Living Out Your Convictions with Courage

What does it take to remain faithful when the world encourages compromise? Throughout history, God has often used ordinary people to make an extraordinary difference simply because they had the courage to stand firm and the conviction to follow Him. In this message, Pastor Chris Teien teaches from Proverbs 22–24, showing how God's wisdom equips believers to guide the next generation, preserve self-control, persevere after failure, and live intentionally for His glory.

Like a tugboat quietly guiding much larger ships, faithful Christians can influence their families, churches, and communities in powerful ways. God's wisdom teaches that courage is not about being the loudest or strongest person in the room. It is faithfully following Christ every day and trusting Him to use ordinary lives for extraordinary purposes.

In This Message

1. Courage to Guide the Next Generation

Parents, grandparents, and every believer have the opportunity to influence the next generation for Christ. Proverbs teaches us to recognize danger before it comes, train children in God's ways, provide loving and consistent discipline, and model a life of humility and obedience so future generations will faithfully follow the Lord. (Proverbs 22:3–6, 15; Proverbs 23:12–16; Proverbs 29:15)

2. Conviction to Preserve Self-Control

God's wisdom warns that anything controlling our minds or behavior eventually leads us away from Him. Solomon's warnings about alcohol remind believers to exercise self-control, avoid becoming a stumbling block to others, and live under the leadership of the Holy Spirit instead of being mastered by sinful desires. (Proverbs 20:1; Proverbs 23:29–35; 1 Corinthians 8:9–13)

3. Courage to Get Back Up

Faithfulness does not mean never failing. God's people sometimes stumble, but His grace enables them to rise again. Through biblical examples and Proverbs' encouragement, this message reminds believers to stand for what is right, trust God's forgiveness, and persevere with courage after setbacks. (Proverbs 24:8–16)

4. Conviction to Live Intentionally

A neglected field becomes a powerful picture of a neglected life. Instead of drifting spiritually, believers are called to pursue diligence, reject complacency, and intentionally invest their time, gifts, and opportunities in what has lasting, eternal value. (Proverbs 24:30–34)

Takeaway

God rarely changes the world through people who appear extraordinary. More often, He works through ordinary believers who faithfully trust His wisdom day after day. Ask God to give you the courage to stand firm, the conviction to follow His truth, and the faithfulness to influence those around you for Jesus Christ.

Illustrations

• The tugboat that quietly guides massive ships illustrates how faithful Christians can have an influence far greater than their size or position.
• Church trailer safety procedures demonstrate the wisdom of recognizing danger before disaster strikes.
• The neglected field reminds us that spiritual decline usually happens gradually through small acts of neglect rather than one major decision.

Quotes

"God's wisdom gives us the courage to stand firm and the conviction to faithfully follow Him.""The goal isn't punishment. The goal is discipleship.""Permissiveness is not love, and harshness is not love. Biblical parenting rejects both extremes."

Search Topics

Proverbs 22, Proverbs 23, Proverbs 24, Living with Courage and Conviction, Pastor Chris Teien, Christian courage, Christian conviction, biblical wisdom, Christian parenting, self-control, overcoming failure, intentional Christian living, Rockwell Church

Full Episode & Transcript:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2285086/episodes/19552268

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Helping you apply God's Word and follow Jesus in everyday life. Learn more at ChrisTeien.com and Rockwell.church  Find episode transcripts at Well.faith 

Transcript

Chris T 0:16

Screen, it says courage and conviction, and there is a tugboat. You know, tugboats aren't very big, but they are pretty bossy and controlling. Those tugboats can pull the biggest ships around to help them, to guide them, when they break down, to pull them in, push them. Little tugboats can make a big difference. And I was thinking, what if we were like little tugboats? Not the biggest, not the most influential, not the strongest, but that we lived out our courage and we lived out our convictions, and it made a difference. And it even made a difference in the people's lives around us. And when people were broken down in distress, we could help push them towards Jesus and godliness or pull them away towards sin, addiction, and despair and hopelessness. That would be a good thing. In the culture that we live in today, it's often overwhelming. Sometimes you just want to walk away and give up and say, I'm just gonna hide out in my quaint little home in northern Minnesota. Maybe you say things like, I love winter, because then I don't have to see people. So that is a thing that I've heard. But throughout church history, it's the faithful people, not the most influential, but the faithful people who stood up for what they believed in and often made a big difference. So that's what we want to look at. Today, God's wisdom gives us the courage to stand firm and the conviction to faithfully follow Him. So, number one, courage to guide the next generation. Courage to guide the next generation. Now, maybe you have kids and you're like, yeah, I'm there, I need to do that, or you have grandkids, and it's like, yeah, need to influence those grandkids. Maybe you don't have either one of those, but you should still take opportunity to try to guide the next generation because it affects all of us. It affects future voters, it affects our future leaders, it affects our future teachers, and all of these things. And if we could have moral, godly, Christ-following kids that grow up to be that as leaders, wouldn't they make great politicians, wouldn't they make great doctors, wouldn't they make great political leaders, neighbors, and friends, and so many other things to have the courage to guide the next generation? So if you read in Proverbs chapter 22, you would read about these things. A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. So prudent refers to someone who is sensible, discerning, and able to recognize the danger before it arrives. So people need that kind of wisdom. Parents need to pass on that kind of wisdom. Children need that kind of wisdom. Over the years, I've had lots of different safety training in different places that I've worked. And in my last church, one of my elders was a corporate safety coordinator for a very large company. And so safety is important. And so you think about how somebody could get harmed and then what do you do about it. For years at the church plant, we had a trailer that we had all the church stuff in that we rolled these carts out of. And so the trailer was pretty secure when it was attached to a vehicle. But if the trailer was for a long time and somebody just dropped it off and left it, we found out real quick that when the carts are coming towards the back, especially the heavy ones, the trailer will lift up in the front, and that's not safe for anybody. So then we realized that we needed to put jackstands behind the back of the trailer, and we needed to make sure that we put blocks behind the wheels, safety stuff. And then you teach people the safety stuff and that kind of thing. A prudent person foresees danger. Now think about kids, think about teenagers, think about all the things that they're exposed to, all of the opportunities that they may have. From what I understand, the person, the parent, the grandparent, the person who gets there with the first information is often seen as the one with the most credibility at first. So you talk about things that could happen, conflicts that could happen, or if the bully tries to beat you up or take your lunch money, or whatever. What do you do about that? And you work those things through before they happen. The prudent person foresees danger, takes precaution, and helps train up others. Verse 4 True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life. All through Proverbs, if you've been reading, you repeatedly see that God honors the humble. No, it's the humble that God lifts up, that God rewards. Now I know for my children it goes good for me if they live a good life and they're even blessed to lead a life of riches, honor, and long life. That is good all the way around. Want that for all of our kids. Matter of fact, if God provides them with their own riches, then they don't have to always call us and ask for stuff. So that's even better. Maybe you've experienced that before. Verse 5 says, corrupt people walk a thorny, treacherous road, and whoever values life will avoid it. Proverbs repeatedly says that a corrupt life, a wicked life, an evil life, a cheating life will be disappointing, will be hard, will be something that will disappoint you. And again, Solomon was writing this to sons or young men in the kingdom and teaching them how to live their life. But it is applicable to boys and girls, men and women, to know that corrupt people have a hard road ahead. And we don't want that. And then verse six. Verse six, the big one. Verse six, the big one. Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. So to direct or train up carries the idea of dedicating or initiating someone into a particular way of life. And so I we talked about this before in the past, but just this idea that in general, this is the way that it usually works when you teach your children about Christ and godliness and when they truly have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, as they start to go down that road, they will, they might stray away, they might have a spiritual adolescence. There might be a time when they try other things. But usually, often they will come back to it. They will often come back to it. And we need to be ready for them to do that when they've headed in the wrong direction to keep showing them love, keep showing them care, keep trying to call them back. But when they're young, especially when they're young, is the time to teach them, to train them. And even when you're watching things that you might think are innocent kids, movies or TV shows or whatever, you know, geared for children, as you're watching them, maybe you even talk about it afterwards, or maybe you even pause it in certain situations and say, okay, well, that was kind of funny, but if you did that in real life, what do you think the consequences would be? What do you think that the people around them felt about what they chose to do or how they made fun of that person, or that dishonest thing that they did, or that thing they did that was prideful, or that thing they did to get ahead? How do you think that affected them? How do you think that God felt about what they did? What do you think they could do better? And you get them thinking about that on their own, and it's a really great, wonderful thing when the children, the teenagers, and the young adults can think these things through, that they can be discerning, that they can see how things unwind and the relationship effect of the things that they choose to do. So parents and grandparents have one of the biggest responsibilities that God gives anyone, and that's to train the children to be godly, to train them in Christ. Proverbs 22, 15 says, a youngster's heart is filled with foolishness, but physical discipline will drive it far away. Now I know that this can be controversial to some people because it appears when you read through Proverbs that it condones it, says that spanking is a good idea. Now I checked in as far as I know, spanking is still spanking a child without creating harm or marks or any other thing. It's still legal in the state of Minnesota, though, in all wisdom, you should not spank your kids in a public place or in a store in front of a camera. But when you do spank a child, it shouldn't be so hard that it leaves a mark. It shouldn't, it should be something to stop their behavior. Now, how many of you have ever had a toddler that is totally rebellious? And so you tell them not to do something, don't touch that, don't do that, and they have this evil look in their eye as they watch you as they reach out and they're like, What are you gonna do about it? And so then you do something about it. Now, some people say that you should only spank a child with an open hand, and other people say, Oh, you should use a safe object. I knew some people that used a paint stir stick, and that was good. And sometimes with little kids that are super naughty and super rebellious, if you spank the child, again, you're not doing anything to hurt them, but to change their behavior, spank them on the diaper. Some of them will cry, they'll be so sad, they'll be so hurt that you were displeased and that you did that, and they'll change their behavior and they don't want you to do that again because they don't want that to happen. And I tell you, there are some other kids that will look at you and say, if they could speak clearly, say, seriously, is that all you got? That didn't hurt a bit. But, okay, so we're gonna see some passages that talk about discipline and the rod, and some say that, well, actually, the rod is more like a scepter or a shepherd's staff or not a beating stick. But then again, other times in Proverbs, it's very clear that physical discipline is important. But I don't want you to get caught up on that as we read through it, as we look through it. I want you to get more caught up on the fact that you need to have the courage, if you are in the role of the responsibility, to discipline, to do something to guide that child, because so many people nowadays are like, I just don't want to get involved. I don't want the child to not like me, I want them to be happy, oh, it's not really that big a deal, we'll clean it up later. But if you don't train that child when they're young to be respectful, to do what's right, they will grow up to be terrors. If you do not teach your little boys, especially to not hit their mothers when they're little or their siblings, you're gonna have a harder time when they're older, sometimes bigger than you, teenagers or whatnot, to not hit. So, all right, so a youngster's heart is filled with foolishness, a sinful nature. I remember years ago when I was a youth and family pastor, so that was quite a long time ago, I had read this study from the University of Minnesota, actually, that they had acknowledged that kids had a sinful nature, that they were born with a bent towards evil, that without correction in their selfish ways, they will do terrible, mean things, selfish things, greedy things. So, verse 23, Proverbs 20, I'm sorry, Proverbs chapter 23, verse 12. Commit yourself to instruction. Listen carefully to the words of knowledge. So that is the first thing that the parent or grandparent or who's ever, you know, trying to lead these young people, these children, they need to spend time in God's word. They need to be learning it, they need to be living it, they need to know what God wants us to do, and then train that to the children. And it says verse 13 don't fail to discipline your children. The rod of punishment won't kill them. Physical discipline may well save them from death. I mean, you think about that. Physical discipline, self-control in a child as they grow up may keep them from doing something self-destructive and getting killed, and even disobeying God and leading to physical death or even eternal separation from God. But to think about discipline. Discipline, there are so many different ways that discipline affects the child. It teaches that an authority exists, it teaches that actions have consequences, it teaches self-control and respect for others, and more importantly, it prepares the child to understand that every one of us ultimately lives under God's authority. So it's not about breaking the child's spirit, it's about shaping the child's character. The goal isn't punishment, the goal is discipleship. So we should do all that we can to live out that life before the kid. So much is caught more than taught. Sometimes when you ask forgiveness for doing something, the kid catches that and they realize I should ask forgiveness for doing things too. Or when you explain the mistake that you made and how it happened, or how what I just did was prideful, or how I shouldn't have gotten so angry when I was driving, or all of those different things. Sometimes when you talk about that, the kids learn, the kids catch it. The kids learn that you're not perfect, but you know that God sees all you do and that you want to please Him. Those can be good things. So when we talk about discipline too, Proverbs 29, 15 says, Do to discipline a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child. So sometimes the greatest mothers have children that just go out of control. And it's not the norm, but it just seems to happen. And other times the mother has done nothing to discipline the child, and the kid is just a terror. And but disciplining a child is important. So there's different ways to discipline a child, by the way. It's not just spanking a child. Actually, I think my personal opinion, and maybe focus on the families too, is that type of discipline is only for little children. And it's based upon age, but you I don't think there's any reason to be spanking older children. There's so many other things that you can do that work better. My favorite thing is to find the thing the child loves the most and use that as leverage. So it's like, oh, I know you really love riding your bike. If you do that, I'm gonna take your bike away for a week. No, not my bike. Sometimes timeout works really good. You put a kid in the corner and they're in timeout, and they're like, oh, I just want to get on it. I want so many things I want to do. And another kid's in the corner and he's gone off to his own little land of whatnot, and he's just having a good time in the corner. So that one doesn't work. You gotta figure out what works and what doesn't work, and then you use that as leverage. Sometimes rewards work. If you do these things, if you do your homework, you get this reward, and if you don't, then you don't get this thing and you'll miss out. Rewards can be great, but you just figure out what it is that kid loves and what they don't like and use it as leverage. The greatest thing that can happen is when a child cares about you so much that they don't want you to be sad or disappointed. They'll literally be out there in the world where you can't see them and they'll choose not to do a thing, they will choose not or to do the right thing, because they know that if you found out that you would be crushed, that you would be so sad, or that you would be so happy, and that God would be happy. And so that is a goal, that is where we should go. You know, permissiveness is not love, and harshness is not love. Biblical parenting rejects both extremes. God calls parents to provide loving, consistent instruction and correction that points a child to Christ. Proverbs 23, 15, my child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice. Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right. And that is such an awesome thing as you watch your children grow or your grandchildren go, and to see them doing the right things for the right reasons. Hear them telling people about Jesus on their own, not because they were prompted or because there was some reward to train them up in that way. And then when they're trained up in the right way, if you train your children in the right way, then hopefully they'll train up their children, your grandchildren in the right way. And then when they come to visit you at your house, they will be a delight to be around. So that's another reward. All right, so enough about that. Again, there is so many parenting resources out there, and really you need to figure out the kid that is in your life and how God wired him, and what you can use to guide that child to the next to the to godliness. Courage to guide the next generation. Courage. Courage. All right, now next conviction. Conviction to preserve self-control. Conviction to preserve self-control. Proverbs 20, verse 1 says, Wine produces mockers. Alcohol leads to brawls, and those who are led astray by drink cannot be wise. Now, if you are serious about looking through the Bible, you will find that the Bible doesn't necessarily condemn drinking wine or even beer or the type of alcohol they had back then. But the type of alcohol they had back then was not as potent as the stuff they make today. The hard liquor or what are these hard teas or hard lemonades and all these things that are confusing? But nonetheless, so it doesn't necessarily condemn that. You remember Jesus turned the water into wine, but Bible scholars say that there was water added. It wasn't like the type of wine that would get you drunk. You'd have to drink a lot of it. And so the only part in the Bible where anybody is forbidden from drinking alcohol is if you took a Nazarite vow. And Jesus wasn't a Nazarite, he was a Nazarene because he was from the town of Nazareth. So again, the Bible doesn't necessarily forbid drinking, but it doesn't say it's a great idea. Basically, it says things like, it's not fit for kings to drink much wine, but I think in Ecclesiastes it says, give beer to those who are perishing. So how are you living your life? Are you perishing, or do you want to live like a king? And in 1 Corinthians chapter 8, verses 9 through 13, it talks about how you shouldn't do things that would cause a weaker brother to stumble. So if your drinking alcohol causes someone else around you to fall back into a life of sin and addiction, that's not good. God wouldn't be pleased with that. So anything that takes control of your mind, your judgment, or your behavior is dangerous because God intends for him alone to rule your life. So here's how Solomon doesn't just say don't drink. He's like, okay, so wine produces mockers. Alcohol leads to brawls, and those led astray cannot be wise. I mean, think about people that are driving while they're intoxicated, and how much that costs in those tickets and fees and everything else. The thing that is required to blow into to start your ignition and everything. My neighbor had one of those where I used to live. But alcohol leads to violence and assault, domestic abuse, drunk driving crashes, broken families, crime and disorderly conduct, poor judgment and reckless decisions, addiction and dependency, serious physical health problems, and even premature death. Solomon's calling this out 3,000 years ago and saying, you know, guys, sons, even sons and daughters, beware of the wine, beware of the alcohol. And today we could throw in there beware of the drugs, beware of the legalized drugs and the gummies and whatever else. There's just so many things that can cause you to lose your inhibition, to say things you wouldn't say, to do things you wouldn't do, to wake up in the morning and wonder what you did. That's kind of what Solomon talks about here. But as believers, we're supposed to be led by the Spirit, not led by alcohol. So again, in Proverbs 23, you would have read this. Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns trying out new drinks. Alcohol can seem like it is freeing. It helps you after a stressful day. It helps you to unwind. Sometimes it seems like things are more fun and all of these things, but it leads down a dark path, leads to sorrow. Some people are angry drunks, they're always fighting. Some people, when they get drunk, they just talk too much and they're annoying. Often they get hurt and they don't know how. Their body starts to fall apart, explaining the bloodshot eyes. And so it is another warning against that. Solomon continues don't gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, and how smoothly it goes down. For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake. It stings like a viper. So years ago, when I lived here on the Iron Range, before there was a guy who was told if he drank again he was going back to jail. And I was trying to disciple him, and he was coming to Bible study and everything, and he could only ride his bicycle, so I could easily find him, and sometimes he would back. Slide and I'd go find him in the bar and walk into the bar and he'd come out with me and he'd repent and it was good and everything. And so, but one time I found him, the last time I talked to him, and he was in the bar, and he was staring at his beer like he was amorously in love with it. He's like, I don't care what you say, Pastor, I'm not coming out. And that was the last time I saw him. But it leads to destruction, it leads to addiction, it leads to a point where you think you're using it, but eventually you find out that it's using you and you are addicted, and that is a terrible thing. And whatever we can do as believers to help people get out of that, that can be a good thing. Verse 33, Proverbs 23, 33. Again, more about drinking. You will see hallucinations. You will say crazy things. You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. And you will say they hit me, but I didn't feel it. I didn't even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for another drink? That is one of the saddest verses in the Bible that talk about addiction. People are addicted to a lot of different things, but so many times there's the regret. Sometimes there's the hangover. There's the regret, there's the sadness, there's the, oh, I shouldn't do this, and then it flips around an addiction to let's do it again. Let me find another drink. Let me find another, what another pill, or whatever it is that you are addicted to. I like the old saying that sin always promises more than it can deliver, and always costs more than we expected to pay. Solomon says the person pursuing alcohol eventually finds anguish instead of happiness, sorrow instead of joy, and regret instead of wisdom. So you never know when someone's drunk what they're going to remember the next day. So I knew a guy that lived in where I used to live, lived in town, and his wife called me, and she's like, hey, my husband's drunk again, and right now he's on the roof of the house yelling at people, throwing beer bottles at them. Can you come over? So I came over and got him off the roof, came down. We talked for a bit. He was really sad and regretful about it. And I thought the next day he wouldn't remember any of it. But he did remember it. And we got him to go to teen challenge, and he was able to get control over his addiction. And it was good. It was good. So interestingly enough, he chose to go to another church instead of mine because I knew too much. But on the other hand, it was good. And there was one time when he fell off the wagon when his wife was out of town and he called me. He's like, Can you come help me? Can you come get me? And I did. So maybe I was his 2 a.m. friend. I was no longer his pastor, but I was his someone he could call when he needed help. And maybe you could be somebody like that. But yeah, if you can get people into teen challenge, that can be really helpful. All right, Solomon continues. Next, we need to have courage. I'm gonna flip this around. We need to have courage to stand for what's right, and courage to get back up when we fall down. Courage. Courage to stand for what's right. So in Proverbs, it says, and again, we have to have courage because sometimes we're too fearful to do anything. Sometimes we don't want to get involved. We don't know what it's gonna cost. We don't know what the consequences will be. We don't know if it will just be a big mess or if it will turn out good. But Proverbs 24, 11, something you can ponder and think about in your own life and how it applies to you. It says, rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die. Save them as they stagger to their death. Don't excuse yourself by saying, Look, we didn't know, for God understands all hearts and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve. So, what kinds of things could you be standing up for? You could stand up for a coworker who's being criticized, you could report child abuse instead of looking the other way. You could help protect an elderly person who is being financially exploited. You could stand against human trafficking and rescue, help rescue victims or support ministries that rescue victims. You can stand up for the unborn and support mothers facing unplanned pregnancies. You can confront fellow believers who are drifting into sin with gentleness and love. You can share the gospel message with those people, even family members that you know don't want to hear it. You can refuse to participate in gossip when someone's reputation is being destroyed. You can stand for biblical truth even when it costs popularity, promotion, or friendships. You can defend religious liberty and the right to live out religious convictions and so many more things to stand up. So in James 4.17, it says, remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not to do it. So years ago, before I met my wife, I worked these really weird hours, and so I would be like out in the middle of the night grocery shopping because I was working second shift and third shift and everything. And I went to this grocery store, and as I walked into the grocery store, there was this woman, and she's over here and she's crying. And then I got my groceries, not many groceries. It was just me living on my own, didn't have a lot of money. So I'm pretty sure I probably bought my 12-pack of Mountain Dew and my box of Captain Crunch and some peanut butter and bread and walked out the door. So it was short. So my wife is the one who feeds me healthily. But as I was walking out, there she was crying again. I'm like, what's going on? So I said, Are you okay? And she's like, No, no, my husband's being abusive and all this other stuff. And she's, I said, What can we do? I say, should we call the police? And she's like, No, don't do that. And so now when I look back on it, I totally could have been being set up for something, but I was naive and didn't think about that back then. But anyway, she's like, if you could bring me into my friend's house, which was, I don't know what it was, like 15 miles away or whatever, that it would be good, and that it would be good if you could just bring me to my friend's house. I'm like, okay. So she gets in my car and we head down the road, and all of a sudden, I'm going down the highway, and this car flies up on me and like he's gonna try to ram into the side of me. And she's like, That's my husband, he's probably gonna try to kill you. And I'm like, seriously? So we were all all out in this car chase, right? He's trying to chase me. I'm going through red lights. There wasn't any traffic because it was the middle of the night. I'm my little two four-cylinder car is blown up as hot, you know, fast as it can go. And I'm trying to outrun him, and he's off to the side of me again, and it looks like he's gonna ram me. And I always say, why don't they do this in movies? So there is a little traffic behind us. So I just hit the brakes and pulled over on the shoulder for a minute, and he had to move forward with the traffic. And then I got her to her friend's house and everything. And so I hope that she was okay. So I don't even know if that's a good idea to do that nowadays, but it was something that I did because I felt that this woman needed help. And so, what is it in your life that somebody needs help? Because sometimes when you help people and it doesn't even work out, like when the church helps people and it doesn't work out, we can know that God sees and God cares and that we can trust that. And then Proverbs 24, 8 says, A person who plans evil will get a reputation as a troublemaker. The schemes of a fool are sinful. Everyone detests a mocker. If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small. So this is a sign that when you fail under pressure, when you do things that you didn't expect, that your strength is too small. And you need to grow in your strength, you need to grow in your commitment, you need to grow in what you know about God's word and it working in you. And then it goes on. In verse 16, it says, The godly may trip seven times. So in Proverbs and other literature, seven is like a number of completion. So the godly may trip over and over again, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked. And here, here it is, when you fall and you will fall, everybody falls. They give in to temptation, or they say something they shouldn't have said, or they do something they should have done to repent, confess the sin, get up, keep moving forward. David fell, he repented and got back up and served Jesus. Peter denied Jesus, got back up, powerfully served Jesus. John Mark, something happened between he and Paul, and he got kicked out for a bit, but eventually he came back and was very useful to Paul to get back up, to have the courage to get back up. And then finally, the conviction to live intentionally, the conviction to live intentionally. And as I mentioned in a previous sermon, I used to shout this to my children in the morning to get them out of bed. But Solomon writes, I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one with no common sense. I saw that it was overgrown with nettles, it was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down. Then as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson. So Solomon is looking, and he is thinking, and that is something that we need to do. We need to look around and we need to think about things and learn a lesson. We can learn a lesson from people whose lives were messed up, people who made mistakes. We can learn from people who did the right thing. We can learn from people who lived out their lives in such a way that people considered them godly and wise. We can learn that from the people we see, we can learn that from the good Christian books and biographies that we read so many things to learn lessons. But he learned this lesson: a little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit. Scarcity will attack you like an armed robber. How much? Just a little. Just a little. Putting off, reading your Bible, just a little, not spending time in prayer. Just a little not coming to church and doing other things. Just a little. And it seems that it opens the door and a little becomes a little more and a little more, and pretty soon you haven't read your Bible for a week or a month or a year. You haven't been to church for weeks or months or years. You haven't done anything to follow Jesus, serve Jesus, and it can destroy your life. Really think about it. We prepare, we're usually preparers up here, right? As the breeze comes in and the sumac turns red and the leaves start to change, we're like, we need to get ready for winter. We need to winterize stuff. If you got a cabin, maybe you turn off the water and get that all your RV or whatever, you get that all your boat, you get that all ready. You winterize things. Now it'd be wise for most people to get their snow tires or their better tires before the snow flies, but the people at the tire dealership will tell you that everybody comes in for their new tires after the first ice storm. But nonetheless, to not neglect, but to prepare, to do everything you can, to have a conviction, to live intentionally, to think about the things that you want to accomplish in life, the things that you want to get done, the things that you want people to say about you when they come to your funeral or memorial service, the things that are important in growing more like Jesus, to have a plan, not to just coast, not to just go through the motions, think you're too old to accomplish anything, but each day, each month, each year to have goals of things that you want to accomplish, things that you want to do, things that you want to read, maybe even things that you want to memorize from Scripture, those are all good. So again, a courage to guide the next generation, a conviction to preserve self-control, a courage to stand up for what's right and get back when you fall, and a conviction to live intentionally. Those are all good things. 1 Corinthians 16, 13. Be on guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong, and do everything with love. Let me pray, Jesus. I thank you for these people. I thank you for this time. If there's anybody that doesn't know you as our Lord and Savior, Lord, let them come to us or ask us. Grab one of those How to Find God New Testaments. Lord, we want them to know how to come to you, Lord Jesus. For the rest of us, we pray that you would help us to live our lives in such a way that we would influence people and be greatly used of you with the days that we have. And when our days are done, that you would reward us for our faithfulness. So we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.