2 Timothy 4:9 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world
Just listened to Pastor David Rosales delivering an excellent message on Demas.
So good, it left me dwelling on it all day.
Pastor David’s message covered everything about Demas. I could never do it justice. I don’t want to build upon his perfect message, but rather, put it into my shoes. It left me wondering, as Pastor David says, ‘where are the Demas’ in this crowd? ‘Not me!!’ most everyone probably said to themselves at the Philly Pastor’s conference where he was preaching, except for the few, humble, honest with themselves pastors who maybe thought as Judas; ‘is it me??’
Matthew 26:25: Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
If you don’t want to watch this short sermon let me fill you in on the back ground of Demas. And how it affected me.
I thought I was the only one intrigued by Demas. When Joe Edwards-Hoff mentioned a sermon her heard about Demas, I was like ‘whaaaaattt?? No way Jose!!” Guess Pastor Rosales and I have a lot more in common than I thought.
As I read through the Bible the very first time, this verse jumped out at me. (The Holy Spirit WILL do that to you, if you prayerfully read the Bible. Just ask Him!). I remember thinking wow, how could anyone forsake Paul? Not me!!! (Little did I know haha) I was filled with a sweet kind of righteous indignation at first but after a little while, it kind of churned my stomach. Remember, the Word is sweet when you bite into it, but sour when you digest it.
Revelation 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
At first, when I read about Demas’ bad decision, it was sweet!! Aha! I thought!! At least I am a better Christian than Demas! Probably my first, of many, moments of the sin of spiritual pride. (Unknowingly, I sped read past two places where Paul had mentioned him as a good brother, a great co-worker of Paul spreading the Gospel including getting thrown into prison with Paul.) I didn’t notice at first because he was just one name among many. Kind of glanced over them but didn’t actually ponder them. Once the name ‘Demas’ jumped out at me though, I kept seeing his name pop up in other parts of the Bible before he abandoned Paul at the end of his life. Throughout the Bible, many great men of faith blew it big time in the last part of their life? You ‘d think it would be different, but sadly it isn’t. I praise God that I blew it in the first part of my Christian walk, and not in the last!!! Did Demas go to hell? I don’t know. Did he repent? Who knows? I would love to ask him when I get to heaven, hope he’s there. God is a lot kinder and merciful than we are. Like Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11, it might be a sore subject to bring up if they are there too, but I’m dying to ask them a ton of questions as well.
Why do people forsake God?
1. Shiny things.
-Fish, monkeys, children, humans, soldiers, raccoons, cats, birds, all kind of animals get killed every day because of their fascination of shiny things. Even deer, who run when a squirrel trips over a stick a mile away, gets killed when they watch in fascination the shiny headlights of a car coming at them in the night. In the army, a shiny coke can, wired to a grenade, in the side of a path is eventually going to get kicked by a grunt. I think ‘shiny things’ is what got Demas. Remember, Satan possessed a Shiny serpent To beguile eve. Scholars say it was actually a Beautiful (shiny) dragon. I think as he travelled with Paul, Demas I was enamored by all the shiny, nicely dressed rich people he met and their luxuries. Or that shiny pretty girl in Thessolonica. Or just the shiny money that I am sure he wasn’t making much of in ministry. We only know that he felt like he was missing out on something because he followed hard after Christ for many years, then suddenly ‘loved the world more.’ It wasn’t like Paul made it seem though. Like any sin, or mistake, it had to germinate and fester first in the brain. Demas slowly became discontent. He started to murmur to himself. He started blowing it here and there. Reminds me of Judas. I don’t think he joined up with Jesus planning to betray him. I think after a time though, he started feeling unappreciated. He gave Jesus sound financial advice and Jesus blew him off. Judas wanted the shininess of respect and authority. He wanted the shiny 30 pieces of silver. If I am not careful sometimes I remember all my buddies I used to sell cars with. They are all millionaires now. They have their kids living with them. They can give their kids anything they want they live in beautiful homes. Their cars start in the mornings. They laugh, (we laughed, a lot!) they have fun, they still see each other (we were all very close), but God saved me and called me to the mission field. I tried to go back after 10 years, but it didn’t work. Every now and then, I feel for a brief tinge of remorse, like I am missing out, but I know I’m not. So I kill that thought immediately. The beauty is that I have gotten to go back and pray for the healing of some of them (and God healed them from devastating, deadly diseases) and a few got saved or recommitted their lives to Christ! All good!!
Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
2. Not accepting responsibility for their sin, failure, loss of a ministry, loss of a congregation.
-Jesus lost His whole congregation (in John 6, Jesus’ ‘church’ went from 20,000 members to 12 in just after one message!, can you imagine??) I have blown my Christian walk and witness since I accepted Jesus as my Savior. Rebellion, doubt and anger always creeps in. I have probably forsaken other Christians (not to my knowledge though). I think most people who really put it all on the line for Jesus have passed a season like this, of problems, failures, discouragement, sin, mistakes, doubt, questioning and misery. Billy Graham did. Most of the great men of God that I have studied have. A surprising number of Calvary Chapel pastors whom I personally know and respect have. Some survived and are doing great. Some are bar tenders and insurance agents. The beauty of these seasons is that IF YOU DON’T forsake God, you come out on the other side even stronger. Only IF you don’t forsake God in the process. You may forsake some people unintentionally in the process, but please don’t forsake God. If you don’t, you’ll be better and more effective than ever. Sure, there will be ‘the brethren’ sharpening their teeth, waiting to pounce on you when you come through the trials, on the other side. However, after what you went through, it won’t even phase you. Just don’t quit!
James 1:4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
3. Resentment.
-Some people come through their trial still angry, still smelling like smoke. Where there’s smoke there’s fire. I have a very famous friend, a Christian sister who had just gone through the fire. The problem is that she still smells like smoke. She could have an enormous ministry after what she went through, but she’s furious. And her following is only of people in the same mental state. I beg her to just focus on Jesus, I’ve been there, done that. It doesn’t work! I exhort her to trust Him and to look on His glorious face. But she wants heads to roll, she’s angry. She wants revenge. There is no sustainability in that because she is looking at man, not God. She’s staring at the past, not the future. She’s imitating unsaved humans, not Jesus. Although I pray this not to be the case, many people like that end up forsaking God. Resentment works in Christianity, and especially in ministry. My plumb line is the Holy Spirit. If the Holt Spirit doesn’t do it, it’s Satanic. Strife, contention, bitterness, resentment is all Satanic because the Holy Spirit doesn’t stoop to those things. Notice that none of the saints that were martyred ever complained to God when the got to heaven in the Revelation of John? They went to heaven singing Holy Holy Holy, without the stench of smoke. Their robes were pure and clean, not dirty and stinky. When we come out of the furnace (Like the three men where Jesus was with them in Daniel 3) we can come out the other side glorifying God. I am not washed out, forsaken of God, because I have not forsaken God. I didn’t forsake God because Jesus was with me. I talked to Him continuously, Demas at that time wasn’t talking to Jesus. He was talking to people, or murmuring to himself. If he was, he wouldn’t have abandoned Paul. If Judas had simply talked to Jesus about how he was feeling, come clear with Him, maybe someone else would have had to do that dastardly deed. Our only goal, for all of us, is to get through this world (the fire, the shiny things, the failures and sins) and finish well, in a way that makes others glorify God. You can only do that when you know that Jesus is with you every step of the way, even in the midst of trial, tribulation and temptation.
Daniel 3:19-30 Firmly tied, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego fell into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was very surprised and jumped to his feet. He asked the men who advised him, “Didn’t we tie up only three men? Didn’t we throw them into the fire?” They answered, “Yes, our king.” The king said, “Look! I see four men. They are walking around in the fire. They are not tied up, and they are not burned. The fourth man looks like a son of the gods.” Then Nebuchadnezzar went to the opening of the blazing furnace. He shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, come out! Servants of the Most High God, come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire. When they came out, the princes, assistant governors, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies. Their hair was not burned. Their robes were not burned. And they didn’t even smell like smoke. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
When I get out of this fiery life, filled with sun, failure, shiny things and resentment, I want to finish so well that people say ‘praise the God of Dean!” instead of “too bad Dean forsook God after all they went through together!”
Love you
Dean AndWinnie