Blessed are the Pure in Heart | Craig Curtis

"I have been mean to almost all of you. My parents are getting a divorce. They are both alcoholics. I am scared I’m gonna be just like them. I went to the bridge to jump last week. I’m a ghost on this campus. None of you really know me."

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

  

Matthew 5:8 NIV

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

  

blessed = fulfilled, complete, whole, fully satisfied

  

Pure is what we can become when we are living by Jesus' promises.

  

Pure – not perfect!

  

Philippians 2:15 NIV

15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky

  

As a child of God, it's always been about what He has done – not what you have done.

  

Ephesians 5:8 NIV

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light

  

How do we keep ourselves pure?

1. Be quick to forgive. 

  

ruminate = to dwell on something in an obsessive, unhelpful way

rehearse = to repeat something until it becomes ingrained in our memory, behavior, or emotions

  

Ephesians 4:26b NIV

26 Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,

  

Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

  

How do we keep ourselves pure?

2. Be quick to repent.

  

 Acts 3:19 NIV

19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

  

How do we keep ourselves pure?

3. Fix our focus.

  

   

2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV

18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

  

Luke 2:19 NIV

19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

   

Matthew 14:30 NIV

30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

  

pure = undivided, undistracted, single-minded

   

Matthew 5:8 NIV

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.