STUDY NOTES

The study notes in this section are Matthew’s personal outlines and therefore they have not been edited.  As a result, you will find some grammatical errors.

Thinking Big

FOUNDATION STATEMENT: The kingdom of God demands that you think big because it was designed to accomplish the “impossible”, reach the “unreachable”, and attain the “unattainable.” In the Kingdom of God we cannot think in terms of limitations, because the Kingdom of God has no limitations. – Proverbs 23:7

I. The Kingdom of God has no limitations and to operate in it you can’t think in terms of limitations

A. The Kingdom of God rules over all (Psalm 103:19)

1. There is no situation or circumstance that this system called the Kingdom of God cannot overcome

B. The Kingdom of God is in supernatural power (1 Corinthians 4:20)

1. Power (Dunamis) – power for performing miracles, ability to perform anything, works of a supernatural origin that cannot be produced by natural agents and means

a. The Kingdom of God system is a supernatural system designed to produce supernatural results

C. We have to have an “all things are possible” mindset (Mark 9:23)

1. It is of great necessity that if you’re going to operate in the Kingdom of God you think BIG

II. You can’t go any further in life, than how you think

A. Your life is a reproduction of your thought life (Proverbs 23:7)

1. What I have in life right now is direct result of how I think in my heart

a. EX: People who aren’t debt-free, haven’t been thinking debt-free.

2. If you want to change your life then you’re going to have to change the way you think

a. The most powerful thing that you can do for a person is change the way that they think

b. If you can change the way a man thinks, you can change his life

B. Your life is going in the direction of your most dominant thoughts (Romans 8:5)

1. Those that are going the way of the flesh are minding the way of the flesh, those that are going the way of the spirit are minding the things of the spirit

a. The direction for a person’s life is set in their thoughts

2. The Word is spirit (John 6:63)

a. To be after the things of the word, you’re going to have to have a mindset on the word and to be after the things that are in opposition to the word you’re going to have to have a mindset that’s in opposition to the word

b. EX: People who never think about committing adultery, never do

c. EX: People who have a debt mentality, will live in debt

C. Satan wants you to think small, to keep you from doing and being something big

1. If you’re limited in your thinking, then you’ll be limited in life

a. We need to get rid of “I can’t imagine” because “I can’t imagine” will lead you to never doing it or having it

D. Basic mind principles

1. The believers responsibilities concerning the mind

a. We are to cast down thoughts that don’t line up with God’s thoughts/God’s words (2 Corinthians 10:5)

1) We have to cast down thoughts that tell us we can’t and we’ll never be able to do that

b. We’re supposed to renew our mind to think like God (Romans 12:1-3)

1) We need to renew our minds to all things are possible (Not just put it on a t-shirt, not just say amen to it in church, but believe it, and act upon it by actually going after the impossible in our lives)

2. We have the ability to think big

a. We have been given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)

1) Jesus thought big (Matthew 14:15, John 11)

b. We have been given a sound mind or a mind that thinks in line with the Word (2 Timothy 1:7)

3. The results of thinking big

a. Nothing missing, nothing broken, peace is what we receive when we keep our mind fixed on the Word (Isaiah 26:3)

III. God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9)

A. We got to think on the level of God’s thoughts, if we won’t to do the things that word says we can do

1. Higher – To be high, to soar, to be lofty, exalt, make high, lift up, mount up, raise up great height, upward

a. God is thinking on a level that we haven’t been thinking on

b. God thoughts aren’t our thoughts until we get His word and change our thoughts to be His thoughts

B. God’s limitless thoughts vs. Limited-carnal thoughts

1. Finances

a. We’ve thought a little bit more than enough, God’s thinking excessively more than enough (2 Corinthians 9:8, 11)

b. We’ve thought middle class, God’s thinking rich (Proverbs 10:22, 2 Corinthians 8:9)

c. We’ve thought debt, God’s thinking no debt (Deuteronomy 28:12, Romans 13:8)

2. Healing

a. We’ve thought some get healed, God’s thinking all get healed (Matthew 9:35, 12:15, 15:30-31)

b. We’ve thought you have to get sick, God’s thinking sickness never has to touch your body (Psalm 91:10)

3. Life

a. We’ve thought tragedy just happens some times, God’s thinking no evil befalls you (Psalm 91:10)

b. We’ve thought people die when they die they can’t control it, God’s thinking with long life will he satisfy you (Psalm 91:16)

4. Victory

a. We’ve thought partial victory some of the time in some areas, God’s thinking victory all of the time, in every area life, for everybody who wants it (2 Corinthians 2:14)

C. People don’t think like this because it’s not realistic to them; that means they don’t believe life can really be lived like this and for them it can’t, because they don’t believe

1. Luke 12:29 – Don’t be a doubtful mind

IV. Limited thinking comes from the root-thought that you only have access to your natural ability. Limitless thinking comes from the root-thought that you have access to the power of God or God’s ability.

A. Don’t think from the standpoint of your natural ability, think from the standpoint of God’s power because that’s the power that you have access to (1 Corinthians 2:5)

1. The first thought of a person who thinks big is I have access the God’s power

a. To think big that has to be the first thought and when that’s you first thought it will lead you to other BIG thoughts

2. We don’t determine what we believe is possible based on what we can do. We determine what we believe is possible based what the power of God can do – That’s having your faith in the power of God

a. Our faith is supposed to be in the power of God

1) Power (Dunamis) – might, strength, miracle, ability and power for performing miracles, ability to perform anything, power to work, to carry something into effect, works of a supernatural origin, such as could not be produced by natural agents and means

b. I believe this is possible and think big because I realize I’m dealing with the power of God

1) A lot of times believers have mentally ascended to the power of God, but the they don’t think in terms of them having access to it in their lives

c. The benchmark for what I believe to be possible has be set based on what the power of God can do, not what I can do

1) When the benchmark of what you believe is possible has been set based on what the power of God can do, then it’s set at all things are possible

d. Stop thinking in terms of what you can do and start thinking in terms of what you can do with the power of God working through you.

B. Somebody’s going to have to think big: You can’t think small in the Kingdom

1. Moses had to think big

a. Moses has to lead his people out of Egypt. They’d been in bondage for 400 years. Moses is unqualified with a stuttering problem. He’s got to deal with a hard-headed Pharaoh and his own people doubting him.

2. Joshua had to think big

a. Joshua has to follow the great Moses, who led this people out of Egypt. He’s been called to lead the children of Israel into the promise land. The first thing that God asks him to do is to part the Jordan River and then take down the walls of Jericho that were so thick that they would race chariots on top of them. (Joshua 1:1-9)

3. Abraham had to think big

a. God asked him to leave his family and his hometown to go to a place that he doesn’t even know of and God’s going to bless him, make his name great, and in him all the families of the Earth are going to be blessed. God promises him that through Isaac his seed is going to multiply, but then God tells him if to go sacrifice Isaac. Abraham thought big; if I kill him God’s going to have to raise him from the dead

4. Joseph had think big

a. He dreamed that even the starts would bow down to him. Joseph dreamed that he was going to be in a place of rulership. He had to think big in that pit, he had to think big when he was sold as slave; he had to think big when he was thrown in prison, and he went from being a prisoner to the prime minister of Egypt because he thought big. (Genesis 37:5-10)

5. Gideon had to think big (Judges 6-7)

a. Israel had been in bondage to the Midianites for seven years and God calls Gideon to deliver them. Here’s Gideon hiding his food from the big bully and God calls him the mighty man of valor. Gideon was the least in his father’s house and poor. Not only that but God called him to defeat a 135,000 men with 300. Gideon had to think big.

6. David had to think big (1 Samuel 17)

a. David’s a 17-year old shepherd boy. He’s not even in the army yet because he’s too young. He had no battle experience. Goliath is twice his size and he’s an expert warrior. David had to think big.

C. When you think small you limit yourself, you limit the Word, and you limit the Kingdom of God (Numbers 13)

1. People who think small are always focused on the size of the obstacles, instead of being focused on the Word of God and the power of God

2. People who think small don’t experience God’s best

a. The promise land was a representation of God’s best

3. People who think small will get mad and offended at people who think big

4. People who think small will be stuck in average

a. That wilderness represented average

5. People who think small don’t accomplish the impossible

a. What a testimony they would have had, if they would have slayed those giants

6. 2 Kings 6:24-29, 7:1-9,12,16

a. The man of God thought big

b. The king’s advisor thought small and it kept him from getting to take part in God’s big promise