Sunday Message - Rachel Hickson (June 01, 2014) | Life Bible Church

Wonderful to be with you. Isn't it great? I like

being here. So there should be a PowerPoint coming.

As many of you know, I've had a tradition of

many years. And I know that you're not so interested

in seeing me. You're interested in seeing the

family. So those of you who weren't here yesterday,

that's... My wonderful girl with her husband.

They're now in Melbourne, in Sydney. Those are

the three grandchildren. Three. Look, that's

little Cooper. I come from Oxford, so we like

having a mini Cooper in the family. Next one.

We cock through very fast. Or as fast as it will

help us go. That's my boy with his wife and I'm

going to have my fourth grandchild in September

and at last I get one in England. Yay! And so

what am I going to speak this morning? Well I

want to speak this morning about think big. Think

big. Big. I'm going to preach two different messages,

so the next service will be slightly different.

I'm not sure how much of this I'll get done,

but I pray that Jesus will communicate what needs

to be done. We already had that prophetic word

this morning. Come on, take the ceilings off.

Take the lid off. Time to break. forth. And this

word really began to resonate in me last year

when I was up in Pennsylvania and I walked into

a church where I was going to minister and a

man came out the prayer room and he got right

into my personal space and he said, Rachel, God's

got a message for you. Think big or you'll limit

me. And so immediately I thought this was for

me. And I thought, this is my message to me.

But I suddenly realized as he was saying it,

Holy Spirit said, no, I've got a message for

you to carry. And it was when I had arrived in

America and I just felt that God was saying,

come on, it's time to think big. Because you

see, when we're kingdom people, we always have

to live and think in the opposite spirit to the

spirit of the world in which we live. And so

there's downsides contained, pull in, be careful,

push down, hold in, withdraw. But actually Holy

Spirit is saying, no, this is a season for advance,

acceleration, increase, think big, stretch out.

Don't hold back. Think big. So I'm thinking about

this and going back to my hotel room and my son

has just emailed me and he says, the girl that

you led to the Lord two years ago, Emma, has

just got married and we need the next one up.

Now, I've done a lot of weddings in Oxford. Over

80, Gordon and I did in five years, but never

yet have I seen that as a backdrop to the wedding.

So I'm, dear Emma, I'm really sorry, but you

didn't catch me first. It was the backdrop. I'm

thinking, oh my word. Think big. Say it with

me this morning. Then I moved to the next place.

And as I'm walking in, a man comes out the prayer

room. I like men that pray and hear God. And

he comes right out and he said, I'm really sorry

if this seems strange, but I've got to get close

and personal. And God said, I'm to say it three

times in your face. Think big, think big, think

big. So I've got to say it three times in your

face. Think big, think big. Why? Because you

see, I believe God is calling a people who will

inspire hope. And if we can't think like God

thinks, how can we inspire hope? Faith is the

thing. The substance of things hoped for. And

so you see, God is asking you, can you see the

big picture? Or have you become contained and

limited in your understanding? Are you only able

to look at the immediate crisis at your foot?

Or can you see the big story in the journey?

How many of you have to admit that in difficult

times, something has been born? Something's come

full. Out of crisis, God seems to bring a catalyst

full and something does come from it. Matthew

22, 37 to 38. And Jesus replied, you shall love

the Lord your God with all your heart, with all

your soul and with all your mind. This is the

first and greatest commandment. Those of you

who came to the seminar yesterday, you'll know

I'm a mean preacher because I like giving you

work. I like making you go away and do the thinking.

I don't like to be too prescriptive. You answer

the questions. You sort it in your world. I want

to say, how are you, and this is your homework

from this morning, how are you going to upgrade,

go forward in the way you love God with your

mind? A lot of our teaching is about heart issues.

Would you agree? But you see, God doesn't say,

love the Lord with all your heart, then you get

80 gold stars. Love God with your mind, you get

20. Somehow in the church we feel that if we

love God with our heart, that's better than if

we love God with our mind. But I think, come

on church, it's time for an upgrade, an advancement

of using what's between our ears. How many of

you know the devil likes to use what's between

our ears? Many of us get messed up with the way

we think. Would you agree? And so God says, come

on, it's thinking big time. If you turn to Colossians

Colossians 3:2

chapter 3 verse 2, in verse 1 it says set your

heart, but in verse 2 it says, read it with me

from the screen, set your mind on things that

are above, not on things that are on the earth.

That word to set literally is an intentional,

almost like setting your GPS. It's like you're

making an intentional decision to track a way

of thinking. Set your mind deliberately, intentionally.

I was flying in. I'm afraid I do live a lot of

time on an airplane. But I was really excited.

I was returning home to London, been away a long

time. And in my dream, I'm thinking, you know,

bright, sunny day. Let's see the sunshine. I

packed my coat, maybe that was part of it. And

at 10 ,000 feet, London looked awesome. It was

clear, blue, beautiful. I could see for miles.

And then we began slowly descending and the captain

comes on, you know, we'll be ready to land in

15 minutes. And then it's bump, bump, bump, bump,

hit the runway. And it's doom and gloom, more

Seattle weather. And I thought, what happened

to the awesome day at 10 ,000 feet? And you see,

it was about where I was looking. Think big or

you're going to limit. Set your mind on the things

above. Don't have your reference point from earth

below. God wants to give you a word. Put your

head in the clouds. Begin to get. heaven's perspective

on earth. And so often we think, oh, that girl,

she's real irritated. She's just got her head

in the clouds. No, I believe as a church, we

need to get a different perspective. Then it's

not so selfishly centered. Thinking about my

crisis, my world, my thing. But when we get the

big picture in our journey, we can think big

and be generous. Would you agree with me? Unfortunately,

our natural way of thinking usually has a default

setting. And we usually tend to think negative

rather than positive. You in America are much

better than us British, but you can still be

negative rather than positive. You can still

think more your weakness rather than your strength.

Most of us are still happier to say, these are

my weaknesses, than we are to say, I'm awesome,

these are my strengths. But you see, God says,

I've given everyone one talent, some five, some

ten. So there's some amazing strength out here.

So how many ten talenters have we got? You know,

if I say, show me the one talents, yeah. How

many tens? Oh, everyone. Because we've got a

default setting. We've got a wrong understanding

of what it means to be arrogant. And what it

means to be confident in who Jesus has made me.

Come on, we need to set our mind into what God

has called us to be. And it's not that we say,

oh, look at me, aren't I clever? But God and

me together are an amazing combination. If I

really let God in my world, what could really

happen? Set your mind on things above. Because

if we don't do it, we end up in the wrong place.

How many of you know that? If you look at Philippians

Philippians 3:19

chapter 3 verse 19, it says this, their end is

destruction. Well, how did they get there? What

was that journey? Well, let's read the rest of

the verse. Their God is their belly and they

glory in their shame with their mind set on earthly

things. So you see, you set your mind in the

wrong place. Guess what? You end up at the wrong

destination. So if you're just thinking all the

time, what's happening at my feet? What's going

on here? What's going on there? Your end is destruction

because you get the wrong worldview. How many

of you know what I'm talking about? And so Jesus

has sent me with a message and I found it fascinating.

It was landing in America, in Pennsylvania, that

birthplace, you know. He said, you've got a message.

Think big. You're going to limit me. Think big.

So how do we set that mind? What do we need to

do? Well, Romans 8 verse 5 and 6 says this. I'm

Romans 8:5

sorry if I'm going fast, but the clock is not

my friend today. One, two, three. is life and

peace. Amen. So I'm going to set my mind on a

spirit way of thinking. Why don't you just pray

with me this morning? Holy Spirit, help me set

my mind and my thinking on the Spirit. In Jesus'

name. Amen. Because you see, thinking big is

not dangerous and it's not irresponsible if it's

inspired by Holy Spirit. In fact, it's utterly

necessary. If we're not thinking bigger than

who we are and our ability, then we've got that

ceiling lid on us. We are contained. We're only

living half the life that God has called us to

live. Every dream that you have from God should

seem impossible. Because it should be bigger

than you. How many of you know what I'm talking

about? Because God puts your head in the clouds.

He shows you the big picture, big story. And

the dreams given to you are meant to take a lifetime

to fulfill. So where does common sense fit in?

You know, because then we think, well, you know,

let's have some rationale. Let's process this.

We come from Oxford. And I didn't really know

the word process until I went to Oxford. But

in Oxford, everyone, it's process. And of course,

there is wisdom in counsel. I'm not saying that.

But if we already downgrade and delete everything

because it doesn't make sense. then we lose so

much of the common sense of the Holy Spirit.

What is common sense? You've got a whole life

to live that dream that God put in you and it

will take your life to hit it. Oscar Wilde, this

is your Oxford moment. Oscar Wilde said this

and I love it. Common sense is no more common

than general knowledge is general. In other words...

How many of you have noticed your common sense

doesn't seem to be somebody else's? Maybe you

employ someone new and what to you is stark obvious

to them is rocket science. And you think, what

is your problem? That's just normal common sense.

But you see, it's the same in the church. I believe

that once we get Holy Spirit revelation, what

to us just becomes part of our nature, becomes

a normal way of thinking, a normal perspective

of life, a normal obedience and character value

system. To us, it's common sense. To others,

they're going, whoa, that's amazing. How many

of you know what I'm talking about? And you need

to realize you're carrying something amazing.

What to you is obvious to so many around you

is amazing revelation. You've got to start to

think big. Isaiah 55 verse 8 says this. And if

Isaiah 55:8

you look at the Hebrew, the way that's constructed,

it's quite a poetical language. And it is more

than just that. fleeting thoughts the way you

think is not. It's the whole process of thinking,

the whole way you come to make a decision. God

says, where you start, process, think. Your whole

thinking journey is not my thinking journey.

Your whole thought process is not my thought

process. Your whole way of approaching your decision

is not my way. I want to take you up. I want

you to set your mind. I want to teach you to

think big. Come on, church. It's time to love

the Lord your God with all your mind. So what

about these big thinkers? What about advancing,

upgrading? What about stretching out, staking

ground? What about that? Well, it takes a different

way of thinking. How many of you know? We can't

think small if God gives us large. We've got

to shift, upgrade. And I believe that there is

a Daniel season coming. If you think of Daniel,

he was accelerated, advanced right into positions

of prominence in a time when his nation needed

some serious thinkers. They needed, there was

the whole kingdom of Babylon going through all

their shifting and changing. And he was a refugee.

He didn't have the status. He didn't, you think,

have the grading. But you know that young boy,

he got into God. He used his heart to love God,

but he used his mind to love God. And when they

did the assessment for Harvard, Yale, Princeton,

Oxford, of course, he came out 10 times better

than any other applicant. He creamed it. Because

he had learned to let God expand his whole way

of thinking. And then if you read in Daniel chapter

Daniel 5 · chapter mention

5, the king answers and says to Daniel, you're

Daniel. You're one of those refugees. You're

one of those marginal people. But I've heard

great reports about you. I've heard that the

spirit of the gods is on you. Now you might not

like the language. It's a bit like saying you

channel power. You're a bit of a new ager. But

all he's trying to do is find language for what

he sees as being supernatural. remember I got

into a train cabin one time, traveling late at

night to get to a conference when my plane had

been delayed. And a young man had come to collect

me because all the other speakers had been taken

to the retreat center. As I got onto this train

cabin in Norway, I sort of gate crashed a goth

party. Do you know what I mean by goths? You

know, the black guy. And Norwegians are big dudes.

So there's about this six foot eight goth guy

with his back standing in the people doing whatever

at midnight. And so I'm with this guy and I can

see him sort of freeze and think, oh, help. And

at that moment, the big dude swings around. He

goes, respect. I thought, I like that sentiment.

And he looks at me and said, I like the power

you're channeling. It's strong. I believe that

something needs to shift. We need to think bigger

rather than being victim. Actually, the greater

is he that's in us, that's in the world. There's

something that God is setting his people in places

of influence. And I believe kings, people in

authority are going to say, wow, the spirit of

the gods is in you. There's light, there's understanding,

excellent wisdom. And then I love the end of

verse 15. It says, I've been told that you know

how to interpret problems and solve problems.

How many problem solvers? How many of you got

a problem on your desk in your workplace? How

many of you need some divine upgrades for solutions?

I believe if you will take faith, this is a Daniel

season. Come on, think big. Don't see containment

as limitation. See it as elevation. See it as

breakthrough. Say, oh God, I thank you that you're

going to upgrade me. I'm thanking you for divine

solution finding. Does that make sense to you

this morning? That God wants to enter that world

with you. So at one place we're going to be amazing

minds, but I believe at the same time, and this

is a paradox of our Christian life, we're foolish

minds too. At one place we grow up and we're

going to stun people with amazing wisdom, insight

and problem solving. And I want to prophesy,

come on some of you men and women in your marketplace,

in your job places, where you need problem solving

for management issues. Download it. Think big.

Don't say, oh dear, back to work. Jesus wants

to help you think. But we're always going to

be foolish. Because you see, our understanding

of Jesus Christ. Just messes with people's heads.

We broke bread this morning. The whole understanding

of the bread and the wine does not make sense.

How many of you know? And people always get to

fight it. We read in 1 Corinthians chapter 1,

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

18 to 25. For the message of the cross is foolishness

to those headed to destruction. But we who have

been saved, we know. We know in our knower that

we know. It's the very power of God. And when

we preach, I know Jesus. He was crucified for

me. People around us get offended. And the Gentiles

say, oh, that's nonsense. They can't get it.

But what I want to say to you is I believe it's

a harvest time for the West Coast. On Friday

night, Helen did an awesome job preaching with

the young people. I don't know how many of you

were here. But 14 people came and gave their

lives to Jesus. Absolutely new people. That's

salvation. And Dave and the others said they

were newbies. Isn't that fantastic? And as I

thought, 14, we're in the year 2014. And I felt

God say, new decade, one for every year. This

is a sign to you, a decade of harvest. Get ready.

Think big. But so often we get ourselves in a

mess because we try to explain things that can't

be explained. I cannot explain how the blood

of Jesus makes you clean. But I know it works.

I cannot explain why it is the mercy of God to

take his son and crucify him. But it works. And

this is my story. This is my song. And I'm not

ashamed of it. And we're going to think big.

But we're going to think foolish. And stun the

world with the brilliance. You see, as I said,

we live in Oxford and I've had students and they

confront you and I love it. And so I'm a scientist

by background, a clinical biochemist. He said,

if you're a real scientist, you would never believe

that God stuff. It's nonsense. I said, it's because

I'm a real scientist, my brain can get around

it and accept it. And he said, no. He said, if

it's really true. Then you should be able to

explain it. And I said, no, there are many things

in life that cannot be explained and have to

be fully experienced. He said, no, that's just

a cop -out. I said, no, it isn't. It's reality.

I said, you're a student. I said, there are hundreds

of things in life that I cannot give you an ABC,

one, two, three, rational explanation. But once

you experience it, you know it and you come to

an understanding. I said, this is your God. He

said, prove it. I said, okay, you asked for it.

I said, I'm a clinical biochemist. So let's just

think about a jolly good kiss. You're a student.

Now, if we begin to think of two mouths coming

together. As a clinical biochemist, and I rationally

begin to explain it, I'm thinking, did he clean

his teeth? What bacteria are on his teeth? What

is in that saliva? If I really process everything

in a kiss, it becomes worse, not better. And

if I just ruined your kissing date, I'm real

sorry. But you see, I can explain a kiss until

we go and it mostly makes it worse. But come

on, I've been married 33 years and Gordon is

still a great kisser. I've experienced it. I

want it. I love it. There are certain things

that we need to stop being ashamed about that

we can't explain. We need to just say. Try it

and see. Taste and see. God is good. Because

I believe in these days we need to be unashamed.

Romans chapter 1 verse 6. I'm not ashamed of

Romans 1:6

my message. Jesus saves. Jesus saves. Next slide.

When I was in Oxford just recently. I'm on a

bit from you. Next slide. When we were in Oxford.

We set out the freshest table and we had all

the kids come. We had 2 ,000 kids come to a table

saying, come explore God, saying, I want to do

it while I'm at university. A hundred kids came

to the table and said, I'd already decided before

I came to university, I wanted to sort the God

question in my life. Come on, it's in America

too. Jesus says, unashamed. Number two, we need

to be unashamed. Jesus heals. And even when we

can't add up the arithmetic and we lose people

that are precious, we cannot back off that my

Jesus heals. I remember Jesus challenging me

and say, Rachel, I want you to pray for the sick.

And I was like, I just thought, well, God, it's

sometimes good and it's sometimes bad. And he

said, no, nobody has ever died because you prayed

for them to be healed. But some people have been

healed. I can't say I've had 100%. I'm sure you

can't say you've had 100%. But how many of you

know you have got a story? You see, this year

is my 30 years that we just clock through them

quickly. 30 years ago, I've talked about my accident.

I nearly died. That was a four -year journey.

That's my little girl who's now grown up 30 years

old in Melbourne. That wasn't fun. But I've just

went back to the Oxford Research Orthopaedic

Centre because they wanted to look at my bones.

Because they've been tracking me and they want

to see if I had osteoarthritis as a result of

the serious fractures. The doctor, and I haven't

got time, he looked at my legs. He looked at

all the x -rays and he looked at me. He said,

do you know you're a miracle? I said, yeah, of

course I know. He said, no, I mean now. I've

just looked at your bones. They're absolutely

straight. The density and the clarity of the

white on that interior bone looks about 35 to

37 years old. I'm 54. He said, I can't see where

the fractures were. And my right leg was fractured

in five places. My left leg in three places.

And two of them were compounded and completely

broken. The muscle thing. He said, I can't even

see the creases and the calluses. These bones

are so perfectly knit. And there's not even a

speck of arthritis I'd expect in someone your

age. And finally, we've got to be unashamed and

say, Jesus delivers. What do I mean by that?

Well, there's demons, evil spirits, but another

word, legitimate translation is tormenting spirits.

I believe we've got to start saying, I know Jesus.

And he breaks torment. He breaks all the phobias.

He breaks all addictions. He gets you out of

a living hell. And he breaks the mind game. This

is my Jesus. It's time to think big. Is there

amen? Is that good? Will you stand with me this

morning? Well, we ask you to come, Lord Jesus.

And I want to ask you, think big. How many of

you could already, in your mind, you know there's

an area where God's saying, come on, I want an

upgrade here. Break out. Think different. But

you see, we can't think right unless we've got

God in our life. Because we can try and sort

it as much as we want, but it's the power of

God that helps us. And maybe you're in the house

this morning, and if you're really honest with

yourself and with God, you know God isn't in

the central place. And God is asking you to set

your mind. Get hold of that GPS of your life

and say, okay, God, I'm going to put in the right

coordinates. I want you in my world. I want you

to direct my path. And we're just going to come

and worship. And as we do that, if you're in

the house today and you know you need to set

your mind and life on a Jesus coordinate, I'm

just going to invite you to come down the front

and we'd love to pray for you. So wherever you

are in the house, you don't have to wait for

anything special. Just come. We'd love to pray

with you. Some people go, oh, that's real scary.

I know. But what God did for you was really awesome.

Thank you, sweetheart. There's others of you

here. You just know this is my day. I'm taking

out that GPS of my life and I'm just saying,

I need to put you back. I need to have you in

my world. I need to get rid of all this wrong

thinking. If you're here, just make room. Come

on out because we want to pray for you. If you

are interested in hearing other podcasts or contacting

Life Bible Church, go to www .lifebiblechurch

.org or call us at 541 -995 -8282.