Purity of Heart — Norman Troyer

Everyone in Jesus' name this morning, just thankful to God this morning for His mercies that are new every morning and His grace that still allows us to be here and to just have another day, another opportunity to serve Him.

Let's pray. Feel free to stand if you like. Father in heaven, thank you for this new day. Thank you for this time to be together here. Thank you for the scriptures that were read this morning and just the word that was shared, the songs that were sung, that they could just be in our hearts and continue to be ministered to today here by your word.

Just praise you for your faithfulness to us. Pray for those that are sick. Pray that you would heal them according to your will. Pray this morning for my father-in-law and mother-in-law. Pray that you would grant them healing according to your will as their sickness.

We pray this morning that you would just give us ears to hear and hearts to understand. Help us to be keen to your spirit. Pray also that you would give us a purity of heart. We thank you for Jesus again and for His blood that He shed for us and we pray these things in His name.

Amen. I'd like to start by reading in, reading Matthew chapter 5 verse 8. These are just some thoughts that I've been thinking recently and shared some of them last week at our meeting in Ohio. Matthew 5 verse 8 says, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Purity of Heart as Singleness of Purpose

When we were visiting Arizona last winter, maybe it wasn't this last winter, the winter before, Brother Malin, I think most of you would know him, he's been here, shared something about this verse that stood out to me and I, I just remembered it, but I also, I wrote down a few, a few things that he said about this.

It changed I guess my, the way I looked at this verse. Before I always considered this verse to be more talking about being clean, I guess, our hearts being clean. And I looked up a, just a definition of pure and the first definition was not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material.

And the last definition was free of any contamination. And the last one was, would have probably been in my, was in my mind like what I normally thought of. And just for, to maybe give a little bit of a material illustration of the idea that I would like to communicate is if you would have a glass of pure water and you would take some of Duane's pure honey and you would no longer have pure water.

Even though you wouldn't really say it's contaminated, it's just not pure anymore. It's not, it's not just, it's, it's been adulterated with, with another substance. A quote that Malin shared, and I think he got it out of a book, I don't remember, was to be pure in heart is to will one thing.

It's a, I guess, I don't know, would you say a singularity of purpose or intent, not a divided, we don't have any divided loyalty, I guess, if we're, if our heart is pure. In our, read Exodus chapter 23, it says, you shall have no other gods before me.

That's the one I wanted, yeah. And I don't know, that's how, this is a new King James, how this reads, but the German that always seemed like it, the meaning was, could have been taken slightly different.

I think this meaning, it can be understood correctly, but in German the word that's used seems to mean more, not just before me as in order of importance, but no other gods besides me, or aside from me, or except, except for me.

It's important to God that wholeheartedly serving Him, that our whole heart is towards Him. I'm going to turn to Deuteronomy 6, verses 4 through 9. O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. It seems that it was very important to God to communicate to the children of Israel that their God was one, that He is one God.

Unity in Christ and the Church

And just Jesus' desire, I think Robert touched on it, was for unity for the church. And Jesus prayed that we would be one in the same way that He and the Father are one. I think I'm saying that right.

It just seems like it comes out pretty strongly. God desires unity, oneness with us and for us with each other. And I think that the ways that that is best or most likely to be is if we have a pure heart and all the same desire to serve God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Doing that, I think, with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength requires a singleness of heart, a purity of heart. We can't be just kind of halfway into it and the other half kind of has other ambitions, you know, whatever.

It's a career. You can just think about other things that our heart might be drawn towards. I was reading the last verses here about these words, how you shall teach them diligently to your children and talk of them when you sit in your house and walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up.

Teaching Children the Ways of God

Just as a parent, I was just convicted that I'm not sure that I'm doing that. That just sounds really intense. I just don't even talk that much about anything. This morning, I think it was just this morning, I had the thought then that teaching our children something all the time just by our life, by the choices that we make, by the things we do, by how we react to situations.

If we're driving down the road and somebody needs help and we drive on by, I think we're teaching our children something. If we stop and help, I think we're teaching our children something. If they have a question and we're in a hurry and don't take time to answer, I think we're teaching them something.

And on the other hand, you know, if we take, I guess what I'm saying is I think we are teaching our children something. I think I am teaching them something. And I need to be sure that what I'm teaching them are these things of God, these words, words of God, the ways of God.

That's, I think, probably. The one verse, I don't know what the one verse says specifically, talk of them. So I think, I think there's importance in that too, verbally communicating about these things.

Sitting quietly, I had written down here, meditating, I think we'd be teaching our children something if they see us doing that. The things I just wrote down here is one of my thoughts about this as I was thinking was children working with their parents.

I think that's a good thing because I think children learn the most from the people that they're with the most. So I appreciated that. I helped work on Friday, a couple of brothers and there's a lot of boys there, I think, learning from their fathers.

I think that's good. I guess one point I was making in regards to those verses is that I don't think we always have to be talking to fulfill that. Brother Yasin shared a verse last week out of Psalms that says, be still and know that I am God.

We should be able to just sometimes just be still, be quiet, meditate, maybe even in a meeting together. It should not be uncomfortable to just sit quietly, meditate. The next verse I'm going to read is Matthew 6, Matthew chapter 6, verse 24.

Serving One Master Without Divided Loyalty

This verse just talks about having one master, not having a divided loyalty. No one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve God and mammon. I guess this verse is speaking maybe specifically about mammon when he says about serving two masters, but probably other things could fit in there. When I think about serving two masters and hating one and loving the other in my life as an example, this is not a spiritual example, but just some jobs that I had when I was about 15, 14, 15.

I had two jobs and two masters at the same time. One was, I guess they were both part time. One was working for a farmer and the other one was working in a foundry. The farmer was my first job. He could call me in whenever he needed me and if I wasn't working for him, I went and worked at the other job.

I hated the one job and I hated the other. I mean, I loved the one job and I hated the other. I think it would be, I don't know, probably be accurate to say the same about the masters. I just loved the one and I hated the other.

I wished I could always be working for the one. One day I went to my second job because I hadn't been called for the first one and I was already there just getting ready to start working when the first guy called the first master and said, This hay is ready to make.

I need you to come over here. I was so joyful. It was just like I had been pulled out of a, felt like I had been pulled out of a pit. It was that I just hated it so much. I don't know. I think probably like in the physical realm, people can have two jobs, work for two different people.

And like them both, I don't know if it's almost possible not to have a preference, like one better than the other. But that was an experience I had when I was young and still immature. I still have a lot to learn in that regard.

I would like to think that I've learned something since I was 15. But when it comes to serving God, it's just not an option to try to serve him a couple days a week and serve another master the other days.

Trials, Wisdom, and the Double-Minded Heart

Just a few more verses. James chapter 1, verse 2. A double-minded man is a man who is not pure in heart. A man who is not pure in heart is to will one thing. Just a comment on the first part, the first three verses.

We should count it joy when we fall into various trials. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God. If we ask God for wisdom or patience, he gives it to us. But he often does it in ways that aren't really fun.

How would I say it? He just doesn't hand it to us on a plate. We go through trials and testings and those things produce patience and wisdom. I'll read James chapter 4, verse 8. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Sinners, cleanse your hands, and double-minded, purify your hearts. Just close by reading Luke chapter 10, starting in verse 38.

Mary, Martha, and Choosing the One Necessary Thing

This is a little bit of a side note. Often when I read something, my mind just goes to other things other than the subject. Or the thing that I'm intending to read it for. I was just reminded as I was reading this, or the thought came to me.

This is about Martha and Mary. Martha complained to Jesus about Mary, asking him to help her. I thought, how many times? There's a number of times, I don't know how many. Whenever somebody came to Jesus and complained about somebody else.

And wanted him to tell this other person something. How many times did he take their side and agree with them? I'm not sure he ever did. Instead, he always pointed something out to them. It was just an interesting side note to me to think about.

Let's start reading here. Luke 10, verse 38. Now it happened as they went that he entered a certain village. And a certain woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word.

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she approached him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me. And Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.

But one thing is needed. And Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her. Think about that one thing. The one thing that is needed. Let's choose that part. Just invite any comments or corrections or criticisms.

Yeah, I just wanted to say amen to the message and that I appreciate it too. Not a good thought that we can make practical applications to in our lives. Just a few thoughts like Norman said, when we ask God for wisdom and patience, he doesn't just hand it to us on a platter.

Learning Wisdom Through Trials

I really appreciate that. I know I've thought about that in terms of patience. He sends us to trial to learn patience. We should be joyful for that. I guess I often feel that I lack wisdom in it. Of the things that I pray for, that's probably one of the things I probably ask the Lord for every day, is for wisdom.

And I appreciated recognizing, oh yeah, it's kind of in the same context there. It kind of works the same way. God gives us situations that he wants us to learn wisdom from. I think I have thought maybe even subconsciously, why does he just say so simply that ask for wisdom and it will be given to you?

And yet I keep asking for wisdom and I just don't think I get it. And I'm just more inclined to realize now that maybe I'm just not learning it from the daily situations that I face. Or recognizing it as his answer to my prayers.

Jesus' Response to Complaints

And I'm glad to rethink some of that. I also really appreciate it. Just bringing out how Jesus seldom, if ever, took the side of somebody that came with a complaint about someone else. And I just want to look more into that.

I think that's just pretty amazing how that works. Maybe something we should even learn from a little more when it comes to child training and working with people. If that's the example Jesus left of how he worked with people.

I don't know, he's all knowing about the situations too. But I think it's probably a good example to follow.

Yeah, I just wanted to say I'm very blessed to be here. Just overall and in general, all the thoughts and comments that were made are edifying and the songs we sang. Nothing to add, I don't think, other than I had some scattered thoughts throughout the meeting, but I just really appreciate being challenged in the areas of believing how we have to believe.

The Sufficiency of God's Word and Single-Hearted Faith

And I think even further, we have to know that it's trustworthy. Like we wouldn't just blind us, right? We know the Lord is trustworthy, so we believe in him. We know that we have to be trustworthy ourselves.

We want people to believe our reports. And then the thoughts of having a single heart and a single eye that Norman was bringing out are pretty timely for me. We're being challenged a bit at the moment with that, with communicating with that sub-shake and just having to kind of dig in.

It seems on one hand it's so easy, like just so easy to see that you don't do certain things because that shows a divided heart. But then people throw in all kinds of man-made things and things that happened throughout history to confuse it.

And pretty soon you're like with the glass with honey in it, what is this? Is this honey or is it water or what is this? But for me it's just, I think it's really a good challenge just to see how sufficient and how good the Word of God is, Jesus' teachings, just how sufficient they are.

But then on my end, just how that we have to keep that hunger, we have to keep that thirsting after it if we want it. And I think that's where people lose it, even people that have been with us and have left, they lose it because they get sight-tracked and they get, I remember Duane talking about the manna and the wilderness not being sufficient for the children of Israel.

They wanted all leeches and whatever it was that they wanted, that they had in Egypt. So this manna that's given in the wilderness, it is sufficient and we need to feed on it daily and not get sight-tracked.

So praise God.

Thank you, Brother Norman. Appreciate those points about being quiet and teaching lessons. How do they say, more caught than taught is the expression. The mysterious character of Jesus, how he would speak to Pilate but refused to talk to Herod, is just, that's his way.

Examples of Jesus Refusing Unjust Complaints

But Brother Duane's comments, I wrote down five or six, maybe you can think of five or six, when someone had a complaint to Jesus, he brushed them aside. And I just wrote down a few. They brought children to Jesus and they told him, get the children away.

And he said, no, let the children come to me. A man came and said, share my inheritance. Tell my brother to share my inheritance. And Jesus said, who made me a judge over you? People were casting out demons.

John and another disciple came to Jesus and said, hey, we met some. And he said, hey, leave them alone. If they're not against you, if they're not against me, they're for you. And then John and James said, when Samaria, hey, why don't you send down fire from heaven and get these Samaritans?

He said, leave them alone. You don't know what men you are. The woman caught in adultery, they said, hey, time for her to stone. He says, well, he brushed them off. Let whom has no sin. You can probably think of ten more examples like Norman said, that he never took the side of that person there.

Anyway, that was something.

The Lord be magnified. I also want to express my appreciation for what was shared, the challenge. I mean, this is the thing we should be challenging ourselves about. Okay, sorry. The one little thought that I thought to share was that as far as our, well, okay, I did have a thought that maybe part of the term heart, obviously he's not talking about the organ that pumps our blood.

The Cost of Undivided Devotion

Like it's our devotion and our affection. And I was, I don't have that. I would have just looked it up real quick if I had the app on my phone. I don't have the app on, the concordance app on my phone to just study it out real quick.

But I kind of wondered if it's always implied like a goal, your heart, if there's an implication of a goal or a destination, plans or an end. Yeah, I'm not sure. As far as the necessity for the entirety of our heart or our devotion to be for him and for the things, I'm not sure how to phrase it.

But anyway, the thought that I had was just because that's the price. That's what it costs. That's the only way, it's the only way we can obtain it. If there was something we wanted to buy, it costs $100, we open up our wallet and we have $100.

If we don't give the person all the money, we won't get the thing. If we say, well, I'll give 90 of my dollars for that, but I still want to use 10 of my other dollars for something else, we won't be able to purchase that thing.

It costs all of our money. There's this reference to somebody finding a treasure and selling all that they have. That's what it costs. Anyway, it's for sure worth it. It's worth more than all that we have.

But if we give all that we have, I think it's fair to say either he makes up for the rest or that that's acceptable.

I don't have much to add. I just want to share my appreciation too for all that was shared today and the different comments. It's the Lord's blessing. I'll just say something else.

Do I have to do this? Okay. Another thought that I had that I wasn't sure if I would share. There's this concept I think about a lot. About the two parts of the gospel or two parts of the kingdom or the ways of God.

From the Law's Conviction to Following Christ

The first one having to do with the law, being a schoolmaster that leads us to Christ. This idea of the law being like laying out what sin is, consequences for sin, teaching us that sin is bad. Teaching us what things are sin.

And this misconception that the goal of our faith is to quit sinning. And I'd say that though it's a necessity of our faith to quit sinning, that quitting, abstaining from sin brings us to zero. Like the rich young ruler said, what do I do to inherit eternal life?

He said, basically Jesus I think said quit sinning. These are sins, don't do these sins. He said, I've mastered these things from my youth. And he says, okay, now that you've quit sinning, now follow me.

Let me teach you Christ. So it's more than just... So the passage that Norman read that I think applies to that. I think when it says, purify your hands, it means get rid of sin in your life. And then cleanse your heart.

It's like, okay, now let Christ be the one thing that you devote yourself to. So the principle there being, it's not enough to recognize sin in our life, but to recognize the lack of devotion, or not a lack of devotion.

The thing I kind of wanted to say was that there's nothing more valuable, there's nothing better than recognizing hypocrisy in our life. Than recognizing any area in which we are withholding devotion, or giving our devotion to something else.

Like we can say, so the trap is, well there's these things that are not sinful, that I'm investing in or time to, that are not, it's not, but my time is not solely toward Him. So anyway, I'm not sure if I tied that together well enough, but just, not just recognizing sin in our life that needs to be overcome, but recognizing, I guess the point I want to make is the recognizing of it.

Like if we can, for that to be brought, for any hypocrisy, or any withheld devotion, or any misplaced devotion, if we can recognize that, it's precious. I don't know what could be more valuable, or how anything could be more valuable than recognizing misplaced devotion.

Thank you.