Hardened Hearts (Breaking the Fallow Ground by Charles Finney)

"Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the

Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you
-Hosea 10:12
I said, Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you
will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of
your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that
he may come and shower righteousness upon you.
Hosea 10:12 (NLT)

In farming, fallow ground (harden heart) is

considered ground that was before tilled (soft/humble heart) but over time it has
become hardened on the surfaced (Outer layer), making it impossible for seed (Word of
God) to penetrate, germinate and bear fruit because of this hard layer, we need to plow
(Repent) before we plant seeds.
-The most obvious (or at least the most frequently claimed) reason that soil (a heart) is
tilled is to loosen (humble) it so oxygen (In Hebrew, spirit and wind are the same words,
this is referring to the Holy Spirit) and water (The Word of God / Living Water) can
reach the area where roots will grow. It seems logical that crumbled (broken heart), loose
earth (Soft Heart) would allow roots to spread evenly and to proliferate (grow
spiritually, reproduce), and this is indeed the case. 1
I will give you the spiritual representation of this.
Replace the following words.
Soil = Our hearts (Hosea 10:12)

1 Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/no-till-farmingzmaz84zloeck.aspx#ixzz2gmSzLByF

Oxygen/Air = Holy Spirit (John 3:8) - The word spirit in both Hebrew and Greek means
breath or wind. Both a breath of air and a breeze are appropriate images for the Holy
Spirit.
Seed=Word of God.
Water = The Word of God (John 4:10)
Roots = Spiritual Foundations, Core Values.
Loose earth = Soft/Humble Heart
Spread evenly = healthy spiritual growth
Germinate, bear fruit = Gods purpose over our life. Max Potential.
Plow = Repentance

-This is a representation of our heart. We were once prepared to receive seed from God and now
we have a hard shell in our hearts that impedes us from seeing all the potential God has for our
lives come to reality.
-This type of ground needs to be broken down and make soft again before is ready to receive
seed again. If not, all the seed goes to waste. All the word of God that we receive bears no fruit.
This is like coming to Chi Alpha, hearing a powerful message, getting excited about it but not
following through with what the Lord is telling you to do.

EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE THAT HARDENED THEIR HEARTS ON THE BIBLE:

1. Pharaoh (Egypt). Exodus 9:12 And the Lord [a]hardened Pharaohs heart, and he did not
listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
2. Israel on a few instances. 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.
3. Pharisees on most instances. Mark 3:5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved
at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it
out, and his hand was restored.

WHAT ABOUT US?

1. Is my heart hardened?
a. Refuse to acknowledge Jesus and his position over your life. (Mark 1:11).
i. Do you acknowledge Him in your vocabulary?
ii. In the music you listen to.
iii. In the websites you visit.
iv. In the TV you watched.
v. Around your friends (particularly those that dont know Him).
vi. In your time management (How much time do you devote to Him every day?).
Christ-centered lives.
b. Are you bearing fruit? (or what type of fruit are you bearing) (John 15:5 I am the vine;
you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart
from me you can do nothing.) -- (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law.)

c. A hardened heart is self-serving. It only seeks benefit of self. Mark 3:4 [And he said to
them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But
they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness
of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his
hand was restored.]
PERSONAL TESTIMONY AND ILLUSTRATION.
-Harden heart without realizing, still seeking after God but not the right way.
-Testimony about Retiro Guatemala followed by IHOP word (water and rock)

My approach to plowing-->
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. Deut 22:10 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 19:19 "You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a
different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment
of cloth made of two kinds of material.
-Illustrations (Gardening tools make of low quality material)
"You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build
to the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us."
Ezra 4:3
We need to keep ourselves holy. We cant sow seeds that are not from God in our
hearts. We need to valued and protect ourselves knowing we are Gods temple. We
need to guard this temple and examine closely what and who we let in as their seed is
left behind and it will hardened our hearts eventually.
STEPS TO BREAK THE FALLOW GROUND:
1- Examine your heart.
a. 2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test
yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?
unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

b. Psalm 139:1-24 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit
down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my
path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is
on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and
before, and lay your hand upon me. ...
2- Once he reveals the root of the problems -> Repentance must fallthis will break the
ground. Confess your sins and ask Gods forgiveness.
a. Hosea 14:2 Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him:
"Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit
of our lips.
b. General confessions of sin are not good enough. Be specific with God. Thats how
you sinned, specifically, not generally, not vaguely, but intently. So we must repent
in the same way.
c. Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and
forsakes them will obtain mercy. Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but
whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity. Proverbs 28:13-14 ESV
d. For those of you who have not committed your life to Christ yet. 1 John 5:4 says
that For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the
victory that has overcome the world--our faith. (Overcomes = ongoing, overcome
= salvation)
3- And dwelling in Gods word and filled with the Holy Spirit will keep the ground moist and
fertile for new seed.
a. 2 John 1:8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for,
but may win a full reward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the
teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the
Father and the Son.
b. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning
the thoughts and intentions of the heart. -Hebrews 4:12 ESV
c. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the
Spirit, Ephesians 5:18
FINAL ILLUSTRATION
Spiritual Composting: The composting process requires organic waste (our wretched life), such as
leaves, grass, fruit and vegetable scraps, soil (which contains microorganisms, this represents
our heart Luke 8:15 [As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it
fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.]), water (The word of God [John
4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you,
Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."] and
oxygen. The microorganisms eat the organic waste, breaking it down into its simplest
components. The humus (finished compost) they produce is rich with fiber and inorganic
nutrients, such as phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen, and it makes a natural fertilizer that is
beneficial to the environment. (Beneficial to us and those around us, we become a blessing to
others).