My Pastor, The Word And The Crown.

05 Dec My Pastor, The Word And The Crown.

I am coming quickly. Hold tight what you have, so that no one will take your crown [by leading you to renounce the faith]. Revelations 3:11 AMP

For weeks my husband and pastor kept referring us to the above scriptures and each time he mentioned it I felt a nudge to seek more understanding of this verse.
What I am about to share is a brief summary of what I learnt in the quest to understand what Jesus meant by these words He spoke.

My Pastor, The Word And The Crown. Click To Tweet

Even though people including some of my readers often think that because His return has been preached centuries ago, it is nothing to take seriously, or that His coming is still far, some others make a complete mockery of His promised return…

…you must know and understand this, that scoffers (mockers) will come in the last days with scoffing, [people who] walk after their own fleshly desires. And say, where is the promise of His coming? For since the forefathers fell asleep, all things have continued exactly as they did from the beginning of creation.
2 Peter 3:3 AMP (my emphasis)

Jesus warned us in Matthew 24:37-39 that the world would come to this point…
As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For just as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, [men] marrying and [women] being given in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah went into the ark, and they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away—so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 

Second, Jesus reminds us of His soon return to encourage us to “hold fast” to that which we have. To hold on to His word(see Revelation 3:10), to hold on to His teachings, principles, precepts. To hold on to His words means to hold on to life, in His word is life. John 6:63

Our salvation from the perils of the end time and hell is in God’s word. Click To Tweet

…With a humble spirit receive the word [of God] which is implanted [actually rooted in your heart], which is able to save your souls. James 1:21 AMP

Third, He does not want us to be deceived into losing our crown. He does not want us to deny Him,  or renounce our faith as a result of persecution or backslid.

He knows that these last days, our faith in Him will be threatened, He knows that the enemy would want us to deny Him, even by threatening us with death. He wants us to stand firm, stand our ground and hold on so that we will not lose our reward, our crown.

In trying to understand the crown, I discovered Jesus was speaking of the Crown of Life as stated in James 1:12 which is for those who endures to the end.

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 2:10

There are four other crowns we must strive for:

1. The Incorruptible crown which is for those who put their flesh under, those who live in the spirit so that they will not fulfil the desires of the flesh. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
2. The crown of rejoicing for those who worked with God in making disciples for Christ.
   1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
3. The Crown of Righteousness for those who stood for the right things, who guarded the gospel against error, who stayed right and did right with and for God. Those who looked with eagerness and awaited His coming. 2 Timothy 4:8
4. The crown of glory which is reserved for pastors and teachers who remained faithful in ministering to the church, leading them by example. 1 Peter 5:1-4

I am one of those who do not just want to walk into heaven, I look forward to being received with joy by the master. I want to hear Him call me good and faithful, I want to receive the crowns He has prepared for those who finish well.

I ask that you join me to always keep in mind that Jesus is coming QUICKLY despite what the word thinks.
I ask that you join me in being resolute in holding fast to His word and principles.
I ask that you join me in striving to keep focus on the prize that awaits us as we run this race faithfully to the end.

Will you join me?

Copyright© Teshuva 2015
Photo Credit: Wikimedia, Bible Prophecy for Today