Introduction

Everyone has a worldview, a way they interpret the world around them. A thousand things go into how we interpret the world that we don’t even think about, some of these things are conscious, some unconscious.

Have you ever had one of those “Aha!” moments? A moment that changed everything you though about a particular subject, or maybe even your own life?

My wife and I sometimes watch this videos put out by Youth Group Chronicles that tell stories about ridiculous things that happen in youth groups. This one youth group did a scavenger hunt in their city where various groups would drive around in attempt to find the clues. In order to make the clues visible from the roadways, they put them in large boxes with the name of the youth group on them. They had them spread out throughout the city in from of a restaurant, in the park, near the courthouse. The only problem was their youth group name was “Ignite.” By the time the first group reached the first clue, there was already a bomb squad there to defuse the bomb.

Archimedes is best known for his “Aha” moment. Archimedes is credited for deriving the formula for the volume of a sphere and finding a more accurate value for pi. He was given a task by a king to prove how this goldsmith had swindled him by crafting with silver. When Archimedes slipped into his bath, the water spilled over the edge of the tub and he figured it out and cried, “Eureka!” and ran in the streets naked so excited that he found the solution to the king’s problem.

Sometimes those Eureka moments are worldview forming. You see someone work hard and achieve and so you decide to be the tortoise rather than the hare. Your parent disciplines you and what you value is shaped either in acceptance or rejection of your parent’s values.

And although our parents attempt to work on us consciously to shape our worldview, through especially our values, sometimes what works on us subconsciously has a more powerful effect.

Think about this: If you went back into colonial times, in the majority of cases, the number one influence in a youth’s life was his parent. Now you come to today and the number one influence in a youth’s life is his peers. Why is that? Well, we live in a culture that glorifies youth. Why? Because after the sexual revolution our culture decided physical appearance was more important than wisdom and life experience. And why did this occur? Because psychologists like Freud argued that we are primarily sexual creatures. And why did he do that? Because Darwin argued we were simply another animal. And why did he do that? Because someone before him believed a rejection of the Bible would allow a more critical understanding of the physical world.

Now isn’t that interesting that your teenager is more likely to listen to peers than you ultimately because of a rejection of God, but we excuse it as a “phase” and a teenager just thinks he’s being “cool.” (Both of which are lies from the devil). Our worldviews are shaped by so many things outside of us that we don’t think about. (Language example?)

I say all this because today we are going to talk about what it means to be good. 70 years ago, I probably would not have to labor to make such a foundation. But the problem is that modern people don’t want to be good, they want to feel good. And the main reason for that is that modern people have fundamentally given up the idea that there is such thing as “good.” Western society has gone from doing everything it can to seek the good, the true, and the beautiful, to grasping it in their hands then abusing it, then believing what is good is simply like a mythical creature. We live in a society where now more than ever, the good is something that must be pursued.

We live in a society that murders countless babies every day

Where people doom scroll social media then spend thousands on cosmetic surgery

Where the government in insurmountable debt yet still preys on its poorest citizens by legalizing drugs and lotteries.

Where people are angry and shout for justice but are unable to define it and kill anyone who claims they can.

Where more families are broken than ever before; and, now, breaking up families and manufacturing fake families is legalized by the government

Where more and more people are afraid of free speech. Why? Because free speech may cause us to wake up and shout, “Eureka! This gold our culture is trying to sell us is no gold at all!” The greatest good is no longer to to discover what is truly good, but what makes me feel good.

Here is my question for America: Is it better to be good or to feel good?

Our culture is like a man who needs heart surgery. His heart is worn out and failing, but he is unsure of what’s going on. So, he goes to the doctor. The doctor does not know what’s wrong either but reassures him, “Don’t worry, everything is fine.” Then he prescribes him some sugar pills. After a while the patient still deals with worsening symptoms and the pills don’t seem to be working so he goes to another doctor. This doctor sees a problem, but is still uncertain how to cure it. So he puts the patient to sleep but enacts no cure, no replacement. The patient wakes up and is reassured that everything will be fine now.

Everyone’s going around looking for a cure of how to be happy, when what we really need is: a new nature.

Last week we began our discussion of the beatitudes. These pronouncements of blessing describe the new nature that is ours in Christ. Again, these are not behaviors that we can assume so that God will bless us; but rather, because of our new nature in Christ, these are the things that will describe us.

Ancient man used to go on a quest to discover what is good. Much time and effort were put in to distinguish between vice and virtue.

The beatitudes are the peak of any understanding of virtue

The beatitudes are impossible without first trusting in Christ

I want to give an application of the beatitudes before we continue to enumerate them:

The true result of beatitudes: (Lloyd-Jones) The greatest revival this world has ever seen.

Perception of righteousness vs. the inward reality of righteousness.

The call that the culture is going down is not a call to retreat from people

The only way that the world’s perception of our righteousness will match our inward righteousness is by us being the salt and light we are supposed to be.Matthew 5:4 ESV

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

The first several beatitudes all allude to Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61:1–3 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; . . .; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.”

Mourning is an expression of grief from those suffering the consequences of sin and constitutes the attitude of repentance. This has the implication that repentance is a Eureka like moment. But after we repent, our continual response towards our sin and its effects is this deep sorrow. Psalm 40:12 ESV

For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me.Psalm 119:136 ESV

My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.

So we see from last week, “poor in spirit” means we know we can offer know spiritual good when we approach God. And in line with that, “True repentance makes no excuses and offers no rationalizations. It grieves for sin from a broken heart.”

Charles L. Quarles, Sermon on the Mount: Restoring Christ’s Message to the Modern Church (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2011), 54.

This is not just a sorrow over getting caught. This is a deep inner sorrow. A sorrow you feel inside against actions you have taken against a holy God.

When is the last time you cried over your sins? Have you ever cried over your sins?

Notice what this sorrow leads to: comfort. Revelation 7:17 ESV

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”Matthew 5:5 ESV

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Meek is a word that is often misunderstood. Some believe that it means to offer no resistance to anyone; to be, essentially, a door mat for everyone to walk on.

This word is used 16 times to translate the Hebrew word for “poor” in the Old Testament. A lot of commentators argue that this poverty conveys both dependence and submission. And while, the “poor” of v. 3 depicts the dependence upon God; the “meek” of v. 5 depicts the submission to God...