Pastor David continues in the series from the beatitudes. Blessed are the pure in heart.

<p>Pastor David continues in the series from the beatitudes. Blessed are the pure in heart.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Hillside O’Malley SDA Church

The Beatitudes

David Shin

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

Blessed Are They that Mourn

Blessed are the Meek

Blessed are Those Who Hunger for Righteousness

Blessed Are the Merciful

Blessed are the Pure in Heart

Blessed are the Peacemakers

Blessed Are the Persecuted

We are continuing in our series from the Sermon on the Mount, and today our focus is Matthew 5, verse 8, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

There's a lot of different angles we can take on this verse, but for the purpose of our study today, I want to hone in on those 3 words, pure in heart.

That's going to be the focus of our study today.

The heart is what you are in the secrecy of your thoughts and feelings when nobody but God knows.

It's that inner sanctum, that private part of your life, the thought life, and God is not only concerned about pure actions, but he's also concerned about the root, the thoughts of the heart.

Now when we talk about moral purity, there's an elephant in the room that I want to touch on.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this, but due to our digital age that we're living in today, we are living in an unprecedented time where it's becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a pure thought life.

I was stunned by the statistics that have come up in the last few years since the digital revolution that we are experiencing now.

And when we talk about this area of our lives, there is a medium through the media that's making it very difficult to maintain a pure life.

This quote, porn sites receive more regular traffic than Netflix, Amazon, Twitter combined each month.

We're talking about the deluge of information and the obscene material that is available.

And this is from a reputable Research Group, the Barna Research Group, did a study in the US in 2014.

The following percentages of men say they have viewed pornography at least once a month.

Women are not immune, according to this study.

The following percentages of women say they view pornography at least once a month.

18 to 30 year olds, 76%, 31 to 49 year olds, 16%, 50 to 60 year olds, 4%.

And this was an interesting statistic in regards to married women.

25% of married women say they watch porn at least once a month compared to 16% of not married women.

55% of married men say they watch porn at least once a month compared to 70% of not married men.

We are living in an unprecedented era where the availability to these types of materials is becoming more and more prevalent.

And when I was youth pastor, A couple districts ago, I was ministering to an elementary school, a Christian elementary school, and the parents were stunned when news broke that a group of the elementary school students had been habitually surfing the internet and watching pornography.

Our children are not immune to this and we are living in an unprecedented time and this is from the US Department of Justice.

Never before in the history of telecommunications media in the United States has so much indecent and obscene material been so easily accessible by so many minors in so many American homes with so few restrictions.

And I read another statistic that less than 25% of parents have had a conversation about proper use of the Internet.

We need to get tech savvy and as toe-curling as it seems, we are the first generation that will have to talk to our children about porn.

This digital age that we're living in is capturing a whole generation of young people that have literally not known life without the internet.

This is another study that says, research reveals many systemic effects of internet pornography that are undermining an already vulnerable culture of marriage and family, even more disturbing is the fact that the first Internet generations have not reached full maturity, so the upper limits of this impact have yet to be realized.

And in relationship to parents with children, it says, a warm and communicative parent-child relationship is the most important factor in reducing porn use among children.

This is becoming increasingly difficult with the tablet and smartphones, and according to Juniper Research, by 2017, a quarter of a billion people are expected to be accessing mobile and adult contact from their phones or tablets, an increase of more than 30% from 2013.

Well, you say, Pastor David, you know, we're in a Christian church, you're preaching to the choir, you know, we don't deal with these types of issues, and I came across another staggering statistic from the same research group, BARNA, and it said, according to a survey conducted by BARNA group in the US in 2014, 64% of self-identified Christian men and 15% of self-identified Christian women view pornography at least once a month.

This is a challenge that is facing this generation as never before.

So, some person may say, you know, David, this is the thoughts, what's the big deal?

And it is a rationalization that can take place in the consciousness of many minds that, you know what, I'm not going to act on it, I'm just thinking it.

And this is a quotation from Marcus Aurelius.

And here's the progression of the seeds of thought that are being sown.

And I'm not only talking about sexual purity in the recesses of the mind, We're talking about any thoughts that come into the mind that are not sanctified.

The thoughts produce actions, actions produce habits, habits produce character, and character determines your destiny.

He says, so a thought reap an action, so an action reap a habit, so a habit reap a character, so a character reap a destiny.

The grace of God permeates the entire person so that it not only affects the outside, but the word of God and the power of God goes all the way into the inner recesses of the mind and there is grace, amen?

There is grace for where the real battle lies is in our thoughts.

That's where God wants to give us the gift of purity.

And this battle for purity in the consciousness of our inner sanctum of our minds and hearts is something that is impossible in our own strength.

And I go to this quotation from Steps to Christ, telling us how helpless we are in this mental battle, in this mental addiction that our society has succumbed to today.

You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections.

The knowledge of your broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence in your own sincerity and causes you to feel that God cannot accept you, but you need not despair.

How many times have you gone to God and said, Lord, help me with this area, or you've made resolutions or New Year's resolutions and promises and said, you know what, I'm never going to do this again.

And she goes on by saying, what you need to understand is the true force of the will.

This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision or of choice.

Everything depends on the right action of the will.

The power of choice God has given to men.

You cannot of yourself give to God its affections, but you can choose to serve Him.

He will then work in you to will and to do according to his good pleasure.

Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ.

Your affections will be centered upon him.

Your thoughts will be in harmony with him." The foundation of the Christian faith comes down to this fundamental principle and this fundamental decision.

I believe that even giving our wills to God is something that is impossible in our own strength.

Even the ability to choose God or to choose to surrender is a work of grace.

So whatever area it is in your life, you can come to God and say, Lord, help me willing to be made willing.

I can't conquer this area of my life, my thoughts.

Now I was at AJA this week and sharing with the young people and our precious young people, you know, just so innocent and precious.

And I was sharing with them about the nature of how consent is the most powerful thing in the rules of the great controversy.

Consent is a powerful thing, and I shared with them this illustration.

You know, when I go door to door, I used to go door to door selling books, and I've been all over the country California, New Hampshire, Florida I would knock on the door and There's something I very I learned very quickly about etiquette when you go to a door.

There is an invisible line that is there.

If when they open the door, I just say, oh, thank you very much, and I walk right in, There would be a problem, especially here in Alaska, I hear.

I would stand at the door and I want to tell you, I met some wonderful people.

They would take pity on this poor canvasser, give me juice, give me soda, give me money, give me donations.

They would compliment me, say all types of nice it is to me, an acknowledgement that I was there, but you know what?

And then until I would hear those wonderful words, come on in, Come on in and then I would come in.

In the winter, I learned this phrase because it was so cold and I was freezing outside, I would walk up to the door, I was freezing, and as the person would open the door, I would feel a warm rush of air come outside, and I would say, sorry ma'am to let all the hot air out.

It's 9 times out of 10, they said, oh, come on in.

The Bible tells us in Revelation Chapter 3, verse 20, Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If any man open the door, the implication is, and invite him in, I will come in.

This is the fundamental rules of the great controversy.

Series

The Beatitudes

Blessed are the Pure in Heart

Transcript

Description

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Think On These Things

Think on These Things- Part 2

39m

The Power of Temperance

1h 6m

Plenary

Living a Great Life

1h 3m

Sanctuary, Salvation & Our Savior

Sanctuary, Salvation and Our Savior: Glorified in the Most Holy Place

33m

The Close of Probation

The Close of Probation- Part 3

34m

The Unhindered Gospel

Dying in Order to Live

47m

Anticipation

48m

IMPACT Scandinavia 2012: Plenary Sessions

Immune to the Gospel

1h 10m

Lessons from the Life of Paul

Romans 7

34m

The Plan of Salvation

05 God’s Part Our Part

1h 1m

Plenary

Shopping for Pearls

53m

Absolute Surrender

45m

Sound Doctrine