This morning it was 4:50 that the Lord woke me up and spoke to me to teach this morning about Crowns. As I was praying in bed and meditating on the different scriptures that the Lord brought to my mind concerning crowns the Holy Spirit began to show me the message was not just about when we receive a crown but also about rewards and recognition for serving the Lord, our daily walk with him, and work in the harvest.
But I want to start in Revelation at a familiar passage of scripture as John is invite to look into the Throne Room of God and see something spectacular.
Revelation 4
1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
***In this passage of Scripture there are some things that really jump out at me as I am reading:
- There is one Throne but there are 80 seats.
Ephesians 2:4-10
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
The 2nd thing I see everyone around the Throne is engaged in active worship. The 4 Beast, The 80 Elders all are engaged in worship around the throne……But where is everyone else you may ask:
Turn ahead a few chapters to Rev 7
Revelation 7:9-17
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
***So we see around the throne 4 beast in constant worship. We see around the throne there are Angels. We see there are 80 elders dressed in white robes with Gold crowns who are seated. And we see around them a multitude that cannot be numbered standing who are also dressed in white but they do not have on Crowns but they have palm branches in their hands and they are active in worship.
***The 1st point of the message today: There is only one throne and everyone who is around that throne is engaged in worship.
***You may have a seat around the throne….you will be engaged in worship.
***You may have a place to stand around the throne… you will be engaged in worship.
Look back with me for a minute to Rev 4:10-11
Revelation 4:10-11
10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
****The 2nd Point of the Message today: Nobody keeps his or her crown on in the presence of God. The crown falls down in a true posture of worship.
*** You cannot keep your crown on your head when you are face down before the one who is worthy. Verse 10 shows us that the elders who had been given crowns they took them off their heads and cast them before the throne and said, Jesus you receive the glory, and honour and power for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
***Beware of self-proclaimed spiritual leadership who keeps their head high to support their “crown” of position and cannot face down worship before the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Nobody keeps his or her crown on in the presence of God. The crown falls down in a true posture of worship.
Now I want to spend a few minutes talking about what kind of crowns we can receive and for what purpose:
2 Timothy 4:7-8
Paul is coming to the end of his life and tells Timothy we can obtain a Crown of Righteousness:
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
1 Peter 5
Peter tells Pastors that we can receive a crown of Glory from Jesus the Chief Shepherd.
1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
James 1:12
We will receive a crown of Life for enduring temptation
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Revelation 2:8-10
8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Revelation 3:10-12
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
***The 1st point of the message today: There is only one throne and everyone who is around that throne is engaged in worship.
****The 2nd Point of the Message today: Nobody keeps his or her crown on in the presence of God. The crown falls down in a true posture of worship.
***The 3rd point of the Message: The only real crowns are the ones that Jesus gives, when he chooses to give them.
This is where we are going to pivot the message from future events, to our current life. The Holy Spirit was dealing with my heart this morning about giving and receiving recognition for ministry service to the Lord.
In the world of Business there is a lot or research around employee recognition programs. These are is a system that acknowledges and rewards the achievements and hard work of employees. The goal of these programs is to boost employee morale, improve performance, and retain talent.
Here are some examples of employee recognition programs:
- Peer-to-peer recognition:
- Monetary rewards:
- Non-monetary recognition:
- Company-wide congratulatory email:
- Employee appreciation event:
*** I want you to think about that for a minute as we see what Jesus has to say about recognition for service in the Kingdom of God.
Luke 17:5-10
5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.
10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
***We ask many of you to serve in the Kingdom of God in this part of the Harvest we are working on for the Lord. Outreach to families, children. It should be an honor to have the opportunity to serve as our basic level of commitment for Christ.
As leadership, we must be careful to balance our appreciation of participation with not substituting immediate recognition for future reward.
Listen to the words of Jesus regarding Alms (Giving to the Poor)
Matthew 6:2-5
King James Version
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
***Point #4: Do not lose your future reward from Christ because you desire the immediate recognition of people.
***
Zechariah 3:1-5
1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
2 And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by.
Ephesians 6:17
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
The 5th and Closing point: We cannot wear the crown of reward when God has called us to wear the mitre of service or the helmet of salvation.
Exodus 28:40-41
King James Version
40 And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty.
41 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
1 Peter 2
King James Version
1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;
10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
***The 1st point of the message today: There is only one throne and everyone who is around that throne is engaged in worship.
****The 2nd Point of the Message today: Nobody keeps his or her crown on in the presence of God. The crown falls down in a true posture of worship.
***The 3rd point of the Message: The only real crowns are the ones that Jesus gives, when he chooses to give them.
***Point #4: Do not lose your future reward from Christ because you desire the immediate recognition of people.
The 5th and Closing point: We cannot wear the crown of reward when God has called us to wear the mitre of service or the helmet of salvation.