Week 26 Kingdom Chat: Faith Supplements
Greetings Fam! It’s time for another Kingdom Chat! The discussion topic for this week is “faith supplements”: the qualities we ought to add to our faith to be effective and productive in our day-to-day lives. This topic was discussed in depth with Pastor Nath Aiyedogbon during the most recent episode of Kingdom Channel (watch the recording HERE if you missed it).
In the physical realm, why do we take supplements? A doctor may recommend vitamin supplement(s) to make your body healthier and stronger. Multivitamin supplements, for example, may be specifically designed to benefit children, women, men, or elderly. As a pregnant woman, for example, it’s strongly recommended that I take a prenatal supplement to ensure that my body has the necessary nutrients to both sustain me and the baby growing inside of me. Other supplements may help combat illnesses or make up for certain deficiencies.
So what is a “faith supplement” and how does it apply in the spiritual realm? The idea of “faith supplements” is derived from 2 Peter 1:5-11, which encourages us to proactively add specific supplements to the faith that we have received from God.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In a nutshell, the faith supplements noted here highlight the importance of developing godly character. During the Kingdom Channel talk, Pastor Aiyedogbon reminded us that some believers want to live on faith alone, but it is faith supplements that make our faith more productive and effective. A life of faith without godly character is not just incomplete, but it is also dangerous. When you operate with a faith engine alone and without godly character, you are bound to crash (1 Tim 1:18-20). We must remember that godly character brings about a sustainable Christian life.
How do we apply these faith supplements? Pastor Aiyedogbon shared some tips around spiritual disciplines, many of which we have discussed in previous Kingdom Chats:
1) Be conscious of your spiritual “diet”. Whether it is sermons, books, music, entertainment, etc., you want to consume good spiritual food that strengthens you and not overload on “sweets” that will negatively impact your spiritual health.
2) Seek out discipleship. Make sure you are maturing in your faith through discipleship and accountability with a mature believer, and that you are likewise that you are training up others behind you.
3) Read, study, and meditate on the Word of God. Remember that reading the Bible doesn’t always feel exciting, but it is a necessary discipline to gain knowledge and understanding.
4) Develop a lifestyle of prayer. Prayer is a critical discipline that helps us to draw closer to God, understand his will for us and develop spiritual strength and stamina.
This teaching about faith supplements is foundational – it points to the core of the life of true believer. No matter where you are in your walk with God, it’s critical to supplement your faith with godly character.
Join the discussion by responding to the questions below:
1) Can you think of a person of faith in the Bible who lacked a necessary “faith supplement”, which then caused them to stumble?
2) Have you personally considered the importance of “faith supplements” in your life? What steps do you want to take to increase in godly character?
- 3 Replies
Thanks @purposefaith for the lovely and insightful summary. It was an inspiring and educating episode on Kingdom channel.
Reflecting on this subject, I thought about the writer, Apostle Peter whom we all know was a kind of impetuous character among the disciples and so had experienced what he is talking about. From walking on water by faith to near drowning because of unbelief; From the revelation that Jesus is the Christ and Son of the living God to being rebuked by Christ for letting the devil speak through him. He notably cut off a man’s ear, denied Christ, then went back to his fising business before he met the risen Christ and his faith and love got revived. He later led the great revival at the upper room, working great miracles and won thousands of souls into God’s Kingdom.What a transformation in a man! So I can imagine why he was the one to admonish us on these faith supplements. These must be his secret elixir.
Personally, I take these to be the foundation as well as the decorations of a mature Christian. While its good to enjoy the largesse of the Kingdom, it is much better to be established on these supplements if we are to live triumphant Christian lives without spot or wrinkles.
Thanks @michael! What an great reflection on the life of Peter. It’s interesting that Scripture recounts all those examples of when he stumbled, and yet he ended up playing such a key in the growth of the early church. I never really thought about what was required for that personal transformation to happen! It’s just shows you that it’s never too late to grow and supplement your faith… God can do such incredible things through us when we are fully committed and consecrated to Him.
This convicts me in many ways. It reminds me that we as Christians are expected to be intentional about growing in godly character. The church emphasizes so much about faith but not godliness. The supplements are a reminder that it’s our responsibility to ensure that we are having all-round growth – spiritual and moral growth. David was an example of lack of self-control. He had faith in God but didn’t have control over his moral life hence he had moral failures but thank God for his grace and mercy. One thing that stands out to me from this message is that we are to seek these supplements. They are not necessarily part of our daily diet which is why they are called supplements. And like supplements, we are to go search and fetch them and be disciplined to practice them habitually.
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