Add to our Faith Temperance

A lot of us have faith even if it's a mustard seed of faith.

But are we adding on to our faith as the Apostle rightly exhorts us to?

I want to go through these additions with you all and I hope it will be edifying (build us up in the Holy Faith)/encouraging.

I would go in the order listed here, but this morning the word Temperance was burning in my heart so I want to start there.

Let's read this first:

2 Peter 1:4-12

[4] Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

[5] And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

[6] And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

[7] And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

[8] For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[9] But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

[10] Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

[11] For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

[12] Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

Wouldn't you agree that this is a very important exhortation?

"for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:"

Sounds like something we should really apply our hearts to.

When we do not take it upon ourselves to be intentionally mindful of these things we will find ourselves in this state:

"But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins."

I am thinking it will be encouraging for us to go through each of these and take time to ponder these words, what they really mean, do we see the fruit of them in our lives, if not, why not? And what do we need to change in our life so these additions to our faith are abounding? That they are not just "in" us, but "abounding" in us!

Definition+of+abound=

abound, verb, əˈbound, exist in large numbers or amounts

So let's start with the word Temperance.

What comes to mind when you hear that word?

Many think of alcohol, drinking in moderation, or food.

But temperance is so much deeper than that.

The dictionary explains it like this:

"Definition of temperance

1: moderation in action, thought, or feeling: RESTRAINT

2a: habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions."

-From:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/temperance

From my personal experience, I would say temperance (within a Christian) in time becomes a natural part of you that is deeply rooted.

Due to this Temperance being deeply rooted inside of you; you become content and satisfied by moderation.

Moderation is defined as "the avoidance of excess or extremes"

You are no longer driven by a passion or desire for something that draws you to an excessive degree. Whether that be food, drink, sex, time spent on the internet, time spent working, time spent playing, talking too much, reading too much... Whatever you are doing may not be sinful in and of itself but in excess, it becomes a snare to your soul.

(Continuing to ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit is important; by His Spirit, we are able to discern what is too much.)

We are called to be partakers of the Divine nature of God. Adding to our faith the things Peter listed can certainly bring us into that Divine nature. Although, it will not if we are performing these things in self-righteous efforts rather than a true change of heart taking place through the Grace of God which is given to the Humble in heart.

We can't think we will attain any of these virtues in their true essence without Humility.

Someone boasting of their ability to be moderate in any of the things does not bring edification, neither does someone secretly seeking attention for their temperate abilities... For example, Eating small portions to be seen of men.

When we have a love for God and Truth and are willing to suffer for both, then when we come to God in true surrender, He can produce these good fruits in us.

These fruits will become a part of our nature wherein we aren't even aware that we are walking in them. Not to say we won't notice the Victory God had given us... It will initially take mindfulness on our part. For example:

I used to be addicted to chocolate, I craved it and felt like it had control of me...I didn't like that sense of something controlling me. So I decided to stop eating it. I went on a very long fast from chocolate. Maybe even over a year? I don't remember how long I abstained from it; I wasn't sure if I would ever eat it again. I did not care, I just wanted to have victory.

I even made chocolate desserts for others and Glory to God He helped me not to lick the chocolate off my fingers while making it for others! I had to resist the cravings for a long time... Until thanks be to God those cravings just went away. One day I just realized I had the victory and I felt at peace that I could eat it again, but this time with temperance.

Facing this addiction head-on really helped me not just with chocolate, but in general, to have temperance in things.

I actually had a dream at the time that I was facing this desire for chocolate. In the dream, I saw that if the intemperate chocolate craving was indulged in it would weaken my ability to resist other temptations such as fornication.

I do believe that the seemingly "little weaknesses" we have in our lives need to be taken more seriously than many realize.

I am sure there are other issues in my life that if I honestly examined myself I would see a need to be more temperate in. So even though as the Apostle Peter said,

"to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them,"

Though we have been taught by the Holy Spirit to be temperate we need to be reminded and we need to keep evaluating our lives to make sure we are walking in what we know...

...so we do not forget and become blind.

Let's take time this week to ponder temperance and see how we are doing with it and seek some refining...then I plan to go over another addition Peter mentioned.

Grace and Peace be Multiplied.