Hosanna Restoration Church

As followers of Christ, it is important that we watch what we practice. When Paul gave the list of the works of the flesh, he ended it by saying that if we practice those things we will not inherit the Kingdom of God. The idea is to practice the fruit of Spirit and as that becomes our focus we will become and less and less adept at the other things.

For instance, if we determine in our hearts that we are going practice love no matter how difficult a situation or a circumstance may be, that love will overcome the desire of our flesh to be contentious, selfish, or hateful. Truly love does cover or eliminate a multitude of sins.

I believe it is safe to say that we practice the things we desire most and the things that we see as most beneficial for our own well being. For instance if we are in line for a promotion, we want to do everything we can to see to it that we get that promotion. A young person practices driving and even studies when they want to get their driver’s license. We may find ourselves practicing kindness or doing favors for someone else if we are hoping for a favor from them. Not all of these examples exemplify proper motive, they are simply to clarify the fact that we practice what we desire most.

It stands to reason then, that we must see inheriting the Kingdom of God as something to be desired in order for us to truly practice the things that supply us the keys of His wonderful Kingdom. Guess who makes the decision to seek the Kingdom of God? Yes it is entirely up to us what and why we decide to practice. But the truth is if we do not choose to practice what God wants us to practice, it will be hard to even recognize that we are on the team.

In the natural realm, if a person is on a team, they have to practice. They can’t just show up on game day and put on their uniform and tell the coach they were practicing on their own and expect to enjoy the benefits of being on the team. Or if a team member is at practice they can’t just wander off and do their own thing and ignore the coach. We cannot just ignore God. We cannot say, “Well I am born again and that is all that I am interested in.”

If we have that sort of an attitude toward the Kingdom of God and the Word of God, what sort of things do you think we will be practicing the most? If we have that kind of attitude, what sort of an example will we be showing to others around us?

A desire for the inheritance that God has for us will cause us to act and speak in a way that is entirely different from the way we were before we came to know God. An understanding of the power of the Word of God in our mouths will help us to practice those words that release the fruit of the spirit into our own lives and the lives of those around us. Yes it requires practice; but it surely is worth the effort.