Pure In Heart

January 14th, 2024. Pure In Heart
Speaker - Owen Mason
Sermon Notes

Matthew 5:8 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matthew 6:1 6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

How to develop a pure heart.

1. Remember that God sees everything.

Matthew 6:4-6 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Hebrews 4:13 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

2. Review my motives.

Proverbs 24:21 21 My son, fear the Lord and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise,

- Giving

Matthew 6:2-3 2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

- Praying

Matthew 6:5-6 5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

- Fasting

Matthew 6:16-18 16“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

1 Thessalonians 2:4 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

3. Realign my priorities

Exodus 20:3 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

How do I know my priorities?

Three Tests

1. Look at my activities

Matthew 6:19 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,

2. Look at my anxieties

Matthew 6:25 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

3. Look at my ambitions

Matthew 6:31-33 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Psalm 51:10 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.