Knowledge, Self-control and Perseverance

Good morning,  we are all familiar with the phrase " knowledge is power" Yes it's not part of the fruit of the Spirit but I think we all agree that knowledge is very important. Allow me today to say a few things just to get you thinking about it.

The Bible says to your faith add virtue,  to virtue add knowledge and to knowledge add self-control.  To self-control add Perseverance.  Is it because the above go hand in hand? Knowledge on its own is not enough.  Knowledge on its own does not have the power to change your life, but the applied knowledge in a situation has the power to change that situation.  

The Bible says King Solomon was the wisest and richest King in his time.  Solomon knew that he should not marry outside his belief, yet scripture informs us that: from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.

I Kings 11:2 NKJV. He knew but still did it, knowledge on its own was not enough.

Let's bring it home,  how many times did you do something that you know is wrong or it's not good for you but you did it anyway and had to deal with the consequences later on.  We see this in the book of Romans 7

I do not understand what I do; for I don't do what I would like to do, but instead I do what I hate. Since what I do is what I don't want to do, this shows that I agree that the Law is right.

Romans 7:15‭-‬16 GNB

See the Bible can relate to you,  time and again we find ourselves doing things we don't want to do and the things we want to do we don't do.  So the fact that I know something does not mean I will do what is right.  

Please don't get me wrong we need knowledge but knowing is not enough we need self-control to apply the knowledge in the situation for us to see the power or result of the knowledge.  Hence my argument is, it is applied knowledge that is powerful not knowledge alone.

Like Paul says after preaching I discipline my body so that I do not become disqualified.  Why?  because he can preach a powerful sermon and fail to apply the knowledge he has and became disqualified at the end.  There is your answer about preachers who preach powerful sermons but later be caught in a scandal.  After getting knowledge we need to discipline ourselves and have enough control over our bodies to apply the gained knowledge.  

But the fact that I was self-controlled today does not guarantee that even tomorrow I will be self-controlled in the same situation, this is where Perseverance comes in.  We then need to add Perseverance to self-control for us to continually see the desired results. 

What am I saying let us gain knowledge, with the help of the Holy Spirit apply that knowledge even when our mortal bodies want the complete opposite. Continue applying the gained knowledge even when the situation is not favorable. 

In closure, the Bible says the word of God is alive and powerful,  sharper than any edged sword.  How many Sundays have you been in the church sat and listened to the word but you or your situation has not changed.  The Bible again says God is not a liar and I believe and love the scripture that says let every man be a liar and let God be true.  So when God says his word is powerful and I don't see the results then I need to question myself.  

The Bible says we must not be only hearers of the word but we must be doers of the word.  Because if you only hear and don't do, the Bible likens you to a man who looks at himself in the mirror and when he walks away he has forgotten what he looks like.  

How then do we get to see the power of knowledge? It is through continuous application of the relevant knowledge to a situation. Knowing is not enough we need to live this knowledge then we will see the result. 

Salute