Becoming A Vessel Of Honor Rebecca Brown

292 What does it mean to “break up fallow ground”? Fallow ground is hard ground that has not been plowed for several years. The hard ground must be plowed up and broken down into softer dirt so that plants can grow in it. As we allow unconfessed sin to build up in our lives, our hearts become hardened toward the Lord. In this section, I want to present some material that is not original with me. Many of the thoughts come from a book by Charles Finney called Lectures On Revival. I would strongly recommend that you obtain this book and read it. This is an outline of sins that are common to all mankind. I have combined some of Finney’s thoughts with the things that the Lord has taught me in my own life.

“Examine the state of your mind to see where you are right now. Many never think about this! They pay no attention to their own hearts, and never know whether or not they are doing well spiritually, whether they are gaining ground or going back, fruitful or lying waste. Shift your attention from everything else and look into this. Make a business of it. Don’t be in a hurry. Examine thoroughly the state of your heart and see where you are.... Self- examination consists in looking at your life, considering your actions, remembering the past and learning its true character... General confessions of sin will never do. Your sins were committed one by one, and as best as you can they should be reviewed and repented of one at a time.” (Lectures On Revival, by Charles Finney, Bethany House Publishers, 1988, pp. 30-31.)

Now, before you start reading the rest of this section, do YOU have a paper and pen in your hand so that you can write down the sins the Holy Spirit brings to your mind?

Appendix A Breaking Up Fallow Ground