“Crowns for the King’s Kids”
May 18, 2008
I have been telling you for years that if you are a King’s kid – then that means you are princes and princesses. Isn’t that what we call the children of a king? There’s Prince Charles and Prince Andrew and Prince William. There’s Princess Fergie and Princess Di and Princess Beatrice. These are all the king’s kids, in one way or the other, and they are all heir apparent to the throne of England. That means it is possible for any one of them to be king or queen some day. A lot of their relatives would have to die to make it possible – but there is a slim possibility they could inherit the throne one day.
We, Christians, are of royal family, too. The Scripture says,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God…”
1 Peter 2:9
”I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.”
Ephesians 1:18
”Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Colossians 3:23-24
”Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you.”
1 Peter 1:3-4
The King of kings says in His Word that, as His children, we have an inheritance – we have a part in His kingdom. We don’t know exactly what it will be – but we know Him. We know He is good and the creator of all that is good. So Paul says we have been called to ‘riches’; we have been called to a ‘glorious’ inheritance. Peter says it will never perish, spoil or fade. And it is kept in heaven for you. One of my favorite verses says,
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Corinthians 2:9
Can you understand that? Can you wrap your mind around that idea that you are a part of a royal family with an inheritance that would make the King of England’s look puny in comparison? God has plans for you. God has wild, fantastic, wonderful plans for you and for me. I don’t know what they are just yet – but I know they are good.
Along with those plans and that inheritance, God has revealed that we will receive a number of crowns. A prince or a princess ought to have a crown – don’t you think. Well, God says we have one – or actually more than one. The first one we get here on earth. It’s not so nice – but it is so necessary. It is a crown like our Saviors. 1. It is a crown of thorns. The bible says,
“everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” 2 Timothy 3:12
”Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” 1 Peter 4:12-13
You WILL have to wear a crown of thorns in this life. If they persecuted Jesus – they well persecute you. This is NOT our inheritance. This is not our kingdom. This is not our home. We are just passing through. And as strangers and aliens – we will wear a crown of thorns. Satan, the world, our own fleshly bodies will see to that. But it will be worth it. First of all, in this life – it builds our character. It gives us opportunity to grow and mature and to become Christ-like. So your trials of life are meant to make you better. God would not allow them if that were not so. If you are given a crown of thorns to wear – wear it patiently and proudly and use it for what it is meant for – for personal growth.
It will be worth it to wear the crown of thorns, secondly, for eternity. Paul wrote:
“If we died with Him – we will also live with Him. If we endure – we will also reign with Him.”
(2 Tim 2:11-12)
So after we have worn the crown of thorns for awhile – we will exchange it for another crown. We call this crown – the “Crown of Life”. The bible says,
”Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12
After you have worn the crown of thorns for awhile, in this life, you will receive the crown of eternal life. You were created for more than this life! You were created for more than what you are experiencing. You were created for eternity. And if you persevere under trial; if you endure to the end of this life – you will step into eternity and experience real life.
See - this life is kind of what the caterpillar stage is to a butterfly. A butterfly was created to fly – to soar above the flowers and drink the sweet nectar of blossoms – not to grub around in the dirt. In the same way, this life is the caterpillar stage for us. We were meant to fly; to create; to live in glory – not pain. And if you will hang in there with your crown of thorns – you will receive a crown of eternal life. And this is where we will REALLY live!
I have good news! There are more crowns for you. Another one is the Soul Winners Crown. The Bible says,
”For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.” 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
I remember when I was young I would hear the ‘old timers’ talk about winning stars in their crowns – or jewels in their crowns. I’m not sure where they got that expression, but the bible does say that those we win to the Lord will be our crown. They will be our glory and joy.
I can imagine that scene as we come before the Lord, and kneel before the King to receive our coronation. I can hear Him asking, “I gave you some talents. Did you use them for me?” And we will says, “Yes, I brought Joe and Bob and Roy to you!” And He will say, “Well done! You are a good and faithful servant. Enter into the JOY of your inheritance!” And as the multitudes cheer and applaud, those we brought to Jesus will be cheering loudest. Our glory and our joy are those we bring to Jesus.
Then there is the Crown of Self Denial. The Bible says,
”Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” 1 Cor 9:25
Some of you have been athletes in your younger days. If not, you have watched them on TV. You know how hard they train. Boxers diet, and run, and train for months before a competition. Athletes deny themselves what they want to eat, what they want to do, who they want to see – all for the chance to win a little trophy or to stand on the winners platform to receive a gold metal.
We will receive much more than that. We will receive an eternal crown. We will receive Eternal glory. Why? What is this crown for? It is for you when you deny yourself. Jesus said,
”Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Mathew 16:24-25
When you are tempted to do wrong, or when your flesh is begging you to give into to something you know God doesn’t what you to do – and you deny yourself that forbidden fruit or worldly pleasure and choose Jesus instead – you will be rewarded. You will receive an eternal crown. I don’t know what that all means – but I know it will be worth it. Every time you have to deny yourself something because you want to do God’s will – it will be worth it. Every time you deny the flesh to obey the Spirit – God will bless you for it.
Then there is the Crown of Righteousness. The Bible says,
”Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Tim 4:8
There IS a reward for the righteous. Paul calls it a ‘crown of righteousness’. When you choose to do what is right – you will be rewarded for it. When you do what is right – you will long for Jesus to return.
One Scripture we like to sing is Matthew 6:33. Do you remember it? It goes: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness – and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Righteousness is simply “right acts”. If we make it the number one priority in our life to make Jesus the King of our life (or kingdom) – and to do what is right (right actions) everything we desire; every thing we dream of; every thing we hunger for; everything we crave – will be given to us as well. I think the reward of righteousness will begin in this life. Jesus said we would be rewarded a hundred fold for our sacrifices in this life – and on top of that – we will receive eternal life. And in eternity we will receive a crown of righteousness. I don’t know what that means either – but I know it is good. I think it may mean that all those right things we did – all those right actions will be rewarded. Maybe every person we meet in heaven will look at our crowns of righteousness and be able to see every kind act we did; or maybe every act of forgiveness and mercy we did; or maybe every generous thing we ever did will be apparent to all. Jesus said if we so much as give a cup of cold water in His name we will not lose our reward. I don’t know about you, but I forgotten most of the right actions I have done. I did them because they were the right thing to do. I didn’t keep track of them or remember most of them. But Jesus never forgets. And one day you will be so honored; so glorified; so esteemed and valued – it’s hard to comprehend. But believe it! Doing the right thing will pay off eternal dividends some day.
Then there is the Crown for Service. The Bible says,
“And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” 1 Peter 5:4
When you give your life in service for others, when you give your life in leadership – you will receive another crown. It is the crown of glory.
In the dense rain-forests of Ecuador, on the Pacific side of the Andes Mountains, lives a tribe of Indians. -They simply call themselves the “people” but their neighbor’s call them “savages”.
For many generations they have been completely isolated from the outside world, apt to kill any stranger on sight, and feared even by their head-hunting neighbors, the Jivaro tribe.
Nate Saint was 32 years old, and devoted to flying. With his wife, Marjorie Farris, he established a base at Shell Mera and flew short hops to keep missionaries supplied with medicines, mail, etc. There were 3 other families there and another family joined later. These were men and woman that love God and felt his call and answered.
After three months of air-to-ground contact, during which they made far more progress than they had hoped, the missionaries decided that it was time for ground contact. They located a beach that would serve as a landing strip, about four miles from the village. On Tuesday they flew in and made camp, then flew over the village to invite the Huaorani to visit them.
The first visitors showed up on Friday: a man, a woman, and a teen-aged girl. They stayed for several hours in apparent friendliness, then left abruptly. On Saturday, no one showed. On Sunday afternoon at about 3 PM, all five missionaries were speared to death at their camp. What in the world could their brutal deaths, so far away from home in the service of their God, have accomplished in the jungles of some foreign land?
Well, because of their deaths the efforts were intensified not abandoned. More than twenty fliers from the United States promptly applied to take Nate’s (the pilot) place. More than 1000 college students volunteered for foreign missions in direct response to the story of these Martyrs. In Ecuador, Indian attendance at mission schools and church services reached record levels, and the number of conversions skyrocketed.
In less than three years, Rachel Saint (sister of Nate Saint) and Elisabeth Elliot (widow of Jim Elliot) had not only renewed contact but had established permanent residence in a tribe of these same natives, where they practiced basic medicine and began the process of developing a written form of the language.
Nine years after the murder of the five missionaries, two of those who had killed Nate Saint and his companions baptized two of Nate’s children, Kathy and Stephen Saint. Truly, as Tertullian said 1800 years earlier, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. What we are - makes us who’s we are. Who’s we are -determines what we do.
Jim Elliot’s credo: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” When you sacrifice yourself for the good of others – whether it is on some foreign mission field or here in this church – it will result in glory and honor and a crown that will NEVER fade away. God may never ask you to serve and give sacrificially in Ecador or some other country – but He asks you to be a shepherd here – in this church. He asks you to give your life in service to others – and if you do – there is a crown of glory that will never fade away –waiting for you.
Since we are the King’s kids; since we have such a great inheritance; since we have so many crowns waiting for us – let’s do our best and give our best for Jesus.
