Chapter 2 from “Fully Equipped: Having What It Takes to Give Your All” The lesson every young man must know.
by Luke Knickerbocker
I am so grateful for my parents who trained me in the way that I should go. My dad has been a preacher all of my life. He not only has taught me God’s Word, but has exemplified it in his daily life. My mother consistently reads God’s Word and prays for me. The most valuable lessons I have learned in life have been taught to me from the Bible. The following verses that Paul wrote to Timothy describe my personal testimony.
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (II Timothy 3:14-17)
Notice the progression “from a child” in verse 14 to becoming “the man of God” in verse 17. The necessary ingredient to coming to maturity and becoming equipped for the ministry is the Word of God. The Holy Bible must be the cistern from which we drink on a daily basis, if we are to grow spiritually. If we want to be obedient to the will of God, we first must hear and know His Word.
13 Valuable lessons every young man should learn
My dad and I are cut out of the same mold, and share many of the same interests. So it was natural for me to want to follow my dad’s footsteps as he has followed Christ. I have learned how to teach enthusiastically, listen compassionately, and witness boldly from mere observation of his life. I got my love for writing and music from him (he is an accomplished author, musician, and song writer). He taught me to play the guitar when I was twelve years old, and he helped me buy a banjo at age fourteen. This has been an invaluable asset in ministry. But it was my dad who allowed me to prove myself and “get my feet wet” giving me opportunities to publicly serve in the church. Below is a list of lessons that every young man should learn.
Learning Hard Work
The 1st Lesson Every Young Man Should Know
An early lesson that I learned was the discipline of work. When I was ten years old, we moved from Vermont to Florida to help my Grandfather at the church he pastored. The church and school property had five acres, so there was a lot of mowing to be done. As a teenager, I had plenty of opportunities to “serve the Lord” out in the hot sun. At age thirteen, my dad encouraged me to start going around the neighborhood and offering my services to mow grass and do other yard work.
An elderly widow next door agreed to pay me $4.25 an hour to mow her yard. Since I moved so fast, I would finish the big yard in less than two hours. I soon realized that it might be a little wiser to get paid by the job instead of by the hour. I talked it over with my dad who told me I needed to let her know how I felt and ask her to raise the price. Talking about money has never been my thing, and this was extremely hard. But it had to be done, so I went and shared my concerns. Thankfully, she understood, and we worked out a fair price for the job. I pulled weeds and spent hours working in her yard.
It wasn’t long until I had several yards to mow and many other people paid me to rake leaves or any other odd jobs needing to be done. I learned many skills – especially a good work ethic – and developed character traits of honesty and integrity. Of course, I would witness to the people who employed me. One lady eventually got saved after I had gone to college. She told me that she even became quite involved in her local church!
Learning to Listen
The 2nd Lesson Every Young Man Should Know
There were some successful businessmen that hired me for odd jobs. They had been around the block a time or two and had many things to teach me. Probably the hardest thing to do as a young person is to listen to instructions. It’s not always easy to have someone tell you how to do a task – especially when you think that you already know how to do it! But it is so important to have a submissive spirit and learn to listen to authority.
I’ll never forget the statement of Mr. Tison who was showing me a tip on efficient gardening. He showed me that after I dug the hole, I should fill it with water before planting the pot. I previously would have planted a flower, filled in the dirt, then stood with a water hose over the dirt. Most of the water would go in any other direction except downward! He told me “to work smarter, not harder”. I never forgot that, as sometimes there is a better way than what seems to be the quickest way.
Learning to Budget
The 3rd Lesson Every Young Man Should Know
As I started to have an income, my dad was sure to teach me to budget my money. The first 10% obviously would be the tithe. 20% had to be saved for college. I began giving 10% to missions and would increase it thereafter. I was also saving up for a new guitar, so that didn’t leave a whole lot to be wasted. A vehicle was never on my priority list. In fact, I wouldn’t even get my first car until I was out of Bible College! I guess you could chalk it up to priorities.
Eventually, the family mower would not suffice for my jobs, so I bought my own mower. Learning to budget and save is a lost art, but important if you want to serve God. Don’t fall in the trap of getting into debt! So many people are limited and restricted to their usefulness because they are in bondage to their creditors.
Learning to Lose
The 4th Lesson Every Young Man Should Know
I learned a hard lesson about loss, as my mower was stolen, then another time when my bike was stolen. It’s good to learn to earn things, but as a servant of God, I need to be prepared to have things taken away. Loss of money is not a fun lesson, but a good one. Be able to let go of things; after all, they are temporary!
Growing up, I always enjoyed playing sports. I was a little too competitive and remember crying after losing games in the Little League. As time went on, I learned that keeping a good testimony was more important than the outcome of a game. Be a good sport and learn to congratulate others when they win! Learn to lose graciously.
These are 13 valuable lessons every young man should know.
Learning to obey
The 5th Lesson Every Young Man Should Know
My dad always helped me keep the right priorities in life. We would always be in church Sunday mornings, evenings, and Wednesday night services. During the Little League season, I would have to leave after the 3rd inning on Wednesday nights. I would quickly bike home, change out of my uniform, and head to our mid-week service with our church. Although I would have loved to play the whole game, I was just happy that I could play for half the game on Wednesdays. I always knew that church was more important than sports!
As a teenager, I had to forfeit some privileges for the sake of attending our Christian school and honoring my dad. You see, I really longed to play for our local county high school football team. In fact, another pastor’s son in our town who home-schooled was allowed to play. But my dad emphatically refused to let me pursue any possibilities of trying out for the team.
His biggest concerns were my health and purity. Although, it was a tough thing to accept at the time, I believe God spared me from some things that I would either regret morally or physical injuries that may have hindered my ministry – especially in the mountains.
Interestingly enough, I learned that my Christian friend who played football on the high school team also became a foreign missionary. Sadly, he has had bad headaches which have affected him ever since his football playing days. I am glad I learned to listen and now I appreciate my father’s decision not to let me play tackle football.
Learning to lead
The 6th Lesson Every Young Man Should Know
During my high school years, I had the opportunity to attend a small Christian school at Maranatha Baptist Church where my grandfather pastored. For a while, some of us would meet on Wednesdays at lunch time where I would lead a short devotional and prayer. This was a good experience learning to lead a small group.
Living near my Grandparents came with the privilege of spending nights at their house. They didn’t have much in a worldly sense, but they had God! My Grandpa Knickerbocker would sit and read Scripture with me before getting on our knees to pray. He would always ask me to list ten things I was thankful for. (This didn’t always make me thankful!) But wherever we went, he faithfully witnessed to the banker, the neighbor, the waitress – everyone! He always had a song on his heart and a Gospel tract in his pocket!
Leading a church service
I’ll never forget the opportunities my Grandfather gave me. I especially enjoyed leading the singing for our teen activities that he hosted at the church he pastored. When I was age fourteen, my Grandfather was sick one Wednesday, and asked me to lead the whole service! This included leading music and preaching the Bible message.
My grandmother died in a car accident when I was fifteen, and my grandfather had sustained some severe injuries including broken ribs. I got to spend a lot of time helping him and bonding with him. I remember counseling with him as he was quite bitter about the judge who had blamed him for the auto accident and made him take classes to restore his license. We read Matthew 5:44 which tells us to love our enemies and pray for them which despitefully use us. I think it helped.
Learning from Godly Heroes
The 7th Lesson Every Young Man Should Know
My grandfather had made his five sons learn a large portion of the famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards. So in 10th grade, I too had the job of memorizing it for our closing program. I also got to be familiar with sermons by Charles Spurgeon and books by R.A. Torrey and D.L. Moody on the topic of being filled with the Spirit. My grandfather always raved about the book Power of Pentecost by John R. Rice. Someone said, “You are what you eat”. This is true about books, “You become what you read”.
Learning to give Gospel tracts
The 8th Lesson Every Young Man Should Know
I enjoyed speaking to others of Christ. I remember going with our Assistant Pastor, Dr. David Bedell to our local high school when they let out one day. We walked on the property and started giving out gospel tracts (no doubt illegally). We left before getting kicked out. Certainly I had more zeal than knowledge! We had many wonderful times visiting the bus route and sharing the Gospel with people through Gospel tracts.
The Power of a Personal Testimony
One time while I was in sixth grade, our church was out soul winning on Saturday. This was normal as we would make bus visits and knock doors. I’ll never forget meeting a Jehovah Witness family and debating a girl who was a senior in high school. I felt like I held my ground, but wasn’t being very convincing. When her dad came out, I had no chance. He was saying things I had no answer for and even denied that the Book of Hebrews belonged in the Bible! Finally my mom came to my rescue when she drove up. She calmly shared how God had saved her and changed her life. After my mom finished we left without dispute. I learned a very valuable lesson that day. The power of a personal testimony cannot be discredited! At least my mom planted a seed that day of the power of the Gospel.
There were some good things that happened. I remember handing a Gospel tract to a young man named Frank. He took it home to his dad. Frank’s dad and mom visited our church and joined, soon becoming the church treasurer. Then Frank’s Brother in law got saved and eventually drove our church van picking up children for Sunday School! Recently I heard from Frank that he now has a camp ministry for the vulnerable in need of restoration. You just never know who you may impact as you faithfully serve God and give out Gospel tracts!
Learning to serve
The 9th Lesson Every Young Man Should Know
Now I believe in having fun and enjoying life. We must follow the Bible principle of service if we would like to be happy. Christ gave us the example of a servant’s heart when he washed the disciple’s feet. He then said, “Happy are ye if ye know these things and do them.” The key to happiness for any believer is service. I have learned the joy that comes with serving others. Anyone wanting to be used by God must realize that every job is important in God’s eyes. We must not think ourselves too important to perform the most menial tasks.
Learning a foreign language
The 10th Lesson Every Young Man Should Know
God blessed me with the opportunity to be around missionaries a lot. Specifically, Joe and Michelle Parrock, former missionaries to Costa Rica came and taught at our Christian school. I got to learn a lot of Spanish during my sixth grade year, where we learned many Bible verses! Our final test was to give our personal testimony in Spanish, quoting verses from the Romans Road from memory! Our classes were similar to the old “one room schoolhouse”, Joe Parrock taught most of our classes when I was in seventh grade. He would tell us many stories of the mission field, creating a hunger that I would never be able to abandon. What an influence his family had on my life!
Many years after high school, I was on furlough visiting a supporting church in Georgia. I did not realize another missionary family was there the same day reporting on their work in Costa Rica. What a surprise when I found out that my former teachers were once again serving on the foreign field! That day we got to both minister to a church as fellow visiting missionaries!
Learning other cultures
The 11th Lesson Every Young Man Should Know
At age fifteen, I was visiting the Spanish community with Brother Gibby Trevino, who currently was leading a Spanish ministry at my Grandfather’s church. He was starting services on Thursday evenings where my dad pastored nearby, and I played the guitar for the meetings. Shortly after he began these services, he was fatally shot in his home. At his funeral, I was given the honor to share a testimony about his life. I’ll never forget the excitement of visiting the homes of many migrant workers. I would hear them converse in a different language, and smell the tortillas cooking. I just grew to love the people and thought, “Maybe I’ll be a missionary to these people.”
After Brother Trevino passed away, Brother Abel Ramos began to hold services. What a wonderful friendship we formed. Years later, when I pastored in a nearby town, Brother Ramos would attend our church and again we were able make visits to the Spanish speaking community!
Learning to speak out
The 12th Lesson Every Young Man Should Know
When I was 16, our town had a big clash over the selling of alcohol on Sundays. My dad and several other pastors in town, along with some folks from our church went to make our stand against the evils and effects of alcohol on our community. I was given a few minutes to share from a teenager’s perspective of why I thought it was a wrong example to my generation. The local newspaper even included a quote from my remarks! It is a very healthy exercise to learn to defend your beliefs and articulate them to others.
Learning to Write
The 13th Lesson Every Young Man Should Know
Ever since I was in grade school, I found that Spelling was a subject that I enjoyed. In high school, I had Anna Irwin as my literature teacher who was proficient in grammar. She challenged us students to be good writers. We would take articles from the newspaper and have to write opposing viewpoints.
I remember writing about what was wrong with the sensuality in WWF wrestling, why the local high school boys shouldn’t have a fashion show modeling in women’s attire, and what was wrong with the sodomite groups having their own clubs in school. I doubt the newspaper ever printed those, but I sure enjoyed the assignment! A good lesson here is to realize what you are good at and enjoy…for therein you may be discovering your spiritual gift!
As I reminisce on many of these experiences in my teen years, I see how God has used these to make me and prepare me as His servant in later ministry. I have written articles for the local newspaper, Gospel tracts for unbelievers, and books to help strengthen the faith of believers. Go here to see some of these projects.
Concluding thoughts
A final lesson for every young man to chew on
If you are going to be fully equipped, you simply must have a teachable spirit. There are some things you must learn that the Lord will use to qualify you for whatever tasks he calls you to do. As it is necessary that the Bible be your instruction manual, it is just as significant that those who teach and mentor you be Godly and Biblically sound. Don’t underestimate the opportunities to learn skills, whether it’s a musical instrument, speaking, writing, or budgeting.
Be sure to watch the video that accompanies this chapter titled “A Vessel Unto Honor”.
You may read the Introduction and Chapter 1 of this series “Fully Equipped” here.
About the author:
Luke graduated from Crown College of the Bible in 2003. He married Jamie in July of 2006. God has blessed them with five children. Together they had the privilege of serving in the pastorate of a Baptist Church in Florida from 2007-2011.
In August of 2011, our family began our journey to serve the Lord as labourers among Unreached People Groups in Asia. We prepared ourselves at Baptist Bible Translator’s Institute in Bowie, Texas. During that time, God directed our path to work among the Tibetan people in the country of Nepal.
In February of 2014, we moved to Kathmandu, Nepal and experienced God’s work of grace and protection upon our family. We had the privilege to serve at the Crown Nepal Bible College. Teaching classes and preaching at youth conferences was a great opportunity for our family. We also were able to assist in outreaches to villages of the Tamang and Gurung people.
In 2021, we moved to Tampa, Florida. We currently are serving in our home church Southside Baptist Church and teach in the Christian Academy. Luke continues his writing ministry (www.pilgrimoftruth.com) and video messages on his YouTube channel (Pilgrim of Truth). His goal is to aid believers in making Christ known to the world. He continues to seek to assist churches in America. His heart’s desire is to help meet the needs of the unreached people groups in the world.
