Thank you. Okay, you can be turning to Matthew
chapter 5. I am doing what I said I wasn't
going to do. And that is. Take too much time. Through this
sermon on the Mount, as it's turned out. We've devoted. One message or a message to each
one of these. the attitudes except the first
two. I fully intended to preach them all in the very first message.
But I take that or I hope it's the leadership of the Holy Spirit. There's too much here to pass
over. Just too much. And we've got time. And there are volumes spoken. Volumes are spoken of or spoken
in just a line just a few words by our Lord, and the one before
us tonight is no exception. And you could devote, or someone
could devote many messages to each one of these Beatitudes,
because it wouldn't suffice to fully expound the meaning of
each one. But it is a mystery, and I hope
the Holy Spirit will reveal something of that to us tonight. Let's
look at verse eight, that's our text tonight, Matthew five, verse
eight. Our Lord speaking to his people,
the multitudes, and says, blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God. Blessed are the pure in heart. For they shall see God. Now, this is a paradox, and you
have that fresh in your mind after the article in Sunday's
Bulletin. I know you appreciated that article.
You've probably heard it quoted before. I've quoted it, and I
know One preacher, at least, has quoted it. This is a real
mystery here, this verse, and a real paradox. Pure in heart. Now, Proverbs, chapter 20, verse
9, says this. And I'm going to quote many verses
to you tonight and not have you turn to them. I've written them
down for your help, your benefit. Proverbs 20 verse 9 says this,
Who can say, Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure
from my sin? Who can say that? Job 25 verses
5 and 6 say this, Behold, even the moon, and it shineth not,
yea, the stars are not pure. In God's sight, how much less
man that is a worm and the son of man, or how much man that
is a worm and the son of man, which is a worm. Yet the Lord says this in Psalm
24, you know this passage, it says, who shall ascend into the
holy hill of the Lord? Well, he that hath clean hands
and a pure heart. And Hebrews twelve fourteen another
very mysterious verse says follow holiness and the word is purity. Without which no man shall see
the Lord. All right it's a paradox. Blessed
are the pure in heart. Blessed are those who have this
holiness of purity without which nobody's going to see the Lord. Well, then let's turn over to
Romans, chapter three, Romans, chapter three. When I prepared
this message, after I finished it, I thought I'm going to say
this for Sunday morning. This is just a very basic gospel
message, very basic, I hope, clear exposition of the gospel. And I thought, perhaps you ought
to save that for Sunday morning. No, I won't. You all will hear
it tonight. This is the most basic truth
of the gospel. And I hope we never grow tired
of hearing it, but rejoice in this. This is the fundamental
truth of the gospel, a knowledge of which is necessary to salvation. Now, Job said this first. Keep
your place there, we'll read from Romans 3 in a minute. Job
said this first, or it's first recorded by Job. He said in chapter
9, verse 2, he said, I know it's so of the truth, or that is,
it's absolutely necessary in order to be accepted by God,
to see God, to be with God. God's holy, God's just and pure.
I know it's so of a truth or necessary, but how should man
be just with God? I know it's so. Or in other words,
Job is saying, I know it's necessary, but you've got to be just, holy,
pure, righteous before God. It shall be perfect to be accepted.
I know it's so, Job said, but he said, how? How? You remember, later on, he answered
his own question. I know, he said, I've learned
something. I know. Somebody living for that sake, for that purpose.
His friends there in Job, the book of Job, continued it. And
they asked the questions, of all questions, who can bring
a clean thing out of an unclean? It was just mentioned two, three,
four times in the book of Job. Can anything be clean that's
born of a woman? How then can man be justified
with God? How can he be clean if born of
a woman? Over and over it asks that. That's
the question of all questions. All right, look here at Romans
chapter 3, beginning with verse 9. Now, the world out there will
say, well, that's talking about the ungodly and those that are
wicked sinners and so forth, poor mongers and adulterers.
Drunkards and this and that and the other. Well, didn't Paul
say, and such were some of you, but you were washed, made pure? All right, I look at Romans 3. He says in verse 9, are we better
than they? You remember he'd been talking about the reprobate
Gentiles in chapter 1. In chapter 2, Henry starts talking
about the Jews, the religious people. He says there's no difference. Verse 9, we are about us. If
you believers are we better than any of them, no, no, what we
we before proved. At charge, both you and Jen how
they all understand this as it is written. As it is written,
Psalm 14, Psalm 53, there's none righteous, no, not one. Not one. There is none that understand
it, there's none that seek it after God, they're all gone out
of the way, they are together. If you lump the whole mass up
together, he said in Isaiah, it wouldn't be fit to burn as
a sacrifice. The Isles, Lebanon, is not sufficient
to burn for whole offering and sacrifice. They're all together
become unprofitable. There's none that doeth good,
no, not one. Not one. Ecclesiastes 7 verse
20 says this, there's not a just man on the earth. that do with
good and sin. But God says we've got to be
only we must be holy to be with God. This is what salvation is
to be delivered from certain condemnation and death or eternal
separation from God delivered from there and to be presented
into the presence of God and dwell with God who is life. Eternal
life, this is eternal life. To be in God, with God, eternally. To have the life of God created
in us. We must be holy to be with this
holy God. He said, be ye holy. I'm holy,
didn't He? We must be perfect to be accepted.
We must be completely justified by a just God, or that is declared
And you remember the story over in Genesis 27? Yeah, Genesis
27 of Jacob coming before his father. And, you know, his father
thought it was Esau. And Jacob came up close, you
know, and his father felt of him. And his father smelled him. And his father brought him up
close and kissed him. And he had to appear to be Esau,
didn't it? To the touch. to the field, to
the smell, in every respect, didn't he? Up close. And God
Almighty, the omniscient, all-seeing eye of God Almighty, better not
find one sin on us, not one spot, right? Not one flaw, not one
sin, and we can't be in His holy presence. Is that too strict?
No, that's just the way it is, isn't it? God's holy. He said, That doesn't mean the best you
can be, does it? That means the best God is. Be holy for I am
holy. And so in order to be, we must
be completely found holy by the just God. A hundred percent pure. Not ninety-nine and forty-four
one hundred percent. One hundred percent, right? Pure
to see God. How? That's the gospel question,
isn't it? Have you ever heard anybody ask
that question, Henry? Have you ever heard anybody come
in your station and ask that? Brother Henry, I've been reading
the scriptures, and it says here that in all of sin it comes short
of the glory of God, and God's holy, and there's no way You're
going to be before the holy God and accept you're holy or justified?
How, Brother Henry, can a man be justified before God? Have
you ever heard anybody ask you that? Blessed are your ears and your
eyes. You've heard that question. You've considered it in your
own heart, haven't you? That's the gospel. This is a gospel question.
And I contend that unless a man or a woman has asked this question,
or at least been confronted with it, If they don't understand this
to some degree, not perfectly, I'm not saying a man has to have
perfect understanding, or at least he or she must have asked
this question or been presented with it, or at least been confronted
with this question, I don't believe they really understand the gospel. I don't see how they could see
their need of Christ and his righteousness if this question
hadn't been Consider, do you, John? I don't. Consequently,
they're not, nobody's talking about the holiness of God or
sin of man, are they? Because this question, this is
the question. All people, you know, you see
these, when you hear these preachers on TV and what's going on in
religion today, people will accept a good offer of health and wealth,
won't they? What? And be a fool not to accept
what preachers are offering to health and wealth. Eternal happiness? Well, I'll take that. What will
it cost me? Just send me a thousand? Or, you know, quit your drinking? Well, it'll be tough, but I will.
And tune in to my program every day. I'll send you a book. Try
your best. All right, if that's what it
takes to have a good job and be healthy and never get sick
and be wealthy, I'll do it, right? Anybody except that. Or anybody
would accept a good insurance policy from hell. You don't want
to go to hell, do you? Huh? Well, nobody wants to go to hell.
Who wants to burn eternally? I don't see anybody clamoring
to do that. Well, so anybody would accept a good insurance
policy from hell, won't they? Just attend church constantly,
be in Sunday school, regular basis, be baptized, and start
living right, and you won't go to hell. Okay. And anybody may
get sentimental over a man named Jesus who died on the cross,
may get real teary-eyed and be real taken up with that. But
I contend that unless somebody has been confronted with this
question, Ellen, I contend that unless somebody has seen their
sin in light of this holy God and at least considered in some
way how God's here, and I'm down here.
How? How are we going to get together?
And they've got to understand, if a man or a woman or a young
person ever sees themselves as they are, I mean rock bottom,
unable, lost. You heard Brother Walter tell
about being lost, didn't you? You know what being lost means,
don't you? It means somebody is going to have to come get
you. Right? Brother Walter said he
didn't He couldn't take the next step. He elaborated on that over
at our house. You were there, John. He elaborated
on that being lost. You heard him, Clark. He said
he was completely without strength. He had fallen on his face in
the dust. His mind was gone. He didn't
know where to turn. And he said somebody came to
him. Somebody came and got him. He
said that missionary that was with him sent two Indians to
him. Two faithful Indians out after
him. And salvation is, first of all,
it's got to be lost, don't you? It's got to be lost. And surely,
goodness and mercy, God's bloodhounds, get on the trail of every one
of his sheep, and they find them, don't they? Sheep aren't looking,
the sheep are lost. And so that's the question of
all questions, isn't it? How? A man realizes he, a man,
a woman or so, a young person realizes, I'm a sinner, I'm ungodly,
God's holy. How? There's only one answer
to that question, right? It's not accept Jesus, believe
on Jesus, do this, do that, do that other. Is it? No, it's not. But God. Who in mercy sent his
son down to you? And this is the question of all
questions. And I don't believe anybody will ever bow to Jehovah
said, Can you? Unless they understand this question.
All right. The word. Pure means clean. The word pure means clean, that's
the original. Word for this word, pure, clean. It means holy, it means perfect,
it means righteous. OK? How are we going to be pure? How are we going to be completely
clean or guiltless before the law of God, which says, which
demands perfection? How? We've got to keep it perfectly. Every jot and tittle. Didn't
Christ say that? He said, heaven and earth, every
jot and tittle must be fulfilled of the law. Every jot and tittle
must be fulfilled. Well let's go on here at Romans
3. Look at verse 19. Now we know that what things
whoever the law sayeth, it says to them that are under the law.
Now what was the, when was the law given? When was the law given? Well God first gave the law and
he said this do and live. Right? That was a covenant of
works. You do the law. You do the law
and you live. If you don't, you'll die, right? Did Adam keep the law? No, he
broke it. So he died, right? Covenant of
grace, which was the first covenant all along. Then it came along
and says you can't keep the law, can you? See, the law came through
Moses, or Moses is the one who presented the law in written
form to the people, the moral law, and in the ceremonial laws
and so forth. The law came through through
the instrument of Moses, but grace, how a man's really saved,
or how a man or a woman really obtains eternal life and truth,
or the true way, true life, came by who? Jesus Christ. Grace and truth came through
Christ. But what the law says now, It
may have been a covenant of works to begin with, but it sure didn't
give life, did it, to Adam. It sure didn't. He couldn't keep
it, so it slew him. It killed him. Now, it says the
same thing to us today, doesn't it? Verse 19, Whatsoever things
the law sayeth, it says to them that are under the law. Who's
that? Us. We're under the law by nature. God didn't repeal
the law. Uh-uh. Thank God Christ fulfilled
it. God didn't repeat, for ever,
O Lord, thy word or thy law is settled in heaven. God never
did cancel laws over that. That's no longer in effect. No,
no. No, no. We still must love God
with all our heart. But we still must keep the law
absolutely perfectly. But we can't. And the law comes
and we see that. The law says to us who are under
the law, well, then what does it do? It shuts our mouths. But every mouth may be stopped,
may be stopped. That rich, young ruler had his
mouth open, didn't he? He hadn't had it stopped yet.
Good master, what must I do to obtain eternal life or inherit
eternal life, obtain eternal life? Well, you hear the law,
don't you? Love God, love your parents and
so forth. All these I've done from my youth
up. He didn't hear the law, did he?
He didn't hear it. Well, it stops the mouth of those
who hear it, doesn't it? It stops their mouth. They see
their guilt. And all the world, or not just
the Jews, that is, the Gentiles, they're all believers, may become
guilty before God. Guilty. The law is spiritual. This would be a good message
to give somebody on tape. The law is spiritual. Why is
that? God's spirit. Right? God's spirit. The law is spiritual, so when
anything that emanates from God or comes from God who is spirit
must first of all have a spiritual connotation or meaning, right?
But all just doesn't God just doesn't man demand bear outward
uniformity to the law or keeping of the law in an outward fashion.
Oh, God first. What does the scripture say about
God? God doesn't see as man see, but God looks where on the heart. on the heart. I didn't see as
man see. For all practical purposes, we
see people and say, well, he is a law keeper. Not on the inside
he's not, and that's where God looks first, isn't it? Law is
spiritual. The law, first of all, demands
inward perfection as well as outward. Inward perfection in
thought, in word, in motive, thought, perfection in motive.
In heart, perfect love, perfect honor, perfect worship, perfect
motive. So now let me quote that verse
in Proverbs again to you, chapter 20, verse 9. Who can say? Who
can say? I have made my heart clean. I am pure from my sin. David, a man who knew God, really
a man who was after God's own heart, he said, my sins are ever He said, Thou desires truth where? In the inward parts. Inward parts,
hidden parts. Who can say, I have made my heart
pure? Blessed are the pure in heart,
they'll see God. Who can say it? None. All guilty. Right? Look at verse
twenty now. By the deeds of the law there
shall no flesh be justified in God's sight." How clear can you
get, huh? Why in the world would somebody
try to get to this holy God by what they do or what they are
in light of verses like this, huh? Why? How? They don't see
it, do they? They're blind to it. In the same
sense, Christ looked at those Pharisees who studied the law.
He said, you're ignorant, not knowing the scriptures, nor the
power or the holiness and the sovereignty or the justice of
this God. You're ignorant of the scriptures
and the power of God. who will damn, which every sin
will receive a just recompense. The thought of foolishness is
sin, and God will damn you for it. So how could anybody be so foolish,
so foolish? By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be declared clean, holy, or pure. And Job said it. Job said it. He said, In thy
sight shall no man living be justified. Solomon said it. These are the wisest men who
ever lived. They knew this. And if you're wise, you'll know
it too. Solomon said it. Who can say?
He's the one that said that in Proverbs 20. Who can say I'm
clean, I'm pure? Paul says it over and over again,
quoting Isaiah in various places. None good, none righteous, none
justified by the law. None. Read on. Verse 20. For by the
law is the knowledge of sin. By the law is the knowledge of
sin. And as I alluded to a moment ago, he who desires to be under
it or tries to practice it for the sake of being accepted, he
doesn't hear it. Right? And we see a lot of this. And it's very subtle, isn't it?
People will go back to the Old Testament and drag out rules
and regulations, even the New Testament. and drag out certain
things that they think makes them accepted by God and God
takes notice of and so forth. They don't hear it, do they?
It shall be perfect to be accepted. But he who looks into it and
studies it, he hears it. And what does it
do? It shuts his mouth, his or her
mouth, and it opens their eyes. It opens their eyes and makes
them start looking real fast to the one who can keep the full. The law was never given to put
away sin. Never. Never. Verse 21. But now, the law was given to
reveal sin. Verse 20 I mean. By the law is
the knowledge of sin. The law was never given to put
away sin, but to reveal sin. Reveal sin. Turn over to Romans
7 with me. Keep your place there in Romans
3. Turn to Romans 7. You know these
verses well. I know you do, but we're just
going to refresh ourselves. Verse 7. What will I say then? I can't keep the law. What will
I say? The law of sin is bad? No, God
forbid. The law is not evil. The law is good. Nay, I had not
known sin. Law is a good thing. I had not
known sin, but by the law I had known lust, except the law said,
Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the
law, or that is getting its strength by the law, wrought in me, worked
in me all manner. For that is, when the law came,
I saw my sin in its real light. Without the law, sin was dead.
I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came,
sin revived, or that is, I saw my sin in the light of God's
holiness, and I died. I didn't die. I didn't say, well, there's how
I'm going to live if I just keep the commandments and have perfect
attendance in church and so forth. That's what a woman said to me
one day that I worked with on a railroad. She said, I don't
know much about the Bible. She said, but I know you better keep
those ten commandments. I said, it's true. It's exactly true
what you said. You don't know much about the
Bible. Your own mouth will condemn you.
That's what Christ said. I was alive without the law once.
Paul said, he thought he kept it, didn't he? He thought he
kept it. He said the commandment, verse
ten, which was ordained to life, or I thought was to make me live
by, it killed me, I found the end of death. Death. So in a
nutshell, let me sum this thing up in a nutshell. Anyone who
tries to be clean, pure, holy, or just before this righteous
and holy God by his strivings, his doings, his deeds, you've
heard this old saying, he's damned if he does, and he's damned if
he doesn't. Right? You've heard that old
saying, haven't you? Anybody tries to be holy or just
or accepted or saved by his doings or his strivings or his works
or whatever, his morality is damned if he does that or he's
damned if he doesn't have this perfect morality and good works
and so forth. Well, that ought to bring her
a man or a woman to say this. Well, then what am I going to
do? That's the question of all questions
isn't it? How then can a man be just? With man it's impossible. Right? Can't be righteous. None
righteous. None to good. None to understand.
Now turn back to Romans 3 again. And here's the gospel. Here's
the gospel. Verse 21. But now. Gospel's in
a word, but. But now, the righteousness of
God, or acceptance with God, the holiness of God, or the salvation
of God, without the law, or that is, without us keeping the law,
is revealed. And it was even witnessed by
the law, by the law and the prophets. That is, without the law, without
us keeping it, It's revealed, it's witnessed, testified even
by the law and the prophets. And like I said a while ago,
Christ said to those Pharisees, he said, you search the scriptures,
I grant you that. Paul said it in Romans 10, didn't
he? They have a zeal for God, I grant them that much. But it's
not according to knowledge, is it? Christ said, You do search
the Scriptures. You memorize them. But you don't
know the Scriptures. You search the Scriptures. In
them you think you have life. Or that is, you search the Scriptures
to try to find out how to live. What must I do? What does God
require of me? What must I do to be accepted
by God? You search the Scriptures. In them you think you know how
to live before God and be accepted by Him. But they are they which
do what? Testify of me who is life. He said, I am come to show them. Straighten them there.
No, I am come that they might have life. To give life. You see, they're dead. To give
life. To raise them. As the father
quickeneth whom he will, even so the son quickeneth whom he
will. I am come to be the way of life. Not to show the way, but to be
the way. To prepare the way as a man. They are they said, Moses wrote
of me in Moses, the instrument of the law, God made, he said,
what would Christ say to the Pharisee about Moses is right? He wrote of me. Who's talking here? Who's the
one talking here? Jehovah said, Kenneth, the Lord,
our righteousness. And he says here, the righteousness
of God, verse twenty two. is by faith, and here's that
little word again. Well, King James sure had some
poor typists, didn't he? Or scribes. They sure had a lot
of typographical errors. That's supposed to be faith in
Christ, isn't it? No, it's not. It reads like it reads, isn't
it? It's the faith of Christ. Unto
all, see he's not redundant there. Unto all and upon all them that
believe. Faithfulness of Christ, which
is imputed unto. Righteousness of God, that is,
a purity, the holiness of God is by the faithful keeping of
the law by Jesus Christ and imputed unto all that believe just like
Abraham and look at there. There's another word there and
upon. There's righteousness imputed, there's righteousness imputed
and imparted it unto. And upon all that believe, there
is no difference. Unto and upon. Look at over Titus
chapter 2 with me. Titus chapter 2. I told you this
was going to be a real basic gospel message. But I tell you
what now, this is our only, this is our hope. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Titus chapter 2. The holy, pure,
spotless, son of God came down here to justify, to sanctify. And this verse says here, Titus
chapter 2, verse 13, says, We look for that blessed hope and
glorious appearance of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us or pay the
price necessary from all iniquity, pay for our sins by his own blood. And there is that word purify
unto himself a peculiar or purchased people zealous of good work purify. So. How then can man be just
or pure or holy before God made clean before God? He is purified. By the Lord Jesus Christ, he
is made holy He is washed in the blood of Christ from his
sins. He has a righteousness and a holiness imputed or charged
to his account, not by anything he's done, but on the merits
of Christ and him alone. Paul said this over in 1 Timothy
3, he said, We hold the mystery of the faith. And this is a mystery.
This is. Are you with me? I know this
is kind of maybe a little bit theological. I'm trying to make
it very plain and down to earth though. Paul said we hold the
mystery of faith. It's a mystery. It's deep. It's a mystery. And it's kept
hid. It's hid from those that don't
believe. It's hid. We understand. We're theologians
here. Wouldn't admit it to anybody.
Wouldn't claim that at all. But you are. You know you are.
You understand more than the ancients. That's what he said
in Psalm 119. More than those that desire to teach the law.
Henry Soar, an old filling station owner, knows more than seminary
professors down here at Farram College about the gospel. He says, We hold the mystery
of the faith in a pure conscience. A pure conscience. Peter said
this, Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth. What is the truth? He said, this
is the word of truth, which by the gospel is preached and obeying
the gospel. How do you obey the gospel? Well,
you got to keep the law. No, you believe you trust Christ. How do you obey the gospel? You
obey God's son, you believe God's son, you trust God's son, you
look to God's son and him alone. Blessed is the man whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. What covers our sin? The blood
of Christ, right, the righteousness of Christ. Blessed is the man
unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit
is no guile. That's Psalm 32. And we just
read that, or sang that hymn. The cleansing stream, with heart
made pure, and garments white, and Christ enthroned within.
So, look at it again, one more time. Matthew 5 verse 8, but
one more time for the road. Matthew 5 verse 8, blessed are
the pure in heart. Well, who can say I've made myself
clean? Who can say that? Who can say
I've cleaned myself from my sin? I'm pure in my heart. Well, Only those who have been
made pure are purified by the Son of God. Blessed are the pure
or purified in heart, the regenerated, regenerated by Christ, by Him,
by Him and His Word. Blessed are the pure in heart.
Now let me give you just a few brief points and then we'll quit
on this thing of purity of heart. Blessed are the pure in heart.
For they shall see God. The scriptures speak of a pure
heart. It speaks of a pure conscience.
We read that in First Timothy. Pure minds, pure religion. James talked about that, didn't
he? Pure religion. What do you think of when you
say something is pure other than clean? What do you think of when
you say something is pure? That's pure. Pure. It's unmixed, right? It's pure
substance. It's unmixed. Well, first of
all, I see in this, we must have unmixed faith. Pure faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ and him alone. Unmixed faith. Unmixed. Christ alone, not Christ
plus my works or even Christ This is such a Mr. Christ plus
my faith. Lord, we believe we accept it.
No, no, no, that was a gift. You say you don't add that. Here's
a very simple illustration of faith. OK, this is the most simple,
clearest illustration of faith that you could possibly use.
I'm thirsty. Say I'm dying of thirst. OK. What was it that met my thirst?
What is it that meets my thirst? The glass? The water, right? Glass just holds the water, right? It just holds the water. It's
just a receptacle. Faith, this faith that talks
about receiving Christ, as many as received him, is just receiving. It's the vessel, it's the glass.
You don't glorify, I didn't glorify the glass. Well, that's a wonderful
glass. What a tremendous plan. I think
I'm sure I'm thankful for that glass. It's a great glass. Glasses are a dime a dozen. Right. We've got a whole kitchen full
of glasses down there. It's the water. You make much
of the water, don't you? And you are not going to please
our salvation doesn't come because we did anything. Faith just. God, he empties us. We're a vessel,
vessels of earthen vessels, as it were, glasses. And God first
must empty us. And this is the progression of
Matthew 5 in it, pour. We become poor, we mourn, we
become holy, or meek that is, humble before him, broken for
him, and we begin to thirst. He empties us. Where's the water
come from? Where's the faith come from?
Where's the salvation come from? Do we have it springing up in
us? come from above, face the gift
of God, and he fills us with the knowledge of Christ, the
love of God. It's all the gift of God. And
we're not going to brag on the fact that we did anything. We were empty, and he filled
us. It's the water we brag on. All right. But faith is simply
acknowledging and looking to and depending upon what Christ
did and what Christ did alone. plus and minus nothing. An unmixed
or pure faith is unmixed faith. We don't begin in the spirits
and are made perfect by the flesh. No, we begin in the spirit and
we're made perfect by the spirit. We go on in the spirit. We're
led by, as many as are led by the spirit of God, they're the
sons of God. And we always look to, true or pure faith always
looks to Christ. Never takes you out of Christ's
hand, doesn't it? If your eye be single, where that is pointed
in one direction, one scope, one focus, one focus, one aim,
one direction, not over here, not over there, not down, not
up, straight ahead, Christ, not back. Forget those things which
are behind. Look forward. Look to Christ
and Him alone. Look to Him alone. Secondly,
this purity of heart is sincerity. Got to say this. I read that
to you in Psalm 32, verse 2, the Lord imputed, blessed is
the man whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity in whose spirit,
in whose spirit there is no guile. No guile. Remember studying that
about Nathanael? The Lord looked at Nathanael
and said, no, there is an Israelite in whom is no guile. In other
words, he's truly seeking God. Why? Because God sought him.
Christ, God came down to him in the flesh and sought him.
But we've got to have a sincere, real, honest, heartfelt desire
for God. And that's got to come from God.
Without God, all the heart. We are to worship the Father
in what? Spirit. And in truth. In spirit, that is heartfelt
sincerity and in truth. And they've got to go hand in
hand. Zeal for God without knowledge is ignorance, right? It won't
do you any good. Zeal for God without the truth
of how man's saved won't do you any good, will it? And the truth or doctrine without
the Spirit of Christ in you, that'll damn you too, won't it? It won't do you any good. They're
inseparable. Spirit and in truth. It says the Father seeketh such
to worship him. He seeketh such, because he says, many of a truth,
he said that in Mark 7, of a truth, it's written, these people draw
near to me with their lips. But that's not what I'm paying
any attention to. I'm not, God says, I'm not paying,
God's not worshipped with hands. God's not paying, you think God's
paying any attention to all this hand waving and all this shenanigans
going on? God's not worshipped with men's hands. Well, he says,
that's a whole other thing, lift up the holy hand. God's not paying
any attention to men's hands, nor is He paying any attention
to man's lips. Oh, it's easy to talk a good
talking. Talk comes so cheap. What is God paying attention
to? This people, though, this religious generation of the United
States of America draws near to God. They look real religious,
don't they? With their lips and their bodies,
but their hearts are far from Him. Why? Christ is rarely mentioned. The truth, the gospel. Now the
end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart or a truly
regenerated heart and of a good conscience and faith unfamed. Faith unfamed. And I ask you and I ask myself
these questions and I quit. Are we in this thing with our hearts? or just our
bodies, our limbs. Are we really seeking God? Are
we really interested in seeking after God, the kingdom of God
and His righteousness, and not these other things? You know,
that's the order that we're to seek after. Seek ye first, first
love of a pilgrim. stranger is to seek first the
kingdom of God, who He is, which He is, Christ, and His righteousness,
and all these other things are just icing on the cake. You mean
Christ, all this, and Christ too? Are we really seeking God
for God's sake? Christ for Christ's sake? Are
we really interested in salvation? Or that is to be purged from
our sins? Or do we just want a fire escape?
Do we really need Christ? And that's a pure heart. That's
what it is to have a pure heart. Pure, one hundred percent, seeking
after healing. All those who trust Christ for
His righteousness, and all those who seek God with a pure heart,
or that is with a sincere heart, they get this great reward. See God. Blessed are the pure in heart.
They are going to see God. I mean, see God. See Him as He
is, the Scripture says. And I'll remind you that that
will be in the person of His Son. But it will be a magnificent
sign nonetheless. Okay, stand with me and I'll
dismiss this. Our Holy God, Heavenly Father,
we thank you so much for your son, sending your son to
be what he was, what he is, who he is, to do what he did for
sinners like us, to die for the ungodly. We thank you for the
gospel concerning your son. Make it real to us. Make Christ
real to us. Lead us and guide us by your
Spirit through the remainder of this week, and may these words
comfort our heart in the knowledge and consideration of them. In
the blessed and holy name of Christ, we pray and are met together
tonight. Amen. Your discipline.