Engage The Real Enemy

Today we are not going to begin with scripture, because I want you to begin by talking about Strep Throat.

Strep Throat:

Strep A bacteria

Pain in throat/white patches, Fever, stomach ache, chills, fatigue

You can treat the symptoms. Gargle with salt water and take pain medication for the sore throat, Fever reducer like aspirin or tylenol for the fever, popsicles, cold cloths, numbing lozenges, peppermint and pepto-bismal and anti nausea meds for the stomach. Warmer cloths and hot soup when the chills set in. Going to bed and using caffeine for the fatigue.

BUT, when the remedies wears off, the symptoms are back.

Next, did you know that strep a can lead to Scarlet fever?

In addition to symptoms already present, now add

red creases in the armpits, elbows, and knees, flushed face, All over body rash , strawberry tongue, or a white tongue with red dots on the surface, Headaches, swollen tonsil, vomiting, swollen glands along the neck, pale skin around the lips

So, there are new symptoms that need to be addressed. Add in and oatmeal bath and soothing cream for the rash. Anti-nausea medications.

Did you know that strep a can lead from Scarlet fever to Rheumatic fever?

In addition to other symptoms, add

Painful,(arthritis), most commonly in the knees, ankles, elbows, and wrists, Congestive heart failure, including chest pain, shortness of breath, fast heartbeat, Fatigue

Jerky, uncontrollable body movements, lumps under the skin near joints, Rash that appears as pink rings with a clear center, A new heart murmur, An enlarged heart, Fluid around the heart, the symptoms of the heart condition can appear up to 10 or 20 years after the original infection and can disable or kill individuals during their prime working years

More symptoms mean more medications. Ultimately, no medication can help with the symptom of death.

Strep a is a bacteria that CAN cause the series of events. Treating the symptoms may mask what damage the bacteria is doing to the body, but medications that treat the symptoms only make them more bearable. They do not affect the bacteria. So, the bacteria can continue to destroy the body. Though medication can be given in large amounts to mask the symptoms, the symptons are back within hours, right before the next dose is due.

That is because, in this scenario, only the symptoms are treated. The cause of the symptoms was not. Therefore, the real culprit, the disease, was not stopped and continue to do real damage.

The culprit, the real enemy, the strep a bacteria, can be killed by penicillin. If the patient receives penicillin when presenting with strep throat, the bacteria is killed and the symptoms are brought to an end. No more sprialling damage is done.

~Do you see the value of addressing the real culprit, the real enemy, rather than the symptoms?

We can compare this bacteria to satan. Follow me for a moment: As the strep a bacteria is to the body, so is satan to the individual and to mankind as a whole.

Strep a is contagious. You can pick it up on surfaces or spread it from person to person. It is really easy to infect someone if you have it and it is really easy to catch if you are exposed to it. Once in your body, it begins to destroy.

Likewise, the evil of satan is contagious. A person can find themselves infected by his evil and can spread that evil from person to person. It is not complicated for someone diseased by evil to infect others through exposure. And, like strep a, once satans evil has entered a body, he begins to destroy.

Unlike strep a that will infect whomever is unlucky enough to encounter it, satan ACTIVELY seeks to infect his victims.

1 Peter 5:8

Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

With strep a, I outlined the symptoms of the bacterial infection. We even talked about how the symptoms are treated. But, we also --I hope--agreed that while it is merciful, ethical, and morally correct to provide treatment and remedy to help a patients receive comfort from their symptoms as they await the penicillin to take effect and kill the bacteria, thus freeing them from the symptoms all together.

Now, If I were to stand here today and talk about the symptoms a person and society display from being filled with the evil disease of satan, sadly I would be here a very long time. But, we are not going to discuss them all today. No, instead we are going to focus on the symptoms that are giving the patient the most distress (us as individual and us as a society). Because it is often the symptom that is causing the most pain that brings the patient in to the physician in the first place.