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MATTHEW 5: 8

"BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART"
"ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY"

I. WHY IS THIS PLACED HERE IN ORDER?
        A. You would expect this at the front, very first.
                1. To see God is purpose of all religions.
        B. Verse 6 central verse of beatitudes.
                1. First three concerned with our needs or our
                   consciousness of need.
                2. Verse 6, God's provision for our need.
                3. Results from being filled.
                        a. Merciful, purse in heart, peacemakers.
                4. The attitude of world toward such an individual.
        C. Closer relationship.
                1. Poor in spirit, merciful.
                2. Mourn, pure in heart.
                3. Meek, peacemakers.
        D. Who are the pure in heart?
                1. Those who have mourned because of impurity.

II. "HEART."
        A. The gospel of Christ concerned with heart.
                1. Great charge against Pharisees. Outer vessel clean.
        B. Emphasized heart not head.
                1. Today's emphasis on intellect. Blessed are intelligent.
                2. Christianity is essentially not a matter of doctrine,
                   or understanding.
                        a. It is an attitude of heart.
                3. Intellect is important and first step.
                        a. "How shall they believe on Him of whom they
                           have not heard."
                        b. Don't stop there, "believeth in his heart."
        C. Emphasized heart - not externals and conduct.
                1. Pharisees always ready to reduce righteousness to code
                   of ethics.
        D. What is meant by heart?
                1. Center of personality.
                        a. Emotion - intellect - will.
                2. Fount out of which all your life flows.
        E. The heart is seat of all our troubles.
                1. "Out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murders,
                   adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, blasphemies."
                        a. Terrible mistake of this generation is the idea
                           that all man's problems due to environment.
                                1. To change a man just change
                                   environment.
                                2. It was in paradise man fell.
                        b. Man's problems lie at the center of his being
                           and to deal with intellect not going to solve
                           problem.

III. "BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART."
        A. We have been looking at human heart.
                1. Anyone here ready to say you qualify?
                2. Can anyone make himself a Christian?
                        a. Only those pure in heart shall see God.
        B. What is meant pure in heart?
                1. Without hypocrisy.
                        a. Singleness of heart, single eye, no folds.
                        b. Psalm 86:2, "Unite my heart to fear thy name."
                        c. Our greatest problem is divided heart; one side
                           of us desires to serve God, other side wants
                           something else.
                2. Cleansed.
                3. To be like Christ Himself; perfect, spotless.
                4. To live to God's glory should be supreme desire of our
                   heart.

IV. WHAT IS MEANT BY "THEY SHALL SEE GOD."
        A. Moses, back parts only, suggests looking at God impossible. 
        B. Jesus said, "Ye have neither heard His voice at any time or
           seen His shape."
                1. "He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father."
                2. We just don't know.
                3. The very being of God is so transcendent and eternal
                   that all our efforts to arrive at an understanding are
                   doomed to failure.
                4. The scriptures do not attempt to give us adequate
                   conception of the being of God, why?
                5. His glory and being so great, and our terms and minds
                   so inadequate that there is danger at any attempt to
                   describe.
        C. In a sense we see God now as those in sin cannot. 
                1. Nature, history.
        D. Do you realize you are being prepared for this? Do you ever
           stop to meditate on this?

V. HOW CAN OUR HEARTS BECOME PURE?
        A. Two views:
                1. Monastic.
                2. Let God do it. Cleansed by Word. The Holy Spirit
                   washing of regeneration. You are going to see God? Is
                   this your supreme desire and objective? Time is short,
                   you have not long to prepare. You will soon have an
                   audience with the King? Don't you feel ashamed, that at
                   this time you are wasting so much time on things that
                   will have no value at that moment, but will only bring
                   shame. You and I, creatures of time are going to see
                   the eternal God, and bask in His love forever and ever.
                   "He that hath this hope in Him, purifieth himself, even
                   as Christ is pure.