Resolved to Slow Down

INTRODUCTION

Americans pride themselves on living a fast-paced, busy life.

On several occasions I have found myself pushing the speed limit hurrying to get somewhere and then ask myself why I am going so fast—I started the trip in plenty of time and there was no need to rush.

Such actions result from us living in a culture where speed is king and busyness is an idol.

We complain that we are rushed.

We lament the lack of free time.

Yet, secretly, perhaps we are bragging so that everyone will know the busy nature of our lives.

Perhaps busyness is the American Idol.

Think for a moment if the following has aggravated you the way I have allowed it to aggravate me:

You’re driving to Springfield and both traffic signals at Seymour turn red just in time to stop you—and then you catch the Highway 125 light on red as well.

You stand beside the microwave wishing it would hurry up and finish the popcorn—kids today have no concept of making popcorn in a skillet.

You have to wait a few minutes to get service in a store or in the waiting room of the doctor.

And we get aggravated—even angry.

We have ten times more to do than we can get done.

We want to slow down and find peace, but there is no time for it.

Peace calls for doing nothing, and we can’t handle that.

The Christian philosopher and scientist Pascal said, “Most of man’s troubles come from his inability to be still.”

At the beginning of this year we are in a sermon series called I Am Resolved.

This series challenges us to grow closer to the Lord through spiritual disciplines.

Last week we talked about how faithful church attendance brings you closer to the Lord.

Today we will see the need to slow down and find a quiet place where we can be alone with God.

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself sets the example for us when it comes to slowing down and finding a quiet place to spend time with God.

We aren’t in any more demand that Jesus was and we aren’t any busier than Jesus.

Someone always wanted His attention.

Someone always needed Him.

He couldn’t walk through a town without attracting a crowd or having someone sneak up behind Him and touch Him to receive healing.

Jesus was always busy, always teaching, always performing miracles, always in great demand.

Yet Jesus new he needed time to slow down and be alone with God if He was going to have the energy to complete His mission.

In the Bible says:

Luke 5:16 NIV

16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Jesus made a habit of withdrawing from the crowds and even from His disciples to find a quiet place to be alone with God.

In various places the Bible says Jesus would go to

The hills.

A lonely place.

A high mountain.

The wilderness.

A garden.

He went to these places just before or just after important happenings in His ministry. (Tony Jones. The Sacred Way. 2005, p. 40 here and subpoints).

Before He chose His disciples.

After He heard of His cousin, John the Baptist’s beheading.

After feeding the 5,000.

After healing a leper.

For the Transfiguration.

To prepare for the agony of the cross.

Well known author Richard Foster says, “The seeking out of solitary places was a regular practice for Jesus. So it should be for us.”

Just after His baptism and just before beginning public ministry the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the Judean wilderness for a time of silence and solitude ().

Matthew 4:1–11 NIV

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

“ Jesus’ ministry began with a call to solitude as the Holy Spirit took him into the wilderness for forty days (Eyre 1995, ch. 6).

Jesus’ ministry began with a call to solitude as the Holy Spirit took him into the wilderness for forty days.

In the wilderness:

Stephen D. Eyre, Drawing close to God: The Essentials of a Dynamic Quiet Time: A Lifeguide Resource (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995).

He was alone with the Father.

He prayed.

He listened.

He fasted.

He faced down satan.

He emerged ready to powerfully proclaim the kingdom of God.

All this resulted from Jesus slowing down, following the leading of the Holy Spirit, and spending time alone with the Father.

He learned the lesson of slowing down, silence, and solitude well, for, as we have seen, throughout His ministry, He would slow down, seek a quiet place, and there he would meet with God.

Those precious times of silence and solitude prepared Him to deal with the pressures of life.

I propose to you that if Jesus needed silence and solitude in His life how much more do we need it in our lives today?

Today, I hope we will discover that slowing down to spend time quietly and alone with God will help us grow spiritually.

BODY

The Holy Spirit wants us to slow down so He can speak to us in a place of silence and solitude.

Most of us, at one time or another, have longed to hear from God.

We long for His direction for our lives.

We long for His wisdom in making an important decision.

We long for Him to reveal His will to us.

Sadly, we rarely take time to listen to Him.

Our days are filled with noice from our waking until we collapse in bed at night.

Television.

Music.

Podcasts.

News.

The hustle and bustle of life.

All of this noice drowns out the voice of the Holy Spirit.

There is no time in the Sunday worship service for silence.

I must confess, silence in a worship service makes me a little nervous.

Could it be that we should, at times, slow down, be quiet in His house and see if He will speak to us

It used to be that Sunday was a day to worship and then slow down, rest, and hear from God.

No longer.

Even those who faithfully attend church often frantically fill the time between services with shopping, hobbies, etc.

Time for rest and solitude in God’s presence has been squeezed out of our Sundays.

It used to be that holidays were time to slow down, step back from work, worship, and spend time with God.

Now, Christmas is all hustle and bustle and exchanging gifts.

Now, Easter is all about new dresses, egg hunts, chocolate, and there is no time for being alone with God.

In all this the Holy Spirit cries out for us to draw near God.

To create space in our lives to be alone with God.

To find time to be silent in His presence waiting upon Him and listening to Him.

The Lord promises us that if we will draw near to Him then He will draw near to us.

The old prophet Elijah had just won a great victory over the worshipers of false gods.

The queen, upset by Elijah, vowed that she would kill Elijah.

Elijah fled from her wrath.

Elijah was overwhelmed, frightened, tired, and depressed.

In :

1 Kings 19:11 NIV

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

1 Kings 19:11–12 NIV

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

The Lord had to get Elijah to a quiet place, away from other people, in order to get his attention and help him clear his mind so Elijah could hear the gentle whisper—the still, small voice—of God.

The Lord called Elijah to the mountain.

Then amazing signs

Like Jesus and Elijah, the Holy Spirit wants to lead you to slow down, find a quiet place, and spend time with God.

If you slow down and follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit you will hear from God and grow in your relationship with God.

A place of silence and solitude will prepare you for the challenges of life.

Charles Spurgeon, known as the prince of preachers, once quoted the famous church reformer Martin Luther as saying, “I have so much business to do today, that I shall not be able to get through it with less than three hours’ prayer.”

For forty days Jesus was alone with God in the Judean wilderness.

He traded the cool waters of the Jordan for the blazing heat of the wilderness (Guzik 2013).

He left huge crowds for silent crags and rocks (Guzik 2013).

The Spirit rested upon Him at His baptism; now the Spirit leads Him to a place of silence and solitude (Guzik 2013).

At the end of forty days of silence, solitude, fasting, and prayer, satan came to tempt Jesus.

The temptations themselves are not the point of this message; we can examine them another time.

The point is that Jesus clearly and decisively overcame temptation and defeated satan.

When we slow down and spend time alone with God we gain the spiritual strength we need to overcome temptation and all the plans that satan forms against us.

Immediately after His forty days of silence and solitude, Jesus launched His ministry ().

Matthew 4:17 NIV

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

His time alone with God prepared Him for His ministry.

When you spend time alone with God you will receive strength and help to live your life for Him.

THIS NEEDS MORE!

Time spend alone with the Lord gives us the spiritual strength we need to:

Overcome temptation.

Defeat satan.

Grow in our spiritual walk.

Be successful in our work for Christ.

The Bible gives many examples of people who spent time alone with God.

Moses was alone in the wilderness when he saw a burning bush and heard the voice of God that directed his future ministry.

David spent much time alone in the wilderness tending sheep and learning that the Lord was his shepherd.

Paul, shortly after He trusted Christ for salvation, went into the wilderness of Arabia where He was alone with the Lord and the Lord instructed Him.

John was confined to the island prison of Patmos, and on the Lord’s day he went into a cave to be alone and silent in God’s presence.

Think of the impact slowing down to spend time with God had in the lives of these people.

Moses could not have confronted Pharoah and led Isreal out of slavery unless he had first been alone with God.

David could not have brought down Goliath in the name of the Lord if he had not first spent time alone with God in the wilderness.

We would not have thirteen books of our New Testament if Paul had not been alone with the Lord in the desert of Arabia.

We would not have the last book of our Bibles if John had not slowed down, entered a cave, and waited before the Lord in silence.

What could God do through us if we would slow down and spend time quietly in His presence?

We, I am certainly including myself in this, we need to slow down enough that we make time to be alone with God in silence.

Spending time alone with God in silence will not happen unless we take intentional steps to make it happen—we must plan for it.

Let me give you some practical steps you can take to intentionally plan time to be alone with the Lord.

You must get away from people (Eyre 1995, ch. 6).

Jesus said ():

Matthew 6:6 CSB

6 But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

[Example of Billie Brooke]

Susanne Wesley, wife of Pastor Samuel Wesley, lived in the late 1600’s and early 1700’s

She gave birth to nineteen children, ten survived.

Everyday she would take her Bible to her favorite chair and throw her apron up over her head and sit their for two hours.

All the children knew to respect that moment—under that apron she was alone with God and was not to be disturbed.

There, in that tent of meeting, in that place of silence and solitude, Susanne Wesley interceded for her husband and her children and plumbed the depths of the mysteries of God.

Did it pay off?

Her son Charles Wesley wrote 6,500 Christian hymns many of which are sung today.

Another son, John Wesley, founded the Methodist Church, with 80 million members world-wide today, not to mention the holiness churches like the church of the Nazrene and the Pentecostal churches like the Assemblies of God that sprung from the methodist churches.

Let’s intentionally plan to get away from people in order to be with God.

You must get away from entertainment (Eyre 1995, ch. 6).

Set your phone aside.

Get away from TV.

Forget Youtube for a while.

Kill the music (unless, perhaps it is an aid to worship and hearing God).

Drop the constant flood of news.

Drop the constant flood of news.

We are entertaining the Holy Spirit out of our lives.

If we would step away from entertainment our excuse of not having time to be alone with God would vanish.

Step away from responsibilities (Eyre 1995, ch. 6).

Give your responsibilities over to the Lord.

Don’t let them distract you from your time of silence and solitude.

Set aside your work issue for a while.

This may take some practice.

Let them wait; don’t let them pre-occupy you.

Spouses, be sure to think of your u

Married people, be sure to think of your husband or wife’s need for time alone with God.

A spouse may be busy with work and carrying that burden so hard that time is needed to step away from family responsibilities for a time to be alone with God—not to play—to be alone with God.

A spouse may have three rugrats driving them nuts all day so when you get home, take that responsibility so there can be time for silence and solitude in God’s presence.

Married folks, make time for each other to be alone with God!

It will draw you both nearer to the Lord.

It will bless your marriage.

It will bless your children.

Open your calendar on your phone or in your planner, or take a note on your phone or a scrap of paper. [MAKE SLIDE OF THE PLAN]

Pause and think for a moment, and write down when you will find 15 minutes a day to be alone with God—do it now.

Get up early.

Set in truck on lunch break.

Late after kids in bed (least likely to happen for most people).

Now look at the next month—choose a day, do it right now, where you will take four hours in a row to be alone with God—go ahead, mark it down now, even if you have to change the date later, do it now.

What will I do for four hours?

Read Scripture.

Pray

Fast

Worship

Listen to worship music.

Listen for the voice of God.

Read a good book about some spiritual or biblical issue.

There is much you can do, but mostly, be alone and quiet your Spirit, so His Spirit can speak to you.

Think of the remainder of the year—plan now that at least three more times this year you will take four or more hours in a row to be with the Lord.

Now, think of someone you can share your plan with, your spouse, your mentor, a friend, and ask them to hold you accountable.

So, here is our plan for silence and solitude, for slowing down to be with God:

Fifteen minutes or more a day silently alone with Him.

Four times a year four hours or more in a row alone with Him.

If we will do this we will grow in our walk with God and gain spiritual strength.

IN CONCLUSION

Slowing down won’t happen unless we make it happen.

We need to encourage one another in the pursuit of spending time with God.

In one region of Africa, the first converts to Christianity were very diligent about praying.

In fact, the believers each had their own special place outside the village where they went to pray in solitude.

The villagers reached these "prayer rooms" by using their own private footpaths through the brush.

When grass began to grow over one of these trails, it was evident that the person to whom it belonged was not praying very much.

Because these new Christians were concerned for each other's spiritual welfare, a unique custom sprang up.

When ever anyone noticed an overgrown "prayer path," he or she would go to the person and lovingly warn, "Friend, there's grass on your path!"

Let’s be careful not to let the grass, the brush, etc, grow up and choke out the path to our place of silence and solitude.

Will you seek the Lord in silence and solitude?