From Faith to Faith – Strength to Strength – Glory to Glory #6 Till Up the Fallow Ground

Faith Strength Glory Overview

In this sixth installment of the series From Faith to Faith, Strength to Strength, Glory to Glory, the pastor of NTC Ministries walks believers through one of the most practically urgent themes in the Christian life: tilling up fallow ground. Drawing on Jeremiah 4:1-4, Romans 1:16-17, 2 Corinthians 3:18, and John 17, the message explores how uncultivated areas of the heart block the flow of God’s glory into daily life. Just as untilled soil must be broken up before a seed can take root and produce a harvest, believers must allow repentance to break up hardened places in their souls. The pastor unpacks the two sides of redemption, legal and practical, illustrating that while every blessing was secured at the cross, cooperation with God through obedience, faith, and confession is required to experience it. Vivid illustrations, including a Las Vegas windstorm, a car stuck in winter snow, and the olive press of Gethsemane, bring the teaching to life. The sermon closes with a call to stand, repent, and recommit to following God so that his glory can flow unhindered from the spirit through the soul and into the world.

Faith Strength Glory Outline

• 00:00 – Series Review: Faith to Faith: The pastor reopens the series with a review of what it means to live from faith to faith, anchored in Romans 1:16-17 and the principle that faith comes by hearing the word of God.
• 07:30 – The Two Sides of Redemption: A distinction is drawn between the legal finished work of the cross and the practical side of redemption, emphasizing that believers must actively cooperate with what has already been granted.
• 14:00 – Strength to Strength Through Testing: Using Psalm 84:4-7 and 1 Peter 1:6-8, the pastor explains how trials test the word planted in us, and how genuine strength is found not in ourselves but in leaning wholly on God.
• 22:30 – Glory to Glory and the New Creation: 2 Corinthians 3:18 and John 17 are opened to show that God’s glory, once withheld under the old cursed system, is now given to new creations in Christ who pursue oneness with the Father.
• 32:00 – Created for His Glory: The Fall and Restoration: The pastor traces Adam’s original clothing of glory, its loss through disobedience, and Christ as the second Adam who restores that glory to redeemed humanity.
• 38:30 – Tilling Up the Fallow Ground: Jeremiah 4: Jeremiah 4:1-4 becomes the core text as the pastor defines fallow ground as idle, unbroken areas of the heart that prevent growth and block the manifestation of God’s promises.
• 45:00 – Repentance: The Greek Meaning Unpacked: The compound Greek word metanoeo is examined, revealing that true repentance means actively following alongside Jesus, not simply changing one’s thinking while staying on a wrong path.
• 50:30 – Purifying the Soul: 1 John 3 and the Call to Act: 1 John 3:1-3 and 1 Peter 1:22-23 are used to show that purification is an ongoing process for born-again believers, requiring intentional obedience in the practical areas God highlights.
• 54:00 – Altar Call: Standing for Change: The message closes with an invitation to stand, confess, and ask the blood of Jesus to cleanse every blockage so that intimacy with God and the flow of his glory can be fully restored.

Scripture References

Romans 1:16-17, Romans 10:17, Romans 12:2, Psalm 84:4-7, 1 Peter 1:6-8, 2 Corinthians 3:18, John 17:4-5, John 17:20-23, Isaiah 42:8, Isaiah 43:5-7, Colossians 1:26-27, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Samuel 2:8, Jeremiah 4:1-4, Acts 3:19, Acts 2:25-26, Psalm 16:8-9, 1 John 3:1-3, 1 John 2:15-17, 1 Peter 1:22-23

Key Takeaways

• Fallow ground represents unbroken, idle areas of the heart that must be turned over through repentance so that the word of God can take root and produce a lasting harvest.
• Every blessing was legally secured at the cross, but there is a practical side of redemption that requires active faith, obedience, and continued following of Jesus to bring those blessings into daily experience.
• True repentance, from the Greek metanoeo, means more than changing your mind; it means actively following alongside Jesus rather than asking him to follow you into a direction you have already chosen.
• Strength to strength is not about accumulating personal willpower but about reaching the end of your own resources and allowing God’s strength to take over, just as Jesus prayed more earnestly in Gethsemane after the angels strengthened him.
• The glory God refuses to share with corrupted creation under the old covenant is freely given to new creations in Christ, because the eternal life within them can carry that glory righteously forever.
• The soul, encompassing mind, will, and emotions, acts as the gateway between the redeemed spirit and the physical world, and its attention determines whether God’s glory flows outward or the world’s corruption flows inward.
• Consistent assembly with like-minded believers, regular confession of faults, and steadfast declaration of God’s promises are the practical tools that till the fallow ground and keep the pathway of intimacy with God open.

Faith Strength Glory Notes

The Core Principle Behind Fallow Ground

The agricultural image of tilling fallow ground captures the central challenge of the Christian life. Soil that has never been worked, or that has not been worked in years, becomes compacted and full of debris. Nothing planted in it will thrive. The pastor applies this directly to the believer’s heart, arguing that unchallenged habits, postponed obedience, and subtle worldliness create the same hardness. God’s word may have been planted, a promise received, a prophecy spoken, but if the ground beneath it remains unbroken, the harvest never comes. Jeremiah 4:1-4 becomes the surgical text, calling Israel to break up their fallow ground before sowing, a command equally urgent for New Testament believers pursuing the fullness of redemption.

Legal Redemption Versus Practical Redemption

One of the most clarifying distinctions in this message is the difference between what is legally ours and what is experientially ours. The finished work of the cross secured every blessing pertaining to life and godliness. That legal reality is unchangeable. However, the pastor illustrates through a personal account of an inheritance that receiving the letter confirming ownership is not the same as having the funds in the bank. Probate requires steps. Similarly, healing, provision, and restored relationships are legally granted but practically appropriated through faith, confession, continued obedience, and refusal to doubt even when circumstances contradict the promise. This framework prevents both passivity and despair.

What the Olive Press Reveals About Pressure

The name Gethsemane means olive press, and the pastor draws a powerful parallel between Jesus being crushed there and the crushing seasons believers experience. When an olive berry is pressed, the result is oil that lights lamps and flavors food. What looks like destruction is actually the precondition for usefulness and blessing. Jesus did not waste the strength the angels brought him; he used it to pray more earnestly and draw closer to the Father ahead of the cross. The exhortation is direct: when God sends relief in a hard season, do not spend that strength on relief alone. Use it to press deeper into prayer and trust, because glory follows that kind of response.

Glory Given to New Creations in Christ

The teaching moves into careful biblical ground when addressing God’s statement in Isaiah 42:8 that he will give his glory to no one. The pastor argues this applies to unredeemed humanity under the curse but not to new creations in Christ. John 17:22 records Jesus explicitly giving the glory the Father gave him to those who believe, so that they might be one as the Father and Son are one. 2 Corinthians 3:18 confirms the mechanism: beholding the Lord in his word transforms believers from glory to glory by the Spirit. This is not a claim to independent glory but to a derived, relational glory that comes from genuine union with God through Christ.

Repentance as Direction Not Emotion

The unpacking of the Greek compound metanoeo reframes repentance entirely. Meta means to follow together, and noeo means to exercise the mind toward comprehension and decisive action. The pastor illustrates with a story of driving a car down a clearly inadvisable winter road despite knowing better, a picture of thinking correctly but not acting correctly. Real repentance is not remorse that leaves you standing in the same place. It is a reorientation of direction, a turning to follow Jesus rather than expecting Jesus to follow you into choices already made. This distinction unlocks why some believers feel stuck despite sincere emotion: emotion without directional change leaves the fallow ground untouched.

The Soul as Gateway to Manifestation

The tripartite understanding of spirit, soul, and body gives the closing section of the sermon its practical weight. The reborn spirit is already perfectly united with God, carrying eternal Zoe life. The body is constantly in contact with a corrupted world. Between them sits the soul, the mind, will, and emotions, and it is the soul that determines the direction of flow. Attention paid to God’s word allows glory to flow outward from the spirit into the world. Attention given to worldly goods, self-promotion, and fear allows corruption to flow inward. First John 2:15-17 is quoted to confirm that love of the world squeezes out love for the Father, making the daily discipline of where attention is placed a matter of spiritual life or stagnation.

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