The Happiest Place On Earth

The Happiest Place on Earth:

While I was on vacation this past week with my daughter, I had time to really think about something. So, lets start with a question today. How many of you have been to see THE mouse? Come on, you know...... loaded up the care with the family and hit the road to good ole Orlando, Florida! After all the "Are we there yet's?" and "I gotta go potty!" You finally get off the I-4 and roll onto those roads with the blue signs..... anyone know what I'm talking about??? That experience, that feeling, as you drive thru those arches that say, "Welcome to Disney, the Happiest Place on Earth. For those of us who are parents, all we can hear in our heads at that point is a big "CHA CHING" right?? But for the kids, or the kids at heart like me, it's just a thrill to know that you've made it! Fun awaits beyond this point! Vacation lies beyond these borders!

So, Disney in all it’s splendor, claims that it is the “Happiest Place on Earth”. And I began to think about that...., “Is it really?”. I mean, am I happier here than anywhere else on earth. Am I happier here than with the rest of my family? Am I happier here than where I work? Am I happier here than being with my friends? Am I happier here than I am at church??? Ooooooo! Save that one for a minute. What is it about this place that makes anyone believe that it is the “happiest place on earth”?

First, don’t get me wrong, this is not a bash Disney sermon. More it is a call to reflection of oneself and what truly makes you happy and what motivates you to go and do what you love to do the most.

So, I'm going to use a verse that is fairly well known, but often not STUDIED.

Psalm 37:4 - Take Delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Lets take a look at this verse real quick. Now for those of you who are grammar fiends and such, just know that I AM NOT! But I do know that structure of written language does make a difference sometimes. So, lets look at this verse with a little more detail. This is a "Conditional Statement". It begins with a command or a condition that must be met, then tells you what the outcome will be when said condition is met. Everyone still with me here??? The second half of this sentence is the outcome of the first part. So, logically if we look at the second part first, it should reflect whether or not the beginning is true or tell us if we have accomplished the "condition". Tough stuff for an early morning discussion isnt it? You don’t have to share with everyone here the true desires of your heart, but lets discuss some of the most common “human” responses to a question like this and see how it reflects on the first part of the verse.

What is the desire of your heart??? What gets you excited? What do you spend more time on than anything else? (Ooooo thats a good one for a Sunday morning. Thank you all for spending time in the Lord's house today!) What pulls you into a conversation that you just have to talk about?? You know, Luke 6:45 tells us this "For from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." So, .... What really makes you happy??

Lets go through some of the things that this world would have us believe will make us "happy".

So, what do you think that the first one is? The first thing that the world will say is going to make you happy??

I think I heard money out there. So lets dive right in on that one?

1)Money, Money, Money - Is the desire of your heart to just gain more money? Will that make you complete? I’ll admit that there have been plenty of times that my heart has been set on just obtaining “this much” more money and then everything will be alright. Who hasn’t had this thought really? But does that truly reflect our “taking delight in the Lord”?

- 1 Timothy 6:10 - For the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

- So lets go back to our core verse for today. Psalm 37:4. This Love of money, this making it the desire of our heart....... Do you think that lines up with Delight in the Lord? Nope, in fact has a "golden idol" ever worked out well in the word of God??? NOPE, not even once!

- Therefore by definition, we have eliminated the desire of Money as a way to take delight in the Lord.