Podcast Summary: “The Seven Companions of Faith, Part Seven”

Speaker: Pastor Nancy Dufresne
Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Date: April 9, 2020
Episode Theme: Continuing the study of the “Seven Companions of Faith” from 2 Peter 1, Pastor Nancy Dufresne explores how faith must be joined with key virtues—virtue (moral excellence), knowledge, temperance (self-control), and patience—to be truly effective in the Christian life.

Episode Overview

This episode explores the practical outworking of faith as highlighted in 2 Peter 1. Pastor Nancy Dufresne emphasizes that faith alone is not sufficient; it requires the addition of several godly attributes—termed the "supports under the bridge of faith"—to operate fully and produce results. The core aim: to help listeners diagnose and fortify their faith by ensuring these companions are present and well-developed in daily life.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Necessity of Pastoral Presence

• [00:32] Nancy discusses Paul's longing (from 1 Thessalonians 3:10) to see the church in person, underlining the pastoral need to “see your face” in order to help perfect what is lacking in others' faith.
  • Quote:

    “Things that I have for you and things that God has for you through me can’t come through a letter. I’m going to need to see you in person. … That’s why it’s so important that you have a pastor.”
    — Nancy Dufresne [00:36]

The Divine Checklist — Seven Companions of Faith

• [02:10] Nancy transitions to 2 Peter 1:5, where Peter lays out a “divine checklist” for believers—virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.
  • Core analogy: Faith is like a bridge, and these seven things are supports underneath. Missing any weakens the entire structure.

Adding Virtue (Moral Excellence) to Faith

• [03:25] Virtue is defined as moral excellence. Faith cannot substitute for a lack of morality; a faith life must be reinforced by moral choices.

  • Quote:

    “Christians can’t just double up on their faith to substitute for the lack of morality, because these things must be added to faith. … Faith is no substitute for any of the things in this list.”
    — Nancy Dufresne [03:47]

• [05:51] The importance of managing thought life as part of moral excellence:

  • Quote:

    “A disciplined thought life is part of a moral life. Amen. … The first thing he bumps up in this list, right up to this word faith, is morality. So that shows us how important it is.”
    — Nancy Dufresne [06:23]

The Bridge Analogy and Structure

• [06:49] The seven companions act as the supporting pillars for the bridge of faith; if a support is missing, the bridge (faith) is weakened.

  • Quote:

    “If the bridge of faith is compromised … your faith is not going to be as effective as it could be.”
    — Nancy Dufresne [07:05]

• [08:44] Greater development of these supports enables greater faith.

  • “The broader they are, the stronger they are, the more developed they are, [the more] they can support a broader faith flow.”

Responsibility to Add to Faith

• [09:27] It is the believer’s job—not God’s—to add these qualities to faith.

Adding Knowledge

• [09:54] Knowledge is essential because ignorance sabotages faith; God cannot bless ignorance.

  • Quote:

    “God can’t bless ignorance… If we’re going to have strong faith, we have to drive ignorance out… For our faith to grow, our knowledge has to grow.”
    — Nancy Dufresne [10:35]

• The process is lifelong—renewing the mind is a continuous assignment.

Adding Temperance (Self-Control/Balanced Living)

• [12:02] Temperance means restraint, self-control, and balance. Lacking temperance in physical, financial, or relational areas injures faith.

  • Story: Nancy recounts a lesson from “Dad Hagin” about a prominent healing minister whose lack of restraint in diet, finances, and love led to his premature death, despite a powerful faith ministry.
    • Quote from God via Dad Hagin:

      “Go warn him that if he doesn’t judge himself on diet, on how he handles money, and on walking in love toward his fellow ministers, he’s going to die prematurely.”
      — [15:44]

  • Moral: Faith cannot substitute for a lack of self-control in practical life.

• [18:20] Faith and temperance must work together; throwing faith at undisciplined living is fruitless.

• [21:45] Illustrating spiritual imbalance, Nancy gives an example of a woman who neglected active service for “just praying”—showing imbalance is possible even in spiritual endeavors.

Connecting the Dots in Spiritual Life

• [19:36] Narrows in on the need to “connect the dots” in life—if things aren’t working in your faith, trace back and see what changed in your habits or support pillars.

Temperance Keeps One Safe

• [23:13] Simplicity and safety arise from associating with balanced spiritual leaders like Hagin and Sumrall; “Temperance helps keep us in the middle of the road … you’re not in danger of falling in a ditch.”

Adding Patience

• [24:22] Patience is cheerful endurance and the willingness to wait for God’s timing. Impatience leads to error, poor choices, and missed destinies—even marrying or buying the wrong things.

  • Quote:

    “If you’re not patient, you’ll marry the wrong person. If you’re not patient, you’ll get out of the path God authored.”
    — Nancy Dufresne [27:13]

• Personal Story: It was 20 years from a prophecy about TBN to its fulfillment—if she had forced it early, it would have failed, but patience brought it together “easily.”

• Application: Value preparation over instant results—preparation is a privilege, not an inconvenience.

  • Quote:

    “You will only succeed as far as your preparation goes. … So many times people … don’t arrive because they lacked preparation. How come they lacked preparation? They lacked patience.”
    — Nancy Dufresne [32:12]

• Life Example: “Jesus was a carpenter for 30 years … patiently he did what he was not born to do, because God was building a man.”
  — Nancy Dufresne [29:55]

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “Faith is not a one-ingredient recipe. … For our faith to grow, our knowledge has to grow. For our faith to be safe, our knowledge has to be safe.”
  — Nancy Dufresne [04:13, 10:38]

• “You just can’t double up on your faith and throw it at the lack of balance.”
  — Nancy Dufresne [23:28]

• “Patience is your friend. … Patience keeps you safe in the plan of God.”
  — Nancy Dufresne [34:30]

• “Preparation is a privilege… Take the time to feed on the Word and let God work things in you before he launches you into what you were born for.”
  — Nancy Dufresne [31:30]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:32] Importance of seeing believers in person for faith development
• [03:25] Moral excellence as a foundation for faith
• [06:49] The analogy of faith as a bridge and its supports
• [09:54] The role of knowledge in sustaining faith
• [12:02] The importance of temperance and the dangers of imbalance
• [19:36] “Connecting the dots” in one’s life for spiritual troubleshooting
• [24:22] The function and necessity of patience
• [27:13] How impatience leads to detours from God’s plan
• [29:55] Example of Jesus’ patience and preparation
• [32:12] Preparation, patience, and the measure of success

Episode Tone and Takeaways

Pastor Nancy’s teaching is conversational, instructive, and filled with practical examples from her own life and ministry experiences. Her tone is encouraging but straightforward, emphasizing personal responsibility in spiritual growth.

Key Takeaways:

• Faith is only as strong as its supporting virtues; neglect of any companion weakens the outcome.
• Moral excellence, knowledge, self-control (temperance), and patience are essential and non-interchangeable with faith itself.
• God expects believers to actively add these supports; it won’t happen automatically.
• Endurance and patience in preparation are just as spiritual as acts of faith.
• A balanced, self-controlled, and patient walk ensures an “easy flow” of God’s best in life.

For a deeper dive into these principles and more stories, listen to the full episode or visit dufresneministries.org.