Author: Stephen Thomason

God's Character Goals for Our Lives
Pure Motives
Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
I. What Does This Mean?
A. Pure (καθαρός) = physically clean hands, clothes, etc.
1. It was used of corn that had to be chucked.
2. It also meant an army that had been purged of inefficiency, cowardliness & soldiers unwilling to fight. ILL: Gideon's Men (Judges 7:1-8).
3. It also described metal that had the impurities burned out of it.
B. Heart (καρδία) = the physical blood pumper.
1. The seat of your emotions apart from your intellect.
2. It also implied your whole inner being.
C. Being pure in heart means to have your motives, the intentions of your heart, absolutely genuine.
II. How Easy is It to Keep Pure Motives?
A. Some abuses of others in the past. Originally well intentioned but caught up in their own fame!
1. ILL: Jim Jones & the People's Temple.
a. Started in Indianapolis , IN in 1954 & joined the Disciples of Christ in 1960.
b. Membership: about 3000 in San Francisco.
c. Benevolent ministry: homeless shelters, soup kitchens, daycare centers, homes for the elderly & foster children & a 40 acre ranch for disabled children.
d. Moved 913 members to Jonestown in Guyana to escape the wickedness of the world in a tropical paradise.
e. Murdered congressman Leo Ryan and committed mass suicide in 1978.
2. ILL: Jim & Tammy Bakker & the PLT Television Ministry.
a. Joined Pat Robertson & the 700 Club in 1966 with the "Jim & Tammy Show" for children.
b. Published the "Davey & Goliath" TV series for children.
c. Then, started preaching "Prosperity Theology", if you give sacrificially to the Lord, He will make you financially wealthy.
In 1980 built "Heritage USA", the 3rd most successful theme park in the country.
d. In 1987, sexual scandals & then financial scandals sent Jim to prison.
3. ILL: Jimmy Swaggart & the Jimmy Swaggart Ministries.
a. Founded a 4000 member Pentecostal church, a Christian publishing company, a television station, a recording studio & in 1984 World Evangelism Bible College & Seminary.
b. Emphasized sexual purity & living holy lives in his preaching.
c. He was the one who exposed Jim Bakker's sexual immorality on the Larry King Show in 1987.
d. In 1988, on the occasion of being found with a prostitute in a Louisiana motel, he confessed the now famous confession, "I have sinned against You, my Lord, & I would ask that Your precious blood would wash & cleanse every stain until it is in the seas of God's forgiveness!" The prostitute admitted he was a regular customer!
4. Were all of these people just a bunch of hypocritical, money hungry Elmer Gantrys, who were out to fleece the innocent flock?
a. Probably not. These were the temptations of wealth, popularity & power overcoming the weak, sinful flesh we all have! They got caught up in these temptations & yielded to them!
b. I think these people were originally well intentioned servants of the Lord who got their focus off Him & onto themselves.
B. How about your motives? Are they always pure & genuine?
1. When you give generously to the church do you secretly hope someone will discover it so you will look good? ILL: Ananias & Sapphira (Act 5:1-11).
2. Have you ever given completely anonymously so no one would know except the Lord?
3. Is your work in the church for the Lord or your own prestige?
Ill. How Does the Pure in Heart See God?
A. Not like some Bible people saw God.
1. Abraham saw God in the form of 3 men who told him about Isaac (Gen 18:1-15).
2. Jacob wrestled with God (Gen 32:24-30).
3. Job saw God in the storm (Job 38:1ff).
4. Moses saw God in the form of a fiery bush (Ex 3:1-4).
B. At the 2nd Coming we will all actually see Him.
1. I Thess 4:15-17 - According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
2. I Jn 3:2 - Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
C. In this life, those who are genuine in their faith will see God more clearly. It's a matter of perspective!
1. You look into the sky & see the stars - a navigator could navigate a ship by them & an astronomer could name them.
2. You go into an art gallery & see a bunch of paintings - my friend Bill could go in & tell you what each of them was worth.
3. Those who are genuine in their faith will see God more clearly than those who aren't!
God wants to develop within you unmixed motives - a genuineness before God & others. As this maturity in Christ develops, God's promise is you will see Him clearer & clearer!
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