THINK BIG

                                   

LK. 19:1-10                                                                         

Pastor Rick Jackson

"The world is full of little people. Most of us fall into this category at times. In spite of all the royal possibilities before us, we deal in little matters." - Lee Roberson

I am not referring to smallness of stature but rather to smallness of heart, littleness of spirit, soul and mind. David was small of stature compared to Goliath but David was the "bigger" man. We can think of men like King Saul, Lot, Joseph's brothers and others who seemed to be engulfed by smallness. Some like David, Moses, and Peter were giants with snatches of smallness exposed to us in their lives as recorded in Holy Writ.

What separates little people from big people? Look first at:

I. CHARACTERISTICS OF LITTLE PEOPLE - MT. 23 (the Pharisees were little people)

1. Little people are Hypocrites (Mt. 23:13-15)

2. Little people are Self-serving (Mt. 23:16-28)

3. Little people are Critical (Mt. 23:29-35)

A man was criticizing Jerry Falwell to a friend. The friend said, "I like what he's doing more than I like what you're doing!" The man got mad but later realized his friend was right and repented of his critical spirit.

Little people may be religious, they may even be saved, but they have limited vision in spiritual realities!

II. CHARACTERISTICS OF BIG PEOPLE - 2 TM.

1. Big people aren't ashamed of Jesus & His servants [2 Tm. 1:7-12]

2. Big people have convictions (2 Tm. 1:13-14, 2:15, 3:16-17)

3. Big people have compassion (2 Tm. 1:15-18)

4. Big people are Christ-centered (2 Tm. 2:1-3, 8-15)

"To the degree that He fills your life, to that degree you become a big person in the sight of God." - Lee Roberson

III. CHANGING FROM LITTLE TO BIG - LK. 19

1. Receive Jesus [v. 1-6]

2. Radiate Joy in your testimony [v. 6-8]

3. Respond judiciously with what you have been given [v. 9-27]