven
Mourn---Comforted
Gentle---Inherit the Earth
Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness---Satisfied
Merciful---Mercy
Pure in Heart---See God
Persecuted for the Sake of Righteousness---Kingdom of Heaven
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me (Jesus)---Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
In the next 9 blog posts we will look at each one individually and attempt to see what the Lord is teaching us in them. Having looked at the “merciful” last time, today we will look at the “pure in heart.”
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
The pure in heart are those whose intentions and motives are righteous. For them it is not just acting righteous but, indeed being righteous. A pastor once told me that Integrity is doing what is right even when no one else can see you. This is the kind of purity of heart that this beatitude is speaking of. This involves letting God explore and heal the deepest secrets you have and healing them. It often involves a behavior change as well.
When I had been a Christian for about ten years, God started working on the hidden areas in my life. I had baggage that I had not dealt with and had let secret sins infiltrate my life. Mind you I was careful about these sins so as not to gather the attention of fellow believers but, nevertheless they were not hidden from God. One day I showed up at church after work on a weekday and happen to run into the pastor coming out of the building. I stopped Him and told Him I had been smoking and that God had been speaking to me about my secret sins and wanting me to bring them to the light and find forgiveness. We walked over to the trash dumpster and threw away my pack of cigarettes and the compulsion to smoke was gone. The pastor told me he would have never guessed that I smoked because he did not smell it on me, and I did not seem like the type. I replied back with: “That is why it is a secret sin, if it was easily spotted than others would know of it.”
The pure in heart are described in two different ways. First, the pure in heart are those whose intentions and motives are pure. They rule over their emotions instead of being ruled by them. Integrity is a nice word to describe them. They do what is right when no one is looking. They don’t boast about their own abilities and think too highly of themselves. They do all that they do for the purpose of exalting Him who they serve. They serve others not to gain praise for their piety. Rather they serve because they genuinely want to help others and see them excel in life. Next it refers to the God centered life they live. They love the lord with all their heart, mind, and strength. Nathaniel comes to mind here:
“The next day He decided to go to Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, Follow Me.’ 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets also wrote: Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!’ 46Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good be from Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ 47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite, in whom there is no deceit!’ 48Nathanael said to Him, ‘How do You know me?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ 49Nathanael answered Him, ‘Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel!’ 50Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.’ 51And He said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man’ ((John 1;47-51).”
Notice that Jesus’ response is in direct response to Nathaniel’s comment about how He was unsure anything good could come out of Nazareth. Nathaniel had been there and seen the conditions of the city. He knew the people there and what He perceived to be their plight in life. I think His response is often taken to be slight against Him due to the sarcastic tone one tends to associate with his statement. However, it is an honest question by Him. It is the same response one would have about a man from a small mid-west town. The unspoken premise is why would He start from there? Jesus sees him approaching and declares that Nathaniel is a man in whom there is no deceit. Meaning he speaks the truth and lives his life in accordance with his beliefs. The old what you see is what you get saying fits nicely with Nathaniel. Jesus recognizes this in Nathaniel attributing his religious life to that of a man devoted to God.
It is because of this focus on serving God that Jesus then tells him He will see greater things than these. This is how the pure in heart see God. They recognize Him moving in their lives because their focus is on Him. We all should ascribe to live the same as Nathaniel did.
I am guessing that even now the Holy Spirit is putting His finger on a sin in your life that He wants to remove from you. It might be secret, and it might not be secret either way He wants to set you free. All you need do is confess it to Him and ask Him to break the chains of your bondage. We cannot earn our salvation. It is grace and grace alone by which we are saved. However, once we have been saved, we are sanctified and changed by the Holy Spirit. This change is evidenced by our actions. The Father is glorified when the rest of the world sees Him working through us. Being pure in heart is one of those attributes.
To follow the Lord means to give up your rights and do as He has asked you to do. Do not fail to do as He asks. Maybe you have been convicted by this message. I implore you to repent and really seek Jesus and ask Him how He wants you to live your life. Then do it! No matter the cost, because great will be your reward in Heaven.
If you have not received Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I implore you to do so now. All He asks for is for you to accept the free gift He gave you. Therefore, humble yourself and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of all. He alone is all powerful and you submit to His authority. Next you must believe He did what He did. That is; die on a cross and rise again from the dead. These are both actions of faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for with evidence not seen. Meaning you believe even though you don’t have physical evidence to prove it. I know you made it to this page for a reason and the Holy Spirit is working on your heart. The Father has drawn you and He alone can reveal to you the truth of what I am saying. I know that He is now, and you need to take a step of faith and pray these words with me.
Right where you are; say these words out loud: “Jesus I confess that you are Lord of all, I yield my will to your will for you are greater than me. I believe you came to this world and lived a sinless life; I believe you suffered and died on cross for my sins, I believe they put your lifeless body in a tomb, and three days later you rose from the dead. I confess to you that I am a sinner and ask you to forgive me. I also ask that you send me your Holy Spirit to give me power to live a sanctified life and to lead me into all truth. In Jesus name, Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, I urge you to contact us here so that we might come beside you and hold you up in prayer as you begin your journey with Jesus. I assure you that we have all been where you are. We may have committed different sins, but we are just as guilty, nonetheless. We all needed forgiveness and someone else supported us as we began our Journey with Him.
Thank you for joining me today as we searched the scriptures for What the Word is Saying. I pray that God will send His Holy Spirit into our lives anew and fill us again with His love and His purpose for us. So that we can fulfill the mission He left us in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.
“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB (New American Standard Bible) Copyright 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” lockman.org.
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