Casting Down Your Crown

And I could spend major time on any of those things. But I want us to look at one area tonight in the remainder of our time. When the elders fall down before the Lord on the throne, the Bible says that they, "cast their crowns before the throne." There are a lot of different things we could talk about. One of the things that I noticed is that their worship was spontaneous, but it was united. No one had to tell anyone what to do. It was the automatic response to the revealed glory of God. That’s the way worship should be in the church. The problem is, that, on the earth, we often find ourselves having to press in to seeing His glory, and not everybody wants to go.

Not everyone in the church has the same desire when it comes to worshiping and praising God. In fact, some don’t even really care for that part of the service. But worship is so vital to raising the level of other ministry areas, that we cannot bypass the time of worship and praise. In fact, worship should be the main reason we are here, and then out of our worship flows the Word that teaches us more about Him, and also the ministry of the Spirit that can leave lives forever changed!

And in accessing that realm of praise and worship, there is something that I see in this text that must be duplicated in our lives, and in our services, if we’re going to see that become a reality. The Bible says that these elders "cast their crowns before the throne." The Lord drew my attention to that act, and I began to contemplate it, and began to seek the answer to this question: What does it mean to cast down your crown? If that is a part of the heavenly portrait of praise and worship, then we need to know what it means. And more importantly, what it means for me, and to me, here and now.

Let’s consider a few things. The Bible says that the Lord is making us to be kings and priests. So, these elders had crowns on their heads because they were kings. They had position, and they had authority. But when they viewed the One on the throne, and heard the beasts praising and giving glory to Him, they fell down, and cast their crown at the throne. And so, for them to cast down their crowns, was for them to recognize His position and authority as being greater than theirs. Now, this doesn’t seem like a big revelation, but it is the entire base and foundation for true worship: Recognizing that the great-ness of God so far surpasses your concept of self-greatness.

You may think that this is not a potent revelation, but it needs to be for many people. What keeps hands from being raised, and tears from being shed, and knees from bowing? What keeps people talking, and flipping through papers and books while worship is going on? What keeps people turning to the person next to them and making cute comments while service is going on? They are failing to realize the greatness of the God that they say they have come to worship. If they would only consider the One whose house they are in, they would be adjusting their actions to be worshipful of the One whose house it is!