Internal Corruption
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The Great Plague of London, which lasted from 1665-1666, killed an estimated 100,000 people - 1/4 of the population! It was caused by a bacteria, something that is smaller than anything the naked eye can see.
Sin in the heart is much like an infection in the body. Left to itself, it will get worse and become potentially devastating. Often an infection does a lot of damage before it is really diagnosed or treated.
We cannot see the heart and this is where Satan’s most powerful corruption takes place. As we have been talking specifically about the home, after Satan has sufficiently divided the home (hook #1) and instilled rebellion (hook #2), he will always feed that rebellion with internal corruption (hook #3).
Recognizing the Internal Problem
Recognizing the Internal Problem
“Nothing darkens the eyes of the mind so much, and deadens the conscience so surely, as an allowed sin. It may be a little one, but it is not the less dangerous for all that. A small leak will sink a great ship, and a small spark will kindle a great fire, and a little allowed sin in like manner will ruin an immortal soul.” J. C. Ryle
We often say, “Ignorance is bliss,” and “What I don’t know can’t hurt me.” However, the truth is, Ignorance is not bliss and what I don’t know can hurt me! If we are going to effectively battle against Satan’s “fiery darts” then we are going to have to recognize that we are in a battle; we are going to have to recognize the internal problem!
We have an internal “sin infection.”
We have an internal “sin infection.”
Turn to and read Romans 7:17-23.
“The fact remains, however, that it is the law of sin that really explains why people do what they do. It is at the very root of all behavioral problems.” - John Philipps
Notice, again, what Paul states...
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Paul is not offering an excuse for sin; he is simply stating a painful fact of the Christian life.
Our sin nature, if left unchecked...
...will take you farther than you want to go
Slowly but wholly taking control
Sin will leave you longer than you want to stay
Sin will cost you far more than you want to pay
Satan will attempt to corrupt you on the inside so he can change you on the outside.
Satan will attempt to corrupt you on the inside so he can change you on the outside.
Researchers tell us that each of us carry an invisible cloud of bacteria, viruses, fungi and chemicals around us every day. If we could see this “cloud” we would look very much like the Peanuts-character, Pig-pen.
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20180920/we-all-carry-a-personal-cloud-of-germs-chemicals#1
That bacteria and other “things” are just looking to find an entrance inside of your body so that they can wreck havoc.
Take, for example, cold sores. (How many of you have ever had a cold sore?) The most common cause of cold sores is the herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1). After entering the body, the virus remains inactive most of the time, but, if a trigger - such as a weakened immune system, hormonal changes or some other trauma to the body - activates the virus, a cold sore can develop.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/172389.php
There are spiritual “triggers” also, that Satan can use to inflame an internal infection: a broken relationship, a devastating spiritual battle, an unkind word, a sporadic devotional life - these and more can weaken our “spiritual” immune system to the point where we are more susceptible to “spiritual” virus that Satan seeks to get in through our eyes or through our ears.
This why Solomon gave us the admonition, in Proverbs 4:23...
Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.
If only King Solomon had taken heed to his own advice!!
For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.
King Solomon’s “…heart was not perfect…;” it was corrupted.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
That is why our subject this morning is so dangerous. We often are only on the lookout for the big, dangerous lions walking about that we fail to consider anything smaller as dangerous.
Take us the foxes, The little foxes, that spoil the vines: For our vines have tender grapes.
A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
We fail to take seriously the fact that it only takes one thought, one look, one drink, one word, one time! “It’s harmless,” we say while we are completely oblivious to Satan’s strategy of corrupting us from the inside so that the can change us on the outside.
Internal corruption, in time, will completely change who you are spiritually.
Internal corruption, in time, will completely change who you are spiritually.
In time. This isn’t an overnight thing. It takes time. Satan, aside from God, is likely one of the most patient beings in the universe. He doesn’t care how long this internal corruption takes. It could take months, even years for the full effect to be in place. Satan is content to work slowly, gradually, methodically, and so often undetected!
A study that was conducted by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine provides strong new evidence that malignant tumors may grow undetected in the body for a decade or more before it is able to be detected by usual blood tests.
https://angio.org/cancer-may-grow-undetected-for-a-decade-or-more/
Satan would love to sneak a spiritual infection into your heart and “trigger it.” As that infection settles in, it changes how you think, how you feel, and what you desire.
Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
This corruption hides beneath the surface and leaves others wondering what’s wrong with you. The effects are seen, but usually not easily tied to the hidden causes.
Most types of cancers are not diagnosed until they have grown large enough to begin causing symptoms or large enough to be easily seen on an x-ray or MRI. By that time, the cancer is much more difficult to treat and likely has spread throughout the body.
Take, for example, Lot, Abraham’s nephew.
And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
Lot, a righteous man - a believer, was daily bombarded with the filth of the world. That filth got in through his eyes and his ears. Every day he saw the filth of Sodom and Gomorrha. Every day he listened to the filth of Sodom and Gomorrha. It “vexed” him. It tormented him. It bombarded his spiritual health. It worked slowly but methodically. It changed him on the inside until he was completely changed on the outside. You can read the whole story in Genesis chapter 19 but for time’s sake consider this...
Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
Then, later in that same chapter, after Lot had fled Sodom and Gomorrha before their destruction, we read this...
Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
I’m sure that Lot never suspected that he would end up a spiritually bankrupt individual, hiding in the hills having lost everything, but it happened none the less!
I still remember the Sunday morning, as a young teenager, when my pastor stood up after the service and announced that he was resigning as our pastor. He had only served as our pastor for a few years but it had a been a difficult pastorate for him. After that traumatic event, I don’t believe that he had any idea of the events that would unfold in the years to come.
David wrote these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit...
Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
19th century preacher, J. C. Ryle, whom I quoted at the beginning of this message, also wrote...
Look within, each one of you. Examine your own hearts. Do you see there any habit or custom which you know to be wrong in the sight of God?
If you do, delay not a moment in attacking it. Resolve at once to lay it aside.
It was the second week of July, 2001. My wife and I, along with a group of teens, were at The Wilds of North Carolina. One afternoon that week, I noticed an ambulance driving along the edge of the ballfields. Its lights were on, but is siren was not. As I watched it pull around the Activity Center toward the boy’s cabin area, I had no idea what had happened. Later that afternoon/evening, we all found out what had happened. A 19 year young man, Justin Ridley, who was on the camp’s landscape crew, had been trimming a tree when the tree suddenly snapped and fell on him, killing him instantly. As we were told, the tree looked healthy on the outside but it was rotten on the inside.
This morning, you may look healthy on the outside but stop for a moment and consider, for a moment, whether your heart has been infected. If it has, in the words of J. C. Ryle, “Delay not a moment in attacking it. Resolve at once to lay it aside” and seek God’s cleansing!