Welcome to a firm foundation presented by Princeton Ministries with Dr. Ken Smith. This is Carol Smith, Ken’s wife. Please enjoy.

Do you remember Rosie Ruiz? In 1980, she was the first woman to successfully run the Boston Marathon, all 26 miles, 385 yards of it. She was given a crown as having succeeded. And then within the day, someone said they thought they saw her get off a bus and then run from the crowd back into the race. They found out that, in fact, Rosie Ruiz did not run the whole marathon. In 1982, one half hour before the beginning of the Boston Marathon, Rosie Ruiz was arrested for stealing $15,000 from her employer in cash and $45,000 in checks. Rosie Ruiz began a race in Boston that she never really finished. She never really ran it. And it’s about running a race. It’s about endurance that I want to talk with you today. He lived in a city called Thessalonica.

Demas was a young man, and heard of some activity that was going on in the center of town. He listened to a man talk about Jesus Christ raised from the dead. And Demas was so taken by Paul and the message of Christ that Demas committed his life to follow him. Demas is to be found three times in the New Testament. The first time is in the book of Philemon, where the apostle Paul is in prison in Rome. And in his imprisonment, he writes a letter. And in the letter he asks that greetings, the greetings of Demas, be remembered to the people. For Demas had given up much to follow Paul, because Demas said, I am going to give up my work. I am going to give up my family. I am going to give up my personal ambitions.

I am leaving Thessalonica, and I am going with Paul. And he became Paul’s partner. And when Paul was cast into prison in Rome, Demas was with him. And the greetings from Demas are sent. We also find that in the book of Colossians, chapter four, verse 14, that Paul, again from prison, writes another letter. And in the letter to the Colossians, paul says, luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you. So Luke and Demas were there again to have their greetings sent to the church. While Paul was imprisonment. Demas was there when two of the four letters from prison were written. Demas was the co worker with Paul. He was there when the emperor threw Paul into prison. And Demas stood with Paul so much that Paul would speak of him as my beloved worker Demas. Paul is then released from prison.

After that release, there is no word about his coworker, Demas until we come to the book of two, Timothy, chapter four, verse ten. And Paul is writing to his dear friend Timothy, and he says, timothy, be diligent to come to me quickly, for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. And Demas has departed to Thessalonica before any of us say, what a terrible thing. What type of man was demas? Why, I would never leave Christ. I would never forsake him. I would remind you that Demas began on the foundation of trust in Jesus Christ, that Demas gave up his work, gave up his time, gave up his possessions, gave up his family, gave up, gave up. Until finally all that is known about him is that he was a co worker with Paul. Demas began very well.

And I would even suggest that Demas began where many christians today never even end. How many of us have given up our work? How many of us have given up our friends? How many of us have given up everything to follow Jesus Christ? That’s where Demas began. The question is finishing power. In the christian church, we often talk about beginning power. How do you become a Christian? And we become a Christian by trusting in Christ alone, that he was raised from the dead for my sins. And I confess that with my lips. That’s the beginning, but that is not the end. And there is a bit of demas in all of us. Look in your heart and mind for Demas. What does it take to have finishing power to persevere, to endure, to run the race to completion?

I would like to suggest several things. One is that anyone who would want to have finishing power to endure to the end must be very careful about small things. Demas, we are told, loved this present world. Do you think that demas fell quickly, or did it come slowly, unnoticeably, imperceptibly? And I would suggest that the fall that demas felt was slow. It was unnoticeable, but it was constant. Small things, one after another, until finally the spiritual life that had been so alive in him that he would give up everything to follow Christ. Now he forsakes him. The Lord has given us new life. In Jesus Christ we talk about grace. But did you realize that the Lord has also incorporated into his church five means whereby you can continue to receive his grace.

The first means that God has given to all christians is that of the church and specifically the word of God. As you hear the word of God, you are fed and instructed, and your spiritual spine gets strong. And as you neglect the word of God, an amorphous shape one without backbone, one that can only be grabbed and lifted, only to be slime. Without the word of God, we will find ourselves lifeless. And God has given us his word to instruct us. Do you wonder if Demas is in your heart? Have you read his word this week? Have you studied his word? Do you love his word? Or are you simply relying on having learned his word many years ago? Another means of grace is that of worship. As we would gather together to worship God gives us an additional means of grace.

He wants us to come together to worship him. And as we worship him, we continue to get strength and vitality. Do you find yourself wanting to neglect meetings of the church? Then watch for Demas. Another means of grace is that of prayer. It is a good thing, the scriptures say, to pray that the house of the Lord should be known as a house of prayer. Do you pray when disagreements come, when there are problems at home, when there are problems at work? What is your first inclination? Is it to pray and to commit that to the Lord, or to resort to a clever way of thinking that you will be able to work it out? Then be careful, for demas is lurking. Another means of grace is that of fellowship, of coming together with God’s people.

Just being in their presence is a great encouragement. And as we gather together on Wednesday evenings to pray and to eat together, this is the fellowship of the saints. It is a means of God’s grace to strengthen you, to encourage you, to give you vitality in your christian life. Do you find yourself having never been involved in the fellowship of the saints? How many names of people do you know right around you? I would suggest that if there is a fellowship of the saints, that you would know the name of everyone in this room, that you would know something about them, that you would care about them, that you would put time in those people. For that is a means of grace for you and for me. And do you find yourself turning away and saying, no time, no interest?

Then be careful, for demas is lurking. The fifth means of grace is service. Is there something that you do that is a service in the name of Jesus Christ that is not related to attending a church meeting? Did you realize that service is a means of grace that can strengthen you and fill you with vitality? It’s not a chore. It’s a privilege. And anyone who would neglect these areas of the means of grace will find themselves spiritually anemic, unable to speak with vitality. Watch the small things, for Jesus even said, there are things that are more important than the small things Jesus said in Matthew 1929. And everyone who has houses or brothers or sisters or fathers or mother or wife or children or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and inherit everlasting life. Are you willing to use your house?

Are you willing to speak to your parents, to your children, to your wife about the things of Christ? Are you willing to give the time that God asks? And I would suggest that if you cannot find the time to worship God on a Sunday evening, if you cannot find the time to gather together for the fellowship of the saints, what makes you think that you would ever give your life for Christ? Secondly, those who would want to finish the race and endure to the end, must focus on Christ rather than focusing on people and their shortcomings. Have you ever considered the group of people who followed Jesus, his disciples? Here was Peter, who at one point Jesus had to instruct and say, get behind me, Satan. There was James and John, who were always arguing and bickering. Who will sit at your right hand?

I want to. No, I want to. There was Simon the zealot, who was only interested in a political takeover. And anytime that someone would draw sword, there would be Simon. And need I say anything about Judas? Don’t you think that Jesus could have spent his time talking about the weaknesses of his disciples? For there certainly were a pile of weaknesses, and yet he didn’t do that. He continued to work with them, to train them, to point them to his father and to the will of his father. That was his interest. One sure way of falling from the path and not enduring to the end is to look at people, and when they disappoint you, to say, I will have nothing to do with this. Jesus Christ never did such a thing.

Jesus Christ looked at all of us and he said, you all have hangups. You all have problems, you all have sin, but I’ve come for you to give you new life. Jesus did not focus on the weaknesses of his people. A third concern for those who would want to finish the race, to endure to the end, is that we would forget yesterday’s battles and we would focus on tomorrow’s victories. I have met more people who, when they give their testimony about Christ, speak primarily about what has happened five years ago or ten years ago when they became a Christian. They speak only of the past, as opposed to what Christ is doing today and what he’ll do tomorrow and the victories that he will bring. As Christians. There are many victories that we can look back at.

But Christ is not in the business of our always looking over our shoulder. And if that is the only place that he has really acted in your life or mine, then watch for Demas. What would you think of a driver who got in their automobile and began to step on the accelerator and it went 2040, 60, 8100 miles an hour. And all of the time, as the car is racing forward, the only place that they’re looking is in their rear view mirror. There are many today who look at their christian life only in their rear view mirror. And if that is the case, watch for Demas. Finally, those who are willing to come in endurance to the end of the race must be willing to give up everything for Christ.

Some years ago, a young man became a communist and he wrote a letter to his fiance. The fiance gave the letter to her pastor. The pastor sent the letter to Billy Graham. And this is the letter from this young communist quote. We communists have a high casualty rate. We are the ones who get shot and hung and ridiculed and fired from our jobs in every other way are made as uncomfortable as possible. A certain percentage of us get killed or imprisoned. We live in virtual poverty. We turn back to the party every penny we make above what is absolutely necessary to keep us alive. We communists do not have the time or the money for movies or concerts or t bone steaks or decent homes or new cars. We have been described as fanatics. We are fanatics.

Our lives are dominated by one great overshadowing factor, the struggle for world communism. We communists have a philosophy of life which no amount of money can buy. We have a cause to fight for a definite purpose in life. We subordinate our petty personal selves into a great movement of humanity. If our personal lives seem hard or our egos appear to suffer through subordination to the party, then we are adequately compensated by this thought that each of us, in his small way, is contributing to something new and true and better for mankind. The one thing I am in dead earnest about is the communist cause. It is my life, my business, my religion, my hobby, my sweetheart, my wife, my mistress, my breath, my meat. I work at it in the daytime and I dream of it at night.

Its hold on me grows as time goes on. I cannot carry on a friendship, a love affair, or even a conversation without relating it to this force which both drives and guides me. I evaluate people, books, ideas and actions according to how they affect the communist cause and by their attitudes towards me. I’ve already been in jail because of my ideals, and if necessary, I’m ready to go before a firing squad. Do you know the unfortunate thing about this letter? It was written by a communist. It was not written by a Christian. That one overriding principle, Jesus Christ, that one overriding concern that propels me forward, that constrains me to go in the name of Jesus Christ. This letter should have been written by a follower of Christ. Demas gave up everything to follow him. Demas turned. Demas forsook Paul.

But more than that, he turned away from Christ. He followed the things of the world. Demas, are you here? Demas, can you hear my voice? Demas, are you willing to pray, to worship, to serve, to read God’s word? Demas, are you focusing on people rather than Jesus Christ? Demas, are you willing to pay the price? For we ask this in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Thank you for listening to a firm foundation presented by Princeton ministries. This programming is supported by you, the listener. You may go to our website, princetonministries.org, or send your donation to Princeton Ministries Post office box 21 71, Princeton, New Jersey 8543. That’s Princeton Ministries post office box 21 71, Princeton, New Jersey 8543. The Lord bless you, and Dr. Smith looks forward to hearing from you. We would like to thank Rone’s web development company for making this webcast possible. You can find their link at the bottom of our website, princetonministries.org.