Farmerville Church of Christ

Sermon Outlines

Sermon on the Mount #8

The Pure in Heart

By Bill Denton

INTRODUCTION

• A. We continue our study of the beatitudes which serve to introduce the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus
• 1. Together, the beatitudes teach us about faith -- how to have faith and how to be a person of faith
• 2. The beginning of faith -- poor in spirit / mourners / the meek
• 3. The growth of faith -- hunger & thirst after righteousness
• 4. The maturing of faith
• a. last week -- the merciful
• b. more on maturing of faith tonight
• B. Matt 5:8
  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (NKJ)
• 1. Warren Wiersbe -- "At some point in life, each of us must decide what is his highest joy; for the thing that delights us directs us . . . What we are determines how much we enjoy what we have and what we do."
• 2. We will discover that it is the heart of man that determines who and what he is -- it is his true identity
• 3. Who we are, what we are -- determines life
• 4. Martyn Lloyd-Jones -- "The gospel of Jesus Christ is concerned about the heart: all its emphasis is upon the heart."
• C. I read somewhere that scientists have discovered that at the heart of every snowflake there is a tiny speck of dust
• 1. On the outside it is a wonder of beauty, it looks clean and pure
• 2. In reality -- it's a dirty-hearted little snowflake
• 3. Someone may say, "Well, doesn't that disprove your point since the snowflake is known for its beauty and its symbol of purity?"
• 4. The answer is no -- I'm not talking about what it is known for, I'm talking about what it is at its core
• 5. When it comes to human beings, it's the same -- what are we at our core when you look beneath the facade or the dressing
• D. A mature faith reflects the tremendous change in the man or woman who has discovered their great need for God and who has sought him with intense desire
• 1. Faith changes a person on the inside
• 2. The result is not a cover, but a reflection of the image of God in the heart of the person

I. DEFINING THE TERMS

• A. The word "pure"
• 1. KATHAROS --
• a. clean (we get our word catharsis or cathartic here) thus the idea of cleansed or purified
• b. unmixed (a pure substance -- one not mixed with something else, like oil and water)
• 2. Note the use of the word
• a. Matt 23:25-26
  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. (NKJ)
• b. John 15:3
  You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. (NKJ)
• 3. Wiersbe -- "The basic idea is that of integrity, singleness of heart, as opposed to duplicity, a double heart, a divided heart.
• a. Ps 78:70-72
  He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; From following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. (NKJ)
• b. Ps 7:8
  The LORD shall judge the peoples; judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me. (NKJ)
• c. Ps 25:21
  Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You. (NKJ)
• d. Ps 41:12
  As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and set me before Your face forever. (NKJ)
• 4. This singleness of heart, the clear, clean purpose of the heart is that which keeps us focused on God
• a. Ps 86:11-12
  Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore. (NKJ)
• b. a pure heart cannot be mixed with worldly or ungodly things
• c. a pure heart cannot be characterized by that which is unclean

• 1. Sometimes it is the emotions
• a. John 14:1
  Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. (NKJ)
• b. Neh 2:2
  Therefore the king said to me, ""Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.'' So I became dreadfully afraid, (NKJ)
• 2. Sometimes it is the intellect or the mind
• a. Mark 2:8
  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, ""Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? (NKJ)
• b. Heb 4:12
  For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (NKJ)
• 3. Sometimes it is the will of man
• a. Dan 1:8
  But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (NKJ)
• b. Luke 21:14
  Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; (NKJ)
• 4. Altogether, the biblical picture of the heart is that it is the entirety of the inner man
• a. Prov 4:23
  Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. (NKJ)
• b. Matt 15:8
  These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. (NKJ)
• c. Eph 6:6
  . . . doing the will of God from the heart, (NKJ)
• 5. It is the heart that is the source of all man's trouble
• a. Jer 17:9
  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? (NKJ)
• b. Gen 6:5
  Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his t was only evil continually. (NKJ)
• c. Mk 7:21-23
  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man. (NKJ)

II. PURITY OF HEART IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF MATURE FAITH

• A. True Christianity is not simply a matter of reformed behavior. It is a matter of the condition and state of a person's heart
• 1. The poor-in-spirit person is the one without the prideful heart, and is the one willing to acknowledge he is nothing without God
• 2. The mourner is the one who realizes and admits to the true condition of his heart, damaged and wrecked by sin
• 3. The meek person is gentle, having lost any need or desire to take vengeance on the world, knowing his own need instead
• 4. The person hungry and thirsty for righteousness is the one whose heart has yearned to be fed with godliness
• 5. The merciful is the person filled with pity and compassion in his heart for others
• 6. Now we see that the pure in heart is the person who has begun to reflect the presence of the Lord in his life
• 7. At every point, it is not the outward behavior but the inner man that has become something new, something better
• B. Hindu trader in India once asked a missionary, "What do you put on your face to make it shine?" With surprise the man of God answered, "I don't put anything on it!" His questioner began to lose patience and said emphatically, "Yes, you do!" All of you who believe in Jesus seem to have it. I've seen it in the towns of Agra and Surat, and even in the city of Bombay." Suddenly the Christian understood, and his face glowed even more as he said, "Now I know what you mean, and I will tell you the secret. It's not something we put on from the outside but something that comes from within. It's the reflection of the light of God in our hearts. (M. Lloyd-Jones)
• C. Note the emphasis the Bible places on that which God does with our hearts
• 1. Matt 6:21
  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (NKJ)
• 2. John 7:38
  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. (NKJ)
• 3. 2 Cor 3:3
  clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. (NKJ)
• 4. Heb 10:21-22
  and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (NKJ)

CONCLUSION

• A. How's your heart? What is it filled with? How would it be described?
• B. Faith matured is a wonderful blessing -- it brings us into the very presence of God, and allows us to reflect the image of God in our lives
• C. Invitation