| Failure Doesn’t
Have to be Final – A. Demas and Mark are contrasts in failure. One provides
words of warning, the other words of hope.
B. As people who stumble in many ways (James 3:2), we need both. I. Contrasts in Failure A. , “in love with this present world.
II1. Some of the last words of the apostle Paul express heartbreak (2 Tim
4:1-10).2. What happened? Whatever it was, Paul saw it as a love affair with
the present world.B. ,”very useful to [Paul] for ministry. II1. Just a
few sentences later, Paul writes some very hope-giving words (2 Tim 4:11).2.
Remember Mark? (Acts 12:12,25; 13:1-5,13; 15:35-40).3. Now, approximately 15
years later, we get the sense that Paul trusts Mark completely.II. Words of
Warning and Hope A. Demas: words of
—–1. From all indications, he began well. Paul described him four or five
years earlier as a “fellow worker” (CoI4:10-17; Philemon 23-24).2.
There was a time when Demas apparently made the same choice as Moses (Heb
11:24-25).3. He doesn’t appear to have ended well, which leads us to words of
warning (1 Pet 1:13-16;4:1-2; 5:6-10; 1John 2:15-17).4. Ours is a “fight
of faith” (1 Tim 6:11-12) in which we must “stand firm” (Eph
6:13).B. Mark: words of —1. From all indicators, he had a weak start. But
he grew and matured and proved himself to be a faithful, trusted, useful
warrior in the Lord’s service.2. Which leads us to words of hope (lsa
40:30-31).III. Good News for Fellow Stumblers
A. All of us fail. Some of our failures produce massive consequences.
But if we turn from our sinful failures to follow Christ, there is no failure
that cannot be redeemed at the (1 Pet 3:18).B. If we will humble ourselves
under the mighty hand of God (1 Pet 5:6-7), there is no failure that Christ
cannot restore to useful service.C. Jesus choose and uses . Paul knew this
from experience (1 Tim 1:12-17).Conclusion:A. We don’t know the last word on
Demas. Mark reminds us that failure doesn’t have to be final.B. Whatever your
past failures, your trajectory can be changed at the foot of the cross (Phil
3:12-14). |
