The eight
sermons from the Beatitudes display the development of Christian character as
each beatitude leads to the next. The
logical flow of these teachings should display the journey we make to become
disciples of Christ in the way we live our lives. Yesterday’s Beatitude was Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness. Today we look at:
Blessed are the
pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8
Our
outward behavior flows from the inward nature of our hearts. So, when Jesus said, "Blessed
are the pure in heart..." He was saying that what we all really need
is to be right on the inside. It is not about
external purity, but internal purity. God does not want us to go through the
motions that we think will make us a Christian or that will make us seem like a
Christian to the rest of the world. He
wants us to act with sincere desire from a pure heart.
Becoming
“pure in heart” is really the process of sanctification. It is seeking God with
all our heart and desiring God above all else.
When we are pure in heart, all our actions and intentions are based on
who we are in Christ. The choices we
make are a reflection of Him. We cannot
be double-minded and be pure in heart.
We cannot love sin and love God.
We may have struggles in sin and we always will aside from the power of
Christ. But if we sincerely desire Christ
more than anything, we can filter everything through Him and keep sin at
bay. We have to protect our hearts and
minds from sin as well as our physical bodies.
We will still sin simply because we are humans. But Jesus Christ provides the cleansing we
need to be pure in heart again.
They
shall see God means fellowship with God. If we allow sin to take up space in our
hearts, we can’t have fellowship with God.
Most believers don’t have many areas of weakness or sin. Unfortunately, it only takes one
weakness
to stand between the believer and a pure heart for God. All Satan needs is one tiny piece of our heart
to take us from Christ. It is sin that
stands between us and God and its removal restores fellowship. Psalm 51:10 says Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit
within me. Only God can restore the
purity to our hearts because of the sacrifice of His son for our sin and
because of His sanctification in our lives.
The restoration of the purity of our hearts will bring us to and keep us
in fellowship with Him.
Scripture to Claim:
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23
