In the final week of our series "The Happiest Place On Earth" we looked at the need to get the sin and darkness that’s “Inside” - “Out”… 

Romans 7:14-17
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
 
Sin is “Inside” of us and we have to get it “Out”…
 
When Jesus said on the cross “It is finished”… He was talking about His work concerning sin not ours…
 
On the cross the price was paid for our sin and the foundation was laid that you must build upon…
 
So there’s the work that’s accomplished by Jesus on the cross and then there is the work that you must accomplish as you carry your own crosses…
 
Luke 14:27-30
27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it-- 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'
 
Jesus starts by saying to be my disciple you also have to carry a cross…
 
Then He assumes that everyone is attempting to build something in their lives and that everyone has a foundation because He laid the foundation for them… (He is the foundation!)
 
Finally Jesus says… You have to finish the work or be mocked…
 
We don’t want to be men or women who wanted to build upon our foundation  but because we were unwilling to do the hard work and carry our crosses we ended up being laughed at or mocked and seen as a joke…
 
It’s hard work to forgive and its hard work to repent and its hard work to change years of sinful living and it's hard work to establish a new way of thinking but it can be done…
 
Like the movie Inside Out many of our emotions are all over the place and they truly do run us…
 
Which ever one of our emotions ate their “Wheaties” in the morning is the one who gets to run us that day…
 
We have to make room for the Spirit of God and we have to pray that His voice would become the loudest in our crazy heads…
 
and that God would begin to bring our emotions in line with the reason He gave us those emotions…
 
In John 14:25-27 Jesus says…
25 "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
 
Don’t be afraid that getting the sin that’s “Inside” “Out”… trust that the Spirit will help you if you seek Him and welcome Him…
 
"The Happiest Place On Earth" is wherever the presence of God is, and to be filled & led by the Spirit of God from “The Inside Out” is joy to fullest…

We see that Monsters Incorporated is “The Business of Fear”… and in the non-Disney reality we live in the devil is the CEO of another conglomerate called  “Fear International”…
 
Hebrews 2:14-15
14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
 
It’s fear that holds us in bondage to sin…
 
This scripture tells us that Jesus came in the flesh in order to go through death and concur it for us so that we could be set free from the fear of certain death…
 
Maybe this will help you see it clearly…
 
1 John 4:15-19
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. (Carriers of the presence…) 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. (He is “as One who lives beyond death”…) 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
 
There is no fear in love… and perfect love casts out fear…
 
See we are set free from the bondage of fear by the perfect love of Jesus…
 
When we encounter His love in this real and spiritual way we find “Joy and Happiness” and come out of death and into life…
 
So what does that look like in the life of a believer?…
 
Look at what David says in Psalm 23…
 
Psalm 23:1-6
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
 
Again… The Happiest Place On Earth is wherever the presence of God is and as carriers of the presence of God even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will fear no evil…
 
Why?… Because He is with us…
 
The valley of the shadow of death is a scary place…
 
Death is big and casting a shadow and blocking out the light but we refuse to succumb to the fear because we are not walking by sight we are walking by faith…
 
I see you death and I feel you trying to keep the warmth of the sun from getting to me but I have "internal combustion"…  There is a fire inside of me!
 
Jeremiah 20:9
His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones
 
Here’s a good way to look at it…
 
The opposite of life is death and the opposite of joy or happiness is fear…
 
Fear is the door to death and Joy is the door to life…
 
John 10:7-10
7 Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
 
The thief offers us a door that leads to death and destruction…
 
That door promises a good time on the other side but it ends up destroying happiness and robbing us of our JOY…
 
Jesus says “I AM” the door that leads to life and Hebrews 12:2 declares that Jesus endured the cross for the JOY that was set before Him…
 
The cross is the door that leads to life…
 
Ephesians 1:7
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins
 
It’s through the door of the blood of Christ that we enter into forgiveness and salvation…
 
So fear is powerful and the temptation of other doors is strong but we have an alternative…
 
There is more power in Joy there could ever be in fear!…
 
The enemy wants us to fear death and then if we come into relationship with God and walk through the door of salvation he wants us to live in fear of God…
 
Look at this progression…
 
1st the enemy has us bound to sin by the fear of death…
 
2nd God opens our eyes to see what is being done to us and the consequence for sin is death so we begin to fear God…
 
Proverbs 1:7
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
 
See this fear of the Lord and His punishment for sin is just the beginning…
 
God gives us wisdom and instructions on how to escape death and enter into life…
 
The 3rd stage should be entering into life AND joy…
 
Living your Christianity in constant fear of the Lord will limit the power of God in your life…
 
When we begin to take joy in serving God and keeping His commandments and reading His word and fellowshipping in His church there is a “POWER SURGE” that you can’t contain even if you wanted to…

In week #2 of our series "The Happiest Place On Earth" we looked at a scene from the Disney movie Wreck-It-Ralph where he attends a "Bad-Anon" meeting and sites the bad guy affirmation oath...

I’m bad… and that’s good…
I will never be good… and that’s not bad…
There’s no-one I’d rather be… than me…

When we realize we are "bad" do we go into uncharted territory, step out in faith, and pursue God for change or do we embrace our “badness”?…

Do we say… “I don’t have the presence and I don’t live in Joy” but I want to and I’m willing to seek You for it Lord…  Or do we begin to site the bad guy affirmation " I'm bad and that's good"...

The crazy thing is that this is exactly where God needs us to be to begin to see change but the devil swoops in and tells us to embrace our “badness” while God is prompting us to desire something “MORE”…

Communion reminds us that we are carriers of the presence of God…

John 20:29
29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Jesus is talking about the difference between being close to God and being a carrier of His presence within you…

Many of us have been close and been to church and we are aware of His existence but we know that we are not carriers of His presence…  This is why Joy never lasts and happiness consistently escapes us…

So what can be done for those who don’t yet have the presence of God?…  Those who are not carriers of the presence of God who spend their lives seeking and searching for “JOY” but are yet to find it…

Acts 8:18-20
when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, "Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit." 20 But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!

While they are free to pay their way into Disneyland, there is no amount of money that can purchase the presence of God and true “JOY”…

Acts 8:9-13
9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, 10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the great power of God." 11 And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. 

What was it that broke the spell Simon had put the people under?… and what was it that drew Simon out of darkness and into the light?…

Verse 12 says… But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed…

It is the preaching and teaching and reading of the word of God that leads us into faith and “JOY”…

Romans 10:17
faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

So picture all of these people coming to faith and learning the word and being baptized and there is Simon as it says in verse 13… amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done…

Acts 8:14-17
14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 

So this paints a picture of believers who are walking around without the presence and power of God…  Believers who know the truth of God and His plan for saving and redeeming them but live without “JOY”…

Carriers of the presence of God came and laid hands upon these believers and prayed for them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit…

This church thing isn’t about rules and regulations and going to church and looking like good people…  This is about receiving the word of God… Being forgiven and saved from certain death…  and being filled with the presence of the living God that empowers you to live a life that you never would be able to live otherwise… 

When this happens you become a carrier of the presence of God and wherever you go becomes “The Happiest Place On Earth”…

  Definitions: 

Joy - a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.

Rejoice - to show great joy or delight.

So Joy is an internal feeling and rejoicing is the external affect of that internal feeling

John 15:9-13
abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.

This says that there is “Joy” in love and sacrifice…

Jesus says here that in love and sacrifice we find “His Joy” and a fullness of joy for us…

Hebrews 12:2
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross

Jesus I believe has a different definition of “Joy” than we have… or a more complete definition of joy is a better way of looking at it…

Joy and happiness according to God is different to what the world tells us joy and happiness is…

James 1:2-3
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

Just yesterday one of our church members lost their 24 year old nephew in his sleep…

How does she count it all joy and how does her sister count it all joy?…

Philippians 4:4
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

I have 2 answers…

1st… We count it all joy and we rejoice always because we know this isn’t the end of the story…

Jesus’ Joy is the joy of resurrection and eternal life and we can have that joy to the full…

2nd… and this is the key to this whole series…

For you and I who are still here in the here and now where there are ups and downs… victories and defeats… good times and bad… babies born and loved ones passing away…

Jesus says that we can have joy and joy that cannot by taken away by circumstances…  

Psalm 146:5
5 Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the Lord his God

"The Happiest Place On Earth" is wherever the presence of God is…

Genesis 2:6-9
6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden

So this is like DisneyWORLD right… this is the blueprint that Walt used when he envisioned what he wanted to build…

So what made this garden “The Happiest Place On Earth” was man and woman being able to be in the presence of God… 

They were “Naked” which means they were in the presence of God “Without any barrier”…

In Exodus we see a people who have been kicked out of the garden but God is trying to bring back…

As God puts them on the journey back to the Garden listen to what Moses says to God in Exodus 33:14-15
13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people." 14 And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." 15 Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

Again we see that Joy and peace and hope is found in the presence of God…

Moses says I’m not going anywhere if You don’t come with us…

If we would say the same I promise you we would find Joy…  Even in our wilderness trials…

The children of Israel had more problems in the wilderness because of “Forgetfulness” than anything else…  They forgot who God was and what He had done and that in His presence is "The Happiest Place On Earth"...

Jonah 2:5-10
“The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD, my God. “When my soul fainted within me, "I remembered" the LORD; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple. “Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy. But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.” So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”