TUESDAY 15 June 2021 “Crowns”

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Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends,

The Summer Olympics are only a few weeks away now, even though delayed one full year, and even this year with much concern about COVID in Japan, the host country. I wonder what your favorite part of the Olympics are? The opening or closing ceremonies, the athletic competition, or perhaps the medal ceremonies when champions are awarded their gold, silver or bronze medals? Did you know there will be awards given in heaven someday and Jesus Himself will distribute these awards?

As we continue our journey through the letter James has written to Christians around the Roman Empire, in the first century, we come to these words today in chapter one: ‘Blessed is the person who perseveres under trial, because when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12) Are you someone who is trying to ‘persevere under trial’ my friends? What types of trials? Are they financial pressure, or the pressure of abusive relationships, or the pressure of unreasonable expectations, or the pressure of living in a society which is aggressively pushing God OUT of every aspect of life all around you? And what are you doing to persevere under this pressure, these trials? What resources do you see God is providing to you which help you persevere under trial, help you stand strong against the pressure?

Do you see the reward mentioned in this verse, ‘the crown of life’? The other day we saw in James 1:4&5 that perseverance builds our character and matures us. Perseverance experiences the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives strengthening us, and the power of the Word of God guiding our minds and hearts to stand strong against the opposition. One of the secrets to perseverance is the strength the Word of God gives us when it is deeply planted in our hearts and minds. Do you have many key Scriptures memorized that you can recall when you need encouragement and strength? Here’s one of my favorites that fits closely with James 1:12 “The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You.” (Psalm 9:9,10) There’s power in that truth, isn’t there!! Have you experienced it?

Yesterday we considered Hebrews 12:1,2 and the encouragement that we should gain by considering we are surrounded by those who are cheering us on in our perseverance! Who are they for you and how are they helping you persevere in difficult times? Notice here in James 1:12 James wants us to understand that at the end of life’s road, for the Christian who perseveres, there will be a ‘crown of life’ to be presented to us by God Himself! You may know the Bible speaks of several ‘crowns’ that await the victorious, Holy Spirit empowered, follower of Jesus who perseveres in the difficulties of this life.

This ‘crown of life’ is one Jesus spoke of often when He declared that by our faith in Him He would award to us ETERNAL LIFE with Him in the kingdom of God, forever! John 5:24 is one example: “I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; they have crossed over from death to life.” When a follower of Jesus Christ arrives into God’s presence in heaven it will be his or her forever home. Everyone there will be presented, by Jesus Himself, with a ‘crown of eternal life’ which Jesus earned for us through His death and victorious resurrection! Death no longer has ANY power over followers of Jesus, for what most people call ‘death’ is for us who are followers of Jesus, ‘departure’ as our souls & spirits depart living here on earth in our bodies, and they go immediately into God’s presence! The next time you are straining to persevere for God’s glory, in the struggles of life, remember the scene awaiting you… Jesus, welcoming you into heaven and presenting to you the ‘crown of life”, and you having God’s assurance of living for all of eternity future, with Jesus and ALL those who have entrusted their lives to Jesus.

May I tell you about another crown? The apostle Paul, as he approached the end of his life, wrote to Timothy with exciting anticipation about “…the ‘crown of righteousness’ which the Lord, the righteous Judge will award to me on that day – and not only to me but to all who have longed for His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8) This ‘crown of righteousness’ celebrates the holiness of Jesus which God has imputed (applied) to those of us, repentant sinners, who have trusted that by our faith in Jesus’ death, God has both forgiven us and declared us to be justified, pure and cleansed from our sin! (1 John 1:9; 2 Corinthians 5:21) The holiness of Jesus is applied to our lives by God Himself, and when in heaven this ‘crown of righteousness’ is given to us it is a symbol of this remarkable reality…we are a holy people! Think of it, we, repentant sinful people, awarded the holiness of Jesus!

And may I show you one more crown in Scripture? This is the ‘crown of glory’ and is to be given by Jesus to those who have persevered in the great challenges of serving the people of God in special leadership roles. Peter wrote about this crown in 1 Peter 5:1-4: “To the elders among you…be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them, serving as overseers not because you must but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” Unless you’ve served as a Pastor or elder, or one responsible for being shepherd of a group of God’s people, you may not fully understand the challenges and spiritual burdens of this great privilege, and why Jesus would want to give these faithful, spiritual leaders a special crown for their perseverance.

Now as you and I think about these amazing heavenly rewards called ‘crowns’ we naturally compare it to awards given here on earth and what people do with those awards, don’t we? Have you ever been in someone’s home and seen a ‘trophy case’, or perhaps an office and seen their degrees and awards hanging on the wall? Or maybe you’ve watched an award ceremony on television. From the time we are children we love to display our awards, don’t we? And there is naturally a sense of competition and comparison as we evaluate awards isn’t there? But not in heaven my friends! These ‘crowns’ are given to us by Jesus in recognition of the work Jesus has done IN us and how we have stewarded His great work in us. The ‘crown of life’ celebrates Jesus earned eternal life for us through His death and resurrection. So how have we lived the first part of that eternal life here on earth after we trusted in Jesus?

The ‘crown of righteousness’ Jesus earned for us as His holiness was applied to us after we trusted in Him for salvation and God forgave our sin and cleansed us from our unholiness, and then applied Jesus’ holiness to us… and how have we lived from that day forward, bearing the holiness of Jesus?

And the ‘crown of glory’ Jesus earned as the Chief Shepherd when He called into His service men and women whom He had gifted to lead and teach and shepherd a group of people. So, if you are one of those, how are you stewarding this great privilege, a high and holy calling, that Jesus has given to you?

By the way, unlike Olympic athletes, we won’t be walking around heaven with crowns stacked up on our heads, showing our crowns to each other and inviting applause for ourselves. Oh no my friends, rather we will be delighted to lay those crowns, which Jesus has given to us, down at the throne of God in our great worship of Him! (Rev. 4:10) They are all for HIS glory, not ours!

So today friends we’ve looked at one powerful verse from James 1:12, but oh my how I hope it has encouraged you to persevere in the strength provided to you by the Holy Spirit, as you ‘walk with Jesus’ in whatever path of life you have to live today! Take a few moments right now and think about that, and I urge you to talk with Jesus about this, as you worship with this song. Thank Jesus, my friends, that your life and mine is ALL about Him, for His glory! And those crowns are possible ONLY because of Jesus and all for HIS glory! I can’t wait to lay mine down at the feet of God, in worship of Him! How about you?

Today’s Scripture is James 1:12.

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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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