Sunday, September 6, 2015

Fallow Ground


Good Ground Produces a Harvest
 
Jeremiah 4:3  For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

The chatter in a restaurant often will over power conversation.  The voice of the Holy Spirit is not fabricated, and we must be attentive to what God desires to say.  If our thoughts are cluttered with distraction it is difficult to hear God speak. 
 
The enemy is at work to interrupt and sidetrack, but you have the ability to pin him down, because we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities of darkness.

Notice those who are not here today and pray for them, as they may be under attack. 
 
 Matthew 13:3-9 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
 
Jesus spoke of four types of soil where seed was planted.  Three areas were fallow ground; hard, stony, thorns and weeds.  The wayside was hard and the seed was snatched away by the enemy.  The stony place had little soil, but it too was hard, and the plant had no roots and was scorched by the heat of the day.  The thorns and weeds choked the tender plants with the cares of the world.  Only one ground was good and there was a joyful harvest.

I asked the Lord, “How can we break up the fallow ground and prepare these difficult areas to receive the seed?”  The Holy Spirit replied, “I will break the ground.”

The fallow ground is a heart condition.  We must allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate and remove the stones, pull up the thistles.  The seed needs water, but you must not water the weeds.

We come into the church with good intentions to receive from God.  Then we wonder why there are so many struggles.  The fact is we are stubborn and rebellious.  We grieve the Holy Spirit by not allowing Him to cultivate our Spirit.  Continued rebellion creates a habit of stubbornness and our heart turns to hard soil.

Let it effect you when the Holy Spirit reveals something that must be removed from your heart.  You ask “Why?”  Because we are living in the last days and time is short.

There are problems with anger.  When I was first saved, it was easier to hit someone then to work it out.  That fallow ground is getting plowed up and now I pray for those who once angered me.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, you can change the soil.

Forgiving and meaning it, will remove the thorns and weeds of unforgiveness.  Harboring resentment and bitterness is allowing murder to be in your heart.  Forgiveness brings cultivation to the fallow ground.  The truth is; each of us has a certain amount of fallow ground, some less than others, but it needs to be broken up regardless.  Do you wonder why you are always angry?  It is because your heart is full of unforgiveness.

It is time to forgive the Police, the Judge, your parents, the person who violated and abused you.  Yes, you can forgive by allowing Jesus to forgive through you.

James told us to confess our faults one to another for that brings accountability.  Let us know how to pray for you.  You are not in this walk alone for we are a family.

You may wonder why you do certain things when you know better.  Our self-willed hearts have an abscess and surgery is needed to remove it.

Love God enough to allow His Holy Spirit to pull out those things that prevent the Word from taking effect in your heart. 
 
Be tired of the rocks, thistles and junk and be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to do the surgery.
 
 

3 comments:

Saleslady371 said...

This is a power packed post! So black and white and I truly believe we all have that fallow ground that the Holy Spirit needs to break up so that our lives glorify Jesus Christ. I love this. There is nothing like a spirit-filled teaching to get me in line!

Unknown said...

This is an awesome post! Greatly needed today. I like that you lead by your example, Hazel. If we are forgiven we need to use the Power that forgave us to forgive those that trespass against us. They can't help it. They don't even know in their fear that they are serving their master that hates their soul because our Father made it. Praying for my enemies. Thanks, sister.

Ifeoma Samuel said...

Amen!
Dear Aunt Hazel, not long ago, the Lord took me through this parable too.
Thank you for drawing our attention to this.
I pray the Lord expose all hardness in my heart and deals with me so I can be fruitful like the seeds on the fertile ground.
God Bless Aunt Hazel