Giving all Diligence add temperance

In this transcription, the speaker discusses the importance of adding temperance to one's faith in order to live a fruitful and grounded life in Christ. Temperance is described as self-control and moderation in thoughts, actions, and feelings. The speaker references scripture passages such as Romans 12:1-2 and 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 to illustrate how temperance can be applied in daily life. The ultimate goal is to live under the authority of Christ and not be conformed to the world. In 2 Corinthians chapter 10, excuse me, verse 5, it says this, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, and having in readiness to revenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled, do you look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trusts himself that he is Christ, let him of himself think this again, that he is Christ, even so are we Christ. Let's go to God in prayer. Lord, we come to you now and just thank you for this day. I thank you for all that you've done for us, Lord, on the cross, that you've died, that we may have life and life more abundantly, and that we may be able to come and be reconciled to you. Lord, I just pray that if there's anybody listening to this tonight, that anybody here that desires to grow their faith, that they'll take heart to it. Lord, if there's any that need salvation, that Lord, they'll make that decision tonight as well. I pray that you'll be with those that are sick, that are away from us this evening, that they'll be able to get back with us soon, that we'll fellowship again together. I pray, Lord, I ask you to just use me as an instrument, God, that you may be glorified in everything. I praise you for Jesus' salvation in him and hope in his resurrection. Amen. So, in 2 Peter, we've been continuing this idea of how to be fruitful. It says to do it, you have to do it with all diligence. 2 Peter chapter 1, of course, says this, that if we are to be fruitful, that if we are to grow as Christ desires us to, that if we are to be confident and to not fall, we sort out and we look in verse 5, it says to add all of these things or take in a part with to our salvation, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue and to your virtue knowledge. And tonight, what we're going to be discussing is temperance. It says add to your faith temperance. Why? We see this in verse 8 and just as we had just briefly mentioned, for if these things be in you and abound, they make you that you shall not neither be barren nor unfruitful in all knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, but he that lacks these things is blind and cannot see afar off and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore, the rather brethren give diligence, that word again, to make your calling and election sure for if you do these things, you shall never fall. Of course, all these things that it's saying that to add to your faith, we do know and I would like to revise this is that it's not saying we need these things to have salvation, but rather that we may grow deeper and more grounded in our faith for the Lord Jesus Christ. In the last several months that we have been able to get into this portion of Scripture, we've discussed virtue. Of course, what is virtue? Just to recap and review on this. What is virtue? It's that highest good. It's the best of the best that there is. And we were told to seek that with all diligence, but that's that we can seek the best. And then it also says. And knowledge, of course, we had discussed a couple weeks ago, knowledge is is not necessarily taking information and knowing how to use it, but rather just to know about something. OK, so we're not only going to be seeking virtue with all diligence. We're also going to be learning about what that what is virtuous, what is the best best and where can we find that? Of course, God tells us everything we need to know and tells us what is the best. He describes it in his word. In this idea of growing in knowledge, we're not only growing in knowledge of what is good, but also those things that can cause us to falter, can cause us to fall. They're ultimately pursuing the best things, the greatest things. The things of the Lord Jesus Christ, the things of God that he desires that we add to our faith. And now that we understand the virtue and knowledge, what do we do from here? The next thing that Peter says to add in is temperance, is temperance. Now, commonly, well, I'm getting ahead of myself, so we'll describe what is temperance here in a second though, but to diligently add temperance. When we diligently add temperance, we can conquer the flesh, the world, the devil, and in our lives and live abundantly under the authority of Christ. So now what is temperance? Of course, temperance isn't that idea of being to being able to endure. Commonly we, or at least I thought when I heard temperance, I'm thinking of the temper on a blade, how the temper of a piece of metal, I think I'm saying that right, maybe I'm not, but I'm thinking of something of endurance, something that can stand and withstand and keep on its strength, keep its strength going, but rather temperance isn't that idea of withstanding, but rather it's of something else. Temperance as described in the dictionary, it's moderation in action, thought, or feeling, in other words, restraint. That's according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. In my idea of just putting it simply, it's self-control, being able to control oneself. In our houses, we have thermometers, we have thermostats, and we set a temperature. We put a restraint on the climates within our homes in this sanctuary to maintain it within a certain degree, or right now what is it, 72 degrees in here. Temperance. Okay, so I'm thinking it is a little bit cold in here, maybe not 72. Thank you, Brother Philip. But with that said, it's that idea of control. Where do we see this idea of temperance demonstrated in the Word of God? Is it there? I would say it is. It's demonstrated for us in many different ways, and I'm going to bring up two examples that we see, Romans chapter 12, verse 1, where we're described this idea of temperance, being tempered. Romans chapter 12, verse 1. If you will turn there with me. It says this, I beseech you therefore, brethren, and I think we can just about all quote this, by the mercies of God, that you present yourselves to the living sacrifice wholly accessible unto God, which is your reasonable service. Now notice it says that I beseech you, brethren, that you present your bodies for, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies to the living sacrifice wholly accessible unto God, which is your reasonable service. We're seeking God. We're seeking to present ourselves to God. We're seeking to follow Him. Okay? So just in that idea, we seek the best of the best. We seek to diligently add knowledge to our faith. We're going to understand God, and we're trying to understand what He desires for us. And then it says in verse 2, be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind. So as we understand the best of the best, we understand the virtuous things that God has for us and that God desires for us. And we understand knowledge. We know what God has in His Word. We know the things that are against us. We know the things that are for us. We know that God's for us. The world's against us. We know that our flesh may rise up, but we also know that the Holy Spirit is there to be with us, to help us to conquer the flesh. We have all this stuff that we can apply in our daily life through the knowledge. And by having that knowledge, we can apply temperance, control, that we may not be conformed to the world, controlled by the world, but we may be transformed, controlled by the Holy Spirit that's within us and by the Lord Jesus Christ as we submit to Him. And all this control gets into that idea of patience or to be able to withstand. Of course, it says to be transformed by renewing the mind. And of course, that's a sermon for another day. We're talking about temperance tonight. 1 Corinthians 9 24-27, if you will turn there with me briefly. I think this is a very clear example where we see temperance displayed in the Word of God. How do we see it carried out? 1 Corinthians 9 24, Paul speaking to the church of Corinth says, Know you not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain. Now, Paul's talking about this idea of a sport, a competition. Raise your hand if you've played any sports growing up. We've got just about all of us, okay? So sports have rules, right? You've got to know the rules to play the game. And beyond that, you can become good at sports beyond knowing the rules and learning how to fine-tune your own self to play the game to success. Me, I played baseball when I was a kid, but you know what? I gave that up pretty quick. I can't associate with something like that. Me, I did archery, and I was reminded the other day on the job when I needed to figure out how to do something. But let's get back to this idea of archery because I can associate with that. And hopefully, you all can as well. In the sport of archery, I know that you're trying to hit the target, and that's the main goal right there. If you hit the target, you're doing pretty good. But it's not all about hitting that target. It's about hitting the bullseye. Now, anybody can pick up a bow, and anybody can shoot a bow, but not just anybody can get it and pick it up and shoot it and hit consistently that bullseye every time. That takes knowledge, knowing how to hold the bow, knowing how to pull it back, how to draw it back, how to release it, what's your form, how should you breathe, how to go about this so that you can have the most consistent shot every time and hit the bullseye. Paul describing, Paul saying here, describing a race, says, I know you not that they which run a race run all, but one receives the prize, so one that you may obtain. Get to know how to live for the Lord. Obtain knowledge that you may apply it and be temperate and live for the Lord. The Lord desires that we love one another, okay? We know that. Now, let's put temperance in there. You see a brother, I had a flat the other day. You see somebody have a flat on the side of the road, and look at that. It's one of your brothers and sisters in Christ. We'll pull over there and stop and help him change the tire. Simple things. Or you see a brother falling or possibly going down the wrong road that's going to take him way far away from God. And in love, you put temperance, you act. And you go on and help that brother. Or you know that the Lord says that it's flawed to steal. And just put it in a simple analogy, the idea of a kid going to the candy store and you see a piece of candy there, but you really want it, but you really don't have the money for it. You grab it and go, or do you leave it sitting on the shelf? The Lord tells us not to steal. Temperance. Restraint. We'll leave that there and buy it as we should. We see that in this idea of running, we know the sport. We know what God, we need to know what God desires for us that we may apply it. Verse 25. And every man that strives for mastery is temperate, is restraintful, is controlled in all things. There is diligent intentionality about it. It doesn't just come about willy-nilly. You have to have your mind set on it. Now, they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. Verse 26. I therefore so run, not as own certainly, so but I, not as one that's beaten there, that I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself shall be a castaway. Paul understood what God desired of him. He had knowledge. And so, in temperance, in parallel to the teaching that Peter is getting across here, he took that knowledge of what God desired for him and applied it that he could run the race that Christ desired for him. And that same idea, that same idea of taking everything we know that God desires of us, we apply it in temperance that we may live for him and be fruitful and that we may not stumble. And so, that's where we see temperance in the Bible. And since this is something that we're needing to do, we need to give diligence to that at the most that we can give. We must also know, and I'll let you know, there is opposition to it. If there wasn't opposition, if it wasn't going to be hard, then I don't think it would have been addressed by Peter. Because if we can be fruitful, we can also be fruitless. And so, what are the oppositions to fruitfulness, to being tempered? I'd like to start out first and foremost with ourselves, the flesh. I'd like to go over to Romans chapter one, if you'll turn there briefly. Romans chapter one, and we're going to see these different things of the flesh that come out that ultimately are in opposition to God, in opposition to our growth spiritually for the Lord Jesus Christ. Starting in verse 21, Romans chapter one, verse 21. It says this, Because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God. Neither were thankful and became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. We see that the flesh, when it comes down to itself, it will deny the Lord. It will go away from Him. We see in our world today, we see even, I was having a discussion with a fellow the other day about creation and all that. How everything has order, everything's so fine-tuned, everything is made the way it is. And how in the world could this be here, like the way it is, from nothing? Someone had to have made it. Someone had to have created it. Someone had to have put in an order. And even scientists that have admitted that all of this had come from nothing. There's no way that it could just appear by itself. Yet, they just still deny and say there is no way there is a God. And especially the God that the Bible describes. We see that the heart is darkened. Jeremiah 17, 9 says the heart is deceitfully wicked. Who can know it? Our flesh, in itself, will rise against us in opposition to the Lord if we are not careful. That's why we need to be transformed by the renewal of our mind, seeking the Lord, applying knowledge, being temperate. Verse 22 of Romans chapter 1, it says that professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. They are sinfully proud. If you will, turn over to Psalm chapter 14. Psalm chapter 14. Here it says, the fool hath said in his heart that there is no God. They are corrupt. They have done abomination, abdominal works. There is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek God. They are all gone aside. They are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. Had all the workers of iniquity no knowledge to eat up my people as they eat bread and call not upon the Lord. Sinfully, sinful pride is built up within our flesh. And if we are not careful, we can allow it to come up against the Lord and what he desires for us. Verse 23 of Romans chapter 1. I'll read verse 22 just to make it flow a little better. Professing themselves to be wise, but became fools and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to a corruptible man and the birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. They sought different corruption, corruptible things. Verse 24. Wherefore, God gave them the uncleanness through the lust of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. And as we go on and we read in verse 25 down to verse 32. I'm not going to give much extra commentary. I think it speaks plainly. What our flesh is capable of. I'm not saying that you participate in any of these, but I'm saying this is what it's capable of. And how it can be such a great opposition if we are not careful. Who changed the truth of God into a lie of worship and served the creature more than the creator. Who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause, God gave them up to vile affections for even their women to change the natural use of that which is against nature. And likewise, also the men leaving the natural use of women burned in their lusts. One for another. Men with men working which is unseemly, receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meek. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, maliciousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whispers, backbiters, haters of God, spiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affections, implacable, unmerciful. Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Ultimately, our flesh, we are allowed to give it place in our lives. To not live in temptance, to not live in restraint and control. It can sadly get to this point in verse 32 where we see we know what God thinks about it. We know what God thinks about the actions that we may be doing. But we really don't care. And we are fruitless, we are barren, and we cannot live for the Lord Jesus Christ as He desires us to. Does this make sense why temperance is so important? And why we have to be extra diligent to seek virtue, seek knowledge, and to apply it in temperance? We also see Satan himself is described as an adversary. He roams as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And then of course we see the world in 1 John 2 verse 16. And I believe I had that verse up there. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the heart, and the thought of life, is not of the Father, but it is of the world. We have so many things against us, so many things that would try to bring us into a fruitless life and bring us down that we may not live for the Lord. As children of God, we have clear adversaries to keep us barren. So what can we do? There's not a lot that we can do but praise the Lord. He's done something. Jesus Christ is described that He's broken the bondage of sin, that chains that once held us. He's described that in John chapter 14 and also John chapter 16, that when I go, I will send a comforter. And He will teach you all things. See, we're not left on our own to live and fight against the flesh and to fight against Satan and to fight against the world. We have been given someone to come with us, not some thing, but someone to come with us, to come alongside us, that we may live for the Lord Jesus Christ in this life and glorify Him with our actions. First John chapter 4 verse 4 says, Greater is He, you are God, little children, and have overcome them. Because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. Because of what Christ did on the cross, because of the salvation that I know that I have and I pray that you have, we have hope and hope, a glorious hope that we may be able to stand firm against the things that would come against us in this world. That we may walk in the Spirit, that we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. That we may be fruitful. Where do we see this applied? Of course, Jesus Himself exemplified it or showed it, demonstrated it to us. In Matthew chapter 4, of course we're not going to, I don't have that scripture up there, but Matthew chapter 4 is the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. And Satan came to Him, he had just fasted for 40 days, he was hungry, he was all get out, he had to have been. He was human, yes, he was God, yes, but he still had to eat while he was in his human flesh. And Satan came up and tempted Him in three ways. And we see how Jesus Christ, He even demonstrated this temperance. Okay, He comes up, Satan, one of the first things He says, here, take this stone and turn it into bread. Okay, sounds reasonable, but Jesus would have been doing something incredibly wrong if He had done it. But how do you know this? Well, He's God, right? But Jesus always sought the best, He always sought the will of the Father, He knew what God wanted. And in that knowledge, in always diligently pursuing the best of the best, He applied it through temperance and said, man may not eat by bread alone. He knew what God desired. He knew what God desired. Okay, so how do we put that in our own level? I know I'm not Jesus, I'm never going to pretend to be Jesus. And I know none of y'all are. But greater is He that is in you than he is that is in the world. If you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you have trusted in His name and have accepted and perceived His salvation by faith in Him and what He has done for us, that He died, He lived, He died and rose again and paid for our sins and given us a way out from the bondage of our sins. If we trust in Him, we have the Holy Spirit, that He resides in us. I'd like to go back to 2 Corinthians 10, verse 5, because I think what Paul says here to the church at Corinth is very pivotal as to how can we be temperate in all things? How can we diligently have temperance? So it's casting down all the imaginations and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God and bringeth into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Bring into captivity every thought in the obedience of Christ. Or in other words, to take every thought that we have, take that thought and put it against the mark of Christ. Put it against what He desires. Put it against what we know that He says. Bring it into obedience. And if it's a sinful thought, say does this work against what Jesus tells me? If it doesn't, keep on following Jesus. Just let that one go. Bury it down. Bring it into obedience to Him. If you can go on to the next verse, or we can read through it again. In having in Him readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. In verse 7. I'm going to go ahead and turn to it. Do you look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trusts himself that he is Christ, let him of himself think this again. That as he is Christ, even so are we Christ. If we are children of God, if you are a child of God, anything that would come up to break us, to make us falter. Whatever it may be. It may be a lie. It may be some other sin. It may be denying Christ. I hope not. Bring that thought captive. Put it up against the standard that Jesus gives us. The knowledge of the word of God, what He has given to us. And say, does this match up with what He says? If not, it's not worth following. And obey the Lord Jesus Christ. Do as Paul did. Not running, not running just willy-nilly, but bringing his body into subjection. Temperance. Giving all diligence at temperance. But to finish it all out. How does temperance fit with knowledge and how does virtue, how does all this come to be? How does this help us to be fruitful instead of fruitless? As we pursue the best good or virtue, we will know it, we'll be able to understand it. We'll be able to, as we're pursuing it of course, we're going to pursue it through the word of God. Seeing what He desires for us, pursuing it in knowledge. And we'll be able to apply it. Temperance. That we may restrain ourselves and transform ourselves to transform our minds to the image of Christ. That we may be fruitful. And as our musicians come forward for the evening, for the invitation this evening. How can you be more temperate? Throw knowledge. Do it diligently. There's a psalm that I'll read to you. I'll say it from the state of the word, but just to kind of go through what it says. It's in the psalms. And what I want you to do is I want you to use it. And you can if you're good enough. If you read the things that are taught and taught in the psalms, if you read the psalms, be my witness that you can serve under the blessing of the word of God that's desired for us. Temperance. When you're at temperance, if there's something that you're saying, hey, you know, this is something that's constantly taught to me in the psalms. I want you to know that. I want you to know that. And trust him. I want you to speak to him. And not only if you don't even just talk to the thing, you don't even just talk to the thing that's taught to you in the psalms. And speak to him. Because if you don't connect with Jesus, it's not going to fall out. And that's what I'm saying from that statement. Page 465. I want you to trust him.