[Beatitudes] Blessed Are The Pure| Benny Ho

i've been enjoying preaching this series uh in the beatitudes i hope you have enjoyed learning from it as well uh and remember that the beatitudes are not meant for us just to understand place for us to lift out and i think they are so applicable you can literally apply it week after week and we build our core values as the lord directs us so if you are ready let's go now to matthew chapter five i read again the entire beatitudes for you so that you always keep the big picture in mind okay so let's go now to matthew chapter five i read for you from verse one matthew five verse 1 onwards now when jesus saw the crowds he went up on the mountainside and sat down and his disciples came to him and he began to teach them and this is what he taught them he said blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted bless the meek for they will inherit the earth blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy now we have come up to that point last week and i trust that even as we read it a lot of things will be conjured up in your mind a lot of the things that we talked about a lot of things that you discuss in your connect groups they will all come back to you okay and and again remind us this is who we are then we now move to what we're going to be looking at today blessed are the pure in heart for they will see god blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of god blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are you when people insult you persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because great is your reward in heaven for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who will be for you that's paul father i prayed that this morning you will speak to us allow your word to become a source of not just instructions but it will be illumination to our hearts god i pray that your eyes should be open to see the truth of what it means to be pure in heart so that we might see god i commit this time of sharing to you now in jesus name amen amen this morning we come to one of the most profound of all the beatitudes blessed are the pure in heart for they will see god i think our king jesus was very very specific in stating this beatitude because he said blessed are the pure in heart not just blessed the pure but blessed are the pure in heart now what does it mean to be pure in heart i think the common understanding is that it's talking about a inward focus of god as ex as opposed to the outward focus of the pharisees now we all know the pharisees are always concerned about external holiness and purity but god was more concerned about what's going on in the heart it is about being cleansed not just from ceremonial defilement on the outside but it's about being cleansed from moral defilement in the heart and that's the focus of our of our king jesus as he inaugurated his kingdom and i think this idea of it being opposed to the external righteousness versus inward is consistent with the teachings of christ throughout the gospels for example matthew chapter 23 verse 27 jesus said this woe to you teachers of the law and pharisees you hypocrites you are like whitewashed tombs which looks beautiful on the outside but on the inside in the heart you are just full of bones of the dead and everything unclean and what is it jesus talking about here in matthew 23 he's talking about those who are righteous in their hearts and and who are righteous in their hearts and not just not just righteous on the outside but righteous on the inside not just righteous with their hands but also righteous in their hearts they are right not just in action right in attitude as well and jesus is dealing here more with our thoughts our motivations our intentions it's not just about doing the right things it's about doing the right things for the right reason how many of you amen that yeah it's not just about doing what's right but doing what's right for the right reason and the heart here that he's talking about is really speaking of the inner man with all of his faculties including the mind the will the emotions the conscience in other words this is the control center of man the heart the inner man your mind your view your emotions your conscience all these deep things and he said blessed are the pure in heart proverbs chapter 4 verse 23 the wise man says above all else guard your hearts for out of it flows the issues of life out of the heart everything flows so once the heart is defiled everything is defiled but there is another aspect another dimension to pure in heart that has to do with our relationships with god and with people okay it's not just about all the actions the attitude but it's also relational purity there is a that dimension that has to do with our relationship first towards god and then towards men psalms 24 the summit said in verse 3 and 4 in the new king james version listen to this one who may ascend into the hill of the lord who may stand in his holy place that's a very poignant question isn't it who can stand his holy place who can ascend the healer the lord then he gave his own answer the answer is this he who has clean hands and pure hearts those with clean hands and pure hearts and then he go on to define what he means by that by saying who does not lift up his soul to an idol and who does not swear deceitfully in other words in his relationship with god and with man there is no falsehood at all are you with me that's what he's talking about before god he does not lift up his soul to an idol before man he does not deal deceitfully that's what he's talking about here in short here is a man with authentic faith real with towards men but true towards god that's one of our culture pillars by the way authentic in faith my prayer is that every single member in fcc will become men and women who are authentic in our faith real in our faith which means what we are authentic with one another real with one another but we are true towards god see we i am according to what god says i should be matthew chapter 5 verse 8 now says blessed are the pure in heart that's what he's talking about but the question is this uh is it even possible to have such purity of heart now this is where let me bring you to this it is i want you to know that our hearts your heart your inner man was once the source of all of our troubles the heart is the source of all of our troubles because it is developed by sin jeremiah 17 9 the prophet jeremiah describing the human condition said this he said the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure who can understand it how many of you understand what he's talking about that our heart is actually deceitful and not only deceitful it's the most deceitful of all above all you know the heart is deceitful above all things and and beyond that he says it is beyond cure that means nothing you can do it's impossible to turn it around why is this is default by sin who can even understand it jesus put it this way out of that deceitful heart jesus said in matthew 15 19 for out of the heart comes evil thoughts murder adultery sexual immorality theft false testimony slander and these are what defiles a man and everybody agree right out of this deceitful heart everything comes out and everything that comes out is it's bad it's evil it's sinful but the good news is this brothers and sisters the good news is by the grace of god and the redemptive work of christ on the cross of calvary you and i have been given a new heart that all deceitful beyond your heart is no longer here we have exchanged it now for a new heart the writer of hebrews in chapter 10 verse 15 to 17 talks about this he says the holy spirit testified to us about this first he said this is the covenant that i will make with them after that time what time is that after the cross because of the cross says the lord i will put my laws in their hearts and i will write them on their minds and then he said their sins in their lawless act i will remember no more hallelujah brothers and sisters i want you to know this through the cross the impossible has become possible that which is beyond cure has now been taken away and we have been given a new heart that which is deceitful has now been made pure now we are partakers of a new divine nature you and i have a new heart in christ and interestingly this word pure when it is used in matthew chapter 5 verse 8 actually carries a connotation of becoming pure because of it being cleansed in other words you cannot clean your own heart somebody else has to do it for you and jesus did it on the cross and today we have a brand new heart that has been cleansed made pure by the blood of the lamb matthew chapter 5 verse 8 is now possible blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see god hallelujah i don't know about you you don't look very excited i'm excited because that which is impossible which man is now possible because of god i have a new heart you have a new heart turn to your neighbor and just nudge the fuller and wake him up by the way and then say you have a new heart you do we all have a new heart now and that word pure blessed are the pure in heart the word pure is the greek word qatar ross which actually means this free from corrupt desires sin and guilt devoid of anything false freedom from defilement of the flesh and the world this word pure actually have two basic meanings catarrhas the two basic meanings one is clean the other is unmixed clean and unmakes it is like pure milk that has no water inside okay it's like pure jam with no preservatives it's like gold that's been purified and then kept unmixed see it's pure gold okay and the heart that is pure is therefore one there is a next one that is unadulterated a heart that is single if you like it is a heart without division without hypocrisy without falsehood what you see is what you get it is authentic it is not an act it's like coca-cola we said it's the real thing okay it's a real thing this is not an act and when god saves us to the cross he did not just clean us up but he also is creating in us now a heart that is singular towards him hallelujah i like the way king david put it in psalms 86 11 teach me your ways o god that i may walk in your truth give me an undivided heart a heart that is singular a heart that is totally focused give me an undivided heart that i may fear your name king david is asking here for a pure heart one that is undivided now david may not have a sinless heart but he had a single heart are you with me he's not sinless but he's single he has one desire which is to pursue god a man after god's own heart jesus talked about this singleness of heart in his teachings later on in matthew chapter 6 verse 22 and 23. listen to this one the eye is the lamb of the body if your eyes are good your whole body will be full of light but if your eyes are bad your whole body will be full of darkness if then the light within you is darkness how great is that darkness and it says no man can serve two masters see it's about singleness of heart no man can serve two masters either he hate the one and love the other or he'll be devoted to the one and despise the other you cannot serve god both god and money it's not you should not or you you you cannot he's saying what you cannot it's not must not or should not it's you cannot serve god and money it's just an impossibility and here jesus is actually pointing to the fact that once the heart is pure there will be singleness of devotion singleness of desire singleness of direction it's one way no other way one god no other god having a divided heart will lead to divided allegiance how many of you understand that if you got a divided heart you will have divided allegiance it's like on my in my heart i want god but at the same time i want to be rich i in my heart i want god but at the same time i want to be popular you know i i my heart wants god but at the same time i want the pleasures of this world and once you have that you become divided your allegiance is no longer singular your life becomes very complicated every time you want to make a decision you got to think about this you got to think about that and this and that so many things you become a very complicated person but if you have one single heart nothing but god decision making becomes easy every decision is just made on the basis of i seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness all other things can then be added unto me you see and i think this singleness of heart is so important you we simply cannot serve two masters at the same time you can't you end up like the man wearing two watches one watch say 1201 the other one says 1202 which one do you believe you are confused man because you have divided allegiance that's where the problem is once there is wholeheartedness single-heartedness then there is no room for spiritual adultery in our hearts blessed are the pure in heart for they will see god clearly and this is what the apostle james actually called all of us out for you know in james chapter four verse four spiritual adultery he's saying listen to what he said in james 4 4 you adulterous people who is he talking to talking to the church you adulteress people don't you know that friendship with the world means anonymity against god therefore anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world has become an enemy of god all of us have been brought you know with the price of the blood of jesus and we belong to him god bought us with a price we already belong to him therefore we cannot flirt with the world the moment we do that you're already married to christ he purchased you already and then you flirt with the world then what have you become we become an adulteress people which is exactly what james is saying you're adulterous people see and what's the only cure for spiritual adultery how do you cure spiritual adultery he goes on to say in verse seven and eight here's the cure submit yourself then to god resist the devil and he will flee from you come near to god he will come near to you wash your hands you sinners purify your hearts you're double-minded that's the link again singleness of heart we must come to this place you know like the beloved in song of songs he said in song of songs chapter 3 verse 4 the beloved says i have found the one that my heart loves i held him and i would not let him go that's singularness of heart and brothers and sisters you know what all of us have found the one whom our heart loves and we what we need to do now hold on to him tenaciously refuse to let him go are you with me in young people i challenge you hold on to god don't let him go whatever don't my heart has found the one that my heart loves i will hold on to him and i will not let him go half-heartedness towards god is a terrible way to live it is a heart that is divided on one hand we say we love god on the other hand we chase after the things of the flesh on one hand we say we love the word of god but we won't even take time to read it something is not singular about that you know we said we sing you know purify my heart but at the same time we just go on sinning we claim to love god but we don't obey him and too many live under this dark illusion know that we can live a double life like that and still be close to god that is an illusion it's a dark illusion when we say to ourselves i can do all these things i can live this double life but i'm still close to god there's an illusion we need to break out from the reality is this to come close to god you must come clean with god and the good news is every time we come clean with god he does not chase us away he actually draws near to himself and every time you come clean god embraces you he pulls you in see and if we have the courage this morning to come clean with god i believe god can break into our life do a new work in us and then we can break free from whatever is idolatrous and many believers live half-hearted lives and then we accept that as normal we are not lacking in beliefs you know brothers and sisters we're not lacking in beliefs we are lacking in vision a vision of what the christian life can be when it is lived out of a heart that is fully singularly devoted to christ i think it's aw tozer who said this this world has not seen what a man can do what god can do with a man that is fully singularly devoted to him and it's true a half-hearted christian cannot please god bless are the pure in heart for they shall see god we need to learn to say with king david in psalms 57 my heart is fixed oh lord my heart is fixed fix your heart on him then there is no more duplicity there is no more double-mindedness then there is purity of heart singleness of heart you know every time we lift life like that no we keep one eye on god one eye on the world one eye on god one eye and the world one iron god the world god will god well after a while you iron you lose total focus become singleness of heart is what pleases god and you shall see god you know this must be the highest blessings of all you know to be able to see god how many of you agree to have this awesome experience of being able to see god have you ever asked yourself what does it mean to see god let me give you a perspective what does it mean to actually see god blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see god the very idea of being able to see god has been the longing of many godly saints of all moses for example prayed in exodus 33 verse 18 moses prayed now show me your glory he wanted to see god show me your glory david prayed in psalms 42 verse 1 and 2 as the deer pens for the streams of water so my soul pens for you my god my soul thirst for god for the living god where can i go and meet with god what is that it's a desire to see god right to have that intimacy with him to meet with god he said again in psalm 63 verse 1 and 2 you god are my god earnestly i seek you i thirst for you my whole being longs for you in a dry and parched land where there's no water i have seen you in your sanctuary you have seen god you know and beheld your power and your glory wow you think about that the saints of old they are longing you know for to see god that hunger that desire to behold god and i keep asking myself why is there so little of the hunger of god in the modern church why is there so little hunger you know to actually see god and counter god that way we have no lack of good programs good production good activities and even results in the church today because there's so many growing churches we have no lack of all these things but there's such lacking a hunger for a greater intimacy with god i ask myself why you know but we also know our god is so glorious he's so transcendent that no one can see god literally and survive how many of you know that if god really reveal himself to you we might just drop dead you know that's even the great patriarch moses cannot see god in all of his essence exodus 33 verse 19 and 20 when when moses says show me your glory what did god say to him the lord said i will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you and i will proclaim my name the lord in your presence i will have mercy on whom i mercy i will have compassion on whom i will have compassion but then he go on to say this but you cannot see my face for no one may see me and live this is the awesomeness of our god this is a transcendence of god god is not like us he is far above us he's transcendent you see and therefore what we need to do is fear him because he is not like he's not like man he's transcendent we need to restore brothers and sisters the honor that is due to god and i think sometimes there can be such a flippant familiarity with god that we can you know we can wash into a service 30 minutes late for worship for no reason other than just a habit of coming late i don't think that is good we will never do that to the prime minister of australia but we would do that to god and it doesn't matter whether the service starts at 8 45 or 10 o'clock or even 11 30 people still come late and the preacher is preaching his heart out and some of us zona we take our phone and we start going to instagram and facebook don't we even have respect for the word of god come on don't we even respect the fact that there is a real and living god right here meeting with us and i think we need to listen to that now please understand my heart okay please understand me i as your pastor i'm not angry or upset or offended i'm just sad didn't say my heart and i i say this not out of like i'm fed up but no no no no i'm not offended even if you don't listen to me and you you flip your phone i'm okay you know because i do this not not not for anything except that god called me to it but i'm just sad sad because i don't want you to miss out there's so much more of god that you can touch if only our heart is singular and intentional you hear me hear my heart i'm not upset or angry or anything like that it takes a lot more to get me angry but you know but the truth is this i'm sad because i want the best for you i want you to be able to touch the realm of god that we can all experience if we want to all it takes is a little bit of intentionality all it takes is a singleness of heart that's all now i understand there are many reasons why sometimes you know we don't do what we do it's okay but i want the best for you that's all isaiah 66 verse 2 right the prophet said these are the ones i looked on with favor who does god look on with favor those who are humble contrite in spirit and who trembles at my word have that honor respect fear of god and god will look on you with favor i want you to experience the blessings and the favor of our god in all of his fullness matthew 5 8 blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see god but if god in his essence cannot be seen then we need to ask ourselves what does it mean then how do i see god here's the thing when the heart is pure the vision is clear if the heart is pure the vision is clear our eyes always see what our heart loves and listen to me if you are seeking after god if your heart is singular and you really long for god you really want to see him then you know what you will begin to see god everywhere and in everything it's not just about coming to a church on sunday in the deep of worship in the holy of holies you suddenly see god it's not that it's because your heart is so pure you begin to be able to see god in everything and everywhere whether it's in the church at home in the marketplace in the schools you begin to see god at work everywhere for example once our hearts are pure and we are singular about wanting to pursue god we will begin to see god in his creation for example psalms 19 verse 1 the heavens declare the glory of god the skies proclaim the work of his hands have you ever noticed that the man who is walking closely with god will suddenly see like nature is very close to him why it's because your eyes are now open to see god at work it's always been there but it just never occurred to us because we're not our eyes are not open but when you get close to god suddenly you see god everywhere and in everything now you walk out into into the nature and all of a sudden the mountains reminds you of the majesty of god right the expense of the ocean is a reminder to you that god's love is unending you see the rainbow what's the first thing that comes to your mind oh god it's a covenantal god you look at the stars and it speaks to you of his greatness right the beauty of the flowers and the plants that speak to you of the generosity of god why would god put so much beauty in this world because he's a generous god when your hearts are pure the whole of nature comes alive with god blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see god if your hearts are pure you see god in your circumstances all of a sudden romans 8 28 is real to you because you have a singular heart to pursue after god you know all things will work together for good for those who loved him and are called according to his purpose i can go through tough times i can go through happy times it doesn't change the fact my god is good i see him at work in my life i believe that all of a sudden the christian with the pure heart that seeks after god he goes through tough times he doesn't make him bitter it makes him better because he recognized the finger of god engineering the circumstances of its life and they will trust god no matter what because their heart is singular blessed are the pure in heart we shall see god in nature in circumstances the pure in heart will see god in the unfolding of world events all of a sudden the newspaper is talking to me about what who god is and what god is doing all of a sudden the the history becomes his story all of history is his story about how god is enthroning jesus christ in the hearts of every man woman and child on the face of this earth and it will end on the day when he become king of kings and lord of lords and every nation tongues people and tribe will be represented before the king waving palm branches and saying glory glory glory oh god almighty we suddenly see god in history and then what's happening right now in the nations of the earth in the middle east the pandemic and all of that they are not random events they are the finger of god moving the nations of the world to prepare the way for the coming of our king we see god now in everything even in world events blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see god the pure in heart i tell you they will see god in his word all of a sudden i tell you the word of god becomes a living word because you have a singular heart you are longing after god this word becomes a life before there is a textbook now it's a living word of god you open up the word and it will speak to you and we don't come to the world anymore just to find out how to do life better you don't come to the world now just to find out how can i be a better husband how can i be a better wife how can i be a better businessman how can i be a better this better that i tell you what we don't come of course the bible will speak to us about all these things the bible have a lot to instruct us about how to how to live life because he's the author of life right the bible will tell you a lot about how to have a better marriage how to raise your children properly the bible has plenty of these things wisdom to share with us but listen to me brothers and sisters we don't come to the bible just as a book to learn how to live life we come to the bible to find out who god is we come to the bible to find out what does god say to me personally that's what the bible is for it's not just for us to figure out how to live life better this is not a self-help book this is a book to bring a revelation of god to our hearts and you know what you know the god of life you know the author of life he will teach you how to live life for sure but don't put the card before the horse this is not a self-help book this is the living word of god and it reveals to us who our god is you know god you will know how to live life i guarantee you that save the pure the pure in heart will notice john 7 17 says anyone who chooses to do the will of god and find out whether my teaching comes from god or whether i speak on my own if you really come to the word of god to find out who god is and what god says and you obey it you will find out if this teaching is true or not see we do not understand and then we obey that is instruction but we obey so that we can understand that's illumination it's a world of difference between the two with our minds we can grasp the facts in the bible it's with the heart that you embrace the truth and then suddenly it comes to life you think about the pharisees they were experts in the law men but they did not know god at all experts in the law but they don't know god at all why their hearts were not made pure but you and i have a new heart now and we can come to this book and let it speak to us john 5 39 and 40 jesus said to the pharisees you study the scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life that's true they are the very scriptures that testify about me jesus said but you refuse to come to me and have life real life but blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see god you know and best of all i tell you we see god not just in circumstances and nature and the word and and things around us but i tell you the best is this if you are pure in heart we can look forward to seeing god face to face in eternity that is the best on this side of eternity no one can see god and still live we will only see god to the eyes of our heart that's all we can do may the eyes of our heart be enlightened to see god right we see god through his word that's what we are doing now but the day will come second corinthians chapter 3 verse 18 says this and we all with unveiled faces contemplating the lord's glory are being transformed into his image from everlasting ever increasing glory becomes from the lord who is the spirit the pure in heart we now have our eyes unveiled we are being transformed more and more into the image of christ into the likeness of christ from glory to glory and we will come the day will come when we finally will see him face to face and that's where we're hoping for this is the hope of glory we all hold inside of our hearts first corinthians 13 verse 12 is a verse that goes like this for now we see only a reflection as in the mirror but then we shall see him face to face that's what i'm waiting for blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see god you know revelations 22 has this beautiful verse that we all should hold on to as our final destination it is no longer will there be any curse the throne of god and of the lamb will be in the city and his servants will serve him they will see his face and waiting for that day i will see him face to face and his name will be on their foreheads there will be no more night they will not need the light of a lamb or the light of a son for the lord god himself will give them light and they will reign forever and ever amen i am waiting for that day my friends the highest joy of men i think comes from cultivating the deepest part of man which is the heart and i tell you brothers and sisters this is the part that only god can see only god can see our heart he knows whether our hearts are pure or hearts are divided and jesus wants our heart to be pure so that we can see god when the heart is pure the vision will be clear but nothing robs us more from this heart pure heart singleness of heart than sin we mustn't let that come in nothing hides that vision of god from us more than sin then what do you do do what james chapter 4 verse 7 8 tells us draw near to god and he will draw near to you purify our hearts wash our hands you know and you take one step towards him he take ten steps towards you and we can walk out of this place knowing blessed are the pure in heart for we shall see god can i invite you to stand with me this morning i'd like us to sing this beautiful song purify my heart today and we make that our prayer purify my heart so that i may see you thank you lord i want you to put aside your notes in your bible for just a little while and take a few moments now just to allow god to speak to us

Channel: Faith Community Church Perth

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Length: 39min 29sec (2369 seconds)

Published: Wed May 26 2021