I've entitled this message, Demas. We just read what Paul said in
Timothy regarding this man, Demas hath forsaken me, having loved
this present world. Now that sounds like a negative
subject, and I want to bring a message from Demas that will
be an encouragement and give assurance to the Lord's people. Now you pray for me that I'll
bring this message as it ought to be brought. We've been looking
at these characters in Colossians chapter 4, and we read in verse
14 of Colossians chapter 4, Luke, the beloved physician, that's
who we considered last week, and Demas greet you. Demas was a traveling companion
of the Apostle Paul. And in the book of Philemon,
Paul referred to Demas as a fellow laborer. Evidently, Demas was
a preacher of the gospel. Now, Paul had some discernment,
and you can be sure he didn't see this coming. Demas, my friend,
the preacher of the gospel, hath forsaken me. He's deserted me. Having loved this present world. He loved the here and the now.
He loved the present world, and he had said all the right things,
and he conducted himself in a way that was seeming right, and perhaps
he'd done so for many years, but all of a sudden, he's gone.
Demas hath departed, he hath forsaken me, having loved this
present world. He was like the many disciples
in John chapter six. From that time, many of his disciples
went back. They claimed to be his disciples,
but they went back, and they walked no more with him after
they heard what they called the hard sayings of John chapter
six. Demas was like what Peter described,
the dog returning to his vomit. and the pig that was washed to
her wallowing in the mire. He was like those that John spoke
of. They went out from us, but they
were not of us. For if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that
they might be made manifest, that they were not all of us. You see, there are those who
are of God. He that's of God, Heareth God's
words, you therefore hear them not, because you're not of God.
He said to another crowd, you are your father the devil, you
are of the world. I'm not of the world, you are
from beneath, and I'm from above. And Paul tells us why he departed.
Having loved this present world. The same world that John warned
us of. Love not the world, neither the
things of the world. For all that's of the world,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life,
the lust of the flesh, fallen human nature and its sinful cravings. the lust of the eyes, being more
concerned about what men see than what God sees. Popularity,
the pride of life, the lust for power. All that's of the world,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world
passes away in the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of
God abideth forever. James said in James chapter four,
who so is a friend of the world is the enemy of God. This is the same world that our
Lord refused to pray for. He said, I pray for them. I pray
not for the world. but for them which you have given
me." Now what is this world that Demas loved? What is the world
of which Paul said in Galatians chapter 1 verse 4 that Christ
hath delivered us from this present evil world? Now there are three
words in the New Testament translated world And one is, I guess I'm
pronouncing it right, cosmos. I think I pronounced it cosmos
once and somebody corrected me. And I thought, well, how do you
know? I mean, Greek language is dead. Who knows how it's pronounced?
But at any rate, I gave it a stab. But the word is used in so many
different ways in the scripture. It can mean the earth. The world
can mean the earth. This planet we're living on.
The earth as opposed to the heavens. It can mean mankind. He was in
the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him
not. It can mean Gentiles as well
as Jews. He is the propitiation for our
sins and not for ours only, not just for us Jews, but also for
the sins of the whole world. It can mean the sum of all temporal
possessions. What would it profit a man if
he gained the whole world and lose his soul? that what he usually
means is the world that is alienated from and hostile toward God. In John chapter 7, verse 7, the
Lord said to the people who are listening to him, the world cannot
hate you, but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works
thereof are evil. Turn to John 15 for a moment. John 15. Beginning in verse 18, if the
world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.
If you were of the world, the world would love his own. But
because you're not of the world, but I have chosen you out of
the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word
that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord.
If they persecuted me, they'll also persecute you. If they've
kept my saying, they'll keep yours also. But all these things
will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know
not him that sent me." Now, the other word that is used quite
often translated, the world, means the age, a period of time
marked by certain characteristics. We read of the cares of this
world or this age. We read of the sons of this world. We even read of the God of this
world and the prince of this world, speaking of Satan. And
we read of the fashion of this world and the wisdom of this
world. I love that scripture in 1 Corinthians
2 or 1, where Paul said, the world by wisdom knew not God. I love that, don't you? the world
by its own wisdom didn't have a clue, it knew not God. And
then there is the word that means the inhabited earth, the Roman
Empire. Remember where Luke said that
all the world should be taxed, all the inhabited earth, everybody
that was in the Roman Empire. Now, love for the world, love
for this present world, what does that mean? Now there are
many good things in this world, You know, this world's a beautiful
place. It's God's creation. I love being in central Kentucky.
I don't think there's anything like seeing these rolling hills
of central Kentucky, the horse. It's beautiful. God's world is
beautiful, and men were created in the image of God, and because
of that, there's a lot of good things in this world. What about
a happy marriage? How blessed that is. a man and
woman in love with one another. What about the blessedness of
having children and grandchildren and the love that exists between
parents and children? What about the blessings of friendship? What a blessing it is to have
a true friend, somebody that's really you can count on. They're
there for you all the time. And there's the blessing of work. You know, work is a good thing.
It was before the fall. It was in the garden before the
fall. What a blessing it is to be able to work hard. And what a blessing it is to see compassionate
people, people who are compassionate to one another and helpful and
so on. There are good things in this
world. The ability to invent, what a blessing that is. The
ability to enjoy life, to enjoy food. What a blessing. This is a good place, isn't it?
I'm thankful for the blessings of this world and I wouldn't
want to just all the work when he's saying love not the world
he's not talking about love not all these blessings that he's
given to us because the Lord has given us this world to enjoy.
He really has. Some people act like it's God's
will for you to be miserable. I know it's not. He's given us
all things richly to enjoy. Now when Paul speaks of Demas
loving this present world, he had a love for this world that
did not make him thankful for the blessings of it, but it made
him depart from Christ. Now who knows where this began? How many years did it take? How
long was he a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. I don't
know. Did he have a desire to please somebody? Did he have
a desire to get rid of the frown of this world? I don't know what
started this process or how long this process took, but it happened.
Paul said, Demas hath forsaken me, deserted me, having loved
this present world. Now, Demas was a worldly. He was a worldly person. Now when the world thinks of
a non-worldly person, they generally think of a religious fundamentalist
who dresses different. And you can even tell by their
haircut. And they avoid any kind of worldly
music, and they fight secularism, and they fight worldly practices
and they never enjoy the pleasures of life. They have that touch
not, taste not, handle not mentality that makes them think that I'm
keeping myself from the world. And then the world thinks of
a worldly person as someone who enjoys fine dining and eating
and pleasure and so on and probably likes nice cars and big houses
and enjoys life a lot better than the religious fundamentalist
did. Now, and this person is generally quite shallow and doesn't
really think anything about the world to come. They're only living
here in the present and not thinking about the world to come. Now,
no doubt that is a worldly person, but that religious person is
a very worldly person too. That religious person is being
dominated by the religion of the world. He's just as worldly,
if not more worldly, than the person who has an ostentatious
house and drives an ostentatious car or whatever people think
of as being worldly. Now, what is this world that
demons loved and departed from Christ for? Well, Ephesians 2.2
says, wherein in times past you walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
speaking of Satan, the spirit that now works in the children
of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in
times past, in the lusts of our flesh, in the lusts of our mind,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we
were by nature the children of wrath. wrathful children, even
just like everybody else. John referred to the world as
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life. The lust of the flesh, I think,
is most clearly demonstrated by Adam and Eve before the fall.
They were naked. It wasn't an issue. As soon as
they fell, all of a sudden it was an issue. That's because
of fallen, sinful nature. Their natures were changed. And
that lust of the flesh, that fall, also see what was the first
thing they did? They invented human religion. They tried to
make a covering for themselves, to cover their nakedness and
their shame. You see all that in the fall and the lust of the
flesh. And then there's the lust of the eyes. being more concerned
about what men think than what God thinks, being more concerned
about what somebody thinks about me than what God thinks about
me, trying to please men. It's the fear of man, the lust
of the eyes that causes you to not do right because you're concerned
about what somebody else thinks. And then there's the pride of
life, the lust for power and position and so on. The pride
of life. And you know, let's be honest. Everything that I've mentioned,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life, isn't there in you right now a great attraction to those
things? Somebody says, no. Well, one
of two things are true concerning you. You're a liar. or you're so good at lying and
so adept at it, you've lied to yourself and made yourself really
believe it. Anybody that has an evil, sinful nature knows
that there is a great attraction to the lust of the flesh, the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. There's a great attraction
to it, and we hate ourselves that it's like that. But if I'm
a Christian, I also have a new man. an inner man that has no
love for this world of sin and that has no love for this world
that hates my Redeemer. Now, when we're talking about
the world that Demas pursued, we're talking about this world
that has no love for Jesus Christ, no love for the gospel, no love
for the gospel of grace. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. Verse 12, look what Paul says. Now we have received not the
spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God. that
we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Now, the spirit of the world
doesn't know anything about things freely given. The spirit of the
world knows nothing of grace, no appreciation for grace. But
when I'm given the spirit of God, I'm given some understanding
of the things that are freely, don't you love that word freely,
freely given to us of God. God freely gave me faith. God
freely gave me repentance. God freely gave me a new heart. God freely gave me his righteousness. God has freely given me the forgiveness
of sins. Do you know that's the spirit
which is of God? And works, religion, is the spirit
of the world. It's worldliness. Notice Demas loved this present
evil world. He was more concerned about the
present world than the world to come. Now, What would keep, here's
the question I want to ask, and like I said, I want to bring
a positive, blessed message that encourages us rather than scares
us to death, unless we need to be scared to death. What is it
that would keep me and you from being like Demas? I don't want
to be a Demas, do you? And I also see where, apart from
God's grace, I could easily be a Demas. What can keep a man
like me or you from being a demon? Turn to first Peter chapter one. Peter says, blessed be the God
and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his
abundant mercy hath begotten us unto a living hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Now, when Christ
was raised from the dead, I was given a living hope. All my sins
are put away, and my hope's alive. My hope is a person who's alive,
who's seated at the right hand of the Father. I've got a living
hope. To an inheritance, verse 4, incorruptible and undefiled,
and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. You know why
I'm not gonna fall away? Because there's a place with
my name already on it, reserved for me. And there will be no
empty chairs in heaven, no empty seats. You see, everybody that
Christ died for must be saved. They cannot fall away like Demas
did. You remember what John said?
He said, They went out from us, but they were not all of us.
For if they would have been of us, they would have no doubt
continued with us. But they were manifest that they
were not all of us. We have an inheritance undefiled
that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept. What's gonna keep me from falling
away? I'm kept. Kept. Kept by what? Kept by the
power of God. Here's why, by His grace, I'm
not going to be a demon. Now I know apart from His grace,
any believer here knows all the Lord's got to do is remove His
hand from you, and there's nothing you want to do. But I'm kept. How? By the power of God. Now that is power, isn't it?
It's the power of God that is used in the preservation of the
believer. And that's why no believer will
prove to be a demis. They're kept by the power of
God, but watch this, through faith. Through faith. Continuing to
look to the Lord Jesus Christ. Continuing to rest in Him. When
I was first saved, and I don't even know when that was, but
when I was first saved, I know this, I knew that the only hope
that I had was that Christ died for my sins. I couldn't even
assure you that Christ didn't die for me, but I knew the only
hope I had was that Christ died for my sins. You know what? It's
no different today. not a bit different. We're kept
by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed
in the last time wherein you greatly rejoice though now for
a season if need be you're in heaviness through manifold temptations
that the trial of your faith being much more precious than
of gold that perishes, though it be tried with the fire, might
be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of
Jesus Christ, whom, having not seen, you love. in whom though
now you seem not yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable
and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the
salvation of your souls. Turn with me for a moment to
Galatians chapter six. And this is what gives someone a proper
view of the world. This world that hates the Lord
Jesus Christ, that hates grace. Paul said in verse 14 of Galatians
chapter six, But God forbid that I should
glory, that I should boast in, that I should have confidence
in, that I should find hope in. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world
is crucified unto me and I unto the world. Now here's the only
way somebody's going to have the proper attitude about the
world and not love the world the way Demas did. It's by glorying
in the cross of Jesus Christ. Now Paul, if there's anybody
that had any reason to glory, I think Paul would. I mean, God
took him into the third heavens. He was taught the gospel directly
by the Lord Jesus Christ. He wrote at least 13 books in
the Bible. He's called himself by grace
the wise master builder. He's the one that the Lord used
more than any other man to expound the gospel we believe. We love
Paul, don't we? But what does Paul say regarding
his own experience? He said, God forbid that I should
glory in anything that I've been enabled to do, that God has used
me for. I don't want to glory in any
of that. There's only one thing I can glory in, and that's the
cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, what he accomplished on Calvary
Street. You see, when he said, it is
finished, My salvation, my entire salvation became past tense. It became historical. It was
accomplished. And I'm not going to have confidence
in anything but that. God forbid that I should glory,
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And glorying in
the cross made Him see the world in its proper perspective. If
you see the glory of who Christ is and what He did, and you see
this world that hates him, what do you think about the world?
It's a crucified thing to you. It's a crucified thing. And the
world views you the same way anyone who glories in the cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, regarding this present world,
deemeth hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, let
me give you the future of the present. Turn with me to 2 Peter
chapter 3. Here's the future of the present. Verse 7. But the heavens and
the earth, which are now present, by the same word are kept in
store reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition
of ungodly men. Look down at verse 10. But the
day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which
the heavens that now are shall pass away with a great noise
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat and the earth and
the works thereof shall be burned up. Now that's the future of
the present. But that's not the only future
of the present. Look down in verse 18 of this
same chapter. But grow in grace and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory
both now, that's going on right now, and forever. Now, you see, the gospel gives
us a glorious present and a glorious future. 1 Timothy 4, 8, for bodily exercise
profiteth little, just for a little while. I mean, you can exercise
all you want. It might make you feel good,
better, good practice, but you're still going to die. Bodily exercise
profits just for a little while, but godliness is profitable in
all things, having a promise both in this life and the life
that is to come. Now let's talk just for a few
moments about what a believer has right now in the present. Romans chapter 8 verse 1 says,
there is therefore now no condemnation. to them that are in Christ Jesus. Now, right now, I'm in Christ
Jesus and there's no sin to condemn me for. You see, if I had any
sin, I'd be condemned. God said, I will by no means
clear the guilty. If I had any sin, I would be
condemned. But there is therefore now no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. And the only
reason there's no condemnation is there's no sin. Whoso abideth
in him sinneth not. Now that can only be laid hold
on by faith. I realize that. But in Christ,
I have no sin. That's the only reason I'm not
condemned. If there was one speck of sin
left on me, I'd be condemned. But my Lord actually put it away. There is therefore now. Rest. Rest. There is therefore now
no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. Hebrews
chapter 9 verse 24 says, For Christ is not entered into the
holy place made with heavens, which are figures of the true,
but into heaven itself now. Get that word now. Now, to appear
in the presence of God for us. Now, not only do I have no condemnation,
but I have Jesus Christ, the Lord, right now as I'm speaking,
appearing in the very presence of God for me. For me. as my great High Priest,
as my Savior, as my Lord. He's appearing there for me. And so all the Father ever sees
when He sees me is He sees Him. I love to think of the intercession
of Christ, the fact that He Wherefore, He is able to save them to the
uttermost that come to God by Him. And you know, I'm coming
to God by Him. When He comes to God, I do, because
I'm in Him. I'm united to Him. When He comes
to the Father, I come to the Father. That's exactly what the
Lord meant when He said, No man comes to the Father but by Me. He didn't
simply mean we come pleading His Name, although we do, but
He means when I come, you come, because you're united to me in
me. Wherefore he is able to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them." Peter, Satan has desired
to have you, and that's literally, he's asked for permission to
turn you inside out. And oh, what he has to work with,
with me and you. He can turn every one of us inside
out so easily, so easily. Satan has asked permission to
have you, that he may sift you as wheat. And you know what the
Lord did? He gave Satan permission to do
it. He gave Satan that permission. You see, Peter needed this. But
I have prayed for you that your faith fail not. Notice he didn't say, I prayed
for you that Satan wouldn't be able to turn you inside out.
But he did say, I prayed for you that your faith fail not. And you know what? The Father
answered him. When the Lord said from the cross,
Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. Do
you know everyone he prayed for was forgiven? That wasn't some
kind of generic prayer. Everyone he prayed for was forgiven. So what do I have right now?
Right now, I have my great high priest appearing in heaven for
me. Everything's okay. And I have
Him by His Spirit living inside of me. That's why I'm not going
to fall away. You see, the scripture says,
greater is He that's in you than he that's in the world. And by
His grace, I will persevere all the way to the end because I
have Christ in me. And you know, how do you know
Christ is in you? That's a big, that's a big, bold
claim. How do you know Christ is in you? Because the life that
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me. I live, yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God. I'm living
off his faithfulness. You know what I believe? I believe
I'm saved by His faith. Don't you believe? Yeah, that's
what I believe. That's exactly what I believe. I believe I'm
saved by His faithfulness. That's faith in Christ. We have Him
representing us. We have Him living inside of
us. And we have the blessed promise of Romans 8, 28. And we know. Right now. Right now. And we know. I love
the way Paul says this. We know. We know. Every believer
knows. And we know that all things work
together. Whatever's going on, things present,
past, future, all things are working together for good. To
them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose. Now, that's why no true believer
will ever prove to be a Demas. Now, here's the last thought
I want to leave you with regarding why a believer will never be
a Demas. And like I said, you know you
would be apart from His grace. But let's take the world. I want
you to give some consideration. Let's take the world and all
the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride
of life. Is there anything in this world that you'd sell Christ
for? No. You see, Christ is better. He's better than the world. David said, I'd rather be a doorkeeper
in the house of the Lord than to dwell in the tents of the
wicked. There is nothing this world has
to offer that can compare with the glory of simply resting in
Christ. There's no pleasure the world
has to offer as to being able to hear the gospel and know that
the Lord's done something for you and you rest in who He is
and what He's done. The world doesn't have any duplication
of that. I know a worldling would say,
I don't believe that. Well, I know you would. I know
you would because you never experienced it. If you ever experienced just
hearing the gospel, hearing the gospel, there's nothing like
it. Christ is better. Now turn with me to Psalm 17. This is the last scripture we'll
look at. Verse 13. Arise, O Lord. Disappoint him, cast him down.
Deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword. Remember
that. The wicked, it's his sword. He's
using that wicked person for his glory and for your good.
Everything that happens to you is his sword. Isn't that wonderful?
Isn't that a blessing to know that? That whatever happens to
me, he's in control of it. He's the first cause behind it.
Verse 14, for men which are thy hand, O Lord, same thing, for
men which are thy hand, O Lord, for men of the world, the world
that demons love, this present evil world, O Lord, for men of
the world which have their portion in this life. Not in the life
to come, but in this life. Oh, everything's good for them
now. They have more than their hearts could wish. whose belly
thou fillest with thy hid treasure. They're full of children and
they leave the rest of their substance to their babes. Leave
them big inheritance after they're gone. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness, I'll behold thy face. Not look
down in shame, but I'll behold his face in righteousness. Now
I can't, I can't get a hold of that. I believe it. But I kind
of feel like if the Lord looked directly in my face right now,
I'm just down quick. It'd be hard, wouldn't it? I'd
look down. But one of these days, I'll have
no sin for which to feel guilty. And I'll behold his glorious
face in absolute, perfect righteousness." Conscious of it. Conscious of
it. I wouldn't remember what sin's
like. David said, I shall be satisfied
when I awake with thy likeness. Now what would you rather be?
A man of the world who has his portion in this life and a miserable
portion it is? It's so temporary. Or be like
David. As for me, I'll behold thy face
in righteousness. I'll be satisfied. I'll be completely
satisfied. Not until then, but I'll be satisfied
when I awake in thy likeness." You know, the Lord Jesus is such
that John said, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed
upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. Beloved, now,
here's what we are now, right there in the present. Beloved,
now are we the sons of God. And it doth not yet appear what
we shall be. Can you even imagine what it
would be like to not have a sinful mind? to not have a sinful thought,
to be perfectly conformed to His image. Well, John was writing
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and he said, it
does not now yet appear what we shall be. We can't even understand
this, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like
Him, for we shall see Him as He is. the beatific vision, we
shall see him as he is. Now, Demas is a warning. He's
a warning. He had Paul fooled. He walked
with Paul for many years. He was even a preacher of the
gospel, but he departed, having loved this present world. What's
the difference between Demas and a believer? The believer
is kept, kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Let's pray together.