 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…
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