A Pure Heart — Alan Martin

The Pure Heart and Gracious Speech

In the NIV it reads, "...he who loves the pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the King for his friend.". Last week we spoke about having gracious speech. But you know, you can't have gracious speech without having grace-filled heart because it's out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks.

That's why really the pure heart has to come before the gracious speech, but it was the gracious speech that was on my heart last week. But I want to talk about this having a pure heart today. It's interesting, as I looked up this word in the Septuagint, I use the Septuagint a lot because you have to understand that Hebrew was a very simple language.

And therefore, many words are used in multiple ways. And God saw fit that the Hebrew Bible would be translated into Greek, which is much more precise, so that we can get a more exact understanding of the word.

And the word here, pure, is kind of a rare word in the Greek. It's used in the classical Greek to denote the everlasting principles of right which are not constituted by the laws or customs of men. It says the idea, this is beyond what men think is right.

It's not talking about what men consider pure and right. These are laws that transcend customs. They transcend ages. These are eternally right principles. And you need this in your heart. If you love this kind of heart, you'll have the king for your friend.

It's primarily concerned with what I mentioned, eternal laws. And it made me think of Jeremiah 6 .16. You don't need to turn there. It's a very short passage. But do you remember this? When Jeremiah was told by the Lord, stand at the crossroads and look.

And what did He tell him to look for? He said to ask for something. Ask where the ancient paths... And at the same time, ask where the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it. And what do you have?

When you ask for the ancient paths and the good way and you walk in it, what do you have? Rest for your souls. One of the things of walking with Jesus, if you really know Him, is that you'll find He said, my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

And when you find out about Him, when you take His yoke upon you and you learn of Him, you find that He is meek and lowly of heart. And what you'll find is rest under your souls. Because Jesus walked by the ancient paths.

Jesus walked by what was good from the beginning, what transcends every culture and every set of customs among men. He did what was right from eternity in the eyes of God. And when you have in your heart a heart that loves that which is right from the beginning, that which is right from God in every age, you'll have the king for your friend.

Holiness and Righteousness Before God

Throughout the New Testament, this word, osios, it looks Godward. It is talking about a man's heart towards God, whereas in many cases in the New Testament, righteousness is talking about a man's relationship to other men.

So it's interesting. If you want to turn to Luke 1. Luke chapter 1 verse 75. Both of these words are used side by side. Luke chapter 1. Turn there with me. Luke 1 .75. This is the declaration of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, when he wrote on a tablet, and they were all asking him.

Remember, he had been struck dumb by the angel because he was kind of slow to believe what the angel had told him about Elizabeth having a son at her old age. So the angel smote him and he couldn't speak all the way up until the child was born at nine months.

And then when it came time to name the child, they were asking, you know, Elizabeth, because John couldn't speak, what should we name the child? And John said, his name shall be John. I mean, Zechariah had to write on a tablet because she told him his name will be John and he didn't believe it.

He said, you don't have any relatives named by that. And so they gave him, Zechariah's writing tablet, and he wrote, his name shall be John. And as soon as he wrote that, his tongue was loosed and he began to declare this.

And in the middle of this declaration, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. He said, here in verse 75, well, I'm going to read from verse 69 on. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.

As he said through his holy prophets of long ago, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham, to rescue us from the hand of all of our enemies.

And what's enemy number one in our life? Sin. You know, he shall save his people from their sins. And to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness, that which is eternally right in the eyes of God from eternity and righteousness before him all our days.

Look also in Ephesians 4. Turn with me to Ephesians 4 .24. See, the Lord really does enable us to actually have this kind of heart. He doesn't just ask us to have it. He enables us to have this kind of heart.

A right heart before Him. In Ephesians 4, I'm going to read from Ephesians 4 .20 -24. It says, You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.

You were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, and to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

You were created to be before God in Him, in Christ, to be completely righteous in all your relationships with men, and to have a heart perfectly in line with everything beautiful before the eyes of God from eternity.

A perfect heart and a right attitude and right relationship with men. This is God's will. This is how we learn Christ. This is what we were called to be and to walk in. A pure heart. What do we know about a pure heart?

The pure in heart shall do what? They shall see God. Now it is an idiosyncrasy and God does not write in idiosyncrasies. If God says, the pure in heart shall see God, it is an idiosyncrasy to say you can't have a pure heart.

You can't have a pure heart because you're given the heart of Christ. You're given the mind of Christ. Christ enables this. Of our self it's not possible, but with men, things are not possible, but with God, all things are possible.

Everyone and everyone that really has the hope of spending eternity with God does what? 1 John says, everyone who has this hope in him does what? Purifies himself. That's the key here. Even as he is pure.

We're not talking about a level of purity acceptable to the customs of men. We're talking about a level of purity that must be acceptable in the eyes of the one who calls things pure. Pure like He is pure.

Completely in harmony with His Father. Completely agreeable to everything right and lovely with His Father. Pure in the eyes of Christ. And if you really have the hope of the resurrection, you're busy, you're working diligently to purify yourself even as He is pure.

And turn with me to 2 Corinthians 7. Another thing through Paul's encouragement, exhortation, maybe mixed with a little bit of admonition which has a connotation of warning. He says in 2 Corinthians 7 in the first verse, since we have these promises, the promises of, I will be your God and you shall be My people.

Having that promise, if that's really a promise you've received, this is the only proper response to that promise. Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out in the fear of God.

So, if you really, really want to have the King as your friend, you are seeking this life of purity. You are seeking this heart just like Jesus, the same heart Jesus had towards His Father is what you're seeking.

And you seek the help of the Holy Spirit to make this a reality in your life. Turn with me to Revelation 3. He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the King for his friend. You know, did Jesus say really anything in direct contradiction to what was said before?

Did He not say, think not that I have come to destroy the law of the prophets, for until all things fulfilled, not the least stroke of a pen, not the smallest dot, shall be in any wise past, till all things be fulfilled.

He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. He came to create in man the kind of heart that the law said they should have. Here in Revelation 3, look with me in verse 4. Let's back up. Back up just a little bit.

Well, verse 4 kind of says it. After talking about some problems that there were in the church of Sardis, He says to them in verse 4,. Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes.

They will walk with Me. Dressed in white, for they are worthy. The Greek word for worthy, we get our English word axle from it. It's that which connects two things on the same plane. They will walk with Me because I am pure and they're seeking purity.

See that? That's why they'll walk with Me. They're trying to keep their garments clean. They're the ones who are going to walk with Me. And if you walk with Christ, what does that mean? Who do you think Christ walks with?

Yeah, His friends. You see? Jesus told His disciples, I no longer call you servants, I call you friends. And the King wants to walk with His friends. If you're going to take a walk with someone, you don't want to walk with a stranger, you want to walk with a friend.

He's saying, the ones that are seeking to purify themselves and keep their garments white, they're going to walk with Me because they're the ones worthy. They're the ones on the same plane as I am. They have the same understanding.

That's why it's important. Okay, having established it's that important, turn to Psalms 119. If you believe that this is that important, this is that critical to actually walking with Jesus and dwelling with Him in eternity, if you're really seeking to purify yourself, even as He is pure, and Psalms 119 is a very big book, just turn near the start of it and you'll be pretty close.

Guarding the Word of God

If you really have this desire to have this kind of heart, a pure heart and a gracious speech, it seems like a natural question would come up in your mind. The question, how do you get this kind of heart?

How can you make sure that this heart is a reality in your life? Well, David answers this question here in Psalms 119. Someone read verse 9 out loud if you would. How about that? How can a young man keep his way pure by living according to Your Word?

Now, if someone had the King James here, would you read Psalms 119 .9 out of the King James?

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to Thy Word. This is an interesting word.

Brother Jerry, the word cleanse here comes from the idea to be translucent. What does it mean to be translucent? To see through it. Interesting. A similar meaning is to be transparent. Now, this verse came to my mind, seeking to be translucent.

How shall a young man make his way translucent? That's a part of cleansing. This came to my mind. If your eye be single, your whole body will be. The Greek for single means unfolded. Now, in material, the more material layers there are, the less light can get through.

So if your eye is translucent, your whole body... How many layers are you trying to see through? What is pleasing to God? What I like? What my friend likes? What my husband likes? How many layers are you trying to look through?

The person with one layer, their whole body is going to be full of light. What is right in the eyes of God? What's right in the eyes of God? That's the only layer there. If your friends think it's okay, what does that mean?

Rip that layer off and throw it away. What is right in the eyes of God with that one layer, that translucent layer, your whole body will be full of light. And a similar meaning is transparent. Now, it's interesting, just the opposite...

Darkness, Depraved Understanding, and the Light of Christ

Let me read something and you want to turn there, Ephesians chapter 4. If you want to go there, just the opposite of being translucent and letting light penetrate is a description Paul said of how the Gentiles live.

Listen to this description in Ephesians chapter 4, verses 17 and 18 of how the Gentiles live. And he's telling the Christians not to live this way. Ephesians 4, verse 17,. So I tell you this and insist on it in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do in the vanity of their minds, for they are darkened where?

In their understanding. And they're separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. Now, where are they darkened? In their understanding. Why are they darkened in their understanding?

Because they have so many layers they're looking through, light cannot penetrate. They're not letting the light through. Their eye is not single. And their understanding is darkened because the way they think is not simply what is right in the eyes of God.

What is the perfect agreement with that which is good and pure from all eternity past? They don't think that way. I mentioned the other idea of being transparent. Transparent and translucent are slightly different.

Translucent, you can see through something that's translucent, can still let light through, but you may not be able to make out the perfect distinction on the other side, so the Word also has the idea of being transparent.

If something is transparent, you see what? Clearly. You see clearly. Now, this is what thought came to me about a person who loves transparency. Turn to John 3. In Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, He talks about a person who loves transparency.

John 3. This is the verdict. Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Now, most of you understand principles of light. Light goes where? That's a simple question.

Where does light go? Yeah, it shines in the dark. Light goes everywhere. In order to prevent light from coming out, what do you have to do? You have to block light. You have to block... Light will flood everywhere except where it's been blocked.

What kind of light are we blocking? What kind of light are we resisting? If we're transparent, we won't be blocking out any light. We won't be resisting any light. But listen, let's continue to see what Jesus says.

This is the verdict. Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light for their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil does what? He hates the light. And he will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be...

He doesn't want to be transparent. He doesn't want you to know what his heart really is. He doesn't want you to know what his motives really are. He wants you to think he's a good man. He may not be in church.

He may not pray. He may not follow the teachings of Christ. He still wants to be seen like he wants to be seen. But a man who loves God and whose heart is pure in complete harmony with those eternal principles that transcend every custom and every age, that man doesn't mind who views him.

Look at me. Look at my life. I love the light. I'm clearly willing to be seen by all. And he goes on to say this in the next verse. Jesus says, but whoever lives by the truth comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly that what he's done has been done through God.

That's the kind of heart we need to have. A heart that is translucent, that lets light penetrate. We're looking through one layer, one single layer, what is right in the eyes of God. And if that's your heart, your whole body will be full of light.

Now, that's part of the cleansing way. Now let's answer the question, how do we get to that point? Psalms 119 says, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? What's the answer? How do you get to that place, that translucent, transparent place?

How? By taking heed to thy word. Taking heed. The Greek word and the Hebrew word for taking heed means to guard, beware, to protect, to attend to. In the Septuagint, it's philosestai, which is in the middle voice.

I love the middle voice because the middle voice stresses the participation of the subject in the result of the action. In other words, it's your responsibility to do this. How shall you taking heed? I can't take heed for you.

You have to take heed for yourself. That's how you're going to cleanse your way. You yourself taking heed to thy word. This same word was used of the shepherds outside of Bethlehem. And there were in the fields near Bethlehem shepherds.

What were they doing? Keeping watch over their flocks by night. Same word. Keeping watch over the Word of God. Guarding it. Protecting it. Watching it. That carefully. You know, the other word that is commonly used for is in a watch tower.

What is a watch tower built for? To keep watch. So you watch what's going on so that no one's asleep. It's for everyone's protection. Fathers and mothers, if this is not your heart, the enemy's sneaking up and guess what he's after?

Your children. Husband and wife, if you're not on watch for each other, guess what the enemy's after? Okay? Jesus said, Blessed is that servant whose master when he returns finds him watching. One of the last things He told His disciples was watch and pray.

Let you fall not in temptation. Turn with me to Luke 11. Luke 11. If you want to cleanse your way, you have to have this kind of disposition. This watchful, guarding, attentive, sober, alert disposition.

In Luke 11, this same word is used in verse 28. But let's read 27 and 28 together. Luke 11, 27 and 28. As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.

You know what? There's a whole religion that says this all the time. There's a whole religion that that's their favorite statement. Blessed is your mother. And He says, He replied, Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it or keep it.

That's the word. Who are guarding it, watching over it, keeping it, diligently, diligently taking care of it. They're the ones that should be blessed. That's what He said. And turn with me to Acts 7. In Acts 7, verse 53, this same word is used.

But it's used, Acts 7, 53, this time it's used in the negative. Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, is speaking to the Jews. And the Jews are best known in the days of Jesus for loving the traditions of men more than the commandments of God.

They loved the traditions of men more than the commandments of God, so they were very religious. We're not talking about people who weren't religious or weren't moral. They just weren't followers of Christ.

And so he says to them, Stephen, fill with the Holy Spirit, says in verse 51 of Acts 7, Ye stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears, ye are just like your fathers. Do you always resist the Holy Spirit?

Was there ever a prophet that your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered Him. You who have received the law that was put into effect through angels, but have not kept it.

You haven't watched over it. You haven't guarded it. You haven't treated it with special reverence and care. You received it, but you haven't guarded it. The same word is found in 1 Peter 1. Having this heart will enable us to have the King as our friend.

Purification Through Obedience and Watchfulness

And the way to get this heart is to have this kind of attitude towards the Word of God. And Peter says it the same way, because really, when the Holy Spirit is speaking truth, it doesn't matter whether it comes through James, through Paul, through John, through Peter, through David, through Solomon, through Samuel, through Jude.

It's all the same. It's all in perfect agreement the way it should be. Peter says this by the Holy Spirit in 1 Peter 1. Now that you have purified yourselves by what? The way to cleanse your way, the way to purify yourself is to obey the truth, is to take heed to the Word.

And the opposite of that is, look at 2 Peter. You're not too far from there. 2 Peter. What if you're not careful to watch? What if you're careless? What if you go to sleep? What if you're a watchman for your family and you're asleep on your watch?

Peter's not going to let that happen on his watch. Listen to him. One of the last things we know that he ever written, at least what we have preserved by God, is 2 Peter 3 .17,. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, what should your attitude be?

Be on guard. That is security. I believe in eternal security. The kind that Peter talks about. If ye do these things, ye shall never fall. If you stay on your guard, you'll be okay. I'm not promising anybody okay if they go to sleep on watch.

No one should give that kind of assurance to anyone. You be diligent, you stay on guard, you'll be okay. But be on guard that you don't be carried away by the error of what? The lawless men. Well, what is the law?

The Word of God. Men who don't live by the Word. Don't be carried away by what men think is okay and pure, by the customs of men, by the traditions of men. I don't care what's right according to the U .S. Congress.

I don't care what's right in the USA Today. I don't care what George Barnum says is right. The Word of God is what's right. And if it's not right with the Word of God, you had better not pay attention to it because you may be right with 99 of American society and go straight to hell.

Your heart better be in agreement with what's right eternally. What transcends all cultures, all nations, and everything. It better be pure in the eyes of God. That's how to have a single eye and have a pure heart.

We're seeing lawlessness abound in the last days. Don't be carried away by the error of lawless men. Be on your guard. We had better be on our guard. Flip back to Hebrews 2. Again, another strong admonition.

Hebrews 2. What is this? Well, I want security. And you know what? You'll be secure when you're guarded. When you have the right kind of sober, guarded heart, you'll be secure. You know what? One of my favorite verses of Dinah comes from Proverbs 4.

Above all else, guard your heart, for from it flow the issues of life. If you have a guarded heart, you'll be okay. Here in Hebrews 2, it doesn't matter who the author was. We don't know for sure. The Spirit is the author.

Whatever man, it doesn't matter. But he says here in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 2, I like the way the King James says it, we must give all the more earnest heed to the things we've heard, lest we let them slip.

You know what happens if you're not on guard? The truth of God, the Word of God, and that which is eternally right from the eyes of God is going to slip from your heart. And you know what's going to slip in?

Society's ideas of what's right. What men think is right. Be careful. Don't let that happen. Romans 1. Last verse for that which is opposite. Then we're going to strengthen the matter and wrap this up.

Romans 1 and the Darkening of the Mind

Strengthen the matter of how you ensure your heart stays pure. But look at this dangerous process describing those who chose not to guard the Word of God, not to guard the knowledge that God had given them.

In Romans 1, we touched upon this in our Bible study this morning. Romans 1. Verse 21 says, for although they knew God, in some way they knew Him. They neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile.

And their foolish hearts were darkened. That means the end, they had less light than they had at the beginning. Less light in the end than they had at the beginning because they chose not to receive fully the light they had been given already.

To him who has, more shall be given. And he shall have an abundance. But to him who has not, even that which he thinks he has shall be taken from him. So God is going, because they don't want the revelation about God that He's made known and obvious of Himself, God says, okay, you don't want to know Me?

Okay, I'll take what you should know away from you. And you'll know even less of Me than you thought. And the result of that is stated in verse 25. Again, they changed the truth of God for a lie. They didn't want to know God for who He really is.

They wanted a concept of God. Give us a God that will make us feel good about ourselves. Give us a God that will give us the freedom to do what we want. That's happening. Still, beware of that. The result of that, one step further is verse 28.

Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, what did He give them over to? A reprobate mind. A mind depraved. What is this mind depraved of? It's depraved of the truth.

It's depraved of the Word. He doesn't think by the Word. All the time I meet people and here's what their law is, I think. Well, I think. Well, I think. I don't care what you think. What it should be said is, it is written.

It is written. It is written. Jesus said. Peter said. John said. God said. That's what's important. It doesn't matter whether it's popular to US culture or popular in Russia or popular in China or in India.

If it's right before the eyes of God, it's right. That's a single eye. And that's the way to have your heart pure. And if you don't have that, your mind is going to be depraved of that which is eternally right from the beginning.

And your understanding is going to be darkened because you've built up barriers to keep the light from coming through. Not a good thing to do. So what is purity? Purity. Transparency. Translucency. Guarding your heart by keeping these precious...

Walking in the Light and Fellowship With Christ

What does that equal? I have a description of what that equals. Turn to 1 John 1. This is just a good description of what that equals. 1 John 1. Verses 5 -7. This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you.

God is light. In Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him, yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son purifies us from all sin.

And we've already answered this, but I want to restate it in two ways. There are two descriptions of the light. They're really both describing the same thing. But in Psalms 119, what did David describe as the light?

My word is a lamp to my feet and a light to thy path. He also said in Psalms 119, 130, the entrance of thy word gives light. Allowing God's Word to penetrate you will give you light. And you can walk in the light.

That's one way of stating it. The other way of stating the way to receive light and walk in the light is not just the words God's spoken before. They were only a shadow and type of the real light. It's the real light.

Jesus said, I am the light. Listen to what John says in John 1. The Gospel of John. These beautiful words. John 1, verses 4 -9 In Him was life, and that life was what? The light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it or overcome it.

There was a man who was sent from God. His name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light so that through Him all men might believe. He Himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light, the true light that lighteth every man.

The way to walk in the light is to receive the light. Jesus Christ, He came to His own, but His own received Him not. Yet, to all who received Him, to them He gave power to become sons of God. Sons of the light.

And listen to what He says about this relationship with light if you're still there in John 8. Verse 12 says, When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness.

He'll have the light of life. So how can you keep your way pure? In the simplest terms, follow Christ. And you better make sure to keep yourself guarded that you are following close. Don't follow like Peter.

When Peter followed Christ afar off, what did he end up doing? Denied Him three times. In Christ. You need to follow Christ and walk in the light. He also says in chapter 11 verses 9 and 10, Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours of daylight?

A man who walks by day will not stumble because he sees by the world's light. It's when he walks by night that he stumbles for he has no light. So let's don't do that. How does this all tie together? He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the King for his friend.

The Word Stored in the Heart

Well, how do you get a pure heart? Well, Jesus said this, A good man ringeth forth good out of the good stored up in him. Doesn't that agree with the man after God's heart who said, Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin?

If you store the Word of God in your heart, you won't be the foolish person who goes around saying, Well, I think... Well, I think... Well, I think... You'll be the person who soberly goes around saying, Well, God says...

Well, God says... Well, God says... Well, God says... And they'll be walking in the light. And it says, If you walk in the light as He is in the light, you will have what? Fellowship! Now what is fellowship?

That's walking in koinonia. Isn't that the same as friendship? You want to have the King as your friend? Walk in the light. Have a pure heart and have your speech gracious. And that is the only way for it to be.