Read John 16:33

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.
But take heart, because I have overcome the world.
(John 16:33)

Clearly, we enter a battle zone—true spiritual warfare—when we claim Christ as Lord and determine to follow Him no matter what. We should not be surprised by conflict. We should expect it! Understand, then, where the real war is. The battles should never be fought among Christian brothers and sisters, such as with the worship wars. The church needs to realize that the real battle is spiritual...and to complicate matters, our real enemy is invisible.

While I don’t see the devil behind every bush, neither do I stick my head in the sand and ignore reality. We need to know there is a conspiracy occurring. There is an insidious war being waged. If we don’t see that, we will be hopelessly confused. When John the apostle writes, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world” (1 John 2:15 NASB), he understands what our times are like in the last days.

Satan heads the world’s system. It is a plan that leaves God out, that is hostile to the Holy Scriptures, and that has as its goal to destroy the church that Jesus is building. Under God’s permissive will, this world is running a fast-paced course filled with the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life. All of this occurs under the watchful eye of God, who allows the adversary to have his way—Satan himself.

Why does the church need such obvious warnings? Because the world wants to do our thinking for us. The enemy of our souls wants to tap into our own sinful natures so that he can drive a wedge between God and us. And that is why we in the church need a strong warning to awaken us to the reality that characterizes our times.

Taken from The Church Awakening by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2010 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Faith Words, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.