Good morning, everyone. It is always an honor to be with you, and it was a beautiful drive this morning,

more than most mornings. It's always beautiful, but a fresh coat of snow. I didn't know how many people

were going to be here. So I'm really grateful to see you all this morning. And it reminds me of

the verse in Isaiah chapter one that says, though our sins are a scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow. And we're going to be talking about spiritual warfare a bit this

morning. One of the things, though, that came to my mind as I was crossing the mountain and

coming over here,

of course, I come from Highland, so I have to go through New Paltz, is how there is a realm of the

invisible. There's a feature of our existence that we can't see with our eyes.

We all know it's there, though. We all sense it.

I think the more spiritual you are, the more you grow in Christ as a Christian and you know him,

the deeper that spiritual understanding becomes.

And even on the drive, so often when I go through certain regions, towns, New Paltz, there is a

darkness I can sense despite how beautiful it is there.

And it is beautiful.

I actually love going to that particular place.

There's a lot of good memories there.

Some of my favorite coffee shops to sit in while I write or study are there. But there is a heaviness. And there's so many

places like that, not just towns, houses. Sometimes you even sense it in church, which it shouldn't

be. But there's a tension.

And you don't know as an outsider.

Sometimes why it's even there.

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