Part One - Break Up Your Fallow Ground

HEALTHY THINGS GROW AND GROWING THINGS CHANGE

Part One: Break Up Your Fallow Ground

INTRODUCTION

Granny Cox

Back when I was younger, Granny Cox lived on Williams Ditch Road in Cottage Hill. She used to keep up with how much I grew in height by making marks on the inside of the door jamb in her room. I remember every so often she would ask me to stand against the door jamb and she would make a new mark. It was interesting to see over time. Sometimes the lines were very close together, meaning I hadn’t grown much that year. Sometimes there were big gaps between the lines meaning I had grown a lot that year. But it was a way to measure my growth changed over time.

Just as we grow physically from an infant into adulthood, we should also grow spiritually in our relationship with God. There should be some marks, some evidence, of our spiritual growth over time. There should be increasing evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We should be operating in the gifts of the Spirit. We should be consistently being conformed into the image of Christ.

Because if we are not changing, we are not growing. And if we are not growing, it is because our spiritual life is not healthy. For something to be healthy it must be placed in the right environment and it must receive sufficient quantities of the right nutrients.

I’m beginning a series this morning titled, “Healthy Things Grow and Growing Things Change.” Over the next couple weeks we’re going to dive into Word of God and discover ways we should be growing in our relationship with God.

We’re going to kick off Part One of this series this morning with a message titled, “Break Up Your Fallow Ground.” In order for us to be in a position to thrive and to grow in our relationship with God, we must begin with cultivating the soil of our hearts. If we don’t get our hearts right, the right things will not be able to grow. We see this idea of breaking up our fallow ground in Hosea 10:12.

SCRIPTURE

Hosea 10:12 “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.”

MESSAGE POINTS

THE PRINCIPLE OF SOWING AND REAPING

Whatever you sow, that is what you are also going to reap.

If we sow to the flesh, we are going to reap the works of the flesh.

If we sow to the spirit, we are going to reap the fruit of the Spirit.

But before you can sow and hope to reap, you must first prepare the ground.

If you get ready to plant a garden, probably the first thing you do is prepare the soil.

Spiritually speaking, before we can invest in our relationship with God, we must make sure that the foundation, or the soil, is prepared.

BREAK UP YOUR FALLOW GROUND

What is Fallow Ground?

Fallow Ground is ground that is:

Unused,

Unworked,

and Unfruitful.

Fallow Ground is not good for growing.

You don’t try to plant a crop in fallow ground.

You plant in good soil that has been:

Plowed,

Fertilized, and

Watered.

You want soil:

That is soft and workable,

That is rich in nutrients, and

That has the right moisture content.

What does Fallow Ground represent spiritually?

The “ground” or “soil” refers spiritually to the heart of an individual.

“Fallow Ground” refers spiritually to a heart:

That is hard and calloused.

That is not being cultivated daily through:

Bible Study,

Prayer, and

Worship.

That the water of the Holy Spirit cannot soften.

That the seed of the Word of God cannot penetrate.

That is not producing the fruit of the Spirit.

That is not operating in the gifts of the Spirit.

What does it mean spiritually to Break Up Your Fallow Ground?

PULL THE WEEDS (GET RID OF SIN)

Get rid of anything in our hearts that is not of God.

Get rid of the hindrances:

Weights,

and Sins.

Remember:

Pulling weeds is not fun.

Pulling thorns can be painful.

But as long as they are dominating your life:

You will be unfruitful, and

You will not reap the blessings of God.

PLOW THE SOIL (PREPARE YOUR HEART)

You are going to have to let go of any pride.

You are going to have to allow God to take out a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

You may have to let go of some past hurts.

You may have to crucify the old flesh.

You may have to change your attitude.

You are going to have to let the Word penetrate your heart:

“How is it with you? Do you get upset because the hymns are too old, too fast, or too slow? Is the sermon too long? Do you not like this preacher or that preacher for some reason? Is there a hard crust over your heart so when God rains down His Word upon you it doesn’t penetrate your heart, but it goes in one ear and out the other without having any impact on your life?” The Lord says “break up your fallow ground.” We must remove the hard crust on our hearts which desensitizes us, so that we are open, tender, and sensitive before the Lord.”

PLANT THE SEEDS (LET THE WORD OF GOD PENETRATE YOUR HEART)

Satan loves to distract you and snatch the Word out of your heart.

He also loves to convince you that you don’t need to change.

IT’S TIME TO SEEK THE LORD

It’s time to get serious about serving God.

Seek Him while He may be found.

Don’t be a part-time Christian who expects a full-time God.

HE WILL RAIN HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ON YOU

The Lord desires to rain His Spirit on those who will seek Him.

He is waiting on you to break up your fallow ground.

“I hear the sound of the abundance of rain.”

CONCLUSION

Is there any fallow ground in your heart?

Are there some areas where you need to PULL THE WEEDS (GET RID OF SIN)?

Are there some areas where you need to PLOW THE SOIL (PREPARE YOUR HEART)?

Are there some areas where you need to PLANT THE SEEDS (LET THE WORD OF GOD PENETRATE YOUR HEART)?

Do you sense that God is wanting to do more in your life?

Are there any marks, or evidence, of growth in your spiritual life?

Do you feel like reached a point where you are not moving forward?

Are you tired of just staying where you are?

Are you ready to for a spiritual growth spurt?

If so, then it is time to seek the Lord.

God desires to rain righteousness on you.

All He is waiting on is for you to reach out to Him.