Sermon Tone Analysis

WALKING SLOW

Last week we started a new series that we are calling “The Way.”

The name of the series comes from Jesus proclaiming “He is the way!”

When we do things our way, they always seem to go bad.

At the very least, they don’t go as well as we hoped they would.

Sometimes we even find ourselves saying, “There has to be a better way.”

Jesus is the better way.

He is the only way.

After doing things my way for a long time I may wake up one day and think to myself, “Who am I becoming?

Why am I racing to become someone I don’t even like?

All this work I am doing is just making me more and more tired.

I try to serve more, but just become exhausted and burned out.

I try to be a better person, but it just wears me out and makes me not even care.

There has to be a better way.”

You might even go so far and then realize that the WAY you are doing the work of God is actually destroying the work of God in you.

Jesus doesn’t want you to pile on all sorts of burdens in the name of serving Him.

In fact, He says that if you are carrying heavy burdens you should come to Him and He will give you light burdens.

Tether yourself to Him and walk in step with Him and the work you do for Him will be easy to bear.

My hope and prayer is that God would speak to each one of us in a special way today.

Even though I don’t know what He wants you to get out of our study today, I know without a doubt this entire topic is targeting me.

That’s one reason why I have titled today’s message, “Walking Slow.”

There is a church joke that reminds me of how I tend to rush, especially when I read bible verses.

I have to actively tell myself to read slowly and pause every now and then.

The joke is about a church that will read through certain scriptures together out loud.

The person leading the reading had been disturbed by a lady who would read too fast.

So when he stood up to begin the scripture reading he said...

“We shall now read the 23rd Psalm in unison.

Will the lady who is always ‘by still waters’ while the rest of us are ‘in green pastures,’ please wait a minute while we catch up?”

The movie clip I showed in the beginning was of a guy who was in a rush to get to work.

How many of you have ever felt exactly like that guy?

You are in a hurry and stuck in traffic.

Then the next lane starts moving.

If you manage to move into that lane, the moment you do it shuts down and the lane you were in begins to move.

It’s even worse when you notice people on the side of the road walking and gaining ground on you.

When it comes to driving, I have always struggled with patience.

I’ve always tried to be a good and patient driver, but I still manage to attract bad drivers.

I am usually the guy that gets cut off, or pulled out in front of and have to avoid frustrating situations.

When we lived in OKC I remember complaining to Amy about it and she didn’t believe me.

Then one day we were going somewhere and I got cut off multiple times and I think someone even gave me the California wave and she said, “Wow, you really do get cut off a lot.”

Was it bad luck, or was God trying to teach me something?

I decided on the latter and just focused on not being in a hurry when I drove.

Maybe God was trying to teach me to slow down and not be in a hurry when I drove.

Only recently have I realized that I was wrong.

What God was teaching me has nothing to do with driving.

He wasn’t trying to tell me to slow down when I drive, He was telling me to slow down.

Period.

In fact, that’s probably one reason He brought Amy and me together.

The other day, we went out to eat for Amy’s birthday and I walked up to the restaurant door to open it for Amy and when I turned around she was barely past my pickup.

I asked, “Why are you walking so slow?”

After we ate, we ran to Walmart and I kept finding myself asking, “Why are you walking so slow?”

That is a common theme between us.

I have gotten used to reminding her to get out of my truck when we stop, otherwise she will sit there for quite some time before exiting while I impatiently wait for her to be able to lock the doors.

Why are you walking so slow?

Life is like that.

Always pressed to be somewhere.

Always in a rush to get something done.

Always fighting to find a place for something on the schedule.

I don’t know about you, but for me, I almost always feel rushed.

Do you ever feel a little overwhelmed?

Anxious about all that you have to do? Have you ever found yourself saying, “There just aren’t enough hours in the day!”?

When something comes up you feel as though you must squeeze it into the schedule.

You go to checkout in Walmart and start scanning for the fastest line.

You multitask yourself to the point of impossibility.

When Macayla and her boyfriend, John, came to visit a couple of weeks ago, he told us that he is good at multitasking.

He can “walk, chew gum, and drive at the same time.”

Maybe you don’t struggle with being rushed, but sometimes you still feel disappointed in life.

Like something is missing.

You don’t feel rushed, but you are too busy for the things that you love.

Or the people that you love.

If that is you and you like motivational tag lines, write this down…

The greatest enemy to the life that you want may be the life that you’re living.

I don’t know why this is such a hard subject for me to face.

It could be the culture that we live in.

We live in a country that is always racing from one place to another.

In this place, people are used to being instantly gratified with wants and needs, so if you work with the public they will often expect what they purchase right away.

If you work for larger companies they want their reports done yesterday.

As much as we may feel that pressure out here, in Western Oklahoma, it is a fraction of the pressure people feel in larger cities.

Maybe it’s not a cultural pressure, but one of personality.

Being impatient could be what makes us feel rushed.

Maybe you don’t like having incomplete items on your to-do list.

Maybe you simply don’t have patience for people who aren’t as adept at certain things as you might be.

You were taught how to do things efficiently, so inefficient people are just in the way.

Maybe you just despise “slow.”

You are always busy.

No time for rest.

You will rest when you are dead.

The devil doesn’t take a day off, so I will slow down when I get to heaven.

Whatever the reason, you are busy.

You have places to be, a job to do, bills to pay, a kitchen to clean, kids to raise, yards to mow, dinner to cook, clothes to buy, then wash, then not wear, then buy more, pictures to take, posts to make, and favorite shows to watch.

You DON’T have time for family meals, deep conversations with friends, rest on the weekends, reading God’s Word, reflecting on it, seeking God in prayer… There just isn’t enough time.

Could the life you are living be the greatest enemy of the life that you want?

Let’s talk about “The Way.”

What did The Way do?

Jesus is The Way. Jesus’ ministry lasted about 3 years.

In that short amount of time, Jesus embraced a world changing mission from His Heavenly Father.

He recruited a team of 12 men, and trained and taught them Kingdom values.

He faced all sorts of hatred and persecution from the Pharisees, He resisted the temptations of the devil, He healed all sorts of sick people, loved all sorts of hurting and broken people, He preached God’s Word fearlessly, He fulfilled 351 Old Testament prophecies.

There is one thing Jesus never did.

He NEVER.

ONCE.