“For Demas hath forsaken me, having
loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to
Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.” -2 Timothy 4:10
The world we live in today, this “present world”; is a
threatening one. This is obviously true
in the natural sense, and it is also true in the spiritual. The fish in the sea
need the sea to survive. It is where
they find their food, their community, but it is also full of predators and
things that threaten them. The same is
true for the impala in the African desert.
That is their habitat, and their present world, but there are lions
amongst them, predators that threaten them.
The same is true for us, there are things in this present world that we
need to survive like food, clothing, shelter; however, there are also those
things that threaten our spiritual life and we have an adversary seeking to
destroy us. He may choose to walk in
sheep's clothing, hide himself in false theology, wealth, or personal
satisfaction. Or, he may just charge
straight on with outright persecution and temptation. Regardless, of the method, he uses this
present world to attract, allure, and ultimate condemn; because of this, our
love for this present world will always be in direct conflict with our love for
Christ. So the question this: Are you a
pilgrim or a citizen?
When you become sanctified, according to the scriptures, you are
no longer a citizen of this Earth. You
have been translated, adopted, born-again.
You live here in the flesh, you exist here in the body, but according to
the scriptures you thoughts, actions, wants, wishes, etc. are tuned and
influenced by things above. In short,
you're a pilgrim. After Damascus road,
the Apostle Paul was no longer a citizen of this world, he became a pilgrim and
stranger. He wrote in Hebrews that the
saints of old confessed that they were pilgrims and strangers seeking a city to
come, and I just believe that when he was writing that letter there was something
that stirred inside him when he penned those exact words; and with tears
streaming down his face he put the pen down for a moment, to walk about the
room with hands raised saying “Praise God, I am pilgrim, I am pilgrim!” Whether he did that or not, we have no way of
knowing, but what we do know is that he lived the testimony that he was a
pilgrim and stranger here. He forsook
this world and all the attraction of it to live totally for Jesus. This was Paul’s testimony, right down to the
end. However, the topic of this little
message is not about Paul, it is about Demas.
The scripture tell us that Demas forsook Paul (and more importantly
Jesus Christ), having loved this present world.
It is entirely possible that Demas was once converted and maybe even
sanctified. It is recorded that he was a
“fellowlabour” with Paul, therefore he served the church. There is a lot to Demas that we can only
guess at, but what we do know, for certain fact: is that Demas loved this
present world, and he loved it so much that he forsook Christ, and Paul, and
the Church. We are not really sure how
it all happened, but it happened; somehow, someway, the devil used the things
of this world to draw Demas’s heart away from the things of God. It could have been money that drew him, or a
person, a dream that he wanted to follow; we don't know. However, something or things in this world
attracted him and he loved it; and when he loved it more than Christ, he was no
longer a pilgrim, but a citizen.
What do you love most...Funny thing about
humanity, is our unique ability to deceive ourselves about ourselves. We can go our whole lives believing (or at
least pretending to believe) one thing, but living something completely
different; and never really reconcile the two.
For this reason I ask you all (and myself) plainly, are you sold out to
God? Or is there a price on your
soul? Something in this world that you
would trade eternity for. Brothers and
Sisters, if we are not sold out, we better be, because if you have a price, the
devil will find it and he will buy you out.
He will use this present world to attract, allure, and condemn. Again, are you a pilgrim or a citizen?
