Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?" And verse ten goes on to say, "I, the Lord, search the heart, I text the conscience, even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings."īut we also know that a change of heart necessary for salvation. The scripture tells us that the heart of man is anything but pure, in fact, it tells us the human heart is wicked. Now Jesus says that those who are blessed, those who enjoy a favorable position with God, who have this most fortunate state of existence are those who are pure of heart.īut we've got a problem. ![]() A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things, and an evil man, out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things." He said, "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. In Matthew 12:34-35 Jesus tells us that this true center of our being reveals who we really are. In Matthew 6:21 He says, "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Jesus referred to the heart frequently in His ministry. 4:29 we are told to seek Him with all our heart, or all of our being. In 2 Kings 2-:3 we are told to serve the Lord with our whole heart, or without a divided loyalty, and in Deut. In I Samuel 16:7 when Samuel is considering Eliab, David's older brother as the one he should anoint as king, God tells him, "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature, because I have refused him for the Lord seeth not as man seeth for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." In the Old Testament the word for heart is often interchangeable with the word for mind, thus giving insight into this idea of it being the center of our emotions, thoughts and spirit. It is this meaning to which our Lord refers in our text. It means the center of who we really are the epicenter of our being. It is used some 105 times in 98 verses in the New Testament. This is exactly how the word heart is employed in scripture. We say, "I love you with all of my heart." Or we say, "Let's get to the heart of the matter." Its our way of talking about the very center of a person's emotions, thoughts or essence. In our culture we speak of the heart as being that center. The Greek word here is Kardia, from which we get our word "cardiac." Every culture has some internal organ which it considers the emotional, spiritual and mental center of a person. If the pure in heart enjoy a state of blessing and privilege, what does it mean to be pure?Īnd what does it mean to see God? Is the scripture speaking literally or metaphorically? What is it saying, and then how do we make the application of this text to our everyday experience? Then we need to ask ourselves what is this purity about which Jesus speaks. ![]() What exactly is this heart to which Jesus refers? Certainly it is not the muscle which pumps blood through our bodies, it must be something more? This has brought them to the point of being saved, which means their sins were washed away and they have been made pure.Īs we seek to understand all that our Lord is saying to us in this text, there are several things we must consider.įirst of all, I want us to consider what the heart is. Those who have come to see their sinful state for what it is, they are the poor in spirit, they have mourned over their sins, been brought to the humility of recognizing their own inability to do anything about it and have thus hungered and thirsted for the righteousness of God and were consequently filled, as they received the bountiful mercy of God. Whereas the promises associated with the previous beatitudes talk about belonging to the kingdom of heaven, inheriting the earth, being comforted, filled, and receiving mercy, this one says is certainly one of the greatest because it offers us the promise of seeing God.Īs with all the others, this beatitude fits in sequentially with the others. We come this morning to the sixth beatitude which has to do with purity of heart and with seeing God. How Giving Makes You Joyful - Philippians 4.When You Feel Like a Nobody Going Nowhere - Psalm 139.Walking in Purity Before God - Matthew 5.Building a Godly Home for the New Year - Psalm 101.Sermon series: Going Right in a Culture Gone Wrong
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