Be Pure in Heart
Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one! (Job 14:4)
**Only Jesus Christ can bring purity out of impure people, by His blood sacrifice on the Cross.
* 1 John 1:9, if we confess out sin, He(Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and what? cleans us from all unrighteousness.
“We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love”. (2 Corinthians 6:6)
*We are saved by faith, but the fruit of our salvation is seen in our actions.
*How else will people know that we are Christians.
We’re called to confess and repent of our own sins, and we’re called to unconditionally forgive the sins of others.
* “…forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions.”Mark 11:25
**** Who Can Really Be Pure in Heart?
A happy person will be a holy person, because Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).
But who could ever be pure in heart? *You can. I can. We must understand what this statement means.
By pure in heart, Jesus is not saying that we can never have an impurity in our hearts and never be inconsistent. Otherwise, we all would be disqualified, because the Bible clearly teaches “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9).
So here is how it works:
*We come to God, poor in spirit.
* We see ourselves as we really are.
* We mourn over our condition.
****And like the psalmist, we pray, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
In our culture, we often refer to the heart as the center of emotion, and we refer to the mind as the center of intellect. But in the Hebrew culture, the heart referred to everything. The heart was the very center of personality. It was the center of the emotions as well as the mind. And it included the thinking process.
Proverbs 23:7 says, “As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he.”
The heart is the center of who you are. This means that with ALL of your Being, you should be pure.
But being pure does not mean being flawless. A good translation of the word pure would be “single” or “focused.”
**** So to be pure in heart means to have a single-minded devotion to Jesus.
*To be pure in heart is to seek to live a holy life, because that is the secret to happiness. If you want to be happy, then seek to be holy.
* Don’t chase after happiness. Chase after holiness
We cannot approach God in his holiness without being pure.
We are only pure when God rescues us from our sin. Only when we have been washed clean by Jesus’ blood on the cross can we be with God.
This holiness is not just personal, but relational.
1 Thess. 4:7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.
*Holiness means we are set apart for God’s use!
*We are being reminded here that our body is holy and created by God, and even more so once we invite Jesus into our lives.
Don’t forget who you are in the Lord. Refuse to allow worldly distractions or lusts of the flesh to distract you from His presence. Stay Pure and keep your eternal perspective, and maintain clear spiritual focus. Your spiritual growth and clarity depend on your measure of self-control. You are on the threshold of spiritual insights and greater understanding of the Lord’s kingdom, so don’t stop here or go back. Keep pressing on.
*** 2 Corinthians 10:5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
Thank You Jesus, for being our moderator between humans and God–Our just Judge. The only one who can make an unclean thing clean.
Lord, help me see the body you have given me the way you see it. Change my heart so I can learn to appreciate and respect your temple. Lord I surrender totally… Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit to strengthen and empower me to be Pure and be who You want me to be! Thank You for Your Word. Continue to set me apart for Your use- For Your Glory and my Joy! In Jesus Name Amen