If you would open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5, it's on page 962 of your Pew Bible.
And let me read, let me read the beginning of this sermon from Jesus.
Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him,
just like we've come to Him today.
And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying,
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
May God bless the hearing of His word.
Well, if you are a follower of Jesus, if you are a Christian, you are a citizen of heaven.
You have been delivered from the domain of darkness, and you've been transferred into the kingdom of His beloved Son.
What Jesus says here is the kingdom of heaven.
And in God's kingdom, character matters.
In His kingdom manifesto, the Sermon on the Mount, which is Matthew 5, 6, and 7,
Jesus begins with an eight-point character profile of each and every one of His kingdom's citizens.
This is to be true of every one of us who are a follower of Jesus.
But I do have Google.
So I looked up what is an echocardiogram, and I'm summing it up, but this is what it is.
It's a painless process by which your heart in your chest is mapped by sound waves.
So there's an echocardiogram machine.
It gets hooked up, and it shoots sound waves into your chest, and an image is put forward of your heart.
So your doctor can see the structure of your heart fundamentally to make sure you're alive.
Also, the doctor wants to see the blood flow in your heart to make sure there's no kind of buildups within your heart.
And she's also checking for the right ordering of your valves.
So an echocardiogram, well, it's a tool to assess the physical well-being of that one-pound muscle pumping blood in your chest right now.
But this morning, these words of Jesus are an echocardiogram of a different sort.
His words are echoing through your soul.
And we're going to see some things.
It may not be painless this morning.
We know from Hebrews chapter 4 that the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.
It pierces joint and marrow and discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4.12 isn't talking about the muscle in your chest.
It's talking about this part of you that is the central operating system of your being.
These words of Jesus, blessed are the pure in heart.
It's his divine echocardiogram to help us see our own health of our own hearts.
And so this echocardiogram this morning is going to proceed in two steps.
Step number one, we're going to ask this question, what does Jesus mean by pure in heart?
We're going to spend the bulk of our time this morning on that phrase.
And then we're going to proceed to the second question, what does Jesus mean by this promise?
For they shall see God.
What I want you to help you to see is the pure in heart, well, they know they're not pure in heart.
But because of God's grace, they're striving to be pure in heart because they're in the kingdom.
The pure in heart strive to be pure in heart.
So let's ask and answer this first question.
What does Jesus mean by being pure in heart?
Blessed are the pure in heart.
What does that mean?
Again, we're not talking about the muscle in your chest.
Jesus is talking about a different heart.
And I just want to help you think, what does the Bible mean by heart?
First, when the Bible talks about our hearts, the heart is central to your being.
Your heart is central to your being.
The Bible talks about the heart as the operational center of who you are.
We see that in Hebrews 4.12, but we also see it in Proverbs 4.23.
Guard your heart above all else, for from it flow the wellsprings of life.
You live your life out of your heart.
Here's the thing, Americans make this head-heart split.
You think with your heart, and you think with your head, and you feel with your heart.
The Bible's use of heart doesn't rule that way.
The Bible talks about the heart as the seat of your thinking, of your emotions, of your desires, and of your will.
It's all in one spot.
And it determines how you live your life.
Any Star Trek fans?
I'm not talking newer Star Trek.
I'm talking old school Star Trek.
Yeah.
Captain Kirk.
Scotty.
Bones.
Spock.
If you were a Klingon, and you wanted to take over the USS Enterprise, where would you be beamed into?
The bridge.
Because the bridge of the USS Enterprise is the controlling center of the ship.
You've got comms there, weapons there.
You've got navigational direction, the throttle, whatever that looked like.
It's all there on the bridge.
Whatever controlled the bridge of the USS Enterprise controlled the USS Enterprise.
So it is with your heart.
Your heart is the place, the operational center of your life, and whatever controls your thinking, and your feeling, and your desires, and your will controls your life.
Your heart is central to your being.
But it's not just central to your being.
It's central to your worship.
What you worship.
It's your praise factory.
God has hardwired you for this.
There's 8.2 billion people on the planet.
And they're all hardwired to worship.
It's not if you're going to worship something.
It's what are you worshiping.
Etymology is the study of the origin of words.
and the etymology of the word worship is quite interesting.
It comes from an old English word, worth-ship.
It's where you are recognizing something's value,
something's worth,
and then you're responding accordingly to it.
And when we talk about worship in the context of God,
it's we are recognizing His unsurpassed worth
and we are giving Him the praise due His name.
Psalm 96.4,
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.
That is a function of your heart.
And so when Jesus says,
blessed are the pure in heart,
He's addressing the center of your being,
the center of your worship,
of your praise generator,
of your worship center,
and I hope you're starting to sense
how important your heart is to God.
Your heart is also central to your problems.
Yesterday morning, I gave a talk to the men of our church
on self-control and sexuality,
and at one point I said this,
when the world,
and what I mean by that is sinful humanity
in organized rebellion against God,
when the world sees someone doing something wrong or evil,
usually the world will explain that in one of two ways.
Nature,
they were genetically disposed to that,
or nurture,
well, they were raised in a context
that predisposed them to that.
Your Bibles tend to not disregard those,
but what your Bible will do,
what God will do,
is say the source of evil in human beings
is a nasty,
not nature,
not nurture,
nasty.
It's your heart.
The source of evil in each of us
is resident in our hearts.
When Adam and Eve sinned,
they introduced sin into the world,
into our experience,
and each and every one of us since
has been born with a sinful nature.
And so,
if you would turn with me to Mark chapter 7,
I want you to see how Jesus talks about it.
Any IT people in the room?
IT?
I don't even know what it means.
That tells you how IT-oriented I am.
But let's just say this.
If your heart is the operating system of your life,
sin is a wicked malware that came with it.
Listen to what Jesus has to say.
Mark chapter 7,
verses 20 through 23.
Jesus' disciples didn't wash their hands.
The Pharisees are like,
naughty boys,
you've been defiled in the eyes of God.
And Jesus is like,
no.
It's not what goes into you
that defiles you.
And then he goes,
in verse 20,
what comes out of a person
is what defiles them.
For from within,
where, Jesus?
Where from within?
Out of the heart of man
come evil thoughts,
sexual immorality,
theft,
murder,
adultery,
coveting,
wickedness,
deceit,
sensuality,
envy,
slander,
pride,
foolishness.
13 things.
Just,
it's representative.
All of these evil things
come from within,
and they defile a person.
John Calvin talked about
your heart as being
an idol factory.
Sin factory.
So,
so not only is your heart
the center of your being
and the center of your worship,
it's the center of your problems.
It's the source of sin in you.
You can't blame nature.
You can't blame nurture.
You got sin in you
that God holds you
responsible for.
Here's the effect.
It deadens you to God.
In Ephesians,
chapter 2,
verse 1,
says,
and you were dead
in the trespasses
and sins
in which you once walked,
dead to God.
And that's just not deadness.
You've been defiled.
Your sin defiles you
in God's eyes.
That's what Jesus' point is
in Mark 7.
And it's just not that.
Sin brings about
a disorder of loves
in your heart.
It's the whole point
of Romans chapter 1.
You exchange the truth
of God for a lie.
You exchange the creator
for the creator created.
And you're going to have
idols all abounding.
It disorders your loves.
You start to put
created things
over the creator.
That's a sinful
disordering.
That's called idolatry.
Your heart
is central
to your problems.
Anybody want some good news?
your heart
is central
to God's work
of salvation.
Do you know
what's amazing
about God's love?
We were just singing
about it.
For God so loved
the world.
Sinful humanity
and organized rebellion
against God.
For God so loved
the dead
in their sin.
The defiled
in their sin.
The disordered
loves
of sinful humanity.
For God so loved
the world
that he gave
his only begotten son.
It's not that
we're
lovable.
It's that
he is loving.
And in his
great love
for us
he carries
out a work
of salvation
that addresses
this sin problem
deep within
us.
In fact
Zach alluded
to it in his
prayer.
This has always
been the plan.
In Ezekiel
chapter 36
we hear this
prophecy.
I will sprinkle
clean water
on you
and you shall
be clean
from all your
uncleanliness
and from all
your idols
I will cleanse
you.
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
and I will
put my
spirit within
you
and cause
you to
walk in
my statutes
and be
careful to
obey my
rules.
You see
in the
new
covenant
that was
established
by Jesus
on the
cross
he brought
in
Ezekiel
36.
Salvation
now at
its essence
is a
heart
transplant
by the
miracle
of the
Holy Spirit
working in
you.
He
removes
your
stony
heart
that was
dead to
God
and replaces
it with
a fleshly
living heart
wanting to
obey
God.
What a
glorious
plan.
It's
something only
God can
do and
that gets
us at
the power
of the
gospel of
Jesus
Christ.
When a
sinner
dead in
their sin
defiled by
sin
disordered by
sin
puts their
faith in
the Christ
who died
and was
raised for
their sin
that alone
has the
power to
flip a
human being
from being
a worshiper
of sin
to a
worshiper
of God.
That alone
changes their
hearts.
It's a
miracle.
It's a
miracle.
Ephesians 2
talks about it
as being
dead in
sin but
God made
us alive
in Christ.
Your
heart
is very
important to
God.
He sent
Jesus
to change
your heart.
So you
may be
asking,
okay,
why is
Jesus
getting to
the heart
now in
the Beatitudes?
We're on
Beatitude
number six.
If the
heart is so
important,
why is
he talking
about it
now?
He's been
talking about
it all
along.
Poor in
spirit,
where do you
think that
is?
Mourning
your sin,
where do you
think that
comes from?
Being meek,
humble,
of heart?
What do you
think hungering
and thirsting
for righteousness
is?
It's a
heart
posture.
What do you
think mercy
flows from?
Oh,
he has been
talking about
the heart
all along
here.
He just
gets explicit
right now.
But then,
for the rest
of the sermon,
for the rest
of the sermon
on the mount,
he pounds
the heart.
He goes
after the
internals.
It's one
big echo
cardiogram of
a sermon.
God's
God
so much
so
that
Jesus,
God in
the flesh,
suffered
God's
wrath
on the
cross
for you
and then
was raised
from the
dead
to give
you a
new
heart.
Blessed
are the
pure in
heart.
Blessed
are those
who God's
grace has
fallen upon,
whose the
spirit has
given new
life,
who've
gone from
being dead
to alive.
Blessed
are the
pure in
heart.
Your
heart's
important.
You live
out of your
heart.
Now let's
talk about
this word
pure.
Blessed
are the
pure in
heart.
What is
this
purity
business?
Well,
at least
implied,
this
purity
that
Jesus
is
talking
about
is not
a
self-generated
purity.
The purity
that he's
talking about
here,
it's a
made
alive
purity.
This is a
purity in
your heart
that doesn't
come from
your wicked
heart.
This is a
purity that
comes from
the God
who's made
you alive.
life.
There's no
way human
obedience and
works can
bring about
a spiritual
life that
brings about
a purity
of heart
to a
heart that
is dead
and defiled
and disordered.
The purity
first and
foremost that
you need to
understand
is a
living
purity.
This is a
spirit made
alive purity.
This is a
born again
John 3
purity.
Given a
new heart,
the spirit
blows where
he wishes.
Not just
that,
it's a
purity that
has brought
someone who's
dead into
spiritual life
by the
spirit of
God.
It is a
washing
clean by
the blood
of Jesus
purity.
It's a
washing
clean of
the defilement
that made
us so
grievous in
God's sight.
It's referred
to in
Ezekiel 36
as that
sprinkling
clean.
It's in
Isaiah 1.8,
come let us
reason together
so that your
sins that are
scarlet can be
washed white as
snow as
wool.
That's the
cleaning we're
talking about
here.
When the
Bible talks
about cleaning,
purity,
it's talking
about forgiveness
of your
sins,
of making
you clean
in God's
sight.
There's this
great passage
in Colossians.
It uses a
little different
language,
but you'll
get it.
In Colossians
2.13,
we read
this.
And you,
who were
dead in
your
trespasses,
in the
uncircumcision
of your
flesh,
God made
alive together
with him,
having forgiven
us all our
trespasses.
By canceling
the record of
debt that
stood against
us with its
legal demands,
this he set
aside,
nailing it to
the cross.
The forgiveness
of sins is being
talked about as a
cancellation of
debt in this
context,
but we can talk
about it as being
washed clean,
by the blood of
Jesus.
It's another way,
another description
of it.
There is a
fountain filled
with blood drawn
from Emmanuel's
veins, and
sinners plunged
beneath that
flood lose all
their guilty
stains.
This washed
clean, this
purity in
heart is a
cleansing that
comes from the
shed blood of
Jesus on the
cross, in
which covering
you, it's
cleansed you.
It happens at
the moment you
believe, at your
conversion.
There's this
positional cleansing
in which you've been
forgiven of all of
your sin, past,
present, and future.
It is a yes and
amen.
And then there is
this ongoing need
for cleansing,
because even
though the penalty
of sin has been
paid, the power of
sin has been
broken, the
presence of sin
remains, which
means even though
I've been made
pure positionally, I'm
going to continue to
sin, and I'm going to
continue to need to be
forgiven, and I'm going
to continue to need to
be cleansed.
And so when we read a
passage like 1 John 1,
9, if we confess our
sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive our sins
and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.
There is this, you
have been made pure,
you are being made
pure, and you will be
made pure, fully and
finally and completely.
It's going to happen at
his appearing when you
see him, 1 Corinthians
15.
Your imperishable tent is
going to get swallowed
up by what is
perishable.
And at that moment, in
the twinkling eye, and
the blowing of the
trumpet, you see him.
And you're going to be
made new all the way
through.
That wickedness in you,
that idol maker in you,
gone.
All by the blood of
Jesus.
It's all the fruit of
his cross work.
His positional cleansing,
his practical day-by-day
cleansing, and then this
promised full and forever
cleansing that will come
where he deals with the
defilement of our sin.
Hebrews 10, 14 says it
this way, for by a single
offering, he has perfected
for all time those who are
being sanctified.
Or in the language we've
been using, for by a single
offering, by a single
cleaning at the cross, he has
purified for all time those
who are being purified.
But this purity is not just
being made alive from the
dead, it's not just simply
being washed clean from
defilement, it's having your
loves rightly reordered.
The effects of sin on our
humans, on our hearts, is
idolatrous.
We would oftentimes rather
worship at the altar of
comfort than to live fully for
our risen king.
When you got flipped, when
you were delivered from the
domain of darkness and you
were transferred into the
kingdom of the beloved son,
all by God's grace, a
miraculous work, at that
moment you got rightly
reordered.
Jesus became the controlling
center of your life.
He is the great one thing.
He's the great first love.
When Jesus comes to town and
he claims you as your own, he
is going to reorder your
loves.
In Matthew 22, a lawyer
approaches Jesus.
Can you hear?
What's the greatest commandment
in the law?
Jesus responds.
The first and greatest
commandment is to love the
Lord your God with all your
heart, soul, mind, and
strength.
And the second is like it.
To love your neighbor as
yourself.
These two great love
commandments, all of the
prophets hang on them.
God's love.
And it's for us a reordering
of our loves.
He is going to want to
reorder in you on a daily
basis a love for God first
and foremost that controls
everything, even your love
for your neighbor.
It's a reordering of our
loves.
You could say it this way.
You were redeemed to live for
the glory of God.
And so if you're following me,
this purity of heart is being
made alive by the spirit,
being washed clean by the blood
of Jesus, and now you've been
reordered, realigned to live for
the glory of God.
How about that for purity in
heart?
So what is purity in heart?
Well, it's a heart that's been
made alive by the spirit, washed
clean by the blood of Jesus, and
it's a person who is now living
for the glory of God.
Blessed, blessed are the pure in
heart.
It shows that they have been
graced of God.
It's at this point, though,
I've got to let you know about
something.
The book of Matthew is very, the
structure of the book is
beautiful.
Here are these eight beatitudes
at the beginning of the book, and
towards the end of the book, in
Matthew 23, we have seven woes.
Jesus speaking woe on the scribes
and the Pharisees.
They are the opposite of being
pure in heart.
They emphasize being clean on the
outside, of having a righteousness
that everybody can see.
Let me just read to you what Jesus
has to say to them in Matthew
chapter 23.
This is verses 25 through 27.
Jesus says this.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites!
For you clean the outside of the cup
and the plate, but inside they are
full of greed and self-indulgence.
Those are heart products.
You blind Pharisee, first clean the
inside of the cup and plate, that the
outside also may be clean.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites!
For you are like whitewashed tombs,
which outwardly appear beautiful,
but within are full of dead people's
bones and all uncleanness.
Cleanness!
So you also outwardly appear
righteous to others, but within you
are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Jesus is making a stark contrast
between the blessed ones of his
kingdom who are pure in heart,
and not necessarily perfect in heart,
but striving for purity,
and these Pharisees, woe to them!
They're under God's curse!
They're not in the kingdom,
because they're dead in their sin!
They're defiled!
They're disordered!
It's a sober warning for us.
And it gets at something that is
essential to what it means to be
pure in heart.
Your heart is aimed at one thing.
Jesus.
Treasure Him above all else.
It's an undivided heart.
A pure heart is a heart that has a
singularity of purpose and focus.
Treasuring Jesus above all else.
Okay, I'm going to bring you now
in this echocardiogram.
We're going to get some specific work
done.
When Jesus speaks of being pure in heart,
it applies to your anger.
In 521, Jesus says,
You have heard that it was said,
to those of old,
you shall not murder,
and whoever murders
will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you,
that everyone who is angry
with his brother
will be liable to judgment.
Whoever insults his brother
will be liable to the council.
And whoever says,
You fool,
will be liable to the hell of fire.
Sinful anger
is an impurity of heart
and must be confessed.
Lust.
You've heard that it was said,
verse 27,
you shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
that everyone who looks at a woman
with lustful intent
has already committed adultery
with her in his heart.
It's not simply
not doing things externally.
It's what's going on
on the inside.
Lust is an impurity of heart.
He goes on to talk about
many other things.
One being hate.
Okay,
we are in a contentious
political cycle.
Right?
Election for president.
Listen to this.
Verse 43,
You've heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor
and hate your enemy.
But I say to you,
love your enemies,
even political enemies,
and pray for those
who persecute you.
Hatred towards others
is an impurity of heart.
Needs to be confessed.
He goes on to talk about greed.
He goes on to talk about anxiety.
He goes on to talk about
in chapter 27,
that if you are judging
other people
and not first taking the log
out of your own eye,
you are impure of heart.
Again and again,
this whole sermon
is one big echocardiogram
to not only expose,
for His Word
to expose us
and the way to respond to this
when you're seeing this stuff
in your heart,
which we all do,
is to say,
Oh Lord,
have mercy on me.
Pour out Your grace on me.
Make me pure
as You are pure.
Purity of heart
we're talking about
are those in the kingdom
who've been made pure
on one level,
but they're aware
of their impurity
on another,
and yet they're striving
to be pure in heart
because they've been brought
into the kingdom.
It's all by God's grace.
Now quickly to this promise.
Blessed are the pure in heart
for they shall see God.
This is talking about
when you will actually
lay your eyes on God.
It's when,
what Paul talks about
when faith becomes sight.
Right now we are looking at it
through a mirror dimly,
but then we will see
face to face.
This seeing God
is this literal
when you will be
in His presence,
in His place,
and you will see Him.
And the first time
you will see Him
is at His appearing.
And your Bible
has much to say about that.
In Titus chapter 2,
verse 13,
waiting for our blessed hope,
the appearing of the glory
of our God,
great God and Savior,
Jesus Christ,
1 John 3, 2
speaks of His appearing
and the purifying effect
it is to anticipate that.
It speaks of in 1 Corinthians 15
all the way through
the return of Jesus,
and it has this
strengthening effect
for those who are doing
the work of the Lord.
that you will see Him
with your own eyes.
This is a promise
for those of us
in the kingdom
so that we keep on
pursuing purity of heart.
What's beautiful
about the promise,
it has this kind of
anticipation of a future
seeing Him
as a present purifying effect.
Longing for Him,
pursuing holiness,
persevering.
What does Jesus mean
by being pure in heart?
Well,
He means that
those blessed of the Lord,
those who are in the kingdom
are made alive
by the Spirit of God,
that they've been cleansed
by the blood of Christ,
that they're living
for the glory of God.
They know they haven't arrived,
but they are continuing
to pursue greater degrees
of holiness and purity.
And what does Jesus mean
by we shall see God?
Well,
this promise is
that we're one day closer
to seeing Him face to face.
And the only way
He can wipe a tear
from your face
is if He's face to face.
So let me close
with just four questions
for you.
We've come to the end
of the echocardiogram.
Does your heart
need Spirit reviving?
Has sin
deadened your heart?
Dulled your heart?
Distracted your heart?
Cry out.
Don't wait.
Spirit,
revive my heart
that I would want
Jesus.
Are you in need
of fresh cleansing
from the flood,
from the fountain,
from the blood
of Jesus?
Don't,
don't wait.
1 John 1.9,
if we confess our sins,
He's faithful and just
to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
Is your life
out of order?
Are you putting
third things first
instead of
first things first?
Do you need
to go to your King
and say,
oh, forgive me, Lord.
help me
to treasure you
above all else.
You are the controlling
center of my life.
And finally,
have you forgotten
that you're going
to see Him
face to face?
Maybe this afternoon.
Take some time out.
Pull out your Bible.
read Revelation 19,
20, 21, and 22.
Pull out your Bible.
Read 1 Corinthians 15.
Pull out your Bible.
Read Matthew 24 and 25.
Where we're given
these sites of Him.
We're citizens
of the United States
in an election year.
But we're citizens
of the kingdom
forever.
So let's,
by God's grace,
strive
to be pure in heart.
Amen?
God in heaven,
we are so grateful
that you address us
so lovingly.
It's out of love,
Jesus,
you speak these words.
And it's out of love
for you
that we receive them
and we say,
oh, Lord,
thank you.
Would you purify
our hearts?
Would you
grow us
in Christ-likeness?
Lord Jesus,
we recognize you
as being
the purest
in heart
of all.
Thank you for dying
for us.
In Jesus' name
we pray.
Amen.
God.
Thank you for
God.
For God in heaven