WEEK 4, DISCOVERY 3
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Power point presentation
A Beautiful Mind video clip
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[ppt 1] Discovery of the Week: You can experience purity.
[ppt 2] “Purity—an Idea Whose Time Has Come”
Matthew 5:8
I was a teenager back in the days when it was cool to smoke – I mean, really
cool. Most of my friends in high school smoked. Most of my role models on TV
smoked. John Wayne smoked. Perry Mason smoked. Even Dick VanDyke and Andy
Griffith smoked. Our family doctor even smoked – go figure!
I belonged to a church that objected to the entire practice of smoking. My
Sunday School teacher warned us junior high boys, “It’s a filthy, nasty habit.” [Then she
went into some line of reasoning about licking an ash tray. I don’t know.] So, I felt like
an outcast in social settings at school. I knew the whole “temple of the Holy Spirit” line
of reasoning. Still yet, why miss out on all of the fun just because my church has some
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outdated notion from days gone by? At least that’s what my friends kept telling me as
they coaxed me to try it and get me join them in their “filthy, nasty habit.” I thought they
looked cool with their smokes rolled up in their t-shirt sleeves and 1 cigarette balanced
on top of their ears – James Dean style.
In case you’re wondering, I never smoked, because I figured the pastor and the
guys in the nice suits who wrote the Manual probably knew something I didn’t. But, I
still felt like an outsider growing up in the south in the 1950s and 60s where nearly
everyone smoked from the time they were 10 years old! It just wasn’t politically correct
to not join your friends with a good smoke now and then.
My, how times have changed! All of that research. All of those testimonies
before federal grand juries. All of those multi-million dollar class-action law suits.
Maybe the pastor and the guys in the nice suits who wrote the Manual weren’t so far off
base after all. Now we have smoke-free campuses, airplanes, restaurants, public
buildings. Smoke-free environments -- An idea whose time has come.
I also got made fun of by my friends in high school for my stand on sexual
abstinence. I took those biblical passages about sexual purity seriously. My friends
thought I was being a bit of a prude. After all, the sexual revolution was at its height. I
thought I was one of the few members of my high school class who was missing out on
all of the fun. I’m sure there were others, but I didn’t know their names.
My, how times have changed! After more than 50 STDs. After HIV. After AIDS.
After broken marriage vows, broken homes, and broken lives, people are again talking
about abstinence in record numbers and returning to those biblical passages about
sexual purity. Moral purity -- An idea whose time has come.
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I want us to talk this morning about another idea whose time has come – Purity
of heart for believers. As Dr. Roger Hahn said a couple of Sunday nights ago, heart
purity is receiving more attention today from Christian writers than it has in several
decades.
Jesus talked a lot about purity of heart. Let’s look at one of His sayings from the
Sermon on the Mount.
READ TEXT HERE
[ppt 3] Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
This verse states truth. [ppt 4] The Beatitudes are not things hoped for but
things that are real. . . real right now. They are eternal principles that are woven into the
very fabric of the universe. Jesus gives us an insight here into one of those secrets of
the universe.
You see, just like our need for a spiritual guide and a hunger for love which we
explored on our 2 previous quests, God has placed a longing for purity deep within us.
The world wants us to think it’s a fairy tale, like Alice in Wonderland. Jesus says it’s a
passion placed in our hearts by the Father.
God blesses the pure in heart with the ability to see Him in this world and in the
one to come. The pure in heart have eyes to see things that others do not see. Eugene
Peterson in The Message paraphrases it like this:
[ppt 5] You’re blessed when you get your inside world— your mind and heart—put
right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
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Put right on the inside; see God on the outside. In other words, those who are
pure in heart, that is, those whose minds and hearts are put right on the inside, will see
God all around them in the outside world.
Let me illustrate with a short clip from A Beautiful Mind – which by the way is a
true story. In this clip, John Nash, the brilliant mathematician has his first experience
with encrypted Russian messages. He sees what no one else can see. He looks past
what most people see and breaks the code.
Show video clip from A Beautiful Mind – [Disk 1 -- 25:02 minutes from where
Nash walks into the restricted area to 27:30 when the general says, “Extraordinary!”]
I especially like the line where the General asks Nash, “Did you ever just know
something, Dr. Nash?” to which Nash replies, “Constantly.”
Jesus tells us in our text that with a pure heart, you will see your world through
completely different eyes. You’ll constantly see spiritual things that no one else sees.
However, Jesus set the bar pretty high, didn’t He, with this talk of a pure heart?
After all, no one has perfect performance! We often equate those. But, He must not be
talking about perfect performance. How then is it possible to have a pure heart? What
is a pure heart, anyway?
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[ppt 6] 1. The Bible tells us that a pure heart is within our reach.
[ppt 7] a. David tells us that only those with a pure heart may stand in His holy
place!
Psalm 24:3-4
Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
[ppt 8] b. David prayed for a pure heart.
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
[ppt 9] c. The goal of the gospel is love from a pure heart.
1 Timothy 1:5
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good
conscience and a sincere faith.
[ppt 10] d. You may call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2:22
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along
with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
[ppt 11] e. Peter speaks of those who have a pure heart.
1 Peter 1:22
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Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere
love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.
We have clear biblical evidence from these passages that God grants believers
pure hearts. A pure heart is referred to in both the Old and New Testaments.
2. So what is a pure heart?
We get a new insight when we read 1 Timothy 1:5 once again -- this time from
The Message:
[ppt 12] The whole point of what we’re urging is simply love—love uncontaminated by
self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God.
A heart uncontaminated by self-interest. It isn’t that we commit psychological
suicide or lose all awareness of ourselves. It’s just that we do not live our lives with selfinterests at the top of our “to do” list every day. We don’t have to have it our way every
time, OR always watch what we want to watch on television. The world and other
planets do not revolve around our heads. We don’t live like we’re God’s gift to the
world.
Some friends of ours told us a cute story yesterday. Recently they were trying to
get their pre-schooler around to leave the house in the morning but couldn’t get her out
of low gear. Dad said, “You better hurry, or you’re going to be late for school.” To
which she replied, “Oh, they won’t start without me.” How quickly they learn!
The Bible speaks of the carnal mind, the sinful mind, the former self, and other
terms when speaking of the self-centeredness that expresses itself in opposition to God.
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In Romans 8:7 the Bible says that “the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit
to God’s law, nor can it do so.”
[ppt 13] Here’s the essence of sin—a life centered on selfish interests; a life
turned in on self. This equates to the sinful mind. It is the most basic and fundamental
way that sin expresses itself in our lives. This week you will read a few of the many
ways self promotes itself. I could preach an entire sermon on each of these ways.
Just to name a few of these manifestations of self: self-centered, self-assertive,
self-deprecating, self-conceited, self-advancing, self-indulgent, self-pleasing, selfseeking, self-pity, self-defense, self-sufficiency, self-consciousness, self-preoccupied,
self-introspective, self-righteous, self-glorifying, self-promoting, and self-made. I feel
selfish just reading this list!!!
[ppt 14] James calls believers who live with mixed selfish motives and desires a
name. He calls these people double-minded.
[ppt 15] James 4:8
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and
purity your hearts, you double-minded.
It’s a great word picture. Believers with self at the center of life are torn in 2
directions – both at the same time. They want God’s way, but they want their own way
at the same time. They find themselves pulled like taffy by a candy maker [ppt 16] or
like a children’s game of tug-of-war with them in the middle. Double minded people are
pulled in both directions at once. It’s sort of like spiritual schizophrenia. “Yes you can;
no you can’t” at the same time. It’s no way to live. Yes it is. No it isn’t.
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In order to see God as Jesus tells us we can see Him in this life, we must be
purified of this double-minded problem.
[ppt 17] Jesus is our example of a man who lived with a single purpose -- a pure
heart. He lived free from selfish interests. He lives for the Father and the Father alone.
Listen to Paul’s analysis of Jesus’ life.
[ppt 18-19] Philippians 2:1-8 (The Message)
Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself
aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage.
Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Think of yourselves the way
Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much
of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at
all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a
slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly
humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless,
obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at
that: a crucifixion.
This is what God plans for us. We are to think of ourselves in the way Christ
thought of himself. We are to learn to live as Christ lived.
That means we first seek forgiveness for our sins, and then we seek a pure heart
that will enable us to serve God and others in the same way that Christ served.
For another window into this concept, hear David’s prayer from Psalm 51: 7-12
[ppt 20-21]
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Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter 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.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
I have a sermon on this passage of scripture. I won’t try and point out all of the
truth in this passage. Let me just mention a couple of observations. David first prays
for forgiveness for his act of sin. He then prays for God’s cleansing of his heart. The
literal meaning of the word used here for “cleanse” is “un-sin me.” David wants more
than forgiveness; he needs a divine washing of his inner nature. That’s exactly what we
need, too.
No quest for purity is complete without dealing with the sin nature buried deep
within us. It’s buried so deep under many layers that some believers don’t even realize
its there for a long time. But it is! And, like a Trojan horse, it brings a spiritual hindrance
to everything we try to do as a Christian. Just when you least expect it, -- like old Jack
popping out of the Jack in a box -- self rears its ugly head and causes us to say or do
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things that surprise or embarrass even us. We’re Christians. We know better than to
act like that or say that. But, like Ronald Reagan used to say, “Well, there he goes
again!” – exhibit # 1 for a selfish response.
This week’s quest cannot be complete until you deal with your need for purity -the cleansing of the selfish nature that plagues every citizen of this world. It’s absolutely
essential for the life you’ve longed for.
[ppt 22] Jesus said,
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
I don’t need to tell you this. You already know it – from deep within you know it.
You feel drawn toward purity of heart, don’t you? But, you wonder, “Can it really be
possible?” How can you make it happen? You can’t. Like all of our other discoveries
on this quest, it’s a gift from God. God is the source of all purity. Only He can purify
your heart. It’s free for the asking. Free – now, you can’t get a better deal than that.
Conclusion
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
You see, John Nash the brilliant mathematician could see patterns in words and
numbers that the rest of us don’t see. Just like Kasey Johnson [Kathy Smith] can hear
a piano key that’s out of tune; just like Steve Winakee [Carolyn Pickering] can hear a
guitar string [an organ stop] when it doesn’t work properly.
Once God purifies your heart, you’ll see with new eyes and hear with new ears.
You’ll see God in places you never saw Him before. You’ll hear His voice in ways you
never heard it before.
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The good news for today is: God can give you a pure heart. With that pure heart,
you can see God. Right here, right now – and in the world to come. Why wait?
Have you asked God for a pure heart yet? You can ask Him today.
Altar Call
I want us to stand together. As we close this service, I want you to ask the Spirit
of Christ to examine your heart with His search light from heaven and see if it is pure. I
began this message with illustrations about smoking and moral conduct. Too often we
equate purity with clean habits and moral living. They both have their place as an
evidence of a pure heart but not the definition of one.
Heart purity goes much deeper than a list of dos and don’ts. We’re going to wait
before the Lord this morning. The Spirit invites you to come and receive a pure heart
from Him if you hunger for it more than anything else in the world. No pressure. Just a
simple invitation to accept a free gift.
You’re welcome to come as we sing.