Ripples Ministry

It starts small, unnoticed, beyond prying eyes. Deep within, hidden from light, a change begins. We continue our lives as though nothing has changed – It has. And if we knew what was happening, we would be dealing with it now.

But we don’t.

A cell that was once normal begins to change. We don’t understand all the reasons for this change, but it occurs nonetheless. Slowly, it begins to spread to the cells around it and the change gets a life of its own. We don’t notice it yet. It hasn’t interfered with our lives. We continue as if the world was glorious and our whole lives stretch before us – It isn’t and the end is closer than we know.

Of course I am speaking of cancer and its insidious entry into our lives that changes everything. But I could just as easily be speaking about sin.

Sin starts off in very much the same way that cancer begins in our bodies. It starts off small, unnoticed, and hidden. Perhaps it is a thought that crosses our mind and rather than turning it over immediately to God, we allow it to settle for a moment, to gain a small foothold in our heart.

Galatians 5:7-10 tells us…
“⁷You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? ⁸This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. ⁹A little leaven leavens the whole lump. ¹⁰I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.” (Emphasis mine)

A single cancer cell turns into many. Caught early the chances of survival are good. Ignoring the signs and symptoms can be disastrous.

Cancer is divided into stages. These stages are a corollary to our place with sin in our lives. Wikipedia defines the staging of cancer in this way – “The stage of a cancer is a descriptor (usually numbers I to IV) of how much the cancer has spread. The stage often takes into account the size of a tumor, how deeply it has penetrated, whether it has invaded adjacent organs, how many lymph nodes it has metastasized to (if any), and whether it has spread to distant organs. Staging of cancer is important because the stage at diagnosis is the most powerful predictor of survival, and treatments are often changed based on the stage.”

Cancer Stage I – This is where the cells are localized and therefore treatment is relatively simple. The affected cells are removed, along with surrounding healthy tissue to ensure that none have escaped detection. There is some pain of course, but treatment almost always has some pain involved.

When our sin is small, such as a thought which we have been dwelling on, treatment is relatively simple. If we confess our sin to God, turn it over to Him, He is faithful to forgive us (John 1:9) and the ramifications on our lives are small. Confession does not come without pain however. We must realize that we have, yet again, fallen short of God’s holy mark for our lives. Unfortunately, too often we do not deal with our sin at this point.

When cancer reaches stage II it begins to get complicated. No longer is the disease process confined to a single place. It has begun to spread. It now affects nearby organs but is still usually treated with great success. The pain for treatment and recovery are elevated from stage I though.

Sin that has progressed passed stage I in our lives is sin that has begun to be acted upon. Perhaps there was someone at work you were thinking about – even though you are a happily married. It begins with innocent flirting and playful contact that may appear innocent on the surface, but in your heart there is something darker driving it. It is sin. It is a disease to your soul and if you continue, it will surely destroy the holiness God has called you to.

Sometimes this can be the toughest stage to deal with. We convince ourselves that we really haven’t done anything yet. We are only playing on the fringes of sin, but realize that this is a lie. Jesus tells us that if we have committed something in our heart that we are already guilty (Matthew 5:27). We still however make excuses for our behavior and this is most often why we move quickly to stage III.

Stage III cancer begins to get very serious. For now the tentacles of the disease have spread to neighboring lymph nodes and are in danger of spreading to the entire body. This stage is much more difficult to treat, often involving very invasive surgery and possibly chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Your odds of survival begin to drop rapidly at this point and you wish you have heeded the warning signs when you first saw them. You may miss work, not to mention the financial and emotional strain on you and those you love. There is still hope however.

Unrepentant sin also mirrors this stage of cancer. Now our sin has spread from us to others. We are now, either directly or indirectly involving other people in our sin. They are both participating and following us or they are the victims of our behavior. Families and marriages are torn apart. Careers are ruined. Works of a lifetime come crashing down. Witness the recent fall of Tiger Woods for a prime example of sin out of control. God can still restore what the locust has eaten at this point but the treatment may be long and painful and the cost high.

Stage IV is serious indeed. It is often referred to as metastatic cancer, meaning that it has spread throughout the body. Often at this stage, our prognosis is poor and death can sometimes be imminent. Doctors will do their very best, but at this point success cannot be guaranteed.

If you wait until your sin has spread to this point, you are in danger of eternal separation from God. We can allow sin to become so deeply imbedded in our lives, that we cannot see a path to change. Of course we have a surgeon, a perfect surgeon that can fix even this. But we need to ask Him to help, for he will not operate without our permission.

The changes will be costly. You will have to turn from all that has become who you are, to be something that God wants you to be. You will have consequences for your stubbornness, but there will be eternal life… THERE IS ALWAYS ETERNAL LIFE FOR THOSE THAT REALLY SEEK IT.

Sin is like cancer in our lives. I hope that you would seek help if you became aware of a problem in your body and if the doctor told you that you needed surgery, you would get it right away. Doesn’t that seem reasonable? Then why, I might ask, can you not ask for the help you need to remove the sin from your life? What is holding you back? Can you not see what this sickness is doing to you?

One thing about cancer though, it is important to get it all when removing it. A single cell can cause the cancer to return – sometimes more vigorously than before. Sin is no different. If you deal with only part of the problem, then rest assured it will be back again – possibly with devastating consequences. You need to remove all of it!

The example I have given here is only that – an example. Sin takes root in our lives in many ways and just as there is not a single type of cancer, there are many different sins that plague us. Give yourself a spiritual examination and ask if there is the tumor of sin in your life. The more honest you are, the better your chance at catching it early and dealing with it while the consequences are small. If it has gone beyond that point then the time to deal with it is now. Don’t wait until a death sentence is handed out. A loving God wants nothing more than to heal you. You simply need to make an appointment.

The Great Physician is just a prayer away. If you are thinking about sinning, drop to your knees and PRAY! If you are flirting with sin, drop to your knees and ask for forgiveness right now. If you are actively in sin, STOP! Ask for forgiveness and be prepared to do whatever you have to to make it right.

Sin however has another stage. It is Stage V and it is always lethal. Once you have passed from this world there is NO CURE. God has warned us that not to accept the free gift of salvation is to be eternally separated from Him and there is no second chance. So, if you have not accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and savior, then do it now.
Go to this page to see how.

And for the rest of you brothers and sisters in Christ. Treat your sins early and often and you will enjoy spiritual health.

Blessings upon Blessings

Tim

Secret sin is like cancer in the life of the believer. How many of you are struggling right now with something that you know is in direct conflict with your decision to be a Christian? How much compromise is there in your life that is hidden, unseen by most?

The bible tells us that “…Your sin will find you out.” It doesn’t say that your sin might find you out. Or, with unfortunate luck, your sin might be revealed. It is very clear. Eventually those things that are outside of the will of God catch up to us. When and how they catch up to us makes all the difference.

I heard a former lifeguard once explain about trying to rescue a drowning man. First, know that if you are trying to rescue someone who is drowning, it is often the case that the rescuer becomes the victim. Often, the rescuer has to wait until the victim stops struggling before an effective rescue can be made. And if the person struggling doesn’t want to be rescued? Well, that’s a whole other story.

If you know someone near and dear to you that is struggling with sin and you want to help, be careful that you yourself do not fall victim to sin. It happens all the time when godly people with the best intentions try to help others.

But we are here mainly to discuss you. If you are battling with secret sin right now, you need to stop struggling immediately not tomorrow, or the day after. BUT RIGHT NOW. It is not going to get easier or better. And the longer you wait, the greater the damage to your life and testimony – not to mention your walk with God.

How do we do that? How can we turn from the things that seem to grip our flesh and wrestle our hearts away from the Father? One word… Accountability. As long as you feel that your sin is hidden, it will grab you over and over again. You feel bad (probably a little less each time) but you just can’t seem to quit. Accountability will bring your sin into the light of day and give you a partner in the fight.

Don’t you realize that you are already accountable to God? There is nothing secret from Him. In fact, Romans 3:19 tells us “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.” (Emphasis mine.)

Don’t be the fool in this world that says “I can handle it.” “I am strong, I don’t need any help.” Reach out today and share your secret struggles with a trusted member of God’s family and ask them to help you, to pray for you, and to hold you accountable.

Only when we stand in integrity will we receive the blessings that God has waiting for us.

And if you feel that your secret sin is keeping you from becoming a Christian… FEAR NOT. That was exactly the reason He came and gave Himself for you. You just come to the foot of the cross and confess your sin to Jesus. Make Him your personal savior and He is faithful to clean you from all unrighteousness.

It is time for Christian men and women to quit making excuses. We need to rise to God’s standard and not lower ourselves to the world’s. I have faith that you can do it. Today is the day. And best of all, God promises to restore what the locust has eaten.

May you be richly blessed,

Tim