November 4 2012 The Choice Of Purity

THE CHOICE OF PURITY

Matthew 5:8 - Happy are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Pure in Heart:

Matthew 6:1 - Be careful not to parade your good deeds before others to attract their notice, or you will lose all reward for your Father in heaven.

How to Develop a Pure Heart (Matthew 6)

1. Remember God sees everything.
Vs. 4, 6, 18 - Your Father sees what is done in secret.

Hebrews 4:13 - Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

2. Review my motives.
Proverbs 24:21 - God knows and judges your motives. He keeps watch over you. He knows, and He will reward you according to what you do!

• Giving (vs. 2-4)
• Praying (vs. 5-15)
• Fasting (vs. 16-18)

1 Thessalonians 2:4 - We do not aim to please others, but to please God who knows us through and through.

3. Realign your priorities.
Exodus 20:3 - You shall have no other gods before Me.

Three Tests

• Look at my activities.
Matthew 6:19 - Don’t pile up treasures on earth, but keep your treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, your heart will be also.

• Look at my anxieties.
Matthew 6:25 - Therefore, I tell you, don’t worry about your life.

• Look at my ambitions.
Matthew 6:31-33 - Don’t worry about (these things), this is what pagans are always looking for, your heavenly Father knows you need them. Instead, set your heart first on His Kingdom, and His goodness and all those things will come to you as a matter of course.

Psalm 51:10 - Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires.