Be Watchful

INTRODUCTION: During wartime, a SOLDIER on guard duty who lets his guard down, even for just a moment, endangers the entire camp. After long hours in the night, it becomes easy to grow DROWSY or DISTRACTED. He might begin scrolling on his phone, daydreaming, or assuming “nothing will happen tonight.” But the ENEMY waits for that very MOMENT of COMPLACENCY. Men, in the spiritual realm, far too many of us have grown COMFORTABLE on guard duty. We assume that since nothing catastrophic has happened yet, we can ease up. Our eyes grow HEAVY. Our senses DULL. And the ENEMY slips through the GATE.

Paul begins his exhortation to the Corinthian believers with a military COMMAND: “WATCH YE.” The call is to ALERTNESS, because SPIRITUAL WARFARE is REAL, and ETERNITY hangs in the BALANCE.

3-AREAS THAT AS MEN, WE MUST BE WATCHFUL

1. BE WATCHFUL AGAINST SPIRITUAL APATHY

a. One of the greatest TOOLS Satan uses against men is not OPEN PERSECUTION, but QUIET DISTRACTION

and DULLNESS OF HEART.

i. 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,

seeking whom he may devour.”

b. A LION doesn’t chase a herd in its STRENGTH; it STALKS silently, waiting for the WEAK, the DISTANT, the

DISTRACTED.

i. A DISCIPLINED MIND (sober) to think rightly and resist deception.

        ii. AN ALERT SPIRIT (vigilant) to see danger coming and respond wisely.

2. BE WATCHFUL IN PRAYER

a. A man of God keeps a vigilant PRAYER life, because PRAYER tunes our ears to the voice of God and alerts

us to SPIRITUAL DANGER.

i. Colossians 4:2 “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving”

b. PRAYER is not a RITUAL, it’s a WATCHTOWER.

i. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “He who kneels the most, stands the best.”

3. BE WATCHFUL OVER YOUR HOME

a. Adam, in the garden of Eden was given only TWO COMMANDS by God.

i. Genesis 2:15 “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to DRESS IT and to

KEEP IT.”

b. Here, God gives Adam TWO COMMANDS:

i. TO DRESS THE GARDEN (work, cultivate) – a call to stewardship, diligence, and responsibility.

        ii. TO KEEP THE GARDEN (guard, protect) – a call to watchfulness, protection, and faithfulness.