The Plow - A Living Hope

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. I want to greet you this morning in the name of Jesus. Glad to be here. My heart has been warmed. I thought of the disciples on the road to Emmaus one day when they said, Did not our hearts burn within us? All of us experience things that are real to us, not always as well known to those around us what's going on in here. [00:00:39] Now let's turn to the book of Hosea this morning, chapter 10. As we read this Old Testament account, a portion of what Hosea said to the church in the wilderness, as Stephen called it. Stephen, in his message there in the day of his martyrdom, talked about the church in the wilderness, referring to the chosen people of God, the Jewish people that he had chosen for a purpose. And I've been given an assignment to give a panoramic view of the gospel. [00:01:12] I don't know what that brings up in your mind, but it has been a real challenge in my mind, a panoramic, how do you condense 66 books and all that they are to say in a meaningful way in about five sessions. But it's a challenge in faith and a challenge in experience to get an overview of the scripture, to have the picture that God wants us to get in a short form. [00:01:49] That's not what we're planning to talk about this morning either, but that's one of the places I've been this past, recent past. And in our Sunday school class, we shared some of the places we've been together as brethren. That's part of a meaningful church service. Sharing not just what we see, but what we're feeling, what we're dealing with in life. As you look at the children of Israel, this church in the wilderness had some amazing experiences. Somewhere over there by the Jordan River there was a pile of twelve stones. They picked them out of the river, they set them up on the other side, The power of the stones was to arouse the curiosity of the children. [00:02:38] So the children would ask, what's that pile of stones for? And then the parents were well on the way to relate what God had done with his people. And they could relate such experiences as when Israel was back there in Egypt and how that things had become very precious for them and they were going through struggles and trials and then how God step by step ten different times brought disaster on those around them [00:03:09] but spared them all the marvelous things that happened and how God at the voice of Moses lifted those plagues and the night that the death angel came well I'm not going to go through the details of that story But there were many things that the parents could tell their children about their past blessings. God working in their midst, bringing them to the sea, leading them through the sea, having those two million people out in a desert land. [00:03:42] How do you ever take care of the logistics of two million people in a desert for 40 years? But every morning as they went out, something came down from heaven. Little white wafers, best we know how to describe them today. And the people would go out with their baskets and pick up those wafers. And that would be their food, their nourishment for the next 24 hours. But on Saturday, for some reason, twice as much came. [00:04:14] Friday, I'm sorry, in their economy. And so they had to gather twice as much. Those that just gathered the same amount on Friday fasted on Saturday. Because there was nothing there. God had things arranged for them. They came finally to the Jordan River. And the river again opened up. Somebody suggested recently that maybe it was a day that God had created an earthquake and there was a big void and the river ran into the hole for a couple days. [00:04:45] Or until they got through the river. I don't know how God did it. But one thing I know is if God did it with an earthquake, The timing certainly was right. It was the hand of God. He took care of their situation. Well, those were things that the children of Israel, their children, were hearing from their parents. Don't you think that they could almost hear the rumble of the walls when the walls of Jericho crashed to the ground as they walked around there seven times [00:05:17] and then blew their trumpets whoever heard of trumpets overthrowing walls of rocks It was the manifestation of God with his people Well, there's a blessing in remembering the things of the past The blessing is not that we lament the good old days we no longer have, but to arouse in our hearts a longing and an anticipation of the manifestation of God today, not only in the past. [00:05:52] Can God do it again? Is there going to be a manifestation of our great God in our day? I believe every child in this congregation, every child with Christian parents deserves to hear the story how they became born again. Have your children ever heard the story how you became born again? It is an inspiration. [00:06:25] It is a manifestation of the work of God in our day today. Have our children heard accounts of when we prayed to God, we were up against it, or however it was, whatever the circumstances, and God manifested Himself. That's a part of a worship service. That's a part of the ministry of the church to itself. And in fact, it is a very real part of the ministry to the world. [00:06:55] But we can testify of how God works in our lives Often times the greatest testimony we can give to a person who needs to be born again Is to tell him the journey he took you through to bring you to himself They might say like that soap salesman that I referred to at times That says I don't explain it but I wish I could experience it To see God working in people's lives Children deserve to hear, why do we do what we do? [00:07:27] Why are we doing the things that we do? That's part of that rock pile. It's purpose there. To cause children, not only when they're three and four, but as they grow up and think for themselves, what's the meaning behind it? It's our opportunity. In fact, don't you listen better, children, when you ask than you do when you're just told. That's an invitation to unburden our hearts. [00:08:00] Now, we must move on. We can't live in the past. There was a time when the nations trembled when Israel got close. Some people's hearts of nations that were great and mightier than Israel fainted when Israel passed through their land. Why was it? because the glory of the living God was present with them and it took care of what Wendell just said a little while ago not by power nor by might but by my spirit saith the Lord [00:08:32] let's read chapter 10 of the book of Hosea Israel is an empty vine he bringeth forth fruit unto himself according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images their heart is divided now shall they be found faulty he shall break down their altars he shall spoil their images for now they shall say we have no king because we feared not the Lord [00:09:03] what then should a king do to us they have spoken words swearing falsely and making a covenant thus judgment springing up as hemlock in the furrows of the field the inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethhaven 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 it shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to King Jacob Ephraim shall receive shame [00:09:35] Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel as for Samaria her king is cut off as the foam upon the water The high places also of Aved, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. The thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us, and to the hills, Fall on us. O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah. There they stood, the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them. It is in my desire that I should chastise them, [00:10:08] and that the people shall be gathered against them when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows. And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught and loveth to tread out the corn. But I passed over upon her fair neck. I will make Ephraim to ride. Judah shall plow. Jacob shall break his clods. Sow to yourselves in righteousness. Reap in mercy. Break up your fallow ground for it is time to seek the Lord You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped iniquity, you have eaten the fruit of lies because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men. [00:10:51] Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, and shall men spoil Betharbel in the day of battle. The mother was dashed in pieces upon her children, so shall Bethel do unto you because of your great wickedness. In a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off. Now this is quite a contrast to a few things that we had just said a few minutes ago to the glory that was in Israel. [00:11:23] Now you see this mighty Israel, this church in the wilderness, instead of causing people to tremble, Challenging people to trample them And it happened, they took them into captivity The potential is always there to lose out All that water, fresh water, good ice cold water left to itself What happens? Becomes lukewarm It just becomes lukewarm It loses, it's the word that I can't get [00:11:58] But it's desirableness It's freshness. It's attraction. That's what was happening here to Israel. There was a time of glory, but the time came when the message came to the priest Eli that his sons had died in battle. And not only that, the Ark of the Covenant had been removed, taken away by the enemy. The very figure of the presence of God with them was taken away. Eli, Eli expressed something that was in the depth of his heart in this, that he had, when the ark was gone, everything was gone. [00:12:39] Eli fell over, backwards off his bench, broke his neck and died. At that time, Eli's daughter-in-law gave birth. She was now a widow because one of Eli's sons had also died in that battle. She gave birth to a son and she called him Ichabod. Ichabod, the glory has departed. The glory has departed. Well, this morning, I hope our focus can be rightly directed. [00:13:10] We are not here this morning to say that the glory has departed. We are not here this morning to say all is lost. But we are saying this morning that we do well to take the words of the prophet Hosea here when he says, It is time to seek the Lord. And he said as well here, sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground. He did not say here, it is time to clear more land, to get more virgin land back into cultivation. [00:13:45] But he said, it is time to break up fallow ground Fallow ground is ground once cultivated Once knowing the glory of productiveness, usefulness and service So he is giving us the challenge It speaks here about the cattle, the heifers I believe it says Ephraim is as a heifer that is taught and loveth to tread out the corn The picture is that there is a threshing floor and there is one of these heifers of Ephraim that has been trained to walk in that threshing floor to thrash out the grain. [00:14:25] It delighted in taking part in the harvest. Who doesn't love harvest? And when this scripture here, these words that we read in verse 12 about plowing, I thought it might be good for Richard or Manasse to tell us how it feels after a cold, dreary winter. The time comes when it's just getting to be February and days are getting a little longer and you get out the equipment [00:14:56] and finally there comes the day when you hitch up the plow to the tractor. And it doesn't matter is it an ox team with a walk behind plow or is it a big green tractor with six bottoms. But when you get that plow into the ground, there's some kind of a feeling inside here. Isn't it a feeling of anticipation? New hope. Last year didn't go so well. But farmers of all people seem to be some of the most courageous people with faith that I know. [00:15:31] Now, they'd try it again, even when they had a drought the year before. Let's do it again. May the people of God have a faith like that, that put the plow to the ground, that break up fallow ground, ground that has been unproductive, didn't do so well lately. A few weeks ago, we were there in the hospital room up here in LaGrange with Fannie Mae. On the wall, there was a little sign, a chart, like the medical profession uses pretty often. [00:16:07] That chart reminded me of something, that it seemed like it might be a good chart. I thought of making a chart like that on the board, too. All it would be was a line with a 1 and a 10. In the medical profession, the chart is to measure your level of pain. On a chart of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain level? That's what they ask us. I would ask this morning, on a chart of 1 to 10, if you just get all alone in your little closet somewhere, [00:16:41] you'd make a chart of 1 to 10. Down on our knees, we'd put it before us, and we'd say, God, help me to fill out this chart. Where am I at from 1 to 10 in my relationship with you? You know, it is entirely possible to go through a lot of religious life, to have a lot of religious activity, to be so busy with doing good things without having a relationship with Jesus Christ. That's meaningful. [00:17:12] How would your life, how would you rate it this morning? From 1 to 10, where am I at with God? Is my field cultivated? Is it fruitful? Do I know the joy of the Lord in my heart? Am I contributing to the kingdom? Am I going through the motions? No, these people had motions. What he was saying here about this heifer is you like to take part in the harvest. But you also need to take part in the plowing. [00:17:44] I think that's what Christian was telling us this morning. We like to come to church and get the blessings. And there ought to be blessings. But the blessings have a lot to do proportionately to the plowing, to the preparing, to the planning ahead. All we have to do is neglect. If we look into the scriptures, we find some of the dangers that are mentioned in the book of Hebrews to those people that were in danger of going back and that needed that stimulation and encouragement to go on. [00:18:18] Neglect not. Just neglect. Doesn't have to be an open gross sin, but the way we respond to God, the way we take care of our plowing, the preparing, has a lot to do with where we're at on that chart of 1 to 10. Maybe we shouldn't even try to fill out a chart like that. Maybe we should just invite God to fill it out. Might be more accurate. He could tell us how it really is. I hope our hearts this morning are focused, not on how bad things are, but our hearts would desire to see again the hand of God working like He has in times past. [00:19:00] And God wants to do that more than we want Him to. I'm convinced of that by Scripture. He is waiting. It is our Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom, Jesus said. He would love to give us the manifestation of His glory, His holiness, His love, His greatness, and His justice. Fallow ground is ground that was once cultivated, but now it's barren. It's overgrown. There are other things come in, choking out. [00:19:33] We find in the scripture, well let's look at some of the things He says here. In verse 1 He says, Israel is an empty vine. There was the vine, but no grapes, no fruit. But the interesting thing is, it says he brings forth fruit. Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit. What does that mean? An empty vine without fruit bringing forth fruit. One of those paradoxes is scripture. But not really, he says, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself. [00:20:08] He was living for himself. They were looking for their own enjoyment and pleasure and comfort, whatever. Before God, it didn't count. They may have been making a good impression still on people. But God looked on that and what he saw was an empty mind. He said, you need some cultivation. If we go on to the next verse, again in the same verse, that speaks of selfishness, not fruit bearing. But what was being done was for personal benefit [00:20:41] Maybe it was for the credit they would get Maybe it was to give a good impression Maybe it was to soothe their conscience But it wasn't for the glory of God Therefore it didn't count If we go on to verse 2 He says, their heart is what? Divided What is a divided heart? A severed heart A divided heart in this sense, if we understand correctly, is saying a heart with dual interests. [00:21:14] A heart that is reaching out after God's things, but at the same time they were worshipping their Baals. That could be whatever kind of God in our day. But a God other than the true God. They wanted the blessings of God. But friends, this morning, the Church of Jesus Christ is more than a social club where we come together to have fellowship. The Church of Jesus Christ is a brotherhood where we minister to each other. [00:21:46] We stick with each other, even when it doesn't go well. When you're a member in a club, you pay your dues. You're a member there. You get to come to the meetings. You get to eat the meals and talk about things you like to talk about. Somebody does something against you, all you have to do is go. You're done. You're free. But if you're in a brotherhood, it's otherwise. A brotherhood goes deeper. A divided heart is a heart that wants the things of God, but also to please ourselves. [00:22:19] For personal enjoyment and ease and comfort. The church is more than a rescue squad. For many people today, the church is a place to go when you get into trouble. Friends, the church is a place to go to stay out of trouble. And it's to help other people out of trouble. For other people, the church perhaps has other purposes, other goals. The church is more than a place of entertainment. Why do we sometimes ask, what's on the program tonight? [00:22:51] That's not what the Jews did, that's what the Beaches do. What's on the program tonight? May I ask, does it matter? Doesn't matter what's on the program. The question is not what's on the program. The question really is, am I a part of a brotherhood committed to building up the church? Now, that doesn't mean that we always have to attend our home church. But if the program determines what we do, maybe we better get in the closet with the chart again. [00:23:27] Is the line too fine? All I know, Jesus said, the way to Him is narrow and tight. It doesn't leave room for a divided heart. It's for a heart that's fixed on God. So we can cry like the Old Testament writer did when he said, My heart is fixed. He didn't just mean that it was repaired. He meant it was set. It was focused. I mean to go through with Him. If we go on into verse 4, he says here, [00:24:02] They have spoken words swearing falsely in making a covenant, thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field. They spoke falsely. What did they do? Did they tell lies to their neighbors? They spoke falsely in making a covenant. They made a commitment. They said we will commit ourselves and able to be a part of it. But then they failed to keep the covenant. What does God call it? He said it brings a situation that requires some plowing, some renewing, some changing. [00:24:45] They had said all that the Lord says we will do When people get married Last night we heard again the vows being made Will you in the presence of God and these witnesses Be true till you die Take care of in the good or the bad The hard or the easy Will you promise It's a covenant People break that covenant A preacher is asked Will you be faithful in preaching the Word of God as long as you live, or as long as you're active in the ministry? [00:25:21] What would we do if a preacher would say no, or maybe? What would you do if somebody in a marriage vow would say, well, I'll do it for two years. If I were the preacher, we'd cancel the wedding, and I think God would. What about commitment to Jesus Christ in our baptism? Will you promise to be faithful as long as you live? Will you promise to support the church to which you are becoming a member? Will you promise to be faithful and supportive? [00:25:55] Yes. Then what? There is no such thing as seeing the glory of the Lord, as seeing a revived life mixed with disobedience that I can find in the Scripture. That's all I know to say this morning about that issue. We can go through a lot of emotions, but God knows the heart. Things that to men sometimes appear to be very active service for God, it could well be that God is saying your vine has no fruit. [00:26:30] The fruit you have is for yourself, for the sensation, for the blessing, the good feeling that it gives. But when our hearts are broken before God in obedience to Him and to His church, who can tell today the blessings God would bring upon His people, among His people, and in this world even today? These people dabbled in wickedness. If we go down to verse 13, they cut corners, they reinterpreted scripture. Today, righteousness and wickedness are based not on popular opinion, [00:27:08] not on what is acceptable in the given of society, but righteousness is based on obedience to God, to His Word. We've talked and studied a lot about truth here in the past. These people had ways of interpreting things differently. When Jesus was here, he said, when the Pharisees criticized his disciples for some of the things he did, he said, why are you quibbling about the traditions of men that these people are keeping, [00:27:40] But you are disobeying God himself, his own command. By this reinterpretation of what was called Corbett, it's a matter of how we relate to God. How we respond to God's people and in God's economy. These people had another problem down here, if I can find it. It says that they trusted in themselves. As a result, yeah, in verse 13. Thou didst trust in thy way in the multitude of thy mighty men [00:28:13] They might have had some very gifted charismatic leaders, I don't know They had warriors that were head and shoulders above the enemies Before God it meant nothing They lost their defense, their protection Because they trusted in themselves Well, he comes back and he says All is not lost God would still manifest himself today. Therefore, he says, sow to yourself in righteousness. Let's try doing it God's way. [00:28:45] We can pray and we can pray. But if we don't meet God's conditions, do not expect revival. But if we meet God's conditions, revival is inevitable. It's just like our Sunday school lesson this morning said, Noah condemned the world by his righteous deeds. By building an ark, every day of labor on that ark was a testimony to the people that he had gotten a message from God. Even though they didn't believe him, I believe something took place in their consciences as they saw that evidence out there of something that had never happened before. [00:29:24] And when people see God's people living godly lives, doing things contrary to the world's thinking, there's a message goes through. It hits home. So he says, break up. It's time. Do you think Hosea might say the same words in our day? It is time to seek the Lord. Three times you find in the Bible that phrase, it is time. Twice in relation to people that didn't live for God, [00:29:56] the prophet or the writer said, it is time for God to bring judgment. This time, he says, it is time to seek the Lord. One other time, he says, it is high time to wake out of sleep. It is time. It is time. It is always time to plow the fields, to keep them under cultivation, because anything left to itself goes into deterioration. There is a law in this world that came with Adam and Eve's sin, the law of atrophy. [00:30:30] That means that something that comes into existence immediately begins to fade out. All you have to do to a house is leave it empty, just neglect it, and it'll go the way of all the world. And that's true of anything and everything. It is time to seek the Lord. It is time to plow the fields. It is time to break up the fallow ground. When he's talking here about breaking up fallow ground, he's not talking about scratching the surface. [00:31:02] He's talking about getting the plow down in the ground where it tears things up and it deals with the roots down there. The roots of bitterness, the roots of unlovingness, the roots of pride, and all the other roots you might think of today. It's time to get the plow into the ground, to dig out the roots, and then you will see fruitfulness again. I think this morning back to the days of the book of Acts, when they preached the word and men feared, lest they would be consumed by the living God. [00:31:41] The Hebrew writer said in one of our Sunday school lessons just lately, he said, let us therefore fear. It is a fearful thing, he said, to fall into the hands of the living God. Paul said, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Paul wrote to the Romans in chapter 2 that the cup of God's wrath is filling up. It's filling, filling. It's closer to the brim. Who knows when that cup is going to overflow? God in his love and his mercy has extended far beyond my comprehension of justice [00:32:15] Our opportunity of grace in America Why are things the way they are in America? Why can we not talk about God in our schools? Why can't we put up a poster on the courtyard, on government property, proclaiming the name of God? The problem, I don't believe, is communism The problem is not atheism The problem is a church with fallow ground, with ground that needs to be stirred up, scratched, rooted out, so that the blessing of God can be among us. [00:32:53] I would wish this morning that our hearts prayer and cry can be and will be that we reach out to God and we will say like, was it John Knox, I think it was, who said, Give me Scotland or I'd die. It was his heart's passion to see God working again in his day. Who was it? Jeremiah, perhaps, that prayed with birth pains. [00:33:26] I cannot empathize very well with that, but I know some of you can. When somebody gets desperate with birth pains, you know they're dead serious about something. It is real. Jeremiah, the prophet, he said, Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slaying of the daughter of my people. He remembered the glory of God among them. You look back in the church of Acts, you see the glory of God among the people. [00:33:59] They had their problems. They had their struggles. Friends, one of their solutions was not to go about and blame the others for their problems. But the question is, is that life of God flourishing in my soul, your soul? That's the place to begin. If we want to make a difference, it's one at a time, one at a time. And where the power of God is free to flow, Sweeps groups of people. We see that sometimes, but so few times, to see where the people, where the Spirit of God moves in a group of people, where there's a power beyond man's power. [00:34:47] You can see the evidence of it. Wouldn't you love to see that kind of thing in our day? That's revival. Breaking up fallow ground. It's getting the chisel down to tear out the roots. If you see the world on the way to judgment, what is going to happen to all our friends and acquaintances and family members and people that we know that don't do it God's way? And Jesus comes back. What's going to happen, my friend? We already know if we're willing to accept the truth. They're lost. Lost. [00:35:23] Lost forever. How can we read about the things, the tragedies that happen in our nation and our hearts not bleed? People destroying each other in wars and homicides, domestic situations. We read about it till we callous to it. But every soul without God that goes into eternity is lost. It's time to seek the Lord. Break up the fallow ground. [00:35:56] Let us make it our prayer that we yearn to see the glory of God. As it was then, as it was during the Reformation, the Anabaptist movement, as it has been in more recent years and still is even today in some places, where people are living for God, people are coming to God, People are oppressed. They are being threatened. And yet they come in the panorama of the Bible. There was a time between the Old and the New Testament of what? 400, 450 years. We call them the Dark Ages. [00:36:32] John the Baptist came preaching, and when he preached, it says, the violent pressed into the kingdom. I don't know what all that meant, or how all that was, but it says the people sat in darkness and they saw a great light. It seems to me the people were seeing a light springing up somewhere, and when they got a glimpse of light and hope, The violent pressed in. You couldn't stop them. [00:37:03] They were coming. It didn't matter what the Pharisees said. It didn't matter what the Roman Emperor said. They were on their way to something that their heart was longing for. Are people still that way today? It is true. Many people's hearts are hardened. The Bible says evil men shall wax worse and worse in the end times. But it is also true that the human soul has a place within where only God fits, where only God satisfies. [00:37:34] Let's be a people that break up fellow ground. If our ground isn't producing, if our prayer life, if our love for the scripture, if our obedience is not up to par, let's get out the plows. God can still manifest himself today. Let's kneel and pray.