Break Up Your Fallow Ground: It is Time to Seek the Lord (Part 19)

As you know, we are in a long series titled "Break Up Your Fallow Ground: It Is Time to Seek the Lord" which is based on Hosea chapter 10. In this passage of Scripture, Hosea urges the children of Israel to turn away from their sins, repent, and get right with God.

 

As we begin today, let's take a close look at verse 5 of Hosea chapter 10. The verse reads, "The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it." 

This verse speaks of the unrepentance of the children of Israel even while they were under chastisement. The people of Samaria (another name for the northern part of Israel) were worried or afraid for the golden "calves" that they had set up in Bethaven as idols to be worshipped. Even as they were being carried off into captivity themselves, they still did not turn to the God of their fathers. They were not worried about pleasing the one true God. Rather, they were more concerned about the safety of the golden idols that they had carved. The Bible says that the Israelites "feared" for them and "mourned" over them. They were not willing to let go of the evil that they had been doing.

When God is calling us to repent, my friend, we must be willing to let some things go. Unlike the children of Israel in this verse, we must stop holding on to that which is sinful no matter how uncomfortable it may be. We must let it go and turn back to God.

Now, in this series of messages, we are addressing specific sins that folks in the church need to confess and repent of in order to get our hearts right with God, and so that we can ask God to send revival in our personal lives, our families, our churches, our communities, and our country. So far we have addressed fifty-three sins in total, and today, we are going to continue this series by addressing three more sins from our list.

 

1. The first sin we will address today is the sin of not controlling our tongues. The Bible says in James 3:6-8: "The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."

There is a Turkish proverb that says, "A knife-wound heals, but a tongue wound festers." An African proverb echoes the same message: "A cutting word is worse than a bowstring; a cut may heal, but the cut of the tongue does not." 

How often have you used your tongue in a way that is displeasing to God? When you constantly speak words that are displeasing to God and that tear down others, your tongue is being used in the devil's service. Our tongues should be used to praise God, to speak good of Him, to spread the Gospel, and to encourage and benefit others, and that includes rebuking them when they are wrong. When we use our tongues to gossip, slander, and spread lies about others, we harm others spiritually and mentally, and we offend God by not using our words in a way that honors Him. 

Now, I know that it is hard to tame the tongue. Mark Twain called it "the deadly enemy of man." Sometimes, it seems like our tongues have minds of their own, and they lash out with words that we regret the second they roll out of our mouths. The Bible even tells us that our tongues are capable of blessing God on Sunday and cursing people out who have been made in the image of God on Monday. 

Are you guilty of using your tongue in a way that is not pleasing to God? Our tongues are a reflection of what lies in the deepest parts of our hearts. We need to ask God to cleanse our wicked hearts of anything that is displeasing to Him, and then what we speak with our mouths will be pleasing to God and will be an honest reflection of what is in our hearts.

2. The second sin we will address today is the sin of coveting. The Bible says in Exodus 20:17: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." Coveting is the sin of harboring a strong desire for what someone else has.

Someone once said that coveting is really at the root of all nine of the other ten commandments. The other nine commandments deal with actions, but the sin of coveting deals with attitude. In other words, "don't commit adultery" means to keep your hands off of somebody else's spouse, while "don't covet" means don't even think about putting your hands on somebody else's spouse in the first place.

Coveting can lead to many different sins. Remember David and Bathsheba? David saw Bathsheba and coveted her -- he wanted her. His coveting led to action -- he took her and commited adultery with her. And his action led to a coverup -- he had her husband killed in battle. 

In Mark 7:21-22, Jesus tells us where the sin of coveting comes from. He says, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness..." Coveting is a "heart" problem. 

If you have a strong desire for something or someone that does not belong to you, then it is time to open your heart and ask God to forgive you of this sin, and deliver you from the spirit of covetousness.

3. The third sin we will address today is the sin of listening to ungodly counsel. Isaiah 30:1 says, "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin." If you are a parent, then you probably know something about this sin. Have you ever told your child to do something, and they said to you, "Well, so-and-so said this..." or "So-and-so's parents let her do this..."? You, as a parent, know what is best for your child. But your child, has been listening to bad advice from other people and does not want to listen to you.

We have grown Christians who do this every day to God. We don't want to hear what God has to say about our lifestyle, or about our finances, or about how we raise our children. We want to go and listen to a motivational speaker, or some "guru" or "expert", and we hold their words higher than God's even when their words contradict the Bible. This worldly advice is all around us -- you can get it on TV, on the radio, at your local bookstore, on the internet, or from your friends. Some of this advice may be good and helpful, but without God's word as its foundation, it is at best incomplete, and at worst, dangerous to your spiritual growth. 

Don't make the mistake of listening to what your friends say, what your co-workers say, or what your family members say. Just because they are close to you does not mean they won't lead you astray. God has provided advice for every situation in your life in the Bible, through prayer, and through trusted Christian counselors such as your pastor. Don't make the mistake of ignoring the best counsel that you can receive -- counsel that is straight from God Himself.

Have you been listening to ungodly counsel? Do you run to the internet, to TV, or to your friends when you want advice before consulting with God? Then, you need to stop, slow down, and start putting God's word and His will first in your life. 

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In closing, I want to encourage you to not let any sin that we have discussed today or in previous weeks remain unconfessed. Allow God's Holy Spirit to examine every part of your heart and get rid of anything that is not in line with God's Word. Begin to break up your fallow ground by asking God to forgive you and cleanse you of your sins. Then you can enjoy the sweet fellowship of a relationship with God that is unhindered by sin and wrongdoing.

 

If the Lord should tarry his coming and we live, I hope that you will be with us next week so we can continue this journey of getting our hearts right with the Lord and getting back to serving Him. Break up your fallow ground: it is time to seek the Lord.

 

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Now, if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, allow me to show you how you can be saved from sin and the eternal punishment of sin.

 

All you have to do is believe "that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" and you will be saved. And, like millions of others, you can come to know the risen Lord Jesus Christ for yourself.

 

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

 

The Bible states in the book of Romans 10:9, 13: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."  "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

 

If you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me the following simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

 

If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! I want to congratulate you on doing the most important thing in life and that is receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read "What To Do After You Enter Through the Door".

 

God bless you and have a great week.