1. Solid Steps of Christian Growth A Study of 2 Peter 1:1-11

2. God’s Call to Spiritual Growth 2Peter 1:3-11 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. John 15:8

3. Add to Your Knowledge Temperance – Part 2 A Life … “Under Control” Surrendering Your ‘Self’ to God’s Will and Your Attitude to God’s Holy Spirit 2 Peter 1:6

4. Review  We all start off spiritually DEAD – religious yes, but still… sinful, and separated from God. Then we hear the Gospel (what Jesus did for you)…  Respond IN FAITH – faith alone, believing God, crying out to Him to save you from judgment! Receiving perfect forgiveness and a new birth!  We are supposed to start adding to our faith, VIRTUE (The Inner Strength To Do Right)  Next we need to add to our virtue KNOWLEDGE (Personally knowing something to be true, not just accepting it as true)

5. Temperance Means… Surrendering my ‘Self’ to God’s Will, and my Attitude to God’s Holy Spirit  Control – Who is in Charge of my life?  Balance – Careful to not burn out  Grace – Handling failure Results in My Life being Truly Free

6. Introduction – Temperance? Acts 24:25  The apostle Paul not only preached about righteousness, and judgment of sin, but of the inability of a person to control themselves when it comes to sin, and their need for a new Master!  The Opposites of Temperance Out of Control Undisciplined Unruly Chaotic Lawless HELLO? That’s our society! Under God’s Control

7. Temperance is More Than Self-Control 2Timothy 2:24-26  Majority of all people are SLAVES! To their habits – think, do, and feel the way they have since childhood – can’t do any differently To their peers – never stand on their own To satanic pressures – fears, worries, inhibitions  Self-Control is good… but it’s not the best! Great men are under control (disciplined)! But Self is flawed by sinful nature… will let you down Otherwise Adam and Eve would have obeyed  Temperance is Placing Yourself under a Stronger Master than Yourself (Luke 11:21,22)…  And living by His commands, and in His fear

8. Yielding to the Right Authority (Romans 6:11-18) Become Unresponsive (Dead) to… Live for the thrill of… Sin – what you know to be wrong World – anything that is not of Christ (like Drink, Drugs, Sex before marriage) Flesh – self-serving interests Lusts – pleasure first Bad habits – what you do naturally like Laziness Bitterness and habitual anger DUNG (Philippians 3:8) God (Creator of this universe) Righteousness – doing things right Grace - being allowed another chance Heaven (Colossians 3) Soul-Winning – just one soul A Family! Pleasing God – “Well done…” Making a difference (like a Doctor) Saving our generation PRICELESS

9. Principles of Submission  There are two kings who seek to rule your life One is Satan – disguised as SELF and rebellion The other is Jesus – meek and lowly  You are a servant of one or the other – no middle ground  You are the servant to that which you obey The Pillow The Euro The fear of failures The fear of man  No Christian is to be under the dominion of any sin (Romans 6:14)  The moment you got saved, you became the servant of righteousness – stay there, and serve THAT King!

10. Balance in the Christian Life (1Corinthians 9:24-27)  Most of us are imbalanced (Hosea 7:8)  A Christian is a unique kind of a person  The Real Prize (1Cor 9:24; Philippians 3:13,14; Hebrews 12:1,2) An Eternal Prize – lasts forever A priceless prize – up to five crowns Worth everything you may go through  Striving for the Mastery (1Cor 9:25)

11. Striving for the Mastery  God wants us Temperate (Balanced) in all areas of our life Our Time (Eph 5:15,16) Our Thoughts (Philippians 4:8) Our Attitudes (Philippians 3:13,14) Our Money Our Actions – for the Lord first, then for others, and lastly for self – that’s the right balance  Keeping under my body (1Cor 9:26,27) There are Priority Balancing Measures every Christian needs to put in action To bring it into subjection – bring it back into balance These are things a Christian must do certainly – specifically – not stabs in the dark, but targets and goals to aim for We will talk about these at the end

12. Having Grace  What about failures in our lives?  Temperance means that you do not ever give up on either yourself, or on others  Temperance means that you know you are but dust (Psalm 103:14)  And even at our best, we are still nothing (Psalm 39:5)  So… Have Grace – give people lots of second chances – both to yourselves, and to each other Seek Grace in your life – be soft about failures - and be soft in seeking forgiveness for failures  A temperate Christian is not a harsh, or angry, or bitter person at all!

13. Conclusion – Developing Temperance (Balance)  Prioritize – Decide What’s Really Important to Do, and then keep Doing THAT  Pray About Everything – don’t rush, and live by knee-jerk actions  Pursue lots of guidance - because of blind- spots  Practice the 80/20 rule