Do Not Let Your Heart Harde

Jeremiah 4:3

Hosea 10:12

I want to speak specifically to believers this morning! I want to speak to you because you, me, we are the body of Christ. We are married to Him. We are no longer the bride but His wife. We are past the newly wed stage where more is expected of us. I want to speak to the body of Christ because we are in a very dangerous place where we have been lulled to sleep and are about to be overtaken by sin. I want to speak to the body of Christ this morning because something has happened to her where she is no longer satisfied with Jesus. Rather than calling people to repentance we have sought to help them live with their sin. Some that were once running a good race have fallen by the wayside and no one seems to really care.

            How did it happen that what was once acknowledged as sin and immoral is not moral and normal so much so that people boldly call themselves believers, and even worse than that, leaders all the while thumbing their noses at God. I have often said that the world behaving in this manner does not surprise be because they have yet to some to the truth of the gospel. No. I am concerned about Christ’s body, and I wondered: how did it happened? I did not have to look far for man answer, for the answer. It is right in the Word of God. The hearts of those who call themselves believe have become hardened, what the Bible in two places refers to as fallow ground.

Now “Fallow ground is ground that has been plowed and readied for sowing but then is withheld and allowed to lie useless and unproductive. God, through His prophets, had to rebuke His people not only because they had left their prepared ground unused, but because they were sowing their seed on thorn-choked ground. That is, they were turning to idols and forsaking God. The word “fallow” occurs one other time in the Bible and to the same effect.” Note the ground was plowed and ready for planting but then nothing more was done. In farming this is a useful strategy because it gives the ground time to rest, generally about a year, before it is planted again. But when the imagery is used to describe the human heart, it indicated a most dangerous condition from which many do not recover. The greater problem is that the heart, unlike the field, becomes hardened almost without notice, and here is how.

1. Neglect – If one leaves a plowed field idle for a long period of time it will be overtaken by weeds, thorns, and thistles. Salvation represents a field that has been plowed. O what joy over one. But what happens if nothing else happens?

2. Wrong Influence – There is much talk today about being a social media influencer. People are making mounds of money influencing people to all sorts of things. I intentionally did not say bad influence because the influence may not be bad for someone else, just for you.

3. Misplaced Priorities – There are so many things that place demands on our time. It can be difficult to navigate them. What shall I make the priority in my life? Should it be the job that provides my livelihood and gives me money? Family? My recreational pursuits? My interests? What?

I told you earlier that the heart, unlike a field, becomes hardened almost without notice. So, how do you know if your hard has hardened?

• Your heart is lukewarm and indifferent to God and spiritual matters. You have left your first love.
• Prayer, Bible study, church attendance, and fellowship with other believers have fallen by the wayside.
• You are no longer mindful of your witness, or you don’t care.
• The concern for others’ spiritual condition is no longer on your radar.
• You do not recognize blessings and fail to give praise to God
• Your priorities are no longer God’s order of priorities.
• To you, God is no longer greater than the devil that is in the world.
• You have more doubts and unbelief than you have faith.
• You no longer possess the joy of the Lord.

But there is good news! When the heart has been plowed and cleared, it will be fertile for sowing and reaping a good crop once again. Paul prayed for the Philippians: May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God (NLT). He told the Galatians if they quit walking in flesh and began walking in the Spirit, they would bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).            Plowing the fallow ground is a process and, repentance and restoration is a process. God in His loving grace and mercy sent Christ to bear our sins on the cross and grant us forgiveness. God is patient and kind and ready to forgive and help every one of His children who is willing to repent and return to Him. In his famous psalm of repentance, David prayed: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.” God gave David what he sought. And He will do so for us.