Beatitudes IV

Extracted Verses and Quotes from the Sermon

Biblical Verses

Matthew 5:8

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Psalm 24:3-6

“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.”

Matthew 6:22-23

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

Matthew 5:28

“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Matthew 6:21

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 15:19

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.”

Matthew 5:21-22

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

Matthew 7:1-5

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

John 7:37

“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.’”

Psalm 51:10-12

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

Psalm 139:23-24

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

Psalm 19:1-4

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.”

Matthew 5:9

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”

Matthew 10:12-13

“As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.”

Matthew 18:6

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

Matthew 18:15-20

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. … For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Ephesians 2:14

“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.”

Memorable Quotes

“It’s a privilege to be here this morning with our brothers and sisters… and today we’re going to be looking at two more of the Beatitudes of Jesus.”

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. What does Jesus mean by the pure in heart and what does it mean to see God?”

“In Jesus’ time, the rabbis focused on external ritual cleanliness, but Jesus is asking us to focus not on external cleanliness so much as on purity of the heart.”

“To be pure in heart means to be so undivided internally before God and His will that this is manifest in a transparency in our dealings with others.”

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. If your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.”

“Jesus talks about at least four different experiences of the heart within the Sermon on the Mount that can actually cause a stumbling and prevent us from reaching the presence of God.”

“The first condition of the heart is the occupied heart — so busy with worries and cares that the heart can no longer be a stream of Living Water.”

“The second condition is the lustful look — a heart focused on self-gratification and pleasure seeking, which pollutes the life-giving water of the heart.”

“The third condition is the heart polluted by anger and bitterness. This kind of heart is not what Jesus wants for His followers.”

“The fourth kind is the frozen heart — an idealized, self-sufficient heart that looks down on others and leads to criticism and division.”

“Our human heart is deceitful above all else, and we often do not truly know our own motivations.”

“Jesus says blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. This is a beautiful promise and invitation to ask God for a clean heart.”

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. This is the only place in the Bible where the word ‘peacemaker’ is found.”

“Peace in the Bible is not so much the absence of war but the presence of Shalom — the finest of loving relationships that seek human flourishing.”

“Peace of God is a force of good for mutual trust and deep inner security.”

“To be a peacemaker means to hold back from doing something that may cause a younger disciple to stumble, even if you have Christian liberty to do it.”

“Peacemaking involves self-sacrifice. Jesus made peace by breaking down the dividing wall of hostility through his own sacrifice.”

“If we reject the Prince of Peace, we should not be surprised when conflict enters our marriages, homes, and congregations.”

“When the elephants fight, the grass is trampled — a warning about church leaders fighting and causing the young to leave.”

“Jesus commands us that woe to those by whom the cause of stumbling comes.”

“To follow Jesus in peacemaking means being willing to be personally compromised or humbled for the community’s peace.”

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. May this be our experience for the glory of God and His kingdom.”

“It’s easy to go to war; it takes courage to make peace. Oh Father, change the broken tendencies of our hearts and fill us with Living Water.”

Other Quotations

Psalm 51:10-12 (paraphrased)

“Create me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me; the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart.”

Psalm 139:23-24 (paraphrased)

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts; see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”