Winning Spiritual Battles God’s Way | Watch, Pray & Obey

I'm glad we're together today in this space. My name is Mark Cummins. I'm the pastor at Church of Hope. And if you're a regular attender, welcome. So glad that week after week, we join together in this space. And if by chance, this is your first time, I'm really glad that we're beginning our friendship today. Understand that this broadcast literally goes around the world for free. See, we believe that life's at its best when people discover hope in Christ. There are people who give generously so this broadcast can be reached across every continent. If you've never given, I would invite you today to give. You can go to our webpage, hopeinOcala.com and drop down on the giving bar and give a one-time gift. Or you can give generously beyond just today. And if God's blessed you, help us as we give hope around the world. But for now, I want you to open up your heart and your mind. Let Jesus speak to you. Because what I believe is that when we open up our minds and let Jesus speak to us, life doesn't become perfect and all the problems don't go away, but you experience his presence in you, with you, and for you. Open up your heart. Let Jesus speak to you today. Peace.

Amen, good morning. You know, all of us, we all fight and face different types of temptations. We all have our own battlefields, as we sang earlier, that no one really ever sees. I mean, we want to fight the good fight. We want to trust God. We want to believe God had his word, but sometimes we fail. We promise we won't, and then, well, we do. We pray, we read the scriptures, but then we begin to drift and to doubt. Isn't it amazing how holy we look on Instagram and how human we really are in real life? Like, we're not posting that argument that happened yesterday around 4.28 in the afternoon, right? Hey, everybody, look at him. I can't believe you, what's wrong? Or that temptation at 11.47 p.m. last night. Hey, everybody, watch me while I watch what I probably shouldn't be watching while my family's asleep. You know, everybody's got a highlight reel, but everybody also is fighting a battle that's for real. And for too long, we've been experiencing defeat when God never intended for one of us, none of us, to live defeated. And we don't fall suddenly into temptation. You don't wake up and say, hey, I know what I'm gonna do. It's Monday, it's like five minutes after eight. I know what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna go blow up my marriage. No one says that. No one says on Thursday afternoon, hey, I think I'm gonna go get addicted to a substance and ruin the rest of my life. What if, what if the reason we keep losing in the battlefields of life is because we've been using the wrong strategy, the wrong tactics? What if our mindset is completely backwards? What if we have a mindset that embraces more of a bed and breakfast world rather than a battlefield world? Maybe the reason some of us feel so discouraged, depressed, sometimes even disappointed with God is because we've thought that life should be like a bed and breakfast. It's a spa day. Where's my coffee? Why is the wifi so slow? I promise I'm gonna encourage you today, but I want you to also know that life is not a spa. I really didn't need to tell you. Life is a battlefield. Calling it a battlefield doesn't make you a pessimistic it makes you prepared and it also makes you grateful for those Occasional days when life does show up like a bed and breakfast, but notice the emphasis on Occasional days you got your copy of God's Word. We're in Matthew chapter 26 Today right is the 21st day Of our 21 days of praying together it has been a great journey now Here's the good news if by chance you didn't lean into the 21 days you can like start over

Hey, if you've been praying the last 21 days guess what you can actually Go back to day number one It's a plan right if you got your own plan keep working your plan but keep Actively praying and talking and what we're gonna see today in the life of Christ is That he wants us he wants us to win Because the battle that's before us that we're gonna see here in Matthew 26 Even the life of Jesus the battle that you are going to fight is always first internal before it is external always It always starts with a small little look small little click a little compromise And so that's why you're gonna see Jesus gives his disciples then and now Specific instructions to win Here's the great thing about Jesus is Jesus doesn't shame you he trains you write that down If there's too much religion going around that that promotes this kind of shaming shaming you I'm just telling you right now nowhere in the Scriptures Does Jesus shame you God shame you the Holy Spirit shame you the Scriptures shame you the Scriptures from? Genesis to Revelation Train you to win in Life so you got your copy of God's Word Let's look at look at it, and we're gonna get two tools to apply in the battlefield of life We are in chapter 26 verse 36 Then Jesus with his disciples Went to a place called Gethsemane and he said to them sit here while I go over there and pray he then took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee

along with him and he began to be sorrowful and Troubled this is that prayer moment just before Judas is gonna come into the garden and betray Jesus with a kiss Jesus knows what's going on He is just hours before the mock trial the scourging The Crucifixion and So the Bible says that he has sorrow He's overwhelmed look at verse 38 Then he says to them my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death stay here And keep watch with me going a little farther he fell This face to the ground he prayed my father if it's possible May this cup be taken for me. What cup this is not a cup of beverage it's the cup of His responsibility of going to the cross and paying for the penalty of all of humans Sins he was there when the plan was Put into play But in his humanity he's praying is it possible is there maybe another way you see this Internal battlefield that's happening before the external before the betrayal Before the humiliation before the crucifixion. There's this internal battle that's going on in Jesus Verse 40 then he returned to his disciples and he found him sleeping and he said could you men not keep watch with me for one hour he asked Peter and Verse 41 if you write in your Bible, this is where we're gonna really focus on two things watch and pray So that you will not fall into temptation. That's a strategy. He is giving us a plan He is training us watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is Weak and we all we all understand that Jesus is gonna show us how the battles are won before

They're fought how we say we fight not for victory You fight from victory, this is the epicenter. This is the discipline that you have to apply. It's not some cute little cliche, oh, we don't fight for victory, we fight from victory. No, no, no, no, no, no. There is a discipline that has to be applied along the way. It continues, verse 42, he went, away a second time and he prayed, my father, if it's not possible for this cup, notice he's still wrestling internally, be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done. When he came back and he found them sleeping because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went once more and prayed a third time saying the same thing. And then he returned to his disciples and he said to them, are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near and the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go, here comes the betrayer. How to win the battle before the battle even begins. Matthew 26 and 41, he says, watch and pray. And that's what we're gonna lean into. Two tools to put into our life, be more like Jesus. That's what this entire year is all about, is being more, more like Jesus. So two tools that we're gonna put into play so that when this temptation begins

to work its way towards us, because it will, because life is not a bed and breakfast, life is a battlefield and your perspective matters. Watch this, a boat builder decides he's gonna build a boat. That boat builder's mindset, if the mindset is for the safety of the harbor, I'm gonna build a boat that will be in the safety of the harbor, that tourists will come by and look at the pretty sails and look at the teakwood and will look at my beautiful boat. The mindset of that boat builder is altogether different if he or she is building the boat with the mindset of the safety of the harbor compared to the boat builder who's building a boat to go out into the open seas where the wind and the wave. See, here's the challenge. Here's the reason many of us are losing. It's not because of politics. It's not because of your parents. It's not because of your education. To those of us as Christ followers, somehow along the way, we've been duped. We've been tricked in thinking we build our life for the safety of the harbor, dare I say, the American dream rather than building your life for what it is, what Jesus says that it is, that our life will be tested. There'll be trials and tribulations. There'll be setbacks. There'll be problems.

There'll be pressures. There'll be stress. There'll be anxiety. There'll be injustices that will press in on you, but be of good cheer. Why? Because Christ says, I have overcome. The world. So you ready to build your boat? Ready to build your life? Parents, you ready to build your sons and your daughters? You ready to train them for the world that they're stepping out into? This bubble wrap or this helicopter parenting philosophy that somehow you're gonna be able to protect them, understand at some point in life, they will be outside of your care. And training them and developing them to go into a world that's hostile, where there are hurricane force winds, where there are waves that want to upend their life. Jesus doesn't shame us. Rather, he gives us training. So the first thing I want you to write down is this. He wants, he says to them, says to us, he says, he says, watch. Build awareness of the danger that's around you. Could you not watch with me? They slept when they should be watching. You know, some of us aren't rebellious.

We're just spiritual drowsy. You haven't done anything that's really big, bad, terrible, no good sin, and you're kind of thinking that you're okay. But what's happening is you just become spiritual drowsy. We push the snooze. When the Holy Spirit's calling us to adjust our lives, to trust God, to believe him more, we push the snooze and we say, oh, I can do that tomorrow. I'll do that when the kids get grown. I'll do that when I get a better job or when I exchange this spouse for that spouse. Oh, I'll do something. Later, it's procrastination. Listen to the Word of God in 1 Peter 5 and 8. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Now, in your mind, you've got a big-time decision to make right now. I cannot make this decision for you. Only you can make this decision. Is that allegorical or is God instructing you to be aware, to be watchful, that there is a real enemy, the adversary, Satan, the devil, Lucifer, who wants to devour and destroy your life? See, we've kind of taken evil and we've dressed it up a little bit. Well, we've taken evil and we have desensitized ourselves to evil because now we use it to entertain ourselves.

I understand that some enjoy what they would say is the innocence of Halloween, but at the roots, you understand Halloween is rooted in evil. The concept, the idea, the ideology is counter God. Even the innocence of wanting to dress up and pretend that you're somebody else. God created you to be who He created you to be. He has a plan and He has a purpose for you and your life. And He wants you to be who He created you to be, not who a social media influencer tells you to be or whatever else. There is a plan, there's a purpose, and He wants us to become aware of the evil. And it always starts just like it did in the garden. Hath God said, come on, Eve? He didn't show up like some big, terrible, evil horror movie. Freddy Krueger, that's not what happened. Hath God said, I mean, Eve, Eve, poor naive Eve living a sheltered life. It always starts right with just one drink, one click, one smoke, one compromise, one movie. Mark, it's just a song. I mean, the lyrics aren't that big of a deal. I like the beat. Mark, just don't be so narrow-minded. What are you trying to take all the fun out of life? No, no, no, no, I'm not trying to take any fun. I want us to have our best life ever. And Jesus says we have our best life

when we understand following Him. He's the one that's overcome. He said that we can be joy-filled, we can be cheerful. Why? Because He's overcome. He's overcome. He's overcome. He's overcome. Why? He's overcome this world, but He says this, watch, in this world, you've got to open up your eyes. Stop being spiritually drowsy. Be aware that evil rarely knocks loudly, it whispers politely. Second Corinthians two and 11. We are instructed. Paul instructed the church. He's writing to a church, the church at Corinth, and it's an instruction to us this morning. He says, do not fear. Do not let Satan outwit us, for we are not ignorant or unaware of his schemes. So you can't defeat an enemy you refuse to recognize. There's a real enemy. There was an enemy then. Jesus is in the garden. He's praying. He feels this pressure. He's saying to the disciples then, I want to prepare you.

I want to train you. Your first step is you have to watch. You have to be aware of the evil that's around us. Some people say, Lord, don't lead me into temptation. And then there you are scrolling. We're asking God to deliver us from what we're driving towards, making decisions with our time and our money and our lives. See, watching shows us the danger. Watching reveals the danger, but prayer becomes the power. And let me just put this into your play for this week. Write down Ephesians six and 12. The Bible says, for we struggle. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Like our struggle, the pressure points, it's not another person. We too often focus. And that happened in this text. If you read a little bit farther, when they come to arrest Jesus, Jesus has been trying to train the disciples. Peter is one of those disciples. He's training Peter and he's saying, Peter, watch and pray. Peter, spiritual drowsy, to be like you this morning, spiritual drowsy, you're not doing some big, terrible sin. But when it comes time to fight the battles, Peter discounted what Jesus said about watch and pray.

He's unaware of the evil that's coming his way. And he picks up the sword and he attacks the Roman soldier. And Jesus does not compliment Peter for attacking the soldier. On the contrary, he says, put your sword away. And then he goes and he heals. He restores what the disciple did in the name of Jesus, what the disciple did in the idea that he's protecting his savior, that he's doing the right thing. Jesus has to undo what his disciple did. I wonder how many things Jesus is doing in the world right now that has to be undone because you did in the name of Jesus. Your political ideology, your preferences. He's given you a strategy. The strategy in the battlefield is I'm gonna watch, I'm gonna be aware, and then I'm gonna deploy prayer. And he says, our struggle is not against Ephesians 6, 12. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It's not against another person, but it's against the rulers, authorities, against powers of this dark world, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. That's who we're fighting against. But we've desensitized it. We've dressed the evil up to pretend that the world's really not that bad. And I'm telling you, I don't have to go through

all of the news and everything that's happening in the world. Evil is real. And as we, as a people group in the West, we are experiencing more evil. We have drifted from a Judeo-Christian ethic that has nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with what people believed and how we behaved. There was a time, regardless of political ideology, we had a foundation that we believed was on God's word. That's not a political statement. You go back to our founding fathers. You go down to Washington, D.C., plow out your money in God we trust. We are drifting away and saying out loud, we don't need him. Those of you who have traveled internationally, those of you who have gone on mission trips, even to those of you who maybe went down to Jamaica, if you dared to just go one street past the resort that you were at, you would see the unspeakable evil and pain and sorrow. The world and Haiti and Africa and Asia and the Middle East, the atrocities that are done against other people. And for too long, we have sat in this bubble. And here in the West, we have taken evil and we have tried to make it tame. And then when evil happens to you and your family, you call me and say, Mark, I can't believe this. I want you to know, you've got to start believing it.

Jesus says, watch, you have to become aware. Most of us treat prayer, unfortunately, a lot like AA. We only call when the car's on fire. We only call when the house is on fire. Jesus prays before his betrayal. That's the second thing I want you to write down is I want you to write down release prayer as your primary weapon. What most of us in this room do the least of, I want you to flip and make it your primary weapon. Rather than being snarky on Twitter or X, whether they are trying to control, being a helicopter parent, all the things that we try to deploy as our number one weapon for protection and protecting you, protecting your family is notable. It's good, but maybe the reason that we're losing is because we are wielding the wrong weapon. Jesus says, watch and pray. Three times, same request, same surrender. Prayer isn't preparation for the battle. Prayer is the battle. You're waiting to get into the battle and now starting to pray. No, no, no, no. You pray before the battle even comes. That's what we do every August at 3G. It's not some cute little photo op. We go into all of our public schools and we pray. Some of us take oil and we anoint on the doorframes.

We pray, why? Because we know there is an evil agency against young people. You get young people early in their life to doubt God. You've got them for the rest of their life. And so that's why we have student ministries. By the ways, that's why. kids is going on right now. It's got nothing to do with watching your kids so you can be in big church. That is of the devil. We are right now, from the babies all the way to fifth grade, we are line by line, week by week, month by month, training your sons and daughters to win in life. And unfortunately, many of you aren't doing an ounce of training at your house. Parents, wake up. I'm just telling you. It's a battlefield. It's a war. And you're building your life in the safety of the harbor. And your sons and daughters are going out into a world where there is waves and wind that want to destroy their life. And Jesus doesn't shame us. And I'm not shaming us. I'm guiding us. I'm training us this morning. Because we want, God wants us to win. And so when we pray, we expose the weakness of this flesh. When I pray, I'm saying out loud, listen, I can't do this. I need God. It strengthens me in my spirit. When I pray, I have this deep resolve that my God, I don't know when, I don't know how, I just know that my God, in his time, he will show up, clarifies the truth. And that's why we spend time in the word and we spend time in prayer. It's an and also. See, prayer and scripture is communication with God. Hebrews 4 and 12, the word of God is alive and active. Read whatever novel that you want. Read whatever business book that you want. Readers are leaders and leaders are readers. Reading is good. But all those books are just static. There's no life in them. There might be a good principle in them, but there's no life. The word of God is alive. It will correct you. It will direct you. It will straighten you up. It will convict you of sin. It will guide you. It will encourage you. The word of God is alive. It points us forward. Ephesians 6 and 17, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. It is our only offensive weapon. You go and you look at Ephesians 6 and it talks about the whole armor of God. Everything's defensive except for when we get to the word of God. It is the only offensive. And when we talk to God, we talk to God in prayer. You're listening to him. That's

communication. You're listening. You're talking. You're listening. Jesus is having a conversation with God and it strengthens him. Prayer and scripture are the spiritual weapons that we have. That's why he's saying you watch and you pray. Watching without praying is like reading. It's like Googling at midnight. I've got a pain on my right side of my body. And Google comes back and says, you're dying in 14 days. I mean, we watch and we pray. Watching without praying doesn't make you wise. It just makes you weird, right? You're watching around the world. Oh, look at all these terrible things. Did you see what this is? And you just become a news junkie and you're sending all the bad news around. No, we watch. We are aware of the evil that's in me, the evil that's around me. But now I deploy prayer. Write this down. This is good. Help me. Watching without praying makes you anxious. Praying without watching makes you vulnerable. And most of us are in one of those lines. You're watching. You've been watching the news. You say, Mark, what's going on in the world? What's going on up in? Oh my goodness. Did you see what he said? She said, did you see that video? And then you send it to me and you're anxious. You're very aware of the evil that's happening in the world. But praying, praying is the next step. He says, watch and pray. When you see the evil, I'm aware of those schemes. I see that he's a roaring lion. I see that he wants to take me out. I'm very aware, but I'm also deploying prayer. I'm leaning in and having a conversation with God and God is bringing stability to my life. Likewise, praying without watching makes you vulnerable. Some of you are like, I'm praying. What problems are in the world? We live in Ocala. Life's so good. That might happen, you know, up there in that state that's almost by Canada. Those kinds of things happen up there. We live in a certain color state. The devil's got you right where he wants you to be. You're trusting in politics and you're trusting in some color rather than trusting in Jesus Christ. When you watch and pray, you don't avoid temptation, you overcome it. I'll give you a couple things to put upon the scoreboard of your life and then the team's going to come back and we're going to declare that our victory is in Jesus' name. Because our victory is in Jesus' name.

We don't lose, but you've got to. You can't be under the tree asleep. The disciples are under the tree. When Jesus called upon them most, when the evil was crouching at his door, it's the evil of the crucifixion. I would dare say whatever evil that's going on in the world today, it's all pale in comparison to the evil of the crucifixion. God himself is about to die. Is there anything more evil in the galaxy than the innocence of God going to the cross for your sin and my sin? And he steps up and he says, guys, listen to me. Here's what I need. Man, I am broken. I'm upset. I am sorrowful. I don't know if I can take another step forward. I need you to watch and pray with me. And he's saying the same thing to you now. But you're more interested in the stock market. You're more interested in your retirement. You're more interested in whatever next leave-watching trip you're going to go on up north in the fall time, or we're going to go collect seashells, or whatever the thing is in life. All those things are fine as long as they are put under the priority we are watching and we are aware. So I want you to watch. I want you to become more aware than ever of the evil.

Look at what you're watching on TV. Look at the movies that we're going to. Listen to the songs that our kids are listening to. Just become aware. I'm not asking you to become weird. Just become aware. And if it's anti-God, why would you continue? Watch what your kids wear out from the house. If you can see more leg than you can see short, you might want to say out loud, maybe that's not what we're wearing today. Yeah, but I don't want her to be upset with me. Are you a parent or not? Turn in your parent card. My goodness. God chose you. Our kids don't have to go through the hurt and the pain and the sorrows that they have. If we'd watch, if we would see how evil is trying to take them out. Second, pray. Just that purposeful time that you are praying in the morning, praying on the way to work, praying on your break, over and over. I think you need a plan. I don't think, listen, I don't think any of us are that good. I think it's so easy to skip over prayer. I'm just telling you, it's easy. You need a plan. Make your own plan. Use a plan.

Write it out. I think you need to put a reminder on your watch. I just think, I just know we all have really good intentions, but good intentions always lead to bad results. Good intentions never win. Never. They're just what they are. They're good intentions. I had a good intention to pray. Oh, but I didn't. I had a good intention to lean in and to shape my sons and daughters for the wide open waters of life. Oh, but I just didn't. And to some of you who are wealthy, I wanted to say out loud, if you think for a millisecond that your cash is going to be able to overcome their pain, your kids want you. They don't want your money. Stop throwing money at a spiritual problem. Money does not solve a spiritual problem. One of the great diseases is many of us live in the Southeast, and you got it. You got cash. But you ain't got your kids, and you ain't got your grandkids. And you're convinced one more check, one more little something something will make it better. And then obey. Remember Jesus, he said, watch. Watch the evil that's coming. It's coming, boys. It's coming. At this time, they didn't even know that it was Judas.

Evil and insider betraying. Watch. Pray. And remember, then Jesus said three times, Father, is there another way for this? Do I really have to go to the cross? Is there another way? Do I really have to go to the cross? But at the end of the day, he said, nevertheless, not my will, but your will. That's the full cycle. You watch. You pray. You obey. how you become more like Jesus. Be more like Jesus is not a bumper sticker. Be more like Jesus is not, it is you watching, praying, and obeying. You know, putting on a seatbelt isn't all that dramatic, right? It doesn't feel all that important. It doesn't feel like it's that big of a deal. But I'll tell you something, calling an ambulance is. Many of us look at prayer like putting on a seatbelt, like, yeah, optional, not sure if I need it, stupid law. They can ride in the back of a pickup truck, six deep back there. That's okay, but I have to wear a seatbelt? Many of us are doing the same negotiating with God. What's at stake? What's at stake to those of us who are Christ followers is in the moment that God has called us to be his disciples,

we're absent and we're asleep. In the moment where we could be experiencing victory, we experience defeat. If we don't watch and pray, what's at stake here? Pain, sorrow, and loss, hidden compromise that I allow and continue, you think nobody in the world sees about, but it continues to hold you hostage, a hardened heart. Evil. But if you as a Christ follower today decide I'm going to, I am gonna start watching. I am gonna start praying. Your spirit will be strengthened. The protection over a marriage. Listen, divorce is painful, and statistically 50, 60% in here have gone through it. To those of you who are married, make a fresh determination that we're going to pray and we're going to watch. We're not gonna let those little nuances that we often would say it's no big deal, what we say, what we do, where we go, we're going to deal with them. We're gonna watch and see them. These little, these little things that we're gonna deal with, these little, these little habits want to ruin and wreck our life. You talk to men and women who've gone through the pain of divorce,

and they think back. There was a moment, no one gets married that says, hey, listen, hey, would you come to my wedding? I'm having it on Saturday at four o'clock. It's gonna be lots of fun, and we're gonna party. It's gonna be a really good time. I want you to have it. And then like six months later, I'm gonna get a divorce. No one says that. Everybody goes and like, yeah, we're getting married. I love her, man. It's to death do us part, yeah. And then it's those little itty bitty moments. You're gonna become aware of them. Gives you increased peace. Jesus prayed, and then he went to the cross. I would suggest that in this gathering, none of us will ever experience the humiliation of God being stripped, ridiculed, falsely charged. You've got pain, and your pain's for real. I would never minimize it. But Jesus, this whole year, be more like Jesus. And I'm teaching you that God the Father, his plans for you, his plan, like if you wanna know what God's up to in your life, he is conforming you into the image of his son. Be responsible at work. Be a responsible homeowner. Take good care of this, all the things that you're doing,

but understand what's most important to God is you and I becoming more like Jesus. Thank you. Being together in this space today is really good. If you've never begun a relationship with Jesus, I'd like to invite you today to start following Jesus. It's not about your behavior. It's not about your church attendance. It's about the reality that Jesus is for you. He's not mad at you, He's madly in love with you. Would you right now pray this prayer with me? Hey God, it's me. I've sinned and I know it. And I can't fix me. But today, I receive you, Jesus, as my Savior. I believe that you died on that cross for me and that you were buried for three days and then you became alive again. And I invite you into my life to guide me and direct me all the rest of the days of my life. And with that prayer, my friend, welcome to God's family. I'd like to continue our friendship. If you would email me, pastor at hopeinocala.com. I'll follow up with you and together, we'll celebrate Jesus in your life. Peace.