Perseverance in Faith: Lessons from Demas and Paul

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He says he is like a number of people who quotes, though the consciousness of such men are awakened, yet their minds are not changed, and sooner or later, they return to their old course. Where is Mr. Temporary? Now Demas, to whom we're introduced here in verse 10 as we're going to see, fits this bill almost to a T. [00:02:18]

Paul's heart may be in heaven, but his feet are firmly on the ground. We might say that his head is still in the game. He has declared that his mission has been accomplished, but he doesn't then go on and say and because my mission is accomplished all these other things are relevant. [00:04:56]

Demas has fallen in love with the present world. He's deserted me and he's gone to Thessalonica. Now here's where Mr. Temporary comes in. Where is Demas while he's gone? Well, wasn't he part of things? Wasn't he around in Colossians four, in Philemon 24, in Paul's first imprisonment when he was under house arrest in Rome? [00:07:22]

Paul was focused on the then, and it changed his view of the now. Demas now has begun to focus on the now, and it has altered his view of the then. Now when you look on you see that there are other placements and replacements to come, but this was a different matter. [00:13:04]

Paul the writer of the letter said of himself that he was concerned about himself lest having preached to others he might become a castaway. So it is naivety on our part to think that somehow or another we will not become temporary, that our assurance of the promises of God remove us from the realm where that is even a possibility. [00:10:29]

The preservation of God is directly tied to the perseverance of you. He preserves as we persevere, and it is that reality which needs to be framed and burned into our psyche so as when we're tempted to step off the pathway for whatever reason to love things that we have decided they're no longer worth living. [00:11:00]

Every sin is an inside job. You can't play the Tom Sawyer card the devil made me do it and Paulie no the devil cannot make you do it but the devil does come and insinuate yeah why are you still hanging around with those people after all this time, why do you still do these things why do you still care does it really matter. [00:11:36]

They cease to think seriously about God, about death, and about the coming judgment. Number two, they cast off as he says by degrees not wholesaling but slowly they cast off their private duties, private duties such as prayer, the reading of scripture the curbing of lusts, sorrow for sin, and so on. [00:18:06]

The real question at this level is, who or what do I love? Do I love, I'm not talking just emotion here but we're not talking an absent emotion either. You see when a person falls in love it's a really unhinging experience because it dismantles certain things and begins to construct other things. [00:20:21]

Demas presumably had started out on the journey with Nat King Cole, if I fall in love it will be forever or I'll never fall in love, if I give my heart it will be completely or I'll never give my heart, that's the great profession where is he today, where are these people, it's very salutary isn't it. [00:21:31]

There is restoration for the deserter, there is forgiveness for the backslider, there is hope for the hopeless, but don't run too quick to the encouragement, face straight on the warning. [00:22:59]

The conversation between Christian and Hopeful in "Pilgrim's Progress" outlines a gradual decline that leads one away from faith. It begins with a lack of serious thought about God and ends with a complete departure from the path of righteousness. This progression serves as a roadmap of warning. [00:17:52]

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