1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:09,040 Chapter 10 I'm going to read in Jeremiah chapter 4 first a lot 2 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:12,600 here in the book of Jeremiah. And tell you what, Jeremiah had 3 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:16,800 a very difficult job. His job was to try to get the 4 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,080 the nation of Israel, the children of Israel, to turn back 5 00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:24,440 to God and to understand that God had so much for them if they 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,560 were just willing to turn back to Him. 7 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:31,320 And yet over and over and over we see that all the way through 8 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:33,680 the time in the wilderness and all the way through the time as 9 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:35,600 they came into the land that God had promised them. 10 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:38,800 And over and over and over the blessings that God promised to 11 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:41,200 the children of Israel that they could have if they would just 12 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:43,280 follow Him. And yet they turned away from. 13 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:45,880 Him so many times. And God told them over and over 14 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,720 and over again, here's the curse that's going to come upon you if 15 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,280 you don't follow my way, if you don't live for me, if you don't 16 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:53,520 do it my way. They knew what was going to 17 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:55,640 happen, and still they turned away from God. 18 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,320 And it's very easy for us to look at them and say, how 19 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,520 foolish can you be? God told you what you could have 20 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:03,200 when you live for Him. He told you what's going to 21 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:05,760 happen if you don't. And still you chose not to. 22 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:11,160 And yet here we find ourselves in the same situation many 23 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:12,840 times. We read all the way through the 24 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,080 New Testament of all the things that God promised for those who 25 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:17,720 love him and follow Him and and serve Him. 26 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,880 And all the things are going to come and upon and happen to 27 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:22,960 those who don't live for Him and who don't serve Him. 28 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:28,200 And yet we choose often not to choose his way. 29 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:33,760 And in Jeremiah chapter 4, the Bible says this in verse #1 If 30 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:36,880 thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord. 31 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,720 Return unto me, and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out 32 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,520 of my sight, then shalt thou not remove, and thou shalt swear. 33 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:48,240 The Lord liveth in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness. 34 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,720 And the nation shall bless themselves in him, and in him 35 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,680 shall they glory. For thus saith the Lord to the 36 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:57,640 men of Judah. And Jerusalem, break up your 37 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:02,600 fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. 38 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:10,160 Hosea chapter 10. Hosea chapter 10, verse #12 39 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,760 right along the same lines. He says this Sow to yourselves 40 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:18,760 in righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground, for 41 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:23,320 it is time to seek the Lord till he come and reign righteousness 42 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,320 upon you. So you fallow ground, we don't 43 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,040 really call it that much anymore. 44 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:32,440 I suppose maybe if you're a farmer and you live in that, in 45 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:36,320 that reality or in that profession, I guess you would 46 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:39,640 probably call it fallow ground. But it's land that's allowed to 47 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:43,480 lie idle and waste. During a growing season, it's 48 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,600 land that that that usually would have something planted in 49 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:49,240 it that usually would be producing, that usually would be 50 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:52,320 giving forth good fruit. And yet it's just sitting there 51 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:55,600 getting harder by the day, not plowed up. 52 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,240 It's allowing thorns and weeds to take over. 53 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,800 I grew up in the northwest corner of Indiana, not too far 54 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,440 from Chicago. But our property was nestled in 55 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:06,320 between cornfields and bean fields. 56 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,160 And, and almost every year the farmers would get out there and 57 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:11,360 they would plant and we, we would help them from time to 58 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,320 time if they were baling hay and those kind of things. 59 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:16,840 We, you know, but, but, but we were used to it. 60 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:18,000 We knew what was going to happen. 61 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,560 But every so often, every few years, those farmers would leave 62 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,360 one of those fields. To just sit and it has to have 63 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:27,920 that, it needs that because it, it has to, you know, the ground 64 00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:30,440 has to get some of those nutrients back into it and 65 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,840 things like that. But the, the ground up there in 66 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,760 Indiana where we grew up was good ground, but they would 67 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:39,400 allow that field to sit. And as you, you just watch it, 68 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,600 the weeds would grow up and the ground would get hard. 69 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:46,080 And, and as I mean, we had some pretty, pretty harsh summers as 70 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,000 well. And, you know, we were not far 71 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,160 from Lake MI, so we had a lot of the, the, the heat, the lake 72 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:54,880 effect, you know, the, the humidity and all of that kind of 73 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:57,720 stuff that came and, but, but you just watch that ground get. 74 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:01,320 Harder and harder and harder. It would get dry and cracked in 75 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:04,000 a lot of places depending on how rough the summer was. 76 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:06,600 And you just think, wow, what a, what a what a wasted 77 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:08,360 opportunity. You had a you had opportunity to 78 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,200 plant in this entire field, and yet it just sat there empty, 79 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:15,240 doing absolutely nothing. Become the following season that 80 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,000 farmer would get out there with his plow and he would get that 81 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,079 thing down deep into the soil and just drive back and forth 82 00:04:21,079 --> 00:04:24,200 and you would see as the as the rotors just turned over that 83 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:29,320 dirt and what was a really light brown, dusty cracked earth would 84 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:33,560 turn into this deep dark brown dirt that was very good for 85 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:36,120 planting and they would go through and they would plant the 86 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:39,400 things in it again and. Few weeks, few months later, 87 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:41,880 you'd see the corn start to shoot up, the beans start to 88 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:44,160 shoot up, and the next thing you know they had a full harvest 89 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:46,840 again in that field. But that's what the Bible is 90 00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:48,880 talking about. Your fallow ground is ground 91 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,120 that could be productive. It's ground that for whatever 92 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:55,520 reason has not been broken up. It's not been tilled and plowed 93 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,160 and prepared for planting. And the prophets here, Jeremiah 94 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:03,000 and Hosea, both speaking the word of the Lord, are commanding 95 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:08,080 the people to break up that land spiritually and to plow the 96 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:11,880 plowable land that they have. Jeremiah is saying that this 97 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,520 uncultivated land needs to be cultivated and the Christian 98 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:17,680 life needs to be planted in order to grow. 99 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,680 He's saying that you have been long uncultivated in 100 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,840 righteousness. Let true repentance break up 101 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:27,200 your your fruitless and hardened hearts. 102 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:30,280 And so many Christians say that they want to grow in Christ. 103 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:34,480 And, and I think that that most Christians mean it when they say 104 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:36,360 that. I don't think that that you're 105 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:38,480 lying when you say you want to be a good Christian. 106 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:40,640 I don't think you're lying when you say you want to grow 107 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:44,680 spiritually in your life. But we don't make plans for it. 108 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,360 A farmer that sees a a field that needs to be plowed is not 109 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:50,600 going to have a plowed field by just thinking, boy, it sure 110 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:52,680 would be nice to have a field that's plowed over there. 111 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,280 Sure would be nice to have a lot of good stuff growing up in 112 00:05:55,280 --> 00:05:57,640 there that I could harvest. Sure, would be nice if the 113 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:00,320 harvest would just walk into the barn, right? 114 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,960 But it doesn't happen that way. The farmer can't just wish that 115 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:06,320 these things would happen, or hope that they're that those 116 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:08,280 things will happen, or want those things to happen. 117 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,360 He's actually got to get out there and do the work of plowing 118 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,680 in that field if it's going to be land that's useful. 119 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,400 And yet so many Christians live their lives the same way. 120 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,080 They have fallow ground that's either unusable or ground that 121 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:24,080 is being unused. Turn over to Matthew, chapter 122 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,760 13. So many reasons why that ground 123 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:31,600 is hard and unused or even sometimes unusable, but the 124 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,120 command is there. Jeremiah said break up your 125 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:36,560 fallow ground and sow not among thorns. 126 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:40,440 Hosea said sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, 127 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:45,480 break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord till 128 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,160 he come and reign righteousness upon you. 129 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,080 But the Lord Jesus spoke of thorny soil in Matthew chapter 130 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:51,600 13. And verse #22. 131 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:56,120 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth 132 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,680 the Word, and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of 133 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:03,520 riches choked the Word, and He becometh unfruitful. 134 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:08,120 I went back and read some of the old preachers and what they had 135 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:10,960 to say about that, and Vance Havner said, I'm convinced that 136 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:13,440 much of our preaching and teaching in the church today 137 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:15,680 amounts to cultivating briar patches. 138 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:19,080 The word of God is sown in the hearts unprepared to receive it, 139 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:21,800 and the ground is never broken unto repentance. 140 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:24,760 God does not rain righteousness upon us, because the ground has 141 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:28,000 never been made ready for his showers of blessing. 142 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,000 Charles Finney. Fallow ground is ground which 143 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,640 has once been tilled, but which now lies waste, and needs to be 144 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:37,760 broken up and mellowed before it is suited to receive grain. 145 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:41,320 To break up fallow ground is to break up your hearts, to prepare 146 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:44,000 your minds to bring forth fruit unto God. 147 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,160 Spurgeon. If a man will not sow wheat, he 148 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:49,800 shall not have a crop, for the weeds will spring up in an 149 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:53,160 increase to the fallow field shall become a wilderness of 150 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:56,440 thorns. And Breyers Vance Havner again, 151 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,560 if people's hearts are not plowed up in conviction, and the 152 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:03,240 thorns and weeds exterminated by confession and cleansing, we are 153 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:06,320 really cultivating human briar patches with just enough wheat 154 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:10,040 here and there to make them appear religious. 155 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,360 Jeremiah lamented that there had been no blessing because the 156 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:18,840 people had the face of a woman of the street and they could not 157 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:20,200 blush. He said that back. 158 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,640 If you go back in Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse #1 they say 159 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,680 if a man put away his wife and she go from him and become 160 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:28,640 another man, shall he? Return unto her again. 161 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:30,480 Shall not that land be greatly polluted? 162 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:33,120 But thou has played the harlot with many lovers. 163 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,120 Yet return again to me, say at the Lord. 164 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:40,640 Now listen, we don't like to think of ourselves that way, but 165 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:43,240 that's exactly what's happening. That's exactly what you're doing 166 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:46,200 when you are giving your love to other things besides Jesus 167 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:49,080 Christ. Oh, we don't like to think about 168 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,360 it like that, but he's telling Israel very plainly. 169 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:54,040 Oh, you have you talk about all these other things when it comes 170 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:56,440 to the physical, he said. But you, you, you're, you're 171 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:58,840 condemning these other people for doing these things in a, in 172 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,880 a physical way and, and going off and putting your wife away 173 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,160 and marrying somebody else and all of these different things. 174 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:06,040 But you've done the exact same thing to. 175 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:11,080 Me is what God is saying. Thou has played the harlot with 176 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:15,480 many lovers because you've gone after other things instead of 177 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:18,360 seeking after the Lord. Verse 2 Lift up thine eyes unto 178 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:22,880 the high places, and see where thou has not been lying with in 179 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:26,000 the ways. In in the ways hast thou sat for 180 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,360 them as as the Arabian in the wilderness. 181 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:31,320 And thou has polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy 182 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:33,480 wickedness. Therefore the showers have been 183 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:36,600 withholding, and there has been no letter rain. 184 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:38,720 And thou hadst the horse forehead. 185 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:43,440 Thou refuses to be ashamed. Wilt thou not from this time cry 186 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:46,640 unto me, my father? Art thou the guide of my youth, 187 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:48,520 or thou art the guide of my youth? 188 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:50,440 Will he reserve his anger forever? 189 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:53,440 Will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou has spoken and done 190 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:56,840 evil things as thou couldest. The Lord said also unto me, in 191 00:09:56,840 --> 00:10:00,360 the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which 192 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:04,000 backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up upon every high 193 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:08,240 mountain and under every green tree, and there has played the 194 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:10,960 harlot. That's the way it is in America. 195 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:13,200 We used to blush when we were ashamed. 196 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,960 Now we're ashamed if we blush. Always see that happening so 197 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:19,040 many times. Today, though, much preaching is 198 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:21,880 wasted on church members because they're stubborn and they're 199 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,760 worldly and and they live in in conscious sin. 200 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:29,280 Worldliness and rebellion and bad attitudes and carnality are 201 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:31,360 rampant in many of our churches today. 202 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:34,720 And what a shame if it's rampant in a church like this. 203 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:38,560 We've got to be so careful to make sure that we don't allow 204 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:40,840 those things in. And if they come in, we've got 205 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:44,280 to get them out. Somebody said this, we feed them 206 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,920 cream puffs when they need bitter medicine first. 207 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:51,560 They need surgery, not sunbaths. Christians are are are many 208 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:53,560 times told about their position in Christ. 209 00:10:53,560 --> 00:10:55,960 And it's it's a wonderful position that we have knowing 210 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,440 Christ, we have that grace, we have the the mercy. 211 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:01,800 But very little is said about the condition of a Christian's 212 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:04,400 life in daily living and consecration. 213 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:07,600 And I don't want to be a pastor that's guilty of telling you the 214 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,200 love of Christ and not reminding you that Christ is coming and 215 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:16,880 that you need to be prepared. For when he does, Vance Havner 216 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:19,800 again said, I suppose that if wheat is sown in a briar patch, 217 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:23,400 a little would spring up, but you'd still have a briar patch. 218 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:26,760 We're cultivating church members with a little religion here and 219 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:28,120 there, but we are not raising wheat. 220 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:32,280 We are cultivating briars. That's what happens when you 221 00:11:32,560 --> 00:11:35,320 have just a little bit of wheat in a briar patch and you go out 222 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:38,400 there and you try to throw some miracle grow on the wheat. 223 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:41,560 It might help the wheat a little bit, but you're just cultivating 224 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:43,920 the briars. You've got to get the briars out 225 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:46,120 if you want to have wheat that's useful. 226 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:49,960 The same is true in our lives. The the unconvinced heart is 227 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,680 like fallow ground. It's, it's, it's ground that's 228 00:11:52,680 --> 00:11:55,440 capable of improvement, but it's fallow. 229 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:57,880 It's until then, because of that, it's unfruitful. 230 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:01,400 If we're going to farm, we have to break up the fallow ground. 231 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:04,240 And if we're going to be spiritual Christians that God 232 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:07,040 can use, we have to break up the fallow ground as well. 233 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:09,360 So the question this morning is this, do you have fallow ground 234 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:14,320 in your life that needs to be broken up spiritually in order 235 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,400 for you to grow? I guess maybe a better question 236 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:19,640 would even be this. Do you want to grow spiritually? 237 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,640 I said that I think probably if I were to ask you in this room 238 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:25,680 who wants to grow spiritually, you would all raise your hand 239 00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:27,920 because I think you do. I think you do. 240 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:33,280 But do you really? You are as spiritual right now 241 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,080 as you want to be. Oh, no, no. 242 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:38,120 I'm so far. From who I want to be, I'm so 243 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,200 far from what I could be. If you really wanted to be 244 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:45,160 spiritual, you would be. You are as right with God right 245 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:48,240 now as you want to be. What you need is to ask God to 246 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:51,880 give you a heart, to be more spiritual and to be more like 247 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:54,920 Him. He's not something He's going to 248 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:57,680 keep from us. The title of my message is 249 00:12:57,680 --> 00:13:00,040 simply the command from the lips of Jeremiah and others. 250 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:03,920 Break up your fallow ground. Break up your fallow ground. 251 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:06,840 Let's pray. And I give you a few thoughts to 252 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:08,600 consider this morning about how we can do that. 253 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:10,440 Father, again, we thank you so much for your goodness. 254 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:12,360 And again, we thank you for the opportunity. 255 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,720 We have some to spend time together this morning around 256 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:17,360 Your Word. I pray that it'd be a profitable 257 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:19,200 time for us and that you'd speak to our hearts. 258 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:23,280 God, may we have hearts that are willing to be plowed up by the 259 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:25,720 Word of God so that we can be useful in your service. 260 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,120 Thank you again for all you do for us in Jesus name, Amen. 261 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,520 I want to give you 3 thoughts this morning. 262 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:34,960 And this is not a fancy message at all. 263 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:38,120 It's not alliterated points in the the really the outline 264 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:42,880 doesn't, doesn't, doesn't flow all that well, I don't think. 265 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:44,320 But I want you to think about a few things. 266 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,720 Turn over to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 #1 is this. 267 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:49,880 We only have one God to account to for all of eternity. 268 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:53,320 We only have one God to account to for all of eternity. 269 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:56,200 One day we're going to be standing on the brink of 270 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:00,240 eternity, and the choice and what we'll do with Christ must 271 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:01,760 be made before we leave this life. 272 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:05,040 Second Corinthians chapter 5 and verse #10 says, For we must all 273 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:08,080 appear before the judgement seat of Christ. 274 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:11,880 I believe the people that Jeremiah referred to as sowing 275 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:14,880 among thorns are those perhaps who are trying to do everything 276 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,480 they can. To earn God's favor on their 277 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:20,120 own, they read the the Bible, they go to church, they they 278 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:22,440 take some time to pray here and there, they give to the 279 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:25,000 ministries of the church, they get baptized, they they help 280 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,480 people in need and they're genuinely nice people. 281 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:30,320 They do all these things to try one day to hopefully have an 282 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,080 opportunity to get to heaven. And then hopefully they've done 283 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,760 enough good that God's going to say, come on into heaven when 284 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:39,000 you stand before him. But it's all in vain because 285 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,400 they're throwing seed down on hard ground. 286 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:43,800 I'm not saying that those things are bad, but they're not the way 287 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:47,000 of salvation. John chapter 14 and verse 6. 288 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,080 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 289 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:53,240 No man cometh unto the Father but by me. 290 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,200 And I'm not trying to be a smart aleck, but Jesus did not say, no 291 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:57,600 man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 292 00:14:57,600 --> 00:14:59,040 And baptism. No man cometh unto the Father, 293 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:00,600 but by me. And baptism, no man cometh unto 294 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:02,920 the Father, but by me. And good works, nobody cometh 295 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:05,920 unto the Father but by me. And following this religion or 296 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:08,360 that religion, He didn't say that nobody cometh unto the 297 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:10,160 Father but by me. It's only. 298 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:12,120 Through Jesus Christ that you can enter heaven. 299 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:15,800 Amen. That's Jesus Christ plus 300 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:19,160 nothing, or you have nothing. You are nothing. 301 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:21,680 You have no hope of ever entering heaven when you die. 302 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:24,520 Turn over to Ephesians chapter 2. 303 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:28,160 Many of you probably know these verses, but the count on Jesus 304 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,880 Christ plus anything else is to say that Jesus Christ death on 305 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:36,440 the cross was not enough to take you to heaven, that we need His 306 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:38,680 death plus everything else we can do. 307 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,640 I have no power on my own. No number of good things I can 308 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:46,360 do can get me to heaven. Ephesians chapter 2 verse #8 309 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:48,520 makes that very plain. For by grace are you saved 310 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:50,120 through faith, and that not of yourselves. 311 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:52,680 It is the gift of God. And he says very plainly in 312 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:57,200 verse #9 not of works, lest any man should boast. 313 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,240 Most people that I share those verses with, even when they find 314 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:04,120 out that that goes against what they've heard or believed their 315 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:07,280 entire life, they find out then do they find it to be such a 316 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:10,480 huge relief that the burden is not on them to earn their way to 317 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:13,000 heaven? There is nothing that you have 318 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:15,920 to do because there is nothing that you can do to earn your way 319 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:19,400 to heaven. Jesus Christ has a burden on Him 320 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:22,280 to follow through with what He said He was going to do. 321 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,320 He said He's offering us the gift of eternal life. 322 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,000 He said He's the one that has the power over death and hell. 323 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:31,840 He said His blood has the power to take us to heaven and forgive 324 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:34,440 our sins. The the burden is on Him. 325 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,120 It's not on us. Now, should we try to be good 326 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:38,320 people? Absolutely. 327 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:40,840 But it's not on whether we're good or bad or whether we're 328 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:43,600 great or or terrible. As far as how we're going to get 329 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:45,520 to heaven. It's all on Him to do what He 330 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:48,080 said He was going to do. It's on us to just believe that 331 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:50,760 He is going to do it because He said that He would. 332 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:56,120 First John, chapter 5 and verse #13 by the way, it's not a 333 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:58,920 burden for him at all. The burden's on Him. 334 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:00,440 But it's easy for him to carry it. 335 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,560 He can handle it. He's done it all already. 336 00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:06,560 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of 337 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:08,880 the Son of God. The Bible says in first John 338 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:12,319 chapter 5 and verse 13 that you may know that you have eternal 339 00:17:12,319 --> 00:17:15,240 life. We can know that we have eternal 340 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:17,599 life and the only way is if we do it his way. 341 00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:19,599 Turn over to second Peter chapter 3. 342 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:25,000 I will say this to those who are still hardening their hearts 343 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:28,560 against the gospel. Maybe you have been convicted, 344 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:31,800 and maybe you. Are close to making a decision 345 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,200 for Christ. Maybe you know that you need to 346 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:38,120 be saved and your ground is so hard that you just won't let the 347 00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:42,240 word of God plow into it. Break up your fallow ground, 348 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:44,680 because opportunities are. Fleeting, and we cannot afford 349 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,800 to let another day pass without complete surrender to the will 350 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:49,920 of God. First Peter, sorry. 351 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:53,200 Second Peter chapter 3 and verse #9 The Bible says the Lord is 352 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:55,760 not slack concerning His promise, as some men count 353 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:58,000 slackness, but His long-suffering to us. 354 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,880 Word not willing that any man should perish, but that all 355 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:06,240 should come to repentance. Simply hearing the truth is not 356 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:08,760 enough. If the heart is hard, it's not 357 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:11,920 going to receive it. If the heart is preoccupied, the 358 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:15,000 truth will soon be forgotten or even ignored. 359 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:18,560 The heart must be soft enough to receive the truth of the Word of 360 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:21,040 God. We have to allow the plow to 361 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:25,200 break up that fallow ground. That Word of God is so simple in 362 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:27,360 the Gospel, and we've been talking about this on Wednesday 363 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:33,000 nights, but we're all sinners. Our sin is what is condemning us 364 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:34,880 to hell. But Jesus Christ died on the 365 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:38,600 cross to pay for that sin. His death on the cross was not 366 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:40,080 so that we can learn how to live. 367 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,160 It was not so that we can learn how to love or any of those 368 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,200 things. It was to pay your sin debt and 369 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,080 to pay mine. If you die and go to hell, you 370 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:50,320 die and go to hell with your sins already paid for. 371 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,760 He's already done everything that needs to be done for you to 372 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:55,680 have eternal life. He's already done everything 373 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:57,880 that needs to be done for your sins to be forgiven. 374 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,480 He's already done everything that needs to be done for Jesus 375 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:04,640 Christ to be your savior. You just need to let Him and 376 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,040 He'll do it. Somebody said this. 377 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:11,240 Longfellow could take a worthless sheet of paper, write 378 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:13,560 a poem on it, and make it worth $6000. 379 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:16,560 That's a genius. Rockefeller could sign his name 380 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:18,880 to a piece of paper and make it worth $1,000,000. 381 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:21,880 That's capital. Uncle Sam can take can take a 382 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,120 piece of paper, stamp an eagle on it, and make it worth $20. 383 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:28,600 That's money. An artist can take a $2.00 piece 384 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,680 of canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it worth $1000. 385 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:35,240 That's art. But God can take a sinful life, 386 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:38,200 wash it in the blood of Christ, put his Spirit in it, and make 387 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,480 it a blessing to humanity that salvation. 388 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:44,280 That's what Jesus Christ has to offer us. 389 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:47,240 And if you don't know Jesus Christ as your Savior, I beg of 390 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:50,360 you today to let the Word of God be planted in your soul. 391 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:53,520 And at the end of the service, I can take a Bible and show you 392 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:55,760 how you can know for sure that you're on your way to heaven, 393 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,240 that Jesus Christ is your Savior, that your sins are 394 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,240 forgiven. He wants to do that for you, but 395 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:05,400 you have to let that seed be planted in that ground. 396 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,640 Break up the follow ground. We only have one God to account 397 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:11,880 for, to account to for all of eternity. 398 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,880 But I want you to see this as well #2 and if you will turn 399 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,720 over to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5, we looked at the first part 400 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:21,200 of this verse, but I want to look at the second part when I 401 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:23,960 say this. We only have one life for all 402 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:26,720 eternity. We only have one God to account 403 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:30,880 to for all of eternity, but we only have life, one life for all 404 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:34,720 of eternity. If we're saved, then we're going 405 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:39,560 to give an account of the use of our life and for our usefulness 406 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:41,640 to God. Second Corinthians chapter 5 and 407 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:44,480 verse #10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of 408 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:47,760 Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in His 409 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:53,320 body according to that He had done, whether it be good or bad. 410 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:57,440 And I'm afraid that the majority of Christians are going to be so 411 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:00,040 ashamed of how they live their life when they stand before God. 412 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:03,880 Most Christians have a little corner of the property that they 413 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:06,440 allow God to plow and use, but the rest of it they keep for 414 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:09,360 themselves. God, you can, you can have that 415 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:11,440 little corner. That's the, that's the corner 416 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:13,800 that that sticks out where everybody can see it. 417 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:16,480 That's the corner that that everybody drives past. 418 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:18,720 And you can have that one, you can plow that one. 419 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:21,160 Let everybody see that there's something growing up in there. 420 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:22,960 But all the rest of this is mine. 421 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:27,040 You don't touch this. We allow just enough to be 422 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:30,240 cultivated so it looks like we're willing to be used, and it 423 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:32,480 looks like we may be a good Christian, and it looks like we 424 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:35,800 belong to Jesus Christ and yet we're nowhere near as useful as 425 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:39,840 God intended for us to be. And I wonder how many Christians 426 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:43,800 are sitting in this room this morning that have unplowed 427 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:48,200 places in their life that they just have not given over to God 428 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:51,280 yet. Or maybe it's something that you 429 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:53,680 had plowed. Before and God was using and 430 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:57,080 you've taking it back for yourself and now you just let it 431 00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,560 sit there. No plow is going to touch that. 432 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:02,720 God can't touch that. That's mine. 433 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,280 That belongs to me when you. Lose your desire to live for the 434 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:07,000 Lord. Your ground has become hard. 435 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,520 When you lose the desire to be at church, your ground is hard. 436 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,840 When you lose your desire to pray and your desire to read the 437 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:17,520 Bible, your ground is hard. And I know sometimes there are 438 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:20,280 things that that come in our lives that that are difficult 439 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:23,000 circumstances that sometimes make it hard to pray, that 440 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,080 sometimes make it hard to concentrate on reading our 441 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:27,960 Bible, that sometimes make it hard to sit in church and things 442 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:29,680 like that. But when you lose your desire 443 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:31,680 for those things, your ground is hard. 444 00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:35,280 When you lose your desire to be out here on Saturday, we have 445 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,080 outreach and we have visitation. We have opportunities to go 446 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:40,640 share the gospel with the lost and dying world. 447 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:44,640 And when you lose the desire to do those things, your ground is 448 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,600 hard. Oh, you could come up with all 449 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:50,840 the excuses you want to come up with why you can't do this, why 450 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,800 you can't do that, why you can't be here, why you can't be there. 451 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:56,360 But I'll tell you the main reason why is your ground is 452 00:22:56,360 --> 00:22:58,120 hard and it needs to be plowed up. 453 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:01,480 You need to give God access to it and let him cultivate that 454 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,240 thing. Let him grow it into something. 455 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,840 You'd be surprised at what will grow up in your life if you 456 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:10,120 allow God to plow that ground. Oh, I'm too shy or, oh, I've got 457 00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:13,560 this going on or oh, this is, this is so important to me. 458 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:16,440 You just don't understand. These things are so important. 459 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:18,840 No, I'll tell you, what's important is the work of God. 460 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:21,600 Everything else is going to be burned up someday. 461 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,440 You got all the, the hobbies and the things that you like to do 462 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:30,440 and the things that you want to do and you put those in front of 463 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:32,400 serving the Lord and living for the Lord. 464 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:36,240 You're going to be sorry one day when you stand before God and he 465 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:38,480 says, how come you weren't there to go out and knock on those 466 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:40,080 doors? How come you weren't there to to 467 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:42,280 help give out the Bibles? How come you weren't there to go 468 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,640 out and reach these college kids on the campus? 469 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,320 How come you weren't there to go help bring young people in 470 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:48,960 through a bus ministry? How come? 471 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:50,840 Well, I you just got to understand. 472 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:55,560 I really enjoy hunting. I really enjoyed fishing, I 473 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:58,200 really enjoyed politics. I really enjoyed Fill in the 474 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:00,960 Blank with whatever it is that you're using as your excuse to 475 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,520 not be here, giving out the gospel when you have the 476 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:09,280 opportunity. To do it, your ground is hard 477 00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:12,280 and you need to allow God to plow it up. 478 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:17,960 When you stop fighting against sin in your life, your ground is 479 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:22,560 hard. We're all going to fight sin. 480 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,920 That's part of what we face when we still have the old flesh 481 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:30,720 living with us. But you ought to be fighting it. 482 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:34,440 You ought to be daily crucifying your flesh. 483 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,640 You ought to be daily coming to God and begging Him to help you 484 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:40,960 with the thing that you are struggling with, whether it's 485 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:46,480 anger or bitterness or lust or greed or whatever it happens to 486 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:47,840 be. There's so many things that we 487 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:52,280 face every single day in our lives that come up as, as things 488 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:54,880 that try to keep us from being everything that we can be for, 489 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,200 for God. We fight it for a while, but 490 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:00,360 then we get tired of fighting and we finally just say, you 491 00:25:00,360 --> 00:25:01,880 know what? I'm tired of dealing with it. 492 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:04,080 I'm tired of fighting it. I'm just going to give into it. 493 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:10,120 Nobody knows about it anyway. I'll tell you this My my job is 494 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:12,520 your pastor is to study my people. 495 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,520 And I, and I don't say this in a, in a, in a prideful way at 496 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:17,800 all. I hope it doesn't come across 497 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:20,880 that way, but to know my people, that's, that's the one of my 498 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:24,960 jobs as the pastor. And I can look around and see 499 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:27,960 what you used to be and what you are capable of and know that 500 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:31,600 there's a good handful of you whose ground has been hard and 501 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:37,280 uncultivated. What you're capable of and what 502 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:41,040 you're doing is far from what God wants to do in your life. 503 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,280 And it's time that we cultivate that ground. 504 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,760 It's time that we give God access to it. 505 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:54,280 Let him have it. If you only understood what God 506 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:57,000 could do with that ground over what you think you can do with 507 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:03,560 it for yourself. I know you and I know what you 508 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:05,880 have been and what you are capable of and I. 509 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:09,120 Understand that some of you are capable of so much more than 510 00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:12,240 what you're allowing God access to in your life. 511 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,800 But I'll be honest with you, there's a lot of it that nobody 512 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:22,320 knows but you. There's a lot of it that it 513 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:26,160 looks good on the outside to everybody else, but it's ground 514 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:29,080 that's uncultivated and you know it, and you're the only one. 515 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:30,600 You and God are the only one that know it. 516 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:37,840 And maybe maybe the things that are visible to everybody else, 517 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:40,600 that the fields that are visible to everybody else look good and 518 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:42,360 they look like they're flourishing and they look like 519 00:26:42,360 --> 00:26:44,880 they're producing. But you've got a plot there in 520 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:51,680 the center that only you can see from the top that you're not 521 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:58,120 allowing God to have access to. Are you going to let God have 522 00:26:58,120 --> 00:27:01,480 that? That's the part that nobody else 523 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:04,920 is going to know but God does. That's the part that one day 524 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:08,440 it's going to be brought to light and it's not, listen, 525 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:10,040 every one of us are going to have things that we're 526 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:12,760 embarrassed about or ashamed about when we stand before God. 527 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:15,720 It's not like I'm going to stand there and say, wow, I had no 528 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:18,160 idea. I can't believe you were that 529 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:21,320 horrible of a person. It's not we're going to do that. 530 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:23,800 It's not that we're going to be ashamed because everybody else 531 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:25,640 knows about it. It's just that we're going to be 532 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:30,680 so ashamed that the one who died on the cross to pay for those 533 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:35,840 sins, that God who commended his love toward us in that. 534 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:40,680 While we were yet. Sinners died for us and we're 535 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:43,160 going to have to hang our heads in shame before him and say, I 536 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,040 can't believe I lived my life that way. 537 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:48,560 I can't believe I didn't give you access to those things. 538 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:53,080 I can't believe I didn't allow you to have that so you could 539 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:56,000 use it. That's that's why we're going to 540 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:59,480 be ashamed when we stand before God, not because, oh, everybody 541 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:01,520 else is going to find out about it and that's going to be part 542 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:04,000 of it. But how ashamed we're going to 543 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:08,480 be to think that the God who gave me everything, including 544 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:10,520 the eternal life that I'm about to enjoy. 545 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:17,400 And I sinned against him over and over and over. 546 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:22,640 And he had so much that he wanted to allow to grow up in my 547 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:25,640 life and so much that he wanted to cultivate spiritually, and I 548 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:27,080 just wouldn't. Let him have it. 549 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:30,720 Because it was mine. Because nobody else could see 550 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:32,960 it. You're going to stand before God 551 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:34,440 someday, and you're going to give account for that. 552 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:39,560 Turn over to Jeremiah chapter 2 and I'll say this. 553 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:43,840 Maybe you're the only one that knows that your heart is hard, 554 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,040 but maybe you're the only one that knows that your heart is 555 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:49,960 hardening. You might have had some areas 556 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:54,720 that have been soft, some things that you allowed God to do, but 557 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:58,960 the more you get away from Him, the more you backslide, the more 558 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:02,000 you allow your heart to be pulled in different directions. 559 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:05,160 This ground that used to be fertile, this ground that used 560 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:08,240 to be useful in God's service is hardening right now. 561 00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:14,520 Maybe you had a prayer life that used to be yielding fruit. 562 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:20,320 Maybe your time in God's Word used to be something that 563 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:24,360 yielded fruit. Maybe you used to be one of 564 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:28,600 those that served the Lord with every ounce of energy that you 565 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:31,920 had. But for whatever reason, you 566 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:35,840 backed off. And now that ground may not be 567 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:40,440 absolutely useless and unusable, but it's getting to the place 568 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:44,280 where it's unused, and you need to allow God access to it again. 569 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:49,600 Jeremiah chapter 2 and verse #19 says Thine own wickedness shall 570 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:53,720 correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee. 571 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:58,520 Know therefore, and see that it is an evil thing and bitter that 572 00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:02,960 thou has forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in 573 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:05,520 thee, saith the Lord. God of hosts says this in verse 574 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:11,120 #32 Can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? 575 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:16,680 Yet my people have forgotten me. Days without number. 576 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:22,480 We must break up the fallow ground and maintain the ground 577 00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:24,760 until Jesus comes. I wonder how many opportunities 578 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:28,760 have been neglected. As long as we cherish our sin, 579 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:32,080 we are preventing growth. Hearing truth is not enough, 580 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:34,960 because if it's not acted upon, it will be choked out. 581 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:38,960 Breaking up fallow ground requires a lot of work. 582 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:45,480 Turn over to Isaiah chapter 55. Stumps have to be removed. 583 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:51,080 I most of you have been to, to, to our house and, you know, for 584 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:53,240 the different picnics and different things that we do over 585 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:55,600 there, the whole field that's next to our house, there was all 586 00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:58,360 trees when we moved into that property. 587 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:02,360 And most of them were only, you know, 3-4 inches around. 588 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:04,280 Some of them maybe just a little bit bigger than that. 589 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:07,320 But it was, it was really, they were small enough that it, you 590 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:09,880 know, having a chainsaw out there didn't really help because 591 00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:13,560 everything was just going to, if I just cut it off at the base, 592 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:14,960 it didn't help. Everything was just going to 593 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:17,480 keep growing back. I had to get everything out by 594 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:19,720 the roots. And So what I had to do with 595 00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:22,080 every single one of those trees that had grown up and it was 596 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:23,760 thick. There was a lot it took me the 597 00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:27,280 better part of an entire summer and the and the kids help they 598 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:29,720 they were dragging all the trees and everything to the burn pile. 599 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:33,880 We burned everything, but we had to dig down below the ground and 600 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:39,200 chop with an axe below the surface to break that, to break 601 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:42,720 the roots off completely, because if you don't do it, 602 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,720 they're going to keep coming back And see that's what happens 603 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:50,920 so often in our lives. We get to the point where we 604 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:52,320 decide we're going to do something about it. 605 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:56,480 And so we cut the tree off at the base or we just pluck that 606 00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:59,720 weed and just pull it right off the top, but the root is still 607 00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:02,840 there and it's going to keep coming back and it's going to 608 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:04,680 keep coming back and it's going to keep coming back. 609 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:07,800 We've got to ask God and we've got to allow God to get deep 610 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:12,120 below the soil and work in places where it actually hurts 611 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:17,880 to let him go in there. Hey, you, you listen, I think 612 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:20,040 about it like this when I'm, when I, you know, when I get to 613 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:22,400 the point where I'm like, man, all my pants are fitting tight. 614 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:26,360 I need to start losing a few pounds and then I start trying 615 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:28,960 to die and I'm, and I think, man, this is so hard. 616 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,120 I, you know, I, I can't, I can't lose weight. 617 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:33,680 It's, it's difficult to lose weight. 618 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:36,160 I, I want to eat. I want, you know this, I want 619 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:39,280 that. And then I stop and I think, you 620 00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:42,560 know what, I had three, 4-5 months where I just ate 621 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:45,240 anything. I felt like it, that was easy, 622 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:47,000 right? That was the easy part. 623 00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:49,360 I allowed myself to get into that spot. 624 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:51,120 Now it's going to be difficult to get it out. 625 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:55,200 And that's exactly what happened when you sin, Hey, it's easy to 626 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:57,760 sin. It's easy to let your 627 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:01,720 relationship with God go. It's easy to just not really 628 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:03,680 care about it. And Oh well, what happens 629 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:05,400 happens. I'm just in this in this 630 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:07,400 routine. I'm just doing the things that I 631 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:09,760 always do. Life is just going on. 632 00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:12,320 And then the next thing you know, wow, I can't believe that 633 00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:13,840 I'm this deep in all of these sins. 634 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:16,320 I, I need to get rid of these gods really convicting my heart. 635 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:17,440 I've got to do something about it. 636 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:19,760 I guess I'll just go in tomorrow and clean everything out of my 637 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:22,240 life. Doesn't work that way. 638 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:23,600 Those things have gotten in there deep. 639 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:26,320 You let it grow and they're way too long. 640 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:28,560 Now you've got to dig below the surface. 641 00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:31,880 It's like an ingrown hair, right? 642 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:34,440 When you get something like that or an ingrown toenail, you got 643 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:37,480 to go in there and dig it out and it hurts, right? 644 00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:40,080 There's a, there's a lot of things like if it's worth doing, 645 00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:42,840 it's, it's, it's, it's, it's going to hurt a lot of times, 646 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:44,480 right? Same thing with. 647 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:46,160 Exercise. When you start exercising, it 648 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:50,000 hurts, but you've got to do it if you expect something to come 649 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:53,160 of it. And the same is true in our 650 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:54,840 lives. He's saying break up your fellow 651 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:56,560 ground. You've let it get to the point. 652 00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:59,400 You've backslidden. You let those things grow up in 653 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:01,160 there. It's not going to be an easy 654 00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:02,960 thing to get it out. There's going to be some things 655 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:04,880 that are probably going to be exposed that hurt. 656 00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:07,840 There's probably going to be some things that you've allowed 657 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:10,760 to grow in there that are not easy to pull out because they've 658 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,000 just become a way of life. They've become a fixture. 659 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:16,639 They've become part of that field that you've just been 660 00:34:16,639 --> 00:34:19,560 allowing to grow there. It's going to take work to get 661 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:23,440 it out. But it's worth it to get it out 662 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:25,400 because now the field can be used. 663 00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:28,480 What's been growing in your heart? 664 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:34,800 Hatred, lust, bitterness. There's so many things that we 665 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:38,719 allow to grow that we think, well, I can stop this anytime I 666 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:40,440 want to. It's like an alcoholic. 667 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:42,400 I can stop drinking if I want to. 668 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:46,159 I just, I just choose to drink. No, you're addicted to it and 669 00:34:46,159 --> 00:34:47,840 you can't stop it when you want to. 670 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:50,719 Kind of the same thing is true with our sin. 671 00:34:51,199 --> 00:34:54,080 It's not going to be easy, but it's worth it. 672 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:57,200 Isaiah chapter 55 and verse number six. 673 00:34:57,440 --> 00:34:59,600 Seek ye of the Lord while he may be found. 674 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,720 Call ye upon him while he is near. 675 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:08,080 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his 676 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:11,280 thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have 677 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:16,080 mercy upon him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 678 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:19,800 Now that's the wonderful thing about it, but I'll tell you 679 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:22,320 this, we don't like the first part. 680 00:35:23,720 --> 00:35:26,200 And until you get past that first part, you can never get to 681 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:29,880 the second part of verse #7 Oh, I'm not wicked. 682 00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:34,200 I've just got a few things in my life that shouldn't be there. 683 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:37,720 I'm not unrighteous, I've just got a few things. 684 00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:43,280 No, you're wicked before God. You are unrighteous before God. 685 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:45,400 And we have to see ourselves that way. 686 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:48,560 We have to see our sin that way before a holy God, or we're 687 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:52,120 never going to get to the point where we allow Him in to really 688 00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:53,920 uproot the things that need to be uprooted. 689 00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:57,880 And we're never going to have that abundant pardon that He 690 00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:01,960 wants to give us. As long as you see your sin as 691 00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:05,120 not that bad, you will never get it out. 692 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:07,840 The same thing. What if a what if a farmer was 693 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:10,880 going through his field and he found a giant rock and he said, 694 00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:14,160 well that's not that bad. I can just kind of go around it. 695 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:17,320 It's going to be there every single year when he comes back 696 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:19,960 to plow and it's going to break times on his plow. 697 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:22,560 It's going to be it's going to cause him a lot of trouble until 698 00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:24,360 he just decides to get that rock out. 699 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:28,000 To a farmer, a rock is not not that big of a deal. 700 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:32,360 A rock is a huge deal and it has to be gotten out, and sometimes 701 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:36,080 with great effort, and only with great effort can it be gotten 702 00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:38,600 out. But it needs to be that 703 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:41,120 hardness, that hardness that we have in our heart. 704 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:44,960 That's the point that that he needs us to come to if he's 705 00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:47,720 going to be able to use US. Turn over to Psalm 51. 706 00:36:58,050 --> 00:36:59,930 See, if you're serious about putting the field into 707 00:36:59,930 --> 00:37:03,530 production, it's going to require a lot of hard work, 708 00:37:03,930 --> 00:37:07,960 digging, leveraging horsepower to move the rocks to get to the 709 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:11,000 to get to the trees at the root and get them completely out of 710 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:13,200 there. But David says this in Psalm 51 711 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:19,040 and verse #17 The sacrifices of God are a broken heart, a broken 712 00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:25,600 and a contrite heart. O God, thou wilt not despise. 713 00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:28,600 Maybe some of those things you're going to need help 714 00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:33,160 pulling out of your life. You can't do it on your own. 715 00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:37,120 Maybe you need to come to your pastor and ask for help. 716 00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:40,560 Maybe you need to come to another mature church member and 717 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:43,000 ask for help in getting those things out of your life. 718 00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:47,640 You know many times they've had experience pulling those rocks 719 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:49,440 out of their own life. Every field has them. 720 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:53,320 Every field has rocks till you pull them out. 721 00:37:54,960 --> 00:37:57,120 Instead of being judgmental, you'll probably find that there 722 00:37:57,120 --> 00:37:59,760 are a lot of help. I'm not saying it's going to be 723 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:00,840 easy. In fact, it's going to be very 724 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:06,600 difficult, can be quite painful many times, but it's absolutely 725 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:11,760 necessary for growth. A man dialed a wrong number and 726 00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:15,680 and he got an answering machine and the answering machine said, 727 00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:19,480 I'm not available right now, but I thank you for caring enough to 728 00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:21,960 call me. I'm making some changes in my 729 00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:23,960 life. Please leave a message. 730 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:27,120 If I don't call you back, you're one of the changes. 731 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:32,160 That's what it's going to take though. 732 00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:38,040 The changes may not make other people happy, but there's only 733 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:39,880 one person that we should be trying to make happy. 734 00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:45,520 I want to get to the point in my life where I work for the Lord 735 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:50,520 and I fight for the Lord, and I'm so busy working in His 736 00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:52,760 service and doing the things that are pleasing to Him that 737 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:56,320 only every once in a while I lay my sword down and look up for a 738 00:38:56,320 --> 00:38:59,120 smile. And I want Him to be smiling 739 00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:04,000 when I look up because he's the only one that matters. 740 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:09,880 I don't, I don't. I don't try to be controversial 741 00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:11,320 for the sake of being controversial. 742 00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:13,560 Not even controversial. Confrontational is probably the 743 00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:15,800 right word. I'm not trying to be 744 00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:18,120 confrontational. I'm not trying to stir up 745 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:21,720 anything in inside of you. I don't like it. 746 00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:26,440 But it's my responsibility to preach the entire counsel of 747 00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:29,200 God. And I really don't care if 748 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:31,640 you're happy or not if as long as he's happy. 749 00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:36,760 And I don't care if it pleases you or not, as long as he's 750 00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:39,640 pleased. I'm not trying to displease you. 751 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:44,320 I'm not trying to make you mad. I'm not trying to get you 752 00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:46,960 burning under the collar. I'm not trying to do any of 753 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:50,560 those things. But there's only one person that 754 00:39:50,560 --> 00:39:56,320 I'm going to stand before, and it's not you, it's God. 755 00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:00,480 And I want to be able to tell him that I did everything that I 756 00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:04,680 could with what He gave me. And I want to be able to tell 757 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:07,600 Him that I used every opportunity that I had that He 758 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:12,800 gave me to share the gospel, to be right with him, to live for 759 00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:15,360 him in a way that He wants me to live for him, to have the 760 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:17,720 relationship with him that He wants to have with me. 761 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:21,160 Because I want to give you this as the last point. 762 00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:25,760 And very quickly, we never know when these opportunities will 763 00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:30,560 end. He says break up your fallow 764 00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:34,040 ground. It's high time to seek the Lord 765 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:36,600 till they come and reign righteousness upon you. 766 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:41,360 He's given us time right now, but you don't know when that 767 00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:44,440 opportunity is going to end. Turn over to Ephesians chapter 768 00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:48,720 3. The saying only one life will 769 00:40:48,720 --> 00:40:50,840 soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will 770 00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:55,480 last is true. You can spend your time and your 771 00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:58,320 energy making money, fulfilling every desire, living for 772 00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:00,320 pleasure, and you'll always come up empty. 773 00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:04,360 Or you can allow the Lord to plow the spots that you've left 774 00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:06,440 untouched for years. You can give Him access to the 775 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:08,600 darkest corners of your life. You can get rid of all the 776 00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:11,280 things that are keeping your spiritual life from being what 777 00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:14,440 God wants it to be. And when you start seeing that 778 00:41:14,440 --> 00:41:17,800 growth and what could be produced in your life, when you 779 00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:20,040 actually give those things over to God, you'll be thrilled. 780 00:41:20,040 --> 00:41:24,960 You'll be amazed at what God can do with your life if you give 781 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:27,920 Him access. Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 782 00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:34,120 #20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above 783 00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:36,920 all that we ask or think, according to the power that 784 00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:41,520 worketh in US. Unto Him be glory in the church 785 00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:47,320 throughout all ages, by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, 786 00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:50,120 world without end. Amen. 787 00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:52,520 That's our motivation, or at least it should be. 788 00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:57,160 When our life produces fruit, it brings praise to the one who 789 00:41:57,160 --> 00:42:01,800 cultivated it. Has has anybody ever walked into 790 00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:05,160 a field that was producing beautiful ears of corn and said, 791 00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:09,280 wow, this corn is so wonderful. I can't believe it planted 792 00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:14,600 itself and grew up like this. Nobody ever says that because 793 00:42:14,600 --> 00:42:17,160 everybody knows that it's not the corn that did it. 794 00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:21,960 When you walk in the field and you say, wow, who planted this 795 00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:24,760 man? They must have been a genius 796 00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:27,880 when it comes to cultivation, and they must have been a genius 797 00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:32,320 when it comes to fertilization and all of the different things 798 00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:34,720 that are necessary. This is wonderful corn. 799 00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:38,520 Who planted this? And that's exactly what happens 800 00:42:38,520 --> 00:42:40,920 in the life of a Christian who is producing fruit. 801 00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:44,160 They don't say, wow, look at that Christian. 802 00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:47,880 He's such a wonderful person. Now, if we're doing it right, 803 00:42:48,760 --> 00:42:52,920 all the glory belongs to him and our life will point others to 804 00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:56,720 Christ because of the fruit that we're producing. 805 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:03,280 I heard a story about a famous painter, his name was Sir Edwin 806 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:07,040 Lancier. He was in the Victoria era when 807 00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:12,680 he lived and painted, but he developed his talents very early 808 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:15,920 and actually at a young age, he had a lot of his paintings 809 00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:21,000 showcased in the Royal Academy, but he was commissioned to do 810 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:23,960 all kinds of different things. He, he, he gave drawing lessons 811 00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:25,640 to Queen Victoria, to Prince Albert. 812 00:43:25,640 --> 00:43:27,640 I mean, this is the kind of famous guy that he was. 813 00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:31,160 But he was best known for his depictions of the, the natural 814 00:43:31,160 --> 00:43:34,960 life in the Scottish Highlands. And one day he was visiting a, 815 00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:37,560 visiting a family in an old mansion in Scotland. 816 00:43:37,560 --> 00:43:40,640 And one of the servants, as they were carrying the food out, 817 00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:44,360 dropped an entire pitcher of soda water and it hit the ground 818 00:43:44,360 --> 00:43:46,320 and it just splattered all over the wall. 819 00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:50,760 And immediately they went and got rags and water and they 820 00:43:50,760 --> 00:43:53,320 tried to wipe it, but it, it just, it left the stain on the 821 00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:55,000 wall that they just, they couldn't get out. 822 00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:56,680 And so they were trying to figure out what they were going 823 00:43:56,680 --> 00:43:58,160 to do. I'm like, we're going to repaint 824 00:43:58,160 --> 00:44:00,400 the wall that we're going to have to tear some of this out 825 00:44:00,400 --> 00:44:01,840 and redo it. They just didn't know what they 826 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:05,680 were going to have to do. And so the family already had a 827 00:44:05,680 --> 00:44:07,960 trip that was planned. And so they they left on that 828 00:44:07,960 --> 00:44:11,080 trip. And while they were away, Edwin 829 00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:15,280 Lands here, stayed behind. And he used a piece of charcoal 830 00:44:16,640 --> 00:44:19,400 and he actually incorporated that giant stain into a huge 831 00:44:19,400 --> 00:44:20,880 mural that he painted on the wall. 832 00:44:20,880 --> 00:44:24,160 And when the family came back, they couldn't even remember 833 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:27,880 exactly where the stain was because there was so much beauty 834 00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:30,480 around it and so much that he had actually been able to do in 835 00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:36,200 incorporating that horrible stain into that canvas or the 836 00:44:36,200 --> 00:44:41,560 wall that became a canvas. And you know, I think God works 837 00:44:41,560 --> 00:44:44,360 much the same way in our lives. The things that we think our 838 00:44:44,360 --> 00:44:48,680 weaknesses and handicaps, if we allow him to come in and do 839 00:44:48,680 --> 00:44:50,880 something with it, can become our greatest strengths and the 840 00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:53,440 very things that that he uses the most to bring glory to 841 00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:55,240 himself. And that's what it's all about 842 00:44:55,240 --> 00:44:58,120 anyway. God's grace can provide the 843 00:44:58,120 --> 00:45:01,000 strength to meet every challenge, to overcome every 844 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:03,880 weakness, to help us be what he wants us to be. 845 00:45:04,160 --> 00:45:06,240 If you aren't sure that you're on your way to heaven, if you've 846 00:45:06,240 --> 00:45:09,720 never opened your heart up to the Lord to let Him come in and 847 00:45:09,720 --> 00:45:12,400 save you, if you don't have that assurance that Jesus Christ is 848 00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:14,800 your Savior, you need to get that settled today. 849 00:45:16,400 --> 00:45:20,520 But if you do, and you know Christ is your Savior and you 850 00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:23,840 know you're on your way to heaven, then what's holding you 851 00:45:23,840 --> 00:45:28,360 back from living for Him? Won't you allow Him to go in and 852 00:45:28,360 --> 00:45:32,040 break up that fallow ground? Are there areas in your life 853 00:45:32,040 --> 00:45:36,040 that are unusable to God right now because you just haven't 854 00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:40,440 given it over to Him? Are there large areas that you 855 00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:42,480 haven't turned over to Him? Maybe you've given Him this 856 00:45:42,480 --> 00:45:48,240 little corner and it's time that you surrender to be used by God. 857 00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:51,720 Has there been a time when you've surrendered your life to 858 00:45:51,720 --> 00:45:53,200 him? I'm not saying that you have to 859 00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:55,080 say, oh, God's called me to preach. 860 00:45:55,080 --> 00:45:56,960 I'm surrendering my life. That's the way we look at it 861 00:45:56,960 --> 00:45:59,160 most of the time. Or God's calling me to the 862 00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:00,840 mission field. I'm surrendering my life. 863 00:46:01,400 --> 00:46:04,680 Now that ought to be something that we do every day. 864 00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:07,360 There ought to be a moment in your life where you say, God, 865 00:46:08,880 --> 00:46:13,960 this life is not mine. I'm surrendering it to you. 866 00:46:15,160 --> 00:46:17,480 You do with my life what you want to do with my life. 867 00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:20,080 It's yours. You can have it. 868 00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:25,080 And then I take all the fences down around all of those fields 869 00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:27,600 that I've built up for all of these years, and I say, God, 870 00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:31,680 it's all yours. Break up the fallow ground. 871 00:46:32,440 --> 00:46:33,960 Do what you need to do in that field. 872 00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:36,560 It's yours. I want you to plant in it. 873 00:46:36,560 --> 00:46:39,720 I want you to cultivate it. I want you to grow what you want 874 00:46:39,720 --> 00:46:43,280 to grow in there. It's yours. 875 00:46:43,960 --> 00:46:45,760 Have you surrendered your life to the Lord? 876 00:46:46,600 --> 00:46:48,360 Oh, we put that focus on the kids. 877 00:46:48,360 --> 00:46:50,080 Kids, you need to surrender your life to the Lord. 878 00:46:50,080 --> 00:46:52,600 And I agree, they do. But what about the adults? 879 00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:54,040 Have you surrendered your life to Him? 880 00:46:56,320 --> 00:46:58,680 It's a scary thought. Oh, what if God calls me to the 881 00:46:58,680 --> 00:47:00,840 mission field? What if He does? 882 00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:04,240 Oh, what if God calls me to go do this? 883 00:47:04,240 --> 00:47:08,800 What if He does? I've just got the safety of my 884 00:47:08,800 --> 00:47:12,200 job and I've got this and I've got that, and if I surrender to 885 00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:14,400 God and he calls me to go do something else, I just don't 886 00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:17,640 know how, then you haven't. Surrendered. 887 00:47:18,280 --> 00:47:20,200 And if you're not surrendered, then God can't use it. 888 00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:23,360 If you haven't given every aspect over to Him, then you are 889 00:47:23,360 --> 00:47:26,440 not surrendered. You've surrendered parts, but 890 00:47:26,880 --> 00:47:30,200 you're not surrendered. So how about you this morning? 891 00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:33,240 Got areas? Of your life. 892 00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:35,560 That you need to turn over to the Lord. 893 00:47:36,280 --> 00:47:38,920 Let him have things that you've been holding on to that you just 894 00:47:38,920 --> 00:47:42,640 won't give him. I promise you, it's never going 895 00:47:42,640 --> 00:47:44,600 to be valuable land until you give it over to Him. 896 00:47:44,600 --> 00:47:47,400 And let him break up that fallow ground and let him use it in 897 00:47:47,400 --> 00:47:50,600 your life. Let him do what he wants to do 898 00:47:50,600 --> 00:47:56,280 with your life once you come. Submit to the plow this morning 899 00:47:56,280 --> 00:48:00,600 so that God can use you, so that you can see growth in your life 900 00:48:00,600 --> 00:48:03,240 that God so desperately desires for you. 901 00:48:05,920 --> 00:48:11,160 Jeremiah and Hosea both reminded us, break up your fellow ground. 902 00:48:11,520 --> 00:48:15,360 It's time to seek the Lord till He come and reign righteousness 903 00:48:15,360 --> 00:48:17,760 upon you. That's what I want. 904 00:48:19,320 --> 00:48:24,680 You want it, allow Him to do it. Surrender to Him and He will. 905 00:48:25,800 --> 00:48:27,280 Let's pray. Father, again, we thank you so 906 00:48:27,280 --> 00:48:32,040 much for your goodness to us and for an opportunity to be in your 907 00:48:32,040 --> 00:48:35,080 word this morning and for the reminder that we have and, and 908 00:48:35,080 --> 00:48:39,120 really the command that we have from your word to just to break 909 00:48:39,120 --> 00:48:41,720 up that fallow ground to allow you to have access to it and use 910 00:48:41,720 --> 00:48:45,320 it in a way that only you can. God, you have to speak to 911 00:48:45,320 --> 00:48:46,680 hearts. You have to do the work. 912 00:48:46,680 --> 00:48:48,920 We cannot do it. I can't do it. 913 00:48:50,040 --> 00:48:53,240 You have to do it or there's conviction. 914 00:48:53,240 --> 00:48:57,080 God, I pray that there would be decisions that are made to give 915 00:48:57,080 --> 00:49:02,440 you access to every aspect of our life and may it be helpful 916 00:49:02,440 --> 00:49:04,560 to us. Thank you again for all you do 917 00:49:04,560 --> 00:49:07,360 for us in Jesus name, Amen. If you would stand at your seats 918 00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:10,560 with your heads bowed and your eyes closed, I want to give you 919 00:49:10,560 --> 00:49:13,000 an opportunity to respond to the message this morning as the 920 00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:15,760 piano plays. Invitations open, you come.