Sermon on the Mountainside Sight From Pure Heart

Sermon on the Mountainside

Sight From Pure Heart

Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."

Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? John 14:8-10

Jesus’ answer is amazing

Philip did not recognize what was right there in front of him

Jesus in Matthew 5 tells us how we can see God

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Pure, clean, clear in heart

The heart, the thoughts and emotions

Pure thoughts and emotions

Sight From Pure Heart

Every blessing has a reward.

A blessing without a reward is not a blessing.

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mountainside

is revealing how you and I can be blessed.

The blessing in verse 8 of Matthew 5 gets my attention…

“They shall see God.”

I love to look at my wife,

I love to see my children

and grandchildren.

I love to look at the sky.

I love to see the ocean.

Sight is an amazing thing.

There are a lot of beautiful things I have seen

and there are a lot more things I want to see in life.

For me the thing I want to see the

most is the Creator of all these things.

When I am hurting or confused,

I want to see God.

When I get up in the morning,

I want to see God as much

as I want to see the sun rise.

 This invisible God that Paul says we cannot see…

God, the blessed and only Ruler,

the King of kings and Lord of lords,

 who alone is immortal and who

lives in unapproachable light,

whom no one has seen or can see.

To him be honor and might forever.

Amen.

I Timothy 6:15-16

That is the One I want to see.

I not only want to see Him,

 I want to ask Him questions.

I want to see Him like a friend wants to see a friend.

Moses describes this type of relationship…

The LORD would speak to Moses face to face,

as a man speaks with his friend.

Exodus 33:11

I think if I walked with the disciples

of Jesus, I too, would be like Philip.

Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father

and that will be enough for us."

Jesus answered:

"Don't you know me, Philip,

even after I have been among you such a long time?

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.

How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

John 14:8-10

Jesus’ answer is amazing.

Philip did not recognize what

was right there in front of him.

Jesus in Matthew 5 tells

us how we can see God…

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Pure, clean, clear in heart.

The heart, the thoughts and emotions.

Pure thoughts and emotions.

The brain interprets what our eyes see.

When I cannot find what I am

looking for, I ask Sandy for help.

I cannot tell you how many times

she looked in the exact spot I looked at

multiple times and sees that missing item.

Maybe it is my frustration, or

maybe I was in too big of a hurry.

Maybe the project eclipsed

my vision for the tool.

It seems we all have difficulty seeing at

times because of what is on our mind.

 Our emotions, knowledge, our pain

or anger, even our love and rest can

affect the interruption of what we see.

Jesus says we can see God maybe not in the

physical way we want, but we can see God.

Seeing God takes a pure heart.

If you and I want this blessing…

We need to keep our thoughts and emotions clean.

Ephesians 5:25-28 tells us how to

clean and make our hearts pure…

…just as Christ loved the church and gave

himself up for her to make her holy,

cleansing her by the washing

with water through the word, and to

present her to himself as a radiant church,

without stain or wrinkle or any other

blemish, but holy and blameless.

God’s Word is able to purify your heart.

 God’s Word makes us holy…

 Meaning to be set apart so that

we can be presented to God…

In the deepest way.

Moses spoke to God face to face

 as a man speaks with his friend.

God wants you to see Him in the

same way Jesus saw the Father…

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.

How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Don't you believe that I am in the Father,

 and that the Father is in me?

The words I say to you are not just my own.

Rather, it is the Father,

 living in me, who is doing his work.

John 14:9-10

Jesus and the Father are one.

John 10:30

As a bride and groom become one…

 So is the relationship God wants

you to see you have with Him.

The people who see God do not see Him

from time to time like an old friend…

The people who see God, see

themselves living with God.

Living daily like a husband and wife

 with the same thoughts and purpose.

Marriage fails without purity

and so does our ability to see God.

He who loves a pure heart and

whose speech is gracious…

Proverbs 22:11

 Will have the King for his friend.

Scripture Reading

Matthew 5:8 NIV

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.