As part of the discipleship course I am leading at Calvary Chapel Sydney, we recently listened to a message by pastor David Guzik titled, "Break Up Your Fallow Ground." Among the many excellent points held forth by this gifted teacher of the Word of God, the part which stood out to me this time was how we can be resistant to breaking up our own fallow ground. Ground which has laid "fallow" means it was once cleared and plowed but nothing fruitful or profitable has been sown into the field. After awhile it hardens and yields only weeds and what grows of itself. At one point in the message Guzik said our tendency is respond, "God, you break up the fallow ground, and I will prepare the synthetic irrigation system." The point being made was only God can send the rain of the Holy Spirit, and our call is to examine and deal with our hard hearts according to scripture.
The overarching takeaway from the message is we all have areas of our lives and hearts we must prepare through repentance so God's Word will be increasingly fruitful. Unless the hard parts of our hearts are humbled before God in brokenness, we will remain unfruitful. An area of prior usefulness can become dry and devoid of fruit. Fallow ground only produces weeds because the good seed of God's Word isn't able to penetrate. Pride, unbelief, sinful choices, and the cares of this world can make the Bible without profit to us. So often we want God to do for us what only we can do with His help, and we want to sit on the throne of our lives in place of God. God told His people in Hosea 10:12, "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness on you."
Having received the righteousness of Christ through faith, we ought to live righteously. It is hard work to break up the fallow ground in the earth, but and even more painful and difficult to break up the fallow ground in our hearts. We once had hearts softened by God's grace, but over time we can stiffen with pride. We can pray "God, make me humble!" all we want; we can say "Break up my fallow ground" with sincerity, but the scriptures say to us "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God" (1 Peter 5:6) and "Break up your fallow ground." God will send the rain early and also the latter rain, and He will cause the seed to grow and be fruitful. Synthetic irrigation will never do. It is time to seek the LORD, for God has sought us. He will send the rain in due time. We all need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit to perform His Word. God is calling me and you to repentance and brokenness so His Word might be fruitful in and through our lives.
The overarching takeaway from the message is we all have areas of our lives and hearts we must prepare through repentance so God's Word will be increasingly fruitful. Unless the hard parts of our hearts are humbled before God in brokenness, we will remain unfruitful. An area of prior usefulness can become dry and devoid of fruit. Fallow ground only produces weeds because the good seed of God's Word isn't able to penetrate. Pride, unbelief, sinful choices, and the cares of this world can make the Bible without profit to us. So often we want God to do for us what only we can do with His help, and we want to sit on the throne of our lives in place of God. God told His people in Hosea 10:12, "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness on you."
Having received the righteousness of Christ through faith, we ought to live righteously. It is hard work to break up the fallow ground in the earth, but and even more painful and difficult to break up the fallow ground in our hearts. We once had hearts softened by God's grace, but over time we can stiffen with pride. We can pray "God, make me humble!" all we want; we can say "Break up my fallow ground" with sincerity, but the scriptures say to us "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God" (1 Peter 5:6) and "Break up your fallow ground." God will send the rain early and also the latter rain, and He will cause the seed to grow and be fruitful. Synthetic irrigation will never do. It is time to seek the LORD, for God has sought us. He will send the rain in due time. We all need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit to perform His Word. God is calling me and you to repentance and brokenness so His Word might be fruitful in and through our lives.
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