The Demas Spirit of Worldliness (Four Dangerous Spirits to Avoid, Part 5)

Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message #125

TEXT: 2 Timothy 4:9-10

Five weeks ago, we began a series of messages titled "Four Dangerous Spirits to Avoid. " So far in this series we have dealt with the Pharaohistic spirit of pride as shown in the life of Pharaoh king of Egypt during the Exodus. We have looked at the Saulish spirit of rebelliousness, stubbornness and witchcraft as showsn in the life of Saul, the first king of Israel. And we have looked at the spirit of betrayal as shown in the life of Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus Christ. Today, we are going to look at the fourth and final spirit -- and that is the spirit of loving the world as shown by Demas, the companion of the Apostle Paul.

The Bible does not tell us very much about Demas. The name "Demas" means "popular, or governor of the people." He is mentioned only three times in Scripture. In Paul's letter to the Christians at Colosse, he includes that Demas along with Luke send their greetings to those believers. And in Philemon 1:26, Paul calls him "my fellow labourer." However, when we get to our passage in I Timothy, which Paul wrote from a jail cell in Rome, we see that things have changed, and Paul writes that Demas "hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed..."

Today, I want us to dissect this issue by examining three key words in this verse.

+ Plus, listen to Chris Tomlin singing "Our God" and Andrae Crouch and Marvin Winans singing "All Because of Jesus"