Dear community, you can open your Bibles to Matthew 5. We're going to listen here to the blessed speeches in Matthew 5. And then also to Psalm 24. We're not going to spend a lot of time in the sermon on Psalm 24, but we'll hear the same thing we've been saying for a year, in the sixth blessed sermon. So hear now the Word of God. And when he saw the scars, he climbed the mountain, and before he could sit, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth, and taught them, and said, Blessed is he that is poor in spirit, for to him shall be the kingdom of heaven. Blessed is he that weeps, for to him shall be consolation. Blessed is he that is merciful, for to him shall be the earth. Blessed is he that is hungry and thirsty for righteousness, for to him shall be salvation. Blessed is he that is merciful, for to him shall be the mercy. Blessed are those who are pure of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for they deserve the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people persecute and insult you, and when they speak ill of you falsely against my will. Rejoice and rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven, for in this way they persecuted the prophet who was before you. Again, the sixth blessing. Blessed is the one who is pure of heart, for they shall see God. The one who is pure of heart, for they shall see God. Let's go back to Psalm 24. And listen to this. In the Psalm of David. The earth belongs to the Lord and the fullness of it, the world and those who live in it. For he has planted it on the seas and established it on the streams. Who can climb the mountain of the Lord? And who can stand in his holy place? He who is pure of hands and pure of heart, who does not give up his soul to iniquity and does not fall into falsehood. He will see and turn away from the Lord, and the righteousness of the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who ask after him, who seek this face, this is Jacob. Open your gates, open your doors, yes, open your eternal doors, that the King of Honor may enter. Who is the King of Honor? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle. Lift up your gates, yes, lift up eternal doors, that the Holy King may enter. Who is the Holy King? The Lord of hosts, He is the Holy King. Amen. That is the word of the Lord. Dear community, I trust that most of you have heard of John Bunyan's work, Pilgrim's Progress. If you haven't heard of it yet, it's a good one to put on your list. John Bunyan also wrote another work in the same style as Pilgrim's Progress. The book is called Holy War. It's another allegory. And in this allegory, there is this city, which is called the human soul. The human soul. And this city has high walls. The only way you can enter this city, is through the upper gate, the mouth gate, the full gate, the nose gate, and the eye gate. And today, let's think about the eye gate. The eye gate that gives you access to your soul. What do you see? What do you see? Do you have eyes that see? People have an obsession with seeing things. Think of the tourism companies. To a large extent, that's what it's all about. People want to see things. They will travel miles and miles just to see a building. Or just to see a painting. Or just to see a creation tunnel. To see a waterfall or a mountain range. People want to see Gutters. Seeing together is also about experiencing it. To be able to experience something of it. Also to get to know it. People don't just want to see things, like in the tourism industry. It's a lot about beauty. People want to see the architecture, the architecture. And people want to see and experience beauty in it. But it's often also about people. Think about how people will be standing in line for hours just to see an important figure who is going to pass by. Who is going to pass by and wave to them. They have been standing there the whole time to see this person. I think we can learn something from this and see how the people stood in rows with Queen Elizabeth II's death, or with Mandela's death. They stood in rows, or they walked in that row for hours, for a whole day, just to pass by the grave or the coffin, to be able to see that. I was going to ask, Why? Why is that? I think one reason is that in these people's hearts there is some conviction that this person was really good. You can disagree with them on whether this person was really good or not, but there is some conviction that there was something good, there is something good in this person, and we will also recognize that, we will also see that. But we also see in a different way. In science, humans have an obsession with seeing more and more of how the creation has been put together. And so all kinds of devices are made to help you see better. A microscope, with which you can look into the smaller pieces of the creation. And a telescope, with which you can look at the larger parts of the creation. Everything to see more. And that's where you get some knowledge, to know the truth. Man has an obsession with beauty, with what he believes to be good, and with truth. To see and experience that. Now, all this good you can find in the creation, in a limited way. But in the end, as Augustine said, your soul will remain unsatisfied. There is always a craving for more. That's how the tourism business flourishes. Because the tourists never come to the painting and say, Here I got it now. I don't need anything else. Or if you have a longing for the good, you will never come out of this creation with something good and say, ah, here I have it now. My soul is now blessed, now I can look for other goods. Or the same with truth. There is always a longing for more, because there is a being that is more. There is a being that is not a measure of beauty, but the source of beauty. He is beauty. There is a being that is not a measure of goodness, but he is the source of goodness. He is goodness. There is a being that is not a measure of truth, but he is the source of truth. He is truth. He is the one that your soul needs. The one and only God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is the one to whom your soul belongs. And without Him, you will say all the time, but this is not enough. This waterfall is not enough. This painting is not enough. Then the believer must have the power to see God. to look at Him, to see His glory. We read about this in Exodus 33, with Moses who was busy entering the people, the people were made into the golden calf, the people were threatened to be completely wiped out. Moses was there as a scapegoat of Christ, to enter the people. He is the mediator. Think about that. It's what Christ is doing right now. At this moment, He is at the right hand of God the Father, and He is also working to intervene for every believer, for His Church. He is the mediator. If He would not be there for one moment, what would become of us? He is the faithful mediator who intervenes for His people continuously, on the basis of the work He has done. Now, Moses is busy with that, as a scapegoat of Christ. And then these three gentlemen come and say to him, he will be merciful to the people, he will pull together with them. Then something comes out of Moses' heart, which he just said. He just said it. He just said it. Let me see your holiness. I want to see you, Lord. I want to see your holiness, I want to see your glory. I don't want to see the glory that is hidden within the cloud. The cloud that sat on the mountain at the right time and later went into the tabernacle and went out. The cloud of holiness. But the cloud, you see something of the holiness shining in the cloud. But it is thrown away. And here comes the temptation of the believer. Lord, I want to see you. I want to see you in glory and holiness. I don't want to see you in a hidden place, in a thrown away place. I want to see you and enjoy you. Let me see your holiness. Oh Christ, did you already pray for this? Did you already stand before the Lord and say, Lord, I want to see you. I want to receive your glory. This is what my heart desires. I don't just desire things or people. I desire you, Lord. I want to see you. Do you experience this? A gift to the Lord Himself. Not just to the gifts of the Lord, but to Him. He Himself is your gift. He Himself is your joy. He Himself is your treasure. He is your highest good. He is your inheritance. What you say, without you I will perish, Lord. I cannot live without you. Let me see your glory. The answer of the Lord in Exodus 33, verse 19, is in a sense miraculous, but also heart-wrenching. Miraculous, because what did the Lord say? I will let all my majesty pass by you. The Hebrew word here is tov. Tov. I will let all my goodness pass by you. It's quite striking that from the English translation, you have the translation with beauty. Beauty. Goodness. Beauty. That is something that is woven into each other. What is good, is also beautiful. And what is true, is also good. We see how this idea is. It is not something that is detached from each other. It is woven into each other. Tov, goodness, beauty, truth, majesty. I will let all my majesty pass by you. And I will call out to you the name of the Lord. He will hear the voice of the Lord. The Lord will call out His name before Moses. But I will be merciful to whom I want to be merciful, and receive me to whom I want to receive me." It's amazing! But, read to your heart's content, verse 20. Then he said, You cannot see my face, for no man can see me and live. So, Moses, you will see something, and if we see how it plays out, then the Lord has put Moses in a manger, and has closed the manger with his hand, Moses is hidden, so that he can pass by the manger with his majesty and glory, and Moses can see the afterglow of it. And the effect on him was so great that when he descended to the people, he shined like the sun, that the people were afraid of him. The reflection of the Lord's holiness has such an effect on the matter, on the cells, on his skin, on his body, that he shines like the sun. But still... You will not see my face, for no man can see me and stay alive." Over and over again, through the history and the scripture, you see people who see something of the Lord. I read this beautifully, you will never, never, never see the face of the Lord. When the elders climb the mountain, they are also said to have seen the Lord, but what is described is only His feet. When Isaiah saw something of the Lord, what does he describe? He does not describe the face of the Lord. He describes how His clothes, the swath of His clothes, fill the temple. Which indicates the holiness of the beings for whom you stand here. In the olden days, the length of the king's clothes, which drags him back, has shown how big this king is. And here is the king's clothing. Fill the temple, fill it up. And then you say, this is the king of kings. There is not one higher than he. But no one sees his face. The Lord said, No man can see me and live forever. So we have this temptation to deny the Lord, to be able to see him. But then the Lord said, I will show you something, but you cannot see my face, because you will not live forever. Dear ones, imagine a blind man walking on a tour. A blind man walking on a tour, and the guide takes him into this big cathedral. And he says, do you see? Do you see how beautiful it is? Or he takes him to the flowers and the macula. And he says, look, look, see the flowers. He took him to the Victoria Falls and he said, Do you see the mass of water that falls down? Do you see the glory? The blind man was standing there with his eyes open, but he couldn't see. I think now, if it was possible to just press a button. and open his eyes. And he sees. He sees. He sees this tournament in front of him. The blindness is gone. He sees the beauty. He sees reality for the first time. Think about what happens in such a person's mood, his heart, his excitement to see something he has never seen before. And think about what happens to your spiritual eyes. The sinner is spiritually blind. The sinner sees, but he doesn't see. I think in Psalms 115. There we are first spoken of the deacons in verse 4. The deacons, they are silver and gold, the work of man's hands. They have a mouth, but they do not speak. They have eyes, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear. They have a nose, but they do not smell. They have hands, but they do not touch. They have feet, but they do not walk. They do not make a sound through their throat. The one who makes them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them. What makes a person blind is apostasy. It's apostasy. That's what Psalm 115 says. What makes a person blind? What makes people not see something of God's works in the creation? That they are blind? It is idolatry. It is exactly what is written in Romans 1. God has revealed His greatness, His glory, His majesty, His power in the creation. It is there. He shows Himself in the creation. But what does man do? When man looks at it, he sees the greatness, the complexity, the beauty, the truth, everything that God Himself reveals in the creation. Man looks at it and says, how wonderful is the Creator! How wonderful is this creation that is so! And does not give any honor to the Creator. What happens? The human takes something in the creation and counts it, to be in the position of God. It is from God. In his absolute hostility to God, the human will give that honor and recognition to anything other than God. It is the heart of the human heart. They have eyes, but they don't see, because they hear just like they hear. These are people who are not pure of heart. They are busy with the impure hearing. And He cleansed their hearts and blinded their eyes. They don't see. They don't see what is there. Then you hear the indifference of some. It's like the blind people who stand inside the cathedral and say, there is no cathedral here. I don't see anything here to give recognition. There is nothing beautiful here. There is no beauty. It is what the atheist does. He stands inside the creation with the attachment of the whole creation over the Creator and says, there is no God. I simply swear to recognize this God. There is no God. He has eyes, but he does not see, as a result of the condition of his heart. There is something wrong with God's revelation. There is something wrong with people's hearts, which makes them blind their eyes. Eyes, may the Lord give it to you that we will see. But before that, He has to do something to our hearts. Because hear what we say here in Matthew 5, Blessed is the one who is pure of heart, for they will see God. They will see again. Their eyes will open to see God. Pure of heart. means more than what people want to connect to today. Today we will talk a lot about my head, my mind, my thoughts, and my heart, not just about emotions. But in the Bible, the heart means a lot more than that. The heart will often be about my thoughts, my thoughts. It will be about my emotions, it will include my will. You see, the heart is quite central in the scripture. It includes my thoughts, my feelings, my will. Everything is actually summarized in this one word, the heart. And to be pure of heart means That not only your thoughts should be directed to God, and not to the devil. But also your feelings should be directed to God, and not to the devil. Also your will, which goes over to what you do. That is, why do I do what I do? Because my will drives me there. So my will should also be directed, be focused on God. I can't be double-minded that I want God and I still want to keep my abomination. That I say, yes, yes, I'm going to follow the Lord, but then here in my backpack I carry my abomination with me. And say, yes, but this one should also come with me. No. To be full of heart means to look at the altar of God and say, I destroyed it! Just like the righteous kings in the Old Testament, when there was a rebellion, what should happen? The pillars, the images and the altars of God must be demolished. They must be broken down. They must be cut down. It is no longer allowed to be there. And so, for a pure heart, it is also necessary to destroy the abandoned. The only thing that in my life starts to compete with God, Anything that wants to stand right next to God, or anything that wants to stand above God. Anything that wants to compete for the peace in my heart. For Him to say, this is the thing that my soul needs. If I just get that, then, then I will stay, then I will live. Because then that is finished. And you have to make it suffocating. Martin Lloyd-Jones had it so still. Blessed are those who are pure, not only on the surface, but in the center of their being and at the source of their every activity. Not only on the surface, but in the center of their being and the source of their very activity. This is what our Lord Jesus talks about in Matthew 15, verse 18. But the things that come out of the mouth, come out of the heart. And it is these things that make man impure. Because bad thoughts come out of the heart, murder, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, adultery, He also confronts the Pharisees. The Pharisees made so many claims on the appearance of beauty and beauty. How do we confront them here in Matthew 23, verse 25? Who are you, scribes and Pharisees, enemies? For you make the outside of the cup and bowl beautiful, but the inside is full of filth and immorality. Blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and the bowl, so that the outside can also be cleaned. See what our Lord says? If you focus on the outside, then the inside will remain dirty. But wash the inside, and then the outside will also be clean. So from the inside to the outside. These are not just people of purity. This is still happening today. Let's give it a name, because it's Heigelaars. And a Heigelaar can threaten us all. We can all look at the Heigelaar and say, yes, everything sounds beautiful. Listen to how he talks. Look at what he does. Everything sounds beautiful and right. But I believe the Hegelians themselves know that this is a game. Look how easily they believe what I say and what I do. But there is a big difference between what is actually being shown to people and what is going on inside. On the inside, it is a dead end, in all kinds of impurity. You want to play the tour from the outside. Everything is beautiful, everything is right. Look at me. Dear ones, I can wash my hands, I can wash my face, I can wash my feet, I can wash all the physical parts of my body, I can say the right things with great effort, I can stop using certain words, I can stop using my drink, I can do all kinds of crazy things on the outside. But how do I wash my heart? How do I do that? Because I can feel so dirty, I climb into the toilet, and my body is clean, but I climb out, and my heart is dirty. How was my heart? It's deeper than what these hands can reach. My heart, my inner self. How will my thoughts change? How will my emotions change? How will my will change? But that's what you need. That's what we all need. We need pure hearts. And from that pure heart, a pure life will flow. On the outside. But it feels so far out of my reach. I feel so powerless. How? How? I want to see the Lord. I know I need a pure heart to be able to see. But how can I get it? How can this heart become pure? Well, a short one that is in state. to penetrate into the deepest depths of my being. I have a chord, one for whom my heart is not hidden. A chord, one that is powerful to grasp my heart in this way and to change it. A chord, one of which Ezekiel 36, verse 25 speaks of. This one who says, We need Him. We need God to come Himself and make this heart pure, clean, and change. So what do the Christians do? The Christians are not busy, like a headless dog, wagging its tail and saying, I have to clean myself, my heart doesn't change. No. Still with great desperation, the Christians run to this one. To the Lord and say, Lord, here I stand before you, with this heart that is pure. Oh Lord, make it pure. Oh Lord, change my thoughts. Oh Lord, change my emotions. Oh Lord, change my will. Make me pure of heart, Lord. Because I want to see you. I want to see you, Lord. and no one who is impure of heart can stand before you. Give me, Lord, in your mercy, see me in my lost state, see me in my need, see my heart, and change it, O Lord, that my soul may taste you. Now, when the Lord does this, then you are like that blind man who is standing in the cathedral. And where he was blind, he has now, as we can say, become sighted. You can already see more. Now, the image doesn't work that well, because those of you who are so sighted, like me, are going to stand in front of the cathedral and still see nothing. But you see more. You see... I see something. I see something that is beautiful. I can still see it from the focus. I can see... I can still see more. The problem is not that the cathedral needs to become more beautiful. The problem is that my eyes need to be able to see even better. And so what happens to the Christians when we work with beauty, with goodness, with truth? The Christians go on seeing. As a creation. And the Christian begins to see the Creator. The Christian begins to see, oh, but see the majesty and the beauty of this Creator. See His goodness, see His glory. The Christian enjoys his God in the creation, in the works of the Lord. And so you have Christian scientists who have deepened themselves in science through the centuries. With the telescope or the microscope. And then every time they discover what they have discovered, they drive to prayer. That they say, but praise the God who created this creation. Wow! What a God He is! I see something of Him. and these concrete things. Do you see it? Do you see it? When the thunder comes again, and the lightning flashes, and the thunder sometimes shakes the windows, then you experience the power of your God. Do you see Him? When you see the waters fall on the creation, and you see that which was dry and dry, comes to life. He says, I see, I see the Lord, I see Him. Do you see Him? And the good, what is really good. And you say, but I see something, I taste, I experience something of the One who is so much more than what this can give me a taste of. If you, as a Christian, want to see this good in parts, in something of a visual form. Those of you who have the privilege of not needing glasses, take a far-sighted look and then you look far ahead and you immediately put it out of focus. That's how many of the rest of us see, without our glasses. Always. And think for a moment about your Your experience of the Lord in His creation, of seeing Him, is now actually in such a form. You see everything, but you don't see everything yet. And that is what the Christians look like. One day, before that wheel turns further and it comes into focus, that you will see and experience so much more than you do now. We read of this in Revelation 22. And he showed me a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, which flowed out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of his street and on the west side of the river was the tree of life, which bears twelve fruits and gives its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree shall be for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse. And the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein. And his servants shall serve him. And they shall see his face. And his name shall be on their foreheads. This is what Moses asked for. But then the Lord said, and I think if the Lord would ever answer you in such a way, like Moses did, he would say the same thing today. No man can see my face and stay alive. But here is a promise. that one day some will see his face. Verse 4, and they will see his face, and they will not, and they will not die. It is not that we will finally see the Lord's face, and then we will all fall dead. It is, and they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Eternally will there be fellowship with the Lord our God, so that we may see Him and He may keep His name on our foreheads. This is what we look like. This is what we taste. This is what you live for, if you are a believer. Believer, you deserve to live. For the revelation of the Lord your God, that's what it's all about. That's the deepest, when we talk about a type of hierarchy of desires and urges, of what I need. Then I think people can rightly say, this is the most fundamental one for the Christian. All the others can be filled away, if I can just get this one. May the Lord shield him. Oh, how tragic is the condition of the owner and the unbeliever. The unbeliever who is busy working with the same creation, with the same revelation. He wants to see a kind God, instead of the Creator of these creatures. He wants to kneel in front of a small, powerless boy. One who has a mouth and can't speak. One who has ears but can't hear. One who has eyes but can't see. One who has hands but can't touch. One who has feet but can't walk. One who is powerless to do anything and to save. And the unbeliever says, he is the one I want to see. He is the one I want to enjoy. How tragic is that. How tragic is that. The life of the healer. That even comes under the sound of the Word. What the Gospel of Christ hears. And yet I still throw it away and say, like the Pharisee, I will be a white-clad grave. This inside, I want to keep it just like that, with the dead bones and the decay that is inside. That should be so happy, but I will play a good show, that everyone loves me and everyone is satisfied. How tragic is that? But the end is the same. The end is the same for the haggard and the unbeliever. In the deepest, it is both unbelief. If this is your state of the morning, where then is the call to repentance? That path, there is no life there. You are threatening yourself. Look at who the Lord is. He calls you to faith in Christ Jesus. But for you, O Christian, know that as much as Jesus Christ is able to lie, He was not created to do that. The same measure can change this. This view. You will see the face of the Lord. His power in you. He will give it to you. Five points of application. Number one. Be honest about the state of your heart. Ask yourself, is my heart clean? Is my heart really, in English it says, one-track-minded? Is your heart focused on God? Or is there something else that competes for your thoughts, for your emotions, for your will? And if you see something of that, The second one is this. Run to the Lord your God. Use His Holy Spirit and the work He does through the Scriptures to change that heart. That it will come to repentance. That you will turn away from the evil. And that evil in your life will make you stifle. That this heart, this mind, this will, will be directed to one and only one. And that is the Living God. The third one is... Fill yourself with the Word of God. Fill yourself to the brim with the Word of God. In history it has been said about some preachers, if you circumcise, you will bloom the Bible. It may not be about a preacher, but it will be the same with every living believer. If you circumcise, you will bloom the Bible. Be filled with the Word of God. Memorize it. Read it. Study it. Discuss it. Think about it. Enjoy it. Use it as something to teach yourself and that it will lead you. Why? Because in John 15 verse 3 our Lord teaches His disciples that they will run through the Word that He has spoken. He cleanses your Father through His Word. So then it doesn't make sense if you say in one hand, yes, I want to see the Lord. And then the Lord says, well, read my word. I will cleanse you through my word. And then I say, yes, I want to see the Lord. But it's not so easy to read the Bible. It's a lesson to be full of it. There are other things, there are other podcasts, there are other figures, there are other thinkers, unbelievers, I want to be full of them. No. The Lord says, He makes His people full through His Word. And so you must have this urge to become full. With the Word of God. The fourth one is... Don't just think about the here and now. Don't just dedicate your life to the here and now. That's a bigger prank. And you put your life in it to say, this is what I want to achieve. I want to see this. And what about the little steps? What about the little things that I'm doing now? Is it good that I'm going in that direction? Or are there things that I'm doing, that I dedicate my life to, If you go in that direction, you will get the bigger picture in your head. And you will say, when is the Christian on the right path? When does he want to go with his people? When is he on the right path? In the 5 to 1, let's help each other on this path. That's part of the grace of the Lord. He doesn't call you to do this alone. He gives you the people around you, your fellow believers, to fight together with you for this. To be filled with the Word together with you. So if you see how a brother or a sister is busy with a murderous act, or if you see how they... I've already told you, before I became a Christian, I had a problem with this, this thing. This was one of my big sins. That's how the sins got into me. And then you see how your brother is busy walking with the Lord, but then you see how he... The clown comes back. The murderer from the beginning wants to murder him. And you see the danger, you see your brother, you don't see it yet. Then slowly come in and say, come, come, get up, turn around, come. Come, let's get full of the word. Because I want to see the Lord with you. Come, let's help each other in this battle. It ends with Titus 2, verses 11-14. and teach us to forget the godlessness and worldly desires, to live in faith and righteousness and joy in the eternal world, while we await the holy hope and the manifestation of the holiness of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. which He Himself has given to us, that we may be free from all iniquity, and that we may be a people as He is, and that we may be pure, holy, and do good works. We await the coming of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, whom He Himself has given to us, that we may be free from all iniquity, and for himself a people as his property pure, everlasting and good works. Come, let us pray.