- The Pure in Heart
- The Promise of Seeing God
Summary: Jesus guides us on the narrow and hard path of righteousness that leads right into the Father's heart. When the children of God embody the character qualities commended in the Beatitudes, they experience showers of blessing along the way and oceans of blessing when they reach their destination. From the beatitude currently under study, we learn that such blessing comes to the pure in heart, those who have been washed clean through faith in Christ and now work hard in Christ's strength to stay clean.
Discussion Questions:
- In what ways do you feel the God-ordained tension of living in the already and not yet?
- What is the heart and how does it relate to behavior (cf. Mark 7:21-23; Lk. 6:45; Prov. 4:23)?
- According to a Christ-centered reading of Psalm 24, how do we get pure hearts?
- Ponder this: There is a river of gospel grace that mirrors the narrow path at every turn.
- How should Christians seek to maintain their purity (1 Jn. 1:9; 2 Tim. 2:20-22)?
- Exercise: Apply these principles of purification to heart issues such as gossip, lust, greed, etc.
- What is the relationship between pursuing purity of heart and seeing God (1 Jn. 3:2-3)?
Application Questions:
- What areas of impurity do you see in your life?
- Take time to deal with these impurities by...
- Understanding what impure thoughts, emotions, and desires they come out of and what wholesome thoughts, emotions, and desires should replace them.
- Confessing and washing them in the river of gospel grace (1 Jn. 1:9; 2 Tim. 2:20-21)
- Making a plan as to how you can flee from them in the future (2 Tim. 2:22)
- Making a plan as to how you can pursue purity of heart (2 Tim. 2:22)
Prayer Points:
- Confess to God any impurity you see in your life.
- Thank God for sending His Son to shed His blood so that those impurities can be washed away.
- Praise Jesus, the Pure One who has made it possible to see God by washing us by His blood and by leading us in triumphant procession into the presence of His Father.
- Ask God to help you work hard at fleeing impurity and pursuing purity of heart.
