Revelation 4:9-11 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”
I want you to close your eyes and picture yourself sitting at the banquet of the Lamb (Luke 14:15). You are seated at a hugetable. The angels come up to each saint (us) at the table, one by one, and place a crown upon each head—you receive your great reward! James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” The trumpets sound and we all stand as the Lord enters the banquet room! Suddenly as you see Him face to face, the crown upon your head seems to lose its value. Why? Because you realize that although you were rewarded for faithfully following our Lord, you followed Him because of everything that He did for you! We are nothing without His grace, without His Mercy. The Lord does not remind us of our past sins, but we recall everything He did to rescue us from our sinful life, to rescue us from going to hell. He saved us, which gave us the right to follow our amazing Lord, to have a seat at the banquet, to walk the streets of gold, to live in a mansion He prepared for us, to wear pure white robes, washed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. We received the right to live with Him for all of eternity in a place where there is no sun or moon because the glory of the Lord radiates His light in all heaven. Yet we are rewarded for following Him!
Romans 5:8 Amplified “But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.” Jesus didn’t wait for us to straighten out our lives. He accepted us “as is,” just for the asking! He loved us, cleansed us, and called us His own. Wow, what an awesome God! As the crucifixion scenein “The Passion of the Christ” was being filmed, Mel Gibsonwas zoomed in on the hands of the actor holding the nail and hammer, about to nail Jesus to the cross. He stopped the filmingat that moment. He had suddenly recalled the Bible verse, Isaiah 53:5 Amplified, “But He was wounded for our transgressions,He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]; The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him,
And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed.” He said, “I couldn’t film it. I instead came out from behind the camera, and I had to film my hands nailing my Lord to the cross. After all it was my sin that put Him there!” It was my sin, too. But our sin did not keep Him on the cross. When Jesus rose from the graveand exited the tomb, He left my sin and your sin dead and buried, never to be remembered again.
Psalm 103:8-12 Passion Translation “Lord, you’re so kind and tenderhearted and so patient with people who fail you! Your love is like a flooding river overflowing its banks with kindness. You don’t look at us only to find our faults, just so that you can hold a grudge against us. You may discipline us for our many sins, but never as much as we really deserve. Nor do you get even with us for what we’ve done. Higher than the highest heavens—that’s how high your tender mercy extends! Greater than the grandeur of heaven above is the greatness of your loyal love, towering over all who fear you and bow down before you! Farther than from a sunrise to a sunset— that’s how far you’ve removed our guilt from us. The same way a loving father feels toward his children— that’s but a sample of your tender feelings toward us, your beloved children, who live in awe of you.”
OI end where I began, Revelation 4:9-11: we give them all back, casting our crowns at His feet! Because even though He gives out rewards, it’s not about us at all. All we have comes from His hand, and all we are is because of Him. Our natural reaction when we see Him is to give it all back: our crowns and our lives. For He is worthy!
-Emil Liko 7/24/36