Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Intro:

Joshua 24:14–15 NKJV

14 “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Today, the title of my message is, [Slow and Steady Wins the Race].

One of my favorite times in elementary school was story time. I am sure our kindergarten teacher read to us, but my first memory of story-time was in first grade.

My teacher had a blue rug and a rocking chair. We would all gather on the rug and she would sit in her rocker and read. I am sure she read to us every week, but I distinctly remember ONE story.

It was called, “The Hare and the Tortoise.” Who has ever heard the story? The premise is simple, a hare, rabbit, made fun of the tortoise, turtle, for being slow.

The tortoise challenged the hare by saying, “I can get there sooner than you think. I’ll run you a race and prove it.” The hare was amused at the idea and agreed.

The race started and the hare was soon far out of sigh and to make the tortoise feel very deeply how ridiculous it was for him to try a race with the hare, he lay down beside the road to take a nap until the tortoise could catch up.

The tortoise meanwhile kept going slowly but steadily and after a time passed the place where the hare was sleeping. But the hare slept on very peacefully and when at last he did wake up, the tortoise was near the goal. The hare now ran his swiftest, but he could not overtake the tortoise in time.

Talk about a surprise ending for a first grader. Who on earth could imagine that a slow turtle would be the hero of the story when compared to the fast rabbit?

The story was given for a lesson— slow and steady wins the race.

But that does not appear to be the case in 2021. We live in a fast-paced society.

We go quickly

We get as much done

We know there are only so many hours in a day

We pack them full

Internet, phones, emails, and other technological advances has made matters worse, so work, problems, or opportunities always follow us.

The busyness of life has become so bad that psychologists call it a new addiction— going faster in life. With ever addiction there are problems that come:

Increased stress beginning in elementary school kids:

obesity

depression

attention disorders

anxiety, to name a few

The problem with a fast-paced life is we all have our limits. We hold out as long as we can until we crash with the realization that we are not the energizer bunny!

For adults the problems with overextending our schedule is:

irritability

restlessness

compulsive overworking

emotional numbness

other health problems

There are a lot of people running the race of life like the Hare, but eventually we overtire and end up missing out on the end of the race.

I have shared the dangers of busyness from a scientific perspective, but now I want to look from a Biblical perspective. When our lives get too busy, SOMETHING will always drop down the list of priorities.

In our society, usually, the first commitment to decrease is spiritual in nature:

we get too busy to come to church

too busy to pray

to busy to study God’s word

too busy to spend time in His presence.

The enemy’s excuse is— you’re just too busy.

So our aim as a church is to make this a year of prayer. When we slow down to pray and hear from God, we will win this race called life.

To see the value of slowing down to hear from God, I want to look at the life and leadership of Joshua. When he neared the end of the race, he summarized his legacy with one phrase— “We WILL serve the Lord.”

To learn to slow down and stay committed to what God wants to say, I have three points, [Revelation of the Savior], [Risks of Speeding Up], and [Rewards of Slowing Down].

Let’s begin

1. Revelation of the Savior

Joshua 5:13–15 NKJV

13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” 14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” 15 Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Joshua had a unique task. God hand-selected him to serve the successor to Moses. Because of the rebellion and complaints of the Israelites, God determined that everyone in Moses’s generation would die in the wilderness.

Moses too died and now it was time for the Joshua generation to possess the Promised Land. By this point, Joshua was prepared for the task.

God promised to give him the land and told him to be strong and courageous. They received word that their enemies were more afraid of them then they were of their enemies.

He even experienced a miracle similar to Moses. When they approached the Jordan River, the priests stepped into the water, carrying the Ark of the Covenant.

Supernaturally, the waters rolled back and the Israelites crossed into the Promised Land on dry ground. The future looked bright for Israel.

They were closing a chapter on their wilderness wanderings and beginning a new chapter of hope and prosperity. The only obstacle was their enemies.

However, God promised to fight with them in the battle against their enemies. So they have camped just inside the Promised Land and Joshua prepared the armies for battle.

Then one day he looked a saw a man standing with a sword in his hand. Joshua could have allowed his busyness to cause him to over look the Man.

He could have thought, I see someone over there, but I am in a hurry. I have too much to do. We have an entire NATION to conquer.

But Joshua learned the value of paying attention from his Spiritual Father, Moses. He went to the man and wanted to know, are you a friend or a foe?

The answer?

Neither. He was the commander of the Lord’s Army. I love the KJV: this Man is the Captain of the Lord’s host.

What host did He command? The armies of heaven.

Who then was this Man? I believe it was Jesus, the captain of our salvation.

Joshua immediately knew the immense power and might of this Man. So He asked, what do you want me to do? The Lord told him to take off his sandals for he stood on holy ground.

Joshua had a revelation of the Savior. He had an encounter with the Lord that would change His life! His revelation with God would have never come had he not SLOWED down to see that God wanted His attention.

Though Joshua had this encounter, but through his life we also see...

2. Risks of Speeding Up

Joshua 7:1–2 NKJV

1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel. 2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the country.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

I will go back in a moment to Jericho, but I want to look at the first battle they lost. Joshua sent men to the town of Ai to spy out and see how many they needed to send for battle.

The men returned with and told Joshua, we only need about 3,000 men. They thought, there is no need to wear out our armies when we can easily defeat Ai.

The only problem was, they never consulted the Lord. In fact, God was angry with Israel, because they violated God’s instructions. Specifically a man named Achan stole some idols to false gods.

The result of the spiritual disinterest was disastrous. They were in such a hurry to conquer the land, they sped up the process. Instead of seeking God first, they depended on human intuition.

When they went to battle, the men of Ai were ready. They killed thirty-six Israelites and the rest ran home scared. Joshua called out to God who explained to him his error.

Had Joshua consulted God in the first place, the Lord would have revealed to him the sins of Israel. Instead, Joshua was too busy. The Lord showed Joshua his mistake and Joshua repented.

The Lord did give Israel victory of Ai, but it did not come as quickly as it could have, because he was too busy.

Word got around that Ai was defeated by Israel and it worried the Gibeonites. So they sent ambassadors to Joshua. They put on old sandals and ragged clothes and took bread that was dry and moldy.

They lied and told Joshua they were from a distant land and they wanted to make a peace treaty. They bragged on Joshua’s leadership and the God of Israel.

Notice was Joshua did:

Joshua 9:14–15 NKJV

14 Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the Lord. 15 So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.

Joshua did not consult with God. He was in too big of a hurry. Everything looked good on the surface. But their story was not true.

They deceived Joshua and backed him in a corner. Because he made a covenant with them, he could not kill them. Therefore, they were unable to conquer the Gibeonites in the Promised Land.

These two events could have been averted had Joshua SLOWED down to talk to the Lord. The captain of the Lord’s host was ready to speak to them, to give them direction, and to show them the way.

But Joshua risked Israel’s future by speeding through time with God. Life was too busy. But remember, slow and steady wins the race.

3. Rewards of Slowing Down

Joshua 6:1–5 NKJV

1 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. 3 You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. 4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”

I gave you the bad stories first, because I prefer to end a message with a reason to shout or feel uplifted. We looked at the two times Joshua risked Israel’s future because he sped through the process.

But what about the times Joshua slowed down to listen to the Lord? Perhaps his most famous victory took place at Jericho.

The Israelites crossed the Jordan River and camped outside of Jericho. From the outside looking in, Jericho had the upper hand. They had weapons and walls to protect them.

Therefore, Joshua did not rush into battle. He slowed down to see what the Commander of the Lord’s army had to say. God gave him unique battle plans.

Victory would come, but it would take a while. They were to march around the walls of the city once a day for six days in total silence.

Imagine how the people. What they did not realize was the Captain of the Lord’s host was leading a charge of angels who marched with the Israelites.

They took their time and on the seventh day they marched around seven times. On the seventh time, the priests blew the trumpet and Joshua instructed, shout for the Lord has given you the city!

Joshua 6:20 NKJV

20 So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

One of the rewards of slowing down is victories that would otherwise be unattainable!

In another battle, Joshua needed more time to win the battle. The Israelites were worried that they would lose the war, but God promised Joshua:

Joshua 10:8 NKJV

8 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.”

They marched all night to battle and many of their enemies died or fled. When the day came to defeat another enemy, Joshua prayed to God:

Joshua 10:12–13 NKJV

12 Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.

Think about that! God stopped time and space to work on behalf of His people. As I studied through Joshua, from this point forward Joshua grew in his courage and confidence.

He did not get in a hurry. He did not risk Israel’s victory by speeding up the process. Instead, he slowed down and God gave victory after victory.

He conquered all the land and then divided it up between the twelve tribes of Israel. Remember I mentioned earlier that everyone in Moses’ generation died in the wilderness.

There were two exceptions, Joshua was one, and Caleb was the other. These two men were rewarded because for over forty years they slowed down and trusted God.

When it was Caleb’s turn to receive his rewards he explained, I am eighty-five years old and I have wondered in the wilderness. But I held onto God’s promises.

When others got ahead of God or ignored him all together, I was slow and steady. I trusted in God’s promises and now the answer has come to pass ...

Joshua 14:12 NKJV

12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”

He had confidence in God that the Lord would continue to provide for Him!

By the end of Joshua’s life,, God fulfilled His promise:

Joshua 21:43–44 NKJV

43 So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. 44 The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.

God fulfilled His promise to Abraham. His descendants, which were numerous, inhabited the Promised Land. Their enemies were subdued, and they had peace and prosperity.

Close:

NO WONDER, at the end of Joshua’s life, he left this legacy to His family—

fear the Lord

serve Him wholeheartedly

put away all idolatry

and worship the Lord

Choose who you will serve

but for my house, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!

Joshua had a revelation of His Savior! He met the one who would fight on His side through every battle of life.

Did Joshua take some risks by speeding through difficulties? Yes, but he learned the value of slowing down to hear from God. For when we slow down to hear from God, He will reward us.

What I want us to see though, is the danger of becoming SO busy that we do not spend adequate time with the Lord, and I want to emphasize this fact.

As I wrote this message I thought, “you know, this is one the enemy might like. He listens to our services and he wants to distort what was said.”

After hearing a message on the busyness of life, he will agree and say, that is why you can’t get too busy with the church, prayer, God’s word, or worship.

He will whisper lies like, everyone’s life is busy, so go to church when you can, pray when there is a crisis, and get your fill of scripture in bite sized pictures on Facebook or one-liners one t-shirts.

But God has a different perspective. He does not want us to add Him to our schedule, He wants to lead our schedule!

Remember:

Matthew 6:33 NKJV

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

When we place God FIRST, everything else in life will fall in place. God has so much for us, but it starts with us having a revelation of our Savior’s interest and desired activity in our lives.

I’ve wondered, how many times has the Captain of the Lord’s host stood by us, ready to speak to us, ready to fight for us, or ready to help us, but we were too BUSY to notice?

How many times has He wanted to help us, but we were too busy?

In our church, have there been times He wanted to do something in us, but we were to busy to come or wait on Him?

How many times has He wanted to interject in our lives, but we were simply too busy?

I read a poem about this that I love:

“Holy One, there is something I wanted to tell you, but there are errands to run, bills to pay, meetings to attend, washing to do… and I forgot what it is I wanted to say to you, and forget what I am about or why. Oh God, don’t forget me please, for the sake of Jesus Christ.”

God has a race for us to run, the question is, which way are we running?

Do we actively run toward the Lord?

Or do we run to what the world considers success?

Today, we can look to Jesus and depend on Him for His help in our lives!

Please hear my heart, if the enemy had his way, we would all be like the hare, going as fast as we can until we have to stop because we think we are so far ahead.

We will rest on our accomplishments and our reputation, only to one day open our eyes and realize how far behind we really are.

In a fast-paced society, slow and steady wins the race. Taking time to listen and look for God’s activity in our lives is of utmost importance!

We can have victories like Joshua, but we must FIRST look over to Jesus, get comfortable, and stand in His presence!

God has a promise for each of us, He has hope for our lives. But we cannot risk missing our because we speed through life, saying busy, but not growing. Haveing activity, but never spiritual productivity.

Pray with me, God help me to SLOW down and put you first!

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.