WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.720 So we're just, we're gonna, as I say, we're continuing in our series in Matthew, in Matthew 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:10.240 5, which we've just read. 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:16.039 And as I say, today we're looking at this issue of, the issue of purity, Matthew 5, verse 00:00:16.039 --> 00:00:23.320 8, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 00:00:23.320 --> 00:00:29.000 Now, I don't know if you've heard of the author H.G. Wells. 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:38.480 He was famous for his works of science fiction in the 19th and 20th century. 00:00:38.480 --> 00:00:43.039 Perhaps his most famous work was War of the Worlds. 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:48.000 There was a pretty bad movie with Tom Cruise made a while back. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:53.880 But one of his, his less unknown works is a short story. 00:00:53.880 --> 00:00:57.960 It's a short story called The Country of the Blind. 00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:02.280 And it tells the story of a mountaineer called Nunes. 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:06.039 He goes on a snow climb in the mountains. 00:01:06.039 --> 00:01:14.079 And on his, on his descent, Nunes enters a valley and he stumbles across a really unusual 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:15.879 but fascinating community. 00:01:15.879 --> 00:01:22.599 He notices that, that all the homes in the village, they don't have any windows. 00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:30.000 And he quickly discovers that that's because every single one of the villagers is blind. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.879 And the book, it's all about his relationship with them. 00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:38.879 He tries to explain what it's like to them to be able to see, but it's all in vain. 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:43.399 They have no understanding of what site is, to have their site. 00:01:43.400 --> 00:01:49.400 And in fact, what happens, even though Nunes tries his hardest, what happens is they deny 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:51.840 that site ever exists. 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:57.680 And they think that blindness, that blindness is the gift. 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:03.120 And there's this famous quote of Nunes where he says, in the country of the blind, the 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:06.719 one-eyed man is king. 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:09.560 But in the village, they don't see it that way. 00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:17.199 And they actually think that site is some form of madness, some form of madness. 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:20.080 Christianity is about seeing. 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:24.159 It's about seeing, physically and spiritually. 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:31.960 It's really about being able to see Jesus for who he is, to be able to see God. 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:38.039 And we know, don't we, that the world, the world is just, that it's just like that village. 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:45.159 We can attempt to explain who Jesus is until the counts come on, but we know that those 00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:52.359 who can't see who Jesus is, they think we're delusional, that we're mad and that secular 00:02:52.359 --> 00:02:55.399 rationality is superior. 00:02:55.399 --> 00:02:57.239 That's the real gift. 00:02:57.239 --> 00:02:59.399 That's the real gift. 00:02:59.399 --> 00:03:05.399 The beatitude that we're looking at this evening has two aspects. 00:03:05.400 --> 00:03:10.080 The impure in heart, so our motivations towards living for Jesus. 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:15.719 And then secondly, it's about seeing God, being able to see Jesus Christ. 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:20.680 Now, as I've said a few times now, we're in the middle of this series looking at the 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:26.159 beatitudes, which opens Jesus' famous sermon in the Mount. 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:31.319 The real thrust, I suppose, on one level, you could say of his whole sermon from chapters 00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:39.319 five to seven is Jesus is outlining, he's explaining life in the kingdom. 00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:47.479 He could perhaps even say that he's explaining the philosophy of the kingdom of God. 00:03:47.479 --> 00:03:53.799 What he's not, he's not outlining a checklist of do's and don'ts, but he's setting out, 00:03:53.799 --> 00:03:56.879 this is life in my kingdom. 00:03:56.879 --> 00:04:05.680 This is the beautiful life and it is a life that the living God is beckoning us towards. 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:10.840 He's saying, you are the people of God. 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:13.680 You are the blessed ones. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:16.000 So live as who you are. 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:18.839 Live as the blessed ones. 00:04:18.839 --> 00:04:21.360 Live the kingdom life today. 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:28.520 It's a challenge that's held out to all of us, live the life, the kingdom life today 00:04:28.520 --> 00:04:31.480 because that's the kingdom to which you belong. 00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:34.520 This is the kingdom to which you belong. 00:04:34.520 --> 00:04:40.879 Now throughout the whole sermon, it has a vast of applications of what kingdom living 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:41.879 looks like. 00:04:41.879 --> 00:04:46.639 Fundamentally, of course, you could, you could if you wanted to boil it all down to loving 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:48.720 God and loving neighbor. 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:55.720 But to provide detail on what life looks like, there's nuance, there's detail, there's specifics 00:04:55.720 --> 00:04:59.320 of what that means, what that means. 00:04:59.320 --> 00:05:06.680 And the aspect which comes up in this verse is purity, purity, the pure in heart. 00:05:06.680 --> 00:05:13.120 Now the pure in heart, that, it does, it is quite an abstract concept, isn't it, to be 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:14.640 pure in heart. 00:05:14.640 --> 00:05:18.080 And so we have to dig down a little bit and explore what that means. 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:22.599 What does it mean to live as the pure in heart? 00:05:22.599 --> 00:05:28.479 Now purity, I don't know about you, but it's not something I don't think that we talk all 00:05:28.479 --> 00:05:30.279 that much about day to day. 00:05:30.279 --> 00:05:35.879 I don't think it's something that's going to come up as a topic of conversation at work 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:37.120 as you're making coffee. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:42.719 I doubt it, as you're eating your lunch, it's not something that we talk about, is it? 00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:48.800 So the majority of people, I'd probably suggest that one of the rare times, maybe rare times, 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:52.960 depends how much money you have, is the word purity comes up in this when you're buying 00:05:52.960 --> 00:05:53.960 jewelry. 00:05:53.960 --> 00:06:01.480 And especially if people, you know, if they're buying precious stones, diamonds perhaps, 00:06:01.480 --> 00:06:04.280 jewelers talk a lot about purity, don't they? 00:06:04.280 --> 00:06:11.400 They talk about purity because the pure of the diamond, the higher clarity grade it has, 00:06:11.399 --> 00:06:13.639 it means it's worth so much more. 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:17.439 Like I said, I don't know, the last time you were in a jewelers, it's quite a while for 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:25.000 me, but you've probably seen it on films when you see the jewelry, it takes that like tiny, 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:31.079 magnifying glass, so it fits in the socket of his eye to inspect a diamond. 00:06:31.079 --> 00:06:37.759 When they do that, they're looking for what they refer to in the diamond business as inclusions. 00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:45.199 It's just a technical word for imperfection because the inclusion, the imperfection, it 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:52.639 affects the degree to which the diamond sparkles, affects the degree to which the diamond sparkles. 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:59.120 As the light shines on a diamond, the inclusion, the imperfection, it hinders the way the light 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:05.399 is refracted and it lowers the clarity because inclusions, they appear almost like cloudy 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:12.639 spots and so the less inclusions, the less imperfections, the greater the diamond sparkles, 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:14.359 the greater it shines. 00:07:14.359 --> 00:07:19.359 The diamond has a higher clarity rate and it's pure, when it's got less of those, it 00:07:19.359 --> 00:07:22.159 sparkles more and it's worth more money. 00:07:22.159 --> 00:07:28.519 But I just want us to notice the sparkle, the light that shines out. 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:37.120 It is dependent on what the diamond is like in the center of the stone. 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:42.359 The jeweler doesn't use the magnifying glass to focus on the light that's emitted outwards. 00:07:42.359 --> 00:07:48.039 No, he looks right at the center of the stone. 00:07:48.039 --> 00:07:54.000 The jeweler and the consumer, they're looking at completely different things. 00:07:54.000 --> 00:08:00.240 The consumer, they just want it to sparkle, their concern is the light that is emitted 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:01.519 or radiated out. 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:09.199 The untrained eye is not aware of what really matters, but the jeweler, the jeweler is concerned 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:12.199 with what's going on in the center of the stone, how pure it is. 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:22.879 You might even say at the heart of the stone, God is a master jeweler, but the jeweler 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:27.680 he's concerned with is your heart. 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:34.600 He cares about what's going on in your center because he knows that your heart is what makes 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:37.559 you shine. 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:42.399 The nature of your heart will make you truly sparkle. 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:44.320 And he's always been concerned with that. 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:46.840 He's always been concerned with that. 00:08:46.840 --> 00:08:49.399 The Old Testament saints understood that. 00:08:49.399 --> 00:08:55.399 The misunderstanding of the law comes when people believed that God cared more about external 00:08:55.399 --> 00:08:58.919 behavior, cared more about the light that was emitted. 00:08:58.919 --> 00:09:04.039 Now of course, of course, the two are interconnected. 00:09:04.039 --> 00:09:09.159 For out of the outflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:12.240 But the living God knows you can't fake it. 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:16.559 That on the outside, you appear to do the right thing, but it's coming from a bad heart. 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:18.960 The living God knows that. 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:24.560 You think you can buy a fake diamond that to the untrained eye looks like a precious 00:09:24.560 --> 00:09:29.840 gem, but jeweler's know it's worth nothing that it's not precious to him. 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:35.600 God has always cared more about the heart. 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:39.840 Of course, when good works flow from your heart, that's great. 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:41.600 That's what he's concerned with. 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:45.240 We see that in the, we see that that's always been the case. 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:51.440 The psalmist, Psalm 51 verse 16, you do not delight in sacrifice or I would bring it. 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:53.399 You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:59.240 He's talking about the old levitical sacrificial system, the law, but verse 17, the sacrifices 00:09:59.240 --> 00:10:03.879 of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. 00:10:03.879 --> 00:10:07.480 Oh God, you will not despise. 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:12.240 Jesus, one of the reasons Jesus had a problem with the Pharisees, you read later on in Matthew's 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:13.240 Gospel. 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:14.240 What is it? 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:20.360 He says, what do you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs 00:10:20.360 --> 00:10:29.080 which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:33.840 They look like they're doing everything right, but he says, inside your heart it's unclean, 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:35.560 it's coming from a bad place. 00:10:35.560 --> 00:10:40.519 They do what the law requires outwardly, but their hearts are far from God. 00:10:40.519 --> 00:10:43.879 They're not pure in heart. 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:48.279 Now just to clarify, let me just need to pause a minute. 00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:51.720 What do I mean when the Bible talks about the heart? 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:57.360 I had to do my best at explaining this to my six-year-old daughter Heidi when she said, 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:01.080 what do you mean that Jesus lives in my heart? 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:07.519 And if you were to ask her, Heidi, how many hearts do you have? 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:09.159 She'd say two. 00:11:09.159 --> 00:11:13.000 She'd say, one is my heart that pumps blood around my body and the other is the heart 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:16.360 of my soul where Jesus lives. 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:20.759 Now I know you might have questions about the exact theology of what's going on there, 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:24.840 but I think we're moving towards some kind of a right answer because what it's saying 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:30.440 is it's the control center for everything that we are, our emotions, our reason, motivation, 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:34.720 our personality, your heart is you. 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:43.160 Life in the kingdom of God, the beautiful life is to be pure in heart. 00:11:43.160 --> 00:11:44.680 We long for that, don't we? 00:11:44.680 --> 00:11:46.920 Do we not long for that? 00:11:46.920 --> 00:11:52.160 Where our emotion, reason, motivation is understand by sin? 00:11:52.160 --> 00:11:59.040 I heard of an older Christian who was asked, what are you most looking forward to about 00:11:59.040 --> 00:12:01.080 the new creation? 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:04.560 And he replied, I'm looking forward to just doing 00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:12.679 one thing with pure motivation, just one thing. 00:12:12.679 --> 00:12:17.879 It's frustrating this side of heaven when even the most godly thing you do still is 00:12:17.879 --> 00:12:20.319 tainted as mixed motivations. 00:12:20.319 --> 00:12:24.519 I can't wait for that day to do something totally pure. 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:31.519 And in one sense, as we read this, it should make us long for that glorified kingdom life. 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:37.079 Now we're not there yet, we're not there yet, and we all recognize how challenging this 00:12:37.079 --> 00:12:41.399 is because we know that we're not like that yet. 00:12:41.399 --> 00:12:49.960 However, Jesus is not exclusively talking about that consummated glorified life of the new 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:51.360 creation. 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:55.600 We belong to God's kingdom, we belong to it today, now. 00:12:55.600 --> 00:13:01.720 And the challenge, which is opposed to the world's live your best life now, is to live 00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:05.320 the kingdom life now. 00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:11.720 It is a challenge because the roots of impurity in our hearts go very deep, they exist in 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:14.399 the recesses of our hearts. 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:17.080 We're becoming pure, changing. 00:13:17.080 --> 00:13:22.720 It's not an easy process, it's a challenge and it can be a painful process. 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:28.279 You think the formation of a diamond comes when carbon deposits are put under extreme 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:34.360 temperature, it can take days, months, or millions of years and the pure of the diamond 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:42.120 comes because it's under more pressure at higher temperature and it takes longer. 00:13:42.120 --> 00:13:51.200 It means, it means when you're not truly in this life sparkling for Jesus, when the ugliest 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:56.360 side of sin, the impurities come out, when you lose your temper, when you pursue comfort 00:13:56.360 --> 00:14:01.920 instead of Christ, when you can't control your lustful desires. 00:14:01.920 --> 00:14:07.560 It means in those moments that you don't just think, oh well, never mind, I'll try better 00:14:07.560 --> 00:14:10.080 next time. 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:17.600 It means we have to be ruthless with our sin, we have to be ruthless with it. 00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:22.240 We must ask deeper questions, deeper questions. 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:23.759 What's really going on in me? 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:28.200 What's really going on in me that makes me do that thing? 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:30.399 What's really going on down here? 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:37.480 I just blew off in anger at someone, but what's going on in there that made me do that? 00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:42.040 Of course we need to repent of the outward sin that comes out, but we need to ask deeper 00:14:42.040 --> 00:14:47.000 questions of what's going on in our hearts that make us do that. 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:55.440 The deep questions, the nitty gritty, the real change happens in those moments. 00:14:55.440 --> 00:15:01.519 Sometimes, sometimes, it's not even a question we can answer and we need help with it. 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:03.480 We need to ask those questions to the Lord. 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:04.480 Lord, I don't know what's going on. 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:09.200 I don't know why I just flipped out at that particular issue and say, Lord, what's going 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:11.200 on in my heart? 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:16.639 And it's probably, it's the majority of the time when you know that that's going on, 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:23.199 it's wise to chat it through with a wiser Christian, an elder or a mature believer. 00:15:23.199 --> 00:15:27.879 But here's the encouraging thing. 00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:31.480 He's not left us on our own to deal with it either. 00:15:31.480 --> 00:15:35.439 The Spirit of God, the Spirit of God is purifying us. 00:15:35.439 --> 00:15:41.399 Removing the impure is the inclusions and we can trust Him to work in us. 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:44.759 We can't live the life of the kingdom purely now. 00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:47.439 We can't live as the pure in heart truly. 00:15:47.439 --> 00:15:52.960 We can't shine as the people of God without the work of God in our lives. 00:15:52.960 --> 00:16:00.240 And it's why, actually, in the context of the whole sermon, we have this assurance of 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:03.039 what happens when we pray. 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:08.879 Chapter 7 verse 7, we get these wonderful verses about praying to the living God. 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:10.840 Ask and it will be given to you. 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:14.560 Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. 00:16:14.560 --> 00:16:19.280 For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds and to him who knocks, the door will 00:16:19.280 --> 00:16:20.280 be opened. 00:16:20.280 --> 00:16:27.080 And I think the reason that comes after such a challenging way to live is because God is 00:16:27.080 --> 00:16:33.320 saying, I know the kingdom for you, on this side of heaven is challenging for forgiven 00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:34.320 sinners. 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:37.440 So ask me to help you. 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:42.320 If you ask for the kingdom life, the beautiful life, if you seek purity, you'll find it. 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:45.800 I'll open the door of purity for you. 00:16:45.800 --> 00:16:56.920 Purity of heart can be received, found, and I'll open the door if you ask, seek and knock. 00:16:56.920 --> 00:17:04.000 So we've thought about the pure of heart, what it means and what it means to live that 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:11.599 life, but also we need to address the second aspect of the beatitude, the result. 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:15.319 What is the beautiful kingdom of God life leader? 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:16.319 What's the result? 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:18.319 And we get this amazing statement. 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:24.079 It says that they shall see God, the blessed of the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:32.559 Now, before we go there, Derek said a few weeks ago that the beatitudes, they come as 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:35.799 a unit, that there's not one more important than the other. 00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:43.919 It's not like some people have a beatitude characteristic trait, but others lack it. 00:17:43.919 --> 00:17:49.559 One way that you could say that is every aspect of life in the kingdom is experienced by every 00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:54.960 follower of Jesus, every Christian. 00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:59.679 But I think we especially notice this, I think we especially notice it, the unity of the 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:04.400 beatitudes that come in these almost what you could call resultant clauses, because 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:05.799 they're all interconnected. 00:18:05.799 --> 00:18:08.560 You see they're all benefits of salvation. 00:18:08.560 --> 00:18:10.480 You see that? 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:16.279 God's people are the great beneficiaries from the divine benefactor whose benefits are given 00:18:16.279 --> 00:18:20.200 without reserve to all the following. 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:24.120 You read them, there's is the kingdom of heaven, they shall be comforted, they inherit the 00:18:24.120 --> 00:18:28.759 earth, they shall be satisfied, they shall receive mercy, they shall see God, they shall 00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:30.279 be called sons of God. 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:34.480 You can't have one on its own, you receive them all, they're all interconnected, and 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:42.079 you see the beauty, the unity of all in these word pictures, images of salvation. 00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:48.879 When I say imagery, I don't just mean sort of nice things to think about daydreams, but 00:18:48.879 --> 00:18:54.559 what I'm talking about is these things are rooted in Bible imagery, Bible metaphor, the 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:58.960 pure in heart are blessed because they see God. 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:07.079 We said earlier Christianity is about seeing God, but sight being able to see is deeply 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:10.039 connected to knowledge. 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:16.039 What we know, even physical sight, the reason we know color is because we've seen it. 00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:21.480 You can't explain color to someone, it's a descriptive terminology, you have to see 00:19:21.480 --> 00:19:22.799 it to know what it is. 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:27.039 You just try explaining green to someone, and it's the same with the living God, you 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:30.759 have to see him to know who he is. 00:19:30.759 --> 00:19:34.240 And the whole Bible talks about being able to see God, it's through the whole Bible, 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:41.680 the language of sight, and often the terminology that's used in the Old Testament and in the 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:47.559 New Actually is talked about of seeing his face, the face of God. 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:52.279 You think there's a few ways that you can know someone, you can hear their voice, you 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:56.480 can read their words, or you can see their face. 00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:00.759 And we're talking about sight. 00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:02.079 What does it mean to see God's face? 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:07.440 Well, you might remember Moses, Exodus 33, what does living God say to Moses? 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:13.399 You cannot see my face, for man shall not see my face and live. 00:20:13.399 --> 00:20:19.240 So one of the places when we read about God's face, it's a memorable picture, is that we 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:21.720 can't look at it. 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:25.559 And then there's this other idea connected, there's other ideas connected with the Lord's 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:31.360 face throughout the whole of the Bible, that is of blessing, blessing connected to the 00:20:31.360 --> 00:20:32.680 Lord's face. 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:36.680 The ironic blessing, number six, the ironic blessing, the Lord bless you and keep you, 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:41.519 the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:47.079 The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. 00:20:47.079 --> 00:20:53.639 The psalmist in the psalmist that we started off, the Psalm 27, one that we sung, the psalmist 00:20:53.639 --> 00:20:58.799 he seeks the face of the Lord wants to see the Lord to be in his presence. 00:20:58.799 --> 00:21:04.839 Then we move to the New Testament in 1 Corinthians 13, for now we see in a mirror dimly, but 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:07.359 then face to face. 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:12.319 Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, you see how sight is connected to knowledge, 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:15.199 even as I have been fully known. 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:20.000 And then right at the end, Revelation 22, the throne of God and of the Lamb will be 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:22.480 in the city and his servants will serve him. 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:27.720 They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. 00:21:27.720 --> 00:21:33.120 We will behold the face of God and see him as he is. 00:21:33.120 --> 00:21:40.600 And in one sense, that is the hope of every believer to see God, to stand in his presence 00:21:40.600 --> 00:21:43.640 and see him face to face. 00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:48.080 As forgiven glorified sinners that have been changed in the twinkling of an eye, that 00:21:48.080 --> 00:21:55.320 is the hope of eternal life that we long for. 00:21:55.320 --> 00:22:01.280 But then we think of another passage, 2 Corinthians in another sense, we have seen it. 00:22:01.280 --> 00:22:02.960 There's two kinds of sight. 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:06.759 There's physical sight that we have with the eyes that we've got, but there's spiritual 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:07.759 sight. 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:12.640 It's 2 Corinthians 4, for God who said, let light shine out of darkness, as shone in 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:19.280 our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 00:22:19.280 --> 00:22:26.400 To see Jesus is to see the living God and to see him is to know him and he gives us 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:27.880 eyes to see him. 00:22:27.880 --> 00:22:32.840 We don't see him physically, but we see him with the eyes of faith. 00:22:32.840 --> 00:22:36.240 We see him with the eyes of faith. 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:40.000 In Luke 18, Jesus heals a blind beggar. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:45.319 The blind beggar, whilst he can't see him physically, he knows who he is. 00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:46.319 He knows who he is. 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:47.839 He's seen him with the eyes of faith. 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:51.160 He shouts to him, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:53.839 The crowd rebuke him, but he cries all the more. 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:57.119 Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. 00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:01.200 He knows who Jesus is because he's seen him with the eyes of faith. 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:02.480 We live with eyes of faith. 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:05.039 We don't live by sight, but by faith. 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:09.240 Right, it comes again in 2 Corinthians. 00:23:09.240 --> 00:23:13.839 What that means actually, what that actually means is that we can actually read, in one 00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:18.519 sense, we can read the beatitude backwards. 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:19.920 We can read the beatitude backwards. 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:23.720 Because we have seen Jesus with the eyes of faith, because we've seen God, we must 00:23:23.720 --> 00:23:27.559 be the pure in heart. 00:23:27.559 --> 00:23:28.680 You see how the logic works? 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:32.759 If the pure in heart see God and we've seen the face of Jesus Christ, we must be the 00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:40.519 pure in heart, and therefore we must be a blessed people. 00:23:40.519 --> 00:23:45.839 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:48.640 There's one last thing I want to touch on. 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:51.599 There's one last thing I want to touch on. 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:52.920 How can it be so? 00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:54.640 We've talked about that. 00:23:54.640 --> 00:23:56.519 No one shall see God. 00:23:56.519 --> 00:24:02.720 How can it be so that if it is the pure in heart, if we still recognise him, we often 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:04.799 see all our impurities. 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:06.880 How do we piece that together? 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:10.880 How can the impure become pure? 00:24:10.880 --> 00:24:12.920 How can the impure become pure? 00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:21.120 How can we with our impurities stand before the face of God and live? 00:24:21.120 --> 00:24:26.000 You think when Jesus was giving this sermon, the crown didn't know what would happen to 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:29.079 him within the next three years of his life. 00:24:29.079 --> 00:24:33.279 The very reason they, and we, can live the life of the kingdom that we can stand before 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:36.960 the face of God and live. 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:43.240 The reason, the reason is that the purest heart that ever walked the earth, the Son of 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:49.119 God himself, Jesus would become impure. 00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:54.879 That though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, so that we through his poverty 00:24:54.880 --> 00:25:01.440 might become rich, that though he was the purest in heart, yet for our sakes he became 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:09.480 impure, so that we through his impurity might be the pure in heart. 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:19.400 As the gospel of Jesus Christ, he took our impurity, all of it, all the inclusions. 00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:30.880 In exchange he gave us his pure, his pure unpolluted, holy, sin-free righteous life. 00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:36.680 So that at Calvary when he died, all our impurities are washed away, and he would rise as the 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:41.560 diamond that would sparkle the brightest. 00:25:41.560 --> 00:25:46.519 And in union with him, we shine in the same way. 00:25:46.519 --> 00:25:49.759 Let's pray. 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:58.879 Almighty God, I thank you that we are a blessed people. 00:25:58.879 --> 00:26:06.480 I thank you that you've taken us as those who are sinners and totally in need of your 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:07.480 grace. 00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:12.200 And through the gospel, you've taken away our sin, you've taken away our impurity, 00:26:12.200 --> 00:26:14.720 and you've made us pure. 00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:22.480 And I pray for those areas of our hearts where we're impure, where we live impure lives, 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:30.600 I pray that you would search our hearts, that we'd know ourselves in a deeper way, and that 00:26:30.600 --> 00:26:36.279 we'd bring those things to you, and that you would change us by your spirit. 00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:41.440 And Lord, we long to see you, we long to know you, we long for our relationship with you 00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:45.200 to be go deeper daily. 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:51.559 And so I pray that you'd give us the desire and delight to look forward to the day when 00:26:51.559 --> 00:26:55.840 we will see you face to face where we will know you. 00:26:55.840 --> 00:27:03.759 And I pray that you'd send us out in the power of the spirit to live and work to your 00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:06.240 praising glory, we ask. 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:12.240 In Jesus' name, amen.