Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” I want to challenge you to get your heart in the game. Your heart, the quality of your heart, the responsiveness of your heart, the commitment of your heart to God, is of utmost importance to Him. God desires for you to live with a pure heart.
I think many read that verse and think of the day that they will enter eternity in Heaven. They think of the day when they will see Jesus, face to face. While it is true that those whose hearts have been purified by the blood of Jesus will see God, those who are living with care for God’s commands, with a focus on the holiness of God and pleasing Him, who desire to be allegiant to Christ and Christ alone, those who are seeking to live with purity of heart, I believe they see God in the here and now.
Here is the principle: Purity of heart enables spiritual sight. It is when our hearts are cluttered and clouded and convoluted by being drawn to and given to the things of the world that our ability to see Jesus, to see God at work, gets stymied. If you want a pure heart and the ability to see God, you must make a choice to look away from the things of this world and set your gaze on Jesus.
If I set my heart on materialism above the things of God, materialism pulls me or ties me to the things of earth which causes me to constantly be turning to look whenever the possibility of more and more money or stuff is on the horizon. That becomes what I am scanning the landscape to see, that becomes what I am searching for. If I set my heart on the things of the flesh, then I am drawn to images and opportunities that satisfy the urges of my flesh. Feeding my flesh becomes what my heart is given to, and I will just say that the flesh is very selfish and greedy. Feeding the flesh is like sinking into a bottomless pit. You will never be satisfied, and you will be completely distracted from Kingdom Life. I liken it to trying to follow Jesus while walking backwards. If I set my heart on the approval of others, then what I live for changes. I will center my attention on looking a certain way or getting a certain number of social media followers or put my effort into being accepted into a certain friend group.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to possess nice things, but when nice things possess us, our hearts have been defiled. There is nothing unusual about having fleshly desires, but when fleshly desires become the desire of our hearts, we have become slaves to something other than Christ. Wanting to belong and be affirmed for who we are is a basic human need, but seeking the applause of men will always take us away from living for the applause of Christ which means spiritual compromise at some point.
And the problem is that living for any of the things that fall into those categories I have just described will keep us from seeing God in the here and now. And if there was ever a time that we needed to be able to SEE God in the here and now, it is now. We need to see Him present and active in our lives and on the world’s stage. We need to see Him in our day-to-day activities and struggles because when we do, we will be steadied, we will have peace, we will be healed, we will know what to say in any circumstance, we will know what decisions to make regarding our health or finances or relationships, we will know when to change the plan for our day in order to be used by God, and we will walk on the path that is protected for us by Jesus. There are plenty of paths to choose, friends, but there is only one path where you can walk with confidence and it is the pathway to purity that Jesus has paved for you. Purity of heart will keep you on the protected path.
Being able to SEE God is a total game-changer, but often our spiritual eyesight is clouded because of a wrong and even sinful focus.
Proverbs 4:23 says, “ABOVE ALL ELSE, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Above all else. What could a daily heart check do for a Christ-follower? What could happen if those who claim the name of Jesus start asking the Holy Spirit to bring conviction on any area of their heart that isn’t fully surrendered to God? Would God’s people start to see Him more clearly? Would they then start to speak for Him more articulately? Would they begin doing the miracles He promised His followers could do? Would the peace of Christ be more evident in their lives? Would life’s battles be less disruptive in their lives? Would greater numbers of people be getting saved because of the closeness with Christ that His people would share? Purity of heart will result in purity of life.
I submit to you that God’s game plan for your life is for you to Pursue the Presence of God. Your heart will be cultivated in His presence. You will become alert to spiritual truth and spiritual happenings. Things that are confusing will become clear. You will move from spiritually anemic to strengthened and encouraged. You will be wooed by God and your heart for Him will grow deeper. You will be less inclined to want the things of the world. That which has had a grip on you that isn’t from God will loosen in your life. You will understand God’s Word. You will move through your day with a God-consciousness. You will know what to do in order to please God and doing that won’t be hard. Spending time in God’s presence will sync your heart with God’s heart. When that happens, when your heart is one with someone, pleasing them, serving them is a delight. There will be a collaboration between you and God when your heart is set on Him. You will be a partner with God and not someone He is constantly trying to drag along or convince that His way is best. That partnership will give you power and you will be able to handle whatever life brings.
Lust, greed and the approval of others will be more easily dealt with if you have regularly been in God’s presence because God will begin to change your desires. You won’t want the things of this world to take precedence in your life. They won’t have the same importance. Your concern for what others think will fade. Your preoccupation with the flesh will wane.
I Peter 4:1 says we are to be done with sin. Listen, sin isn’t a behavioral issue first. It is a heart issue first. Sin in your life, strongholds of sin in your life, are an indication that your heart has been compromised. It has been tainted. It has been invaded. It has been divided. If you will repent, if you will confess your heart’s compromised condition, and if you ask for Holy Spirit help to be done with sin, God will hear and answer that prayer.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24
You can walk with God every day. You can see Him at work in your life. You can hear His voice. You can follow His lead. You can watch Him move obstacles out of your way and clear your path. You can see Him working in and through people around you. You can sense His arms coming around you in moments of grief. You can watch Him provide for your needs. These are real experiences that come to the person who is pure in heart, who sincerely wants the presence of God over the pleasures of this earthly life.
