SOM #7: A PURE HEART (Matthew 5:8)

(This message may be used as an individual sermon or as part of the series.)

Matthew 5:8

A PURE HEART – #7 – SERMON ON THE MOUNT

Matthew 5:8 – Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

THE DEFINITION OF A PURE HEART

What does the Lord Jesus mean when he talks about the heart?

He is talking about everything that goes on inside of us, including our intellect and emotions. He is talking about the “real us”, the control center of who we are. And Jesus tells us that in order to be happy because God approves of us, we must have a pure heart.

When we think of the word pure, we probably think of cleanliness. We would probably think of a pure heart as one that is clean in the eyes of God. And indeed that is one of the meanings of the word pure.

There is another definition for pure however, and that is illustrated by Ivory Soap, which is 99 and 44/100% pure.

Ivory soap is pure soap because it is not mixed with anything else!

Pure also means “unmixed”.

One of the best Bible examples of a man with a pure heart is David. He is called a man after God’s own heart in Acts 13:22.

Although David, like the rest of us, had moments of failure, he was for the most part a man of unmixed loyalty to God. Psalms 108:1, 112:7, 19:14, 139:23-24

THE DEFILEMENT OF THE HEART

Every human being has heart problems. Jeremiah 17:9, Mark 7:21-23

Even those of us who are Christians struggle with hearts that waver in their loyalty to God. James 1:8, Matthew 6:24

Our condition is so bad that we have no hope of change without the help of God.

THE DEPLOYMENT OF A NEW HEART

We’ve heard a lot about deployment lately.

Troops are being deployed to the Middle East.

When they are deployed they are activated and sent to a specific place.

Christian, I’ve got great news for you!

The moment you were saved, God deployed a new heart inside of you. 2 Corinthians 5:17, Jeremiah 24:7, Hebrews 10:16-17

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PURE HEART

When a baby is born, he or she has all the body parts.

They simply need to be developed.

When you were born into the Kingdom of God, you received all you need to practice living with a pure heart. Your new heart needs to be developed!

The first thing we need to do is to ask ourselves, “What is in my life that is more important to me than God?”

Is it my job?

Is it the fantasies of my thought life?

Is it my computer?

Is it the television, or music?

Is it my wife, children, or another person?

Is it sports?

Is it a hobby of some sort?

Is it my house or car?

Or is it myself?

James 4:4 – If I walked up to you and accused you being an adulterer or an adulteress, you would be ready to punch out my lights.

And yet how many of us are guilty of the worse kind of Spiritual adultery, putting something or someone ahead of God?

This is why we are not pure in heart!

What can we do about it? James 4:7:10, Revelation 2:4-5

After confessing our sins, we need commit our full loyalty to Christ. Romans 12:1

It would be good to adapt some of the prayers of David to our own lives. Psalm 86:11, 63:1-2

And remember, because Jesus is with us continually, we can abide in Him and He in us. As we do that, we will pattern our behavior after Him. John 15:4-5,7

Maintaining a pure heart is a continuous process.

The Lord will empower you to do it.

But you must work at it.

THE DELIGHT OF A PURE HEART

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

There is reward for being pure in heart.

First of all, every person who has become a Christian will literally see God. 1 John 3:2-3

But as we maintain a pure heart now God will reveal Himself to us. There are ways in which we will see God even before we get to Heaven.

According to Warren Wiersbe, the pure in heart will see God in at least three different areas. .” Warren Wiersbe, Live Like a King (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1976), p. 119-122

The Pure In Heart Will See God in Creation

When we are focused on God, we will appreciate His work throughout all creation. We will recognize his magnificent hand at work. Psalm 19:1

The Pure in Heart see God in Circumstances. Romans 8:28

The Pure in Heart See God in His Word.

When you are pure in Heart your understanding of the Word of God whether being read or preached will increase.

You will see truth “jump off the page” when you are pure in heart!

One of the reasons God speaks to hearts that are pure is because those with pure hearts want God to speak! Psalm 119:18

(This message may be used as an individual sermon or as part of the series.)

MATTHEW 9:23-27 – STORMY WEATHER

LIFE OF CHRIST #24

We all face trials and troubles often. It is what Cole Porter called “Stormy Weather” in a song that he wrote.

There were a couple of times when the disciples faced storms on the Sea of Galilee.

As we look at this story about literal storm, we also learn lessons about the figurative storms that cause trials and troubles in our lives. Let’s see what lessons we can learn this morning about stormy weather.

STORMY WEATHER IS BEST FACED WHEN JESUS IS IN THE BOAT

Vs. 23 – Think of the boat as our lives.

Although God is present everywhere, there is a special sense in which God is present in our lives. When He indwells us, He has taken up special residence inside of us. John 14:16-17

God the Holy Spirit dwells inside of the Christian.

He is there to guide us, protect us, keep us, teach us, and comfort us.

And God has promised the Christian that this presence is unending! Hebrews 13:5-6

You have heard people say, and might have said yourself, “I wouldn’t want to face this problem without the Lord!”

How true! If God is willing to take up residence in our lives through his Holy Spirit it would be dumb not to avail ourselves of His presence.

When you trust Christ as your payment for sins, you are what the Bible calls, born again, by the Spirit of God. And God the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your life. Romans 8:9

If you have truly trusted Christ as your Savior, you have God’s presence in your life no matter what the storm may be. Make sure that you have Christ in the boat that is your life!

STORMY WEATHER RESULTS FROM OBEDIENCE

Vs. 23 – The Lord Jesus entered the boat. The disciples followed Him into the boat. It was the Lord Jesus who decided where they were going. Luke 8:22

The disciples ended up in a storm on the Sea of Galilee because they were following Jesus in obedience.

Of course, being obedient to God as a Christian and following Jesus’ leadership in our lives is the right thing to do. Luke 9:23-24

Following Jesus after trusting Him for forgiveness does not mean that it will be an easy life. In fact, we will have storms. 2 Timothy 3:12, James 1:2-4

The storms that Jesus leads through will make us strong and mature. And I’d rather follow Jesus in the middle of a storm than to not follow Jesus. Being in the center of the Lord’s will is always the safest place to be.

But you’ll also face storms if you’re not obedient to God.

Would you rather face storms being in the center of God’s will, or out of God’s will? Which makes the most sense?

STORMY WEATHER IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

Vs. 24 – I don’t have to tell you how dangerous storms can be. Just consider last year’s tsunami and hurricanes Ivan and Rita.

This storm was a very violent storm, and even seasoned fishermen like Peter, Andrew, James, and John were having trouble with it.

The storms of life which we face are also dangerous.

Sometimes we will be in physical danger because of persecution, accidents or illness.

Other times we are in emotional danger with our “storms” threatening to overwhelm us with fear and/or depression.

Other times we are in Spiritual danger, with Satan’s attacks challenging us to give up or to sin.

And this verse alludes to another danger. We might be concerned because in the midst of the storm God appears to be asleep. He does not seem to be responding to our problems during the storm. He seems to be silent.

Our Lord Jesus was able to sleep because He had a human body that got tired. He was also able to sleep because, being sinless, He had a clean conscience. He was also able to sleep, because He quietly allowed Himself to rest in the hands of His loving Heavenly Father.

If you are doing what is right before the Lord, confessing your sins as a Christian, and striving to live for Him, don’t panic when God appears to be asleep. He’ll show Himself to be very much alive at just the right time.

STORMY WEATHER INVOKES FEAR AND PANIC

Vs. 25 – When storms come we tend to fear. And sometimes when storms come we will go into a panic. The situation seems to be absolutely hopeless!

Humans tend to be fearful. If we didn’t tend to be fearful, God would not have put so many verses in the Bible telling us not to be afraid. I’ll just give you two samples, but there are many more “do not fear” verses in the Bible. Psalm 27:1, Isaiah 41:10

We tend to fear and worry about what might happen but hasn’t happened.

We tend to fear and worry about the future.

We tend to fear and worry about the opinions of others.

We tend to fear and worry about our children, our parents, our spouses.

Then comes the times our problems are so real to us that they tend to overwhelm us. We hit the panic mode.

Yes, many fears are justified. But there is a proper way to handle fear.

These seasoned fishermen were literally in over their heads and they knew it, coming to Jesus in panic.

STORMY WEATHER REQUIRES PRAYER AND FAITH

Vs. 25 – The disciples awoke the Lord Jesus.

Their anxious prayer was an indication that they had come to the end of themselves, and that they had at least a little faith that Jesus could help.

I personally think that they waited too long to ask Jesus for help. The moment things got a little stormy, I think they should have come to Him.

We are like that. If things seem to be just a little stormy or troublesome, we’ll just worry over it and try to solve it ourselves, instead of bringing it to God right away.

But when problems get full blown, we come in a panic with a little, but not much faith that God can help. Philippians 4:6, James 1:5-8

Vs. 26 – Note that Jesus did not rebuke the disciples for waking Him up. Like I said, I feel that He would have welcomed being woken up sooner.

Notice our Lord’s calm rebuke in the midst of the storm.

He was not in a panic. He’s totally under control. He can even take the time to rebuke the disciples before He did anything. He is master of the situation.

Let’s remember when we give our stormy problems to God He is not in a panic. He can solve the problem leisurely if He chooses to. There is no reason to get in a dither or bent out of shape.

STORMY WEATHER REVEALS THE GLORY AND POWER OF GOD

Vs. 26 – Jesus said the word and there was perfect calm. It was like there had been no storm. There was no rocking of the waves that normally follow a storm. There was perfect peace.

When Jesus speaks the Word there is perfect peace.

Sometimes the problem totally disappears, but more often than not the place where the greatest miracle has occurred is inside of us.

We are at peace.

God has calmed the ragging in our souls.

Vs. 27 – The disciples were absolutely amazed! The Lord Jesus had done what they had never seen before. A human being told the storm to cease and it did. The winds obeyed Him! The waves obey Him.

They had a new appreciation for the power of Jesus!

They had a new appreciation for the glory of Jesus!

And when Jesus calms our storms, we too, should have a new appreciation for the power and glory of the Lord Jesus.

We should be amazed!

We should be filled with praise and worship.

We should be ready to trust Him when an even bigger storm comes.