Hard Hearts and Fallow Ground

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The story of Hosea is a great picture of how Isreal turned away from God, and how God continued to pursue them. That is still happening today in the lives of His children right here.

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Hosea 10:12 KJV 1900

12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground: For it is time to seek the Lord, Till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

Background on Hosea and the people of Isreal.

God pursued them, God redeemed them and extended grace and mercy to an unfaithful people.

god does business with honest people. you have to be honest with yourself and honest with god

no excused, alibis, passing the buck. You may say that was a nice sermon, someone sure needed to hear that. Make no mistake, I’m talking to you

this is for you

3 implications

A tragedy that must be feared

a. a prevalent tragedy- break up the fallow ground of your heart

a prevalent tragedy- break up the fallow ground of your heart

Vs 2 their heart is divided

idea- two faced, deceptive speech, say one thing and do another

he is telling them they are going through the motions

believing one thing and behaving another

James Montgomery Boice- said they were coming to the temple pretending to worship all the while looking for the next place to set up an alter

No one would say that is here today that Jehovah is not God. But on Monday morning do we live that! or are you looking for another place to plant an alter

break up your fallow heart

do our lives honor god, that is why our hearts need to be broken

fallow ground is hard, crusty calloused ground that cant be tilled

our hearts are hard and calloused and could

Fallow ground- these people would immediately know what it meant to break up fallow ground: thorny, weedy, stony, stumps everywhere

thorny, weedy, stony, stumps everywhere

I am talking to one today, and that is your heart. your heart is full of weeds and rocks.

Your heart is cold, it is stony to the things of God and you’ve got 1000 excuses why you are the way you are: the church let me down, the preacher offended me, a christian hurt my feelings,

but at the end of the day it is you, it is on you, you and you alone are responsible for the condition of your heart.

Break up the fallow ground of your heart: what would that look like, what is a calloused heart?

it’s un-receptive- the seed is not sown into your heart. instead it stays on the top and never makes it’s way into your heart and is blown away by the wind or carried off by the birds. It never takes root!

it’s unproductive- many of you have been here a long time, you’ve been saved a long time, and the sad reality of the matter is you have little fruit. That is the result of the word of god and the spirit of God operating in your life. You have no joy in life, no love in your life, no forgiveness. that comes from a hard heart. you have fallow ground that needs to be broken up! John Bunyon was in langston prison and he writes these words: “O God keep me from being a painted fire that has no heat, keep me from being a painted flower that has no fragrance, keep me from being like a painted tree that has no fruit”. Is that you today, did that just describe you, your like a painted tree that has no evidence of fruit in your life? There is no evidence of the spirit of God working in your life! break up the fallow ground of your heart.

it is unresponsive= it is fallow in the summer, winter, fall and spring. it is totally unresponsive to everything that god wants to do. the wind blows the rain falls the sun shines, but there is no change. Preacher gets up and preaches Sunday after Sunday, and you would dare not miss a service because you are to afraid of what someone might say if you're not here. the sad fact is, nothing ever changes.you have the same simple rebellious attitude you’ve always had. You still gossip like you always did, you still have jealousy and envy in your heart like you always did, that indicates you need your heart broken by the word of God and the Holy Spirit of God. The person with a calloused heart is a person who thinks the problem is everyone else. You are the one with the problem, they are the one with the problem. The fact of the matter is that while we are alert to the condition of others we are the one with the problem. It is our heart that needs to be broken up.

Not only is there a prevalent tragedy, there is a...

a personal tragedy- notice what he says sow to yourselves. the emphasis on you

b. a personal tragedy- notice what he says sow to yourselves. the emphasis on you

Hosea saw a sensual, sinful selfish people, he’s not talking about the Babylonians, he’s not talking about the Mead and the Persians, he says you!

It is that you are responsible.

It is like the prophet is saying don’t you dare blame the pagan nations around you, don’t you dare blame the way you were raised, don’t you dare shift the blame anywhere else, you and you only are responsible for the condition of your heart. It’s you.

It is that you are responsible. It is like the prophet is saying don’t you dare blame the pagan nations around you, don’t you dare blame the way you were raised, don’t you dare shift the blame anywhere else, you and you only are responsible for the condition of your heart. It’s you. If you’ve been offended, give it to God, if you’ve been hurt forgive, but you and you alone are responsible for the condition of your heart. the heart becomes like fallow ground and it is a gradual process. i don’t beleive any believers heart becomes like fallow ground overnight, it is a process that happens over time. No one wakes up overnight and finds their heart has become hardened. No it may start out like this: i don’t have time to read my bible, i don’t have time for prayer, i don’t have time to talk about my faith, I don’t have the drive to go and worship today. over time we begin to draw away from God and little by little our hearts are hardened and become like fallow ground. It’s crusty, it’s hard, it cant be moved. it’s a process. It happens as we begin to take our worship and attendance casually and flippintly as we miss Sunday night service, or wednesday night service. GOD WILL UNDERSTAND! He knows I’m busy! So it happens over a period of time. You know what happens to a garden when it is left unattended. It is overgrown by weeds. Maybe this is you this morning maybe this describes your heart this morning. It is overrun with weeds.

If you’ve been offended, give it to God, if you’ve been hurt, forgive, but you and you alone are responsible for the condition of your heart.

the heart becomes like fallow ground and it is a gradual process.

i don’t believe any believers heart becomes like fallow ground overnight, it is a process that happens over time.

No one wakes up overnight and finds their heart has become hardened.

No it may start out like this: i don’t have time to read my bible, i don’t have time for prayer, i don’t have time to talk about my faith, I don’t have the drive to go and worship today.

over time we begin to draw away from God and little by little our hearts are hardened and become like fallow ground.

It’s crusty, it’s hard, it cant be moved. it’s a process.

It happens as we begin to take our worship and attendance casually and flippantly as we miss Sunday night service, or Wednesday night service. GOD WILL UNDERSTAND! He knows I’m busy!

So it happens over a period of time. You know what happens to a garden when it is left unattended. It is overgrown by weeds.

Maybe this is you this morning maybe this describes your heart this morning. It is overrun with weeds.

II. There is a truth to be followed- notice he says your heart is like fallow ground, it is unreceptive, unproductive, unresponsive to the things of God, there are many things you can do with a heart that is fallow ground but there is one thing that you can not do, and that is a cold and calloused heart cannot worship God!For it is time he says, it is time to seek the lord.

There is a truth to be followed- notice he says your heart is like fallow ground, it is un-receptive, unproductive, unresponsive to the things of God. There are many things you can do with a heart that is fallow ground but there is one thing that you can not do, and that is a cold and calloused heart cannot worship God!

For it is time he says, it is time to seek the lord. If the fallow ground of your heart is broken up it never happens by accident. repentance is not one of those things that happens accidentally.

If the fallow ground of your heart is broken up it never happens by accident. repentance is not one of those things that happens accidentily.

If you repent and allow the spirit of and the word of God to break up the fallow ground of your heart, it will be because and under the conviction of the holy spirit,

If you repent and allow the spirit of and the word of God to break up the fallow ground of your heart, it will be because and under the coviction of the holy spirit, you made a decision today, today O God, here is my heart such as it is, it is hard it is cold, it is calloused, but put in the cold blue steel of the plow of the Holy Spirit of God and break up the hardness of my heart.

A conviction you made a decision today, today O God, here is my heart such as it is, it is hard it is cold, it is calloused, but put in the cold blue steel of the plow of the Holy Spirit of God and break up the hardness of my heart.

repentance is a decision of the will, it is the exercise of the volition, it is something that we decide to do.

repentance is a decison of the will, it is the exercise of the volition, it is something that we decide to do. you must give God the permission to change your heart and your life. God will never superimpose his will on your life and make you repent even though you don’t want to repent. God will not make you change when you do not want to change. Through our voluntary will, a deliberate decision, we choose to allow God and his spirit and his word to change us.

you must give God the permission to change your heart and your life.

God will never superimpose his will on your life and make you repent even though you don’t want to repent.

God will not make you change when you do not want to change.

Through our voluntary will, a deliberate decision, we choose to allow God and his spirit and his word to change us.

We must come clean before God- How do we break up the ground of our heart- it begins with the confession of know sins, we acknowled our sin and put it under the blood of the cross of Calvary, that what you need to do today, come to the cross and give your sin to God, allow it to be cleansed by the forgiving blood of Christ , seek forgivness and live like a forgiven child of God today.

We must come clean before God-

How do we break up the ground of our heart-

it begins with the confession of known sins,

we acknowledge our sin and put it under the blood of the cross of Calvary,

that's what you need to do today, come to the cross and give your sin to God, allow it to be cleansed by the forgiving blood of Christ ,

seek forgiveness and live like a forgiven child of God today.

The prophet Jeremiah described the heart of man and he said that the heart of man is desperately wicked, it is deceitful, and yet we say “well if I know my heart” , “follow your heart” , worst advice you can give someone is to tell them to follow their heart, because their heart will lead them straight to hell!

The heart is decietful, it is exceedingly wicked. the reason we don’t experience revival in our day, we don’t see a great movement today is because we think everything is ok. We just recently renovated the church, put new floors down, painted the walls, decorated the place, and it looks great. That must mean everything is ok. No that just means we remodeled the place. that is not a reflection of our spiritual condition. We can build, we can grow, we can do everything our heart desires to do, but that doe not mean that we are right with God. There is absolutely nothing that will replace an old fashioned alter, where people broken by the holy spirit of God and by their sins and they get on their face before God and confess who they are and what they’ve done. that’s how you break up the fallow ground.

The heart is deceitful, it is exceedingly wicked.

the reason we don’t experience revival in our day, we don’t see a great movement today is because we think everything is OK.

We just recently renovated the church, put new floors down, painted the walls, decorated the place, and it looks great.

That must mean everything is OK.

No that just means we remodeled the place. that is not a reflection of our spiritual condition.

We can build, we can grow, we can do everything our heart desires to do, but that does not mean that we are right with God.

There is absolutely nothing that will replace an old fashioned alter, where people broken by the holy spirit of God and by their sins get on their face before God and confess who they are and what they’ve done.

that’s how you break up the fallow ground.

Would you be willing- I don’t know, would you be willing this morning maybe, would you be willing this morning, you should be. To say search me o God and see if there be any wicked way in me. To say lord let the meditiation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. are you willing to lay your heart bare before God this morning?

Would you be willing- I don’t know, would you be willing this morning maybe, would you be willing this morning, you should be. To say search me o God and see if there be any wicked way in me. To say lord let the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. are you willing to lay your heart bare before God this morning?

There is an immediacy involved in it-

There is an immediencey involved in it- You know the tone of Hosea’s words when he says break up the fallow ground of your heart, it is if he is saying sow to yourselves now righteousness, reap to yourselves now mercy, break up the follow ground now, do it now! For now it is time to seek the lord. there is an urgency, there is an immediacy from the words of the prophet, that whatever we are going to do we need to do it, time is running out.

You know the tone of Hosea’s words when he says break up the fallow ground of your heart, it is if he is saying sow to yourselves now righteousness, reap to yourselves now mercy, break up the follow ground now, do it now! For now it is time to seek the lord.

there is an urgency, there is an immediacy from the words of the prophet, that whatever we are going to do we need to do it, time is running out.

Isaiah said “seek the lord while he may be found, call upon his name while he is near”.

whatever your going to do for the lord, do it now, if you are going to get right with the lord, do it now, if you are going to put your sins under the blood, do it now, there is a sense of urgency.

you know why we don’t. we aren’t desperate enough.

you know why we don’t. we aren’t desperate enough.when we become desperate enough then we will do business with god. Some of you haven’t become desperate enough. Some of you have too much money in the bank, some of you are too healthy know people in high places to get desperate. Im telling you when all you have is God, then you get desperate.

when we become desperate enough then we will do business with god.

Some of you haven’t become desperate enough. Some of you have too much money in the bank,

some of you are too healthy

know people in high places to get desperate.

Im telling you when all you have is God, then you get desperate.

God has a history of meeting people where they are desperate. Remember the story of the woman with the blood disease. She spent all her money on doctors and when she had nowhere else to go, nowhere else to turn to she got desperate and said if only i can touch the hem of his garment. When you get desperate enough to do business with God it doesnt concern you what others think. it’s between you and God. Don’t wait to go through all of that, seek the lord today

God has a history of meeting people where they are desperate.

Remember the story of the woman with the blood disease. She spent all her money on doctors and when she had nowhere else to go, nowhere else to turn to she got desperate and said if only i can touch the hem of his garment.

When you get desperate enough to do business with God it doesn't concern you what others think.

it’s between you and God. Don’t wait to go through all of that, seek the lord today

There is a treasure to be found- seek the lord till he comes

When he comes the natural is replaced by the supernatural, the dull is replaced by the exciting. When the lord comes everything changes.

When Jesus shows up nothing stays the same

There is to be a persistence and a consistency in the seeking of the Lord.

George mueller had orphanage and never asked for a dime.

He prayed for two of his friends for 50 years and one man said if God was going to save them he would have done it a long time ago, and he turned to and told him if we sow, we shall reap if we faint not. He said my business isn’t the reaping, but only to get the soil ready.

I would say this morning that your business this morning is to get the soil of your heart ready so that God can do a work in your life.

Do you hunger for God. Are you hungry and thirsty for the Lord and the living water that only he can give. If you desire for God to do somehting great in your life, if you want change in your life then you have to let God break up the fallow ground of your heart. You have to come clean before God and you need to do it now.

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