PURE HEARTS WILL SEE GOD

i am continually, daily, moment by moment, amazed at God and how he uses me each day as i walk with Him with a pure heart. As i walk in the fear of the HIm, in obedience and submission to Him first, In his strength and leading, in his time and place. Each day serving our God is an awesome and marvelous adventure. Walking in love and forgiveness, with a heart broken for the lost, he is able to use me in any situation. With no baggage that comes with carrying offense, the heart is pure and God can and does speak and lead. Each day he puts who he wills in my life. There is nothing on this earth that compares to a life crucified with Christ, lived for him, available to His will 24/7. Nothing can compare to the joy and peace of the Lord, in even the darkest situations (of which i am aware this country is just beginning to see). Nothing can compare to hearing his voice and heeding His call. To loving God and one another.

"Now the end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart and of good conscience and of faith unfeigned." 1 Timothy 1:5

Paul shows the end and uses of the law intended to promote love, for love is the fulfilling of the law, Romans 13:10. The end of the commandment is charity, or love, Romans 13:8. The main scope and drift of the divine law are to engage us to the love of God and one another, and whatever tends to weaken either our love to God or love to the brethren tends to defeat the end of the commandment. And surely the gospel, which obliges us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us (Matthew 5:44 ) does not design to lay aside or supersede a commandment the end whereof is love. So far from it that, on the other hand, we are told that though we had all advantages and wanted love, or charity, we are but as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal, 1 Corinthians 13:1 . By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another, John 13:35. Those therefore who boasted of their knowledge of the law, but used it only as a colour for the disturbance that they gave to the preaching of the gospel (under pretence of zeal for the law, dividing the church and distracting it), defeated that which was the very end of the commandment, and that is love, love out of a pure heart, a heart purified by faith, purified from corrupt affections. In order to the keeping up of holy love our hearts must be cleansed from all sinful love; our love must arise out of a good conscience, kept without offence. Those answer the end of the commandment who are careful to keep a good conscience, from a real belief of the truth of the word of God which enjoins it, here called a faith unfeigned.

Here we have the divine associates of that excellency grace charity.They are three: (1.) A pure heart, there it must be seated, and thence it must take its rise. (2.) A good conscience, in which we must exercise ourselves daily, that we may not only get it, but that we may keep it, Acts 24:16 . (3.) Faith unfeigned (sincere) must also accompany it, for it is love without dissimulation, the faith that works by it must be of the like nature, genuine and sincere.

Now some who set up for teachers of the law swerved from the very end of the commandment. They set up for disputers, but their disputes proved vain jangling. They set up for teachers, but they pretended to teach others what they themselves did not understand. If the church be corrupted by such teachers, we must not think it strange, for we see from the beginning it was so. When persons, especially ministers, swerve from the great law of love, or charity, the end of the commandment, they will turn aside to vain jangling. When a man misses his end and scope, it is no wonder that every step he takes is out of the way. Jangling, especially in religion, is vain. It is unprofitable and useless as to all that is good, and it is very pernicious and hurtful. And yet many people’s religion consists of little else but vain jangling. Those who deal much in vain jangling are fond and ambitious to be teachers of others; they desire (that is, they affect) the office of teaching. It is too common for men to intrude into the office of the ministry when they are very ignorant of those things about which they are to speak. They understand neither what they say nor whereof they affirm and by such learned ignorance, no doubt, they edify their hearers very much!

"Unto the pure all things are pure but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure but even their mind and conscience is defiled." Titus 1:15

To righteous Christians that are sound in the faith and thereby purified, all things are pure. Meats and drinks and such things as were forbidden under the law (the observances of which some still maintain), in these there is now no such distinction, all are pure (lawful and free in their use), but to those that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure, even things lawful and good they abuse and turn to sin, they suck poison out of that from which others draw sweetness, their mind and conscience, those leading faculties, being defiled, a taint is communicated to all they do. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, Proverbs 15:8. And The ploughing of the wicked is sin, Proverbs 21:4, not in itself, but as done by him, the carnality of the mind and heart mars all the labour of the hand.

"The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times. Psalm 12:6

"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation." Psalm 24:3-5

"Every word of God is pure, he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him." Proverbs 30:5

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

Take heed... Want to see God today? You can. i do. Here is the most comprehensive character of the blessed, they are pure in heart. True relationship consists in heart-purity. Those who are inwardly pure, show themselves to be under the power of pure and undefiled religion. The power of the Holy Ghost. True Christianity lies in the heart, in the purity of heart; the washing of that from wickedness, Jeremiah 4:14. We must lift up to God, not only clean hands, but a pure heart, Psalm 24:4-5, 1 Timothy 1:5 . The heart must be pure, in opposition to mixture. An honest heart that aims well and pure, in opposition to pollution and defilement. As wine unmixed, as water unmuddied. The heart must be kept pure from fleshly lusts, all unchaste thoughts and desires and from worldly lusts. Covetousness is called filthy lucre, from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, all that which come out of the heart, and defiles the man. The heart must be purified by faith, and entire for God; must be presented and preserved a chaste virgin to Christ. Create in me such a clean heart, O God! Amen, amen and amen.

Here is the most comprehensive comfort of the blessed, "They shall see God." It is the perfection of the soul’s happiness to see God. Seeing him, as we may by faith in our present state, is a heaven upon earth, and seeing him as we shall in the future state, in the heaven of heaven. To see him as he is, face to face, and no longer through a glass darkly, to see him as ours, and to see him and enjoy him, to see him and be like him, and be satisfied with that likeness (Psalm 17:15 ). And to see him for ever, and never lose the sight of him, this is heaven’s happiness. The happiness of seeing God is promised to those, and those only, who are pure in heart. None but the pure are capable of seeing God, nor would it be a felicity to the impure. What pleasure could an unsanctified soul take in the vision of a holy God? As he cannot endure to look upon their iniquity, so they cannot endure to look upon his purity, nor shall any unclean thing enter into the new Jerusalem. But all that are pure in heart, all that are truly sanctified, have desires wrought in them, which nothing but the sight of God will sanctify and divine grace will not leave those desires unsatisfied.

"Finally brethren whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise think on these things." Philippians 4:8

Amen, be cleansed, go through the fire, be tried and found true. PURIFY YOUR HEART!! God is ever waiting for a pure heart to love and serve him. The reward is eternal and begins right here, right now. Seek Him diligently and with a pure heart, cleansed of unrighteousness, carrying no offense against anyone or anything. There you will know God, and he will know you. Amen.