Integrity in Faith: The Fight Against Deceit

In this sermon, I was reminded of the importance of integrity and honesty, even when it seems like deceit and dishonesty are more rewarding. The speaker referenced James 1, emphasizing that sin, when fully grown, brings forth death, and it is not something to be toyed with. The speaker also highlighted the words of Paul to the church in Galatia, warning them not to be deceived, for God is not mocked. Whatever one sows, they will also reap. If one sows to their own flesh, they will reap corruption, but if one sows to the spirit, they will reap eternal life.

The speaker also discussed the concept of fighting the good fight of faith. He referenced 1 Timothy 6, where Paul encourages Timothy to flee from the love of money and instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. The speaker emphasized that the fight is not for our political party, ideals, opinions, or feelings, but rather it is a spiritual fight within us to follow God's way of doing things, even when the world tells us to do the opposite. He also referenced 2 Timothy 4, where Paul, knowing he is about to die, declares that he has fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith.

Key Takeaways:
- Sin, when fully grown, brings forth death and should not be toyed with. It is important to live a life of integrity and honesty, even when it seems like deceit and dishonesty are more rewarding ([20:27]).
- The fight of faith is not for our political party, ideals, opinions, or feelings, but rather it is a spiritual fight within us to follow God's way of doing things, even when the world tells us to do the opposite ([11:35]).
- Paul encourages Timothy to flee from the love of money and instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness ([09:19]).
- Paul, knowing he is about to die, declares that he has fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. This serves as a reminder that we should strive to live our lives in a way that allows us to make the same declaration ([27:46]).
- We will reap a harvest if we do not give up. The greatest opposition often comes when we are closest to victory, so it is important to stay consistent and keep going ([24:27]).

Bible Passages:
1. 1 Timothy 6:9-12
2. Luke 9:23-24
3. James 1:15
4. Galatians 6:7-9

Key Points from the sermon:
1. As Christians, we are called to a life of spiritual battle and opposition.
2. The pursuit of godliness, righteousness, and holiness often conflicts with worldly desires and influences.
3. Sin, when fully grown, brings forth death, but sowing to the Spirit reaps eternal life.

Observation Questions:
1. What does 1 Timothy 6:9-12 warn about the love of money and the pursuit of wealth?
2. What does Luke 9:23-24 say about the cost of following Jesus?
3. What does James 1:15 say about the progression and consequence of sin?
4. What does Galatians 6:7-9 say about sowing to the flesh versus sowing to the Spirit?

Interpretation Questions:
1. How does 1 Timothy 6:9-12 relate to the modern-day pursuit of wealth and success?
2. How does Luke 9:23-24 challenge our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus?
3. How does James 1:15 explain the destructive nature of sin?
4. What does it mean to sow to the flesh versus sowing to the Spirit according to Galatians 6:7-9?

Application Questions:
1. How can we guard against the love of money and the pursuit of wealth in our own lives?
2. What does it look like in practical terms to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Jesus?
3. How can we recognize and resist sin in its early stages before it fully grows and brings forth death?
4. How can we sow to the Spirit in our daily lives, especially when we face opposition or temptation?

Day 1: The Daily Battle Against Flesh

Every day, we are faced with choices that either align us with God's will or our own fleshly desires. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans that we are not to conform to the patterns of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This transformation is a daily battle against the flesh, but it is a battle we do not fight alone.

Romans 12:2 - "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Reflection: Reflect on a recent situation where you had to battle against your fleshly desires. How did you handle it? If you could go back, what would you do differently to ensure you're living according to the Spirit and not the flesh?

Day 2: The Pursuit of Godliness

Godliness is not a destination, but a journey. It is a daily pursuit of aligning our hearts, minds, and actions with God's will. In 1 Timothy, Paul encourages us to train ourselves to be godly, for it holds promise for the present life and the life to come.

1 Timothy 4:8 - "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."

Reflection: Can you identify an area in your life where you're struggling to pursue godliness? What practical steps can you take to grow in that area, and how can you incorporate these steps into your daily routine?

Day 3: The Deception of Worldly Success

The world often measures success by wealth, power, and prestige. But Jesus warns us in Matthew that gaining the whole world is worthless if we lose our souls in the process.

Matthew 16:26 - "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?"

Reflection: Have you ever been tempted to compromise your integrity for worldly success? How did you respond to this temptation, and how can you prepare yourself to resist such temptations in the future?

Day 4: The Expectation of Opposition

As followers of Christ, we should expect opposition. Jesus himself faced opposition, and he warned his disciples that they would face it too. But he also promised that he has overcome the world, giving us hope and courage to stand firm in our faith.

John 16:33 - "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Reflection: Can you recall a time when you faced opposition because of your faith? How did you respond, and how did that experience shape your understanding of what it means to follow Jesus?

Day 5: The Promise of Eternal Life

The promise of eternal life is a powerful motivator in our daily walk with God. It reminds us that our present struggles are temporary and that a glorious future awaits us. In John, Jesus assures us that whoever believes in him will have eternal life.

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Reflection: How does the promise of eternal life motivate you in your daily walk with God? Are there areas in your life where you need to remind yourself of this promise when you're feeling weary or discouraged?

Hey man, so we've been in this series called Fight Club. For the past two weeks, we've talked about the different types of fights that we engage in as believers in our lives. If this is your very first time here, I encourage you to go to our YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from and check out the past two weeks of this series.

Week one, we talked about the spiritual fights, right? Engaging in the spiritual fights, how to fight and see victory in those fights. Last week, Pastor Ryan preached an incredible message, and he talked about this opportunity that we've been given to fight for your field. He talked about a man named Shama and his Frijoles and how he sat down and fought for his field, right? Shama had a sword, and he had his army of men, and he fought physically.

Today, I want to talk about Paul and how Paul engaged in spiritual battle and contended for the church. This is what we want to dive into today. One thing that I feel is super apparent, though, as we're in this series, one thing that's painstakingly obvious is that as believers, we will encounter fights. We encounter fights. Sometimes it can seem like it's one fight after the other. You go to sleep feeling victorious, you wake up in the morning, and it's right there in your face again—fight after fight after fight.

Okay, it can seem like that, and you get tired of fighting. You know, you wake up, and it's like, "Man, this again?" You know, it's like, "I just had this victory," and it's like, "I can't celebrate the victory too long because there's another one right there." But as your pastor, I want to remind you that this fight that we are engaged in, this thing that we call ourselves as Christians, believers, followers of God—that's what we signed up for. That is what we signed up for. We signed up for a fight. This is what we do. We have an opposition. We have an enemy. His name is Satan. His whole thing is to steal, to kill, and to destroy your purpose.

This is just what it is. When you signed up to be a Christian, you signed up to be a fighter. Yeah, when you signed up to be a Christian, you signed up to be a fighter. Now, when I was younger, I used to watch wrestling. I didn't have cable, so I couldn't watch Monday Night Raw, but I did get SmackDown on Thursdays. So I grew up watching wrestling, and I believe personally that I grew up in the best era of wrestling ever.

Okay, we had some legends. I know some of y'all folks are like, "Nah, you don't know." No, no, no, no, no, this is it. All right? We grew up with some legends. We had Kane and The Undertaker. We had Eddie Guerrero. We had Goldberg. We had Stone Cold Steve Austin. Then to top it off, we had the most electrifying man in sports entertainment—we had The Rock. We had some great guys, and I left out a whole host of guys who, you know, I didn't want to bore you guys, but we had them.

And here's the thing: as much as I was committed to watching wrestling every Thursday, I never once had an opportunity or saw—right? Now, this might have happened on the pay-per-view, so I couldn't afford pay-per-view; I said I didn't have cable—but there was never one time where two guys got in the ring, and they had no idea what was going on. The bell rang, and they just looked at each other like, "What are we supposed to do?"

Yeah, that never happened. Why didn't that happen? It didn't happen because they were fighters. They signed up to fight. They prepared to fight. They went to the gym to get ready for a fight. They worked out so that they could get those insane muscles. They did some other stuff, but we don't talk about that. But they had these insane muscles so that they could prepare to fight. They fit into some ridiculously small spandex and socks because they wanted to prepare to fight. They got a fight song together; they had it crafted. They got the pyrotechnics as they ran down. They did all of this so that they could prepare to fight. Why? Because they signed up to fight.

What am I saying, Limitless? When we made a decision to make Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, we signed up to fight. We live in a time where we've grown up hearing about battles, right? We hear about these great wars, and we hear stories about these great wars. We might even watch TV and see some—there's a movie right now talking about these great wars, and we hear these things. But because we've grown up listening and because we're growing up watching these fights, what happens is when they encounter us, we don't know what to do.

When we are encountering a fight, when we're encountering a battle, we don't know what to do. Or worse, what we do is we go call somebody else to see if they can come fight for us. We want to call Captain America. We want to go find Thor. We want to go find somebody who's been in the faith a little longer than us to see if they can fight for us. We want to call our pastor to see if our pastor could come fight for us. That is not how this works.

Today, we're talking about the good fight of faith. And here's the thing, believers: you have to fight for you. Nobody can fight for you or on your behalf. You have to fight for yourself. And since you have to fight for yourself, here's a little tip: we have to stop being surprised when we face opposition. Stop being surprised that you have opposition. This is a fight. This is what you signed up for.

Stop being surprised when someone hurts your feelings because they don't like the moves that you make. Yeah, this is a fight that's supposed to happen. Stop being surprised when it seems like your world is falling apart. Expect it. Stop being surprised when it feels like nothing is going your way. That is what we signed up for. This is a fight. Opposition shouldn't be a surprise to you; it should be expected.

Listen to me: the more serious you get about the things of God, Satan will attack you. The more serious you get about walking in God's plan for your life, the more serious you get about walking in the will of God for your life, Satan will attack, and the more opposition you will feel. Expect it. That's what a fight is all about.

I was reading Timothy, and Paul is talking to Timothy, and he encourages him in the same way. First Timothy, chapter 6, verses 9 through 12, says, "But those who are not financially ethical and crave to get rich with a compulsive greedy longing for wealth fall into temptation and attract into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction, leading to personal misery."

Verse 10 says, "For the love of money—that is, the greedy desire for it and the willingness to gain it unethically—is a root to all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves through and through with many sorrows."

Verse 11 says, "But as for you, O man of God, as for you, woman of God, flee from these things." He says, "What should we do then? Here it is right here: aim at and pursue righteousness, true goodness, moral conformity in the character of God, godliness, the fear of God, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness."

Verse 12 says, "Fight the good fight of faith in conflict with evil. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and for which you made the good confession of faith in the presence of many witnesses."

See, he says this is what is going to happen. He says, "Fight the good fight of faith," and he calls it good because he says through it we have this opportunity to embrace or to lay hold of or to truly experience life in Christ. So when you're facing opposition and you're pursuing the will of God for your life, you're experiencing life in Christ.

This is the same thing that Jesus endured. Your cold walk with Jesus in that fight. See, we live in a world where we're constantly being bombarded by the lies and the influences of the enemy. We live in a culture that promotes those lies through its influence, and then we have this body, we have this flesh that desires to rule and see those lies and those consequences walked out in our life.

This is where the fight happens. This is where the fight is. This is where the fight occurs—the battle between good and evil, the battle between the flesh and the spirit. Guess what, guys? The fight isn't your political party. I know some of you may have thought that was it, that that's what you should be fighting for, but it's not. The fight isn't for your ideals. The fight isn't for your opinions.

Right? Oh, I just feel—no, no, the fight isn't for your opinion. The fight isn't even for your feelings. It's not. The fight is in the spirit, and it is within us to follow the world's way of doing things, to follow what social media and the news and everything in the world tells us to do, or to pick up our cross, to pursue righteousness, to pursue the character of God, to pursue godliness, to pursue faith, to pursue love, to pursue steadfastness, and to pursue gentleness.

That is the fight. That is the fight right there—pursuing these things in a world that tells you to pursue the opposite. It's not easy. That's where the fight is. It's not easy pursuing godliness. Doing these things, running from the things that the world says that we should do, running from those things that the world promotes and purports to us so much, and pursuing godliness is not easy.

Pursuing holiness or set-apartness, pursuing righteousness or right standing with God is not easy. Why? Well, because we want to pursue our feelings. Oh, this is how I feel, and because I feel this way, I think that I should be true to my feelings. I think that my feelings are true, even though the Bible says that the heart is wicked. Yeah, never mind that, though. I should pursue my feelings, right?

We want to pursue our emotions. Our emotions—you know what? This is how I feel. I'm just gonna do what I want. I do what I feel. That is a lie from the enemy. Right? We want to pursue our understandings. We want to pursue our desires. But that is not what people who call themselves Christians do. That is not what people who call themselves close followers of Jesus do.

We don't have that privilege. We signed up to bear our cross. We signed up to submit all of those things under God, and we made Him the Lord of our life. So we signed up to die to those things as it concerns us. We abide in the word of God. We abide in it by faith. We abide in it regardless of our opinion. We abide in it regardless of our feelings. We abide in it regardless of our understanding.

And because we do that, we face opposition. Because we do that, we face conflict. Because we do that, we face temptation. Amen? We face persecution. These are the things that we face. Jesus knew that. Luke chapter 9, Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me." He says that's what we're called to do.

But I just feel like doing this. No, no, no. Deny yourself. But everybody else is doing it. It should be good. No, deny yourself. Deny yourself and follow me. Luke chapter 9, he says, "Foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

In verse 57, a guy comes up to him, and he says, "Hey, Jesus, you know what? I'm gonna follow you anywhere." He says, "You sure? You sure about that? Really? Really? Foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but I have nowhere to lay my head."

Jesus wasn't saying that he was homeless. If you read the context of it, you'll see Jesus was in a place, and they wanted him to leave. Then he was headed to a place, but he wanted to make a stop on the way, and they told him, "No, no, don't come here." And he's like, "I gotta go to sleep, and now tonight I ain't." He said, "Are you sure you want to follow me? Because I am wanted by no one. Are you sure you want to follow me? Because there is no one that will accept me right now. I ain't even got a place to lay my head."

So are you sure you want to follow me? Because this is to be expected. This is what I'm saying when I'm saying we have to expect opposition. I know you wanted it to be rosy. "Hey, I love Jesus, yes I do. I love Jesus, how about you?" That's cool and all, but it's a fight every day to wake up and pursue godliness when, for one, you just—man, yes folk just Hallelujah.

It's a fight when you get the job, and you see that coworker, and you're like, "Oh, here goes my test. Here's my cross, Jesus. Here's my cross. Good morning, cross. How you doing, Sarah? How you doing?" Right? It's a fight. Why? Because that's not what your flesh wants to do. Your flesh just wants to—oh, come here. I wish you would.

Please, when somebody cuts you off, your flesh wants to roll the window down and just—oh, no, it's just me? Okay, so yeah, it's a fight to subdue your flesh, to die to your flesh and say, "No, I am the righteousness of God. No, I'm a representative of Christ. No, I am here to take the limits off of the way that people see Jesus, off of the way that they see faith, off of the way that they see the church."

So I'm making a decision to die to myself. Jesus is telling the disciples, he's telling us, "Look, you didn't sign up for a continental breakfast in a four-star hotel. That's not what this is." He said, "No, that's not what this is. You signed up for war. You signed up for a battle."

And here's the thing: in every war and every battle, there are casualties. In every war and every battle, there are casualties. There just are. Here's the difference: for the believer, our flesh has to daily be a casualty of war. Our flesh daily has to be a casualty of war—dying to your feelings, dying to what you think is right, dying to your way of how you feel life should be, how you felt it should have turned out, what it's supposed to look like, how it's supposed to feel.

It has to be a daily thing where you're dying to your flesh, and it is not easy. That's why it's called a fight. Daily, we have to pursue those things that edify our spirit and not our flesh. Daily, we have to choose to honor God. Daily, we have to choose to build up the kingdom of God. This is how we fight the good fight.

And when we do that, in spite of the opposition, in spite of our flesh, in spite of the world, in spite of social media, in spite of the news, he says we lay hold of or we experience true life in Christ. True life in Christ. We're called to put to death our flesh, and it's hard because sometimes from the outside, it could seem like that's a path to nowhere because it seems like that is the wrong thing to do.

It can feel pointless and without reward. It seems like the world is winning and God's way of doing it is losing. Why would I do that? It feels like, "Why should I die to my flesh when it seems everybody else is living for it, and they're having a good time?" Oh, that's just me, y'all. If y'all want to, I'm gonna tell the truth.

It seems like the world is out there living it up. They're having an awesome time. They're the ones that's getting the money. They're the ones that's getting the reward. They're the ones that's getting the success, and they got everything that happened. But here come us old Christians, just humble, just, you know, we just trying to make it. We just trying to see God.

Dude, it can seem like that. It can seem like everybody else is living for themselves, and they're succeeding. They seem like, "Why should I be honest when it seems deceit is more easier? Why should I be a person of integrity when it seems that people laugh at integrity?" You find some money on the ground, and you give it to the police, and now people are like, "Why? Why would you do that? You stupid. I wouldn't have done that."

It seems like not being a person of integrity is better. But James knew this because there's nothing new under the sun. You gotta understand, the world may seem like it's different; it's the same old same old. James is here in chapter one. He says, "The desire, right, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it's fully grown, brings forth death."

Sin, please listen, when it is fully grown, brings forth death. Do not play with sin. Do not play with sin. It is not to be toyed with. It brings forth death. Pastor, do you mean I'm gonna die? I didn't say that. I didn't say that at all. James said it in the Bible. I didn't say that. I would suggest you listen. Sin brings forth death.

Paul knew this. He's talking to the church in Galatia. He says, "Do not be deceived." In chapter 6, verse 7, he says, "Do not be deceived. God is not mocked." In layman's terms, he said, "Don't play with Him. Don't play with Him. Don't even think you're gonna get over. Don't think that He's sleeping at the wheel. Don't think He's gonna take a day off. He'll like the bills; it keeps coming. He is consistent. Hallelujah, PG&E."

Do not be deceived. He says, "God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption." He said, "You keep sowing to the flesh, just like a seed in the ground. You put that seed in the ground, you take care of that seed, it produces the harvest."

He says, "The harvest is corruption. But he says the one who sows to the spirit will reap from it eternal life." And he says, "Since that's the case, I get it. I know what's going on." He said, "But don't forget, God is not going to be mocked." He says, "Therefore, do not grow weary in well-doing."

He says, "I know it's a long road, and it seems like you haven't made it over yet. You haven't gotten to that top place. You haven't seen the victory yet." He says, "Don't grow weary. Don't get tired. I know it's been a while. You've been waiting for that relationship. I know it's been a while. You've been waiting for that breakthrough. You've been waiting for that healing. You've been waiting for that family member to come home. You've been waiting for that marriage to be restored. You've been waiting for that relationship to be restored. Do not grow weary in well-doing."

He said, "Don't do it. Don't grow weary. For in due season..." Here's the thing about us: we don't like waiting. We hate waiting. They're like, "When is due season? Is it due now?" No, it's not due now. "Are you sure, Jesus, that this isn't due season?" He's saying, "No, no, no, no. Just keep going because when the time is right, when the due season has come, we will reap if we do not give up."

I challenge you. I challenge you to keep going. I know that it's hard. I know that it's difficult. I know that it seems impossible. But in the word of God tells us we will reap if we do not give up. You never know how close you are. Let me tell you something: don't you know that you experience the greatest opposition the closer you get to victory? The closer you get to victory, the more—"I don't understand why all this stuff is happening in my life." Because there's something on the other side. There's something on the other side.

"I don't understand why I'm going through this." I dare you to stay consistent. You're right at the door of that breakthrough. You're right at the door of that thing. You're right there. All you have to do is keep going because what did He say? He says, "We will reap if we do not give up."

Paul knew this. Paul knew that there would be an opportunity to become weary. He knew that there would be opportunities to be discouraged, and he warned the church, and he reminded them, "God is not to be mocked. Our obedience will be met with eternal life. Our faithfulness will be met with its harvest if we stay the course and do not give up."

If we stay the course and do not give up, he called it a good fight—the good fight of faith. Second Timothy 4, worship team, would you come? He says, "I am already being poured out as a drink offering."

See, I know I used to think that we came up with this, and it was like, "You know, pour a little something out for the homies." You know, pour a little something out for the homies. Y'all act like y'all saved if y'all want to. I know y'all know what I'm talking about.

All right, pour a little something out for the homies. He says, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering." And you laugh, but that's what this is. Y'all thought the world came up with that. No. So what used to happen is when sacrifices would be offered to symbolize the end of the sacrifice or to symbolize that it was finished, what they would do was they would take the wine and they would pour it out on the ground so that everyone would know that this is finished, that it is done, that this sacrifice—the slaying of this thing—they would offer this to God, and they would pour it out to signify the end of it.

Paul says, "Hey, he says, I'm already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith."

Since I did it, that's it for me. This is the last chapter of the last book that Paul is writing because he has already been sentenced, and he is about to die. It is done for him. He knows he's gone. He said, "That's it. I'm being poured out as a drink offering. My time has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Henceforth, therefore, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day."

And he says, "Not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing." This is not just me, but you—all of those who have loved him. We fight to the finish. Let me change that. When we fight to the finish, we get the victory. We get the victory. We get the belt. It's already—we get the championship belt, and our name is already inscribed on it because we have the victory.

Paul was in prison so many times. He had been shipwrecked. He had been brought close to death. He had been whipped with 39 lashes four separate times for spreading the gospel. And at the end, he says, "I have finished the race. I have kept the faith."

I'll tell you what a powerful testimony it is and this profession that the Lord has given me. I have done a lot of funerals. I've done a lot of funerals, and I can't tell you what a testament it is to be able to say, "You know what? I finished the race. I kept the faith. I pursued God my entire life. I pursued God with everything that I had up until the time that he took me, and now there is a crown of righteousness that is laid out for me."

1. "Pursuing godliness is not easy. Pursuing Holiness or set apartness, pursuing righteousness or right standing with God is not easy. Why? Well, because we want to pursue our feelings. We want to pursue our emotions, our understandings, our desires. But that is not what people who call themselves Christians do. We signed up to bear our cross, we signed up to submit all of those things under God and we made him a lord of our life." - 12:16

2. "Sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death. Do not play with sin. It is not to be toyed with. It brings forth death. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption. But the one who sows to the spirit will reap from it eternal life." - 20:00

3. "It's a fight to subdue your flesh, to die to your flesh and say no, I am the righteousness of God, no I'm a representative of Christ, no I am here to take the limits off of the way that people see Jesus, off of the way that they see Faith, off of the way that they see the church. So I'm making a decision to die to myself." - 16:14

4. "When you signed up to be a Christian, you signed up to be a fighter. We have an opposition, we have an enemy, his name is Satan. His whole thing is to steal, to kill, and to destroy your purpose and you. This is just what it is. When you signed up to be a Christian, you signed up to be a fighter." - 00:00

5. "Daily we have to pursue those things that edify our spirit and not our flesh. Daily we have to choose to honor God. Daily we have to choose to build up the kingdom of God. This is how we fight the good fight. And when we do that, in spite of the opposition, in spite of our flesh, in spite of the world, in spite of social media, in spite of the news, we lay hold of or we experience True Life In Christ." - 16:14