Blessed Are The Pure In Heart

Text: Matthew 5:5-8; Hebrews 12:14

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God” Matthew 5:8

The statement in Matthew 5:8 was spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ as part of what is called the Beatitudes among “the Sermon on the Mounts”. Here Jesus was addressing not only His disciples but also the multitude of people who gathered to hear what He, Christ, had to say about the heavenly Kingdom.

There are two issues raised in the statement. First, the purity of heart, and second, the issue of seeing God at last. These two thoughts are reiterated in Hebrews 12:14. It is thus clear that except a man is holy, he cannot make heaven or see God.

A number of deductions can be made from the two texts referred to. One, God expects that our hearts be made pure in order to see Him on the last day. But how can the heart be made pure – the heart described in Jeremiah 17:9 as “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked…”

Two, He commands that we follow peace with all men. But the unsanctified man cannot follow peace with any man, not to talk of all men.

In the light of what the Scripture says in Genesis 6:5, “that God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”, one wonders how the natural man is to live in peace with all men without a change of life, without the heart’s transformation.

God told Moses, “thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live” (Exodus 33:20). To see God on the last day, our hearts must be purified, purged, made holy; and this is done only by the act of God.

Little wonder, therefore, that the sanctification experience is a must for all believers in Christ. As long as we live and hope for the second coming of Christ, we must follow peace with all men and live a holy life.

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The Will Of God For Believers

A remarkable difference between a believer in Christ and the unregenerated is the former’s total yieldedness to the will of God.

The sinner by nature cannot obey or carry out God’s will. He or she is controlled by self-will – the will of man – and daily desires to satisfy the cravings of the flesh. But as for the believer, his/her heart thirsts and pants after God’s will for therein lies his or her victory and success in life.

The true believer, like his/her Master and Saviour, declares plainly to all and sundry in words and deeds: “my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work. I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (John 4:34, 5:30).

To glorify and worship the Lord in thoughts, words and deeds are the believer’s ambitions. Moreover, through prayer, diligent searching of the Scriptures and counseling from Spirit-filled Bible believing Christian leaders, the true believer finds out what the will of God is for him/her in every area of his/her life. His/her understanding of what the will of God is for his/her makes him/her to be more committed in doing it.

However, God’s revealed will for us may be contrary to our expectations, unpleasant to the flesh and dissatisfying to well-wishers and sympathizers. Yet, true believers will receive this with joy and “in everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning them” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

It is God’s will that we should be sanctified and live in holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Also, the uprightness of character that God expects us to maintain in our relationship to sinners and rulers is explicitly outlined in 1 Peter 2:11-17. Our consecration and commitment to holy living and obedience to civil authorities, as much as this does not conflict with the Scriptures, is part of God’s will for us in order to silence the ignorant and the foolish.

Nevertheless, we are not to be conformed to this world as we are but strangers and pilgrims here on earth. Essentially, whatever will take salvation from us, defeat our testimony in Christ or diminish God’s glory in our lives is not the will of God.

As Christians, it behooves on us to daily examine ourselves whether we are still in the faith and doing the will of God. For those who know and do God’s will are those that Christ recognizes as His brother, sister and mother (Mark 3:35; Matthew 12:50; Luke 8:21).

Mere profession of Christ as Lord, regular church attendance, giving of tithes and offerings, attending vigils and engaging in other church programs do not guarantee entrance into the kingdom of God. Only those who do the will of God will abide in the presence of the Lord forever.

Now, in all honesty and sincerity of heart ask yourself this question: are you doing the will of God for your life?

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Character Of A Christian

Text: Matthew 5:1-6

Key Verse: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6)

John Hill Aughey, one of the notable gospel ministers, said: “Holiness consists of three things – separation from sin, dedication to God, transformation into Christ’s image. It is in vain that we talk about the last, unless we know something experimentally about the first.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the verse above, pointed out some salient issues about Christian conducts. When a great multitude followed Him, He went to the mountain where He taught them what they should know about true fellowship with God, which obviously would make them enjoy life on earth and in heaven.

Remarkably, Jesus pointed out that nobody would be able to make heaven without being poor in spirit. Heavenly-minded people should not be haughty, but be humble and lowly. They must acknowledge their spiritual wretchedness, bewail their guilt and thirst after God.

For those who mourn for their spiritual state, Jesus assured that they will be comforted and filled with happiness. Their godly sorrow will enable them have true repentance, become watchful of everything they do and continue to depend on God wholeheartedly.

Jesus equally taught of the benefit of meekness, pointing out that those who quietly submit to God and bear all insults patiently would inherit the kingdom of God. Those who are meek would always live peaceably with everybody.

These teachings of our Lord are still relevant to us today. Our desires of spiritual blessings must be earnest. At every moment, we should be friendly with everyone, not being proud or feel that we know more than others.

“Nothing so clearly discovers a spiritual man as his treatment of an erring brother.”

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We Must Be Examples

Key Verse: “And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: so that ye were examples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia” (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7)

Now that we have become believers in Christ there are few things that are now required of us, one of those things is to be an example to others; those who believe and to those who do not believe.

We are under a microscope; people are trying to see if we live the life that we proclaim. They are looking to see if we ‘walk the walk’ as well as we ‘talk the talk’. Those in the world are looking at us waiting for us to make a mistake so that they can accuse us of being a hypocrite, but those in the church are looking to us to be an example that they can look up to.

As we begin to mature in Christ those who are babes look to us as an example of how they should live their lives. We must live our lives in holiness and teach those who are young in the faith to do the same. There are several ways in which we must show ourselves as an example to those who believe.

In 1 Timothy 4:12, the Bible teaches us, “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” These were the instructions Paul gave to Timothy because he was a young man. Paul instructed Timothy to be an example to those in the church.

We must be as Paul and begin to teach those who are young in the faith how they should live Christ-like. It is during this time we are best able to teach them how to live and to instruct them in the ways of holiness. We must teach them to be an example in word: the things we say will very often show what is in the content of our heart.

We must teach those who are young in Christ that they must allow the Holy Spirit to change their hearts so that their conversation will begin to change. Jesus tells us in Luke 6:45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”

Paul then tells Timothy that he must be an example in charity or love. This is important because Jesus said this is the first commandment. In Mark 12:30-31 Jesus tells us, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

We must show them love! We must show that we love the Lord, and we do this by obeying His commandments. We must love our neighbors as we love ourselves; we show this by giving to those who are in need and not being selfish. When God blesses us, we must in turn bless others.

The story of the Good Samaritan is an example of loving thy neighbor (Luke 10:26-37). We must be an example in spirit; this is to say we must be of a humble spirit and to be forgiving. We must also exhibit a spiritual walk with God. Romans 8:14 tells us, “Those who are led by God's Spirit are God's children.” We don’t have to walk around speaking in tongues all the time to show them this; we must show them that we have the faith that God is in control and that we are doing things according to His will.

We must also be an example in faith. People are looking for us to show them that we have the faith to believe God for everything that we need. It is by our actions that they will know that we have faith. If we are looking to get a job, then we should go out and put in applications to get a job and not expect God to give us a job while we just sit around and eat Twinkies all day. God is able to do that if He wishes, but we have to do something to show God that we trust Him to provide for us.

We must show them our faith through our works. James tells us “Show me how anyone can have faith without actions. I will show you my faith by my actions” (James 2:18b). How will those around us know that we have faith unless they see us do something? And we must be an example in purity of heart and in living a holy life.

They will see what we do when we are not at church. Are we just a Sunday morning saint or is that how we live our lives daily? Those who are young in the faith are looking to us to be an example. They are like our children who do what we do so therefore we must take on Christ so that they will know how to live a life in holiness.

Let’s be an example of righteousness and holiness for all to see so that God will be glorified through us! May the God of peace, and the peace and love of Christ be with you always! Amen.

*** Written by Edwin D. Kerns ***

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No Compromise!

Text: James 4:4; 1 John 2:15

No compromise with evil shall be our battle cry,

For God and right must conquer, and sin and wrong must die;

Unflinching we are standing, uncompromisingly,

Beneath the flag of holiness forever we will be.

No compromise, no compromise,

This shall be our battle cry,

For God and right we will boldly fight,

We will keep the standard high.

No compromise with error, for Bible truth we stand,

Let none remove the landmarks erected by God’s hand.

With loyalty our watchword and faith in Christ our stay,

We’ll bravely storm the forts of sin and thro’ Him win the day.

No compromise with worldliness, no yielding to the wrong,

No lowering the standard that’s stood thro’ ages long;

With Jesus as our leader, His Spirit as our guide,

We’ll firmly stand for righteousness whatever may betide.

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Be Now Imitators Of Your Lord

Be now imitators of your Lord;

You’re His children through His love outpoured.

Let love show now in all you do,

As Christ loved and gave Himself for you,

As a sacrifice to God.

All impurity put far away.

Don’t be greedy; watch the things you say.

These aren’t proper for God’s dear children;

You will never gain the wealth of Heaven,

In the kingdom of Christ and God.

Don’t be taken in by empty words;

Those who disobey, God’s wrath incur.

You were darkness, but now you’re light;

Let your life be good and true and right,

And find out what pleases God.

Stay away from fruitless deeds,

Done in secret out of lust and greed.

Let Christ’s light shine on all that’s dark,

And expose what’s missed God’s mark.

Bring to light every sinful act.

So be careful in the things you do;

Act with wisdom in whatever you pursue.

Make the most of every hour;

Don’t let evil exercise its power.

Be not foolish, but know God’s will.

Let the Spirit now your life control,

And let psalms and hymns flow from your soul.

In your heart, speak to God and sing,

Giving thanks for everything,

In the name of Jesus Christ.

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A Hole In The Wall

Text: 2 Chronicles 16:9; Proverbs 5:21; Hebrew 4:13

Prophet Ezekiel was directed by God to enter a room in the temple through a hole in the wall. He obeyed and was met with a surprise. There were the elders of Israel engaged in idol worship right inside God's temple! Their conclusion was, "The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth." Really?

Many people hide under cover of darkness to engage in unspeakable evil. Darkness does not hide you from God because light and darkness are alike unto Him.

A young Christian almost yielded to temptation. He got his fiancée behind closed doors and proposed sex. The godly lady calmly replied, "No problem". Then pulling out a handkerchief from her bag she said, "Before we proceed please take this and cover the face of our Father in heaven because I don't want Him to see what we are about to do."

The message was powerfully driven home and the young man broke down in tears. "The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord's throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men" (Psalm 11:4). God sees us from His throne and nothing escapes His attention.

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