Lent Midweek March 13, 2019 Surprised by Joy

Lent Midweek Service
1 Peter 1:3-9
March 13, 2019

“Surprised by the Joy of Believing in God”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

There’s this general idea out in the secular world that life would be better if we didn’t have religion. I’m sure many of you have thought about this before also. What if you didn’t have any god telling you how you’re supposed to live your life? What if you didn’t have to go to church or pray or give money or read a holy book? What if you never had to feel guilty about doing anything wrong?

What makes this idea so appealing is that it seems like you can be completely neutral on religion. You’re not for it. You’re not against it. You’re just smarter than all that. Many people in this camp say that they don’t need god because they have reason and science. They don’t need that crutch of religion. Reason and science are their foundations. Not some fantasy god.

So the thought is that this makes life much more free and joyful. You just live for yourself. And do what you want to do. And don’t have all those trappings of religion bogging you down all the time.

Theoretically, this might be true if there were actually no god. If there were no god and we’ve simply arrived in this world by random processes of some sort, then life might be more joyful and enjoyable without religion. It could be. It’s possible. But it’s impossible to know that. We’ll never know if that’s actually true. Because, the problem is, for them, that there is actually a God.

So there’s only two options—either you’re for God or against God. There’s no third option somewhere—“I’m neutral.” There is no neutral position. If there was, maybe that position would be more joyful, as I said. But there’s no neutral. You’re either on the side of God and living in Him or you’re on the opposite side and living against Him.

This is why ultimately believing in God will always, always bring more joy than living apart from Him.  It’s the difference between swimming with the current or against the current. It’s the difference between running with the wind or running against the wind. Believing in God brings our whole life into alignment with Him who made us and redeemed us. It brings everything together into this perfect whole. It brings everything together to make sense of the entire universe and our lives. It’s joyful.

The picture in your bulletin tonight is Saul on the way to Damascus. As you remember, Saul was a zealous Pharisee who was persecuting anyone who said they were a Christian. He was on his way to Damascus so that he could catch some more Christians and arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem. And on the way, as you see in the picture there, Jesus in all His glory stops Paul in his tracks. And in Acts 26, Paul is recounting the experience for King Agrippa:

“At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. ¹⁴ And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

Kick against the goads. What does that mean? That’s what you do when you don’t believe in Jesus. You kick against the goads. A goad was a stick with a pointed end that was used to prod an ox when they were pulling. So when the ox would get frustrated with being poked by the stick, it would kick back. But then, of course, it only made matter much worse as it would kick right into the goad. So kicking against the goads is making your life even more miserable by resisting God. It’s trying to swim against the current or sail against the wind.

And that’s why living against God is never going to be joyful. You’re living against the whole universe. C.S. Lewis has an autobiography by the title “Surprised by Joy”. He was an atheist who eventually became a Christian. And he writes about how “JOY” had been nagging at him at different points in his life until he finally embraced it and lived with God through faith.

You might think that living without religion sounds more joyful than praying, giving, going to Church, obeying rules, etc. But it’s not. In fact, it robs you of the real joy that is ours when we believe in God and in His Son Jesus Christ.

Romans 1 tells the same story. It talks about those who refuse to believe in God:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools.”

You can claim wisdom all you want. But if you go against God and keep suppressing the truth, you become a fool. And there’s no joy or hope.

In our reading from 1 Peter tonight he says “you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible.” So just think of the joy that comes when you’re living with God rather than against Him. Forgiveness rather than guilt. You can run against God all you want but that deep conscience in you tells you something isn’t right. Something isn’t right with the world around us. Something isn’t right with us. With our hearts. Running against God only brings guilt. Believing in Him brings forgiveness. And the joy of forgiveness is incomparable.

What other joy? Life instead of death. You live this life knowing that when you die your soul will be with Jesus and your body will rise again with Him on the last day.

What other joy? Having a purpose in life. Knowing that you’re not just here for no reason at all, a meaningless existence. But knowing that you’re here by God’s will to serve others and bring the love of Christ to them. Knowing that your work here on this earth has meaning—that God is working through you as a teacher, farmer, contractor, accountant, mother, father, son, daughter. There’s great joy in knowing you have a purpose.

To put it very simply tonight, the joy of believing in God is being with Him and for Him instead of against Him. Living in this world against God is kicking against the goads. Living with Him brings joy.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.