A Pure Heart’s Reward - Seeing God

Church Family:
Have you ever seen the Washington Oak in Hampstead? The Washington Oak is a large live oak tree that is said to be the spot where George Washington rested and had lunch during his 1791 Southern Tour as he traveled between New Bern and Wilmington. If you have seen the Washington Oak it was most likely because you were looking for it. If you want to see it, I will give you a hint. It is across US-17 from the entrance of Washington Acres, hence the name. Going to Wilmington, you pass by it every day. You can so easily miss it if you are not looking for it. This is much like how we live life as children of the living God. Do you live a life absent from God sightings? Do you look for God? Do you see Him working in your daily life? Are you looking for Him and His work?

Many people never see God because they are not looking for Him. In God’s spiritual kingdom, as in all of life, you only see what you are looking for. In Beatitude number six, Jesus makes a glorious promise: if you are pursuing a pure heart, you will desire to see God and He will reveal Himself to you.

Jesus’ promise to us is that if we want to see God daily, we are to pursue a pure heart (Mat. 5:8). A pure heart is not about physical cleanliness, although that is inferred. The work for purity is about having a unity or singleness of heart or mind. It literally means this: blessed is that heart which is unmixed. For example, 14-karat gold contains 58.3% pure gold by weight. This means that out of 24 parts in the alloy, 14 parts are gold, and the remaining 10 parts (41.7%) consist of other metals such as copper, silver, nickel, or zinc. It is a mixture. And so, when Jesus says, Blessed are the pure in heart, He is referring to those who do not have a mixture of devotion. A mixture of devotion can be seen in a divided heart that pursues both Jesus and the world. Jesus later gives an example of a heart that has a mixture of devotion when He says: "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money" (Mat. 6:24).

When God looks at you as a believer, He says, you are absolutely pure in Christ. This is your positional purity in Christ. The righteousness of Christ has been applied (imputed) to you because you believed in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3). Then here in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He commands us to live out a daily practical purity, proving our positionally declared purity in Him, and when we do that we will see Him. This means that when we pursue a practical purity of heart we will experience the reality of His presence within us.

The promise to those of us who pursue a pure heart is a promise that we will see Him today with a spiritual eye. This means that you will grasp what He is doing in your life. You will experience His presence in your life daily. You will see Him working in other people and places. You will feel His guidance. You will know His peace. You will see Him in creation. You will see His daily protecting and providing hand. You will see His glory in places you least expect. Jesus will be alive to you today. As you pursue purity in all areas of your life, you will see God with an increasing clarity. There will be much less guessing as to whether something is of God or is not of God. You will know His work intimately. What we are, pure in Christ, determines what we see: God.

How do you pursue a purity of heart so that you see God? The Psalmist answers that question in Psalm 119:9-11: "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." Guard your way with God’s word. Seek God with your whole (not mixed) heart. Obey His commandments. Store up His word in your heart— memorize it. Enjoy the comfort and power that comes from seeing God!

See you Sunday, seeing God: Steve