The Pure in Heart

Happy Sunday! Have you ever seen a person who claimed to be a Christian do something very unchristian? It's confusing when our life doesn't match our faith. When Jesus taught this Sermon on the Mount, he was talking to a confused bunch of people. First and foremost, he was talking to the disciples, training them, and then there was a crowd there that day of people who were curious about Jesus's teaching.

And today, you and I are part of the audience as well. We've made it to verse 8 of Matthew Chapter 5 in The Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Now, that's good news. The crowd gathered that day wanted to know how to see God.

The religious leaders of the day seemed more intent on telling them how lost they were, as opposed to telling them how they could be with God. And that likely happened because many of the religious leaders had no idea about God. Sadly, the religious leaders of the Day in Israel were the Pharisees. They had made the worship of God confusing; it was so confusing it was really no longer recognizable.

They focused on the outside. They wanted to look religious. They dressed a certain way, they prayed in public, they observed rituals so that everybody could see their actions, and Jesus was not pleased. In Matthew 23:27, Jesus said to those people, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Fear like whitewashed tombs, which looked beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of bones of the dead and everything that is unclean."

When Jesus came to this earth, he came not only to give his life; he came also to preach the truth, to point the way. The crowd that day wanted to know the truth. They wanted a way to God. They wanted to cut through the confusion.

And Jesus let the crowd know that day what really mattered was our inside, not our outside. He put it this way: "Blessed are the pure in heart." Now, to the Ancient Man, the heart was not the pump that we know from Anatomy today. The heart was the mind. One author put it as, "The heart is the controls Tower of our life."

I like that. When our control tower is clean, good things happen. When our control tower is filled with filth, our actions will certainly reflect that. I read recently about the help that the Nazis received in World War II from some American businesses.

American Banks helped Hitler with money. Some American car companies sold trucks to the Germans. Oil companies from this country furnished fuel. Even some components of the buzz bombs were from American companies.

I found this quote interesting from what I read. William R Hawkins said, "When National Security and profits Collide, expect businessmen to be businessmen." When National Security and profits Collide, expect businessmen to be businessmen. Our actions are determined by our heart.

Today, you may look at our politicians and wonder, how can they do the things that they do? Are people in Hollywood, or neighbors, or family members, how can they do what they do? The answer is the heart, the control tower. Jesus is in the changing business. He changes our hearts; he transforms us.

I love seeing people change. Pure hearts can only happen with God's help; we cannot do it on our own. You likely know the story of David and Bathsheba. David was the king of Israel. The shepherd boy turned giant killer became king.

He was known for his closeness to God, for his Pure Heart. Unfortunately, he messed up. He failed to guard his heart, and as a consequence he committed adultery and even murder. The people who had their eyes on King David had to be confused. Thank God David repented of his sin and took care of his heart.

How do you do that? Read Psalm 51. It's a beautiful prayer from David to God. I want to read a few verses from Psalm 51. After his sin, David wrote, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion, blot out to my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin, for I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me."

"Cleanse me with hyssop," David prayed, "and I will be clean; wash me, and I'll be wider than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity." In verse 10, David prays this: "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right Spirit Within Me." "Created me a pure heart, oh God, and renew a right Spirit Within Me."

You know, I believe that David's prayer was answered, and the same God that granted David a pure heart does the same thing today to those who seek him. We are promised, when our hearts are pure, that we will see God. That's a great reward. Yes, that is talking about heaven and Eternity, but I think it's also talking about today.

The pure in heart see God in his word, and in nature, and in every day moments. God bless you as you look and see. Guard your heart.

Lord, thank you for the example of David. Thank you that his failure was not final or fatal, but forgiven, because he asked. Our forgiveness is not automatic; we must ask, and then you'll go about the business of purifying our hearts. Wash us, keep us clean, Keep Us close. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Thanks for joining me today.