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The Crown | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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Okay, turn with me in your scriptures to Revelation
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chapter 3. Revelation chapter 3. Hallelujah.
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Father, I thank you for your word today. I thank
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you, Jesus, for just dropping some very real
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things in my heart, not just for this morning,
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but for how we live. And I ask, Father, that...
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you would help me to communicate the things that
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you've put inside of me for this morning. Thank
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you for the anointing that is already on your
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word. And we ask that it would go into our hearts
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today. In Jesus' name. Amen. Revelation chapter
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3. Just one verse to springboard off of. Verse
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11. Let's read it together. Behold, I am coming
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quickly. Hold fast. what you have that no one
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may take your crown. That's the New King James
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Version. Let's say that together. If you have
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the New King James Version, say it with me. Behold,
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I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have
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that no one may take your crown. Amen. That's
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our text for this morning. churches that Jesus
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sent letters to in Revelation 2 and 3 by the
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hand of John in this beginning of the revelation
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of Jesus Christ. Five of those churches were
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rebuked by Jesus for things that they were either
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doing or things that they were not doing. And
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he called five of those churches of the seven
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to repentance. Two of those churches, he did
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not have anything negative to say about. This
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was one of those churches. This is the faithful
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church, the church of Philadelphia. And so the
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church of Philadelphia, he says to them what
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we just read, hold fast. I'm coming quickly.
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Don't let anybody take your crown. And then the
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other church that he did not rebuke was the suffering
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church, the church of Smyrna. And that is Revelation
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chapter 2. I want to read one verse out of the
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letter that Jesus sent to Smyrna. Verse 10, 2
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-10. Do not fear any of those things which you
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are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about
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to throw some of you into prison that you may
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be tested and you will have tribulation for 10
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days. Now listen to this. Be faithful unto death
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and I will give you the crown of life. To both
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of these churches, Jesus referred to the crown.
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Here we have it again in the church of Smyrna.
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The crown. Be faithful to the end. And I will
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give you a crown. The crown of life. Now, oftentimes
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when Pastor Cammie and I or others preach or
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teach here on Sunday mornings, we are zeroing
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in on something, some part of the Christian discipline,
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the Christian walk. Sometimes we are getting
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the microscope out and getting right down to
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something nitty gritty that will hopefully change
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your life and help you in your relationship with
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Christ. this morning, we're not going to get
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the microscope out. We're getting the telescope
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out, and we're getting a broad view of what this
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thing is all about. What this thing is all about
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called life, right? And so, we're talking this
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morning about the crown. The crown. Now, this
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is a simple costume crown. I thought it was going
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to be a lot more regal than this. And it wasn't
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exactly what I ordered. I was like, man, it's
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not like the picture. But I wanted to be able
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to hold a crown in my hand that you could see
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so that you would understand that this whole
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thing called life is about chasing a crown. Amen?
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It is about chasing a crown. The crown represents
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the reward that you will receive when you stand
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before Jesus. Now look at the person next to
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you. Look at the person across the room. Look
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at yourself. Every single person in this room
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is going to stand before Jesus. We're all. Whatever
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our story is, we're all going to pass away should
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Jesus tarry. One of two things is going to happen.
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The trumpet is going to sound and Jesus is going
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to return, which I'm believing for more and more
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and more. Amen? I am coming quickly, he told
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the church of Philadelphia, or you're going to
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pass away. Every single person in this room is
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going to stand before Jesus. That's what this
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whole thing is all about. That's the role. It's
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the main role of the pastor to prepare the sheep
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for the day when they stand before Jesus. That
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you and I will not be ashamed. You and I will
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not be ashamed before the Lord. Paul understood
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this. It's why at the end of his life he wrote
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to Timothy, I have fought the good fight. I have
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finished the race. I have kept the faith. Finally,
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there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,
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which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give
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to me on that day. And not to me only, but to
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all who have loved and longed for his appearing.
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Paul knew that this was what it was all about.
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It drove him. He laid his life down continuously
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because he knew that there was a day that he
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would stand before Jesus. How did he go through
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all that suffering? Five times, 40 lashes. He
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was stoned. He was a night and a day and a shipwreck.
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All these things that happened to Paul, how could
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he endure? Because he had his eyes. fastened
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upon a day that he would stand before Jesus and
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receive a crown. Hallelujah. Peter was instructing
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some elders on how to lead the church. Listen
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to what he says, 1 Peter 5 .3. Don't be lords
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over those entrusted to you, but be examples
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to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears,
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you will receive the crown of glory that does
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not fade away. Hallelujah. This crown, friends,
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this crown is a costume. But the crown that you're
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going to receive is very, very real. You're going
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to stand before Jesus and he's going to give
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you a crown. This crown is worth more than anything
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in this life. Everything that you've been rewarded
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with is nothing compared to the crown that you're
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going to receive when you stand before Jesus.
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Paul gave everything and taught us to give up
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everything for this crown. 1 Corinthians 9 .24.
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I just experienced this. Do you not know that
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those who run in a race all run, but one receives
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the prize? I meant to bring the prize. I won.
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Running a race at the end of August. And you
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know, the thing about that prize is it really,
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I finished, but it doesn't really mean very much.
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Lila was there cheering for me, all right? Some
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of you were there. Your sons were there. And
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you saw me finish. The prize, though, didn't
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really mean anything because they had 110 runners.
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And guess how many prizes they had? 110. And
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every single person got a prize. Oh, this generation.
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I just don't get it. Oh, where if I don't get
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a prize, oh, okay, I'm going to keep preaching
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here. You know, in these times, Paul's referring
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to the Olympic Games. What our Olympics are based
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on now, one would get the prize. And oftentimes
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that would be a golden wreath that they would
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lay on the head of the one that ran. And Paul
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is saying, That if you're going to run the race,
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run in such a way as to get the prize. Go all
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in. Right? Verse 25. Everyone who competes for
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the prize is temperate in all things. I'm getting
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back into this running world. People in the running
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world are crazy. They change how they eat. They
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change what they wear on their feet. They spend
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lots and lots of money. They are temperate in
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all things because they want to get faster. And
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you know what? I'm kind of like getting into
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that. I want to get faster. And Pastor Ben is
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trying to get back into that. You need to pray
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for this brother. He ran a 5k the other day.
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Good job. They do it for a perishable crown.
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All this is a perishable crown. We, for an imperishable
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crown that can never be taken away. Therefore,
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I run thus, not with uncertainty. Thus, I fight,
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not as one who beats the air, but I discipline
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my body. I bring it into subjection, lest when
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I have preached to others, I myself should become
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disqualified. Where will we get this crown? 2
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Corinthians 5, 9 and 10. Therefore we make it
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our aim, whether present or absent, to be well
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-pleasing to Jesus. Everybody say that with me.
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Well -pleasing to Jesus. For we must all appear
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before the judgment seat of Christ. that each
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one may receive the things done in the body according
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to what he has done, whether good or bad. Some
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people have said, it doesn't matter what I do
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because I cannot earn my salvation. And that,
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friends, is true. Hallelujah. The salvation of
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Jesus is a free gift from God. We just exercise
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faith in the atoning work of the cross and he
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bestows upon us salvation. Hallelujah. It is
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free and full. And I thank God for that. But
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what you do matters. What you do for the king
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will be rewarded. Jesus said, every cup of cold
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water given in my name will be rewarded to you
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tenfold there. Hallelujah. I say praise God for
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that. And so this judgment. There are actually
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two judgments in the end times that the Scriptures
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teach about. This is the Bema Seat judgment.
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This is the judgment for believers. This is not
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a heaven and hell judgment. If you're standing
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before Jesus at this judgment, you've made it
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to heaven. Congratulations. Praise God. But it
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is at this judgment that the rewards for what
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you have... done in this life for Christ will
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be rewarded. Hallelujah. I want to stand before
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Jesus at this judgment seat, and I want to receive
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a crown that he has for me. Somebody say, praise
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the Lord. Are you running for that? Are you wanting
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the crown that he has for you? Praise the Lord.
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Praise the Lord. This beam of seat judgment.
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Did you know it's possible to get to heaven and
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have no reward? Did you know it's possible to
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just squeak into heaven and not be given a crown?
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Listen to this verse. 1 Corinthians 3, verse
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12. Now, if anyone builds on this foundation
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with gold, silver, precious stones, what is that?
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Remind you of. Gold. Silver. Precious stones.
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Or. Wood. Hay. And straw. Each one's work. Will
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become clear. For the day will declare it. Because
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it will be revealed by fire. The fire will test.
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Each one's work. Of what sort it is. If anyone's
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work. which he has built on endures, he will
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receive a reward. Hallelujah. If anyone's work
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is burned, he will suffer loss. He himself will
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be saved, yet so as through fire. There will
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be people that will stand before Jesus at the
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Bema seat judgment and the fire will test their
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work and they will have nothing to show for it.
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Wow. Friend, it's Pastor Cammie and I's desire.
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That for faith church, that for every person
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that stands before the judgment seat of Christ,
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hallelujah, that when the fire tests the quality
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of your work, that it would not burn up into
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ashes and be nothing. And Jesus say, well, you
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know, you can come in to heaven. You just made
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it through as a fire. We do not want that for
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you. We want for you to stand before Jesus and
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after that fire, test the quality of your work.
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Oh, it's the quality of gold and silver and precious
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stones and it lasts and it endures. Hallelujah.
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Oh, glory to God. And you should be glad that
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you have pastors that pray for you like that.
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You should be glad that you have people in your
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life that spur you on to that. Because we want
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the quality of your work to endure. Hallelujah.
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A crown? Don't let anybody take your crown. Don't
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let anything take your crown. We have enemies
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that are trying to steal your crown. Colossians
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2 .18 says, let no one cheat you of your reward.
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King James Version says, let no one beguile you
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or deceive you. The NIV says, let no one disqualify
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you. Let no one cheat you of your reward. They
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take delight in false humility and worship of
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angels, intruding into those things which he
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has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly
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mind, not holding fast to the head. from whom
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all the body nourished and knit together by joints
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and ligaments grows with the increase that is
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from God. Don't let anyone cheat you of your
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reward. Don't let anybody take your crown. There's
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four qualities in this verse. I'm not going to
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preach on this verse, but let me touch on them
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very quickly. One, they have false humility.
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Oftentimes they will downgrade themselves with
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their words. their words are actually upgrading
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themselves in their heart. It is a false humility.
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In fact, they want you to recognize their humility
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so that they feel good about you recognizing
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their humility. Secondly, they're always looking
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for something new and spectacular. Did you hear
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about the glory cloud in this church? And they'll
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chase after it. Did you hear about this over
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here? And they'll chase after that. Oh, angels
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appeared. And they worship the angels. They're
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worshiping the stuff. And how many of you are
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grateful for the stuff? You're grateful for the
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manifestation of the presence of God. We are
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believing God for the stuff. This morning, we're
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believing God for people to be healed around
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these altars, amen? We're believing God to manifest
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his kingdom and his glory and his power, but
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we are not worshiping the stuff. We worship him.
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We worship Jesus. Hallelujah. In the seasons
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where it seems like none of the stuff is happening,
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guess what? Our eyes are still on Him. We are
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still worshiping Him. We're not chasing all the
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stuff. People that are trying to pull you down
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are chasing the stuff. Their eyes are not fastened
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on the head. They are their own head. Their lives
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are not committed to following Christ wherever
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He should lead. And they are not connected to
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the church. This is a key one. The ligaments,
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the supporting sinews. Do you know what that
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is? It's not the head. It's the church. It's
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the body. And so people that are trying to pull
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you away are not connected to the body of Christ.
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We got to be people that are connected to the
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body of Christ. It matters who you yoke up with.
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I applaud the men and the women in the body of
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Christ. Their spouses are not serving Jesus,
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but they refuse to let anybody take their crown.
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And even if they have to run alone, they're going
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to run alone. Amen? Because Jesus is everything.
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Hallelujah. It matters who you yoke up with.
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Don't let friends steal your crown. If you consult
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your friends on how radical, how much of a fanatic
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you should get for Jesus, they will often pull
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you down. Oh, you don't want to get too fanatical
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with that stuff. People will call you strange.
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You know what a fanatic for Jesus is? Somebody
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that loves Jesus more than you do. That's what
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a fanatic is. Don't let anybody steal your crown.
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Don't let your spouse. Don't let your child.
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Don't let your brother, your sister. Don't let
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other nominal Christians. Don't let them steal
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your reward. I'm running after Jesus. I'm going
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after him. My life is all about him. Don't be
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like Esau. In Genesis 25, 33, he let circumstances
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steal his crown. He was famished. I'm going to
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die. I'm going to die. And for a bowl of beans,
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he sold his birthright. And you're going to stand
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before Jesus at the Bema seat judgment, and you're
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going to realize, I let beans steal. my crown.
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I'm not doing it. I am not doing it. I'm going
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all in. Eve, listen to what Eve said. And the
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Lord God said to Eve, what is this you have done?
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And the woman said, the serpent deceived me,
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and I ate. Second Corinthians 11 says, I fear,
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Paul wrote, lest some of you Corinthians Just
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as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness,
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so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity
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of following Jesus. It happened to Eve. It happened
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to some of them in Corinth. And Paul was trying
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to get them to see, I'm not letting anybody steal
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my crown. No demon in hell. No friend, no family
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member, none of them. I have decided to follow
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Jesus. It's as simple as that. Amen? I am not
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letting anybody steal my crown. Matthew 24. Because
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some of us can say, well, I'm above my crown
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being stolen. Jesus said, 24, 24 in Matthew.
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For false Christs and false prophets will rise
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and show you great signs and wonders to deceive,
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if possible, even the elect. Even the elect can
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be deceived. Let me read quickly to you some
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other scriptures before I wrap this up. Ephesians
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5, 6, let no one deceive you with empty words.
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For because of these things, the wrath of God
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comes on the sons of disobedience. Colossians
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2 .4. Now this I say, lest anyone should deceive
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you with persuasive words. A few verses later,
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Colossians 2 .8. Beware lest anyone cheat you
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through philosophy and empty deceit according
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to the tradition of men. according to the basic
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principles of the world and not according to
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Christ. John, the apostle John, who wrote Revelation
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3 .11, he said this in 1 John 2 .26, These things
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I have written to you concerning those who try
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to deceive you. And then in 2 John 1 .7, For
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many deceivers have gone out into the world who
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do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the
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flesh. And he said that they had the antichrist
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spirit. trying to deceive the believers and cheat
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them out of their reward. There was one in Paul's
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inner circle. 2 Timothy 4 .10 says, Demas has
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forsaken me, having loved this present world
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and has departed from me to go to Thessalonica.
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Demas was cheated of his crown. Because he loved
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this present world. This whole thing is about
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a crown. The crown is not worth a moment of pleasure.
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The crown, it is not worth laying it down for
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an addiction. Those of you struggling, keep getting
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back up. The righteous fall, but they get back
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up again. Why? Because they're running after
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a crown. I'm not letting anything steal my crown.
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You have friendship with the world that you need
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to break. You have things that Jesus would not
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participate in. I heard one defined sin as this.
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Anything Jesus would not do. That's simple, isn't
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it? Would Jesus do this? Then I shouldn't do
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this because I'm chasing a crown. I want to close
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this morning with Revelation chapter 4. We started
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in Revelation chapter 3. And I want to close
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with Revelation chapter 4. This is an incredible
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chapter of the worship that happens in heaven.
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Pick it up in verse 8. The whole chapter is good.
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The four living creatures, each having six wings,
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were full of eyes around and within, and they
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do not rest day or night saying, Holy, holy,
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holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is
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to come. And whenever the living creatures give
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glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on
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the throne, who lives forever and ever. The 24
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elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne
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and worship Him who lives forever and ever and
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cast their crowns before the throne saying, You
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are worthy, O Lord. to receive glory and honor
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and power, for you created all things, and by
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your will they exist and were created. You see,
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the crown is not just the reward that you will
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get in heaven that you can display for your own
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glory for the rest of your life. The crown that
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Jesus gave gives to you, becomes what you worship
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Jesus with for the rest of eternity. Jesus, you've
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given me a crown. These 24 elders, many people
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think that they represent the 12 tribes of Israel
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in the old covenant, and that they represent
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the 12 disciples in the new covenant. I have
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no proof or definitive scripture that says that.
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But many people just believe they represent the
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saints of old and the saints of new together
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around the throne that have received a crown
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as a reward before the Lord. And the worship
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begins to happen. And the angels cry, holy, holy,
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holy. And the 24 elders that have received their
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crown. Take it off. And they say, God, there's
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nobody. There's nobody that's worthy of this
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crown. Every action that I did, that you rewarded
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for me, that's represented here, I could only
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do because of your grace and because of your
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mercy. Every action that I served others with
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is only because of your grace and your mercy.
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It's not because of my own goodness. And so,
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Lord, I take this crown that you've rewarded
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me with and I cast it down at your feet and I
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worship you. I worship you with this crown. Hallelujah.
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This crown, friends, that Jesus is going to give
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to you becomes your greatest piece of worship.
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before the Lord for all eternity. Let no one
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take your crown. I'm going to ask if Pastor Ben
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would come and the team would come. The first
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step in getting a crown is giving our lives to
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Jesus. When we yield our life to Christ, that's
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the beginning, friends. That's the beginning.
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Hallelujah. The crown. If you've never given
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your life to Christ, If you've never fully surrendered
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to him, I want to tell you that today that it
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is more than about just being in church on Sunday
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and coming to an altar. No, it is about chasing
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the reward that Jesus has for your life. We're
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coming after him today. We're going to give him
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everything. If you've never given your life to
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Christ, start there. He shed his blood for you.
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to make a way for you to know him. And then some
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of us here today, we have allowed things to cheat
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us. We've got things going on in our lives that's
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stealing from the reward that Jesus wants to
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give to you. You need to deal with that today.
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You're doing things that Jesus wouldn't do. You're
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looking at things Jesus wouldn't look at. You're
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listening to things Jesus wouldn't listen to.
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You are giving yourself to things that Jesus
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wouldn't give himself to. And this morning, what
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you need to do is you need to say, Jesus, I am
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coming after the crown that you have for me.
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I am going to lay those things down in Jesus'
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name. That's what we're going to do this morning.
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Big picture. Big picture. This is what it's all
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about. This is why all the little things matter.
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This is why the details matter. Because Jesus
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has a crown for us. This morning, we're going
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to tell the Lord, Jesus, I'm coming after everything
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that you have for me. Hallelujah. As Pastor Ben
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begins to sing this song, we fall down. We lay
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our crowns. I want you to just, if you need to
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get right with God, If you need to just declare,
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God, my life is about pursuing the crown, then
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I want you to find a place around this altar
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just for a few moments and just you and Jesus
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for a moment and then we as a church, we as a
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church, this is what we're running after. We
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are running after the crown. Jesus, Revelation
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3 .11 is written to the entire church. Wouldn't
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it be awesome if he wrote us a letter and said,
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I've got a crown for you, Faith Church. Don't
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let anybody take it. I'm coming after you. I've
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got a reward for you. And we say, Lord Jesus,
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we want that crown. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank
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you, Father.