Word for Today: Crowns, Sacrifice, and Celebration

#1 · April 30, 2006, 4:23 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on April 30, 2006, 4:23 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today: Crowns, Sacrifice, and Celebration
Dear friends,

I have thought, as Paul Van Gorder comments in his message below, that
I would not have any particular desire to be rewarded for anything I
may do for Christ. It is clear from the Bible, however, that our
reward in heaven is that we will be given crowns.

What is the appropriate thing to do with crowns, especially if we have
many of them? Why, cast them at the feet of Jesus, that is what the
Bible records.

The Bible is clear that those who love Jesus Christ and are called,
according to His purpose (not our purpose that we twist our minds into
thinking is His purpose) we will share in Christ's glory.

I view it like this (and I am doing a bit of personal imagery, but
please check me against REAL SCRIPTURE and formulate your OWN VIEW,
based on the TRUTH that can be found in SCRIPTURE, and not merely from
the ideas of men).

The way I view it, just to formulate a concept, is that Jesus Christ
loves us very much. We are told in the Bible that a relationship
between a husband and wife ought to be modeling the relationship of
Christ and His church. We are also told that heaven is a lot like a
wedding feast.

Based on that, my view of the end times is like this: when we face the
judgment seat of Christ, those who are in Him will have to account for
their deeds, and based on their deeds, they will be rewarded crowns.
Our tears, when we have them, will be for what we have failed to do
for Christ, realizing that there are those we love that we did not
warn about the perils of sin and an eternity without Christ. We will
therefore have tears for lost loved ones, friends and family.

Jesus says that He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. That's
the judgment end of things for us. We will be rewarded crowns, which
we then place at His feet.

Another judgment day will come, and that will be the Great White
Throne judgment. NONE of us will want to be there, for names will be
written in BOOKS concerning evil deeds done, but no name will be
written in THE BOOK OF LIFE. Those people will be judged for their
deeds and will be found lacking, because they lack the means to pay
for their misdeeds.

Only Christ can atone, pay for, cover up, the misdeeds of our flesh.
Those who reject Christ reject the only provision for sin - the
lovingly shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross, which He did
willingly out of love for all who would realize the need for this act
of love and mercy, and turn away from their deeds and turn to Christ.

We all, every one of us, does things that we should not do, and we
fail to do things that we should do. This is our nature. God knows
this. If He were an uncaring being, He would simply destroy His
creation. Instead, He chooses to redeem His creation, but He does
require us to respond to the offer He has made and to accept it.

The offer and the gift is to admit that we have a problem, and that
problem is our sin. The gift is God's very own Son, who came to us
in an ordinary way- by human birth, but through most extraordinary
means - a virgin birth, conceived not through the seed of sinful man,
but through the very seed of God's Spirit. Only God could pull off
such a thing, but with God, ALL things are possible.

Please read the scripture below, read the message after it, and
consider the comments I have made. If you do not understand this, ask
God to give you wisdom in it. If you have never read the entire book
of Revelation, that is something you really ought to do. This book
brings the Old and New testaments of the Bible together and gives you
a good picture of both heaven and hell (and there are such places -
and there is an eternal lake of fire as well - that does not torch and
consume bodies, but simply torments them forever). Make absolutely
certain that you are not part of that, but instead that you are
absolutely certain that you have a home reserved for you in heaven.

I would be delighted any time to explain how you can be absolutely
certain of your eternal destination.

Yours in Christ,
Brian

Revelation 4:6-11 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain
A Public Domain Bible KJV at Zondervan Zondervan

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.

Gospelcom.net : A ministry of Gospel Communications
BibleGateway.com is © Copyright 1995-2006 Gospel Communications
International

Our Daily Bread, www.rbc.org/odb/odb.shtml

April 30, 2006
Surrendered Crowns

READ: Revelation 4:6-11

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and
power.--Revelation 4:11 ODB 2006 04 Small About this cover

Once during her reign, England's Queen Victoria listened to a chaplain
preach a sermon about the second coming of Christ. Those near the
royal box noticed that the queen's eyes were filled with tears.

When the service ended, she asked to see the chaplain alone. Seeing
her great emotion, he asked why she was so moved. She replied,
"Because of what you said about the coming again of the world's
rightful King, I wish still to be here when He returns that I might
lay my crown at His blessed feet!"

There are many incentives for faithful service that involve both our
acts and our motives. These rewards, which are designated as "crowns"
in the New Testament, are to be earned by those who have first
received the gift of eternal life.

Perhaps you're saying, "I would never expect to be rewarded for what I
do for Christ." Have you considered what you may do with any crown you
receive on that day? There will be no trophy cases in heaven; no
gloating over earthly accomplishments. Redeemed sinners will have the
transcendent joy of casting their crowns before the throne and saying,
"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power"
(Revelation 4:11).--Paul Van Gorder

Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own! --Bridges

Heaven's crowns are not for keeping but for casting at Christ's feet.

--
Brian Masinick, masinick at yahoo dot com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
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Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
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Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today: Crowns, Sacrifice, and Celebration
Dear friends,

I have thought, as Paul Van Gorder comments in his message below, that
I would not have any particular desire to be rewarded for anything I
may do for Christ. It is clear from the Bible, however, that our
reward in heaven is that we will be given crowns.

What is the appropriate thing to do with crowns, especially if we have
many of them? Why, cast them at the feet of Jesus, that is what the
Bible records.

The Bible is clear that those who love Jesus Christ and are called,
according to His purpose (not our purpose that we twist our minds into
thinking is His purpose) we will share in Christ's glory.

I view it like this (and I am doing a bit of personal imagery, but
please check me against REAL SCRIPTURE and formulate your OWN VIEW,
based on the TRUTH that can be found in SCRIPTURE, and not merely from
the ideas of men).

The way I view it, just to formulate a concept, is that Jesus Christ
loves us very much. We are told in the Bible that a relationship
between a husband and wife ought to be modeling the relationship of
Christ and His church. We are also told that heaven is a lot like a
wedding feast.

Based on that, my view of the end times is like this: when we face the
judgment seat of Christ, those who are in Him will have to account for
their deeds, and based on their deeds, they will be rewarded crowns.
Our tears, when we have them, will be for what we have failed to do
for Christ, realizing that there are those we love that we did not
warn about the perils of sin and an eternity without Christ. We will
therefore have tears for lost loved ones, friends and family.

Jesus says that He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. That's
the judgment end of things for us. We will be rewarded crowns, which
we then place at His feet.

Another judgment day will come, and that will be the Great White
Throne judgment. NONE of us will want to be there, for names will be
written in BOOKS concerning evil deeds done, but no name will be
written in THE BOOK OF LIFE. Those people will be judged for their
deeds and will be found lacking, because they lack the means to pay
for their misdeeds.

Only Christ can atone, pay for, cover up, the misdeeds of our flesh.
Those who reject Christ reject the only provision for sin - the
lovingly shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross, which He did
willingly out of love for all who would realize the need for this act
of love and mercy, and turn away from their deeds and turn to Christ.

We all, every one of us, does things that we should not do, and we
fail to do things that we should do. This is our nature. God knows
this. If He were an uncaring being, He would simply destroy His
creation. Instead, He chooses to redeem His creation, but He does
require us to respond to the offer He has made and to accept it.

The offer and the gift is to admit that we have a problem, and that
problem is our sin. The gift is God's very own Son, who came to us
in an ordinary way- by human birth, but through most extraordinary
means - a virgin birth, conceived not through the seed of sinful man,
but through the very seed of God's Spirit. Only God could pull off
such a thing, but with God, ALL things are possible.

Please read the scripture below, read the message after it, and
consider the comments I have made. If you do not understand this, ask
God to give you wisdom in it. If you have never read the entire book
of Revelation, that is something you really ought to do. This book
brings the Old and New testaments of the Bible together and gives you
a good picture of both heaven and hell (and there are such places -
and there is an eternal lake of fire as well - that does not torch and
consume bodies, but simply torments them forever). Make absolutely
certain that you are not part of that, but instead that you are
absolutely certain that you have a home reserved for you in heaven.

I would be delighted any time to explain how you can be absolutely
certain of your eternal destination.

Yours in Christ,
Brian

Revelation 4:6-11 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain
A Public Domain Bible KJV at Zondervan Zondervan

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.

Our Daily Bread, http://www.rbc.org/odb/odb.shtml

April 30, 2006
Surrendered Crowns

READ: Revelation 4:6-11

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and
power.--Revelation 4:11 ODB 2006 04 Small About this cover

Once during her reign, England's Queen Victoria listened to a chaplain
preach a sermon about the second coming of Christ. Those near the
royal box noticed that the queen's eyes were filled with tears.

When the service ended, she asked to see the chaplain alone. Seeing
her great emotion, he asked why she was so moved. She replied,
"Because of what you said about the coming again of the world's
rightful King, I wish still to be here when He returns that I might
lay my crown at His blessed feet!"

There are many incentives for faithful service that involve both our
acts and our motives. These rewards, which are designated as "crowns"
in the New Testament, are to be earned by those who have first
received the gift of eternal life.

Perhaps you're saying, "I would never expect to be rewarded for what I
do for Christ." Have you considered what you may do with any crown you
receive on that day? There will be no trophy cases in heaven; no
gloating over earthly accomplishments. Redeemed sinners will have the
transcendent joy of casting their crowns before the throne and saying,
"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power"
(Revelation 4:11).--Paul Van Gorder

Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own! --Bridges

Heaven's crowns are not for keeping but for casting at Christ's feet.

--
Brian Masinick, masinick at yahoo dot com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
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